Air Products Posts Lower Quarterly Profit

Industrial gas supplier Air Products and Chemicals's quarterly profit just missed Wall Street's expectations as weak economic conditions in Europe dented volumes.

In the second quarter ended March 31, net income fell to $296 million, or $1.38 a share, from $304.3 million, or $1.39 a share, a year earlier.

Excluding a restructuring charge and other one-time items, the company posted a profit of $1.31 per share. By that measure, analysts on average had expected $1.32, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue fell 2.5% to $2.34 billion. Analysts expected $2.43 billion.

"While our volumes were held down by lower demand, we did see positive impact from our pricing efforts and new plants," Chief Executive Officer John McGlade said in a statement.