(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp's Azure cloud computing platform grew at a slower pace in the December quarter compared with a year earlier, sending shares of the software giant about 2 percent lower in after-hours trade on Wednesday.

Azure, Microsoft's flagship cloud product, had revenue growth of 76 percent in the final quarter of 2018, down from a 98 percent surge a year earlier.

Microsoft's total revenue climbed 12.3 percent to $32.47 billion. Wall Street analysts on average had expected revenue of $32.51 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)

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