SAP sets sights on fresh profit record
Posted by M. Stone 25 January, 2012
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – SAP, the globe's greatest maker of company software, aims to set a fresh profit record this year as it banks on robust corporate spending on technology.
Investors have worried that they may have overestimated the resilience of corporate tech spending in a deteriorating international economy, specially following SAP's large rival Oracle Corp reported weak quarterly outcomes final month.
But there have been rising signs that the outlook could not be as dim as some feared. IBM Corp, the globe's largest technology services firm, brimmed with confidence for 2012 as it posted strong results final week.
"We have important momentum going into 2012," SAP mentioned on Wednesday as it published its full economic outcomes for 2011.
The German business expects operating profit will rise to five.05-five.25 billion euros (Ů.6-Ů.8 billion) at constant currencies from a 40-year record level of 4.71 billion in 2011. The outlook compared with a consensus of four.91 billion euros, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine.
SAP had currently reported a far better-than-expected rise in fourth-quarter sales and profit on January 13.
It attributed the strong performance to demand for its biggest software products and developing demand for its HANA offering, which makes it possible for organizations to analyze company data speedily, and mentioned it had won marketplace share general.
Good results Factors BOOSTS Top LINE
SAP stated it expects its 2012 income from software program and software-associated services to boost by 10-12 percent in the full year, of which up to 2 percentage points will be contributed by lately acquired SuccessFactors.
Most analysts had said they expected SAP to aim for 6-ten percent revenue growth from software program and computer software-related services this year.
SAP agreed to purchase SuccessFactors for ū.4 billion last month to maintain up with rivals in the race for cloud-computing enterprise. Its 2012 earnings will be diluted by the obtain, which will have a positive impact from 2013 on.
"We are properly positioned to exceed our 20 billion euro revenue target and reach a 35 percent operating margin in 2015," Chief Financial Officer Werner Brandt mentioned.
The firm, based in Walldorf near Heidelberg, built its business on huge, integrated software systems sold to a lot of of the world's biggest businesses, such as Apple, GE, McDonald's and Pepsi.
SAP has about 176,000 consumers and bills itself as the world's leading provider of computer software for managing supply chains and consumer relations.
SAP, whose stock has gained about 10 percent more than the past year, trades at about 14.five occasions 12-month forward earnings, at a premium to Oracle's multiple of 11.4 and IBM at 12.7, according to ThomsonReuters StarMine data.
(ũ = .7704 euro)
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan Editing by Dan Lalor)
