GeneralMicrosoft Sees Stronger XP Sales in FY08

Microsoft said that it expects Windows XP to make up a significantly larger part of sales in the coming year.

Recommend this story? Yes No Please Wait... Microsoft Corp. Thursday said that it expects Windows XP, the operating system supposedly made moot by Windows Vista, to make up a significantly larger part of sales in the coming year.During a conference call with analysts following the earnings results release Thursday afternoon, Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said the company has changed its fiscal year 2008 forecast from an 85/15 split in sales between Vista and XP to a 78/22 split. Windows XP sales will, in other words, be nearly 50 percent higher in the next 12 months than Microsoft had estimated earlier."We fine-tuned the Vista/XP mix for next year" during the company's usual budgeting last month, said Liddell. "We changed it from 85 percent to 78 percent. Now, it's a lower number [for Vista], but it's still a very high number overall from our perspective, so 78 percent Vista mix in terms of sales next year."According to Liddell, Microsoft will generate the same revenue, more or less, under the new Vista vs. XP numbers, although there might be some slight differences because Vista sales have tended to involve more of the higher-priced versions, dubbed premium by the company, than has XP. The financial forecast didn't spell out that directly, however. The only clue was a US$120 million difference in what Microsoft pegged as the "undelivered elements" it assigned to unearned income for the coming year."Undelivered... [ Read more on www.pcworld.com ]

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