Airgas 2Q profit off 25 percent as sales fall

Declining sales hit Airgas' fiscal second-quarter profit

• On 8:58 am EDT, Thursday October 29, 2009

RADNOR, Pa. (AP) -- Airgas Inc. said Thursday its second-quarter net income fell 25 percent as sales of industrial, medical and specialty gases declined and the company's profit margin tightened.

"Difficult conditions were broad-based across our geographies and customer segments," CEO Peter McCausland said. "Consistent with recent quarters, our manufacturing customers suffered the deepest declines while our medical business showed the most resilience."

For the three months ended Sept. 30, net income fell to $54.5 million, or 65 cents per share, from $72.8 million, or 86 cents per share, last year. Excluding charges related to pension and debt extinguishment, Airgas earned 68 cents per share, a penny better analysts expected, according to a Thomson Reuters survey.

Sales declined 17 percent to $962.3 million, while analysts had expected $999.2 million. Meanwhile, sales at stores open at least one year fell 19 percent.

"Although we believe the worst same-store sales declines are now behind us, we remain cautious in our near-term outlook and focused on forward progress for the long run," said McCausland.

The profit margin for Airgas declined to 11.4 percent from 12.5 percent a year ago.

Airgas issued guidance for its third quarter slightly below Wall Street's expectations. The company also issued guidance for fiscal 2010, which ends in March, within range of analyst expectations.

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