SAP says cloud business drives Q3 profits higher

FRANKFURT: German software giant SAP said Tuesday it had "very strong top and bottom line growth" in the third quarter, driven by higher sales in its cloud computing business.

SAP said in a statement that underlying or operating profit grew by 5.0 percent to 1.21 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in the period from July to September.

Total revenues jumped by 17 percent to 4.98 billion euros, with cloud and software revenues expanding by 19 percent to 4.12 billion euros.

Revenues from cloud subscriptions and support soared by 116 percent to 0.6 billion euros.

"Our strong double-digit growth in cloud and software revenue was mainly driven by excellent results in mature markets," said chief financial officer Luka Mucic.

"SAP's global resilience helped us also sail through stormy waters in emerging markets where we expect to continue to see volatility and economic challenges. Our surge in operating profit reflects our business transformation's continued success and the improving profitability of our cloud offerings."

On the basis of its third-quarter results, SAP said it was sticking to its full-year sales and earnings targets.