Third-Quarter Highlights
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Sales $8.4 billion, up 2%
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Operating profit $2.1 billion, adjusted operating profit $2.5 billion, up 7%
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Operating profit margin 25.0%; adjusted operating profit margin 29.6%, up 130 basis points
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EPS $3.22, up 1%; adjusted EPS $3.94, up 9% YoY
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Full-year 2024 adjusted EPS guidance of $15.40 - $15.50 representing 9% to 10% growth year-over-year excluding FX
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Project backlog $10 billion, up $2+ billion
WOKING, UK / ACCESSWIRE / October 31, 2024 / Linde plc (Nasdaq:LIN) today reported third-quarter 2024 net income of $1,550 million and diluted earnings per share of $3.22. Excluding Linde AG purchase accounting impacts, cost reduction programs and other charges, adjusted net income was $1,896 million, up 6% versus prior year. Adjusted earnings per share was $3.94, 9% above prior year.
Linde's sales for the third quarter were $8,356 million, up 2% versus prior year. Compared to prior year, underlying sales increased 2% from price attainment as volumes were flat.
Third-quarter operating profit was $2,086 million. Adjusted operating profit of $2,477 million was up 7% versus prior year led by higher price and continued productivity initiatives across all segments. Adjusted operating profit margin of 29.6% was 130 basis points above prior year.
Third-quarter operating cash flow of $2,731 million increased 8% versus prior year driven primarily by better working capital. After capital expenditures of $1,066 million, free cash flow was $1,665 million. During the quarter, the company returned $1,322 million to shareholders through dividends and stock repurchases, net of issuances.
Commenting on the financial results and business outlook, Chief Executive Officer Sanjiv Lamba said, "As anticipated, weak economic trends persisted through the third quarter, most notably in the industrial end markets. However, Linde employees once again delivered high-quality results by growing EPS 9%, increasing ROC to 25.8% and expanding operating margins by 130 basis points to 29.6%. In addition to managing near term performance, the company signed its largest ever sale-of-gas project which expands the project backlog to $10 billion and secures future growth in the traditional industrial gas model - all while meeting our disciplined investment criteria."
Lamba continued, "Currently, we do not anticipate any near-term improvement in the economic environment. However, we have taken proactive actions to mitigate economic headwinds and remain well positioned to continue creating shareholder value."
For the fourth quarter of 2024, Linde expects adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $3.86 to $3.96, up 8% to 10% versus prior-year quarter and estimates no impact from currency.
For the full year 2024, the company expects adjusted diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $15.40 to $15.50, up 8% to 9% versus prior year or 9% to 10% when excluding 1% of estimated currency headwind. Full-year capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $4.0 billion to $4.5 billion to support growth and maintenance requirements including the $7 billion contractual sale of gas project backlog.
Third-Quarter 2024 Results by Segment
Americas sales of $3,618 million were flat versus prior-year quarter. Compared with third quarter 2023, underlying sales increased 3% driven by 2% higher pricing and 1% volume growth, primarily from project startups. Operating profit of $1,153 million was 31.9% of sales, 230 basis points above prior year.
APAC (Asia Pacific) sales of $1,716 million were up 5% versus prior year. Compared with third quarter 2023, underlying sales increased 3% from volumes as pricing remained stable. Volume growth was primarily driven by project startups. Operating profit of $497 million was 29.0% of sales, 100 basis points above prior year.
EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) sales of $2,111 million were flat versus prior year. Compared with third quarter 2023, underlying sales grew 3% driven by 4% higher pricing partially offset by 1% lower volumes, primarily in the manufacturing end market. Operating profit of $703 million was 33.3% of sales, 320 basis points above prior year.
Linde Engineering sales were $611 million, increased 31% versus prior year, and operating profit was $108 million or 17.7% of sales. Order intake for the quarter was $491 million and third-party sale of equipment backlog was $3.1 billion.
Earnings Call
A teleconference on Linde's third-quarter 2024 results is being held today at 9:00 am EDT.
Materials to be used in the teleconference are also available on the website.
About Linde
Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2023 sales of $33 billion. We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain, decarbonize and protect our planet.
The company serves a variety of end markets such as chemicals & energy, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and mining. Linde's industrial gases and technologies are used in countless applications including production of clean hydrogen and carbon capture systems critical to the energy transition, life-saving medical oxygen and high-purity & specialty gases for electronics. Linde also delivers state-of-the-art gas processing solutions to support customer expansion, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions.
For more information about the company and its products and services, please visit www.linde.com
Adjusted amounts, free cash flow and return on capital are non-GAAP measures. See the attachments for a summary of non-GAAP reconciliations and calculations for adjusted amounts.
Attachments: Summary Non-GAAP Reconciliations, Statements of Income, Balance Sheets, Statements of Cash Flows, Segment Information and Appendix: Non-GAAP Measures and Reconciliations.
*Note: We are providing adjusted earnings per share ("EPS") guidance for 2024. This is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents diluted earnings per share from continuing operations (a GAAP measure) but excludes the impact of certain items that we believe are not representative of our underlying business performance, such as cost reduction and other charges, the impact of potential divestitures or other potentially significant items. Given the uncertainty of timing and magnitude of such items, we cannot provide a reconciliation of the differences between the non-GAAP adjusted EPS guidance and the corresponding GAAP EPS measure without unreasonable effort.
Forward-looking Statements
This document contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as: anticipate, believe, intend, estimate, expect, continue, should, could, may, plan, project, predict, will, potential, forecast, and similar expressions. They are based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of the date the statements are made but involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation: the performance of stock markets generally; developments in worldwide and national economies and other international events and circumstances, including trade conflicts and tariffs; changes in foreign currencies and in interest rates; the cost and availability of electric power, natural gas and other raw materials; the ability to achieve price increases to offset cost increases; catastrophic events including natural disasters, epidemics, pandemics such as COVID-19 and acts of war and terrorism; the ability to attract, hire, and retain qualified personnel; the impact of changes in financial accounting standards; the impact of changes in pension plan liabilities; the impact of tax, environmental, healthcare and other legislation and government regulation in jurisdictions in which the company operates; the cost and outcomes of investigations, litigation and regulatory proceedings; the impact of potential unusual or non-recurring items; continued timely development and market acceptance of new products and applications; the impact of competitive products and pricing; future financial and operating performance of major customers and industries served; the impact of information technology system failures, network disruptions and breaches in data security; and the effectiveness and speed of integrating new acquisitions into the business. These risks and uncertainties may cause future results or circumstances to differ materially from adjusted projections, estimates or other forward-looking statements.
Linde plc assumes no obligation to update or provide revisions to any forward-looking statement in response to changing circumstances. The above listed risks and uncertainties are further described in Item 1A. Risk Factors in Linde plc's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 filed with the SEC on February 28, 2024 which should be reviewed carefully. Please consider Linde plc's forward-looking statements in light of those risks.
Use link to access tables: Q3 2024 Earnings Release Tables
SOURCE: Linde plc
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