Shares in Cirata PLC (AIM:CRTA) rose 14% to 23.05p after the data integration specialist reported its strongest-ever quarter for bookings and said it expects to turn cash flow positive early in 2026.
The company said full-year data integration bookings reached $13.2 million, the highest level since 2017 and up 181% year on year.
Momentum accelerated sharply in the final quarter, with $9.8 million of bookings, more than four times the level achieved a year earlier and the best quarter in the group’s history.
Growth was driven by a small number of large contracts. Cirata signed a $6.7 million, three-year original equipment manufacturer agreement through its partnership with IBM, its largest such deal to date. It also secured a $3.1 million direct contract with a US insurer, another company record.
Management said the surge in bookings reflects a strategy focused on expanding existing customers rather than chasing volume. At the same time, Cirata has sharply reduced costs.
Annualised cash overheads are now around $12 million to $13 million, roughly a third of their historic peak.
The group ended December with $7.4 million of cash and near-cash items and said it is targeting cash flow positivity in the first quarter of the new financial year, although revenues are expected to remain uneven.