Oracle delivers a warning blow

BUSINESS software giant Oracle dealt the industry a blow as chief executive Larry Ellison warned the firm would miss its earnings targets in its current quarter.

Ellison, speaking at the Comdex computer industry trade fair in Las Vegas, said economic weakness had caused customers to delay orders and Oracle's results could come in well below last year's, and Wall Street forecasts.

The company last year earned $623m (£426m) in the second quarter and had been expected to meet its earlier projections of flat earnings for the quarter to 30 November. Wall Street forecasts were for operating earnings of 11 cents per share.

'I think that is going to be difficult to achieve. It is going to be more like nine to 10 cents. Earnings might be down 10%. They might be down 15%, I don't know,' Ellison said. 'It's going to be a tough quarter. What we are seeing is people waiting as long as possible to buy software.'

Ellison, for a time the world's richest man when the dotcom boom sent shares in his company to record highs, blamed the economic slowdown for the reduced forecast and described business conditions as 'very difficult'.