Microsoft Corporation (Public, NASDAQ:MSFT) reported Friday that net profit fell 18 percent to 3.57 billion dollars in the first quarter but the US software giant beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts.

The Redmond, Washington-based company, which released its new-generation computer operating system Windows 7 on Thursday, said revenue declined 14 percent in the quarter to 12.92 billion dollars.

"We are very pleased with our performance this quarter and particularly by the strong consumer demand for Windows," said Chris Liddell, chief financial officer at Microsoft Corporation (Public, NASDAQ:MSFT). "We also maintained our cost discipline, which allowed us to drive strong earnings performance despite continued tough overall economic conditions."