SAP Announces Q2 2024 Results

Rhea-AI Summary

SAP announced strong Q2 2024 results, with cloud revenue up 25% to €4.15 billion and total revenue up 10% to €8.29 billion. The company's cloud momentum continued, with current cloud backlog growing 28% to €14.81 billion. Cloud ERP Suite revenue saw significant growth of 33%. While IFRS operating profit decreased 11% due to restructuring expenses, non-IFRS operating profit increased 33% to €1.94 billion. SAP reiterated its 2024 financial outlook and increased its 2025 operating profit ambition to reflect anticipated efficiency gains from its expanded transformation program. The company continues to focus on Business AI and cloud growth, with several major customer wins and partnerships announced during the quarter.

Positive

• Cloud revenue increased 25% to €4.15 billion
• Total revenue grew 10% to €8.29 billion
• Current cloud backlog up 28% to €14.81 billion
• Cloud ERP Suite revenue increased 33%
• Non-IFRS operating profit rose 33% to €1.94 billion
• Free cash flow increased 114% to €1.3 billion in Q2
• 2025 operating profit ambition increased
• Share repurchase program of €5 billion announced

Negative

• IFRS operating profit decreased 11% due to restructuring expenses
• Software licenses revenue declined 28%
• Restructuring expenses of €0.6 billion recorded in Q2
• Total restructuring expenses now estimated at €3 billion
• Employee Engagement Index forecast lowered to 70-74% for 2024

Financial Analyst

The Q2 2024 results from SAP reveal a mixed performance with some positive aspects overshadowed by restructuring costs. Cloud revenue has significantly increased by 25 year-over-year, which is a strong indicator of SAP's successful transition to a cloud-first business model. The Cloud ERP Suite alone saw a substantial 33 growth, showing that SAP’s core business applications continue to attract new customers.

However, the IFRS operating profit fell by 11 mainly due to €0.6 billion in restructuring expenses. This indicates a short-term financial strain but could lead to longer-term gains if the transformation program brings the anticipated efficiencies. It’s also worth noting the free cash flow surged by 114, reaching €1.3 billion, signifying improved profitability and better working capital management.

From an investor’s standpoint, the reiterated financial outlook for 2024 and increased 2025 operating profit ambition signal confidence from SAP’s management. Nonetheless, the operating profit loss under IFRS due to restructuring costs raises caution. Investors should balance the immediate financial impact against the potential long-term benefits of SAP's strategic investments in AI and scalability.

Tech Expert

SAP's increasing focus on AI and Business AI applications is a important aspect of their strategy, which is reflected in their Q2 2024 report. The statement from CEO Christian Klein highlights ongoing investments into AI to further drive cloud growth. This is strategically significant as AI enhancements can differentiate SAP’s product offerings, increase automation and provide greater value to clients through improved predictive analytics and decision-making capabilities.

The acquisition of WalkMe Ltd. for approximately €1.5 billion also stands out. WalkMe, a leading digital adoption platform, will likely enhance SAP's ability to improve user experiences and optimize software utilization across client enterprises. This move aligns with SAP’s goal to embed AI deeper into its solutions, potentially accelerating its market leadership in cloud and AI-driven business applications.

For retail investors, these developments suggest an increased potential for SAP to capture a larger market share in cloud solutions and AI-driven enterprise software. However, investors should monitor how effectively SAP integrates these technologies and acquisitions to ensure they translate to tangible business benefits.

Market Research Analyst

The Q2 2024 results for SAP demonstrate a promising upward trend in their cloud business, with a notable 28 growth in the current cloud backlog. This backlog is an essential metric for predicting future revenue streams, indicating a strong pipeline and continued customer demand for SAP’s cloud services. The rise in predictable revenue share from 82 to 84 reinforces the stability and reliability of SAP's revenue base.

