Tomkins, the British engineer, has reported a 22 per cent fall in third-quarter profit to £56.3 million after being hit by the double whammy of a weak new housing market and lower car production in the US.

James Nicol, chief executive, warned that the outlook for these markets in the fourth quarter remains uncertain.

Weaker sales in engineering products in the US led to group revenue falling by just under 1 per cent to £812.7 million.

There was a sharper decline in operating profit margins which fell from 10.1 per cent in the third quarter of last year to 8.7 per cent this year.

The lacklustre performance follows a profit warning by Tomkins last month that the problems faced by Ford and General Motors had been worse than expected while residential property in the US had slowed dramatically. Trading in July and August had been £11 million lower as a result, management said.

Tomkins' new-build housing and automotive original equipment businesses in the US, which each account for around 11 per cent of group revenues.

The company's automotive aftermarket business in the US, which generates about 12 per cent of revenues, was has hit by weaker demand over summer due to destocking by major customers, rising interest rates and falling consumer confidence.

Mr Nicol commented, "The impact of production cuts by the major US automotive suppliers and the slowing residential new build market in the US continue to adversely affect our business."

"In response, management has implemented a number of cost cutting measures and reductions in capital expenditure to mitigate this as much as possible," he said.

Mr Nicol said his businesses had performed in line with the revised expectations during the quarter and the group would also continue to look for "bolt-on acquisitions".

However, he warned the outlook for the weak residential new-build and automotive original equipment markets over the rest of the year remained "uncertain".

Tomkins shares were up 1p to 242p this morning. To track Tomkins shares click here

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