DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Autodesk Inc.'s (ADSK) fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 23% as revenue climbed by double-digit percentages at all of its geographic and business segments. The maker of the popular AutoCAD design software used by engineers and architects has seen sales pick up in recent quarters and recently announced plans for acquisitions. Last week, Autodesk said it planned to buy Scaleform Corp. for about $36 million in cash and Blue Ridge Numerics for $39 million in cash. In December, the board approved a buyback of up to 20 million of its shares, about 9% of its outstanding stock. For the quarter ended Jan. 31, Autodesk reported a profit of $61.6 million, or 26 cents a share, up from $50.1 million, or 21 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items such as stock-based compensation and amortization of developed technology, per-share earnings rose to 35 cents from 30 cents. Revenue jumped 16% to $527.7 million. The company had forecast earnings of 30 cents to 33 cents a share on $500 million to $520 million in revenue. Operating margin widened to 13.6% from 12.3%. For the new year, the company projected revenue increasing 10%. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had predicted $2.14 billion, which represents a 9.8% increase. Autodesk forecast current-quarter earnings of 34 cents to 37 cents a share on $510 million to $525 million in revenue. Analysts had anticipated profit of 36 cents a share on $515 million in revenue. Shares closed at $40.43, up 2.1%. The stock has risen 45% in the past year. -By Matt Jarzemsky and Lee Roberts, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240; matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com
