A buoyant Red Hat rides the economic waves

Linux anchor Red Hat spent the past quarter coping with currency discomfort and taking advantage of tough times -- buying back its bonds and stock, and eventually kicking up its total revenue 22% above its numbers a year ago.

The company released its third-quarter 2009 earnings report this afternoon, and in the quarter ending November 30, reported $165.3 million in total revenue, which also represents a 1% increase over last quarter. Subscription revenues, at $135.5 million, were up 17% year-to-year and flat from Q2.

Net income for the quarter was up $4 million year-over-year, to $24.3 million, and share prices per diluted share were up 2 cents to 12 cents / diluted share. (Eleven million diluted shares -- around 6% -- were bought back during the quarter, producing a gain of $4.1 million.) Non-GAAP per-diluted-share price was $0.24, and non-GAAP adjusted net income was $48.4 million.

Operating cash flow weighed in at $59.1 million, down a bit from Q3 2008's $59.6 million but up from last quarter's $54.3 million. Currency inequities reduced quarterly revenues and expenses by (respectively) $6.9 million and $4.8 million -- an operating-income loss of $2.1 million.