Despite the positive cloud growth, the operating profit under IFRS suffered due to restructuring costs. However, the non-IFRS operating profit increased by 33, which is a more favorable indicator of the company’s underlying operating performance, excluding one-time restructuring expenses. The continued execution of their transformation program and the expected efficiency gains are critical for achieving the updated 2025 profit ambition.

For investors, this implies a balanced outlook: strong long-term growth potential tempered by short-term financial impacts due to restructuring. The transformation program’s success will be pivotal in sustaining this growth momentum and leveraging AI advancements to drive future profitability.

• Current cloud backlog of €14.8 billion, up 28%, both at nominal and constant currencies
• Cloud revenue up 25%, underpinned by 33% Cloud ERP Suite revenue growth, all at nominal and constant currencies
• Total revenue up 10%, both at nominal and constant currencies
• IFRS cloud gross profit up 29%, non-IFRS cloud gross profit up 28% and up 29% at constant currencies
• IFRS operating profit down 11% due to restructuring expenses of €0.6 billion. Non-IFRS operating profit up 33% and up 35% at constant currencies
• 2024 financial outlook reiterated. 2025 operating profit ambition increased to reflect anticipated incremental efficiency gains from expanded transformation program

WALLDORF, Germany, July 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) announced today its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024.

Christian Klein, CEO:
Our cloud growth momentum remained strong in Q2, with Business AI enabling many deals. We continue to execute on our transformation with great discipline, leading to an increase in our operating profit ambition for 2025. At the same time, we continue to invest into our transformation to be the leader in Business AI. Given our progress and strong pipeline, we are confident to achieve accelerating topline growth through 2027.

Dominik Asam, CFO:
We are staying squarely focused on delivering our outlook for this year. Our current cloud backlog growth during the second half of 2024, and especially in Q4 will be decisive to lay a solid foundation for our cloud revenue ambition for 2025. At the same time, we'll continue to execute against our transformation plan to achieve our 2025 free cash flow ambition despite a mid-triple-digit million cash out for restructuring spilling into next year.

All figures in this statement are based on SAP group results from continuing operations unless otherwise noted.

Financial Performance

Group results at a glance – Second quarter 2024

	IFRS				Non-IFRS1
€ million, unless otherwise stated	Q2 2024	Q2 2023	∆ in %		Q2 2024	Q2 2023	∆ in %	∆ in % const. curr.
SaaS/PaaS	4,018	3,130	28		4,018	3,130	28	28
Thereof Cloud ERP Suite2	3,414	2,562	33		3,414	2,562	33	33
Thereof Extension Suite3	604	568	6		604	568	6	6
IaaS4	135	186	–27		135	186	–27	–27
Cloud revenue	4,153	3,316	25		4,153	3,316	25	25
Cloud and software revenue	7,175	6,505	10		7,175	6,505	10	10
Total revenue	8,288	7,554	10		8,288	7,554	10	10
Share of more predictable revenue (in %)	84	82	2pp		84	82	2pp
Cloud gross profit	3,030	2,357	29		3,043	2,368	28	29
Gross profit	6,017	5,409	11		6,029	5,432	11	11
Operating profit (loss)	1,222	1,371	–11		1,940	1,457	33	35
Profit (loss) after tax from continuing operations	918	724	27		1,278	799	60
Profit (loss) after tax5	918	2,982	–69		1,278	2,437	–48
Earnings per share - Basic (in €) from continuing operations	0.76	0.62	22		1.10	0.69	59
Earnings per share - Basic (in €)5	0.76	2.70	–72		1.10	2.40	–54
Net cash flows from operating activities from continuing operations	1,540	848	82
Free cash flow					1,291	604	>100

1	For a breakdown of the individual adjustments see table "Non-IFRS Operating Expense Adjustments by Functional Areas" in this Quarterly Statement.
2	Cloud ERP Suite references the portfolio of strategic Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions that are tightly integrated with our core ERP solutions and are included in key commercial packages, such as RISE with SAP. The following offerings contribute to Cloud ERP Suite revenue: SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP Business Technology Platform, and core solutions for HR and payroll, spend management, commerce, customer data solutions, business process transformation, and working capital management. For additional information and historical data on Cloud ERP Suite, see SAP's Reporting Framework.
3	Extension Suite references SAP's remaining SaaS and PaaS solutions that supplement and extend the functional coverage of the Cloud ERP Suite.
4	Infrastructure as a service (IaaS): The major portion of IaaS comes from SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud.
5	From continuing and discontinued operations.

