AI Air Liquide SA

   By Nathan Allen 
 

Air Liquide SA (AI.FR) said Monday that its first-half net profit rose 12.1%, despite a negative impact from the weakening dollar against the euro.

Net profit at the French industrial-gases producer was 1.04 billion euros ($1.21 billion) up from EUR928 million a year earlier, the company said.

Reported revenue fell 1.3% to EUR10.16 billion but still beat a FactSet-compiled consensus of EUR10.07 billion.

On a comparable basis, stripping out the effects of currency swings and changes to the group's portfolio, revenue grew by 5.8%, Air Liquide said.

"The currency impact was strongly negative over the half year at -6.8%, mainly due to the appreciation of the euro against the U.S. dollar, but eased slightly during the second quarter," the company said.

Sales grew across all regions and all divisions, with double-digit growth in China driving a strong contribution from the Asia-Pacific region, the company said.

Synergies from the 2016 acquisition of Airgas reached $260 million, and the company is set to hit its synergy target of $300 million during the first half of 2019, Air Liquide said.

The group is in line with its financial objectives and reiterated its 2018 guidance for net profit growth.

Write to Nathan Allen at nathan.allen@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 30, 2018 02:56 ET (06:56 GMT)

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