Adobe Systems Inc (ADBE.O) reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue driven by higher demand for its creative cloud business including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Revenue from the company's creative cloud unit, its largest business by revenue, rose 33 per cent to US$886 million.

Annualized recurring revenue, which is used to track the performance of the company's subscriptions, rose to US$4.01 billion, up from US$3.70 billion in the prior quarter above analysts' estimate of US$3.97 billion, according to FactSet StreetAccount.

Adobe has posted double-digit revenue growth in the last six quarters driven by the shift over the past few years to selling software on a subscription basis.

The company also forecast first-quarter revenue of US$1.63 billion below average analysts' estimate of US$1.65 billion according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The California-based company's net income rose to US$399.6 million, or 80 cents US per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 2, from US$222.7 million, or 44 cents US per share, a year earlier.

Total revenue rose 23.1 per cent to US$1.61 billion, beating estimates of US$1.59 billion. Excluding items, Adobe earned 90 cents US per share, beating estimates of 86 cents US.