Celanese Corporation Reports Full Year 2021 and Fourth Quarter Earnings; Reaffirms Full Year 2022 Outlook

Rhea-AI Summary

Celanese Corporation reported record GAAP diluted earnings per share of $17.06 and adjusted EPS of $18.12 for 2021, supported by net sales of $8.5 billion, a 51% increase from 2020. The company effectively countered $1.1 billion in inflationary costs, achieving an operating profit of $1.9 billion. In Q4, GAAP diluted EPS was $4.83, with net sales reaching $2.3 billion. The outlook for 2022 forecasts adjusted earnings of $15.00 per share, reflecting strong demand despite ongoing supply chain challenges.

Positive

• Record net sales of $8.5 billion in 2021, up 51% year-over-year.
• Record operating cash flow of $1.8 billion and free cash flow of $1.3 billion.
• Successful offset of $1.1 billion in cost inflation, leading to a consolidated operating profit of $1.9 billion.

Negative

• Supply chain disruptions resulted in 80 kt of lost production in Q4.
• Fourth quarter operating profit decreased sequentially due to higher costs and inflation.

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), a global chemical and specialty materials company, today reported record GAAP diluted earnings per share of $17.06 and record adjusted earnings per share of $18.12 for full year 2021. The Company reported 2021 net sales of $8.5 billion, 51 percent higher than the previous year. Higher net sales were driven by pricing and volume increases over the prior year of 39 percent and 10 percent, respectively. Celanese successfully offset $1.1 billion in raw material, energy, and logistics cost inflation over 2020 to deliver consolidated operating profit of $1.9 billion and adjusted EBIT of $2.5 billion for the year, both records. The Company generated record operating cash flow of $1.8 billion and record free cash flow of $1.3 billion. As part of its strategic plan to drive earnings per share growth, the Company deployed $2.6 billion to organic investments, M&A, and share repurchases in 2021. In addition, during 2021 the Company returned $304 million in cash to shareholders via dividends.

Celanese also reported fourth quarter GAAP diluted earnings per share of $4.83 and adjusted earnings per share of $4.91. The Company generated operating cash flow of $584 million and free cash flow of $415 million in the quarter.

"I thank our teams for the commitment and agility they demonstrated in what was an exceptionally volatile year. They successfully navigated a series of external challenges including Winter Storm Uri, supply chain and logistics disruptions, China production curtailments, and the resurgence of multiple COVID-19 variants to deliver record 2021 adjusted earnings per share that exceeded our prior record performance by a remarkable 65 percent," said Lori Ryerkerk, chairman and chief executive officer.

Fourth Quarter 2021 Financial Highlights:

	Three Months Ended
	December 31, 2021				September 30, 2021				December 31, 2020
	(unaudited)
	(In $ millions, except per share data)
Net Sales
Engineered Materials		707				684				572
Acetate Tow		129				128				134
Acetyl Chain		1,476				1,489				910
Intersegment Eliminations		(37	)			(35	)			(25	)
Total		2,275				2,266				1,591
Operating Profit (Loss)
Engineered Materials		67				91				62
Acetate Tow		4				12				30
Acetyl Chain		535				517				186
Other Activities		(89	)			(84	)			(75	)
Total		517				536				203
Net Earnings (Loss)		526				507				1,454
Adjusted EBIT(1)
Engineered Materials		113				137				82
Acetate Tow		38				46				59
Acetyl Chain		536				517				187
Other Activities		(35	)			(52	)			(28	)
Total		652				648				300
Equity Earnings and Dividend Income, Other Income (Expense)
Engineered Materials		30				40				15
Acetate Tow		34				34				29
Operating EBITDA(1)		745				739				387
Diluted EPS - continuing operations	$	4.83			$	4.67			$	12.50
Diluted EPS - total	$	4.79			$	4.56			$	12.50
Adjusted EPS(1)	$	4.91			$	4.82			$	2.09
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities		(1,286	)			(108	)			979
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities		(99	)			(228	)			(933	)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities		584				630				274
Free cash flow(1)		415				520				181

