Sonic Foundry triples revenue, looks for profit next year

Madison, Wis. — Sonic Foundry Inc. increased sales of its media products and tripled its 2004 revenue to $4.4 million, up from $1.3 million last year, the company said on Thursday.

That leaves the company with an overall loss this year of $5.4 million. Last year, operational losses were greater but the $11.9 million sale of discontinued business units led to a profit of $1.5 million.

Sonic Foundry’s flagship product is Mediasite Live, a presentation system that can combine digital recordings, slide shows and other information into live and on-demand online presentations.

The company has 228 customers and 390 installations this year, the company said, up from 91 customers and 123 installations last year. Gross margins that have doubled to 60 percent also boosted the company’s revenue.

A recent company prospectus said challenges include the relative newness of the market, the need to educate customers and the fact that Mediasite only runs on Microsoft Windows. Sonic Foundry stock (NASDAQ: SOFO) closed at $1.61 on Thursday, down $0.12.

CEO Rimas Buinevicius said he expects the company to exceed $10 million in revenue and reach a break-even point late next year.