Celanese to Levy Charges on Engineered Product Shipments

Celanese Corporation CE plans to implement supplemental charges on all engineered materials product shipments. The charges will be effective on all orders received on or after Apr 1, 2018 for all non-contract business.

The company will levy $100 per metric ton for all product shipments until further notice. The charge is in addition to product price hikes.

This move comes after the recent hike in product and logistics cost. According to the company, tight supply chain and resulting cost increases were the primary reasons behind this action.

The company shares have moved up 9.5% over a year, outperforming the industry’s 7.1% gain.

Celanese recently raised its earnings guidance for 2018, citing a stronger start to the year across its Acetyl Chain and Advanced Engineered Materials businesses. The company now envisions adjusted earnings per share growth in the 12-16% range from the prior-year quarter, up from its earlier view of 10-14% growth.

Celanese is witnessing better-than-expected performance in all of its businesses. The company’s Acetyl Chain unit continues to gain momentum globally, while improved pricing and strong demand trends in its Advanced Engineered Materials business are contributing to its earnings. Celanese plans to provide more details on the same during first-quarter 2018 earnings call.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Celanese has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are LyondellBasell Industries N.V. LYB, Kronos Worldwide Inc. KRO and BASF SE BASFY.

LyondellBasell has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 9% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company’s shares have moved up 18% in a year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Kronos has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 5% and flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. Its shares have gained 43.5% over a year.

BASF has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 6.7% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Its shares have moved up 1.3% in a year.

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