REDMOND, Wash.-Microsoft Corp.’s Mobile & Embedded Devices business-which houses the company’s smart phone efforts-posted its first-ever quarterly operating profit, helping the software giant meet Wall Street earnings expectations for the fiscal second quarter.
The company reported $93 million in revenue from its mobile business during the recent quarter, up 40 percent from the year-ago period. The mobile division netted $15 million during the period compared with an $11 million loss in the previous year. The number of Windows Mobile licenses increased more than 70 percent from the prior year, Microsoft said.
The growth in part boosted Microsoft’s companywide revenue to $11.84 billion, up 9 percent from the previous year. Microsoft reported net quarterly income of $3.65 billion, or 34 cents per share, up 5 percent from the year prior.
Microsoft said it expects revenue from the business to grow more than 30 percent on the fiscal year and 35 percent during the current quarter, due largely to new devices running the company’s Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system.
Microsoft Business Solutions also posted its first quarterly profit. The company raised projections slightly for the current fiscal year, which ends in June, forecasting annual revenue of $44 billion to $44.5 billion.
Shares of the developer surged on the earnings and revised outlook, jumping $1.10, or 4 percent, to $27.60 in mid-day trading on the Nasdaq.
