Work-From-Home Beneficiary Asana Reveals 63% Revenue Growth

Crystal Tse

11 Sep 2020, 08:10 AM IST

(Bloomberg) -- Asana Inc., a workplace management software maker, revealed a 63% growth in revenue in the first half of the year as it emerged as one of the winners in the work-from-home era.

The company said during a live broadcast from its San Francisco office on Thursday that the current environment will help bring awareness to its software and accelerate its adoption as businesses get more comfortable with employees working remotely.

“Turns out, if you’re hitting the goals, no one cares if we’re wearing pants,” the company said in an introduction video to the presentation.

Asana’s shares are set to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on or about Sept. 30 in a direct listing, it said in an updated filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. The direct listing, in which the company doesn’t issue new shares to raise capital, is alternative to going public in an initial public offering.

The listing is expected to follow one scheduled for a week earlier by Palantir Technologies Inc. Previously, only two other major technology companies, Spotify Technology SA and Slack Technologies Inc., have gone public through direct listings.

Asana reported $99.7 million revenue in the six months ended July 31, compared with $61.1 million for the same period last year, the amended filing shows. Its net loss more than doubled in that period to $76.9 million as research, sales and marketing costs shot up.

About 40% of the company’s revenue comes from outside the U.S. and it’s present in 190 countries, its executives said during the presentation. It has a gross margin of 87% in the first half, similar to 86% in the last fiscal year.

The company has registered 30 million shares.

Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Credit Suisse Group AG and Jefferies Financial Group Inc. are financial advisers on the Asana direct listing. The shares are expected to trade under the symbol ASAN.