Cloud brings profit downpour for Microsoft as profits jump and share price climbs
Microsoft has bounced back into the black in the second quarter of the year with strong growth in its cloud-based products boosting earnings at the tech giant.
After reporting a $3.2bn (£2.44bn) loss in the same period last year, Microsoft raked in $3.1bn in profits during the three months to the end of June pushing shares up 3.5 per cent in after hours trading.
As tech companies increasingly move towards subscription, software and service sales rather than pure PCs and equipment, revenues at Microsoft's cloud division jumped seven per cent to $6.7bn – accounting for around one-third of money coming through the door at the firm.
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"The Microsoft cloud is seeing significant customer momentum and we're well position to reach new opportunities in the year ahead," chief executive Satya Nadella said today as he announced the results. Before heading up the entire group, Nadella was executive vice president of the firm's cloud business.
Both income and usage of Azure, the infrastructure part of the cloud division, doubled over the last 12 months, Microsoft said.
The tech goliath famed for producing PCs has made a big move into online services in recent years. Last month it signed off on a surprise $26bn takeover of social network LinkedIn – the largest ever acquisition in its 41-year history.