Visio Stock Climbs 2 Percent As Profit Soars By 110 Percent

SEATTLE - Visio stock climbed 2 percent today after the 7-year-old maker of computer diagraming software reported that first-quarter profit soared 110 percent over a year ago.

Profit was $4.4 million, or 29 cents a share, up from $2.1 million, or 15 cents a share, during the same quarter a year ago. The company exceeded analysts' estimates of 26 cents a share.

Visio stock was up $1, to $49.50, in late trading. The price has more than tripled since the company went public at $16 a share roughly 14 months ago.

Jeremy Jaech, Visio chief executive officer, said increased sales of the Visio Technical software product, geared toward technical drawing, combined with increases in core-product sales. The company sold $7.3 million worth of Visio Technical, more than a 100 percent increase over the prior year's first quarter.

Sales for the first quarter of 1997 were $19 million, up 42 percent from $13.4 million a year ago, the company said. International sales, totaling $8 million, grew 80 percent as well, representing about 42 percent of the company's total quarterly

revenue.