Oracle Fiscal 1st-Quarter Earnings Rise 30%

Oracle Corp. said fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 30%, beating expectations, as strong growth of its database and applications products buoyed results at the world’s largest database software maker. Oracle’s net income was $195 million, or 20 cents a diluted share, from profit of $149.8 million, or 15 cents, excluding an acquisition charge in the year-earlier period. Analysts expected the company to earn 16 cents, according to First Call Corp. Revenue rose 27%, to $1.7 billion from $1.4 billion. Redwood Shores-based Oracle shares have fallen 3% this year, as applications software sales have lagged the growth of rivals PeopleSoft Inc. and SAP of Germany. Database sales in recent quarters have shown improvement from previous single-digit growth. Oracle shares rose 31 cents to close at $22.13 on Nasdaq. The results were released after the close of U.S. trading.