APD Air Products and Chemicals, Inc NYSE

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Air Products reports 12 percent rise in 4Q profit
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- Air Products and Chemicals Inc. said Thursday its fiscal fourth-quarter net income rose 12 percent on improved sales of its industrial and medical gases in all business sectors and it forecast 10 to 14 percent profit growth for 2011.

"We expect a continued, gradual global economic recovery in 2011. Our focus will be on loading our existing assets, winning new business and continuing to lower our costs," Chairman and CEO John McGlade said in a statement.

The Allentown, Pa., company, which has been negotiating a takeover of rival Airgas Inc., reported net income of $272.1 million, or $1.25 per share, for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared with $243.9 million, or $1.13 per share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding $22 million in costs associated with its offer for Airgas, the company said it earned $1.35 per share in the latest quarter.

Revenue rose 10 percent to $2.35 billion. Sales of merchant gases rose 2 percent from the fourth quarter of last year, while tonnage gas sales climbed 17 percent. Sales of electronics materials increased 20 percent and equipment and energy sales rose 5 percent.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of $1.32 per share on revenue of $2.35 billion. Analysts typically exclude one-time charges from their estimates.

For the full fiscal year, Air Products reported net income of just over $1 billion, or $4.74 per share, up 63 percent from fiscal 2009's earnings of $631.3 million, or $2.96 per share.

Air Products announced initial guidance for the new fiscal year, forecasting earnings per share of $5.50 to $5.70. First-quarter 2011 earnings are expected to range between $1.31 to $1.35 per share. That compares with analysts' average forecasts of $1.31 and $5.59 per share, for the quarter and full year respectively.

Air Products has been negotiating a takeover of Radnor, Pa.-based Airgas for several months.

Air Products reports 12 percent rise in 4Q profit - Yahoo! Finance

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