The company forecast current-quarter earnings of 26-27 cents a share on revenue of $289-$292 million. Analysts on average had expected a profit of 26 cents a share on revenue of $292.5 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Red Hat's shares have gained 45 percent since touching a year low in August as growing demand from corporate customers for open-source software like Red Hat Enterprise Linux boosted subscription revenue.

However, the muted outlook and a marginal quarterly earnings beat, may have dampened some of the investor enthusiasm over the stock.

The company sells subscriptions to upgrades, bug fixes and helpdesk support for its business software, including the widely used Linux operating system, which is the chief competitor to Microsoft Corp's (NasdaqGS:MSFT - NewsMSFT.O) Windows.

Cloud computing, an increasingly popular technology that allows remote access to computing power and data over the Internet, has been a key driver of revenue growth for the company.

The world's largest distributor of the Linux operating system said September-November net income was $38.2 million, or 19 cents a share, compared with $26 million, or 13 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding items, the company earned 28 cents a share, edging past analysts' expectations of 26 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 23 percent to $290 million. Analysts had expected revenue of $289.6 million. Subscription revenue, which accounts for 85 percent of total revenue, rose by more than a fifth.

Shares of the Raleigh, North Carolina-based company were trading at $42.72 in extended trade on Monday. They closed at $46.05 on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Soham Chatterjee in Bangalore; Editing by Viraj Nair)