Universal Forest Products, a timber products company, on Monday reported higher third-quarter earnings, as healthy sales to the retail and industrial markets offset lower lumber prices. The company, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said earnings for the quarter climbed to $10.6 million, or 58 cents a share, from $9.8 million, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call jad expected the company to earn 57 cents to 59 cents a share, with an average estimate of 58 cents. Net sales for the quarter totaled $453 million, up 5 percent from the $431.9 million it posted in the period a year earlier. But the drop in lumber prices prompted the company to lower its annual sales growth targets, leaving its new figure at 5 percent to 8 percent. Previously, it targeted growth of 6 percent to 10 percent. Nonetheless, the company stuck by its forecast that earnings per share would rise by 18 percent to 22 percent for this year, which includes the effect of discontinuing goodwill amortization in 2002. Shares of the company fell 1.74 percent to $16.51 on Monday.