LONDON (Alliance News) - Sopheon PLC Thursday swung to a loss in the half-year to the end of June as it saw revenue decline and said that it continues to expect its performance to be heavily weighted towards the second-half.
The software and services company posted a pretax loss of USD702,000, swung from a profit of USD4,000, as revenue declined to USD9.2 million from USD10.2 million.
The company has opted to present its statements in US dollars going forward as two thirds of its revenues and staff are based in the US, and it said that the change reduces the effect of currency movements on its reported figures.
The company booked a total of 17 license orders during the period, compared to 19 the year before, with a lower average value per transaction. However, its base of recurring maintenance, hosting and rental contracts improved to USD8 million compared to USD7.5 million a year before.
Gross margin declined to 65% from 69%, mostly due the revenue mix, as the company was able to reduce subcontractor costs but this was offset by costs relating to establishing a dedicated upgrade team to transition its programme to its new technology platform, and higher original equipment manufacturer costs.
Sopheon continues to expect its revenues to be heavily weighted to the second-half of 2014. Its revenue visibility has improved to USD15 million compared to the USD13.6 million in reported at the time of its annual general meeting in June, it said.
As the company had seen a "record" financial performance in the fourth quarter of 2013 it said it had entered 2014 with energy and confidence, which made its disappointment in its first-half performance "very real." However, it stressed that it would "not be knocked off course by short term gaps in performance."
"We firmly believe that Sopheon is on the right path and that our performance will reflect this over time," said Chairman Barry Mence in a statement.
Shares in Sopheon were quoted flat at 65.00 pence Thursday afternoon.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
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