林德集團 (LIN) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Linde fourth quarter 2025 earnings call and webcast. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Juan Pelaez, Head of Investor Relations.

女士們、先生們，大家好，感謝你們的耐心等待。歡迎參加林德公司2025年第四季財報電話會議和網路直播。（操作人員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。（操作員指示）現在我將會議交給投資者關係主管胡安·佩拉埃斯先生。

Please go ahead, sir.

請繼續，先生。

Thank you, Abby. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for attending our 2025 fourth quarter earnings call and webcast. I'm Juan Pelaez, Head of Investor Relations, and I'm joined this morning by Sanjiv Lamba, Chief Executive Officer; and Matt White, Chief Financial Officer. Today's presentation materials are available on our website at the linde.com in the Investors section.

謝謝你，艾比。各位早安，感謝各位參加我們2025年第四季財報電話會議和網路直播。我是投資者關係主管胡安·佩拉埃斯，今天早上和我一起的是執行長桑吉夫·蘭巴和財務長馬特·懷特。今天的示範資料可在我們網站 linde.com 的「投資者」欄位中找到。

Please read the forward-looking statement disclosure on page 2 of the slides and note that it applies to all statements made during this teleconference. The reconciliations of the adjusted numbers are in the appendix of this presentation. Sanjiv will provide some opening remarks, and then Matt will give an update on Linde's fourth quarter financial performance and outlook, After which, we'll wrap up with Q&A. Let me turn the call over to Sanjiv.

請閱讀投影片第 2 頁的前瞻性聲明揭露，並注意該聲明適用於本次電話會議期間所作的所有陳述。調整後的數位核對錶請見本簡報的附錄。Sanjiv 將作開場致辭，然後 Matt 將介紹 Linde 第四季的財務業績和展望，之後我們將進行問答環節。讓我把電話轉給桑吉夫。

Thanks, Juan, and good morning, everyone. The economic environment in 2025 was a study in contrast. On one hand, exuberant investment in AI and digital infrastructure drove unprecedented activity. On the other hand, traditional industrial markets like manufacturing, metals, chemicals and energy faced continued retrenchment.

謝謝你，胡安，大家早安。2025年的經濟環境則截然不同。一方面，對人工智慧和數位基礎設施的大量投資推動了前所未有的發展。另一方面，製造業、金屬業、化工業和能源業等傳統工業市場面臨持續萎縮。

This divergence was exemplified in both concentration of returns from the S&P 500 and in persistently weak manufacturing indicators.

這種分歧體現在標普 500 指數收益的集中度以及持續疲軟的製造業指標。

This created a challenging backdrop for many of our customers operating in these sectors. Despite these headwinds, Linde employees once again rose to the challenge, delivering industry-leading results in areas that matter most to our owners. I've highlighted a few of these accomplishments on Slide 3.

這給在這些行業中運作的許多客戶帶來了挑戰。儘管面臨這些不利因素，林德員工再次迎難而上，在對公司所有者而言最重要的領域中取得了領先業界的成果。我在第 3 張投影片中重點介紹了其中的一些成就。

Running a global enterprise requires balancing the needs of many stakeholders while delivering against both near- and long-term expectations.

經營全球性企業需要在滿足眾多利害關係人的需求的同時，兼顧近期和長期的預期。

The four areas you see on this slide People and Communities, environmental stewardship, financial performance and future growth represent that balanced approach and remain the foundation for Linde's long-term value creation for our owners.

您在這張投影片上看到的四個領域——員工與社區、環境管理、財務表現和未來成長——代表了這種平衡的方法，並且仍然是林德為我們的所有者創造長期價值的基礎。

Let me start with People and Communities. Our employees are the backbone for Linde's success. In 2025, we once again delivered best-in-class safety performance because nothing is more important than ensuring our employees and contractors return home safely every day.

讓我先從人和社區談起。我們的員工是林德成功的基石。2025年，我們再次實現了業界最佳的安全績效，因為沒有什麼比確保我們的員工和承包商每天安全回家更重要的了。

We also continue to build an inclusive culture across the footprint of more than 80 countries. Female representation reached nearly 30%, and we progressed multiple employee initiatives that earn third-party accolades as well. As a local business, we also strive to be a good neighbor.

我們也在業務遍及 80 多個國家的地區，持續建構包容性文化。女性員工佔比接近 30%，我們也推進了多項員工計劃，這些計劃也獲得了第三方的讚譽。作為一家本地企業，我們也努力做一個好鄰居。

This year, our teams completed almost 900 projects across the world, supporting health, education and community wellbeing, mainly driven by committed Linde volunteers who pitch in to lead and support these projects.

今年，我們的團隊在全球範圍內完成了近 900 個項目，支持健康、教育和社區福祉，這主要得益於林德志工的奉獻精神，他們積極參與領導和支持這些項目。

In addition to supporting local communities, Linde is also a good citizen to the planet, through actions to improve our environmental footprint. In 2025, we made substantial progress on this front by increasing active low-carbon power sourcing by 23%, we enabled 50% of Linde's annual power consumption to be low carbon.

除了支持當地社區外，林德還採取行動改善我們的環境足跡，成為一個對地球友善的公民。2025年，我們在這一領域取得了實質進展，主動低碳能源採購增加了23%，使林德公司50%的年度電力消耗實現了低碳化。

This in turn supported almost 2 million metric ton reduction of absolute CO2 emissions. Moving us forward on the ambitious 35% reduction target by [2035]. And we've kept a close eye on the future as well as two-third of our backlog supports contracted clean energy projects. In addition to which, we also signed more than 90 new gas application wins, many to help customers further decarbonize their operations. These are just a few of the highlights.

這反過來又促成了二氧化碳絕對排放量減少近200萬噸。我們將朝著雄心勃勃的35%減排目標邁進一步[2035]我們一直密切關注未來，我們積壓訂單的三分之二都用於支持已簽約的清潔能源項目。除此之外，我們還簽署了 90 多項新的天然氣應用協議，其中許多協議旨在幫助客戶進一步實現營運脫碳。以上僅列舉部分亮點。

And many more can be found in our annual sustainability report, which will be released in the second quarter.

更多內容請參閱我們將在第二季發布的年度永續發展報告。

Of course, we must deliver on financial performance. Since management's primary role is a steward of shareholder capital. Despite weak industrial environment, Linde achieved annual record levels for EPS and operating cash flow and operating margins. The 24.2% return on capital, not only leads the industry, but also validates the long-term disciplined capital allocation policy which enabled a return of more than $7 billion to shareholders.

當然，我們必須在財務表現上取得好成績。因為管理階層的首要職責是管理股東資本。儘管產業環境疲軟，林德仍實現了每股盈餘、經營現金流和經營利潤率的年度歷史新高。24.2% 的資本回報率不僅領先於該行業，而且驗證了長期嚴謹的資本配置政策，該政策已為股東帶來了超過 70 億美元的回報。

In good times and bad, you can count on Linde to remain laser-focused to deliver shareholder value. Finally, we must position Linde for future growth to remain the long-term compound. From my perspective, this is the strongest strategic position Linde has held during my tenure.

無論順境或逆境，您都可以信賴林德始終專注於為股東創造價值。最後，我們必須為林德未來的成長做好準備，使其成為長期成長的動力。在我看來，這是我任職期間林德所擁有的最強大的戰略地位。

Our project backlog stands at a record $10 billion. And this number does not include over $0.5 billion of investment for rocket propellant to contracted space launch customers.

我們的專案積壓總額高達創紀錄的100億美元。這個數字還不包括為簽約航太發射客戶提供的超過 5 億美元的火箭推進劑投資。

In fact, we fully expect continued investment in the sector as we expand our network to support this rapidly growing opportunity. Linde remains the anchor industrial gas supplier for some of the largest and most successful clean energy and advanced electronics fabs in the world. In fact, I'm highly confident that we will announce new signature fab wins in the coming months.

事實上，隨著我們擴大網路以支持這一快速成長的機遇，我們完全預期該領域將持續獲得投資。林德仍然是世界上一些規模最大、最成功的清潔能源和先進電子產品製造廠的主要工業氣體供應商。事實上，我非常有信心，我們將在未來幾個月內宣布新的標誌性工廠中標消息。

We also continue to see a robust M&A pipeline for accretive tuck-in acquisitions that further enhance our supply density. In summary, Linde delivered a resilient performance in a challenging 2025 environment. But looking ahead, I know we can do better. Certain regions of the world are still not showing signs of near-term recovery. And we are taking actions to align our resources accordingly.

我們也持續看到強勁的併購專案儲備，這些專案將透過增值收購進一步提高我們的供應密度。總而言之，林德在充滿挑戰的 2025 年環境中展現了強大的韌性。但展望未來，我知道我們還能做得更好。世界某些地區仍未顯示出近期復甦的跡象。我們正在採取措施，相應地調整資源配置。

In other words, growth remains geographically uneven, and we need to adjust our organization to reflect that.

換句話說，成長在地域上仍然不均衡，我們需要調整我們的組織結構來反映這一點。

Considering this, in the fourth quarter, we initiated additional restructuring actions to better position the company for 2026. These actions will have cash payback levels and timing like prior programs. So I expect the bulk of the benefits to be in the second half of the year. When combining these incremental actions with our existing productivity initiatives and a record backlog of secured growth I'm confident we will deliver a stronger EPS growth that our owners expect and have enjoyed for many years.

有鑑於此，我們在第四季度啟動了額外的重組措施，以便更好地為公司在 2026 年做好準備。這些措施的現金回報水準和時間安排將與先前的項目類似。所以我預計大部分收益將在下半年顯現。我相信，將這些漸進式措施與我們現有的生產力提升計劃以及創紀錄的已確認增長項目相結合，我們將實現股東們多年來所期望和享受到的更強勁的每股收益增長。

I'll now turn the call over to Matt to walk through our financial results.

現在我將把電話交給馬特，讓他來介紹一下我們的財務表現。

Thanks, Sanjiv. Fourth quarter results can be found on Slide 4. Sales of $8.8 billion increased 6% over prior year and 2% sequentially versus prior year foreign currency translation provided a 3% tailwind as the US dollar weakened against most currencies, especially the euro. I expect this trend to continue into 2026, which we'll discuss later with guidance.

