Micro Focus narrows loss as software group slashes costs
British software firm Micro Focus today reported a narrower loss for the first half of the year as it reaped the rewards of a cost-cutting plan.
The London-listed company, which helps customers maintain and update legacy IT systems, posted an operating loss of $154.8m (£112m) for the six months to the end of April.
This was down from a $906.7m loss in the same period last year.
Revenue for the half-year was $1.4bn — down 4.6 per cent but ahead of market expectations.
Micro Focus added that it had set aside $70m to resolve a patent infringement dispute with US firm Wapp.
Shares were down more than four per cent in morning trading.
The software group launched a three-year turnaround plan in 2020 after booking a $2.8bn impairment charge related to its troubled $8.8bn takeover of HPE’s software assets.
Micro Focus has targeted cost-cutting through back-office simplification and shifted to a single IT platform following the acquisition.
However, it warned that it would continue to incur duplicate costs until the system was fully operational.
“Our recovery programme and specifically our systems transformation are progressing as planned despite the challenges of executing this within the constraints of a global lockdown,” said chief executive Stephen Murdoch.
“Whilst there is a great deal to do, we are encouraged by our progress and remain committed to delivering revenue stabilisation and sustainable cash flow generation for our shareholders.”