State News

SAS reports 5.1 percent revenue increase

Chief executive Jim Goodnight said the Cary-based company prospered in the poor economy because its private status allows it to build long-term relationships with customers and workers.

Posted 2009-02-04T15:22:08+00:00 - Updated 2009-02-04T20:19:55+00:00

Jim Goodnight, CEO and co-founder of SAS.

Privately owned SAS Institute says its revenue rose again last year to $2.26 billion despite the poor economy.

The Cary-based software company said Wednesday that revenue rose 5.1 percent last year, marking the 33rd year of revenue growth.

Chief executive Jim Goodnight said in a statement that the company prospered in the poor economy because its private status allows it to build long-term relationships with customers and workers.

SAS said revenue from risk management programs was up 28 percent, and optimization software sales increased 18 percent. Energy and utility company sales were up 27 percent, and revenue from analytics and data-mining software increase more than 15 percent, the company reported.

SAS said it gained 2,600 new customers around the world last year.