Oracle says net income rose 28% in quarter

Oracle Corp. said Thursday that its fiscal first-quarter profit jumped 28%, beating Wall Street’s expectations, as software sales stayed steady despite turmoil in the U.S. economy.

The business software maker’s net income for the three months that ended Aug. 31 rose to $1.08 billion, or 21 cents a share, from $840 million, 16 cents, a year earlier.

Excluding expenses for employee stock options and acquisitions, Oracle posted earnings of 29 cents a share. Analysts had expected 27 cents, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.

Revenue increased 18% to $5.33 billion.

New software license sales, a measure closely watched by investors, increased 14%, within the 10%-to-20% range Oracle had predicted. The Redwood City, Calif.-based company said changes in foreign exchange rates accounted for 4 percentage points of the increase, less than the 5 percentage points it had expected.

Revenue from software license updates and product support increased 23% to $2.94 billion.

For its current second quarter, Oracle expects new software license sales to grow 2% to 12%, or 5% to 15% excluding the effect of currency fluctuations.

Still, Oracle forecast adjusted earnings per share of 35 to 36 cents in the quarter. Analysts were already expecting 35 cents.

Oracle shares gained 75 cents, or 4%, to $19.50 in after-hours trading. It had closed at $18.75, up 65 cents, or 4%, during the regular session.