Engineering firm Griffon Corp. said Monday its fourth-quarter profit fell 51 percent, in part because of an economy-led drop in garage door sales.
Earnings for the fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30 fell to $8.9 million or 29 cents a share from $18.4 million or 60 cents a share.
Revenue dropped 17.9 percent from $482.8 million to $396.2 million.
Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 24 cents a share on sales of $376.2 million, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.
The company blamed the sales decrease on the wind-down of an electronic and communications systems contract as well as a decline in garage door installation as a result of the housing slump.
About one-third of Griffon's sales come from garage door sales.
The company also said its profit for the entire year dropped 57.4 percent to $22 million or 71 cents a share from $51.7 million or $1.65 a share.
Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 66 cents a share.
Revenue declined 3.2 percent from $1.63 billion to $1.61 billion.
The company said yearly earnings declined because of the weak housing market, which was partly offset by improvements in its communications and specialty plastics sector.
Its shares rose 58 cents or 4 percent to $14.77 in afternoon trading. They have traded between $11.97 and $26.25 in the last year.