Tech Shout!

Microsoft has disclosed the results of the fiscal third quarter, which display the Redmond- based company’s Xbox-centric Entertainment and Devices division posting a $315 million loss and sales slipping 21 percent to $929 million, as the overall company saw $4.93 billion in profits and $14.40 billion in sales.

The $315 million loss has dropped by 22 percent from last year’s $402 million, and came as the quarter saw $929 million in sales, down 21 percent over last year’s $1.18 billion.

Microsoft attributes the decline in sales to the drop in the sale of Xbox 360s. During the quarter, the company shipped a half million consoles, as compared to 1.7 in the third quarter of 2006, that being the first full quarter in which Xbox 360s became available.

Sales of Xbox and PC games went down by 44 percent over the company’s first three quarters to $393 million, which the company puts hand in hand with the decrease in console sales.

The reason behind the quarterly losses was the expenses related to the release of Microsoft’s Zune media player. In addition, expenses from a lengthening of the Xbox 360’s warranty period were the other reasons for the losses. In the initial nine months of Microsoft’s fiscal year, decreased losses were also chalked up to an overall increase in Xbox 360 sales and enhanced margins on the console.

Anticipating the full fiscal 2007 year, Microsoft maintained that it expects improved sales thanks to the increased availability of Xbox 360 over the year, as well as sales of its Zune.

Microsoft further added that it will be able to maintain profitability in EDD in fiscal 2008, which begins in July.