Shares in Red Hat jumped on the New York Stock Exchange in extended trading after the software vendor beat the expectations of Wall Street Analysts.

The firm reported revenues of $1.79bn (£1.2bn) for the fiscal year ending February 2015, up 17% in US dollars year-on-year, alongside net income of $180m (£121m) in line with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Jim Whitehurst, president and CEO at Red Hat, said: "Red Hat delivered strong fourth quarter results that were highlighted by subscription revenue and total revenue that both grew over 20% year-over-year on a constant currency basis.

"We continued to experience strong demand for our open, hybrid cloud technologies, as evidenced by increased cross-selling in our top 30 deals which were all over $2m (£1.3m) for the first time."

Alongside the yearly results Red Hat also reported that the fourth quarter had been a success, with total revenue standing at $464m (£312m) and GAAP net income at $48m (£32m), the same amount as the previous quarter but $3m (£2m) on a year-on-year basis.

"Our strong fourth quarter marked the 52nd consecutive quarter of revenue growth and we exited the fiscal year with a record total backlog over $1.86bn (£1.24bn), up 19% year-over-year," stated Charlie Peters, EVP and CFO of Red Hat.

"We are pleased to have delivered mid-teens growth across revenue, non-GAAP operating income and cash flow despite significant foreign exchange volatility during fiscal 2015.

"By focusing on the needs of our customers, our team of global associates achieved remarkable success across the company for the quarter and the year."