Microsoft reported a 27.8 per cent increase in quarterly profit on Thursday, lifted by robust demand for its cloud computing services.
The company’s net income rose to $4.80 billion, or 61 cents per share, in the third quarter ended March 31st, from $3.76 billion, or 47 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue on an adjusted basis climbed 6 percent to $23.56 billion.
Under chief executive Satya Nadella, who took the helm in 2014, Microsoft has sharpened its focus on the fast-growing cloud computing unit to counter a prolonged slowdown in the PC market, which has weighed on demand for its Windows software.
Market leader
The company's flagship cloud computing platform, Azure, competes with Amazon. com 's Amazon Web Services, the market leader in cloud infrastructure.
Microsoft said LinkedIn, which it bought for about $26 billion, contributed $975 million in revenue in the quarter.
Microsoft’s shares had risen 9.9 per cent this year through Thursday, eclipsing the 7 per cent gain in the broader S&P 500.
– (Reuters)
