Record Sales for Softphone Maker CounterPath
Record Sales for Softphone Maker CounterPath by UCStrategies Staff
CounterPath Corporation announced the financial results of its fourth quarter for the fiscal year that ended in April 30, 2013. Compared to the company’s reported revenue of $3.3 million for the previous quarter and $4.4 million for 4Q12, CounterPath posted $4.0 million in revenue for 4Q13.
In addition, the company reported record annual revenue amounting to $15.2 million, an increase of eight percent over the previous fiscal year and a year-over-year sales growth of 24 percent (excluding Europe). In 4Q13, CounterPath’s GAAP gross margin was at 85 percent, while non-GAAP gross margin was 86 percent. And as of April 30, 2013, the company reported having cash amounting to $11.2 million.
“It was a solid fourth quarter for the company, rounding out a year in which we posted record annual revenues, added Tier One customers, including three leading cable companies and increased our channels to market,” said Donovan Jones, president and CEO at CounterPath. “Our sales growth was particularly strong outside Europe, however, some challenges in Europe affected our combined results for the year. We invested in sales and marketing in 2013 and will continue to strengthen our teams, most notably in Europe, which we expect will contribute to revenue growth this year.”
Along with its quarterly results for fiscal year 2013, CounterPath announced that it was able to secure a global distribution agreement with Arrow Electronics, Inc., which has more than 120,000 original equipment and contract manufacturers, as well as commercial customers. Also, CounterPath was included in the industry’s Top 20 Movers and Shakers in terms of year-over-year revenue growth.
Softphones vs. Hard Phones
Is the demand for softphones growing at the expense of hard phones? Or do softphones serve to supplement hard phones?
Video hard phones are more expensive than softphone-based ones. So it is possible that video softphone is growing at the cost of video hard phones.
As for Bria, CounterPath’s video softphone for desktop and mobile devices, there is no clear-cut figure to indicate how much revenue the company has generated from it. However, CounterPath publicized a recent Bria softphone license agreement with hosted VoIP and UC provider Jive Communications.
Softphones are not always less costly to use than hard phones. The use of softphones requires headsets that are expensive and usually do not last as long as those used for hard phones. And for most people, reusing or refurbishing headsets is out of the question.
WebRTC and Softphone.com
It is too early to tell, but the emerging WebRTC may pose a threat to softphones. Will WebRTC be detrimental to the growth of CounterPath’s softphone?
Also noteworthy is the lack of mention of Softphone.com, a service that was launched by CounterPath at least a year ago. Is the service still alive? Are enterprises embracing it?