In 2025, a record performance driving 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 points², 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 euros³.

Our record performance, combined with the depth of projects currently under execution, confirms that the Group has strong fundamentals to continue its growth trajectory.

What lessons can be drawn from the progress achieved this year when it comes to the Group's sustainability performance? 

Diana Schillag: 2025 marks the end of a cycle as we bring to a close many of the non-financial targets we set back in 2021. And we have delivered on our commitments! All our environmental targets have been met or exceeded. It is a source of immense collective pride to see this effort, carried out by all our teams, translate into a significant achievement. Specifically, the Group reduced its CO₂ emissions by 13% compared with 2020, reaching the inflection point one year ahead of schedule. In addition, water management plans have now been implemented across our 75 priority sites.

On the social front, we rolled out our “Citizen at Work” volunteering program to all Group employees, as well as a common basis of care coverage across all subsidiaries. In terms of diversity, the proportion of women among managers and professionals reached 33.8%, placing us at the forefront of our industry. This share has continuously increased since 2020, and we remain determined to further strengthen this representation across all activities.

Above all, these results reflect five years of tangible and positive impact for both the planet and society.

In recent years, the Group has operated in a volatile environment. How has this period strengthened its model? 

J.P.: The past few years—and 2025 in particular—have demonstrated our model’s strength and adaptability. Thanks to the diversity of our activities, our international footprint, and our strong local presence, we’ve been able to offset contrasting market developments by swiftly adjusting our portfolio composition and resource allocation. Our resilience is also due to our constant operational discipline, reflected in rigorous management, improved asset optimization, and high selectivity with regard to our project choices. Our model is further embodied in a strengthened performance culture, which enables us to make decisions more quickly and deliver an ever more positive impact for our customers and patients, even in an uncertain environment.

In this shifting context, what are your priorities for 2026 and beyond? 

D.S.: ADVANCE was shaped by two successive realities. Prior to 2023, ESG issues benefited from strong consensus, driven by a widely shared willingness to act. Since then, the landscape has fragmented: geopolitical, industrial and energy reconfigurations have intensified, creating disparities and even some headwinds. Yet climate urgency has not diminished—and we will stay the course. While the trend toward decarbonization is irreversible, the pace at which society is moving forward varies across geographies. Once again, our strength lies in our ability to adapt. Because in decarbonization, there is no “one size fits all!” Our role is to provide the most appropriate solutions for each context, to reduce emissions as rapidly and effectively as possible. Low-carbon electricity, carbon capture and sequestration, and hydrogen are concrete examples.

Beyond climate challenges, I am convinced that companies can make a positive contribution to societal issues—particularly in uncertain times. And because shaping the future is above all a collective endeavor, we continue to mobilize ecosystems and translate this collective action into tangible impact. This is the case, for example, with the Carbon Measures initiative, a coalition of companies committed to reducing emissions by creating competitive low-carbon markets. Air Liquide is a founding member. It is also what we promote within the Hydrogen Council, where François Jackow has been Co-Chair since December 2025.

J.P.: 2026 is likely to be just as challenging as 2025, but we remain determined to combine sales growth with continued performance improvement. In this environment, vigilance and responsiveness are essential. Agility is a key lever to seize opportunities as they arise, just as our solid financial performance underpins our ability to move proactively on strategic projects and investments. The organizational transformation we initiated in 2024, aimed at strengthening our capacity for action in achieving our objectives, fully supports this direction.

My conviction—which I’ve shared with our teams—is clear: our strong balance sheet gives us the means to be ambitious. It is now up to us to remain attentive to our customers and to societal shifts, so that we can capture tomorrow’s growth. Building on this ambition and our record performance, we approach 2026 and beyond with confidence.