Linde plc

Welcome to the Lindy Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Call and Webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 to raise your hand. I will now turn the conference over to Mr. Juan Pelaez, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

Juan Pelaez, Head of Investor Relations, Sanjiv Lamba, Chief Executive Officer, and 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 disclosures on page two of the slides and note that it applies to all statements made during the 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 Lindy's third quarter financial performance and outlook. After which, we will wrap up with Q&A. Let me now turn the call over to Sanjiv.

Thanks, Juan, and good morning, everyone. Three months ago, we delivered financial results that were not up to the expectation of our owners. That message was received loud and clear by the Lindy organization. And so we have and will continue to take actions that increase shareholder value. During the third quarter, We recorded a $425 million restructuring charge to better align our cost base and portfolio with market conditions. Roughly half relates to severance, particularly in lower growth regions. The balance relates primarily to portfolio and asset actions, mostly in the U.S. home care business or link care. Effective this quarter, I realigned this business to report directly to Matt which, among other reasons, has prompted us to modify the segment reporting by moving it into the global others segment. This will provide investors with greater insight into the underlying performance of our regional gases businesses while we continue to restructure Link Care and evaluate strategic alternatives. Turning to the quarter, while performance has improved, there is still more work to be done. sales of $9.4 billion, operating profit of $2.8 billion, and EPS of $4.59 were all quarterly records. However, operating margin excluding cost pass-through was essentially flat, reflecting continued headwinds from non-gas segments. Aside from the restructuring actions, we also have a series of price and productivity initiatives underway to stay ahead of the inflationary momentum building across the regions. While the overall financial performance is heading in the right direction, sales trends remain varied by geography and end market, which can be found on slide three. Starting with consumer-related markets, electronics leads with 15% growth, These figures exclude our 50% Taiwanese joint venture, which is growing at similar rates. We also have approximately 2 billion of electronics projects under construction in the U.S., Korea, and China, providing a strong foundation for continued double-digit growth. Food and beverage grew 3%, led by the Americas and EMEA. Structural consumer trends, including greater consumption of carbonated beverages, higher quality prepared ready-to-eat meals, and food delivery services, all continue to drive demand for our gases, equipment, and services. Healthcare grew 2%. However, excluding Link Care, the growth is mid-single digit, which is aligned with demographic trends. As we continue to trim the Link Care portfolio, I expect the sales trends to lag market average, but I fully expect to see improvements in both the quality and profitability of the remaining businesses. Turning to industrial markets, chemicals and energy grew 12%, reflecting stronger volumes in the US and China, as well as pricing actions to recover prior cost inflation Customers along the U.S. Gulf Coast and in China are benefiting from the relative raw material advantages amid the Middle East conflict supporting stronger demand. This has been particularly evident among more complex refiners requiring more hydrogen to process heavier and higher sulfur crude. Metals and mining was up 3%. The manufacturing end market grew 7%, reflecting broad-based price increases, and stronger volumes in the U.S., China and India, including continued aerospace growth. U.S. packaged gas growth remains elevated at low teens from construction and data center activity. Rare gas sales for satellite propulsion have softened as customer payloads continue to await launch. Merchant and on-site volumes remain strongest in the U.S. including higher activity in the U.S. Gulf Coast energy and chemicals, stronger metals production, and increased space propellant. China and India growth rates remain healthy with our portfolio of Tier 1 customers. In summary, volume growth remains concentrated in key geographies and specific end markets, while price increases are more broad-based and tracking with inflation. In addition, the $8 billion sale of gas project backlog will provide future growth and increase supply density across poor geographies. That being said, we still have opportunities for improvement. The third quarter restructuring program and the ongoing productivity initiatives will expedite our efforts to better align each local cost structure with market conditions. Furthermore, we are accelerating pricing efforts to stay ahead of rising inflation. And at Linke, which has weighed on the overall results, we're taking decisive actions to improve performance while evaluating strategic options. Linde's operating model is built on discipline, accountability, and continuous improvement. When performance falls short, we act. When conditions change, we adapt. When attractive opportunities emerge, we invest with discipline. I remain confident that the Lindy organization will continue to deliver industry leading results that our owners expect from us. I'll now turn the call over to Matt to walk through our financial results. Thanks, Sanjiv.