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27 min ago 3 min read
French industrial gases major Air Liquide reported third-quarter revenue of €7.26bn ($8.1bn), up 3% on a comparable basis, as sales in its Electronics business rose 12% on the back of semiconductor demand linked to AI.
Revenue increased 10% on a reported basis, while sales rose 4.3% excluding currency and energy impacts.
Gas & Services, which accounts for the bulk of group revenue, grew 3.6% on a comparable basis in the three months to 30 September.
Electronics sales rose 12%, supported by demand for semiconductor manufacturing linked to AI, while Industrial Merchant sales increased 5.3%.
CEO François Jackow said volume growth had accelerated in both segments, exceeding the contribution from pricing.
“The key development this quarter is the acceleration of volume growth in Electronics and Industrial Merchant segments, going beyond positive pricing effects,” he said, while cautioning that conditions remained volatile.
Air Liquide’s revenue exceeded the €7.16bn ($7.98bn) average forecast of analysts polled by Vara Research.
Investment and strategy
The company made investment decisions worth €1.25bn ($1.39bn) during the quarter, taking the total for the first nine months of 2026 to more than €4.1bn ($4.6bn). Its investment backlog reached a record €6.2bn ($6.9bn).
Electronics investment decisions in the first nine months almost doubled the total for the full year of 2025, as the group expanded capacity to supply semiconductor manufacturers.
Air Liquide also reported €441m ($491m) in efficiencies generated through the end of September.
The results follow the launch of its Beyond strategic plan on 5 October, which sets out its growth and investment priorities through 2030.
Read more about Beyond:
The group aims to make around €24bn ($26.7bn) in industrial investment decisions over the period, targeting markets including electronics, the energy transition, healthcare and space.
It plans to grow sales by an annual average of 5% and improve its operating margin by 400 to 600 basis points through 2030.
Air Liquide also aims to allocate more than €40bn ($44.5bn) in capital over the period, with more than half directed towards industrial investment and acquisitions.
Outlook confirmed
Air Liquide reaffirmed its 2026 outlook, saying it remained confident in its ability to increase its operating margin by 100 basis points and deliver growth in recurring net profit at constant exchange rates.
Alongside the results, Air Liquide announced the launch of the first €1bn ($1.1bn) tranche of its €4bn ($4.4bn) share buyback programme, which is due to be completed by the end of December 2026. The wider programme is scheduled to run through the end of 2028.
Jackow said Beyond had opened a new chapter for the group, with the latest results reflecting the performance of its growth markets.
“Our third quarter is a perfect illustration, delivering robust performance driven by the momentum of our sales and investments in growth markets,” he said.
