As Air Products’ third quarter earnings are released, the CEO says the actions taken by the company are positioning it for continued margin improvement.
The company reported income from continuing operations of $115m, or diluted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations of $0.54. These results included charges of $110m, or $0.51 per share, for the company’s global cost reduction plan, a customer bankruptcy and other asset actions, and a pension settlement.
Excluding the impact of these items, income from continuing operations was $225m and diluted EPS was $1.05, down 24 and 22 percent, respectively, compared with the previous year.
Approximately three-quarters of the fiscal third quarter global cost reduction plan is for severance and pension costs related to the elimination of approximately 1,150 positions from the company’s global workforce. These reductions are targeted at continued cost and productivity efforts, including closure of certain manufacturing facilities. The remainder is for a write-down of certain assets held for sale to net realisable value.
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