Reuters reported that AZZ Inc expects to report weaker than expected results in fiscal year 2011, due to customer concerns over potential regulatory and legislative changes sending its shares down 10%.

Analysts said that weak order and backlog trends are likely to impact the company, whose two key end markets are utilities and oil and gas.

Mr Fred Buonocore analyst of CJS Securities said that in both the end markets there has been a reticence to make big investments. He said that a lot of that has to do with uncertainty over environment legislation and also the aftershock of the recession, where you have large oil and gas companies still witnessing low demand for their products.

Mr Buonocore said that the regulatory changes are mainly to do with the cap and trade legislation. Oil and gas companies as well as utilities those that produce and burn fossil fuels will pay additional taxes for the amount of CO2 emissions they create.

Mr David Dingus CEO of AZZ said that "We are projecting a year that will be below the actual results of fiscal 2009 and the guidance that has been issued for fiscal 2010."

(Sourced from Reuters)