Linde plc

there will be a question and answer session. And I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Juan Pelaez, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

I appreciate it, Abby. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for attending our 2025 second quarter earnings call webcast. I am Juan Pelaez, Head of Investor Relations, and I'm joined this morning by Sanjeev Lamba, Chief Executive Officer, Matt White, Chief Financial Officer. Today's presentation materials are available on our website at thelindy.com in the Investor section. Please read the forward-looking statement disclosure on page two of the slides and note that it applies to all statements made during this teleconference. The reconsideration of the adjusted numbers are in the appendix of this presentation. Sanjeev will provide some opening remarks and then Matt will give an update on Lindy's second quarter financial performance and outlook, after which we will wrap up with Q&A. So now let me turn the call over to Sanjeev.

Thanks a lot and good morning, everyone. I'd like to thank our Lindy employees for once again delivering solid results. EPS of $4.09 and operating margin of .1% both represent all-time quarterly highs against the backdrop of a challenging macro environment. Operating cash flows grew 15% and ROC of .1% continues to comfortably lead the industry and these results are underpinned by a healthy balance sheet that ensures access to low-cost capital. Overall, Q2 was a successful quarter, which Matt will provide some more details. But before that, I'd like to review one of my top priorities, which is to ensure future growth for Lindy. Slide three highlights the sale of a cash project backlog, which is one key element of that future growth. One cannot discuss project backlog without first aligning on definition of what is included. And unlike others in the industry, Lindy's definition has been clear and consistent with the most disciplined criteria. Inclusion in Lindy's project backlog requires incremental growth, secured by contractual fixed fees with high-quality customers. Contract renewals, plans without customer commitments, or LOIs are not included in our backlog. It's important to make this distinction because backlogs are simply not comparable within the industry. And while many like to tout the overall size of the backlog, it's the turnover of the backlog, which is one of the most important metrics, which actually can be seen in the center graphic represented by wins and startups. In a little over four years, the sale of gas backlog has approximately doubled from 3.6 billion to 7.1 billion. The same is true for the number of projects moving from 33 projects to 70 projects. During this time, we added 9.2 billion of new projects and more importantly, started up 5.7 billion of these wins. This represents more than 150% backlog turnover in four and a half years. So while I'm pleased to see the sale of gas current backlog at record levels, I'm equally encouraged by the accelerated turnover from timely execution and strong contracts. Of this 7.1 billion backlog, almost three quarters are in the Americas, mainly the US, of future plants serving the electronics end market and clean energy. To the right, you will see some of the high quality customers that make up the majority of this backlog. One recent ad is the Blue Point project, which is a JV between CF Industries, Jera, and Mitsui, that will produce low carbon ammonia in Louisiana. We're proud to have been selected as their industrial gas partner due to the capability and track record of our US Gulf Coast team. The addition of this facility will help further build out supply density in a fast growing region in the US. Furthermore, this win represents a third large clean energy contract sign, bringing the total to approximately 5 billion, which validates that the right low carbon projects will continue to reach FID and execute contracts. Also not included in the slide is a sale of plant backlog, which today stands at 3.2 billion and typically converts -to-one sales over a three cycle. Now it's important to note that while we've made nice strides with the backlog, it does not represent all investments for future growth. We actually spend over one billion in CAPEX annually for what we call base volume growth. Decisions for making these investments follow the same process as the backlog and require a consistent risk versus return criteria. There's just missing one or two key requirements to be classified as backlog. Most base growth CAPEX supports packaged and merchant supply modes and is critical to further developing network density. Now small onsites and important supply bridge from merchant to onsite can also be included as base CAPEX when individual plant CAPEX is less than 5 million. One recent base growth addition includes a southeastern US merchant investment in support of space launches, a sector that continues to offer attractive growth opportunities. While these wins are contractual commitment by customers, the lack of guaranteed fixed feed precludes eligibility in the backlog. Finally, I'd be remiss not to mention the role of tuck-in acquisitions can play for sustained high quality growth. While I don't expect this number to be an overly large driver, it can consistently deliver an annual percent of two bottom line improvement from both acquired profits and self-help synergies. For the second quarter, you can see the 1% top line increase from US and APAC both on acquisitions mostly in packaged gases. Overall, despite the unfavorable economic backdrop, we are forging an independent path to growth. This comes not only from a high quality disciplined project backlog, but also incremental base CAPEX investments and roll up acquisitions. I'm highly confident in the Linda team's ability to not only win more than a fair share of high quality opportunities, but also to execute them as promised to deliver value for both customers and shareholders. Simply stated, I continue to be bullish on industrial gases as a critical foundation in making our world more productive, and I'm certain Linda will remain the undisputed leader in this effort. I'll now turn the call over to Matt to walk through our financial results. Thanks, Aljeev.