Microsoft has boosted its Australian headcount for the second year in a row, new documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission have revealed.
(Credit: Microsoft)
The company's Australian division last week filed its local financial results with ASIC for the year to 30 June 2008, revealing it had 818 staff at that date, up from 715 the year before and 659 in 2006. Microsoft is led locally by Australia and New Zealand managing director Tracey Fellows, who was appointed in January 2007.
Microsoft is one of the only large Australian ICT companies not to have suffered revelations of staff cuts over the past six months due to the weakening global economy, although the company did cut one staff member in January as part of a global cull that saw up to 5000 redundancies flagged over the succeeding 18 months.
The staff increase over the period to the middle of 2008 came as Microsoft's local revenues also jumped for the second year in a row, rising 6 per cent to reach $405.9 million. The company's staffing costs rose 11.2 per cent to reach $181.9 million. Most of the company's other costs rose, as well as net profits, which were up 20.2 per cent to $34.1 million.
A Microsoft spokesperson declined to comment on the results, and what might be behind them.
However, the company has previously flagged global success with products like Office 2007, SQL and Windows Server, and Active Directory, as well as sales of gaming hardware and titles associated with its Xbox 360 platform.
In Australia, adoption of its Windows Vista operating system has been very slow in the business sector, but some companies have already flagged interest in its Windows 7 successor, which is widely expected to be released late in 2009.
Are they are not testing Windows 7?