	Year Ended December 31,
	2021				2020
	(unaudited)
	(In $ millions, except per share data)
Net Sales
Engineered Materials		2,718				2,081
Acetate Tow		514				519
Acetyl Chain		5,430				3,147
Intersegment Eliminations		(125	)			(92	)
Total		8,537				5,655
Operating Profit (Loss)
Engineered Materials		411				235
Acetate Tow		56				118
Acetyl Chain		1,819				563
Other Activities		(340	)			(252	)
Total		1,946				664
Net Earnings (Loss)		1,896				1,992
Adjusted EBIT(1)
Engineered Materials		571				403
Acetate Tow		207				249
Acetyl Chain		1,849				568
Other Activities		(154	)			(89	)
Total		2,473				1,131
Equity Earnings and Dividend Income, Other Income (Expense)
Engineered Materials		127				115
Acetate Tow		146				126
Operating EBITDA(1)		2,835				1,475
Diluted EPS - continuing operations	$	17.06			$	16.85
Diluted EPS - total	$	16.86			$	16.75
Adjusted EPS(1)	$	18.12			$	7.64
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities		(1,119	)			592
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities		(1,042	)			(1,471	)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities		1,757				1,343
Free cash flow(1)		1,263				950

______________________________
(1)		See "Non-US GAAP Financial Measures" below.

Full Year Business Segment Overview

Engineered Materials

Engineered Materials reported record net sales of $2.7 billion in 2021, an increase of 31 percent over the prior year. Net sales growth was driven by volume and price which increased from 2020 by 15 percent and 12 percent, respectively. The business delivered volume growth to meet elevated 2021 demand despite significant sourcing and supply chain constraints that resulted in 18 kt of lost production across the year. Full year GAAP operating profit of $411 million and adjusted EBIT of $571 million, increased from the prior year by $176 million and $168 million, respectively. As a result of commercial initiatives across the year, the business nearly offset approximately $300 million in year over year raw material, energy, and logistics cost inflation. Affiliate earnings of $126 million increased $11 million over the prior year driven by improved performance across all affiliates.

Acetyl Chain

In 2021, the Acetyl Chain generated record net sales of $5.4 billion, an increase of 14 percent over the previous annual record. Pricing increased over the prior year by 62 percent due to strong demand, tightened industry conditions, and Acetyl Chain commercial actions. Pricing expansion more than offset over $700 million in raw material, energy, and logistics cost inflation in 2021 from the prior year. Despite challenges to production including Winter Storm Uri, China energy curtailments, and supply chain disruptions, the Acetyl Chain delivered 9 percent higher volume over the prior year by utilizing its global production network and industry sourcing. The Acetyl Chain generated record GAAP operating profit of $1.8 billion and record adjusted EBIT of $1.8 billion at margins of 33 percent and 34 percent, respectively.

Acetate Tow

Acetate Tow reported net sales of $514 million, a 1 percent decline from 2020 due to a 1 percent pricing decline. GAAP operating profit was $56 million and adjusted EBIT was $207 million for the year and reflected the impact of significantly elevated acetyls and natural gas costs. Dividends from affiliates in 2021 were $146 million, an increase of $20 million over the prior year due to strong affiliate performance.

Recent Highlights:

• Completed the acquisition of the Santoprene™ TPV elastomers business of Exxon Mobil Corporation for $1.15 billion, strengthening the existing elastomers portfolio and bringing a wider range of functionalized solutions into targeted growth areas.
• Completed a new GUR^® ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) production line at Bishop, Texas, adding 15 kt of manufacturing capacity.
• Honored by The Women's Forum of New York for female representation on the Celanese Board of Directors.
• Announced a joint collaboration with Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials to further develop mechanical recycling solutions for both post-industrial and post-consumer sources of polyoxymethylene (POM).

Fourth Quarter 2021 Business Segment Overview

Engineered Materials

Engineered Materials generated record net sales of $707 million in the fourth quarter due to a sequential price increase of 5 percent that offset a volume decrease of 1 percent. As a result of four consecutive quarters of pricing expansion, fourth quarter 2021 pricing reflected a 20 percent increase over the same quarter last year. The business continued to offset the majority of raw material, energy, and logistics cost inflation which drove higher costs of approximately $60 million sequentially. Fourth quarter GAAP operating profit of $67 million and adjusted EBIT of $113 million both declined by $24 million from the prior quarter as a result of accelerated inflation in European natural gas prices and persistent supply chain disruptions which constrained production of the business and its affiliates. Affiliates earnings declined by $9 million sequentially, largely due to supply chain disruptions.

Acetyl Chain

The Acetyl Chain generated net sales of $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter due to a 10 percent sequential expansion in pricing that offset a 10 percent reduction in volume. Amid ongoing moderation in acetic acid and VAM industry pricing in China, the business shifted more volume to the Western Hemisphere. Higher pricing in the fourth quarter more than offset approximately $60 million in raw material, energy, and logistics cost inflation from the prior quarter. Fourth quarter GAAP operating profit was $535 million and adjusted EBIT was $536 million at margins of 36 percent. The Acetyl Chain limited the fourth quarter volume impact of significant external production disruptions, including approximately 80 kt of lost production due to supplier constraints, by flexing its global production network and sourcing from the industry.

