The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board of SAP AG recommend that shareholders approve a dividend of €1.00 per share for the fiscal year 2013 at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. This represents a year-over-year increase of €0.15, or 18% compared to last year’s dividend of €0.85. If the shareholders approve this recommendation, the total amount of dividends to be distributed will be approximately €1.2 billion (2012: €1.0 billion), representing a pay-out ratio of 36% (2012: 36%).
“We believe our shareholders should benefit from SAP’s continued profitable growth in 2013,” said Werner Brandt, CFO of SAP. “The pay-out ratio remains stable at 36% leading to a dividend increase by 18% which demonstrates SAP’s commitment to our shareholder base.”
The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board also recommend that the shareholders approve the conversion of the legal form of the company into a European Company (Societas Europaea, SE). With the conversion into an SE, the shareholders of SAP AG will automatically become shareholders of SAP SE. Shareholders’ rights will remain unchanged.
The Supervisory Board also decided to propose to the shareholders that Jim Hagemann Snabe, who will step down from the SAP Executive Board as co-CEO upon the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, stand as a candidate for election to the Supervisory Board of SAP SE. This proposal is supported by more than 25% of the voting stock, therefore the two year “cooling off period” required by the German Stock Corporation Act is not necessary.
The Annual General Meeting of Shareholders is scheduled for May 21, 2014 in Mannheim, Germany. The 2013 fiscal year dividend is scheduled to be paid on or after May 22, 2014.
Note to holders of SAP ADRs (American Depositary Receipts): One SAP ADR represents one SAP AG share. The final dividend amount per ADR is dependent upon the euro/US dollar exchange rate. Since SAP AG pays cash dividends on the ordinary shares in euro, the exchange rate fluctuations will affect the US dollar amounts received by holders of ADRs. The final dividend payment by SAP AG to the depositary bank is scheduled for May 22, 2014. The depositary bank will then convert the dividend payment from euro into US-dollars as promptly as practicable.
