Celanese Hikes Ateva EVA Price - Analyst Blog

Chemical company Celanese Corporation CE declared that it will raise the price of Ateva ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) by 6 cents per pound due to the worldwide unavailability of Vinyl Acetate Monomer. The price hike is effective Apr 1, 2014, or per contracts. This follows a hike of 4 cents per pound for the same product on Jan 9.

Earlier, Celanese also increased prices of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in the Americas on Mar 7. Celanese will increase PVAc homopolymer, vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) and vinyl copolymer emulsions prices by upto 3 cents per wet pound. The revision will be effective Apr 1, 2014, or as contracts permit.

Celanese Ateva EVA polymers produce a full line of high geared EVA copolymers. These copolymers have varied applications in flexible packaging, thermal-lamination film, hot-melt adhesive, concentrates and photovoltaic cells, to name some.

Celanese posted its fourth-quarter 2013 results on Jan 23. The company's earnings (excluding one-time items) of $1.04 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.01.
 
Earnings (as reported) from continuing operations came in at $4.16 per share in the quarter, as against a loss of $1.05 recorded a year ago.

Sales in the quarter were $1,616 million, up 7.7% year over year, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,560 million.

For 2014, Celanese expects earnings growth on the back of company-specific initiatives to be consistent with its long-term growth plan. The company-specific initiatives including innovation of new products and enhancement of efficiencies through productivity are expected to drive earnings growth in 2014. Celanese expects to increase adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) by roughly $100 million on the back of its strategic actions.
 
Celanese currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Other companies in the chemical industry worth considering include PPG Industries Inc. PPG, Cytec Industries Inc. CYT and The Dow Chemical Company DOW, all of which hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).