(News Bulletin 247) – The industrial gas specialist delivered growth of 1.9% in the third quarter, exceeding consensus. The company confirmed its outlook.

A portfolio value par excellence, Air Liquide remains a popular stock for small investors. According to the company’s latest universal registration document, individual shareholders accounted for 33% of its capital at the end of December 2024.

The specialist in industrial gases generally gave satisfaction to its investors, on the occasion of the publication of the company’s third quarter activity, this Tuesday, October 28.

Air Liquide announced that it had generated revenues of 6.6 billion euros, down 2.4% in published data, a decline which reflects unfavorable currency effects and the fall in energy prices, variations of which are passed on to the company’s customers.

On a comparable basis, Air Liquide, on the contrary, recorded an increase in its revenues of 1.9% on a comparable basis, a little above the consensus (the average analyst forecast, Editor’s note), at 1.7%, notes Morgan Stanley. The American bank appreciates a “better than feared” dynamic.

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A significant discount against Linde

The company recorded robust growth in healthcare (+4.9% like-for-like) as well as in the so-called “industrial merchant” segment (2.7%), i.e. industrial customers smaller than “large industry”.

This last category, which brings together the company’s most energy-intensive customers (metallurgy, chemicals, refining), saw its revenues decline by 0.2% on a comparable basis. Electronics, for its part, recorded a decline of 0.9% on a comparable basis.

The company also announced that at the end of September, “efficiencies” had reached a record level with an increase of 23% over one year, to 434 million euros. Air Liquide defines these “efficiencies” as “sustainable reductions in the cost base” enabled by specific action plans. The company notably indicated that it had pursued “purchasing and industrial efficiencies”.

“The amount of investments in progress (“investment backlog”) remains above 4.0 billion euros and reached a new record at 4.9 billion euros, up compared to 4.6 billion euros at the end of June 2025,” Air Liquide also specified.

For UBS, all of these indications should be taken positively by the market.

Following this publication, Air Liquide confirmed its outlook, reiterating that it was “very confident in its ability to increase its operating margin and achieve growth in recurring net income, at constant exchange rates in 2025”.

“The group also maintains its ambition to increase its operating margin by 460 basis points (4.6 percentage points) cumulatively over the period 2022-2026,” the company continued.

Oddo BHF confirmed its opinion at “outperform”. The company’s valuation (debt included) currently implies a multiple of 13 times the gross operating profit expected in 2026 compared to 16 times for its great rival, Linde, notes the broker.