Methanex Corporation
(
MEOH
) has announced its decision to idle its operations in Chile in
March due to lack of adequate natural gas supply. The company
stated that it does not have sufficient feedstock to keep the
plant in operation given the natural gas supply challenges.
The company is operating one plant in Chile at low operating
rates and it expects the plant to produce less than 5% of its
entire output in 2013.
Methanex released its third-quarter 2012 results in October
2012. The company reported adjusted earnings of 38 cents per
share in the quarter compared with 43 cents per share registered
in the same period last year. The results surpassed the Zacks
Consensus Estimate of 30 cents, reflecting a positive surprise of
around 26.7%.
Revenues dipped 2.1% year over year to $655.3 million, missing
the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $659 million. Sales volumes in
the quarter totaled 1,899 million tons, up 0.5% from the year-ago
quarter.
With the continued initiatives to increase production in New
Zealand and Medicine Hat units and progress in the Louisiana
project, the company has the potential to increase its operating
capacity by nearly 2 million tons over the next two years, which
in turn will contribute in cash generation. The company, in
November 2012, received the necessary air permits from the State
of Louisiana and the Environmental Protection Agency to build and
operate its one million ton-methanol project in Louisiana.
The company believes that its healthy financial position,
strong global supply network and competitive-cost position will
strengthen its position as the global leader in the methanol
industry and enable it to continue to deliver incremental returns
to shareholders.
Methanex, which faces stiff competition from
Celanese Corp.
(
CE
) and
Eastman Chemical Co.
(
EMN
), retains a short-term (1 to 3 months) Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We
currently have a long-term (more than 6 months) Neutral
recommendation on the stock.
CELANESE CP-A (CE): Free Stock Analysis
Report
EASTMAN CHEM CO (EMN): Free Stock Analysis
Report
METHANEX CORP (MEOH): Free Stock Analysis
Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment
Research