Linde plc: Linde Reports Second-Quarter 2023 Results (Earnings Release Tables Attached)

Linde Reports Second-Quarter 2023 Results

Second-Quarter Highlights

• Sales $8.2 billion, down 3% YoY, underlying up 6%
• Operating profit $2.0 billion, adjusted operating profit $2.3 billion, up 15%
• Operating profit margin 24.5%; adjusted operating profit margin 27.9%, up 440 basis points
• EPS $3.19; adjusted EPS $3.57, up 15% YoY
• Increased full-year 2023 adjusted EPS guidance to $13.80 - $14.00, represents 12% to 14% growth year-over-year

Woking, UK, July 27, 2023 – Linde plc (NYSE: LIN) today reported second-quarter 2023 net income of $1,575 million and diluted earnings per share of $3.19, up 323% and 331% respectively.  Excluding Linde AG purchase accounting impacts and other charges, adjusted net income was $1,760 million, up 12% versus prior year.  Adjusted earnings per share was $3.57, 15% above prior year.

Linde’s sales for the second quarter were $8,204 million, 3% below prior year but 2% above when excluding cost pass-through and currency.  Compared to prior year, underlying sales increased 6% from 7% price attainment slightly offset by 1% lower volumes.

Second-quarter operating profit was $2,011 million.  Adjusted operating profit of $2,286 million was up 15% versus prior year led by higher price and continued productivity initiatives across all segments.  Adjusted operating profit margin of 27.9% was 440 basis points above prior year and 350 basis points higher when excluding the effects of cost pass-through.

Second-quarter operating cash flow of $2,150 million increased 1% versus prior year.  After capital expenditures of $859 million, free cash flow was $1,291 million.  During the quarter, the company returned $1,523 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, “Linde delivered another quarter of strong results, growing EPS 15%, ROC to 24.9% and expanding operating margins 440 basis points, reaching 27.9%. This performance is driven by our employees’ ability to continuously optimize the base business and increase network density, all while securing high-quality growth opportunities.”

Lamba continued, “Regardless of the geopolitical or economic uncertainty, we will continue to generate long-term shareholder value.”

For the third quarter of 2023, Linde expects adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $3.48 to $3.58, up 12% to 15% versus prior-year quarter.  This guidance assumes a currency tailwind of 2% year-over-year and flat sequentially.

For the full year 2023, the company expects adjusted diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $13.80 to $14.00, up 12% to 14% versus prior year and assumes no currency impact.  Full-year capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $3.5 billion to $4.0 billion to support growth and maintenance requirements including the $4.4 billion contractual sale of gas project backlog.

Second-Quarter 2023 Results by Segment

Americas sales of $3,541 million grew 1% versus prior year.  Compared with second quarter 2022, underlying sales increased 5% driven by 6% higher pricing and 1% lower volumes.  Sales growth was primarily in the healthcare and food & beverage end markets.  Operating profit of $1,070 million was 30.2% of sales, 430 basis points above prior year and 240 basis points higher when excluding the effects of cost pass-through. 

APAC (Asia Pacific) sales of $1,683 million grew 2% versus prior year.  Compared with second quarter 2022, underlying sales grew 8% driven by 5% price attainment and 3% volume growth, primarily in the electronics, chemicals & energy end markets, including project start-ups.  Operating profit of $472 million was 28.0% of sales, 220 basis points above prior year.  Year over year cost pass-through was immaterial.

EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) sales of $2,160 million were up 1% versus prior year.  Compared with second quarter 2022, underlying sales grew 7%, driven by 11% higher pricing partially offset by 4% lower volumes.  Operating profit of $630 million was 29.2% of sales, 420 basis points above prior year and 350 basis points higher when excluding the effects of cost pass-through. 

Linde Engineering sales were $495 million, 23% below prior year, and operating profit was $107 million or 21.6% of sales.  Order intake for the quarter was $294 million and third-party sale of equipment backlog was $3.4 billion.

Earnings Call

A teleconference on Linde’s second-quarter 2023 results is being held today at 9:00 am EST. 

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 2022 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 (Earnings release tables: https://eqs-cockpit.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=0851669aec93833ebad0897a18d05119) 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 2023. 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, any impairment or other charges related to scaling back operations in Russia as actions are defined and executed and as sanctions are enacted that impact the Company’s operations, 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, 2022 filed with the SEC on February 28, 2023 which should be reviewed carefully. Please consider Linde plc’s forward-looking statements in light of those risks.