By Tristan Veyet and Chiara Holzhaeuser
(Reuters) - Linde, the world's largest industrial gases company, saw its stock fall on Thursday following the release of its first quarter results, as performance in the Americas and the firm's outlook underwhelmed investors.
The U.S.-German company, which supplies gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen to factories and hospitals, sees earnings per share for the second quarter within a margin of $3.70 to $3.80, falling 1% below consensus according to TD Cowen.
Linde also reported a volume decrease of 1% in the Americas region, citing declines in the manufacturing, healthcare and electronics end markets. The latter two are "normally growth markets" for the company, Mizuho Group analysts said in a note.
Linde's Frankfurt-listed shares were down 4.98% at 1358 GMT.
Peers Air Products (NYSE:APD) and Air Liquide (EPA:AIRP) both reported sales increases in the Americas for their last quarter, driven by strong demand.
Linde is seen as a bellwether for industrial production as it supplies gases for a wide range of customers in industries such as chemicals, manufacturing and steel-making.
The U.S.-German firm however reported a 2% volume decline in the EMEA region during the quarter but managed to increase its adjusted EBIT by 13% year-on-year as a result of higher pricing and productivity initiatives.
In total, for the January-March period, it reported adjusted earnings per share up 10% at $3.75, against a $3.67 forecast from analysts polled by LSEG.
Linde also cut its capital expenditure forecast for 2024 to a range of $4.0-4.5 billion, from a previous $4.5-5.0 billion, compared to expectations of $4.47 billion according to analysts polled by LSEG.
"The market may have been expecting another outlook raise rather than just a narrowing of the range (especially after a beat in the first-quarter)," Morningstar analyst Krzysztof Smalec writes.