SAP 3Q Net Profit Rises, Raises Guidance for 2017

Germany's SAP SE (SAP.XE) on Thursday said that it is raising its outlook for 2017 after posting a 35% rise in third-quarter net profit.

The business software provider said net profit for the period ended Sept. 30 was 983 million euros ($1.2 billion), compared with EUR725 million a year earlier. The announced figure exceeds a consensus forecast of EUR822 million provided by Factset.

Revenue for the quarter was EUR5.59 billion, up 4% from the year-earlier period and slightly below what analysts expected. The company said revenue growth in the third quarter was partially driven by a 22% increase in new cloud subscriptions.

"We see growth in every corner of the business, which is why we are again raising our guidance for the full year," said Chief Executive Officer Bill McDermott.

The company now expects operating profit for the full year of between EUR6.85 billion and EUR7.0 billion, based on calculations not recognized under international financial reporting standards. The lower end of that non-IFRS range was previously EUR6.8 billion. SAP also sees non-IFRS cloud and software revenue to rise between 7.0% and 8.5%. The lower end of that range was previously 6.5%.

The company said it expects non-IFRS cloud and software revenue and non-IFRS operating profit growth to experience a currency headwind.

Write to Marc Navarro Gonzalez at marc.navarrogonzalez@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 19, 2017 01:33 ET (05:33 GMT)