French industrial gases group Air Liquide reported near record quarterly and six-month earnings figures on Monday, saying that its performance was strong and growth was at pre-crisis levels.
Net profit for the first six months was €676 million ($879 million), an increase of 13.3 percent from the equivalent figure last year.
Current operating profit rose by 22.0 percent to €1.08 billion and the margin rose to a record level of 16.6 percent.
Sales rose by 9.7 percent to €6.52 billion, and on a comparable asset base rose by 4.0 percent from the first to the second quarter.
The group, a leading provider of gases to industry and to the medical sector, said it had opened 13 gas production facilities in the first half of the year, of which seven were in China, and expected to open another 12 by the end of the year. - I-Net Bridge