Autonomy reports record Q1 but reticence on the future causes disquiet in the stock market
Autonomy Corportion plc, Silicon Fen’s largest home grown company by market capitalisation, said revenue for the 1st quarter of 2008 jumped 61% to $105.1m, driven by strong organic growth and the contribution from subsidiary ZANTAZ.
The firm, which specialises in infrastructure software for the enterprise and is spearheading the meaning-based computing movement, said pre-tax profit surged to $31.1m from $19.5m a year earlier.
CEO Mike Lynch (pictured) said: "We are witnessing continued strength as the momentum of the unstructured information revolution continues. Recent analyst reports acknowledge this development, placing Autonomy in the number one slot across a range of seemingly distinct software sectors, which are all united by the value of Autonomy's ability to understand meaning.
"Q1 unfolded as expected with its usual seasonality. At the same time various sectors shifted spending from general IT to regulatory and litigation-related purchases, making the direct effect of the sub-prime crisis a net positive for our business. Our regulatory, compliance and government-driven prospects, which account for the significant majority of our revenues, are proving robust”.
Dr Lynch said Autonomy had decided to maintain its conservative view on future prospects, which it would review “if, as expected, current strength continues”.
This seemed to cause the share market pause and it stripped 10% off Autonomy’s share price. By mid morning it was trading around 885p, valuing the company at almost £1.9 billion.
Dr Lynch added that “while the current economic conditions bring a degree of uncertainty to businesses, we have seen no negative changes from the model outlined at the beginning of 2008.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely as the year unfolds, although currently our strong fundamental market dynamics suggest that we have good reason to be confident in the current outlook for the business.”
24 April 2008
