Identity access management company Okta Inc. impressed investors with its quarterly financial report today, delivering earnings three times higher than analysts expected, sending its shares up nearly 15% in extended trading.

For its fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, Okta reported earnings before certain costs such as stock compensation of 30 cents per share, up from 18 cents in the same quarter of last year, on revenue of $510 million, up 33% year-over-year. Analysts had been expecting a far more modest adjusted profit of 10 cents per share on revenue of $489 million.

Subscription revenue rose 34% year-over-year, to $495 million, and billings rose 18%, to $710 million. Net cash provided by operations was $76 million and cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments sat at $2.58 billion as of the end of January.

For its full fiscal 2023, Okta reported an adjusted loss of four cents per shared, down from a loss of 46 cents per share in fiscal 2022. Revenue jumped 43%, to $1.86 billion. Subscription revenue shot up 44%, to $1.79 billion.

“Identity remains a top priority for organizations around the world and Okta is the only independent and neutral platform that brings market-leading solutions for both workforce and customer identity at scale,” Todd McKinnon, Okta’s co-founder and chief executive, said in a statement. “Despite an evolving macroeconomic environment, we’re more excited than ever to advance our leadership position in a massive market as Okta delivers on non-GAAP profitable growth.”

The macroeconomic environment referred to by McKinnon saw Okta announce on Feb. 2 that it was laying off 5% of its workforce, or about 300 people. McKinnon said at the time that the decision to lay off staff was “very difficult,” but the company had no choice.

Refreshingly, McKinnon also said that the layoffs were the result of Okta overestimating demand in 2023, a common trait among many companies making layoffs this year but one usually not so readily admitted. “We entered fiscal 2023 with a growth plan based on the demand we experienced in the prior year,” McKinnon wrote. “This led us to overhire for the macroeconomic reality we’re in today.”

For its fiscal first quarter of 2024, Okta expects adjusted earnings of 11 to 12 cents a share on revenue of $509 million to $511 million. Analysts were expecting breakeven on revenue of $498.6 million. For the full fiscal year, Okta expects a profit of of 74 to 79 cents a share on revenue of $2.155 billion to $2.17 billion, also higher than a predicted 36 cents and $2.15 billion.

Photo: Okta