By Jim Finkle
BOSTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Oracle Corp, the world's No. 3 software maker, posted lower-than-expected quarterly revenue, sending its shares down 4.3 percent and suggesting that technology spending remains weak.
New license sales fell 17 percent, steeper than the 4 to 14 percent decline that Oracle forecast three months ago.
Investors closely watch those sales because customers generally sign maintenance contracts when they buy software, which locks in predictable, recurring revenue.
'Just because investor sentiment is improving about the economy, that doesn't mean people are signing purchase orders,' said JMP Securities analyst Patrick Walravens.
Total revenue -- which includes software sales as well as fees for maintenance of previously purchase programs -- fell 5 percent to $5.05 billion in Oracle's first quarter ended Aug. 31. That missed analysts' average forecast of $5.24 billion.
The software giant run by billionaire Larry Ellison reported on Wednesday a fiscal first-quarter profit, excluding special items, of 30 cents per share, matching Wall Street expectations according to Reuters Estimates.
Oracle President Safra Catz said in a statement that the company was able to offset the revenue decline by boosting its operating margins during the quarter.
Its adjusted operating margin was 46 percent, the highest ever for its seasonally slow first quarter and up from 40 percent in the year-earlier period.
Net income rose 4 percent to $1.12 billion, or 22 cents per share, from $1.08 million, or 21 cents per share, a year earlier.
The software maker's shares fell 4.3 percent to $21.18 in extended trading. They had fallen 53 cents to $22.13 in regular Nasdaq trade.
(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Richard Chang) Keywords: ORACLE/ (jim.finkle@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 617 856 4344; Reuters Messaging: jim.finkle.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
BOSTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Oracle Corp, the world's No. 3 software maker, posted lower-than-expected quarterly revenue, sending its shares down 4.3 percent and suggesting that technology spending remains weak.
New license sales fell 17 percent, steeper than the 4 to 14 percent decline that Oracle forecast three months ago.
Investors closely watch those sales because customers generally sign maintenance contracts when they buy software, which locks in predictable, recurring revenue.
'Just because investor sentiment is improving about the economy, that doesn't mean people are signing purchase orders,' said JMP Securities analyst Patrick Walravens.
Total revenue -- which includes software sales as well as fees for maintenance of previously purchase programs -- fell 5 percent to $5.05 billion in Oracle's first quarter ended Aug. 31. That missed analysts' average forecast of $5.24 billion.
The software giant run by billionaire Larry Ellison reported on Wednesday a fiscal first-quarter profit, excluding special items, of 30 cents per share, matching Wall Street expectations according to Reuters Estimates.
Oracle President Safra Catz said in a statement that the company was able to offset the revenue decline by boosting its operating margins during the quarter.
Its adjusted operating margin was 46 percent, the highest ever for its seasonally slow first quarter and up from 40 percent in the year-earlier period.
Net income rose 4 percent to $1.12 billion, or 22 cents per share, from $1.08 million, or 21 cents per share, a year earlier.
The software maker's shares fell 4.3 percent to $21.18 in extended trading. They had fallen 53 cents to $22.13 in regular Nasdaq trade.
(Reporting by Jim Finkle; Editing by Richard Chang) Keywords: ORACLE/ (jim.finkle@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 617 856 4344; Reuters Messaging: jim.finkle.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
