Air Liquide S.A....Air Liquide’s products are critical to its customers and the company’s large network of production units constitute a barrier to entry. Air gases are mainly

CORPORATES

CREDIT OPINION18 June 2018

Update

RATINGS

Air Liquide S.A.Domicile Paris, France

Long Term Rating A3

Type LT Issuer Rating - DomCurr

Outlook Stable

Please see the ratings section at the end of this reportfor more information. The ratings and outlook shownreflect information as of the publication date.

Contacts

Hubert Allemani +44.207.772.1785VP-Senior [email protected]

Anke N. Richter, CFAAssociate Managing [email protected]

Danh Nguyen-ThanhAssociate [email protected]

CLIENT SERVICES

Americas 1-212-553-1653

Asia Pacific 852-3551-3077

Japan 81-3-5408-4100

EMEA 44-20-7772-5454

Air Liquide S.A.Update to Discussion of Key Credit Factors

SummaryAir Liquide's A3 rating reflects the company's solid credit metrics that are now morecommensurate with the rating category than a year ago, after the full year contribution ofAirgas. However the metrics still remain weaker than before the acquisition, with Moody'sadjusted gross leverage one full turn higher at 3.5x at the end of 2017 (3.2x on a net debtbasis).

As a result of the acquisition Air Liquide's business profile is now stronger and, with higherrevenue and stable profitability, the company was free cash flow (FCF) positive in 2017.The company generated FCF of over €900 million in 2017. Retained cash flow (RCF) to netdebt improved to 19.3% from the low 14.5% of 2016. The rating also incorporates the highresilience of revenue and profits from long-term energy-indexed take-or-pay contracts, awell-balanced geographic diversification, and customers from various uncorrelated end-markets. The company's large exposure to emerging markets and the home healthcaresegment provides earnings upside as macro trends support growth in those sectors. AirLiquide managed to maintain its Moody's adjusted EBITDA margin at 26% in 2017, despiteintegrating less profitable Airgas and energy price headwinds, by realizing higher-than-expected synergies and costs savings.

For 2018, we expect Air Liquide to keep reducing its Moody's adjusted leverage towards 3x(2.8x net debt). We also expect the company to continue to improve its RCF to net debtratio towards 22% this year.

Exhibit 1

Air Liquide has lowered its Moody's adjusted gross leverage to 3.5x in 2017 and is expected tocontinue de-levering towards 3xMoody's-adjusted cash and cash equivalents, gross leverage, and net leverage

€0.9 €0.8 €0.9

€1.4 €1.5 €1.5 €1.5 €1.5

€3.9 €3.8€4.3

€4.7

€5.3 €5.3€5.6

€5.9

2.4x2.5x

2.6x

4.3x

3.5x

3.2x

3.0x

2.8x

2.2x2.3x

2.4x

4.0x

3.2x

2.9x

2.8x2.6x

2.0x

2.5x

3.0x

3.5x

4.0x

4.5x

€0.0

€2.0

€4.0

€6.0

€8.0

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018E 2019E 2020E

€B

illio

n

Cash & Equiv EBITDA Debt/EBITDA Net Debt/EBITDA

Moody's projections

Source: Moody's Financial MetricsTM and Moody's estimates

https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1133212/Rate-this-research?pubid=PBC_1124472

MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE CORPORATES

Credit strengths

» Global leader in the industrial gas market underpinned by scale, regional network density and strong customer relationships

» Long-term contracts, balanced geographic and wide end-market diversifications provide revenue and profit resilience

» Large exposure to emerging markets and home healthcare segment gives organic growth potential

» Acquisition of Airgas has improved business profile and cash generation with high synergies expected

Credit challenges

» Revenue and profit closely tied to energy and natural gas prices

» Potential material impact from FX on revenue and profit

» Capital intensity and generous dividend policy constrain free cash flow generation

» High Moody's adjusted gross leverage for the rating category

Rating outlookThe stable outlook reflects our expectation that Air Liquide will continue to reduce its leverage, albeit at a slow pace, and generatesubstantial cash over the next 18 months. The outlook also assumes the issuer will not materially increase its debt level for acquisitionsor engage in more generous dividend distributions.

