Thursday, April 20, 2006
Bloomberg.com: Top Worldwide
Bloomberg.com: Top Worldwide: "``Margins were a little weak,'' said John Segrich, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in London, who rates SAP ``overweight.'' He had forecast a first-quarter margin of 23 percent.
Kagermann in an interview said he's confident the company will reach its target for margin growth this year and that investors shouldn't expect the margin to develop in a ``linear'' way throughout the year. SAP's target is to exceed a 30 percent margin by the end of 2007, after 28.3 percent at the end of 2005.
He also predicted the U.S. will continue to expand ``above average'' and repeated 2006 forecasts for profit and sales growth. SAP targets license sales this year to advance 15 percent to 17 percent, while earnings per share excluding some costs will reach between 5.80 euros and 6 euros from 5.01 euros last year.
Total operating expenses rose to 1.58 billion euros in the first quarter, with costs for research and development as well as for marketing increasing. Kagermann said the company spent more in the quarter to help reach its growth targets.
The company hired 774 additional people in the first quarter. SAP's plan for this year is to hire about 3,500 new people. "
Kagermann in an interview said he's confident the company will reach its target for margin growth this year and that investors shouldn't expect the margin to develop in a ``linear'' way throughout the year. SAP's target is to exceed a 30 percent margin by the end of 2007, after 28.3 percent at the end of 2005.
He also predicted the U.S. will continue to expand ``above average'' and repeated 2006 forecasts for profit and sales growth. SAP targets license sales this year to advance 15 percent to 17 percent, while earnings per share excluding some costs will reach between 5.80 euros and 6 euros from 5.01 euros last year.
Total operating expenses rose to 1.58 billion euros in the first quarter, with costs for research and development as well as for marketing increasing. Kagermann said the company spent more in the quarter to help reach its growth targets.
The company hired 774 additional people in the first quarter. SAP's plan for this year is to hire about 3,500 new people. "
