Chemical and advanced materials maker, Celanese Corporation CE announced that it will raise the list and off-list selling prices of ethyl acetate and butyl acetate in Asia. This price increase is in response to the rapid rise and sustained volatility in methanol prices in China.
Celanese will hike the prices of both ethyl acetate and butyl acetate by $30 per metric ton in Asia outside China. The rise in price will be effective immediately, or as contracts permit. Celanese has already increased the prices of some of its chemicals of late. Recently, the company raised the list and off-list selling prices of acetic acid in China.
Celanese is a global hybrid chemical company based in Irving, TX. It is one of the world’s largest producers of acetyl products as well as a leading global manufacturer of high-performance engineered polymers. The company is also the world leader in vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) and acetic acid production.
Celanese remains focused on reducing costs and running its plants more efficiently amid an uncertain operating backdrop. Its strong presence in emerging markets should support earnings this year.
Per management, Celanese started off 2015 with significant headwinds such as a fluctuating macroeconomic environment and volatile currency markets at the macro level, along with methanol transition and tow inventory de-stocking particularly posing significant concerns for the company.
However, Celanese expects to offset these headwinds with strong operating performance across all its segments, along with higher productivity gains. This led management to revise its adjusted earnings outlook for 2015 to a range of $5.60–$5.90 per share, up from the prior projection.
Celanese currently sports a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Other well-ranked companies in the diversified chemical space include LyondellBasell Industries N.V. LYB, Stepan Company SCL and Orion Engineered Carbons SA OEC. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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