Airgas guides for fiscal 3Q below Street view

Airgas guides for fiscal 3Q below Street view, tightens range of projected full-year earnings

• On 8:30 am EDT, Thursday October 29, 2009

RADNOR, Pa. (AP) -- Airgas Inc., which produces industrial, medical and specialty gases, on Thursday projected fiscal 2010 third-quarter profit below Wall Street expectations.

The company also narrowed the forecast for earnings per share in fiscal 2010.

For the three months ending in December, Airgas expects adjusted earnings of 67 cents to 70 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect earnings per share of 71 cents. Analyst expectations are typically adjusted to exclude one-time items.

For the 12 months ending next March, Airgas now expects adjusted earnings per share in a range of $2.70 to $2.80. Previously the company projected earnings of $2.65 to $2.85 per share.

Wall Street anticipates fiscal 2010 profit of $2.78 per share.

Airgas also warned that it could incur charges for the full year of as much as 4 cents per share for withdrawing from certain pension obligations.

Airgas also reported a 25 percent decline in its fiscal second-quarter profit Thursday.