Concur's Necessary Expense

In yesterday's trading, shares of Concur Technologies (Nasdaq: CNQR) saw some wild swings -- the stock jumped as high as $36.90 but ended at $34, up 12%. There was a nice boost from the company's solid Q3 report, but investors are still jittery.

In Q3, Concur posted a 30% increase in revenues to $35.7 million and net income was $4.1 million, or $0.10 per share. The company added 525 new customers in the quarter. Perhaps the most impressive customer win was Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER).

Like Salesforce.com and Taleo (Nasdaq: TLEO), Concur is a Web-based software provider. The company's focus is on automating the travel expense process, such as dealing with booking, reporting, and even compliance. Its customers include J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN). Concur continues to innovate its product line. For example, the company recently launched its Concur Travel & Expense offering, which has a much more intuitive user interface and includes all steps in the travel expense process, including audits.

Concur is also trying to grow its business. Recently, it completed its acquisition of Gelco Information Network, which is a rival expense management provider. The company brings along 1,200 clients, 625,000 on-demand users, and is expected to add $9 million in quarterly revenues.

But might an economic slowdown derail the growth? Maybe not. Keep in mind that companies are likely to find ways to cut costs, which is what Concur's software does effectively. Concur does not seem too concerned about a potential economic slowdown. In fact, going into fiscal 2008, Concur is projecting a healthy $200 million in revenues and $28 million in free cash flow. That would certainly be a nice performance in any market.

For more Foolishness:

• Concur Conquers New Markets
• High Times at Taleo
• I Love On-Demand