Sage investors cautious after sales downgrade

Shares in Sage (SGE) closed the day 8 per cent down, after the accounting software group cut its sales guidance for the full year by one percentage point to 7 per cent. This stemmed from “inconsistent operational execution” during the six months to March. Translation: while two geographies underperformed, trading was generally good elsewhere. The two problematic regions were Northern Europe, largely the UK and Ireland, and Africa/ Middle East. Overall, organic revenue growth for the first-half came in at 6.3 per cent versus 7.4 per cent a year earlier, and software subscription growth was 25.3 per cent versus 30.7 per cent – below management’s expectations.