-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, OXgW7cZyqGiGx7t4R1YYzvFIRTmE/M34N1fFwt05Da4oABSGE2lWpY4lheEu+QT1 MCtgiYIw5jFw2MntfJ1krQ== 0000950123-01-000722.txt : 20010131 0000950123-01-000722.hdr.sgml : 20010131 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000950123-01-000722 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 6-K PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 3 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20001231 FILED AS OF DATE: 20010130 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: SAP AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS PRODUCTS IN DATA CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0001000184 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: SERVICES-PREPACKAGED SOFTWARE [7372] IRS NUMBER: 000000000 STATE OF INCORPORATION: I8 FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 6-K SEC ACT: SEC FILE NUMBER: 001-14251 FILM NUMBER: 1519037 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: NEUROTTSTRABE 16 STREET 2: WALLDORF, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMAN CITY: NEW YORK STATE: NY ZIP: 69190 BUSINESS PHONE: 0114962277 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: NEUROTTSTRASSE 16 CITY: WALLDORF D 69190 STATE: I8 6-K 1 y99495e6-k.txt SAP CORPORATION 1 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 6-K REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the periods ended December 31, 2000 SAP AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT SYSTEME, ANWENDUNGEN, PRODUKTE IN DER DATENVERARBEITUNG (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) SAP CORPORATION SYSTEMS, APPLICATIONS AND PRODUCTS IN DATA PROCESSING (Translation of registrant's name into English) Neurottstrasse 16 69190 Walldorf Federal Republic of Germany (Address of principal executive office) Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F. Form 20-F [X] Form 40-F [ ] Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes [ ] No [X] If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-_______. 2 SAP AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT SYSTEME, ANWENDUNGEN, PRODUKTE IN DER DATENVERARBEITUNG FORM 6-K On January 23, 2001, SAP Aktiengesellschaft Systeme, Anwendungen, Produkte in der Datenverarbeitung, a stock corporation organized under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany (the "Company"), issued a Press Release (the "Press Release") and provided additional information via a phone call open to the public ("the Speech") announcing its results for the periods ended December 31, 2000. The Press Release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 for the Press Release and Exhibit 99.2 for the Speech hereto and incorporated by reference herein. Any statements contained in the Press Release or in the Speech that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe", "estimate", "intend", "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate" and "project" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect the Company's future financial results are discussed more fully in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 1999 filed with the SEC on April 7, 2000. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. 3 EXHIBITS
Exhibit No. Exhibit - ----------- ------- 99.1 Press Release, dated January 24, 2001 99.2 Speech, dated January 24, 2001
4 SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. SAP AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT SYSTEME, ANWENDUNGEN, PRODUKTE IN DER DATENVERARBEITUNG (Registrant) By: /s/ Henning Kagermann ----------------------------------- Name: Prof. Dr. Henning Kagermann Title: CEO and Co-Chairman By: /s/ Dieter Matheis ----------------------------------- Name: Dieter Matheis Title: CFO Date: January 30, 2001 5 EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit No. Exhibit - ----------- ------- 99.1 Press Release, dated January 24, 2001 99.2 Speech, dated January 24, 2001
