(Yicai) Oct. 31 -- Apple reported another decline in revenue from China in its fiscal fourth quarter, but the iPhone maker had strong results globally and said it would return to growth in China this quarter.

Revenue from the China market fell 3.6 percent to USD14.5 billion in the three months ended Sept. 27 from a year earlier, the Cupertino-based firm announced yesterday. Its worldwide revenue rose 8 percent to USD102.5 billion.

Apple had endured seven consecutive quarters of falling income in China before logging the first growth in two years in the fiscal third-quarter ended June, with local rivals such as Xiaomi and Huawei Technologies gaining ground, partly because of their greater success in rolling out artificial intelligence features.

For the full fiscal year 2025, Apple’s China revenue declined 3.8 percent to USD64.4 billion.

The poor quarterly results from China were mainly the result of supply chain constraints that have hit the new iPhone 17 lineup, Chief Executive Tim Cook said on Apple’s earnings conference call yesterday, while adding that the situation is improving.

“We’re thrilled with what we’re seeing right now, traffic being up significantly year over year and the reception of the 17 family,” Cook said. “We expect to return to growth this quarter.”

Cook came to China earlier this month, his second visit this year, and the firm’s new ultra-thin iPhone Air finally appeared in the Chinese market on Oct. 22, after more than a month’s delay due to regulatory difficulties with the handset’s embedded-SIM design.

Cook noted that China’s consumer goods subsidy programs has had a positive effect for Apple, though some higher-priced products fall outside of the subsidy price cap and so cannot benefit. “But it does have a favorable effect and it’s clearly and at least from our vantage point driving some consumer demand,” he said.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Tom Litting