Fortune Brands Inc., which sells Jim Beam whiskey, Titleist golf balls and Moen faucets, said continued sluggishness in its U.S. housing products business will lead to declining profit in its second quarter.
The company said earnings per share should decline by high-single-digits to mid-teens in percentage terms from the $1.51 per share earned a year ago. The outlook excludes any charges and gains.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Fortune Brands were expecting a profit of $1.47 per share, or a decline of about 3 percent.
Fortune Brands, which makes products for the home under the Moen and Master Lock brands, said it continues "to budget for a home products market that declines at a low-double-digit rate on a revenue basis throughout the year."
For the full year, the company expects results to improve in the second half, but said it narrowed its profit forecast to reflect an "uncertain U.S. economic environment." Full-year profit is expected to be flat or down at a high-single-digit rate compared to the $5.06 per share earned in 2007. The company had previously said earnings might rise in the low-single digits.
Analysts had expected 2008 profit of $4.91, indicating a decline of 3 percent.
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