Apple has reported that its quarterly profit climbed with strong iPhone demand, but a decline in iPad tablet sales put a damper on its results.

The California-based company posted a profit of $7.7 billion on revenue of $37.4 billion in the three months period to June 28, an increase of 11.6 percent from a year ago.

Apple said it sold 35.2 million iPhones in the quarter, a rise of nearly 13 percent from the same period a year earlier.

“Our record June quarter revenue was fueled by strong sales of iPhone and Mac and the continued growth of revenue from the Apple ecosystem, driving our highest (earnings per share) growth rate in seven quarters,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an earnings release.

Apple also declared a cash dividend of 47 cents per share of common stock to be paid at the close of business on August 11.

In a disappointment, Apple said iPad sales fell 9.2 percent from a year ago to 12.27 million, a figure weaker than most analysts had expected.

The soft demand for iPads also hurt revenues, which were below the consensus forecast of nearly $38 billion.

The earnings release, as expected, contained no hint of any new iteration of the popular iPhone despite numerous reports that Apple is preparing versions with a larger display.

A US patent made public on Tuesday bolstered rumors that Apple has designs on a smartwatch.

The patent describes an wrist band, possible with a touch screen, configured to connect wirelessly to a mobile device such as a smartphone.

Disclosure of the patent added fuel to talk that California-based Apple intends to weigh into the blossoming wearable computing market with a smartwatch.

Apple has remained tight-lipped about product plans, but Cook has stated repeatedly that impressive new products were in the works, and that he sees the wrist as a preferred spot for a wearable computing gadget.

Cook said he was “incredibly excited” about new operating systems in the works “as well as other new products and services that we can’t wait to introduce,” but did not elaborate.

Apple’s recent deal with China Mobile, the world’s biggest mobile carrier, is expected to help lift iPhone sales globally at a time when the rival Google Android system has grabbed some 80 percent of the market.

In the US, Apple is stronger: according to the research firm eMarketer, the iPhone’s share of the smartphone market is likely to increase to 40.5 percent this year.

The research firm IDC said Apple remained the largest global tablet vendor in the first quarter but that its market share slid to 32.5 percent from 40.2 percent in early 2013.

Apple iPhone sales tail off in the quarters before a new smartphone launch, as potential buyers hold off. Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said the company had taken the usual lull into account in its projections for the September quarter.

Apple forecast revenue of $37 billion to $40 billion this quarter, weak compared with Wall Street’s outlook for $40 billion or more.

But whether Apple can again produce a revolutionary new product, something it has not done since the iPad in 2010, remains the central question for investors.

Many expect Apple to make a play for the wearable device market with a smart watch, dubbed iWatch.

Analysts also expect the company to introduce two iPhone versions this fall, including a 5.5-inch model that thrusts Apple into the market for larger-sized phones that rival Samsung helped popularize.