New Britain tool maker Stanley Black & Decker Inc. cut its full-year forecast after lower volumes at its high-margin security and industrial segments and a stronger dollar put pressure on second-quarter earnings, Reuters reports.
Stanley B&D also said it was exploring options, including a sale, for its hardware and home improvement business, which reported sales of $940 million in 2011.
The company’s shares, which have shed 23 percent of their value in the last three months, rose $3.21 in late morning trading Wednesday, to $62.93.
The company, known for its Stanley security products and Black & Decker and Dewalt power tools, said it plans to buy an engineered fastening franchise with revenue of about $500 million.
The company expects adjusted earnings to be between $5.40 and $5.65 per share for the year, down from its prior forecast of $5.75 to $6 per share.
Weakness in foreign exchange rates created significant headwinds in the second quarter and the situation is expected to continue in the second half, the company said in a statement.
For the second quarter, the company reported earnings of $154.8 million, or 92 cents per share, compared with $197.3 million, or $1.14 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, it earned $1.32 per share.
Revenue rose 8 percent to $2.81 billion.
Analysts on average were expecting earnings of $1.52 per share, excluding items, on revenue of $2.9 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Stanley Black & Decker said it would raise its quarterly cash dividend by 20 percent to 49 cents per share.
