SAP Q4 results stop the rot

NEWS Operating profits, excluding costs relating to its recently implemented employee stock programme, rose over 40 per cent on the year ago period to more than E600m (£379m). Sales jumped 27 per cent to E2.1bn (£1.3bn) with software licence sales rising 25 per cent to over E1bn (£632m). SAP had not been expected to reveal any details about its fourth quarter results until 23 January, however, recent profit warnings from software vendors Intershop and Inktomi caused SAP shares to drop last week to a 52-week low. Last Friday, UK software group Autonomy issued a statement saying it expected strong growth in the fourth quarter prompting a 14 per cent jump in its share price. In trading today SAP shares jumped to E137 (£86.30), a nine per cent increase on last weeks drop.