To print: Click here or Select File and then Print from your browser's menu

This story was printed from silicon.com, located at http://www.silicon.com/

Story URL: http://software.silicon.com/applications/0,39024653,39164743,00.htm

Business apps boost Oracle's Q2 profits
Going up...

By Reuters

Published: Tuesday 19 December 2006

Oracle has posted a 21 per cent rise in quarterly profits, helped by sales of business software licences to the customers of acquired rivals such as PeopleSoft and Siebel Systems.

Net income for the fiscal second quarter rose to $967m, or 18 cents per share, from $798m, or 15 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 26 per cent to $4.2bn.

Excluding items, the company posted a per-share profit of 22 cents. Analysts on average were expecting the world's biggest database software maker to post a per-share profit before items of 22 cents on revenue of $4.16bn, according to Reuters Estimates.

Oracle shares fell 1.4 per cent in extended trade from a Nasdaq close of $17.91.

The results follow six months of strength for the stock on increased confidence in its decision to spend about $20bn buying up rivals over the past three years to push into the business applications market as its core database software market matures.

Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison is betting the company will win more customers for its databases as it gains traction in the market dominated by Germany's SAP for business software applications that help companies automate everything from human resources to accounting to payroll.

Revenue from new software applications licences rose 28 per cent to $340m while sales of its database products climbed 9.5 per cent to $867m, in line with the average Wall Street estimate.

Oracle shares have gained about 32 per cent since 15 June, when the company first told investors of stronger-than-expected software licence revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter. At the same time SAP shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange have gained about three per cent.