Troubled technology company WANdisco has reported growing losses but vowed that efforts to turn around its fortunes after a potential fraud are working.
The Sheffield firm is cutting around a third of its global staff after the discovery of significant “irregularities” surrounding one senior salesperson and their received purchase orders, related revenue and bookings. The issue is thought to total around £12m.
Announcing preliminary unaudited results for 2022, interim chief executive Stephen Kelly - the former boss of technology giant Sage - said the period had been a “wasted year” and he shared shareholders’ frustrations. The company announced revenue for the year of $9.7m, up from $7.3m a year earlier, and an adjusted Ebitda loss of $30.3m, an increase of $1.3m.
Read more: administration looms for troubled tech firm Wejo
The company’s statutory loss from operations has fallen to $28.2m but its cash reserves have also dropped, from $27.8m in 2021 to $19.1m.
Stephen Kelly, interim chief executive officer of WANdisco, said: “Joining the group after the conclusion of 2022 means there is little that I can say about 2022 itself. I am a shareholder in WANdisco so I share many of the same sentiments, surprise and disappointments as other shareholders.
“What I can say is that 2022 in many respects turned out to be a wasted year. Having got off to a bad start, FY23 will be different. I am determined that it will serve as a real transition year towards a sustainable, growth-focused future for our business.
“We are building the platform for growth from FY24 and the classic ingredients for success are now in place. We have an attractive market and a good competitive position but need greater discipline and focus to capitalise on it.
“The early results of our turnaround plan show we can bring this focus to bear. Together, the new leadership team will provide the framework to drive value creation for all our stakeholders so that our partners, customers and colleagues share in the success of the new WANdisco as we drive growth in the economic value of the business and growth in the value for our shareholders.”
Earlier this week, the company announced a $113,125 contract to work with Accenture on a project in Australia, saying that it showed it was making “progress toward positioning WANdisco for long-term growth and success.”
