SAP Announces Q3 2024 Results

Rhea-AI Summary

SAP announced strong Q3 2024 results, with cloud revenue up 25% to €4.35 billion and total revenue up 9% to €8.47 billion. Key highlights include:

- Current cloud backlog grew 25% to €15.38 billion
- Cloud ERP Suite revenue up 34% to €3.64 billion
- IFRS operating profit up 29% to €2.21 billion
- Non-IFRS operating profit up 27% to €2.24 billion
- Free cash flow increased 44% to €1.25 billion

SAP raised its 2024 outlook, now expecting:

- €29.5 – 29.8 billion cloud and software revenue
- €7.8 – 8.0 billion non-IFRS operating profit
- €3.5 – 4.0 billion free cash flow

The company continues to execute its 2024 transformation program, focusing on AI and operational efficiencies. SAP completed the acquisition of WalkMe and saw strong customer adoption of 'RISE with SAP' and 'GROW with SAP' offerings.

Positive

• Cloud revenue increased 25% to €4.35 billion
• Total revenue grew 9% to €8.47 billion
• Current cloud backlog rose 25% to €15.38 billion
• Cloud ERP Suite revenue up 34% to €3.64 billion
• IFRS operating profit increased 29% to €2.21 billion
• Non-IFRS operating profit up 27% to €2.24 billion
• Free cash flow grew 44% to €1.25 billion
• SAP raised its 2024 outlook for cloud and software revenue, operating profit, and free cash flow
• Strong customer adoption of 'RISE with SAP' and 'GROW with SAP' offerings
• Completed acquisition of WalkMe

Negative

• Software licenses revenue decreased by 15% to €0.28 billion
• Services revenue down 2% to €1.04 billion
• IFRS effective tax rate increased to 33.0% from 27.8% in Q3 2023
• Non-IFRS effective tax rate rose to 33.4% from 27.1% in Q3 2023
• Restructuring expenses of €2.8 billion recorded in the first nine months of 2024

Insights

Financial Analyst

SAP's Q3 2024 results demonstrate strong performance and growth, particularly in cloud revenue. Key highlights include:

• Cloud revenue up 25% to €4.35 billion
• Cloud ERP Suite revenue up 34% to €3.64 billion
• Total revenue up 9% to €8.47 billion
• Non-IFRS operating profit up 27% to €2.24 billion

The company's transition to cloud-based services is progressing well, with the share of predictable revenue increasing to 84%. SAP's focus on AI integration and the successful execution of its 2024 transformation program are driving efficiency improvements. The raised outlook for 2024, including increased projections for cloud and software revenue and operating profit, indicates management's confidence in continued growth. However, investors should note the temporary increase in the effective tax rate due to restructuring-related losses.

Tech Industry Expert

SAP's Q3 results underscore its successful pivot to cloud-based services and AI integration. The 34% growth in Cloud ERP Suite revenue signals strong market adoption of SAP's core offerings. The company's emphasis on "Business AI" and innovations like the SAP Knowledge Graph are timely, aligning with industry trends towards AI-driven enterprise solutions.

The acquisition of WalkMe, contributing to cloud backlog growth, demonstrates SAP's strategic moves to enhance its digital adoption capabilities. This could prove important in improving customer onboarding and retention. The "RISE with SAP" and "GROW with SAP" programs continue to attract major global clients, indicating the company's strong position in the enterprise software market.

However, the 15% decrease in software licenses revenue highlights the ongoing shift from traditional licensing models to cloud subscriptions. This transition, while positive long-term, may create short-term revenue fluctuations that investors should monitor.

• Current cloud backlog of €15.4 billion, up 25% and up 29% at constant currencies
• Cloud revenue up 25% and up 27% at constant currencies
• Cloud ERP Suite revenue up 34% and up 36% at constant currencies
• Total revenue up 9% and up 10% at constant currencies
• IFRS cloud gross profit up 26%, non-IFRS cloud gross profit up 27% and up 28% at constant currencies
• IFRS operating profit up 29%, non-IFRS operating profit up 27% and up 28% at constant currencies
• SAP raises its 2024 outlook for cloud and software revenue, operating profit and free cash flow

WALLDORF, Germany, Oct. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) announced today its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.

Christian Klein, CEO:
Q3 was another strong quarter for SAP, and we are confidently raising our 2024 financial outlook. Cloud revenue growth developed remarkably well in the quarter, especially for our Cloud ERP Suite. Even more importantly, we are making strong progress on Business AI with groundbreaking innovations such as SAP Knowledge Graph. A significant part of our cloud deals in Q3 included AI use cases.

Dominik Asam, CFO:
We are very pleased with our third quarter performance. The 2024 transformation program has already started to yield efficiency improvements. This allowed us to deliver a strong operating profit and free cash flow, while retaining our topline momentum.
We're now focused on carrying that momentum into Q4 to safeguard the achievement of our 2025 ambition amidst a highly volatile environment.  

