Net profits at Oracle fell in the third quarter to $540m
(£300m) from the $635m (£353m) for the same quarter last
year.
The smaller profit came on the back of an 18% increase in sales
to $2.95bn (£1.63bn).
Oracle said that despite the profit fall, new database licence
sales in the quarter were up 12% to $782m (£434m).
Oracle co-president and interim chief financial officer Safra
Catz said the quarter was one of transition, following the
acquisition and integration of PeopleSoft, and predicted a much
stronger fourth quarter.
Oracle chief executive officer Larry Ellison said, "Solid growth
in our database business has enabled Oracle to take market share
from IBM all year long."
Ellison cited a report from analyst IDC which said Oracle had
increased its database market share from 40.3% to 41.3% over the
past 12 months, while runner-up IBM saw its share drop from 31.8%
to 30.6%.
"Oracle's gain in market share highlights the accelerating
acceptance of Oracle Database Grids as replacements for IBM
mainframes," claimed Ellison.