Linde reports quarterly earnings beat, sees 4-6% 2020 EPS growth

(Reuters) – U.S.-German industrial gas producer Linde reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday, saying higher operating margins helped offset the decline in volumes caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The world’s largest industrial gases group reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.90, above the $1.65 expected on average by analysts according to a Refinitiv poll.

For the full year, the company now expects adjusted diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $7.60 to $7.80, up 4% to 6% and broadly in line with its earlier guidance of medium- to high single digit percentage growth.

(Reporting by Anna Rzhevkina and Bartosz Dabrowski; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)