Enterprise management software provider BMC Software has reported flat net income of $83.8m for the third quarter 2009, compared to $84m in the year-ago quarter, on revenue up 6% at $488.4m.

Operating income grew 21% to $129m, while diluted EPS grew 7% to $0.45. Total bookings on a trailing 12-month basis increased 6% year-over-year to $1.9 billion, with a weighted contract length of two years against 2.3 years in the year-ago quarter. The company repurchased 3.2m outstanding shares for $80m.

BMC said license revenue grew 6% to $193m, maintenance revenue grew 4% to $256m, and professional services revenue grew 27% to $31.4m.

For the nine-month period, it reported a 28% decline in net income to $155m compared to $216.6m a year ago, on revenue up 10% at $1.4 billion.

Steve Solcher, CFO at BMC, said: Despite a difficult environment and an adverse currency impact, we maintained our sales momentum and increased bookings, revenue, and cash flow from operations. We also did a solid job of controlling expenses, while making strategic investments in the development of new solutions and our field sales force.

For fiscal 2009, the company expects non-GAAP EPS in the range of $2.20 to $2.30, and cash flow from operations to be between $600m and $630m.