Germany's SAP reported its first quarterly rise in licence revenues in almost three years this morning amid strong sales in the United States as corporate software spending increased.
SAP, the world's biggest maker of business software, said new license sales rose 5 per cent to €370 million ($438 million), in line with expectations, with a 45-per cent rise in US license sales.
"Our results support our expectations for the year," Chief Executive Henning Kagermann said. "We reported another excellent quarter from our US organisation, which is demonstrating strong sales execution."
The company reiterated it saw license sales rising 10 per cent in 2004 and its pro-forma operating profit margin growing by around one percentage point from its current 21.3 per cent.
SAP's share of the US market in so-called enterprise software - which helps companies manage back-office operations such as billing and human resources - increased to 34 per cent at the end of March from 25 percent a year earlier.
But SAP's software sales fell 4 per cent in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, where it does more than half of its business, and was down 22 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region, as other regions were slow to follow US growth.
Total revenues, which also include maintenance and consulting, rose 2 per cent to €1.56 billion, less than analysts expected.
Pro forma operating income before stock-based and acquisition charges was up 12 per cent at €332 million, at the low end of estimates, while net profit at €229 million was in the upper end of the range of analysts' forecasts.