Microsoft reported its financial status for the last quarter, and according to the company, they earned record fourth quarter revenue of $18.06 billion. But even with all that dough, the company reported a net loss over the last three months of $492 million.
The loss was mainly a writedown due to a failed investment in advertisement company aQuantive, a firm that failed in comparison with Google's Adsense. So that's like a one-time thing. Still, this is the first loss Microsoft has reported in its history.
The Entertainment and Devices division of Microsoft, home of the Xbox, grew 20% in the quarter, “primarily reflecting the addition of Skype,” according to the company. The 360 has been the top-selling console on the market for 18 months running.
Microsoft's upcoming financial year will be pretty interesting. Windows 8 and the Surface tablet are scheduled to be released, and there are persistent rumors that the Xbox 720 (or whatever the next-gen Xbox is called) will be released in 2013 too, so perhaps Microsoft is looking forward to a very profitable year.
