Nov. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Tyco International Ltd., the world's biggest provider of security systems through its ADT unit, said fourth-quarter profit fell 36 percent on costs from June's split into three public companies and to pay for job cuts.

Profit from continuing operations fell to $210 million, or 42 cents a share, from $326 million, or 64 cents, a year earlier. Excluding some items, profit beat analysts' estimates. Sales in the quarter ended Sept. 28 rose 8.9 percent to $5.03 billion, Bermuda-based Tyco said today in a statement. The shares fell after the company said 2008 profit may miss some analysts' projections.

Tyco spun off health-care company Covidien Ltd. and electric component-maker Tyco Electronics Ltd. on June 29 to boost shareholder returns. Costs to close some factories and eliminate jobs also sliced earnings. Revenue climbed in all five of its businesses, while profit rose in only the industrial- valve unit.

``All eyes will move to fiscal 2008 now,'' Credit Suisse analyst Nicole Parent, who has a ``neutral'' rating on the stock, wrote in a note to investors today. Profit margins at ADT exceeded her estimates. ``Investors are likely to focus on progress at ADT, particularly in Europe.''

Chief Executive Officer Ed Breen, on a conference call with investors, forecast fiscal 2008 per-share profit of $2.50 to $2.65. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was $2.64.

Tyco, which is run from West Windsor, New Jersey, fell $1.43, or 3.6 percent, $37.88 at 4:04 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the biggest decline since Aug. 8. The shares have dropped 29 percent since the separation.

`Optimistic' Outlook

``We are cautiously optimistic about our outlook in 2008,'' Breen said on a conference call today with analysts. ADT's margins in the first and second quarters will be little-changed because of costs to move customers from analog systems to digital, Breen said.

Total revenue will rise 8 percent this quarter and operating margins will be 9 percent, he said.

In the most recent quarter, profit from continuing operations excluding some items was 57 cents a share. The average of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for 56 cents. Analysts were expecting $4.97 billion in sales, the average from eight in the Bloomberg survey.

``Organic'' revenue, or revenue from operations owned at least a year, climbed 5.4 percent, exceeding the company's estimate of about 4 percent. Breen in August forecast a total sales increase of 6 percent to 7 percent.

Acquisitions, Buybacks

Tyco recorded its infrastructure unit, known as Earth Tech, as a discontinued operation after putting it up for sale earlier this year. A loss of $29 million, or 6 cents a share, for discontinued operations made net income $181 million, or 36 cents, Tyco said.

The company is interested in ``bolt-on'' acquisitions, Breen said on the call. The company also will consider using excess cash for further share buybacks.

Tyco raised its quarterly dividend 36 percent on Nov. 1 and authorized a $1 billion share buyback program in September, which it expects to complete within this fiscal year.

``We're not sitting here saying `oh goody we have all this cash let's go spend it all','' Breen said. ``If there are acquisitions that are bolt-on, we'll do them. But whatever we do will be shareholder friendly.''

ADT Surprise

Tyco surprised investors in August by announcing that the value of ADT security contracts in North America will be held longer on the company's books. Today, the company said expenses of $20 million to $25 million in each of the next two quarters will keep profit margins little-changed, with a ``modest'' increase for the year ending in September, 2008.

Profit should be helped at ADT by improving results in Europe and more sales in Asia, Breen said.

On Nov. 2, U.S. District Judge Paul Barbadoro said he would approve Tyco's $3.2 billion settlement of investor claims that it inflated revenue while run by convicted ex-CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski. Breen was hired after Kozlowski was forced to step down in June, 2002. Tyco agreed in April 200 to pay a $50 million to settle government regulators' claims over flawed accounting.

The company posted a fiscal third-quarter loss of $3.55 billion to pay for the legal settlement and some separation costs, including regulatory filings.

Kozlowski's conviction and sentence for looting the company was upheld today by a New York appeals court.

Kozlowski, 60, and co-defendant Mark Swartz, 47, his former finance chief, lost a bid to overturn the jury verdict and reduce their 8 1/2 to 25 year-prison terms and multimillion-dollar fines. Kozlowski must pay $70 million and Swartz must pay $35 million, the state appeals court ruled. Both men are in prison.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rachel Layne in Boston at rlayne@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 15, 2007 16:13 EST