Microsoft reports $8.2B in Q1 revenue, up 6% from last year

Computerworld - Microsoft Corp. today reported first-quarter 2004 revenue of $8.22 billion, up 6% from the $7.75 billion in revenue it booked in its first fiscal quarter last year.
In an announcement today after the close of financial markets in the U.S., the company said "robust consumer demand for PCs" as students returned to school was better than expected, while other divisions had similar successes.
Net income totaled $2.6 billion for the quarter, which ended Sept. 30, compared with $2.04 billion one year ago, according to the company.
John Connors, chief financial officer of Microsoft, said in a statement that "while corporate IT spending was slow to improve this quarter, we saw strength across all of our consumer businesses, driving higher-than-expected revenue for the company."
The company also pointed to growth in its server and tools software, which it said grew 15% from the year-ago quarter to $1.87 billion. Windows Server, Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange all experienced double-digit revenue growth, the company said, with that growth driven by customers acquiring high-end enterprise editions.
Microsoft also issued guidance for the second quarter ending Dec. 31, 2003, including revenue expected in the range of $9.7 billion to $9.8 billion. Operating income is expected to be between $3.2 billion and $3.3 billion, including equity compensation expense of approximately $1 billion. Diluted earnings are expected to be 23 to 24 cents per share.
For the full fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, the company said it expects revenue to total between $34.8 billion and $35.3 billion, with operating income of $11.4 billion to $11.7 billion, including equity compensation expense of approximately $4 billion.

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