Feb 5 (Reuters) - Air Products and Chemicals on Monday missed profit estimates for the first quarter, driven by weaker sales volumes in its Europe segment and higher costs.

Chemical companies experienced headwinds globally in 2023 due to softer demand in key markets such as Europe and Asia, where post-pandemic economic recovery has been sluggish.

Pennsylvania-based Air Products and Chemicals posted an adjusted profit of $2.82 per share, lower than analysts' estimates of $3 per share, according to LSEG data.

Shares of the company fell as much as 9% in premarket trading.

The company forecast second-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.60 per share to $2.75 per share.

For the full year, it expects an adjusted profit to be between $12.20 per share and $12.50 per share, compared with analysts' estimates of $12.97 per LSEG data.

Peers Dow and LyondellBasell, both, forecast muted sales for the current quarter, flagging weakness in demand and persistent economic uncertainty.

Air Products said quarterly sales in its Europe unit fell 7.7% year-on-year to $731 million, while sales in its Asia segment rose nearly 2.1% in the same period.

"Our reported results were lower than our expectations, mainly due to a slowdown in manufacturing in Asia, particularly in China; lower helium demand; cost headwinds from a sale of equipment project; and currency devaluation in Argentina," Chief Executive Officer Seifi Ghasemi said.

The company also saw higher capital expenditures (capex) in the quarter, compared with a year earlier. It expects capex for the fiscal year 2024 to be between $5.0 billion and $5.5 billion, unchanged from that of 2023.

(Reporting by Kabir Dweit and Seher Dareen; Editing by Pooja Desai and Shweta Agarwal)