Group results at a glance – Six months ended June 2024

	IFRS				Non-IFRS1
€ million, unless otherwise stated	Q1–Q2 2024	Q1–Q2 2023	∆ in %		Q1–Q2 2024	Q1–Q2 2023	∆ in %	∆ in % const. curr.
SaaS/PaaS	7,782	6,110	27		7,782	6,110	27	28
Thereof Cloud ERP Suite revenue2	6,581	4,984	32		6,581	4,984	32	33
Thereof Extension Suite revenue3	1,202	1,126	7		1,202	1,126	7	7
IaaS4	299	383	–22		299	383	–22	–21
Cloud revenue	8,082	6,493	24		8,082	6,493	24	25
Cloud and software revenue	14,134	12,863	10		14,134	12,863	10	11
Total revenue	16,329	14,995	9		16,329	14,995	9	10
Share of more predictable revenue (in %)	84	82	2pp		84	82	2pp
Cloud gross profit	5,867	4,596	28		5,892	4,617	28	29
Gross profit	11,778	10,693	10		11,803	10,737	10	11
Operating profit (loss)	434	2,174	–80		3,473	2,779	25	27
Profit (loss) after tax from continuing operations	94	1,128	–92		2,223	1,667	33
Profit (loss) after tax5	94	3,491	–97		2,223	3,448	–36
Earnings per share - Basic (in €) from continuing operations	0.05	0.97	–95		1.91	1.44	33
Earnings per share - Basic (in €)5	0.05	3.12	–98		1.91	3.23	–41
Net cash flows from operating activities from continuing operations	4,297	3,160	36
Free cash flow					3,784	2,559	48

1	For a breakdown of the individual adjustments see table "Non-IFRS Operating Expense Adjustments by Functional Areas" in this Quarterly Statement.
2	Cloud ERP Suite references the portfolio of strategic Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions that are tightly integrated with our core ERP solutions and are included in key commercial packages, such as RISE with SAP. The following offerings contribute to Cloud ERP Suite revenue: SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP Business Technology Platform, and core solutions for HR and payroll, spend management, commerce, customer data solutions, business process transformation, and working capital management. For additional information and historical data on Cloud ERP Suite, see SAP's Reporting Framework.
3	Extension Suite references SAP's remaining SaaS and PaaS solutions that supplement and extend the functional coverage of the Cloud ERP Suite.
4	Infrastructure as a service (IaaS): The major portion of IaaS comes from SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud.
5	From continuing and discontinued operations.

Financial Highlights¹

Second Quarter 2024

In the second quarter, SAP's strong cloud momentum continued. Current cloud backlog grew by 28% to €14.81 billion and again was up 28% at constant currencies. Cloud revenue was up 25% to €4.15 billion and up 25% at constant currencies, mainly driven by Cloud ERP Suite revenue, which was up 33% to €3.41 billion and up 33% at constant currencies.

Software licenses revenue decreased by 28% to €0.2 billion and was down 27% at constant currencies. Cloud and software revenue was up 10% to €7.17 billion and up 10% at constant currencies. Services revenue was up 6% to €1.11 billion and up 6% at constant currencies. Total revenue was up 10% to €8.29 billion and up 10% at constant currencies.

The share of more predictable revenue increased by 2 percentage points to 84% in the second quarter.

Cloud gross profit was up 29% (IFRS) to €3.03 billion, up 28% to €3.04 billion (non-IFRS), and up 29% (non-IFRS at constant currencies).

