Contact us
Last week, Air Liquide reported 2012 results in line with expectations. Business improved in Q4 compared to the two previous quarters, helped by a more advantageous basis of comparison. The Electronics division has been stabilising and the Large Industries division’s business has been gaining momentum. Cost savings achieved beat expectations, leading to the medium-term target being revised upwards. In 2013, Air Liquide stands to benefit from a favourable basis of comparison and an accelerated trend for project start-ups. PLUS rating confirmed.
Air Liquide posted half-yearly sales and EBIT results slightly short of expectations while EPS were higher than anticipated. Business was adversely affected by the weakness of the European steel sector and sales of electronic equipment and installations in Asia. Management confirmed its forecast of a higher net profit in 2012. H2 should benefit from the gathering momentum of start-up of new units (the pace of which will need to be monitored following recent postponements) and further cost rationalization which will help to partly offset commodity price inflation. PLUS rating confirmed.
Results posted by Air Liquide for 2011 fell slightly short of expectations. Q4 saw a slowdown of activity in the steel sector, a reversal of the electronic investment cycle, deferral of major projects during the period and shutdowns for maintenance. Cost savings generated over the year as a whole were used to offset inflation of raw material prices. The management forecasts a higher net profit in 2012 and remains confident on prospects until 2015. We confirm our PLUS code for this share.
Air Liquide is a defensive investment with the benefit of stable and permanent growth. Development opportunities remain strong in the emerging countries, energy, environment, healthcare and advanced technologies and will be the main growth drivers. The management is confident in medium-term prospects with average annual growth of business activity between 8% and 10%. PLUS code confirmed.
Air Liquide has published interim results in line with expectations. It should benefit in H2 from price rises in the industrial merchant segment, an acceleration in new projects and a gradual recovery in activity in Japan (c. 8% of sales). Management remains confident about the company’s long-term outlook. Air Liquide benefits from a defensive profile, offering stable and sustainable growth. We confirm our PLUS rating for this share.
The management is confident for 2011 and in the medium-term with an average annual growth rate of between 8% and 10%. Development opportunities remain buoyant in the emerging countries, energy, the environment, healthcare and high tech and will be the main growth drivers. The management expects to keep its margins intact thanks to cost-cutting and higher prices. PLUS code confirmed.
Air Liquide has published better than expected results for 2010. The outlook reveals no surprises. The management has not provided guidance for 2011 but remains confident that “regular growth of its net result will continue”. 2015 objectives are confirmed. We maintain our PLUS code. The visibility of the group’s growth, continuation of its cost control program and good track record in terms of pricing power should enable Air Liquide to outperform the sector.
Air Liquide is a defensive investment with the benefit of stable and visible growth. The fundamentals in its sector remain buoyant sustained by development opportunities in energy, the environment, emerging countries, healthcare and high tech. The management expects its business to grow by between 8% and 10% on an annual average for the period 2011-2015. PLUS code confirmed.
Air Liquide published good performance figures for H1 2010. The share is suffering somewhat from the comparison with Linde which also announced its results today. The latter is more exposed to the economic cycle from which it benefited, although Air Liquide has done particularly well too. Prospects for 2010 remain unchanged and the CEO, Benoît Poitier, has confirmed his confidence in the future market trend. PLUS code maintained.
Air Liquide, our new PLUS recommendation, is a defensive investment offering stable and predictable growth. It does not benefit from operational leverage (in comparison with other companies in the chemicals industry), but does have a number of growth drivers (health, clean energy, new sites, emerging markets).
version française