Oracle new software sales disappoint, shares down

By Jim Finkle

BOSTON (Reuters) - Oracle Corp (ORCL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) posted disappointing quarterly software sales on Wednesday and said its customers had become more cautious, quashing the idea that the software sector would be immune to the economic turmoil that has roiled the rest of the tech sector.

Oracle shares fell 8 percent on the news, which also pulled down the stocks of other software makers like SAP (SAPG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research).

Chief Financial Officer Safra Catz warned that businesses had delayed approving purchases of Oracle's software toward the close of its fiscal third quarter, which ended on Feb 29. The company would likely have a tougher time closing sales this quarter than it did a year ago, she added.

"Customers got a little more cautious toward the end of the quarter," Catz said on a conference call with analysts following the results.

Oracle's stock had gained 10 percent in the month leading up to Wednesday's fiscal third-quarter earnings report, on expectations the results would be a bright spot among an increasingly disappointing flow of corporate results.

"People have turned to the software sector in general as somewhat defensive, but it's not immune," said Charles DiBona, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co who has a "market perform" rating on Oracle shares.

As Oracle's fiscal quarter closes a month earlier than the typical March 31, investors look to it as an indicator of how other software makers will perform.

While profit matched market expectations, Oracle's sales of new software -- which investors look to as an indicator of future financial performance -- rose 16 percent, near the low end of its December forecast of 15 to 25 percent growth.