Microsoft targets Vista sales in line with PC growth
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Microsoft Corp. said on Wednesday it  expects to sell twice as many copies of its new Vista PC  operating system in its first year on sale compared with the  launch of its last major upgrade, Windows XP, in 2001.
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Strong sales of new and old products alike led Microsoft to its fastest first-quarter growth in eight years with the company reporting growth in all five business segments and both revenue and EPS (earnings per share) that beat analyst expectations.Revenue for the fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30 was up 27 percent at $13.76 billion compared to $10.81 billion a year ago, Microsoft said Thursday. Consensus estimates from Thomson First Call analysts were for the company to generate revenue of $12.57 billion. Microsoft&#39;s EPS for the quarter was $0.45, which also soundly beat Thomson First Call consensus estimate of $0.39. Net income for the quarter was $4.29 billion, a 23 percent increase over the $3.48 billion reported a year ago.At $5.92 billion, operating income for the quarter also had double-digit percentage growth: An increase of more than 25 percent over operating income reported for the same period last year of $4.47 billion.Microsoft&#39;s first quarter was buoyed by the highly anticipated launch of the Xbox 360 game Halo 3 on Sept. 25, just days before the quarter&#39;s close. In its first 24 hours on sale, the game brought in $170 million in sales; it became the fastest selling video game in history after being in the market for just a week and a half, according to the company.Strong performances from Microsoft&#39;s client, business, server and tools, and online divisions also contributed to revenue growth in the quarter. In particular, Microsoft said sales of its Windows Vista OS experienced double-digit growth through multi-year business contracts, and demand for Microsoft Office, Windows Server, and SQL Server was also high.Looking ahead, Microsoft said it expects to report revenue in the range of $15.6 billion to $16.1 billion for its second quarter, which ends Dec. 31. Operating income is expected to be in the range of $5.9 billion to $6.1 billion, while diluted EPS are expected to be between $0.44 to $0.46 for the second quarter, the company said.For its fiscal year 2008, Microsoft expects revenue in the range of $58.8 billion to $59.7 billion and operating income in the range of $23.3 billion to $23.7 billion. Diluted earnings per share are expected to be between $1.78 and $1.81 for the fiscal year, the company said.
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You mean someone's actually buying Vista? Microsoft made revenues of $13.76bn in the three months ended 30 September 2007, an increase of 27 per cent on the same period last year.â¦
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By Ken Dey, The Idaho Statesman, Boise  Jan. 31--The long-awaited Microsoft Vista operating system went on sale Tuesday to consumers nationwide.
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At his Sunday-evening CES keynote, Bill Gates announced that Microsoft has sold more than 100 million Vista licenses so far. The number requires some elucidation.
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US sales of computers carrying Microsoft's new operating system Vista soared in the week after it was launched, defying the expectations of analysts who gave Vista lackluster reviews.
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Microsoft Corp. is considering discounts or other promotions during the holidays to entice consumers to upgrade their PCs with Windows Vista, even though the new operating system isn't due to hit store shelves until January at the earliest.
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Microsoft posted solid growth in quarterly sales and profit on Thursday, buoyed by strong holiday sales of personal computers and video games.
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Microsoft Corp.  launched Windows Vista for businesses on Thursday and said that by the end of next year more than 200 million people would use the new version of its dominant operating system or new office software and server computer products.
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Microsoft released an interim build of Windows Vista to 100,000 Customer Preview Program participants that it said includes improvements to the upgrade and installation experience.
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The release of Microsoft Corp.'s   MSFT.O much-anticipated Windows Vista operating system will   drive $40 billion in economic activity and create 100,000 new   jobs in six European countries next year, a study said on   Thursday.
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Microsoft  said on Thursday it  was on track to launch its Windows Vista operating system in  Europe in January but again asked the European Commission to  detail concerns it may have with the system.
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Microsoft Corp.  announced on  Tuesday U.S. prices for Windows Vista, the long-awaited new  version of the operating system that sits on more than 90  percent of the world's personal computers.
