DGAP-News

Linde AG: Linde achieves double-digit growth and sets new medium-term targets

DGAP-News: Linde AG / Key word(s): Final Results
Linde AG: Linde achieves double-digit growth and sets new medium-term
targets

07.03.2013 / 07:30

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Press Release

Linde achieves double-digit growth and sets new medium-term targets

  - 2012 financial year:

      - Group revenue up 10.8 percent to EUR 15.280 bn

      - Group operating profit  up 10.0 percent to EUR 3.530 bn

      - 8 percent increase in proposed dividend to EUR 2.70 per share

  - Group outlook for 2013 confirmed: Increase in revenue and operating
    profit of at least EUR 4 bn

  - Continued implementation of concept designed to achieve sustainable
    efficiency gains:

      - 2013-16: Further reductions in gross costs totalling EUR 750 m to
        EUR 900 m

  - Medium-term targets for 2016: Group operating profit of at least EUR 5
    bn and ROCE  of around 14 percent

Munich, 7 March 2013 - The technology company The Linde Group continued to
give a robust performance in the 2012 financial year, again achieving
significant increases in Group revenue and Group operating profit. ´We have
been able to hold our own, although the climate has worsened in the course
of the year, ´ said Professor Dr Wolfgang Reitzle, Chief Executive Officer
of Linde AG. ´This shows that our business model, which is geared towards
sustainability, is working. The stability of the Group has been further
strengthened by our acquisition of Lincare.´

Against this background, it is with real confidence that Linde looks to the
future. ´Even though conditions are unlikely to improve, we are sticking to
our targets, ´ commented Reitzle. ´In the 2013 financial year, we want once
again to generate higher Group revenue than in the previous year and to
achieve Group operating profit of at least EUR 4 bn.´ The Group has also
set itself new medium-term targets. ´We are seeking to generate Group
operating profit of at least EUR
5 bn in the 2016 financial year. In that same year, return on capital
employed (ROCE) should reach around 14 percent.´

Linde continues to see good opportunities for growth especially in global
megatrends, energy and the environment, healthcare, and in the emerging
economies. ´We are determined to seize these opportunities as they arise
and to work consistently to enhance the performance of our Group, ´
explained Reitzle. Linde will continue to implement HPO, its holistic
concept designed to achieve sustainable efficiency gains, and it plans to
reduce total gross costs by a further EUR 750 m to EUR 900 m in the years
2013 to 2016.

In the 2012 financial year, Group revenue grew by 10.8 percent to EUR
15.280 bn (2011: EUR 13.787 bn). After adjusting for exchange rate effects,