SAP’s stock dropped more than 10 percent on Thursday as the business software vendor warned of lower-than-expected revenue growth for its most recent quarter.Just three months ago, SAP reported that demand for its products was growing at a breakneck pace, and the company predicted that it would report software revenue growth somewhere between 15 percent and 17 percent for 2006. On Thursday, however, it warned that this number would be closer to 13.5 percent.Fourth-quarter revenue is expected to be about 2.95 billion euros (US$3.82 billion), a year-over-year increase of 7 percent. Software revenue was up 7 percent for the quarter, totaling about 1.26 billion euros, the company said. Software sales slowed in the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions, SAP reported. In the United States and Japan, sales dropped to a 4 percent growth rate during the fourth quarter. The enterprise software vendor reported 13 percent revenue growth in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. SAP is expected to provide guidance for 2007’s outlook and announce detailed fourth-quarter 2006 results on Jan. 24.SAP’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange (SAP) closed at $48.50 Thursday, down more than 10 percent from the previous day’s $54.13 close. -Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (San Francisco Bureau)Related Links: SAP Keeping Close Eye on Open Source SAP Cofounder Brings ‘Design Thinking’ to Europe IT in 2007: A Look AheadCheck out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content BrandPost Stay in Control of Your Data with a Secure and Compliant Sovereign Cloud By Stan Kwong Mar 23, 2023 6 mins Cloud Security Cloud Computing News Accenture to lay off 19,000 to cut costs amid economic uncertainty Technology services giant Accenture will continue to hire but meanwhile is cutting staff to streamline operations in the face of economic headwinds. By Anirban Ghoshal Mar 23, 2023 2 mins IT Consulting Services Technology Industry BrandPost Advice from procurement: How to evaluate and propose new IT investments By clearly defining needs and requirements, evaluating TCO, and performing risk assessments, procurement and IT teams can work together to help their business leaders make more informed decisions for an improved bottom line. By Bo Bradshaw, Edgio Procurement Director Mar 23, 2023 5 mins SaaS BrandPost Why AI is key to hiring and retaining developers Data shows that the opportunity to build AI-powered apps figures very prominently in where developers decide to work. By Bryan Kirschner, Vice President, Strategy at DataStax Mar 23, 2023 4 mins Artificial Intelligence IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe