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CARY, NC (Jan. 21, 2010) - SAS, the leader in business analytics, achieved global revenue of US$2.31 billion in 2009, up 2.2 percent over 2008 results. Despite poor economic conditions, SAS maintained its unbroken chain of growth and profitability for 34 years since the company was founded.
Revenue from software sales alone jumped 3.3 percent at a time when software revenue of major vendors has been declining. SAS reinvested 23 percent of 2009 revenue in R&D and, as Goodnight promised a year ago, ended the year with no layoffs due to economic pressures, underscoring the company's commitment to innovation and employees.
TOUGH TIMES DRIVE SALES OF RECESSION-FIGHTING SOLUTIONS
2009 results mirrored 2008 in that customers sought SAS� solutions to grow revenue via maximizing effective customer relations and better managing operations and costs through risk management. Analytics, customer intelligence, data integration and risk management solutions grew the most.
Among industry-based solutions, growth rates were highest in banking, government, health care, insurance and retail. Of note are increased sales to financial services, which account for 42 percent of total revenue. These companies turned to SAS to help them navigate changes in customer needs, business models, and government and central bank oversight. "To show growth in this sector is a real achievement", Goodnight said "and shows the confidence financial services companies have in our ability to partner with them to solve complex business issues."
In the government sector, which accounts for 15 percent of SAS revenue, key concerns include declining tax revenue, managing service levels and transparency. "We are seeing growing interest in using data as a strategic asset to combat fraud, make sure taxes are collected most effectively, and ensure that citizens are getting the most for their tax dollar," Goodnight said.
Sales to retail saw a 12 percent spike despite a very challenging environment for that sector. "Double-digit growth in retail is particularly noteworthy," Goodnight said. "We're helping retailers price products and stock stores, taking into account regional, local and even store-level buying preferences of their customers. Retailers have very tight margins and we continue to help them find ways to improve them."
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