The Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) share price took off in early trade on Thursday before tumbling into the red after the company posted its earnings for the first half.
As The Motley Fool Australia reported earlier, the provider of data for machine learning and artificial intelligence posted an after-tax loss of US$9.4 million for the six months ended 30 June. That's down from the prior corresponding period's US$6.7 million profit.
While the loss didn't initially deter the market, it has since performed an about-face. The Appen share price opened 0.7% higher at $4.20 before taking off to reach a high of $4.565 – representing a 9.5% gain.
Since then, the stock has slumped to swap hands at $4.14 apiece, 0.7% lower than its previous close.
Let's take a closer look at the latest news from the former S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) constituent.
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Appen share price wobbles on first-half earnings
The Appen share price surged higher before nosediving after the company posted apparently disappointing first-half earnings.
Notably, the tech stock scrapped its interim dividend as its after-tax profit hit the red.
But there were a few silver linings within today's release.
The company noted that, while trading hasn't yet improved in the second half, its revenue order book, including year-to-date revenue and orders in hand, stands at US$360 million with deliveries skewed to the final quarter.
It also saw growth in its China business, with its revenue rising 141%.
However, looking at the company as a whole, revenue was down about 7% to US$182.9 million and underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) before foreign exchange impacts slipped 66% to a $9.6 million loss last half.
Today's share price movement sees Appen trading 5% higher than the multi-year low of $3.94 it reached earlier this month. Though, it's still down 63% year to date and 70% over the past 12 months.
