Ariba Inc. is enjoying its 10th straight quarter of increasing revenue, following two acquisitions and a doubling of its customer base. The business-to-business E-commerce platform provider posted revenue of $40 million in its second fiscal quarter, a 322% increase over the same period last year.

Ariba on Wednesday reported a net loss for the quarter, excluding nonoperating charges of $11.5 million, or 6 cents a share. Including all charges, the net loss for quarter was $125.9 million, or 70 cents a share, reflecting the costs of acquiring TradingDynamics Inc. in January and Tradex Technologies Inc. in March, according to the company.

The company has signed several new, high-profile customers, including American Express, Dell Computer, and Sabre Holdings. It also inked a joint-development deal with IBM and i2 Technologies Inc. "We doubled our customer base in one quarter," says Ariba CEO and chairman Keith Krach.

Analysts say they're impressed with the company's lead over its competitors, but that the race hasn't been won yet. "Ariba is demonstrating some leadership in a fairly fractured market," says Vernon Keenan, an analyst with KeenanVision. "Basically, there's no clear leader, no gorilla yet, but Ariba does have an edge over their competitors."

"They are doing an exceptionally good job, and they are continuing to widen their lead," says Bob Austrian, an analyst with Banc of America Securities. "The outlook is positive. All is well with Ariba and the market they serve."