On Wednesday, Oracle released an adjusted profit report of 35 cents on revenue of $5.5 billion in its fiscal third-quarter beating the Wall Street's expectations.

The company announced a 5 cent quarterly cash dividend saying it would be issuing a dividend to its shareholders and it will start paying ($0.05 per share, or $0.20 per share annually) on April 9 of this year.

Oracle posted net income of $1.3 billion, down 1% from the same quarter last year, according to a release posted Wednesday after the closing bell. Meanwhile, Oracle reported earnings per share of 26 cents, up 3% from the same quarter a year ago.

“Our non-GAAP operating income was $2.6 billion in Q3, which was an increase of 15% over the same period last year, resulting in operating margins of 46%. In constant currency, non-GAAP operating income grew by 26%,” said Oracle Executive Vice President and CFO, Jeff Epstein. “In addition, Oracle generated $8.0 billion in free cash flow in the past twelve months, up 14% over the same period last year.”

The news sent Oracle shares up $1.06, or 7%, to $16.80 in after-sometimes trading Wednesday.

“This is a tremendous achievement in the face of the serious slowdown in the world economy,” said Oracle CEO, Larry Ellison.

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