Appen shares hit 7-year low after wider H1 loss on weak demand

Shares of Australian artificial intelligence training provider Appen Ltd on Monday hit their lowest level in more than seven years after reporting a significantly wider half-yearly loss on weak demand.

The shares tanked as much as 28%, logging its sharpest losses since May 10.

They pared some of the early losses and was down 27.2% at A$1.630 as of 0216 GMT.

The company posted a statutory net loss after tax of $34.2 million for the first half of the year ended June 30, compared with a loss of $3.8 million in the same period a year earlier.

Appen, one of the world’s largest AI training providers, said it could face persisting headwinds from a slowdown in the technology markets that could push its revenue for the second half of 2023 closer to the reported $138.9 million in the first half.

It also projected its annualised operating cost base on a run-rate basis to be lower than $113 million for fiscal 2023. Reuters