Praxair, Inc. has released its full year and fourth quarter results for 2015, showing full year sales stand at a total of $10.8bn – a dip of 12% from the previous year for the industrial gas giant.
The company also reported a fourth quarter net income of $422m, with sales of $2.6bn in the fourth quarter, which is down from the prior year by 13%. The company attributes a negative currency translation and a lower cost pass-through, primarily in the natural gas sector, to this underperformance.
Underlying sales were also 1% below the prior-year quarter, but growth from higher price, new project start-ups and acquisitions was offset by lower volumes due to weaker industrial activity in Brazil and China and in the metals and manufacturing end-markets in North America.
Despite this, operating profit in the fourth quarter stood at $624m and, excluding currency translation effects, grew 5% above the prior-year quarter. For the full year of 2015, the company reported net income was $1.5bn, which, on an adjusted basis for inflation, brings the full net income total to $1.6bn for the fiscal year.
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