Microsoft profits up by a billion
Software goliath Microsoft has announced net profits for the fourth quarter of $2.7bn (€2.2bn), up from $1.6bn (€1.3bn) for the same time last year.
Sales revenue was up from $8.1bn (€6.6bn) to $9.3bn (€7.6bn). Despite the profits hike, the figures were slightly below market expectations.
For the quarter to the end of September this year, management said revenues of $8.9bn (€7.3bn) to $9bn (€7.4bn) were expected. For the full year to June 2005, revenue is expected to be in the range of $38.4bn (€31.4bn) to $38.8bn (€31.7bn).
"We had a great quarter with 15% revenue growth as all of our businesses met or exceeded our expectations and our progress on cost efficacy delivered higher operating margins overall,” said John Connors, chief financial officer at Microsoft.
"Fiscal 2004 was a banner year – revenue grew 14% on strong performances from each of our seven businesses, our emerging business operating margins improved, and we resolved a significant portion of our legal exposure."
Entering into the new fiscal year, Microsoft announced an intention to provide up to $75bn (€61bn) in value to shareholders over the next four years.
