SAP soars on currency cushion

SAP AG saw revenues climb 49 percent during the first quarter, fueled by sales of its R/3 client server suite and the strong U.S. dollar.

The big German vendor broke the billion barrier for revenues, at least in Deutsche Marks. Revenues for the quarter translated to $615 million, with pre-tax profits up by 54 percent to $108 million.

The strong dollar, which has hurt U.S. companies that operate in Europe, had the reverse effect for SAP, based in Walldorf, Germany, which did considerable business in the United States during the quarter. Sales in the Americas jumped 91 percent during the quarter, far outpacing the second place Asia-Pacific region, which saw sales grow 68 percent. By comparison, European sales were sluggish, rising only 18 percent.

R/3 implementation is a big task, often taking years. But that appears to be working to SAP's advantage. While the majority of the company's revenues came from product sales, consulting and training revenues grew more than 57 percent from the year-ago quarter.

The company anticipates strong sales to continue, predicting 25 to 30 percent growth through the year.