Air Products and Chemicals Inc (APD) 2011 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to Air Products and Chemicals' first-quarter earnings release conference call. Just a reminder that you will be in a listen-only mode until the question-and-answer segment of today's call. (Operator Instructions).

Also, this telephone conference presentation and the comments made on behalf of Air Products are subject to copyright by Air Products, and all rights are reserved. Air Products will be recording this teleconference and may publish all or a portion of the teleconference. No other recordings or redistribution of this telephone conference by any other party are permitted without the express written permission of Air Products. Your permission -- your participation indicates your agreement.

Beginning today's call is Mr. Simon Moore, Director of Investor Relations. Mr. Moore, you may begin.

Thank you, John. Good morning, and welcome to Air Products' first-quarter 2011 earnings teleconference. This is Simon Moore. Today, our CFO, Paul Huck, and I will review our Q1 results and outlook for the remainder of 2011.

We issued our earnings release this morning. It is available on our website along with the slides for this teleconference. Please go to airproducts.com and click on the scrolling red banner to access the materials. Instructions for accessing the replay of this call beginning at 2.00 p.m. Eastern time are also available on the website.

Please turn to slides two and three. As always, today's teleconference will contain forward-looking statements based on current expectations regarding important risk factors. Please review the information on these slides and at the end of today's earnings release, explaining factors that may affect these expectations.

Now I'll turn the call over to Paul for a review of our financials.

Thanks, Simon. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us today. Please turn to slide number four.

We are off to a great start to fiscal 2011. For the quarter, sales of $2.4 billion were 10% higher versus prior-year on growth in our Electronics and Performance Materials, Tonnage and Merchant segments. Underlying sales increased 11% on 10% higher volumes and 1% higher pricing. Sequentially, sales were higher 2%. Underlying sales were up 1% on higher pricing in Merchant Gases, and our Electronic and Performance Materials segments. Volumes were flat, mainly due to seasonality.

Operating income of $404 million increased 17% from prior-year on higher volumes. Our operating margin improved to 16.9%, up 100 basis points versus prior-year. We are on track to deliver on our 17% goal for fiscal 2011. Equity affiliate income was up slightly versus prior-year. Improved volumes and cost performance were partially offset by a charge for the anticipated sale of a plant in one of our affiliates. Absent this loss, sequential equity affiliate income would have been slightly higher.

As we've seen in prior years, our tax rate in quarter one was lower than our expected average rate for the full year, due to the timing of certain tax credits and adjustments. We still expect our full-year tax rate to be consistent with the 25% to 26% guidance range given last quarter. For the quarter, net income increased 17% and diluted earnings per share increased by 16%, each versus prior year. Return on capital employed for the quarter improved to 13.2%, up 140 basis points.

Turning to slide five for a review of the factors that affected the quarter's performance in terms of earnings per share -- our adjusted earnings per share increased by $0.19. Higher volumes in the Electronics and Performance Materials, Tonnage, and Merchant segments increased earnings per share by $0.25 year-on-year. The impact of pricing combined with energy and raw material costs netted to $0.

Costs were $0.02 unfavorable, as our productivity gains were more than offset by higher operating and distribution costs. Currency translation and foreign exchange netted to a $0.02 unfavorable impact, and higher noncontrolling interests and shares outstanding cost us $0.01 each.

In summary, a very good start to the year at the top end of our expectations.

Now I'll turn the call over to Simon to review our business segment results. Simon?

Thanks, Paul. Please turn to slide six, Merchant Gases.

Merchant Gases sales of $988 million were up 6% versus prior-year. Underlying sales improved by 8% on increased volumes and higher pricing. Currency reduced sales by 2%. Year-on-year sales improvement was driven by very strong Asia growth and improving volumes in North America and Europe liquid bulk products. Sequentially, sales were up 4%, primarily due to currency. Underlying sales were up 1%.

Merchant Gases operating income of $201 million was up 6% versus prior-year and up 8% sequentially. Segment operating margin of 20.3% was flat versus prior-year and up 80 basis points sequentially. Sequential margins expanded, driven by improved pricing across all regions.