謝謝你，桑吉夫。第四季業績請見投影片4。銷售額達 88 億美元，比上年增長 6%，比上年環比成長 2%。外幣折算帶來了 3% 的成長動力，因為美元對大多數貨幣（尤其是歐元）走弱。我預計這一趨勢將持續到 2026 年，我們將在稍後進行討論並提供指導。

Excluding FX, underlying sales increased 3% from 2% pricing and 1% volumes. The 2% price increase aligned with globally weighted inflation after considering APAC challenges associated with helium and China deflationary conditions. Volume growth was driven by project startups in Americas and APAC, as base volume growth in Americas was more than offset by continued industrial softness in EMEA.

剔除匯率因素，基礎銷售額成長 3%，其中價格上漲 2%，銷售成長 1%。考慮到亞太地區氦氣供應挑戰和中國通貨緊縮情勢，2% 的價格上漲幅度與全球加權通膨率相符。美洲和亞太地區的專案啟動推動了銷售成長，因為美洲地區的基礎銷售成長被歐洲、中東和非洲地區持續疲軟的產業所抵消。

Sequentially, volumes were flat as normal seasonal declines were offset by project start-ups. Operating profit of $2.6 billion was up 4% from prior year and resulted in a 29.5% margin. The quarter margin dilution was attributed to timing of other income, which was down over $30 million. Note full year operating margin is up 30 basis points which is within the range of our long-term margin expansion expectation of about 30 basis points to 50 basis points per year.

從順序上看，成交量保持平穩，正常的季節性下降被新項目的啟動所抵消。營業利益為 26 億美元，較上年成長 4%，利潤率為 29.5%。本季利潤率下降是由於其他收入的時間安排所致，該部分收入減少了 3,000 多萬美元。請注意，全年營業利潤率提高了 30 個基點，這在我們每年 30 至 50 個基點的長期利潤率擴張預期範圍內。

EPS of $4.20 increased 6% and as a lower share count more than offset the impact of a higher ETR.

每股收益為 4.20 美元，增長 6%，由於流通股數量減少，因此超過了 ETR 增加的影響。

Though, we stepped up share repurchases in the fourth quarter to $1.4 billion, as we saw an attractive buying opportunity from the stock decline. You can see the 17% growth in CapEx led by spending for the record project backlog. This trend coupled with the increased acquisitions has led to more capital-intensive growth, which negatively affected ROC.

不過，由於我們看到股價下跌帶來了有吸引力的買入機會，因此我們在第四季度加大了股票回購力度，回購金額達到 14 億美元。可以看到，資本支出增加了 17%，這主要是由於創紀錄的項目積壓造成的支出增加所致。這一趨勢加上收購活動的增加，導致了資本密集成長，這對資本回報率產生了負面影響。

This was anticipated as I expect this metric to remain in the low to mid-20% range for the next few years. Slide 5 provides more details on capital management.

這在意料之中，因為我預計未來幾年這項指標將維持在 20% 左右的低點。第 5 張投影片提供了有關資本管理的更多詳細資訊。

Operating cash flow exceeded $3 billion in the fourth quarter from stronger collections and inventory management. As mentioned in prior calls, operating cash flow is seasonally stronger in the second half of the year, due to timing of tax incentive and interest cash payments. The pie chart to the right summarizes full year allocation of capital.

由於收款和庫存管理的改善，第四季度經營現金流超過 30 億美元。如同先前電話會議中所提到的，由於稅收優惠和利息現金支付的時間安排，下半年的營運現金流通常會更加強勁。右側的餅圖總結了全年的資金分配。

About $6 billion was invested for growth, including half towards secured growth of acquisitions and project backlog contracts. Another $7.4 billion was returned to owners as dividends or share repurchases. This level of distribution requires a focused and disciplined management of both operating and investing cash flows. In fact, sustainable stock repurchase programs are anchored by consistent excess free cash flow after dividend payments, something Linde has demonstrated for several decades.

公司投資約 60 億美元用於成長，其中一半用於確保收購和專案積壓合約的成長。另有 74 億美元以股息或股票回購的形式返還給了股東。這種程度的收益分配需要對經營現金流和投資現金流進行專注嚴謹的管理。事實上，可持續的股票回購計劃以支付股息後持續的超額自由現金流為基礎，林德公司幾十年來一直證明了這一點。

I'll wrap up with guidance on Slide 6. For the full year, EPS is projected in the range of $17.40 to $17.90 or 6% to 9% above 2025. This range assumes a 1% FX tailwind and 0% base volume change at the midpoint. Consistent with prior guidance, we're not going to make predictions on macroeconomic climate, rather, we'll anchor the midpoint at 0% and let investors insert their own views.

最後，我將在第 6 張投影片上給予指引。預計全年每股收益將在 17.40 美元至 17.90 美元之間，比 2025 年增長 6% 至 9%。此區間假設中間點處有 1% 的外匯順風和 0% 的基礎成交量變動。與先前的指導意見一致，我們不會對宏觀經濟情勢做出預測，而是將中點錨定在 0%，讓投資人自行判斷。

The 1% currency tailwind is based on early January forward rates. Note that there could be FX upside if current spot rates hold since the U.S. dollar has weakened over the last month. For the first quarter, we took the same baseline volume assumption, but set the FX tailwind to 3%. Since Q1 of 2025 had the strongest US dollar baseline.

1%的貨幣利好因素是基於1月初的遠期匯率。注意，如果當前即期匯率保持穩定，外匯市場可能會出現上漲空間，因為美元在過去一個月裡走弱。第一季度，我們採用了相同的基準銷售假設，但將外匯順風設定為 3%。2025年第一季美元基數最為強勁。

Note the 3% quarter assumption still aligns with the 1% full year assumption so we don't anticipate as much FX benefit in the second half of the year.

請注意，3% 的季度假設仍然與 1% 的全年假設一致，因此我們預計下半年不會有太大的外匯收益。

As Sanjiv mentioned, we have a strong backlog of projects, productivity, and self-help actions to support 2026 EPS growth. However, we also believe it's still early in the year and thus wise to remain prudent on the outlook. I've said before that heroes aren't made in the first quarter. So we want to remain vigilant and guarded as the 2026 landscape starts to take shape. I've provided annual guidance now for over a decade.

正如Sanjiv所提到的，我們有大量的專案儲備、生產力提升和自助行動，以支持2026年每股收益成長。然而，我們也認為現在還為年初，因此對前景保持謹慎是明智的。我之前說過，英雄不是在第一季就誕生的。因此，隨著 2026 年情況逐漸明朗，我們希望保持警惕和謹慎。我已經連續十多年提供年度業績指引了。

And through that time, I've determined there are two things in February that I can be highly confident on.

在那段時間裡，我確定了二月有兩件事我可以非常有信心。

Number one, no one knows what will happen in the economy. And number two, regardless of what happens in the economy, Linde employees will rise to the occasion and leverage our unique supply network, culture and operating rhythm to create shareholder value in any environment. I'll now turn the call over to Q&A.

第一，沒有人知道經濟情勢會如何發展。第二，無論經濟狀況如何，林德員工都將挺身而出，利用我們獨特的供應鏈網絡、文化和營運節奏，在任何環境下創造股東價值。現在我將把通話轉至問答環節。

Thank you. And we'll now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝。現在我們將開始問答環節。（操作說明）

David Begleiter, Deutsche Bank.

大衛‧貝格萊特，德意志銀行。

Thank you. Good morning. SSanjiv, just on Europe, are there -- are you seeing any signs of progress in that region and I did see that pricing did slow to plus 1% in Q4. Do you think you can still get pricing roughly plus 2% in the region during 2026? Thank you.

謝謝。早安.SSanjiv，就歐洲而言，您是否看到該地區有任何進展的跡象？我確實看到第四季價格漲幅放緩至 1%。你認為到 2026 年，該地區的價格還能上漲 2% 左右嗎？謝謝。

David, EMEA tends to be an area that we put a lot of attention to, as you would expect, And unfortunately, based on what we see at the moment, I have to say that the market continues to see broad-based weakness. That's been the theme for a number of quarters over the last couple of three years now. There are some bright spots in EMEA as well. I'd say Europe, North with the Scandinavian countries continues to grow even in these conditions.

David，正如你所料，歐洲、中東和非洲地區是我們非常關注的地區。但不幸的是，根據我們目前所看到的，我不得不說，該市場繼續呈現全面疲軟的態勢。過去兩三年裡，這種情況已經持續了好幾個季度。歐洲、中東和非洲地區也有一些亮點。我認為，即使在這樣的環境下，歐洲北部，包括斯堪的納維亞國家在內的經濟仍在持續成長。

So that's good news.

這是個好消息。

But beyond that, there's a little bit of optimism coming out of Germany. I tend to be very cautious on that. The recently announced manufacturing numbers moved up a little bit in Germany. I would watch that to see if there is any momentum underpinning that. Beyond that, there doesn't seem to be catalyst to really get to a recovery in Europe that would be substantive.

但除此之外，德國方面還是流露出一些樂觀情緒。我在這方面往往非常謹慎。德國最近公佈的製造業數據略有上升。我會密切關注，看看是否有任何發展勢頭支撐著這一切。除此之外，歐洲似乎沒有真正實質復甦的催化劑。

On pricing, Europe's had a fantastic track record in pricing in Linde.

在定價方面，歐洲林德公司在定價方面有著非常出色的記錄。

The EMEA business does a really good job around that, have done so. I expect them to fully find pricing in line with their weighted CPI, which is what my expectation of that business remains and you should see that in the coming year as well in 2026. Beyond that, I'd say, I think there's a lot to watch out for the complexity of Europe and the European Union, unfortunately, makes execution of any changes there or indeed any capitalist there somewhat provides a bit of a skeptical view from our perspective until we actually see it happen on the ground.

歐洲、中東和非洲地區的業務在這方面做得非常出色，而他們確實做到了。我預計他們能夠完全按照加權 CPI 定價，這也是我對該業務的預期，而且在 2026 年，你們也應該能看到這一點。除此之外，我認為有很多需要注意的地方。歐洲和歐盟的複雜性，不幸的是，使得在那裡執行任何變革，或任何資本家的行為，都會讓我們持懷疑態度，直到我們真正看到它在現實中發生。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Duffy Fischer, Goldman Sachs.

達菲費雪，高盛集團。

Yes, good morning guys. Maybe if you could just go around the rest of the world, you talked a little bit about Europe and maybe about your end markets. You're not putting any growth in your estimates but what are you seeing? Obviously, you've got pretty good connectivity with the market. So what's your gut say your different end markets and your different geographies end up growing this year?

