SAP Announces Q2 2023 Results

in € millions, unless otherwise stated; based on SAP group results from continuing operations

• Cloud revenue up 19% and up 22% at constant currencies. SAP S/4HANA cloud revenue up 74% and accelerates to 79% at constant currencies
• Current cloud backlog up 21% and up 25% constant currencies
• IFRS cloud gross profit up 20%, non-IFRS cloud gross profit up 20% and up 24% at constant currencies, supported by completion of SAP's next-generation cloud delivery program
• IFRS operating profit up 28%, non-IFRS operating profit up 23% and up 28% at constant currencies
• SAP updates its 2023 revenue and operating profit outlook
• Expands market opportunity through new SAP Business AI and premium AI offerings

WALLDORF, Germany, July 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Christian Klein, CEO: "This has been another strong quarter. We see significant opportunities ahead, in particular through the transformative power of AI. We are focused on delivering SAP Business AI that's relevant, reliable, and responsible and we see significant possibilities for market expansion through these technologies and new premium offerings."

Dominik Asam, CFO: "We are very pleased with our first half results. The revenue growth and increased profitability, combined with sustained growth of our cloud backlog, demonstrate the strength of our business model. Q2 performance puts us on the right trajectory and allows us to raise our cloud and software revenue, as well as the operating profit outlook for the year."

In Q1 2023, the Qualtrics consolidated group ("Qualtrics") was classified as discontinued operations under IFRS 5.  Consequently, the contribution from Qualtrics is not included in the reporting of SAP's continuing operations. See section (M) Discontinued Operations. All figures in this statement are based on SAP group results from continuing operations unless otherwise noted.

Financial Performance

Financial Highlights¹

Second Quarter 2023

Current cloud backlog grew by 21% to €11.54 billion and was up 25% at constant currencies. SAP S/4HANA current cloud backlog was up 65% to €3.72 billion and up 70% at constant currencies.

In the second quarter, cloud revenue was up 19% to €3.32 billion and up 22% at constant currencies. SAP S/4HANA cloud revenue was up 74% to €823 million and up 79% at constant currencies.

Software licenses revenue decreased by 26% to €316 million and was down 24% at constant currencies. Cloud and software revenue was up 5% to €6.50 billion and up 8% at constant currencies. Services revenue was up 4% to €1.05 billion and up 7% at constant currencies. Total revenue was up 5% to €7.55 billion and up 8% at constant currencies.

The share of more predictable revenue increased by 2 percentage points to 82% in the second quarter.

Supported by the successful completion of the next-generation cloud delivery program, cloud gross profit was up 20% (IFRS) to €2.36 billion, up 20% to €2.40 billion (non-IFRS), and up 24% (non-IFRS at constant currencies).

IFRS operating profit increased 28% to €1.36 billion. Non-IFRS operating profit was up 23% to €2.06 billion and up 28% at constant currencies. The increase was mainly driven by cloud revenue growth, finalization of the next generation cloud delivery program, as well as efficiency gains. In addition, operating profit in the second quarter of last year was negatively impacted by SAP's decision to wind down its business operations in Russia and Belarus. Beyond that, Q2 IFRS operating profit growth benefitted from the restructuring expenses we reported in Q2 last year. On the other hand, it was negatively affected by higher share-based compensation expenses primarily due to the share-price development over the second quarter of this year.

IFRS earnings per share (basic) increased 15% to €0.62. Non-IFRS earnings per share (basic) increased 12% to €1.07. The effective tax rate was 33.8% (IFRS) and 30.4% (non-IFRS).

Free cash flow in the second quarter increased significantly to €604 million, driven by the strong expansion of operating profit and a reduction of payments for, amongst others, share-based compensation, capex and leasing. For the first six months, free cash flow was up 19% to €2.56 billion.

Completion of Qualtrics divestiture

On June 28, SAP announced the completion of the sale of its stake in Qualtrics at a price of US$18.15 in cash per share. The closing of the transaction contributed an after-tax gain on sale of approximately €3.2 billion (IFRS) and approximately €2.6 billion (Non-IFRS) to SAP's results. The cash inflow resulting from the purchase price was €7.1 billion (€6.4 billion net of cash and cash equivalents held by Qualtrics). All contributions from the Qualtrics divestiture are reflected in results from discontinued operations. For details, please refer to section M in other disclosures in the Q2 2023 Quarterly Statement.

