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58 min ago 2 min read
It was a confident presentation from the leaders of Air Liquide today. Words that peppered the hour-long Q1 earnings call included robust, remarkable, acceleration, discipline and growth. Analysts heard about a , new business in the US Gulf coast and a major electronics project secured in Hiroshima.
Sitting on the call, you could easily have been forgiven for thinking there was no global energy crisis casting a shadow, even if there were occasional allusions.
CEO Francois Jackow naturally stressed the paramount importance of safety, for the company’s staff working across five Middle East countries. Financially he seemed to downplay the impact, though, outlining how the region accounts for 1% of group sales and noting that all local assets remain intact.
But with Qatar accounting for 30% of global helium supply, the concerns around supply are real – and perversely its global footprint strength, at a time of rising international supply chain stress and disruption, could be interpreted as weakness, by delivering rising exposure and risk.
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