UPDATE 1-Gases firm Linde boosted by healthcare, electronics demand
Reuters
3 hrs ago
May 6 (Reuters) - Linde , the world's largest industrial gases company, hiked its 2021 earnings forecast on Thursday, as a strong performance in its healthcare and electronics businesses helped it beat first quarter forecasts.
The U.S.-German company, which supplies gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen to factories and hospitals, now expects adjusted earnings per share up 17-19% year-on-year - compared with its previous forecast for 11-13% growth.
Higher prices and growing demand in the healthcare sector - where Linde supplies equipment and medical gases including oxygen for COVID-19 patients - helped its sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa jump 10% in the first quarter.