Revenues rise at Abingdon cyber security company

By Nicky Godding

16 May 2019

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Abingdon-headquartered Sophos Group plc, a leading provider of next-generation cloud-enabled end user and network cybersecurity solutions, has reported an 11 per cent rise in group revenue to $711 million (£554 million).

The company has seen strong growth in subscription revenue,up 16% year-on-year, but billings remained flat.

The company said total billings were affected by a mix shift, with stronger growth in smaller customers particularly driven by managed service provider ("MSP") monthly billings, and a modest reduction in the number of larger transactions compared to the prior-year period.

Billings were also weaker for hardware, as customers have waited longer to refresh their systems.

Total subscription renewal base now exceeds $1.2 billion.

The company says it intends to continue to invest to support this growth, with a return to operating profit margin leverage after FY20.

Chief Executive Officer, Kris Hagerman, said: "Despite the challenges we faced in FY19, we are pleased with the strategic progress we made during the year. The demand environment for cybersecurity solutions continues to be robust, and we are confident that we are well positioned competitively, especially as more organisations move to adopt next-generation cybersecurity offerings.

“Increasingly, organisations of all sizes are looking for cloud-native solutions, centralised administration, integrated products, AI-powered protection, openness, and a service-oriented approach to security. Our next-gen solution set and strategy align well with these demands and have helped Sophos deliver strong growth in subscription revenue and customer count. We have become a leader in the next-gen cybersecurity market, and we are excited about the road ahead."

The Sophos Group has built a portfolio of products that protects over 382,000 organisations and over 100 million endusers in 150 countries, across a variety of industries.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.