SAP, the German software giant, said on October 20 it was trimming its profit forecast for the whole of 2014, despite a strong rise in revenues and profits in the third quarter. SAP said in a statement it expects full-year operating profit to be in a range of 5.6-5.8 billion euros ($7.1-7.4 billion), lower than its previous forecast of 5.8-6.0 billion euros. SAP attributed the downgrade to "less upfront revenues" and short-term pressures on margins as it refocuses its business on cloud-based software technology.
In the three months to September, net profit rose by 16 percent to 881 million euros, SAP said, beating analysts' expectations. Third-quarter revenues rose by 5.0 percent to 4.25 billion euros, driven by a 45-percent increase in revenues from cloud subscriptions and support. In recent years, SAP has actively shifted its business focus away from on-site software to cloud-based products, which deliver software online to business customers.