Cirata shares fall as notes some deals may take longer than expected

Cirata PLC on Wednesday said progress with its expanded original equipment manufacturer partnership with IBM Corp is continuing as it reported an interim revenue dive.

The Belfast-based software-solutions provider said pretax loss narrowed to USD3.5 million in the first half of 2026, from USD13.4 million a year prior.

Revenue fell 70% to USD957,000 from USD3.2 million.

Finance costs came down sharply to just USD22,000 from USD8.5 million. The company had a net foreign exchange loss of USD8.4 million in the first half of 2025, which did not repeat.

Cirata said the net foreign exchange loss had arisen "on sterling-denominated intercompany balances in a US dollar denominated subsidiary."

Meanwhile, operating expenses reduced by 16% to USD6.6 million from USD7.8 million.

Looking ahead, Cirata continues to expect an annual cost base of between USD12 million and USD13 million, adding it is making continued progress with its expanded original equipment manufacturer partnership with IBM.

However, it cautioned: "At this point in the financial year, the company now believes that – whilst engagement with customers and channel partners around key opportunities and the Cirata Symphony product offering remains strong – certain anticipated deals may close over a longer timeframe than initially expected.

"As a result, whilst commercial momentum and pipeline build will continue to grow through the second half, this may delay the company's ambition to be cash flow breakeven, which was previously projected for 2026 overall and was subject to bookings timings and working capital movements."

Cirata shares fell 33% to 7.80 pence each on Wednesday afternoon in London.

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