Adobe Earnings Up 94%

Adobe Systems Inc., which makes software to design publications and Web pages, said fourth-quarter earnings rose 94% on sales of new products and investment gains. The San Jose-based company also said its president, Chuck Geschke, a Silicon Valley veteran who helped found the company in 1982 with Chief Executive John Warnock, would retire as of March. Warnock will be the new president and the two will continue to share the chairman’s job. Adobe’s net income rose to $97.4 million, or 76 cents a share, in the quarter ended Dec. 3, from $50.3 million, or 39 cents, a year earlier. Excluding investment gains and other items, Adobe said it earned 46 cents, beating the 42-cent average estimate of analysts. “Whisper” estimates on investor Web sites were as high as 45 cents. Revenue rose 14% to $281.8 million from $246.7 million. Its shares climbed $1.88 to close at $63.75 on Nasdaq. Adobe has benefited from a cost-cutting campaign and strong demand for new versions of software such as PhotoShop and Acrobat.