UK momentum supports SoftwareOne Q3 revenue growth

Cloud solutions provider SoftwareOne has shared a Q3 trading update with a strong performance in the UK making a contribution to revenue growth.

The firm reported an 8.4% year-on-year (YoY) improvement in group revenue up to CHF 233.4m in the three months that ended in September. Software and cloud marketplace revenue improved by CHF 1.6m and software and cloud services was up by 6.8%.

The UK, along with the DACH reborn, the Netherlands and Spain were highlighted as strong performers during the quarter, helping overall EMEA revenues grow by 9.6%.

The period has also been one where the business has been conducting a strategic review and looking to cut costs, with its operational excellence effort coming in ahead of plan with savings of CHF 27m, compared the original aim of a full year target of CHF 15m.

Back in July, Bain made several offers to buy SoftwareOne, which were rebuffed but led the board to kick off a strategic review to consider all of its options.

The Q3 trading update signalled that process is ongoing and the review is committed to evaluating various options for maximising value for shareholders, including continuing to operate as a public company, a merger or sale of the business.

During the quarter, the firm also made a number of senior appointments, including chief strategy and partner officer, chief information officer, president of LATAM and regional president DACH.

Brian Duffy, CEO of SoftwareOne, said that the results were solid, given it was operating “against a backdrop of increasingly volatile geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions”.

“We leveraged the breadth of our portfolio, expertise and global reach to drive business outcomes for clients and solid results for Q3 2023. During the quarter, EMEA remained resilient and APAC demonstrated continued excellent momentum, while NORAM saw more cautious purchasing behaviour by clients and longer sales cycles, predominantly as a result of macroeconomic concerns,” he added.

Duffy said that as a result of the economic conditions the firm had revised its full-year 2023 revenue guidance to high single-digit growth.

“We continue to make significant progress in building a strong foundation for sharpened execution through the implementation of ‘ignite, focus, accelerate’. The new leadership appointments will further help to drive sales excellence and strengthen key partnerships and alliances,” he said.

“We have also now enabled our teams around the world to support client readiness and drive implementation of Microsoft 365 Copilot at scale. Organisationally, we have brought our two business lines – marketplace and services – closer together under Bernd Schlotter, president of software and cloud, to promote an outcomes-based approach for clients as we continue on our transformation journey,” he added.