But vSphere product release a success, says chief executive.

Virtualisation specialist VMware has reported US$33m profits for the second quarter, a 36 percent fall on US$52m in the same period last year.

Revenue for the second quarter was US$450m, flat from the second quarter of 2008.

Services revenue, which include software maintenance and professional services, were US$228m, an increase of 32 per cent.

Driven by the challenging macro-economic environment, licence revenue was US$228m – a decline of 20 percent from last year.

"In addition to achieving solid financial results in the quarter, we were able to successfully complete the shipment of vSphere 4, to a good reception from customers," said Paul Maritz, president and chief executive officer at VMware.

"vSphere is not only the largest and most ambitious product step we have taken so far, but the release also reflected improvements in most operational aspects of our business. We now look forward to releasing complementary management and desktop virtualisation products over the remainder of the year."