Microsoft reports record Q2 revenue

US software colossus Microsoft had record revenue of 11.84 billion dollars (US) for the financial quarter that ended December 31, 2005, the company reported on Thursday.

The figure represented Microsoft's best single-quarter revenue to date and was a nine percent increase over the same quarter a year earlier.

Earnings per share were 33 cents, as forecast, while net earnings were 3.65 billion dollars, according to the company.

A company statement blamed a two percent drop in operating income on missed sales targets for the new Xbox 360 as well as marketing and product development expenses associated with major product launches.

"The growth in our core businesses was healthy during the quarter, driven by strength in Server and Tools and the success of our Windows Client products in a robust PC market," Microsoft chief financial officer Chris Liddell said in a written statement.

"The quarter also marked the beginning of an important product cycle for Microsoft with the launches of Xbox 360, SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0, all of which were extremely successful and well received by our customers."