Qualtrics International sales forecast beats analyst expectations, shares rise

July 20 (Reuters) - Qualtrics International Inc shares rose on Tuesday after it forecast full-year 2021 sales and losses that beat analyst expectations as more companies rely on its software to gather and use feedback from their customers.

Provo, Utah-based Qualtrics, which was spun out of SAP SE

earlier this year and is still majority-owned by the German software giant, also beat results for its second quarter ended June 30 and forecast better-than-expected sales for its third quarter.

Shares rose 5.1% in after-hours trading after the results.

Qualtrics forecast a full-year sales range with a midpoint of $1 billion and adjusted losses with a midpoint of 1 cent per share, compared with analyst estimates of $983.8 million in shares and an adjusted loss of 11 cents per share, according to data from Refinitiv.

Qualtrics provides a system that lets a company's customers rate their experience after using an app or website, which Chief Executive Zig Serafin said has become important as many businesses shifted online during the pandemic. "Our technology has never been more relevant," Serafin said in an interview.

Qualtrics said it expects third-quarter revenue and adjusted losses to have midpoints of $258 million and 2 cents per share, compared with analyst estimates of $246.6 million and 5 cent per share adjusted loss, according to Refinitiv data.

For the just-ended second quarter, sales and adjusted profits were $249.3 million and 4 cents per share, compared with Refinitiv estimates of $241.63 and a 2 cent per share adjusted loss.

Qualtrics sells software on a subscription basis, with subscription software revenue rising 48% year-over-year in the second quarter to $204.5 million.

Fast-rising subscription revenue can generate losses as Qualtrics must spend money upfront to acquire customers who will pay over time, but Serafin said the company's base of large customers is growing.

"The number of customers we had spending more than $100,000 annually with Qualtrics increased 38% year over year," Serafin said, without providing absolute figures.