Airgas reported net earnings of $54.5m, or $0.65 per diluted share, for its second quarter ended 30th September 2009.
Excluding a $0.02 per diluted share debt extinguishment charge and a $0.01 per diluted share multi-employer pension plan withdrawal charge, adjusted earnings per diluted share were $0.68, compared to $0.86 per diluted share in the previous year quarter.
Cost reductions and operating efficiencies continued to support the company’s operating margin, which posted only a modest decline year-over-year to 11.4% from 12.5%, and improved sequentially from 11.0% in the face of a challenging sales environment.
Second quarter sales were $962m, a decline of 17% from the previous year. Total same-store sales declined 19%, with hardgoods down 27% and gas and rent down 14%. Acquisitions contributed 2% sales growth in the quarter.
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