BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhuanet) -- Oracle Corp.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit declined 7.2 percent but the revenue was still above expectations after customers renewed contracts for product updates and support.

    The business-software giant has been hurt by current impacts over the past three quarters, and a decline in revenue in the latest quarter highlights how tech companies are still facing a difficult economic climate.

    For the quarter ended May 31, Oracle reported earnings of 1.89 billion U.S. dollars, down from 2.04 billion U.S. dollars a year earlier.

    The software maker run by billionaire Larry Ellison reported a 13 percent drop to 2.7 billion U.S. dollars in new software sales, which is a closely watched revenue measure. Analysts had been expecting them to slide about 18 percent.

    Oracle said its adjusted operating margin was 51 percent, up 2.4 percentage points from a year-ago.

    Oracle's quarterly results and outlook beat expectations it set in March, when executives warned the recession and strong dollar would take a substantial bite out of profits. Since then, the economy has stabilized and the currency has weakened, setting Oracle up to beat those conservative estimates.

    Oracle, which has completed a handful of acquisitions over the past year, made a surprise bid for Sun Microsystems Corp. (JAVA) in April, boosting the range of products it will offer. The company has a strong track record with acquisitions, which have added to earnings growth.

    (Agencies)