FILE PHOTO: The logo of German software group SAP is pictured in Vienna, Austria, July 25, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD SEARCH GLOBAL BUSINESS 24 APR FOR ALL IMAGES

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German business software maker SAP SAPG.DE said on Wednesday it had hiked its dividend payout ratio and proposed a 12 percent hike in its annual payout for 2017.

Europe’s biggest technology company said it would now pay shareholders at least 40 percent of its annual profits, up from 35 percent.

It said it would pay a dividend of 1.40 euros per share for 2017, up 12 percent from a year earlier.