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Pentair, Ingersoll warn conditions worsening

Fri Dec 19, 2008 1:36am IST
 
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* Pentair 2009 profit to tumble, to cut 10 pct of jobs

* Ingersoll-Rand cuts Q4 view to $0.20-$0.30 a share

* Pentair shares down 4 pct, Ingersoll slides 3 pct

(Recasts lead, adds quotes, stock action, changes dateline from NEW YORK)

BOSTON (Reuters) - Diversified U.S. manufacturers Ingersoll-Rand Co (IR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Pentair Inc (PNR.N: Quote, Profile, Research) warned investors that fourth-quarter business conditions had been even more brutal than they had expected, sharply cutting their profit forecasts.

Pentair, which makes filters and electrical enclosures, went a step further and said it would cut about 1,600 jobs -- or over 10 percent of its workforce -- as it braces for a 15 percent drop in profit next year.

"The speed and impact of sluggish demand in global markets and consumer spending has had a deeper impact on our orders and sales volumes than we previously expected," said Randy Hogan, Pentair's chief executive. "Given the uncertain depth and length of the global recession, our 2009 outlook reflects our expectation that volumes across our four global business segments will decline."

Pentair joins a growing list of U.S. industrials, including United Technologies Corp (UTX.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Honeywell International Inc (HON.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) that have warned Wall Street profit could tumble next year as recession spreads across North America and Europe.

UBS analyst Jason Feldman, who had cut his 2008 estimate on Pentair ahead of the news said the revision was "not very surprising" in light of other companies' recent forecast cuts.  Continued...

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