Nov 18 (Reuters) - Fibre cement maker James Hardie

reported a 2% drop in its second-quarter profit on

Tuesday, as weak single-family construction and ongoing

inventory reductions in North America deepened demand pressures

in a tough macroeconomic backdrop.

The Dublin-headquartered firm reported adjusted net income

of $154 million for the three months ended September 30,

compared with $157 million last year.

That beat the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $144.2

million.