Airgas, Inc. (NYSE: ARG), Radnor, PA, reported sales for the third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2013, of $1.2 billion, an increase of 3 percent from the previous year. Organic sales increased 1 percent. Profit for the quarter decreased slightly to $82.8 million.

For the first nine months of the fiscal year, sales were $3.8 billion, a 3 percent increase from the previous year. The company reported a profit of $262.4 million year-to-date, an increase of 3 percent from the same period in 2012.

“There are bright spots within certain sectors, but overall choppiness in the industrial economy continues to frustrate us,” said Michael L. Molinini, president and CEO. “As uncertainty persists, we will remain focused on the things that we can control, including leveraging the SAP system, managing expenses, expanding our telesales business, and enhancing our e-business platform, and are ready to capitalize when sustained growth in the industrial economy resumes.”