Red Hat Results Top Estimates

(RTTNews) - Red Hat, Inc. (RHT), the world's largest seller of Linux software, said Thursday after the markets closed that its fourth quarter profit rose 5% from last year, helped by strong growth in subscription revenue.

The company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, also came in above analysts' expectations as did its quarterly revenue.

"The fourth quarter was a strong finish to fiscal 2014, and it was highlighted by a record number of deals over $1 million and 24% growth in our billings proxy to $565 million," said Jim Whitehurst, President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Hat.

Red Hat shares are currently gaining 2.96% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $56.13, up 15 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $41.89 to $61.45.

For the fourth quarter ended February 28, 2014, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based company reported net income of $45.1 million or $0.24 per share, compared to $43.0 million or $0.22 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the fourth quarter was $75.2 million or $.39 per share, compared to $70.1 million or $0.36 per share in the prior year quarter.

On average, 32 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.37 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenue for the fourth quarter rose 15% to $400.40 million from $347.88 million in the same quarter last year. Twenty-nine analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $398.92 million for the fourth quarter.

Subscription revenue for the quarter increased 16% to $351.5 million.