Air Liquide FY net up 11.4 pct; strong ops in Europe, America, lower debt UPDATE

Air Liquide FY net up 11.4 pct; strong ops in Europe, America, lower debt UPDATE

	Published : Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:29 By : Agencies Print this Story

(adds details on net profit)

PARIS (AFX) - Air Liquide said 2006 net profit rose 11.4 pct on a comparable basis to 1.002 bln eur, compared to 900 mln eur in 2005, driven by solid operating performances in Europe and the Americas and a reduction in the cost of debt.

Counting the sale of Sechilienne-Sidec and restructuring provisions in 2005, net profit was up 7.4 pct in 2006.

Group operating income for the full year amounted to 1.659 bln eur, up 9.3 pct on the previous year.

Europe and the Americas saw respective growth in operating income of 8.0 and 9.9 pct, combined with an improvement in operating profitability.

The operating margin for Europe was 19.7 pct, up from 19.2 pct in 2005, while in the Americas the figure was 14.8 pct, up from 14.1 pct a year earlier.

Operating income for the Asia-Pacific region rose 5.1 pct and margins remained stable on the previous year.

The group managed to pare down its outstanding debt to 3.447 bln eur over the year, leaving it with gearing of 52.5 pct at the end of 2006 compared to 60.2 pct a year earlier, and leading to a 6.9 pct reduction in net finance costs and other financial expenses.

Based on these results and its positioning in Asia, the group said it aims to grow sales by 8-10 pct per year over the next five years, at constant currencies and energy prices, and said this should lead to a 10-13 pct annual increase in net profit.

For 2007, Air Liquide said its goal was to achieve double-digit growth in net profit.

At the annual general meeting on May 9, the group will recommend a 14.6 pct increase in its dividend to 4.0 eur per share, and a two-for-one share split in order to align the share value with other shares quoted on the market and increase liquidity.

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