Airgas sales up 8%
Airgas reported first quarter sales were $1.26 billion, an increase of 8% over the prior year.
Same-store sales grew 7% in the quarter, with hardgoods up 9% and gas and rent up 5%. Acquisitions, net of a divestiture, contributed sales growth of 1% in the quarter. Sequentially, sales increased 1% from the fourth quarter.
First quarter adjusted earnings per diluted share were a record $1.13, an increase of 13% from $1.00 in the prior year. Lower helium sales volumes driven by the inability of suppliers to meet their helium supply commitments during the quarter reduced earnings by 4 cents per diluted share.
“The slow and steady growth we had been seeing across our customer base through May moderated in June. We are paying close attention to our business trends and tightening controls on our operating expenses," said Airgas chief executive officer Peter McCausland. "Though we are appropriately cautious about near-term conditions, we remain optimistic about the long-term prospects for the U.S. manufacturing and energy industries and our ability to leverage our unique value proposition and unrivaled platform to drive growth in these and other key customer segments.”
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The May/June issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about GHX Industrial. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam and Frank Hurtte, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
