Business Context and Reporting Period
This Form 6-K is a clarification report filed by SAP AG on April 11, 2011. It addresses a specific disclosure error in the company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2010, which was originally filed on March 18, 2011.
Key Financial Metrics
The filing does not report new revenue, profit, cash flow, or debt figures. It solely corrects the 2011 non-IFRS operating margin guidance previously stated in the Annual Report.
- 2010 Non-IFRS Operating Profit: €4.01 billion
- 2010 Non-IFRS Operating Margin: 32.0%
Material Changes Versus Prior Period
The filing deletes a sentence from the "Medium Term Prospects" section of the Annual Report that incorrectly stated an expected 2011 non-IFRS operating margin of 31.0% to 31.5%. The company clarifies that this specific margin range was not part of the official outlook provided in the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010 Earnings Release.
Guidance, Outlook, and Management Commentary
SAP AG reaffirms its official 2011 non-IFRS operational outlook as detailed on page 86 of the Annual Report:
- 2011 Non-IFRS Operating Profit: Expected to be in the range of €4.45 billion to €4.65 billion at constant currencies.
- 2011 Non-IFRS Operating Margin: Expected to increase by 0.5 to 1.0 percentage points at constant currencies compared to the 2010 margin of 32.0%.
Management states that the deleted sentence was an error and does not reflect the company's actual guidance.
Investor Verification Checklist
- Verify the corrected 2011 non-IFRS operating margin guidance (increase of 0.5 to 1.0 percentage points) in the Annual Report on Form 20-F, page 86.
- Confirm that the deleted margin range of 31.0% to 31.5% is disregarded for 2011 projections.
- Review the Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010 Earnings Release (Exhibit 99.1 to the January 27, 2011 Form 6-K) to confirm the original guidance alignment.