MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - Gas and engineering company Linde Group (LDE.L, LNAGF.PK) reported that its Group operating profit from continuing operations for the first six months of 2017 rose by 4.3 percent to 2.123 billion euros from last year's 2.036 billion euros.
Earnings per share from continuing operations before special items was 3.81 euros up from 3.53 euros last year. Earnings per share from continuing operations was 3.17 euros, compared to 3.37 euros in the prior year.
'We are pleased with our performance and will meet our forecast for the full year,' said Professor Dr Aldo Belloni, Chief Executive Officer of Linde AG.
Group revenue from continuing operations rose in the first half of 2017 by 4.7 percent to 8.653 billion euros, compared to 8.264 billion euros last year. The main factors contributing to this increase were ongoing stable trends in the EMEA and Asia/Pacific segments and higher revenue in the Engineering Division.
After adjusting for exchange rate effects, Group revenue was 2.8 percent higher than in the prior-year period.
During the financial year, Linde is continuing to implement long-term efficiency improvement measures across the Group through its Focus and LIFT programmes. By the end of 2017, the LIFT programme is expected to have incurred total costs of around 400 million euros, which will be classified as special items.
The Group expects to achieve an increase in revenue after adjusting for exchange rate effects in the 2017 financial year of 3 percent, although the challenging market environment could result in a decrease of up to 3 percent. After adjusting for exchange rate effects, operating profit in 2017 should be on a par with or up to 7 percent higher than the figure achieved in 2016.
In the Gases Division, Linde is aiming to generate currency-adjusted revenue in the 2017 financial year which is up to 3 percent higher than in 2016, although the challenging market environment could result in a decrease of up to 2 percent. After adjusting for exchange rate effects, operating profit is expected to be on a par with or up to 6 percent higher than in 2016.
In the Engineering Division, Linde expects to generate revenue in the 2017 financial year of between 2.0 billion euros and 2.4 billion euros and an operating margin of around 8 percent.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX