Linde 10-Q 2024-06-30
Filed 2024-08-02. 8 sections, 178K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown · JSON
Cover and table of contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
| ☒ | QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2024
or
| ☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
| Commission file number | 001-38730 |
LINDE PLC
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Ireland | 98-1448883 | |||||||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |||||||
| 10 Riverview Drive, | Forge | |||||||
| Danbury, Connecticut | 43 Church Street West | |||||||
| United States 06810 | Woking, Surrey GU21 6HT | |||||||
| United Kingdom | ||||||||
| (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) | ||||||||
| (203) 837 - 2000 | +44 14 83 242200 | |||||||
| (Registrant's telephone number, including area code) |
N/A
(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares (€0.001 nominal value per share) | LIN | NASDAQ |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☒ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | ||||||||||||||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | ☐ | ||||||||||||||
| Emerging growth company | ☐ | ||||||||||||||||
| If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. | ☐ |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
At June 30, 2024, 477,502,737 ordinary shares (€0.001 par value) of the Registrant were outstanding.
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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A")
Non-GAAP Measures
Throughout MD&A, the company provides adjusted operating results exclusive of certain items such as Other charges, net gains or losses on sale of businesses, purchase accounting impacts of the Linde AG merger and pension settlement charges. Adjusted amounts are non-GAAP measures which are intended to supplement investors’ understanding of the company’s financial information by providing measures which investors, financial analysts and management find useful in evaluating the company’s operating performance. Items which the company does not believe to be indicative of on-going business performance are excluded from these calculations so that investors can better evaluate and analyze historical and future business trends on a consistent basis. In addition, operating results, excluding these items, is important to management's development of annual and long-term employee incentive compensation plans. Definitions of these non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similar definitions used by other companies and are not a substitute for similar GAAP measures.
The non-GAAP measures and reconciliations are separately included in a later section in the MD&A titled "Non-GAAP Measures and Reconciliations."
Consolidated Results
The following table provides summary information for the quarters and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023. The reported amounts are GAAP amounts from the Consolidated Statements of Income. The adjusted amounts are intended to supplement investors' understanding of the company's financial information and are not a substitute for GAAP measures:
| Quarter Ended June 30, | Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Millions of dollars, except per share data) | 2024 | 2023 | Variance | 2024 | 2023 | Variance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sales | $ | 8,267 | $ | 8,204 | 1 | % | $ | 16,367 | $ | 16,397 | — | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of sales, exclusive of depreciation and amortization | $ | 4,251 | $ | 4,316 | (2) | % | $ | 8,467 | $ | 8,747 | (3) | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As a percent of sales | 51.4 | % | 52.6 | % | 51.7 | % | 53.3 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative | $ | 840 | $ | 833 | 1 | % | $ | 1,700 | $ | 1,655 | 3 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As a percent of sales | 10.2 | % | 10.2 | % | 10.4 | % | 10.1 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | $ | 958 | $ | 960 | — | % | $ | 1,907 | $ | 1,908 | — | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other charges | $ | — | $ | 22 | (100) | % | $ | — | $ | 40 | (100) | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other income (expense) - net | $ | 2 | $ | (27) | 107 | % | $ | 60 | $ | (32) | 288 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating profit | $ | 2,184 | $ | 2,011 | 9 | % | $ | 4,279 | $ | 3,944 | 8 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating margin | 26.4 | % | 24.5 | % | 26.1 | % | 24.1 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense - net | $ | 70 | $ | 52 | 35 | % | $ | 135 | $ | 89 | 52 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net pension and OPEB cost (benefit), excluding service cost | $ | (49) | $ | (45) | 9 | % | $ | (99) | $ | (90) | 10 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Effective tax rate | 23.5 | % | 21.9 | % | 22.9 | % | 22.