Acetate Tow

Acetate Tow generated net sales of $129 million during the fourth quarter, which reflected a sequential price increase of 1 percent and stable volume. Fourth quarter GAAP operating profit of $4 million and adjusted EBIT of $38 million both declined by $8 million sequentially due to higher energy, acetyls, and logistics costs. Dividends from affiliates in the quarter were $34 million, consistent with the prior quarter.

Cash Flow and Tax

The Company generated record operating cash flow of $1.8 billion and record free cash flow of $1.3 billion in 2021. Capital expenditures in the year were $467 million as the Company progressed on several key projects including the 1.3 million ton acetic acid expansion in Clear Lake, Texas. The Company returned $1.3 billion in cash to shareholders during 2021, including $1.0 billion of share repurchases and $304 million of dividends.

The effective U.S. GAAP tax rate was 15 percent for 2021 compared to 11 percent for 2020. The lower effective tax rate for 2020 was due to non-recurring tax benefits related to certain divestiture and reorganization transactions. The full year adjusted tax rate was 15 percent for 2021 versus 12 percent in the prior year due to increased earnings in high tax jurisdictions.

Outlook

"The early 2022 order book reflects continued strong demand for our products across most end markets," said Lori Ryerkerk. "While we continue to closely monitor the impact of COVID-19 variants on demand conditions, the persistent inflationary and volatile supply chain backdrop remains our greatest challenge. Our record 2021 performance demonstrates the ability of our employees and business models to preserve our profitability amid inflation. We anticipate that sequential margin expansion in the first quarter in our downstream businesses, led by Engineered Materials, will help to offset anticipated moderation in Acetyl Chain pricing conditions and drive expected first quarter adjusted earnings of $4.30 to $4.60 per share. With a strong start to the year, we remain confident in our ability to achieve adjusted earnings of at least $15.00 per share in 2022."

A reconciliation of forecasted adjusted earnings per share to U.S. GAAP diluted earnings per share is not available without unreasonable efforts because a forecast of Certain Items, such as mark-to-market pension gains/losses, is not practical. For more information, see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.

The Company's prepared remarks related to the fourth quarter will be posted on its website at investors.celanese.com under Financial Information/Financial Document Library on January 27, 2022. Information about Non-US GAAP measures is included in a Non-US GAAP Financial Measures and Supplemental Information document posted on our investor relations website under Financial Information/Non-GAAP Financial Measures. See also "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.

