Apple Inc lifted the recession gloom a bit with performance that boosted its shares 10 per cent in Germany's trades, handsomely beating analysts' estimates for the last quarter.  The performance has helped allay fears that the recession and chief executive officer Steve Jobs' absence would stall growth.

Overseas demand for Macintosh computers, iPhones and iPod players pushed the quarterly sales for the first time past $10 billion even as domestic demand slowed down. Analysts had expected profits to fall for the first time in five years.

Apple's product line helped the company post healthy growth and command premium prices even with the shrinking economy, job losses and falling consumer lending.

Apple updated models and ventured into new countries which helped it buck the trend in the worst holiday shopping season in four decades.  Analysts attribute the company's performance to consumer confidence which helps it override even a downturn.

Apple sold 4.36 million iPhones, a record 22.7 million iPods and 2.52 million Macs in the quarter as against  5 million iPhones, 18.6 million iPods and 2.4 million Macs forecast by analysts. 

The profits also lifted with lower prices for parts such as memory and disk drives. The first-quarter gross margin, also topped estimates at 34.7 per cent as against 31.5 per cent forecast by leading analysts.

Chief operating officer Tim Cook is filling up for the ailing Jobs, declined to comment on Job's health.

Jobs, who had proceeded on leave to seek a "relatively simple and straightforward" treatment for a hormone imbalance had said that he would continue to remain CEO. Jobs had undergone a successful surgery for a rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004 (See: Steve Jobs' health worries Apple investors) 

Last week Jobs said that his health problems were "more complex" than originally thought and he would have to take medical leave through the end of June.