Airgas reports 13% sales decline
Airgas Inc. reported net earnings of $46.9 million, or 56 cents per diluted share, for its third quarter.
Third quarter sales were $942 million, a decline of 13% from the prior year. Total same-store sales declined 14%, with hardgoods down 19% and gas and rent down 11%. Acquisitions contributed 1% sales growth in the quarter. On a sequential basis, total sales declined by 2% from the second quarter.
"Although more modest than anticipated, a recovery seems to be underway across most of our geographies and customer segments," said Airgas chairman and CEO Peter McCausland. "However, a slow finish left third quarter sales short of our expectations. Conditions were particularly challenging in our Distribution segment's highly-profitable rental welder business, as activity related to major plant turnarounds and contractor maintenance was unexpectedly slow. This quarter's results were up against some tough comparisons, as our earnings remained strong late into last year's third quarter."
Cost reductions and operating efficiencies helped support the company's adjusted operating margin, which declined modestly year-over-year to 11.1% from 12.2% and sequentially from 11.6%, when adjusted for multi-employer pension plan withdrawal charges.
"We have aggressively managed costs and continue to gain production and distribution operating efficiencies, positioning us for profitable growth as the economy recovers," added McCausland. "We have also reduced future exposure to defined benefit retirement obligations by withdrawing from half of our remaining multi-employer pension plans this year."
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The May/June issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about GHX Industrial. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam and Frank Hurtte, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
