Oracle's software sales disappoint, stock plummets

Oracle missed expectations for software sales and subscriptions for the second straight quarter, sending its shares plunging as investors worried chief executive Larry Ellison may have trouble getting the technology giant back on track.

On Thursday, Oracle executives forecast that new software sales and subscriptions will rise 0 per cent to 8 per cent this quarter and blamed weakness in the past quarter on disappointing sales in Asia and Latin America.

Oracle, which is trying to fend off Salesforce.com and other increasingly aggressive rivals focused on providing software over the cloud or Internet, plans to move its stock listing to the New York Stock Exchange in July from the Nasdaq, a major win for the older bourse.

Executives said the move was in shareholders’ best interests, without elabourating. Oracle also said it would double its quarterly dividend to 12 cents a share.

“Organic growth is slowing and the company has a lot of pressures it has to deal with. They’re late to the cloud and playing catch-up,” said Mark Moerdler, an analyst at Bernstein. “Doubling the dividend - they’re trying to deliver a message that their ability to deliver significantly more cash to investors is going to continue.”

Overall, Oracle’s revenue stood unchanged at US$10.9 billion in the period, the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, ended May 31. That missed the US$11.122 billion analysts had expected on average, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.