Sage’s underlying operating profit rose 14% to £227m

Steve Hare, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Sage delivered a strong performance in the first half, accelerating revenue growth, increasing profitability and making further progress toward our strategic priorities.

“Our investments in technology and sales and marketing continue to deliver results as small and medium-sized businesses increasingly choose Sage as a valued partner to transform the way they work.”

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“Our goal is to break down barriers so everyone can be successful. We strive to provide innovative, AI-powered services that make our customers’ lives easier and their organizations more productive and resilient.

“Sage’s global platform, focused on our growing digital network, allows us to leverage our scale and collective expertise to maximize the significant opportunities we see in our markets.

“Small and medium-sized businesses continue to go digital despite macroeconomic uncertainty, and with our proven technology and human approach, Sage is well positioned to support them.” I am confident that our proven strategy will enable us to continue to achieve efficient growth.

“Building on strong momentum in H1, we now expect FY2023 organic recurring revenue growth to be in the order of 11%, driven by the continued strength of Sage Business Cloud. We continue to expect other revenues (SSRS) to decrease in This is in line with our strategy. Operating margins are expected to show an upward trend in FY23 and beyond as we focus on efficiently scaling the group.

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Other highlights were:

• Underlying recurring revenue rose 12% to £1,039m, supported by strong 29% growth of Sage Business Cloud to £787m. Total underlying sales rose 10% to £1,087m.
• EBITDA rose 13% to £275m, margin increased 60 basis points to 25.2%.
• Statutory operating profit fell 23% to £157m due to the change in recurring and non-recurring items including a non-recurring gain of £49m in the previous period related to the sale of Sage Switzerland.