Cision reported organic growth declined two percent during the first quarter while revenue fell nearly 14% to SEK 204M ($30.7M), following the divestiture of its print monitoring business and weaker renewals.

CEO Peter Granat, who took the reins of the Sweden-based company in February, said "unwinding" the 81-year-old print business, as well as dealing with bundled customer contracts for that service, resulted in challenges during Q1.  He also cited weaker renewals of professional services customers as a factor in the revenue decline.

But Granat said he is optimistic that investment in sales and marketing, along with cost cutting, will spur growth in its flagship PR software business.

Organic growth in North America fell 3 percent to SEK 157M ($23.7M), mostly impacted by offloading the print unit, while Europe ticked up 1% to SEK 52M ($7.8M).

Granat said Cision is in the midst of a strategic review of its business with plans expected to be unveiled in the second quarter.

Following the print unit unloading, the company cut 26% of its workforce and had 1,023 staffers at the end of Q1.