Johnson Controls, which makes car interiors and batteries, said on Tuesday it expected fiscal 2009 profit to decline by up to 16 percent, reflecting declining vehicle production in North America and Western Europe. It said it expects sales to decline by 3 percent to about $37 billion.

That marked a rare retreat for the company, which had posted double-digit earnings growth in the past five years and is on track for the sixth consecutive year of double-digit improvements in its fiscal 2008 year ended September.

Calyon Securities analyst Mark Warnsman said Johnson Controls has so far been able to offset weakness in the North American industry with strength in Europe.

But Europe, where Johnson Controls generates nearly 40 percent of its revenue, has slowed significantly over the past month with the crisis on Wall Street spilling over to the global economy.

J.D. Power and Associates, which tallies U.S. auto sales on a daily basis, said on Wednesday it sees October sales on track to fall below 12 million units on an annualized basis, extending a downturn that automakers had hoped had hit bottom in the summer.

Warnsman lowered his projection for Johnson Control's fiscal 2009 earnings to $2.10 per share from $2.64, in line with the range of $1.95 to $2.10 provided by the company.

JPMorgan analyst Himanshu Patel also cut his 2009 earnings outlook for the company to $2.00 per share from $2.50.

"We were admittedly surprised that guidance actually came in that low," Patel said in a research note.

Shares of Johnson Controls were down 6.3 percent, or $1.41, to $20.99 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday afternoon, adding to a 7 percent fall on Tuesday.

Its shares have outperformed most other suppliers this year partly due to its diverse business portfolio, down 16 percent through September versus the 30 percent fall in the Dow Jones U.S. automobiles and parts index.

Other major suppliers also fell in a broadly weak market. BorgWarner tumbled 13.3 percent, or $3.28, to $21.46 on the New York Stock Exchange. American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc slumped 24.7 percent to $1.80.

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim; Editing by Gary Hill) Keywords: JOHNSONCONTROLS/ Soyoung Kim vj

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Expected next investor conference call information:
Conference Call Date: 10/31/2008
Conference Call Time: 10:00 AM
Conference Call URL: http://investor.aam.com/events.cfm

Expected next dividend:
Dividend Announcement Date: 8/22/2008
Dividend Record Date: 9/5/2008
Dividend Pay Date: 9/26/2008
Dividend Amount: 0.02

Expected next investor conference call information:
Conference Call Date: 10/31/2008
Conference Call Time: 10:00 AM
Conference Call URL: http://investor.aam.com/events.cfm

Expected next dividend:
Dividend Announcement Date: 8/22/2008
Dividend Record Date: 9/5/2008
Dividend Pay Date: 9/26/2008
Dividend Amount: 0.02