Air Products downgraded to Hold at Argus on weaker profit in Industrial Gases

As previously reported, Argus analyst Bill Selesky downgraded Air Products to Hold from Buy. While the company’s Q1 earnings and EBITDA margins grew vs. last year on generally positive trends in volume and pricing, its profitability was below expectations by a “wide margin” due to flat volume growth and higher costs in the Industrial Gases business, mainly because of soft growth in the electronics industry, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm adds that the business is unlikely to see material improvement anytime soon as economic growth in China, one of Air Products’ bigger end markets, remains sluggish.