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Macromedia clears 1Q estimate

2 min read

Macromedia Inc. (Nasdaq: MACR) posted first-quarter earnings of $7.2 million, or 15 cents a share, outdoing First Call's estimate by a penny.

Shares in the maker of Web publishing and design software fell 1 1/8 to 36 1/2 Thursday morning. The stock ran upWednesday before earnings were released.

Revenue of $48.9 million was a 51 percent increase over revenue of $32.3 million reported in the 1998 quarter. Net income of $7.2 million compared to net income of $3.0 million, or 7 cents a share in last year's quarter.

Macromedia also announced a marketing agreement with IBM's Lotus Development Corp. Thursday. The deal includes a multi-year distribution agreement for Macromedia's Authorware, Director, Attain Objects for Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Flash authoring software, and is expected to generate more than $30 million in revenue for Macromedia over the next three years.

The Dreamweaver web page creator, along with multimedia creation tools Flash and Fireworks, saw continued strong sales. Web-based products accounted for 57 percent of Macromedia's total revenue.

Flash 4 shipped during a quarter which saw Dreamweaver become Macromedia's top revenue generator. Macromedia Flash and Shockwave player downloads reached 48 million. A new study by NPD, the parent company of Media Metrix, says more than 83 percent of the Web population can now view Flash content, up from 77 percent four months ago.

Macromedia is headquartered in San Francisco. Six of 10 analysts covering the stock rate it a "strong buy" according to Zacks Investment Research.