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| Business at SAP |
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SAP steps up sales to public services
SAP’s revenue grew in all industry sectors. Total revenue from
discrete industries, consumer industries, and financial services
was 9% higher than in 2003. Discrete industries generated 24%
of all SAP revenue, making them the biggest contributor –
a mantle previously worn by the service industries. Sales to
public services grew to €694 million, a double-digit increase in
percentage terms. This increased the contribution that sales
to that sector made to SAP’s total revenue.
SAP improves operating margin
For 2004, SAP set a goal of improving efficiency, and at the
beginning of the year the Company forecast a one-percentage-point
gain in pro-forma operating margin. It fulfilled that
forecast with an increase from 27 % to 28 %. Over the past five
years, SAP has increased its pro-forma operating margin almost
eight percentage points. The pro-forma operating margin
expresses the ratio between pro-forma operating income (operating
income excluding expenses for stock-based compensation
and acquisition-related charges) and total revenue. In 2004,
the operating margin including expenses for stock-based compensation
and acquisition-related charges was 27 %, an increase
of two percentage points.
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