THE European business of Apple Computer had sales of $4.1 billion (£2.2 billion) in the 12 months to the end of September — more than the combined total for its 2002, 2003 and 2004 financial years.

“It’s an indication of the exponential growth of this business,” said Pascal Cagni, the head of Apple Europe. Year on year, European sales were up 27% in the latest quarter, broadly in line with the group as a whole.

The success of the iPod range — soon to be reinforced with the new Shuffle, a wearable device that Apple claims is the world’s smallest music player — has given the group annual turnover of $19.3 billion, having tripled in size in three years.

The “halo” effect from the iPod has given a boost to sales of Macintosh computers. Cagni said sales of Macs were growing three or four times faster than the overall market, and “we continue to gain share”.

The technical restrictions of the iPod — which deliberately limit its ability to buy music from online stores other than Apple’s iTunes — have come under fire in France and Scandinavia. Cagni said he believed there was now a better understanding of the company’s position and “what’s clear is that the European governments need to encourage a competitive environment”.

The biggest risk facing Apple is the stock-option scandal that has hit nearly 150 US technology companies. Apple has admitted “irregularities” in back-dating option grants.

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