Air Products Reports Very Strong Fiscal 2019 Second Quarter Results

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., April 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --

Q2 FY19 (all from continuing operations; comparisons versus prior year):

• GAAP EPS of $1.90, up one percent; GAAP net income of $421 million

• Adjusted EPS of $1.92*, up 12 percent; adjusted EPS up 17 percent on a constant currency basis

• Record adjusted EBITDA margin of 37.7 percent*, up 340 basis points

Guidance

• Increasing fiscal 2019 full-year adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $8.15 to $8.30* per share, up 10 percent* over prior year at midpoint; fiscal 2019 third quarter adjusted EPS guidance of $2.10 to $2.15 per share*, up eight to 10 percent* over fiscal 2018 third quarter

• Increasing expected fiscal year 2019 capital spending to a range of $2.4 to $2.5 billion

*The results and guidance in this release, including in the highlights above, include references to non-GAAP continuing operations measures and are identified by the word "adjusted" preceding the measure. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results can be found below.

Air Products (NYSE:APD) reported GAAP net income from continuing operations of $421 million and GAAP diluted EPS from continuing operations of $1.90 for its fiscal second quarter ended March 31, 2019. These results include a $0.02 EPS charge from a pension settlement.

On a non-GAAP basis, quarterly adjusted net income from continuing operations of $425 million and adjusted diluted EPS from continuing operations of $1.92 increased 13 and 12 percent respectively over the prior year. On a constant currency basis, diluted adjusted EPS from continuing operations increased 17 percent.

Second quarter sales of $2.2 billion increased one percent over the prior year. Volumes and pricing both increased three percent; this strong performance was roughly offset by four percent unfavorable currency and two percent from a contract modification to a tolling agreement in India, which impacts sales but not profits. Excluding the Jazan project, volumes grew five percent due to positive base business volumes and additional new plant onstreams, including the Lu'An gasification facility in Asia. Pricing improved in all three regions and across merchant product lines.

Adjusted EBITDA of $825 million increased 12 percent over the prior year, driven by the higher volumes and positive pricing, partially offset by unfavorable currency and higher costs. Record adjusted EBITDA margin of 37.7 percent increased 340 basis points over the prior year.

Commenting on the results, Seifi Ghasemi, chairman, president and chief executive officer, said, "The committed and motivated team at Air Products continues to generate superior performance, delivering our 20th consecutive quarter of adjusted EPS growth despite unfavorable currency. The team also drove us to a new record adjusted quarterly EBITDA margin, which is up more than 1,200 basis points from five years ago when we first began our journey to be the safest, most diverse and most profitable industrial gas company it the world. We have a differentiated position of financial strength and technology that enables us to continue deploying capital into strategic, high-return, value-creating projects while also continuing to return cash to shareholders through our dividend."

Second Quarter Results by Business Segment

• Industrial Gases – Americas sales of $992 million increased nine percent over the prior year. Volumes increased five percent and pricing and higher energy pass-through each contributed three percent, partially offset by two percent unfavorable currency. Adjusted EBITDA of $398 million increased 10 percent over the prior year, primarily driven by higher volumes and pricing. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 40.2 percent increased 60 basis points from the prior year; excluding the impact of higher energy pass-through, adjusted EBITDA margin increased 150 basis points.

• Industrial Gases – EMEA sales of $494 million decreased 12 percent from prior year. Strong pricing contributed three percent, volumes were stable, and higher energy pass-through added one percent. These results were offset by seven percent unfavorable currency and a nine percent decrease from the India contract modification. Adjusted EBITDA of $182 million increased two percent over the prior year; on a constant currency basis, adjusted EBITDA increased nine percent. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 36.8 percent increased 500 basis points over the prior year; excluding the impact of the India contract modification, adjusted EBITDA margin was up approximately 200 basis points.

• Industrial Gases – Asia sales of $625 million increased 12 percent over the prior year. Volumes increased 12 percent, driven primarily by new projects including the Lu'An project; pricing increased five percent; and currency was negative five percent. Adjusted EBITDA of $298 million increased 32 percent, and record adjusted EBITDA margin of 47.7 percent was up 700 basis points over the prior year on strong volumes and pricing.