Factors that could lead to an upgrade

» RCF/net debt ratio to increase to above 25% through the cycle

» EBITDA margin of more than 20%

» Return on assets of more than 10%

Factors that could lead to a downgrade

» No improvement in RCF/Net debt to around 20% by 2018 supported by healthy free cash flow generation applied to debtreduction

» Decline in EBITDA margins sustainably below 20%

This publication does not announce a credit rating action. For any credit ratings referenced in this publication, please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page onwww.moodys.com for the most updated credit rating action information and rating history.

2 18 June 2018 Air Liquide S.A.: Update to Discussion of Key Credit Factors


Key indicators

Exhibit 2

Air Liquide S.A.

12/31/2017 12/31/2016 12/31/2015 12/31/2014 12/31/2013

Revenues (USD Billion) $23.0 $20.1 $17.6 $20.4 $20.2

PP&E (net) (USD Billion) $23.4 $22.4 $17.9 $18.3 $18.9

EBITDA Margin % 25.9% 26.0% 27.1% 25.0% 25.5%

ROA - EBIT / Average Assets 7.6% 7.7% 9.7% 9.3% 9.8%

Gross Debt / EBITDA 3.5x 4.3x 2.5x 2.5x 2.4x

EBITDA / Interest Expense 9.0x 8.6x 11.3x 12.1x 10.7x

Retained Cash Flow / Gross

Debt

17.6% 13.4% 20.8% 22.5% 24.6%

All ratios are based on 'Adjusted' financial data and incorporate Moody's Global Standard Adjustments for Non-Financial Corporations.Source: Moody's Financial Metrics

ProfileHeadquartered in Paris, France, Air Liquide S.A. (‘Air Liquide’) is the world’s largest industrial gas company, generating $23 billion ofrevenue in 2017. It employs about 65,000 FTEs across 80 countries. Then the world’s second player behind Linde AG (A2 stable) in2015, Air Liquide took the leading position in the industrial gas market when it acquired then fifth player Airgas, Inc. in May 2016.

The company divides its operations into three business units: 1) Gas & Services (G&S) which is the main one (96% of sales), supplyingindustrial gases and related services, 2) Engineering & Construction (E&C) which designs and builds industrial gas production units (2%of sales), and 3) Global Markets & Technologies (GM&T) which delivers innovative products and services to the clean energy, maritimelogistics, and scientific exploration end-markets. Through a truly global footprint, the group G&S sales are well-balanced across theworld’s main manufacturing regions, with the Americas accounting for 41% of sales, Europe 35%, Asia-Pacific 21%, and Middle East &Africa 3%.

Air Liquide is quoted on the Paris stock market and its market capitalization as of May 31, 2018 was about €44.9 billion.

Exhibit 3

2017 revenue split by business unitExhibit 4

Gas & Services is Air Liquide's largestbusiness unit2017 Gas & Services global revenue split bybusiness lines

Exhibit 5

Gas & Services 2017 revenue split byregion

Gas & Services96%

Engineering & Construction2%

Global Markets & Technologies2%

Source: Company's 2017 annual report

Industrial Merchant47%

Large Industries27%

Healthcare17%

Electronics9%


Americas41%

Europe35%

Asia-Pacific21%

Middle East & Africa3%




Detailed credit considerationsAIR LIQUIDE REVENUE IS SUPPORTED BY ITS BROAD SCALE, GEOGRAPHIC AND END-MARKET DIVERSIFICATION

Air Liquide’s business profile benefits from strong end market diversification in sectors such as materials, energy, automotive,manufacturing, food processing, pharmaceuticals and technology. This large spectrum of end markets limits the effect of cyclicalityin any given sector. Air Liquide’s revenue stability and visibility is insured by supply agreements of at least 15 years, with take-or-pay clauses and prices indexed on power (electricity) and natural gas prices. Air Liquide can also rely on a strong geographicaldiversification, further enhanced by the Airgas acquisition, a company that has a strong distribution network in the US.

Air Liquide’s strong local presence is a strength because the nature of the company's activity rely on strong local presence and densityof network to supply efficiently its customers. Density of network is an important success factor as gases are mostly delivered either inbulk or packaged. Over the last 40 years the company has been conducting a network strategy, building over 9,400 km (about 5,800miles) of pipeline in the world’s most gas-intensive manufacturing basins, such as the US Gulf Coast and the Rotterdam area in Europe.Bulk gases concern larger volumes, being delivered in liquid form through cryogenic tankers whereas packaged gases are delivered ingas form through cylinders. In either form, gases are distributed within a 250 km radius from the production sites. The packaged gasmarket is fragmented, highly regional and proximity is the main purchasing criteria for customers.

