Darktrace PLC (LSE:DARK) hailed a "strong" interim performance as it upgraded guidance for its current financial year.
The cyber security firm, in a trading update for its first half ended December 31, said its customer base grew 39.6% during the period, adding 6,531 customers. On a constant basis, annual recurring revenues (ARR) rose 45% whilst overall revenue grew by 50%.
It added it saw a significant improvement in annual recurring revenue churn and retention rates.
"I am very pleased that we have continued to deliver strong growth across our customer base, ARR and revenue,” said chief financial officer Cathy Graham.
“We also achieved our aim of driving improvement in churn and net ARR retention rates over the past six months by leveraging our customer success team and focusing on upsell programmes.”
Based on the continuing strong performance and a consistent view for the remainder of the year, the company’s full year guidance was lifted for earnings (EBITDA), net revenue and ARR.
Darktrace said it expects to report half year ARR of at least US$426mln, with net revenue seen to be at least US$190mln.
For the full year, it now expects to achieve ARR growth between 37% and 38.5% (up from 34% to 36%) whilst net revenue is predicted to grow by 42% to 44% (up from 37% to 39%). Earnings (adjusted EBITDA) margin is seen improving by 3% to 6% (from 2% to 5%).
Cathy Graham added: “In December, we delivered the first module of our new Prevent product line to early adopters.
“This is the next logical step in fulfilling our vision of creating a Continuous AI Loop, a virtuous circle that equips customers with a suite of technologies that strengthen and reinforce each other.
“The power of our innovative underlying technology, Self-Learning AI, enables us to expand our ability to protect organisations from the cyber threats of today and tomorrow."