Canonical Ltd., the company behind Ubuntu, has reported a successful fiscal year for 2023, with significant revenue increases and strategic investments in its workforce and development projects.
The company, headquartered in London, UK, saw its revenue rise by $46 million to $251 million compared to the previous year, slightly up from $44 million in 2022.
However, the report noted a decrease in cash flow from operating activities, which fell to $47 million from $62 million in the previous year. This decrease was largely due to the increased working capital necessary to support the expanded scale of operations.
The company’s key performance indicators (KPIs) for the year also highlighted some shifts in financial management. Sales and marketing expenses rose to 21% of total revenue, while research and development expenses remained at 26%.
To support this growth, Canonical increased its average headcount from 858 to 1,034 employees, focusing heavily on expanding its Sales & Marketing and Research & Development departments.
Regarding revenue sources, nearly 80%, or $197 million, came from subscription services, such as Ubuntu Pro, which is expected to be the main source of revenue for companies providing open-source solutions.
According to data, most of Ubuntu’s market is in the US, generating about 80% ($196 million) of the company’s total revenue. Europe, on the other hand, contributes only about 8% ($21 million).
What do all these numbers tell us? Generally, the company is moving in the right direction and slowly and methodically achieving its main goalโgenerating profit.
There’s also no denying that this is being achieved year after year with an increasing focus on the business segment at the expense of the community approach.
I know the following words might upset some, but it is already difficult for me to associate the word “community” with Ubuntu. Canonical made many controversial decisions that affected Ubuntu users, which could illustrate my point, but this isn’t the right place to get into those details.
So, what the regular home Linux user likes or not hardly matters much to the powers-that-be at Canonical, where the focus for years now has long been not romantic-sounds Ubuntu’s former slogan, “Linux for human beings,” but rather these days have sounded more like “Linux for business needs.”
Anyway. The Board of Canonical expressed satisfaction with the companyโs performance and strategic direction, emphasizing that the investments made throughout the year are expected to pave the way for sustained growth.
If you’re interested, you can find Canonical’s complete 75-page financial report for 2023 at this link.
