Oracle sales rise to $4.4bn

Oracle exceeds estimates

Software giant Oracle’s third- quarter sales exceeded estimates, rising 27 per cent to $4.4bn (£2.2bn) and narrowing the gap between itself and rival SAP in the business applications sector.

New database and middleware licence revenues increased 17 per cent and new applications licence revenues rose 57 per cent to $423m (£215.9m), compared with a seven per cent rise seen by SAP in the fourth quarter to December 2006.

‘Although SAP is still larger than Oracle in the applications business, we are closing the gap consistently and rapidly,’ said Oracle president Charles Phillips.

Profits rose 35 per cent to $1bn (£525m), in part because of a 25 per cent increase in software sales to $3.5bn (£1.8bn).

‘The most important element to take out of these results is that execution is the key to success in the software industry,’ said Ovum analyst David Mitchell.

‘Quarter two was weak for Oracle, especially when compared to these results.

‘Oracle’s strategy has not changed and there have not been any ‘hot cake’ products, but what has changed is a heightened focus on sales,’ he said.

Combined database and middleware sales from new software licences rose 17 per cent to $967m (£493.6m), with most growth coming from middleware – making Oracle, along with IBM, one of two genuine middleware giants.

‘Among Oracle services there was also strong growth for On Demand, with a 52 per cent rise, and consulting, with a 38 per cent rise,’ said Mitchell.