UPDATE 2-ScottsMiracle-Gro Q2 profit lags Street, shares fall

* Q2 adj EPS $1.25 vs est $1.26

* Q2 sales $960.1 mln vs $958.0 mln last year

* Sees FY adj EPS in upper half of $2.10-$2.30

* Shares down as much as 13 pct (Recasts, adds details, analyst comments, stock activity)

By Nivedita Bhattacharjee

BANGALORE, April 28 (Reuters) - Lawn and garden-products maker ScottsMiracle-Gro Co's (SMG.N) quarterly earnings jumped 33 percent, but missed analysts' estimates by a cent, and the company projected full-year profit at the upper half of its forecast range.

However, shares fell 13 percent on high volumes, as results fell short of market expectations.

"Though the company gave very good results, they weren't as good as people wanted. And I think that's why you see the stock go down," analyst Samuel Yake of BGB Securities Inc said.

The company did well in its core lawn and gardening areas, but results were tampered by soft performances in some non-core businesses, the analyst added.

In a conference call with analysts, Chief Operating Officer Mark Baker said the company's Smith & Hawken brand, which sells pottery, gardening tools, outdoor furniture and patio living supplies, has been struggling in the current environment.

"Sales are off sharply, and we have taken dramatic steps to lower our cost structure for this business," Baker said, adding that the company expects Smith & Hawken to post higher losses in 2009.

Scotts, which sells grass seeds, fertilizers, herbicides, potting soils and other gardening-related tools, expects full-year adjusted earnings per share in the upper half of the $2.10 a share to $2.30 a share range.

Analysts on average were looking for a profit of $2.32 per share for the full year, according to Reuters Estimates., "While it's still early, we could see upside to our projections if current trends in the core business continue throughout the balance of the lawn and garden season," Chief Executive Jim Hagedorn said in a statement.

Scotts, which saw purchases of its branded products in the United States rise 18 percent in the second quarter, could easily do better than its forecast, analyst Yake said, as it has already seen strong performances in April.

"April is a very important month for them, since it is spring time in America, when people do a lot of gardening," Yake said.

For the second quarter ended March 28, the company posted a quarterly profit of $77.4 million, or $1.18 a share, compared with $58 million, or 88 cents a share, a year ago.

Sales in global consumer business, comprising North America and Europe, rose 4 percent to $833.7 million.

More than 666,900 shares changed hands by mid-day, more than double their usual volume. They were at $34.25, down 9 percent Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange, after having touched a low of $32.80 earlier. (Additional reporting by Renju Jose, Editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Ratul Ray Chaudhuri)