Praxair, recently announced the results of its fiscal third quarter. Overall the company witnessed increased sales, net income and earnings per share (EPS) against the same period in the prior year.
Third quarter sales were 11% up on the equivalent quarter in 2009 to $2,538m, likewise diluted EPS increased by 19%. Primarily, the company attributes this rise to strong volume growth across all geographic regions.
Volume growth in Asia and South America particularly excelled, which reflected the abundancy of new plant start-ups and customer demand. Praxair drew parallels between Q3 and Q2 of 2010, as continued sequential sales growth in Asia and South America was offset by seasonally lower sales in Europe. Operating profit also ascended annually by 15% to $551m; a rise which has been ascribed to higher volumes.
Chairman and CEO of Praxair, responded to the company’s financial success. He said, “Our results this quarter reflect steadily improving base-business volumes and new plant start-ups. In line with our expectations, the pace of sequential growth has moderated, but we continue to see slow but steady improvement in all geographies. Looking forward, we expect our businesses in South America and in Asia to continue to grow more rapidly than the developed markets.”
Praxair generated strong cash flow throughout Q3 and consequently anticipates diluted EPS in the range of $1.18 to $1.23 during Q4. Furthermore, for the full year of 2010, Praxair expects sales in the region of $10bn, which ought to raise adjusted diluted EPS to a range between $4.67 and $4.72. Full-year capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $1.4bn, and the effective tax rate is forecasted to remain at about 28%.
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