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Celanese (CE) to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in the Offing?

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Celanese Corporation (CE - Free Report) is scheduled to release first-quarter 2024 results after the closing bell on May 8.

The company surpassed Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in two of the last four quarters and missed twice, with the average being 5.2%.

The company is expected to have benefited from cost-cutting and efficiency initiatives, as well as investments in high-return organic projects and acquisition synergies in the quarter to be reported. However, it is likely to have been challenged by issues such as low demand, customer destocking in some end markets and pricing pressures.

The stock has gained 50.1% in the past year against the industry’s fall of 10.7%.

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Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

 

Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

What Do the Estimates Say?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales for the to-be-reported quarter is currently pegged at $2,748.6 million, which implies a decline of 3.7% from the year-ago reported number.

Our estimate for Celanese’s Engineered Materials division’s revenues is pegged at $1,678.9 million, suggesting a rise of 3% year over year. The same for the Acetyl Chain unit’s revenues is $1,112.5 million, indicating a fall of 11%.

Some Factors to Watch

Celanese's productivity initiatives, investments in organic projects and strategic acquisitions are expected to have aided the company in the first quarter despite headwinds from demand slowdown and destocking in key end industries.

Celanese remains focused on implementing its productivity programs, which include the implementation of a number of cost-saving capital projects. Productivity actions are expected to have supported its margins in the first quarter.

The company is pursuing strategic initiatives while acknowledging the volatility and unpredictability of the current market landscape and competitive climate. These initiatives include improving its commercial teams, adjusting production and inventory levels to meet current demand, implementing cost-cutting measures and optimizing cash flow. The benefits of these actions are expected to be reflected in the company’s first-quarter results.

However, Celanese is likely to have encountered challenges from weaker demand and customer destocking in certain of its end markets. The company is also exposed to significant competition. Competitive pressures are expected to have hurt its prices.

Zacks Model

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Celanese this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here.

Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP for Celanese is -0.96%. This is because the Most Accurate Estimate is pegged at $1.89 while the Zacks Consensus Estimate stands at $1.91. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank:  Celanese currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Celanese Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Celanese Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Celanese Corporation price-eps-surprise | Celanese Corporation Quote

Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are some companies in the basic materials space you may want to consider, as our model shows these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

Innospec Inc. (IOSP - Free Report) , slated to release earnings on May 9, has an Earnings ESP of +2.44% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The consensus mark for IOSP’s first-quarter earnings is currently pegged at $1.64.

Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC - Free Report) , expected to release earnings on May 13, has an Earnings ESP of +70.86% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

The consensus mark for LAC’s first quarter is currently pegged at a loss of 4 cents.

SilverCrest Metals Inc. (SILV - Free Report) , slated to release earnings on May 14, has an Earnings ESP of +14.92% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

The consensus mark for SILV’s first-quarter earnings is currently pegged at 12 cents.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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