Celanese Corporation is a global chemical leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Our businesses use the full breadth of Celanese's global chemistry, technology and commercial expertise to create value for our customers, employees, shareholders and the corporation. As we partner with our customers to solve their most critical business needs, we strive to make a positive impact on our communities and the world through The Celanese Foundation. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 8,500 employees worldwide and had 2021 net sales of $8.5 billion. For more information about Celanese Corporation and its product offerings, visit www.celanese.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain "forward-looking statements," which include information concerning the Company's plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future revenues or performance, capital expenditures, financing needs and other information that is not historical information. All forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and beliefs and various assumptions. There can be no assurance that the Company will realize these expectations or that these beliefs will prove correct. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements contained in this release. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: changes in general economic, business, political and regulatory conditions in the countries or regions in which we operate; volatility or changes in the price and availability of raw materials, particularly changes in the demand for, supply of, and market prices of ethylene, methanol, natural gas, wood pulp and fuel oil and the prices for electricity and other energy sources; the length and depth of product and industry business cycles, particularly in the automotive, electrical, mobility, textiles, medical, electronics and construction industries; the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic continues to adversely impact the economic environment, market demand and our operations, as well as the pace of any economic recovery; the ability to pass increases in raw material prices on to customers or otherwise improve margins through price increases; the ability to maintain plant utilization rates and to implement planned capacity additions and expansions as well as facility turnarounds; the ability to reduce or maintain their current levels of production costs and to improve productivity by implementing technological improvements to existing plants; the ability to identify desirable potential acquisition targets and to complete acquisition or investment transactions consistent with the Company's strategy; the ability to identify and execute on other attractive investment opportunities towards which to deploy capital; increased price competition and the introduction of competing products by other companies; market acceptance of our products and technology; compliance and other costs and potential disruption or interruption of production or operations due to accidents, interruptions in sources of raw materials, transportation or logistics disruptions, cyber security incidents, terrorism or political unrest, public health crises (including, but not limited to, the COVID-19 pandemic); other unforeseen events or delays in construction or operation of facilities, including as a result of geopolitical conditions, the occurrence of acts of war or terrorist incidents or as a result of weather or natural disasters or other crises including public health crises; the ability to obtain governmental approvals and to construct facilities on terms and schedules acceptable to the Company; changes in the degree of intellectual property and other legal protection afforded to our products or technologies, or the theft of such intellectual property; potential liability for remedial actions and increased costs under existing or future environmental, health and safety regulations, including those relating to climate change; potential liability resulting from pending or future litigation, or from changes in the laws, regulations or policies of governments or other governmental activities in the countries in which we operate; changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates; our level of indebtedness, which could diminish our ability to raise additional capital to fund operations or limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or the chemicals industry; tax rates and changes thereto; our ability to obtain regulatory approval for, and satisfy closing conditions to, any transactions described herein; and various other factors discussed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The extent to which COVID-19 will adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations will depend on numerous evolving factors, which are highly uncertain, rapidly changing and cannot be predicted, including: the extent of any resurgence in infections and the spread of the disease or variants thereof, and the effectiveness of vaccines or other medical treatments; additional governmental, business and individual actions to contain the spread of COVID-19, including social distancing, work-at-home, stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders and shutdowns, travel restrictions and quarantines; the extent to which these conditions depress economic activity generally and demand for our products specifically and affect the financial markets; the effect of the outbreak on our customers, suppliers, supply chain and other business partners; our ability during the outbreak to provide our products and services, including the health and well-being of our employees; business disruptions caused by actual or potential plant, workplace and office closures or transportation and shipping disruptions; the risk that we could be exposed to liability, negative publicity or reputational harm related to any incidents of actual or perceived transmission of COVID-19 among employees at our facilities; the ability of our customers to pay for our products and services during and following the outbreak; the impact of the outbreak on the financial markets and economic activity generally; our ability to access usual sources of liquidity on reasonable terms; and our ability to comply with the financial covenant in our Credit Agreement if a material and prolonged economic downturn results in increased indebtedness or substantially lower EBITDA.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Presentation

This document presents the Company's three business segments, Engineered Materials, Acetate Tow and Acetyl Chain.

Use of Non-US GAAP Financial Information

This release uses the following Non-US GAAP measures: adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBIT margin, operating EBITDA, adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow. These measures are not recognized in accordance with US GAAP and should not be viewed as an alternative to US GAAP measures of performance or liquidity. The most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with US GAAP in our consolidated financial statements for adjusted EBIT and operating EBITDA is net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation; for adjusted EBIT margin is operating margin; for adjusted earnings per share is earnings (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Celanese Corporation per common share-diluted; and for free cash flow is net cash provided by (used in) operations.

Definitions of Non-US GAAP Financial Measures

• Adjusted EBIT is a performance measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation, plus (earnings) loss from discontinued operations, less interest income, plus interest expense, plus refinancing expense and taxes, and further adjusted for Certain Items (refer to Table 8 of our Non-US GAAP Financial Measures and Supplemental Information document). We do not provide reconciliations for adjusted EBIT on a forward-looking basis (including those contained in this document) when we are unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of Certain Items, such as mark-to-market pension gains and losses, that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Adjusted EBIT margin is defined by the Company as adjusted EBIT divided by net sales.
  
• Operating EBITDA is a performance measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation, plus (earnings) loss from discontinued operations, less interest income, plus interest expense, plus refinancing expense, taxes and depreciation and amortization, and further adjusted for Certain Items, which Certain Items include accelerated depreciation and amortization expense. Operating EBITDA is equal to adjusted EBIT plus depreciation and amortization.
  
• Adjusted earnings per share is a performance measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as earnings (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Celanese Corporation, adjusted for income tax (provision) benefit, Certain Items, and refinancing and related expenses, divided by the number of basic common shares and dilutive restricted stock units and stock options calculated using the treasury method. We do not provide reconciliations for adjusted earnings per share on a forward-looking basis (including those contained in this document) when we are unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of Certain Items, such as mark-to-market pension gains and losses, that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.
  
