INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SAP now expects total revenues this year at 24.8-25.3 billion euros (representational image)Frankfurt: Germany's SAP announced upbeat
results in the seasonally tough first quarter, saying it was gaining market share on its competitors in the cloud and its margin recovery
SAP, Europe's largest tech company, also raised its sales and profits guidance for 2018 to take into account the $2.4 billion acquisition
of US sales software firm Callidus that was announced in January
"Our results demonstrate strong top line and bottom line results," Chief Executive Bill McDermott told reporters on a conference call
"We're gaining share fast and we're outpacing our toughest competitors pretty handily.SAP now expects total revenues this year at 24.8-25.3
billion euros ($30.28-$30.89 billion), representing growth of 5.5-7.5 percent, up from an earlier expectation of 5-7 percent growth
Non-IFRS operating profits rose 14 percent in constant currency to 1.235 billion euros, compared to the average forecast of 1.19 billion
euros in a Reuters poll of 15 analysts.Cloud subscription and support revenues, SAP's growth driver, grew by 18 percent to exceed 1
billion euros for the first time
At constant currencies they rose 31 per cent, to which McDermott said: "Wow."SAP has faced significant currency headwinds due to the strong
euro and both the company and analysts focus on key metrics after adjustment for currency effects to get an underlying picture of