During the quarter, we announced the construction of four new projects in India through our INOX Air Products joint venture. Three new merchant air separation units will provide efficient and reliable supply for the strong growth opportunities we are seeing in India. The fourth project will be a piggyback ASU and hydrogen plant to supply gases to Saint Gobain's Glass India and liquid products for the merchant market. These investments strengthen INOX Air Products' leading merchant presence throughout India.

Also during the quarter, we brought China's first air separation unit utilizing LNG cold energy onstream. This JV was CNOOC, the China National Offshore Oil Company, will provide a low-cost supply of over 600 tons of oxygen, nitrogen, and argon to supply the fast-growing industrial gases market in Fujian Province.

Let me now provide a few additional comments by region. Please turn to slide seven.

In North America, sales improved 6% versus prior-year, the largest increase we have seen in over two years. Volumes were up 3% on growth in liquid oxygen, nitrogen, and argon. Pricing was up 3% with increases across the portfolio. This was the highest increase in the last seven quarters. LOX/LIN plant loading remained in the mid-70s.

In Europe, underlying sales increased 2% but negative 6% currency reduced overall sales to a negative 4%. Volumes were up 3% with stronger liquid bulk growth, tempered by modest package gas improvement and lower healthcare volumes. Pricing was down 1%, with positive package gas pricing offset by unfavorable healthcare and liquid bulk pricing. Our Europe LOX/LIN plant loading remained in the low 80s.

In Asia, sales were up 35% versus last year with underlying sales up 30%. Volumes were up 25% with strength across all products. Pricing was also strong, up 5%. Pricing was stronger in part due to spot argon in China, as rolling power curtailments reduced steel companies' self-generated argon. LOX/LIN pricing across Asia was up 2%. These sales and volume increases were the highest in over four years. Plant loadings remained in the high 80s. We will continue to bring new capacity onstream over the next few quarters.

Please turn to slide eight, Tonnage Gases. Tonnage Gases sales of $766 million increased 10% versus last year, with volumes up 12%. Higher volumes came from loading existing assets and new plants brought onstream in the last year. Sequentially, sales were up 2% with volumes up 5%, and energy and raw material passthrough decreasing sales by 4%. The volume growth was driven by new plants.

Operating income of $116 million was up 15% versus prior-year, primarily due to higher volumes from new plant startups, reduced maintenance costs, and improved plant efficiency. Operating margin of 15.1% increased 70 basis points versus prior-year, due to the lower cost mentioned previously and lower natural gas costs to passthrough. Sequentially, operating income was down 1% and margins declined due to higher maintenance costs.

Earlier in the quarter, we announced that our Heartland hydrogen pipeline in Alberta Canada has been commercialized, and we announced two new pipeline hydrogen supply contracts with Dow Chemical Canada and Evonik Degussa Canada. We also announced a new nitrogen plant at the Isle of Grain LNG terminal in the United Kingdom. This is our third plant at the facility, and will support the expansion of the terminal having the capacity to process the equivalent of 20% of Britain's natural gas demand.

Please turn to slide nine, Electronics and Performance Materials.

Segment sales of $526 million were up 21% compared to last year on volume increases with flat pricing. Sequentially, sales were up slightly on positive pricing and slightly lower seasonal volumes. Electronic sales were up 30% compared to last year and up 4% sequentially, as the industry pushed well beyond 2008 peak production. We also saw less seasonal decline, particularly at our industry-leading customers. Electronic specialty materials sales increased 13% versus prior-year and were down 1% sequentially. Ongoing tonnage sales were up 16% versus prior-year and up 7% sequentially, and our equipment business was up significantly versus prior-year and also up versus prior-quarter. Electronic specialty materials pricing was flat sequentially.

Performance materials sales increased 11% versus last year, with strength across all markets. Sales were down 4% sequentially due to normal seasonality. Segment operating income of $69 million was up 42% versus prior-year due to volume leverage and the benefit of the 2010 electronics restructuring actions. Income was down 18% sequentially due to volume seasonality and inventory revaluation. Margins improved 190 basis points from last year due to higher volumes and lower costs. They were down sequentially due to seasonally lower volumes and the inventory revaluation. We are on track to deliver the 15% target margin for this segment for FY '11.

