Rally shares gain on strong 1Q quarter, forecasts

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- Rally Software shares jumped Friday after it reported a smaller fiscal first-quarter loss than the market anticipated and issued a better-than-expected forecast.

The Boulder, Colo., company, which went public in April, provides cloud-based technology to help companies develop software.

Rally posted a loss of $5.8 million, or 98 cents per share, for the quarter that ended April 30. That's compared with a loss of $1.7 million, or 86 cents per share, last year. On an adjusted basis, it lost 86 cents per share versus 75 cents per share last year.

Its revenue increased to $16 million from $13 million, as increased subscription and support revenue offset lower license revenue.

Analysts, on average, were anticipating a loss of $1.06 per share on revenue of $14.8 million, according to FactSet.

CEO and Chairman Tim Miller said he was delighted with Rally's first quarterly results as a public company. He said the company had good momentum across the business, adding several notable new customers, including a major health care provider in the U.S., banks in North America and Europe and a large European retailer.

The company expects to post an adjusted loss between 19 and 21 cents per share for the second quarter, on revenue of $17.3 million to $17.8 million. That is just ahead of market forecasts. Analysts, on average, were anticipating a loss of 22 cents per share on revenue of $16.4 million.

Rally also forecast a full-year loss of $1.01 to $1.04 per share on an adjusted basis, on revenue between $71 million and $73 million. Analysts had forecast a loss of $1.14 per share, on revenue of $68.1 million.

Shares of the company jumped $1.89, or 9.2 percent, to $22.45 in afternoon trading. Its stock price had already increased nearly 50 percent between its debut at $14 and market close Thursday.