Microsoft Remains On Profit Pace

Microsoft Corp. indicated Monday that Wall Street forecasts for its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings to increase 46 percent are in line with the company’s expectations.

Analysts have been anticipating that Microsoft will earn about 85 cents a share for the quarter. Microsoft earned $368 million in the fiscal 1995 fourth quarter.

Vaughn Briggs, senior financial manager, said Microsoft is comfortable with those projections.

Microsoft officials also told investors the company’s share of the Internet browser market is about 10 percent. But new versions of its browser software will increase this share considerably.