UPDATE 1-Quest Software Q2 earnings miss Street, shares fall

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Aug 5 (Reuters) - Quest Software Inc (QSFT.O), which develops enterprise systems management solutions, reported quarterly earnings that missed market estimates, hurt by higher operating expenses, sending its shares down 10 percent.

The company posted second-quarter earnings of $8.3 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with earnings of $7.9 million, or 8 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding items, it earned 17 cents a share.

Revenue rose 22 percent to $173.4 million, driven by a 28 percent jump in services revenue to $98.1 million.

Operating expenses rose 25 percent to $146.3 million. Operating margins fell to 2.5 percent from 5.5 percent a year earlier.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 21 cents a share, on revenue of $173 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

Shares of Quest were trading at $13.33 after the bell. They closed at $14.84 Tuesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Bijoy Koyitty in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)