News reaches us from Munich of a solid first quarter for The Linde Group, as the company recorded increases in both sales and operating profit, with the latter now reaching €602m.
In the first quarter of the 2008 financial year, Linde achieved an increase in sales of 7.5% and an increase in operating profit, after adjusting for exchange rate effects, of 11.1% to €602m. Operating profit therefore increased at a faster rate than sales, with the operating margin at group level rising by 70 basis points to 20.6%. Synergies arising from the acquisition of BOC are believed to have contributed to this positive trend.
Discussing the bright beginning to the year, CEO Dr Wolfgang Reitzle said, “We have seen a solid start to the new financial year and are therefore confident about the remaining part of the year. We confirm our short-term and medium-term forecasts. We continue to assume that group sales will increase in the current financial year and that earnings will increase at a faster rate than sales.”
“By 2010, we are seeking to achieve a group operating earnings of more than €3bn. We want to achieve a return on capital employed, our key performance indicator, of at least 13% by 2010,” he added.
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