Fortune Brands 1Q profit sinks, beats estimates

Fortune Brands Inc., which makes consumer products ranging from Jim Beam bourbon to Titleist golf balls, said Friday its first-quarter profit skidded 94 percent largely on higher restructuring costs.

Adjusted results surpassed analysts' estimates, as the company predicted earlier in the week.

For the period ending March 31, earnings slid to $7.4 million, or 5 cents per share, well below its profit of $120.5 million, or 77 cents per share, a year earlier.

Restructuring costs jumped to $60.2 million from $8.1 million. Excluding the restructuring charges and other items, profit was 30 cents per share.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, whose estimates generally exclude one-time items, expected net income of 22 cents per share.

Sales dropped to $1.44 billion from $1.81 billion on the stronger dollar and continued economic downturn. Analysts expected sales of $1.41 billion.

The company posted its biggest sales decline in its home and hardware division.

On Tuesday, Fortune Brands slashed its dividend by 57 percent to 19 cents to help the company retain an additional $150 million annually. The change was made to align the dividend with its historical payout ratio of 30 to 38 percent of the 2009 earnings target range, Fortune Brands said at the time.