Microsoft Posts First Loss as Public Company

Microsoft, the world's largest software company, has reported its first quarterly loss as a public company as it took a previously announced hit for writing down the value of its ailing online unit.
The Redmond, Washington-based company reported a net loss of $492m on Thursday, or 6 cents per share, for its fiscal fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $5.87bn, or 69 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding the multibillion-dollar write-down, which was signalled earlier this month, and factoring in some deferred Windows revenue, the company actually exceeded Wall Street's expectations, boosting its shares in after-market trading.

"It looks good, given the dicey economic environment and the weakness we already know about in PCs," Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, said.

Source: Aljazeera.com