EX-99.1 2 y99495ex99-1.txt PRESS RELEASE, DATED JANUARY 24, 2001 1 Exhibit 99.1 PRESS INFORMATION SAP AG Neurottstrasse 16 D-69190 Walldorf Germany CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS Phone +49 (62 27) 7-4 63 11 Fax +49 (62 27) 7-4 63 31 www.sap.com E-mail: press@sap.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Gundolf Moritz SAP AG +49-6227-7-44872 -or- Stefan Gruber SAP AG +1-212-404-1323 -or- David Lowy Taylor Rafferty +1-212-889-4350 SAP ANNOUNCES STRONG FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR RESULTS E-business software sales surpass euro 1.3 billion in first full year of mySAP.com o 2000 revenues up to euro 6.27 billion o Full year license revenues top euro 2.46 billion o mySAP.com over 50% of license revenues WALLDORF, GERMANY - JANUARY 23, 2001 - SAP AG (NYSE: SAP), the leading provider of e-business software solutions, today announced its preliminary results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2000. In the fourth quarter, revenues increased 31% over the same period last year to euro 2.164 billion (1999: euro 1.651 billion). Fourth quarter operating income before charges for the employee stock appreciation rights program (STAR) rose 51% to euro 659 million (1999: euro 436 million), putting operating margins at approximately 30%. Pre-tax profit including STAR was up 21% to euro 583 million (1999: euro 481 million). Net income in the quarter increased 16% to euro 366 million (1999: euro 316 million). Earnings per share increased 15% to euro 1.16 (1999: euro 1.01). Sales of mySAP.com, SAP's leading e-business platform, grew 412% to euro 661 million (1999: euro 129 million) in the fourth quarter. mySAP.com revenues represented 63% of total license revenues in the quarter, compared to 61% in the third quarter. Over the full year, e-business sales grew to euro 1.3 billion, or 53% of license revenues. "These results confirm SAP's leadership in providing complete e-business solutions that companies want," said Henning Kagermann, Co-Chairman and CEO of SAP AG. "Our organization is focused and energized. When you combine this with the growing customer 2 understanding of the power of mySAP.com and our strong pipeline, 2001 looks like another very good year for SAP." Product revenues in the quarter were up 35% to euro 1.524 billion (1999: euro 1.132 billion). License revenues, which are comprised of mySAP.com sales as well as component based software sales, grew 30% to euro 1.056 billion (1999: euro 811 million). Consulting revenues rose 27% to euro 517 million (1999: euro 408 million). Training revenues increased 25% to euro 111 million (1999: euro 89 million). In the fourth quarter, revenues in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region increased 42% to euro 1.136 billion (1999: euro 800 million) and in the Asia-Pacific region (APA) revenues were up 38% to euro 231 million (1999: euro 167 million). Revenues in the Americas region rose 17% to euro 797 million (1999: euro 684 million). Americas' growth was paced by a strengthened US organization, which grew revenues 23% to euro 593 million. FULL YEAR RESULTS For 2000, sales grew 23% over 1999 to euro 6.266 billion (1999: euro 5.110 billion). Operating income before charges for STAR were up 32% to euro 1.235 billion. Pre-tax profit before charges for STAR was up 31% to euro 1.466 billion (1999: euro 1.120 billion); pre-tax profit including STAR grew 5% to euro 1.025 billion (1999: euro 980 million). Net income for the year increased 4% to euro 626 million (1999: euro 601 million). Earnings per share excluding charges for the STAR program rose 31% to euro 2.86 (1999: euro 2.19); earnings per share including STAR were up 4% to euro 2.00 (1999: euro 1.92). EPS calculations reflect the 3-for-1 stock split which occurred during 2000. mySAP.com accounted for 53% or euro 1.3 billion of license revenues for 2000, which rose 27% to euro 2.46 billion (1999: euro 1.932 billion). Consulting revenues grew 6% to euro 1.646 billion (1999: euro 1.547 billion) and training revenue increased 2% to euro 401 million (1999: euro 395 million). Total operating expenses excluding STAR rose 21% in 2000 to euro 5.031 billion (1999: euro 4.174 billion); operating margin excluding STAR was 20%. An overall tax rate of 38.0% is anticipated, as opposed to 38.4% in 1999. "All of the pieces of our e-business strategy are in place - people, products, marketing and commitment to win - and we have the customer wins and win-backs to prove that we successfully reinvented SAP," commented Hasso Plattner, Co-Chairman and CEO of SAP AG. "There is no other business software vendor with the product depth, industry knowledge and global reach of SAP." OUTLOOK SAP expects revenue growth through the first half of 2001 to slightly exceed the rate it achieved in its 2000 fiscal year. As a consequence, the Group's three-year target of doubling 1998 revenues will take one quarter longer to achieve than originally thought. The company also expects to enhance its operating profit margin before STAR in the first half 2001 to roughly match the improvement seen in 2000. As permitted under the Shareholder resolution of January 18, 2000, the Executive Board has decided to repurchase SAP Preference Shares during the period of January 24, 2001 3 until June 30, 2001. The Company intends to purchase its preference shares from the market in an amount not to exceed 1.5% of the total preference shares outstanding. The purchase price paid by the company for each SAP AG preference share shall not be more or less than 10% of the average market price of the preference share over the five trading days before such purchase. The average market price is calculated based upon SAP AG preference share closing prices in the Frankfurt Stock Exchange XETRA trading system. 