Red Hat's revenue increased 14 percent to $24.3 million for its third fiscal quarter with a small profit of $305,000, the Linux seller reported Tuesday.
The Raleigh, N.C.-based company's performance for the quarter, ended Nov. 30, did slightly better than projections from analysts surveyed by First Call. Revenue was higher than the consensus expectation of $23.4 million, with break-even earnings per share meeting the estimate.
It's the first time Red Hat has reported a profit using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), according to the company. In the year-ago quarter, it posted a net loss of 9 cents per share on revenue of $21.2 million.
Red Hat sells Linux, a clone of the Unix operating system, and is aiming its flagship Advanced Server product chiefly at business customers who are buying servers. In its most recent quarter, the company introduced two new products: the Advanced Workstation desktop product for technical computer users such as chip designers, and a "carrier grade" operating system for telecommunications companies.
Three months ago, Red Hat said it had sold 8,000 copies of Advanced Server since the product went on sale at the end of May. Tuesday, the company said it sold 12,000 in the third quarter. Red Hat treats revenue from Advanced Server as a subscription, collecting money every quarter for a year for the product.
View: Full Story - Red Hat reports slim profit
News source: c|net
