software maker's latest quarter, sustaining a healthy clip of contract
signings amid a dreary time for technology spending.
The efforts helped push Oracle's sales and profit above Wall Street's
forecasts. Oracle also surprised investors by declaring its first
dividend, a rare sign of confidence that comes as other bellwethers
are cutting or suspending their dividends to save money.
Oracle's shares jumped $1.11, or 7 percent, to $16.94 in after-hours
trading Wednesday after Oracle reported its results. The stock had
gained 43 cents, or 2.8 percent, to close the regular trading session
at $15.83.
Oracle's chief executive, Larry Ellison, called the numbers a
"tremendous achievement in the face of the serious slowdown in the
world economy."
In Oracle's fiscal third quarter, which covers December-February,
Oracle said it earned $1.33 billion, or 26 cents per share, versus
$1.34 billion, also 26 cents per share, in the year-ago period.
Subtracting out one-time charges, profit was 35 cents per share. That
was 3 cents better than the average estimate from analysts polled by
Thomson Reuters on that same basis.
Sales were $5.45 billion, a 2 percent increase over last year, though
Oracle said revenue would have jumped 11 percent without the effect of
a stronger dollar, which meant deals done in other currencies weren't
worth as much in dollars.
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