2000 HIGHLIGHTS o MYSAP.COM EMERGES AS THE LEADING E-BUSINESS PLATFORM: SAP's e-business software sales topped euro 1.3 billion over FY 2000, of which 51% were achieved in the fourth quarter alone. Compared to the fourth quarter 1999, SAP grew mySAP.com sales by 412% in the fourth quarter 2000. New customers include McCormick & Company, NASA, Warner Brothers, Heineken, Philips Lighting, Kowloon Canton Railway and Asia Pulp and Paper. o SAPMARKETS AND COMMERCE ONE CREATED A SUCCESSFUL ALLIANCE to jointly develop and develop MarketSet and Enterprise Buyer, the next-generation e-business offerings that combines Commerce One's leading e-marketplace infrastructure with e-procurement, supply chain, product planning and analysis applications from SAP and SAPMarkets. o SAP AG BROADLY REALIGNED ITS GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT FORCE of almost 6,000 people worldwide. SAP established six General Business Units (GBUs) to manage its applications development activities; seven Industry Business Sectors, responsible for the development of mySAP.com industry solutions; and three additional GBUs, responsible for particular technologies. The changes are creating a more nimble organization, enabling SAP to better respond to the fast-changing needs of its customers and the overall market. o SAP WELCOMED MORE THAN 21,000 CONFERENCE ATTENDEES TO ITS SAPPHIRE CUSTOMER CONFERENCES in Berlin and Las Vegas. At the events, SAP showcased continued delivery and strong customer acceptance of mySAP.com. At the European conference, SAP unveiled a new program to provide a clear path for current customers to upgrade to mySAP.com as well as a comprehensive integration strategy that will open mySAP.com to third-party solutions, giving customers greater choice and flexibility. At SAPPHIRE Las Vegas, SAP AG, SAPMarkets, the SAP subsidiary dedicated to deliver mySAP.com marketplaces, and Commerce One announced a preliminary agreement to jointly deliver the next-generation e-business marketplace solution for the Internet economy. o SAP AG UNVEILS GLOBAL ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL AWARENESS CAMPAIGN designed to build upon its success as the world's leading provider of e-business solutions. The announcement was made in September at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of the SAP United States Grand Prix Formula One race, one of the most famous racing venues 4 in the world. The campaign includes print and television advertisements to be run in more than 25 countries. CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST SAP senior management will host a conference call today at 5:00 PM (CET) / 4:00 PM (GMT) / 11:00 AM (Eastern) / 8:00 AM (Pacific). The conference call will be webcast live at http://www.sap.com/investor and will be available for replay purposes as well. 5 KEY FIGURES AT A GLANCE (IN EUR MILLIONS) SAP GROUP
4Q 2000 4Q 1999 CHANGE % CHANGE ------- ------- ------ -------- Revenues 2,164 1,651 513 31 ------ ------ ----- --- License revenues 1,056 811 245 30 ------ ------ ----- --- mySAP.com revenues 661 129 532 412 ------ ------ ----- --- Income before taxes 583 481 102 21 ====== ====== ===== === Net income 366 316 50 16 ------ ------ ----- --- Headcount 24,178 21,504 2,674 12 (December 31)
REVENUE BY REGION (IN EUR MILLIONS)
REVENUE REVENUE LICENSE REVENUES 4Q LICENSE REVENUES 4Q 4Q 2000 4Q 1999 2000 1999 ------- ------- ------------------- ------------------- EMEA 1,136 800 592 386 ----- --- --- --- Asia Pacific 231 167 97 86 ----- --- --- --- Americas 797 684 367 339