In terms of new business, in December, we announced a new air separation unit and pipeline at the Tanjeong, Korea site to supply Samsung Mobile Displays' newest active matrix organic LED fab. Earlier in January, we announced the supply of nitrogen and bulk gases to UMC's new fab 12 Phase 3 and 4 in the Tainan Science Park in Taiwan. And just last week, we announced the formation of our production joint venture to produce high-purity anhydrous hydrochloric acid in Freeport, Texas. Air Products will market our share of the output from this facility, which will provide a reliable supply of HCL, primarily for our electronics customers.

Please turn to slide 10, Equipment and Energy.

Sales of $112 million were up 3% versus prior-year and down 13% sequentially, reflecting lower ASU activity. Operating income of $20 million increased significantly versus prior-year due to higher LNG activity. Income was flat sequentially. Our backlog is lower both versus prior-year and sequentially, but is expected to improve by the end of the year.

Now I'll turn the call back over to Paul.

Thanks, Simon. Now if you'll please turn to slide 11, I'd like to share my thoughts on our outlook.

Our guidance for quarter two is for earnings per share of $1.36 to $1.40 based upon the following factors. On the positive side, we expect to see increased earning sequentially from the following areas -- new plant onstreams, including the Weihe Clean Energy Gasifier project and the Shing Tai Steel will add to next quarter's results. We also expect the global manufacturing economy to continue its gradual recovery and equity affiliate income should be higher.

Partially offsetting these sequential improvements, in Asia, we expect some slowing around the Lunar New Year holidays and we anticipate a higher tax rate in quarter two. For fiscal year 2011, the underlying assumptions that we shared on last quarter's call remain unchanged. Our capital expenditure guidance also remains unchanged at $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion, up from last year's $1.3 billion. With one quarter completed, we're raising the lower end of our earnings per share guidance by $0.05, revising our full-year guidance range to $5.55 to $5.70 a share.

Now let me give everyone a brief update on our Airgas offer.

On December 9, we announced our best and final offer of $70 per share. As we stated in that announcement, it is time to bring this matter to a conclusion. We are disappointed that the Airgas Board continues to ignore the will of its shareholders. Airgas shareholders deserve the opportunity to decide for themselves whether they want to accept our $70 per share-in-cash offer.

Now let me wrap up. We are off to a great start in fiscal 2011, with growing sales and earnings. We also continue to make significant improvements in our operating margin and our return on capital. We remain committed to delivering returns for our shareholders that will make us the best investment in the industry. The whole team at Air Products is excited by our opportunities and is focused on driving increasing shareholder value in the future.

Thank you. And now I'll turn the call over to John to take your questions.

(Operator Instructions). John McNulty.

Just a couple of questions. First, on the electronics business, clearly, the volumes were really solid, especially for the seasonality. Can you walk us through maybe what some of the drivers are behind that and how we should think about that going forward? If there was maybe some inventory-related issues or anything like that that may have driven them a little higher than normal.

Yes, John, I don't think that -- and that there was anything on the inventory side which played a factor. I think when you -- as we look at this, and we look at the electronics business -- we've said this before -- is that coming out of the recession, people preferentially spent their money on consumer electronics. So if people had an extra $200, $500, $1,000 to spend, that money more often found its way into the consumer electronics area than it found its way into other markets. Also being helped are some of the new devices -- the success of the iPhone during this time period, the success of the iPad tablet computers has driven a lot of that.

I think the other thing which has proven to be a good thing is that the large screen TVs, the LCD TVs, continue to sell well. They sold very well at Christmas. There were a lot of concerns with people about what sort of things would happen -- was there too much inventory, too much production capacity? We have not seen that. We have seen our customers run very well throughout that. A good back-to-school season, a good holiday season.

All that said, there's always going to be some slowing and there was some slowing for us. The growth sequentially was not as strong as it had been in other quarters, and we would expect the, as I said, in the Lunar New Year impact will have a small impact on us there too, in the quarter, too.

But I think a very solid market. Inventories appear to be in line very well. Customers seem to be operating extremely well and we are seeing expansions. We're seeing new orders. You saw the announcements, which Simon talked about here.

Maybe I can just add, too. I think very good comments, Paul. I think particularly for our customers, where we're pleased to have key positions with the industry leaders, their utilization rates were strong through the period and are forecasted to continue to be strong into the future.

Okay, great. That's helpful. And just one kind of related question. The inventory revaluation that you saw in the Electronic and Performance segment -- can you quantify what that was and how we should think about that going forward, if there's any further adjustments to be made?

And I want to talk about that. That's a good question here for you -- for me to go through this. It involves the accounting and the way you account for inventory for us.

So, first off, one of the things which you ought to understand is that, overall, to the Company, the impact of this was about $0. So, it was not a negative impact for us as the Company is concerned. Right?

In quarter one, what happens is we take our standards and we change our standards. So we take the value which we put the inventory in on 30 September, and we go out and we adjust it to the -- and the new value, which we're going to use for standard costs in fiscal year '11. For products which are in LIFO, we are going to reverse that at corporate, that impact.

So if you write the standard up, you get a gain; if you write the standard down, you get a loss on that. And what we had in the Electronics and the Performance Materials area is we had a loss. That probably cost us about 100 basis points in margin overall in that segment for us. So if you're looking, the ongoing impact. But actually what you're not going to see going forward is -- you're not going to see that impact any more. So it's happened; it's a one-time adjustment, and now the cost going through the P&L will be at the lower standards, so should have the impact of raising margins for us.

Okay, great. Thanks for the color.

Jeff Zekauskas.

You talked about the strength in your Asian merchant business. Was that across the board in Asia or were their particular areas of strength and weakness? By geography or sub-geography.

Yes, so good question. Again, I think just to highlight that, very significant volume growth in Asia but also positive pricing. We talked about positive pricing across Asia the last couple of quarters. We did mention that some of that positive was from some spot argon, but even outside of that, the base pricing was very positive. And that was generally fairly consistent across the regions in Asia. Again, our strong positions in Korea and Taiwan with the strength of the electronics market, a lot of the merchant products go into electronics there, and certainly, China's economy continues to provide good opportunities for us.

And then lastly, what was your backlog in equipment and energy as of the end of the quarter?

It was on the slide there. It's a little over $200 million.

Okay. Thanks very much.

Dave Begleiter.

Paul, in merchant North America, it looks like volume growth is moderating. Can you talk to those trends and what you expect going forward from a volume growth perspective year-over-year?

Yes, sure, Dave. I think -- and one of the things which you see in the business here within the US is that you see the economic growth is moderating also. So in 2010, in the fiscal year for us, we saw the economy within the US, which probably grew around 5% on the manufacturing side. We're predicting growth of 3% to 4% in 2011.

And the reason why it grew stronger in 2010 was that the inventory pipeline refilled during that time period. But you see -- another example of an industry which you're seeing some of this is in the steel industry. The steel industry refilled their pipeline and then they brought their operating rates back down.

So, as we look forward, our basic assumptions of a long, slow recovery in manufacturing seem to be holding well. Everyone, I think, was hoping for more of a V-shaped. We did not see a V. We did see some inventory rebuild in 2010, but as far as the dynamics in the US economy, we're still dealing with the high unemployment, consumer confidence, which is getting better, albeit it still isn't great with things. And so, everyone is doing what I think is the right thing, including us, watching our costs, paying attention to it; going after the business, at which we're advantaged and which we have opportunities for in the future.

But as far as a very strong recovery within the United States, I just don't think it's in the cards until consumer confidence and employment get a lot better for us. We have too much of our economy on the consumer end of things. All that said, I don't see a double dip either. So I see long, good, steady solid growth going forward here for the economy.

And Paul, just on your large project backlog, you've had a number of announcement wins in the last few months. Can you talk to the size of the backlog and the impact on earnings growth in the next two years?

Yes. If we look at the size of the backlog right now, it's probably around $1.8 billion or so for us. Capital spending, as we've talked about it, is going to be $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion in 2011. We probably see that also, hopefully, growing in 2012. That's going to depend upon awards which occur in 2011, but there is a number of projects which are out there, especially in countries like China, where production capacity does need to expand for us. So we're very excited about those opportunities.

