Salesforce raises profit forecast on resilient demand for business software

Shares for the American software company rose as much as 8% in pre-market trading Wednesday

Fiscal-year earnings, excluding some items, will be $4.74 (€4.42) to $4.76 (€4.44) a share, an increase of 12 cents a share from the company’s previous forecast. Picture: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

Salesforce Inc. raised its annual profit forecast, signalling that demand for business software is holding up despite a broader downturn for major tech firms. The shares rose as much as 8% in pre-market trading Wednesday.

Fiscal-year earnings, excluding some items, will be $4.74 (€4.42) to $4.76 (€4.44) a share, an increase of 12 cents a share from the company’s previous forecast. Revenue will be as much as $31.8bn (€29.65bn), San Francisco-based Salesforce said Tuesday in a statement. Analysts, on average, estimated annual profit of $4.68 (€4.36) a share, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.