DGAP-News: Software AG announces Q3 financial results: delivers strong quarterly revenue and profit; confirms existing Group guidance ranges for FY 2019
DGAP-News: Software AG
/ Key word(s): 9 Month figures
Software AG announces Q3 financial results: delivers strong quarterly revenue and profit; confirms existing Group guidance ranges for FY 2019
22.10.2019 / 06:49
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
PRESS RELEASE
Software AG announces Q3 financial results: delivers strong quarterly revenue and profit; confirms existing Group guidance ranges for FY 2019
- First operational and financial benefits of Helix transformation showing through; delivery against Helix commitments yielding initial improvements across all strategic focus areas
- Strategic leading indicators continue to gather momentum:
- Q3 Annual Recurring Revenue within DBP (incl. Cloud & IoT) 12 percent higher than prior year
- Q3 SaaS/Subscription share of bookings now 63 percent of DBP (incl. Cloud & IoT) more than double prior year level
- Q3 Group revenue of EUR224.2 million, up 5 percent; total product revenue of EUR179.2 million, up 5 percent; total license revenue of EUR64.1 million, up 9 percent
- Q3 Group EBIT of EUR59 million, up 8 percent (IFRS); Q3 EBIT margin (non-IFRS) of 30.5 percent, consistent with prior year
- DBP (excl. Cloud & IoT): Recovery in performance during Q3 with license revenue at previous year level; continued strength in EMEA and positive developments in North America
- Cloud & IoT: 17 new IoT customers in Q3, with continued growth in maintenance and SaaS revenue offset in part by the absence of large deals which are expected in Q4
- Adabas & Natural (A&N): another strong quarterly performance, with 15 percent growth in product revenue driven in part by early closing of several deals
- Continued focus in R&D has driven product innovation including the launch of the webMethods.io B2B platform; Software AG now has a cloud offering available for each major product
- New strategic OEM relationship with Adobe Company, Marketo; partnership further demonstrates the growth in Software AG's growing partner ecosystem as part of the Helix program
- Current financial guidance ranges for FY 2019 confirmed
[Unless otherwise stated, all figures are IFRS-conform, increases at constant currency and rounded.]
Darmstadt, Germany, October 22, 2019 - Software AG (Frankfurt MDAX: SOW) today announces its financial figures (IFRS, preliminary) for third quarter 2019. Software AG delivered a strong Group-level performance in both revenue and profit. The operational performance is consistent and confirms the financial guidance for the full year 2019. A&N continued to deliver strong results ahead of expectations, with revenues up 15 percent year-on-year. DBP (excl. Cloud & IoT) delivered a recovery from the first half, with measures taken in North America to de-risk pipelines, improve sales structures and embed new leadership having a positive impact. Cloud & IoT had a slower performance in the period, as sizeable second half 2019 pipeline opportunities are expected to be signed in Q4, although momentum in new logo acquisition continued to build. Reflecting the ambition to increase the proportion of predictable and higher quality license revenues, SaaS or subscription commitments as a proportion of DBP (incl. Cloud & IoT) bookings more than doubled year-on-year to 63 percent.
"Eight months in to our Helix transformation program, I am encouraged to see the first benefits of our tough decisions, disciplined focus and sharper execution showing through. There is much still to do - but strong growth in recurring revenue, a full cloud suite for all of our major products, strong momentum in new logo wins and a steadying of our business in North America all show that we are pointing in the right direction. I am delighted to see us extend our partnership ecosystem further today, with our new Marketo OEM relationship extending the deep bonds we have already built with Adobe. Our position in the key market "hybrid integration" is getting stronger, and we remain focused as a team on the initiatives that will see us deliver on our long-term growth ambitions," said Sanjay Brahmawar, CEO of Software AG.
"Our financial performance in Q3 was strong, following a slower start in the first half year of our digital business. This underpins our confidence that the markets and opportunities we are pursuing are the right ones. Our divisional performance was encouraging, and despite a slower revenue recognition in Cloud & IoT, we are trending in line with our guidance ranges for the year as a whole. We have made great progress with our subscription model conversion program and we remain on a solid financial footing to support this and our other Helix priorities moving forward," commented Arnd Zinnhardt, CFO of Software AG.
Third Quarter 2019 Business Line Performance
In the third quarter of 2019 Software AG's A&N business performed for the quarter, generating revenue of EUR62.0 million. A&N license sales increased by 48 percent compared to the prior year to EUR25.0 million (2018: EUR16.1 million). A&N maintenance reached EUR36.8 million in Q3 2019, consistent to EUR36.0 million in Q3 2018.
DBP (excl. Cloud & IoT) also delivered results ahead of our expectations, experiencing an overall revenue growth 1 percent to EUR108.7 million (2018: EUR104.7 million). License revenues show a flat development with EUR37.9 million from EUR37.1 million.
Software AG's Cloud & IoT business had a relatively weaker license revenue performance, albeit against a strong prior year. Despite maintenance and SaaS showing strong double-digit growth, in total, business line revenue declined by 6 percent to EUR8.6 million, compared to EUR9.1 million in Q3 2018.
Third Quarter 2019 Total Revenue and Earnings Performance
Software AG reported EUR224.2 million (2018: EUR208.8 million) in total revenue in the period. This is an increase of 5 percent. Group license revenue grew 9 percent to EUR64.1 million (2018: EUR56.7 million). Group maintenance revenue totalled EUR109.3 million (2018: EUR104.7 million), or 2 percent growth. Accordingly, Software AG's total third quarter product revenue (licenses and maintenance) was EUR179.2 million (2018: EUR165.9 million), which reflects 5 percent growth.
