COSTS RELATED to the acquisition of Business Objects and a weaker dollar contributed to SAP reporting its steepest quarterly profit decline in almost six years yesterday.
Net income at the German maker of business software fell 22 per cent to €242 million, below analyst expectations of €340 million. Software license sales, a gauge of future consulting fees, rose 11 per cent to €622 million.
The weak dollar had a "relatively big impact" on results and the US was "tougher than expected", said chief executive officer Henning Kagermann.
SAP booked €130m in charges from the €4.8bn purchase of French rival Business Objects in February, and it delayed its sales target for a new software product.
After the acquisition SAP employs about 1,000 staff at sites in Dublin and Galway.
The dollar's decline cut sales by €138m and operating profit by €46m, said chief financial officer Werner Brandt.
SAP's first-quarter software and related service revenue rose 15 per cent to €1.74bn. SAP predicted in January software and related service revenue would rise 12 per cent to 14 per cent in 2008.
SAP said it will take about 12 to 18 months longer than the original 2010 target until the subscription-based Business ByDesign software reaches $1bn in sales and 10,000 customers. - (Bloomberg)
