Air Liquide Reaffirms 2026 Margin Target After Strong H1 Profit Growth
First-Half 2026 Financial Performance and Outlook
Operating Earnings and Profit Growth
July 28 (Reuters) - Air Liquide confirmed its margin outlook on Tuesday after first-half operating earnings broadly met expectations, as growth in electronics and industrial gases helped offset a still-muted industrial backdrop.
The company, which supplies gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen to factories and hospitals, said recurring operating profit rose to 2.89 billion euros in the first half from 2.74 billion a year earlier, compared with analysts' average estimate of 2.91 billion euros in a Vara Research poll.
Geographical and Sector Contributions
"All geographies contributed to this performance, in particular the Americas and Asia, driven by our Electronics, Industrial Merchant and Healthcare businesses, which are real growth drivers," Chief Executive Officer François Jackow said in a statement.
Margin Targets and Future Expectations
2026 and 2027 Margin Improvement Goals
Air Liquide confirmed its target of a 100-basis-point improvement in operating margin in 2026 and a further 100 basis points in 2027, bringing the cumulative gain over 2022-2027 to 560 basis points. It also expects recurring net profit to grow at constant exchange rates in 2026.
Gas and Services Business Performance
Sales in Air Liquide's gas and services business, which accounts for 97% of the group total, reached 13.41 billion euros in the first half of 2026, up 2.6% on a comparable basis.
(Reporting by Olivier Cherfan and Margaux Perrin, editing by Bartosz Dabrowski)
