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Microsoft CSP program bolsters Rhipe's licensing sales growth

In the six months to December, CSP contributed $68.3 million in sales
Dominic O'Hanlon (Rhipe)

Dominic O'Hanlon (Rhipe)

Publicly listed software distributor Rhipe has claimed more than 75 per cent growth within its software licensing sales in Asia Pacific, stemming from the Microsoft Cloud Solutions Provider (CSP) program, in the first half of FY21. 

Overall Microsoft CSP (Office 365 and Azure) accounts for 40 per cent of total licensing sales for the group, which during the six months to December, clocked up $68.3 million in sales -- up from $48 million on the previous period. 

During the first half of FY21, sales from software products ($171 million) and services ($9 million) grew 18 per cent to $180 million, revenue increased 15 per cent to $31 million and profit after tax also jumped 17 per cent to $3.8 million. 

As of December 31, Rhipe had about 720,000 Office 365 seats, in comparison to 547,000 seats in December 2019. 

In a statement to shareholders, Rhipe said it was continuing to invest in its CSP capabilities, most notably with its entrance into the Japan market, and is also pumping further dollars into its solutions business, which provides support and consultancy services. 

During the first half, Rhipe acquired New Zealand-based Azure managed services business, Parallo. 

Within its services business, Rhipe said it was focused on expanding its technical support-as-a-service offering; Microsoft Dynamics consultancy services and its encryption software product, SmartEncrypt, which was officially re-launched in February. 

“Overall, Rhipe delivered a resilient performance despite the impact of COVID-19 on many of the small and midsize businesses that Rhipe serves across Asia Pacific,” Rhipe told shareholders.

“Our ongoing investments in Microsoft public cloud capabilities over the last five years has driven the growth in the group with Microsoft CSP now accounting for over 75 per cent of the growth in software licensing sales in 1H FY21 and 40 per cent of total licensing sales for the Group.”

Rhipe is targeting full year operating profit of $17.5 million, which would represent about 27 per cent growth on FY20.