Salesforce India crosses revenue, profit milestone but growth is tapering

US-based customer relationship management (CRM) giant Salesforce crossed two milestones in the year ended March 31, 2024, with revenues crossing the $1 billion mark and net profit shooting past the $100 million mark, though signs of maturity and scale are showing up as growth rate has decelerated, according to official financial numbers.

The company that has been growing at a breakneck speed in India with an annual growth rate pegged at around 70% over the previous eight years, saw a deceleration in the country in FY23 and has seen its growth rate slow further last year, even as at 36% it’s still galloping.
The company’s revenue stood at Rs 8,970 crore or around $1.05 billion with net profit coming at Rs 888.3 crore or around $105 million for FY24. This is in line with what Techcircle had projected a year ago.

Notably, the growth rate was the lowest in the last nine years but the company managed to marginally push up its net margins, though it stayed shy of the double-digit mark.

Salesforce offers marketing, sales support services, research services, network operations, data hosting support services and IT-enabled support services to group companies and third-party customers for a service fee. For the last two years, it also derived revenues from IT services comprising software and cloud services.

Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson and CEO of Salesforce India, noted the 36% revenue growth and targeted an 8-9% increase in the global topline to $38 billion for FY25. She said in a statement that Salesforce India's revenue encompasses both domestic sales and global operational receipts.

Despite cautious hiring trends in the IT sector, the company's workforce in India has grown by 3,000 since January 2024, totalling 13,000 by November. Bhattacharya further emphasised India's potential as both a market and talent hub for global operations.
The company is targeting public sector opportunities and has registered on the Government E-Marketplace, actively submitting requests for proposals.

Salesforce aims to expand its role beyond CRM to meet the demand for digital transformation in India. Bhattacharya highlighted that India has become essential to its supply chain, not merely as a hub for junior roles but also as a source of leadership talent. 

Having invested in India for over a decade, Salesforce opened its Hyderabad Centre of Excellence in 2016, and expanded it in 2023, and hailed the country as its key talent and innovation centre. With over 13,000 employees across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, and Jaipur, Salesforce's growth is bolstered by a robust ecosystem of partners, startups, and over 2 million Salesforce developers.

Meanwhile, Salesforce said on Tuesday It plans to lease a 12-storey building in Bengaluru, making it the 10th city worldwide to host a 'Salesforce Tower.'

Construction of the 'Salesforce Tower' is underway, with the company set to occupy a 6 lakh sq ft office for 3,800 employees by mid-2026. Executive Vice President for Real Estate and Workplace Services, Relina Bulchandani said that the new facility will consolidate Salesforce's presence in Bengaluru at Bagmane Tech Park and will foster collaboration, learning and innovation.
Other cities housing Salesforce Towers include San Francisco, New York, Chicago, London, Dublin, Sydney, Tokyo, Atlanta, and Indianapolis.