SAP AG (SAP) has recommended that shareholders approve a dividend of € 0.60 per share at the Annual General Meeting of shareholders. Compared to last year’s dividend of € 0.50 per share, this represents an increase of 20%.
The Annual General Meeting of shareholders is slated for May 25, 2011 in Mannheim, Germany.
Recently, SAP reported fourth quarter 2010 earnings per share of €0.37 (50 cents) compared to €0.57 in the prior-year quarter due to charges of €933 million and associate income taxes of €359 million related to the Tomorrow Now litigation. Excluding these charges, SAP’s EPS from continuing operations was €0.93 ($1.26), which exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.19.
Total revenue was €4.06 billion ($5.5 billion), an increase of 27% year over year. Software revenue was € 1.51 billion, an increase of 35% while software and software-related service revenue was € 3.27 billion, an increase of 28%.
SAP is the leader in the worldwide enterprise applications market with the largest market share. Its primary focus is on high-margin software license sales, since this category benefits the most from the improving information technology (IT) spending environment. The company is poised to benefit as the market environment is improving.
The company remains best positioned in the European software space, given its top-tier positioning, strong service-oriented architecture (SOA) adoption trends and its diversified industry and geographic footprint. The company is entering the on-demand market, with SAP Business ByDesign being the most important innovation.
SAP Business ByDesign is a next generation on-demand technology platform, and the company is confident of rolling out the product in 2010. The company is also innovating products in the area of mobility which would provide SAP solutions that can be accessed from all leading mobile platforms, like RIM, Nokia, Apple, Google Android, etc.
Headquartered in Walldorf, Germany, SAP AG is one of the largest independent software vendors in the world and the leading provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Its solutions are designed to cater to the needs of organizations, ranging from small and medium businesses to large, global enterprises.
SAP’s business suite solutions help clients improve customer relationships, enhance collaboration and improve efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. International Business Machines Corp (IBM) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) are major competitors.
We currently have a Neutral recommendation on SAP AG.
INTL BUS MACH (IBM): Free Stock Analysis Report
MICROSOFT CORP (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report
SAP AG ADR (SAP): Free Stock Analysis Report
Zacks Investment Research
