IRVINE, CALIF., Dec. 3, 2002 -- Best Software, Inc., today announced that its UK-based parent company, the Sage Group plc, reported revenues of $815 million for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2002, an increase of 14 percent over the prior fiscal year. Operating Income for fiscal year 2002 was $212 million, an increase of 12 percent over the prior year, and earnings per share increased 11 percent over the prior year to $0.11.

Total revenue for The Sage Group’s US businesses for the year ended September 30, 2002, was $409 million, and operating income was $85 million, increases of 22 percent and 29 percent, respectively, over the same period of the prior year.

“These strong results for Sage worldwide have been largely driven by our ongoing focus on marketing our broad range of leading products and services to new and existing customers, along with our continuing ability to add value to acquisitions,” said Sage Chairman Michael Jackson.

“Operating results for our US businesses were particularly encouraging, with continued double-digit growth in both revenue and operating income,” said Ron Verni, Best Software president and CEO. “Operating margins improved from 20 percent to 21 percent as a result of our increasing focus on product cross-selling via our nationwide network of 6,600 business partners to our substantial installed base of more than 1.7 million customers (excluding Interact). In particular, our emphasis on customer upselling was supported by the ongoing success of our effort to migrate additional Peachtree customers to our MAS 90 product.”

All dollar amounts for The Sage Group plc were calculated at an exchange rate of 1.47642 for U.S. dollars per GBP for fiscal 2002.

About Best Software
Best Software offers leading business management products and services that give over 1.7 million small and mid-sized customers in North America the insight for success throughout the life of their business. Its parent company, The Sage Group plc (London: SGE.L), supports three million customers worldwide and has revenue of $815 million. For more than 25 years, Best Software has delivered easy-to-use, scalable and customizable applications through its portfolio of leading brands, including Abra, ACT!, CPASoftware, FAS, MAS 90, MIP, Peachtree and SalesLogix, among many others. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.bestsoftware.com or call (866) 308-BEST.



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