Sage sales grow in second half

1st Dec 2010 07:03

Sage, the blue chip accountancy software firm, has posted a 14% increase in full-year underlying pre-tax profit thanks to a cost-cutting drive, mostly in North America.Profit before tax, with foreign exchange impacts neutralised, for the year ended 30 September rose to £355.7m from £311.1m in 2009. It was up 5% excluding last year's restructuring costs. Statutory pre-tax profit jumped 20% to ££319.9m.Revenue was flat at £1.44bn, but the firm did return to organic revenue growth in the second half of the year. A 3% increase offset a 2% drop in the first six months."These are good results which demonstrate our financial and operational strengths," said new chief executive Guy Berruyer, who's also initiated a management reshuffle following the decision of Sue Swenson, president and CEO of Sage North America since March 2008, to retire and leave the business in mid-2011.Pascal Houillon, currently running Sage France, will succeed Swenson. That will spark a number of other changes due to come into effect on 1 January."While the economic outlook remains uncertain, we are seeing some signs of improving markets for our customers, although this varies by geography," the company said."Together, these factors have contributed to the revenue momentum we have seen in the second half of the year."Much of the focus now is on improving organic revenue growth, particularly in North America, in driving the group's web strategy, and in growing margin in the medium term while continuing to invest in higher growth initiatives such as payment processing and Sage ERP X3. "We look forward with cautious optimism, whilst managing our costs prudently in these uncertain times," said BerruyerThe final dividend rises 6% to 5.22p a share, raising the total payout by 5% to 7.8p.