Linde plc(US:LIN)2022-10-26 16:00Financial Performance - Sales for Q3 2022 were $8,797 million, a 15% increase from Q3 2021, driven by 8% price attainment and 3% higher volumes [111]. - Adjusted operating profit for Q3 2022 was $2,010 million, or 22.8% of sales, an 11% increase compared to Q3 2021 [114]. - Reported operating profit for Q3 2022 was $1,613 million, representing an 18.3% operating margin, a 25% increase year-over-year [112]. - Reported income from continuing operations increased by $295 million, or 30%, for Q3 2022, and by $22 million, or 1%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to the respective 2021 periods [134]. - Reported diluted earnings per share from continuing operations increased by $0.66, or 35%, for Q3 2022, and by $0.23, or 4%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to the respective 2021 periods [135]. - Total sales increased by $1,129 million, or 15%, for Q3 2022, and by $2,970 million, or 13%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to the respective 2021 periods [142]. - Adjusted operating profit for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, was $5,903 million, reflecting an 11% increase compared to $5,335 million in 2021 [177]. - Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations increased to $2,739 million for Q3 2022 from $2,559 million in the respective 2021 period, and increased to $8,148 million from $7,582 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 [138]. - Adjusted diluted EPS from continuing operations increased to $3.10 for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, compared to $2.73 in the same quarter of 2021, a 14% increase [180]. Sales by Region - Americas segment sales increased by $603 million, or 20%, in Q3 2022, and by $1,502 million, or 17%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to the respective 2021 periods [144]. - EMEA segment sales increased by $214 million, or 11%, in Q3 2022, and by $832 million, or 15%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to the respective 2021 periods [148]. - APAC segment sales increased by $96 million, or 6%, for Q3 2022, and by $369 million, or 8%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 compared to 2021 [151]. - Engineering sales increased by 4% in Q3 2022, contributing to overall sales growth [111]. - Engineering segment sales increased by $227 million, or 38%, in Q3 2022, and by $279 million, or 15%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 compared to 2021 [154]. Costs and Expenses - Cost of sales increased by $917 million, or 21%, for Q3 2022, with cost of sales as a percentage of sales rising to 60.1% from 57.0% in Q3 2021 [119]. - SG&A expenses decreased by 3% in Q3 2022, representing 8.8% of sales compared to 10.3% in Q3 2021 [120]. - Reported interest expense - net increased by $10 million for Q3 2022, while it decreased by $14 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to the respective 2021 periods [127]. Tax and Other Financial Metrics - The effective tax rate for Q3 2022 was 23.7%, down from 24.2% in Q3 2021 [112]. - Reported effective tax rate for Q3 2022 was 23.7%, a decrease from 24.2% in Q3 2021, while the year-to-date rate increased to 27.3% from 24.7% in the prior year [129]. - Reported effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, was 27.3%, compared to 24.7% in the same period of 2021 [178]. Cash Flow and Investments - Cash provided by operations was $6,769 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of $277 million, or 4%, versus 2021 [165]. - Net cash used for investing activities was $2,207 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, an increase of $76 million compared to 2021 [167]. - Capital expenditures for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 were $2,237 million, $10 million lower than the prior year [168]. - Cash used for financing activities was $3,479 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to $3,371 million for the same period in 2021 [170]. - The company maintained $3.8 billion in cash as of September 30, 2022, with a $5 billion unsecured and undrawn revolving credit agreement [173]. Shareholder Returns - Net purchases of ordinary shares increased to $4,454 million in 2022 from $3,212 million in 2021, with an additional $10.0 billion share repurchase approved by the Board of Directors [171]. - Cash dividends rose to $1,758 million, a $110 million increase from 2021, primarily due to a 10% increase in quarterly dividends per share from $1.06 to $1.17 [172]. Balance Sheet Highlights - As of September 30, 2022, the company's net debt stood at $11,582 million, an increase from $11,384 million as of December 31, 2021 [189]. - Current assets increased to $8,284 million as of September 30, 2022, from $5,826 million as of December 31, 2021 [199]. - Long-term liabilities rose to $44,508 million as of September 30, 2022, compared to $42,860 million as of December 31, 2021 [199]. - The amount due from non-guarantor subsidiaries within current assets was $5,392 million as of September 30, 2022, up from $4,209 million as of December 31, 2021 [199]. - Adjusted net debt as of September 30, 2022, was $11,554 million, compared to $11,323 million as of December 31, 2021 [189]. Impairments and Other Charges - Russia-Ukraine conflict and other charges amounted to $15 million in Q3 2022, primarily related to the sale of the GIST business [123]. - The company recorded an impairment charge related to a joint venture in the APAC segment, impacting overall financial performance [186]. - Other comprehensive losses for Q3 2022 were $1,668 million, primarily due to currency translation adjustments of $1,743 million [140].