Revenue for Sage North America fell by 10 percent for the year ended September 30 - and dropped by 8 percent organically - over fiscal 2008 results as the division that markets its accounting products led the way down. North American revenue fell to $889.4 percent while the operation's EBITA margin dropped to 18 percent, down from 20 percent a year earlier as the economy took its toll.

The major North American unit is the Business Solutions Division, whose revenue fell by 11 percent organically, with mid-market accounting products, CRM and construction software revenue off. Without providing numbers, the company said its small business products, the Peachtree and Simply Accounting lines, were "resilient", while nonprofit accounting software products showed modest growth.

The challenged Sage Healthcare Division saw a revenue decline of 5 percent, but grew margins to 18 percent for the year just ended, up from 8 percent the prior year. The Payments Division reported a 15 percent increase in merchants served, but lower volume per merchant dropped revenue by 4 percent.