Microsoft’s marketing lifts sales

Microsoft says that an increase in marketing activity for its Xbox 360 console helped lift group revenue 8% in the latest quarter.

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Xbox 360 Jump In campaign

The company registered $17.3bn (£10.6bn) in revenue for the three months to 30 June. Net profit rose to $5.9bn (£3.6bn).

Gains in the entertainment and devices division – which houses Kinect, Xbox Live and Windows Phone as well as the Xbox 360 – drove the increase, the company says, with revenue up 30% in the quarter.

Sales of the latest version of Microsoft Office, the “fastest selling ever” with 100 million sold, also boosted the company’s total income, with revenue from the business division that manages the software up 7%.

Its online services division, which includes search engine Bing, reported a 17% bump in the quarter, driven by increases in search revenue.

Gains in the business and entertainment business helped offset a drop in revenue from its Windows business, down 1%, as consumers swapped PCs for tablet devices.

The company marketed its products heavily in the period with global activity for Office, Xbox 360 and Kinect. Sales and marketing expenses increased 9% to $3.9bn (£2.4bn).

Microsoft’s performance in the fourth quarter helped lift full-year revenue by 12% to $70bn (£43bn), while net profit increased 23% to $23.15bn (£14.1bn).

Sales and marketing spend for the full-year was up 5% to $14bn (£8.6bn).

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