Microsoft hit by first ever sales drop (in 23 years)
24 Apr 2009
Microsoft has reported its first ever year-on-year drop in sales as the
decline in the global PC market hit the world’s largest software supplier.
The company announced third quarter revenue of $13.65bn (£9.3bn), six percent down on the same period last year. Net income of $2.98bn (£2.03bn) was down 32 per cent. In its previous financial quarter, Microsoft announced 5,000 job cuts, which resulted in $290m (£198m) spent on employee severance charges in the subsequent three months.
The supplier said that sales in its Client, Microsoft Business Division, and Server & Tools divisions were most affected by the weakness in the global PC and server markets, although revenue from corporate customers remained stable.
“With our continued R&D investment and our broad suite of products and services, we remain in a great position to compete and gain share in the marketplace,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft.
Chris Liddell, chief financial officer at Microsoft, added: “While market conditions remained weak during the quarter, I was pleased with the organisation’s ability to offset revenue pressures with the swift implementation of cost-savings initiatives. We expect the weakness to continue through at least the next quarter.”
Source: Microsoft hit by first ever sales drop
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