Surface has created new device category, Nadella claims

Surface sales reach record $1.3bn in Q2

Satya Nadella has claimed the Microsoft Surface has created a new category of device - the 2-in-1 - after sales of the product reached record levels in Q2.

Surface sales bounced 29 per cent in constant currencies to $1.3bn, year on year, as the giant vendor topped revenue and profit targets for the quarter ending 31 December 2015.

The Surface has been a slow burner for Microsoft and at one point in 2013 its efforts to clear unwanted stock left a $900m hole in its finances.

But - despite recent woes around stock shortages and overheating accessories - CEO Nadella said the Surface will go down in history as a category trailblazer following a record quarter for the device. Q2 sales were driven by the launch of the Surface Pro 4 and initial roll out of the Surface Book, which landed in the UK channel earlier this month.

"We [just] created a new category of 2-in-1s where even our OEMs are finding success, which was one of our strategic objectives of doing the Surface," Nadella said on a Q2 conference call.

"And so overall, we do think that this tablet that can replace your laptop is ideally suited for productivity needs, which means it's great for your personal use as well as your use inside of the enterprise, and we continue to see good growth."

Last summer, Gartner predicted sales of 2-in-1 notebook and tablet devices would grow 77 per cent to 21.5 million units in 2015, making them the fastest growing segment of the mobile PC market.

Although Microsoft's total sales for the three months ending 31 December fell 10 per cent to $23.8bn - largely due to currency headwinds and the weak PC market - both its revenues and profits topped estimates.

Intelligent Cloud was the fastest-growing of Microsoft's three segments, with sales up 11 per cent in local currencies to $6.3bn, including a 140 per cent hike for Azure.

Personal Computing revenues fell two per cent in constant currencies to $12.7bn, while Productivity and Business Processes revenues rose five per cent in constant currencies to $6.7bn.

A 49 per cent decline in phone revenues was among the low points of the quarter, although CFO Amy Hood said on the call that Microsoft had done better than expected in its hardware launches in Q2, which included the Lumia 950 and 950 XL.