Oracle, the software company which employs over 500 people in Co Dublin, announced yesterday that it had made after-tax profits of $955 million (£682 million) for the year to May 31st, 1998, compared to $845 million in the same period in 1997. Turnover for the fiscal year amounted to $7.1 billion and earnings per share were 96 cents, compared to 84 cents in 1997. Mr John Appleby, managing director of Oracle Corporation Ireland, said that the Irish information technology market remained buoyant despite International Data Corporation reports that it would only grow at an annual rate of 8 per cent. "IDC did not include the electronics sector in its analysis and this distorts its figures as electronics is now a core sector of the Irish economy," he said.