UK's Sage reports better-than-expected 4.4% growth in H1 recurring revenue

LONDON (Reuters) - British software company Sage reported a better-than-expected 4.4% rise in organic recurring revenue in the six months to end-March and said it now expected growth for the year to be towards the top end of its 3% to 5% range.

The company, which provides software to small and medium sized businesses, said on Friday organic recurring revenue increased to 811 million pounds ($1.14 billion), offset by a 21% decrease in other revenue to 79 million pounds.

Its organic margin decreased to 20.2% from 23.2% in the same period a year ago, it said, reflecting increased investment in cloud services.

($1 = 0.7121 pounds)

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Costas Pitas)