ServiceNow projects strong 2017 growth as expansion pays off

ServiceNow said it will deliver sales growth of 31 percent to 33 percent in 2017 as it closed out a strong 2016.

The company, which specializes in automating work flows, said it is the fastest growing enterprise software company with sales of more than $1 billion. ServiceNow has moved from a company focused on delivering IT service management to one that has expanded into human resources, facilities and field service.

For the fourth quarter, ServiceNow reported earnings of $42.4 million, or 25 cents a share, on revenue of $391.7 million, up 37 percent from a year ago. The earnings were a penny ahead of Wall Street estimates.

In 2016, ServiceNow reported a net loss of $451.8 million, or $2.75 a share, on revenue of $1.39 billion, up 38 percent from a year ago.

ServiceNow's outlook was strong. The company projected first quarter revenue between $406 million to $411 million, up 33 percent to 34 percent. For 2017, ServiceNow projected revenue between $1.82 billion to $1.85 billion.

The company is hoping to deliver $4 billion in revenue in 2020 as it expands its footprint among the 2000 largest enterprises in the world.