Xbox 360 drives EDD profits up 50%

Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division – which amongst other things is home to the company’s Xbox operations – has enjoyed a surge in revenue and profit in the first quarter of 2011.

EDD posted revenues of $1.94bn, a rise of 60 per cent compared to calendar Q1 2010. Profits climbed 50 per cent to $225m.

2.7m Xbox 360s were sold in the period, bringing lifetime Xbox 360 sales close to 53m units. That’s up from the 1.5m sold a year before. It was a strong quarter for Kinect, too, whose 2.4m unit sales take it to around 10.5m units since launch.

"We delivered strong financial results despite a mixed PC environment, which demonstrates the strength and breadth of our businesses," CFO Peter Klein said. "Consumers are purchasing Office 2010, Xbox and Kinect at tremendous rates, and businesses of all sizes are purchasing Microsoft platforms and applications."

Microsoft predicts EDD revenue to climb 25 per cent in the next quarter.

Overall, Microsoft saw record revenues of $16.43bn, up 13 per cent year-on-year. Profits climbed 10 per cent to $5.7bn. Microsoft added that it has sold 350m Windows Phone 7 licenses.