Outlook

Ghasemi said, "Our results this quarter show how focused our people are on the day-to-day operational performance of our business. Additionally, we are forging a new path for growth through successful execution of world-scale projects. As a result, we remain confident that we will continue to deliver on our commitments."

Air Products is increasing full-year fiscal 2019 adjusted EPS guidance from a previous range of $8.05 to $8.30 to a new range of $8.15 to $8.30 per share, which is up 10 percent over prior year at midpoint. For the fiscal 2019 third quarter, Air Products expects adjusted EPS of $2.10 to $2.15 per share, up eight to 10 percent over the fiscal 2018 third quarter.

Air Products is increasing its expected capital expenditures to a range of $2.4 to $2.5 billion for full-year fiscal 2019.

Effective October 1, 2018, Air Products adopted the new revenue recognition standard, which had no material impact on the company's financial statements. Management has provided adjusted EPS on a continuing operations basis. While Air Products might have additional impacts from the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act adopted in late 2017, or incur additional costs for items such as cost reduction actions and pension settlements in future periods, it is not possible, without unreasonable efforts, to identify the amount or significance of these events or the potential for other transactions that may impact future GAAP EPS or the effective tax rate. Management does not believe these items to be representative of underlying business performance. Management is unable to reconcile, without unreasonable effort, the Company's forecasted range of adjusted EPS to a comparable GAAP range.

Earnings Teleconference

Access the Q2 earnings teleconference scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on April 24, 2019 by calling 323-794-2094 and entering passcode 3807821, or access the Event Details page on Air Products' Investor Relations web site.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading Industrial Gases company in operation for over 75 years. The Company provides industrial gases and related equipment to dozens of industries, including refining, chemical, metals, electronics, manufacturing, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the world's leading supplier of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment.

The Company had fiscal 2018 sales of $8.9 billion from operations in 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of about $40 billion. Approximately 16,000 passionate, talented and committed employees from diverse backgrounds are driven by Air Products' higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the environment, enhance sustainability and address the challenges facing customers, communities, and the world. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

NOTE: This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about earnings guidance, business outlook and investment opportunities. These forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. While forward-looking statements are made in good faith and based on assumptions, expectations and projections that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information, actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors, including, without limitation: changes in global or regional economic conditions, supply and demand dynamics in market segments we serve, or in the financial markets; risks associated with having extensive international operations, including political risks, risks associated with unanticipated government actions and risks of investing in developing markets; project delays, contract terminations or customer cancellations or postponement of projects and sales; future financial and operating performance of major customers and joint venture partners; our ability to develop, implement, and operate new technologies, or to execute the projects in our backlog; tariffs, economic sanctions and regulatory activities in jurisdictions in which we and our affiliates and joint ventures operate; the impact of environmental, tax or other legislation, as well as regulations affecting our business and related compliance requirements, including regulations related to global climate  change; changes in tax rates and other changes in tax law; the timing, impact and other uncertainties relating to acquisitions and divestitures, including our ability to integrate acquisitions and separate divested businesses, respectively; risks relating to cybersecurity incidents, including risks from the interruption, failure or compromise of our information systems; catastrophic events, such as natural disasters, acts of war, or terrorism; the impact of price fluctuations in natural gas and disruptions in markets and the economy due to oil price volatility; costs and outcomes of legal or regulatory proceedings and investigations; asset impairments due to economic conditions or specific events; significant fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates from those currently anticipated; damage to facilities, pipelines or delivery systems, including those we own or operate for third parties; availability and cost of raw materials; the success of productivity and operational improvement programs; and other risk factors described in the Company's Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2018. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the assumptions, beliefs, or expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances upon which any such forward-looking statements are based.

* Presented below are reconciliations of the reported GAAP results to the non-GAAP measures.

RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
(Millions of dollars unless otherwise indicated, except for per share data)

The Company has presented certain financial measures on a non-GAAP ("adjusted") basis and has provided a reconciliation to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). These financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP. The Company believes these non-GAAP measures provide investors, potential investors, securities analysts, and others with useful information to evaluate the performance of the business because such measures, when viewed together with our financial results computed in accordance with GAAP, provide a more complete understanding of the factors and trends affecting our historical financial performance and projected future results.

In many cases, our non-GAAP measures are determined by adjusting the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure to exclude certain disclosed items ("non-GAAP adjustments") that we believe are not representative of the underlying business performance. For example, in fiscal years 2017 and 2016, we restructured the Company to focus on its core Industrial Gases business. This resulted in significant cost reduction and asset actions that we believe were important for readers to understand separately from the performance of the underlying business. Additionally, we have recorded discrete impacts associated with the Tax Act since its enactment in December 2017. The reader should be aware that we may incur similar expenses in the future. Readers should also consider the limitations associated with these non-GAAP measures, including the potential lack of comparability of these measures from one company to another.

The tax impact on our pre-tax non-GAAP adjustments reflects the expected current and deferred income tax expense impact of the transactions and is impacted primarily by the statutory tax rate of the various relevant jurisdictions and the taxability of the adjustments in those jurisdictions.

The table below reflects what our second quarter adjusted diluted EPS would have been on a constant currency basis. We calculate this non-GAAP measure by adjusting our GAAP diluted EPS for our non-GAAP adjustments and further adjusting the current year result for prior period average exchange rates. We believe this measure reflects the underlying adjusted EPS growth rate versus the prior year.

Below is a reconciliation of consolidated operating income to segment total operating income:

Below is a reconciliation of consolidated equity affiliates' income to segment total equity affiliates' income:

ADJUSTED EBITDA

We define Adjusted EBITDA as income from continuing operations (including noncontrolling interests) excluding certain non‑GAAP adjustments, which the Company does not believe to be indicative of underlying business trends, before interest expense, other non‑operating income (expense), net, income tax provision, and depreciation and amortization expense. Adjusted EBITDA provides a useful metric for management to assess operating performance.

Below is a reconciliation of income from continuing operations on a GAAP basis to adjusted EBITDA:

Below is a reconciliation of segment operating income to adjusted EBITDA:

INCOME TAXES

The tax impact of our pre-tax non-GAAP adjustments reflects the expected current and deferred income tax expense associated with each adjustment and is primarily dependent upon the statutory tax rate of the various relevant jurisdictions and the taxability of the adjustments in those jurisdictions. For additional discussion on the impacts of our non-GAAP tax adjustments, including those resulting from the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, refer to Note 2, Income Taxes, to the consolidated financial statements.

CAPITAL EXPENDITURES

We define capital expenditures as cash flows for additions to plant and equipment, acquisitions (less cash acquired), and investment in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates. The components of our capital expenditures are detailed in the table below:

We expect capital expenditures for fiscal year 2019 to be approximately $2,400 to $2,500.

RETURN ON CAPITAL EMPLOYED (ROCE)

Return on capital employed (ROCE) is calculated on a continuing operations basis as earnings after-tax divided by five-quarter average total capital. Earnings after-tax is calculated based on trailing four quarters and is defined as the sum of net income from continuing operations attributable to Air Products, interest expense, after-tax, at our effective quarterly tax rate, and net income attributable to noncontrolling interests. This non-GAAP measure has been adjusted for the impact of the non-GAAP adjustments detailed below. Total capital consists of total debt and total equity less total assets of discontinued operations.

OUTLOOK

Guidance provided is on a non-GAAP continuing operations basis, which excludes the impact of certain items that we believe are not representative of our underlying business performance. While we might have additional impacts from the Tax Act or incur additional costs for items such as cost reduction actions and pension settlements in future periods, it is not possible, without unreasonable efforts, to identify the amount or significance of these events or the potential for other transactions that may impact future GAAP EPS. Accordingly, management is unable to reconcile, without unreasonable effort, the Company's forecasted range of adjusted EPS on a continuing operations basis to a comparable GAAP range.