Cloud storage company Box Inc. had lots to celebrate today after capping off its first full year of profitability.

The company reported a fourth-quarter profit before certain costs such as stock compensation of 7 cents per share on revenue of $183.6 million, up 12% from a year ago. Wall Street had been looking for a profit of 4 cents per share on revenue of $181.63 million.

Box Chief Executive Officer Aaron Levie (pictured) said strong sales in the quarter were driven by new business from add-on products the company had introduced in the last 12 months.

“In fiscal 2020, we launched two major new products, Box Relay and Box Shield, building out our multiproduct platform and solidifying our leadership in the cloud content management market,” Levie said in a statement. “With these added capabilities, we are seeing more and more of our customers adopt the full power of Box through our Enterprise Suite offering. Looking ahead to FY21, we are focused on driving healthy growth and significantly improved profitability.”

Box reported full fiscal-year 2020 income of 3 cents per share on revenue of $696.3 million, up 14% from a year before.

Indeed, it was a solid performance for Box all round, with the company reporting fourth-quarter billings of $281.9 million, up 19% from the same period last year. For the full year, billings came to $745.1 million, up 11%.

It’s likely that there’s more good news to come too, since Box forecast first quarter earnings in the range of 4 cents to 6 cents per share on revenue of $183 million to $184 million. That exceeds Wall Street’s forecast of a  3-cent first-quarter profit on revenue of $181.8 million.

Box’s leadership deserves kudos for the company’s performance in what has been a difficult period for many tech companies, said Pund-IT Inc. analyst Charles King. He said executives had managed to make the company profitable through a combination of stronger sales, more disciplined spending and cost avoidance.

“It’s worth pointing out the pressure the management may have felt when Starboard Value LLP, an activist investment firm, took a sizable enough position to become Box’s third largest shareholder,” King said.

Box’s stock rose more than 8% in after-hours trading.

“Box keeps executing and building out its product suite, most recently with the addition of Box Shield and Box Relay,” said Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller. “But growth is not enough, Box must manage a return to a black 0 or even profitability as it approaches the $1 billion revenue mark.”

Photo: The Demo Conference/Flickr