Lockdown video calls send Zoom to 169pc revenue jump

The rise of video app Zoom as a hub for lockdown conference calls, virtual pub quizzes and Cabinet meetings has sent the company's revenues soaring in recent months.

Zoom revealed that sales for the three months to the end of April had climbed by 169pc as hundreds of thousands of businesses signed up to the service.

The US company has been one of the few winners of the coronavirus crisis, beating rival video calling services from Microsoft, Google and Facebook to become the de facto app for many households and businesses.

Shares have tripled this year and climbed a further 4.4pc after its results to value the company at more than $60bn (£48bn).

While investor enthusiasm has been dampened by suggestions that most of Zoom’s users are consumers using the company’s free service, it said last night that it now has 265,400 businesses with more than 10 employees, a 354pc rise on last year.

Zoom said it expects full-year sales to be up to $1.8bn, doubled what it said just three months ago, although it warned that more of its new customers were on monthly plans instead of being locked into long-term contracts.

Although the surge in non-paying users raised costs, eating into profit margins, Zoom’s profits rose to $27m, from $2.2m a year ago.

“The Covid-19 crisis has driven higher demand for distributed, face-to-face interactions and collaboration using Zoom,” chief executive Eric Yuan said. “Use cases have grown rapidly as people integrated Zoom into their work, learning, and personal lives.”

Zoom has been hit by a series of security scares as it comes under increased scrutiny, and its large engineering base in China has also raised concerns. The company recently halted development of new features to focus on security.