The first quarter of 2006 was consistently positive for Software AG. Total Group revenue increased 13.5 percent, and EBIT climbed by just under 20 percent. Attractive product portfolio enhancements and the new branding of the crossvision business line simultaneously expanded the base for further growth.

In the first three months, total Group sales amounted to €113.8 million (previous year: €100.3 million). This significant increase of almost 14 percent (currency-adjusted almost 10 percent) exceeded expectations. Growth was again driven mainly by licensing. There was additional growth in Professional Services and once again in maintenance.

High licensing revenues drive growth
Income from software licensing increased by 23.7 percent to €33.4 million. As in the previous months, licensing was a key growth driver for Software AG.

In the crossvision business line (formerly “XML Business Integration”), licensing revenues increased by 28 percent to €6.4 million (previous year: €5.0 million). crossvision was launched in February of this year and is the conclusion of the development of a series of individual products into one seamless suite. crossvision denotes both the complete product package, its individual components and the business line itself.

The products of the Enterprise Transaction Systems (ETS) business line generated licensing revenues of €26.5 million (previous year: €19.9 million) in the reporting period. The 33 percent increase underscores the high potential of this business area, which promises reliable growth rates due to its broad, stable customer base. Software AG’s mainframe competence brings additional impetus to the integration business, in particular in the modernization of mainframe applications, a component of our product line in the area of service-oriented architectures (SOA).

Increasing contribution by Professional Services
Our income from Professional Services increased of 10 percent to €32.2 million (previous €29.2 million) continuing the upward trend of 2005.

Maintenance returns to growth
Our maintenance business has shown growth for the first time in several years. The large increase to €47.5 million (previous year: €43.7 million) is partly attributable to the stronger US dollar and to a large one-time deal; however, the trend shows that the increased licensing sales of 2005 will positively impact maintenance revenue.