Software maker SAP beat expectations with licence sales up 13 per cent in its third quarter as it continued to gain market share and picked up in European countries outside Germany.
Software licence sales came in at €491 million ($619 million) for the quarter to the end of September, compared with an average forecast of €466 million in a Reuters poll of 22 analysts. Estimates ranged from €440 million to €507 million.
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT), adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation and acquisition costs, came in at the high end of forecasts by rising 12 per cent to €475 million on overall sales up 8 per cent to €1.8 billion.
Adjusted net income grew 16 per cent to €302 million. SAP reiterated its forecast of a 10 per cent rise in software sales for the full year, which it said implied an increase of 7 to 8 per cent in the fourth quarter, and an improvement in its adjusted EBIT margin of around 1 percentage point.
Growth was fuelled not only by the United States and Germany, as in recent quarters, but also by the rest of Europe and Asia.
The company said it had closed deals with important partners in the quarter including US Botox maker Allergan, German property lender Hypo Real Estate and state-run Indian Oil Corp.