Rohm and Haas earnings miss forecast

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Specialty chemical and electronic materials maker Rohm and Haas Co (ROH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which is being acquired by Dow Chemical Co (DOW.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), on Thursday posted lower than expected second-quarter earnings.

Net income in the quarter was $147 million, or 75 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $160 million, or 74 cents a share.

Excluding items, the company posted earnings of 82 cents a share, up from 76 cents a share a year before, falling short of analysts' consensus forecast of 85 cents per share.

Earlier this month, Dow Chemical said it would acquire Rohm and Haas for $15.3 billion in a move to broaden its product offerings in higher margin markets such as paints, coatings and electronic materials.

(Reporting by Euan Rocha, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)