CLEVELAND - The Sherwin-Williams Co. has lowered its sales and earnings-per-share expectations for the second quarter and full year 2008, revising expectations announced in April. The company cited continuing problems in the U.S. housing market and rising raw material costs as reasons for the decrease.

 

For the full year 2008, the company anticipates consolidated net sales will be slightly lower than 2007. It had previously expected a low single-digit percentage increase in consolidated net sales over 2007. The company anticipates diluted net income per common share for 2008 will be in the range of $3.60 to $4.10 per share. The previous expectation for the full year 2008 was in the range of $4.70 to $4.85 per share. The significantly lower expectation of diluted net income per common share for the full year 2008 relates primarily to the expected continuation of the unprecedented downturn in the U.S. housing market and rapidly rising raw material cost increases. The company reported diluted net income per common share of $4.70 per share for the full year 2007.

 

For the quarter, the company expects to achieve a slight increase in consolidated net sales over the second quarter of 2007. The previous expectation for consolidated net sales in the quarter had been a low single-digit percentage increase. Diluted net income per common share for the quarter is expected to be in the range of $1.40 to $1.50 per share. The April expectation for the quarter was $1.45 to $1.60 per share. The lower anticipation in second-quarter earnings per share is due primarily to worsening domestic net sales and the continuing rapidly increasing raw material and other input costs. The company reported diluted net income per common share of $1.52 per share in the second quarter of 2007.