Red Hat is the first pure play open source and Linux vendor to achieve the $1 billion milestone. For the year, Red Hat’s revenues were reported at $1.13 billion for a 25 percent year-over-year gain. GAAP Net Income for the full year was reported at $146.6 million or $0.75 per diluted share, which is a dramatic gain over the $107.3 million or $0.55 per diluted share reported for fiscal 2011.
“Red Hat associates around the globe have contributed to 40 straight quarters of sequential revenue growth, culminating in fiscal 2012 revenue that exceeded the $1 billion mark,” Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst said during his company’s earnings call. “Red Hat has become the first pure-play open source company and one of a few select software companies to have ever achieved this milestone.”
Red Hat’s success flows from its loyal customer base. Whitehurst reported that for the year, Red Hat renewed 99 out of their top 100 accounts with 130 percent revenue growth for those accounts.
Gains were also made from Red Hat’s effort to convert free Linux users to paying Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscribers. Red Hat has actively been pursuing its Free to Pay program since at least 2008 as a way to help grow revenues.
“We continue to deliver consistent results from our Free to Pay program this year,” Whitehurst said. “We added significant deals throughout the year, and during the fourth quarter, we saw one 7-figure deal and one 6-figure deal that included a Free to Pay component.”
Read the full story at Datamation:
Red Hat Hits $1 Billion, But It’s Only the Third Inning
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.