IFRS operating profit in the second quarter was down 11% to €1.22 billion. The decrease was driven by restructuring expenses of €0.6 billion associated with the 2024 transformation program. Non-IFRS operating profit was up 33% to €1.94 billion and was up 35% at constant currencies. Non-IFRS operating profit growth was supported by strong revenue growth as well as disciplined execution of the 2024 transformation program.

IFRS earnings per share (basic) increased 22% to €0.76. Non-IFRS earnings per share (basic) increased 59% to €1.10. The effective tax rate (IFRS) was 33.8% (Q2/2023: 33.8%) and the effective tax rate (non-IFRS) was 33.6% (Q2/2023: 33.0%). For non-IFRS, the year-over-year increase mainly resulted from a temporary inability to offset withholding taxes in Germany due to tax losses in 2024 resulting from restructuring. For IFRS, the negative effects from withholding taxes were compensated mainly by changes in tax-exempt income and valuation allowances on deferred tax assets.

Free cash flow in the second quarter increased by 114% to €1.3 billion. While around €0.5 billion was paid out for restructuring, the positive development was primarily attributable to increased profitability and enhanced working capital management. For the first six months, free cash flow was up 48% to €3.8 billion.

Share Repurchase Program

In May 2023, SAP announced a share repurchase program with an aggregate volume of up to €5 billion and a term until December 31, 2025. As of June 30, 2024, SAP had repurchased 12,895,525 shares at an average price of €145.20 resulting in a purchased volume of approximately €1.87 billion under the program.

2024 Transformation Program: Focus on scalability of operations and key strategic growth areas

In 2024, SAP is further increasing its focus on key strategic growth areas, in particular business AI. It is transforming its operational setup to capture organizational synergies and AI-driven efficiencies, and to prepare the company for highly scalable future revenue growth.

To this end, as announced in January, SAP is executing a company-wide restructuring program which is anticipated to conclude in early 2025. The restructuring is intended to ensure that SAP's skillset and resources continue to meet future business needs and is currently expected to affect 9,000 to 10,000 positions, a majority of which will be covered by voluntary leave programs and internal re-skilling measures. Reflecting re-investments into strategic growth areas, SAP still expects to exit 2024 at a headcount similar to year-end 2023. 

In the second quarter, additional restructuring expenses of €0.6 billion were recorded, which mainly reflect the positive reception of the voluntary leave programs.

While restructuring expenses recorded in the first half of 2024 total €2.9 billion, the overall expenses associated with the program are now estimated to be approximately €3 billion.

Restructuring payouts in the second quarter and first half of 2024 amounted to €0.5 billion. Overall payouts associated with the program are currently expected at approximately €3 billion, of which a mid-triple-digit million amount is expected to occur in 2025.

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: Alpargatas, Auckland Council, Blue Diamond Growers, Border States, Copenhagen Airports, ExxonMobil, Navantia, PANDORA, Porsche Informatik, Powerlink Queensland, Prairie Farms Dairy, ProRail, Prysmian, Shiseido Company, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, VistaPrint, Warsaw City Hall, and Xerox.

BMI Group Holdings, Co-op, Fiagril, Pure Storage, UBE Corporation, and Wegmans went live on SAP S/4HANA Cloud in the second quarter.

Consolidated Hospitality Supplies, flatexDEGIRO, Fortera Corporation, La Trobe University, Stern-Wywiol Gruppe, and Trade Capital Corporation chose "GROW with SAP", an offering helping customers adopt cloud ERP with speed, predictability, and continuous innovation.

Key customer wins across SAP's solution portfolio included: Accenture, Ambipar, Arca Continental, BASF, Buderus Guss, Carl Zeiss, DACHSER, Endress+Hauser, iHerb, Lenovo, Minor Hotels, New Look, Parle Biscuits, Refresco, U.S. Sugar, Veolia Group, and Zoomlion.

