蘋果能否靠服務挽回頹勢(下)

We believe the multiple on shares of Apple will rise over the next two years as investors slowly appreciate the sustainability and profitability [of the] services business.

我們相信，隨着投資者慢慢認識到蘋果服務業務的可持續性和盈利能力，蘋果股票估值倍數在接下來兩年會有上升。

In Tuesday’s call with analysts, Mr Maestri tried to emphasise the predictability of the services business.

在週二與分析師的電話會議中，馬埃斯特里試圖強調蘋果服務業務的可預見性。

Over time [customers] tend to spend more and more on our services, he said.

隨着時間推移，（用戶）會在我們的服務上花費越來越多的錢，他說，

Customers are very engaged with our products, they are very loyal.

用戶對我們的產品興趣很大，他們非常忠誠。

App Store revenues were up in the strong double digits, boosted by in-app payments from games such as Pokémon Go, while music revenues grew by 22 per cent thanks to the growing popularity of its subscription service, which now has 17m subscribers.

在《口袋妖怪Go》(Pokémon Go)等遊戲的應用內購買服務的提振下，蘋果應用商店的收入實現了強勁的兩位數增長，而Apple Music的收入因其訂閱服務日益高漲的人氣而增長22%，目前該服務已有1700萬訂戶。

Apple Pay, commission for which is also included in the services line, saw a 500 per cent year-on-year increase in transactions in the quarter ending in September.

Apple Pay的佣金也包含在蘋果服務業務中，其交易量在9月結束的第四財季同比上升500%。

One digital service that does not yet make much of a contribution is television.

一項還未帶來多大貢獻的數字服務是電視。

In the past few years, Apple is said to have discussed potential TV services with content and cable companies but so far has not come up with an alternative to the standard cable or satellite bundle.

過去幾年，據稱蘋果曾與一些內容企業和有線電視公司討論過可能的電視服務，但迄今蘋果還未推出一款能替代標準的有線電視或者衛星電視的產品。

Instead, the latest version of its Apple TV box focuses on standalone apps, such as HBO Now, to which customers can subscribe without a cable contract.

相反，最新版的Apple TV盒子着重於獨立應用，比如HBO Now，客戶可以在不簽訂有線電視合約的情況下訂閱這些服務。

Apple has not released sales figures for its TV set-top box but it does not yet appear to have made a meaningful contribution to the business.

蘋果並未公佈其電視機頂盒的銷售數據，但看起來這款產品還未給其業務作出有意義的貢獻。

Apple TV is grouped alongside iPods, Beats headphones and Apple Watch in the Other Products division, where sales saw a 22 per cent decline in the last quarter.

Apple TV與iPod、Beats耳機和Apple Watch一起，被歸入其他產品組別，這個組別的銷售在第四財季下降了22%。

Pressed by analysts on his vision for TV, Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said it remained an area of intense interest.

在分析師的追問下，蘋果首席執行官蒂姆.庫克(Tim Cook)講述了他對電視業務的展望，他表示電視業務依然是一個蘋果有強烈興趣的領域。

After a few standalone videos related to Apple Music, Apple now has exclusive shows in development such as Planet of the Apps, a reality TV show for software developers, and Carpool Karaoke, a spin-off of CBS’s The Late Late Show with James Corden.

在製作了一些與Apple Music相關的獨立視頻以後，蘋果現在正在開發一些獨家節目，比如軟件開發者真人秀《應用星球》(Planet of the Apps)，以及哥倫比亞廣播公司(CBS)《詹姆斯.科登深夜秀》(The Late Late Show with James Corden)的衍生節目《拼車卡拉OK》(Carpool Karaoke)。

Mr Cook suggested that these were just the start.

庫克表示這些只是開始。

Earlier this year, Apple executives considered acquiring Time Warner, the FT reported in May.

據英國《金融時報》5月報道，今年早些時候，蘋果高層曾考慮收購時代華納(Time Warner)。

Following AT&T’s planned $85.4bn takeover of that media group, Mr Cook did not rule out a deal that might transform Apple’s content business, just as the iPod and iTunes transformed the company 15 years ago.

在AT&T計劃以854億美元收購這家媒體集團後，庫克沒有排除進行一筆可能使蘋果內容業務發生變革的交易的可能，就像iPod和iTunes在15年前改變了蘋果那樣。

We are open to acquisitions of any size that are of strategic value where we can deliver better products to our customers and innovate more, he said.

只要具備戰略價值，讓我們能爲客戶帶來更好的產品，有更多的創新，我們對任何規模的收購交易都持開放態度，他說，

We look at a whole variety of companies . . . We are definitely open [to doing deals] and we definitely look.

我們留意各種各樣的公司……（對於交易）我們絕對抱開放態度，而且我們確實在留意。