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.

While stressing that he was now seeing strength "across the board in North America and Europe", Red Hat Chief Executive Jim Whitehurst confirmed that the sales had picked up most substantially across the United States. "Our pipeline remains quite strong. We're optimistic about the business going forward", he asserted.

For the quarter up-to November 30, the company reported earnings of 17 cents per share, beating the estimate pegged by Wall Street of 17 cents a share. Revenue also managed to rise to $194 Million, whereas the analysts had expected the same to be a mere $188 Million.

For the fourth-quarter, the company has now raised its forecast to a per share earnings of between 15-16 cents, and a revenue of between $191 Million to $193 Million. Experts, on the other hand, have estimated a profit of 16 cents per share on revenue of $190 Million.

In after-market trading, the software manufacturer's shares rose by nearly 7% to $31.90, after recording a closing price of $29.87 on the NY Stock Exchange.