SAP: starts year on 'strong' note, co-CEO leaves

(CercleFinance.com) - Germany's SAP, the world's third biggest software maker, has said it has started 2020 with "strong" momentum and "healthy" growth.


In the first quarter SAP saw sales at its key cloud and software business rise 7% year-on-year to 5.4 billion euros, with total group revenue also up 7% at 6.5 billion euros.

Meanwhile, its operating profit jumped to 1.2 billion euros, from a loss of 136 million euros a year ago.

In its statement, SAP pointed out the "resilience" of its business model in light of the "unprecedented" challenges presented by the COVID-19 crisis, noting that the share of its predictable revenue represents approximately 72%.

Even so, SAP reassessed some of its expectations for 2020 and now expects an operating cash flow of approximately 5 billion euros, against 6 billion euros previously.

SAP also announced that its co-chief executive officer Jennifer Morgan, 48, will leave the company next week, with Christian Klein, 39, continuing as chief executive, on his own.

Morgan and Klein were both appointed co-chief executive officers in October 2019.

SAP shares were down 2.6% on Tuesday morning on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange after all these announcements were made.

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