News: Australia's James Hardie says Q3 net profit falls 6 pct

SYDNEY, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Australia's James Hardie Industries Plc (JHX), the world's biggest maker of fibre cement home panelling, cut its guidance and said third-quarter net profit fell 6 percent, as the company missed manufacturing targets and forecast an uncertain future for the U.S. housing market.

Net profit came in at $52.6 million for the three months to Dec. 31, down from $56 million for the same period a year earlier, the company said in a statement on Friday. That missed the average forecast of analysts polled by Reuters, which was for a quarterly profit of $61 million.

The company, which makes four-fifths of its sales in North America and reports results in U.S. dollars, also lowered its full-year profit forecast, warning that although U.S. housing activity was improving, "market conditions remain somewhat uncertain and some input costs remain volatile".

It forecast profit would be $245 million to $255 million, paring back the $260 million to $290 million range it provided in August last year, which forced analysts to trim their own estimates.

Investors are keeping close watch on Australian companies with major interests in the United States in light of a host of protectionist trade and tariff policies promised by U.S. President Donald Trump. James Hardie sells products for North America from factories in eight U.S. states from Texas to Illinois.

The company has said U.S. home improvement and housing starts, which it has forecast would be 1.2 million to 1.3 million in the year to March 31, are vulnerable to a range of input factors like interest rates.

In December, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised rates for the second time in a decade and signalled it would raise them again soon, citing the Trump administration's promises of tax cuts, spending and deregulation.