Air Liquide’s products are critical to its customers and the company’s large network of production units constitute a barrier to entry. Airgases are mainly obtained by the separation of air into its main components oxygen and nitrogen through Air Separation Units (ASUs),a process that is energy and capital intensive. Because of the high capital and energy intensity of the processes involved, scale is crucialand provides another protection the company's market share.

Apart from gases for the industrial and technology sectors, Air Liquide is also engaged in the healthcare sector. From its healthcaredivision Air Liquide supplies medical gases (oxygen, nitrous oxides, xenon) to 15,000 hospitals and clinics and comprehensivetreatments to 1.5 million home healthcare patients suffering from chronic diseases. Medical gases are treated as drugs and thusconstitute a highly regulated market, demanding health authorities approval. The hospitals and clinics segment is experiencingprice pressure in developed economies as healthcare systems look to curb spending. However, the home healthcare segment haspositive fundamentals, in both advanced and developing economies, as patient care is shifting from hospitals to homes. Ageing of thepopulation and increasing rate of chronic diseases are also factors of growth in this sector. Hygiene (hospital disinfection) and SpecialtyIngredients for drugs are the other two healthcare segments. 70% of HC sales are achieved in Europe and 23% in the Americas.

Exhibit 6

2017 Gas & Services revenue split bybusiness line in the Americas

Exhibit 7

2017 Gas & Services revenue split bybusiness line in Europe

Exhibit 8

2017 Gas & Services revenue split bybusiness line in Asia-Pacific


Large Industries17%

Healthcare10%

Electronics4%


Healthcare35%


Large Industries31%

Electronics3%


Large Industries37%


Electronics27%

Healthcare5%


While contributing only 2% each of the company's total revenue, the Engineering & Construction (E&C) and Global Markets &Technologies (GM&T) business units are strategically important for Air Liquide. E&C provides crucial engineering support to internalgas projects, especially when the group takes over and optimizes customers’ gas production units. Building gas units for third-party



customers can also lead to supply contracts for the gas and services business unit. Air Liquide benefits from proprietary innovativetechnologies which lead to cross-selling opportunities as they can be complementary to air gas and syngas production processes inrefineries and chemical plants. As E&C orders depend on customers’ long-term investment decisions, revenue in that business unitismore volatile. The GM&T business units is focused on maritime logistics, scientific exploration (aerospace), and on the development ofrenewable fuels, such as hydrogen and biogas for which technology is a major differentiator.

THE ACQUISITION OF AIRGAS HAS MADE AIR LIQUIDE THE GLOBAL LEADER IMPROVING ITS US MARKET PENETRATION

The acquisition of Airgas in May 2016 boosted Air Liquide’s revenue by 30% on a pro-forma basis, adding $5.3 billion, making thecompany the new market leader in the oligopolistic industrial gas market, ahead of Linde AG (A2 stable) with $19.1 billion, Praxair Inc.(A2 stable) with $11.7 billion, and Air Products and Chemicals (A2 stable) with $8.7 billion. Linde and Praxair are currently in the processof merging, which will probably reshape the industry.

As the largest independent gas distributor in North America and mainly back-integrated in air separation, Airgas has increased thegroup’s exposure to the US, the world’s largest gas market and the fastest growing one among advanced economies, underpinnedby abundant and cheap natural gas, competitive energy prices and large investments in oil refining and hydrocarbon cracking. Fromthe third largest source of G&S revenue in 2015 with 24% of sales, the Americas have become the company’s largest one in 2017with 41% (35% for the US alone). Airgas has also improved Air Liquide's business profile by increasing the share of packaged gases inthe Industrial Merchant business line. Packaged gases provides some revenue stability as up to 20% of revenues in that segment aregenerated through the continued rental of cylinders by customers. Airgas also expanded the group’s Healthcare business in the US,although Air Liquide still only serves the medical gases segment there.

Exhibit 9

2015 Gas & Services revenue split by regionExhibit 10

2017 Gas & Services group revenue split by region

Europe46%

Asia-Pacific26%

Americas24%



Americas41%

Europe35%

Asia-Pacific21%



SYNERGIES HAVE EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS AND SUPPORT AIR LIQUIDE'S PROFITABILITY

At the time of the acquisition of Airgas in 2016, Air Liquide was projecting to achieve approximately €260 million of synergies, splitbetween cost synergies (70%) to be realized by end 2018 and revenue synergies (30%) by end 2019. By December 2017, the companyhad cumulatively achieved about €190 million of synergies of which €150 million in 2017, €35 million over the initial target. Costssynergies stemmed from procurement savings through larger scale, site closures, and restructuring plans.

