IN 2025, A RECORD PERFORMANCEDRIVING RENEWED AMBITION
Within the framework of Air Liquide’s strategic plan ADVANCE, how would you assess the Group’s 2025 financial performance?
Jérôme Pelletan : 2025 was a year of remarkable performance for Air Liquide, all the more so because it brought about ADVANCE’s successful conclusion. I want to particularly commend our teams, who truly mobilized to achieve such success. Despite operating in a challenging environment, the Group delivered more than solid results. This is clear evidence of the relevance of our business model and of our transformation dynamic.
Our sales amounted to nearly 27 billion euros, up +2%(1). Growth in our Gas & Services activities, which account for 97% of the Group's revenue, confirms our positioning in promising markets, both from a sector and a geographic standpoint, as well as our ability to continue creating value for our customers. In the meantime, the operating margin improved by more than 100 basis points(2), bringing the cumulative increase to +360 basis points over four years, from 2022 through 2025. This reflects our financial discipline and efficiency efforts carried out across our activities. Finally, we continue to prepare for the future through innovation and targeted investments. Investment decisions reached 4.2 billion euros, in addition to the acquisition of DIG Airgas for approximately 3 billion euros. This major player in South Korea strengthens our presence in a dynamic and innovative economy and consolidates our portfolio of opportunities, particularly in the semiconductor market. Our backlog now amounts to 4.9 billion euros(3).
Our record performance, combined with the depth of projects currently under execution, confirms that the Group has strong fundamentals to continue its growth trajectory.