Praxair sales up 1 percent
Praxair reported third-quarter net income of $339 million, or $1.18 per share, on sales of $2.71 billion, 1% above the prior-year quarter.
Excluding negative currency translation of 1%, sales were 2% higher than the prior-year quarter due to growth from acquisitions, largely a carbon dioxide business in Europe, and higher pricing. Overall volumes were comparable to the prior-year quarter. Volume growth from new on-site projects, primarily in South America, Asia and Europe, was offset by lower base business volumes in North and South America, due primarily to weaker manufacturing activity in the U.S. and Brazil.
“As anticipated, the third quarter continued to experience mixed results in end-market trends with strong demand in more resilient food, beverage and healthcare markets, but persistent weakness from industrial sectors like manufacturing and upstream energy. In light of these trends, we took additional cost actions in the third quarter to properly align our organization and to accelerate planned acquisition synergies," said chairman and chief executive officer Steve Angel.
In North America, third-quarter sales were $1.43 billion, 2% below the prior-year quarter.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The March/April issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Joyce Lansdale and Vallen. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and David Kahle, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
