Oracle shares plunge 22 per cent

NEWS Although, the company will still make a profit of $10 per share - adding two cents a share above the same period last year, analysts were expecting a profit of at least $12 per share. Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, blamed the results on the beginning of the US recession and accompanying reluctance of companies to invest in IT. However, Oracle's problems seem to be not just of an economic nature. The Wall Street Journal reported a revenue drop for the company's traditional database business in the first three quarters of the current financial year - a strong growth market worldwide. Oracle is also expanding slower than expected in the market for standard commercial software (ERP software). Oracle recently forecast growth rates of 100 percent in this sector, the company is struggling to achieve half this. By Jürgen Höfling, reporter, silicon.de