New York - Luxury goods concern Tiffany said Wednesday that the financial crisis had badly hurt company outlook, with the company now reducing payrolls and shelving new store openings.

In the third quarter which ended October 31, Tiffany's surplus had plunged more than 55 per cent to 44 million dollars.

However, the company said special bookkeeping factors accounted for some of the decline, noting that in the previous-year third quarter profts had been boosted by earnings from real estate sales.

Revenues in the third quarter, at 618 million dollars, were 1.4 per cent down from the same 2007 period, Tiffany said.

Company boss Michael Kowalski said Tiffany was bracing for uncertain times.

"It is impossible to know when consumer confidence will be restored," he said.

For the full year, Tiffany was expecting sales to drop by two to three per cent. (dpa)