Oracle Corp.’s net income jumped 28 percent in the latest quarter, its biggest increase in more than two years and another sign that companies are spending more liberally on technology.
The company also forecast net income and revenue in the current quarter above analysts’ expectations, and its shares rose 4 percent in extended trading.
Oracle’s strong performance arrived amid worries about the industry’s recovery. Other technology big shots, such as Cisco Systems Inc. and Intel Corp., stirred fears with recent earnings reports that showed sluggish demand from consumers and state governments in the U.S.
Oracle, one of the world’s biggest software makers, demonstrated in its latest numbers that it is shielded somewhat from sudden market swings because nearly half of its revenue comes from support contracts that provide consistent revenue throughout the year. The results were reported Thursday after the market closed.
Locking in new customers so they’ll buy those support contracts is critical to Oracle. A key measure of how well the company is doing that — the sale of new software licenses — was higher than Oracle had earlier predicted.
Oracle also cited improving profitability at the Sun Microsystems business it bought nearly a year ago for $7.3 billion as another reason for its better-than-expected results. That acquisition gave Oracle a computer-server business and transformed the company into more of a one-stop shop for technology.
Oracle’s outspoken CEO, Larry Ellison, used a conference call with analysts as an opportunity to slap Oracle’s new foe, Hewlett-Packard Co., whose servers Ellison called “slow” and “expensive” and “extremely vulnerable” to losing market share.
An HP representative noted that HP is the world’s No. 1 server seller, a spot it frequently trades off with IBM Corp., and said “Sun customers are running to HP in droves because they recognize we deliver superior technology, performance and pricing.”
The results, and Ellison’s…