VMware profit falls and sales flat

But vSphere product release a success, says chief executive

VMware profit is down

Virtualisation specialist VMware has reported $33m (£20m) profits for the second quarter, a 36 per cent fall on $52m (£31.3m) in the same period last year.

Revenue for the second quarter was $450m (£271.5m), flat from the second quarter of 2008.

Services revenue, which include software maintenance and professional services, were $228m (£138m), an increase of 32 per cent.

Driven by the challenging macro-economic environment, licence revenue was $228m (£138m) – a decline of 20 per cent from last year.

"In addition to achieving solid financial results in the quarter, we were able to successfully complete the shipment of vSphere 4, to a good reception from customers," said Paul Maritz, president and chief executive officer at VMware.

"vSphere is not only the largest and most ambitious product step we have taken so far, but the release also reflected improvements in most operational aspects of our business. We now look forward to releasing complementary management and desktop virtualisation products over the remainder of the year."