ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (APD) on Thursday reported a fiscal third-quarter loss of $1.44 billion, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

The Allentown, Pennsylvania-based company said it had a loss of $6.47 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $3.47 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $3.36 per share.

The seller of gases for industrial, medical and other uses posted revenue of $3.16 billion in the period, falling short of Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3.18 billion.

For the current quarter ending in September, Air Products and Chemicals expects its per-share earnings to range from $3.55 to $3.65.

The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $13.39 to $13.49 per share.

Air Products and Chemicals shares have risen 19% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P's 500 index has risen nearly 7%. The stock has dropped slightly in the last 12 months.

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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