Sybase CEO Says No Slowdown from Macro Issues

Sybase (SY) CEO John Chen says the company is not seeing any meaningful slowdown in its business from the current economic slowdown. And you can see that in the company’s June quarter numbers, which as noted earlier were above Street expectations at both the top and bottom lines.

In an interview with Tech Trader Daily this afternoon, Chen said the company is seeing stronger business internationally than domestically, but that there has been no dramatic slowdown in the U.S. He notes that the company had a “good quarter” for its federal business, as well as good demand from Wall Street firms for its risk analytics software. He says that while investment banks may be more cautious overall, they are willing to spending on stuff that can “help them get out of their current situation.” The risk analytics product, hes notes, sits on top of trading systems “and measures risk on a real-time basis.” It runs both on systems using Sybase’s own database software or on Oracle-based systems.

Overall, the company’s database and analytics business grew 38% quarter-over-quarter, he notes. Meanwhile, the company saw 41% growth in its mobile messaging business, including a 57% jump in revenue for enterprise-based mobile messaging. While he agrees that the growth of the smartphone business is helpful on that front, he also notes that the company’s messaging products are compatible with much simpler phones, and now connect with 2.4 billion phones around the world. The company also has seen good growth from its mobile middleware business, Chen says.

In the latest quarter, he says “we were very fortunate that all geographies grew, and all of our businesses grew.”

SY shares, which rose 94 cents in the regular session, have gained another 93 cents, or 2.9%, to $33.33, in after-hours trading. That lifts the stock to a new 52-week high, and pushes its year-to-date rise to 27.8%.