During the webcast, one analyst referred to Sage's having "an opportunity to exit at a sensible price." CEO Steve Kelly did not directly respond to that comment but noted "We have done a lot of work with partnerships in payments. I think the strategy holds good." Kelly termed the segment's performance as flat, but added, "I don't think we are alone in seeing that performance in that market." Over the last two years, payments has been a significant drag on Sage's performance on this continent. During the webcast, CFO Stephen Hare said U.S. revenue growth increased by 4 percent from 2015, but noted that excluding payments the rate would have been 6 percent. No other information was given in the statement posted on the Investor Relations section of the company's website.