The takeover of Nokia’s smartphone
business and job cuts have made a significant dent in profit for Microsoft as
the software giant made $4.5bn (£2.8bn) in the three months to September, 13 per cent lower than the same time last year.
But the new Nokia business also boosted
revenues. They climbed 25 per cent to $23.2bn, beating expectations and sending shares
higher in after-hours trading.
In July Microsoft announced plans to cut
18,000 jobs, including 12,500 in the Nokia unit it bought in April.
Earlier this week, Microsoft said it
would no longer use the Nokia name, selling future Lumia smartphone models as
Microsoft-branded phones.
In a statement accompanying earnings,
Microsoft boss Satya Nadella said the company was being "positioned for
future growth and our teams are delivering on our core focus of reinventing
productivity and creating platforms that empower every individual and
organisation,".
Microsoft makes most of its money
selling software to companies. The results show a strong growth in its business
selling cloud computing to companies - an area Mr Nadella has cited as
important for the future of Microsoft.
But the business has continued to place
great importance on its consumer products like the Xbox games console, its Surface
range of tablet computers, and smartphones.
Stronger sales of
phones and tablets helped boost revenues, with total consumer revenue up 47 per cent.
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