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Microsoft Corp Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein is leaving at the end of June after 3-1/2 years in the post, as the world's biggest software company struggles with sharply declining personal computer sales and a lukewarm reception for the new Windows 8 operating system.
The 11-year Microsoft veteran becomes the latest in a line of top-level executives to leave the company, following Windows head Steven Sinofsky last November. Some have questioned whether Chief Executive Steve Ballmer is still the right leader for Microsoft, whose shares have remained essentially flat for the last decade.
Microsoft said a new CFO would be named in the next few weeks from within its ranks.
“The CFO departure is a little bit troubling,” said Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities. “We've had a lot of executives leaving Microsoft recently. This also makes a departure by Steve Ballmer less likely. It would be very unusual to have a CEO leave soon after a CFO departure.”
Microsoft shares rose 1.5 per cent in after-hours trading after the company posted an 18 per cent climb in revenue and earnings well ahead of Wall Street expectations — a seemingly strong performance for a quarter with the worst decline in PC sales on record.
But excluding revenue “deferred” from previous quarters, the flagship Windows unit showed zero growth, disappointing investors hoping for a stronger showing from the new Windows 8 system.
High hopes
Many in the industry had hoped the arrival of Microsoft's touch-friendly Windows 8 software might give the shrinking PC market a shot in the arm. But industry analysts have since noted that the unfamiliarity of the “tile”-based interface and the paucity of competitive-priced gadgets turned off consumers.
