American-German multinational chemical company Linde Plc on Thursday reported second-quarter income from continuing operations of $458 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.87. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.90, 4% above the prior year.

Sales for the second quarter were $6.38 million, that represents a 5% fall in comparison to the prior year while operating profit stood at $591 million.

Chief Executive Officer Steve Angel said: "Despite volume reductions from the pandemic, EPS excluding currency increased 8%, operating margin expanded 230 basis points and operating cash flow grew 76% from prior-year levels. These results demonstrate the resiliency of our integrated industrial gas supply model."

Linde stock was rising in premarket by 0.57% to $243.32 at 6:13 am ET.