(Alliance News) - WANdisco PLC on Tuesday said its annual revenue fell below expectations and below its 2018 performance as a few "significant deals" were delayed past the end of December.
Shares in WANdisco were down 6.8% at 398.90 pence in London in midday trading.
For 2019, WANdisco expects to report revenue of around USD16 million, which would represent a 5.8% reduction fro 2018's revenue figure of USD17.0 million. It would also be below expectations for the year.
"Toward the end of 2019, a small number of significant deals slipped into 2020. The majority of these deals are within the company's growing Microsoft channel, where customers have elected to wait for public availability of the company's embedded Azure product, Fusion Resource Provider," WANdisco explained.
Fusion Resource Provider, a joint venture initiative with Microsoft Corp, is set to become publicly available in the first quarter of 2020. It "will deeply embed WANdisco's Fusion technology into the data fabric of the Azure cloud" and its launch is WANdisco's primary focus in the first half of 2020.
The new product is intended to be "the fastest and simplest way to establish data connectivity from on-premises to cloud storage and between cloud regions" and eliminate any need for planning data deployment or accommodating storage and networking options.
Some of WANdisco's other customers have also opted to "revisit the initial scope of their engagements and increase them", with deals set to close in 2020 though they "are not competitive tenders".
With the delayed deals set to close in early 2020, and keeping in mind its current pipeline, WANdisco forecasts that it will meet 2020 market expectations.
WANdisco Chair & Chief Executive David Richards said: "2019 was a significant year for WANdisco. We delivered on our primary strategic goal, cementing our partnership with Microsoft to embed Fusion into Azure, allowing customers to use Fusion as if it was a native Azure offering. We are now focused on bringing the product to general availability which we expect to facilitate a greater volume and velocity of deals."
He added that: "Having successfully raised USD16.5 million from existing shareholders in November 2019, we have secured the balance sheet and are well positioned to capitalise on our cloud opportunities in 2020 and beyond and achieve the important milestone of cash flow breakeven. While 2019 did not meet our financial expectations, the product and strategic progress is significant, and we enter 2020 more confident than ever."
WANdisco's 2019 results are expected to be published "in mid-March".
A "private preview" phase of Fusion Resource Provider has begun, where some existing Microsoft customers can use it and give feedback before a "public preview", likely at some time in the first quarter.
Richards said: "Our partnership with Microsoft has been transformative for the company and we are thrilled that our joint solution is now in the final phases prior to general availability.
"It is a sign of great encouragement and pride that two of Microsoft Azure's largest customers are engaging in the private preview phase to be the first to gain access to this inimitable solution.
"We look forward to working closely with Microsoft over the coming months as our joint product becomes publicly accessible for the first time in Q1."
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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