Adobe says FY08 product launches to help sales

BOSTON (Reuters) - Adobe Systems Inc (ADBE.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Executive Shantanu Narayen said on Monday his company plans to introduce upgrades to several existing programs in the current fiscal year.

In an earnings conference call he said the launch of those upgrades "should allow us to close 2008 strong."

Adobe introduced new versions of programs in its Creative Suite line of software, including upgrades to Photoshop and Illustrator. While that launch has gone well, Narayen said he is optimistic that there will be "a fairly long tail" to the sales boost generated by the upgrade.

He added that the company will introduce Adobe AIR, a group of tools for developers to write programs for delivery over the Web, during the current fiscal year.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle, editing by Richard Chang)