Kraton Corporation (NYSE:) along with its fully-owned subsidiaries announced the closing of an amendment to its existing senior secured term loan facility.
The amendment increased borrowings under the Euro denominated tranche of this term loan by 150 million euros to 350 million euros. It also repriced the current term loans under the facility and extended maturity date of the term loan facility by roughly three years to Mar 8, 2025.
Proceeds from the additional borrowings under the Euro denominated tranche along with available cash in hand were used prepay $185 million of the then outstanding $485 million balance under the U.S. dollar denominated tranche.
Shares of Kraton have moved up 39.1% over the last six months, outperforming the 0.7% upside recorded by its
industry.
Kraton swung to a profit in the fourth quarter of 2017. The chemical maker logged a profit of $69.6 million or $2.17 per share in the reported quarter against a loss of $3.7 million or 12 cents a year ago. Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings came in at 67 cents per share for the quarter, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 79 cents.
Notably, the company’s long-term debt was $1,574.9 million at the end of 2017, down around 7% year over year. It also reduced net debt by $163 million in 2017.
Kraton expects adjusted EBITDA for 2018 to be roughly $400 million. The company also expects to cut net debt, excluding the net debt of its KFPC joint venture, by around $125 million this year.
Kraton Corporation Price and Consensus
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Kraton currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the chemical space are LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:) , Arkema S.A. (OTC:) and Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:) .
Arkema has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 8% and flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. The company’s shares have moved up 40.5% in a year.
Methanex has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 15% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Its shares have gained 18.8% over a year.
Don’t Even Think About Buying Until You Read This
The most popular cryptocurrency skyrocketed last year, giving some investors the chance to bank 20X returns or even more. Those gains, however, came with serious volatility and risk. Bitcoin sank 25% or more 3 times in 2017.
Zacks has just released a new Special Report to help readers capitalize on the explosive profit potential of Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies with significantly less volatility than buying them directly.
Methanex Corporation (MEOH): Free Stock Analysis ReportArkema SA (ARKAY): Free Stock Analysis ReportLyondellBasell Industries N.V. (LYB): Free Stock Analysis ReportKraton Corporation (KRA): Free Stock Analysis ReportOriginal postZacks Investment Research
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with other users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Enrich the conversation, don’t trash it.
Stay focused and on track. Only post material that’s relevant to the topic being discussed.
Be respectful. Even negative opinions can be framed positively and diplomatically. Avoid profanity, slander or personal attacks directed at an author or another user. Racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination will not be tolerated.
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.