(Reuters) – Salesforce.com reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue and raised its full-year revenue forecast, driven by higher demand for its web-based sales and marketing software.
Shares (CRM) of the world’s largest maker of online sales software rose 7.2% to $67 in after-hours trading.
Salesforce, seen as a barometer for the cloud-computing sector, has been benefiting as more businesses choose cheaper and easier cloud software services.
The San Francisco-based company provides its services online, with no software directly installed on PCs.
Salesforce raised full-year revenue forecast to $8.08 billion-$8.12 billion from $8.0 billon-$8.1 billion and said it expects adjusted profit of $0.99-$1.01 per share.
Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 99 cents per share on revenue of $8.08 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue from sales cloud – suite of software that allows companies to track leads, forecast opportunities and collaborate around any sale – rose 12.3% to $708.9 million.
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Net loss narrowed to $25.5 million, or 4 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, from $65.8 million, or 10 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned 19 cents per share, in line with the average analyst estimate.
Revenue rose 25.3% to $1.81 billion, above analysts’ estimate of $1.79 billion.
