Walldorf, 30 November 1999 - From research, executed by the European financial research bureau AME Research BV, SAP AG emerged as the best European ICT company measured by both financial and qualitative performance in the year 1999. On 29 November 1999 Adriaan Meij, President and Publisher, handed the AME Research Award 1999 to Dieter Matheis, Chief Financial Officer of SAP AG.
During 1999 AME Research examined 100 European ICT companies, that publish an official annual account, in order to find the companies, that excel in financial-qualitative results and those that remain behind. This year the results were published in the seventh annual edition of The European ICT Top 100 Benchmark Report. At the top of the ranking a hot competition took place between SAP AG, CMG PLC, Getronics NV and Cap Gemini NV.
The build-up of the AME Research rating
|
Objective |
Quality |
Rating |
| SAP |
6,25
|
2,9
|
9,15
|
| CMG |
6,16
|
2,9
|
9,06
|
| Getronics |
5,85
|
3,2
|
9,05
|
| Cap Gemini |
6
|
2,9
|
8,9
|
At the end SAP AG won the contest based on objective factors resulting from the annual report 1998. Here solvency, operational margin and growth of revenue twice were weighed twice and the current ratio and the net result as a percentage of the total assets one time. It turned out in the analysis that SAP AG won the objective rating because the company with respect to its other top rated competitors combined a strong solvency, liquidity and profitability with a strong growth of revenues. CMG follows though on a very short distance.
Objective judgement 1998
|
Cap Gemini |
CMG |
Getronics |
SAP |
|
| Are you rich? |
80,72
|
82,56
|
52,3
|
119
|
Solvency *2 |
| Can you pay? |
1,66
|
1,36
|
1,4
|
3,77
|
Current ratio |
| Are you profitable? |
35,5
|
25,54
|
18,46
|
44,7
|
Operating margin * 2 |
| Do you please shareholders? |
53,32
|
46,61
|
65,98
|
27,9
|
Net ROE |
| Do you gain market share |
49,54
|
96,66
|
49,16
|
81,2
|
Revenue growth * 2 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Sum |
220,74
|
252,73
|
187,3
|
277
|
|
| Objective rating |
6,00
|
6,14
|
5,85
|
6,25
|
|
Qualitative judgement leading group
In the qualitative judgement AME Research awards a company marks from minus five to plus five for a series of criteria. The marks are based on historic knowledge and experience. The research ran till its completion in the middle of 1999.
|
Cap Gemini |
CMG |
Getronics |
SAP |
| Market share in core markets |
3
|
3
|
5
|
3
|
| Performance to market growth |
3
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
| Technological leadership |
4
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
| R&D effort |
3
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
| Strategy and vision |
3
|
3
|
4
|
3
|
| Management |
5
|
4
|
3
|
4
|
| Customer focus |
4
|
4
|
3
|
4
|
| Quality and education |
4
|
4
|
5
|
4
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| Total |
29
|
29
|
32
|
29
|
Both CMG and SAP perform equal on eight criteria. Cap Gemini shows the same marks but performs a little weaker regarding the market growth and a little better when judging the management of the company, that successfully put the company in the market as a stable stock exchange security. The management succeeded to place the company as a jewel in the crown of the Cap Gemini concern. Getronics NV rates weaker in the objective ratings compared to the other three companies, but received high appraisal as a result of the strategically courageous acquisition of Wang Global. This lead to a substantial increase of the market shares in the core market of this company and high quality technological alliances and partnerships.
In the end AME Research is of opinion that SAP, after a period of stainless growth since its establishment in 1972, deserved the Award on the score of its financial strength, strong growth and substantial market share in its own core markets. An important part plays as well the excellent annual reporting as recognised as well by the financial magazine Capital that awarded SAP in September 1999 the Investor Relations Prize 1999.
The Award: a Roman Seat
The Award is a bronze sculpture representing a Roman Seat. It has been designed by Katherina Netto, styled by Judith Velasquez and casted by the expressive artist Henri de Vries. The Roman Seat symbolises a distinguished European level of justice, culture and enterprise spirit. To these elements the award winning enterprise made a substantial contribution.
About SAP
As the market leader of inter-enterprise software solutions, SAP is leveraging its strength in industry-focused business software and the world’s largest enterprise software customer base to deliver mySAP.com. mySAP.com provides an open collaborative business environment of personalised solutions on demand. This enables companies of all sizes and industries to fully engage their employees, customers and partners to capitalise upon the new Internet economy.
mySAP.com allows people to harness the power of the Internet to work smarter, better and faster by optimising supply chains, managing strategic relationships, reducing time to market, sharing virtual information, and increasing productivity and shareholder value.
SAP is listed on several exchanges including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol "SAP." The SAP World Wide Web site can be found at http://www.sap.com.
About AME Research BV
Its founder Adriaan Meij established AME Research BV in 1998 on the basis of 15 years of journalistic research activities in the ICT Industry. The company is specialised in in-depth research of companies, markets and investments in the ICT industry. The results are intended for the management of ICT companies, the investor’s world and the financial industry. AME Research publishes analyses and reports both in hard copy and on line and executes custom-made research. The company employs 6 people and shows a profitable turnover over 1999, that raised by 34% to 310,000 Euro.
For more information please contact:
AME Research BV
Zuideinde 56
7941 GJ Meppel
The Netherlands
T: +31(0)522 256470
F: +31(0)522 241655
E: info@ame.nl