Intuit forecasts quarterly results below estimates on weak demand, promotions delay

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Intuit INTU.O projected second-quarter revenue and profit below market estimates on Thursday, hampered by sluggish demand for its financial management services and a planned change in the timing of its promotions.

The company's consumer group, which caters to individuals, is expected to see a single-digit revenue decline in the second quarter due to the delay in promotions for the desktop offering of TurboTax, its software widely used by Americans to file their taxes.

Intuit said the delay only impacts revenue timing and reiterated its annual forecast for double-digit revenue growth.

The company offers financial products, including personal finance portal Credit Karma, marketing platform Mailchimp and accounting software suite QuickBooks that help small businesses manage their finances.

Its shares had declined 5.1% on Tuesday after a Washington Post report that President-elect Donald Trump’s government efficiency team was considering creating a free tax-filing app.

"I am personally engaging with the incoming leaders and new administration," CEO Sasan Goodarzi told Reuters.

"They're looking for an opportunity to make the tax code in general just simpler. And as we've always said, another free tax software is not going to make any impact because free (software) is already available to all Americans," he added.

Intuit competes with firms such as H & R Block HRB.N, Oracle's ORCL.N NetSuite and Microsoft's MSFT.O Dynamics 365 Platform, which all offer similar financial services.

It expects revenue to be between $3.81 billion and $3.84 billion for the second quarter ending Jan. 31, below analysts' average estimate of $3.87 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company forecast quarterly adjusted profit per share of $2.55 to $2.61, below average estimate of $3.20.

Revenue for the first quarter, ended Oct.31, grew about 10% to $3.28 billion, beating estimates of $3.14 billion. Excluding items, it earned $2.50 per share, compared with an estimated $2.35 per share.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)

((Jaspreet.Singh@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/i_jass;))