是的，各位早安。也許如果你能環遊世界，你會稍微談談歐洲，也許還會談談你的終端市場。你的預測沒有包含任何成長，但你看到了什麼？顯然，你與市場的連結非常順暢。那麼，你直覺認為你不同的終端市場和不同的地域今年最終會成長多少？

Thanks, Duffy. Let's do that. But before I kind of give you a walk around the wall, why don't I say this because it kind of prefaces a little bit and the market slide in some ways, validate this. So you will see the end markets lives showing all green, right? And essentially suggesting year-on-year growth across all end markets.

謝謝你，達菲。那就這麼做吧。但在我帶你繞著牆走一圈之前，我想先說一下，因為這在某種程度上可以作為前奏，並且從某種程度上說，市場下滑也印證了這一點。所以你會看到終端市場的各項指標都顯示為綠色，對吧？基本上顯示所有終端市場均實現了同比增長。

And yes, recently, ISM, PMI, et cetera, have shown a slightly more positive trend.

是的，最近ISM、PMI等指數都呈現略微正向的趨勢。

As I stand here today, I'd say to you if I was reflecting back on the last 12 months, I am today slightly more positive on the industrial activity that I foresee for this year and the potential for growth as well. Now I'll add to that a caution as you would expect. We live in a hyper dynamic world. Things change every day. So you would expect us to bring you a far more informed and insightful view in April when we have this conversation.

今天，當我站在這裡，回顧過去 12 個月時，我對今年的工業活動以及成長潛力持更加樂觀的態度。現在，正如你所預料的那樣，我還要補充一點注意事項。我們生活在一個瞬息萬變的世界。世事瞬息萬變。所以，您可能會期待我們在四月進行這場對話時，為您帶來更全面、更有見地的觀點。

But fair to say we -- and I'll say this about particularly, we've been very conservative in how we are looking at the markets, and you'll see that reflect in the guidance as well.

但公平地說，我們——尤其是我要特別指出這一點——我們在看待市場方面一直非常保守，這一點也會反映在我們的指導意見中。

Now let's walk around and just tell you what I've seen in the last quarter and first part of this month as well or last month now. Let's out Americas. The US, and I've said this over and over again, proven to be a really resilient market. Sales are up across almost every end market obviously, electronics, commercial space kind of stand out in that in terms of growth that we've seen there. Manufacturing has been stable.

現在讓我們四處走走，跟你們說說我在過去一個季度以及這個月的前半段，或者說上個月，都看到了什麼。讓我們離開美洲。美國市場，我已經反覆說過很多次了，事實證明它是一個極具韌性的市場。顯然，幾乎所有終端市場的銷售額都在成長，其中電子產品和商業領域的成長尤為突出。製造業一直保持穩定。

There is still some caution when we speak to our customers. I look at a leading indicator, you hear me, talk about the hard goods business, often or our package business often as a good leading indicator. Now hardgood sales, particularly in automation saw a pickup in the last quarter. But beyond that, on consumables, we haven't seen anything reflect the pickup.

我們在與客戶溝通時仍然保持謹慎。我經常關注領先指標，例如硬商品產業或我們的包裝產業，它們通常都是很好的領先指標。上個季度，耐久財銷售，尤其是自動化產品的銷售出現了回升。但除此之外，在消耗品方面，我們還沒有看到任何反映出復甦的跡象。

So the expectation at this stage is people are investing in the automation equipment to be prepared for any recovery that might happen or indeed to look for more productivity. So a little bit difficult to gauge, which is why I say when we come back in April, you'll have a far more informed -- we will have a far more informed view and you'll get a far more informed view of what we think is likely to happen for the rest of the year.

因此，現階段的預期是，人們正在投資自動化設備，為可能發生的任何復甦做好準備，或尋求更高的生產力。所以現在有點難以判斷，這就是為什麼我說等到四月我們回來的時候，你們將會對今年剩餘時間可能發生的事情有更深入的了解——我們會對情況有更深入的了解，你們也會對我們認為可能發生的事情有更深入的了解。

If I think about LATAM, across the ball, LATAM sales have been stable and growing. Brazil stands out as having had a really good year last year, and we saw that play out in Q4 as well. Canada, on the other hand, remains flat, and I don't see any catalyst for that changing anytime soon. If I move from the Americas to talk about APAC, I think the best way to talk about APAC is to start with China.

如果從拉丁美洲來看，整體而言，拉丁美洲的銷售額一直保持穩定成長。巴西隊去年表現出色，這一點在第四季度也得到了體現。另一方面，加拿大的經濟仍然保持平穩，而且我認為短期內不會有任何改變的跡象。如果我從美洲轉向亞太地區，我認為談論亞太地區的最佳方式是從中國開始。

In my assessment, the China markets that we supply and work with closely are largely bottoming out.

依我之見，我們供貨和密切合作的中國市場已基本觸底反彈。

In fact, in the recent e-mail I got from Will Lee, who is the President of our China business, he wrote, I have to say with some pride he wrote that after quite a few quarters, our China business, our merchant business to our end customers, not distributors and channels, but to our end customers, grew at a rate higher than the published IP number, which, as you all know, was 5% for the last quarter, and we tend to take that with a pinch of salt as well.

事實上，在我最近收到的來自我們中國業務總裁 Will Lee 的電子郵件中，他寫道，我不得不自豪地說，經過幾個季度的發展，我們面向最終客戶（不是分銷商和渠道商，而是最終客戶）的中國業務增長速度超過了公佈的 IP 數據，正如大家所知，上個季度的 IP 數據是 5%，而我們對此也持保留態度。

So the rate of growth in China has [surged] in the last quarter, shown an improvement. The China team has done some excellent work to get that growth. So I'm happy to see that. But I remain watchful to see whether we see that momentum carry on into Q1, which obviously will be disrupted by the Chinese New Year. So we'll have to kind of look through and sift through the data to see if that trend is holding.

因此，中國經濟成長在上個季度大幅提升，呈現改善態勢。中國團隊為實現這一成長做出了卓越的貢獻。所以我很高興看到這一點。但我會密切關注這一勢頭能否延續到第一季度，而第一季顯然會受到中國新年的影響。所以我們需要仔細查看和分析數據，看看這種趨勢是否持續下去。

India also had a continued strong growth. I think we were happy to see that almost all end markets in India were improving and moving forward.

印度也維持了持續強勁的成長。我認為我們很高興地看到，印度幾乎所有終端市場都在改善和發展。

And in fact, by distribution modes as well, we saw growth across all of those distribution modes. Again, the India team does a really good job of making sure we win more than our fair share. So happy to see that momentum. But again, I also expect further growth and momentum in the Indian market, given that 2 of the recent events will support that growth story there.

事實上，從分銷方式來看，我們也看到所有分銷方式都成長了。印度隊再次展現了他們出色的實力，確保我們贏得比我們應得的更多比賽。很高興看到這種勢頭。但是，鑑於最近發生的兩件事將支撐印度市場的成長，我仍然預計印度市場將進一步成長並保持成長勢頭。

First is the EU free trade agreement that will help kind of build some momentum around industrial activity and exports from India. And of course, the US India tariffs getting sorted out is also an element that will provide some catalysts for further growth.

首先是歐盟自由貿易協定，這將有助於推動印度工業活動和出口的成長。當然，美印關稅問題的解決也將為進一步成長提供一些催化劑。

The rest of APAC, to be honest, largely stable, nothing exciting. Australia, which has had a tough year in 2025. We saw some -- I mean, they were still declining in Q4, but we saw some signs of that stabilizing and my expectation is Australia should see -- the comps will also get better as you can expect, but you should see some kind of a recovery this year as we move forward. So that's kind of a walk around the world. And I think if I was to just talk about end markets, I'd say to you, electronics stands out.

坦白說，亞太其他地區整體穩定，沒什麼特別之處。澳洲在 2025 年經歷了艱難的一年。我們看到了一些——我的意思是，它們在第四季度仍在下降，但我們看到了一些穩定的跡象，我預計澳大利亞的情況——正如你所預期的那樣，同店銷售額也會有所改善，但隨著時間的推移，你應該會看到今年出現某種程度的複蘇。所以這就像是環球旅行。如果只談終端市場，我認為電子產品市場脫穎而出。

We are seeing good, strong growth there. My expectation remains that we'll see a lot more investment in that space. And you hear me talk about it when I talk about backlog. I'm sure there'll be a question on backlog, and I'll talk a bit more about how I see that playing out. And of course, the other markets also appearing to be stable to slightly up as we spoke.

我們看到那裡出現了良好、強勁的成長。我仍然預期，我們將看到該領域獲得更多投資。當你聽到我談論積壓工作時，你會聽到我提到它。我確信會有人問到積壓的工作量，我再詳細談談我的看法。當然，在我們談話期間，其他市場似乎也保持穩定或略有上漲。

Awesome. Thank you guys.

驚人的。謝謝大家。

Laurent Favreau, BNP Paribas.

Laurent Favreau，法國巴黎銀行。

Yes, good morning all. Sanjiv, I don't want to disappoint. So it's a question on the trajectory of the sale of gas backlog. So with Beaumont start-up and -- I guess you would be coming down towards $5.5 billion. I heard your conviction on electronics. I'm just wondering, I guess, what sales we should be focusing on if $5.5 billion new norm?

是的，各位早安。桑吉夫，我不想讓你失望。所以，這是一個關於天然氣積壓銷售軌跡的問題。所以加上博蒙特新創公司，我猜最終規模會接近 55 億美元。我聽說了你對電子產品的看法。我只是想知道，如果55億美元的新常態是那麼，我們應該專注在哪些銷售領域？

Or would you hope to get back closer to $7 billion in the next year or so? Thank you.

或者您希望在未來一年左右的時間裡，收入能恢復到接近 70 億美元？謝謝。

Laura, you know the answer to that. We will be heading towards that $7 billion mark. You know I was going to say that anyway, right? So let's just break out what happens with backlog every year. And I say this often, and I think it's worth reiterating that.

勞拉，你知道答案。我們將朝著70億美元的目標邁進。你知道我本來就要這麼說，對吧？那麼，讓我們來詳細分析一下每年的積壓工作情況。我經常這麼說，而且我認為值得重申這一點。

the best backlog is one that shrinks before it grows back up again.

