Tool maker Black & Decker Corp doubled its profit estimate for Q-3, citing better-than-expected shipments buoyed by a rebound in the US housing market, sending its shares up 10%. The company, known for its Dewalt power tools, expects to gain as new residential construction picks up in the United States. In a sign of thawing housing markets, applications to buy a home, a tentative early indicator of sales, climbed to the highest last week since early January in the United States. “We believe that Black & Decker presents a good combination of exposure to residential new construction, which should become a tailwind again in 2010,” Barclays Capital analyst Megan McGrath said in a research note to clients. For the quarter ending Sept 30, the company, which also makes home improvement products, now expects earnings of 91 cents a share, up from its prior forecast of 35 cents to 45 cents a share. A lower tax rate, due to favorable adjustments, is expected to add 14 cents a share to quarterly profit, the company said in a statement.
Popularity: unranked [?]