  Note: The income tax expense (benefit) on Certain Items ("Non-GAAP adjustments") is determined using the applicable rates in the taxing jurisdictions in which the Non-GAAP adjustments occurred and includes both current and deferred income tax expense (benefit). The income tax rate used for adjusted earnings per share approximates the midpoint in a range of forecasted tax rates for the year. This range may include certain partial or full-year forecasted tax opportunities and related costs, where applicable, and specifically excludes changes in uncertain tax positions, discrete recognition of GAAP items on a quarterly basis, other pre-tax items adjusted out of our GAAP earnings for adjusted earnings per share purposes and changes in management's assessments regarding the ability to realize deferred tax assets for GAAP. In determining the adjusted earnings per share tax rate, we reflect the impact of foreign tax credits when utilized, or expected to be utilized, absent discrete events impacting the timing of foreign tax credit utilization. We analyze this rate quarterly and adjust it if there is a material change in the range of forecasted tax rates; an updated forecast would not necessarily result in a change to our tax rate used for adjusted earnings per share. The adjusted tax rate is an estimate and may differ from the actual tax rate used for GAAP reporting in any given reporting period. Table 3a of our Non-US GAAP Financial Measures and Supplemental Information document summarizes the reconciliation of our estimated GAAP effective tax rate to the adjusted tax rate. The estimated GAAP rate excludes discrete recognition of GAAP items due to our inability to forecast such items. As part of the year-end reconciliation, we will update the reconciliation of the GAAP effective tax rate to the adjusted tax rate for actual results.
  
• Free cash flow is a liquidity measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as cash flow from operations, less capital expenditures on property, plant and equipment, and adjusted for capital contributions from or distributions to Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui") related to our methanol joint venture, Fairway Methanol LLC ("Fairway").

Reconciliation of Non-US GAAP Financial Measures

Reconciliations of the Non-US GAAP financial measures used in this press release to the comparable US GAAP financial measure, together with information about the purposes and uses of Non-US GAAP financial measures, are included in our Non-US GAAP Financial Measures and Supplemental Information document filed as an exhibit to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on or about January 27, 2022 and also available on our website at investors.celanese.com under Financial Information/Financial Document Library.

Results Unaudited

The results in this document, together with the adjustments made to present the results on a comparable basis, have not been audited and are based on internal financial data furnished to management. Quarterly results should not be taken as an indication of the results of operations to be reported for any subsequent period or for the full fiscal year.

Supplemental Information

Additional information about our prior period performance is included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and in our Non-US GAAP Financial Measures and Supplemental Information document.

Consolidated Statements of Operations - Unaudited
	Three Months Ended
	December 31, 2021			September 30, 2021			December 31, 2020
	(In $ millions, except share and per share data)
Net sales	2,275			2,266			1,591
Cost of sales	(1,554	)		(1,551	)		(1,215	)
Gross profit	721			715			376
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(170	)		(165	)		(137	)
Amortization of intangible assets	(8	)		(6	)		(5	)
Research and development expenses	(23	)		(21	)		(20	)
Other (charges) gains, net	—			—			(2	)
Foreign exchange gain (loss), net	—			2			(3	)
Gain (loss) on disposition of businesses and assets, net	(3	)		11			(6	)
Operating profit (loss)	517			536			203
Equity in net earnings (loss) of affiliates	36			44			21
Non-operating pension and other postretirement employee benefit (expense) income	(7	)		37			(66	)
Interest expense	(21	)		(21	)		(26	)
Refinancing expense	—			(9	)		—
Interest income	1			2			2
Dividend income - equity investments	33			35			28
Gain (loss) on sale of investments in affiliates	—			—			1,408
Other income (expense), net	(2	)		(2	)		1
Earnings (loss) from continuing operations before tax	557			622			1,571
Income tax (provision) benefit	(27	)		(102	)		(117	)
Earnings (loss) from continuing operations	530			520			1,454
Earnings (loss) from operation of discontinued operations	(3	)		(17	)		(1	)
Income tax (provision) benefit from discontinued operations	(1	)		4			1
Earnings (loss) from discontinued operations	(4	)		(13	)		—
Net earnings (loss)	526			507			1,454
Net (earnings) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(2	)		(1	)		(1	)
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation	524			506			1,453
Amounts attributable to Celanese Corporation
Earnings (loss) from continuing operations	528			519			1,453
Earnings (loss) from discontinued operations	(4	)		(13	)		—
Net earnings (loss)	524			506			1,453
Earnings (loss) per common share - basic
Continuing operations	4.86			4.70			12.56
Discontinued operations	(0.04	)		(0.12	)		—
Net earnings (loss) - basic	4.82			4.58			12.56
Earnings (loss) per common share - diluted
Continuing operations	4.83			4.67			12.50
Discontinued operations	(0.04	)		(0.11	)		—
Net earnings (loss) - diluted	4.79			4.56			12.50
Weighted average shares (in millions)
Basic	108.6			110.5			115.7
Diluted	109.4			111.0			116.3

