Linde reported net income of $1.67bn in Q1, up 3% year-on-year, despite what it termed flat sales of $8.1bn and macroeconomic challenges.
The industrial gas major reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.95, up 5% year-on-year – or 8% when excluding foreign exchange effects. Adjusted operating profit rose 4% to $2.4bn, with operating margin climbing 120 basis points to 30.1%.
Operating cash flow increased 11% year-on-year to $2.2bn, and free cash flow was $891m after $1.27bn in capital expenditures.
CEO Sanjiv Lamba said, “While first quarter macroeconomic headwinds largely played out as anticipated, Linde employees delivered another resilient performance by expanding operating margins … growing EPS, excluding FX, by 8%, and maintaining industry-leading return on capital of 25.7%.
“Looking forward, while we remain cautious on the economic outlook, I’m confident [in] the Linde business model,” he added.
Regional performance
Sales in the Americas grew 3% to $3.67bn, with underlying sales up 4% on a 3% pricing hike and 1% higher volumes. Operating profit rose to $1.14bn, with a margin of 31%. Electronics, chemicals and energy were standout end-markets.
In Asia Pacific, sales declined 3% to $1.54bn, impacted by lower volumes in metals, mining, and manufacturing. Despite this, operating profit of $451m represented a 120 basis point margin improvement to 29.3%.
EMEA sales also fell 3% to $2.03bn, but higher pricing helped push operating profit to $722m and margin up 260 basis points to 35.5%.
Linde Engineering saw 5% year-on-year growth in sales to $565m and posted operating profit of $114m, or 20.2% of sales. Order intake was $516m, with a third-party equipment backlog of $3.3bn.
Linde said it expects to invest $5bn to $5.5bn in 2025 to support growth, including its $7bn contractual sale-of-gas project backlog.
The company continues to expand its project pipeline, having secured a record 51 new small on-site projects in 2024 – the highest number awarded in a single year. Many of these are now entering execution phase, contributing to Linde’s $7bn contractual sale-of-gas backlog and supporting its 2025 investment programme. Linde’s small on-site projects have climbed year-on-year in terms of the number of projects signed for the past five years.
