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Slowdown hits Air Liquide
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January 29, 2002: 5:53 a.m. ET
French energy services group posts 8.4% drop in Q4 sales due to downturn
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LONDON (CNN) - Air Liquide, the French energy services group, said on Tuesday fourth-quarter sales slipped 8.4 percent as a slowing global economy cut demand.
The Paris-based company said the decline, which was worse than the average 6-percent drop forecast by analysts, was due to weaker sales of specialty gases and liquid chemicals.
Sales of those products, many of which are used in the manufacturing of electronics goods, have been hurt by a drop in consumer demand as the global economy stalled.
The company said it expected the slowdown to continue to affect its revenue into 2002.
Air Liquide, which is the world's biggest supplier of industrial gases, said revenue fell to  2.08 billion ($1.79 billion) from 2.27 billion in the fourth quarter of 2000.
The company said the fourth-quarter drop in revenue trimmed full-year growth in turnover to 2.8 percent. However, it said it still expects to meet its 2001 earnings per share growth target of almost 10 percent.
Chief Executive Officer Benoit Potier said the company had performed well in its main sectors, such as homecare and industrial products. "The outperformance of these sectors successfully compensated for lower demand in chemicals, metals and electronics."
The company said sales in its gas and services operations fell 9.6 percent to 1.67 billion in the fourth quarter, while its welding business dropped 16.9 percent to 167 million.
Sales in its engineering and construction businesses, however, jumped 48 percent to 124 million.
Air Liquide shares fell 2.1 percent to 151.6 in early trading Paris. 
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