The outlook for Sage Group has been a hot topic among analysts since its annual results last week, firing up the share price to a record £11.30 before it eased back again, albeit slightly. The stock closed up again yesterday.
You need only look at the numbers to see why. For the year to the end of September, the accounting, human resources and payroll software provider, which boasts nearly half of Britain’s small businesses on its books, said its subscription income (known as annualised recurring revenue) had risen by 11 per cent to £2.2 billion. It reported that underlying profit before tax had increased by 20 per cent to £424 million.
Meanwhile, the penetration of its Sage Business Cloud offering rose from 75 per cent
