By Ezequiel Minaya

Air Products & Chemicals Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings on Thursday, despite a decline in sales, as the industrial gas company completed a restructuring of operations that eliminated about 2,000 jobs during the year but increased profitability.

Operating margin for the fourth quarter of the company's 2015 fiscal year reached 19.3%, up from 5.4% during the same period last year. Earnings also got a boost from the sale of land that helped propel profit up to $344.5 million from $102.5 million a year earlier.

For the current quarter, the first of the 2016 fiscal year, Air Products expects per-share earnings between $1.65 and $1.75, up 6% to 13% from the previous year. For the year, the company plans on earnings per share of $7.25 to $7.50, up 10% to 14% from the prior year.

In the fourth quarter, the company's per-share earnings rose to $1.58 from 47 cents. On an adjusted basis, per-share earnings increased to $1.82 up from $1.66.

The company's cost of sales fell to $1.7 billion from $1.93 billion, and its selling and administrative expenses declined to $200.4 million from $243 million.

Revenue declined 8.5% to $2.45 billion, as the company faced currency headwinds and global slowdown in industrial markets. Industrial gas sales decreased across all regions except for Asia, which climbed 7%. Sales in the company's materials segment fell 13% to $490 million.

During the quarter, the company said it intends to spin-off its Materials Technologies business.

Write to Ezequiel Minaya at Ezequiel.Minaya@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 29, 2015 07:18 ET (11:18 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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