Reporting its earnings for the January-March quarter on Thursday, Microsoft revealed that almost all its businesses, other than its Entertainment & Devices division, witnessed an increase in revenue during the quarter, even though the profit figures dropped marginally.

According to Microsoft's filing of the results for the quarter, which is the company's 2011 fiscal third quarter, there was a 6 percent increase in the company's revenue to $17.41 billion; although its quarterly net income plunged to $5.11 billion, or $0.60 a share, from the same quarter last year figures of $5.23 billion, or $0.61 a share.

Noting that the company's 2011 third-quarter profit was buoyed by a one-time tax benefit of $461 million, or $0.05 a share, pertaining to a tax settlement with the U. S. government, Microsoft said that its earnings beat the consensus projections of Thomas Reuters-polled financial analysts who had expected the company to report $0.58 earnings a share, on a revenue of $17.18 billion.

With Microsoft's Windows 7 business PC sales having increased 8 percent during the quarter, while its consumer PC sales plummeted 6 percent, and its Entertainment and Devices Division - which chiefly comprises Xbox, Xbox Live and Windows Phone - reported a $220 million loss, Bill Koefoed - Microsoft's general manager of Investor Relations - said that the company's fortunes were largely being driven by corporate spending.

Revealing that Microsoft's "multi-year licensing as a percentage of our total revenue grew to approximately 40 percent," Koefoed said: "Businesses continue to make long-term investments in the Microsoft platform."