Microsoft Revenue Up

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday reported an 11 percent rise in revenue to $8.07 billion for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2003, compared with $7.25 billion in the same year-ago period.

Operating income for the fourth quarter slipped some 23 percent to $2.19 billion as a result of $796 million in charges, mostly related to the settlement of the AOL Time Warner lawsuit. That compared to operating income of $2.87 billion reported in the prior year period.

Net income for the quarter was up at $1.92 billion, including $533 million in after-tax settlement charges, compared to the previous years $1.53 billion, which included an $806 million after-tax charge for investment impairments.

Diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $0.18, including an after-tax charge of $0.05 associated with the legal settlements. The prior years diluted earnings per share were $0.14, including an after-tax investment impairment charge of $0.07.

Microsoft also announced a 13 percent rise in annual revenue to $32.19 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2003 from the $28.37 billion reported last year. Operating income was sharply up at $13.22 billion compared to $11.91 billion in the prior fiscal year, while net income for fiscal year 2003 was $9.99 billion and diluted earnings per share were $0.92, including after-tax charges for investment impairments of $0.07, charges related to legal settlements of $0.06, and a one-time tax benefit of $0.01.

For the previous year, net income and diluted earnings per share were $7.83 billion and $0.70, which included after-tax charges for investment impairments of $0.26, charges related to legal settlements of $0.04, and a gain on the sale of Expedia of $0.08.

“In fiscal year 2003, we reported double digit revenue growth in each of our businesses. In the fourth quarter, sales came in better than expected reflecting solid corporate and consumer demand for our products,” Microsofts chief financial officer John Connors said in a statement released Thursday.

Connors said that Microsofts server platforms showed revenue growth of 17 percent compared to the fourth quarter of last year, fueled by a 24 percent growth in revenue from in Windows Server and 34 percent growth in SQL Server revenue.

MSN reported 25 percent growth over the comparable quarter in the previous year, driven by a 48 percent rise in advertising revenue, while Home and Entertainment revenue grew 8 percent over the prior year on better-than-forecasted Xbox console sales, Connors said.

Microsoft will also now include equity compensation expenses in its financial statements, beginning the first quarter of fiscal year 2004.

For the first quarter, which will end September 30, 2003, Microsoft said it expects revenue to fall in the range of $7.9 billion and $8.1 billion, with operating income likely between $3.0 billion and $3.1 billion, including equity compensation expense of approximately $980 million.

Diluted earnings per share are expected to come in around $0.23, including after-tax equity compensation expense of approximately $0.06.

For the full fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, Microsoft officials said they expect revenue of $34.2 billion to $34.9 billion, operating income of $11.3 billion to $11.6 billion, which includes equity compensation expense of some $3.9 billion.

Diluted earnings per share are expected to be between $0.85 and $0.87, including after-tax equity compensation expense of approximately $0.24.