Dividend Rises Again
SAP has paid a dividend every year since the stock was floated in 1988. At the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board will recommend a dividend for the 2007 fiscal year of €0.50 per share. This would correspond to an increase of €0.04 per share compared to the previous year, and the total distributed dividend would be €599 million. The dividend payout ratio (which here means total distributed dividend as a percentage of net income) would, as in the previous year, be approximately 30%, as indicated in our guidance.
Buy-Back Initiative Continues
In the course of 2007, we bought back 27.3 million shares for treasury at an average price of €36.85 (total cost €1 billion). For more information, see the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Capital Stock Decreased
The Executive Board resolved on September 6, 2007, to decrease SAP’s capital stock for the first time in our history, from €1,269,040,112 (represented by 1,269,040,112 no-par shares each with an attributable value of €1 in relation to the capital stock) to €1,246,040,112 (represented by 1,246,040,112 no-par shares each with an attributable value of €1 in relation to the capital stock). The decrease was achieved by canceling 23,000,000 treasury shares, corresponding to some 1.8% of the capital stock before this measure.
Free Float Increases Again
The proportion of our shares in free float increased again in 2007. Applying the definition accepted on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, which counts treasury stock as included in the free float, it stood at 71.2% on February 29, 2008. Only 28.8% (2006: 30.2%) were still under the control of the three founders and their trusts and holding companies. U.S. institutions and individuals remained the next largest group of shareholders, with around 18.5% of total shares outstanding, followed by continental European institutions (11.3%) and institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland 10.6%. German institutions held 10.0% and identified investors from the rest of the world held 1.9%. 15.0% were held by individuals or unidentified persons while 3.9% were held in treasury stock.
Return on SAP Common Stock, WKN 716460/ISIN DE0007164600
| Initial investment €10,000 | |||
| Date of investment | Dec. 31, 1997 |
Dec. 31, 2002 |
Dec. 31, 2006 |
| Period of investment | 10 years | 5 years | 1 year |
| Value in € at close of 20071) | 16.585 | 19,644 | 8,943 |
| Average annual return in % | 5.2 | 14.5 | – 10.6 |
| Performance comparators in % | |||
| DAX 30 Performance – Total Return Index | 6.7 | 22.8 |
22.3 |
| REX General Bond – Total Return Index | 4.8 |
3.5 | 2.5 |
| S&P 500 Composite – Total Return Index | 2.9 | 5.6 | – 4.9 |
| GSTI Software Index – Price Index | 1.2 | 8.8 | 4.8 |
Return on SAP ADRs, 803054204 (CUSIP)
| Initial investment US$10,000 | ||
| Date of investment | Dec. 31, 2002 |
Dec. 31, 2006 |
| Period of investment | 5 years | 1 year |
| Value (US$) at close of 20071) | 27,066 | 9,714 |
| Average annual return in % | 22.0 | – 2.9 |
| Performance comparators in % | ||
| S&P 500 Composite – Total Return Index | 12.8 | 5.5 |
1) Assuming all dividends were reinvested.
Source: Datastream
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