R.R. Donnelley cuts forecast, drops

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., North America's largest printer, fell as much as 12 percent in New York trading after cutting its 2008 profit forecast by as much as 10 percent and declining to project earnings for this year.

Profit, excluding some items, will be between $2.80 and $2.90 a share, compared with a previous forecast of $3.08 to $3.11, the Chicago-based company said today in a statement.

R.R. Donnelley, which prints Sports Illustrated magazine and the "Harry Potter" novels, fell $1.40, or 9.3 percent, to $13.64 at 12:02 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Earlier the shares dropped to $13.25, their biggest intraday decline since Nov. 20.

"The rate of economic change remains elevated," Chief Executive Officer Thomas Quinlan said in the statement. "We have been taking timely and difficult actions to ensure that we match expenses with revenues and maintain strong liquidity."