Celanese QQ4 2024 results reflect a challenging quarter characterized by a material revenue decline and a steep contraction in profitability, underpinned by high leverage and meaningful non-operating charges. Revenue fell to $2.37 billion, down approximately 7.8% year over year and 10.5% quarter over quarter, with gross profit of $539 million and a gross margin of about 21.7%. The quarter delivered a substantial bottom-line hit, with net income of -$1.914 billion and earnings per share of -$17.50, driven in part by sizable non-operating costs and impairment-like charges totaling roughly $1.651 billion, which eclipsed operating performance.
From a cash-flow perspective, Celanese generated $494 million of operating cash flow and $389 million of free cash flow, supporting modest deleveraging and capital expenditure of $105 million. Despite positive operating cash flow, the company reported an EBITDA of -$1.166 billion and an operating loss of -$1.405 billion, highlighting the severity of earnings disruption in the period. The balance sheet remains heavily levered, with total debt of $12.95 billion and a debt-to-capitalization ratio of about 0.72, translating to an interest-coverage ratio near 1.32x and modest liquidity given cash and equivalents of $962 million at period end.
Looking ahead, management commentary is not provided in the supplied data, limiting visibility on explicit forward targets or cadence of improvement. Investors should weigh Celanese’s cash-generation capability against its high leverage, ongoing cyclicality in its end markets, and potential for cost-reduction or portfolio-shift benefits to restore profitability. The company’s current ratio (~1.34x) and cash ratio (~0.25x) provide some liquidity runway, but the earnings miss and leverage risk remain the dominant themes for the near term.