Red Hat Earnings: A Party for Investors

Red Hat Inc. (NYSE:RHT), the world’s largest distributor of the Linux operating system, posted excellent results for its fourth quarter that beat analysts’ estimates on the back of software bookings that were the highest in five years. The company signaled the good times with a $300 million buyback offer.

Red Hat’s Linux server software has seen solid revenue growth, driven by the growing acceptance of cloud computing and fatter IT budgets.

Fourth-quarter revenues rose 21 percent to $297 million. Net earnings for the quarter increased to $36 million (18 cents per share) compared to $33.5 million (17 cents a share) the year earlier. Analysts had expected revenues of $291.2 million and earnings per share of 27 cents.

The company said in a conference call that it had bagged three deals over $5 million during the quarter. “We experienced a significant increase in large deals, both in Q4 and for the full year,” Chief Financial Officer Charlie Peters said in a statement.

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