Apple has said that it is on track to hit its target of selling 10 million iPhones this year, and confirmed that the device will go on sale in other territories - including China and India.

But Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, told the company's shareholders that there were no plans to declare a dividend or buy back stock, following a 37 per cent dip in the company's share price since the start of the year.

Mr Jobs also fuelled speculation about his potential successor, suggesting that the board had "a few really good choices" - including the current chief operating and financial officers - and that finding a replacement was something they "talked about a lot".

Apple shares closed up $2.89 - or 2.4 per cent - at $124.62.

Analysts have questioned whether Apple will hit its sales targets for the iPhone, especially given the weaker economic outlook, which has fuelled fears about consumer spending and driven several technology firms to downgrade their forecasts.

But Mr Jobs said he was confident that the device - a combined web browser, music and video player and phone - would reach sales of 10 million by the end of the year, including in Asia and on the subcontinent, seen as two of the most important regions in which to gain a foothold.

Asked about the company's plans to release the device in China, which already has more mobile phone users than any other country, the company's chief operating officer, Tim Cook, was elusive.

"We will enter Asia with the iPhone in 2008 ... We will one day enter China - we're not saying when - and we will one day enter India," he said.

Mr Jobs was asked whether the company - which has a stockpile of cash and short-term investments worth more than $18 billion - would start paying a dividend or begin a stock buyback program.

"At this time, we have no plans to do either," he said.

Investors also asked about potential successors to Mr Jobs, 53, should anything happen to him.

Mr Jobs, who recovered from pancreatic cancer in 2004, said: "We've got great talent, and I think the board would have a few really good choices," adding that Mr Cook and the company's chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, were among the candidates.

"We talk about that a lot," Mr Jobs said.

Investors also re-elected Apple's board, which includes Al Gore, the former US Vice President, and Eric Schmit, the chief executive of Google.

Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, said that Mr Jobs's confirmation that the iPhone - currently only available in the US, the UK, France and Germany - would go on sale in Asia this year would ease some investor concerns.

Apple shares have slumped from a high of $199.83 in late December, including a sharp fall in January when the company forecast second quarter sales that were below analysts's estimates.

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