Beiersdorf, E.ON, Gerdau, Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation and SMA Solar Technology went live on SAP solutions.

In the second quarter, SAP's cloud revenue performance was particularly strong in APJ and EMEA and robust in the Americas region. Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, and South Korea had outstanding performances in cloud revenue growth while China, the U.S., and Saudi Arabia were particularly strong.

On April 22, SAP announced AI advancements in its supply chain solutions that we anticipate will unleash a transformative wave of productivity, efficiency and precision in manufacturing. AI-driven insights from real-time data will help companies use their own data to make better decisions across supply chains, streamline product development and improve manufacturing efficiency.

On May 6, SAP announced that it had extended the contract of CEO and Member of the Executive Board Christian Klein for three years, until April 2028.

On May 8, SAP and IBM announced their vision for the next era of their collaboration, which includes new generative AI capabilities and industry-specific cloud solutions that can help clients unlock business value.

On May 13, SAP announced that Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited ("CP Foods") had selected multiple SAP solutions to drive further growth and competitive advantage and to ensure the sustainability of its products for the future.

On May 15, SAP announced that the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Shareholders of SAP SE elected Pekka Ala-Pietilä as new member of the company's Supervisory Board. Subsequently, Ala-Pietilä was also elected the new Chairman of the SAP Supervisory Board, completing the handover from former Chairman of the Board, Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Hasso Plattner. In addition, Prof. Dr. Ralf Herbrich was elected and Aicha Evans, Gerhard Oswald and Dr. Friederike Rotsch were reelected as members of the Supervisory Board. The AGM also approved all other proposals of the Executive Board and Supervisory Board with strong support. That includes the adjustment of the compensation of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Furthermore, the dividend proposal of €2.20 per share for fiscal year 2023 was approved.

On May 29, SAP and Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, announced an expanded, strategic collaboration to transform modern cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) experiences and help enterprises drive new capabilities and efficiencies with generative artificial intelligence (AI).

On June 5, SAP and WalkMe Ltd. (Walkme) announced that the companies had entered into a definitive agreement under which SAP will acquire 100% of WalkMe, a leader in digital adoption platforms. The Executive and Supervisory Boards of SAP SE and the board of directors of WalkMe have approved the transaction for US $14.00 per share in an all-cash transaction, representing an equity value of approximately US $1.5 billion. The offer price represents a 45% premium to WalkMe's closing share price on June 4, 2024. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of WalkMe shareholder approval and necessary regulatory clearances, and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024.

On June 5, SAP announced that it was adjusting its dividend policy effective immediately. The new policy is to pay a dividend amounting to at least 40% of the group's non-IFRS profit after tax from continuing operations (previously: at least 40% of the group's IFRS profit after tax).

Financial Outlook 2024

SAP's financial outlook 2024 is based on SAP's updated non-IFRS definition of profit measures which, beginning in 2024, include share-based compensation expenses and exclude gains and losses from equity securities, net. For more details, please refer to the Reporting Framework section on our Investor Relations website: https://www.sap.com/investors/en/reports/reporting-framework.html.

SAP continues to expect:

• €17.0 – 17.3 billion cloud revenue at constant currencies (2023: €13.66 billion), up 24% to 27% at constant currencies.
• €29.0 – 29.5 billion cloud and software revenue at constant currencies (2023: €26.92 billion), up 8% to 10% at constant currencies.
• €7.6 – 7.9 billion non-IFRS operating profit at constant currencies (2023: €6.51 billion), up 17% to 21% at constant currencies.
• Free cash flow of approximately €3.5 billion (2023: €5.09 billion).
• An effective tax rate (non-IFRS) of approximately 32% (2023: 30.3%)².

While SAP's 2024 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, as reflected in the table below.

