Praxair's 3Q profit jumps 16 percent as sales rise

DANBURY, Conn. - Praxair Inc. said Wednesday its third-quarter profit rose 16 percent as sales jumped worldwide.

For the period ended Sept. 30, the specialty gas maker earned $355 million, or $1.11 per share, compared with earnings of $305 million, or 94 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue jumped 20 percent to $2.85 billion from $2.37 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected, on average, earnings of $1.06 per share on revenue of $2.73 billion.

Sales in North America, Europe, Asia and South America each rose more than 15 percent. Cost of sales rose 24 percent to $1.73 billion and selling, general and administrative expenses rose 16 percent to $341 million.

Praxair's short-term debt increased 61 percent to $1.27 billion.

"We had another very strong quarter despite some effect from the U.S. Gulf Coast hurricanes, and slowing macroeconomic growth in the U.S. and Europe," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Angel said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the company said it expected fourth-quarter profit below Wall Street expectations on slower growth projections.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.