Celanese Corporation reports record Q3 2014 results

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company and a global leader in vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) emulsions, has reported third quarter 2014 adjusted earnings per share of USD1.61 versus USD1.47 in the prior quarter, as per the company's financial report.

The company's achieved record adjusted earnings of USD1.61 per share, up 10% from the prior quarter and 34% from the prior year quarter.

Celanese increased adjusted EBIT margin by 150 basis points from the prior quarter to 20.1%, driven by Consumer Specialties and Acetyl Intermediates.

"Celanese generated its highest ever adjusted EPS of USD1.61 per share in the third quarter of 2014. We expanded segment income margin to 20.1%, a 150 basis point improvement sequentially and a 300 basis point improvement year-over-year. Our excellent results demonstrate the strength of our business model to identify, develop and provide specified materials that add value to our customers and to Celanese. We are also driving strong results in our technology-enabled business through increased flexibility which allows us to benefit from prevailing industry trends," said Mark Rohr, chairman and chief executive officer. "Our earnings drove record adjusted free cash flow in the third quarter. We returned USD137 million of cash to shareholders, USD39 million toward dividends and USD98 million toward share repurchases. With these results, we should end the year with adjusted earnings in the range of USD5.55 to USD5.65 per share in 2014."

The company generated operating cash flow of USD379 million and adjusted free cash flow of USD227 million in the third quarter, which were both records, driven by strong adjusted earnings. Net investment in capital projects was USD145 million in the quarter, mainly related to the methanol unit at the company's integrated facility in Clear Lake, Texas and the natural gas boilers at its cellulose derivatives facility in Narrows, Virginia.

The company ended the quarter with net debt of less than USD1.9 billion, USD100 million lower than June 30, 2014.

"As we look forward to 2015, we are confident that the structural and productivity actions we are taking will help us offset the anticipated methanol headwinds as we move to our own production," said Rohr. "We also expect our customer-focused approach for the materials businesses and the commercial actions we will continue to take in our technology-enabled businesses will provide us with appropriate opportunities to offset other anticipated year-over-year headwinds like fewer industry outages, foreign exchange fluctuations and potential weakness in global economies. Adjusted EPS in 2015 that is in the range of our 2014 projections will keep us on track to deliver on our long-term growth objective."

As MRC wrote before, Celanese Corporation has increase the price of vinyl acetate-based emulsions sold in the Americas. Thus, PVAc homopolymer, vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE) and vinyl acrylic emulsions will increase by up to USD0.05/wet pound effective November 1, 2014, or as contracts allow. This price increase affects all applications including, but not limited to, adhesives, paints and coatings, building products, nonwovens, glass fiber, carpet, paper and textiles.

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,400 employees worldwide and had 2013 net sales of USD6.5 billion.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) - Imports of polypropylene (PP) in Kazakhstan increased to 13,400 tonnes in the first nine months of this year, up 18% year on year. PP exports from Kazakhstan grew almost one and a half times to 16,900 tonnes in the first nine months of the year, according to MRC.

September PP imports in the country decreased to 1,900 tonnes, compared with 2,100 tonnes in August. Imports of PP in the country increased to 13,400 tonnes in January - September 2014, compared with 11,400 tonnes in the same time a year earlier.

September exports of homopolymer PP in Kazakhstan were 1,700 tonnes, compared with 1,400 tonnes in August on the back of the rising deliveries from Russian producers. Imports of homopolymer PP in the country grew to 9,900 tonnes in the first nine months of this year, compared with 7,000 tonnes year on year.

Imports of propylene copolymers in January-September 2014 decreased to 3,500 tonnes, compared with 4,400 tonnes year on year. A local PP producer, Neftekhim Ltd increased its exports in September to 2,300 tonnes, compared with 500 tonnes in August.

Exports of homopolymer PP were 16,900 tonnes in January - September, up 49% year on year. As it was reported before, Neftekhim Ltd plans to launch the installation of polypropylene granulation in November.

Before that PP was produced in powder form. The producer plans to expand grades of PP in the near future as well as the geography of export.
mrcplsat.com

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Innovative technologies from PolyOne Corporation, a premier global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, have enabled Citroen to launch groundbreaking Airbump exterior protective panels on the new C4 Cactus passenger car, reported Polyone on its site.

