DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Salesforce.com Inc.'s (CRM) fiscal second-quarter profit more
than doubled as revenue surged, strong growth that led the company
to raise its views for the fiscal year.
The company's shares jumped 7.6% to $49.70 in late trading as
results topped the company's own estimates. The shares have more
than doubled since late November but remain down 25% from a year
ago.
So far, the provider of on-demand sales software, which also
offered a promising third-quarter outlook, has shrugged off analyst
concerns in recent months that the fast-growing company could face
lower renewal rates and declining demand due to layoffs and
economic weakness.
For the period ended July 31, Salesforce.com reported earnings
of $21.2 million, or 17 cents a share, up from $10 million, or 8
cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 20% to $316.1
million.
In May, the company projected earnings of 14 cents to 15 cents
on revenue of $312 million to $313 million
Subscription and support revenue climbed 22%, while professional
services and other revenue dropped 3%.
Gross margin widened to 80.2% from 79.4%. The company's paying
customer base grew 32% to 63,200.
For the fiscal year, Salesforce.com now expects earnings of 60
cents to 61 cents a share on revenue of $1.27 to $1.28 billion,
above the earnings of 59 cents to 60 cents a share and revenue of
$1.25 billion to $1.27 billion the company previously expected.
The company expects fiscal third-quarter earnings of 15 cents to
16 cents on revenue of $323 million to $324 million. Wall Street
expects earnings of 15 cents a share on revenue of $318
million.
-By Jay Miller, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2355;
jay.miller@dowjones.com