Israel's Check Point Q1 profit, revenue top estimates

(Adds Q2 forecast, CEO comments, share reaction)

TEL AVIV, April 27 (Reuters) - Network security provider Check Point Software Technologies posted a better than expected rise in first quarter net profit and revenue on growth in demand for mobile and cloud security and products to stop fast-evolving new threats.

Israel-based Check Point on Thursday forecast earnings per share (EPS) excluding one-time items of $1.17-$1.25 in the second quarter on revenue of $440 million-$465 million.

Analysts on average were estimating EPS of $1.23 on revenue of $453 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The outlook is in line with the company's full year forecast, announced in January, calling for adjusted EPS of $5.05-$5.25 on revenue of $1.85 billion-$1.9 billion, Chief Executive Gil Shwed told reporters.

"According to our internal metrics we’re growing the fastest in the business," he said.

Last week Check Point launched Infinity, a single unified platform for network, cloud and mobile security, which it says not only identifies threats but also keeps them out.

Only about 1 percent of companies protect their mobile devices and "companies haven’t necessarily felt a threat to the cloud," Shwed said. "The good news is we’re seeing fast growth."

Check Point, Israel's biggest technology company by market value, earned $1.20 per diluted share excluding one-time items in the first quarter, up from $1.06 a year earlier. Revenue grew 8 percent to $435 million.

It was forecast to earn $1.19 a share on revenue of $433 million.

Check Point shares were up 0.9 percent at $105.2 in pre-market trade on Nasdaq, after they closed at a record high of $105.36 on Tuesday.

"Our focus on cloud, mobility and threat prevention is paying off and has contributed nicely to results this quarter," Shwed said.

Subscriptions for software rose 27 percent to $112 million in the quarter. This beat analysts' average estimate of $109.9 million, "highlighting the industry's shift to a subscription services model," Oppenheimer analyst Shaul Eyal said.

"Overall, Check Point is kicking off 2017 with a solid set of first quarter results," he said. (Reporting by Yuval Ben-David and Tova Cohen; Editing by Steven Scheer and Adrian Croft)