Air Products, the leading global supplier of LNG equipment and a global player in industrial gases and large-scale green fuel and power projects, reported an increase in fiscal first-quarter net income even as revenues slipped.
Air Products said that fiscal first-quarter net income amounted to $621.6 million to the end of December, up from $583.8M in the same three months last year.
The company remains the leading supplier of LNG equipment for the majority of plants operating worldwide.
Basic earnings per share for the Allentown, Pennsylvania-based company amounted to $2.74 per share compared with $2.58 per share in the prior-year quarter.
Sales slip
Air Products posted sales that were about 6 percent lower in the quarter at $2.99 billion, down from $3.17Bln in the same period of 2022.
During the past year the company has taken major LNG technology orders including for the Petronas LNG Complex in Bintulu, Malaysia, for the QatarEnergy’s North Field South project in Ras Laffan and for NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG Phase I project in the Port of Brownsville in Texas.
The company said that the favourable currency changes were more than offset by 11 percent lower energy cost pass throughs, which negatively affected sales but had no impact on net income.
“Despite significant geopolitical and economic headwinds, the team at Air Products performed well, increasing our adjusted EPS by seven percent over last year,” said Air Products' Chairman, President and Chief Executive Seifi Ghasemi.
“Our reported results were lower than our expectations, mainly due to a slowdown in manufacturing in Asia, particularly in China; lower helium demand; cost headwinds from a sale of equipment for projects; and currency devaluation in Argentina,” Ghasemi explained.
Ambitious strategy
“We are moving forward to successfully implement our ambitious, long-term growth strategy through our core industrial gases business and as a leader in low-carbon intensity hydrogen to generate a cleaner future for the world,” the Chairman stated.
The company also has among its key projects the $12Bln gasification and power joint venture with Saudi Aramco, ACWA Power and the US firm’s Saudi unit, Air Products Qudra, in the Jazan Economic City in Saudi Arabia.
Air Products is also awaiting more progress on the TotalEnergies-led Mozambique onshore LNG export project in Cabo Delgado province where it is expected to be an equipment supplier.
