Airgas, the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical, and specialty gases, on Thursday, reported net earnings of $74.8 million, or $0.93 per diluted share, for its first quarter ended June 30, higher than net income of $64.80 million, or $0.76 per share, reported for the same period last year.

Excluding special items and charges, adjusted earnings per share for the quarter increased 19% to a record $0.99 for the quarter from $0.83 per share reported for the same period last year.

On average, fourteen analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.96 for the quarter.

Analysts' estimate typically excludes special items.

Net sales for the quarter increased to $1.16 billion from $1.05 billion reported for the same period last year.