3D software developer Autodesk has announced financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2021.
Total revenue for the company increased 20 percent to $886 million, compared to the same period for FY 2020 which was reported at $735 million. On a constant currency basis, the increase was 22 percent.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic had an inevitable impact especially with the economic slowdown in the latter stages of Q1, Autodesk President and CEO Andrew Anagnost is pleased with the “solid first quarter results,” adding that the company is prepared to overcome the challenges presented by the ongoing economic challenges.
“Our ability to succeed through challenging times is driven by our people, products, and technology and how they adapt to a rapidly changing world. Our priorities in light of COVID-19 have been the well-being of our employees, the support of our customers, and the health of the communities we work in.”
“I’m very proud of the impact we’ve made thanks to all the Autodesk employees who have embraced these efforts at every level. We have also maintained our focus on long-term opportunities and remain confident in our growth drivers and fiscal 2023 targets.”
Autodesk financial results
Autodesk’s financial results are reported across two main sources of revenue: Subscription revenue and Maintenance Plan revenue. Subscription Revenue includes subscription fees from product subscriptions, cloud service offerings, and EBAs. Subscriptions represent a combined hybrid offering of desktop software and cloud functionality.
Maintenance revenue refers to sales generated from plans provided to customers that offer a budgetary option to obtain the benefits of the Autodesk’s new releases and enhancements when and if released during the term of their contracts.
| $ millions | Q1 2021 | Q1 2020 | Variance $ | % |
| Subscription | 803 | 595.8 | 207 | 34.78% |
| Maintenance | 62.1 | 112 | -50 | -44.55% |
| Other | 20.6 | 27.7 | -7 | -25.63% |
| Total net revenue | 885.7 | 735.5 | 150.2 | 20.42% |
Of the total net revenue, Subscription accounts for the largest amount. For Q1 2021, Subscription plan revenue was reported at $803 million, a 35 percent increase over Q1 2020, where the segment generated $596 million in revenue.
Maintenance plan revenue on the other hand was posted at $62.1 million, compared to $112 million for the same period in FY 2020. This represents a 45 percent decline for the segment.
Geographically, the Americas are Autodesk’s strongest region for total net revenue. For the three months ended April 30 2020, net revenue for the Americas was reported at $362 million, with the U.S. contributing $300.6 million net revenue and Other Americas the remaining $61.6 millions. The total revenue for the Americas for the same period last year was reported at $296 million, representing a 22 percent increase. Revenue from the EMEA region grew by 16 percent from $297 million to $345 million, whereas APAC experienced the strongest growth overall, increasing by 25 percent from $143 million in Q1 2020 to $179 million for Q1 2021.
Cloud-based working in post-COVID
On the Q1 2021 earnings call, Scott Herren, Chief Financial Officer at Autodesk, explains that the company’s investments in cloud products and a subscription business model gives Autodesk’s a robust foundation to successfully navigate the economic challenges of the ongoing pandemic. However, Herren also explains that “Our full year guidance range is wider than normal due to ongoing uncertainty in the economic environment, it will have a more pronounced impact on our new business.”
Further expanding on cloud and subscription solutions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrew Anagnost, Chief Executive Officer at Autodesk, expects their adoption to increase: “We expect all secular trends that we have been investing in for years to be accelerated during and beyond this pandemic. People are being forced to change the way they work, and in turn are experiencing the benefits that our cloud and subscription solutions have to offer. These companies are not going to go back to how they worked before and digitization will be accelerated as businesses take all steps necessary to sure they are more resilient.”
With Autodesk having focused on developing cloud-based offering for its software solutions, Anagnost believes the company has a competitive advantage in the current economic conditions. With the manufacturing industry impacted by supply chain disruptions and temporary factory shutdowns, Autodesk’s software solutions, like Fusion 360, BIM 360 Design, Fusion Team, and AutoCAD Web, are enabling its customers to operate under evolving conditions, explains Anagnost, therefore increasing their adoption.
“Fusion 360 is the leading comprehensive multi-tenant cloud CAD/CAM and PLM solution and continue to gain traction during this pandemic, as customers are reassessing their technology portfolios’ readiness to cope with the demands of distributed work. In fact, April was the fastest-growing month for new user acquisition.”
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Featured image shows a 3D model designed in Fusion 360. Image via Autodesk.
