Celanese Corporation CE is raising the list and off-list selling prices of acetyl intermediates products. The price increase is applicable for orders shipped and is immediately effective or as contracts permit.
The company will increase Acetic Acid prices by ¥300 per metric tons (MT) in China and by $50 per MT in Asia outside China (AOC). Prices of Vinyl Acetate Monomer will increase by ¥700 per MT in China and $100 per MT in AOC.
Celanese’s shares have lost 11.8% in the past year compared with the industry’s 6% decline.
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Notably, the company’s revenues in the Acetyl Chain segment slumped 23.5% year over year in the second quarter due to persistent decline in industry pricing resulting from deflationary environment for raw materials.
In second-quarter 2020 earnings call, Celanese stated that it witnessed demand recovery in the early third quarter order bookings at improved levels on a sequential-comparison basis. The company expects a modest sequential improvement in earnings in the Engineered Materials unit for the third quarter.
The company also sees a modest volume recovery in the Acetyl Chain, which is expected to offset incremental energy and turnaround costs. It also noted that surge in coronavirus cases is a concern. Celanese is focused on productivity and working capital management.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Celanese currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Kinross Gold Corporation KGC, Eldorado Gold Corporation EGO and Yamana Gold Inc. AUY, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
Kinross has an expected earnings growth rate of 100% for 2020. The company’s shares have surged 71.7% in the past year.
Eldorado Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 2,325% for 2020. Its shares have returned 14.5% in the past year.
Yamana has an expected earnings growth rate of 76.9% for 2020. The company’s shares have soared 73.6% in the past year.
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