Intuit's Earnings Rise 24% Following Strong Tax Season

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.