By Shira Ovide
Microsoft Corp.'s sales growth and profit continued to shift
into the slow lane as net income fell 12% in the quarter ended in
March.
Microsoft revenue rose 6.5% from a year earlier, thanks to the
inclusion of sales from Nokia Corp.'s mobile-phone business, which
Microsoft didn't own a year ago.
Microsoft in January cautioned its sales growth would slow
through the summer, as the company ran out of steam for what had
been enviable growth in sales of Windows, Office and other software
sold to businesses. The company's stock price, and Wall Street's
expectations for the company's financial results, have come down as
a result.
Overall for the fiscal third quarter ended March 31, Microsoft
reported net income of $4.985 billion, or 61 cents a share. That
was down from net income of $5.66 billion, or 68 cents a share, a
year earlier. The latest period included restructuring and
integration related charges of a penny a share. Higher expenses
than a year ago also dragged down profits.
Excluding some one-time items, Wall Street expected Microsoft to
post earnings of 53 cents a share, according to Capital IQ.
Revenue was $21.73 billion, compared with the average of Wall
Street analyst estimates for revenue of $21.06 billion, according
to Thomson Reuters.
Like other big U.S. companies with a significant portion of
sales abroad, Microsoft said the strong U.S. dollar would pare its
revenue growth rate.
Tess Stynes contributed to this article.
Write to Shira Ovide at shira.ovide@wsj.com
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