What's wrong with Appen's business?, page-19

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Bell Potter rates APX as HoldAs part of Appen's trading update, management noted “the challenging external operating and macroeconomic conditions that were noted at the release of the 1HFY23 result have persisted into 2HFY23”.The company announced both a further US$14m of cost reductions, on top of the US$46m already slated, and a fully underwritten $30m equity raising. Across FY24-26, the analysts downgrade revenue assumptions by -6%, -10% and -12%, respectively.In line with management's objective to return to profitability, Bell Potter forecasts a return to a modest positive earnings (EBITDA) number in 2024.After allowing for the lower forecasts, the equity raise and higher assumed risk-free rate, the broker's target is slashed to 65c from $1.70. Hold retained.