Darktrace announcement comes days after disappointing Deliveroo debut
Darktrace, the cyber security company, is planning to float in London only weeks after Deliveroo ran into problems on its first day of trading.
Chief executive of Darktrace Poppy Gustafsson said on Monday that it would be “a historic day for the UK’s thriving technology sector” when the company, founded in 2013, listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Darkface’s products use artificial intelligence to detect and react to cyber threats. The company brought in revenue of nearly $200m in the past financial year but estimates that is targeting a market worth $40bn a year. The company made a profit on its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, with EBITDA of $9m in the past financial year.
“Developed by our talented software engineering teams in Cambridge, our artificial intelligence was the first on the market to be deployed at scale in the enterprise,” said Gustafsson. “Today [it] is responsible for protecting over 4,700 organisations worldwide from the most sophisticated cyber threats.”
Doubts have been creeping in over the future prospect of technology IPOs after shares in Deliveroo tanked by nearly a third on their trading debut in March. The company’s share price is down again by just under 1% at mid-morning on Monday.
According to a filing released by the company on Monday, Darktrace’s most sizeable market is in North American and its greatest source of growth, despite its decision to list in London.
Over a six month period ending in December, Darktrace’s revenue grew by 39% to $126.5m, compared to 45% growth in the last full year. Losses before tax rose by more than double to $47.9m during H1 of the current financial year, mainly down to a sharp rise in financing costs. Over the same period, operating losses fell to $4.9m to $21.5m in the same period.