Microsoft Jan-Mar profit zooms 35 per cent

Software giant Microsoft on Friday posted a 35 per cent jump in profit at $4.1 billion in the quarter ended March 31, primarily driven by strong demand for its Windows 7 operating system.

The company recorded a revenue of $14.50 billion in the January-March quarter, a six per cent rise from the same period a year ago, Microsoft said.

“Windows 7 continues to be a growth engine, but we also saw strong growth in other areas like Bing search, Xbox Live and our emerging cloud services,” Microsoft chief financial officer Peter Klein said.

“Our record third-quarter revenue along with continued rigour on cost management resulted in exceptional EPS (earnings per share) growth,” he added.

Windows revenue was up 28 per cent, compared with the same quarter a year earlier, driven by strong demand for Windows 7.

“More than 10 per cent of all PCs worldwide are running Windows 7 today, making Windows 7 by far the fastest-selling operating system in the history,” the statement said.

In its outlook, Microsoft expects operating expense guidance of $26.1 billion to $26.3 billion for the full- year ending June 30, 2010.

Earlier this week, other technology giants — Yahoo and Apple — had also announced a rise in their profits.

Apple had a 90 per cent jump in net profit at $3.07 billion, while Yahoo saw a three-fold growth in net income at $310 million.