ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (APD) on Thursday reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $617.4 million.

The Allentown, Pennsylvania-based company said it had net income of $2.77 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $2.86 per share.

The results met Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for earnings of $2.86 per share.

The seller of gases for industrial, medical and other uses posted revenue of $2.93 billion in the period, which missed Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3.01 billion.

For the current quarter ending in March, Air Products and Chemicals expects its per-share earnings to range from $2.75 to $2.85.

The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $12.70 to $13 per share.

Air Products and Chemicals shares have risen 15% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has risen 27%. The stock has increased 53% in the last 12 months.

_____

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on APD at https://www.zacks.com/ap/APD