As far as impact on earnings for this year, as we talked about it last quarter, probably $0.30 to $0.40 a share as far as the onstreams in this year and in last year. A little early to tell what the impact for 2012 is going to be, but I wouldn't expect it to be a lot changed from that.

Is that $1.8 billion up versus last year? And if so, how much?

The $1.8 billion? It's about -- it's pretty close to about the same, Dave. About -- pretty close to about the same.

Thank you very much.

Laurence Alexander.

I guess two somewhat related questions. First, as you think about your longer-term margins in the tonnage business, how much of the gap to get to your long-term margin targets would be just volume recovery? So better loading on the assets as opposed to benefits from higher energy prices?

And I guess the second question is, are you seeing any change in customer order patterns or urgency as they discuss potential tonnage contracts, given how energy prices have escalated?

As far as -- I'll answer question two first, because I think it's probably a little bit easier for us -- as far as the order patterns are concerned, we have not seen that. There's still a lot of bids which need to be decided and awards which need to be happen -- excuse me -- and which should happen.

We would expect that in 2011, that award activity, it will pick up in the industry because of those factors, because of the energy. I think as uncertainty starts to come out of the economy, I think that's also something which is actually important. So as people grow less concerned with a double dip, both here in the United States or in Europe, or worldwide, order patterns and demand -- people will get more confident around that. So I think that leads to improving orders in 2011 for things.

If you take a look at the tonnage operating margins, one of the things which we've talked about for a long time is we invest in this business on return and not upon margin of the business. The margin of the business is impacted by a number of factors.

First off, on the hydrogen end, the hydrogen plant with the same type of contract as an oxygen plant is going to have a lower margin in this business, because what happens is the energy passes through and then the cost of the gas is higher. Whether it's a hydrogen plant or an oxygen plant, we make our money by investing money in these plants and running them well for our customers and building them well, in good operations, and getting efficiencies in the future -- we don't care. And so we try not to establish, really, targets.

All that said, higher margins are better with those things. And so what we try to pay attention to is the efficiencies of the plants and how we're doing there. And so with the efficiencies of the plants, that is something which we have made good and steady progress on. It's helped in the margins of this business over time and improved things for us with things. But we don't actually set a margin target, is the important thing which you have to understand, Laurence. And so we do try to drive the efficiencies and the returns higher, and that is what is occurring in the business for us as we go forward here.

Thank you.

P.J. Juvekar.

You mentioned that in the US margin, your operating rate is mid-70s and in Europe, the mid-80s. I was wondering, what's the difference, if you're also seeing a slightly better recovery than Europe? Is it just that there's too much overcapacity in the US?

Well, if you take a look at the capacity within the US, it certainly off-loaded a lot and during the downturn. Prices have held well during that time period. So if you look at the way at which ourselves and our competitors have gone out and worked through on the business, I think we've operated our plants well; we've paid attention to what's happening in our contracts and what's happening to our costs in this business.

So I think within the US, the business is operating very well. Remember, the US is spread out a lot with things. In Europe, things tend to be concentrated more around the plants. It's just not as big a land area to deal with in that area. And so, as far as our concerns are here, we think the US is in fine shape. There's lots of loading capacity to -- and loading of the capacity to occur. We think that offers a great opportunity for us to grow earnings and grow returns within the US.

Within Europe, I believe we need to get some of our prices higher with our customers. We would like to see the margins in our European business better and the returns better for us. And I think a market which is tighter actually helps us in that vein.

Okay. And the second question on margin was on India. You're building four new plants, three merchant and one piggyback.

That's correct.

Is there a risk that there's an overbuilt of margin capacity in India similar to what happened in China a few years ago?

That's a great question, P.J., and certainly, in an emerging market where you have increasing demand and increasing capacity, that's something to keep an eye on. I think one of the key points is, the three plants -- so, first of all, the on-site plant we're building for the glass company, we have a good strong base load with a tonnage customer and we add some merchant capacity.

