Praxair 2Q Results: Postgame Scorecard

While revenue slowed, Praxair's (NYSE:PX) profit still increased in the most recent quarter.

Earnings and Revenue The company's EPS fell in line with analyst expectations of $1.42 a share while revenue of $2.81 billion missed estimates of $2.93 billion. The estimates of 13 analysts ranged from profit of $1.40 to profit of $1.45.

Net income for the second quarter was up rose 0.9% to $429 million. Revenue fell 1.6% from $2.86 billion in the same period last year.

Company Fundamental Trends Last quarter marked the third in a row of rising net income. Slumping revenue in the last quarter ends The company's streak of at least four consecutive quarters of revenue increases.

History Against Expectations The company fell in line with estimates last quarter after topping forecasts in the previous quarter. It reported net income of $1.38 versus a mean estimate of net income of $1.36 per share.

Official Comment: Commenting on the financial results and business outlook, chairman, president and chief executive officer Steve Angel said, "North America, our largest region, experienced solid growth and improved operating leverage. Europe and South America were negatively impacted by weaker currencies and macro-economic conditions. Asia sales benefited from new project start-ups to supply customers under long-term contracts." "Our backlog of large projects with customer contracts remains strong at $2.5 billion and new customer proposal activity remains at healthy levels."

Estimates provided by Zacks Investment Research and company fundamentals from Xignite Financials.