In addition, through its NEOS cost saving program launched in 2016, Air Liquide achieved €323 million of efficiencies in 2017, aheadof its €300 million target, constituting a 3.1% reduction in the cost base. This was done through reduction of logistics costs, plantoptimization, procurement savings, administrative efficiencies, and higher use of remote plant operations. These cost saving measureshave enabled Air Liquide to maintain its Moody’s-adjusted EBITDA margin at 25.9% in 2017, despite Airgas’ lower margin at the time ofthe acquisition (20.9% vs 27.1% for Air Liquide).



AIR LIQUIDE’S STRONG PERFORMANCE IN 2017 IMPROVED ITS CREDIT METRICS, A TREND THAT IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUEPROVIDED THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT REMAINS SUPPORTIVE

On a comparable basis, Air Liquide’s 2017 revenue went up 2.9% to €20.35 billion driven by the 3.5% growth of the company's Gas &Services (G&S) division. Accounting for Airgas contribution the company’s growth rate was of 12.2%, with the higher impact registeredin the G&S division. This solid like-for-like growth was partially offset by the 28.1% decline in Engineering & Construction (E&C) whilethe company’s Global Markets & Technologies grew by 13.9%. However both divisions only represents 2% each of the group's totalrevenue. The company’s group revenue was boosted by rising energy prices (+1.5%), but this was offset by negative FX (-1.6%) as theEuro appreciated against the US dollar and Chinese renminbi.

G&S organic growth accelerated in H2-2017 and was driven by strong performance of all business lines and in all regions. On a regionalscale, Apac results were high and driven by strong growth in China (>10%). In the Americas, the company benefited from the pick-upin the economy that impacted all end-markets. Previous bolt-on acquisitions in Canada and Colombia drove healthcare revenue higherin the region. In Europe, sales were negatively impacted by the stoppage of activity in Ukraine, although this was mitigated by higherdemand for hydrogen for refining in the Benelux and stronger industrial activity in Southern and Eastern Europe as recovery took hold.Europe healthcare continued its steady growth as the number of patients there kept increasing.

Engineering & Construction (E&C) revenue was down 28.1% at constant FX, on account of low order intakes in 2016. Order intake in2017 were however nearly twice as high as in 2016, driven by the demand from the energy and chemical sectors, so 2018 E&C revenueis set to rebound. Global Markets & Technologies revenue was up 13.9%.

For 2018 we expect that the company’s revenue will soften towards €20.1 billion as we expect the Large Industries segment of G&S toslightly decline from the high level achieved during 2017. We also expect the strengthening of the Euro against the US dollar to have aslight negative effect on the top line. We forecast G&S' revenue to be about 2% lower in 2018 before growing in line with GDP at lowsingle-digits in 2019 and 2020. We expect however EBITDA to be marginally higher in 2018 at around €5.3 billion compared to €5.2billion in 2017 supported by the Airgas synergies and cost savings from its NEOS program. Beyond 2018 we expect Moody's adustedEBITDA to grow by mid-single-digits in 2019 and 2020. Moody's adjusted EBITDA margin is assumed to improve over the next 18 to 24months towards 27%.

CASH FLOW GENERATION IS SET TO REMAIN SOLID. WE EXPECT LEVERAGE TO REDUCE

Cash generation in 2017 was particularly strong, with funds from operations (FFO) at €4.3 billion, €582 million (+15.7%) higher than2016 mainly driven by the increase in the Moody's adjusted EBITDA (Airgas full year contribution). In 2017 the company paid about €1billion of dividend and its retained cash flow (RCF) was about €3.2 billion, compared to €2.7 billion in 2016. While the company had aneutral working capital requirement in 2017, the main cash usage came from the high level of Moody’s adjusted capital expenditure of€2.5 billion. Despite being high at 11.6% of sales, the company’s Moody’s adjusted capital expenditure was lower compared to the lastthree years average of 13.5% of sales. The company’s free cash flow (FCF) was €610 million higher in 2017 compared to 2016 at €904million.

