NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Microsoft Corp. Thursday reported a better-than-expected increase in sales of 11 percent for the latest quarter but profits that came in a shade lower than Wall Street expected.
The world's largest software maker said its net income rose to $1.9 billion, or 18 cents a share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, up 26 percent from $1.5 billion a year ago. This year's figure included a charge of 5 cents a share for legal settlements. Excluding that charge, Microsoft earned 23 cents a share, a penny below the First Call consensus estimate of 24 cents.
Microsoft posted sales of $8.1 billion, up from $7.3 billion a year ago and ahead of analysts' estimates of $7.9 billion.
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) fell 83 cents, or 3 percent, to $26.69 in regular trading but recovered in after-hours trading, gaining nearly 2 percent to $27.20, according to Island ECN.
It appears that investors didn't seem to mind the lower-than-expected earnings for the quarter due to the revenue surprise. What's more, Microsoft raised its sales guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2004 and for the entire year.
Microsoft said it expects sales to be between $7.9 billion and $8.1 billion for the quarter ending in September. Analysts were predicting revenue of $7.9 billion. For the full year, Microsoft said that sales should be in the range of $34.2 billion to $34.9 billion, well ahead of the consensus forecast of $33.9 billion.
"The revenue numbers looked really impressive. There were concerns out there about how Microsoft would grow the top line," said Wendell Perkins, manager of the JohnsonFamily Large Cap Value fund. Microsoft accounts for more than 2 percent of the fund's assets.
The company also gave some more information about how much its ballyhooed elimination of options would impact earnings. Starting in September, Microsoft will give out restricted stock instead of options to employees. Stock grants, unlike options, must be included on the income statement as a compensation expense.
Microsoft said that for the first quarter, earnings should come in at about 23 cents a share, but that includes a charge of 6 cents per share to reflect compensation expenses. Backing that out, it appears that Microsoft is calling for earnings of 29 cents a share, which is ahead of the First Call estimate of 25 cents.
And for the full year, the company said that earnings should be between 85 cents and 87 cents a shares, including a charge of 24 cents per share for the new stock grant program. Excluding that charge, Microsoft would earn between $1.09 and $1.11 a share, higher than the current consensus of $1.07.
O Clubeinvest.com informa que nenhuma da informação
aqui facultada deverá ser entendida como conselho ou recomendação
de qualquer tipo de transacção ou investimento.
