Net income for the quarter was $1.28 billion including a $1.24 billion after-tax charge related to the impairment of certain publicly traded and private equity securities, predominantly in the cable and telecommunications industries. This charge is reflected in the $980 million investment loss reported this quarter. Diluted earnings per share for the September 2001 quarter were $0.23, including a $0.20 charge for net recognized investment losses which includes the impairment charge noted above.
We reported solid revenue and operating results this quarter, fueled by strong customer demand for our Windows 2000 and .NET Enterprise Server families, and our cost-control efforts, said John Connors, chief financial officer at Microsoft. While we are looking forward to the upcoming launches of Windows XP, Xbox(TM) and MSN 7, we also recognize that this is a period of unprecedented global uncertainty that could have an impact on the economy and our business.
The Windows 2000 Server family had a stellar quarter, with sales growth of over 20 percent. We were especially thrilled to see strong customer demand for Windows 2000 Advanced Server, which sold twice as many units as it did the previous year. These products are a rock-solid foundation for the entire .NET Enterprise Server lineup, said Brian Valentine, senior vice president for the Windows division at Microsoft. These results demonstrate our customers’ enthusiasm for the quality, value and performance offered in our enterprise-ready products and solutions.
The .NET Enterprise Server family of products also turned in an outstanding quarter with growth exceeding 30 percent, led by the continuing strength of SQL Server 2000 and Exchange 2000 Server. During the quarter, SQL Server 2000 was named Best Overall Database in this year’s VARBusiness Annual Report Card and was deployed by customers such as Pennzoil, Nestlé and Marathon Oil. Exchange Server is the market-leading messaging and collaboration product and boasts over 94 million users. During the quarter, Microsoft also launched Content Management Server 2001, which enables companies to quickly and efficiently build, deploy and maintain highly dynamic Internet, intranet and extranet web sites.
Microsoft is set to deliver two highly anticipated products to customers during the coming quarter. On Oct. 25, Microsoft will launch Windows XP at events to be held in New York City and more than 60 other cities. Windows XP extends the personal computing experience by uniting PCs, devices and services, and brings the solid foundation of Windows 2000 to home PC users, enhancing reliability, security and performance.
SOURCE: COMPANY PRESS RELEASE
