SAP remains resilient in 3Q, posts 26% revenue jump

Software and Software Related Services revenue in the Asia Pacific-Japan region reached €300 million while total revenue saw a corresponding 20% growth to €365 million.

“We are very pleased with our solid double-digit performance in Q3 – nicely ahead of guidance,” said Steve Watts, President, SAP Asia Pacific Japan.

“We’ve reaffirmed SAP APJ’s role as SAP’s global growth engine. During Q3, we continued to see increased momentum in almost all segments of the business. Excellent performance in key markets in Q3, coupled with a sound pipeline for the rest of the year, has us looking forward to finishing the year strongly. In particular, the SME segment, which makes up more than three-quarters of our global customer base, is seeing strong growth in APJ and remains a key component of our strategy here.”

“Our integration with Sybase is also progressing smoothly and on plan. We are starting to see joint offerings such as Business Analytics and our new in-memory High-Performance Analytic Appliance (SAP HANA), being rolled out to Customers - putting SAP at the forefront of the mobile business analytics applications space. Together with Sybase, SAP APJ is delivering even more value to our customers as we continue to bring our broad software portfolio on device.”

In Q3 2010, China put in a strong performance with more than 60 per cent growth, testament to SAP’s continued investment in one of its key markets. The quarter saw the launch of Business ByDesign in China, effectively addressing the need for more local content and volume, as well as the strategic collaboration with Sybase, which helped leapfrog SAP APJ’s offerings from the laptop to mobile devices. Other key markets in the region, including Australia, Hong Kong, India and Southeast Asia, also put in a strong performance.

As in the previous two quarters, the Japanese market continued to be impacted by a weakening economic environment, but the large enterprise sector performed well and the outlook for the rest of the year remains optimistic. Key APJ customer wins came fromthe Utilities, Retail and Public Sectors, with SAP APJ winning every competitive large deal in Q3 (deal sizes of €2 million and above).

Globally, SAP also delivered another strong quarter with IFRS Software and Software Related Services Revenues growth of 20 per cent (13 per cent non-IFRS) to €2.185 billion. All the regions reported growth in Q3 2010, with particular strength in the BRIC countries which saw a 41 per cent growth in Software and Software Related Services Revenues. Deal sizes in all business segments increased, with Business Analytics remaining a principal growth driver on the product side.

Watts said, “We have focused SAP on three future growth engines: OnDemand, OnDevice and Analytics, and this has enabled us to double our addressable market. Our core business (OnPremise) is robust and growing in line with our guidance, and with the acquisition of Sybase, we have become the number one mobile business applications company. Through a broad and consistently integrated portfolio of products, SAP is clearly leading the market by remaining committed to helping its customers run their businesses better.”