By Inti Landauro
PARIS--French industrial gas supplier Air Liquide (AI.FR)
expects its net profit to rise in 2015, after its profit for 2014
rose 1.5% despite adverse currency swings in the first part of the
year.
On Tuesday, the company said its full-year profit rose to 1.67
billion euros ($1.9 billion) from EUR1.64 billion a year earlier.
Revenue inched up 0.9% to EUR15.36 billion. Analysts polled by
Factset expected a net profit of EUR1.65 billion and overall
revenue of EUR15.34 billion.
"Assuming a comparable economic environment, Air Liquide is
confident in its ability to deliver another year of net profit
growth in 2015," Chief Executive Benoit Potier said in a
statement.
Air Liquide said it improved profitability thanks to a
cost-cutting program. For a second consecutive year, its operating
margin rose by 0.2 percentage point to 17.1%.
The company said its business was aided by strong demand in the
Americas and in the Asia Pacific region. Its business of supplying
special gases to the semiconductor industry was especially buoyant
during the year, mainly in Asia and in the Americas.
Air Liquide's board said it will propose that the shareholders
general assembly approve an all-cash dividend of EUR2.55 a
share.
-Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
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