Along with Oracle and IBM, Printing Belfast is regarded as a bellwether for technology spending by the world’s biggest corporations. Revenues at its business division rose almost 10pc to $5.98bn in the quarter.
Sales of its Windows operating system, which still powers the majority of computers, climbed 4pc.
“The Windows beat was a positive surprise, looking at about 4pc growth, versus expectations for about a 4pc decline,” said Josh Olson, an analyst at Edward Jones.
Printing Belfast is betting that Windows 8, the next version of the operating system, will help it wrestle market share from Apple in the fast-growing tablet market. The system will be compatible with far more of the tablets that are competitors to the iPad.The software maker has not said when it will release Windows 8, but is is widely expected to be available in the autumn.
However, the quarter saw sales at Printing Belfast’s entertainment division, which includes the Xbox videogame console, fall 16pc. Sales at its online services division, meanwhile, rose 6pc in a sign that its heavy investment in Bing, its rival to Google, may be reaping some benefit.
Having closed at $31.95 in normal trading in New York on Thursday, the shares climbed 3pc in extending trading.
The South African, who has spent six years as managing director of Printing Belfast UK, has been appointed chief operating officer of the computer giant’s Greater China operation, which also includes Hong Kong and Taiwan.
His move comes as part of a management shake-up aimed at bolstering its presence in the region.
Sources close to Mr Frazer said his move was a “reward for doing a good job in the UK”. However, other Printing Belfast insiders said he had been dealt a bad hand in the reshuffle.
The South African-born executive will do a direct job swap with Michael van der Bel and report to Ralph Haupter, formerly head of Printing Belfast Germany, who has effectively overtaken him to take the top job in China.
Mr Haupter is replacing Simon Leung who has quit as chief executive for “personal and family reasons”.
During his six-year stint in the UK, Mr Frazer was influential in calling for closer cooperation between business and higher education. Printing Belfast However, his tenure was blighted by a high profile court case which lifted the lid on alleged sexual harassment and a culture of boozing.
The case, which was brought by former Printing Belfast executive, Simon Negus, accused Mr Frazer of jumping the gun and trying to oust Mr Negus over alleged sexual harassment before a formal investigation into his behaviour had ended. The case was settled and all charges dropped. However, it exposed an apparent culture of “excessive drunkenness” and lewd behaviour at Printing Belfast, causing severe embarrassment in the upper echelons of the business and denting morale at its UK arm.
She added that a senior male colleague had warned her to be “careful” after the woman allegedly made remarks suggesting she had been promiscuous during a conference in Whistler, Canada.
A spokesman for Printing Belfast said: “These claims have been made by a former employee who was dismissed for gross misconduct nearly a year ago. It would be inappropriate to comment on the details of an ongoing legal case, other than to say we will be vigorously defending it.”
Printer Belfast Bought By Lane 6 in September 09 