new York 07 20, 2012, 03:00 IST
Microsoft Corp reported its first quarterly loss as a public company on Thursday as it took a previously announced hit for writing down the value of its ailing online unit and suffered stagnant sales of its flagship Windows operating system.
Excluding the multibillion-dollar write-down, which was signaled earlier this month, and factoring in some deferred Windows revenue, the world's largest software company actually exceeded Wall Street's expectations, boosting its shares slightly higher in post trade.
After several years of stumbling behind mobile and Internet trailblazers Apple Inc and Google Inc, and a decade-long static share price, some expectation is building that Microsoft can re-establish itself as a tech leader with its new, touch-friendly Windows 8 system, due out on October 26, and an accompanying tablet of its own design.
"Considering the macro backdrop, these numbers are very good," said Trip Chowdhry, an analyst at Global Equities Research. "There's a lot of anticipation for the next Microsoft products. They are regaining credibility with enterprises."
The company reported a net loss of $492 million, or 6 cents per share for its fiscal fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $5.87 billion, or 69 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
The loss was expected after Microsoft said earlier this month that it would take a $6.2 billion write-down for the value of its online unit after an ill-fated acquisition.
Microsoft has not suffered a quarterly loss since going public in 1986.
Sales rose 4 percent to $18 billion, dampened by slowing PC sales featuring its flagship Windows operating system. Global PC sales, which have been stagnant for the last two years, fell 0.1 percent last quarter, according to tech research firms Gartner and IDC.
Microsoft deferred $540 million of Windows revenue in the quarter due to an upgrade discount it is offering customers who buy machines running Windows 7 before the launch of Windows 8 in October.
Excluding the write-down, but factoring in that deferred revenue, Microsoft said it earned 67 cents per share in the quarter.
On that basis, Wall Street expected profit of 62 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Quarterly sales were slightly below analysts' average forecast of $18.1 billion.
Microsoft's shares rose 1.7 percent in post-market trading after closing at $30.67 on Nasdaq.
The stock is up 10 percent so far this year, compared to a 14 percent gain in the tech-heavy Nasdaq. But it has remained locked around the $30 level, which it has not exceeded for any prolonged period since the tech stock boom 12 years ago.
