SAP reports double-digit growth

SAP increased its sales by 11% in the first three months of 2012, with a set of results that sees the company continue where it left off after success last year.

With total sales of €3.35bn in the first quarter of 2012, compared to €3.02bn in the same period last year, Europe’s biggest software maker is continuing the progress it made in 2011, which was the best year in its 40-year history. In 2011, the supplier saw sales increase 14% to €14.23bn and operating profit increase by 88% to €4.88bn.

Profit for the first quarter was €444m compared to €403m last year, a 10% increase.

The company said its HANA in-memory database and mobile data management software, mobile and cloud offerings making strong contributions. SAP HANA and mobile sales were worth €49m in the quarter, the result of innovations around its acquisition of US database and mobility software producer Sybase in 2010.

SAP’s  cloud business also grew with, for example, a 69% increase in new billings for its SuccessFactors human capital management software-as-a-service offering. SAP acquired SuccessFactors last year. Total cloud subscriptions and support were worth €29m in the quarter compared to €4m in the year-ago quarter.

SAP co-CEOs Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe, said in a statement: “Customers are embracing our high speed of innovation and the ability to orchestrate solutions across our entire portfolio.”