Oracle Reports Fiscal Q2 Earnings Per Share of $0.12 (email this article)

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --Today, Oracle Corporation (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies) announced that second quarter revenues were up 8% to $2.5 billion while net income grew 15% to $617 million as compared to the second quarter last year.


Earnings per share were $0.12 compared with $0.10 last year. New software license sales were up 13% to $849 million, while software license updates and product support revenues were up 17% to $1,114 million. Second quarter operating margin was 37%, a 300 basis point improvement over last year. Operating cash flow in the first half of the fiscal year was $1.6 billion.

"We are extremely pleased with the strong performance we saw this quarter. Solid execution in the field, a strengthening competitive position, and an improving economy contributed to results that were above expectations. The growth was also balanced. All major software product categories and geographic regions posted growth." said Oracle CFO Jeff Henley.

"Our applications growth of 27% exceeded the growth rates of many of our competitors, including SAP, PeopleSoft, Lawson, and Siebel, in their most recently reported quarters. For example, new license sales at the combined PeopleSoft and JD Edwards company declined 18% as compared to their results when they were operating as separate companies," said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison. "But the very fastest growing part of our applications business is outsourcing, which increased 82% in the quarter."

"Our database technology business depends on our ability to innovate. In the next few weeks we will complete delivery of Oracle 10g, the first database and application server designed to run on a Grid of low cost computers. Grid technology improves performance and reliability while dramatically lowering the cost of computing infrastructure. That's the kind of innovation that customers find compelling."

Oracle is the world's largest enterprise software company. For more information about Oracle, including supplemental financial information, please call Investor Relations at (650) 506-4073 or visit Oracle on the web at www.oracle.com/investor.

"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Information in this release relating to Oracle's future prospects which are "forward-looking statements" are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not necessarily limited to, the following: (1) Economic, political and market conditions could adversely affect purchasing decisions for computer software and services throughout the world. Although there are signs of an improving economic environment in the US, it is too early to determine whether an economic recovery will be broad, substantial and sustained, and whether any such recovery would translate into higher levels of IT spending. The war on terrorism and the potential for other hostilities in various parts of the world continues to contribute to a climate of uncertainty that could adversely affect revenues. Delays in closing of sales, reductions in size of individual sales without an offsetting increase in volume, or delays in product delivery can cause quarterly revenues and income to fall significantly short of anticipated levels. (2) Management's ability to forecast revenues and control expenses, especially on a quarterly basis, continues to be a challenge. An unexpected decline in revenues without a corresponding and timely slowdown in expense growth could have a material adverse effect on results of operations. (3) Oracle is continuing to introduce new or enhanced versions of its products and services, such as Oracle Database 10g, Oracle Application Server 10g, Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Collaboration Suite and Outsourcing. The market acceptance and contribution to Oracle's revenues of these new versions or products and services cannot be assured. (4) Oracle periodically has made changes to its pricing model and sales organization, which could lead to a decline or delay in sales as its sales force and customers adjust to the new pricing policies and organizational changes. Intense competition
in the various markets in which Oracle competes may also put pressure on Oracle to reduce prices on certain products. (5) The market for Oracle's products is intensely competitive and is characterized by rapid technological advances and frequent new product introductions. There can be no assurances that Oracle will continue to introduce new products and new versions of existing products that keep pace with technological developments, satisfy increasingly sophisticated customer requirements and achieve market acceptance. Oracle undertakes no obligation to update information contained in this release. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Oracle's business, please refer to the "Risk Factors" section of Oracle Corporation's SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Oracle Corporation's Investor Relations Department at (650) 506-4073 or Oracle's Investor Relations website at http://www.oracle.com/investor.