The Hindu Business Line : Microsoft Q2 net income down, revenue surges

NEW YORK: Microsoft Corp has reported a marginal dip of 0.45 per cent in its net income to $6.63 billion in the October-December quarter of 2010 but the software giant’s revenues surged on sales of Office software and Kinect video game accessory.

The entity had a net income of $6.66 billion in the year-ago period, Microsoft said in a press statement.

The company has registered a record revenue of $19.95 billion during the second quarter ended December 31, 2010, against $19.02 billion in the year-ago period.

Microsoft’s record revenues were driven by 55 per cent growth in revenues from the entertainment and devices division as the success of the Kinect sensor boosted the sales of Xbox 360 consoles, Xbox Live subscriptions and Xbox games. The earnings were al so boosted by the sales of Office 2010.

Revenues from the software major’s business division grew 24 per cent year-on-year. Besides, Office 2010 is the fastest-selling consumer version of Office in history, with licence sales of over 50 per cent ahead of Office 2007 over an equivalent period f ollowing its launch.

“We are enthusiastic about the consumer response to our holiday line-up of products, including the launch of Kinect. The 8 million units of Kinect sensors sold in just 60 days far exceeded our expectations,” said the Microsoft Chief Financial Officer, Mr Peter Klein.

“The pace of business spending, combined with strong consumer demand, led to another quarter of operating margin expansion and solid earnings per share growth,” he added.

Revenues in the Windows division tanked 30 per cent to $5.05 billion, reflecting a slow growth in the personal computer sector. However, Microsoft had launched Windows 7 in the same quarter of 2009, which makes a difficult comparison in revenues front. — PTI

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