SAF AG, which is listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN CH0024848738),
announces even in the second quarter of 2010 a success in direct sales business and is well preparedfor the important second quarter of 2010 fiscal year. At EUR 4.4 million, the company’s revenues nearly reached that generated in the successful second quarter of 2009. Revenues fell slightly while net profit remained the same at EUR 1.0 million, resulting in a 0.5 percentage point increase in net profit margin to reach 22.4 percent (H1/10: 14.1 percent).
The positive business development was due primarily to the expansion of a direct business relationship with one of the leading retail supermarket chains in the US. An additional contract was concluded by our OEM partner SAP and led to EUR 1.7 million (Q2/09: EUR 1.8 million) license revenues in total. Along with the positive performance in the maintenance business of EUR 2.2 million (Q2/09: EUR 2.3 million), the services department also contributed revenues of EUR 0.5 million (Q2/09: EUR 0.4 million) to total revenues.
“Along with additional development work for SAP based on the OEM contract, SAF provides for example SAP’s potential new customers with individual analyses which can highly precisely determine the extent of optimization that can be achieved by implementing SAP’s Forecasting & Replenishment Engine” evaluates Udo Meyzis, CEO at SAF AG, the cooperation. Additionally, as part of the SAP trade conference in Latin America the Company received the opportunity to establish jointly new contacts with major retail companies and thus with potential new customers.
SAF’s direct sales business celebrated an important success in North America when a major existing customer extended its license for SAF’s forecasting and ordering software to cover all of its supermarkets in the US. “The extension of the software license demonstrates not only SAF’s strong positioning in the North American growth market, but also shows that SAF’s strategy of developing customer relationships in a step-by-step process has been successful” explains Dr. Andreas von Beringe, President of the Board of Directors’ and founder of SAF AG, the developments and adds, „Our aim is to gradually globalize our customers’ licenses.” Many companies initially implement SAF software in one specific market region or one selected subsidiary. Encouraged by the substantial savings and increases in efficiency they experience, they then extend the license to cover other regions or subsidiaries. Other clients choose to first optimize their stores using SAF SuperStore, and then, in a second step, to streamline their warehouse management processes with SAF SuperWarehouse. In this way, SAF gradually provides retailers with advantages in competing for customers and supports them in saving costs.
Having generated EUR 8.1 million (H1/09: EUR 9.0 million) in revenues during the first half of the year, SAF is well positioned for further growth throughout the 2010 fiscal year. Along with opportunities in the direct and OEM businesses, joint initiatives with SAP will increasingly contribute to revenues over the medium term.
