The financial performance of supply chain software vendors JDA Software Group Inc. and Manhattan Associates Inc. headed in dramatically divergent directions in the second quarter, with JDA reporting surprisingly upbeat results, while Manhattan Associates stumbled badly.

Both companies reported that maintenance revenue continued to come under pressure for the three-month period ended June 30. But while Manhattan Associates said customers — particularly those considering larger software purchases — remained reluctant to sign deals, JDA officials said market volatility declined significantly in the second quarter, leading to more large deals and an 8% rise in revenue. Manhattan Associates, which saw revenue decline by more than 35%, said it landed no million-dollar-plus deals in the first half of 2009. JDA, on the other hand, said it signed five such deals in the quarter.

“It appears as though the volatility of the first quarter has dramatically diminished,” said JDA CEO Hamish Brewer, in remarks to financial analysts.

“It was difficult to get ink on contracts for larger deals,” said Manhattan Associates CEO Pete Sinisgalli on a conference call to discuss his company’s results. “Companies continue to be reluctant to make capital commitments in this environment.”

The supply chain software vendors’ different product portfolios and areas of focus may account for their dramatically different results and perspectives. Hamish said JDA saw particularly strong second-quarter demand for its supply chain planning and optimization software products, while Manhattan Associates said large deals were hard to land for its supply chain execution and warehouse management tools.

“Products focusing on planning and optimization are doing well, while those focusing on infrastructure [are doing] not so well because they don’t have ROI associated with them,” Hamish asserted.

JDA reported second-quarter revenue of $99.5 million, up 8% from second-quarter 2008 revenue of $91.8 million. The company reported revenue from software licenses during the quarter of $27.6 million, up 77.4% compared with the year-earlier period. At the same time, revenue from maintenance services fell 5% and service-related revenue dropped 7% to $27.5 million for the quarter.

JDA reported net income of $8.9 million, an increase of 190.8% compared with the year-earlier period.

Sales performance improved in all three of JDA’s geographic regions — the Americas, Asia/Pacific, and Europe/Middle East/Africa. Revenue from the Americas region grew by 60%, while EMEA revenue was up slightly, Brewer said. In Asia/Pacific, he said, second-quarter revenue exceeded the region’s entire 2008 revenue, largely due to a single big deal.

Brewer said JDA hopes to continue that strong performance in Asia. The company plans to quadruple its head count in China over the next two years, expecting that manufacturers there are becoming more inclined to invest in packaged enterprise software.