Acuity slashes 800 jobs

Acuity Brands, the Atlanta lighting products maker, said Tuesday it will shed 800 jobs —- or 11 percent of its work force —- in response to a weak housing market that also hurt fiscal fourth-quarter results.

The company, which reported an 18 percent dip in quarterly earnings compared with a year earlier, said the cuts will accompany a plant consolidation aimed at boosting efficiency. Both manufacturing jobs and salaried positions will be cut, Acuity said, but it did not say if its Atlanta headquarters will be affected.

Dan Smith, an Acuity spokesman, did not return telephone calls seeking comment Tuesday.

The company is the latest publicly traded firm in Georgia to be snagged by the bad economy that started with the mortgage industry, spread out to homebuilders and investment banks and is now hitting industries that rely on the housing sector.

Last month, chemical and plastic maker Georgia Gulf Corp. suspended its dividend and sought to refinance its credit lines and reduce its massive debt. And last week, flooring and carpet maker Mohawk Industries announced the pending closure of a northwest Georgia plant —- the company’s fourth of the year thus far —- leaving 230 jobless.

In both cases, the housing downturn exacerbated their balance sheet woes.

The case is not different at Acuity —- once a unit of National Service Industries before the old Atlanta conglomerate was broken up in 2001.

“The fourth quarter was our first quarter with reduced sales compared with the year ago period reflecting the extraordinary challenges in these sectors of the construction market,” Vernon J. Nagel, Acuity’s chairman, president and chief executive, said Tuesday in a conference call with analysts.

“For the full year we estimate the impact of declines associated with the residential housing market and new store construction for certain retailers reduced our net sales by almost 3 percent, or more than $50 million in 2008.”

What’s more, Acuity, like many other companies, is reeling from higher commodities costs. Acuity said steel costs increased more than 40 percent in the quarter, outpacing the 5 percent to 10 percent pricing increases the company implemented in August on some of its products.

The company reported profit of $41.9 million, or $1.02 per share, compared with $51.4 million, or $1.16 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Last year’s period also included Acuity’s Zep Chemicals business, which was spun off into a separate publicly traded firm last October.

Excluding that, earnings per share in last year’s comparable quarter would have been 97 cents per share.

Sales fell to $522.8 million, from $540.4 million in the quarter. The decline was particularly acute in the Midwest, thought it was augmented by growth in other regions of North America.

For the full fiscal year, net profit was $148.3 million, vs. $148.1 million a year earlier. Revenue was $2.03 billion vs. $1.96 billion.

Acuity shares finished Tuesday at $34.71, down 5.7 percent on a day the Dow industrials fell steeply.