Redmond (Washington), July 18: Software titan Microsoft Corp. has said that its net profit soared 26.0 per cent in the April-June Quarter, driven by higher sales. Net profit in the three months climbed to $ 1.92 billion or 18 cents a share, from the year-ago profit of $ 1.53 billion or 14 cents a share in the three months, it said yesterday.

Sales surged 11.2 per cent to $ 8.1 billion in the period, which forms the last quarter of Microsoft's business year.

"In the fourth quarter, sales came in better than expected reflecting solid corporate and consumer demand for our products," Microsoft chief financial officer John Connors said in a statement.

"Going into the new year, we will continue to focus on providing better customer value, growing opportunities with small and medium businesses, increasing our enterprise penetration and improving performance in our emerging businesses."
Over the full 12 months to June 30, Microsoft said revenue rose 13.5 per cent to 32.19 billion dollars and net profit surged 27.6 per cent to $ 9.99 billion.

Looking ahead, Microsoft said for the July-September Quarter it expected sales of $ 7.9 billion to $ 8.1 billion, and operating income of $ 3.0 billion to $ 3.1 billion.
Bureau Report