Box Shares Surge Following Upbeat Results, Revenue Forecast

Shares of Box Inc BOX surged more than 8 percent in after-hours trading after the company reported upbeat results for the first quarter and lifted its sales forecast fiscal 2016. The Los Altos, California-based company reported a quarterly loss of $46.6 million, or $0.40 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $37.8 million, or $2.81 per share. Excluding one-time costs, the company posted a loss of $0.28 per share. Its revenue rose 45 percent year-over-year to $65.6 million. However, analysts were expecting a loss of $0.31 per share on revenue of $63.7 million. The average estimate among 7 Estimize users was for a loss of $0.31 per share and revenue of $63.99 million. The company posted an operating loss of $46.6 million in the first quarter, versus an operating loss of $37.8 million. Billings in the first quarter rose 58 percent to $69.8 million. The company added 2,000+ customers during the quarter. As of April 30, 2015, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $284.0 million. "We are proud to have achieved revenue growth of 45 percent year over year, driven by our continued success moving up market and closing more enterprise deals," said Dylan Smith, co-founder and CFO of Box. "While we continue to focus on investing in technology innovation and growth, we also remain committed to achieving positive free cash flow. Our Q1 results show the progress we have made toward this milestone as we demonstrated significant improvement in our operating cash flow." Box expects Q2 revenue of $69 to $70 million, versus analysts' estimates of $67 million. For the full year FY16, the company now expects revenue of $286 to $290 million, versus prior forecast of $281 to $285 million. Box shares jumped 8.92 percent to $19.41 in the after-hours trading session.