SAP 1Q09: Strong margin, despite revenue decrease
By Manufacturing Business Technology Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 4/29/2009 12:00:00 AM
| Customers need clarity in their businesses and solutions that provide a fast return on investment. |
Walldorf, Germany – SAP AG says its first quarter 2009 preliminary financial results showed a strong margin of 13.9% due to cost controls. Margin for 1Q08 was 14.6%. Also in first quarter, total revenue (including services) decreased 3%, and software revenue decreased 33%, compared to first-quarter 2008 results. Net income fell 16%, and earnings per share from continuing operations dropped 14%. The company made the announcement April 29. SAP comments follow with a link to more information.
“While visibility for software revenues remains limited, we continue to take the necessary steps to protect our margin in this tough operating environment,” said Léo Apotheker, co-CEO of SAP. “The cost containment measures that we initiated in October of last year and carried into the first quarter of 2009 have really taken hold, and we are pleased with the resulting margin performance. We will continue to maintain tight cost controls. Our ability to deliver good margin performance in this environment, especially when you consider the restructuring charges related to the reduction of positions, is due to the strength, flexibility and scalability of our business model.”
Apotheker continued, “Customers now more than ever need clarity in their businesses, but they also need solutions that are quick to implement and provide a fast return on investment. We are providing customers with both with solutions from SAP BusinessObjects to our new SAP Business Suite 7, which gives customers the ability to quickly address critical pain points with pre-configured industry best practices in a modern and open architecture.”
Remaining positive in the difficult environment, Apotheker said SAP has “maintained our market leadership because we have the industry’s broadest and deepest product portfolio for large, midsized and small companies, and we have the ability to continue to innovate. SAP is a strong company with a robust business model, a highly skilled workforce and a great customer base. We expect to exit this recession even stronger, just like we did after the downturn earlier in the decade.”
SAP provides details on first quarter 2009 results, including numbers, events, contracts, product introductions, and cost containment measures.
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-edited by Mark T. Hoske, Reed Business Information, www.mbtmag.com.
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