Shares of Adobe Systems Inc. rose about 10 per cent Wednesday morning, to around US$35, after the company reported it surpassed first quarter revenue targets and posted a strong year-over-year increase in profit.

Net income at the California-headquartered software company soared 53 per cent to US$219.4 million, or 38 cents per share, for the quarter ending Feb. 29 2008, compared to $143.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2007.

However, profit was down slightly from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, when Adobe posted $222.2 million in net income.

In a statement, Adobe president and CEO Shantanu Narayen credited continued demand for Adobe's Creative Suite 3 family of products for the strong quarterly results.

"As the proliferation of digital content accelerates, customers worldwide are looking to Adobe for solutions that enable the creation of rich, engaging experiences across a variety of media and devices," he said.

With first quarter revenues of $890.4 million, Adobe beat its target of $855 million to $885 million. Revenues exceeded the $649.4 million recorded a year ago but were down from last quarter's $911.2 million.

Adobe also reaffirmed its target for revenue growth of 13 per cent for fiscal 2008.