Hortonworks is facing a period of turmoil after it was revealed that president Herb Cunitz would be leaving and shares plummeted on the back of weak financial results.
A fall of 27% was seen in shares of Hortonworks after a wider loss was reported for the second quarter and lowered its annual forecast.
The company reported a loss of $64.2 million, compared to a loss of $43m in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose to $43.6m, up 46%, but things aren’t looking too rosy for the company that is considered to be one of the leaders in the big data analytics market.
Rob Bearden, CEO of Hortonworks is reported to have told analysts on a conference call that the results were partly due to having signed a larger amount of multiyear deals that take: “a longer time, obviously, on the revenue recognition.”
To add to the disappointment it was revealed that Herb Cunitz, who has been president of the company since 2012, would be leaving due to his desire to become a chief executive.
Cunitz was in charge of sales, which Bearden will now take control of.
The company is in a period of transition that has seen its shares fall 42% in a year, worker layoffs, and now a president departure.
Hortonworks has been trying to shift its sales model in order to focus on meeting certain targets.
Following this news the company’s share price fell a further 25% in after-hours trading even though Bearden said that in the fourth quarter the company would break-even on earnings before taxes, although for the full year it is estimated to make $177m in revenue, down from the $190m forecast three months ago.
Despite these challenges the company has highlighted some positives such as its work with HPE, partnership with Microsoft, and the founding of an open source platform designed to explore gene-based medicine.
