14 DAY TRIAL // Strong uptake for products such as Windows 7, Office 2010 and Kinect for Xbox 360 have catapulted Microsoft’s revenue for the second quarter of fiscal year 2011 to a total of $19.95 billion. The Redmond company reported operating income of $8.17 billion, as well as net income and diluted earnings per share of $6.63 billion and $0.77 per share respectively for the quarter ended December 31, 2010.
Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft emphasized that the massive success of the new natural user interface (NUI) sensor for Xbox consoles managed to breathe fresh life into the entire Entertainment & Devices Division.
Revenues and earnings per share for the division jumped by no less than 55%, with customers buying more Xbox 360 consoles along with Kinect, but also more Xbox Live subscriptions and Xbox games.
“We are enthusiastic about the consumer response to our holiday lineup of products, including the launch of Kinect. The 8 million units of Kinect sensors sold in just 60 days far exceeded our expectations,” Klein explained.
“The pace of business spending, combined with strong consumer demand, led to another quarter of operating margin expansion and solid earnings per share growth.”
But at the same time, Microsoft’s main cash cows have also enjoyed consistent market success, with adoption rates through the roof.
The software giant just announced that it has sold in excess of 300 million copies of Windows 7.
At the same time, sales of Office 2010 are more 50% ahead of Office 2007, when comparing the periods after each productivity suite’s launch, resulting in a revenue growth of 24% year-over-year for the Microsoft Business Division.
“Business demand for our productivity and infrastructure products and cloud solutions is strong. Office had a huge quarter, exceeding everyone’s expectations, and our roadmap for cloud productivity with Office 365 makes products like SharePoint, Exchange, Lync and Dynamics CRM even more attractive to our customers,” added Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft.
“Windows 7 continues to be the fastest-growing operating system in history, and our recent System on a Chip announcement demonstrates our commitment that Windows will have the power and flexibility to run everywhere and on every device.”