最好的積壓工作是先減少一些，然後再重新增加。

So my expectation is this year, as you know, in 2025, we started about $1 billion of projects. This year in 2026, is a big year for us. You all know that OCI Woodside startup is going to be phased through the course of the year. So I would expect fully that the backlog will see projects between $2.5 billion to $3 billion to come off and get started up and start contributing to revenue and earnings. So that's exactly what we would like to see happen.

因此，我預計今年，正如您所知，到 2025 年，我們將啟動約 10 億美元的專案。2026年對我們來說是意義重大的一年。大家都知道，OCI Woodside 的啟動將在今年分階段進行。因此，我完全預期積壓的專案金額將在 25 億美元至 30 億美元之間，這些專案將會陸續啟動，並開始為收入和利潤做出貢獻。所以，這正是我們希望看到的。

The pressure on the businesses and the teams are aware of my expectations that we will grow back the backlog and I feel good about the pipeline of projects that we're currently working on and some fairly advanced as well, which I expect we will fully make, as I mentioned in my prepared remarks a little bit earlier. Some really large wins around fabs that I'm hopeful that we will be able to get to a point of being able to get to announcing -- having signed them up and put them in the backlog soon. So yes, the target is to get back to that $7 billion. We will be close to that in my view. We'll see whether we get there across it or how close we can get that business to get us there.

企業和團隊都意識到了我對我們的期望，那就是恢復積壓的工作量。我對我們目前正在進行的專案儲備感到滿意，其中一些專案進展相當順利，我預計我們將能夠完全完成，正如我之前在準備好的發言稿中提到的那樣。我們在晶圓廠方面取得了一些非常大的勝利，我希望我們能夠盡快宣布這些勝利——我們已經與他們簽約並將它們列入了待辦事項清單。所以，是的，目標是恢復到70億美元。我認為我們會接近那個目標。我們將看看能否成功抵達目的地，或者我們能把這項業務拓展到什麼程度，從而實現目標。

Yes. So maybe we get in the second half if it rolls forward. Is that reasonable? And then just to think about net margin expansion, how do you see OpEx inflation tracking of the year?

是的。如果比賽繼續進行下去，我們或許能進入下半場。這樣合理嗎？那麼，就淨利潤率擴張而言，您如何看待今年的營運支出通膨情況？

Tony Jones, Rothschild.

東尼瓊斯，羅斯柴爾德家族。

Yes, good morning, everybody. Sanjiv, earlier you talked about your restructuring that you booked in the fourth quarter. If we take that $230 million, can we assume a roughly 1:1 ratio to savings? If we do that points to something like a 70 basis point margin uplift in '26 or maybe we get in the second half if it rolls forward. Is that reasonable? And then just to think about net margin expansion, how do you see OpEx inflation tracking over the year? Thank you.

是的，大家早安。Sanjiv，你之前談到了你在第四季度進行的重組。如果我們把這 2.3 億美元拿出來，能否假設其與儲蓄的比例大致為 1:1？如果我們這樣做，那麼 2026 年的利潤率可能會提高 70 個基點，或者如果按此趨勢向前發展，下半年可能會提高 70 個基點。這樣合理嗎？那麼，就淨利潤率擴張而言，您認為營運支出通膨在一年內會如何變化？謝謝。

Thanks, Tony. So the easy way to answer that is, typically, you heard us say this previously as well. So I'll just reiterate that. Our restructuring paybacks on a cash basis tend to be on average about two years. And I think if you take that into account, you can kind of do the math and get to the numbers that you're looking for.

謝謝你，托尼。所以最簡單的回答是，通常情況下，你以前也聽我們說過類似的話。所以我再重申一次。我們以現金計算的重組投資回收期平均約兩年。我認為，如果你把這一點考慮進去，你就可以進行計算，得出你想要的數字。

What I would say to you for 2026, my expectation remains that we will be above the long-term margin range that we normally offer you. We always say 30basis points to 50 basis points is what you should expect. My view is in 2026, we will beat that number.

對於 2026 年，我的預期仍然是，我們將高於我們通常向您提供的長期利潤率範圍。我們通常說，預期漲幅在 30 個基點到 50 個基點之間。我認為到2026年，我們將超越這個數字。

That's really helpful. Thank you.

這真的很有幫助。謝謝。

Josh Spector, UBS.

瑞銀集團的 Josh Spector。

Yes, hi, good morning. I had a couple of questions I put together around the space opportunity for you guys. I mean, first, I want to ask if any of that is contributing to the CapEx increase you're projecting for 2026. And then secondly, if you could provide your view of the size your share and the growth that you expect, your competitor made some comments the other day. wondering if you could set the view on what you're seeing? And how do you factor this in to guidance.

是的，你好，早安。我整理了一些關於太空探索機會的問題想問大家。首先，我想問一下，這些因素是否會導致您預期 2026 年資本支出增加。其次，您能否談談您對自身市場佔有率和預期成長的看法？您的競爭對手前幾天發表了一些評論，我想知道您能否就您目前觀察到的情況談談您的看法？那麼，您如何將這一點納入指導方針中呢？

Is it material to 2026. It's not macro growth, it's not backlog. So is it in there? Is it upside? How should we think about that? Thank you.

它對2026年有實質影響嗎？這不是宏觀成長，也不是積壓訂單。所以它就在裡面嗎？是向上嗎？我們該如何看待這個問題？謝謝。

Josh, I briefly glanced through the report that he set out. It was a nice report. Well done. I'll say this to you, the CapEx in the backlog section does not include about $0.5 billion of projects that we have invested in, and we continue to make investments in 2026 as well to be able to support this growth opportunity. So spot on, this is a secular growth opportunity.

喬希，我粗略地瀏覽了一下他提交的報告。這是一份不錯的報告。做得好。我要告訴你們的是，積壓項目部分的資本支出不包括我們已經投資的約 5 億美元項目，而且為了支持這一成長機遇，我們還將在 2026 年繼續進行投資。說得太對了，這是一個長期成長的機會。

We are excited about it. We are really well positioned to be able to serve this. The two major investment hubs that we see around this building the network out are in Texas and Florida. We have extremely strong positions in supporting launches here. Let's talk about launches because I know there's been some confusion and questions around this.

我們對此感到非常興奮。我們完全有能力提供這項服務。我們看到圍繞著這個網絡建設的兩大主要投資中心位於德克薩斯州和佛羅裡達州。我們在支援這裡的產品發布方面擁有非常強大的優勢。我們來聊聊產品發表吧，因為我知道大家對此有一些困惑和疑問。

Look, the easy answer to this is we only measure by the number of launches where Linde is directly involved. In some cases, others are also involved in launches, so they may be double counting. I think about six months ago, one, I think it was in the second quarter. We talked about more than three-fourth of all launches are supplied by Linde.

簡單來說，我們只統計林德直接參與的新產品發表數量。有些情況下，其他人也參與了發射，所以可能會重複計算。我想大概六個月前，應該是第二季吧。我們談到，超過四分之三的發射裝置都由林德公司提供。

At that point in time, that was absolutely the right number. I think the number ranges between 65% to 75% on average, and I think that's a really robust number, and we do that by launch. Last year, there were 189 launches. You can do the math. I mean, Juan can help you with some of the details if you need.

當時，這個數字絕對是正確的。我認為平均而言，這個數字在 65% 到 75% 之間，我認為這是一個非常可靠的數字，我們在產品發佈時就做到了這一點。去年共有189次發射。你可以自己算算算看。我的意思是，如果你需要的話，胡安可以幫你處理一些細節問題。

But solid growth, extremely well positioned. Florida and Texas is where bulk of the launches are expected and you know what, we are expecting to get more than a fair share of that, just given the unique position we built up there.

但成長穩健，市場地位極為優越。預計大部分發射將在佛羅裡達州和德克薩斯州進行，而且你知道嗎，鑑於我們在那裡建立的獨特地位，我們預計會獲得相當一部分份額。

In fact, we started up a plant and Brownsville earlier this year in early January, in fact.

事實上，我們今年一月初就在布朗斯維爾建廠了。

So we just can't get enough -- enough product availability in our network to be able to make sure we meet all of that demand. It is factored into the guidance. It's a secular trend for sure, but remember -- and I'm looking forward to having a $1 billion business here that I can split it up in the end markets and show to you guys separately. I expect to see that happen in the next few years. But it isn't big enough to move the needle for Linde as a company overall.

因此，我們始終無法獲得足夠的供應——我們的網路中產品供應量不足以滿足所有需求。這一點已納入指導方針中。這當然是一種長期趨勢，但請記住——我期待在這裡擁有一個價值 10 億美元的企業，我可以將其拆分到各個終端市場，並分別向你們展示。我預計這種情況會在未來幾年內發生。但這點成長幅度還不足以對林德公司的整體業績產生影響。

So it's in the guidance. We are excited about it, double-digit growth expect to see that continue over the next few years. And at some stage, we'll spit out, and you'll actually see the numbers and feel good about it as well.

指南裡有寫。我們對此感到非常興奮，預計未來幾年將繼續保持兩位數的成長。在某個階段，我們會公佈結果，屆時你們將看到實際數字，並為此感到欣慰。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Patrick Cunningham, Citi.

派崔克‧坎寧安，花旗集團。

Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my question. Maybe just on the 90 new customer wins in oxyfuel combustion. Can you just help us understand the specific customer base, whether it's concentrated in any particular region and what sort of contribution this has to the backlog and overall growth algorithm.

您好，早安。謝謝您回答我的問題。或許只是在富氧燃燒領域贏得的 90 個新客戶。您能否幫助我們了解具體的客戶群體，他們是否集中在某個特定地區，以及這對積壓訂單和整體成長演算法有何貢獻？

Patrick, I always love a question on gas application wins, and I think this is a good example. I think if you go back and read some of the transcripts from maybe a couple of years ago, you heard us talk about us ramping up activity on oxyfuel wins and providing some great technology that helps customers reduce emissions, reduce natural gas consumption and increased -- what a real win-win story that was.

派崔克，我一直很喜歡關於天然氣應用案例的問題，我認為這是一個很好的例子。我想，如果你回頭看看幾年前的一些文字記錄，你會聽到我們談論我們如何加大力度開展富氧燃燒項目，並提供一些很棒的技術來幫助客戶減少排放、減少天然氣消耗，從而提高效率——這真是一個雙贏的故事。

And I think that's what we're seeing play out in this. So we're seeing this across the world, to be honest. There is a little bit of a concentration in terms of China wins being disproportionately high but we see the wins both across the Americas and EMEA as well. It's great technology. Customers are loving it.

