Rekordergebnis für Microsoft

Results in the prior year were impacted by the deferral of $1.64 billion of revenue and operating income and $0.11 of diluted earnings per share from the second to the third quarter of fiscal 2007, due primarily to technology guarantee programs. Without these deferrals, second quarter growth rates for revenue, operating income and earnings per share would be 15%, 27% and 32%, respectively.

“Revenue of over $16 billion this quarter exceeds our previous record by $2 billion,” said Chris Liddell, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “We are extremely pleased by the broad based strength of our business performance and field execution. Throughout the first half of our fiscal year, all of our businesses met or beat our expectations.”

Since Windows Vista became generally available one year ago, Microsoft’s Client business has grown over 20% on average and sales of Windows Vista have surpassed 100 million licenses.

“We are pleased with the progress of Windows Vista in the market. We’ve hit our stride with partners and customers and are looking forward to the release of our first service pack later this quarter,” said Kevin Johnson, president of the Platforms and Services Division at Microsoft.

Sales to business customers remained brisk in the quarter with Microsoft Business Division and the Server and Tools business each experiencing double-digit revenue growth rates over the prior year and together increased revenue over $1 billion versus the comparable quarter last year. Microsoft Business Division generated 23% business revenue growth driven by the versions of Microsoft Office, Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Exchange that were launched last November.

“We are in the midst of another strong year with great momentum heading into calendar year 2008,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. “We continue to see healthy demand from both businesses and consumers in the United States and our growth in emerging markets is especially strong. Looking across Brazil, Russia, India and China, our field revenue reached a combined growth rate over 65% this quarter. As we look ahead, our Windows Server 2008 launch, with our virtualization solution, will further our quest to bring exceptional value to our customers.”

Microsoft rolled out new consumer focused offerings during the quarter such as Windows Home Server, new versions of the Zune media player and the next generation of Windows Live Online Services. Exiting the calendar year, the life to date sales of Xbox 360 consoles reached 17.7 million units, representing a 70% increase from the prior year.

Business Outlook

Microsoft management offers the following guidance for the quarter ending March 31, 2008: • Revenue is expected to be in the range of $14.3 billion to $14.6 billion. • Operating income is expected to be in the range of $5.6 billion to $5.7 billion. • Diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $0.43 to $0.45.

Management offers the following guidance for the full fiscal year ending June 30, 2008: • Revenue is expected to be in the range of $59.9 billion to $60.5 billion. • Operating income is expected to be in the range of $24.2 billion to $24.4 billion. • Diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $1.85 to $1.88.

Webcast Details

Microsoft will hold an audio webcast at 2:30 p.m. PST (5:30 p.m. EST) today with Chris Liddell, senior vice president and chief financial officer, Frank Brod, corporate vice president and chief accounting officer, and Colleen Healy, general manager of Investor Relations, to discuss details of the company’s performance for the quarter and certain forward-looking information. The session may be accessed at http://www.microsoft.com/msft. The webcast will be available for replay through the close of business on January 26, 2009.

Microsoft Corporation

This information has been provided to aid readers of the financial statements in further understanding the company's financial performance and the impact that certain items and events had on the financial results may not be indicative of trends affecting the company's business. For comparability of reporting, management considers this information in conjunction with GAAP amounts in evaluating business performance. The non- GAAP financial measures provided above should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

--- ENDE Pressemitteilung Rekordergebnis für Microsoft ---

Microsoft wurde 1975 von Bill Gates, heutiger Chief Software Architect, und Paul G. Allen gegründet. Der Hauptsitz befindet sich in Redmond, Washington. Was mit einer Handvoll Enthusiasten begann, ist heute eines der grössten börsennotierten Unternehmen. In der Schweiz ist Microsoft seit 1989 präsent. Heute beschäftigt Microsoft in Bern, Genf und Zürich über 1'000 Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter.

Als weltweit führender Softwarehersteller bietet Microsoft eine umfangreiche Palette von Produkten und Dienstleistungen für Computer und andere digitale Geräte jeglicher Grösse und Form an. Das Angebot umfasst die Betriebssysteme der Windows-Familie für PCs und Server, Server-Anwendungen wie BackOffice und SQL Server, Werkzeuge wie Visual Basic für die Anwendungsentwicklung sowie Anwendungsprogramme wie Office für den privaten und geschäftlichen Einsatz, Spiele, und interaktive Medienprogramme.

Microsoft betreibt in der Schweiz eigene Rechenzentren, so dass Kunden ihre Daten sicher in der Microsoft Cloud speichern können. In enger Zusammenarbeit mit der ETH Zürich und der EPFL betreibt Microsoft Forschung und Entwicklung im eigenen Mixed Reality & AI Lab sowie im Swiss Joint Research Center. Im Jahr 2022 eröffnete Microsoft Schweiz zudem sein Microsoft Technology Center im neuen Hauptsitz im Circle am Flughafen Zürich. Dieser neu geschaffene Raum bietet immersive Branchenerfahrungen und tiefgreifendes technisches Engagement mit Fokus auf Geschäftsergebnisse für Kunden.

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