"There is clearly the potential to triple the value of this company. We believe that is only a matter of time," McDermott said at its annual general meeting in response to a shareholder question, reiterating previous comments on the target.

"While we are not giving a specific timeframe, we are certainly charging ahead with this in mind," he said.

The company's market capitalization stood at just above 118 billion euros ($139 billion) on Wednesday. Rival U.S. software maker Oracle is valued at around $190 billion.

SAP's share price trebled between 2010 and 2017.

(Reporting by Patricia Uhlig in Mannheim and Eric Auchard in London; Editing by Alexander Smith)