SAP CFO Werner Brandt confirmed that the business software company had had a difficult year in 2009 during a conference call with investors on Wednesday, but also that there were visible signs of a rebound.

Brandt told investors and financial media outlets – according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha – that the company’s "cash flow was very strong, with more than 3 billion from our operating cash flow perspective. We decreased capital expenditure year-over-year, so our free cash flow increased by 52 percent. And our cash flow inversion rate exceeded 160 percent."

Revenue from licensing and subscriptions was up strongly, which is a positive sign that – despite the 9 percent drop in total revenue – conditions could help SAP to excel in the future, according to Brandt.

CEO Leo Apotheker also spoke on the call, and said that the SAP software of the future would be based on "fast implementation, rapid time to value and easy, pervasive access to information at any time through any device," according to Information Week.