Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) , a chemical and advanced materials producer, kept its earnings streak alive with a beat in second-quarter 2017. 
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The company logged adjusted earnings per share of $1.79 in the reported quarter, up 12.6% from $1.59 reported a year ago. The figure was above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.74.
Celanese reported sales of $1,510 million for the quarter, up roughly 11.8% year over year. Sales also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,454 million.
Celanese Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Material Solutions: The unit witnessed an improvement in volume due to acquisitions, growth in Asia and success of the project pipeline. Within this segment, the Advanced Engineered Materials unit delivered operating profit of $97 million and record adjusted EBIT of $142 million.
In the second quarter, an all-time high of 547 projects were commercialized on the back of the organic opportunity pipeline and the recent SO.F.TER. and Nilit acquisitions. Tow volume and pricing declined mainly due to lower industry capacity utilization rates and outpaced productivity gains in the quarter.
The Consumer Specialties unit’s performance suffered a decline on a year-over-year basis.
Acetyl Chain: The unit witnessed pricing expansion in excess of higher input costs across products and more than offset increased turnaround costs. Operating margin was $135 million, up 26% year over year.
Financials
Cash and cash equivalents were $511 million as of Jun 30, 2017, down 30.5% year over year. Long-term debt was up 19% to $2,931 million as of Jun 30, 2017. Capital expenditure in the quarter was $54 million.
Celanese generated operating cash flow of $298 million and free cash flow of $240 million in the quarter. During the quarter, the company returned $237 million to its shareholders, including $172 million in share buy backs and $65 million of dividends.
Outlook
Celanese sees adjusted earnings per share to increase 9–11% in 2017. Advanced Engineered Materials is also expected to generate strong earnings growth driven by an exciting project pipeline and early success from the integration of SO.F.TER. and Nilit acquisitions. The Acetyl Chain is anticipated to drive earnings growth in the second half of 2017 by leveraging raw material volatility and improved volumes as Clear Lake returns to pre-turnaround capacity.
Additionally, the company intends to repurchase shares worth at least $500 million in 2017.
Price Performance
Celanese’s shares have rallied 9.5%, in the last three months, outperforming the industry’s 4% gain.
Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider
Celanese currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Other top-ranked companies in the chemical space include The Chemours Company (NYSE:CC) , Arkema S.A. (OTC:ARKAY) and Hitachi Chemical HCHMY. All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Chemours has an expected long-term earnings growth of 15.5%.
Arkema has an expected long-term earnings growth of 12.4%.
Hitachi Chemical has an expected long-term earnings growth of 5%.
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Celanese Corporation (CE): Free Stock Analysis Report
Arkema SA (ARKAY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Chemours Company (The) (CC): Free Stock Analysis Report
HITACHI CHEMICL (HCHMY): Free Stock Analysis Report
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Zacks Investment Research