Credit: Dreamstime
Australian software vendor LiveTiles has posted a $22 million loss after its year-on-year operating expenditure tripled.
The Microsoft partner made $7.4 million in revenue for the half year ending 31 December, double the previous corresponding period.
However, its expenses rose from nearly $10 million to $30 million, causing its net loss after tax to jump from $5.9 million to $22.7 million - a 284 per cent increase.
Two thirds of its expenses came from employee and contractor costs, the latter of which increased by 1300 per cent from $700,000 to just under $10 million.
However, the company remained confident its expenses in the next half year would be lower, citing the loss of "several non-customer facing staff" implemented in the December 2018 quarter and the normalisation of expenses relating to the sales and marketing execution services provided by N3.
In February 2018, LiveTiles signed an agreement with in the US which was to add US$2.7 million (A$3.4 million) in annualised subscription revenue.
LiveTiles was positive about its increasing customer base, which rose by 34 per cent to 598 at the end of December.
The publicly-listed company also cited its partnership with Microsoft as generating demand for its digital workplace product.
According to its update to shareholders, growth in large enterprise customers is being driven by LiveTiles’ investment in direct sales personnel, high-impact co-marketing initiatives with Microsoft and growing brand awareness.
LiveTiles also recently launched a new program with Microsoft aimed at helping Australian partners lift their artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
Based on this, the company said it expected to end the financial year with strong revenue growth, targeting $100 million annual recurring revenue by 30 June 2021.
Last year, LiveTiles acquired US-based employee profile and directory management software company Hyperfish for $8.9 million. The company is said to have made more than US$1 million in ARR by 31 December 2018, exceeding its first earn-out target.
Following the half year’s end, LiveTiles also made its first in-road into Europe by buying the Danish digital workplace software business Wizdom for $48 million.
Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, the Microsoft-aligned company had 243 customers across Europe and the United Kingdom and ARR of $8 million by 31 December.
