Microsoft Q3 net income up 31 pct

8220;We delivered strong financial results despite a mixed PC environment,which demonstrates the strength and breadth of our businesses.

8220;Consumers are purchasing Office 2010,Xbox and Kinect at tremendous rates and businesses of all sizes are purchasing Microsoft platforms and applications,8221; Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein said.

The software major attributed its strong quarter earnings to robust revenue growth of its four divisions the Microsoft business division,server and tools; online services and the entertainment and devices unit.

The software giant8217;s largest unit 8212; the Microsoft business division,which includes Microsoft Office 8212; posted a 21 per cent rise in revenue.

Server and tools revenue grew 11 per cent year-over-year,the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. In addition,revenues from the online services unit rose 14 per cent year-over-year,primarily driven by increases in search revenue.

In addition,revenue from the entertainment and devices division surged by 60 per cent year-over-year,fuelled by Kinect for Xbox 360,continued strong Xbox 360 console sales and the growth of Xbox Live.

However,the company said sales of its Windows operating system fell 4 per cent vis-a-vis the year-ago quarter.

8220;We delivered strong third quarter revenue from our business customers,driven by outstanding performance from Windows Server,SQL database,SharePoint,Exchange,Lync and increasingly our cloud services,8221; Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner said.