Linde, the world's largest industrial gases group, is saving against the sluggish economy.
At 33.0 billion dollars, turnover came to a standstill in the past year. Adjusted for currency effects, it rose by two percent, as the American-German company announced on Thursday in Woking, UK.
Adjusted operating profit nevertheless rose by seven percent to 9.7 billion dollars.
CEO Sanjiv Lamba spoke of a "challenging environment" in which Linde had shown its resilience.
The global economy had weakened and Linde was suffering from currency effects in particular.
However, with earnings per share of 15.51 dollars, Linde exceeded its earnings target, which was narrowed down to the lower half of the forecast (15.40 to 15.60 dollars) in the fall. For the current year, Lamba expects earnings growth of eight to eleven percent to 16.15 to 16.55 dollars, adjusted for currency effects.
