Goldman Sachs Reiterates Buy On CE

Goldman Sachs is reiterating its Buy rating on Celanese Corp. CE as the company plans to accelerate its commercialization efforts. Says Goldman Sachs, in the report, “This afternoon, CE announced that it will accelerate the commercialization of its revolutionary new ethanol production technology (TCX) including new plans to modify an existing acetyl facility in Nanjing, China, to produce 200ktns of ethanol by mid-2013. This facility upgrade will cost “a fraction” of the cost of a new greenfield facility, which management has previously sized at $300 mn. CE also announced that it has broken ground on its Clear Lake, TX, ethanol production facility and that this 40ktn facility will now be operational in mid-2012 – six months earlier than previously expected. Finally, the company remains on track to begin production at its first greenfield ethanol plant in China roughly 30 months from now. As previously announced, this plant will have an initial capacity of 400ktns that can be scaled up to 1,100ktns with little incremental capital expenditure.” CE closed yesterday at $48.01.