Fortune Brands Sees Earnings on Track

Fortune Brands Inc., maker of Moen faucets, Titleist golf products and Jim Beam bourbon, said it sees quarterly earnings on track to meet expectations. It also said it is continuing a strategic review of its office products business. During a presentation at the Goldman Sachs Consumer Products Conference, Chairman and Chief Executive Norm Wesley said the company sees fourth-quarter earnings of 71 cents a share and a full-year profit of $2.29 a share, both in line with consensus expectations. Last year, Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Fortune earned 67 cents in its fourth quarter and $1.99 for the full year. Wesley said Fortune’s long-term goal is to produce the same double-digit earnings-per-share growth it has posted in the last few years. However, the “current economic environment makes that an ambitious objective for the year ahead,” he noted. Fortune’s shares closed down 81 cents at $29.81 on the NYSE.