Completion of next-generation cloud delivery program

Early in the second quarter, SAP successfully completed the migration of its cloud customer base to its state-of-the-art, harmonized cloud infrastructure. More than 20,000 customers and half a million tenants were migrated as part of the program, which was initiated at the beginning of 2021.

Business Highlights

In the second quarter, customers around the globe continued to choose "RISE with SAP" to drive their end-to-end business transformations. These customers included ARAG, Bacardi-Martini, Bayer, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung, Empresas Polar, Foodstuffs South Island, GOL, McBride, Municipality of Utrecht, and Sochor. 

ABN AMRO Bank, Cirque du Soleil, HanesBrands, Levi's, Tech Mahindra, Versuni, went live on SAP S/4HANA Cloud in the second quarter.

The Brenda Strafford Foundation, in-tech GmbH, NKK Switches, Onyx Renewable Partners, StepLock, and Sunny Sky Products chose "GROW with SAP", a new offering helping midsize customers adopt cloud ERP with speed, predictability and continuous innovation.

Key customer wins across SAP's solution portfolio included: Breakthru Beverage, Deutsche Börse, Endress+Hauser InfoServe, La Poste, LB Group, Sabadell Digital, Santander, TATA Projects and Visa. Numerous customers have also gone live with SAP solutions, including: Asahi Kasei Corporation, Coca-Cola HBC, Falabella Financiero, González Byass, Fujitsu, NTT, and OMV.

In the second quarter, SAP's cloud revenue performance was strong across all regions. Germany, Brazil and India had outstanding cloud revenue growth while the United States, the Netherlands, France, China and Chile performed particularly strong.

On April 26, 2023, SAP and HP Inc. announced an expansion of its strategic relationship as HP invested in the RISE with SAP solution to support its focus on driving digital transformation, portfolio optimization and operational efficiency. The software will provide a platform for combining hardware, software and services to deliver flexible workforce solutions.

On May 11, SAP and Google Cloud announced an extensive expansion of their partnership, introducing a comprehensive open data offering designed to simplify data landscapes and unleash the power of business data.

On May 11, SAP also announced that the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of SAP SE elected Dr. h.c. Punit Renjen as new member of the company's Supervisory Board and designated successor to Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Hasso Plattner in his role as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board. In addition, Jennifer Li and Dr. Qi Lu were reelected as members of the Supervisory Board. The AGM also approved all other proposals of the Executive Board and Supervisory Board. That includes the compensation system for Executive Board members, which incorporates revisions based on shareholder feedback, and the approval to buy back treasury shares. Furthermore, the dividend proposal of €2.05 per share for fiscal year 2022 was approved.

On May 15, SAP announced the next step in its long-standing partnership with Microsoft, using the latest in enterprise-ready generative AI innovation to help solve customers' most fundamental business challenges. The companies will collaborate on integrating SAP SuccessFactors solutions with Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot in Viva Learning, as well as Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service to access powerful language models that analyze and generate natural language.

On May 16, SAP announced a new share repurchase program with a volume of up to €5 billion. The program is scheduled to start in the second half of 2023 and is expected to be fully executed by the end of 2025.

SAP advances vision of Business Artificial Intelligence (AI)

On May 2, SAP and IBM announced that IBM Watson technology will be embedded into a broad range of SAP solutions to provide new AI-driven insights and automation to help accelerate innovation and create more efficient and effective user experiences across the SAP application portfolio.

On July 11, Sapphire Ventures announced that it is deepening its commitment to AI by investing more than US$1 billion in AI-powered enterprise technology startups, including those specializing in generative AI. The commitment builds on Sapphire's history of investing in and scaling enterprise AI startups and will focus on all areas of the emerging AI tech stack including foundation models, enablers and middleware, and next-gen AI applications.

On July 18, SAP announced the next step in its commitment to deliver Business AI that is relevant, reliable, and responsible with strategic direct investments in three leading generative AI companies. The investments in Aleph Alpha, Anthropic and Cohere reinforce SAP's open ecosystem approach to AI, leveraging the best technology to embed AI across SAP's portfolio. They build on a series of AI partnerships and enterprise use cases announced in May and complement the above-mentioned commitment from Sapphire Ventures.

Segment Results at a Glance

SAP's reportable segment showed the following performance:

In the second quarter, segment revenue in AT&S was up 5% to €7.27 billion and up 7% at constant currencies, primarily due to rapid cloud revenue growth, which was supported by SAP S/4HANA as well as Business Technology Platform. Operating Expenses of the segment decreased by 2% and remained flat at constant currencies, resulting in a segment margin of 32.3% and 32.6% at constant currencies. This implies a growth of 4.6 percentage points and 4.9 percentage points at constant currencies compared to the second quarter of the prior year.

