Investing.com — Air Products shares rose about 0.5% in premarket trading on Thursday after the industrial gases maker forecast fiscal 2027 earnings above Wall Street estimates, though the muted move reflects in-line fourth-quarter profit and a revenue beat flattered by a one-off asset sale.
Air Products expects fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings of $14.15 to $14.50 per share, against the $13.45 analysts expect.
For the first quarter, it forecast $3.35 to $3.45 per share, versus an estimate of $3.40. Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings were $3.61 per share, in line with the analyst estimate of $3.61 and up 6% from a year earlier.
Sales rose 12% to $3.56 billion, above the $3.32 billion consensus. Volumes rose 9%, mainly from on-site supply, including a significant asset sale tied to an early contract termination in the Americas.
Adjusted operating income rose 5% to $856 million on higher volumes and pricing, partly offset by higher costs.
The adjusted operating margin fell 150 basis points to 24.1%, mainly because of higher costs.
Including one-off charges, fourth-quarter earnings were $2.62 per share, versus $0.02 a year earlier, and operating income was $633 million versus $17 million.
The company recorded $222.5 million of business and asset charges in the quarter, mainly updated estimates tied to the sale of two China coal gasification plants, one of which sold in October.
For the full year, adjusted earnings were $13.45 per share, up 12%. Sales were $12.99 billion, up 8%.
Adjusted operating income was $3.2 billion, up 11%. Including charges, earnings were $2.39 per share, versus a loss of $1.74 a year earlier. Business and asset charges totaled $3.15 billion versus $3.75 billion a year earlier.
In the Americas, fourth-quarter sales rose 27% to $1.6 billion on 26% higher volumes, and operating income rose 20% to $469 million.
The margin fell 170 basis points to 28.7%, mainly because of higher costs. In Europe, operating income rose 2% to $241 million, and the margin fell 190 basis points to 28.2%, which included an approximate 200-basis-point hit from energy cost pass-through.
Cash from operations for the year was $4.68 billion. The company spent $4.20 billion on plant and equipment and paid $1.60 billion in dividends. Cash and cash items stood at $1.33 billion, down from $1.86 billion a year earlier.
Source: finance.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.
