Microsoft shares dipped by nearly 5 percent in after-hours trading Thursday after the Redmond, Washington software giant said its third quarter profit dropped from a year ago as revenue rose slightly.
The company reported net income for its third fiscal quarter of $4.39 billion, or 47 cents per share, compared with a profit of $4.93 billion, or 50 cents per share, for the year-earlier period.
Microsoft , which has launched a hostile takeover bid for Yahoo, said its revenue rose 0.4 percent to $14.45 billion for the three-month period ended March 31.
Analysts had forecast a quarterly profit of 45 cents per share on sales of $14.5 billion.
Microsoft projected earnings per share in fiscal 2009 starting in July to be in a range of $2.13 to $2.19 per share, Reuters reported. The company predicted that revenue would fall between $66.9 billion and $68.0 billion in fiscal 2009.
Microsoft shares fell to $30.32 in after-hours trading Thursday, a decline of nearly 5 percent from their close of $31.80.