Linde is the largest supplier of hydrogen for industry.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich The world’s largest industrial gases manufacturer, Linde, is still very robust before the change at the top. In the third quarter, he raised the bar for the third time this year. The outgoing CEO Steve Angel announced on Thursday that adjusted for one-off effects, earnings of 10.52 to 10.62 dollars per share were in prospect. That equates to $ 5.4 billion to $ 5.5 billion, 28 to 29 percent more than last year.
So far, the American-German company with headquarters in Guildford near London had reckoned with 10.10 to 10.30 dollars per share. In the third quarter, adjusted operating profit was $ 1.81 billion, 19 percent year on year. Sales climbed twelve percent to $ 7.7 billion.
As of March 1st, Chief Operating Officer Sanjiv Lamba will take over the management of the German-American group. CEO Steve Angel will then move to the head of the Board of Directors as successor to Wolfgang Reitzle.
“The Linde team has once again shown that it can deliver in any environment,” said Angel on Thursday. “We are well positioned. I am confident that our best times are still ahead of us. “
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The Dax group Linde merged three years ago with the US competitor Praxair to form a new world market leader. The merger was particularly controversial in Germany, but the integration was largely noiseless.
Under Angel’s leadership, Linde continuously improved margins even during the corona crisis. Angel and Lamba have also revised their forecast upwards several times in the current year.
Lamba must now expand profitability as far as possible. But it also has to offer the capital markets a growth story. The “Clean Energy” business area is to play a central role.
Linde is already the largest supplier of hydrogen for industry. Sales of around two billion dollars are expected to quadruple in the long term due to the expected high demand for green hydrogen, according to Angel.
The future CEO Lamba said after his appointment that Linde was extremely well positioned for further profitable growth. He wants to preserve the high-performance culture and create value for the shareholders.
In the Dax, Linde is the second most valuable company after SAP. In the past twelve months, the price has risen from just under 190 to more than 270 euros most recently.
With agency material.