Described by CEO Steve Angel as “off to a good start”, group revenue from continuing operations for the first quarter was $435m.
Excluding merger related costs, other charges and the Linde AG purchase accounting impacts, adjusted pro forma income from continuing operations was $927m, up 11% from the previous year.
Operating profit fell 7% to $609m compared to 2018, which Linde said was primarily due to the impact of purchase accounting.
Excluding currency impact, operating profit was $1.2bn, 7% above last year, arguably better demonstrating Linde’s performance in the market.
Group operating profit margin was 8.8% and the adjusted pro forma operating profit margin was 17.7%, up 30 basis points versus the prior-year quarter on a pro forma basis.
Commenting on the financial results, CEO Steve Angel said, “This quarter marked the first time we could operate as one company since satisfying the regulatory requirements on 1st March.”
“I’m pleased to see the combined organisation off to a good start despite only one month of being fully integrated.”
“Looking ahead, I expect to build from this momentum and continue to improve the business quality irrespective of the economic environment.”
Segments
The company said it has adopted new segments which are in line with the management structure of the merged company.
In the Americas, first-quarter sales were $2.7bn, 8% above the prior-year quarter excluding 3% negative currency. Volumes and price increased 3% and 2%, respectively.
Higher cost pass-through increased sales by 1% and acquisitions in North America increased sales by 2%. Operating profit was $584m.
Sales in APAC (Asia-Pacific) were $1.4bn in the quarter, up 5% from the prior year excluding 6% negative currency.
Pricing was 2% higher and volumes increased 5% from project start-ups and base business. Operating profit was $273m.
EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) sales for the first quarter were $1.7bn, 1% above the prior-year quarter excluding 8% unfavourable currency. Pricing was up 1%. First-quarter operating profit was $347m.
Linde Engineering sales were $636m and operating profit was $78m, reflecting a 12.3% operating margin.