Microsoft has reported record first quarter sales, including
"healthy" sales of enterprise software, although it has warned of
the effects of the
developing global recession.
For the first quarter ended 30 September, Microsoft said sales
reached £8.85bn, which was a 9% increase on the same quarter last
year.
The operating profit and net profit was £3.52bn and £2.57bn
respectively, with operating margins falling from about 42% to
under 40%, partly as a result of increased research and development
spending and admin costs.
Microsoft said it enjoyed particular strength in multi-year
annuity sales, which grew more than 20% during the quarter from the
combined businesses of Client, Microsoft Business Division and
Server and Tools.
"Our customers are asking how they can save money and do more
with less," said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at
Microsoft. "Microsoft is uniquely positioned to help our customers
save money through supplier consolidation, increased productivity,
and a low total cost of ownership through the depth and breadth of
our product portfolio and solutions."
Microsoft continued to add to its product and services portfolio
during the quarter with offerings such as Microsoft SQL Server
2008, Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 and the first service update to
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.
"In a challenging economic environment, the first-quarter
results exhibit the strength and diversity of our business model,"
said
Chris Liddell, chief financial officer at Microsoft.
Microsoft said its business outlook "reflects a balance of risks
and the likelihood of a continued economic slowdown".
It said, "The trends seen late in the first-quarter are now
forecasted to continue, whereas previous expectations were for the
economy to improve in the second half of the fiscal year.
"In this economic environment, the company is focused on three
main actions working with customers to provide high value products
at the lowest total overall cost of ownership, increasing focus on
expense management, and targeting investment into the highest
priority strategic opportunities."