Apple is set to report its first profitable year since 1995 on Wednesday, and will celebrate by announcing the good news, plus new products, while the stock markets are still open. West Coast companies like Apple frequently report after the markets close, usually for timezone reasons, although sometimes this can be convenient. Apple has been in profit for the past three quarters, and is expected to announce the latest version of its operating system, OS 8.5, while crowing loudly about the success of the iMac. Despite being more expensive than bargain basement Wintel machines, the iMac has actually been appearing near the top of sales tables, and has sold something over 150,000 units since it started shipping in August. The real questions Apple's results may go some way towards answering will centre on the extent to which Apple has managed to return to revenue and unit sales growth. Prior to iMac it already had a lid on costs, but it needs volume to help it bounce back harder, and it needs to maintain and build on the iMac's momentum. ® Click for more stories