(Adds further CEO comments, segment details)
MUNICH (Thomson Financial) - Linde AG. said second-quarter EBITDA rose 11.4 percent to 656 million euros, up from 589 million euros a year earlier, on strong demand for gases from industrial companies in Europe and Asia.
That beat the average estimate of 636 million euros in EBITDA -- which Linde adjusted to include earnings contributions from joint ventures -- in a survey of six analysts by Thomson Financial News.
Quarterly sales at the world's largest industrial-gases maker increased by 10 percent to 3.339 billion euros from 3.028 billion euros in the year-earlier period, while analysts had expected just 3.17 billion euros.
The German industrial-gases giant posted net profit of 215 million euros, up from 144 million euros a year earlier, due to lower debt levels and borrowing costs and on lower taxes, beating the 150.6 million euros forecast by analysts.
Linde, which supplies gases to companies including makers of steel, chemicals and solar cells, also said it is sticking to its goal of an increase in sales in 2008 and a gain in EBITDA above sales growth.
'Our international gases and engineering business remains stable, so we have every reason to be confident about the future,' Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Reitzle said.
'Following the slowdown in the U.S. economy in the first quarter of 2008, we are now seeing the beginnings of a downturn in the eurozone,' he warned, adding that the financial-markets crisis looks to have a greater impact on the overall economy than previously thought.
Still, the company also confirmed a mid-term target of more than 3 billion euros in operating profit in 2010 and a return on capital employed (ROCE) of at least 13 percent in the same year.
ROCE -- defined as EBIT before one-off items and write-downs on its acquisition of BOC Group as a percentage of total capital minus cash and short-term receivables -- came in at 10.3 percent in 2007.
Sales at Linde's gases division, the company's largest, rose 8.5 percent in the first half, when excluding currency swings, divestments and changes in natural gas prices, which Linde passes on to customers. Without these adjustments, the increase was 3.4 percent.
The engineering division, which sets up gas treatment plants and offers related services, saw revenues increase 24.4 percent in the first half.
Linde did not provide second-quarter figures on a segment level. ludwig.burger@thomsonreuters.com lb/lam/lb/ra/lb/rfw COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
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