Apple Sales New Zealand, the local unit of the iPad and iPod maker, increased annual profit by 44 percent, on largely unchanged sales, as it benefited from a gain on its currency positions.

Profit was $15.1 million in the year ended Sept. 27, up from $10.5 million the year earlier, according to its financial statements lodged with the Companies Office. Sales rose to $568.5 million, from $564.6 million and it booked an extra $8.4 million in income on foreign currency contracts.

The local unit of the world's biggest company by market value paid $6.8 million in income tax, double the $3.9 million it paid a year earlier. Apple is one of a number of high-profile multinational companies which have come under fire for minimising tax by routing profits through offshore subsidiaries.

Apple has also overtaken South Korea's Samsung to become the world's largest smart phone seller with the launch of the latest iteration of its iPhone last year and ahead of the launch of its new watch product.

The biggest outgoing cost was $534.5 million spent on buying inventory from related parties, up from $531.5 million a year earlier. The local unit also paid a $15 million dividend in May, increasing from $14.8 million in 2013, which was its first dividend since the 2010 financial year.

Apple NZ sold $556.9 million worth of goods in its 2014 year, up from $553.8 million a year earlier, while service fee income slipped to $11.6 million from $11.9 million the year earlier.