Friday, January 12, 2007
SAP Sags on Slower Growth
SAP Sags on Slower Growth: "It was a black Friday for German software giant SAP on Jan. 12, as shares dropped 7.5%, to €39.00 ($50.38) in heavy trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. That followed a 10.5% plunge in SAP's U.S.-traded ADRs on Jan. 11, to $48.50, after the company warned that fourth-quarter software license sales grew more slowly than expected.
The shortfall wasn't huge—SAP (SAP) says licenses for its corporate software packages, a leading indicator of future growth, climbed 7%, to €1.26 billion ($1.6 billion) vs. expectations for a 9% rise. All told, revenues for the quarter should come in at €2.95 billion ($3.8 billion), almost precisely what Wall Street was expecting. Operating profits were in line with consensus estimates, while per-share earnings were slightly above forecasts, due to tax effects."
The shortfall wasn't huge—SAP (SAP) says licenses for its corporate software packages, a leading indicator of future growth, climbed 7%, to €1.26 billion ($1.6 billion) vs. expectations for a 9% rise. All told, revenues for the quarter should come in at €2.95 billion ($3.8 billion), almost precisely what Wall Street was expecting. Operating profits were in line with consensus estimates, while per-share earnings were slightly above forecasts, due to tax effects."
