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Adobe 4Q a pretty picture
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December 16, 1999: 6:31 p.m. ET
Software maker handily beats Wall Street estimates; co-founder to retire
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Adobe Systems Inc. reported a fourth-quarter operating profit that exceeded Wall Street estimates amid increased demand for the software maker’s Web-creation products.
The company also said Charles Geschke, its president and co-founder will retire at the end of March.
Excluding charges, the San Jose, Calif.-based firm, logged a profit of $81.9 million, or 46 cents a share. Analysts polled by First Call expected Adobe (ADBE) to earn 42 cents a share. Revenue climbed to a record $281.8 million.
Those results exclude a number of one-time gains and losses. Including those items, Adobe earned $97.4 million, or 76 cents a share.
Adobe announced its results after markets closed.
The company outpaced its year-ago results, when it posted a profit of $50.3 million, or 39 cents a share, on $246.7 million in revenue.
Adobe shares rose 1-3/4 to close at 63-3/4 prior to the earnings announcement. Its shares climbed 5-13/16 to 69-9/16 in after-hours trade.
Adobe produces software for professional designers and publishers, including Photoshop, Illustrator and PageMaker. The company said its Web offering was the catalyst for its fourth-quarter growth.
"Adobe's growth comes from the increased demand for our products for Web content creation and delivery. This has resulted in solid performance across all of our application product segments,” said John Warnock, Adobe chairman and chief executive officer.
For its full 1999 fiscal year, Adobe earned $259.9 million, or $1.84 a share, on $1 billion in revenue, compared with 1998 profits of $125.3 million, or 77 cents a share, on $894.8 million in revenue.
Separately, Geschke, who co-founded the company in 1982, will retire at the end of March 2000. Geschke has jointly run Adobe with Warnock since its inception. 
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Adobe
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