The other three facilities are in newer and emerging areas around India, where we see the market growth continuing, and we're excited about creating first mover advantages in those geographies, as the manufacturing economy in those areas continues to grow. So we have done some good work with our marketing teams there to understand what's there, but it's really that first mover advantage of those three plants, which are fairly diverse geographically, we think will bring loading into those facilities over time.

So, a good question, but these projects we're confident will load up over time.

I think the other thing, P.J., just to add to what Simon says, is that we have developed a package plant here in this business which we take and we put in. It is not a very large plant for us. It's about 200 tons a day. And it enables us to go out and to get into the market early. It's a good, efficient cycle for us and it gives us a real advantage in moving into those without creating a huge, large plant to throw down in the area and produce a lot of extra capacity.

And just quickly on that, what kind of hurdle rate do you use for a merchant plant in emerging market?

It's certainly higher than the rate which we use for one within the United States or Europe, because there's obviously more risk associated with that. So we earn a higher return because we're taking a lot more risk in those areas, obviously.

That's fair, but can you throw us a range?

I'm not going to give you a number. But if you just think about that -- if you take a look at the country in which you're operating in the emerging markets, typically, the cost of capital in those countries is anywhere from 200 to 300-plus points higher than within the United States. And then we look to earn a higher return on that, a higher spread, because the risk of the loading of those plants is greater.

Okay. Thank you.

Mark Gulley.

Yes, a couple of questions. First of all, with respect to the microelectronics industry, can you update us, Simon, on what your outlook now is for [squaring for the] silicon process? I believe the last quarter, it was just 5% to 10%, which seems to be pretty modest now that we've seen the results for this quarter and everything that Paul talked about, in terms of some of the new product cycles that are going on.

Yes, a good question, Mark. So we did provide a forecast of 5% to 10% MSI growth last quarter. Quite frankly, we'd say we still see things in that range.

I think one of the dynamics, quite frankly, we see is that our leadership positions with the industry leaders perhaps allow us to mitigate some of the seasonality that the industry might have seen. So I think that's consistent with our forecast going forward at this point.

Yes, I guess I would have thought that if you were well-positioned with industry leaders, and if they're leaders, that they would pull that number higher. But I guess you're just not willing to go there quite yet.

Well, again, quite frankly, I think there's -- you know, it's not just our view; obviously, there's a lot of perspective on where the electronics industry is going, and we think that's fairly consistent with other forecasts that are out there. So, we feel pretty good about that guidance we gave last quarter.

Okay. And then with respect to merchant prices in Europe, given the higher operating rates and given higher power rates, I'm a little surprised that you're not able to get the price increases that you're getting elsewhere in Asia and in the US. Any thoughts on why the European pricing structure just won't move?

No, we have actually seen it move in the past, so we would expect to be effective here going forward in the future here.

Okay, thanks.

Just a quick note, add on that, actually, sequentially, Europe pricing was slightly positive.

Right.

Don Carson.

Paul, two questions. One on the tonnage front -- you talked about the potential for signing some new business. Just wondering if you could outline where that new business might be. I know you've signed some contracts for hydrogen in Alberta; there's talk of providing some oil sands projects like Fort Hills. Is that an area of increased opportunity for you?

Yes, as far as the oil sands, Don, we would not expect to see an order any time within the next year or so probably with that, and given what's happening in those areas. But if you take a look at the on-site area for us and where we are looking for activities, we continue to pursue jobs within China, certainly, is the area of the largest activity, but also within the US, the Middle East, are also areas of activity for us, too.

And a follow-up on merchant, I mean, again, you've got relatively low operating rates, as you've said, but you're still getting price of 3%. Is this price a true increase in price or is it really cost recovery? And specifically, can you talk about the trends in pricing on your new business signings in North America Merchant? Are they higher than your existing book?

Okay. If you take a look on the signings, the signing activity is very competitive. So, in general, and on the new business which is coming in, the prices are lower than -- for us. If you take a look at the price increases, a lot of that is driven by cost for us and trying to recover costs at this point in time.

So that suggests that this 3% isn't sustainable? Or it's only sustainable to the extent that you -- that costs continue to go up and you try and recover them?

No, I (multiple speakers) --

(multiple speakers) So, effectively, real pricing isn't increasing then, is it?

