Microsoft Corp has announced net income of $8.8 billion for the first fiscal quarter (Q1) ended September 30, marking a surge of 34 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year.

Revenue was $29.1 billion and increased 19 per cent, while operating income reached $10 billion reflecting an increase of 29 per cent.

Diluted earnings per share was $1.14 and increased 36 per cent.

“We are off to a great start in fiscal 2019, a result of our innovation and the trust customers are placing in us to power their digital transformation,” said Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft. “We’re excited to help our customers build the digital capability they need to thrive and grow, with a business model that is fundamentally aligned to their success.”

Microsoft returned $6.1 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases in the first quarter of fiscal year 2019, an increase of 27 per cent compared to the first quarter of fiscal year 2018.

"Our record results for Q1 reflect our commitment to long-term strategic investments and consistent execution to drive revenue growth and operating margin expansion,” said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft. “We see continued demand for our cloud offerings, reflected in our commercial cloud revenue of $8.5 billion, up 47 per cent year over year.”

Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $9.8 billion and increased 19 per cent (up 18 per cent in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

•    Office commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 17 per cent (up 16 per cent in constant currency) driven by Office 365 commercial revenue growth of 36 per cent (up 35 per cent in constant currency)

•    Office consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 16 per cent (up 17 per cent in constant currency) with continued growth in Office 365 consumer subscribers to 32.5 million

•    LinkedIn revenue increased 33 per cent (up 33 per cent in constant currency) with record levels of engagement highlighted by LinkedIn sessions growth of 34 per cent

•    Dynamics products and cloud services revenue increased 20 per cent (up 20 per cent in constant currency) driven by Dynamics 365 revenue growth of 51 per cent (up 49 per cent in constant currency)

Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $8.6 billion and increased 24 per cent (up 24 per cent in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

•    Server products and cloud services revenue increased 28 per cent (up 28 per cent in constant currency) driven by Azure revenue growth of 76 per cent (up 76 per cent in constant currency)

•    Enterprise Services revenue increased 6 per cent (up 6 per cent in constant currency)

Revenue in More Personal Computing was $10.7 billion and increased 15 per cent (up 15 per cent in constant currency), with the following business highlights:

•    Windows OEM revenue increased 3 per cent (up 3 per cent in constant currency) driven by OEM Pro revenue growth of 8 per cent

•    Windows commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 12 per cent (up 12 per cent in constant currency) driven by an increased volume of multi-year agreements

•    Gaming revenue increased 44 per cent (up 45 per cent in constant currency) with Xbox software and services revenue growth of 36 per cent (up 36 per cent in constant currency) mainly from third-party title strength

•    Search advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs increased 17 per cent (up 17 per cent in constant currency)

•    Surface revenue increased 14 per cent (up 14 per cent in constant currency)

Every quarter Microsoft delivers hundreds of products, either as new releases, services, or enhancements to current products and services. These releases are a result of significant research and development investments, made over multiple years, designed to help customers be more productive and secure and to deliver differentiated value across the cloud and the edge. – TradeArabia News Service