• First operational and financial benefits of Helix transformation showing through; delivery against Helix commitments yielding initial improvements across all strategic focus areas 
• Strategic leading indicators continue to gather momentum: 
  • Q3 Annual Recurring Revenue within DBP (incl. Cloud & IoT) 12 percent higher than prior year 
  • Q3 SaaS/Subscription share of bookings now 63 percent of DBP (incl. Cloud & IoT) more than double prior year level 
• Q3 Group revenue of €224.2 million, up 5 percent; total product revenue of €179.2 million, up 5 percent; total license revenue of €64.1 million, up 9 percent
• Q3 Group EBIT of €59 million, up 8 percent (IFRS); Q3 EBIT margin (non-IFRS) of 30.5 percent, consistent with prior year
• DBP (excl. Cloud & IoT): Recovery in performance during Q3 with license revenue at previous year level; continued strength in EMEA and positive developments in North America 
• Cloud & IoT: 17 new IoT customers in Q3, with continued growth in maintenance and SaaS revenue offset in part by the absence of large deals which are expected in Q4 
• Adabas & Natural (A&N): another strong quarterly performance, with 15 percent growth in product revenue driven in part by early closing of several deals 
• Continued focus in R&D has driven product innovation including the launch of the webMethods.io B2B platform; Software AG now has a cloud offering available for each major product 
• New strategic OEM relationship with Adobe Company, Marketo; partnership further demonstrates the growth in Software AG’s growing partner ecosystem as part of the Helix program
• Current financial guidance ranges for FY 2019 confirmed

[Unless otherwise stated, all figures are IFRS-conform and rounded.]

"Eight months in to our Helix transformation program, I am encouraged to see the first benefits of our tough decisions, disciplined focus and sharper execution showing through. There is much still to do – but strong growth in recurring revenue, a full cloud suite for all of our major products, strong momentum in new logo wins and a steadying of our business in North America all show that we are pointing in the right direction. I am delighted to see us extend our partnership ecosystem further today, with our new Marketo OEM relationship extending the deep bonds we have already built with Adobe. Our position in the key market “hybrid integration” is getting stronger, and we remain focused as a team on the initiatives that will see us deliver on our long-term growth ambitions,” said Sanjay Brahmawar, CEO of Software AG.

"Our financial performance in Q3 was strong, following a slower start in the first half year of our digital business. This underpins our confidence that the markets and opportunities we are pursuing are the right ones. Our divisional performance was encouraging, and despite a slower revenue recognition in Cloud & IoT, we are trending in line with our guidance ranges for the year as a whole. We have made great progress with our subscription model conversion program and we remain on a solid financial footing to support this and our other Helix priorities moving forward,” commented Arnd Zinnhardt, CFO of Software AG.

Third Quarter 2019 Business Line Performance

In the third quarter of 2019 Software AG’s A&N business performed for the quarter, generating revenue of €62.0 million. A&N license sales increased by 48 percent compared to the prior year to €25.0 million (2018: €16.1 million). A&N maintenance reached €36.8 million in Q3 2019, consistent to €36.0 million in Q3 2018.

DBP (excl. Cloud & IoT) also delivered results ahead of our expectations, experiencing an overall revenue growth 1 percent to €108.7 million (2018: €104.7 million). License revenues show a flat development with €37.9 million from €37.1 million.

Software AG's Cloud & IoT business had a relatively weaker license revenue performance, albeit against a strong prior year. Despite maintenance and SaaS showing strong double-digit growth, in total, business line revenue declined by 6 percent to €8.6 million, compared to €9.1 million in Q3 2018.

Third Quarter 2019 Total Revenue and Earnings Performance

Software AG reported €224.2 million (2018: €208.8 million) in total revenue in the period. This is an increase of 5 percent. Group license revenue grew 9 percent to €64.1 million (2018: €56.7 million). Group maintenance revenue totalled €109.3 million (2018: €104.7 million), or 2 percent growth. Accordingly, Software AG's total third quarter product revenue (licenses and maintenance) was €179.2 million (2018: €165.9 million), which reflects 5 percent growth.

The company's EBIT was €59.0 million (2018: €54.5 million) in the quarter under review. This reflects an EBIT margin of 26.3 percent (2018: 26.1 percent). At €68.4 million (2018: €63.8 million), operating EBITA (non-IFRS) also performed well, ahead of expectations in the quarter. Subsequently, the operating profit margin (non-IFRS) was 30.5 percent (2018: 30.5 percent).

Employees

As of September 30, 2019, Software AG had 4,883 (2018: 4,714) employees worldwide (full-time equivalents). Of that total, 1,890 (2018: 1,903) worked in Professional Services.

2019 Outlook

Software AG confirms its outlook for FY 2019. Based on the expectations of business performance for the fourth quarter, Software AG's Management Board continues to anticipate an operating profit margin (EBITA, non-IFRS) between 28.0 and 30.0 percent for the 2019 fiscal year. Digital Business Platform (excl. Cloud & IoT) revenue is expected to end up in a range of 0 to 6 percent below previous year. Cloud & IoT revenue is expected to increase between 75 and 125 percent. The revenue growth target for the Adabas & Natural database business line remains unchanged between -3 and +3 percent.

The table below shows the full forecast for the 2019 fiscal year: