Microsoft results ahead of expectations

Microsoft’s fared better than analysts anticipated in its latest quarter, boosted by a surprising rise in sales of its Windows operating system for personal computers.

The fiscal third-quarter performance comes as investors look forward to the release of Windows 8 later this year.

The next version marks the most radical overhaul of the widely-used operating system in decades.

Microsoft earned $5.1bn (€3.88bn), or 60 cents per share, during the three months ending in March.

That was down from net income of $5.2bn (€3.96bn), or 61 cents per share, a year ago.

Last year’s results were boosted by a $461m (€351.3m).

Revenue rose 6% from last year to $17.4bn (€13.25bn).

Analysts had anticipated earnings of 58 cents per share on revenue of 17.2bn (€13.1bn), according to a FactSet survey.

“We’re driving toward exciting launches across the entire company, while delivering strong financial results,” said Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.