Red Hat Third Quarter Exceeds Expectations

Red Hat sales rose 22% to 165 million dollars compared to the third quarter of 2007. Software subscriptions for the U.S. company increased over the same period by 17% to 135.5 million dollars. The results exceeded analysts' expectations, despite economic times, the company's acquisition of Qumranet and undesirable foreign exchange rates.

Jim Whitehurst, president and CEO as of a few months ago, was pleased with the results and was hopeful about the future. He said that IT purchasing decisions will undergo some extreme rethinking considering the financial crisis and that open source companies such as his have a better chance at weathering the storm with their "low cost, high value" software. Linux Magazine Online had the opportunity to interview the Red Hat chief early December in Munich.