Sage Group plc Exceeds $1.69 Billion Worldwide
IRVINE, CA — (MARKET WIRE) — November 29, 2006 — Sage Software, the North American business of the Sage Group plc (LSE: SGE), announced today that total revenue for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006 was $652.2 million, and EBITA (earnings before interest, tax and amortization, which includes the effects of amortization of acquired intangible assets and the net amortization or capitalization of software development expenditure) was $160.4 million, increases of 16%* and 21%*, respectively, over the same prior year period. UK-based The Sage Group plc reported global revenues of $1.69 billion for the year ended September 30, 2006, an increase of 22%* over the same prior year period (at constant exchange rates*). EBITA for the year was $449.8 million, an increase of 23%* over the prior year, and the company added 553,000 customers during the year, bringing its total to 5.2 million businesses worldwide, excluding CRM customers.
“We continue to expand our business with our customers’ needs in mind, extending our software and services portfolio through acquisition and internal development, and integrating products to provide complete suites of business applications,” said Sage Software CEO Ron Verni. “This enables us to provide our customers with the power of choice in their software selection, and gives them the confidence of knowing that Sage Software can support them for the life of their business.”
During 2006, North American revenues represented 39% of the Sage Group’s global revenues. Overall North American EBITA margins increased to 25% from 24% in the prior year.
In 2006, Sage Software continued its strategy of offering small and mid-sized businesses the broadest range of business management applications, releasing dozens of new or upgraded products for general business and the specialized needs of the construction, distribution, healthcare, manufacturing, nonprofit and real estate industries.
Sage Software expanded its product portfolio during the year with several acquisitions, including:
- Verus Financial Management, a merchant services provider;
- The Master Builder product line from Intuit Inc., and Contractor Anywhere, products that serve the construction industry;
- The Practice Services Division of Emdeon Corporation which serves the needs of physician practices and which is now the Sage Software Healthcare Division;
- The Mobile Division of Corum Corporation that provides software to enable mobile access to business applications.
The company delivered major upgrades of its small business software products, including ACT! by Sage 2007, which continues to lead the worldwide market for contact and customer management with more than 2.7 million users; Peachtree by Sage 2007 and the new Peachtree by Sage – Quantum 2007; Timeslips by Sage 2007, and Simply Accounting by Sage 2007, which is Canada’s number one selling small business accounting software.
Sage Software also delivered key new releases and upgrades in its mid-market business management products and services portfolio, including Sage Online Payroll Services integrated with Sage MAS 90 ERP, Sage MAS 200 ERP, Sage Accpac ERP, and Sage Abra HRMS, enabling companies to outsource their payroll while maintaining integration with their in-house accounting and human resource management system; and major upgrades to its Sage Accpac, Sage Pro, and Sage MAS ERP suites as well as its Sage CRM SalesLogix and Sage Abra HRMS lines. New versions of the market leading Sage Timberline Office and Sage Nonprofit Solutions were also launched.
Sage Software continued its focus on quality customer service in 2006, gaining industry standard certifications for its award-winning technical support teams, launching Business Minds, a new customer magazine, and serving more than 2,700 attendees at the company’s annual user conference, Sage Summit.
* Results are in USD. Results for the year ended September 30, 2005 have been retranslated based on the average exchange rates for the year ended September 30, 2006 to facilitate comparison of results: 1.8041 USD per GBP. Results for 2005 have been restated according to IFRS guidelines to facilitate comparison of results.
About Sage Software
Sage Software supports the needs, challenges and dreams of more than 2.7 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 5.2 million customers and employs over 13,000 people worldwide. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.sagesoftware.com/moreinfo or call (800) 517-9099.