我認為這就是我們現在看到的局面。說實話，這種情況在世界各地都在發生。雖然中國市場的勝利比例略高，但我們在美洲和歐洲、中東及非洲地區也看到了勝利的跡象。這是很棒的技術。顧客們都很喜歡。

And I think we've seen that momentum that we've built up on business development and this playing out and actually these wins being signed up and actually under execution as we speak.

我認為我們已經看到了我們在業務發展方面積累的勢頭，而且這種勢頭正在發揮作用，實際上這些勝利已經簽署，並且正在執行中。

Vincent Andrews, Morgan Stanley.

文森安德魯斯，摩根士丹利。

Thank you and good morning everyone.You mentioned $400 million of bolt-ons were completed in 2025. Just curious how much of an impact that's happening to the top line in '26 and also if you could talk about that lever in general of capital allocation and how much -- particularly as we remain sort of at the bottom of the cycle, is there increasing opportunity to do more bolt-ons or decaps at this point in the cycle? And should we be thinking about this as more of a growth lever than perhaps expand over the past five, 10 years?Thanks.

謝謝大家，早安。您提到價值 4 億美元的附加項目已於 2025 年完工。我只是好奇這會對 2026 年的營收產生多大的影響，另外，您能否談談資本配置的這一槓桿作用，以及——尤其是在我們仍然處於週期底部的情況下——在這個週期的這個階段，是否有越來越多的機會進行更多的補充或剝離？我們是否應該將此視為一種成長槓桿，而不是過去五到十年來的擴張？謝謝。

Vince, it's Matt. I can handle that one. So as you see from our sales variance, we're getting a 1% right now. It is a weaker percent, but it rounds to 1% on the acquisitions from the 2025 contribution. Right now, we expect we should be able to maintain that into '26.

文斯，我是馬特。我能應付。正如您從我們的銷售差異中看到的，我們目前的差異為 1%。雖然百分比較低，但從 2025 年的貢獻來看，收購額約佔 1%。目前，我們預計能夠將這一趨勢保持到 2026 年。

Time will tell. But as you can see, the sort of $400 million to $500 million number, at least on this current baseline is able to get us around at 1%.

時間會證明一切。但正如你所看到的，至少以目前的基準，4億到5億美元的數字能夠讓我們達到1%左右的成功率。

As far as how we think about them, we -- number one, we buy into density. We want to buy into our core strength, and we're buying based on synergies. We justify these on the synergies we can bring with our existing network and our existing density.

至於我們如何看待它們，首先，我們認同密度。我們希望透過收購發揮自身核心優勢的公司來實現目標，並且我們是基於協同效應進行收購的。我們認為，這些措施能夠與我們現有的網路和現有密度產生協同效應，從而證明其合理性。

We don't really tend to speculate on the growth around them. So any growth we can achieve is usually upside to the model. And as far as the sentiment, yes, I would say a lot of these are regional players. They're generally smaller independents. The concentration of that right now is more in North America.

我們通常不會對它們的成長進行推測。因此，我們所能實現的任何成長通常都是對該模型有利的。至於這種情緒，是的，我認為其中很多都是區域性玩家。它們通常是規模較小的獨立公司。目前這種現象主要集中在北美。

There is some in parts of Asia, we're seeing in China and in South Pacific area.

亞洲部分地區有這種情況，我們在中國和南太平洋地區都看到了。

That's where you tend to see a little bit more of the independent opportunities. So this is something that we've been doing for a long time. We have a very strong capability on not just identifying and acquiring but more importantly, integrating and achieving the synergies that we set forth.

在那裡，你往往會看到更多一些獨立工作的機會。這是我們長期以來一直在做的事情。我們不僅在識別和獲取方面擁有非常強大的能力，更重要的是，我們能夠整合資源並實現我們設定的協同效應。

So it's absolutely integral to our growth, but we also are not going to lose our discipline and we're not going to get out of our swim lane, so to speak. So expect to continue to see these kind of numbers and where opportunities present themselves for larger ones, we will absolutely be in the mix. And we'll make sure we continue to apply our investment criteria for each incremental opportunity.

所以這對我們的成長至關重要，但我們也不會失去紀律，也不會偏離正軌。因此，預計未來將繼續看到這類數字，而當出現更大的機會時，我們絕對會參與其中。我們將確保繼續對每一個新增投資機會應用我們的投資標準。

John Roberts, Mizuho.

約翰·羅伯茨，瑞穗銀行。

Thank you. Sanjiv, late last year, it sounded like you were working on a new six-point blueprint to extend the growth for Linde. Have you formalized that? And is there anything you can tease us with?

謝謝。Sanjiv，去年年底，聽起來你正在製定一項新的六點計劃，以擴大 Linde 的成長。你們已經正式確定下來了嗎？你能不能透露點什麼來吊吊我們的胃口？

John, I'd love to tease you, but I'm probably going to resist that temptation. We have a [Growth Six] out there. You've seen that. You were here with us in Danbury in December, I recall, and I showed you a page out of my notebook. So those [GrowthSix ] have been formalized.

約翰，我很想逗你，但我可能還是會克制住這種衝動。我們有[成長六人組]。你已經看到了。我記得去年十二月你和我們一起在丹伯里，我還給你看過我筆記本上的一頁。所以這些[GrowthSix]已經正式確定下來了。

They have been rolled out. We are measuring progress against that. And at Linde, we are an execution machine.

它們已經推出。我們以此來衡量進展。而林德公司則是一台執行機器。

So once we set the goals, I think that's when the execution delivers. So I'm feeling good about how momentum is picking up on that. But those elements. And I think I'd say to you, there is no rocket science over there. These are things that we know how to do well, and we just focus the organization to go out and get the wins in particularly in an economic environment where there is a natural momentum coming for growth.

所以，一旦我們設定了目標，我認為執行力就能發揮作用。所以我覺得這方面的勢頭正在增強，這很不錯。但這些要素。我想對你說，那邊並沒有什麼高深的科學原理。這些都是我們擅長的領域，我們只是專注於讓組織出去爭取勝利，尤其是在當前經濟環境自然呈現成長動能的情況下。

So it's good to see that we are getting traction across the organization in there. And while today, I haven't spoken about small on-site. Small onsite sit within that piece, acquisitions Matt just talked briefly about the expectation that we want to see that 1% top line and a little bit more coming through on the bottom line once we integrate them effectively.

很高興看到我們在整個組織中都取得了進展。雖然今天我還沒談到小型現場活動。小型現場辦公場所也包含在其中，收購方面，Matt 剛才簡要地談到，我們希望看到營收成長 1%，並且在有效整合後，利潤也能成長更多。

So those would be all elements that you should see within that, as would be application sales, et cetera. So the growth six we rolled out, the organization knows it well. They live and breathe it every morning. And when they don't, I remind them very quickly. So feeling good about where that stands.

所以，這些都是你應該在其中看到的要素，還有應用程式銷售等等。所以，我們推出的這六個成長目標，公司上下都非常了解。他們每天早上都為此生活和工作。如果他們不聽，我很快就會提醒他們。所以對目前的狀況感到滿意。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Matthew Dale, Bank of America.

馬修戴爾，美國銀行。

Morning everyone. I hear you on the China IP commentary and the growth that's encouraging. I wanted to dig in a little bit more on APAC, if I could. Manufacturing as an end market looks to be pretty weak on a one-year and two-year stack. So I'm just trying to get a sense for what exactly is it issue there? Which specific end markets are maybe causing the trouble?

各位早安。我理解你對中國智慧財產權的評論以及令人鼓舞的成長。如果可以的話，我想更深入地了解亞太地區的情況。從一年期和兩年指數來看，製造業作為終端市場似乎相當疲軟。所以我想了解那裡的具體問題是什麼？哪些具體的終端市場可能有問題？

And if that was a particular area where you saw some strength because it seemed like data a softer 4Q as well?

如果這是你認為表現強勁的特定領域，是因為第四季的數據似乎也比較疲軟？

And then conversely, this bucket of other it's actually doing seemingly pretty well. I don't want to get lost rounding on some of these breakouts, but what is that in relation to? And if I could, just one more attack on it, Vincent. How -- it seems like these acquisitions aren't immediately accretive. And if you do a steady cadence, maybe that's irrelevant.

反過來，這另一桶東西看起來實際上表現得相當不錯。我不想在這些突破中迷失方向，但這與什麼有關？如果可以的話，文森特，再給我一次攻擊的機會吧。為什麼——這些收購似乎並不能立即帶來收益成長。如果你保持穩定的節奏，那也許就無關緊要了。

But how long does it take for a year like an acquisition to show up on the bottom line?

但是，像收購這樣的一年時間，需要多久才能在最終收益中體現？

All right. Let me talk about -- Matt, let me talk about APAC and then I'll ask my math to give you a quick view on the other piece, which you always ensures is doing what it needs to do to make sure it's accretive to the business overall for the PLC overall.

好的。讓我談談——馬特，讓我談談亞太地區，然後我會讓我的數學專家快速給你看一下另一部分，你總是確保它能做到它需要做的事情，以確保它對整個PLC的業務增長有利。

Look, in APAC, you have to split that by different regions, and I'm going to give you a little bit of a deeper dive there just to kind of give you a sense. So let's start with China. We talked about China earlier on. China manufacturing, as you know, a lot of that underwritten by in large-scale exports to markets, which may or may not be welcoming those exports in but has provided a little bit of momentum. And within that, there are clear green shoots in manufacturing the EV piece when I was with BYD, one of our customers in China, the chairman was complaining that he wasn't seeing as much growth as he was expecting and he was unhappy that he was only growing 28%.

你看，在亞太地區，你需要依照不同的區域來劃分，接下來我會更深入地探討一下，讓你有個大致了解。那我們就從中國開始吧。我們之前談到了中國。眾所周知，中國製造業很大程度上依賴大規模出口到市場，而這些市場可能歡迎也可能不歡迎這些出口，但確實提供了一定的動力。其中，電動車製造領域出現了明顯的復甦跡象。當我在中國的客戶比亞迪公司時，董事長抱怨說，他沒有看到預期的成長，他對公司僅成長 28% 感到不滿。

Okay, 28% of this environment is a good place to be, right? So things like that, battery developments continue to be positive within that piece.

