Oracle to post results as analysts advise caution

Oracle Corp. is expected to post gains in its first-quarter profit and sales when it reports results for the traditionally weak period after the market's close Thursday, even as Wall Street analysts have warned that a poor economy may be hindering the business software giant.

Analysts on average expect Oracle to post earnings excluding special items for the period ended in August of 26 cents a share, on $5.45 billion in revenue, according to FactSet Research.
That compares to earnings excluding special items of 22 cents a share, and $4.53 billion in revenue in the same period a year earlier.
Wall Street analysts have generally sounded cautious about Oracle's stock recently. Oracle shares have dipped nearly 20% in the past month. The shares rose slightly Thursday, to close at $19.35.
Credit Suisse analyst Philip Winslow wrote in a note to clients earlier this week that he expects a "difficult first quarter" for Oracle, "due to a sluggish application business, disruption in sales due to sales re-organization, as well as foreign currency headwinds."
Oracle, historically a powerhouse in database software, has more recently used a string of acquisitions to construct a formidable line of software applications for businesses.
That's drawn it into more direct competition with German rival SAP AG, while providing new potential sources of revenue.

In its first fiscal quarter last year, Oracle posted surprisingly strong growth in the sale of new software application licenses, helping boost its stock price.

Citigroup analyst Brent Thill wrote in a recent research note that Oracle's flagging share price recently is due to low expectations for the company's first-quarter license revenue growth.
"Despite a strong [fourth quarter] backlog, we believe [the first quarter] lived up to its difficult reputation," Thill wrote.
Still, Thill wrote that while Oracle may issue conservative guidance for its current, second quarter, if that guidance is in the "low to mid-teen" range, "the stock could rally."

Author: John Letzing @ MarketWatch.com

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Oracle's new yacht to continue testing in San Diego

Oracle Racing's new 90-foot multihull yacht, which will lead the US team's bid for next year's America's Cup in Spain, will be relocated to San Diego for training, the team announced Wednesday.

"With light breeze and flat water, Anacortes (in Washington State) has been the ideal place to sea trial our new boat," said team helmsman James Spithill when confirming the ongoing testing plans.

"We will move the team to San Diego for two months to extend the sailing season in the warmer climate of Southern California."

San Diego was the home of the America's Cup during the San Diego Yacht Club's reign as Defender from 1987-1995.

The boat is expected to arrive by barge in San Diego by the end of September.

The 33rd edition of the America's Cup, yachting's showpiece event, could take place in the Mediterranean port of Valencia in eastern Spain if a long-running court battle over the rules of the event between the two teams ends with a decision in favour of Oracle.

Swiss team Alinghi, which won the last edition of the America's Cup held in 2007 in Valencia, have begun building their own multihull boat for the duel which should be ready at the start of 2009 in case the duel goes ahead.

Source: www.turkishpress.com

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Breaking News - Oracle Announces Oracle Application Testing Suite; Oracle IT Service Management Suite Certified ITIL Compatible

Oracle today announced availability of the Oracle Application Testing Suite, the latest addition to Oracle Enterprise Manager's suite of Application Quality Management products.

The Oracle Application Testing Suite provides an integrated solution for load testing, functional testing and test management, enabling customers to thoroughly test packaged, Web and SOA-based applications and their underlying infrastructure to help ensure optimum quality, scalability, and availability. With this announcement, Oracle is adding to its existing portfolio of testing solutions, Moe Fardoost, Oracle director of product marketing, told 5 Minute Briefing. Oracle Application Testing Suite incorporates technology acquired earlier this year with the e-TEST suite Web application testing products from Empirix. As a result, Oracle now offers “a complete testing solution” for both Web applications - as well as database applications and secure data sharing, which were part of pre-existing capabilities within Oracle, he said.

Key components of Oracle Application Testing Suite include Oracle Load Testing for Web Applications. “This is the component that allows you to generate tens of thousands of simultaneous requests so that you can stress-test your application,” said Fardoost. Another component, Oracle Functional Testing for Web Applications, enables comprehensive functional testing of applications and Web services and is a “huge” productivity boost, noted Fardoost. Its transaction engine simplifies automated test script generation and enables the automation of complex Web applications and associated technologies out-of-the-box to validate the end-user’s experience. Finally, Oracle Test Manager for Web Applications “is the component that really helps you manage the whole testing task from planning to scheduling to defect management,” said Fardoost.
“Testing has always been a major part of the application lifecycle and we have been aware of the challenges customers have in trying to get better quality with less resources and with fewer skills,” Fardoost explained. With the new capabilities for Web application testing, Oracle offers maximum automation of load and functional testing, enabling organizations to reduce their testing effort by as much as 50 percent as well as better utilize less skilled IT resources, said Fardoost.

Oracle also today announced Oracle IT Service Management Suite has been certified as ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) compatible through the PinkVERIFY IT Service Management (ITSM) certification program. Key components of the Oracle IT Service Management Suite include Siebel CRM HelpDesk, Oracle Enterprise Manager and Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition.

Source: www.dbta.com

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