AIR Products & Chemicals Value Stock - Dividend - Research Selection

Description of the company

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (“we,” “our,” “us,” the “Company,” “Air Products,” or “registrant”), a Delaware corporation originally founded in 1940, serves energy, electronics, chemicals, metals, and manufacturing customers globally with a unique portfolio of products, services, and solutions that include atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, electronics and performance materials, equipment, and services. The Company is the world’s largest supplier of hydrogen and has built leading positions in growth markets such as helium, refinery hydrogen, semiconductor materials, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. As used in this report, unless the context indicates otherwise, the terms “we,” “our,” “us,” the “Company,” or “registrant” include controlled subsidiaries, affiliates, and predecessors of Air Products and its controlled subsidiaries and affiliates.

During its fiscal year ended 30 September 2016 (“fiscal year 2016”), the Company manufactured and distributed products in two principal lines of business: Industrial Gases and Materials Technologies. Industrial Gases’ primary products were atmospheric gases, process gases, and equipment for air separation. Materials Technologies’ primary products were performance materials and chemicals, such as epoxy amine curing agents, polyurethane catalysts, additives, and specialty surfactants, and electronic materials such as specialty gases, chemical mechanical planarization slurries, and specialty chemicals. The Company also designs and manufactures equipment for natural gas liquefaction and helium distribution.

At the beginning of the fiscal year, the Company reported its business in seven reporting segments under which it managed its operations, assessed performance, and reported earnings: Industrial Gases – Americas; Industrial Gases – EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa); Industrial Gases – Asia; Industrial Gases – Global; Materials Technologies; Energy-from-Waste; and Corporate and other. On 29 March 2016, the Board of Directors approved the Company’s exit of its Energy-from-Waste business based on continued difficulties encountered in making its two Energy-from-Waste projects operational and the Company’s conclusion, based on testing and analysis completed during the second quarter of fiscal year 2016, that significant additional time and resources would be required to make the projects operational. The Energy-from-Waste segment is now presented as a discontinued operation. Refer to Note 26, Business Segment and Geographic Information, to the consolidated financial statements for additional details on our reportable business segments.

On 16 September 2015, the Company announced that its Board of Directors approved a preliminary plan to spin off its Materials Technologies business, which contained the Electronic Materials and Performance Materials businesses. On 6 May 2016, the Company entered into an agreement to sell certain subsidiaries and assets comprising the Performance Materials business to Evonik Industries AG for $3.8 billion in cash and the assumption of certain liabilities. The Company also announced its intention to proceed with the spin-off of the Electronic Materials business. In preparation for the spin-off, Air Products transferred operations, employees, assets, and liabilities of the Electronic Materials business to its wholly owned subsidiary, Versum Materials, Inc. (Versum). On 1 October 2016, Air Products distributed all of the shares of Versum Materials, Inc. to its shareholders, creating a new publicly traded corporation. As of 30 September 2016, the results of operations, financial condition, and cash flows for the Electronic Materials and Performance Materials businesses are presented within the Company’s consolidated financial statements as continuing operations. Beginning with the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, the historical results of Electronic Materials will be presented as a discontinued operation. The historical results of Performance Materials will be reflected as a discontinued operation when it becomes probable for the sale to occur and actions required to meet the plan of sale indicate that it is unlikely that significant changes will occur.

Narrative Description of Business by Segments

Industrial Gases Business

The Company’s Industrial Gases business produces atmospheric gases (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases), process gases (hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, syngas and specialty gases) and equipment for the production or processing of gases such as air separation units and non-cryogenic generators. Atmospheric gases are produced through various air separation processes of which cryogenic is the most prevalent. Process gases are produced by methods other than air separation. For example, hydrogen is produced by steam methane reforming of natural gas or by purifying byproduct sources obtained from the chemical and petrochemical industries; and helium is produced as a byproduct of gases extracted from underground reservoirs, primarily natural gas, but also carbon dioxide purified before resale.

The Company’s Industrial Gases business is organized and operated regionally. The regional Industrial Gases segments (Americas, EMEA, and Asia) supply gases and related equipment in the relevant region to diversified customers in many industries, including those in metals, glass, chemical processing, electronics, energy production and refining, food processing, metallurgical industries, medical, and general manufacturing. Hydrogen is used by refiners to facilitate the conversion of heavy crude feedstock and lower the sulfur content of gasoline and diesel fuels. The chemicals industry uses hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide and syngas as feedstocks in the production of many basic chemicals. The energy production industry uses nitrogen injection for enhanced recovery of oil and natural gas and oxygen for gasification. Oxygen is used in combustion and industrial heating applications, including in the steel, certain nonferrous metals, glass and cement industries. Nitrogen applications are used in food processing for freezing and preserving flavor and nitrogen for inerting is used in various fields, including the metallurgical, chemical, and semiconductor industries. Helium is used in laboratories and healthcare for cooling and in other industries for pressurizing, purging and lifting. Argon is used in the metals and other industries for its unique inerting, thermal conductivity and other properties. Industrial gases are also used in welding and providing healthcare and are utilized in various manufacturing processes to make them more efficient and to optimize performance.

