Microsoft posted a quarterly profit within estimates but warned revenue growth would slow in the current quarter amid still-sluggish demand for personal computers.
The world's leading software maker said revenue for its first fiscal quarter ending September 30th would be between $6.0 billion and $6.2 billion, down by 6 to 9 per cent from the June quarter but up 3.5 to 7 per cent from a year earlier.
Diluted earnings per share would be between 39 cents and 40 cents, slightly down to flat from a year earlier, the Washington-based company predicted.
For the full fiscal year ending in June 2002, the software giant forecast revenues of between $28.8 billion and $29.5 billion, implying growth of between 14 per cent and 17 per cent.
Diluted earnings per share would come in at $1.91 to $1.95, up to 48 per cent more than the $1.32 for fiscal 2001.
But the lacklustre first-quarter outlook hit Microsoft shares after hours. The stock fell to $69.20, down nearly 5 per cent from the Nasdaq close of $72.57 and more than erasing gains made during normal trade.
The company's cautious guidance was due to continued weakness in global PC demand, which Microsoft expected to be flat in the current quarter and growing only in the mid-single digits for its whole fiscal year, Microsoft chief financial officer Mr John Connors said.
"Part of the PC sluggishness was due to the consumers delaying purchases until the release of Windows XP, an update to the operating system due to launch on October 25th," he said.