Capital Markets Day

RNS Number : 0802R

Sage Group PLC

24 June 2015

 



The Sage Group plc Capital Markets Day - "Reimagining Business"

The Sage Group plc ("Sage") is hosting a Capital Markets Day for analysts and investors today, during which the Sage leadership team will outline Sage's future strategy and its operational implementation plans. 

Ahead of the event, Stephen Kelly, CEO commented,

"Today we focus on the future of Sage and share the opportunities and challenges we face. We have raised our ambition and aspire to be the acknowledged market leader globally in our space and the champion of Small & Medium Businesses - the engine room of job creation, growth and prosperity around the world. 

The principle of "Customers for Life" is core to our strategy, building on the Sage heritage with strong trust and treating customers with respect. We start from a privileged position, but there is a lot more we can do to attract new customers to Sage and to enhance relationships with existing customers as they grow. 

Key to success will be careful sequencing and striving towards flawless execution. The next two to three years are a transitional period for Sage as we improve the quality of revenue and shift investment materially to drive sustainable growth.

As we do this, we expect to maintain annual organic revenue growth of 6% and operating profit margin of 28%, in-line with our plans for 2015. Beyond the transition period, we expect revenue growth to accelerate and the operating margin to expand.

The qualitative improvement in our business is consistent with our commitment to shareholders, and we will focus on sustainable, profitable growth, superior operating margins, generating strong free cash flow and a progressive dividend."

Going forward, management will use a refreshed set of Key Performance Indicators ("KPIs") to demonstrate progress in executing against the strategy.  The following KPIs will be reported on with effect from the FY15 full year results:

-     Attracting new customers, measured by adoption of Global products (Sage One, Sage Life and Sage X3);

-     Improving the quality and sustainability of revenue. A leading indicator will be Annualised Recurring Revenue (ARR) and the Annualised Software Subscriber Base (ASSB);

-     Supporting customers for life, measured by the contract renewal rate; and

-     Investing for growth, measured by the reduction of general and admin costs as a percentage of revenue and the reallocation of investment to customer facing activities.

These KPIs build on Sage's existing financial KPIs.

Today's meeting will commence at 2pm (BST) and is being webcast live (www.sage.com/capitalmarkets).

No update on current trading will be provided during the presentation. Sage will issue its third quarter trading statement on Wednesday, 22 July 2015, and hold a conference call for analysts which will be hosted by Steve Hare, CFO.

Enquiries

The Sage Group plc  [phone]	Tulchan Communications [phone]
Stephen Kelly, Chief Executive Officer	David Shriver
Steve Hare, Chief Financial Officer	Jonathan Sibun
Murdo Montgomery, Investor Relations

About Sage

Sage energizes the success of businesses and their communities around the world through the use of smart technology and the imagination of our people. Sage has reimagined business and brings energy, experience and technology to inspire our customers to fulfil their dreams. We work with a thriving community of entrepreneurs, business owners, tradespeople, accountants, partners and developers who drive the global economy. Sage is a FTSE 100 company with 14,000 employees in 24 countries. For more information, visit www.sage.com.

 

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