“The Securities and Exchange Commission isn’t demanding financial statements just yet, but Blackboard Inc., a private Washington e-learning software firm, has gotten in the habit of publishing them anyway. Today the company continues that tradition, as it releases a revenue statement for the fourth consecutive quarter….
Blackboard said its 2001 revenue totaled $46.5 million, a 291 percent increase from the previous year’s $11.9 million total. The firm’s sales pushed Blackboard far ahead of its competitors in the post-secondary online-learning software industry, according to Eduventures Inc., a market research firm….
The company added 216 clients in the fourth quarter, bringing its total to 2,300, including 417 international organizations. Blackboard, which did not release its net income, said it ended the quarter with $20.3 million in cash.
ECollege, a public Denver company that provides online learning technology, posted $19.8 million in revenue for the year, and Eduventures estimates that WebCT, a private e-learning firm in Lynnfield, Mass., had $10 million to $15 million in revenue for 2001….
‘They are still immature technology companies and they face all of the challenges that young technology firms face,’ Newman said. ‘It’s still the early stages of the market, but Blackboard has shown more success than it’s competitors [in] growing its software revenues. It’s a good indicator for them.’
Blackboard said that it expects to record more than $70 million in revenue during 2002 and that it will be profitable in the second half of the year.
Chasen said the company, which in January acquired Prometheus, a competitor developed by George Washington University, does not have specific plans for further acquisitions or an initial public offering.
‘As a fast-growing company, we’ve always talked about the public market, but we’re really focused on the strength of our core business,” Chasen said. “This past year was about proving our business model. The next year will be about expansive growth, international growth and building our relationships with partners.’”
More of this March 11, 2002 Washington Post story at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5799-2002Mar10.html