好吧，這個環境中有 28% 的面積是適合居住的，對吧？因此，電池技術的發展在這方面持續向好。

So also in manufacturing is commercial space today. We haven't split it out and we've been talking about space quite a lot, so I won't repeat all of that, but there is clearly momentum over there as well.

製造業如今也屬於商業領域。我們還沒有把它分開討論，而且我們一直在談論太空，所以我不會重複所有內容，但很明顯，那邊也有發展勢頭。

So you put that piece together. Obviously, commercial space applies more to the U.S. market than APAC, but we have had some small contributions in APAC as well. So that's kind of the broader piece around China. RSP has been down and RSP -- manufacturing numbers continue to reflect that broad-based weakness.

所以你就把那部分拼起來了。顯然，商業航太更適用於美國市場而非亞太市場，但我們在亞太地區也做出了一些小貢獻。這就是關於中國的整體情況。RSP 已經下降，RSP——製造業數據繼續反映出這種普遍的疲軟態勢。

We are seeing that things are a little bit better in the fourth quarter versus what they were in the first and second quarter.

我們看到，第四季的情況比第一季和第二季好一些。

So expectation remains that you might see a continued improvement or a gradient towards a recovery in the RSP or the South Pacific market, Australia being the large market there.

因此，人們仍然預期 RSP 或南太平洋市場（澳洲是該地區最大的市場）可能會持續改善或逐步復甦。

And then India, I kind of briefly talked about providing a bit of tailwind on the manufacturing side, particularly, again, the expectation with the free trade agreement and the tariff issues getting resolved you will see further improvements there. So I'm not sure that's entirely factored into the one- to two-year outlook that you're looking at, where I think there is probably a degree of disappointment is ASEAN.

然後是印度，我簡要地談到了製造業方面的一些利好因素，特別是隨著自由貿易協定的達成和關稅問題的解決，預計印度製造業將進一步改善。所以我不確定這是否完全納入了你所展望的一到兩年的前景中，我認為東盟可能會感到一定程度的失望。

If you recall, ASEAN used to have a reasonably strong growth, but not as strong as China and India, but nonetheless, in the middle part, and we haven't seen that. They largely -- they have been stable but flattish at best. And I think, unfortunately, the ASEAN futures are inextricably linked to what happens in China and the weakness in China has permeated there as well. So again, a recovery on that will take a little longer. So your view on a slightly softer outlook there would be absolutely right.

如果你還記得的話，東協過去經濟成長相當強勁，雖然不如中國和印度強勁，但仍然處於中等水平，而我們現在並沒有看到這種情況。它們總體上——它們一直很穩定，但充其量只能說是平淡無奇。我認為，不幸的是，東協的未來與中國發生的事情密不可分，中國的疲軟也蔓延到了那裡。所以，這方面的恢復還需要更長的時間。所以你對那裡的情況採取稍緩和態度的看法是完全正確的。

But that's kind of where manufacturing kind of adds up. Matt, do you want to comment on the other --

但這就是製造業的本質所在。馬特，你想對其他內容發表意見嗎？--

Yes, sure. Matt, I think two questions, right? One on M&A timing and one on other segments. So we started an M&A timing, I would say that for an average M&A deal, generally, we tend to see full run rate synergies within 12 to 24 months on full run rate. When you think about synergies, it can come down a few things.

當然可以。馬特，我想問兩個問題，對吧？一篇關於併購時機，一篇關於其他領域。所以我們開始討論併購時機，我認為對於一般的併購交易，我們通常會在 12 到 24 個月內看到全面協同效應。談到協同效應，可以歸結為以下幾個面向。

Clearly, headcount is one, and that tends to be the fastest that you can recognize, I would say, sometimes between zero and six months. You're also going to have any type of real estate or site consolidation. And you're also going to have supply since a lot of these tend to be packaged gas acquisitions, you're going to have supply of merchant, those are more a function of contract expirations of the target that we acquire. And obviously, as those either leases or those supply agreements lap, then we substitute with either our sites, our supply. But all in, I'd say, usually somewhere between 12 and 24 months, you have full run rate and you get a pretty significant chunk that you can get within the first zero to 12 months.

顯然，人員數量是其中之一，而且這往往是你能最快辨識出來的指標，我認為，有時在零到六個月內就能辨識出來。您還將面臨各種類型的房地產或網站整合問題。而且由於許多收購都是打包天然氣收購，所以也會有供應，也會有商家供應，這些更取決於我們收購的目標公司的合約到期情況。顯然，隨著這些租賃協議或供應協議到期，我們將用我們自己的場地或供應來替代。但總的來說，我認為通常在 12 到 24 個月之間，你就能達到滿載運轉，並且在最初的 0 到 12 個月內就能獲得相當可觀的收益。

So that's how I think about the synergy timing. As far as other segments, just to kind of remind what's in there, there's really three pieces that are in the Global other. You have what we call sort of our global helium supply group. And what they do is they sell all the helium intercompany to the geographic regions. And they also sell some wholesale direct out of this segment.

這就是我對綜效時機的看法。至於其他部分，簡單回顧一下其中包含的內容，全球其他部分實際上包含三個部分。你們有我們所謂的全球氦氣供應集團。他們所做的就是將所有氦氣進行公司內部銷售，銷往各地區。他們也透過這個管道直接進行一些批發銷售。

So clearly, you saw some retrenchment and pricing impact in the helium business, of which is reflected in this other segment.

顯然，氦氣業務出現了一些收縮和價格衝擊，這也反映在其他業務板塊中。

Now going forward, I do expect some relief on the supply side and that should start to manifest itself in the other segment in time. But it obviously had to take the brunt of these changes in the intercompany transfer pricing and some of that over the last two years. The second business in here is our global materials business. They continue to perform quite well, actually. This is mostly in the aerospace and in primarily 3D printing powders.

展望未來，我預期供應方面會有所緩解，而這種緩解應該會逐漸體現在其他方面。但顯然，在過去兩年裡，它必須承受公司間轉移定價及其部分變化所帶來的衝擊。這裡介紹的第二個業務是我們的全球材料業務。事實上，他們的表現一直都相當不錯。這主要應用於航空航太領域，尤其是 3D 列印粉末。

As you can imagine, that is a pretty hot field right now when you think about aerospace and commercial space.

可以想像，就目前航空航太和商業航太領域而言，這是一個非常熱門的領域。

So they've been growing quite nicely. You may recall, first quarter of last year, we had a large insurance claim that also is in this business to the tune of around $40 million or so. That is part of the other income online that you may have seen a change year-on-year for full year. And then the third piece is our corporate overhead costs.

它們長得喜人。您可能還記得，去年第一季度，我們收到了一筆數額巨大的保險索賠，金額約為 4000 萬美元。這是您可能已經注意到全年與上一年相比有所變化的其他線上收入的一部分。第三部分是我們的公司管理費用。

We put all of the overhead costs in this bucket. We do not allocate it. So as you can imagine, the goal is that our wholesale helium business and that our materials business, can basically pay for all the corporate overhead to run a publicly listed company. So every time this is positive OP, we're achieving that. And from our perspective, that's our goal is to continue to have positive OP in this business to be able to basically subsidize the cost to run this company.

我們將所有間接成本都歸入這一類。我們不進行分配。因此，正如你所想，我們的目標是，我們的氦氣批發業務和材料業務基本上能夠支付所有經營上市公司的公司。所以每次這訊息是正面的，樓主，我們就達成了這個目標。從我們的角度來看，我們的目標是繼續保持正的營業利潤，以便能夠補貼公司的營運成本。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Jeff Zekauskas, JPMorgan.

Jeff Zekauskas，摩根大通。

Thanks very much. A two-part question. Manufacturing PMIs in the US in January went from negative to positive. Is that something that your business can perceive. And do you feel that there's an acceleration in US manufacturing growth relative to the fourth quarter? And then secondly, can you discuss how much helium was a drag on your either EBIT or prices or EBITDA in 2025? And how you expect helium to perform in 2026 and why?

非常感謝。這是一個包含兩個部分的問題。美國1月製造業採購經理人指數由負轉正。這是貴公司能夠感知到的嗎？您是否覺得美國製造業成長速度較第四季有所加快？其次，您能否討論一下氦氣在多大程度上拖累了您公司 2025 年的息稅前利潤 (EBIT)、價格或息稅折舊攤銷前利潤 (EBITDA)？您預計氦氣在 2026 年的表現如何？為什麼？

Thanks, Jeff. So I start with the US manufacturing, the ISM, BMI, et cetera, have shown a positive trend. You're right. I'd just say it's too early to tell.

謝謝你，傑夫。因此，我先從美國製造業說起，ISM、BMI 等都顯示出正面的趨勢。你說得對。我覺得現在下結論還太早。

As I said before, when I kind of talked about my walk around the wall, I do see -- I am a little bit more positive, but still, we would say started in how we think about the manufacturing developments playing out in the US particularly.

正如我之前所說，當我談到我繞著牆走一圈時，我確實看到了——我比之前樂觀了一些，但即便如此，我們還是要說，這開啟了我們對美國製造業發展現狀的思考。

Yes, we have more conversations with customers, the reshoring and near-shoring kind of efforts that we've been talking about for some time, continue to progress. Semiconductors are well ahead, as you know, but other sectors end markets moving forward as well.

是的，我們與客戶的對話更多了，我們一直在討論的回流和近岸外包之類的舉措也在繼續取得進展。如你所知，半導體產業遙遙領先，但其他產業的終端市場也在不斷發展。

So I'd just say it's a bit early to call. I think the next couple of months will give us a much better view but there is some potential for a very resilient US market to see some good growth probably towards the end of this year or the back end of this year anyway.

所以我覺得現在下結論還太早。我認為接下來的幾個月會讓我們看得更清楚，但美國市場韌性很強，很有可能在今年年底或下半年出現良好的成長。

And anything before that, we'd be thrilled. As you know, we would be able to get the tailwind and make a really strong impact on our earnings should that happen. On helium impact, just on 2026, I see nothing different, helium, is going to be long in the medium term at least.

在此之前的任何消息，我們都會非常高興。如您所知，如果這種情況發生，我們將能夠獲得順風，並對我們的收益產生非常大的影響。關於氦氣的影響，就 2026 年而言，我認為不會有什麼不同，氦氣至少在中期內仍將持續存在。

But I'd say to you, again, as a reminder, Jeff, and you know this well, helium is a low single-digit business for us. When we look at the overall portfolio, I think you're aware that pricing has been high single-digit negative on helium for a few quarters now.

