SAP raises 2017 revenue and operating profit outlook targets

[WALLDORF] German software maker SAP on Friday raised its 2017 outlook for revenue and profit to the upper end of expectations, marking the progress it is making turning itself into an Internet-based, cloud supplier from a packaged software firm.

Europe's largest software maker said that it expected 2017 revenue in the range of 23.0-23.5 billion euros (S$35.62 - S$36.38 billion), at or above the average analyst expectation of 23.01 billion euros, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data.

SAP said it is now targeting a non-IFRS operating profit in the range of 6.7-7.0 billion euros. The midpoint of that range, 6.85 billion, is slightly below the 6.905 billion the mean estimate among analysts according to Thomson Reuters data.

On the same basis, a year ago, SAP had forecast total 2017 revenue of between 21 billion euros and 22 billion and operating profit in a range between 6.3 billion to 7.0 billion euros.

Last week, the German software maker pre-announced better-than-expected 2015 results, fuelled by strong year-end renewals by existing software licence customers. But it stuck a cautious tone in its 2016 outlook.

REUTERS