SPX Corp posts sharply lower profit, cuts outlook

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Diversified U.S. manufacturer SPX Corp (SPW.N) reported a 61 percent decline in quarterly profit as investors at home and in emerging economies held off on infrastructure projects, eroding demand for its equipment.

The maker of cooling towers used in power plants and fluid-control systems used in oil and gas production also cut its full-year earnings outlook on Wednesday.

Third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders fell to $46 million, or 93 cents per share, from $117 million, or $2.12 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding special items, the profit was 98 cents a share.

Revenue fell 20.8 percent to $1.17 billion, matching analysts' estimates, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

SPX trimmed its outlook for 2009 earnings per share to a range of $3.80 to $4.00. It previously had forecast $4.00 to $4.30.

(Reporting by Franklin Paul in New York and Scott Malone in Boston; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)