Microsoft has reported quarterly profits of $4.52bn (£2.96bn), saying that sales of Windows 7 and Xbox Live subscriptions helped the software giant boost its gargantuan income.
Peter Klein, Microsoft's chief financial officer, was heard to remark, "The revenue growth, combined with our ongoing cost discipline, helped us achieve another quarter of margin expansion."
We're not sure what those words mean, but this is smashing news for the peeps in Redmond, who recently lost a huge chunk of change when they had to abandon the Kin mobile phones on account of minuscule sales.
Microsoft made a mahoosive $16.04bn in revenue, and also credited strong sales from Bing. Windows 7, however, is the flowery centrepiece on Microsoft's table, and has apparently shifted more than 175 million licenses to date. Very tidy.
Microsoft has managed to stay just ahead of Apple in the profit race -- the iPhone-churning Cupertino company reported a net profit of $3.25bn (that's £2.1bn in real money).
With its gaming range bolstered with the new Xbox 360 Slim and Kinect motion controller, and Windows Phone 7 hitting the mobile industry later in the year, this could be a monster year for everyone's favourite mega-corporation. Stay tuned...
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sinaplenty 23 July, 2010 14:28
"just ahead of Apple"?? Microsoft profits are nearly 40% higher than Apple's, and that's before Apple start writing off millions of £30 bumpers. I reckon the bods at FT aren't too intimidated by your financial analysis just yet...
Anonymous 23 July, 2010 18:06
Just ahead!!! I woudnt say 0.86 billion was only just ahead, that would be 2.4billion anually!
Anonymous 25 July, 2010 12:43
"Was heard to remark"?! What, you casually overheard his remark as he read it from a script into to a microphone in a room of journalists?
KateLowe 26 July, 2010 10:56
With so much competition on the market and after receiving mixed reviews of Windows Phone 7 prior to its release, it is good to see that Microsoft is continuing to prosper in the face of adversity. With rivals such as Apple on the market, people tend to overlook Microsoft’s outstanding achievements such as Microsoft's PowerPoint and Word software that has changed the world of business nationally and internationally.
Kate Lowe, www.article10.com