SysGroup, the Manchester-based IT services, cloud hosting and cyber security firm, said its revenue grew 5% to £22.7 million in the year to March 31, 2024, driven by second-half growth in cyber security.
However, SysGroup reported a statutory loss before tax of £6.6m million, driven in part by £1.8 million of exceptional costs including an “upgrade” of its leadership team and £3.7 million impairment of historic acquisitions.
SysGroup, which also has offices in Bristol, Edinburgh, London and Newport, said it has also repositioned itself as a “technology partner for Small Medium Businesses (SMBs) in their AI and digital transformation.”
The firm said it replaced 11 senior leaders, including the CEO and CFO, “with six new talents.”
SysGroup executive chairman Heejae Chae said: “Over the past year, the group has completely transformed its strategy, execution and leadership.
“Since acquiring a 14% share and becoming the executive chairman, we have repositioned the company as the preferred technology partner for Small Medium Businesses in their AI and digital transformation efforts.
“AI will have a significant impact on businesses and represents a key opportunity for transformation. Our goal is to guide SMBs through the complex AI value chain and support their transformation journey from start to finish.
“We raised £11.2 million through an oversubscribed equity raise to accelerate our growth and innovation. We have invested in additional R&D resources, including offshore capabilities in India and Eastern Europe.
“In order to showcase the impact of AI transformation, we are implementing 31 use cases internally to transform SysGroup to demonstrate the benefits of AI.
“This will allow us to serve as a live case study of best practices for our customers and achieve significant productivity gain. Additionally, we are actively seeking complementary acquisitions to expand our technical capabilities and customer base.
“I am very excited about the company’s potential and future prospects.
“AI will be the transformational technology of our generation and will continue to gather momentum as the technology improves and benefits are crystallised. As with any innovation, its adoption will not be a straight line and will follow a J-curve.
“Our mission is to inform and support British SMBs which accounts for 99.2% of total business population in this journey.”