Europe's largest software maker, SAP, achieved strong operating results in the second quarter, surpassing expectations. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) increased by 33 percent year-on-year to 1.94 billion euros, as the company announced on Monday evening after the US stock market closed. Revenue grew by 10 percent to 8.29 billion euros. The cloud business, in particular, continued to show strong momentum with 25 percent growth.

Despite positive developments in operational business, net profit fell by 69 percent to 918 million euros in the second quarter. This decline is mainly due to a billion-dollar special income from the sale of the former US subsidiary Qualtrics in the previous year.

SAP announced an expansion of its job cuts program. Due to the high acceptance rate among employees, between 9,000 and 10,000 jobs are now expected to be cut instead of the originally planned 8,000. As a result of this measure, the company anticipates additional cost savings starting in 2025, which are expected to increase the operating profit by 0.2 billion euros to around 10.2 billion euros. SAP already set aside an additional 0.6 billion euros in the second quarter to finance the expanded job cuts.

The forecast for the current year has been confirmed by management. Sales prospects for 2025 also remain unchanged. This confidence is based on the strong performance of the cloud business and the expected cost savings from the expanded job cuts.

In after-hours trading on the NYSE, SAP ADRs temporarily increased by 2.76 percent, reaching a price of $206.00. This positive price reaction reflects investors' confidence in the company's strategic measures and robust operational performance.

With the expansion of job cuts and strong business figures behind it, SAP looks optimistically into the future. The strategic focus on the cloud business and consistent cost reduction are intended to strengthen the company's competitiveness and profitability in the long term.

SAP, the company based in Walldorf, thus continues to demonstrate its ability to successfully assert itself in a challenging economic environment and to set the course for sustainable growth through targeted measures.