Consolidated Statements of Operations - Unaudited
	Year Ended December 31,
	2021			2020
	(In $ millions, except share and per share data)
Net sales	8,537			5,655
Cost of sales	(5,855	)		(4,362	)
Gross profit	2,682			1,293
Selling, general and administrative expenses	(633	)		(482	)
Amortization of intangible assets	(25	)		(22	)
Research and development expenses	(86	)		(74	)
Other (charges) gains, net	3			(39	)
Foreign exchange gain (loss), net	2			(5	)
Gain (loss) on disposition of businesses and assets, net	3			(7	)
Operating profit (loss)	1,946			664
Equity in net earnings (loss) of affiliates	146			134
Non-operating pension and other postretirement employee benefit (expense) income	106			17
Interest expense	(91	)		(109	)
Refinancing expense	(9	)		—
Interest income	8			6
Dividend income - equity investments	147			126
Gain (loss) on sale of investments in affiliates	—			1,408
Other income (expense), net	(5	)		5
Earnings (loss) from continuing operations before tax	2,248			2,251
Income tax (provision) benefit	(330	)		(247	)
Earnings (loss) from continuing operations	1,918			2,004
Earnings (loss) from operation of discontinued operations	(27	)		(14	)
Income tax (provision) benefit from discontinued operations	5			2
Earnings (loss) from discontinued operations	(22	)		(12	)
Net earnings (loss)	1,896			1,992
Net (earnings) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(6	)		(7	)
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation	1,890			1,985
Amounts attributable to Celanese Corporation
Earnings (loss) from continuing operations	1,912			1,997
Earnings (loss) from discontinued operations	(22	)		(12	)
Net earnings (loss)	1,890			1,985
Earnings (loss) per common share - basic
Continuing operations	17.19			16.95
Discontinued operations	(0.20	)		(0.10	)
Net earnings (loss) - basic	16.99			16.85
Earnings (loss) per common share - diluted
Continuing operations	17.06			16.85
Discontinued operations	(0.20	)		(0.10	)
Net earnings (loss) - diluted	16.86			16.75
Weighted average shares (in millions)
Basic	111.2			117.8
Diluted	112.1			118.5

Consolidated Balance Sheets - Unaudited
	As of December 31, 2021			As of December 31, 2020
	(In $ millions)
ASSETS
Current Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	536			955
Trade receivables - third party and affiliates, net	1,161			792
Non-trade receivables, net	506			450
Inventories	1,524			978
Marketable securities	10			533
Other assets	70			55
Total current assets	3,807			3,763
Investments in affiliates	823			820
Property, plant and equipment, net	4,193			3,939
Operating lease right-of-use assets	236			232
Deferred income taxes	248			259
Other assets	521			411
Goodwill	1,412			1,166
Intangible assets, net	735			319
Total assets	11,975			10,909
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current Liabilities
Short-term borrowings and current installments of long-term debt - third party and affiliates	791			496
Trade payables - third party and affiliates	1,160			797
Other liabilities	473			680
Income taxes payable	81			—
Total current liabilities	2,505			1,973
Long-term debt, net of unamortized deferred financing costs	3,176			3,227
Deferred income taxes	555			509
Uncertain tax positions	280			240
Benefit obligations	558			643
Operating lease liabilities	200			208
Other liabilities	164			214
Commitments and Contingencies
Stockholders' Equity
Treasury stock, at cost	(5,492	)		(4,494	)
Additional paid-in capital	333			257
Retained earnings	9,677			8,091
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net	(329	)		(328	)
Total Celanese Corporation stockholders' equity	4,189			3,526
Noncontrolling interests	348			369
Total equity	4,537			3,895
Total liabilities and equity	11,975			10,909

Non-US GAAP Financial Measures and Supplemental Information

January 27, 2022

In this document, the terms the "Company," "we" and "our" refer to Celanese Corporation and its subsidiaries on a consolidated basis.

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to provide information of interest to investors, analysts and other parties including supplemental financial information and reconciliations and other information concerning our use of non-US GAAP financial measures. This document is updated quarterly.

Presentation

This document presents the Company's three business segments, Engineered Materials, Acetate Tow and Acetyl Chain.

Use of Non-US GAAP Financial Measures

From time to time, management may publicly disclose certain numerical "non-GAAP financial measures" in the course of our earnings releases, financial presentations, earnings conference calls, investor and analyst meetings and otherwise. For these purposes, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") defines a "non-GAAP financial measure" as a numerical measure of historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flows that excludes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that effectively exclude amounts, included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with US GAAP, and vice versa for measures that include amounts, or are subject to adjustments that effectively include amounts, that are excluded from the most directly comparable US GAAP measure so calculated and presented. For these purposes, "GAAP" refers to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.

