UK accounting software firm Sage Group Plc continues to see its acquisitions pay off, and the company reckons it generates enough cash to fund whatever it needs to tweak or wants to buy. For the eleventh successive year, the company has achieved an unbroken record of growth, with pre-tax profits up 34% to 30.1m British pounds on revenue that rose 33% to 136.2m pounds. Underlying margins improved, the company said. Excluding its acquisition this year of Sybel Informatique SA (CI No 2,788), margins rose to 27% from 24%. While France now accounts for 45% of the group’s revenue, with 40% from the UK and 15% US, the UK is still contributing 62% of the profits. Chairman David Goldman said there were obviously opportunities to improve profitability within the French group, which includes Sybel as well as Saari SA (CI No 2,437) and Ciel SA. Sage says it is consolidating its international business, and will re-brand its products under the Sage umbrella internationally, although it will still retain individual local brands, for example Saari from Sage. Goldman confirms Sage is still looking for strategic acquisitions, especially in Germany and the US, and says it has not ruled out buying in the UK even though its approaches to Pegasus Group Plc have been shunned (CI No 3,012). The company says it generates sufficient cash from its business to fund its organic growth as well as its acquisitions. It repaid its five year loan on the Saari purchase in less than two years out of cash balances. Goldman says whatever the company wants to do, be it in marketing, development or acquisitions, it has the cash to fund it. Sage will pay a final dividend of 1.76 pence, making a total for the year up 10% at 2.64p.
