The News & Observer: Durham-Based Software Firm’s Earnings Offer Reason for Cautious Optimism

“In a conference call with analysts to review the
results, Red Hat officials also revealed they had cut staff by 17
percent during the quarter, bringing the global work force to about
600. At the company’s Durham headquarters, the staff of 200 was
largely unaffected; most of the layoffs came at the offices of
companies that Red Hat had acquired.

The job cuts were part of a cost-control and restructuring
effort that kept Red Hat at a break-even level for the quarter.
After announcing its first profitable quarter three months ago, Red
Hat officials said they weren’t able to predict what the rest of
the year might look like because of slow sales across the
technology market.

Given the impact last week’s terrorist attacks might have on an
already sluggish economy, Red Hat Chief Financial Officer Kevin
Thompson again declined to predict what the rest of the company’s
fiscal year might look like. He did say that, before the terrorist
events, he was anticipating “modest” revenue growth and that he
expected Red Hat to continue to “at least break-even” in future
quarters.”

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