In its third quarter to July 31, it turned a net loss of $23.7m into income of $28.8m on revenue 7.7% higher at $304.6m. The market had been expecting revenue of $315m and pro forma earnings per share of $0.06, while the company reported $0.04.
Messman acknowledged that revenue was not as strong as the company would have liked but said its SUSE Linux business performed well and was instrumental in positioning Novell as a strategic vendor to large enterprises.
He insisted Linux would significantly disrupt the historical order in the information technology market to the benefit of corporations and consumers.
