Box disappoints in its first post-IPO report:
Box Drops 15% After Reporting Strong Revenue Growth, Wider Than Expected Loss
by Alex Wilhelm ( @alex)
TechCrunch
March 11, 2015
Update: Box’s shares have recovered somewhat, and are now down around 10 percent, instead of 15 percent. The chart, however, remains rough:
Today following the cessation of normal trading, Box announced its fiscal fourth-quarter financial performance, including revenue of $62.6 million, and an operating loss of $45.8 million on a GAAP basis, and $32.2 million using adjusted metrics. The company also reported billings for the period of $82.0 million.
The company’s GAAP net loss for the period totaled $52.92 million.
On a GAAP basis, Box lost $2.64 per share. Using non-GAAP metrics, which the street is currently using to measure Box’s per-share profits, Box lost $1.65 per share in the quarter.
The market had expected Box to report a $39.75 million loss, revenue of $58.03 million, and billings of $80.85 million. Box’s revenue grew 61 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. Its GAAP loss increased from its fourth-quarter, fiscal 2014 tally of $40.2 million.
Following the news of its mixed earnings, the company’s stock, up nearly five points in regular trading, is sharply down around 8 percent.
The company recently strengthened its balance sheet by selling shares to the general masses in an initial public offering. Box ended its current quarter with cash and equivalents of $330.4 million. Box’s net cash burn stemming from operating activities for the period totaled $15.6 million in the quarter, down from the year-ago period’s $22.4 million burn.
For its full fiscal year, Box had revenue of $216.4 million, up 74 percent, and a net cash burn due to operating activities in the period of $84.9 million, down slightly from its fiscal 2014 burn.
Box showed strong revenue growth, beating expectations, but the same questions regarding its path to profitability remain. Increasing dollar-based losses on a year-over-year basis, even coupled to strong top line expansion, is troubling.
Box expects to generate revenue of $63 million to $64 million in its current quarter, and $281 million to $285 million in its current fiscal year. The firm anticipates a non-GAAP operating loss “as a percentage of revenue” of between -50 percent and -52 percent.
Box estimates that it will grow its revenue by around 30 percent in its current fiscal year.
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