EPS $3.51, up 5%; adjusted EPS $3.95, up 5% YoY or 8% ex. FX
First-quarter operating cash flow of $2.2 billion, up 11% versus prior year
Full-year 2025 adjusted EPS guidance of $16.20 - $16.50 representing 4% to 6%, or 6% to 8% ex. FX, growth year-over-year
WOKING, England, May 01, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Linde plc (Nasdaq: LIN) today reported first-quarter 2025 net income of $1,673 million and diluted earnings per share of $3.51, up 3% and 5% respectively. Excluding Linde AG purchase accounting impacts and other charges, adjusted net income was $1,880 million, up 3% versus prior year. Adjusted earnings per share was $3.95, 5% above prior year.
Linde’s sales for the first quarter were $8,112 million, flat versus prior year. Compared to prior year, underlying sales increased 1% from 2% price attainment partially offset by 1% lower volumes largely driven by the manufacturing and metals & mining end markets.
First-quarter operating profit was $2,184 million. Adjusted operating profit of $2,438 million was up 4% versus prior year led by higher price and continued productivity initiatives across all segments. Adjusted operating profit margin of 30.1% was 120 basis points above prior year.
First-quarter operating cash flow of $2,161 million increased 11% versus prior year. After capital expenditures of $1,270 million, free cash flow was $891 million. During the quarter, the company returned $1,808 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, "While first quarter macroeconomic headwinds largely played out as anticipated, Linde employees delivered another resilient performance by expanding operating margins 120 basis points to 30.1%, growing EPS (excluding FX) by 8%, and maintaining industry leading return on capital of 25.7%. These results were achieved through disciplined capital allocation and proactive management actions."
Lamba continued, "Looking forward, while we remain cautious on the economic outlook, I’m confident the Linde business model can continue to create shareholder value in any environment."
For the second quarter of 2025, Linde expects adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $3.95 to $4.05, up 3% to 5% versus prior-year quarter or 5% to 7% when excluding 2% of estimated currency headwind.
For the full year 2025, the company expects adjusted diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $16.20 to $16.50, up 4% to 6% versus prior year or 6% to 8% when excluding 2% of estimated currency headwind. Full-year capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $5.0 billion to $5.5 billion to support growth and maintenance requirements including the $7.0 billion contractual sale of gas project backlog.
First-Quarter 2025 Results by Segment
Americas sales of $3,666 million were 3% higher versus prior-year quarter. Compared with first quarter 2024, underlying sales increased 4% driven by 3% higher pricing and 1% higher volumes, primarily in the electronics, chemicals & energy end markets. Operating profit of $1,137 million was 31.0% of sales, 40 basis points above prior year.
APAC (Asia Pacific) sales of $1,539 million were down 3% versus prior year. Compared with first quarter 2024, underlying sales were lower by 1% driven by stable pricing offset by 1% lower volumes, primarily in the metals & mining and manufacturing end markets. Operating profit of $451 million was 29.3% of sales, 120 basis points above prior year.
EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) sales of $2,031 million were down 3% versus prior year. Compared with first quarter 2024, underlying sales were 1% lower, driven by 2% higher pricing more than offset by 3% lower volumes, primarily in the metals & mining and chemicals & energy end markets. Operating profit of $722 million was 35.5% of sales, 260 basis points above prior year.
Linde Engineering sales were $565 million, 5% higher versus prior year, and operating profit was $114 million or 20.2% of sales. Order intake for the quarter was $516 million and third-party sale of equipment backlog was $3.3 billion.
Earnings Call
A teleconference on Linde’s first-quarter 2025 results is being held today at 9:00 am EDT.
Live conference call
US Toll-Free Dial-In Number: 1 888 770 7292 UK Toll-Free Dial-In Number: 0800 358 0970 Access code: 6877110
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 2024 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 2025. 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, 2024 filed with the SEC on February 26, 2025 which should be reviewed carefully. Please consider Linde plc’s forward-looking statements in light of those risks.
