Linde ( NYSE: LIN ) +4.2% in Tuesday's trading after reporting better than expected Q4 adjusted earnings , helped by clean hydrogen projects as companies seek to cut emissions.
Q4 adjusted operating profit rose 9% Y/Y to $2B, led by higher price and continued productivity initiatives across all segments, while sales fell 5% to $7.9M but rose 1% when excluding negative currency impacts.
Q4 operating cash flow fell 35% Y/Y to $2.1B driven primarily by lower engineering project prepayments; after capital spending of $936M, free cash flow was $1.16B.
Linde ( LIN ) forecast 9%-12% growth in FY 2023 earnings per share excluding currency impacts, and said it plans to spend $7B-$9B over the next 2-3 years in clean energy projects to benefit from demand from companies seeking to cut emissions.
CEO Sanjiv Lamba said on the post-earnings conference call that as part of the planned investment, Linde ( LIN ) expects to spend $3B to convert 11-13 existing assets to clean hydrogen.
Earlier this week, Linde ( LIN ) said it plans to spend ~$1.8B to supply clean hydrogen to OCI's blue ammonia plant in Texas, following 2022 deals with BASF, BP and Airbus.
Linde ( LIN ) shares have gained 5.5% so far this year and 13% during the past year .
For further details see:
Linde sees EPS growth in 2023, $7B-$9B clean energy spending over 2-3 years