Currency Impact Assuming June 30, 2024 Rates Apply for 2024

In percentage points	Q3 2024	FY 2024
Cloud revenue growth	+0.5pp	–0.5pp
Cloud and software revenue growth	+0.5pp	–0.5pp
Operating profit growth (non-IFRS)	+0.0pp	–1.5pp

Non-Financial Outlook 2024

SAP now expects the Employee Engagement Index to be in a range of 70% to 74% in 2024 (previously: 76% to 80%).

In 2024, SAP continues to expect: 

• A Customer Net Promoter Score of 9 to 13.
• To steadily decrease carbon emissions across the relevant value chain, in line with our target of achieving Net Zero carbon emissions by 2030.
• To steadily increase the number of women in executive roles in line with our end of year 2027 target to achieve 25%.

Ambition 2025

SAP is updating its financial ambition 2025, reflecting the anticipated incremental benefits from the transformation program.

By 2025, SAP now expects:

• Non-IFRS operating profit of approximately €10.2 billion (previously: approximately €10 billion).

SAP continues to expect:

• Cloud revenue of more than €21.5 billion.
• Total revenue of more than €37.5 billion.
• Non-IFRS cloud gross profit of approximately €16.2 billion.
• Free cash flow of approximately €8.0 billion (now including an anticipated mid-triple-digit million Euro restructuring payout in 2025 associated with the 2024 transformation program).
• A share of more predictable revenue of approximately 86%.

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

Non-Financial Ambition 2025

For 2025, SAP now aims to increase the Employee Engagement Index (previously: Steadily increasing the Employee Engagement Index).

SAP continues to aim for

• Steadily increasing the Customer Net Promoter Score.

The 2025 non-financial ambitions are in addition to our medium-term targets of achieving Net Zero carbon emissions across the value chain by 2030 and reaching 25% women in executive roles by the end of 2027.

Additional Information

This press release and all information therein is preliminary and unaudited. Due to rounding, numbers may not add up precisely. The full Q2 2024 Quarterly Statement can be downloaded from: https://www.sap.com/investors/sap-2024-q2-statement.

SAP Performance Measures

For more information about our key growth metrics and performance measures, their calculation, their usefulness, and their limitations, 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 Monday, July 22nd at 11:00 PM (CEST) / 10:00 PM (BST) / 5:00 PM (EDT) / 2:00 PM (PDT). 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

As a global leader in enterprise applications and business AI, SAP (NYSE: SAP) stands at the nexus of business and technology. For over 50 years, organizations have trusted SAP to bring out their best by uniting business-critical operations spanning finance, procurement, HR, supply chain, and customer experience. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:
Global Customer Center:	+49 180 534-34-24
United States Only:	+1 (800) 872-1SAP (+1-800-872-1727)

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 2023 Annual Report on Form 20-F.

© 2024 SAP SE. All rights reserved.
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 2024 results were also impacted by other effects. For details, please refer to the disclosures on page 27 of this document. 

² The effective tax rate (non-IFRS) is a non-IFRS financial measure and is presented for supplemental informational purposes only. We do not provide an outlook for the effective tax rate (IFRS) due to the uncertainty and potential variability of gains and losses associated with equity securities, which are reconciling items between the two effective tax rates (non-IFRS and IFRS). These items cannot be provided without unreasonable efforts but could have a significant impact on our future effective tax rate (IFRS).

 

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SOURCE SAP SE

FAQ

What was SAP's cloud revenue growth in Q2 2024?

SAP's cloud revenue grew by 25% to €4.15 billion in Q2 2024.

How much did SAP's current cloud backlog increase in Q2 2024?

SAP's current cloud backlog grew by 28% to €14.81 billion in Q2 2024.

What was SAP's total revenue for Q2 2024?

SAP's total revenue for Q2 2024 was €8.29 billion, up 10% year-over-year.

How did SAP's non-IFRS operating profit perform in Q2 2024?

SAP's non-IFRS operating profit increased by 33% to €1.94 billion in Q2 2024.

Has SAP changed its financial outlook for 2024?

No, SAP reiterated its 2024 financial outlook in the Q2 2024 results announcement.