Asana’s first-half revenue jumps 63% as remote working picks up

US-based software firm's shares to begin trading on New York Stock Exchange this month

The US based IT firm, Asana’s shares are set to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on September 30. Reuters

Asana, a workplace management software maker, revealed a 63 per cent growth in revenue in the first half of the year as it emerged as one of the winners in the work-from-home era.

The company said during a live broadcast from its San Francisco office on Thursday that the current environment will help bring awareness to its software and accelerate its adoption as businesses get more comfortable with employees working remotely.

“Turns out, if you’re hitting the goals, no one cares if we’re wearing pants,” the company said in an introduction video to the presentation.

Asana’s shares are set to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on or about September 30 in a direct listing, it said in an updated filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. The direct listing, in which the company doesn’t issue new shares to raise capital, is alternative to going public in an initial public offering.

The listing is expected to follow one scheduled for a week earlier by Palantir Technologies. Previously, only two other major technology companies, Spotify Technology and Slack Technologies have gone public through direct listings.

Asana reported $99.7 million (Dh366m) revenue in the six months ended July 31, compared with $61.1m for the same period last year, the amended filing shows. Its net loss more than doubled in that period to $76.9m as research, sales and marketing costs shot up.

About 40 per cent of the company’s revenue comes from outside the US and it’s present in 190 countries, its executives said during the presentation. It has a gross margin of 87 per cent in the first half, similar to 86 per cent in the last fiscal year.

The company has registered 30 million shares.

Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse Group and Jefferies Financial Group  are financial advisers on the Asana direct listing. The shares are expected to trade under the symbol ASAN.