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RNS Number : 1915N

Sage Group PLC

19 January 2023

The Sage Group plc

Trading update for the three months ended 31 December 2022

The Sage Group plc (FTSE: SGE), the leader in accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses, today issues a trading update for the three months ended 31 December 2022[1].

Jonathan Howell, Chief Financial Officer, commented:

"Sage has made a strong start to the year, in line with our expectations, as Sage Business Cloud solutions help more customers improve their productivity and resilience. While we are mindful of the current macroeconomic environment, we remain confident in our strategy for delivering efficient growth and we reiterate our guidance for the full year, as set out in our FY22 results announcement."

 
                                                                              Organic 
 Underlying Revenue Performance[2]            Q1 23      Q1 22   % Growth    % Growth 
                                                                --------- 
 
 Revenue by Category 
 Recurring Revenue                          GBP517m    GBP460m       +12%        +12% 
 Other Revenue (SSRS[3])                     GBP23m     GBP33m       -29%        -27% 
                                          ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------- 
 Total Revenue                              GBP540m    GBP493m       +10%         +9% 
 
 Recurring Revenue by Region 
 North America                              GBP235m    GBP198m       +18%        +16% 
 UKIA                                       GBP151m    GBP135m       +12%        +10% 
 Europe                                     GBP131m    GBP127m        +3%         +6% 
 
 Recurring Revenue by Portfolio 
 Future Sage Business Cloud Opportunity     GBP479m    GBP422m       +14%        +13% 
       of which Sage Business Cloud         GBP390m    GBP298m       +31%        +28% 
 Non-Sage Business Cloud                     GBP38m     GBP38m         0%         +1% 
                                          ---------  ---------  ---------  ---------- 
 

Recurring revenue increased by 12% to GBP517m, underpinned by a 31% rise in Sage Business Cloud revenue to GBP390m. Software subscription revenue grew by 18% to GBP422m (Q1 22: GBP357m), resulting in subscription penetration of 78% (Q1 22: 73%).

Regionally, in North America recurring revenue increased by 18% to GBP235m, with a strong performance from Sage Intacct alongside growth in cloud connected products. In the UKIA region, recurring revenue grew by 12% to GBP151m, driven by continued success in cloud native solutions including Sage Intacct and Sage Accounting, together with growth in Sage 50 cloud connected. In Europe, recurring revenue increased by 3% to GBP131m, with growth across the Sage Business Cloud portfolio partly offset by the disposal of the Swiss business in FY22. Organic recurring revenue growth, which excludes the disposal impact, was 6%.

In terms of recurring revenue by portfolio, the Future Sage Business Cloud Opportunity (products within, or to be migrated to, Sage Business Cloud) grew by 14% to GBP479m. This was driven by 45% growth in cloud native recurring revenue (35% on an organic basis) to GBP141m (Q1 22: GBP98m) primarily through new customer acquisition, as well as further growth in cloud connected supported by migrations. Sage Business Cloud penetration increased to 81% (Q1 22: 71%), enabling more customers to connect to Sage's digital network.

Other revenue (SSRS) decreased by 29% to GBP23m, in line with our strategy to transition away from licence sales and professional services implementations.

Total revenue increased by 10% to GBP540m. On an organic basis (excluding the impact of M&A), total revenue growth was 9%.

Foreign exchange

Sterling has weakened against the US Dollar and the Euro, leading to an exchange rate tailwind.

Analyst and investor conference call

Jonathan Howell will host a webcast and conference call today at 8.30am UK time. The webcast can be accessed via the following link: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/vjzkrh3f . To join the conference call, please register via: https://register.vevent.com/register/BI5f4628e0a0484ad5935bb75b71c977a2 .

Enquiries

Sage +44 (0) 77721 599502

Jonathan Howell, Chief Financial Officer

James Sandford, Investor Relations

David Ginivan, Corporate PR

FGS Global +44 (0) 20 7251 3801

Conor McClafferty

Sophia Johnston

About Sage

Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.

[1] In line with Sage's financial reporting changes announced on 8 December 2022, all figures are on an underlying basis unless otherwise stated. In terms of regional reporting, UKIA comprises Northern Europe (UK & Ireland), Africa & APAC, and Europe comprises France, Central Europe & Iberia.

[2] Underlying and organic results are presented on a constant currency basis, while organic growth also excludes the impact of M&A. Underlying and organic measures are defined on pages 289-290 of Sage's FY22 Annual Report.

[3] Software and software-related services.

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