Investment sends AppSense into the red

APPSENSE, the international software company headquartered at Daresbury, has slumped into the red after heavy investment in people, new products and sales & marketing infrastructure.

The group, which counts Goldman Sachs as one of its investors, saw EBITDA go into reverse during the 12 months to June 30 2013 as its cost base rocketed from £43m to nearly £62m.  Having made positive earnings in financial year 2012 of £4.9m, it posted a loss of £8.9m.

At pre-tax level AppSense Holdings racked up a loss of £11.4m, compared with a profit of £2.96m the year before.

On a more positive note, turnover rose 10.75% to £62.2m, the accounts reveal.

In his business review founder and chairman Charles Sharland said the company’s headcount had increased by 60 to 486 as “every area of the organisation has expanded, most notably software development, sales and marketing and professional services teams.”

He added: “The group continues to retain its key customers with strong renewals of software maintenance and technical hotline support, At the end of the financial year, deferred revenue to be recognised in future periods increased by 39% to £29.98m.”
 
AppSense, which has its global HQ in Sunnyvale California,  is a pioneer of user virtualisation technology, designed to improve the deployment and management of devices, applications and data.

It has sales offices in London, Munich, Melbourne, Amsterdam, Paris and Oslo. Among the major corporates using its products are United Airlines, ESPN and Lufthansa.

Mr Sharland, who founded AppSense in 1999 and remains its largest shareholder, said continuing investment in research and development is “essential” for the continued success of the business both in new and existing markets.

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