MUNICH, Germany (Oct 28): Germany's Linde , the world's biggest maker of industrial gases by sales, has launched a new restructuring programme after last month's collapse of merger talks with U.S. rival Praxair. The strategy, which Linde announced on Friday alongside forecast-beating quarterly results, is designed to save an extra 370 million euros (US$403 million) a year from 2019, on top of an existing scheme to save 180 million euros a year. Shares in Linde jumped 3.3% in early trading and were the only gainers in a German blue-chip index down 0.9%. Praxair on Thursday reported a 2% rise in quarterly sales thanks, a 4% decrease in adjusted operating profit and a margin of 33%. The company reiterated its full-year forecast, which foresees both sales and adjusted operating profit falling as much as 3% or rise as much as 4%, adjusted for currency fluctuations.

Source: The Edge Markets October 28, 2016 10:21 UTC