(Reuters) – Chemicals maker Celanese Corp missed Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, weighed by lower prices for its products across units.
The company forecast adjusted earnings in the range of $1.75 per share to $2.00 per share in the first quarter of 2024, compared with analysts’ estimate of $2.53 per share.
Celanese added it does not expect “volumes and pricing conditions to materially improve to start 2024”, sending its shares down about 7% in extended trading.
“Early signs of demand improvement in certain products and end-markets are insufficient to improve the overall sequential backdrop we see early in 2024…,” said CEO Lori Ryerkerk.
Chemicals companies in the U.S. have been struggling to trim excess inventory due to a slower-than-expected rebound in demand from Europe and China.
On an adjusted basis, the Dallas-based firm earned $2.24 per share in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with analysts’ estimate of $2.31 per share, according to LSEG data.
(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Pooja Desai)
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