We're in the money...finally!

Boy, does Microsoft need some good news today!  As the monthly NPD (National Purchase Diary) numbers known and loved/loathed to millions across the internet as symbols of success/destruction/rejoicing have shown, June simply wasn't one for the Redmond company's fanbase to spill a few beers over.  But fear not, Xbox faithful, because a long-awaited record has finally snapped and after years of selflessly defending your love, one giant thorn in the foot of the entire Xbox line-up has been surgically removed; Holy Profits, Batman - The Xbox Division Is Profitable!

We've seen this happen in snippets, as Microsoft has reported the rare profitable quarter (usually surrounding a Halo launch), but now the company can lay claim to having their first-ever profitable YEAR for the maligned and very spongy Xbox Division.  Well, specifically the Entertainment Devices Division (which includes the Zune player) posted a whopping $1.575 billion revenue net for the most recent quarter, which soundly trumps the $1.154 billion posted this time last year.  Keep in mind that last year's ending quarter posted an astonishing loss of $1.223 billion for the company, mostly due to Microsoft's extensive warranty extension to deal with malfunctioning Xbox 360 units.  Red Ring of Death, anyone?

Concerning the financials of the Xbox 360 game console, revenues were up a solid $234 million (or 35%) over the same period last year.  The entire division  helped bring in a cool $8.140 billion, up from $6.069 billion over last year's totals.  Operating profits posted $426 million for the year, which compared with last year's $1.969 billion loss, certainly points to profitability to like-minded types.

More details and simply the sexiest financials ever to follow in Microsoft's recent press blurb.  If you're into that sort of thing, you might as well call in for pizza and a Coke - because you're Friday night is ON, baby.

REDMOND, Wash. — July 17, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced revenue of $15.84 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30, 2008, an 18% increase over the same period of the prior year. Operating income and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $5.68 billion and $0.46, representing growth of 42% and 48%, respectively, over the same period of the prior year.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, Microsoft announced revenue of $60.42 billion, an 18% increase over the prior year. Operating income and diluted earnings per share for the year were $22.49 billion and $1.87, representing yearly growth of 21% and 32%, respectively.

The growth rates for operating income and diluted earnings per share were impacted by a $1.1 billion charge in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2007 related to the expansion of the company’s Xbox 360 warranty coverage.

“Delivering $60 billion in annual revenue is an outstanding accomplishment and a testament to the powerful combination of great technology solutions and strong execution by our partners and global sales and marketing teams,” said Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. “The outlook for fiscal year 2009 is positive given the breadth of our impressive technology portfolio and the expanding collection of online services we are bringing to market.”

This fiscal year marked the launch of Microsoft’s flagship server products: Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008. Revenue growth was primarily driven by continued customer demand for all products, including Windows Vista, which has sold over 180 million licenses since launch, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, server software, and Xbox 360 consoles and games.

“We had a strong finish in the fourth quarter, which capped off an impressive year for the company. We grew revenue 18% for the year with earnings per share significantly outpacing that,” said Chris Liddell, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “Looking forward, despite difficult economic conditions, we will build upon the momentum exiting fiscal year 2008 and expect to deliver another year of double-digit revenue and earnings growth in fiscal year 2009.”