Oracle (ORCL) 3Q Income Led by Software License Sales

The story of the third quarter for Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) was the licensing success of its software, as it helped drive income to a 78 percent gain.

New software license sales increased almost 30 percent said the company, above Oracle's own forecast.

Net income for the quarter that ended on Feb. 28 rose to $2.1 billion, or 41 cents a share, from $1.2 billion, or 23 cents a share in the same quarter last year.

Oracle earned 54 cents a share excluding items, beating Analysts estimates from those surveyed by FactSet, who forecast earnings of 50 cents a share.

Revenue soared 37 percent to $8.8 billion from $6.4 billion, more than the $8.7 billion analysts were looking for.

Oracle boosted its dividend 20 percent, from 5 cents to 6 cents.

Oracle closed Thursday at $32.14, gaining $0.73, or 2.32 percent.