Lots of M&A Activity

• Gevity HR reported fourth-quarter profit fell on higher operating expenses, as revenue edged up slightly. Results missed analyst consensus estimates, sending shares down sharply in late February. On a brighter note, Gevity approved the repurchase of up to an additional 1 million shares, and increased its quarterly dividend to 9 cents from 7 cents. The company expects double-digit growth in 2006 profit and revenue.
• Oracle Corp. said fiscal third-quarter profit jumped 42% as sales of new licenses for its business applications jumped, helped by the acquisition of Siebel Systems Inc. and other software firms. Oracle has spent nearly $20 billion in the last 18 months acquiring makers of business-application software. While new license sales for Oracle's application software surged 77%, revenue from new database licenses rose just 4%.
• Workbrain Corporation recently reported 2005 Financial Results (Canadian GAAP financial results). The company achieved 56% annual revenue growth and posted record earnings in 2005. Workbrain reported revenue of US $88.7 million for fiscal year 2005, compared with US $57 million for 2004; an increase of 56%. Total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2005 was US $23.8 million, compared with US $17.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2004, an increase of 34%.