Air Products today reported net income down 9% year on year (YOY), to $446.5 million, on sales down 7% YOY, to $2.07 billion.
Adjusted earnings fell 7% YOY, to $2.01/share, slightly ahead of analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.99/share, as reported by Refinitiv (New York, New York). COVID-19 reduced earnings by 35–40 cents/share, with a 3% YOY drop in volumes partly offset by a 2% increase in prices and cost cuts.
“Our onsite business—which represents more than half of our sales—remains stable, and we continued to execute on our growth strategy, announcing two new megaprojects in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia which together represent planned Air Products investment of approximately $5.7 billion,” says Air Products chairman and CEO Seifi Ghasemi.
Americas segment sales declined 11% YOY, to $850 million, while segment adjusted EBITDA was roughly flat, at $411 million. Volumes fell by 5% YOY, largely due to lower merchant volumes on COVID-19, and energy pass-through was down 6%. Selling prices rose 2% YOY, boosting margins.
Asia segment sales fell 4% YOY, to $652 million, while segment adjusted EBITDA declined 2%, to $327 million. Volumes fell 3% YOY on COVID-19 impacts and maintenance outages at certain plants. Pricing grew 2% YOY, although margins declined.
EMEA segment sales decreased 13% YOY, to $430 million, while segment adjusted EBITDA was down 11%, to $170 million. Volumes declined 7% YOY due to lower merchant demand on COVID-19, and energy pass-through declined 6%. Prices grew by 3% YOY, although margins still fell.
By: Vincent Valk
Source: Chemical Week
France has launched an offshore green hydrogen production platform at the country’s Port of Saint-Nazaire this week, along with its first offshore wind farm. The hydrogen plant, which its operators say is the world’s first facility of its type, coincides with the launch of another “first of its kind” facility in Sweden dedicated to storing hydrogen in an underground lined rock cavern (LRC).
The project sets up the Hydrogen Valley in Rome, the first industrial-scale technological hub for the development of the national supply chain for the production, transport, storage and use of hydrogen for the decarbonization of industrial processes and for sustainable mobility.
At first glance, hydrogen seems to be the perfect solution to our energy needs. It doesn’t produce any carbon dioxide when used. It can store energy for long periods of time. It doesn’t leave behind hazardous waste materials, like nuclear does. And it doesn’t require large swathes of land to be flooded, like hydroelectricity. Seems too good to be true. So…what’s the catch?
