Oracle sees weaker first-quarter license growth

BOSTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Oracle Corp (ORCL.O), the world's No. 3 software maker, expects weaker growth in new software licenses of 10 percent to 20 percent for the current quarter, Chief Financial Officer Safra Catz said on Wednesday.

Catz, also a co-president, told investors on a conference call following Oracle's fourth-quarter report that the company expected a seasonally weaker first quarter after a strong fourth quarter ending in May.

Oracle's first quarter ending in August faces tough comparisons in terms of license growth, which a year earlier jumped 35 percent, Catz said. The company reported 27 percent growth in new software licenses for the quarter ended in May.

Total revenue should rise 18 percent to 20 percent in the first quarter, compared with the same period a year earlier, Catz said. It expects fiscal first-quarter earnings of 26 cents to 27 cents per share, before one-time items, and net income of 17 cents to 18 cents per share, Catz said.

"We are aware of the broader economic environment in which we operate, and we can't predict the economy from one quarter to the next," Catz told investors.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston and Eric Auchard in San Francisco; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Andre Grenon)