• Corporate
• Markets
• Info-Tech
• Marketing
• Money & Banking
• Agri-Biz & Commodities
• Industry & Economy
• Logistics
• Government
• Opinion
• Corporate Results
• Columns
• States
• Web Extras
• Index

• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• Smartbuy

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

• Rates

• Ports

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Subscription

• Business Line

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp has said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 42 per cent, helped by strong sales of its Office and Windows software, but the company offered a soft outlook for the current quarter.

Earnings for the three months ended June 30, 2008 rose to $4.3 billion, or 46 cents per share, missing Wall Street's expectations by a penny per share. In the year-ago quarter, Microsoft reported earnings of $3.0 billion, or 31 cents per share. Revenue increased 18 per cent to nearly $15.8 billion from $13.4 billion last year, just ahead of Wall Street's average forecast of $15.7 billion, according to a Thomson Financial survey.

Despite the solid results, Microsoft offered guidance short of Wall Street's expectations for the current first quarter. The company said it expects to earn 47 cents to 48 cents per share on $14.7 billion to $14.9 billion in sales. Shares sank $1.52, or 5.5 per cent, to $26 in after-hours electronic trading.

Prev: Shipping Corporation Q1 results on July 26
Next: Wipro Q1 net up at Rs 907.80 cr

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line