Adobe Systems 1st-Qtr Profit Falls as Sales Decline (Update3)
By Greg Chang
quote.bloomberg.com
San Jose, California, March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Adobe Systems Inc., the maker of Photoshop image-editing software, said fiscal first-quarter profit fell 29 percent as sales declined for the third straight quarter amid a slump in the advertising market.
Net income fell to $49.8 million, or 20 cents a share, from $69.8 million, or 28 cents, a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Revenue fell 19 percent to $268 million from $329 million.
Adobe's sales are sliding because spending on advertising has fallen, hurting customers that use programs such as Photoshop to design marketing materials. While Adobe is counting on strong sales from a new version of Photoshop, some analysts now predict that Adobe's revenue will miss its target of annual growth of 4 percent to 5 percent, or about $1.29 billion.
``Their mindset is that they'll have a strong upgrade performance from Photoshop,'' said Gibboney Huske, an analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston, who rates the shares ``buy'' and doesn't own them. ``We're still not convinced. The end market is weak, spending is very tight and employment is down.'' |
