New Air Products CEO swings the axe

Industrial gases giant Air Products has terminated three US projects following a review initiated by its new CEO Eduardo Menezes. The company expects to record a pre-tax charge of up to $3.1 billion in its fiscal Q2, primarily to write down assets and terminate contractual commitments.

Menezes, who had a long career with competitor firms Praxair and Linde, took the helm in January after previous CEO Seifi Ghasemi and two other directors lost their bids for re-election to the board. This followed a six-month proxy battle, led by ‘activist investor’ Mantle Ridge which had criticised the lack of a CEO succession plan, relatively weak shareholder returns and Air Products’ failure to secure off-take agreements before beginning large clean hydrogen projects. 

The terminated projects comprise a sustainable aviation fuel expansion project in Paramount, California, with World Energy; a 35 tonnes/day facility to produce green liquid hydrogen in Massena, New York; and a carbon monoxide facility in Texas. These all faced either commercial or regulatory issues. Menezes said that the decision “will streamline our backlog and focus company resources on projects that drive value for shareholders”.