Contact: Brenon Daly
The key to marketing is the right message at the right time. And in that regard, marketing automation vendor Eloqua hit both points squarely as it came public on Thursday. The company priced its shares at the high end of its expected range ($11.50 each) and then registered a mid-teen percentage gain in the aftermarket. The IPO created some $420m in market value.
Eloqua’s pitch is fairly simple: Its subscription-based platform makes the sales process for its roughly 1,100 customers more efficient. As corporate budgets continue to flow to marketing, Eloqua has actually been able to accelerate its growth rate as its revenue has increased.
The company was putting up revenue growth in the 30% range in late 2010, but has bumped that up to the 40% range over the past year. (It finished 2011 with sales of $71m, putting it on track for about $100m in sales this year. Assuming it does hit that level, it would represent a doubling of revenue since 2010.)
Wall Street, of course, pays for growth, so Eloqua is delivering the right message on the top line. Further, the revenue is coming in a relatively predictable manner: Eloqua sells only through subscriptions, which is a lot smoother than the traditional big-or-bust license model. Subscriptions account for roughly 90% of total revenue at Eloqua, with another coming 10% from professional services.
The timing of the offering, which has been on file for almost a year, also fits fairly well in the broader market right now. While consumer Internet offerings continue to get roughed up, investors have been supportive of enterprise-focused companies. Eloqua sells primarily to the B2B market, with enterprise customers accounting for about 60% of total revenue, and the remaining 40% coming from SMB customers. Add all that together, and it’s a solid start for Eloqua in its debut.
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