* The $7.5 bln Sun Microsystems takeover closed in January
* CEO Ellison: no plans to retire to focus on America"s Cup
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) ChiefExecutive Larry Ellison said on Saturday he expected SunMicrosystems, the unprofitable hardware maker that he bought lastmonth for $7.5 billion, to be making a profit soon.
Oracle executives have previously declined to say how longit would take for Sun to start turning a profit, although theyhave promised it would add $1.5 billion to operating profitwithin a year. The company had posted losses of more than $2billion in the two years prior to its sale.
But Ellison, asked by reporters how the Sun integration wasgoing on the sidelines of a news conference on Saturday in SanFrancisco, said: "I think it"s going really well and we expect tobe profitable right away."
Some analysts are skeptical that Ellison will be able toquickly turn around Sun, which never fully recovered from thebursting of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s that savageddemand for its high-end computers.
He made the comments in his hometown after returning fromValencia, Spain, to show off the trophy he won for defeatingrival billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli in the America"s Cup sailingrace.
Ellison vowed to defend his title. But the 65-year-old, whofounded Oracle more than 30 years ago, also said he has nointention of retiring from his position at the helm of Oracleto focus on sailing.
"I love Oracle and I love sailing, and I think I can do both,"he said, after accepting a key to the city from San FranciscoMayor Gavin Newsom, who, like Ellison, wants to see the nextAmerica"s Cup race held in San Francisco Bay.
"It certainly makes commuting easier," joked Ellison, whoseRedwood City-based company is about 25 miles (40km) south of SanFrancisco. (Reporting by Braden Reddall in San Francisco and Jim Finkle inBoston; Editing by Bill Trott)
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