UPDATE 1-Novell Q1 earnings fall

* Adj EPS $0.07 beats estimates by a penny * Q1 net rev down 7 pct

* Software licenses rev fall about 30 pct

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Business software maker Novell Inc NOVL.O reported lower quarterly results, hurt by a 30 percent fall in software licenses revenue, but reiterated its adjusted operating margin target in 2009.

For the first quarter, the company reported earnings of $10.7 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with $16.8 million, or 5 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding items, it earned 7 cents a share.

Total net revenue fell 7 percent to $214.9 million.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 6 cents a share, before items, on revenue of $230 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

For 2009, the company maintained its target of more than 10 percent for adjusted operating margin.

Shares of the company closed at $3.30 Thursday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Bijoy Koyitty in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)