Celanese Corporation CE reported first-quarter 2025 earnings from continuing operations of 15 cents, down from $1.10 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Adjusted earnings in the first quarter were 57 cents, down 72.6% from $2.08 reported a year ago. The bottom line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 37 cents.

Revenues of $2,389 million decreased roughly 8.5% year over year and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,264.6 million. The decrease in net sales was caused by lower volumes and prices. 

(Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

Celanese Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Celanese Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Celanese Corporation Quote

CE’s Segment Highlights

Net sales in the Engineered Materials unit were $1,287 million in the reported quarter, down around 6.6% year over year. The figure beat our estimate of $1,180.9 million. The segment recorded an operating profit of $96 million and an adjusted EBIT of $126 million in the first quarter. 

The Acetyl Chain segment posted net sales of $1,116 million, down roughly 11.5% year over year. The figure surpassed our estimate of $1,105.9 million. The segment generated an operating profit of $162 million and an adjusted EBIT of $168 million in the first quarter.

CE’s Financials

Celanese ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $951 million, down roughly 1.1% sequentially. Long-term debt was up around 11.7% sequentially to $12,378 million.

CE’s Outlook

Celanese expects adjusted earnings in the band of $1.30 to $1.50 per share for the second quarter of 2025. 

Given the macro-driven earnings uncertainties, the company's focus is on cash generation, and it expects to deliver $700 million to $800 million in free cash flow in 2025, assuming no significant decline in demand.

CE’s Price Performance

Celanese’s shares have lost 71.8% in the past year compared with a 0.8% decline of the industry.Zacks Investment Research

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

CE’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

CE currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Better-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space include Hawkins, Inc. HWKN, Franco-Nevada Corporation FNV and Coeur Mining CDE. While HWKN and CDE carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), SSRM carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Hawkins is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter results on May 14. The consensus estimate for Hawkins’ earnings is pegged at 74 cents. HWKN beat the consensus estimate in one of the last four quarters while missing thrice, with the average earnings surprise being 6.1%. 

Franco-Nevada is slated to release first-quarter results on May 8. The consensus estimate for FNV’s first-quarter earnings is pegged at $1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings has been going up over the past 60 days.

Coeur Mining is slated to release first-quarter results on May 7. CDE delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 27.9%, on average.

Story Continues

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Celanese Corporation (CE):Free Stock Analysis Report

Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV):Free Stock Analysis Report

Coeur Mining, Inc. (CDE):Free Stock Analysis Report

Hawkins, Inc. (HWKN):Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research

View Comments