Celanese on course to reach increased EBITDA targets within two years

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Savannah, Ga., Nov. 30 - Celanese Corp. remains on track to achieve its goal of increasing EBITDA to $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion by 2013, David Weidman, its chief executive officer, said Tuesday during a presentation at the Citi Basic Materials Conference in New York.

"We're highly confident that we'll grow to this level," Weidman said.

Celanese plans to grow its EBITDA through innovation, geographic growth, mergers and acquisitions and productivity, he said.

The CEO also noted that the company has the opportunity for sustained earnings growth after 2013 due to the expected growth in its core businesses and strength in new technology in ethanol.

When asked how the company's growth targets and new technologies are expected to tie into its credit ratings, Weidman said: "Our goal is to improve the credit quality of our company so that the credit quality matches the quality of the strategy and the quality of the business underneath that."

Celanese has not set a timeline to do that, he said.

"We want to be in a position to execute our strategy while, at the same time, moving toward a higher credit profile," Weidman said.

Celanese is a Dallas-based chemical company.

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