Praxair says it will take a charge of about $290 million (93 cts/share) in the fourth quarter, the majority of which is related to settlements of "various tax disputes" with the Spanish government. The remainder of the charge, about $40 million, relates to the planned sale of its U.S. homecare business. That business, which has annual sales of about $150 million, has been under pressure for several years due mostly to continuing reduction of Medicare reimbursement rates, Praxair says. Excluding the charges, Praxair says it will meet its previous fourth-quarter earnings guidance of $1.18-$1.23/share. Separately, Praxair has named Elizabeth Hirsch v.p. and controller. She succeeds Mark Murphy, who is leaving the company to become CFO of MEMC Electronic Materials (St. Peters, MO). Hirsch was most recently v.p./investor relations at Praxair.
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