Well, I mean, what happens, Don, is that in this market, at the loadings, we're able to maintain our margins very well. So that is the good news. We have taken actions on cost. We have taken action to recover costs, principally, our variable costs, as power has gone up; as fuel has gone up, we have been able to do a good job of being able to -- and recover those costs. And we'll continue to do that.

I think that's a very positive sign for us going out and looking and trying to take a look at the future for us. So, I think the price situation within the US is in good shape and being managed well.

And then final question -- so you talk about margins in Merchant. So as you get additional volume growth there, what kind of incremental margins would you get compared to your average margin of 20.3%?

We're still looking at probably about a 35% average incremental margin on that business.

Thank you.

[Mike Harris].

I have sort of a different question on the Merchant business in Europe. Was wondering if you could talk about how the package gas business there has been trending? Are you seeing any signs of improvement in what's been going on with pricing on the package side in Europe?

As far as that business on price, we have gotten some price increases in that business. Once again, we're trying out there very much to recover our costs as fuel costs and things like that go up. On the volume side, the volumes of that business are still depressed for us and are flat at best at this point in time.

And in the Tonnage business, was wondering if you're seeing any of your customers -- and this is globally -- any of your customers operating at rates that are high enough that we might see some operating bonuses this year?

Oh, I think yes. And we saw some in 2010 also, operating bonuses. The operating bonuses really depend upon the operations of Air Products; not so much the operations of the base of -- on the volume of our customers. It really depends upon how well the availability of our plants and the reliability of our plants is.

Okay. And if I could ask one more, on the Electronics and Performance Materials business, the margin there -- you said maybe 100 basis points of headwind related to this inventory revaluation. We still saw then about 200 basis points of margin pressure quarter-on-quarter, despite an increase in the top line. And I think it probably bears maybe some further color, if you guys could provide it.

Sure. Well, we had the -- on the inventory impact, obvious there. And then when you look at this, if you take a look at the drop in the Performance Materials sales and what we saw, and volume declines in that area drove a good portion of those changes there, too, for us. So it was related to the mix of the products, in which we go through there.

Alright. Thanks very much.

Kevin McCarthy.

With regard to the Merchant Gases business in Asia, your volume there accelerated more than two-fold to 25% from 11% in the fiscal fourth quarter. Were there any competitor outages or other extraordinary issues that would have boosted that number? Or would you consider it a representative underlying rate?

Good question, Kevin. No, we didn't have any special filling in for competitors or anything like that. Again, kind of a little bit more on the price side. We did mention some of the spot argon opportunities that we had, but the underlying consistent growth rate was very strong.

Right. And then I guess to follow-up on the pricing side in Asia, you mentioned LOX/LIN underlying would have been plus 2 versus the plus 5 that you reported for the region. Is argon structurally tight or was that boost more transitory in nature, such that you'll likely regress to the low single digits in coming quarters?

So, again, this was more driven by some of the rolling power outages imposed in China. We see those kind of have tailed off now, so we wouldn't necessarily see that argon spot opportunity. Again, though, I think we are extremely pleased by the base increases; whether they be 2%, 3%, something like that, in a high-growth region like Asia being able to deliver real pricing improvement, is a great job by the team out there.

Okay. And then, lastly, Paul, on the project pipeline with regard to the $1.8 billion size, could you just comment on the average returns that you're seeing? Are they flat, up or down in any meaningful way as you see the activity roll through?

Yes, and the returns on average have stayed about the same for us on a -- if I look at that on a IRR type of return.

Very good. Thank you.

Edward Yang.

Paul, Air Products has always been overweight, the energy sector relative to some of its competitors and oil prices are moving back up. Do you have an update in terms of what your total exposure to the energy sector is at this point?

Well, if you take a look at that, I mean, if you take a look at it from the business which Air Products has, we have probably about 25% of our sales go into that area.

Okay. And on electronics, again, you mentioned that the impact on segment margins from an inventory revaluation was 100 basis points, but the effect on the total Company was $0. And we'd just like some clarification on that.