Financial Performance

Group results at a glance – Third quarter 2024

	IFRS				Non-IFRS1
€ million, unless otherwise stated	Q3 2024	Q3 2023	∆ in %		Q3 2024	Q3 2023	∆ in %	∆ in % const. curr.
SaaS/PaaS	4,234	3,291	29		4,234	3,291	29	30
Thereof Cloud ERP Suite2	3,636	2,711	34		3,636	2,711	34	36
Thereof Extension Suite3	597	581	3		597	581	3	4
IaaS4	117	180	–35		117	180	–35	–34
Cloud revenue	4,351	3,472	25		4,351	3,472	25	27
Cloud and software revenue	7,429	6,679	11		7,429	6,679	11	12
Total revenue	8,470	7,744	9		8,470	7,744	9	10
Share of more predictable revenue (in %)	84	82	2pp		84	82	2pp
Cloud gross profit	3,184	2,525	26		3,209	2,535	27	28
Gross profit	6,212	5,637	10		6,236	5,651	10	11
Operating profit (loss)	2,214	1,723	29		2,244	1,767	27	28
Profit (loss) after tax from continuing operations	1,441	1,272	13		1,437	1,352	6
Profit (loss) after tax5	1,441	1,272	13		1,437	1,352	6
Earnings per share - Basic (in €) from continuing operations	1.25	1.09	15		1.23	1.16	6
Earnings per share - Basic (in €)5	1.25	1.09	15		1.23	1.16	6
Net cash flows from operating activities from continuing operations	1,475	1,124	31
Free cash flow					1,248	865	44

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 – Nine months ended September 2024

	IFRS				Non-IFRS1
€ million, unless otherwise stated	Q1–Q3 2024	Q1–Q3 2023	∆ in %		Q1–Q3 2024	Q1–Q3 2023	∆ in %	∆ in % const. curr.
SaaS/PaaS	12,016	9,401	28		12,016	9,401	28	29
Thereof Cloud ERP Suite revenue2	10,217	7,695	33		10,217	7,695	33	34
Thereof Extension Suite revenue3	1,799	1,706	5		1,799	1,706	5	6
IaaS4	417	564	–26		417	564	–26	–25
Cloud revenue	12,433	9,965	25		12,433	9,965	25	26
Cloud and software revenue	21,563	19,542	10		21,563	19,542	10	11
Total revenue	24,798	22,739	9		24,798	22,739	9	10
Share of more predictable revenue (in %)	84	82	2pp		84	82	2pp
Cloud gross profit	9,052	7,121	27		9,101	7,152	27	28
Gross profit	17,990	16,330	10		18,039	16,388	10	11
Operating profit (loss)	2,648	3,897	–32		5,717	4,546	26	27
Profit (loss) after tax from continuing operations	1,534	2,399	–36		3,660	3,019	21
Profit (loss) after tax5	1,534	4,763	–68		3,660	4,801	–24
Earnings per share - Basic (in €) from continuing operations	1.31	2.07	–37		3.13	2.59	21
Earnings per share - Basic (in €)5	1.31	4.21	–69		3.13	4.39	–29
Net cash flows from operating activities from continuing operations	5,772	4,284	35
Free cash flow					5,031	3,423	47

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

Third Quarter 2024

In the third quarter, SAP's strong business momentum continued. Current cloud backlog grew by 25% to €15.38 billion and was up 29% at constant currencies. The acquisition of WalkMe contributed approximately 1 percentage point to that growth rate. Cloud revenue was up 25% to €4.35 billion and up 27% at constant currencies, fueled by Cloud ERP Suite revenue, which was up 34% to €3.64 billion and up 36% at constant currencies.

Software licenses revenue decreased by 15% to €0.28 billion and was down 14% at constant currencies. Cloud and software revenue was up 11% to €7.43 billion and up 12% at constant currencies. Services revenue was down 2% to €1.04 billion and down 2% at constant currencies. Total revenue was up 9% to €8.47 billion and up 10% at constant currencies.

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

IFRS cloud gross profit was up 26% to €3.18 billion. Non-IFRS cloud gross profit was up 27% to €3.21 billion and was up 28% at constant currencies.

IFRS operating profit in the third quarter was up 29% to €2.21 billion. Non-IFRS operating profit was up 27% to €2.24 billion and was up 28% at constant currencies. Operating profit growth was mainly driven by strong revenue growth as well as disciplined execution of the 2024 transformation program.

IFRS earnings per share (basic) increased 15% to €1.25. Non-IFRS earnings per share (basic) increased 6% to €1.23. IFRS effective tax rate was 33.0% (Q3/2023: 27.8%) and non-IFRS effective tax rate was 33.4% (Q3/2023: 27.1%). Both year-over-year increases mainly resulted from a temporary inability to offset withholding taxes in Germany due to tax losses in 2024 resulting from restructuring.