但我還是要再次提醒你，傑夫，你也很清楚，氦氣對我們來說只是個位數的低利潤業務。當我們審視整個投資組合時，我想您應該已經意識到，氦氣的價格已經連續幾季出現個位數的負成長。

I'm not seeing anything change dramatically in the helium space. There are differences across the world, regional differences, that is. China, clearly very long seeing the impact of the Russian helium coming into that market and in some ways, leaking out a little bit to other markets from there as well. Whereas the other markets in Europe and the US or Americas probably a little bit more balanced from that perspective.

我沒看到氦氣領域有任何劇烈的變化。世界各地存在差異，確切地說是地區差異。中國顯然很早就看到了俄羅斯氦氣進入中國市場的影響，在某種程度上，也看到了部分氦氣從中國洩漏到其他市場的影響。而從這個角度來看，歐洲和美國或美洲的其他市場可能會更平衡一些。

You might also be aware that we made an investment, a couple of investments, including one in the (inaudible) which actually provides us with a really good opportunity to balance supply/demand in a way that works for us and gives us an opportunity for us to continue to optimize that whole piece. Anything else?

您可能也知道，我們進行了一項或幾項投資，其中包括一項在（聽不清楚）的投資，這實際上為我們提供了一個非常好的機會，以對我們有利的方式平衡供需，並為我們提供了一個繼續優化整個業務的機會。還要別的嗎？

Yes, Jeff, this is Matt. I think just to answer your other question on impact in '25. I tend to combine helium and rare gas. And when you combine those 2, the kind of range we laid out is about a 1% to 2% headwind on EPS, I would say towards the upper end of that range is how I would think about both of those. To Sanjiv's point, helium at this point, hard to see any real change in the supply demand dynamics.

是的，傑夫，這是馬特。我想回答你關於 2025 年影響的另一個問題。我傾向於將氦氣和稀有氣體混合使用。當這兩個因素結合起來時，我們預測的範圍大約會對每股收益造成 1% 到 2% 的不利影響，我認為這兩個因素的影響都會接近這個範圍的上限。正如Sanjiv所說，就目前氦氣市場而言，很難看到供需動態發生任何真正的變化。

Rare gas does feel a little bit better right now, especially with some of the electronics recovery. And so that's the way to think about the '25 impact. And then as far as '26, we'll see how that plays out in that range.

目前稀有氣體市場感覺好了一些，尤其是一些電子產品市場有所復甦。所以，這就是思考「25」事件影響的方式。至於 2026 年，我們拭目以待。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Kevin McCarthy, Vertical Research Partners.

Kevin McCarthy，Vertical Research Partners。

Yes, thank you and good morning. Sanjiv, would you comment on your U.S. packaged gas business sales trends with regard to both gas and rent and hard goods. Just curious as to whether you're seeing any improvement on the leading hard goods side and then more broadly, besides hard goods, are there any other businesses that you would tend to look to across Linde's portfolio that you would consider leading maybe certain markets or even individual customers that have been useful leading indicators in the past?

是的，謝謝，早安。Sanjiv，您能否就美國包裝瓦斯業務的銷售趨勢發表一下看法，包括瓦斯、租金和硬商品兩方面。我很好奇您是否看到領先的硬商品業務有任何改善，更廣泛地說，除了硬商品業務之外，在林德的業務組合中，您是否會關注其他一些業務，這些業務可能在某些市場甚至特定客戶中處於領先地位，並且在過去曾是有效的領先指標？

Thanks, Kevin. So I think I've briefly alluded to this before, let me kind of maybe provide a slightly more detailed view on this. So the US packaged gas business, as you've rightly pointed out, Kevin, is a leading indicator that we watch closely. And within that, there are three separate elements that you can look at, the gas consumption, the consumption of consumable hard goods and the consumption or purchase of hard goods automation equipment, right?

謝謝你，凱文。我想我之前已經簡要地提到過這一點，那麼讓我再詳細闡述一下。正如你所指出的，凱文，美國包裝天然氣業務是一個領先指標，我們密切關注這個指標。其中，你可以檢視三個不同的要素：天然氣消耗量、消耗性硬商品的消耗量、硬商品自動化設備的消耗量或購買量，對吧？

I mean each one of them give us a different perspective in terms of how we see US manufacturing more broadly playing out. And what I'd say is the US hot goods automation equipment sales in the fourth quarter were up again, I think we said that in prior quarters as well. So we were seeing investment in hard goods automation.

我的意思是，他們每個人都從不同的角度為我們提供了看待美國製造業整體發展的視角。我想說的是，美國熱銷自動化設備第四季的銷售額再次上升，我想我們在前幾季也說過這一點。所以我們看到了對硬商品自動化領域的投資。

It usually has two potential outcomes. One, that there is an expectation of a pickup in the order intake and therefore, growth as a consequence of that.

它通常有兩種可能的結果。第一，預計訂單量將會增加，因此，成長也將隨之而來。

And along with that, there is a shortage of skilled labor and therefore, automation becomes more attractive for the small to medium enterprises or even in some cases, large customers which we'll talk about in a minute. So that is a good trend as things stand. I think we want to watch the next couple of months to see how that plays out. But an initial investment in automation equipment is a good sign.

同時，熟練勞動力短缺，因此，自動化對中小企業，甚至在某些情況下對大型客戶（我們稍後會談到這一點）來說，變得更具吸引力。所以就目前情況來看，這是一個好趨勢。我認為我們應該觀察接下來的幾個月，看看事態如何發展。但對自動化設備的初始投資是一個好兆頭。

Having said that, on the consumable end, we do not see that optimism or that growth come through. Consumers are flat at best, maybe a little bit down. And gas is following a very similar pattern. So I'd say to you, people are preparing for what is likely to come and have some maybe what I would call cautious optimism around growth in manufacturing and some level of recovery beyond where we are today.

話雖如此，但在消費品領域，我們並沒有看到這種樂觀情緒或成長動能。消費者需求充其量只能說是持平，甚至可能略有下降。天然氣也遵循著非常相似的模式。所以我想說的是，人們正在為可能發生的事情做準備，並且對製造業的增長以及比我們目前所處的水平更高程度的復甦抱有一些我稱之為謹慎樂觀的態度。

But we aren't seeing that natural consumption just yet. So you have to hold your breath for a while. Now talking about customers, one of the areas we look at quite carefully is automotive and large ag equipment. There are usually good indicators as to how we see manufacturing trends pay out. And I think the feedback from those customers broadly tends to continue to be cautious with an expectation that hopefully, things will improve in the second half, but caution for now.

但我們目前還沒有看到這種自然消費現象。所以你得屏住呼吸一會兒。現在談到客戶，我們重點關注的領域之一是汽車和大型農業設備。通常有一些很好的指標可以預測製造業趨勢的走向。我認為，這些客戶的回饋總體上仍然比較謹慎，他們希望下半年情況會有所改善，但目前仍需謹慎。

And as I said before, a bit early in the year for us to give a more insightful or informed view on how we are expecting the markets to play out.

正如我之前所說，現在距離年底還有一段時間，我們很難對市場走向給予更有洞察力或更專業的看法。

Thank you for that.

謝謝。

Laurence Alexander, Jefferies.

勞倫斯‧亞歷山大，傑富瑞集團。

Hi, this is This is Dan Rizzo on for Laurence. Thanks for taking my question. You mentioned during the commentary about doing some restructuring cost cutting. I was just wondering if that's like addressing like cyclical issues that can be kind of added back when things do ultimately turn? Or if this is more of a structural permanent changes that you're making in different regions based upon what you see over the long term?

大家好，我是丹·里佐，我是勞倫斯。謝謝您回答我的問題。你在評論中提到要進行一些重組以削減成本。我只是想知道，這是否類似於解決一些週期性問題，而這些問題最終會好轉時，可以重新加以解決？或者，這是否意味著您根據長期觀察，在不同地區進行一些結構性的永久性變革？

Dan, this is Matt. I can handle that one. Yes, when we put it into restructuring, we viewed as structural, right? We view this as changing our organization or changing how we're addressing our market in a structural way. The kind of cyclical that you referred to tends to be more just a function of our normal ongoing attrition, ebbing and flowing of our headcount.

丹，這是馬特。我能應付。是的，當我們把它納入重組計劃時，我們把它視為結構性問題，對吧？我們認為這是在結構上改變我們的組織或改變我們開拓市場的方式。你提到的那種週期性變化，往往只是我們正常的持續人員流失、人員數量的潮起潮落的結果。

These restructuring charges we took are predominantly related to head count options around the world. So this is more a function of that. The majority of it right now is in the Engineering segment, given how we're navigating that business and organizing that business. Given how we're looking at some of the third-party opportunities.

我們承擔的這些重組費用主要與全球的員工人數調整方案有關。所以這比較是受此影響。目前大部分資金都集中在工程部門，這是因為我們正在以特定方式進行和組織這項業務。鑑於我們正在考慮一些第三方合作機會。

So that's really how I would describe that, that this is not expected to come back. It is more a function of how we run our company.

所以，我大概就是這麼形容的，那就是它預計不會再回來了。這更取決於我們如何經營公司。

So I guess does that mean that there will be significant leverage when things do turn though or I mean -- or do you have to -- I guess I was just wondering if you have to higher back what --

所以我想，這是否意味著當情況好轉時，我們將擁有很大的槓桿作用？或者我的意思是——或者說，你是否必須——我只是想知道你是否需要提高槓桿率？--

Yes. I mean that is the expectation. I mean, look at 2025 as an example, and I'll just use SG&A as a proxy line kind of understand that. Our SG&A during calendar year 2025 is up 3% year-over-year, right? And when you take the M&A portion, obviously, we acquired SG&A.

是的。我的意思是，這是人們的預期。我的意思是，以 2025 年為例，我以銷售、一般及行政費用 (SG&A) 作為參考指標來大致了解一下。我們2025年曆年的銷售、一般及行政費用年增3%，對嗎？而就併購部分而言，顯然我們收購了銷售、一般及行政費用。

And there is about, I'd say, probably 0.5% or so of FX. It's just footing to zero on the table.

外匯交易大概佔0.5%左右。這只是把桌上的立足點降到零而已。

But you're looking at probably 1.5-plus percent of that growth was just FX and acquired SG&A. So our underlying SG&A is only 1% and change. Why? Well, you've had about a 3% or so merit inflation cycle, and that was mitigated against the actions we took back last year from October coupled with some of the productivity initiatives.

