(By Balachander) Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) cut its EBIT forecast for 2012, citing weaker near-term environment for its Roofing and Composites businesses, and its shares retreated 2.80 percent in premarket trading on Tuesday.
The Toledo, Ohio-based company currently expects adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) between $280 million and $310 million, down from prior projections of $360 million to $420 million. It sees third-quarter adjusted EBIT of $59 million, before adjusting for $22 million of items.
The company produces residential and commercial building materials, glass-fiber reinforcements and engineered materials for composite systems.
For Roofing, the company reduced its revenue outlook to roughly $2 billion for the year, saying shipments weakened following a mid-September price increase.
In Composites business, Owens expects second-half demand to be hit by a fall in global industrial production, mainly in Europe, as well as by the weaker U.S. roofing market. That said, Owens has initiated further production curtailments to bring inventories in line.
The company had said it expects Composites financial performance to improve in the second half of 2012, positioning the business to return to double-digit margins in 2013.
Owens will announce third-quarter results on October 24.
The stock, which has been trading in the 52-week range of $21.72 to $38.00, closed Monday's regular trading at $33.95.