Celanese Corporation Reports Unaudited Consolidated Earnings Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year Ended December 2014; Provides Earnings Guidance for the Year 2015
January 22, 2015 at 05:40 pm
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Celanese Corporation reported unaudited consolidated earnings results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 2014. For the fourth quarter, the company reported net sales of $1,559 million compared to $1,616 million a year ago. Operating loss was $54 million compared to operating profit of $944 million a year ago. Loss from continuing operations before tax was $31 million compared to earnings from continuing operations before tax of $955 million a year ago. Loss from continuing operations was $83 million or $0.54 per diluted share compared to earnings from continuing operations of $656 million or $4.17 per diluted share a year ago. Net loss attributable to the company was $84 million or $0.55 per diluted share compared to net earnings from attributable to the company of $654 million or $4.15 per diluted share a year ago. Net loss attributable to the company from continuing operations was $82 million or $0.54 per diluted share compared to net earnings from attributable to the company from continuing operations of $656 million or $4.16 per diluted share a year ago. Adjusted EPS increased to $1.28 from $1.04 in the prior year quarter. During the fourth quarter, the company generated operating cash flow of $166 million driven by continued strong earnings. Adjusted free cash flow for the quarter was $29 million. Operating EBITDA was $354 million compared to $428 million for the previous quarter.
For the full year, the company reported net sales of $6,802 million compared to $6,510 million a year ago. Operating profit was $758 million compared to operating profit of $1,508 million a year ago. Earnings from continuing operations before tax was $941 million compared to earnings from continuing operations before tax of $1,609 million a year ago. Earnings from continuing operations were $627 million compared to earnings from continuing operations of $1,101 million a year ago. Net earnings attributable to the company were $624 million or $4.00 per diluted share compared to net earnings from attributable to the company of $1,101 million or $6.91 per diluted share a year ago. Net earnings attributable to the company from continuing operations was $631 million or $4.04 per diluted share compared to net earnings from attributable to the company from continuing operations of $1,101 million or $6.91 per diluted share a year ago. As of December 31, 2014, the company's net debt was below $2.0 billion, $114 million lower than prior year end. Adjusted EPS was $5.67 compared to $4.50 in the prior year quarter. Operating EBITDA was $1,558 million compared to $1,358 million a year ago.
The company provided earnings guidance for the year 2015. The company anticipates adjusted EPS in 2015 to be in the range of $5.00 to $5.50 per share.
Celanese Corporation specializes in the manufacture and marketing of chemicals and specialty materials. The products are intended for the production of automotive components, beverages and food products, cigarette filters, paints and coatings, packaging, textiles, etc. Net sales by category of products break down as follows:
- acetyl products (55.7%);
- high performance engineering polymers (44.3%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the United States (25.8%), Germany (22.6%), China (17.8%), Singapore (10.5%), Belgium (4.6%), Mexico (3.3%), Japan (2.9%), Switzerland (2%), India (1.4%), South Korea (1.4%), Brazil (1.3%), Canada (1.3%), France ( 0.8%), the United Kingdom (0.8%), Italy (0.7%), Spain (0.5%), and other (2.3%).
Celanese Corporation Reports Unaudited Consolidated Earnings Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year Ended December 2014; Provides Earnings Guidance for the Year 2015