By Alex Scroxton
18 July 2008
Microsoft yesterday revealed
annual revenues of over $60bn and operating income of $22.4bn, up 18% and 21%
respectively, as it closed the books on a tumultuous year that saw the launch
of its flagship Server 2008 products, and the beginnings of a bitter takeover
battle with Yahoo.
Microsoft COO Kevin Turner was
quick to praise both the channel and his own sales and marketing teams, and
looked ahead to a positive performance.
”The outlook for fiscal year 2009 is positive given the breadth of our
impressive technology portfolio and the expanding collection of online services
we are bringing to market,” Turner said.
However, in spite of the
upbeat spin, Redmond
failed to impress investors after the year’s per-share earnings fell at the bottom
end of previous guidance, and fourth quarter earnings just missed Wall Street
predictions. Higher operating costs during the fourth quarter also impacted, as
Microsoft shares slipped by 6% in after-hours trading.
CFO Chris Liddell
acknowledged that performance in some areas had been less than stellar, noting
that in spite of excellent take up of Server 2008, the online business had
performed way below par.
