Celanese cuts 2024 profit forecast on sluggish demand, production snags
Aug 1 (Reuters) -Specialty chemicals company Celanese CE.N lowered its 2024 earnings forecast on Thursday, hurt by weak demand in several key sectors and production obstacles, sending its shares down 5.4% after the bell.
China's manufacturing activity contracted in May and June, with economic data in the last month of the quarter showing indexes of raw material stocks in contractionary territory. Manufacturing activity across the eurozone also declined in June.
Celanese had declared force majeure for its acetic acid and vinyl acetate monomer products sold in the Western Hemisphere due to raw materials shortages and operational issues in June.
The company said that total losses attributable to unplanned supplier disruptions at its low-cost production facility Clear Lake were the highest in over 15 years and the plant experienced 66 days of feedstock curtailments.
It trimmed its 2024 earnings forecast to the range of $10.25 to $10.75 per share, compared with earlier forecast of $11 to $12 per share. The updated forecast fell short of Wall Street estimates of $11.11 per share, according to LSEG data.
"We expect third quarter market dynamics to be similar to the first half of the year and expect continued challenges to the macro-environment for the balance of 2024," the company said in its prepared earnings remarks.
Celanese also reported second-quarter adjusted profit of $2.38 per share, missing estimates of $2.71 per share.
Net sales during the second quarter at its Acetyl Chain segment fell 5% sequentially, hurt by decline in both prices and volumes.
"We are seeing stability but not recovery to normalized levels," CEO Lori Ryerkerk said.
Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona
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