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe," "estimate," "intend," "may," "will," "expect," and "project" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect the Company's future financial results are discussed more fully in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 1999 filed with the SEC on April 7, 2000. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. SAP AG preference and common shares are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as well as a number of other exchanges. In the US, SAP's American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), each worth one-fourth of a preference share, trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol `SAP'. SAP is a component of the DAX, the index of 30 German blue chip companies. Information on the SAP AG preference shares is available on Bloomberg under the symbol SAP3 GR, on Reuters under SAPG_p.F or DE and on Quotron under SAGVD.EU. Information on the SAP common shares is available on Bloomberg under the symbol SAP GR, on Reuters under SAPG.F and on Quotron under SAGR.EU. Additional information is available on SAP AG's home page: http://www.sap.com # # # (Tables to follow) 6 PRELIMINARY CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS - 4TH QUARTER SAP Group (in euro millions)
2000 1999 D -------- --------- -------- Software revenue 1,056 811 30% Maintenance revenue 468 321 46% Product revenue 1,524 1,132 35% Consulting revenue 517 408 27% Training revenue 111 89 25% Service revenue 628 497 26% Other revenue 12 22 -45% ------- ------ ------ TOTAL REVENUE 2,164 1,651 31% ------- ------ ------ Cost of product -226 -207 9% Cost of service -458 -383 20% Research and development -250 -234 7% Sales and marketing -447 -320 40% General and administration -108 -74 46% Other income/expenses. net -16 3 -633% ------- ------ ------ TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSE -1,505 -1,215 24% ------- ------ ------ STAR expense -53 -119 -55% ------- ------ ------ TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSE INCL, STAR -1,558 -1,334 17% ------- ------ ------ OPERATING INCOME 606 317 91% ------- ------ ------ Other non-operating income/ expenses. net -19 -32 -41% Financial income. net -4 196 -102% ------- ------ ------ INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES 583 481 21% ------- ------ ------ Income taxes -212 -164 29% Minority interest -5 -1 400% ------- ------ ------ NET INCOME 366 316 16% ------- ------ ------ BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE (IN euro ) 1) Ordinary shares 1.16 1.01 15% Preference shares 1.16 1.01 15% DSO (IN DAYS) 93 103 ------- ------ TAX RATE (AS A PERCENTAGE) 36.4% 34.1% ------- ------
1) Adjusted for three for one stock split 7 PRELIMINARY CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS - 1ST TO 4TH QUARTER SAP Group (in euro millions)
2000 1999 D ------- -------- ------ Software revenue 2,459 1,932 27% Maintenance revenue 1,670 1,162 44% Product revenue 4,129 3,094 33% Consulting revenue 1,646 1,547 6% Training revenue 401 395 2% Service revenue 2,047 1,942 5% Other revenue 90 74 22% ------ ------ ----- TOTAL REVENUE 6,266 5,110 23% ------ ------ ----- Cost of product -669 -511 31% Cost of service -1,629 -1,585 3% Research and development -859 -705 22% Sales and marketing -1,491 -1,107 35% General and administration -356 -241 48% Other income/expenses, net -27 -25 8% ------ ------ ----- TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSE -5,031 -4,174 21% ------ ------ ----- STAR expense -441 -140 31% ------ ------ ----- TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSE INCL. STAR -5,472 -4,314 27% ------ ------ ----- OPERATING INCOME 794 796 0% ------ ------ ----- Other non-operating income/ expenses, net 1) -57 -51 12% Financial income, net 2) 288 235 23% ------ ------ ----- INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES 1,025 980 5% ------ ------ ----- Income taxes -389 -376 3% Minority interest -10 -3 233% ------ ------ ----- NET INCOME 626 601 4% ------ ------ ----- BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE (IN euro) 3) Ordinary shares 1.99 1.91 4% Preference shares 2.00 1.92 4% ------ ------ DSO (IN DAYS) 93 103 ------ ------ TAX RATE (AS A PERCENTAGE) 38.0% 38.4% ------ ------
1) Amount includes non-recurring item of approximately euro 40 million of pre-tax gain on initial public offering of a majority owned subsidiary 2) Amount includes non-recurring item of approximately euro 25 million pre-tax exit costs relating to an equity investment 3) Adjusted for three for one stock split 8 PRELIMINARY CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET SAP Group (in euro millions) ASSETS
12/31/2000 12/31/1999 ---------- ---------- INTANGIBLE ASSETS 116 120 PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT 871 794 FINANCIAL ASSETS 607 610 ----- ----- FIXED ASSETS 1,594 1,524 INVENTORIES/ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLES 2,354 2,157 LIQUID ASSETS 1,182 810 CURRENT ASSETS 3.536 2,967 DEFERRED TAXES 257 284 PREPAID EXPENSES 115 52 ----- ----- TOTAL ASSETS 5,502 4,827 ===== =====
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
