Oracle crosshairs: currency vs cloud boost

Grazed from MarketWatch. Author: Therese Poletti.

However, in after-hours trading, investors largely focused on the miss, with Oracle shares falling nearly 4% to $37.47, after the software giant reported adjusted earnings per share of 68 cents a share, versus analyst estimates of 70 cents a share. At one point in after-hours trading, Oracle’s shares were down 5.3%. Oracle ORCL -2.68% attributed the 2-cent miss to currency issues in Venezuela and their impact on its Venezuelean subsidiary..

“EPS [earnings per share] this year was reduced by two cents due to a currency re-measurement non-operating loss for Venezuela that obviously had not been included in my guidance,” Oracle Chief Financial Officer and Co-President Safra Catz told analysts in a conference call…

As part of the big focus on Oracle’s growing cloud-computing business, Catz told investors that as revenue from cloud computing becomes more material, it will be a slower-ramping business in terms of revenue, because it is a subscription service which is recognized over time. “Most obvious is that revenue is initially lower, as subscription-license revenue is recognized over the life of the agreement, as opposed to license revenue being taken up front,” Catz said…

Read more from the source @ http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oracle-crosshairs-currency-vs-cloud-boost-2014-03-18

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