Sage Group says exploring possible sale of U.S. payments business

LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - British software firm Sage Group (LSE: SGE.L - news) is reviewing options for its underperforming U.S. payments business, including a possible sale, the company said in a first-quarter trading statement on Thursday.

Sage said the performance of the business was broadly in line with expectations in the three months ended Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) . 31, with all countries meeting or exceeding their targets except the United States, where revenue in its sales business fell, and France, which saw a marked decline in revenue and software and software-related services (SSRS).

In total 'organic' revenue increased by 5.1 percent in the period.

Organic recurring revenue increased by 9.6 percent, driven by software subscription growth of 31 percent, though organic SSRS revenue declined by 10 percent.

"For the year as a whole we remain confident that we will achieve the guidance of at least 6 percent organic revenue growth and at least 27 percent organic operating margin," said Steve Hare, chief financial officer. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Greg Mahlich)