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Full Year 2022 results

Results for the year ended 30 September 2022 (audited).

Wednesday 16 November 2022
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Strong execution accelerates growth

  • Significant strategic progress with accelerating revenue growth and organic margin expansion
  • Organic recurring revenue growth of 9%, underpinned by Sage Business Cloud growth of 24%
  • ARR growth of 12%, with increased momentum in all regions driven by new and existing customers
  • Organic operating margin increased to 19.9%, as we focus on efficiently scaling the business
  • Underlying basic EPS growth of 8%
  • Continued strong cash performance, with cash conversion of 107%

Alternative Performance Measures (APMs)1

FY22

FY212

Change

Organic Financial APMs

 

 

 

Organic Total Revenue

£1,924m

£1,809m

+6%

Organic Recurring Revenue

£1,824m

£1,667m

+9%

Organic Operating Profit

£383m

£353m

+8%

     % Organic Operating Profit Margin

19.9%

19.5%

+0.4 ppts


 

 

 

Underlying Financial APMs

 

 

 

EBITDA

£468m

£454m

+3%

     % EBITDA Margin
24.0%
24.2%
-0.2 ppts

Underlying Operating Profit

£377m

£368m

+2%

     % Underlying Profit Margin

19.4%

19.6%

-0.2 ppts

Underlying Basic EPS

25.74p

23.79p

+8%

Underlying Cash Conversion

107%

126%

-19 ppts

 

 

 

 

KPIs

 

 

 

Annualised Recurring Revenue (ARR)

£2,027m

£1,816m

+12%

Renewal Rate by Value

101%

99%

+2 ppts

% Subscription Penetration

75%

70%

+5 ppts

% Sage Business Cloud Penetration

75%

67%

+8 ppts





Statutory Measures

FY22

FY21

% Change

Revenue

£1,947m

£1,846m

+5%

Operating Profit

£367m

£373m

-2%

     % Operating Profit Margin

18.9%

20.2%

-1.3 ppts

Basic EPS (p)

25.47p

26.33p

-3%

Dividend Per Share (p)

18.40p

17.68p

+4%

Please note that tables may not cast and change percentages may not calculate precisely due to rounding.


Commenting on the results, CEO Steve Hare said
:

"Sage has had a strong year, making good progress as we deliver on our strategic priorities. We significantly accelerated revenue across all key products and regions, expanded our organic operating margin and delivered strong cash flow. ARR growth of 12%, underpinned by increasing levels of new customer acquisition, is particularly encouraging and positions us well for the year ahead.

“Sage’s purpose of knocking down barriers so everyone can thrive is more important now than ever. Sage Business Cloud solutions enable small and mid-sized businesses to streamline their processes and unlock productivity, helping them to achieve more with less. While we are mindful of macroeconomic uncertainties, I am confident that our resilient business model together with our strategy for delivering efficient growth, centred on our expanding digital network, will enable us to create further long-term value for all our stakeholders.”

Financial highlights   

  • Organic recurring revenue increased by 9% to £1,824m, underpinned by Sage Business Cloud growth of 24% to £1,261m. Organic total revenue grew by 6% to £1,924m.
  • Organic operating profit grew by 8% to £383m, with margin increasing to 19.9% (FY21: 19.5%) driven by operating efficiencies as we scale the Group.
  • EBITDA increased by 3% to £468m, with margin decreasing slightly to 24.0% (FY21: 24.2%) mainly due to the impact of disposals.
  • Statutory operating profit decreased by 2% to £367m due to the change in recurring and non-recurring items1, including higher net gains in the prior year from disposals.
  • Underlying basic EPS up by 8% reflecting higher underlying profit and the recent £600m share buyback.
  • Continued strong cash performance, with cash conversion of 107% reflecting ongoing growth in subscription revenue.
  • Robust balance sheet, with c. £1.3bn of cash and available liquidity, and net debt to EBITDA of 1.6x.
  • Final dividend up 4% to 12.1p, in line with our dividend policy, taking the full year dividend to 18.4p.

Strategic and operational highlights

  • Annualised recurring revenue (ARR) up 12% to £2,027m (FY21: £1,816m), reflecting a strong performance across all regions, with growth accelerating from both new and existing customers.
  • £180m of ARR added through new customer acquisition, up from £140m in FY21.
  • Cloud native ARR up 38% to £530m (FY21: £384m) driven by new customers and supported by migrations, with a particularly strong performance from Sage Intacct.
  • Renewal rate by value of 101%, ahead of last year (FY21: 99%), reflecting good retention rates and strong sales to existing customers.
  • Sage Business Cloud penetration of 75% (FY21: 67%), enabling more customers to connect to Sage’s cloud services and ecosystem via the Sage digital network.
  • Strong progress in strategic execution including several new product launches across the Group; continued focus on innovation driving new AI-based services including Accounts Payable automation.
  • Refreshed brand landing well with stakeholders and helping to build stronger customer connections.
  • Accelerated growth strategy with key acquisitions including Brightpearl, Futrli and Lockstep; disposal programme now complete following the sale of Sage Switzerland and South African payroll outsourcing.

Outlook

Sage enters FY23 with strong momentum, having made good strategic progress to accelerate growth. Looking ahead, we expect organic recurring revenue growth to be ahead of last year driven by strength in Sage Business Cloud, and other revenue (SSRS) to decline in line with our strategy. Operating margins are expected to trend upwards in FY23 and beyond, as we focus on efficiently scaling the Group.  

About Sage

Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of small and mid sized businesses (SMBs) served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.

Enquiries:

Sage: +44 (0) 7721 599502
James Sandford, Investor Relations
David Ginivan, Corporate PR

FGS Global: +44 (0) 20 72513801
Conor McClafferty
Sophia Johnston

A presentation for investors and analysts will be held at 8.30am UK time. The live webcast can be accessed via sage.com/investors or directly via the following link: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/umpbfg5k. To join the conference call, please register via https://register.vevent.com/register/BI0b234f8d6411450caeaea347d4931188.

1Please see Appendix 1 for guidance on the usage and definitions of Alternative Performance Measures.
2Organic revenue and operating profit for FY21 have been restated to aid comparability with FY22. The definition of organic measures can be found in Appendix 1 with a full reconciliation of organic, underlying and statutory measures on page 7. Unless otherwise specified, all references to revenue, profit and margins are on an organic basis.

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