Cirata’s share price jumped by more than 16% today after the Sheffield-based data integration business posted a record set of bookings.

The company, hit by a huge fraud scandal while operating under former name WANdisco in 2023, is now on track to turn cash flow positive in the first quarter of FY26.

In an unaudited trading update for the quarter ended 31st December 2025, the firm reported FY25 Data Integration (DI) bookings of $13.2 million – its strongest full-year performance since 2017 and an increase of 181% year-on-year. 

Q4 DI bookings alone hit $9.8m, the strongest quarterly DI bookings in the company’s history.

Cirata also revealed two contracts described as the largest in its history – a $6.7m OEM deal and a $3.1m direct customer contract. 

Chief executive Stephen Kelly said the results represented “a series of records and firsts”, adding that multi-year contract wins with blue-chip customers and partners were helping build confidence in the company’s roadmap and ability to deliver.

The update marks another milestone in the firm’s attempted turnaround after a high-profile scandal that derailed the company in 2023, when it was still operating as WANdisco. 

Early that year, the business revealed that a senior sales employee had falsified purchase orders, triggering a suspension of trading in the company’s shares at the end of March 2023 and forcing it to raise $30m in emergency funding from existing investors. 

When trading resumed in July 2023, its share price collapsed from 1,310p to around 50p on the first day back.

The company later rebranded to Cirata plc in September 2023, in a move it said was designed to draw a line under the scandal and rebuild investor confidence.

Since then, Cirata has reshaped its leadership team and strategy. 

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Kelly, the former CEO of Sage, took over as chief executive following the departure of founder Dave Richards, while the finance and non-executive board ranks were also refreshed as the group tried to restore credibility with investors and customers.

Operationally, Cirata says it is now a more focused business following the divestment of its DevOps assets in August 2025, with the final conditional payment received in December bringing total proceeds to $3.4m. 

The company is now solely focused on data integration and orchestration software, positioning this as a larger long-term opportunity with less reliance on renewals.

Cost control has also been a major part of the recovery plan. 

The company said annualised cash overheads now sit at 31% of their all-time peak, with the group reducing its cost base from a $16m-17m run-rate exiting Q1 FY25 to an annualised $12m-13m exiting Q4 FY25. 

It also confirmed that the Financial Conduct Authority closed its investigation into the company in November 2025 with no action taken, in another key step in repairing its standing after the events of 2023.

Management is now targeting cash flow positive in Q1 FY26 and is planning for cash break-even across FY26 overall, although it warned that bookings and cash flows remain “inherently lumpy” due to the nature of enterprise software contracts.

Its share price today rose from 20.23p to 23.5p – its highest since September – as it continues to recover. 

“FY25 was a foundational year for Cirata,” said Kelly. 

“The divestment of the DevOps assets and the launch of Cirata Symphony – our data orchestration offering – give the company product focus and an expanding addressable market. 

“We rebuilt our GTM strategy from the ground up, and we are setting records for bookings with a cost base now running at less than a third of its historic peak.

“I’m proud of the expansion wins we secured in FY25 and this customer expansion approach remains a critical part of our growth strategy as we move forward.

“Alongside this, and as the year ahead unfolds, we will gradually put other building blocks in place to broaden our pursuit of growth. 

“Further new product development is one important element, with customer and market validation and, ultimately as the new sales team reaches maturity, the acceleration of new customer wins. 

“Bringing these key building blocks together will be management’s primary focus for FY26.”

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