Oracle's profit increases 23%

Oracle Corp., the world's third-largest software maker, said Tuesday that fourth-quarter profit rose 23 percent, buoyed by recent acquisitions.

Net income rose to $1.6 billion, or 31 cents a share, from $1.3 billion, or 24 cents, a year earlier, Redwood City, Calif.-based Oracle said in a statement. Sales rose 20 percent to $5.83 billion in the quarter ended May 31.

Profit, excluding acquisition expenses and other costs, was 37 cents a share, beating the 35-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Oracle had forecast profit of 34 cents a share, compared with 29 cents a year earlier. Oracle typically reports its biggest profit and sales in its fourth quarter.

Oracle Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison boosted his pool of customers last quarter with four acquisitions, including the $3.3 billion purchase of Hyperion Solutions Corp. Oracle has spent more than $20 billion buying rivals since 2005, making it the most acquisitive company in the industry.

"The juggernaut continues," Sarah Friar, an analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co., said in an interview from San Francisco. She rates Oracle "buy" and doesn't own the shares. "This company continues to execute well."

Oracle's acquisitions propelled the company beyond its original database programs into business-management applications and middleware, software that connects servers. Oracle has purchased 31 companies since January 2005, including PeopleSoft Inc. and Siebel Systems Inc.

Company shares fell 32 cents to $19.16 Tuesday in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. They have advanced 12 percent this year.

Speaking to 6,000 sales people in Las Vegas this month, Ellison set a goal of $50 billion in annual sales by 2012, according to a person with knowledge of his comments. That would require a growth rate of about 23 percent.

Oracle ranks behind Microsoft Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. in global software sales. The company is the world's biggest maker of database software.