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Intuit falls after warning on accounting software

Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:00pm EST

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BOSTON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Intuit Inc (INTU.O) shares tumbled as much as 13 percent on Friday after the company's new chief executive said that unit sales of QuickBooks accounting software missed its forecast in the most recent quarter.

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Intuit said QuickBooks generated revenue of $175 million in the quarter ended Jan. 31. While that was up 5 percent from a year earlier, Smith said unit sales missed targets.

"It is really hard to put your finger on exactly what is going on in the small business category," Chief Executive Brad Smith said in an interview. "Clearly macroeconomic conditions out there are challenging for small businesses today."

The primary rivals of QuickBooks are Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) Office Accounting and Sage Plc's (SGE.L) Peachtree.

Both companies have been aggressively pricing and marketing their products in a bid to take business away from Intuit, offering promotions including full rebates on some products through retailers such as Staples (SPLS.O).

Smith was promoted to CEO last month from his post as general manager of the company's small business division, which oversees QuickBooks. The change in leadership was announced in August.

Intuit shares fell as low as $25.86, before trading down $3.57 at $26.22 in early-afternoon Nasdaq trade. (Reporting by Jim Finkle, editing by Richard Chang)

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