WASHINGTON – Microsoft yesterday said profits rose sharply in the past quarter amid strong momentum in cloud services for businesses amid the extended Covid-19 pandemic.
Profits in the three months to March 31 jumped 44% from the same period a year ago to US$15.5 billion (RM63.58 billion), while revenues increased 19% to US$41.7 billion.
The results showed ongoing momentum for Microsoft as it focuses on services for enterprises in the internet cloud, which has become even more critical during the global health crisis of the past year.
“Over a year into the pandemic, digital adoption curves aren’t slowing down. They’re accelerating, and it’s just the beginning,” said chief executive Satya Nadella.
“We are building the cloud for the next decade, expanding our addressable market, and innovating across every layer of the tech stack to help our customers be resilient and transform.”
Microsoft said commercial cloud revenue was up 33% in its fiscal third quarter as part of the growing trend.
It reported strong gains in its Office suite of products, and a more modest increase in similar software and services for consumers.
Microsoft saw gains across a range of products and services, including its Xbox gaming content and services (revenue up by 34%), search advertising (17%), the LinkedIn professional social network (25%), and its Surface line of computing products (12%).
The surging market for personal computers helped drive revenue for the Windows operating system up 10% year-on-year, with a similar increase in Windows commercial products and cloud services.
The results come with Big Tech firms facing growing scrutiny for dominating key economic sectors, while seeing their influence and profits rise during the pandemic.
Shares in Microsoft, whose market value has approached US$2 trillion in recent days, dipped about 3% in after-hours trade following the results.
Dan Ives at Wedbush Securities said the results showed “strong numbers that will be another feather in the cap for Microsoft”, and pointed to “the stock selling off after hours in knee-jerk fashion as (Wall) Street was hoping for a bigger top-line beat”.
He added: “This cloud shift and WFH (work from home) dynamic looks here to stay, and the company stands to be a major beneficiary of this trend.” – AFP, April 28, 2021
