Sage remains keen on expansion drive

Accountancy software supplier Sage today said the failure to land Norwegian rival Visma had not dented its ambition to make more acquisitions.

Unveiling a 19% hike in first-half profits to £113.7m (€166.1m), Sage said a push into new territories and products were among the possibilities as it seeks to maintain a run of strong results.

Growth in countries such as Canada and South Africa where the Newcastle-based firm only recently built up a presence helped revenues to rise 18% to £455.9m (€666.1m).

Sage invested £281m (€410.6m) during the six months to March 31 in deals that strengthened its existing businesses in the United States and France.

Deals included the addition of US firm Verus Financial Management, which took Sage beyond pure accounting and into the payment processing market for the first time.

But it failed to catch its largest prey after Visma dropped its support for a £334m (€488m) takeover last month and then backed a higher offer from private equity firm HgCapital instead.

Sage said its decision to walk away from Visma demonstrated its commitment to shareholder value and financial discipline, but stressed its expansion plans remained on course.

“We continue to evaluate further acquisition opportunities to extend our existing regional businesses an also to enter adjacent product and service markets and new territories,” Sage said.