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Income from equity investments | $ | 45 | $ | 46 | (2) | % | $ | 93 | $ | 87 | 7 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Noncontrolling interests | $ | (37) | $ | (37) | — | % | $ | (75) | $ | (73) | 3 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Income – Linde plc | $ | 1,663 | $ | 1,575 | 6 | % | $ | 3,290 | $ | 3,091 | 6 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diluted earnings per share | $ | 3.44 | $ | 3.19 | 8 | % | $ | 6.79 | $ | 6.25 | 9 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diluted shares outstanding | 483,177 | 493,549 | (2) | % | 484,366 | 494,685 | (2) | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of employees | 65,987 | 66,270 | — | % | 65,987 | 66,270 | — | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adjusted Amounts (a) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating profit | $ | 2,422 | $ | 2,286 | 6 | % | $ | 4,763 | $ | 4,492 | 6 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operating margin | 29.3 | % | 27.9 | % | 29.1 | % | 27.4 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Effective tax rate | 23.5 | % | 23.7 | % | 23.1 | % | 23.9 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net Income – Linde plc | $ | 1,859 | $ | 1,760 | 6 | % | $ | 3,680 | $ | 3,453 | 7 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diluted earnings per share | $ | 3.85 | $ | 3.57 | 8 | % | $ | 7.60 | $ | 6.98 | 9 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other Financial Data (a) |
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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Refer to Item 7A. to Part II of Linde's 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K for discussion.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
(a)Based on an evaluation of the effectiveness of Linde's disclosure controls and procedures, which was made under the supervision and with the participation of management, including Linde's principal executive officer and principal financial officer, the principal executive officer and principal financial officer have each concluded that, as of the end of the quarterly period covered by this report, such disclosure controls and procedures are effective in ensuring that information required to be disclosed by Linde in reports that it files under the Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, and accumulated and communicated to management including Linde's principal executive officer and principal financial officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
(b)There were no changes in Linde's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarterly period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, Linde's internal control over financial reporting.
PART II - OTHER INFORMATION
Linde plc and Subsidiaries
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
See Note 8 to the condensed consolidated financial statements for a description of current legal proceedings.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Through the quarterly period covered by this report, there have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in Item 1A to Part I of Linde's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
Purchases of Equity Securities- Certain information regarding purchases made by or on behalf of the company or any affiliated purchaser (as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) of its ordinary shares during the quarter ended June 30, 2024 is provided below:
| Period | Total Number of Shares Purchased (Thousands) | Average Price Paid Per Share | Total Numbers of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Program (1) (Thousands) | Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet be Purchased Under the Program (2) (Millions) | |||||||||||||||||||
| April 2024 | 887 | $ | 448.51 | 887 | $ | 14,929 | |||||||||||||||||
| May 2024 | 1,456 | $ | 430.05 | 1,456 | $ | 14,303 | |||||||||||||||||
| June 2024 | 880 | $ | 434.89 | 880 | $ | 13,921 | |||||||||||||||||
| Second Quarter 2024 | 3,223 | $ | 436.45 | 3,223 | $ | 13,921 |
(1) On February 28, 2022, the company's board of directors approved the repurchase of $10.0 billion of its ordinary shares ("2022 program") which could take place from time to time on the open market (and could include the use of 10b5-1 trading plans), subject to market and business conditions. The 2022 program has a maximum repurchase amount of 15% of outstanding shares and began on March 1, 2022 and was completed as of June 30, 2024.
On October 23, 2023, the company's board of directors approved the repurchase of $15.0 billion of its ordinary shares ("2023 program") which could take place from time to time on the open market (and could include the use of 10b5-1 trading plans), subject to market and business conditions. The 2023 program began on October 23, 2023 and will terminate on the earlier of the date as the maximum authority under the 2023 program is reached or the board terminates the 2023 program.
(2) As of June 30, 2024, the company completed the $10 billion 2022 share repurchase program and $13.9 billion of share repurchases remain authorized under the 2023 program.
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
None.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
Item 5. Other Information
Item 6. Exhibits
*Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
SIGNATURE
Linde plc and Subsidiaries
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
| Linde plc | |||||||||||
| (Registrant) | |||||||||||
| Date: August 2, 2024 | By: /s/ Kelcey E. Hoyt | ||||||||||
| Kelcey E. Hoyt | |||||||||||
| Chief Accounting Officer |