Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Eastman Chemical (EMN) Q1 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates

Read MoreHide Full Article

Eastman Chemical (EMN - Free Report) saw higher profits on a reported basis in the first quarter of 2017, aided by its aggressive cost management actions, disciplined capital allocation and growth of high-margin products. The chemical maker recorded earnings of $278 million or $1.89 per share, up from the year-ago figure of $251 million or $1.69.

Barring one-time items, earnings were $1.83 per share for the quarter, up from $1.71 in the year ago-quarter. Earnings topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.74 per share.

Revenues rose around 2.9% year over year to $2,303 million in the quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,241 million.  

Eastman Chemical Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

 

Eastman Chemical Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Eastman Chemical Company Quote

Segment Review

Revenues from the Additives and Functional Products division went up 4.9% year over year to $773 million in the reported quarter. The increase was mainly attributable to higher sales volume across the segment which partly offset the impact of lower sales prices and unfavorable foreign currency translations.

Revenues from the Advanced Materials unit rose 7.6% year over year to $634 million as fixed cost leverage and higher sales volume of premium products partly offset lower selling prices, high raw material and energy costs.

Chemical Intermediates sales rose 8% to $670 million on the back of higher sales prices which absorbed the impact of high raw material cost and improved competitive conditions.

Fibers segment sales plunged around 24% to $213 million due to reduced sales volume and lower selling prices, in particular, for acetate tow.

Financials
 
Eastman Chemical ended the first quarter of 2017 with cash and cash equivalents of $197 million, down roughly 2.5% year over year.

Net debt (total debt less cash and cash equivalent) at the end of first quarter was $6,686 million.

Eastman Chemical generated operating cash flows of $52 million during the quarter. The company returned $75 million to shareholders through share repurchases.

Outlook

According to the Board Chair and CEO, Mark Costa, the company expects to drive growth on the back of innovation and high margin products, amid uncertain global business environment. It believes that disciplined capital allocation and aggressive cost management policies should contribute to earnings growth and assists to offset challenges faced by the company in Fibers segment. In 2017, the company expects adjusted earnings per share to grow 8–12%.

Price Performance

Eastman Chemical’s shares rose 5.2% in the last three months, marginally underperforming the Zacks categorized Chemicals-Diversified industry’s gain of 5.3%.

 



Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Eastman Chemical currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked companies in the basic materials space include Kronos Worldwide Inc (KRO - Free Report) , ArcelorMittal (MT - Free Report) and Arkema S.A. (ARKAY - Free Report) . All the three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.

Kronos has an expected long-term earnings growth of 5%.

ArcelorMittal has an expected long-term earnings growth of 11.5%.

Arkema has an expected long-term earnings growth of 12.3%.

Zacks' Hidden Trades

While we share many recommendations and ideas with the public, certain moves are hidden from everyone but selected members of our portfolio services. Would you like to peek behind the curtain today and view them?

Starting now, for the next month, I invite you to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time from value to momentum...from stocks under $10 to ETF to option movers...from insider trades to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises (we've called them with 80%+ accuracy). You can even look inside portfolios so exclusive that they are normally closed to new investors. Click here for Zacks' secret trade>>

Published in