UPDATE 1-American Software Q1 profit jumps, revenue down

* Q1 EPS $0.05 vs EPS $0.02 last year

* Q1 revenue down 7 pct

* Software licence fees up 51 pct

Sept 2 (Reuters) - American Software Inc (AMSWA.O) said its quarterly profit nearly doubled, driven by tighter cost controls and a rise in software licence fees.

Second-quarter net income rose to $1.2 million, or 5 cents a share, up from $0.6 million, or 2 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items, the company posted earnings of 8 cents a share.

Total revenue fell 7 percent to $17.8 million, dragged down by services and maintenance segments.

However, software license fees grew to $4.1 million, up 51 percent from last year.

Analysts expected earnings of 5 cents a share, excluding exceptional items, on revenue of $18.7 million, according to Reuters Estimates.

Shares of the Atlanta-based company closed at $6.13 Wednesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)