Oracle posted higher quarterly profit last night on stronger-than-expected new software license revenue and said it was taking share from major rivals SAP and IBM.
The world's biggest maker of database software, which issued a profit forecast for the current quarter in line with Wall Street forecasts, also said it would spend an additional $1 billion each quarter in stock buybacks during 2007.
Oracle Chief Financial Officer Safra Catz said worldwide demand for its database software and business applications fuelled the results.
The California-based company generates most of its revenue from its database products but has made a huge push into the market for business-software applications led by SAP of Germany.
Oracle generates most of its revenue from database sales but has pushed into software applications that run on top of databases as its core business matures. It has spent about $19 billion over the past two years gobbling up rivals to buy market share in a bid to challenge SAP more effectively.
For the fiscal fourth quarter, Oracle's net income rose to $1.3 billion, or 24 cents per share, from $1 billion, or 20 cents per share, a year ago.
Revenue rose 25 per cent to $4.9 billion as sales of business-management software and its flagship database software posted gains.