February 28, 2022 | Guildford, UK

The Board of Directors of Linde plc has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $1.17 per common share, an increase of approximately 10% over the previous quarterly dividend.

Year to date, this marks the ninth dividend change for the Washington Crossing Advisors Rising Dividend portfolio. All nine changes were increases. The average dividend increase was 7.74% compared with December 31, 2021 indicated levels.

From the press release: “The Board of Directors also approved a new share repurchase program for up to $10 billion of Linde’s ordinary shares. This new program replaces the $5 billion share repurchase program that was authorized on January 25, 2021 and was recently completed.

“In 2021, Linde again generated record cash flow,” said incoming Chief Executive Officer, Sanjiv Lamba. “Our capital allocation priorities are to maintain a strong balance sheet, invest in high-quality growth opportunities and continue our track record of paying and annually increasing the dividend. Any surplus cash will be used to reward shareholders through a share repurchase program.”

Pursuant to European Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) requirements, this new share repurchase program must set forth a maximum share capital repurchase amount and an expiration date, which the Board has set at 15% of outstanding shares and July 31, 2024, respectively.”¹

About the company: “Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2021 sales of $31 billion (€26 billion). We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain and protect our planet.

The company serves a variety of end markets including chemicals & energy, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and mining. Linde’s industrial gases are used in countless applications, from life-saving oxygen for hospitals to high-purity & specialty gases for electronics manufacturing, hydrogen for clean fuels and much more. Linde also delivers state-of-the-art gas processing solutions to support customer expansion, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions.

For more information about the company and its products and services, please visit www.linde.com.”¹

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IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES: The securities discussed herein do not represent all of the securities held by the WCA Rising Dividend Portfolio as of the date presented and are subject to change at any time, without notice. A complete list of holdings as of the date noted above will be provided upon request. The above is presented to illustrate the application of the strategy only and not intended as personalized recommendations of any particular security. The securities identified and described above do not represent all of the securities purchased, sold, or recommended for client accounts. You should not assume that an investment in any of the securities identified was or will be profitable. Changes in market conditions or a company’s financial condition may impact the company’s ability to continue to pay dividends. Companies may also choose to discontinue dividend payments. All investments involve risk, including loss of principal, and there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be met. It is important to review your investment objectives, risk tolerance and liquidity needs before choosing an investment style or manager. Equity investments are subject generally to market, market sector, market liquidity, issuer, and investment style risks, among other factors to varying degrees. Fixed Income investments are subject to market, market liquidity, issuer, investment style, interest rate, credit quality, and call risks, among other factors to varying degrees.