NetApp profit beats on higher service revenue

(Reuters) - Storage equipment maker NetApp Inc reported a second-quarter profit that beat analysts' expectations as higher service and maintenance revenue offset weak product sales, sending its shares up 11 percent.

The company also forecast third-quarter results largely above expectations, allaying investor concerns that worsening conditions in Europe would hit earnings. The company gets almost a third of its sales from Europe.

NetApp expects third-quarter adjusted profit to be between 53 cents and 58 cents, on revenue of $1.58 billion to $1.68 billion. Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 54 cents per share, on revenue of $1.61 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Profit fell to $110 million, or 30 cents per share, in the second-quarter from $166 million, or 44 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose about 2 percent to $1.54 billion.

Excluding one-time items, earnings were 51 cents per share.

Analysts had expected a profit of 48 cents per share on revenue of $1.54 billion.

NetApp shares were trading at $30.12 in extended trade. They closed at $27.12 on Wednesday on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting By Aurindom Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)