MUNICH, Germany, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Germany's Linde , the world's biggest maker of industrial gases by sales, said on Friday it had launched a new efficiency programme following the collapse last month of its merger talks with U.S. rival Praxair.
The programme, which Linde announced alongside forecast-beating third-quarter results, is designed to save an extra 370 million euros ($403 million) a year from 2019, on top of its existing scheme to save 180 million euros a year.
Linde's third-quarter adjusted operating profit rose 3 percent to 1.01 billion euros, slightly above the average forecast of 992 million euros in a Reuters poll, while sales were flat at 4.41 billion euros, beating the poll average of 4.28 billion.
($1 = 0.9172 euros) (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Maria Sheahan)