The Air Liquide group, producer of industrial gases, announced on Thursday a 4.2% increase in sales in the first quarter, including the drop in prices over a year.
significant contribution from the Gas and Services division
This quarterly turnover amounted to 7.17 billion euros, including 6.89 billion for the Gas and Services division alone, according to a statement from the French group. On a like-for-like basis, excluding energy costs and currency effects, the increase in revenues was higher, at 6.2% “after a negative energy effect of 2% for the first time in two years”. In the large industrial sector, energy prices are traditionally passed on in full to customers, causing dramatic increases on reported revenue when energy spikes, such as in early 2022, before and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The revenue is in line with analysts’ forecasts: both Bloomberg and Factset.
In the first quarter, new industrial and financial investment decisions amounted to 800 million euros, out of a total of 3.5 billion euros of investments in progress. And over the next 12 months, the Group estimates potential future investments at €3.4 billion at the end of March, notably in the United States, a market boosted by the Inflation Reduction Act. Air Liquide says it is “confident” in its “capacity to increase its operating margin again and to achieve growth in recurring net profit, at constant exchange rates”.
Signature of a contract for 480 MW of renewable energy
The first quarter was marked by the signature of a long-term contract (PPA) with Sasol to secure 480 MW of renewable energy capacity to supply a Sasol site in South Africa, where the French group operates the world’s largest oxygen production site. This will reduce the group’s CO2 emissions by more than 850,000 tons. During the quarter, Air Liquide completed its CO2 emissions objectives, adding “scope 3” emissions from its customers, as well as biodiversity objectives.
In the field of hydrogen, the group also announced this quarter the creation of a joint venture with TotalEnergies to develop a network of more than 100 hydrogen stations for trucks on major European roads. Another significant announcement was the launch of a project to build an industrial-scale ammonia cracker in Antwerp, Belgium. Ammonia, usually used mainly for fertilizer production, is becoming a vehicle for global hydrogen transport. Transformed into ammonia, hydrogen, whose highly volatile molecule escapes easily, can be easily transported over long distances.
