Aferian PLC on Tuesday reported a loss for its last financial year, due to higher operating expenses and exceptional costs, but said it expects growth in the current half year.

Aferian, a Cambridge-based business-to-business video streaming solutions company, swung to a pretax loss of $16.9 million in the year ended November 30, compared with a $4.8 million profit a year prior.

Revenue decreased by 1.9% to $91.1 million from $92.9 million.

Operating expenses increased by 48% to $58.6 million from $39.7 million, and exceptional items multiplied to $6.7 million from $1.5 million. Aferian also took a $12.5 million impairment of goodwill.

Aferian did not declare a final dividend for financial 2022, having declared one of 2.87 US cents for financial 2021. It had paid an interim dividend of 1.26 cents per share back in August last year.

Aferian expects revenue for the current financial year to be significantly below last year’s, and it said device sales for its Amino division have been lower than expected in the current half year. However it also expects to report growth this half year in its 24i division.

‘We have continued to invest in innovation across the group, strengthening our data-centric product offering and are seeing increasing quality of engagement with current and prospective customers,’ Chief Executive Officer Donald McGarva commented.

However he acknowledged ‘the wider macroeconomic environment during the year led some customers to review their capital expenditure and delay new orders’.

McGarva added: ‘Post period end, we have taken several actions to reduce the Group’s operating cost base and capital [research and development] spend in order to streamline the way we do business and position us for future growth...Aferian is well-positioned to benefit from the continued convergence of streaming and pay TV across our industry.’

Shares in Aferian were 9.6% lower at 33.00p in London on Tuesday.

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