Capitalising on the general economic upturn, the The Linde Group has continued the positive trend seen in the first quarter into Q2. In the first half of 2010, the Group achieved significant growth in sales and operating profit. "The upward trend is continuing. In the course of the Q2, we have increasingly seen a rise in demand worldwide," said Professor Dr Wolfgang Reitzle, Chief Executive Officer of Linde. "Once again we have improved our profitability and we look with confidence to the months ahead. We reaffirm our objective, which is to reach a higher level of Group sales and Group operating profit in the 2010 financial year than in 2009. We are well on the way to achieving a faster rate of growth in Group operating profit than in Group sales and exceeding the Group operating profit of record year 2008."

In the six months to 30 June 2010, Group sales rose 11.5% to €6.104 billion (2009: € 5.476 billion). After adjusting for exchange rate effects, the increase in sales was 5.8%. Linde achieved a 26.4% improvement in Group operating profit to €1.396 billion (2009: €1.104 billion). The growth in operating profit again outpaced the increase in sales. The Group operating margin was 22.9%, 270 basis points above the figure for the prior-year period of 20.2%. If an adjustment is made for the one-off restructuring costs of €67 million recognised in 2009, the rise in the operating margin is 150 basis points. This positive performance is also evidence of the successful and rigorous implementation of HPO (High Performance Organisation), Linde's integrated concept for sustainable process optimisation and increased productivity.

Earnings before taxes on income (EBT) reached €646 million, a significant 77% improvement on the figure for the six months to 30 June 2009 of €365 million. Earnings after tax rose in the first half of the year by 76.3% to €483 million (2009: €274 million). Earnings attributable to Linde shareholders were €445 million (2009: €248 million). Earnings per share improved as a result by 78.9 % to €2.63 (2009: €1.47). On an adjusted basis, i.e. after adjusting for the effect of the purchase price allocation in the course of the BOC acquisition, earnings per share stood at €3.15 (2009: €2.06).