Cyber company Darktrace hits new high on upgraded 2022 guidance

By Paul Sandle

LONDON (Reuters) -Darktrace, the cybersecurity company that listed in April, upgraded its guidance for 2022 on Thursday as it said revenue for the financial year just ended would grow by a better-than-expected 40% plus to at least $278 million.

Shares in the British company, which were priced at 250 pence in the IPO, jumped 15% to a new high of 664 pence after the update.

Chief Executive Poppy Gustafsson said demand for Darktrace's AI solutions was "robust, as advanced cyber-attacks continue to outpace the human capability of security teams".

Darktrace, which uses AI to detect attacks inside IT networks, said it expected year-over-year revenue growth of between 29% and 32% for the year to end-June 2022, up from 27% to 30% previously, although it would see typically soft first-quarter sales.

It ended the year with strong sales trends, including in June, it said, but a reorganisation and expansion of its sales force could have a temporary impact on productivity.

"These efforts will begin in the first half of FY 2022 and are intended to support anticipated growth and continued scaling," it said.

Darktrace, which counts governments and multinationals as clients, said it ended its financial year with about 5,600 customers, up 42% year-on-year.

Annualised recurring revenue at end-June was at least $340 million, it said, representing year-on-year growth in constant currency of at least 44%, well above the 35% that analysts at Berenberg said they had forecast.

(Editing by Michael Holden, Sarah Young and Barbara Lewis)