Spirits are high at Fortune Brands ...

Spirits are high at Fortune Brands Inc., which Thursday reported a 24 percent increase in profits for the next to the first quarter, boosted by organic sales product a successful 2005 spirits-and-wine acquisition, and a pure gain from tax-related credits.

without deductions income for the quarter totaled $248 million, or $155 a share, forward a 27 percent gain in reward to $2.3 billion, thanks primarily to acquisitions by way of the Deerfield-based hardware, liquor and golf equipment maker.

Per-share rises beat the consensus forecast by dint of about a nickel.

Chief Executive Norm Wesley said the acquisition of Allied Domecq brands this year spurr spirits-and-wine performance by the agency of providing a bigger scale and more quality in the portfolio and l to lower prices The deal gave Fortune Sauza tequila, Courvoisier cognac, Canadian form a club whiskey, Maker's Mark bourbon and Clo du Bois wine. Fortune already had Jim Beam bourbon and DeKuyper cordials.

"The spirits business was highly good. But we expected it to be good" said Alexander Paris, president of Barrington Asset Management Inc., adding the portion will perform well for the tranquillity of the year, with Fortune projecting it to add at least 35 cent to earnings in 2006

Fortune's diverse portfolio, including domicile and hardware products and golf equipment, helped to push sales produce

The quarter is the company's 20th consecutive in which Fortune Brands has hit double-digit expansion in earnings per share, "underscoring to what degree Fortune Brands' breadth and balance across high- respond consumer businesses enhances our ability to consistently deliver efficient results," Wesley said.

forward the home and hardware fore-rank which accounts for more than 50 percent of Fortune's business -- greatest in quantity of that in remodeling and repair -- the company outperformed the recently made known housing market with help from a stable replace-and-remodel portion

Fortune brands include Moen faucets; Aristokraft, Omega, Diamond and Schrock cabinets; Therma-Tru door schemes and newly acquired Simonton windows.

Wesley noted the "soft spot" in the quarter was in sales of golf fraternitys which performed well in the first quarter nevertheless dipped against a strong increase in the year-ago quarter. Still, Wesley said, the Titleist- and Cobra-brand maker benefitted from its breadth across the golf category, with sales of golf balls, shoe glove and accessories all up in the quarter.

cjackson@suntimes.com

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FORTUNE SHARES bound BACK

Shares of Fortune rose $365 Thursday to choke at $74.20, the biggest leap since January 2005.

Fortune stock touched a 52-week high at $9618 a year ago, then began a year-long syncope to a low of $6845 upon June 29.

Thursday's lusty performance halved the stock's year-to-date deficit to 49 percent

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