Nov 6 (Reuters) - Industrial gases manufacturer Air Products APD.N forecast 2026 adjusted profit above Wall Street estimates on Thursday after beating quarterly profit expectations on strong sales in Europe and Asia, boosting its shares by about 4% in premarket trading.

Euro zone business activity saw new orders increase in August for the first time since May 2024, helping overall activity expand at the fastest pace in 15 months.

The fourth-quarter sales in its Europe segment, Air Products' second-largest revenue source, rose 8% to $789 million from last year, as the company passed on higher energy costs to customers and benefited from favorable currency effects.

Meanwhile, Asia, the third-largest segment, saw an increase of 1% to $870 million, driven by higher non-helium merchant volumes and improved pricing.

However, sales in its largest market, the Americas, fell 1% to $1.3 billion, due to a one-time asset sale in the prior year, which led to a 7% drop in volumes.

Its rival Linde LIN.DE reported an earnings beat with a cautious profit outlook for the rest of the year due to weakness in its European business.

In January, the company lost a proxy fight against activist investor Mantle Ridge, which led to the election of three new directors and the removal of the CEO from the board, as Mantle Ridge pushed for the replacement of the 80-year-old chief.

The company forecasts 2026 adjusted profit in the range of $12.85 to $13.15 per share, the midpoint of which is above expectations of $12.88 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Sumit Saha and Varun Sahay in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

((Sumit.Saha@thomsonreuters.com;))