Swedish ERP provider IFS defied the global economic gloom in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, reporting a 16% rise in sales to SKr 612 million and a 110% leap in EBIT profits to SKr 42 million.

Profits included charges for a restructuring program started in the second quarter.

IFS CEO Alastair Sorbie attributed the upbeat performance to the company’s continuing focus on defense and “project-oriented” industries. New wins included a contract with Lockheed Martin — the delayed closing of which had suppressed results in the second quarter.

The results mark a stark contrast to the warning sounded by larger ERP rival SAP two weeks ago, when it slashed its projected third-quarter growth to 16% to 17%, from 24% to 27%. SAP will report quarterly results later this month.

“We are not trading in banking, fortunately,” Sorbie said in a conference call with analysts this morning in which he said the company’s general avoidance of the financial sector has shielded it from economic hardships.

Likewise, the company has for the past five years steered away from consumer-facing industries such as automobile and electronics. “Our move away from that has been very beneficial,” he said.

In addition to the Lockheed Martin deal, the company closed contracts with the United Kingdom’s BAE Technology Solutions and Services in defense, process companies Dailycer in the United Kingdom and Jotun in Norway, and SMIT Internationale, the Dutch maritime services firm.

License revenue was SKr 142 million, up from SKr 106 million; maintenance and support rose to SKr 175 million from SKr 161 million; and consulting was SKr 287 million, up from SKr 253 million. “Other” revenue was SKr 8 million.

Geographically, 76% of the company’s revenue, or SKr 463 million, came from the EMEA region, through which it reports its defense revenue. The Americas accounted for SKr 79 million, down from SKr 81 million a year earlier, and “rest of world” accounted for SKr 65 million in revenue. The company reported another SKr 5 million from what it calls “undistributed corporate” revenue.

IFS reported its results in constant currency, and said that revenue increased 20% if adjusted for currencies including the weak dollar.