Enlarge image

A good stock market performance again in 2007

The German share index again saw a significant increase in value during the financial year. It closed at 8,067.32 points at the end of 2007, a 22.3 percent rise over the figure at the end of the previous year. For the first few months of 2007, the trend was not so positive. The DAX fell to its lowest point for the year of 6,447.7 on 14 March 2007, but after that it began to climb again, reaching its highest point for the year of 8,105.69 on 16 July 2007.

This means that the German stock market was again one of the best performers when compared with the top leading indices in the world, ahead of the other major European indices in the stock markets of Paris, London and Madrid. The increase in the DAX, which was well above average, was due not only to a generally positive economic environment, but also to the exceptional performance of some shares in the wake of acquisitions and demergers.

Double-digit growth again for Linde shares

In this favourable market environment, Linde shares achieved double-digit growth for the third time in succession, increasing in value during the year by 15.6 percent. We were in 13^th position among the DAX 30 companies.

Our shares reflected the trends in the DAX, falling to their lowest point in the spring (EUR 75.26 on 5 March 2007) and closing the year at EUR 90.45. The share price at the year-end was only slightly lower than the highest price for the year of EUR 91.75, which was reached on 13 July 2007.

These positive trends in the Linde share price not only demonstrate that the capital market was happy to reward the Group for its positive business performance in 2007, but also that investors have been convinced by the strategic reorganisation of The Linde Group and have confidence in the future and in the lasting success of our Group.

Further evidence of this confidence was to be seen in April 2007, when we successfully placed fixed-interest bonds with a volume totalling EUR 2.4bn.

In the first few months of 2008, the mood in the international capital markets was beset by many uncertainties. In the wake of the financial and property crisis in the United States, all the main stock markets worldwide saw falls in share prices. Linde shares demonstrated a high level of stability in this difficult environment.