Preliminary Q1 numbers at Adobe indicate profit, shortfall

Adobe on Wednesday released preliminary earnings information indicating that it won't make its revenue targets for the first quarter of 2009, which ended for the company on February 27. The company will, however, deliver earnings per share within -- though at the low end of -- its target range.

Based on what the company knows right now, Adobe should report revenue of between $783 million and $786 million, below its target range of $800 million to $850 million. Operating margins are expected to be between 26% and 26.5% on a GAAP basis, which falls within the predicted 26-28% range for Q1; likewise, non-GAAP operating margins are in the ballpark, coming in between 37% and 37.5% compared to the 37-38% target.

GAAP earnings are predicted at 30/share, right at the bottom of the target range of 30-35 cents. Non-GAAP earnings, estimated at 44 or 45 cents/share, are squarely in the middle of the predicted range of 43-47 cents.

Shantanu Narayen, Adobe's president and CEO, not surprisingly emphasized the earnings and margin results. "Despite worsening market conditions, we were able to manage expenses to deliver earnings and margin results within the target ranges we provided at the outset of the quarter," he said in a prepared statement. The company cited strong performance from the LiveCycle enterprise business and, for seasonal reasons, in Japan as helping the results.

The company also took a preliminary crack at Q2 targets -- lower ones. Adobe says it's aiming for revenue of between $675 and $725 million and an operating margin range of 21-26% on a GAAP basis, or 32-36% non-GAAP.