Linde's fourth-quarter guidance disappoints on weaker Europe volumes

By Bartosz Dabrowski

(Reuters) -Linde on Friday followed a quarterly earnings beat with a cautious profit outlook for the rest of the year because of weakness in the European business of the world's largest industrial gases company.

The U.S.-German group, which supplies gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen to factories and hospitals, forecast its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share at between $4.10 and $4.20 per share, below analysts' $4.23 mean estimate, according to LSEG data.

In the third quarter, Linde reported a 7% rise in its adjusted earnings per share to $4.21, ahead of analysts' $4.18 estimate, with sales rising 3% to $8.62 billion, broadly in line with forecast.

However, volume sales fell 3% in Linde's largest Europe, Middle East and Africa region, which accounts for 36% of total sales and CEO Sanjiv Lamba told analysts the company expected that trend to continue.

The group's New York-listed shares were down 1.8% at 1535 GMT.

The chemical industry has been grappling with weak demand and high input costs in Europe, and a challenging regulatory environment has further pressured companies to rethink their strategies in the region.

Despite its cautious fourth-quarter outlook, Linde reaffirmed its full-year forecast of growth of between 5% and 6% in adjusted earnings per share.

(Reporting by Bartosz Dabrowski in Gdansk; Editing by Matt Scuffham and Tomasz Janowski)