12/31/2000 12/31/1999 ---------- ---------- SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY 4) 2,882 2,559 MINORITY INTEREST 61 9 RESERVES AND ACCRUED LIABILITIES 1,362 1,278 OTHER LIABILITIES 831 605 DEFERRED INCOME 366 376 ----- ----- TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 5,502 4,827 ===== =====
4) includes shares subject to put option in conjunction with the Company's employee incentive compensation programs EX-99.2 3 y99495ex99-2.txt SPEECH, DATED JANUARY 24, 2001 1 Exhibit 99.2 INTRODUCTION [Henning Kagermann] Hello everyone. Thank you for joining us to discuss our fourth quarter and 2000 year end results. 2000 was a very exciting year for SAP, and we ended it by turning in our most successful sales quarter ever. With me here in Frankfurt are Hasso Plattner; Dieter Matheis, our CFO; and Werner Brandt, our newly appointed CFO. In the US are Wolfgang Kemna, Chris Larsen and Ed Lyons, our new SAP Americas CFO. Before we begin the call, Gundolf Moritz, our head of investor relations will make a few remarks about forward-looking statements. I will then go through the numbers. Then Hasso and I will talk a bit about some of the operational and product developments in 2000 and the areas in which we expect continued improvement moving forward [Gundolf Moritz] This is Gundolf Moritz and I will now go through our safe harbor statement. Any statements made on this call that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe," "estimate," "intend," "may," "will," 2 "expect," and "project" and similar expressions as they relate to the Company are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect the Company's future financial results are discussed more fully in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F for 1999 filed with the SEC on April 7, 2000. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Now I turn it over to Henning Kagermann [Henning Kagermann] QUARTERLY REVENUE AND PROFITS Let's begin with our fourth quarter. Our sales for the fourth quarter of 2000 were up 31% over the fourth quarter of last year to euro 2.164 billion. Operating profit before charges for STAR was up 51% to euro 659 million. Net income was euro 366 million, up 16% over last year's fourth quarter. EPS was euro 1.16, up 15% from last year. 3 Revenue in Europe grew by 42% and Asia/Pacific increased 38%, Europe to euro 1.136 billion and APA to euro 231 million. In the Americas, revenue was euro 797 million, 17% more than the fourth quarter of 1999. I'll talk in a moment about the US market in particular. Additionally, currency had a positive effect on overall results over the fourth quarter. In the US, currency had an impact of 18%, though for the entire group the figure was 8%. Looking at product revenues for the quarter, total product sales increased 35% to euro 1.524 billion. License revenues, comprised of mySAP.com sales as well as component-based sales, grew 30% to euro 1.056 billion. mySAP.com sales comprised 63% of total fourth quarter license sales, which was a higher portion than we've ever seen. Training revenue was up 25% to euro 111 million, while consulting grew by 27% to euro 517 million. YEAR END REVENUES AND PROFITS I'll turn now to our year-end figures. Our sales for fiscal year 2000 were up 23% over last year to euro 6.266 billion. Operating profit before charges for STAR was up 32% to euro 1.235 billion. Net income was euro 626 million, up 4% over last year. EPS grew to euro 2.00, a 4% improvement from last year. 4 For the year, total product sales increased 33% to euro 4.129 billion. License revenues grew 27% to euro 2.459 billion. mySAP.com sales comprised 53% of license sales, which surpassed our own target for the year. Training revenue was up 2% to euro 401 million, while consulting grew by 6% to euro 1.646 billion. Costs grew by 21% this year. That put the operating profit margin before STAR at about 20%. On December 31, we had about 24,178 employees. OPERATIONAL COMMENTS Obviously these are very strong results -- and this is even more apparent when compared to a powerful fourth quarter last year. But the numbers aren't the only development that show SAP's depth and competitiveness. SAP is a much stronger company at the start of 2001 than it was at the start of 2000. We have the products and services we need to win customers, and to make those customers even more successful. Our organization has been transformed, and it is energized like never before. We are really at the leading edge of complete e-business solutions. 