Celanese Corporation reports record Q2 results

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Celanese Corporation, a global technology and specialty materials company and a global leader in vinyl acetate ethylene (EVA) emulsions, has reported second quarter 2014 adjusted earnings per share of USD1.47 versus USD1.33 in the prior quarter, as per the company's press release.

"Our second quarter adjusted EPS was the highest in our history at USD1.47 per share. We expanded segment income margin to 18.6%, a 90 basis point improvement sequentially and a 260 basis point improvement year-over-year. These results were driven by the efforts of our global teams that continued to deliver customer-centric applications that add value. We are also benefiting from the strategic decision to operate our technology-enabled business in a manner that increases our underlying business flexibility and our ability to take advantage of prevailing industry trends," said Mark Rohr, chairman and chief executive officer. "We again delivered strong cash flow, deploying USD50 million on share repurchases and USD39 million on dividends in the quarter. With a cash balance of USD1.1 billion and net debt balance of less than USD2.0 billion, we have an opportunity to create value through our balance sheet."

The company's net sales for the quarter grew to USD1.77 billion from USD1.65 billion in the same period last year and topped thirteen Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of USD1.72 billion.

Looking ahead, the company raised its growth projection for adjusted earnings per share to a range of 15 to 17 percent from the prior guidance that called for 12 to 14 percent growth.

"We now increase our focus on the Celanese-specific initiatives for 2015 that will help offset the expected headwind related to the expiration of a methanol contract in mid-2015," said Rohr.

As MRC wrote previously, in April 2014, Celanese Corporation developed new emulsion products for architectural paints. The company also expanded its product portfolio for the coatings and adhesives industries, including Celansese's solvents, vinyl acetate monomer, EVA polymers and emulsions.

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) -- The average capacity utilisation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in Russia dropped in the first half of 2014 by 12.2% year on year and totalled 71.4% (83.6% - from January to June 2013), according to MRC ScanPlast.

PET production capacities in Russia were expanded to 90,000 tonnes in 2014. The second PET line was installed at Polief. Thus, the sector's overall production capacity reached 610,000 tonnes per year. At the same time, the total output at Russian plants virtually did not change much compared to the first half of 2013. About 218,000 tonnes of PET chips were produced from January to June 2014.

Alco-Naphtha reduced its PET production, despite a stable capacity utilisation of a new line at Polief and the previous production figures of Senezh and SIBUR-PETF.
At the same time, demand for imported PET increased this year. As reported earlier, PET imports to the Russian domestic market surged in the first half of 2014 by 40% year on year and reached 128,000 tonnes.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- The output of finished products from polymers grew over the first six months of 2014. At the same time, the construction sector still demonstrated negative figures, reported MRC analysts.

The production growth index of key products from polymers in Russia was 8.6% in the first half of the year. Films producers still accounted for the main increase in the output, while the construction sector retained a negative result.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service, June production of unreinforced and non-combined films rose to 99,600 tonnes (in May - 95,000 tonnes). Thus, the output of these products in Russia totalled about 500,000 tonnes from January to June 2014, up by 23.2% year on year.

Last month's production of plastic pipes, hoses and fittings increased to 48,700 tonnes after the May fall (45,600 tonnes). The overall output of these products reached 246,600 tonnes over the first six months of 2014, down by 12.7% year on year.

June production of plastic windows, their frames and sills dropped to 2.1 million square meters (in May - 2.2 million sq. m.). The output of plastic windows and window sills totalled about 10.6 million square meters from January to June, down by 6.6% year on year.
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MOSCOW (MRC) -- Elevance Renewable Sciences has announced a collaboration with Gen¬ting Plantation, through Genting Integrated Biorefinery (GIB), for the production of high-performance olefins and specialty chemicals from palm oil, as per Apic-online.

The partnership, in which Elevance will hold a 25% interest, will build a 240,000-t/y metathesis biorefinery based on Elevance's proprietary metathesis technology in the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster in Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia.

As part of the collaboration agreement, GIB has agreed to pay Elevance license and design fees, and Elevance will provide intellectual property rights, knowledge transfer, and technical and consulting services. Elevance will also be exclusively responsible for the sale of all chemicals produced at the biorefinery.

We remind that, as MRC informed before, Total, Europe’s third-largest oil company, in cooperation with IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) and its affiliate Axens, has recently developed Atol, a technology for the most profitable production of polymer grade bio-ethylene by dehydration of 1G and 2G-renewable ethanol.

The bio-ethylene can be integrated in existing downstream polymerization installations such as polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), polyethyleneteraphthalate (PET), polyvinylchloride (PVC) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) without need for modifications.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Westlake Chemical Corporation has announced the completion of a third amendment and restatement of its USD400 million revolving credit agreement, thereby extending the maturity to 2019, reducing interest costs, and increasing financial flexibility, reported StocksMoney.

"We are pleased to have completed this agreement as it increases our company's financial flexibility and provides the liquidity to fund our continued growth," said Albert Chao, Westlake's President and Chief Executive Officer.

As MRC wrote previously, in February 2014, Westlake Chemical held a dedication ceremony for its new chlor-alkali plant in Geismar, Louisiana. This new chlor-alkali plant has the capacity to produce 350,000 electrochemical units (ECU's) annually and utilizes state of the art membrane technology. The plant is adjacent to the existing vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) facilities at the Geismar complex and has added approximately 70 full-time positions at the site.

Westlake Chemical Corporation is a manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with headquarters in Houston, Texas. The company's range of products includes: ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, caustic, VCM, PVC resin and PVC building products including pipe and specialty components, windows and fence.
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