国际英语新闻：Microsoft reports record drop in quarterly sales

SAN FRANCISCO, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Microsoft Corp. on Thursday posted a nearly 6-percent drop of sales in its third fiscal quarter, which missed analysts' expectations and also marked the first time the world's biggest software maker saw its quarterly revenue decline year over year.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer speaks during a news conference at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Feb. 16, 2009.

The company reported that in the quarter ended on March 31, its revenue fell to 13.65 billion U.S. dollars from 14.45 billion dollars in the same period a year earlier.

    Net income and earnings per share for the quarter were 2.98 billion dollars and 33 cents, down 32 percent and 30 percent respectively when compared with the year-ago quarter.

    Excluding costs related to the company's previously announced plan to cut 5,000 jobs and other charges, earnings per share in the quarter was 39 cents, which met analysts' estimates.

    Microsoft said the declines of sales and profit were results of continued weak computer market conditions during the quarter.

    The company noted that revenue in most of its business segments was negatively impacted by weakness in the global personal computer and server markets.

    "We expect the weakness to continue through at least the next quarter," Chris Liddell, chief financial officer of Microsoft, said in a statement.