Grafton sees 2008 profit at lower end of forecasts

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Grafton (GRF_u.I), the Irish building supplies group, said on Wednesday difficult trading conditions continued in the UK and Ireland and it expected 2008 earnings to be towards the lower end of market forecasts.

An average of five analysts expected Grafton to report full-year earnings per share before exceptional items of 33 euro cents, with forecasts ranging between 31 and 35 cents, according to Reuters Estimates.

Group turnover for the year is expected to be about 2.67 billion euros (2.4 billion pounds) after taking into account the conversion effect of the significant sterling weakness in 2008, Grafton said in a trading update.

"Grafton Group is profitable and cash generative," it said. "The Group expects that earnings before exceptional costs for the full year will be towards the lower end of market expectations," it added.

The owner of builders' and plumbers' merchants in Ireland and the UK said in November its revenue had dropped 14.5 percent in the first 10 months of 2008, hit by a sharp downturn in the UK and Irish housing markets.

(Reporting by Andras Gergely, editing by Will Waterman)