MariaDB's revenue grows as new CEO settles in, but bank loan discussions continue

MariaDB has yet to conclude its discussion with a "large commercial bank" as it nears the maturity of an existing loan.

Recording 22 percent revenue growth this month, the database company that sprung from the project of MySQL founder Monty Widenius announced plans for a strategic overhaul of the business following the arrival of new CEO Paul O'Brien in May.

MariaDB reported $13.0 million total revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2023 and annual recurring revenue of $55.0 million, an increase of 14 percent year-on-year. Operational losses narrowed to $12.2 million for the quarter, down from $13.1 million in the same period last year.

In a call to investors, O'Brien, who replaced Michael Howard in May, said CFO Conor McCarthy and the management team were working "on strategic, operational and financial reviews with an aim to attain profitability in a much shorter time frame, creating a more resilient business."

He said the company was "driving a more balanced approach to profitability."

In April, the company made a small number of job cuts and repeated its "going concern" warning to markets as it sought additional capital to meet projected working capital, operating, and debt repayment needs for periods after the end of September. To be fair, such going concern warnings are not uncommon in regulatory filings.

In May, the company told investors it was "in advanced discussions with a large commercial bank about a loan facility that includes both a term loan and a revolving credit facility."

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In a statement to The Register, a MariaDB spokesperson said: "While we remain in advanced discussions with a large commercial bank about a loan facility that includes both a term loan and a revolving credit facility, other funding alternatives are also under discussion, and we are confident that we will find sufficient funding with the right party or parties on acceptable terms."

The spokesperson said O'Brien's "diverse background, rooted in go-to-market strategies and business developments, will help MariaDB capitalize on its strong technology and expand its market footprint."

O'Brien used to lead MariaDB's global field operations team. He has also been a veep at NetApp and Symantec, as well as holding various management positions at EMC Corporation.

In 2017, MariaDB agreed a loan with the European Investment Bank (EIB), structured partly as "a capital loan" of €10 million, and partly as "a term loan" of €15 million. The term loan was disbursed on October 11, 2019, and has a maturity date of October 11, 2023, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing [PDF] this month.

The Register has asked MariaDB to comment on whether it needs to successfully conclude its "advanced discussions with a large commercial bank" to repay the EIB loan.

Whatever way MariaDB expands its "market footprint," it may yet need to tread carefully.

In its latest SEC filing, it repeated its "going concern" warning, saying: "Our future is dependent upon our ability to obtain financing and upon future profitable operations from our business." ®