Business software maker Oracle Corp. said Tuesday its earnings and sales continued to erode in its latest quarter as companies around the world remained reluctant to invest in technology.
The Redwood Shores-based company earned $342.7 million, or 6 cents per share, for the quarter ended Aug. 31, a 33 percent drop from $510.6 million, or 9 cents per share, at the same time last year.
If not for losses on its investments in other companies, Oracle said it would have made $386 million, or 7 cents per share. That matched the consensus estimate among analysts polled by Thomson First Call.
Dragged down by sluggish sales of new software, Oracle"s revenue totaled $2.03 billion, a 10 percent decline from last year. The revenue fell below analysts" consensus estimate of $2.06 billion.
The company"s sales of new software licenses plunged 23 percent from last year to $549 million, deepening a slump that began in late 2000.