Celanese (CE) To Raise Prices Of Selective Acetyl Products

Celanese Corporation (NYSE:CE) announced that it will increase the list and off-list selling price of certain acetyl intermediates products. The price hike is effective immediately or as contracts permit.

In the United States, prices of Acetic Acid, Acetic Anhydride and Acetic Acid/ Acetic Anhydride blend will increase by 4 cents per lb. In Mexico and South America, prices of the same are slated to rise by $90/MT. In Europe, Middle East and Africa, price of Acetic Acid will be hiked by €80/MT while prices of Acetic Anhydride and Acetic Acid/ Acetic Anhydride blend will be raised by €100/MT each.

The company will increase the price of Ethyl Acetate by 6 cents per lb in the United States and by €125/MT in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Price of the same will rise by $130/MT in Mexico and South America. The price of Vinyl Acetate Monomer will increase in China by ¥500/MT and by $100/MT in Asia (outside China).

Celanese is taking appropriate pricing actions amid a volatile raw material pricing environment. Pricing improvement drove margins in its Acetyl Chain unit in second-quarter 2017.

Celanese has outperformed the industry over a year. The company’s shares have moved up around 52.5% over this period compared with roughly 17.8% gain recorded by the industry.

Celanese kept its earnings streak alive with a beat in second-quarter 2017. The company logged adjusted earnings of $1.79 per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.74. Celanese sees adjusted earnings per share to increase 9-11% in 2017.

Celanese’s strategic measures including cost savings through productivity actions and pricing initiatives are expected to lend support to its earnings in 2017. The company is also likely to gain from capacity expansion and growth initiatives like acquisitions. Moreover, Celanese remains focused on returning value to shareholders.

Celanese Corporation Price and Consensus

Celanese Corporation Price and Consensus | Celanese Corporation Quote

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Celanese currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the chemical space are The Chemours Company (NYSE:CC) , Kronos Worldwide (NYSE:KRO) and Akzo Nobel N.V. (OTC:AKZOY) . 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%.

Kronos Worldwide has an expected long-term earnings growth of 5%.

Akzo Nobel has an expected long-term earnings growth of 11.1%.

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