Cambridge-based cyber security firm Darktrace (DARK) has cut its growth forecasts for the year as new customers pull the plug on technology spending in the face of a weakening global economy.

Darktrace now expects annualised recurring revenue, adjusted for foreign exchange swings, to rise by between 29% and 31.5%, down from a previous range of 31% to 34%.

Investors are easily spooked after a tumultuous 2022, and the reaction to the latest news was severe, sending the stock briefly below the 250p price at which the company joined the stock market in April 2021.

‘The current macro-economic environment is creating challenges to winning new customers, with prospects more reluctant to run product trials,’ said chief financial officer Cathy Graham. ‘Conversion rates have also started to decline in some regions where customers have in the past been more likely to commit to contracts after their initial trials.’

Darktrace had become a retail investor favourite since it joined the stock market, but it has been a highly volatile ride. The share price peaked at 945.5p in October 2021.

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