Oracle on Thursday reported a six percent rise in fiscal second-quarter revenue over last year, fuelled by growth in software sales and its support and maintenance business.
Net income for the quarter, however, declined one percent to $1.3bn (£860m), or 25 cents a share, for the period ending 30 November, compared with the previous year. Excluding special items, Oracle posted non-GAAP net income of $1.7bn, or 34 cents a share. That was below Oracle's September forecast of 35 cents to 36 cents a share.
Oracle was up less than one percent in after-hours trading to $16.70 a share. Investors may have seen some encouragement in its growth in software sales.
The company, which had previously issued a forecast of a two percent to 12 percent rise in new software sales, posted an eight percent increase to $4.5bn in the quarter.
Another growth area running counter to the downturn in the economy included its steady-as-she-goes support and maintenance revenue, which rose 14 percent to $2.9bn.
But new software licence revenue, a metric that investors tend to keep a close eye on as a means to gauge future growth for the company, fell three percent to $1.6bn. Oracle's services revenue also fell, slipping two percent to $1.1bn.