For 2018, we expect Air Liquide to generate approximately €4.1 billion of FFO. Assuming a dividend payment of €1.2 billion (about 50%of net income) we expect the company's RCF to be just under €3 billion. Moody's adjusted capex is assumed to amount to €2.7 billionor 13.5% of sales as the company invests in new projects, and with a continuous rigorous working capital management, we expect FCFof about €145 million in 2018.



Exhibit 11

Moody's adjusted free cash flow generation was exceptionally high in 2017Funds from operations (FFO), working capital (W/C), dividends, and capex as components of free cash flow (FCF)

-€0.1

€0.1

-€0.2

€0.3

€0.9

€0.1

€0.4€0.5

-€1.0

-€0.8

-€0.6

-€0.4

-€0.2

€0.0

€0.2

€0.4

€0.6

€0.8

€1.0

-€5.0

-€4.0

-€3.0

-€2.0

-€1.0

€0.0

€1.0

€2.0

€3.0

€4.0

€5.0

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018E 2019E 2020E

FC

F (€

bill

ion)

FF

O,

W/C

, D

ivi, a

nd C

apex

(€bill

ion)

FFO W/C Divi Capex FCF Moody's projections


Following the acquisition of Airgas in May 2016, Air Liquide’s Moody’s-adjusted gross leverage peaked at 4.3x at the end of 2016compared to 2.5x a year earlier. The company’s strong performance in 2017 resulted in a decline in its gross leverage to 3.5x (3.2x netleverage). This was accomplished by a combination of EBITDA growth and €1.9 billion debt reduction. We expect the de-leveragingtrend to continue based on our Moody's EBITDA moderate growth over the next 24 months and no material increase in gross debt. Weexpect Air Liquide’s Moody’s-adjusted gross leverage to fall to 3x by end 2019.

Exhibit 12

With Airgas fully contributing and debt repayments, Air Liquide has lowered its gross leverage to 3.5x in 2017 and is expected to continuede-levering towards 3xMoody's-adjusted cash and cash equivalents, gross leverage, and net leverage

€0.9 €0.8 €0.9

€1.4 €1.5 €1.5 €1.5 €1.5

€3.9 €3.8€4.3

€4.7

€5.3 €5.3€5.6

€5.9

2.4x2.5x

2.6x

4.3x

3.5x

3.2x

3.0x

2.8x

2.2x2.3x

2.4x

4.0x

3.2x

2.9x

2.8x2.6x

2.0x

2.5x

3.0x

3.5x

4.0x

4.5x

€0.0

€2.0

€4.0

€6.0

€8.0

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018E 2019E 2020E

€B

illio

n

Cash & Equiv EBITDA Debt/EBITDA Net Debt/EBITDA

Moody's projections


Liquidity analysisThe liquidity position of Air Liquide is solid. The group had €1.7 billion of cash on balance sheet at 31 December 2017 and €3.1 billionavailability under long-term committed credit lines with no financial covenants. The group’s maturity profile is well spread, with €2.5billion of debt maturing in 2018 and €1.3-1.4 billion of debt annually maturing over the following three years. The group continues tohave very good access to different funding channels in different geographies and currencies as evidenced by the issuance on March 6,2018 of two 'panda' bonds in China for an aggregate amount of 2.2 billion Renminbi (€280 million equivalent) with maturities of threeand five years and coupons of 5.95% and 6.40% respectively.



Structural considerationsAir Liquide decided to keep the notes outstanding at Airgas level and has offered an irrevocable guarantee to note holders of Airgas.At the outset there will be a certain level of structural subordination with Airgas' notes accounting for around 10% or $825 million atthe end of March 2018 of Air Liquide’s net debt. The level of subordination would however reduce over time as the senior notes mature($275 million maturity in 2020) and are replaced by debt at the holdco level. As a result we do not see structural subordination as amajor issue for bondholders of Air Liquide SA and its financial subsidiary Air Liquide Finance.

Rating methodology and scorecard factors

Exhibit 13

Air Liquide S.A.

