Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer
The launch of Windows 8 is the beginning of a new era for Microsoft, CEO Steve Ballmer said as the company reported first-quarter revenues of US$16bn, down from US$17.3bn last year. The company said the decline was due to deferral of revenues for Windows Upgrade Offer, Office Offer and Windows 8 pre-sales.
The Server & Tools business reported US$4.55bn in first-quarter revenue, an 8pc increase on last year. The Microsoft Business Division posted US$5.50bn in first-quarter revenue, a 2pc decrease.
Windows & Windows Live Division posted revenue of US$3.24bn, a 33pc decrease on last year.
Microsoft’s Online Services Division reported revenue of US$697m, a 9pc increase, while the Entertainment and Devices Division posted revenue of US$1.95bn, a decrease of 1pc on last year.
The software giant predicted that operating expenses for 2013 will be in the region of US$30bn.
“The launch of Windows 8 is the beginning of a new era at Microsoft,” said Ballmer.
“Investments we’ve made over a number of years are now coming together to create a future of exceptional devices and services, with tremendous opportunity for our customers, developers, and partners,” he added.
Summing up the excitement at the approaching launch of Windows 8 and Windows 8 RT, chief operating officer Kevin Turner said more than 1,000 hardware systems have been certified for Windows 8, “ranging from the smallest tablets and convertibles to touch-enabled ultrabooks and all-in-ones to the most powerful desktop computers.”
