NetSuite posts strong Q4

NetSuite reported strong fourth quarter results as sales grew 35 percent and the company continues to nudge its way into larger enterprises.

The company reported a fourth quarter net loss of $20.2 million, or 27 cents a share, on revenue of $115 million. Non-GAAP earnings for the fourth quarter were 8 cents a share.

Wall Street was expecting non-GAAP fourth quarter earnings of 7 cents a share on revenue of $111.4 million.

For 2013, NetSuite reported a net loss of $70.4 million, or 95 cents a share, on revenue of $414.5 million, up 34 percent from a year ago.

NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson said the company's accelerating revenue growth highlights how it is taking share from "pre-cloud solutions" from the likes of Microsoft, Sage and SAP. 

NetSuite projected first quarter revenue to be in the $119 million to $121 million range with non-GAAP earnings of penny a share to 2 cents a share. Wall Street was looking for first quarter revenue of $119.7 million with non-GAAP earnings of a nickel a share. NetSuite said it planned to continue to invest to grow.

For 2014, NetSuite projected revenue of $535 million to $540 million, up from its previous guidance. Earnings on a non-GAAP basis will be relatively flat with 2013.

On a conference call with analysts, Nelson said:

Our organization matured materially especially in how we engage with large enterprises now using NetSuite to rent key elements of the business. Internal investments by our services and support teams and a strong partnerships with the large as eyes like Accenture Deloitte Gemini and McGladrey have enabled us to go beyond the expectations of this very demanding class of customer.

Other odds and ends:

• Subscription and support revenue in the fourth quarter was $93.6 million.
• Professional services revenue was $21.44 million in the fourth quarter.
• Sales and marketing expenses for 2013 was $210.1 million, up fro $154.3 million in 2012.