5 Our marketing and sales efforts are sharper than they have ever been. Over the past year we've won significant accounts in all parts of the world. Wins for the fourth quarter included McCormick & Co; NASA; Warner Brothers in the Americas; Hilti, Heineken; Phillips Lighting; Electricidade de Portugal in euro pe; and Kowloon Canton Railway; Asia Pulp and Paper; ASP Network in Asia. Our win-rate is improving and we anticipate this success will continue as the benefits of mySAP.com are experienced by our corporate customers we have today. Throughout our organization we have strengthened key management with several appointments. The Group's new CFO, Werner Brandt, has significant experience in global finance, and is an excellent addition to our leadership team. In the US, our CEO Wolfgang Kemna will be joined by our new Americas CFO, Edward Lyons. To provide additional focus on our key strategic areas, we have appointed Carol Burch and Bob Betts to head our global mySAP CRM and mySAP SCM initiatives, respectively. In addition, Chris Larsen will now report directly to me, and take on new global responsibilities within the SAP Group. At the same time we have decided to merge the responsibilities of the office of President of SAP America into the office and responsibilities of SAP America CEO Wolfgang Kemna. We've also strengthened the SAP Americas management team with the addition of Richard Stewart, with 25-plus years of experience, to lead the Americas Professional Services Organization. 6 Our strong sales performance over the year is a direct result of the strength of mySAP.com; it is the broadest and most flexible solution for businesses. Our e-business software sales topped euro 1.3 billion over FY2000, of which 51% were achieved in the 4th quarter alone. Compared to the fourth quarter 1999, we grew mySAP.com sales by 412% in the fourth quarter 2000. And if we look at our market going forward we think that the trend among customers is toward e-business solutions -- like those offered by mySAP.com, mySAP CRM, mySAP SCM that solve broad business challenges in a comprehensive fashion. I should point out that commencing in the report for the first quarter of 2001, we will begin giving additional details for mySAP CRM, mySAP SCM, etc. Looking at the regions, you see we did well in all of them in the fourth quarter. Asia was paced by Japan and Korea where new management teams performed very well; and in Europe strong demand continued for e-business solutions. A particular highlight in Europe was our UK business which really did well. The Americas numbers are not indicative of how well the US is doing -- sales in the US grew by 23%. The acceleration of performance in the US was remarkable quarter to quarter -- from down 2% in the first quarter we had 23% sales growth in the fourth quarter. In local currency, US software sales grew by 13% in FY 2000. We are happy with the progress we've made in a very short time. Retention is up, and our salesforce is regrouped and 7 motivated. And our service has stabilized. Latin America is not where we'd like it to be, but we are acting fast to improve focus and execution. Our costs grew more slowly over the course of 2000 and hence our margins also improved. Operating margin before STAR was up from 18% a year ago to 20% in 2000. We spent a lot of money getting our people "internet ready" and this paid off even faster than we had expected in the 2000 results. Marketing costs - which rose almost 100% in the fourth quarter - will be high in 2001 - we want to continue to support our product improvements with strong market presence. However, we are going to get even more efficient as the whole of our sales and marketing staff operates at full capacity with customers and prospects. Looking forward into 2001, we have a good push into the first quarter; there are deals we didn't close in the fourth quarter and the pipeline is strong. In the first half of 2001 we are looking to slightly exceed the revenue growth rate we achieved in fiscal year 2000. Farther out, we are extending our timeframe for doubling 1998 revenues, not by the 12 quarters we thought it would take but more likely after 13 quarters through the first quarter of 2002. On the operating margin before STAR, we think that we can improve on the margin we achieved in FY 2000 by about the same amount in the first half 2001, as we aim to grow product sales faster than service revenues. 8 And that is where SAP is going to be in 2001. In front of customers with the most complete set of e-business solutions and with the industry and software skills nobody can match. Our broad base of offerings, our installed base, and our commitment are key selling points when companies are deciding where to spend IT money. -----END PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE-----