Microsoft CFO Reaffirms Financial Outlook
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BOSTON (Reuters) - Software giant Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) Chief Financial Officer John Connors on Wednesday reaffirmed the company's financial guidance for the current fiscal year 2002, and the company said it still expects a boost from its new Windows XP (news - web sites) operating system in the fall.
Connors, speaking to investors at an SG Cowen Technology Conference in Boston, said the company's expectations remain as they were in mid-July, when Microsoft reported fourth-quarter 2001 results.
``We'd anticipated for fiscal year '02 that we would achieve revenue of between $28.8 (billion) and $29.6 billion and that our operating income would be up about 8 percent and that our earnings per share would come in the range of $1.91 to $1.95,'' he said.
``A key variable in our assumption is that PC shipment demand for the full fiscal year would come in at mid-single digit growth,'' he added.
Microsoft shares were trading higher in late afternoon, up $1.53, or nearly 3 percent, at $57.63 on the Nasdaq.
Connors also said that the first quarter of fiscal 2002 ending September will be as anticipated, or down from the year-earlier quarter. Analysts expect the company to bring in 40 cents a share during the first quarter, down from 46 cents a share in the year-ago period, according to Thomson Financial/First Call.
The company remains committed to the notion that the launch of its new operating system late next month will give a boost to demand for personal computers. Personal computers have had a year of stagnant growth as consumer demand has fallen off and the economy has slowed.
``In the second quarter we anticipate that PC shipments will pick up a bit with the launch of Windows XP on Oct. 25,'' he said. ``And that the second half of the year sees a modest improvement over the previous year.'' |
