SAP, the biggest maker of business-management software, reported higher earnings on rising cloud and database revenue, alleviating investor concerns that stiffer competition is hurting profitability.

Third-quarter operating profit adjusted for some items rose 5 per cent to €1.3 billion, also helped by lower costs, SAP said today. The company kept its full-year forecasts when excluding currency swings, sending its stock up 4.8 per cent, the most in more than three years.

SAP’s report shows its expansion to areas such as cloud-based programs is helping to offset slowing demand for its older enterprise applications.

That's a relief for investors after reports by archrival Oracle and IBM missed projections as nimbler competitors' Web-based products gained popularity. – (Bloomberg)