WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Red Hat Inc. (RHT), the world's largest seller of Linux software, said Wednesday after the markets closed that its first quarter profit rose 8% from last year, as revenue increased 15% amid strong consumer demand.
The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in above analysts' expectations as did its quarterly revenue.
'The first quarter was a solid start to Fiscal 2014, with both revenue and profitability coming in above the high-end of our guidance. We delivered mid-teens revenue growth driven by customer demand for innovative open source technologies based on a high-value subscription model,' said Jim Whitehurst, President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Hat.
Red Hat shares are currently gaining 1.69% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at at $46.22, down 41 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $44.92 to $60.00.
For the first quarter ended May 31, 2013, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based company reported net income of $40.4 million or $0.21 per share, compared to $37.5 million or $0.19 per share for the year ago quarter.
Excluding items, adjusted net income for the first quarter was $61.6 million or $0.32 per share, compared to $57.9 million or $0.30 per share in the prior year quarter.
On average, 31 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.31 per share for the first quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Total revenue for the first quarter rose 15% to $363.26 million from $314.73 million in the same quarter last year. Twenty-nine analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $359.77 million for the first quarter.
Subscription revenue for the quarter increased 16% year-over-year to $315.8 million, while training and services revenue grew 12% to $47.4 million.
The company ended the quarter with total deferred revenue balance of $1.06 billion, an increase of 16% from a year ago.
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