Chemical Industry Grid [1][2] Current

FY 12/31/2017

Moody's 12-18 Month

Forward View

As of 5/25/2018 [3]Factor 1 : Scale (20%) Measure Score Measure Score

a) Revenues (USD Billion) $23.0 A $24 - $25 A

b) PP&E (net) (USD Billion) $23.4 Aa $24 - $25 Aa

Factor 2 : Business Profile (20%)

a) Business Profile Aaa Aaa Aaa Aaa

Factor 3 : Profitability (10%)

a) EBITDA Margin % 25.9% A 26% - 27% A

b) ROA - EBIT / Average Assets 7.6% Ba 7.6% - 8% Ba

Factor 4 : Leverage & Coverage (30%)

a) Debt / EBITDA 3.5x Ba 3x - 3.4x Ba

b) EBITDA / Interest Expense 9.0x Baa 10x - 11x Baa

c) Retained Cash Flow / Debt 17.6% Ba 17% - 18.5% Ba

Factor 5 : Financial Policy (20%)

a) Financial Policy A A A A

Rating:

a) Indicated Rating from Grid A3 A3

b) Actual Rating Assigned A3

[1] All ratios are based on 'Adjusted' financial data and incorporate Moody's Global Standard Adjustments for Non-Financial Corporations.[2] As of 12/31/2017[3] This represents Moody's forward view; not the view of the issuer; and unless noted in the text, does not incorporate significant acquisitions and divestitures.


Ratings

Exhibit 14Category Moody's RatingAIR LIQUIDE S.A.

Outlook StableIssuer Rating -Dom Curr A3Senior Unsecured -Dom Curr A3Commercial Paper -Dom Curr P-2

AIR LIQUIDE U.S. LLC

Outlook StableBkd Commercial Paper P-2

AIR LIQUIDE FINANCE

Outlook StableBkd Senior Unsecured A3Bkd Commercial Paper -Dom Curr P-2

AIRGAS, INC.

Outlook StableSenior Unsecured A3

Source: Moody's Investors Service



Appendix

Exhibit 15

Peer Comparison

(in US millions) FYE

Dec-16

FYE

Dec-17

FYE

Dec-16

FYE

Dec-17

LTM

Mar-18

FYE

Dec-16

FYE

Dec-17

LTM

Mar-18

FYE

Sep-16

FYE

Sep-17

LTM

Mar-18

FYE

Dec-16

FYE

Dec-17

Revenue $20,065 $22,992 $18,752 $19,335 $19,624 $10,534 $11,437 $11,708 $7,504 $8,188 $8,697 $63,677 $72,848

EBITDA $5,226 $5,960 $4,593 $4,874 $5,084 $3,591 $3,840 $3,945 $2,713 $2,767 $2,907 $11,027 $13,891

Total Debt $21,226 $21,884 $11,611 $12,279 $12,587 $10,718 $10,647 $10,568 $6,819 $5,025 $4,610 $25,704 $30,989

Cash & Cash Equiv. $1,606 $1,989 $1,668 $2,453 $2,783 $524 $617 $545 $1,293 $3,274 $3,067 $2,016 $7,862

EBITDA Margin 26.0% 25.9% 24.5% 25.2% 25.9% 34.1% 33.6% 33.7% 36.2% 33.8% 33.4% 17.3% 19.1%

ROA - EBIT / Avg. Assets 7.7% 7.6% 5.6% 6.2% 6.3% 12.2% 12.4% 12.6% 10.0% 9.9% 10.5% 7.5% 9.9%

EBITDA / Int. Exp. 8.6x 9.0x 10.1x 12.5x 13.4x 13.8x 16.7x 16.7x 14.4x 15.0x 16.5x 11.5x 14.8x

Debt / EBITDA 4.3x 3.5x 2.7x 2.4x 2.4x 3.0x 2.8x 2.7x 2.5x 1.8x 1.6x 2.4x 2.1x

RCF / Debt 13.4% 17.6% 23.3% 25.1% 24.9% 18.3% 22.1% 22.9% 20.7% 31.5% 41.1% 21.1% 29.5%

Air Products and Chemicals,

A2 Stable

BASF (SE)

A1 Stable

Air Liquide S.A.

A3 Stable

Linde AG

A2 Stable

Praxair, Inc.

A2 Stable

All figures and ratios calculated using Moody's estimates and standard adjustments. FYE = Financial Year-End. LTM = Last Twelve Months.

Source: Moody's Financial MetricsTM

Exhibit 16

Moody's debt adjustment breakdown

Air Liquide S.A.

