The company had already reported an 84 per cent gain in first-half sales to $30.3 million, and said it expects annual revenue to exceed 80 per cent growth and bigger operating losses in the second half of the year.
Xero is flush with cash after raising $180 million in new capital last month, mainly from US investors, leaving it with some $230 million in funding to launch its assault on the US market, where it claims to be the number one challenger.
"The board is continuing to follow a growth agenda focused on creating longer-term shareholder value rather than short-term profitability," the company said. '
'Xero is investing in the infrastructure to support millions of customers and create a significant cloud-based financial platform for its customers and partners."
The shares fell 0.9 per cent to $35.66 on the NZX, before the release yesterday, and have almost doubled from $17.95 from before the October capital raising. The shares were down 1.8 per cent to A$31.61 on the ASX, where trading was still open.
Xero's operating cash-burn more than doubled to $8.9 million in the first half from $3.7 million a year earlier, while investing cash outflow surged to almost $14 million in the half from $4.8 million, mainly on increased capitalised development costs.
