Business management software company SAP AG says net profit rose 23 percent in the third quarter as its cloud computing business grew rapidly and the company kept down costs by holding down hiring of new employees.

The Germany-based company’s net profit rose to 762 million euros (US$1.04 billion). Revenues grew 2 percent to 4.05 billion euros.

Cloud computing revenues more than tripled to 191 million euros from 63 million euros. In cloud computing, companies access software on SAP’s computers over the Internet rather than having it installed and maintained on-site — saving them money.