TechMARK movers: Sage pushes ahead

1st Dec 2010 13:05

Strong full year figures from accountancy software provider Sage have pushed its share price up by more than 5%. Sage reported a 14% increase in underlying pre-tax profit thanks to cost-cutting. The main focus of those cuts was North America. Revenue was flat at £1.44bn but there was some organic growth in revenues in the second half. Profit before tax, adjusted for foreign exchange movements, rose to £355.7m in the year to September 2010, from £311.1m in 2008-09. It was 5% ahead if last year's restructuring costs are excluded. Pascal Houillon, currently running Sage France, will succeed Sue Swenson as president and CEO of Sage North America.Ark Therapeutics has been hit by profit-taking following a strong rise after Monday's news that its potential treatment for foetal growth restriction (FGR) during pregnancy has demonstrated a beneficial effect. FGR is a condition affecting approximately 8% of all pregnancies. FTSE TechMARK - RisersAxis-Shield (ASD) 258.00p +6.83%Sage Group (SGE) 271.10p +5.36%Phoenix IT Group (PNX) 245.00p +4.48%Micro Focus International Plc (MCRO) 345.50p +4.25%Wolfson Microelectronics (WLF) 245.00p +3.59%KCOM Group (KCOM) 53.00p +3.41%Innovation Group (TIG) 13.50p +1.89%Ricardo (RCDO) 270.00p +1.89%Anite (AIE) 56.00p +1.82%Renovo Group (RNVO) 45.00p +1.69%Biocompatibles International (BII) 370.25p +1.30%Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 593.00p +1.19%FTSE TechMARK - FallersArk Therapeutics Group (AKT) 4.25p -5.56%NXT (NTX) 3.38p -3.43%Vernalis (VER) 31.50p -3.08%Promethean World (PRW) 78.00p -1.58%RM (RM.) 150.25p -1.48%BAE Systems (BA.) 326.50p -1.15%Cobham (COB) 190.60p -0.88%Sinclair Pharma (SPH) 30.50p -0.81%Computacenter (CCC) 360.10p -0.74%