California, June 13: Oracle Corp. on Thursday posted a 30 per cent rise in fourth-quarter net profit and said it was gaining ground in a tough market for corporate software. For the quarter ended May 31, the Redwood Shores, California-based company reported net income of $858 million, or 16 cents per diluted share. A year earlier, Oracle's net profit was $655.9 million, or 12 cents a share, including a write-off of its investment in Liberate Technologies Inc. that reduced earnings by 2 cents per share.

Total revenues rose to $2.83 billion from $2.77 billion a year earlier. Of that total, new software license revenues, watched as a proxy for growth, were up 1 per cent to $1.2 billion. Operating margins rose to 45 per cent up from 44 per cent a year earlier.
Oracle executives said the most recent results showed the company was gaining ground against competitors, including PeopleSoft, in a tough market. Bureau Report