Finance
Air Liquide confirms guidance as energy transition, chip sector boost results
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 29, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 29, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Air Liquide confirms its growth outlook, driven by energy transition and chip demand, with revenue and profit margins on the rise.
By Olivier Cherfan
(Reuters) -French industrial gases group Air Liquide confirmed its margin outlook until 2026 and posted half-year revenue in line with market expectations on Tuesday, reassuring investors after weaker results from other chemical sector players.
"The group relies more than ever on diversified growth engines, particularly in the electronics and energy transition sectors," CEO François Jackow said in a statement.
Half-year revenue rose 1.8% on a comparable basis to 13.72 billion euros ($15.89 billion), driven by 2.9% growth in the Americas and a 2.1% rise in Asia.
That was supported by electronics, semiconductors, and a strong push for energy transition and decarbonisation especially in China, Air Liquide said.
It has committed up to $200 million for upgrades in Louisiana and over $50 million to supply ultra-pure gases for the U.S. semiconductor industry, one of many non-U.S. companies to expand their output there amid President Donald Trump's trade war.
A certain number of U.S. energy transition projects also continue to move forward in an "extremely solid way", Jackow said during a press call, despite Trump's adverse views on renewables.
China, meanwhile, remains "extremely determined" in its decarbonisation trajectory, Jackow added. "We've captured a number of conversions of plants that used coal mainly as an energy source, converted to renewable electricity."
Air Liquide, which supplies gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen to factories and hospitals, said its operating profit margin rose by 100 basis points (bps) to 19.9% in the first half of 2025.
It expects to further raise its margin and deliver recurring net profit growth at constant exchange rates this year. It is aiming to improve the operating margin by 200 bps over the two years to the end of 2026.
"Overall, this should be a reassuring print in the context of very weak prints elsewhere in the sector," J.P. Morgan analysts said in a note. Air Liquide's shares were up 2.5% as of 0948 GMT.
($1 = 0.8635 euros)
(Reporting by Olivier Cherfan in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
Air Liquide reported half-year revenue of 13.72 billion euros ($15.89 billion), reflecting a 1.8% increase on a comparable basis.
Air Liquide aims to improve its operating margin by 200 basis points over the two years to the end of 2026, expecting recurring net profit growth at constant exchange rates.
The growth is primarily driven by the electronics and energy transition sectors, with significant contributions from semiconductors and decarbonisation efforts.
Air Liquide has committed up to $200 million for upgrades in Louisiana and over $50 million to supply ultra-pure gases for the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Despite some adverse views on renewables, Air Liquide's CEO stated that U.S. energy transition projects continue to move forward in an 'extremely solid way.'
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