The Linde Group has held up very well in the current economic environment, described above, achieving sales growth in the first half of 2008 of 12.9 percent to EUR 6.256 bn after adjusting for exchange rate effects. We have continued to improve our profitability, increasing our operating profit, after adjusting for exchange rate effects, by 15.4 percent to EUR 1.258 bn. Therefore, the operating margin rose by 40 basis points compared with the prior year period to 20.1 percent.

If exchange rate effects are not taken into account, the increase in sales in the first six months of 2008 was 6.3 percent (2007: EUR 5.888 bn). On the basis of reported figures, operating profit rose 8.6 percent (2007: EUR 1.158 bn).

The net financial expense fell by EUR 32 m to EUR -172 m at the end of June 2008 (2007: EUR -204 m). This is evidence of successful debt reduction in the course of the year.

Earnings before taxes on income of EUR 544 m were lower than the figure for the comparable prior year period of EUR 896 m. However, this is mainly due to non-recurring items of EUR 574 m in the first half of 2007 relating to the disposal of businesses. In the current year, Linde has made a profit on the disposal of businesses of EUR 59 m.

Earnings after tax were EUR 402 m (2007: EUR 614 m). Of this amount, earnings attributable to Linde AG shareholders were EUR 375 m (2007: EUR 589 m), giving earnings per share of EUR 2.24 (2007: EUR 3.66). Here too, the non-recurring items relating to the disposal of businesses should be taken into account when comparing the figures with those for the prior year. On an adjusted basis, i.e. after adjusting for the book profit on the disposal of businesses and the effect of the purchase price allocation in the course of the BOC acquisition, earnings per share increased by 24.8 percent from EUR 2.18 to EUR 2.72.