NetSol Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:NTWK) CFO Tina Gilger said the technology company is on track to achieve its 2008 earnings and revenue goals because of strong third-quarter results. Gilger made the comments during a midday Tuesday conference call.

In an early Tuesday press release, NetSol reaffirmed its fiscal 2008 earnings guidance ranging from $0.28 to $0.32 per share. Revenue for the year is expected to be between $36.6 million and $38.1 million, which would represent growth of 25% to 30% compared with 2007.

“We are optimistic in our outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year,” Gilger said.

CEO Najeeb Ghauri said North American expansion is “critical” to NetSol’s future growth. During the recently ended third quarter, NetSol appointed a new head of sales and a fresh senior vice president of marketing. The firm is investing in North American sales, marketing and infrastructure, Ghauri said.

NetSol is expanding through contracts and new business wins, the CEO said. The Calabasas, Calif.-based company, which provides technology consulting and maintenance services, won a contract during the third quarter worth about $1.5 million with a large leasing company in the Middle East.

Ghauri said NetSol also launched a corporate university in Pakistan during the quarter.

“The university will focus primarily on the development of human capital at NetSol and aims to discover, develop, deploy and retain the talent of NetSol,” Ghauri said.

NetSol announced before Tuesday’s opening that it swung to a third-quarter profit of $2.3 million, or $0.09 per share, versus a loss of $0.2 million, or $0.01 per share, a year earlier. The results beat Wall Street analysts’ consensus estimate of earning $0.06 per share.

Quarterly revenue jumped 19% to $9.1 million from $7.6 million a year ago. Wall Street was looking for $9.6 million in revenue. During the quarter, 51% of revenue came from IT consulting, 33% from licensing fees and 16% from maintenance fees.

In light of the slowing U.S. economy, Ghauri said he is pleased with progress made in regard to financial and operating objectives.

“We do recognize the weakness in the financial sectors, particularly in the U.S., but we also see an opportunity as these forces can also prove to be a catalyst for our more efficient price [sourcing] approach and model,” Ghauri said. “We believe we are well positioned with a much healthier and a robust pipeline for a strong finish to our fiscal year 2008.”

In midday trading, NTWK shares are up 11.36% to $3.04.