Sage pre-tax profits ahead of expectations

Britain's biggest accounting software firm, Sage, has said its pre-tax profit for the six months ended March 31 was ahead of expectations at £87m (€130.4m), showing growth of 17% on the same period the previous year.

Turnover for the six months was in line with expectations at £332m (€497.9m), with growth of 23% on constant exchange rates on the prior-year period.