SAP announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2015.
SAP had exceptional momentum in the fourth quarter with fast growth in cloud and double-digit growth in its core license business. For the full year, non-IFRS cloud and software revenue grew by 20% or 12% at constant currencies and exceeded the outlook of 8% - 10% growth at constant currencies. New cloud bookings, the key measure for SAP's sales success in the cloud, increased 103% in the full year to €883 million and 75% in the fourth quarter to €344 million.
"Our strength in 2015 shows that the SAP S/4HANA innovation cycle is well underway," said Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP. "Our completeness of vision in the cloud has distinguished SAP from both legacy players and point solution providers. We beat on cloud and software, we beat on operating income, and we are ever confident that SAP will remain a profitable growth business well into the future."
SAP S/4HANA is the next generation business suite and the nucleus around which businesses can operate all of their processes in real time and seamlessly integrate their enterprise and their external ecosystem to enable successful business outcomes.
Customer adoption of SAP S/4HANA continues to accelerate sharply, with more than 2,700 customers across all regions at the end of 2015, more than doubling quarter over quarter. SAP S/4HANA is also catalyzing broad customer adoption of our entire innovation portfolio. For example, Merck is turning to SAP S/4HANA for fast data access, enhanced user experience, and productivity through simplified business processes.
Customers are increasingly turning to SAP to manage their global workforce, both permanent and flexible. The customer count for SuccessFactors Employee Central, which is the core of our Human Capital Management offerings, surpassed 1,000 for the first time in the fourth quarter.
SAP is winning against its key HCM competitors, especially in markets outside of the United States. For example, Lufthansa selected SAP SuccessFactors. SAP's innovations in HCM will further increase SAP's differentiation and drive market share gains.
Moreover, SAP saw excellent growth in its Customer Engagement and Commerce solutions. Customers build a new, more personalized relationship with their consumers, making it richer and more contextual across all channels. SAP is unique because it also enables businesses to connect the front and back office in real-time and fulfill ecommerce in one end-to-end value chain. New cloud bookings for Customer Engagement and Commerce saw triple-digit growth in full year 2015.
SAP is leading the charge to a hyperconnected world. SAP Business Network Group comprises Ariba, Fieldglass and Concur - providing the common attributes of a rich open platform and a large ecosystem of customers, suppliers, partners and developers delivering ever expanding content and innovation. New cloud bookings for the business network increased 187% in the full year to €309 million.