Non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by management are provided as additional information to investors, analysts and other parties because the Company believes them to be important supplemental measures for assessing our financial and operating results and as a means to evaluate our financial condition and period-to-period comparisons. These non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed as supplemental to, and should not be considered in isolation or as alternatives to, net earnings (loss), operating profit (loss), operating margin, cash flow from operating activities (together with cash flow from investing and financing activities), earnings per share or any other US GAAP financial measure. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered within the context of our complete audited and unaudited financial results for the given period, which are available on the Financial Information/Financial Document Library page of our website, investors.celanese.com. The definition and method of calculation of the non-GAAP financial measures used herein may be different from other companies' methods for calculating measures with the same or similar titles. Investors, analysts and other parties should understand how another company calculates such non-GAAP financial measures before comparing the other company's non-GAAP financial measures to any of our own. These non-GAAP financial measures may not be indicative of the historical operating results of the Company nor are they intended to be predictive or projections of future results.

Pursuant to the requirements of SEC Regulation G, whenever we refer to a non-GAAP financial measure, we will also present in this document, in the presentation itself or on a Form 8-K in connection with the presentation on the Financial Information/Financial Document Library page of our website, investors.celanese.com, to the extent practicable, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, along with a reconciliation of the differences between the non-GAAP financial measure we reference and such comparable GAAP financial measure.

This document includes definitions and reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures used from time to time by the Company.

Specific Measures Used

This document provides information about the following non-GAAP measures: adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBIT margin, operating EBITDA, operating EBITDA margin, operating profit (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation, adjusted earnings per share, net debt, free cash flow and return on invested capital (adjusted). The most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with US GAAP in our consolidated financial statements for adjusted EBIT and operating EBITDA is net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation; for adjusted EBIT margin and operating EBITDA margin is operating margin; for operating profit (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation is operating profit (loss); for adjusted earnings per share is earnings (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Celanese Corporation per common share-diluted; for net debt is total debt; for free cash flow is net cash provided by (used in) operations; and for return on invested capital (adjusted) is net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation divided by the sum of the average of beginning and end of the year short- and long-term debt and Celanese Corporation stockholders' equity.

Definitions

• Adjusted EBIT is a performance measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation, plus (earnings) loss from discontinued operations, less interest income, plus interest expense, plus refinancing expense and taxes, and further adjusted for Certain Items (refer to Table 8). We believe that adjusted EBIT provides transparent and useful information to management, investors, analysts and other parties in evaluating and assessing our primary operating results from period-to-period after removing the impact of unusual, non-operational or restructuring-related activities that affect comparability. Our management recognizes that adjusted EBIT has inherent limitations because of the excluded items. Adjusted EBIT is one of the measures management uses for planning and budgeting, monitoring and evaluating financial and operating results and as a performance metric in the Company's incentive compensation plan. We do not provide reconciliations for adjusted EBIT on a forward-looking basis (including those contained in this document) when we are unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of Certain Items, such as mark-to-market pension gains and losses, that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Adjusted EBIT margin is defined by the Company as adjusted EBIT divided by net sales. Adjusted EBIT margin has the same uses and limitations as Adjusted EBIT.
  
• Operating EBITDA is a performance measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation, plus (earnings) loss from discontinued operations, less interest income, plus interest expense, plus refinancing expense, taxes and depreciation and amortization, and further adjusted for Certain Items, which Certain Items include accelerated depreciation and amortization expense. Operating EBITDA is equal to adjusted EBIT plus depreciation and amortization. We believe that Operating EBITDA provides transparent and useful information to investors, analysts and other parties in evaluating our operating performance relative to our peer companies. Operating EBITDA margin is defined by the Company as Operating EBITDA divided by net sales. Operating EBITDA margin has the same uses and limitations as Operating EBITDA.
  
• Operating profit (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation is defined by the Company as operating profit (loss), less earnings (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests ("NCI"). We believe that operating profit (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation provides transparent and useful information to management, investors, analysts and other parties in evaluating our core operational performance. Operating margin attributable to Celanese Corporation is defined by the Company as operating profit (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation divided by net sales. Operating margin attributable to Celanese Corporation has the same uses and limitations as Operating profit (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation.
  
