Air Products (APD) 2021 Q2 Financial Results Preview

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (NYSE:APD) traces its roots back to 1940 when founder Leonard Parker Pool came up with the idea of producing oxygen for customers at affordable prices. Few large companies were dominating the oxygen market at that time. Those companies used to sell oxygen in heavy cylinders, which Pool thought was not economical. Pool suggested installing oxygen generators adjacent to end gas users to reduce costs.

Pool successfully executed his plan with the help of an engineer named Frank Pavlis. They sold oxygen generators in bulk quantity to the military during the second world war. Over the years, Air Products & Chemicals diversified its portfolio and eventually evolved into a leading provider of gases and chemicals.

The Pennsylvania-based company recently announced mixed financial results for the second quarter. Air Products reported earnings of $473.1 million, or $2.13 per share for the three months ended March 31, marginally down from $477.8 million, or $2.15 per share in the comparable period of 2020. Excluding items, the adjusted earnings came in at $2.08 per share, missing the consensus forecast of $2.12 per share.

Air Products blamed the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic for the weak earnings. Revenue for the quarter rose 12.9 percent on a year-over-year basis to $2.50 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $2.34 billion.

Speaking on the results, CEO Seifi Ghasemi said in a statement, “Despite ongoing challenges from COVID-19 globally and the severe winter storm in the U.S. Gulf Coast during the quarter, our talented, committed and dedicated team continued to work tirelessly, supporting our customers and successfully executing our megaprojects. Adjusted EPS improved over the prior year, we continued to improve pricing, and we again generated strong cash flow. Meanwhile, Air Products continues to lead with world-scale energy transition projects in gasification, carbon capture and carbon-free hydrogen.”

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