Air Products Issues Inaugural Green Bonds Across $600 Million and €700 Million Debt Offerings

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Mar 06, 2023, 08:00 ET

First multi-currency same day execution of green labeled bonds from an investment grade U.S. issuer (EUR & USD)

First U.S. chemical company to issue a green bond with green and blue hydrogen as an eligible expenditure category

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products (NYSE:APD) has successfully issued its registered green bond offerings of $600 million aggregate principal amount of U.S. dollar-denominated fixed-rate notes and €700 million aggregate principal amount of euro-denominated fixed-rate notes. The green bond issuances consisted of the following tranches:

U.S. Dollar-Denominated Offering

Euro-Denominated Offering

$600 million of 4.80% Notes due 2033

€700 million of 4.00% Notes due 2035

"Put simply, sustainability is our growth strategy at Air Products," said Seifi Ghasemi, Chairman, President and CEO. "We want to grow responsibly through sustainability-driven opportunities that benefit our customers and our world. Importantly, our multi-currency green bond offerings make us the first U.S. chemical company to issue with green and blue hydrogen as an eligible expenditure category, further reinforcing our leading position advancing the energy transition through hydrogen for zero-emission transportation and industrial decarbonization."

Air Products intends to use the net proceeds from the notes offerings to finance or refinance, in whole or in part, one or more Eligible Projects (as defined in the applicable prospectus supplement), including:

expenditures and investments related to pollution prevention and control–green and blue hydrogen and green and blue ammonia;
expenditures in renewable energy; and
expenditures and investments related to sustainable aviation fuel.

Pending full allocation of the net proceeds to such Eligible Projects, Air Products may hold and/or invest the balance of such net proceeds not yet allocated, in the Company's discretion, in its Treasury portfolio (in cash, cash equivalents, money market funds, etc.) in line with its Treasury policies or use them to repay a portion of outstanding indebtedness.

Morningstar Sustainalytics, a leading global provider of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research and ratings, has completed and published a Second Party Opinion (SPO) on Air Products' green finance framework. The firm reviewed Air Products' green finance framework and determined that the planned use of proceeds is consistent with Air Products' sustainability strategy. Sustainalytics' SPO offers investors additional insight into the alignment of Air Products' green finance framework with the Green Bond Principles.

Air Products will publish annual updates on the allocation of the proceeds until the proceeds have been fully allocated to projects meeting the eligibility criteria. These updates will be reported publicly on Air Products' website at www.airproducts.com and may include additional descriptions of select projects, and, where possible, their environmental and/or social impacts.

The Company's green finance framework and Sustainalytics' SPO can be accessed from Air Products' Sustainability website.

Sustainability-linked Syndicated Revolving Credit Facility

In March 2021, Air Products was the first major U.S. chemical company to incorporate sustainability-linked ESG-related metrics into its $2.75 billion syndicated revolving credit facility.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for over 80 years focused on serving energy, environmental, and emerging markets. The Company has two growth pillars driven by sustainability. Air Products' core business provides essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, and food. The Company also develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world's largest industrial gas and carbon-capture projects, supplying world-scale clean hydrogen for global transportation, industrial markets, and the broader energy transition. Additionally, Air Products is the world leader in the supply of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment, and globally provides turbomachinery, membrane systems and cryogenic containers.

The Company had fiscal 2022 sales of $12.7 billion from operations in over 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of approximately $65 billion. More than 21,000 passionate, talented and committed employees from diverse backgrounds are driven by Air Products' higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the environment, enhance sustainability and reimagine what's possible to address the challenges facing customers, communities, and the world. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding expectations with respect to each of the notes offerings. Forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. While forward-looking statements are made in good faith and based on assumptions, expectations and projections that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information, actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors, including, without limitation: the duration and impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic and efforts to contain its transmission, including the effect of these factors on our business, our customers, economic conditions and markets generally; changes in global or regional economic conditions, inflation and supply and demand dynamics in the market segments we serve, including demand for technologies and projects to limit the impact of global climate change; changes in the financial markets that may affect the availability and terms on which we may obtain financing; the ability to implement price increases to offset cost increases; disruptions to our supply chain and related distribution delays and cost increases; risks associated with having extensive international operations, including political risks, risks associated with unanticipated government actions and risks of investing in developing markets; project delays, contract terminations, customer cancellations, or postponement of projects and sales; our ability to safely develop, operate, and manage costs of large-scale and technically complex projects; the future financial and operating performance of major customers, joint ventures, and equity affiliates; our ability to develop, implement, and operate new technologies and to market products produced utilizing new technologies; our ability to execute the projects in our backlog and refresh our pipeline of new projects; tariffs, economic sanctions and regulatory activities in jurisdictions in which we and our affiliates and joint ventures operate; the impact of environmental, tax, safety, or other legislation, as well as regulations and other public policy initiatives affecting our business and the business of our affiliates and related compliance requirements, including legislation, regulations, or policies intended to address global climate change; changes in tax rates and other changes in tax law; safety incidents relating to our operations; the timing, impact, and other uncertainties relating to acquisitions and divestitures, including our ability to integrate acquisitions and separate divested businesses, respectively; risks relating to cybersecurity incidents, including risks from the interruption, failure or compromise of our information systems; catastrophic events, such as natural disasters and extreme weather events, public health crises, acts of war, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing civil war in Yemen, or terrorism; the impact on our business and customers of price fluctuations in oil and natural gas and disruptions in markets and the economy due to oil and natural gas price volatility; costs and outcomes of legal or regulatory proceedings and investigations; asset impairments due to economic conditions or specific events; significant fluctuations in inflation, interest rates, and foreign currency exchange rates from those currently anticipated; damage to facilities, pipelines or delivery systems, including those we own or operate for third parties; availability and cost of electric power, natural gas, and other raw materials; the success of productivity and operational improvement programs; and other risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 and subsequent filings we have made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in assumptions, beliefs, or expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances upon which any such forward-looking statements are based.

SOURCE Air Products