Xero aims to double revenue to $200m

Rod Drury says Xero is in no rush to list in the US. Photo / Dean Purcell

New Zealand accounting software pioneer Xero expects to double global revenue to more than $200 million in the year to March 2016, based on current exchange rates, having taken eight years since listing on the NZX in June 2007 to reach its first $100 million.

However, it is in no rush to fulfil its intention to list on the United States stock exchange before the release of the results for the next year, chief executive Rod Drury told the annual meeting yesterday.

The company remained well-funded, with $269 million on hand from earlier capital-raisings, a factor in Xero's capacity to pursue rapid growth at the expense of less cashed-up competitors in the key Australian, US, and UK markets, Drury said.

Total billings in the past financial year were $121 million, up from $67 million in the year to March 2014.

Effervescent as ever, Drury had to ask the classically reserved audience of about 200 New Zealand shareholders to applaud for the company's achievements after a year in which the challenges of executing its growth strategy in the US market saw Xero stumble a couple of times, including two misfires on senior executive appointments.

Over the past year, the company's share price has fallen 26 per cent, although it closed up 2.3 per cent yesterday at $17.95.

The company is not projecting early profitability, seeking global scale in the belief that profits will be greater in the long run.

The new US chief executive Ross Fujioka, a US tech industry veteran of 30 years with a background at Dell and Adobe, told a story of rapidly spiralling customer uptake, growing at 94 per cent year on year, with 35,000 customers now in the US, half of which arrived in the past eight months.