Microsoft Q1 net income up 6% to $6 bn

Microsoft Corp has reported a 6% rise in its net income to $5.74 billion for the July-September 2011 quarter, mainly on the back of robust sales of its Office suite.

The world's largest software maker posted a record first- quarter revenue of $17.37 billion for the period ended September 30, 2011, up 7% from the year ago period.

"We saw customer demand across the breadth of our products, resulting in record first-quarter revenue," Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein said.

"Our product portfolio is performing well, and we have got an impressive pipeline of products and services that positions us well for future growth," he added.

During the quarter, sales of business software — the unit that include Office application — grew by 8% to $5.62 billion.

Revenue for the company's server and tools products, one of the main driver of enterprise networks and private clouds, climbed 10% to $4.25 billion.

Microsoft has been struggling with weak sales in its Window business, mainly due to lower demand of PCs. Its revenue from Windows sales rose by just 2% to $4.87 billion during the quarter under review.

Revenue from Microsoft’s productivity server offerings – including Lync, SharePoint, and Exchange – grew in double digits, while Dynamics business posted a growth of 17% in the quarter.

"With a great set of consumer products like Windows 7 PCs, Windows Phone 7.5, Xbox and Kinect, we are excited about the holiday buying season," the company's chief operating officer Kevin Turner said.