Messaging software and services provider Myriad Group has parted company with its CEO Simon Wilkinson after half year results showed a severe dip in revenues and profits.
Wilkinson led an often controversial battle to acquire rival messaging provider Synchronica last year and has now departed just months after the deal completed.
Myriad reported half year revenues of $25.13 million for 1H 2012, down from $35 million in 2011. The company's EBITDA margin fell from a positive 20% to a negative 25.1%, posting negative EBITDA of $6.3 million.
Most of the revenue decrease was due to falling device licensing revenue, which decreased from over $21 million to just under $11 million.
Services revenue increased from $5.5 million in 2011 to $11.1 million in 2012. Myriad's aim is to raise service revenues, partly as a result of the Synchronica acquisition. The acquisition brought with it a number of operator customers of Nokia Messaging. (Nokia Messaging itself was previously bought by Synchronica).
After Myriad bought Synchronica, for £23 million, Wilkinson told Mobile Europe, "This deal will create a powerhouse in the rapidly growing sector of mobile-social convergence. It will establish a global service organisation serving over 100 Carriers and 25 OEMs around the world. At a stroke, it increases the addressable base for our award-winning product portfolios to over 1.8 billion subscribers with pre-installation of our products in over 100 million new devices each year.”
A statement from the group said, "Although legacy device revenues have declined in line with managements’ expectations, the rate of growth in new product segments has been slower than predicted."
The company also announced a $10.8 million fundraising rights issue, "in order to complete the integration and related rationalisation of Synchronica and to ensure Myriad has sufficient funds to execute its growth strategy." It hopes to have the issue completed by mid-October.
Erik Hansen, Chairman, of Myriad Group AG, commented: “Recent progress on our key customer service deployments together with the underwritten fund raising, should enable us, with both speed and scale, to consolidate our position as a global leader in mobile social messaging."
210 employees have been cut from the company as part of recent restructuring. Wilkinson, who had five years as Myriad's CEO, has become the latest to go.