Interim statement claims financial software giant will meet market expectations for year-end results

Accountancy software giant Sage has announced that it is on-track to meet market expectations for its financial results due out next month.

In a statement released this morning the software vendor announced that, for the six months ended 31 March 2006, it expected to report a turnover of £444m, an operating profit of £115m and a pre-tax profit of £111m.

Sage's full results on its financial performance for the period are expected to be announced at the beginning of next month.

Meanwhile, it was also announced this morning that a statement by IT software and consultancy group Visma ASA regarding Sage's offer to acquire the firm has been delayed until tomorrow.

After a formal offer was made by Sage in March, Visma announced that it would issue a statement regarding the offer today. However, Visma's board of directors have now decided to delay release of a formal statement regarding the offer until tomorrow.