Oracle Corp reported its first-quarter results on Tuesday that held no real surprises for Wall Street. Net of acquisition charges of $167.1m, earnings came in at $0.15 per share against $0.11 last year, exactly what First Call expected. Including the charges stemming from the Treasury Services Corp and Navio Communications Inc deals, net income slid 64% to $40.5m, or $0.04 per share on revenue up 30% at $1.369bn. Overall license and other sales grew 15% and applications led all license revenue growth at 96%, helping Oracle add credence to its view that in the next five years its applications business will provide the majority of its revenues (CI No 3,208). Oracle Services revenue – derived from support, consulting and training activities – grew 42% for the quarter. Playing its role as the usual suspect, Europe showed the slowest growth at 20%, while Asia/Pacific grew 32% and the Americas saw 36% revenue growth. Overall, foreign exchange rates produced a 6% negative impact on total worldwide revenue growth. The market had the same not impressed response to the Q1 numbers that it did to year-end figures – which were also right on the money – and Oracle shares tumbled $2.0625 to $37.50 in after hours trading.
