Adobe Systems Posts Drop In 2Q Profit, Sales

BARBARA ORTUTAY

NEW YORK (AP) — Adobe Systems Inc., the company whose software powers Flash animation and PDF documents, posted a sharp drop in its fiscal second-quarter profit and sales Tuesday amid weaker demand in the economic downturn.

But the quarter's revenue inched past Wall Street's expectations, and adjusted earnings met those estimates as well as the company's own guidance.

For the three months ended May 29, Adobe earned $126.1 million, or 24 cents per share, a 41 percent decrease from $214.9 million, or 40 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items, the San Jose, Calif.-based company earned 35 cents per share, matching analysts' forecasts.

Revenue dropped 21 percent to $704.7 million. That's slightly above the $694.8 million that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had predicted.

Adobe's CEO Shantanu Narayen said in a statement the company was "pleased with the solid profit margin and earnings results" the company delivered amid the global recession.

For the current quarter, Adobe forecast a profit of 20 cents to 27 cents per share. Excluding items, it is expecting 30 cents to 37 cents per share, which compares with analysts' estimates of 33 cents per share.