We distribute gases to our customers through a variety of supply modes:

Liquid Bulk—Product is delivered in bulk (in liquid or gaseous form) by tanker or tube trailer and stored, usually in its liquid state, in equipment designed and installed typically by the Company at the customer’s site for vaporizing into a gaseous state as needed. Liquid bulk sales are usually governed by three- to five-year contracts.

Packaged Gases—Small quantities of product are delivered in either cylinders or dewars. The Company operates packaged gas businesses in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In the United States, the Company’s packaged gas business sells products only for the electronics and magnetic resonance imaging (principally helium) industries.

On-Site Gases—Large quantities of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, and syngas (a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide) are provided to customers, principally the energy production and refining, chemical, and metallurgical industries worldwide who require large volumes of gases that have relatively constant demand. Gases are produced at large facilities located adjacent to customers’ facilities or by pipeline systems from centrally located production facilities and are generally governed by 15- to 20- year contracts. The Company also delivers small quantities of product through small on-site plants (cryogenic or non-cryogenic generators), typically either via a 10- to 15- year sale of gas contract or through the sale of the equipment to the customer.

Electricity is the largest cost component in the production of atmospheric gases, and natural gas is the principal raw material for hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and syngas production. We mitigate energy and natural gas price fluctuations contractually through pricing formulas, surcharges, and cost pass-through arrangements. During fiscal year 2016, no significant difficulties were encountered in obtaining adequate supplies of power and natural gas.

The regional Industrial Gases segments also include our share of the results of several joint ventures accounted for by the equity method. The largest of these joint ventures operate in Mexico, Italy, South Africa, India, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand.

Each of the regional Industrial Gases segments competes against three global industrial gas companies: Air Liquide S.A., Linde AG, and Praxair, Inc.; as well as regional competitors. Competition in Industrial Gases is based primarily on price, reliability of supply, and the development of industrial gas applications. In locations where we have pipeline networks, which enable us to provide reliable and economic supply of products to larger customers, we derive a competitive advantage.

Overall regional industrial gases sales constituted approximately 76% of consolidated sales in fiscal year 2016, 76% in fiscal year 2015, and 77% in fiscal year 2014. Sales of tonnage hydrogen and related products constituted approximately 17% of consolidated sales in fiscal year 2016, 19% in fiscal year 2015, and 22% in fiscal year 2014. Sales of atmospheric gases constituted approximately 36% of consolidated sales in fiscal year 2016, 35% in fiscal year 2015 and 33% in fiscal year 2014.

Industrial Gases Equipment

The Company designs and manufactures equipment for air separation, hydrocarbon recovery and purification, natural gas liquefaction (LNG), and liquid helium and liquid hydrogen transport and storage. The Industrial Gases – Global segment includes cryogenic and non-cryogenic equipment for air separation. The equipment is sold worldwide to customers in a variety of industries, including chemical and petrochemical manufacturing, oil and gas recovery, and processing and steel and primary metals processing. Other activities, which are managed globally instead of regionally, are also part of this segment, such as technology development for air separation. The Corporate and other segment includes two global equipment businesses, our LNG sale of equipment business and our liquid helium and liquid hydrogen transport and storage containers business. Steel, aluminum, and capital equipment subcomponents (compressors, etc.) are the principal raw materials in the manufacturing of equipment in this business segment. Adequate raw materials for individual projects are acquired under firm purchase agreements. Equipment is produced at the Company’s manufacturing sites with certain components being procured from subcontractors and vendors. Competition in the equipment business is based primarily on technological performance, service, technical know-how, price and performance guarantees.

The backlog of equipment orders was approximately $1.1 billion on 30 September 2016 (as compared with a total backlog of approximately $1.5 billion on 30 September 2015) and primarily contains Air Products’ share of the multi-year contract with a joint venture in Jazan, Saudi Arabia for the construction of an industrial gas facility that will supply gases to Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco). Revenue from this contract is recognized under the percent complete method based on costs incurred to date compared with total expected costs to be incurred. The Company estimates that between 60-70% of the total sales backlog as of 30 September 2016 will be recognized as revenue during fiscal year 2017, dependent on execution schedules of the relevant projects.