New York, Apr. 24 - Consumer products company Fortune Brands Inc reported a quarterly profit that missed Wall Street estimates Thursday as sales at its spirits and home and hardware businesses declined.
The owner of Jim Beam bourbon, Moen faucets and Titleist golf equipment said that given "the uncertain U.S. economic environment," its full-year earnings per share excluding items would be flat to down at a high-single-digit rate, compared with an earlier view that earnings on that basis might rise.
Net income was $120.5 million, or 77 cents per share, in the first quarter, compared with $120.2 million, or 77 cents per share, a year earlier. The latest quarter was helped by the sale of Fortune's U.S. wine business to Constellation Brands Inc.
Earnings from continuing operations, excluding one-time items, were 75 cents per share, a penny short of analysts' average estimate, according to Reuters Estimates.
Fortune Brands had forecast that earnings excluding one-time items would be flat to down at a high-single-digit rate from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Net sales were $1.81 billion, down 5.4 percent. Spirits sales declined about 1 percent to $515.3 million, while sales in its home and hardware business fell more than 12 percent to $894.4 million. Golf division sales rose 8 percent to $396.4 million.
It attributed the decline in spirits sales to distributors deciding to stock less than usual inventory, while Fortune Brands said its home products brands are facing a very difficult economic environment.
"We're continuing to budget for a home products market that declines at a low-double-digit rate on a revenue basis throughout the year," Bruce Carbonari, president and chief executive, said in a statement.
"In our golf business, we are seeing a delayed start to the playing season in many northern U.S. markets due to bad weather."
But he said the company expects U.S. spirits shipments to bounce back in the months ahead.
Fortune, based in Deerfield, Illinois, said it expects second-quarter earnings, excluding special items, to be down at a high-single-digit to mid-teens rate from comparable year-ago earnings of $1.51 per share.
It forecast full-year earnings per share excluding items in the range of flat to down at a high-single-digit rate. In January it said it expected full-year earnings in the range of up at a low-single-digit rate to down at a high-single-digit rate.
Based on its current stock price, it continues to see share repurchases "as a very attractive way to allocate capital."
Shares fell 39 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $70.49 on the New York Stock Exchange.