Vocus sounds off for investors

For companies, PR is one of the best ways to get customers and build a brand. But, it can be expensive – as well as unpredictable.

Well, Vocus (NASDAQ: VOCS) has been making things easier. That is, the company has a suite of web-based products that help manage the PR process, such as with media relations, monitoring, and news distribution. What's more, the services are fairly affordable.

Investors are also getting interested in Vocus. On news of its Q1 results, the shares shot up 8% to $27. Then again, revenues spiked 42% to $17.87 million, which was the 35th consecutive quarter of revenue growth. Cash flow from operation came to $5.94 million, which was a 58% increase.

In the quarter, Vocus added 219 net new subscribers (the total is 2,646). Some of the customers include British Antarctic Survey, China Foreign Trade Centre, Clemson University, Department of Justice, Merck & Company (NYSE: MRK) and so on.

Going into Q2, Vocus sees revenues of $18.6 million to $18.8 million. Full-year guidance is for $75.9 million to $76.7 million.

All in all, Vocus is yet another company that is leveraging the on-demand model, which allows for a nice recurring revenue model. What's more, it helps that the company doesn't have major competitive forces – yet has a fairly large market opportunity.

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 MergerBook.com.