Apple on firm financial footing as EU tax bill hits

Customers sit as they queue for the opening of the first Apple store in Brussels, Belgium September 18, 2015. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/Files

SAN FRANCISCO: A multi-billion-dollar tax bill imposed by the European Union could bruise Apple’s image more than its finances, which remain solid even as the trend-setting company looks for the next big thing. 

Analysts interviewed by AFP saw Apple as being in position to fend off the blow from the EU demand that the iPhone maker pay a record €13bil (RM59.23bil) in back taxes in Ireland.