Market Report: CEO departure his Sage hard
STORM clouds gathered over Sage Group after its chief executive signalled he would not be around to see out the growth strategy he has set for the company.
Shares in the software giant fell 22½p to 399½p, making it the biggest blue chip casualty, as analysts expressed surprise that Guy Berruyer will retire by next March, before his three-year growth target timeline is complete.
Westhouse Securities analyst Gareth Evans said: “Guy Berruyer has delivered a clear Cloud computing strategy, and begun the process of upgrading the group’s delivery across the board. It is a shame that there must be a dislocation in management at this time, but if the group acts cleverly, it could provide another positive jolt to the system.”
After 17 years with Sage, it seems surprising that he does not want to hang on for the last few months to see if he delivers
Numis’s David Toms said: “After 17 years with Sage, it seems surprising that he does not want to hang on for the last few months to see if he delivers.”
The FTSE 100 delivered a 42.81-point rise to 6839.25, helped by major supermarkets after a trading update from Wm Morrison, 8p higher at 199p. Tesco and Sainsbury’s were marked up 9p to 295p and 7¼p to 331¼p.
Talk of an improved offer from US suitor Pfizer boosted drugs giant AstraZeneca 82p to 4713p, while British Airways owner IAG flew 10½p higher to 404½p on hopes for a positive trading update today.
Record quarterly production and a 14 per cent rise in profit compared to the same period last year failed to prevent Randgold Resources sliding 173p to 4530p as the price of gold dropped.
Fellow top flight precious metals producer Fresnillo reversed 10p to 810p.
Petra Diamonds sparkled, up 5¾p to 162½p, as dealers noted buy support from Barclays with a 210p price target, while a reassuring trading update showing year-on-year revenue growth of 32 per cent to £56.9million in the first quarter helped digital sports media group Perform score a 16p rise to 250p.
Union Jack Oil flowed 0.04p north to 0.24p as dealers noted arguments by a House of Lords committee that developing a successful shale gas and oil industry in the UK should be a “national priority”.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was 32.43 points higher at 16,550.97 by end of trading.
