NORTH-EAST based software company Sage Group has reported a 69 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £278m and reaffirmed its commitment to support the growth of Britain's small firms.

Operating profit was also up 65 per cent to £298m for the year ended 30 September.

The Newcastle-headquartered firm, the only software company in the FTSE 100, grew software subscription revenues 28 per cent.

It said that strong momentum in its cloud software business was driving increased customer loyalty. This resulted in a 150 per cent increase in paid subscriptions by small businesses to 86,000.

Sage employs more than 1,700 North-East workers and expects to recruit more people in the year ahead.

Stephen Kelly, the company's new chief executive, said:

"Our financial performance demonstrates the strength of Sage's global business and the quality of relationships it has with millions of SME customers worldwide.

Mr Kelly took on the reins from Guy Berruyer last month. Mr Berruyer, who had been with Sage since 1997 and at the helm since 2010, announced his retirement in May.

Prior to the appointment, Mr Kelly was operations chief and head of efficiency for the UK government where he worked to cut red tape and improve the government’s contacts with IT suppliers.

Mr Kelly added: "I would like to thank Guy Berruyer for leading Sage to deliver an encouraging set of results with a strong finish to the year. I reconfirm the Board's financial targets for 2015 and recognise the 2014 results as an important milestone on the path to meeting them.

Looking ahead, I believe that Sage, as a trusted partner to our customers, can be even more instrumental in supporting the success of SMEs around the world. I look forward to building on Sage's technology leadership, both in the cloud and on-premise, together with our outstanding customer support, to the benefit of our current and future SME customers."