Oracle Profit Up 76% in Quarter but Shares Fall

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. — Oracle Corp. said profit jumped 76% in its fiscal fourth quarter, but its shares fell as much as 6% in after-hours trading because sales of its flagship database software were lower than expected.

Profit from operations grew to $926 million, or 31 cents a share, in the quarter ended May 31, from $527 million, or a split-adjusted 18 cents, a year earlier, as revenue rose 17% to $3.4 billion.

The results exceeded estimates of 25 cents a share, according to analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial. But analysts focused on the 12% increase in sales of database software, complex programs used by corporations to manage large reams of data and records.

“We were looking for more robust growth on databases this quarter,” said Christian Koch, an analyst with Trusco Capital Management in Atlanta. “I think the pricing environment is a little more competitive, and that may have hurt them.”

Oracle said the database sales compared with a year-ago performance that was boosted by a higher-than-average number of large contracts.

“I believe you will see this quarter is an aberration,” Oracle Chief Financial Officer Jeff Henley said.

Sales of application software, programs such as employee record management and financial management software, rose 61%, while revenue from consulting and services rose 7%.

Oracle shares closed up 5 cents at $86.05 in Nasdaq trading before earnings were announced. Shares fell as low as $81 in after-hours trading.