One of the world's top ranked makers of business software, Red Hat Inc., on the back of an improved economic situation and revived corporate spending, posted much better than expected earnings for the current fiscal year's third quarter. Post the announcement of the figures, shares of the company surged by as much as 7% in after-hours trading.

Red Hat, commercial Linux distributor, has shunned the economic meltdown once again by reporting an increase of 37 per cent in profit for the second quarter of running year.

For the second quarter ended August 31, Red Hat posted net profit of $28.9 million, or 15 cents a share, up from $21.1 million, or 10 cents a share in the same period of 2008.

Raleigh-based commercial Linux distributor, Red Hat Inc. reported a 7 percent increase in its fiscal first-quarter profit, kicking an industry trend of declining earnings.