|
Shares in Adobe Systems tumbled in after-hours trading after the software maker cut its third quarter outlook and revised earnings expectations.
The maker of the popular Acrobat and Photoshop software, and an employer of around 90 in Ireland, cut its revenue forecast for the third quarter to between USD270 million and USD290 million, around 10 percent lower than its previously forecast range of USD300 million to USD320 million.
The company also said pro forma earnings per share, which exclude restructuring charges, amortisation of goodwill and other charges, would be between USD0.18 and USD0.23 in the three months to 30 August, compared with the firm's original target of USD0.24 to USD0.27 a share, predicted in June.
All of these new and revised figures fall well behind what analysts were calling for, with a poll by Thomson Financial/First Call projecting earnings before goodwill of USD0.25 per share on revenue of USD310 million. Subsequently, Adobe shares took a beating in after-hours trading, falling to USD19.28, an almost 20 percent plummet from its Nasdaq close of USD23.96. The San Jose, California-based firm had already seen its shares drop by 4 percent on the Nasdaq at close on Wednesday before the announcement was made.
"This is a difficult global business environment and I am disappointed we had to reset our Q3 targets," Adobe president and chief executive Bruce Chizen said in a statement. "However, Adobe continues to be a very profitable company -- we have strong market positions and continue to invest in our long-term growth opportunities," he said.
This latest update comes after the company reported an 11 percent fall in net income and an 8 percent drop in revenues during its second quarter. And in Wednesday's warning, the company said that poor sales in July were mostly to blame for the lower-than-expected Q3 figures. "The revenue decline in July occurred across all of its business segments and major geographic markets, with particular weakness in Europe and Japan," Adobe said.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the company said it expects to make a profit before exceptional items of between USD0.26 and USD0.29 a share on revenue of USD315 million to USD345 million.
Adobe employs 25 people in Ireland in a treasury management and finance centre in Dublin. It also has 65 workers at its electronic forms division, formerly known as Accelio, prior to its acquisition by Adobe in April of this year.
The company announced in April that 200 workers worldwide would become redundant primarily in sales and administrative positions but has not yet said where the redundancies will take place.
|