Microsoft forecast a profitable end of the year on Tuesday thanks to rising revenues for its cloud computing services.
However, concerns are also growing about supply chain problems that have meant that the company has been unable to meet customer demand for certain products such as Surface laptops and Xbox game consoles.
Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing business, recorded a 48% growth rate in the first quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of 47.5%. Amy Hood, the company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the sector’s growth was possible because it continued to add more profitable services to these data centers despite higher construction costs for data centres.
She further clarified that although sales of games consoles and accessories increased by 166%, the company was unable to keep up with demand due to the global chip shortage and that it expects Xbox demand to continue to exceed supply in the second quarter, with sales of the company’s Surface computers continuing to fall in the second quarter.