PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Air Liquide (AIQUY.PK) reported that its first-quarter Group revenue reached 3.87 billion euros, up 2.4% on a comparable basis and down 3.1% on a reported basis compared with a year ago. First-quarter sales in Gas & Services, which amounted to 3.55 billion euros, rose by 4.2% on a comparable basis and fell 1.8% on a reported basis.
Benoît Potier, Chairman and CEO of Air Liquide, said: 'In the first quarter, growth was driven by dynamic sales in Electronics and the ramp-up of our production units in Large Industries. The Airgas acquisition is on track and in line with our expectations, with the preparatory work for integration allowing us to confirm synergies of more than $ 300 million, as announced last November.'
Looking forward, the Group said, excluding the impact of Airgas acquisition and financing, and assuming a comparable environment, Air Liquide is confident in its ability to deliver another year of net profit growth in 2016.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX