Tax preparation software maker Intuit posted higher quarterly profit on Thursday, topping Wall Street forecasts, on strong demand for its TurboTax and QuickBooks software, sending shares up nearly 6%.
Intuit also raised its financial forecast for fiscal 2007 due to the strong quarter and announced a new stock buyback program for up to $800 million over the next three years.
Third-quarter net income for rose to $367 million, or $1.04 per share, from $299 million, or 84 cents a share in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.07 on revenue of $1.11 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
Excluding items, the company said it posted a per-share profit of $1.13.
Revenue increased 21% to $1.15 billion during the U.S. tax season when the company known for its TurboTax tax preparation software generates most of its sales.
Looking forward to full-year fiscal 2007, Intuit said it expects revenue to range from $2.685 billion to $2.7 billion with adjusted earnings in a range of $1.38 to $1.40 a share.
This tracks above the company's previous outlook as well as Wall Street prediction of $2.66 billion in revenue and earnings of $1.35 a share.
Intuit rose nearly 6% to $29.30 in extended trade after closing the regular session at $27.72.