Air Products and Chemicals Inc. Earnings: Beats PROFIT Forecasts

S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) component Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (NYSE:APD) reported net income above Wall Street’s expectations for the third quarter. Air Products and Chemicals is a global supplier of gases and chemicals for industrial use. It provides customers in the technology, energy, and healthcare sectors with a variety of services and solutions, including atmospheric gases and semiconductor materials.

Investing Insights: Is TV the Next Bullish Catalyst for Apple’s Stock?

Air Products and Chemicals Inc. Earnings Cheat Sheet

Results: Net income for the chemicals-diversified rose to $484.5 million ($2.26 per share) vs. $326.5 million ($1.50 per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 48.4% from the year-earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: Air Products and Chemicals Inc. beat the mean analyst estimate of $1.41 per share.

Quoting Management: Commenting on the quarter, John McGlade, chairman, president and chief executive officer, said, “Economic growth this quarter was below what we expected in Asia, Europe and Electronics. Despite headwinds from the economy and a stronger dollar, we were able to deliver earnings within expectations due to excellent cost performance. In addition, we recently executed several key strategic activities, including the purchase of our majority position in Indura, taking full ownership of our DA NanoMaterials joint venture and the sale of our Continental Europe Homecare business.”

Key Stats:

The profit increase last quarter ends a two-quarter streak of year-over-year profit decreases. In the second quarter, net income fell 2.7% while the figure dropped in the first quarter.

The company topped expectations last quarter after falling short of forecasts in the second quarter with net income of $1.31 versus a mean estimate of net income of $1.33 per share.

Looking Forward: The outlook for the company’s results in the upcoming quarter is unfavorable. The average estimate for the fourth quarter is $1.51 per share, down from $1.58 ninety days ago. At $5.52 per share, the average estimate for the fiscal year has fallen from $5.77 ninety days ago.

Stocks with improving earnings metrics are worthy of your extra attention. In fact, “E = Earnings Are Increasing Quarter-Over-Quarter” is a core component of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework for this very reason. Don’t waste another minute — click here and get our CHEAT SHEET stock picks now.

(Company fundamentals provided by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)

Don’t Miss These Hot Additional Stories:

The Dow is NOT Lovin’ McDonald’s Right Now>>

SILVER: A Metal of Sunken Treasure and Champions>>

Will New Apple Products PUMP UP Shares?