Eastman Receives Stevie Award

Eastman Chemical Company ( EMN - Analyst Report ) announced that it has been honored with Silver Stevie Award in the category of Company of the Year – Chemicals in the 2012 American Business Awards ceremony. Eastman was amongst the few companies that was selected for the award category based on its achievments in 2011.

The Stevie Awards were judged by more than 270 executives across the nation. All the companies in the U.S. are eligible to give their nominations irrespective of their size, whether they belong to the public or private sector or they work for profit or non-profit organisations.

There were more than 3000 organisations, who sent their nominations for different categories including Most Innovative Company of the Year, Management Team of the Year, Best New Product or Service of the Year, Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year, and Executive of the Year. The American Business Awards will host other Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners at its new tech awards ceremony in San Francisco on September 17, 2012.

Eastman’s solid business performance along with its strategic acquisitions and expansions made it a Silver level winner. In April 2011, the company released its financial results for the first quarter of 2012. The company reported earnings of $1.13 per share in the quarter, a decline from $1.39 per share a year ago. Excluding costs associated with its imminent acquisition of Solutia and one-time gains, the Tennessee-based chemical company earned $1.22 a share in the quarter, which topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.14.

Revenues rose 4% year over year to $1,821 million, but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,881 million. The growth was aided by increased selling prices.

Eastman Chemical expects the global economy to grow slowly while volatility in raw material and energy costs would diminish in the near term. The company expects earnings for 2012 to be roughly $5.30 a share. It expects to benefit from increased capacity additions as well as the Solutia acquisition.

Eastman Chemical’s diversified chemical portfolio, along with its integrated and diverse downstream businesses, continues to drive earnings. The company benefits from business restructuring and cost-cutting measures. It has sold unprofitable units and closed down the poorly performing ones.

The company, which competes with The Dow Chemical Company ( DOW - Analyst Report ) and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company ( DD - Analyst Report ) , currently holds a short-term Zacks #3 Rank (Hold). We have an “Outperform” recommendation on the shares of Eastman Chemicals for the long-term.