Recasts throughout with second quarter forecast, comments from conference call, analyst's comments; adds shares

By Vallari Srivastava

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Air Products APD.N forecast second-quarter profit below Wall Street's expectations on Thursday, as the industrial gases manufacturer expects challenging conditions in key regions such as China.

The company, which recently emerged from an expensive boardroom battle , told analysts on a post-earnings call that tariffs could also impact its projects, sending shares down 1%.

The ongoing trade war between the United States and China, initiated by President Donald Trump's 10% tariff on Chinese imports, has led to retaliatory measures from China, including targeted tariffs on U.S. goods and potential sanctions on various companies.

"China's still a wait and see ... right now we see no material improvement. The market still remains challenging," said CFO Melissa Schaeffer, adding that the company is monitoring the impact of tariffs and China's economic stimulus.

China represents 16% of Air Products' total revenue, while the U.S. accounts for 41%, according to LSEG data.

Earlier this week, activist investor Mantle Ridge succeeded in replacing long-serving CEO Seifi Ghasemi with Eduardo Menezes, a former executive from Air Products' rival, Linde LIN.DE, concluding a months-long proxy fight.

Air Products recorded a charge of $29.9 million in the first quarter due to costs related to shareholder activism.

Morningstar analyst Krzysztof Smalec expects the new management to focus on instilling a more disciplined risk-management framework and improving margins by eliminating costs associated with non-core activities.

The Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania-based company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.79 per share from $1.77 per share previously and expects to return about $1.6 billion to shareholders in 2025.

It expects second-quarter adjusted profit between $2.75 per share and $2.85 per share, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

((Srivastava.Vallari@thomsonreuters.com;))