UPDATE 1-BMC profit beats outlook on expense controls

(Adds CFO comment, forecasts; updates share price)

BOSTON, May 15 (Reuters) - Business software maker BMC Software Inc BMC.N reported a quarterly profit that beat its own forecasts on Thursday, sending its shares higher as revenue grew faster than expenses.

BMC, which sells software for automating data center operations, posted a fiscal fourth-quarter profit, excluding items, of 63 cents per share, beating its forecast of 48 cents to 52 cents.

Revenue rose 11.3 percent to $467 million, outpacing a 1 percent gain in operating expenses and beating the company's forecast of $450 million to $465 million.

"We continue to tightly control expenses, an effort that will continue," Chief Financial Officer Steve Solcher said in a statement.

Analysts had expected a profit, excluding items, of 51 cents per share on revenue of $460 million for the period, which ended March 31.

BMC shares rose 3.8 percent in after-market trade to $37.82, after ending up 61 cents at $36.43 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Houston-based software maker, whose rivals include CA Inc (CA.O), Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) and International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N), sells programs that companies use to monitor and control computer networks. Its software manages a broad variety of equipment, from mainframes to personal computers and tiny mobile devices.