Microsoft profit misses; books Surface charge

Microsoft Corp.’s foray into the tablet computer market resulted in a large write-down for the April-June quarter, and a poor reception for Windows 8 contributed to a drop in operating system software revenue.

The missteps in both strategic product lines, reported in quarterly results Thursday, disappointed Wall Street and shares plunged 6 per cent to US$33.30 in after-hours trading.

The write-down on the Surface RT tablet amounted to US$900 million. Even without it, Microsoft’s results would have fallen short of expectations.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1286008/microsoft-profit-misses-books-surface-charge