Air Liquide, the company listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (compartment A) and belonging to the CAC 40, EURO STOXX 50 and FTSE4Good indices, recorded growth of +3.8% in the first quarter of 2O21.

Air Liquide's sales amounted to more than 20 billion euros in 2020. In the 1st quarter of 2021, they amounted to 5,334 million euros in a health and economic context that is still difficult but in improvement. Commenting on the activity of the 1st quarter of 2021 Benoît Potier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Air Liquide group declared "this first quarter showed solid growth of +3.8% like-for-like, confirming the trend recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020".

Sales reached 5.3 billion euros, including 5.1 billion for Gas & Services, which grew by +2.8% on a comparable basis. This growth confirms the recovery observed in all of our Gas & Services activities. Strong dynamism also characterizes the Engineering & Construction and Global Markets & Technologies businesses.

In Gas & Services, 96% of the Group's activity, growth remains particularly strong in Health at +10%. In the industrial sector, the Industrial Merchant activity posted positive growth for the first time since the start of the health crisis, while Large Industries progressed, driven by the start-up of new units and the marked recovery in the Steel markets and Chemistry. Geographically, Asia is growing very strongly, driven by China, while Europe is growing steadily. The Americas zone posted a contrasting performance, penalized by an exceptional cold spell in the United States.

In terms of efficiency, the Group is continuing its performance improvement actions. In the 1st quarter of 2021, 95 million euros of efficiencies were generated, in line with the objective of reaching 400 million euros over the year. Cash flow is high and stands at more than 23% of sales, an improvement of +100 basis points.

Investment decisions for the quarter amount to 600 million euros. The portfolio of 12-month opportunities continues to grow and stands at 3.2 billion euros. The share of projects related to the energy transition continues to grow and has now reached 46%. These investments will contribute to future growth.