Sage’s sales climb to £517m as accountancy software giant sees boom for Cloud and subscription services

Sage’s profits are on track to meet its 2023 full-year guidance after recurring revenue rose 12 per cent to £517m in the three months ended 31 December.

This rise was boosted by a 31 per cent rise in Cloud sales and an 18 per cent hike in software subscription sales, £390m and £422m respectively.

Jonathan Howell, chief financial officer at Sage said: “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 full year 2022 results announcement.”

In November the accounting and HR multinational told investors it was expecting its organic recurring revenue to be ahead of last year with operating margins expected to “trend upwards in FY23 and beyond.”

The company posted £1.2bn growth for the full-year ended 30 September 2022, driven by sales in the UK and Ireland.

Steve Clayton, select fund manager at Hargreaves Lansdown said the company was in a “great position” especially when “times are uncertain.”

“Businesses need accounting software whether they are thriving or struggling, making those subscriptions one of their most essential bills to pay.”

“All in all, Sage look to be performing well and offering investors a good balance of defensiveness and growth, all backed by reliable cash flow.”