Red Hat reports a profit and a purchase

Red Hat’s quarterly profit and revenue hit all-time highs, the Linux seller said Thursday, as it announced an agreement to acquire storage
specialist Sistina Software for about $31 million in stock.

The Raleigh, N.C.-based company had net income of $4.1 million, or 2 cents per share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2004, which ended Nov. 30. That
compared with $214,000 for the year-earlier quarter and matched an average of analyst estimates compiled by First Call.

Red Hat’s revenue grew 36 percent to $33.1 million, surpassing the estimates by Merrill Lynch’s Jason Maynard, who expected $31.4 million, and W.R.
Hambrecht’s Sameer Nadkarni, who expected $31.8 million.