SAP’s Revenues Up as Company Fights Back Against Oracle

SAP reported a rise in revenue for the most recent quarter, suggesting the company can hold its own in the face of fierce competition from Oracle, Microsoft and other tech giants.

SAP’s software revenue rose 35 percent, and total revenue 27 percent, from the year-ago quarter. Operating profit declined 47 percent year-over-year, supposedly impacted by the company’s TomorrowNow lawsuit with Oracle.

Near the end of 2010, Oracle filed a lawsuit claiming that SAP’s TomorrowNow subsidiary stole its software documentation and confidential material via unauthorized access to a customer support Website. SAP acknowledged that the illegal downloads took place, but insisted it never saw the data. Oracle won a $1.3 billion judgment, which SAP s legal counsel is trying to reduce in court.

SAP intends to file post-trial motions in the coming weeks asking the Court to reduce the amount of damages awarded, or to order a new trial, read SAP’s explanation, included in its July 26 earnings statement. Because the motions have not yet been filed and the outcome remains uncertain the amount by which the jury award would be reduced cannot be reliably measured at this time. In other words, the bottom-line impact of the case could change in coming months.

To read the original eWeek article, click here: SAP Revenue Rises, Pushing Back Against Oracle