Chemicals Stocks Jul 31 Earnings Roster: ICL, VVV, OLN, MEOH

A few chemical companies are slated to report their quarterly results on Jul 31. Per the Zacks Industry classification, the chemical industry falls under the broader Zacks Basic Materials sector. The Q2 earnings picture for the Basic Materials sector looks glum. It is among the Zacks sectors that are expected to see double-digit earnings decline in Q2. Overall earnings for the sector are projected to fall 36.2% on 11.7% lower revenues, per the latest Earnings Preview.

Chemical companies are expected to face some demand weakness, which is likely to affect results in Q2. Trade conflict has led to a slowdown in industrial activities across Asia and Europe, which is denting demand for chemicals and plastics

Chemical makers are seeing weak demand in China associated with the U.S.-China trade war amid a slowing Chinese economy. The conflict has also led to demand slowdown in the automotive market (a major chemical end-use market) in China.

Companies in the chemical space also face headwinds from a spike in costs of raw materials. Some of these companies are also exposed to challenges from higher logistics costs.

Nevertheless, chemical makers are expected benefit from strategic measures that include cost cutting, productivity improvement and efforts to raise selling prices. Many companies are resorting aggressive price-hike initiatives in the wake of raw material cost inflation, which are will likely to support their margins in Q2.

Moreover, chemical companies remain actively focused on mergers and acquisitions to diversify and drive growth. Synergies from acquisitions are likely to support to earnings in the June quarter.

We take a look at four chemical companies that will release results tomorrow.

Israel Chemicals Ltd. (NYSE:ICL) will report Q2 earnings numbers before the opening bell. It has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% as both the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at 11 cents. The stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), but its 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

The company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the trailing four quarters, at an average positive surprise of around 13.7%.

Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) will report fiscal Q3 earnings numbers after the closing bell. It has an Earnings ESP of -1.75% as the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are pegged at 32 cents and 33 cents, respectively. The stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1, but its negative ESP makes surprise prediction difficult. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in one of the trailing four quarters while missing twice and delivering in-line results on the other occasion. In this timeframe, the company delivered an average negative surprise of around 3.9%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Valvoline’s fiscal Q3 revenues is currently pegged at $611 million, suggesting a rise of nearly 5.9% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN) will report Q2 earnings after the closing bell. It has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% as the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are both pegged at a loss of 1 cent. The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), which we caution against going into the earnings announcement.

The company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in two of the trailing four quarters, while missing twice, delivering an average positive surprise of roughly 5.4%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Olin’s Q2 revenues is currently pegged at $1,491 million, indicating a nearly 14% year-over-year decline.

Revenues in the Olin’s Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls division are expected to decline 8.2% year over year as the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $935 million.

Revenues in the Winchester segment are projected to decline 1.8% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure as the Zacks Consensus Estimate is at $163 million.

The Epoxy segment is expected to witness a nearly 11% year-over-year decline in revenues as the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $484 million for Q2.

Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH) will report Q2 numbers after the closing bell. It has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% as the Most Accurate Estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are both pegged at 50 cents. The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #5, which we caution against going into the earnings announcement.

The company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in two of the trailing four quarters, while missing twice, delivering an average negative surprise of roughly 8.1%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Q2 revenues for Methanex is currently pegged at $743 million, indicating a roughly 21.8% year-over-year decline.

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