growth was a decline of $219 million or 24% in Internet Access revenue, driven by the continued migration of Internet Access subscribers to broadband or other competitively priced Internet service providers. At the end of the current fiscal year, MSN had 2.7 million internet access subscribers and 9.1 million total subscribers compared to 4.3 million and 8.8 million at the end of the previous year. In addition, MSN has over 420 million unique users monthly, over 205 million active Hotmail accounts, and over 175 million active Messenger accounts. In fiscal year 2004, MSN advertising revenue increased $360 million or 43% as a result of growth in paid search and growth in the overall Internet advertising market. This increase was partially offset by a decline of $168 million or 15% in Internet Access revenue. Revenue from subscription and transaction services other than Internet Access increased $71 million. 

In fiscal year 2005, MSN operating income increased mainly due to a decrease in stock-based compensation expense, reduced online operations and bandwidth costs associated with the Internet Access business as the number of subscribers declines, and increased advertising and subscription revenue. The operating income increase was partially offset by an increase in headcount-related costs from increased hiring and increases in salary and benefits, and a $48 million tax benefit recorded in the first quarter of fiscal year 2004. MSN reached profitability in the first quarter of fiscal year 2004 and was profitable for fiscal year 2004. The improvement in profitability in fiscal year 2004 was primarily driven by an increase in revenue, a decline in customer acquisition costs and other expenses related to the Internet Access business, efficiency gains in the operations of the advertising and subscription businesses, and a $48 million refund of previous year taxes, partially offset by an increase in stock-based compensation expense. 

MSN expects increased growth in advertising revenue as it benefits from improvements to its advertising platform and search engine and continued increases in Internet spending. We expect revenue from narrowband Internet Access to continue 



to decline in fiscal year 2006. Profitability may decline in fiscal year 2006 as investments are made in the development of new applications and services, the search and search monetization platform, and growth in the field sales force. MSN may from time to time continue to make investments in improving the user experience and in some cases, the number of advertisements delivered either via our search tools or via our Internet portals may be reduced to improve the overall user experience thereby helping to sustain and grow our user base. Effective July 1, 2005, functions related to MapPoint in Mobile and Embedded Devices have been moved to MSN. This reorganization will result in a corresponding change to the Mobile and Embedded Devices and MSN reported results. 

 

Mobile and Embedded Devices 

 

Mobile and Embedded Devices includes Windows Mobile™ software, Windows Embedded operating systems, MapPoint®, and Windows Automotive. These products extend the advantages of the