Adobe's reports fourth quarter; 2009 'challenging'

Adobe's fiscal fourth quarter results were at the high end of the range it gave Dec. 3.

Adobe on Tuesday reported fourth quarter earnings of $245.9 million, or 46 cents a share, on revenue of $915.3 million, up slightly from the $911.2 million in sales for the same quarter in 2007. The sales tally was slightly above the range Adobe gave a few weeks ago when it announced layoffs. Excluding charges, Adobe had earnings of 60 cents a share. Wall Street was expecting earnings of 58 cents a share.

In a statement, Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe, said he expects that 2009 will "be a challenging year." For the first quarter, Adobe projected revenue of $800 million to $850 million. Wall Street was expecting revenue of $842 million for the first quarter with earnings of 44 cents a share excluding items.

Here's a look at the other first quarter projections, which are roughly in line with expectations.

Despite the fourth quarter swoon, Adobe had a strong 2008. It reported net income of $871.8 million, or $1.59 a share, on revenue of $3.58 billion, up 13 percent from a year ago.