Cloud Performance

Business Outlook

Financial Outlook 2023

For 2023, SAP is updating its revenue and operating profit outlook and now expects:

• €14.0 – 14.2 billion cloud revenue at constant currencies (2022: €11.43 billion), up 23% to 24% at constant currencies, narrowing the range by €200 million. The previous range was €14.0 – 14.4 billion at constant currencies.
• €27.0 – 27.4 billion cloud and software revenue at constant currencies (2022: €25.39 billion), up 6% to 8% at constant currencies, narrowing the range by €100 million. The previous range was €26.9 – 27.4 billion at constant currencies.
• €8.65 – 8.95 billion non-IFRS operating profit at constant currencies (2022: €7.99 billion), up 8% to 12% at constant currencies, raising the operating profit outlook by €50 million. The previous range was €8.6 – 8.9 billion at constant currencies.

SAP continues to expect:

• A share of more predictable revenue of approximately 82% (2022: 79%). It is defined as the total of cloud revenue and software support revenue divided by total revenue.
• Free cash flow of approximately €4.9 billion (2022: €4.4 billion)
• An effective tax rate (IFRS) of 28.0% to 32.0% (2022: 32.0%) and an effective tax rate (non-IFRS) of 26.0% to 28.0% (2022: 29.6%).

While SAP's 2023 financial outlook is at constant currencies, actual currency reported figures are expected to be impacted by currency exchange rate fluctuations as the Company progresses through the year. See the table below.

Currency Impact Assuming June 2023 Rates Apply for 2023

Non-Financial Outlook 2023

SAP continues to focus on three non-financial indicators: customer loyalty, employee engagement, and carbon emissions.

In 2023, SAP continues to expect:  

• a Customer Net Promoter Score of 8 to 12[2].
• an Employee Engagement Index to be in a range of 76% to 80%.
• Net carbon emissions of 0kt, meaning the Company will be carbon neutral in its own operations.

Ambition 2025

Demonstrating its strong business momentum and reflecting the divestiture of Qualtrics, SAP updated its mid-term ambition on May 16, 2023, and expects:

• Cloud revenue of more than €21.5bn
• Total revenue of more than €37.5bn
• Non-IFRS cloud gross profit of approximately €16.3bn
• Non-IFRS operating profit of approximately €11.5bn
• A share of more predictable revenue of approximately 86%
• Free cash flow of approximately €7.5bn

The 2025 ambition is based on an exchange rate of 1.10 USD per EUR.

Additional Information

The full Q2 2023 Quarterly Statement can be downloaded from: https://www.sap.com/investors/sap-2023-q2-statement.  

This press release and all information therein is preliminary and unaudited.

SAP Performance Measures

For more information about our key growth metrics and performance measures, their calculation, their usefulness, and their limitation, please refer to the following document on our Investor Relations website: https://www.sap.com/investors/performance-measures. 

Webcast

SAP senior management will host a financial analyst conference call on Thursday, June 20^th at 7:00 PM (CEST) / 6:00 PM (BST) / 1:00 PM (Eastern) / 10:00 AM (Pacific). The conference will be webcast on the Company's website at https://www.sap.com/investor and will be available for replay. Supplementary financial information pertaining to the second quarter results can be found at https://www.sap.com/investor.

About SAP

SAP's strategy is to help every business run as an intelligent enterprise. As a market leader in enterprise application software, we help companies of all sizes and in all industries run at their best: SAP customers generate 87% of total global commerce. Our machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers' businesses into intelligent enterprises. SAP helps give people and organizations deep business insight and fosters collaboration that helps them stay ahead of their competition. We simplify technology for companies so they can consume our software the way they want – without disruption. Our end-to-end suite of applications and services enables business and public customers across 25 industries globally to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference. With a global network of customers, partners, employees, and thought leaders, SAP helps the world run better and improve people's lives. For more information, visit www.sap.com. 

This document contains forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections, or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations, forecasts, and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to materially differ. Additional information regarding these risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the risk factors section of SAP's 2022 Annual Report on Form 20-F.

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SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. 

¹ The Q2 2023 results were also impacted by other effects. For details, please refer to the disclosures on page 29 of this document. 

² The guidance is based on an adjusted methodology for 2023 to better reflect the business priorities of the company.

SOURCE SAP SE