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Salesforce.com Q4 rises 82 percent
By Stacy Cowley

Salesforce.com Inc.'s fourth-quarter revenue rose 82 percent over last year's fourth-quarter total, to US$54.6 million, the company said Thursday as it released its financial results.

The San Francisco-based hosted CRM (customer relationship management) software provider went public last year and has been one of the fastest growing companies in the enterprise software market. Per-share earnings were $0.03, a penny above the consensus forecast of analysts polled by Thomson First Call, and net income was $3.6 million, up from a $765,000 loss last year.

Sales and marketing expenses remained the publicity-loving company's largest expenditure, totaling $28.4 million during the quarter -- significantly outpacing the company's $3.2 million investment in research and development.

For its 2005 fiscal year, ended Jan. 31, Salesforce.com had revenue of $176.4 million, up 84 percent from 2004. Net income for the year was $7.3 million.

Salesforce.com ended the quarter with a reported 13,900 customers and 227,000 paying subscribers. For 2006, the company forecasts revenue of $282 million to $287 million.

Posted February 18, 2005 01:30 AM |