Sophos Q1 revenue, billings rise amid strong demand

FTSE 250 cyber security company Sophos reported a rise in first-quarter revenue and billings on Thursday amid strong demand following a spate of cyber attacks this year.

In the quarter to the end of June, billings increased by 16%, or 19% at constant currency to $164.3m, reflecting continued strong momentum despite a demanding prior-year comparative. Meanwhile, revenue was up 11.3% to $141.8m.

Chief executive officer Kris Hagerman said: "We are encouraged to report a first quarter financial performance ahead of our expectations. The demand environment in cybers ecurity remained strong, particularly in the end-user segment, where we saw continued significant customer and partner interest in our leading next-generation anti-ransomware solutions, with awareness further raised following recent high-profile global attacks like WannaCry and Petya.

"Our core strategy continues to be differentiated and effective: we work in partnership with our channel to deliver innovative, simple, and highly effective cyber security solutions for mid-market enterprises, synchronising across end-user and network security. Sophos continues to grow faster than the overall industry and gain share. We are well-positioned to continue our momentum and deliver against our full-year expectations and we are pleased to reaffirm our outlook."

At 0910 BST, the shares were up 0.4% to 486.69p.