Solid EMEA results offset by slower corporate US SAP Chief Executive Bill McDermott (below) says he has “perfect and clear confidence” Europe's largest software company will meet its full year targets despite a warning that first quarter results will be weaker than expected. The first quarter is usually a slow one for SAP, but results are clouded by moves away from on-premise sales.
Sales of software licenses to corporate clients, particularly in Brazil and the US, fell 13% during the period, as business customers continue to shift to cloud-based software instead of older software packages. Cloud subscriptions and support revenue was worth €0.68bn (2015: €0.50bn), an increase of 35%
"The first quarter is our seasonally smallest quarter. While EMEA and APJ showed solid execution, the Americas got off to a slower start. We successfully transformed our business in 2015, contributing to the strong rise in earnings per share," said Luka Mucic, CFO of SAP. "With a robust pipeline across our entire portfolio we are on track to achieve our full year outlook."