Air Products To Supply For POSCO Chemical's Gwangyang Site

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) has been awarded the on-site oxygen and nitrogen supply for POSCO Chemical's new cathode material manufacturing site in Gwangyang, South Korea.

POSCO Chemical is an affiliate of POSCO Group, the biggest integrated steel producer in Korea. Air Products will construct, own and operate two air separation units to support POSCO Chemical's new production line. These units are slated to come online next year.

Air Products has been supplying pipeline oxygen to POSCO Chemical's existing site in Gumi, South Korea for making cathode materials for secondary batteries. Cathode materials are a key component of secondary batteries and are generally used in devices including mobile phones, consumer devices, energy storage systems and electric vehicles. POSCO Group has been expanding its business into the growing secondary battery market.

According to Air Products, demand for secondary batteries is rising sharply in Korea, partly driven by the rapid growth of electric vehicles and energy storage systems due to environmental trends. The company will continue to look for opportunities to provide reliable and efficient gas solutions to this rapidly growing industry.

Air Products, which is among the prominent players in the chemicals space along with DowDuPont Inc. (NYSE:DWDP) , Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) and LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB) , topped earnings expectations in second-quarter fiscal 2019. Its adjusted earnings rose 12% year over year to $1.92 per share in the quarter, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.88.

The company logged fiscal second-quarter revenues of $2,187.7 million, up around 2% year over year on the back of higher volumes and pricing. However, revenues missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,199.4 million.

Air Products raised its adjusted earnings per share guidance for fiscal 2019 to the range of $8.15-$8.30 from the previous expectation of $8.05-$8.30. This suggests 10% rise year over year at the midpoint.

The company expects adjusted earnings for third-quarter fiscal 2019 in the band of $2.10-$2.15 per share, which indicates 8-10% rise year over year. Also, it increased capital expenditure expectations for fiscal 2019 to the range of $2.4-$2.5 billion, from the previous range of $2.3-$2.5 billion.

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