Aferian PLC on Tuesday said it swung to an interim loss in the most recent financial year, but it still has confidence for the second half.

For the six months that ended on May 31, the Leeds, England-based video streaming company swung to a pretax loss of $811,000 from a profit of $1.5 million a year before. Revenue was $44.5 million, decreased by 1.8% from $45.3 million.

Device revenue dropped by 8.2% to $32.5 million from $35.4 million, impacted by ‘supply chain challenges, including shipping and production delays, caused principally by COVID-19 related manufacturing shutdowns in China,’ the company explained.

Gross profit fell 5.8% to $19.4 million from $20.6 million, as operating loss amounted to $599,000 compared to a profit of $1.9 million the year before.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation amounted to $5.8 million, down 30% from $8.3 million the year before. Aferian, however, expects Ebitda margin for the full year to be broadly in line with with the prior year.

Positively, annual recurring revenue amounted to $8.2 million in the first half of financial 2022, up 49% from $5.5 million the year before. Aferian reported an exit run rate ARR of $15.8 million compared to $13.8 million, representing 14% growth or 26% on constant currency basis.

Chief Executive Officer Donald McGarva said: ‘We step into the second half of this year with an annual recurring revenue some 14% higher than this time last year. Now, nearly three months into Q3, we continue to have confidence in our second half prospects.’

Aferian maintained an interim dividend of 1.0 pence per share.

Looking ahead, the company said it is confident that the order book and improved availability of components will drive higher revenues in the second half. It said it remains confident in achieving results in line with its expectations for the financial year ending on November 30.

Shares were down 2.2% at 132.00 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.