2023 Shareholder's Guide

2022 was a pivotal year with the launch of the new ADVANCE strategic plan. What can you tell us about the Group’s performance?

That it is very solid! In 2022, we achieved another year of profitable growth despite a complex and changing environment. Our reported sales reached 29.9 billion euros, up +7%,⁽¹⁾ and recurring net income grew by +17%.⁽²⁾ All our businesses – Gas & Services, Engineering & Construction and Global Markets & Technologies – are up significantly. Within Gas & Services, all our geographies are growing, in particular the Americas and Asia Pacific. In addition to revenue growth, we have further improved our operating margin thanks to significant efficiency gains and the dynamic management of our business portfolio. Moreover, in the context of rising energy prices, the Group has demonstrated its ability to create value, enabling it to adjust prices for customers. The quality of these results illustrates both the resilience of our business model and the mobilization and responsiveness of our teams, who have done a remarkable job in adapting to a volatile environment. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them. I would also like to add that our investment momentum, which is the guarantee of our future growth, has accelerated, particularly in regard to hydrogen and the transition to a low-carbon society. Indeed, our investments have reached a record level of nearly 4 billion euros. Finally, in terms of extra-financial aspects, our CO₂ emissions ⁽³⁾ have remained stable for the second year in a row. This supports our goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. These results show that ADVANCE, our strategic plan combining our financial and non-financial trajectory for 2025, is already bearing fruit. On the basis of this performance, we look forward to 2023 with confidence.

The energy crisis, inflation, conflict in Europe… economic and geopolitical instability seems to be taking hold. Will this have an impact on Air Liquide’s strategic road map?

Without a doubt, 2022 was defined by a range of geopolitical, energy and climate-related crises, which has obviously had an impact on our customers, our activities and society as a whole. This complex year confirmed more than ever the relevance of our road map, as our ADVANCE strategic plan was designed to provide innovative solutions to challenges that are here to stay. The current context has acted as an accelerator, strengthening our resolve to move forward with a clear goal: pursuing our comprehensive performance trajectory by combining financial and extra-financial performance.

This ambition is based on an extremely solid foundation built on the Group’s proven resilience; the robustness of our business model through the diversity of our business lines and geographical footprint; and of course our teams, who demonstrated yet again this year their ability to respond to challenges. And, with ADVANCE, we are now positioned at the heart of the energy transition and are focused on the markets of the future, such as hydrogen mobility, electronics, healthcare and high technologies. All this provides Air Liquide with unprecedented positioning in terms of the current global upheavals, and an excellent opportunity to propel the Group into the future.