Shearwater Group PLC (AIM:SWG) saw 8% shaved off its shares to 45.2p after the cybersecurity services group reported a dip in sales but an improvement in losses for the six months to end-September.
The board said it expects the company to meet full-year expectations, though this is based on securing deals which were deferred from prior periods, with some timings continuing to be deferred into future periods.
Shearwater reported £10.5 million of revenue for the half year, down from £10.8 million last time as 2% growth in the services arm was unable to offset a 29% decline in the smaller software division.
Underlying profits (EBITDA) increased to £0.6 million from £0.1 million, helped by the services arm breaking into the black, while adjusted loss before tax declined to £0.1 million from £0.5 million.
On the outlook, chief executive Phil Higgins said regular contact with customers left the board confident in securing the services deals deferred from previous periods, while also being "encouraged by the opportunities for higher margin software deals which will have a meaningful impact on top line growth".
"We move into the second half with cautious optimism and our core objective for the remainder of the period will be to convert our pipeline of opportunities," he said.