Red Hat ends year on a high

Open source giant Red Hat reported a strong end to the year with revenue jumping 18 percent year-on-year, boosted by strong bookings and subscriptions growth.

The firm’s reported fiscal third quarter revenue came in at US$194.3m (AUD$219.1m), an increase of 18 percent from the year ago quarter, while subscription revenue for the quarter was US$164.4m (AUD$185.4m), up 21 percent year-on-year, according to the firm.

Jim Whitehurst, president and chief executive of the firm, argued that continued innovation and customer focus have helped the company achieve such impressive results.

“Our double digit growth in the current economic environment was driven by our compelling value proposition and outstanding service,” he added.

"We also continued to introduce new products, including the November release of RHEV that advances our position in server virtualisation and cloud computing.”

The firm also announced record billings, boosting accounts receivable by US$24m (AUD$27m) from the same period last year.

"Strong bookings, particularly in North America, led to strong billings and greater than 20 percent growth in subscription revenue and deferred revenue, as well as further improvement of non-GAAP operating margins," said Charlie Peters, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Red Hat.

"This type of consistent performance, combined with our strong balance sheet, led to our third debt rating upgrade in 20 months by Standard and Poors rating agency."