(in EUR Millions) FYE

Dec-13

FYE

Dec-14

FYE

Dec-15

FYE

Dec-16

FYE

Dec-17As Reported Debt 7,006.3 7,216.4 8,203.4 16,891.1 15,027.0

Pensions 1,618.6 1,737.9 1,697.0 1,723.8 1,695.3

Operating Leases 514.7 630.4 859.6 1,173.4 1,044.0

Securitizations 33.1 23.6 146.1 335.6 458.7

Moody's-Adjusted Debt 9,172.7 9,608.3 10,906.1 20,123.9 18,225.0

All figures are calculated using Moody's estimates and standard adjustments.




Exhibit 17

Moody's EBITDA adjustment breakdown

Air Liquide S.A.

(in EUR Millions) FYE

Dec-13

FYE

Dec-14

FYE

Dec-15

FYE

Dec-16

FYE

Dec-17As Reported EBITDA 3,841.7 3,892.1 4,100.3 4,672.3 4,766.4

Pensions -20.7 -197.4 -11.4 -33.1 -6.7

Operating Leases 150.0 167.0 189.0 292.0 271.0

Securitizations 0.8 0.4 0.7 2.1 3.2

Unusual -82.3 -20.8 27.9 -203.8 246.2

Non-Standard Adjustments -14.5 -4.0 -14.3 -6.6 -5.2

Moody's-Adjusted EBITDA 3,875.0 3,837.3 4,292.2 4,722.9 5,274.9

All figures are calculated using Moody's estimates and standard adjustments.


Exhibit 18

Summary of Historical and Moody's Projected Financials

Air Liquide S.A.

(in EUR Millions) 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018E 2019E 2020E

INCOME STATEMENT

Revenue 15,225.20 15,358.30 15,818.50 18,134.80 20,349.30 20,150.87 20,849.40 21,484.40

EBITDA 3,874.96 3,837.26 4,292.19 4,722.87 5,274.94 5,288.56 5,585.83 5,862.97

EBIT 2,510.51 2,452.35 2,771.11 2,886.43 3,342.40 3,268.72 3,404.99 3,526.13

BALANCE SHEET

Cash & Cash Equivalents 940.10 910.10 965.50 1,523.00 1,656.10 1,519.69 1,511.37 1,501.19

Total Debt 9,172.73 9,608.31 10,906.09 20,123.87 18,224.97 17,073.97 16,888.97 16,605.97

CASH FLOW

Capex = Capital Expenditures 2,242.05 2,008.11 2,125.09 2,456.34 2,352.84 2,760.34 2,756.34 2,945.34

Dividends 876.60 884.50 975.10 1,019.00 1,098.80 1,200.87 1,173.40 1,146.83

Retained Cash Flow 2,260.25 2,164.61 2,271.79 2,701.94 3,204.54 2,955.81 3,141.71 3,437.66

RCF / Debt 24.64% 22.53% 20.83% 13.43% 17.58% 17.31% 18.60% 20.70%

Free Cash Flow (FCF) -107.80 119.80 -232.70 294.40 904.10 143.09 447.18 532.32

FCF / Debt -1.18% 1.25% -2.13% 1.46% 4.96% 0.84% 2.65% 3.21%

PROFITABILITY

% Change in Sales (YoY) -0.66% 0.87% 3.00% 14.64% 12.21% -0.98% 3.47% 3.05%

EBIT Margin % 16.49% 15.97% 17.52% 15.92% 16.43% 16.22% 16.33% 16.41%

EBITDA Margin % 25.45% 24.98% 27.13% 26.04% 25.92% 26.24% 26.79% 27.29%

INTEREST COVERAGE

EBIT / Interest Expense 6.95x 7.76x 7.30x 5.26x 5.68x 6.38x 6.41x 6.94x

EBITDA / Interest Expense 10.73x 12.14x 11.31x 8.60x 8.96x 10.32x 10.51x 11.53x

(EBITDA - CAPEX) / Interest Expense 4.52x 5.79x 5.71x 4.13x 4.96x 4.93x 5.32x 5.74x

LEVERAGE

Debt / EBITDA 2.37x 2.50x 2.54x 4.26x 3.46x 3.23x 3.02x 2.83x

Debt / (EBITDA - CAPEX) 5.62x 5.25x 5.03x 8.88x 6.24x 6.75x 5.97x 5.69x

Avg.Assets / Avg.Equity 2.48x 2.39x 2.40x 2.60x 2.67x 2.59x 2.53x 2.43x

All figures and ratios calculated using Moody's estimates and standard adjustments. FYE = Financial Year-End.




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