SaaS ERP pure-play NetSuite finished the year deeper in the red with a FY net loss of $35.2m, about 10% worse than in 2011. But revenues spurted forwards another 31% to $308m, which is what the game is all about, apparently, as NetSuite has been in net loss for years. Like larger SaaS poster-sibling Salesforce.com, NetSuite shovels half its revenues into sales & marketing to keep the boilers stoked and likewise enjoys a valuation ($5bn) seemingly unrelated to its financial performance (see Great Companies vs Great Stocks).
We will have much more to say about market expectations on the profitability of the SaaS business model in coming weeks.