The world’s largest software maker reported a quarterly net loss of $492m, compared with a net income of $5.9bn in the same period last year.
Revenue for the three months to June rose by 4 per cent to $18.06bn.
The loss was largely due to a writedown of the value of its online advertising business and expected deferred revenues expected when users upgrade to its forthcoming Windows 8 operating system.
Microsoft wrote down the value of online advertising business Aquantive by $6.2bn, which has struggled to compete with rival Google, and has not brought in the profits Microsoft expected.
Apart from these exceptional items, the company reported record sales in the fourth quarter, up by 7 per cent on the previous year.
“Our enterprise business is firing on all cylinders and we couldn’t be more excited about the wave of innovation and new releases that position us well for the coming years,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer.
Shares rose 1.6 per cent after the figures were reported.
This article first appeared in economia.