The company's EBIT was EUR59.0 million (2018: EUR54.5 million) in the quarter under review. This reflects an EBIT margin of 26.3 percent (2018: 26.1 percent). At EUR68.4 million (2018: EUR63.8 million), operating EBITA (non-IFRS) also performed well, ahead of expectations in the quarter. Subsequently, the operating profit margin (non-IFRS) was 30.5 percent (2018: 30.5 percent).
Employees
As of September 30, 2019, Software AG had 4,883 (2018: 4,714) employees worldwide (full-time equivalents). Of that total, 1,890 (2018: 1,903) worked in Professional Services.
2019 Outlook
Software AG confirms its outlook for FY 2019. Based on the expectations of business performance for the fourth quarter, Software AG's Management Board continues to anticipate an operating profit margin (EBITA, non-IFRS) between 28.0 and 30.0 percent for the 2019 fiscal year. Digital Business Platform (excl. Cloud & IoT) revenue is expected to end up in a range of 0 to 6 percent below previous year. Cloud & IoT revenue is expected to increase between 75 and 125 percent. The revenue growth target for the Adabas & Natural database business line remains unchanged between -3 and +3 percent.
The table below shows the full forecast for the 2019 fiscal year:
Outlook for Fiscal Year 2019 FY 2018in EUR mn FY 2019 Outlook
as %1 DBP (excl. Cloud & IoT) 434.4 -6 to 0 DBP Cloud & IoT 30.3 +75 to +125 A&N revenue 218.3 -3 to + 3 Operating margin
(EBITA, non-IFRS)2 31.5% 28 to 30 1 at constant currency
2 adjusted for non-operating factors (see non-IFRS earnings definition in the 2018 annual report on p. 48f)
Conference Call
A conference call for financial analysts and media representatives will take place on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. CEST (8:30 a.m. BST). For dial-up information, visit the Company's website at www.SoftwareAG.com/investors.
Key Group Figures
Third Quarter 2019-Key Figures as of September 30, 2019 in EUR millions (unless otherwise stated) Q3 2019 Q3 2018 +/- as % +/- as % acc1 Revenue 224.2 208.8 +7 +5 DBP business line 117.4 113.8 +3 +1 DBP (excluding Cloud & IoT) 108.7 104.7 +4 +1 Licenses 37.9 37.1 +2 -1 Maintenance 70.8 67.7 +5 +3 DBP Cloud & IoT 8.6 9.1 -5 -6 Annual recurring revenue 334.0 290.3 +15 +12 A&N business line 62.0 52.3 +19 +15 Professional Services business line 44.8 42.7 +5 +3 EBIT (IFRS) 59.0 54.5 +8 as % of revenue 26.3 26.1 - - EBITA (non-IFRS) 68.4 63.8 +7 - as % of revenue 30.5 30.5 - - Net income (non-IFRS) 51.0 44.7 +14 - Earnings per share (non-IFRS)2 EUR0.69 EUR0.60 +14 - 1 acc = at constant currency2 based on weighted average shares outstanding (basic) Q3 2019: 74.0 m / Q3 2018: 74.0 m, YTD 2019: 74.0m / YTD 2018: 74.0m
9 Months 2019-Key Figures as of September 30, 2019 in EUR millions (unless otherwise stated) YTD 2019 YTD 2018 +/- as % +/- as % acc1 Revenue 635.6 601.2 +6 +4 DBP business line 327.6 316.7 +3 +1 DBP (excluding Cloud & IoT) 296.9 296.0 0 -2 Licenses 87.9 96.2 -9 -10 Maintenance 208.7 199.8 +4 +2 DBP Cloud & IoT 31.0 20.7 +50 +47 Annual recurring revenue 334.0 290.3 +15 +12 A&N business line 169.7 149.6 +13 +12 Professional Services business line 138.2 134.8 +3 +1 EBIT (IFRS) 148.9 148.8 0 as % of revenue 23.4 24.7 - - EBITA (non-IFRS) 176.1 176.5 0 - as % of revenue 27.7 29.4 - - Net income (non-IFRS) 126.6 123.4 +3 - Earnings per share (non-IFRS)2 EUR1.71 EUR1.67 +3 -1 acc = at constant currency
2 based on weighted average shares outstanding (basic) Q3 2019: 74.0 m / Q3 2018: 74.0 m, YTD 2019: 74.0m / YTD 2018: 74.0m
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About Software AG
Software AG (Frankfurt MDAX: SOW) offers Freedom as a Service. We reimagine integration, spark business transformation and enable fast innovation on the Internet of Things so you can pioneer differentiating business models. We give you the freedom to connect and integrate any technology-from app to edge. We help you free data from silos so it's shareable, usable and powerful-enabling you to make the best decisions and unlock entirely new possibilities for growth. Software AG has more than 4,700 employees, is active in 70 countries and had revenues of EUR 866 million in 2018.
Learn more about Software AG and Freedom as a Service at www.softwareag.com.
Software AG | Uhlandstrasse 12 | 64297 Darmstadt | Germany
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Contact:
Otmar F. Winzig
Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations
otmar.winzig@softwareag.com
Tel.: +49 6151 92 1669
Sarah Logan
sarah.logan@softwareag.com
VP Communications
Tel: +44 2077 880 157
22.10.2019 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
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893819 22.10.2019