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Celanese (CE) to Add GUR UHMW-PE Production Line at Nanjing

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Celanese Corporation (CE - Free Report) is adding a new GUR ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) production line at its Nanjing, China manufacturing facility. The move will help the company to cater to the growing demand in the engineered materials business, particularly in the electric vehicle market.

The company’s new production line is expected to add around 15kT per year of GUR UHMW-PE product capacity by 2019. This will enable Celanese to support a growing and diverse customer base.

Celanese is experiencing higher demand for GUR in lithium ion battery separators for electric vehicle applications with demand rising 20-30% per year.

Celanese has outperformed the industry in a year’s time. While shares of the company have moved up around 25.3%, the industry gained roughly 9.7%.

 


 

Celanese logged earnings from continuing operations of $2.68 per share for the first quarter, a roughly two-fold increase from $1.30 per share a year ago. Adjusted earnings of $2.79 per share surged 54% from $1.81 per share posted a year ago, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.36.

Revenues jumped roughly 26% year over year to $1,851 million, also surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,696 million. The company benefited from gains across its Engineered Materials (EM) and Acetyl Chain units in the quarter. Improving industry fundamentals and the strength of the company’s commercial models also supported the results.

Celanese raised earnings guidance for 2018 based on strength across its Acetyl Chain and EM units. The company now envisions adjusted earnings per share to grow in the range of 20-25% year over year in 2018, up from its earlier view of 12-16% growth.

 

Celanese Corporation Price and Consensus

 

 

Zacks Rank and Other Stocks to Consider

Celanese currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

A few other top-ranked companies in the basic materials space worth considering are FMC Corporation (FMC - Free Report) , Huntsman Corporation (HUN - Free Report) and Kronos Worldwide Inc. (KRO - Free Report) .  All three stocks flaunt a Zacks Rank #1.  You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

FMC Corporation has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 11.26%.  Its shares have gained around 21% over a year.

Huntsman has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 8.25%.  Its shares have moved up around 17% over a year.

Kronos has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 5%.  Its shares have gained around 31.3% over a year.

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