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April 30 (Reuters) - Clinical software provider Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc (MDRX.O: Quote, Profile, Research) reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit, hurt by weak software revenue, and said it expects to meet the lower end of its prior 2008 earnings forecast range.

The company broke even in the first quarter. It earned $4.5 million, or 8 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, it earned 9 cents a share for the latest first quarter. Total revenue rose 11 percent to $72.1 million.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 11 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $75.0 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

In a conference call with analysts, the company said it expects to meet the lower end of its previous forecast of 2008 earnings growth of 40 percent to 50 percent, given "reasonable" revenue growth in each of the last three quarters and tight cost controls.

Allscripts also expects to have some difficulty in achieving the 20 percent to 25 percent 2008 revenue growth that it had forecast in February. The company reported revenue of $281.9 million for 2007.

Analysts were expecting 2008 earnings of 60 cents a share, excluding items, on revenue of $342.6 million. Both earnings and revenue estimates amount to a 22 percent rise over 2007.

Shares of the Chicago-based company closed at $11.16 Wednesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Esha Dey in Bangalore; Editing by Pratish Narayanan)