Oracle Corp. reported Thursday first-quarter income of US$510.6 million on revenue of $2.24 billion. The company provided little elaboration about its sales and operations during the quarter ended Aug. 31, citing its focus on relief efforts after Tuesday's terrorist attack. Revenue dropped slightly during the quarter, down from $2.26 billion in the year-ago quarter. However, net income rose slightly, up from $500.7 million in last year's first quarter.
Oracle postponed its conference call with analysts to discuss its quarterly results until after market close on the first day of resumed trading. Officials have said U.S. markets will reopen Monday.
The company posted $0.09 earnings per share. It was expected to earn $0.08 per share, according to the consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call.
Oracle's staff and resources are being "retasked" to aid government agencies in relief efforts and the re-establishment of systems interrupted by the attack, Oracle said in its earnings release.
Eight Oracle employees and consultants are dead or missing in the wake of Tuesday's hijackings and World Trade Center blast, the company said Thursday in a memo sent to employees. Sales manager Todd Beamer was on board United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania.
"We believe (Beamer) died when he and other passengers aboard Flight 93 tried to recover the hijacked airplane from the terrorists," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison wrote in the memo to staff. "Considering the devastation wrought by the other aircraft, it is unquestionable that Todd's brave actions, and that of his fellow passengers, saved countless lives on the ground. We are very proud of Todd. We will miss him. Our heart goes out to Todd's wife, and his two young children."
Six Oracle consultants who worked on the 97th floor of the World Trade Center's south tower are missing, the company said. Citing ongoing search-and-rescue operations, Oracle declined to disclose the names of the missing consultants, but said that two were from the United States, three were from India, and one was from the United Kingdom.
A seventh Oracle employee, whose name was also not released, was trained as an emergency medical technician and was near the World Trade Center when the first airplane hit the towers, the company said. He ran into the building, Oracle said, and has not been heard from since the attack.