Payments technology provider Coupa Software Inc. saw its stock jump more than 5% in after-hours trading today as it posted a surprisingly strong fiscal second-quarter earnings beat thanks to impressive revenue growth.

The company reported a profit before certain costs such as stock compensation of 26 cents per share on revenue of $179.2 million, up 42% from the same period one year ago. Wall Street had been looking for a loss of 6 cents per share on sales of $162.96 million.

Coupa Chief Executive Rob Bernshteyn (pictured) said in a statement the company set a new record in quarterly revenue thanks in part to “strong calculated billings growth.”

Coupa’s strong quarter was the result of strong demand for its cloud-based spend software. The company offers a suite of payment management tools covering procurement, invoicing, sourcing and business expenses, and promises customers it can help them to save money on business expenses over time by optimizing how they spend. Its software sits alongside enterprise resource planning software in the larger financial information technology stack. Benefits for customers include faster approvals routing, better invoice and purchase order matching, and centralized electronic payment routing to suppliers.

“Digitizing and optimizing back-office operations is being prioritized as a key strategic initiative for our customers, and the Coupa platform is critical for their ability to develop agility and adaptability in these rapidly changing times,” Bernshteyn said.

Coupa said its second-quarter subscription revenue came to $156.2 million, up 40% from a year ago. Meanwhile, its quarterly calculated billings topped $195 million, up 49% from a year before.

During the quarter it announced the launch of its Coupa App Marketplace, which is a place for its customers find certified third-party applications that add value to its spend management software.

Looking ahead to the next quarter, Coupa said it sees sales in a range of $177 million to $178 million. That’s well above Wall Street’s third quarter revenue forecast of $168.7 million.

For the full year, Coupa said it sees total revenue of $706 million to $708 million, versus Wall Street’s target of $687.2 million.

Photo: SiliconANGLE