Apple has posted the biggest quarterly profit of all time despite a fall in iPhone sales.

The world's biggest company posted profits of $20.1bn (£14bn) in the crucial final three months of the year, breaking its own record set two years ago.

It came after the release of the £999 iPhone X in November, the biggest update of the handset to date, as well as the release of the iPhone 8 in September.

Although Apple sold 77m iPhones in the three month period, a 1pc fall from last year, the higher price of the new handsets meant revenues from selling iPhones increased.

“iPhone X surpassed our expectations and has been our top selling iPhone every week since it shipped in November,” Cook said.