RPT-UPDATE 2-Brady Q4 profit falls; sees challenging H1

(Repeats to change update tag in headline)

* Q4 EPS $0.37, incl items

* Q4 revenue down 28 pct

* Sees current sales trends to continue into H1 of FY10

* Shares down as much as 9 percent (Adds details, updates share movement)

Sept 11 (Reuters) - Identification products maker Brady Corp (BRC.N) posted a 45 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit, hurt by weak demand across its geographical markets, and said it expects the challenges of the global recession to continue into the first half of fiscal 2010.

"We anticipate the first half of our fiscal year to be consistent with business conditions in third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2009 and expect modest growth in the second half of the year," a company executive said on a conference call.

Brady forecast 2010 earnings of $1.60 to $1.80 a share, excluding restructuring charges. Analysts were looking for $1.78 a share, before special items, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company, which serves the electrical, telecommunication and medical industries, said it would continue with the restructuring as it looks to fine tune its cost structure.

So far, Brady has reduced its workforce by more than 20 percent, frozen salaries and wages, and shut down a few manufacturing facilities and warehouses.

It expects to take an additional charge of about $15 million in fiscal 2010.

Brady, which saw a double-digit sales decline in all its geographic markets in the fourth quarter, said it was seeing signs of stabilization in some markets.

In the United States, which accounts for about 57 percent of Brady's total revenue, it saw sales to manufacturing, maintenance, safety, electrical and construction sectors stabilizing.

"But we expect we will not see strong year-on-year growth for at least one more quarter due to strong comparables and weaker-than-desired economic indicators," the company said.

In the Asia-Pacific region, where sales fell 26 percent, Brady said it saw stabilization in all countries, except Korea and Australia.

For the fourth quarter ended July 31, Brady posted net income of $19.2 million, or 37 cents a share, down from $34.8 million, or 64 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding charges, it earned 43 cents a share, a penny above analysts' estimates. Revenue fell 28 percent to $287.2 million.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 42 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $291.3 million.

Brady's shares, which have doubled in the past six months, were down 9 percent at $30 in midday trade Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by A.Ananthalakshmi in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan and Unnikrishnan Nair)