We’re okay today and will be better tomorrow

I always say that you make your money during hard times, and count it when times are good.

Depending on the duration of this soft market, Airgas is probably looking at slight to moderate revenue declines across most of our product portfolio in fiscal 2010, and will continue looking for ways to take costs out of our business. These efforts will multiply the rewards we reap when the economy does rebound.

While it’s not exactly business-as-usual in the short term, we remain committed to our long-term growth strategy. Our strong position in free cash flow, which allowed us to reward our shareholders with recent dividend increases, gives me confidence that we can stay on course and weather this storm. We also remain watchful for opportunities from the stimulus spending plan. A focused infrastructure build supports demand for our industrial gases, welding goods and safety supplies, and stimulus money for research and healthcare should drive demand for our specialty and medical gases.

While there is still a considerable degree of economic obscurity out there, we have a great deal of clarity about the realization of our strategic vision. Our customers now benefit from a vast network of locations supported by outstanding product and process specialists across the broadest product and service offering in the industry. Every day we draw closer to being the kind of dynamic, world-class distribution organization we want to be.

This coming year isn’t going to be easy for any business. The best companies will succeed because of sound strategies and hard work. That’s been our straightforward operating philosophy since the earliest days and it will continue to guide Airgas to new levels of success no matter what challenges we face.

Peter McCausland
Chairman and Chief Executive
June 12, 2009