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Microsoft reports 11 percent rise in last quarter profits

"Surpassing US$50 billion in annual sales is a testament to the innovation and value that our product groups delivered into the marketplace."

Kevin Turner, Microsoft chief operating officer

Microsoft said on Thursday its profit for the past quarter rose 11 percent from a year ago to US$3.03 billion, boosted by the new Windows Vista operating system and the new Office software suite.

The world's biggest software company, which closed out its fourth fiscal quarter, said profits were dented by a reserve to repair or replace flawed Xbox gaming consoles, subtracting US$749 million from net profit.

Revenues for the three months to June 30 increased 13 percent to US$13.37 billion.

The increase was fueled by the introduction earlier this year of Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office software package for word processing and other functions.

Excluding special items, the profit amounted to US$0.39 per share, in line with Wall Street forecasts.

For the full fiscal year, Microsoft posted a net profit of US$14.06 billion on revenues of US$51.1 billion.

"Surpassing US$50 billion in annual sales is a testament to the innovation and value that our product groups delivered into the marketplace, as well as the outstanding execution by our field sales, marketing teams and partners to bring that value to life with our customers," Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner said.

"Our results this quarter cap off an extremely strong fiscal year for the company," said Chris Liddell, the company's chief financial officer.

Microsoft's forward guidance was roughly in line with earlier forecasts, including a per share profit of US$0.38 to US$0.40 for the first fiscal quarter.
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