Headwaters sees fiscal 2009 profit below Street

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah - Building materials supplier Headwaters Inc. on Tuesday guided for fiscal 2009 profit below analyst estimates.

For fiscal 2009, which ends next September, the company expects to earn 70 cents to 95 cents per share.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect earnings of $1.02 per share.

"We enter 2009 excited about the opportunity to create operational improvements, cost reductions, and more efficiency throughout Headwaters," Chief Financial Officer Steven G. Stewart said in a statement. "In addition, the decline in crude oil prices should positively impact performance and reduce energy related costs."

Meanwhile, Headwaters said its fiscal fourth-quarter loss swelled due in part to the expiration of a tax credit, a drop in sales and a large impairment charge.

Shares fell $1.35, or 13.2 percent, to $8.92 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $6.90 and $16.40 in the past 52 weeks.

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