Microsoft expects financial hit from coronavirus spread
AFP, San Francisco
Microsoft on Wednesday lowered its revenue estimates for the current quarter, saying it will feel the impact of the coronavirus epidemic with lower sales of Windows software and Surface devices. The US tech giant became the latest global firm to warn of a financial hit from the global outbreak of the disease which has killed thousands worldwide.
Although we see strong Windows demand in line with our expectations, the supply chain is returning to normal operations at a slower pace than anticipated, Microsoft said in a statement.
As a result, Microsoft said that in the current fiscal quarter its revenues will fall short of earlier forecasts, with Windows and Surface more negatively impacted than previously anticipated.
Licensing Windows software to computer makers is a major source of revenue for Microsoft, meaning temporary closures or interruptions of production at factories run by partners can cobble its revenue.
Surface tablet manufacturing can be directly impeded by such precautions.
