Praxair Issues 2016 Guidance

(RTTNews) - Praxair, Inc. (PX) announced, for full-year 2016, the company expects earnings per share to be in the range of $5.30 to $5.70, between -2% to +5% ex-currency from 2015. The guidance assumes a negative currency impact of approximately 7% versus 2015. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report profit per share of $6.05. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company expects full-year capital expenditures to be approximately $1.5 billion and the effective tax rate is forecasted to remain at approximately 28%.

Chairman and CEO, Steve Angel said: "The macro-economic headwinds faced in 2015 from negative currency translation and the slowdown in global industrial activity have not yet abated, and we expect a continuation of current trends into 2016. However, we remain confident in our business strategy. With our strong cash flow, we will continue to reinvest in the future growth of the company through synergistic and accretive tuck-in acquisitions in attractive end-markets as well as new project opportunities where we bring a competitive advantage."

For the first quarter of 2016, Praxair expects earnings per share in the range of $1.20 to $1.28. The EPS guidance assumes a negative currency impact of approximately 9% year-over-year and 3% sequentially. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report profit per share of $1.41.