Dublin, April 30 - Irish food group Glanbia said on Thursday it would not meet an earlier forecast for a rise in 2009 earnings as its Food Ingredients Ireland unit will make a loss due to low global dairy prices.
Glanbia's shares fell more than 3 percent after it cut its full-year guidance for adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to between 30 and 32 euro cents, which it said compared with market expectations of 36 to 37 cents and a 2008 result of 35.9 cents.
Glanbia, which ranks itself as Europe's biggest supplier of mozzarella cheese for pizzas, said in its 2008 annual report published earlier this month it was targeting low to mid single digit growth in earnings.
Shares in Glanbia traded 3.4 percent weaker in London by 1336 GMT at 2.25 euros, having risen as high as 2.5 euros before the earnings announcement. Its Dublin shares fell 2.6 percent.
"These are difficult times for the global dairy sector with market prices at historic lows," Managing Director John Moloney said in a statement.