Investment Profits Double at Microsoft

Reporting flat profits from its operations, Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday said that accelerating adoption of its Windows 2000 operating system is helping its results for its fiscal first quarter.

“Results were solid across all businesses, led by accelerating deployments of Windows(R)(R) 2000 Professional in the business sector and Windows Me (Millennium Edition) in the consumer arena,” said John Connors, chief financial officer at Microsoft.

But surely results were also helped by a doubling of investment income in the latest quarter. In a quarter that ended Sept. 30, Windows ME didn’t ship until on Sept. 14.

The company recorded more than $1 billion worth of investment income, helping to pick up first quarter net income to $2.2 billion, or 40 cents a share — right around the year-ago levels. Revenue totaled $5.8 billion.

Other highlights from the quarter included updates of the company’s .NET Enterprise Server family for Web-based solutions, partnerships with Sprint PCS and RadioShack for its MSN service plans and a breakthrough in processing speed for its Windows 2000 Advanced Server.

“We are breaking new ground with the Windows 2000 platform and the .NET Enterprise Server family,” President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said. “Microsoft is creating end-to-end solutions for partners and customers to win in a changing industry, where business agility and the use of information technology to drive revenue and profit growth have become critical.”