First quarter sales were $1.26 billion, an increase of 8% over the prior year. Same-store sales grew 7% in the quarter, with hardgoods up 9% and gas and rent up 5%. Acquisitions, net of a divestiture, contributed sales growth of 1% in the quarter. Sequentially, sales increased 1% from the fourth quarter.
“Our earnings were strong, notwithstanding the significant incremental challenges we faced in our helium supply chain during the quarter,” said Airgas Chief Executive Officer Peter McCausland. “The slow and steady growth we had been seeing across our customer base through May moderated in June. We are paying close attention to our business trends and tightening controls on our operating expenses. Though we are appropriately cautious about near-term conditions, we remain optimistic about the long-term prospects for the U.S. manufacturing and energy industries and our ability to leverage our unique value proposition and unrivaled platform to drive growth in these and other key customer segments.”