Whitegate Partners Microsoft Beats Forecasts.
Whitegate Partners - Microsoft posted better than expected revenue and met Wall Street's earnings forecast.
Online, November 30, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Whitegate Partners saw Microsoft, the largest software manufacturer in the world, post first quarter sales that beat analysts' predictions on the back of its Office and server based products, negating the poor demand for personal computers.
The software behemoth reported earnings of 68 cents per share, with income up 6 percent to $5.74 billion. Revenues jumped 7 percent to $17.37 billion.
Microsoft said that its Windows based revenue was up by less than 2 percent for the first quarter (which ended on 30th of September). This tracks the fact that personal computer sales grew by only three and a half percent worldwide in that quarter.
"There is some relief in the sector at these results, with the wider economic turmoil and the affect it has on the PC market", said a market researcher at Whitegate Partners, "But it is the first time that Windows sales have been weaker than expected."
The best news for Microsoft though was the news that its online services division (incorporating MSN and Bing) may be turning the corner. It lost $494 million in the first quarter, which is its lowest loss over the past two years, with Microsoft pumping more than $5 billion into the unit since they launched the Google competitor in 2009.
Microsoft also intends to tackle Apple and the threat it poses with it's iPad. Whitegate Partners has learned that it will be redesigning its latest Windows operating system with tablet devices in mind.
The best news for Microsoft though was the news that its online services division (incorporating MSN and Bing) may be turning the corner. It lost $494 million in the first quarter, which is its lowest loss over the past two years, with Microsoft pumping more than $5 billion into the unit since they launched the Google competitor in 2009.
The software behemoth reported earnings of 68 cents per share, with income up 6 percent to $5.74 billion. Revenues jumped 7 percent to $17.37 billion.