Another Plant Relocation by Methanex - Analyst Blog
April 29 2013 - 1:52PM
Zacks
The world's largest producer of methanol, Methanex
Corp. (MEOH), has announced that it will relocate another
plant from Chile to Geismar, LA.
The cost involved is about $550 million and the plant is expected
to come online by 2016. The first plant Geismar 1, which Methanex
had shifted, has made very good progress and is proceeding on
schedule and on budget.
The two plants at Geismar along with Methanex’s other growth
initiatives in New Zealand and Medicine Hat, represent three
million tons of additional operating capacity, which are expected
to create significant value for shareholders.
Methanex believes that the global demand for methanol will
exceed supply over the next few years and by shifting its second
plant to Louisiana, it will benefit from the competitive natural
gas price environment in North America. Moreover, Methanex expects
to add additional molecules to its system to meet its customer’s
growing needs for methanol.
Methanex believes that the methanol industry and its pricing
environment would appear to be attractive in the longer term as
global demand is expected to surpass new capacity additions.
Recently, Methanex released its first-quarter 2013 results. The
company’s earnings of 63 cents per share for the quarter missed the
Zacks Consensus Estimate of 68 cents, reflecting a negative
surprise of around 7.4%.
The company posted a profit (attributable to shareholders) of
$60 million in the reported quarter, up from $22 million recorded a
year ago.
Revenues remained flat year over year at $651.9 million, missing
the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $777 million. Sales volumes in the
quarter totaled 1,831,000 tons, up 0.8% from the year-ago
quarter.
Methanex retains a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Other companies in the chemical industry that are worth
considering include Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.
(SHECY), Celanese Corp. (CE) and Eastman
Chemical Co. (EMN). While Shin-Etsu Chemical retains a
Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Celanese and Eastman Chemical carry a
Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
CELANESE CP-A (CE): Free Stock Analysis Report
EASTMAN CHEM CO (EMN): Free Stock Analysis Report
METHANEX CORP (MEOH): Free Stock Analysis Report
SHIN-ETSU CHEM (SHECY): Get Free Report
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