Chemicals maker A. Schulman Inc. warned on Tuesday its fiscal 2007 earnings would fall short of its previous forecast due to weakness in Europe and North America.

The company said it now expects earnings for the year ended August 31 to be between $17 million and $23 million, down from its previous projection of $25 million to $30 million.

The estimate includes $7 million of expected savings from its North American restructuring, as well as about $2.5 million of costs from two previously announced restructurings.

The markets in both Europe and North America have continued to be very difficult and we are disappointed that we are not seeing the kind of recovery we were expecting last quarter, Chief Executive Terry Haines said in a statement.

It said both markets were soft in its fiscal third quarter, which ended May 31, and it expects the problems to continue into the final quarter of the year.

A. Schulman shares closed down 4 cents at $23.96 on Nasdaq on Tuesday. It is scheduled to announce its fiscal third-quarter results on June 29.