Germany's Linde Q3 Net Income Falls 5 Pct

GEORGE FREY

FRANKFURT (AP) — German industrial gases company Linde AG on Monday reported third-quarter net income fell 5 percent as revenue dropped amid the economic downturn, but noted that demand was improving.

Linde, based in Munich, said its net income in the July-September period fell to euro169 million ($248 million) from euro177 million in the third quarter of 2008.

Revenue for the period fell nearly 10 percent to euro2.8 billion from euro3.1 billion in the third quarter of 2008.

While Linde said signs of a recovery are emerging, it does not expect to match the net income of euro717 million and revenue of almost euro13 billion that it made in 2008.

Still, the company said it expects its financial performance to improve for the rest of the year, as third quarter operating income rose nearly 13 percent compared with the second quarter.

"The positive trends we were seeing at the end of the second quarter have continued to strengthen," Wolfgang Reitzle, the chief executive, said in the company's report.