但其中可能有超過 1.5% 的成長僅僅是外匯交易和收購的銷售、一般及行政費用。因此，我們的基礎銷售、管理及行政費用僅佔1%多一點。為什麼？嗯，你們經歷了大約 3% 左右的績效工資通膨週期，這得益於我們去年 10 月以來採取的措施以及一些提高生產力的舉措。

So this is kind of how we need to think about it that you have to get ahead of this. You have to get ahead of the inflation, you have to structure your organizations around the regions you operate in. And that's one of the I'll say, attributes of this very local model is that we can quickly act in each individual region around what is occurring in that region without having any ramifications or impacts in other parts of the company. Because we do not have integrated supply chains in our company.

所以我們需要這樣想，你必須提前做好準備。你必須搶在通貨膨脹之前採取行動，你必須根據你經營的地區來建立你的組織架構。而這正是這種高度本地化模式的特點之一，那就是我們可以針對每個地區正在發生的事情迅速採取行動，而不會對公司的其他部分產生任何影響。因為我們公司沒有一體化的供應鏈。

They are stand-alone markets that are fully self-sufficient in each small geography they operate and allows them to adjust quickly to the conditions they're seeing, and you see that benefit in our cost stack.

它們是各自獨立運作的市場，在其營運的每個小區域內都能完全自給自足，並能迅速適應所看到的情況，而這種優勢體現在我們的成本結構中。

Matt, the only thing I'd add is, what does happen is when there is a bit of volume tailwind, you get a pickup in volumes because of industrial activity, that leverage that flows through very quickly to the EPS, and I think that's what we were able to show in 2021, we always give that as a good example where volumes went up 7%, 8% and we saw EPS grow up 30%. So that -- maintaining that tight control on the cost structure and ensuring that we are well positioned for any recovery as and when it happens, I think, it has always held in good stead for us.

馬特，我唯一要補充的是，當銷售出現一些順風時，由於工業活動，銷售就會上升，這種槓桿作用很快就會反映到每股盈餘上。我認為我們在 2021 年就證明了這一點，我們一直以此為例，當時銷量增長了 7%、8%，而我們看到每股收益增長了 30%。因此，保持對成本結構的嚴格控制，並確保我們能夠隨時做好復甦的準備，我認為這對我們來說一直都是有利的。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Eric Boys, Evercore ISI.

Eric Boys，Evercore ISI。

And hearing no response, we will move to our next question.

如果沒有人回應，我們將進入下一個問題。

Arun Viswanathan, RBC Capital Markets.

Arun Viswanathan，加拿大皇家銀行資本市場。

Great, thanks for taking my question. Hope you guys are well. I just wanted to, I guess, understand the EPS guidance just a little bit. Back in December, you guys had discussed the possibility of getting to 10% plus, the guidance here is maybe slightly below that and maybe that would be mostly attributed to the base business as maybe you discussed.

太好了，謝謝你回答我的問題。希望你們一切都好。我只是想稍微了解一下每股盈餘預期。去年 12 月，你們討論過成長 10% 以上的可能性，而目前的預期可能略低於這個數字，這或許主要歸因於基礎業務，正如你們之前討論的那樣。

But if you were to see a pathway back to that level, what would you think would really need to improve maybe Europe? Is there anything in the backlog that space or electronics that we could point to? Thanks a lot.

但如果你看到一條重返巔峰的途徑，你認為歐洲真正需要改進的東西是什麼？積壓項目中是否有任何與太空或電子產品相關的項目可以指出？多謝。

Arun, it's Matt. Yes. So we'll start with this guidance, and it's early in the year, as you know. So when you kind of think about the 6% to 9%, I mean, I agree with you, the upper end of that range maybe catches below 8% to 12% that we've laid out there ex economic impact.

阿倫，我是馬特。是的。所以，我們將從這份指導方針開始，而且如你所知，現在還是年初。所以，當你考慮到 6% 到 9% 這個範圍時，我的意思是，我同意你的觀點，這個範圍的上限可能低於我們之前列出的 8% 到 12% 的範圍，不包括經濟影響。

So we know we've got room to improve. We know we've got opportunities that we need to pursue this year. But at this stage, I think it's appropriate for us to just remain guarded. I do feel better the comps we have this year are definitely better than what we were facing this time last year on a year-over-year basis. And time will tell where we ultimately finish.

所以我們知道我們還有進步的空間。我們知道今年我們有一些需要把握的機會。但現階段，我認為我們還是應該保持警覺。我感覺今年的競爭狀況比去年同期好得多。時間會證明我們最終的結局。

But I can say that between the project backlog between the acquisitions we've done, so the capital contribution of our algorithm, we feel quite good.

但我可以肯定地說，考慮到我們收購項目之間的積壓情況，以及我們演算法的資本貢獻，我們感覺相當不錯。

When you look at the management actions of price and productivity, and we took actions this quarter to better position us. Sanjiv mentioned, we continue to expect to price with inflation. And so from the elements of both management actions and capital contribution, we still feel quite strong about that algorithm, and we expect to deliver on the expected range. Time will tell where we finish and time will tell what will happen on the macro piece.

從價格和生產力管理措施來看，我們本季採取了措施來更好地定位自身。桑吉夫提到，我們仍然預期價格會隨通貨膨脹而改變。因此，從管理措施和資本投入這兩個方面來看，我們仍然對演算法充滿信心，並期望達到預期的效果。時間會證明我們最終的成績，時間也會證明宏觀層面將會發生什麼。

So but our -- we know our goal is to get that double-digit percent growth in long term, and we will get back to there.

所以，我們知道我們的目標是在長期內實現兩位數的百分比成長，我們會回到那個目標的。

Arun, we talked a lot about how we should describe this guidance and the words we used internally when we were discussing it are guarded, prudent, and I would say conservative.

Arun，我們討論了很多關於如何描述這項指導意見，我們在內部討論時使用的詞語是謹慎的、審慎的，我認為還有保守的。

Time will tell.

時間會證明一切。

Thanks. That's the prudent.

謝謝。這是明智之舉。

Eric Boyes, Evercore ISI.

Eric Boyes，Evercore ISI。

Thank you and good morning. Could you please provide a time line update on when you anticipate your unit to start up at TSMC's Arizona Fab 2? And then could you remind on how gas intensity increases from Fab 1 to Fab 2 and what that means from a profitability standpoint for Linde? Thank you.

謝謝，早安。請問您能否提供一下貴公司設備預計何時在台積電亞利桑那州Fab 2工廠投產的時間表？那麼，您能否再說明一下，從 Fab 1 到 Fab 2，氣體強度是如何增加的，以及這對林德的獲利能力意味著什麼？謝謝。

So as you know, our plans for Fab 1 and 2 have -- are in operation already. Fab 2, as you're aware, probably from TSMC is ramping up at their end, and obviously, where they're fully supporting them on that. So those assets are on the ground. They have been commissioned. They are in different stages of utilization, Fab1 fully utilized, Fab 2 kind of ramping up exactly as planned.

如您所知，我們的 Fab 1 和 Fab 2 計劃已經啟動。如您所知，Fab 2（可能來自台積電）正在加緊生產，顯然，他們也全力支持他們。所以這些資產已經部署到位。他們已受委託。它們處於不同的利用階段，Fab1 已完全利用，Fab 2 正在按計劃逐步提高產能。

The next round of fabs is now under discussion and being worked through.

下一輪工廠建設正在討論和商討中。

And as you know, the yields that came out of the first couple of fabs surprised -- positively surprised everybody. So the commitment to major investments in advanced nodes at Phoenix is strong. And with that comes higher gas intensity. I think, one, you've done a paper where you've done a lot of work around gas intensity.

如你所知，前幾個晶圓廠的良率讓所有人感到驚喜——絕對是驚喜。因此，鳳凰城對先進節點進行重大投資的決心非常堅定。隨之而來的是更高的天然氣排放強度。我認為，首先，你曾發表過一篇論文，其中你對氣體強度做了許多研究。

You should reach out, Eric, to Juan and have a chat with them. He'll show you some of the analysis we've done around gas intensity. Two things happened, right? Because we're going to advance nodes, the intensity of usage of gas goes up per node.

艾瑞克，你應該聯絡胡安，和他們聊聊。他會向你展示我們圍繞氣體強度所做的一些分析。發生了兩件事，對吧？因為我們將推進節點發展，所以每個節點的 gas 使用強度會增加。

But more importantly, we also see new gases being introduced and used in much bigger quantities. And I think that -- all of that contributes then to the overall in increase in gas intensity for these new fabs.

但更重要的是，我們也看到新的氣體被引入並大量使用。我認為，所有這些因素都導致了這些新晶圓廠氣體強度的整體增加​​。

Abigail Eberts, Wells Fargo.

阿比蓋爾·埃伯茨，富國銀行。

Hi there, good morning and thank you for taking my question. I wanted to follow-up on your walk around the world, and if I missed this, I apologize. But could you clarify your pricing expectations for Americas and APAC for the year?

您好，早安，感謝您回答我的問題。我想跟進一下你環遊世界的行程，如果我錯過了你的消息，我深感抱歉。能否請您明確一下今年美洲和亞太地區的定價預期？

The pricing expectations, Abigail, remain consistent with the view that we've always given, which is globally weighted CPI, we should be at or around that. And I think consistently we have, including the last quarter, if you take out the impact of helium and China deflation weakness, we are seeing our businesses perform to that. That's a long-term trend. As you know, we've had positive pricing for 25 years. And we see that continuing for this year as well.

阿比蓋爾，定價預期與我們一直以來的觀點一致，即全球加權 CPI，我們應該達到或接近這個水準。我認為，包括上個季度在內，如果排除氦氣和中國通貨緊縮的影響，我們的業務表現一直符合預期。這是一個長期趨勢。如您所知，我們已經連續25年保持正定價策略。我們認為這種情況今年也會持續下去。

Okay, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

And that concludes our question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Juan Pelaez for any additional or closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。現在我願將電話轉回給胡安·佩拉埃斯先生，請他作補充或總結發言。

Avi, thank you very much for hosting this call. Everyone in line, we appreciate your participation, and have a great day.

Avi，非常感謝你主持這通電話。各位排隊的顧客，感謝你們的參與，祝福你們今天過得愉快。

And ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. We thank you for your participation and you may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接了。