Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Adobe Systems Inc., the biggest maker of graphic-design software, reported a 21 percent rise in profit and issued a forecast that beat analysts' estimates on increased demand for its Creative Suite programs.

Fourth-quarter net income rose to $222.2 million, or 38 cents a share, from $183.2 million, or 30 cents, a year earlier, San Jose, California-based Adobe said today. Sales gained 34 percent to $911.2 million in the period ended Nov. 30.

Adobe benefited from global demand for Creative Suite 3, which includes software for editing photos, designing Web sites and creating video. Chief Executive Officer Shantanu Narayen, who took over from Bruce Chizen this month, predicted first- quarter earnings that topped estimates, and reaffirmed a forecast for 13 percent sales growth in 2008.

``The short-term guidance is good,'' Goldman, Sachs & Co. analyst Sasa Zorovic said in an interview from New York. He has a neutral rating on the shares and doesn't own any.

Adobe shares fell after the report because some investors wanted the company to raise its annual forecast, Zorovic said.

Adobe declined 65 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $40.25 in extended trading. The shares dropped $1.21 to $40.90 at 4 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market trading and have declined less than 1 percent this year.

Separately, Adobe said its board authorized the repurchase of 30 million shares, adding to the 20 million buyback approved in April. Adobe had repurchased 17.7 million shares as of Nov. 30.

First-Quarter

For the current quarter, Adobe said profit, excluding costs such as stock-based compensation, will rise to between 44 cents and 46 cents a share, beating analysts' estimates of 42 cents. Sales will advance to at least $855 million, compared with $836.2 million predicted by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Adobe's 13 percent sales forecast for 2008 indicates revenue of $3.57 billion. Analysts in a Bloomberg survey predict sales of $3.54 billion.

``They raised the first quarter and by a good amount,'' said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray & Co. in Minneapolis. He recommends buying the shares, which he doesn't own. ``Some people will want to have seen the guidance carry through to the rest of the year.''

The company didn't feel compelled to update an annual forecast issued a month ago, Narayen said today in an interview.

``It would have been strange to change targets within a month of issuing them,'' he said.

Beating Estimates

Profit, excluding some costs, rose to 49 cents a share in the fourth quarter, beating the 48-cent average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Sales of $911.2 million beat the average estimate of $885.2 million.

Narayen, 44, faces the challenge of maintaining Adobe's growth, which Chizen fueled with the 2005 acquisition of Macromedia Inc. and upgrades to Creative Suite. The latest upgrade to Creative Suite runs on Apple Inc.'s Macintosh computers with chips from Intel Corp.

This was the first full quarter that six different versions of Creative Suite were available in all of Adobe's markets.

Sales at the creative software unit, which includes Creative Suite, rose 57 percent to $570.5 million, accounting for 63 percent of fourth-quarter revenue. Revenue from the company's knowledge-worker software, which includes its Acrobat PDF program, rose 6.2 percent to $192.1 million, accounting for 21 percent of sales.

Demand for creative software, which includes programs from Adobe and Macromedia, will continue next year, especially among Mac users, Narayen said on today's conference call.

``Our research tells us Mac customers, while we are seeing adoption, will have a fair amount of adoption to go,'' Narayen said. ``Revenue is outpacing that of previous cycles of Creative Suite.''

With the purchase of Macromedia, Adobe gained the Flash media player, found on 98 percent of the world's computers.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rochelle Garner in San Francisco at rgarner4@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 17, 2007 19:04 EST