Profit rises 24% at tech firm Adobe

Adobe Systems Inc. said Thursday that profit for its second quarter climbed 24% on demand for updated versions of its Creative Suite products. The shares fell after its forecast disappointed some investors.

Net income rose to $152.5 million, or 25 cents a share, from $123.1 million, or 20 cents, a year earlier, San Jose-based Adobe said. Sales for the period ended June 1 rose 17% to $745.6 million.

Adobe, the biggest maker of design software, benefited from pent-up demand for Creative Suite 3, which combines Adobe’s Photoshop, Dreamweaver and other programs.

The software, used by professional photographers, Web designers and print publishers, went on sale at the end of March. Adobe’s forecast for the current quarter didn’t reflect as big a bump in sales and profit as some analysts had expected.

For the current quarter, Adobe said it expected profit, excluding some costs, of 39 cents to 41 cents a share. It forecast sales of $760 million to $800 million. That compares with analysts’ estimates of 39 cents in profit and $782.7 million in sales, according to a survey by Bloomberg.

Shares of Adobe fell 15 cents to $43.96 in regular trading Thursday and were down about 1% after hours. The earnings report was released after the close of the stock market.