Darktrace PLC (LSE:DARK) has reiterated its earnings and revenue guidance for the year to end June 2023, though it reduced its cash forecast due to the vesting of incentive shares for its two executive directors.
The FTSE 250-listed cyber security firm has been under heavy scrutiny following a short-selling attack by US hedge fund QCM in January and had largely flagged its half-year numbers.
Auditor E&Y was appointed to review its financial procedures and controls following the QCM claims.
Results today were in line with its forecasts, with revenues of US$259mln, up 36%, and underlying profits (adjusted EBITDA) of US$59.7mln, up 33%.
On a statutory basis, which included US$11.9mln of share-based payments and US$30.8mln of taxes related to employee bonus grants at the time of listing, operating profits tumbled 92% to US$577,000.
Customer numbers rose by 24% and Darktrace maintained its guidance for the full year of recurring revenue (ARR) growth of between 29.0%-31.5% after 36.7% growth to US$557mln in the first half.
Darktrace said it is working to incorporate its own response to AI- generated threats within its product suites and is already trialling these with early adopter customers.
In early morning trading, Darktrace shares were 0.5% lower at 262.50p.