Adobe Systems Narrowly Beats Profit Estimates

Software maker Adobe Systems Inc. beat Wall Street estimates for the quarter ended March 1 and said it thinks the current quarter will fall in line with expectations.

Excluding one-time charges, Adobe reported pro forma earnings of $52.8 million, or 22 cents a share--down from pro forma earnings of $83.6 million, or 33 cents a share, for the comparable period last year.

Analysts surveyed by First Call/Thomson Financial had expected Adobe to earn 20 cents a share on revenue of $267.6 million.

The San Jose company, the leader in desktop publishing software and the nation’s second-largest PC software company, said revenue fell 19%, to $267.9 million.

Adobe shares rose 17 cents to $36.76 in after-hours trading. The results were released after the markets closed. In regular Nasdaq trading, the shares fell 94 cents, or 2.5%, to $36.59.