Software giant Microsoft reported revenues were up 6pc year-on year to US$14.5bn, driven by strong demand for its Windows 7 operating system which is now running on 10pc of PCs worldwide.
The company revealed that third-quarter profits were up 35pc year-on-year to US$4bn, while operating income was up 17pc to US$5.1bn.
The results include the deferral of US$305m of revenue relating to the Microsoft Office 2010 Technology Guarantee program. Adjusting for the revenue deferral, third-quarter revenue totalled US$14.81bn, an increase of 8pc year on year.
“Windows 7 continues to be a growth engine, but we also saw strong growth in other areas like Bing search, Xbox LIVE and our emerging cloud services,” said Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft.
“Our record third-quarter revenue along with continued rigour on cost management resulted in exceptional earnings per share (EPS) growth.”
Windows revenue was up 28pc, compared with the same quarter a year earlier, driven by strong demand for Windows 7.
More than 10pc of all PCs worldwide are running Windows 7 today, making Windows 7 by far the fastest-selling operating system in history.
“Business customers are beginning to refresh their desktops and the momentum of Windows 7 continues to be strong,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer.
“We are also seeing tremendous interest in our market-leading cloud services for business.”
By John Kennedy
Photo: Microsoft’s third-quarter profits were up 35pc year-on-year to US$4bn
