Praxair, Inc has announced that it will incur a charge to its fourth quarter earnings.
At this stage, the charge is expected to reduce fourth-quarter and full-year 2010 net income and earnings per share by approximately $290m and 93 cents, respectively.
Excluding the charge, the company reaffirms its previous fourth-quarter diluted earnings per share guidance of $1.18 to $1.23 on an adjusted basis, and its ongoing effective tax rate of about 28%.
Praxair attributes the charge to a decision to settle income tax disputes with the Spanish Government. The results of this are expected to result in a charge to earnings of approximately $250m and cash payments of approximately $500m.
In addition, the firm has publicised plans to sell the US homecare portion of its North American healthcare business, which is expected to result in an earnings charge of approximately $40m, representing an adjustment to estimated fair value.
... to continue reading you must be subscribed
