Microsoft released the figures for the third quarter of its broken fiscal year yesterday. The numbers are good as usual: profits increased by 65 percent compared to the same quarter last year. Vista’s sales exceeded expectations.
In the quarter, Microsoft achieved revenue of $14.4 billion, an increase of 32 percent from the same quarter last year. This turnover generated a net profit of $4.93 billion. The release of Vista contributed significantly to the results; the client division – which includes the operating system – generated revenue of $5.27 billion. That is an increase of 67 percent compared to the previous year. Of this revenue, $1.67 billion was actually realized in an earlier quarter with the issuance of Vista upgrade coupons. For accounting reasons, the turnover could only be booked in this quarter.
Vista sales have exceeded company expectations by $300 million to $400 million, according to chief financial officer Chris Liddell. The company is therefore positive about the future and forecasts sales for the full year of approximately USD 50.8 billion. For fiscal 2008, the company is even more optimistic, with sales expected to be approximately $57 billion. The company’s shareholders benefited from the good numbers: Microsoft spent 7.72 billion in the past quarter on dividend payments and share buybacks.