Oracle has posted a profit for the three months ending in February of US$1.3 billion, a 30 percent increase on third-quarter earnings from a year ago.

CNN reports the software giant's net income was in line with Wall Street expectations, but its sales missed forecasts, a possible sign that big businesses may be starting to pull back on technology spending.

Sales rose 21 percent from a year ago to US$5.35 billion, below consensus expectations of US$5.42 billion.

Following the announcement, shares of Oracle plunged more than 8 percent in after-hours trading.

The Fortune 500 company has been aggressively scooping up smaller software companies in order to compete with rivals Microsoft, IBM and SAP AG.

Oracle is in the process of purchasing BEA Systems, which is expected to give Oracle a dominant position in the middleware software segment.

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