(Reuters) -Linde, the world’s largest industrial gas company, on Thursday increased its 2021 earnings guidance for the third time, citing growth across all geographic segments and markets.
The U.S.-German company, which supplies gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen to factories and hospitals, now expects adjusted earnings per share (EPS) growth of 28% to 29% growth. It had previously expected adjusted EPS to rise by 23-25%.
“We maintained our industry leading performance and significantly expanded our project backlog,” Chief Executive Steve Angel said in statement.
The group said its new sustainability goals included a 35% reduction in absolute emissions by 2035 and becoming climate neutral by 2050.
Linde has signed deals this year with Infineon Technologies, Snam and Daimler’s truck business to develop clean hydrogen projects as countries look to curb emissions and scale up renewables across polluting sectors in an effort to meet the EU’s net-zero emissions goal by 2050.
The company reported quarterly adjusted earnings per share up 27% at $2.73, against a $2.66 forecast from analysts polled by Refinitiv.
Linde has consistently beaten analysts’ quarterly estimates over the past two years, according to data compiled by Refinitiv.
(Reporting by Bartosz Dabrowski in GdanskEditing by Jason Neely and David Goodman)
