https://www.barrons.com/articles/box-ceo-earnings-outlook-51646255898
Cloud storage and document management provider Box posted better-than-expected results for its latest quarter and projected accelerating growth in the new fiscal year.
For its fiscal fourth quarter, ended Jan. 31, Box (ticker: BOX) reported revenue of $233.4 million, up 17% from a year ago, and ahead of the company’s guidance range of $227 million to $229 million. Adjusted profits were 24 cents a share, just above the guidance range of 22 to 23 cents.
The consensus calls on Wall Street had been for 229 million in revenue and profits of 23 cents a share. Under generally accepted accounting principles, the company lost six cents a share.
Remaining performance obligations were $1.1 billion, up 19% from a year ago. Free cash flow was $33.3 million, down from $41 million a year ago, and fourth-quarter billings were $337.9 million, up 9%.
CEO Aaron Levie said in an interview that the company continues to benefit from three megatrends: hybrid work, digital transformation, and increased business focus on cybersecurity and compliance.
For the full year, Box had revenue of $874.3 million, up 13%, while billings were $941.9 million, up 16%. Full-year adjusted profits were 85 cents a share, up from 70 cents a year earlier.
For the April quarter, Box is projecting revenue of $233 million to $235 million, up 16% at the top of the range, with non-GAAP profits of 24 to 25 cents a share. Previous Street estimates called for $230 million in revenue and profits of 24 cents a share.
Box sees revenue for the January 2023 fiscal year of $990 million to $996 million, up 14% from the previous year at the high end of the range, with non-GAAP profits of $1.10 to $1.14 a share. The consensus expectation has been for $980 million of revenue and an adjusted profit of $1.10 a share.
Levie said that the company’s expansion from simple document storage to becoming a “content cloud” has successfully re-energized the business, with revenue this year expected to accelerate for the second year in a row. He says the company is focused on helping companies organize, manage, protect and publish information.
Box’s customer net retention rate—a measure of repeat business—was 111% in the quarter, the best in multiple years.
Levie also said the company is seeing strong traction for its Box Sign digital signature offering. He says Box expects to take “meaningful share” in that market from DocuSign (DOCU) and other players over time. “We can grow the pie and take incrementally take share over time,” he says.
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