Microsoft ships 3.9 million Xbox Ones but makes less with Windows

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Microsoft shipped 3.9 million units of the new console in its last financial quarter when the Xbox One was introduced. Sales of the Surface tablets also rose sharply, compared to a quarter earlier.

The number of Xbox Ones delivered in the past quarter of 3.9 million is close to the Xbox 360: 3.5 million of that older console were also delivered in the last quarter, according to the quarterly figures from Microsoft. It concerns consoles that have been delivered to shops, so not concrete sales to customers. The figures refer to the three-month period ending with New Year’s Eve.

In addition, Microsoft’s revenue from the sale of Surface tablets has risen sharply, indicating that the number of tablets sold has increased. Microsoft earned EUR 653 million in the past quarter with the Surface tablets; a quarter earlier that was still 400 million dollars, or 292 million euros. In addition, Surface tablet sales in the quarter were higher than in Microsoft’s entire past financial year. In October, the new Surface tablets came out, the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2.

The sale of Windows licenses to manufacturers was slightly less successful; as a result, Microsoft received 3 percent less. According to Microsoft, this is due to the disappointing sales of desktops and laptops. However, revenue from the sale of business licenses to manufacturers increased by 12 percent. Revenues from the Windows Phone business also increased by 50 percent, due to increased license sales and increased revenue from patent licensing.

The number of increased licenses for Windows Phones is a surprise. Nokia, which sells nine out of ten Windows Phones, saw the number of copies sold decrease. This indicates that other manufacturers have purchased relatively more Windows Phone licenses. The only explanation is the release of the Huawei Ascend W2 smartphone, the only new Windows Phone not made by Nokia last quarter. The number of Office 365 customers also increased.

In total, Microsoft achieved a turnover of approximately 18 billion euros in the past quarter. A year earlier, that was still 16 billion euros. The profit amounted to around 5 billion euros; that is EUR 132 million more than the profit in the same period a year earlier.

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