On-demand spend management software provider Ariba, Inc. closed its fiscal year on a high note, reporting record subscription software bookings in its fourth quarter, ended Sept. 30, even as the global economy took a nosedive.
For the quarter, Ariba recorded revenue of $85.5 million, up 13% from $75.7 million in the year-earlier period. Subscription and maintenance revenue made up the bulk of the total, at $51 million, compared with $37.5 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Services and other revenue was the only weak spot, coming in at $34.5 million, down from $38.1 million a year earlier.
Despite the strong top-line growth, Ariba posted a $6.1 million net loss, deeper than the $3.8 million in the year-earlier period, in part because of legal and restructuring expenses and the effects of foreign currency translations.
In the final quarter, Ariba signed up 33 new customers and closed 16 software deals in excess of $1 million. Among the companies that bought Ariba products in the quarter were BP plc, Emerson Electric, Pfizer, and PPG Industries.