SAGE says it is trading as expected but is keeping a close eye on the rocky financial situation in Europe.
The Newcastle-based software giant, which trades in more than 20 countries worldwide, said it had made a satisfactory start to 2012.
The company, which has six million mainly small and medium-sized business customers and more than 12,300 staff, has received £200m from the sale of Sage Software Healthcare to Vista Equity Partners and has sold 17.7 million shares for £50m in a buy-back scheme.
It revealed the figures in an interim management statement published yesterday for the period from October 1 to date. Chief executive Guy Berruyer said: “In the context of a macro-economic environment which remains challenging for our customers, we have made a satisfactory start to the year and trading is in line with expectations for the year.
“The strong fundamentals of Sage’s business positions us well to cope with the ups and downs of the economic cycle.
“We are confident that the business priorities, on which we are focused to drive growth, will bear fruit as the year progresses but we remain watchful of the European environment in particular.”
