Tough road ahead for big data business as it rebuilds ‘from the ground up’
Big data firm Cirata plc, formerly known as WANdisco, has warned of a slower than expected recovery as it releases its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2023.
The Sheffield-headquartered firm has reported bookings for the year of $7.2m/£5.7m (FY22: $11.5m/£9m), revenues of $6.7m/£5.3m (FY22: $9.7m/£7.7m) and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $24.2m/£19.1m (FY22: loss of $30.7m/£24.3m).
Cirata, which was rocked last March by the discovery of millions of pounds worth of false purchase orders made by one of its senior sales employees, also records a statutory loss from operations of $36.5m/£28.9m (FY22: loss of $29.6m/£23.4m).
Stephen Kelly, chief executive officer, said: “It is clear that we have navigated through the most challenging period in our company’s history. Our collective efforts have yielded good progress, particularly in the rescue and initial phases of recovery.
“However, it is important to acknowledge that there is still much work ahead of us and the speed of the recovery is slower than we anticipated.
“Cirata is currently undergoing a comprehensive rebuild from the ground up. The company faced challenges in terms of governance, a go-to-market strategy that failed to deliver sustainable growth, and a prevailing corporate culture at odds with the company’s commercial reality.
“FY24 needs to evidence a transition to growth. The guidance provided by management indicates improving pipeline and visibility.”
Cirata adds that it is expecting bookings will be weighted towards the second half in FY24 as the pipeline builds and the firm’s sales team become more proven.
And the company cautions that its growth trajectory is likely to be “non-linear”, with its management working on establishing a more predictable sales cycle as a key priority.
