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28 min ago 3 min read
Industrial gases major Linde reported record third-quarter sales of $9.4bn, up 9% year-on-year, with higher volumes concentrated in the electronics, chemicals and energy, and manufacturing end markets.
Q3 net income dropped by 12% to $1.692bn and operating profit decreased to $2.2bn. Adjusted operating profit reached $2.8bn, up 8% year-on-year, with an adjusted operating profit margin of 29.4%.
CEO Sanjiv Lamba said the company’s financial performance continued to improve in Q3, delivering record sales and earnings per share (EPS) alongside strong operating cash flow.
He noted that strong customer demand, specifically in electronics, is supporting the company’s confidence in continued backlog growth, which currently sits at a combined $11bn.
Compared to the prior year, underlying sales increased 5% driven by 3% pricing gains and 2% higher volumes, concentrated in the electronics, chemicals and energy, and manufacturing end markets.
Americas sales totalled $3.601bn, up 11% year-on-year, generating operating profit of $1.263bn.
Asia Pacific sales reached $1.95bn, up 12% compared to the prior year, led by 5% higher volumes primarily in the electronics, chemicals and energy end markets, and project start-ups. Operating profit totalled $534m.
Europe, Middle East and Africa sales increased to $2.327bn, up 7% year-on-year, producing operating profit of $817m. Underlying sales rose 3%, driven by 2% higher pricing and 1% higher volumes primarily in the healthcare and food and beverage end markets.
Linde Engineering sales were $582m up 12% versus the prior year, with operating profit reaching $107m. Order intake for the quarter was $499m, while third-party sale of equipment backlog was $2.9bn.
Linde Engineering it will build and commission a 200,000 tonne per year carbon capture plant at a Swedish waste-to-energy facility, with carbon dioxide due to be stored in the North Sea off Norway.
Looking ahead, Linde expects fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of between $4.40 to $4.50 and full-year adjusted EPS between $17.82 to $17.92.
The company expects to spend between $5.5bn to $6bn on capital expenditure this year to support growth projects, including its $7.9bn contractual sale of gas project backlog.
“Regardless of the economic environment, we remain focused on operational excellence, disciplined capital deployment and securing high-quality projects that will compound shareholder value over the long term,” said Lamba.
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