Contact Information: Press Contacts: or John Schoutsen Vice President, Corporate Communications Sage Software 905-267-2873 john.schoutsen@sage.com or Shana Keith Porter Novelli 404-995-4501 shana.keith@porternovelli.com
IRVINE, CA--(CCNMatthews - May 09, 2007) - Sage Software, Inc. announced today that its UK-based parent company, The Sage Group plc, reported revenues of $1,121.6 million for the half-year ended March 31, 2007, an increase of 34%- over the same prior year period. Adjusted pre-tax profit^ for the period was $237.7 million, an increase of 12% over the prior year period.
Worldwide, the company added 155,000 customers, bringing its global total to 5.4 million customers, excluding Customer Relationship Management (CRM) customers.
Total revenue for the Sage Group's North American business, Sage Software, for the half-year ended March 31, 2007 was $495.9 million, an increase of 67%- compared to the first half last year. Earnings before interest, tax and net amortization? (EBITA) increased to $92.7 million, an increase of 31% over the same period of the prior year. Earnings before interest, tax and net amortization? (EBITA) margin declined to 19% from 24%- in the first half last year as a result of dilution from the recently acquired Healthcare Division. Sage Software has nearly 2.8 million North American customers (excluding CRM).
In a separate announcement, Sage Software also revealed details of its new divisional structure that aligns its previously disparate business units to clear customer connected segments.
"As our customers needs evolve, our business evolves to ensure we are presenting the best products and services to customers in the way they need them," said Sage Software CEO Ron Verni. "Our new organization positions us to provide the right face to our customers and deliver products and services that can be most impactful for their success."
In the first half of fiscal 2007, Sage Software continued to deliver on its strategy of providing integrated solutions to help small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) extend their business processes, delivering integration of its Payment Services and online Payroll Services with several of the company's accounting, ERP, and other solutions. The company also delivered major upgrades within its portfolio, including the award-winning hosted/on-premises Sage CRM customer relationship management product, Sage Pro ERP and Sage PFW ERP systems, Simply Accounting 2007 which leads the market in Canada, and its Intergy by Sage 3.5 product for automating physicians' practices with Electronic Health Records (EHR), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) applications, and practice management. The company also launched an extension of its branding strategy with the introduction of Sage 360 degrees, the complete customer experience that Sage Software offers (www.sage360.com).
Separately, Sage Software announced that it is evolving its business organization to better address its customers by aligning business units based on customer focus. The company introduced its Business Management Division that brings its accounting, ERP, CRM, and related businesses into a single organization to serve the broad market of SMBs with core business management automation. The company also introduced its Industry & Specialized Solutions Division that serves industry-specific needs for businesses in the construction, real estate, and nonprofit industries, as well as the employee management and services needs of businesses of all types. These two new divisions join the company's Healthcare Division that serves healthcare practices, and the Payment Solutions Division that serves merchants to support their payment processing needs.
-Foreign currency results for the period ended March 31, 2007 have been retranslated based on the average exchange rates for the six months ended March 31, 2007 to facilitate the comparison of results. The translation rate is 1.9517 U.S. dollars per GBP.
^Pre-tax profit (PBT) figures stated prior to amortization of intangible fixed assets, prior period gain on disposal of $5.3m and neutralization of foreign exchange movements.
?Earnings before interest, tax, amortization of intangible fixed assets and prior period gain on disposal of $5.3m.
About Sage Software
Sage Software supports the needs, challenges and dreams of nearly 2.8 million small and mid-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 international supplier of accounting and business management software solutions and related products and services for small and mid-sized businesses. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and the Group now has 5.4 million customers and employs over 13,000 people worldwide. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagesoftware.com/moreinfo or call (866) 308-2378.