Darktrace: Cybersecurity giant warns of slowdown as new customers cut back spending
Cybersecurity firm Darktrace warned of a looming slowdown in sales today as tricky economic conditions and rising costs “pose challenges to winning new customers”.
The London-listed tech firm said it expected its annual recurring revenue (ARR) figures, based on subscription to its software, to now come in at the lower end of its guidance range as customers slash spending on new products.
The warning came as the firm reported a 6.3 per cent slump in ARR growth in the quarter compared to last year. Bosses said the firm was reporting annual recurring revenues of $583.6m for the year, representing growth of 33.7 per cent.
“It remains clear that continuing uncertainty in the macro-economic environment is still having a significant impact on new customer additions and related ARR growth,” the firm said in a trading update.
“Given this ongoing trend, Darktrace is now centring its FY 2023 constant currency ARR guidance around the low end of its previous range.”
The firm said its “significant committed backlog” had contributed most of the revenue for the remainder of the year, however, and predicted revenue expectations would come in at the top end of its previous range.
Darktrace added 225 net new customers in the quarter – less than the number added in the same period last year – with the total customer base grew 22 per cent year-over-year, to 8,403 customers at the end of March.