Yorba Linda-based netGuru Inc. last year launched an Internet site allowing engineers around the world to collaborate online in real time,a pivotal move for a company dependent on overseas staff to make develop engineering software.
Run by netGuru’s Web4 Inc. subsidiary, the online collaboration service also caters to natives of India and East Asia who live and work in the U.S., with Web sites targeting immigrants wanting to stay in touch with home.
Through netGuru’s work with software developers in India, the company has expanded into a variety of online services in India and for expatriates working here. NetGuru’s global linking strategy has driven its expansion: The company ranked No. 31on the list of fastest-growing companies, based on three-year sales growth, posting a 101.2% revenue increase to $23.8 million for the period. The company’s workforce has grown from 35 to 394 employees in less than a year.
To be sure, netGuru has been busy.
Last week, netGuru said it added Internet service access points in Calcutta and would complete installations in Mumbai,formerly Bombay,and New Delhi by month’s end. The company also has announced the opening of 32 netGuru cyber cafes in India that can obtain Internet access service from the company’s Internet service provider network.
In the past year, NetGuru has expanded its online content for the expatriate Indian community to include films and Indian concert tickets, and signed agreements to provide technical books, mortgage services and matrimonial services.
The company also completed installation of its telephone switch in Los Angeles, offering phone cards to people of Indian origin at competitive rates. Its in-house India-focused travel agency, e-Destinations, provides full service air, travel and tour services online.
But the company’s acquisition of Internet-related firms and overall expansion has negatively affected the bottom line for the 12 months ended June 30, with netGuru posing a net loss of $1.48 million.
Still, sales have expanded. For the three months ended June 30, revenue rose sharply to $7.29 million, a 111% increase compared to same period last year. The results mark the company’s eighth consecutive quarter of top-line growth and represent the company’s highest quarterly sales figure to date. Net loss for the quarter was $317,000, vs. $189,000 in red ink a year ago. n
