March 23 (Reuters) - Adobe Systems Inc (
ADBE.O) forecast second-quarter revenue at above Wall Street estimates as it launches an upgrade to its flagship design software line, and its shares rose 6.6 percent.
Adobe, whose software includes Photoshop, Flash and Illustrator, also posted fiscal first-quarter profit and revenue ahead of expectations -- the latest technology results to suggest demand for software, computers and related goods is on the rise.
Investors will get another chance to gauge tech demand when the world's No. 3 software maker, Oracle Corp (
ORCL.O), reports results on Thursday [nN22186752].
"This company is clearly benefiting from the improving global economy," Steven Frankel, an analyst with Brigantine Advisors, said of Adobe.
Adobe, whose rivals include Microsoft Corp (
MSFT.O) and Apple Inc (
AAPL.O), posted per share profit, excluding items, of 40 cents, for its fiscal first quarter ended March 5, beating the average analyst forecast of 37 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue rose 9 percent to $858.7 million, beating the average analyst forecast of $827.4 million.
Adobe will unveil next-generation versions of its top-selling Creative Solutions software line, dubbed CS5, on April 12, executives said, and start shipping the product in English, French, German and Japanese before the end of the current quarter.
CS5 will include design programs for working with photos, drawings, video, animation and Websites that have long been incorporated into that product line, along with software from Omniture, a web analytics firm that Adobe acquired in October for about $1.8 billion.
Adobe forecast second-quarter per-share profit of 39 cents to 44 cents, excluding items, versus the average analyst forecast of 41 cents. It also projected quarterly revenue of $875 million to $925 million, beating the average forecast of $860.5 million.
Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry said that adding Omniture's software should help boost interest in CS5.
"CS5 will be differentiated. Nobody else has a product like this," he said.
The current generation of the software, CS4, did not perform as well as Adobe had initially projected. It was introduced in 2008, as the recession was gaining steam, and got mixed reviews from analysts who said it lacked "must have" features that would compel customers to upgrade.
"We definitely expect (CS5) to be a better revenue generator for us than CS4," Adobe Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen said during a conference call.
The company posted first-quarter net income of $127.2 million, or 24 cents per share, compared with $156.4 million, or 30 cents, a year earlier.
Shares of the San Jose, Calif.-based company rose 6.6 percent to $37.55 in extended trade. The shares closed up 27 cents at $35.22 on Nasdaq.
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UPDATE 2-Adobe sees strong revenue on new software launch | Reuters
06:34 PM ET
Adobe Systems (
ADBE) surprised Wall Street on Tuesday with better-than-expected results for its first quarter, as it returned to year-over-year sales growth after more than a year.
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"They had a good quarter," said Toan Tran, an analyst with Morningstar. "Sales being up (year-over-year) is definitely a positive sign."
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Investors.com - Adobe's Q1 Beats Expectations; New Suite Boosts Its Q2 Outlook