Yes. Okay. If you take a look at that, the other places which happened is that in the other areas, there were some small gains and then there's an offset at corporate which occurs.

Okay. And finally, on Electronics and Performance Materials, pricing was flat this quarter, and in the last four quarters or so, it's been consistently negative. So is that your expectation going forward, that price should be a positive contributor going forward in that business?

What we would expect is that price is not going to be a large factor going forward in the business for us -- either positive -- either up or down right now, which is obviously very good news, given the things which have occurred in the history here.

Yes, I think we see perhaps a moderating of the downward pressure in the Electronics, particularly in the Specialty Materials business, and so, as Paul said, we think that that would be stable going forward as opposed to the declines we have seen.

Okay. Thank you.

Bob Koort.

This is Brian McGuire on for Bob. Just a question on slide five of the deck. I think it's the EPS bridge from last year to this year. Clearly, there was about a $0.02 headwind from costs. I was wondering if you could just dive into some of the components of that, and maybe talk about what the impact of higher compensation or higher pension would have been in the quarter or what your assumptions are the full year?

Okay. Certainly, Brian. First off, I mean, as far as -- on the cost for $0.02, one of the things which you've got to consider is we had a $0.25 gain in volume and only $0.02 up in costs. The volume one is done at the contribution margin, so this is all of the fixed costs which we had, all the drivers and stuff like that. So we're very happy with that sort of performance for us.

If you take a look at it -- pension overall for the Company as a whole was probably $0.01 this quarter. It's probably -- we'd be about $0.05 for the year. Compensation year-on-year, inflation for us year-on-year at any point in time probably runs anywhere from $0.04 to $0.05 a quarter for us, if you take a look at that over the whole fixed cost base.

Offsetting that is the productivity for us overall. I think a thing in which we watch very closely is what's happening to SG&A as a percent of sales. SG&A as a percent of sales was 11.2% last year; this year it's 10%. So what that says, which is a big area of the fixed costs, is that we're not growing our fixed costs at the same rate as the volumes are growing.

Got you. That's helpful. And then just one last one on equipment and energy -- obviously a big jump in margins there. Part of that was just the year-over-year comp. But just wanted to get a sense of how sustainable that rate of growth is as we go a little bit further in 2011.

In that area, I think -- and we've talked about this before, is that we sell two principal products in that area -- the LNG heat exchangers, where 100% of what we supply is value-added, which is the process design, and the exchanger, which is manufactured by Air Products. So the margins in that business are higher than in the air separation business, where we buy in a lot of the equipment and purchase equipment. We purchase compressors, heat exchangers, et cetera, for the customers and bring that up. So as a percent of sales, the margin just is not as high in that business. And so the margin for that business drops -- moves around a lot.

We are very pleased by the growth year-to-year in that business for us. We think that's a good sign for us. LNG has driven that growth, as the mix has shifted more to LNG in this past year.

It's a mix issue more than anything else and (multiple speakers) --?

It is, yes. It is a mix issue.

Okay. And that could have the potential to continue for --?

Yes, that's right. And the margins for the bulk of 2011, given the backlog which we have, is LNG is going to be a strong driver throughout 2011 on the profits. And then if we get more orders in the air separation area, that will take margins down. But we look at this, it will also contribute profits in this business. We don't have a lot of capital invested and we get payments in advance, so it's a self-financing business. And so, as we look at this, it's something in which we look at it project-by-project basis as far as accepting or bidding on jobs.

Got you. Appreciate the color, thanks.

David Manthey.

Of the 12% volume growth in the Tonnage business, can you tell us approximately how much this quarter was due to new plant startups on that growth rate? And then if you can tell us about 2011 based on the pipeline, if you have an approximation of what might be additive to growth?

Yes. If we take a look at 2011 for us, we probably think about half of the growth overall is going to come from that. And that's what we saw in Q1.

Great. That's all I had. Thank you.

Yes. Okay.

At this time, we have no further questions. I'd like to turn the call back over to Mr. Moore for any additional or closing remarks.

Thanks, John, and to everybody who joined us on the call today. Please go to the website to access a replay of this call beginning at 2.00 p.m. today. Again, thank you for joining us and have a nice day.

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for attending.