Salesforce Results Beat, Raises Full-Year Revenue Forecast Again

Salesforce.com Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit, helped by an increase in demand for its web-based sales and marketing software, and raised its revenue forecast for the full year for the third time.

The company’s shares rose 4 percent in extended trading after the world’s biggest maker of online sales software also forecast current-quarter revenue and adjusted profit above analysts’ average estimates.

Salesforce revenue has been rising as businesses opt for cheaper and easier cloud software services, but higher spending, particularly on sales personnel, has pressed the bottom line.

Unbilled deferred revenue — a critical but off-balance sheet measure of contracts closed with business customers — jumped 24 percent to $6.2 billion at the end of the quarter ended July 31.

CNBC reported in May that Microsoft Corp and Salesforce held “significant (merger) talks” but failed to agree on a price.

Salesforce said it now expects revenue of $6.60 billion-$6.63 billion for the year ending January 2016, up from $6.52 billion-$6.55 billion.

The company’s net loss narrowed to $852,000 in the second quarter from $61.1 million a year earlier. On a per share basis, the company posted a loss of 10 cents a year earlier.

Excluding items, Salesforce earned 19 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 17 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 24 percent to $1.63 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.60 billion.

(Reporting by Lehar Maan in Bengaluru; editing by Don Sebastian)

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.