 |
 |
Company Facing 9,500 Lawsuits Re: Exposure To Manganese In Welding Fumes? ( murray ) * * * BOC 3rd-Qtr Profit Falls on Disposal of U.S. Gas Unit (Update4) Aug. 3 (Bloomberg, UK) -- BOC Group Plc, Europe's second-largest maker of industrial gases, said fiscal third-quarter profit fell 72 percent because of a write-off on the disposal of its U.S. packaged gas unit. Net income was 18.8 million pounds ($34.3 million), or 3.7 pence a share, in the three months ended June 30, compared with 66.5 million pounds, or 13.5 pence, in the year-earlier period, the company said in an e-mailed statement. Profit was below the median estimate of 81.2 million pounds by 11 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Windlesham, England-based BOC recorded a loss of 79.8 million pounds on the sale, completed July 30, of the packaged gas unit to Airgas Inc. for about $175 million in cash. BOC also said profits were squeezed during the quarter by the British pound's gains against the U.S. dollar. ``Operating figures are slightly below my estimates because of negative currency effects,'' said Sal. Oppenheim analyst Juergen Reck, who has a ``Buy'' rating on the stock. ``The negative surprise is the higher-than-expected costs for the disposal of the U.S. packaged business.'' The provisional book loss on the disposal has been charged as an exceptional item in the third quarter, the company said. Shares BOC shares fell 32.5 pence, or 3.5 percent, to 901 pence as of 10:07 a.m. in London. BOC and rivals such as France's Air Liquide SA supply oxygen, nitrogen and other gases to steelmakers and computer-chip suppliers and profit when customers increase their manufacturing. Oil companies, spurred by environmental laws, are using more hydrogen to remove sulfur from fuels. ``Our global gases businesses have continued to perform strongly and their results have been complemented by further improvements in BOC Edwards,'' the semiconductor gases unit, Chief Executive Tony Isaac said in the release. ``Significant new contracts will add to future growth and a recently completed business disposal will enable our financial performance to be improved.'' The outlook for industrial gases was positive and that the orders for BOC Edwards remained high, BOC said, adding that the semiconductor-making clients of BOC Edwards are confident about next year. `Softening' BOC Edwards expects a ``softening'' of semiconductor investment in 2006, Isaac said in a telephone interview. Operating profit at BOC Edwards tripled to 15.2 million pounds on a sales increase of 33 percent to 215 million pounds in the third quarter, BOC said. Pretax profit before exceptional items, the focus of most analysts, gained 13 percent to 130.3 million pounds, BOC said. Third-quarter sales, including revenue from joint ventures and shareholdings, rose 6 percent to 1.157 billion pounds. Industrial gas sales improved in Europe, while strong performance continued in the south Pacific region, BOC said. A stronger rand affected manufacturing and mining in South Africa, the company said. More orders during the previous quarter led to a further increase in adjusted operating profit from BOC Edwards in the third quarter, although U.S. dollar exchange rate movements continued to hurt margins, BOC added. Corus Contract BOC has signed a 15-year contract with U.K. steelmaker Corus Group Plc, with BOC increasing by 30 percent its supply of oxygen, nitrogen and argon to the Corus Strip Products UK plant in Port Talbot, Isaac said in the interview. The company has signed an agreement U.K.'s BP Plc in which BOC will build a hydrogen production and utilities complex to supply more than 110 million standard cubic feet of the gas per day to industrial customers, including the BP refinery in Toledo, Ohio. BOC's partner for engineering and construction will be LindeBOC Process Plants of Tulsa, Oklahoma, he said, adding that construction is expected to begin by September. These contracts together with new contracts in China achieved earlier this year should generate $250 million in sales ``in a couple of years,'' Isaac said. The company was facing about 9,500 lawsuits, from 8,525 lawsuits it reported in May, in connection with the exposure to manganese in welding fumes, he said. BOC in October lost a lawsuit in Illinois that alleged that welding fumes led a man to develop Parkinson's disease, and the U.K. company said it would appeal the verdict. ``We have no intention to settle any cases,'' Isaac said. To contact the reporter on this story: Antonio Ligi in Zurich at [log in to unmask] To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Rohner at [log in to unmask] Last Updated: August 3, 2004 05:43 EDT SOURCE: Bloomberg, UK http://tinyurl.com/5yv56 Reference: Jury Awards $1 Million In Welder's Suit http://neuro-mancer.mgh.harvard.edu/ubb/Forum71/HTML/009080.html Jurors Could Benefit From New Law http://tinyurl.com/69omj * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn