Novell Q2 profit beats Street, sees weak Q3 rev

CALIFORNIA: Business software maker Novell Inc posted a second-quarter profit in line with Wall Street expectations, and forecast current quarter revenue that may miss analysts' estimates.

The world's No. 2 maker of the open source Linux operating system posted second-quarter net income of $19.9 million, or 6 cents a share, compared with $15.6 million, or 5 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue fell to $204 million, but nearly met expectations of $204.9 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

For the third quarter, the company expects revenue between $205 million and $210 million and said proforma operating margin will be similar to the second quarter levels.

Shares of the company were down 1 percent at $5.85 in trading after the bell. They closed at $5.90 Thursday on Nasdaq.