Microsoft Australia's revenue jumps by $1.2 billion

Microsoft Australia has posted a significant bump in its revenue and profits amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In the year ended 30 June 2020, the company posted $4.2 billion in revenue, up 41 percent from $2.98 billion the previous year.

Profit after tax also increased to $120 million for the period, up 10 percent from $108.5 million last year.

The increased profits also came with a bump in its tax bill, with an income tax expense of $74.8 million, up from $58 million last year.

Globally, Microsoft also had a bumper first quarter, reporting revenue of US$37.15 billion for the period, beating analyst estimates of US$35.72 billion. The company cited growth in Teams users (115 million) and Office 365 as the main factors for the bumper quarter.

Earlier this month, the company announced that most of its staff would have the option to work from home permanently, including its Australian operations.

The announcement reflected Microsoft Australia's reduced occupancy costs for the period, which is now at $6.2 million down from $24 million the previous year.

Outsourcing, contractor and agency staff expenses also declined, spending $36 million compared to $54.8 million last year.

Microsoft also scored a number of major deals with both channel partners and direct customers during the period.

In August, through major partner Data#3, Microsoft scored a $3.5 million contract with the Australian Taxation Office for the provision of cloud infrastructure. The following month, the tech giant secured a Whole of Government Agreement with the Western Australia state government.