Timken Cuts Forecast, Halves Dividend

Timken(TKR Quote), the Canton, Ohio, maker of specialty steel products, reported a 91% decline in first-quarter profit, before items, from a year ago as the global recession continued to hurt demand for its industrial bearings and related equipment.

The company announced a plan to lay off more than 7,000 workers. It also said it would slash its 2009 dividend by 50% to 9 cents a share and sounded warning notes for the rest of the year.

In a conference call with analysts, the company reduced its projections for 2009, saying it now expects to lose 15 cents for the year, compared with earlier guidance of a profit of $1.30 to $1.60 a share. Analysts as polled by Thomson Reuters had expected the company to be in black for the year, with a profit of 78 cents a share. ...