Microsoft Sales Beat Projections on Nokia Acquisition But Profit Falls

Microsoft has reported higher than expected quarterly revenues primarily due to the acquisition of Nokia, but the company's profits declined on costs related to the acquisition and recently announced job cuts.

The acquisition of Nokia has boosted the company's revenues 25% to $23.2bn (€18.3bn, £14.5bn) in the three months to September, beating market expectations.

The company's increasingly important commercial cloud sales rose 12%, while sales of services based on its Azure cloud platform rose 121%.

The sales results come as a big relief for Microsoft investors, given the negative results from its peers such as Oracle, IMB, SAP, VMware and EMC. Microsoft shares rose 3% in after-hours trading.

However, the company's quarterly profit declined 13% to $4.5bn due to integrations and restructuring expenses of about $1.1bn.

In July, Microsoft said it was cutting 18,000 jobs primarily in the recently acquired Nokia business. Since the acquisition, the company has been trying to restructure the Nokia business.

It also announced that it would no longer use the Nokia name for its Lumia smartphone models and they would be sold as Microsoft-branded phones in the future.

"We are innovating faster, engaging more deeply across the industry, and putting our customers at the centre of everything we do, all of which positions Microsoft for future growth," said CEO Satya Nadella.

"Our teams are delivering on our core focus of reinventing productivity and creating platforms that empower every individual and organisation."

"We delivered a strong start to the year, with continued cloud momentum and meaningful progress across our device businesses," said Amy Hood, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Microsoft.

"We will continue to invest in high-growth opportunities and drive efficiencies across the organization to deliver long-term shareholder value."