|
|
|
Air Apparent
Praxair Inc. (NYSE: PX)
39 Old Ridgebury Rd.
Danbury 06810
203-837-2000
Chairman and CEO: Dennis H. Reilley
Revenues (FYE December 31, 2001): $5.185 billion
Profit margin: (FYE December 31, 2001): 8.4 percent
Market capitalization (June 24, 2002): $8.908 billion
52-week stock range: $36.50-$61.11
Recent price: $56.97
No. employees: 23,500
|
Business New Haven
7/8/2002
By: BNH
|
Founded in 1907 as the first company to produce and sell liquid oxygen, Praxair Inc. [NYSE: PX] today boasts a global, Fortune 500 (No. 336, to be precise) status.
Praxair's name derives from the company's primary raw material - air - and the Greek word praxis, which means practical application. In addition to its corporate headquarters in leased office space in Danbury, Praxair operates principal administrative offices in Tonawanda, N.Y. and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Praxair is the largest industrial industrial gases company in North and South America, with fiscal year 2001 sales of $5.158 billion. The company is also the world's largest supplier of carbon dioxide.
The primary products for Praxair's industrial gases business are atmospheric gases, such as oxygen and argon, and process gases. For internal use and external sale, the company also designs, engineers and builds equipment that produces these gases.
Its surface-technology segment, operated through Praxair Surface Technologies Inc., supplies wear-resistant and high-temperature corrosion-resistant metallic as well as ceramic coatings and powders.
Gases produced by Praxair serve a broad array of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, electronics, food and beverage, health care, manufacturing and metal industries. In aerospace, for example, Praxair supplies high-purity liquid and gaseous products to the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA).
Overall, in fiscal 2001, North America accounted for $3.434 billion of Praxair sales, with South America accounting for an additional $674 million. Sales in Europe and Asia lagged behind, as the U.S. remains Praxair's primary market.
Historically, the consumption of industrial gases has increased at approximately 1.5 to 2.0 times the growth of industrial production in the countries in which Praxair does business.
In the industrial gases industry, Praxair's major competitors include the BOC Group PLC, L'Air Liquide S.A., Air Gas and Air Products and Chemicals Inc. Worldwide there are no comparable competitors for its surface technologies businesses, which saw sales fall following the September 11 attacks due to the slump in the aviation industry.
Energy - specifically, in Praxair's case, electricity - comprises the company's greatest cost in the production and distribution of its industrial gases. Because many of Praxair's contracts with its customers are long-term and contain pass-through provisions relating to increases in energy prices, Praxair has not, typically, experienced significant difficulties related to recovery of its energy costs.
Both 2000 and 2001, however, saw volatility in energy markets both domestically - especially in California and Washington - and internationally (Brazil in particular). In April, Praxair announced a price hike to U.S. customers for its industrial gases. It also announced a price increase for helium worldwide, citing tightening supply and demand conditions together with higher costs for refined liquid and crude gases.
Recently Praxair also completed acquisitions in the home health-care industry, investing close to $60 million in such acquisitions in the first quarter of 2002. One health care company it acquired this year is Alpine Medical LLC, a business that supplies oxygen to the home.
Praxair's FY 2001 sales marked a two-percent increase over 2000, while earnings, excluding special items, likewise rose two percent from the preceding fiscal year - this, in spite of the weak economy and strong U. S. dollar. The company's Q1 diluted earnings per share of 77 cents exceeded expectations, although 49-year-old chairman and CEO Dennis H. Reilley, remains “cautious” about the pace of economic recovery.
From a 52-week low of $36.50 last September 21, Praxair posted a 12-month high of $61.11 on March 11. It paid a dividend of 19 cents per share on June 17, and its stock closed at $54.67 on June 24.
|
Go FirstGo PreviousGo
NextGo LastGo
to Index
|
|