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The release of Microsoft Corp.'s   much-anticipated Windows Vista operating system will  drive $40 billion in economic activity and create 100,000 new  jobs in six European countries next year, a study said on  Thursday.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft chief executive officer Steve Ballmer believes that sales forecasts for itsÂ new Vista operating systemÂ may be "overly aggressive." In a conference call Thursday with financial analysts Ballmer said lower selling prices, limited new corporate sales, and software piracy may combine to temper Vista sales forecasts. "I'm really excited about how enthusiastic everybody is about Vista," he said. "But people have to understand that some of the revenue forecasts I've seen out there for Windows Vista in fiscal year 2008 are overly aggressive." Microsoft's 2008 fiscal year begins this July 1. Ballmer did not provide specific sales numbers. Sales of Microsoft's Windows operating systems are driven by the growth in sales of personal computers (PCs), Ballmer explained. But PC sales growth tends to come more from the consumer market these days than the business market. Also, while Ballmer expects Vista to see greater sales growth in emerging markets such as in China, India, and Brazil, that growth will be on a smaller base than in developed countries. Also, those emerging markets are alsoÂ high-piracy markets. Even though Microsoft has added features to Vista to thwart piracy, it is still a problem in some countries, he said. And while Microsoft sold a lot of Vista upgrades to corporate customers, they have already been accounted for in previously signed contracts, so forecasts of additional corporate sales "may be a little more bullish" than is warranted, he said. Vista is the first totally new desktop operating system from Microsoft since the introduction of Windows XP in 2001. Vista has been much-delayed in coming to market as the company tried to avoid releasing a product with defects and security flaws that plagued previous Windows versions. Although Ballmer reported a strong early surge in Vista sales, which began for corporate customers in November 2006 and for consumers in late January, the surge may be limited to what's left of fiscal 2007 and "will not recur in fiscal year 2008."
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PC vendors are beefing up their IT service offerings to try to capitalize on Microsoft's launch of Windows Vista Enterprise.
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(InfoWorld) - PCs running Microsoft'sÂ new Windows Vista operating systemÂ got a cool response from consumers in Japan during their first month on sale, according to data published Tuesday. Sales of desktop and laptop computers from brand-name makers in February were 1.2 percent higher than the same month in 2006, said BCN. The company came up with its figure after analyzing point-of-sales system data from about 560 specialist PC and electronics shops that are part of 12 retail chains. The entire market was up 6 percent thanks to better demand for white-box PCs made by computer stores and for motherboards. The jump in the brand-market was smaller than expected by market watchers, who thought the launch of the long-awaited operating system on Jan. 30 would give the PC market more of a kick. Better sales had been expected in part because consumers had shown a lack of interest in new PCs in the months prior to Vista's launch. In October, sales were down 21 percent compared to the previous year. In November, they were 22 percent lower, in December 19 percent down and in January 14 percent below the same month in 2006. The little strength there was in the brand-name market came from increased sales of laptops, sales of which were up 9.3 percent on a unit basis for the month, said BCN. The desktop sector was down 13.8 percent on the year. Despite the apparently lackluster response from Japanese consumers, Microsoft and two major PC makers have in the last 24 hours given the Vista launch votes of confidence. "We're actually pretty happy with how the launch has gone so far," said Darren Huston, president and CEO of Microsoft's Japan unit, at a news conference on Monday. The same day Walt Mayo, corporate director of Dell Japan's home and business sales division, said in an interview that the Vista launch has been "good overall." On Tuesday Richard Walker, head of Hewlett Packard's consumer PC division, said sales of Vista PCs were "strong" in the global market. He didn't have any data specific to the Japanese market. "We're definitely ahead of our plan as far as Vista is concerned," he said. Among Vista sales demand for the premium versions has been greater than anticipated, said Microsoft's Huston. "That was actually a good, positive surprise for us," he said.