For the quarter ended Feb. 28, the company's revenue increased 37 percent to $78.7 million compared with the year-earlier quarter, Red Hat said. That was slightly more than the average of $78.3 million that analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call expected. Those analysts also forecast net income of 12 cents per share.

The company offered a bullish assessment of its performance. "This past year's results affirmed our ability to scale for growth," Chief Financial Officer Charlie Peters said in a statement. The company's gross margin, an important measure of profitability, increased from 81 percent a year earlier to 84 percent, "even as we built out our infrastructure through investments in headcount and systems," Peters said.

Of the 25 biggest support contracts up for renewal in the quarter, all 25 were renewed, Szulik said, bringing the yearly tally to 99 of 100.