The air-filled Airbump panels can compress up to 20 mm, and bounce back to shape in an instant. Citroen notes that this will reduce the cost of vehicle ownership by reducing damage due to everyday bumps, such as those from shopping carts or the doors of other vehicles.

Working closely with the Citroen design team, PolyOne developed a specialty OnColor Smartbatch color and additive technology that allows the distinctive panels to meet stringent UV stability, appearance and durability requirements.

"We are thrilled at the opportunity to be part of this effort by bringing enabling technologies to the Citroen team as they pioneer new directions in automotive design," said Christoph Palm, general manager, Color & Additives EMEA & India, PolyOne Corporation. "By working with Citroen and its Tier 1 suppliers, we were able to develop an advanced solution that provides the panels with uniform, attractive, and durable color despite exposure to sunlight, heat, and detergents."

As MRC informed previously, in June 2014, PolyOne Corporation presented its specialty portfolio for automotive interiors to designers and engineers at the 2014 WardsAuto Interiors conference. These advanced technologies, including soft-touch materials as well as colorants and special effects, enable customers to design new features that boost consumer appeal and reduce manufacturing complexity.

Citroen is part of PSA Peugeot Citroen, a leading manufacturer of automobiles. In 2013 the company sold 1,266,000 vehicles, with 41% of those sales outside Europe. PSA Peugeot Citroen employs almost 200,000 around the world, and has more than 14,500 researchers and engineers across four R&D centers.

PolyOne Corporation, with 2013 revenues of USD3.8 billion, is a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services, and solutions. PolyOne is a provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, polymer distribution and specialty vinyl resins.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) into Kazakhstan increased by 78% over the first nine months of 2014 and reached 54,700 tonnes, reported MRC analysts.

September imports of unblended PVC to Kazakhstan rose to 8,700 tonnes from 6,400 tonnes in August. Thus, the overall PVC imports to the local market rose to 54,700 tonnes from January to September 2014 versus 30,700 tonnes a year earlier. Some market participants said such a major increase in PVC imports was caused by on-going re-imports, including to Russia.

The key PVC suppliers to the local market are Chinese producers because of geographical factors, their share in the local market exceeded 95% this year.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- BASF and Hemmelrath Technologies, a company that is specialized in modular facility concepts for the production of paint and coatings, have decided to cooperate in order to develop future-oriented concepts of pigment technology, reportd BASF of its site.

The aim pursued by both partners is to improve the output and quality of coatings and paint production and save costs through the introduction of new processes. Both organizations plan to combine the modular coating plant technology (MoFa-Technology), which is well known in the industry, with pigment preparations from the Xfast range of BASF.

Hemmelrath Technologies, which is based in Erlenbach (Bavaria/Germany), is a process innovator in the field of paste production for coatings and paint. The company has developed the so-called MoFa-Technology where the individual steps of coating production are combined and interlinked in one single facility. This technology leads to significant savings in energy, raw material and time compared with traditional production procedures and can be used both for large and small production quantities.

In joint tests, Hemmelrath Technologies and BASF want to develop concepts to combine MoFa-Technology with pigment preparations and are going to use the concentrated, solid preparations from the Xfast range of BASF to this end. These stir-in pigments in the shape of free-flowing granules that are low in dust can be stirred directly into aqueous coatings and paint formulations and disperse in no time at all. It is no longer necessary to grind the pigment particles in a bead mill.

"Our aim is to find out how to best combine the benefits of the MoFa-Technology with the Xfast pigment preparation," says Stefan Sutterlin, head of the pigment business of BASF in Europe. Technicians of both companies will provide their expertise and jointly develop coating formulations. "The first feasibility studies have been successful. We are convinced that we will set new market standards in quality, cost optimization and productivity," underlines Sutterlin.

As MRC wrote before, in July 2014, BASF Shanghai Coatings Co., Ltd. inaugurated its new automotive coatings plant at the Shanghai Chemicail Industry Park in Shanghai, China. The expansion of its automotive coatings production capacity with an investment of around EUR50 million further strengthens BASF’s presence in China and its position as a leading coatings supplier to the automotive industry.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products and crop protection products to oil and gas. BASF had sales of about EUR74 billion in 2013 and over 112,000 employees as of the end of the year.
MRC