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Financial: New Windows helps Microsoft add $5bn to its cash mountain(Guardian (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Microsoft's cash hoard has grown by $5bn to $68bn in six months as the software group's latest results show its core Windows and Office products remain a must have for business customers. Revenues at the Windows division soared 24% in a year to $5.88bn, Microsoft revealed in its second quarter results yesterday. In contrast to Apple's failure to hit analyst targets the day before, Microsoft's numbers were in line with expectations. The arrival of Windows 8 in October contributed - the company said earlier this month it has sold 60m licences. But analysts pointed to the popularity of older versions, with millions of corporate customers rushing to upgrade to Windows 7 because Microsoft is ending support for Windows XP, which debuted in 2001. "There are a staggering number of machines still running Windows XP," said Bob O'Donnell at market research firm IDC. "The IT guys have to pull the plug on those and upgrade, and most will do that by buying new machines." Windows software remains a licence to print money for Microsoft, which now has $6bn of cash in the bank and $68bn in short-term investments. Revenues in the December quarter were up 3% to $21.5bn and profits down 3% to $7.8bn, both ahead of Wall Street forecasts. "Our big, bold ambition to reimagine Windows as well as launch Surface and Windows Phone 8 has sparked growing enthusiasm with our customers and unprecedented opportunity and creativity with our partners and developers," said chief executive Steve Ballmer. But he gave no update on sales of the Surface tablet, the device produced to show off the first version of Windows adapted for the touch screen. Morgan Stanley puts the number shipped at a modest 1.5m units. Nokia's full year results earlier yesterday shed more light on the progress of Windows Phone, the operating system it has adopted for its high-end Lumia handsets. The Finnish mobile phone maker reported an operating profit of euros 439m, ending six straight quarters of losses, as consumer demand for its smartphones revived and the decision to slash its workforce by 20,000 helped to conserve cash. The company has returned to growth, with net sales up 11% on the previous quarter to euros 8bn. But it has also broken with tradition by scrapping its dividend for the first time in more than a century in order to conserve cash. Captions: Microsoft manager Joe Belfiore uses an image of a Nokia Lumia phone to illustrate the Windows Phone 8 platform in operation Photograph: Susana Bates/EPA (c) 2013 Guardian Newspapers Limited. |