SAP shareholders can look forward to higher dividends as part of a change in the company's dividend policy.

The Walldorf-based company announced on Wednesday that at least 40 percent of after-tax profits will continue to be distributed to shareholders. However, this will no longer be based on earnings calculated in accordance with IFRS accounting standards. Instead, the so-called non-IFRS profit, which excludes special items, will serve as the basis.

In previous years, the profit before special items was significantly higher than the IFRS result. In 2022 and 2023, profit after tax in accordance with IFRS was €1.71 billion and €5.93 billion respectively, while non-IFRS earnings were €4.55 billion and €7.96 billion respectively. For SAP, the non-IFRS figures are the key figures in the balance sheet.

(Report by Hakan Ersen, edited by Sabine Wollrab. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)