Salesforce raises full-year forecast

Salesforce.com, the online marketing services group, has raised its forecast for full-year sales after demand for its product rose.

The US company, which employs more than 60 people at its Irish operation in Dublin, said revenue will be between $297 million (€235 million) and $302 million in the year ending January 2006.

It had originally forecast revenue of between $282 million and $287 million. Salesforce.com, whose clients include companies such as Avis and Budget car rental services, Nokia and America On Line (AOL), yesterday reported an 84 per cent increase in first-quarter sales after it added new customers.

Net income rose tenfold to $4.4 million in the three months ended April, the services company said.

Unlike traditional targeted marketing services, Salesforce.com doesn't require companies to make large upfront payments to license and install software. Its clients are simply required to pay on a monthly basis for the number of people that log onto its system.

"By taking the upfront cost risks away from the client they are able to see the value of the product much more quickly," said Fergal Gloster, vice president of corporate sales for Europe.

"It's a whole new approach to software and demand for it is growing." Salesforce.com added 1,600 customers and about 40,000 paying subscribers in the three months ended April, bringing its total number of customers to 15,500 and paying subscribers to 267,000.

The company also revised up its forecast for diluted earnings per share to between 11 US cents and 14 US cents.

Its shares were trading up almost 13 percent as of 1pm on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).