Free cash flow in the third quarter increased by 44% to €1.25 billion. While around €0.3 billion was paid out for restructuring, the positive development was primarily attributable to increased profitability and lower tax payments. For the first nine months, free cash flow was up 47% to €5.03 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 September 30, 2024, SAP had repurchased 16,709,250 shares at an average price of €157.09 resulting in a purchased volume of approximately €2.62 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 and the acquisition of WalkMe, SAP now expects to exit 2024 at a headcount slightly ahead of year-end 2023. 

While restructuring expenses recorded in the first nine months of 2024 total €2.8 billion, the overall expenses associated with the program are estimated to be approximately €3 billion.

Restructuring payouts in the third quarter and first nine months of 2024 amounted to €0.3 billion and €0.8 billion respectively. 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 third quarter, customers around the globe continued to choose "RISE with SAP" to drive their end-to-end business transformations. These customers included: B3, CAF - the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chalhoub Group, Cochlear, Dakota Provisions, E.ON, eBay, Energy Queensland, Equinor, FairPrice Group, Gestamp Servicios, JAPAN AIRLINES, Lands' End, Mercado Libre, Mondelez International, OLAM Global Agri, Roche, Rolls-Royce Power Systems, Schwarz Group, Siemens Healthineers, Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, SRAM, Tetra Pak, ZEON Corporation, and Zwilling.

Clorox, CPKC Railways, J.M. VOITH, KAESER KOMPRESSOREN, Nvidia, Panasonic Energy of North America, and VistaPrint went live on SAP S/4HANA Cloud in the third quarter.

Dawn Foods, DXC Technology, Gainsight, L'OCCITANE Group, Mistral AI, Palmer Candy, The Pool Tile Company, and SCHURTER Holding 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: AAK, Aramark, Bosideng, BY-HEALTH, Continental Automotive Technologies, Duni Group, Hamburg Commercial Bank, HR Campus, Kruger Services, Manchester City Council, Merck KGaA, PayPal, pfm medical, RWE, and VP Bank.

Breakthru Beverage Group, Cox Automotive Australia, and Heartland Dental went live on SAP solutions.

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

On July 30, SAP announced that the SAP Supervisory Board reached a mutual agreement with Executive Board Members Scott Russell and Julia White to leave the company's Executive Board, effective August 31.

On September 3, SAP announced that the SAP Supervisory Board reached a mutual agreement with Chief Technology Officer and Executive Board Member Dr.-Ing. Juergen Mueller to leave the company's Executive Board, effective September 30, 2024.

On September 12, SAP announced that it successfully completed its acquisition of WalkMe Ltd., a leading digital adoption platform company.

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.

For 2024, SAP is updating its cloud and software revenue, operating profit and free cash flow outlook and now expects:

• €29.5 – 29.8 billion cloud and software revenue at constant currencies (2023: €26.92 billion), up 10% to 11% at constant currencies, raising the midpoint by €400 million. The previous range was €29.0 – 29.5 billion at constant currencies.
• €7.8 – 8.0 billion non-IFRS operating profit at constant currencies (2023: €6.51 billion), up 20% to 23% at constant currencies, raising the midpoint by €150 million. The previous range was €7.6 – 7.9 billion at constant currencies.
• €3.5 – 4.0 billion free cash flow (2023: €5.09 billion). The previous outlook was approximately €3.5 billion.

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.
• 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 September 30, 2024 Rates Apply for 2024

In percentage points	Q4 2024	FY 2024
Cloud revenue growth	–3.0pp	–1.0pp
Cloud and software revenue growth	–2.0pp	–1.0pp
Operating profit growth (non-IFRS)	–2.0pp	–2.0pp

Non-Financial Outlook 2024

In 2024, SAP continues to expect: 

• The Employee Engagement Index to be in a range of 70% to 74%.
• 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%.

Additional Information

This press release and all information therein is preliminary and unaudited. Due to rounding, numbers may not add up precisely. The full Q3 2024 Quarterly Statement can be downloaded from: https://www.sap.com/investors/sap-2024-q3-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, October 21^st 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 third 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

¹The Q3 2024 results were also impacted by other effects. For details, please refer to the disclosures on page 25 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 Q3 2024?

SAP's cloud revenue grew by 25% to €4.35 billion in Q3 2024.

How much did SAP's Cloud ERP Suite revenue increase in Q3 2024?

SAP's Cloud ERP Suite revenue increased by 34% to €3.64 billion in Q3 2024.

What is SAP's updated 2024 outlook for cloud and software revenue?

SAP raised its 2024 outlook for cloud and software revenue to €29.5 – 29.8 billion at constant currencies.

How much did SAP's free cash flow grow in Q3 2024?

SAP's free cash flow increased by 44% to €1.25 billion in Q3 2024.

What was the growth rate of SAP's current cloud backlog in Q3 2024?

SAP's current cloud backlog grew by 25% to €15.38 billion in Q3 2024.