Contact Information: Press Contacts: John Schoutsen Vice President, Corporate Communications Sage Software 905-267-2873 john.schoutsen@sage.com Shana Keith Porter Novelli 404-995-4557 shana.keith@porternovelli.com
IRVINE, CA--(Marketwire - May 8, 2008) - Sage Software, Inc. announced today that its
UK-based parent company, The Sage Group plc, reported revenues of $1,290.3
million for the half-year ended March 31, 2008, an increase of 9%* over the
same prior year period. Adjusted pre-tax profit^ for the period was $278.0
million, an increase of 9% over the prior year period.
Total revenue for the Sage Group's North American business, Sage Software,
for the half-year ended March 31, 2008 was flat at $500.7 million, due to
revenue performance in its Sage Healthcare Division. Organic revenue
growth, excluding Sage Healthcare Division, was 5%*. EBITA† (earnings
before interest, tax and net amortization) decreased to $87.8 million, from
$94.1 million* in the same period of the prior year. EBITA† margin
decreased to 18% from 19%* as forecast, reflecting the company's increased
investments in customer service programs.
The North America business achieved growth in its Business Management,
Payment Solutions, and Industry and Specialized Solutions divisions. While
the Healthcare Division's first half revenue did not meet management
forecasts, the business continues to be profitable, and changes made in all
areas of the business to improve product functionality, sales
effectiveness, customer responsiveness and overall customer experience are
taking effect.
"With our renewed focus on customers across the business at Sage North
America, we're continually evaluating our products and service experiences
to ensure we do our absolute best to meet our customers' expectations,"
said Sage Software President and CEO, Sue Swenson. "We've recently
increased our service staff to be available when our customers need to
reach us, and we'll continually assess and update our service to
accommodate the changing needs of our customers."
In the first half of fiscal 2008, Sage Software continued to deliver on its
strategy of providing integrated solutions to help small and mid-sized
businesses (SMBs) and organizations extend and simplify their business
processes, delivering its Accpac ERP Extended Enterprise Suite, integrated
credit card processing for its Peachtree customers, a new family of Simply
Accounting 2008 products, and the latest version of ACT! for Real Estate,
among other business management solutions.
Our Industry and Specialized Solutions Division launched new versions of
industry-specific solutions in the first half of this year, including Sage
MIP Accounting and Sage Fundraising 50 and 100 for nonprofits, a free data
conversion service for MasterBuilder construction customers that are
converting from Intuit's QuickBooks, a new Sage Payroll Paycards product,
and a new online training product to help employers comply with government
mandated employee education. Our Healthcare Division, which supports
healthcare practices, launched our new Intergy Practice Portal, providing a
secure online system that improves how medical groups communicate with
their patients.
*Foreign currency results for the prior half-year ended March 31, 2007 have
been retranslated based on the average exchange rates for the half-year
ended March 31, 2008 to facilitate the comparison of results. The
translation rate is 2.0148 U.S. dollars per GBP.
^Pre-tax profit (PBT) figures stated prior to amortization of intangible
fixed assets and neutralization of foreign exchange movements.
†Earnings before interest, tax and amortization of intangible fixed assets.
About Sage Software
Sage Software supports the needs, challenges and dreams of nearly 2.9
million small and medium-sized business customers in North America through
easy-to-use, scalable and customizable software and services. Our products
support accounting, operations, customer relationship management, human
resources, time tracking, merchant services and the specialized needs of
the construction, distribution, healthcare, manufacturing, nonprofit and
real estate industries. Sage Software is a subsidiary of The Sage Group
plc, a leading global supplier of business management software and services
to small and medium-sized businesses. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on
the London Stock Exchange in 1989. Sage Group now has 5.7 million customers
and employs over 14,800 people worldwide. For more information, please
visit the web site at www.sagesoftware.com or call (866) 308-2378.