Air Products & Chemicals Inc.
APD,
reported Tuesday fiscal fourth-quarter profit that rose above expectations but revenue that fell well below, citing lower energy cost pass-through. The industrial gases company’s stock was will inactive in the premarket. Net income for the quarter to Sept. 30 rose to $692.6 million, or $3.11 a share, from $583.1 million, or $2.62 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $3.15 beat the FactSet consensus of $3.11. Sales fell 10.6% to $3.19 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $3.35 billion as 2% higher pricing and a favorable currency impact of 1% was offset by 14% lower energy cost pass-through, which are supplier costs that are passed on to customers. Looking ahead, the company expects first-quarter adj. EPS of $2.90 to $3.05, which surrounds the current FactSet of $3.00, and expects fiscal 2024 adjusted EPS of $12.80 to $13.10, compared with expectations of $12.84. The stock has gained 1.4% over the past three months, while the S&P 500
SPX,
has lost 3.4%.
