NetSuite: Recession might not be a bad thing

The folks at NetSuite (NYSE: N) certainly have good timing. They were able to launch their IPO late last year – before the equity markets came undone.

Now, the company has released its first quarterly report as a public company. Q4 revenues spiked 57% to $31.7 million and there was a net loss of $3.3 million, which was much better than the loss of $8.1 million in the same period a year ago.

NetSuite, which is majority-owned by Oracle's (NASDAQ: ORCL) Larry Ellison, is a provider of web-based business applications. Think of it as filling the gap between Intuit's (NASDAQ: INTU) QuickBooks and mega applications from SAP (NYSE: SAP) and Oracle.

And, it's a big market opportunity. In fact, NetSuite often says that it is focused on the "Fortune Five Million" companies.

But, as is the case with other web-based providers, there is some uncertainty in the marketplace. While NetSuite isn't seeing a fall-off, the company is still providing in-line guidance – with a full-year revenue projection of $153 million to $156 million, which is a 44% increase (on the top end).

Keep in mind that NetSuite had to deal with the severe tech recession of 2001-2002 and was able to actually thrive in the environment. A key reason is that companies were looking for cost-effective solutions.

In today's trading, NetSuite's stock is down 5.62% to $22.17.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.