Cloud storage company Box raises full-year forecast for second time

Reuters

(Reuters) - Cloud storage provider Box Inc reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly revenue and raised its full-year revenue forecast for the second time as more customers subscribed to its content-sharing platform. Box expects full year revenue of $295 million to $297 million, up from $286 million to $290 million, it said in a statement on Wednesday. Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $289.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Shares of the company, whose customers include AstraZeneca Plc , General Electric Co and Chevron Corp , rose 2 percent in extended trading. Box's online file-sharing and personal cloud content management service for businesses leverages a "freemium" model, providing up to 10 GB of free storage for personal accounts and charging for additional space. The company's revenue rose 42.8 percent to $73.5 million in the second quarter ended July 31. That beat the analysts average estimate of $69.8 million. Net loss attributable to shareholders increased to $50.2 million from $39.4 million a year earlier as operating expenses rose. Excluding items, Box reported a loss of 28 cents per share, slightly less than market estimates of a loss of 29 cents. Box's shares closed at $14.25 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday. They rose to $14.55 in extended trading. (Reporting by Anya George Tharakan in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)