Autodesk: suites up, revenue down in license model transition

Autodesk just reported that fiscal Q4 revenue was $587 million, down 3% as reported, leading to a 2% decline in revenue for the year, to $2,312 million. Part of that decline is due to buyers choosing subscriptions, and Autodesk offering “flexible license arrangements [to] enterprise customers”; if these customers had bought using traditional methods, revenue would have been up 2% in Q4. We need to parse that and the rest of the announcement, so there’ll be lots more after the earnings call. In the meantime, the highlights:

• Revenue from suites was up 15% to $216 million
• Revenue in the Americas was down 6% to $207 million; from EMEA, down 4% to $229 million; from Asia Pacific, up 2% to $150 million. Revenue from emerging economies was up 5% to $88 million and represented 15% of total revenue in the fourth quarter.
• Revenue from Platform Solutions and Emerging Business (PSEB) was down 1% to $196 million; from the AEC segment, revenue was down 6% to $196 million; revenue from the Manufacturing business segment was flat at $154 million. Revenue from the Media and Entertainment (M&E) business segment decreased 12 percent to $41 million, compared to the fourth quarter last year.

Growth rates above are as reported, year/year. Autodesk provides constant currency and “if the license model transition weren’t happening” comparisons, too, that paint a muddier picture. More on that tomorrow. Autodesk forecasts 3% to 5% revenue growth in fiscal 2015, including the Delcam acquisition that closed a few weeks ago. That’s roughly $100 million, right about what Delcam might have seen as an independent company — in other words, without Delcam’s added revenue, Autodesk’s license model change (and perhaps other effects) would have causes an unpleasant decline in total revenue. For Q1, the company sees revenue between $560 million and $575 million, roughly flat with a year ago. Stay tuned …