• Adjusted earnings per share is a performance measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as earnings (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Celanese Corporation, adjusted for income tax (provision) benefit, Certain Items, and refinancing and related expenses, divided by the number of basic common shares and dilutive restricted stock units and stock options calculated using the treasury method. We believe that adjusted earnings per share provides transparent and useful information to management, investors, analysts and other parties in evaluating and assessing our primary operating results from period-to-period after removing the impact of the above stated items that affect comparability and as a performance metric in the Company's incentive compensation plan. We do not provide reconciliations for adjusted earnings per share on a forward-looking basis (including those contained in this document) when we are unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and amount of Certain Items, such as mark-to-market pension gains and losses, that have not yet occurred, are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, we are unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.
  
  Note: The income tax expense (benefit) on Certain Items ("Non-GAAP adjustments") is determined using the applicable rates in the taxing jurisdictions in which the Non-GAAP adjustments occurred and includes both current and deferred income tax expense (benefit). The income tax rate used for adjusted earnings per share approximates the midpoint in a range of forecasted tax rates for the year. This range may include certain partial or full-year forecasted tax opportunities and related costs, where applicable, and specifically excludes changes in uncertain tax positions, discrete recognition of GAAP items on a quarterly basis, other pre-tax items adjusted out of our GAAP earnings for adjusted earnings per share purposes and changes in management's assessments regarding the ability to realize deferred tax assets for GAAP. In determining the adjusted earnings per share tax rate, we reflect the impact of foreign tax credits when utilized, or expected to be utilized, absent discrete events impacting the timing of foreign tax credit utilization. We analyze this rate quarterly and adjust it if there is a material change in the range of forecasted tax rates; an updated forecast would not necessarily result in a change to our tax rate used for adjusted earnings per share. The adjusted tax rate is an estimate and may differ from the actual tax rate used for GAAP reporting in any given reporting period. Table 3a summarizes the reconciliation of our estimated GAAP effective tax rate to the adjusted tax rate. The estimated GAAP rate excludes discrete recognition of GAAP items due to our inability to forecast such items. As part of the year-end reconciliation, we will update the reconciliation of the GAAP effective tax rate to the adjusted tax rate for actual results.
  
• Free cash flow is a liquidity measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as net cash provided by (used in) operations, less capital expenditures on property, plant and equipment, and adjusted for capital contributions from or distributions to Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui") related to our methanol joint venture, Fairway Methanol LLC ("Fairway"). We believe that free cash flow provides useful information to management, investors, analysts and other parties in evaluating the Company's liquidity and credit quality assessment because it provides an indication of the long-term cash generating ability of our business. Although we use free cash flow as a measure to assess the liquidity generated by our business, the use of free cash flow has important limitations, including that free cash flow does not reflect the cash requirements necessary to service our indebtedness, lease obligations, unconditional purchase obligations or pension and postretirement funding obligations.
  
• Net debt is defined by the Company as total debt less cash and cash equivalents. We believe that net debt provides useful information to management, investors, analysts and other parties in evaluating changes to the Company's capital structure and credit quality assessment.
  
• Return on invested capital (adjusted) is defined by the Company as adjusted EBIT, tax effected using the adjusted tax rate, divided by the sum of the average of beginning and end of the year short- and long-term debt and Celanese Corporation stockholders' equity. We believe that return on invested capital (adjusted) provides useful information to management, investors, analysts and other parties in order to assess our income generation from the point of view of our stockholders and creditors who provide us with capital in the form of equity and debt and whether capital invested in the Company yields competitive returns.

Supplemental Information

Supplemental Information we believe to be of interest to investors, analysts and other parties includes the following:

• Net sales for each of our business segments and the percentage increase or decrease in net sales attributable to price, volume, currency and other factors for each of our business segments.

• Cash dividends received from our equity investments.

• For those consolidated ventures in which the Company owns or is exposed to less than 100% of the economics, the outside stockholders' interests are shown as NCI. Beginning in 2014, this includes Fairway for which the Company's ownership percentage is 50%. Amounts referred to as "attributable to Celanese Corporation" are net of any applicable NCI.

Results Unaudited

The results in this document, together with the adjustments made to present the results on a comparable basis, have not been audited and are based on internal financial data furnished to management. Quarterly results should not be taken as an indication of the results of operations to be reported for any subsequent period or for the full fiscal year.

Table 1
Adjusted EBIT and Operating EBITDA - Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures - Unaudited
	2021			Q4 '21			Q3 '21			Q2 '21			Q1 '21			2020			Q4 '20			Q3 '20			Q2 '20			Q1 '20
	(In $ millions)
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation	1,890			524			506			538			322			1,985			1,453			207			107			218
(Earnings) loss from discontinued operations	22			4			13			4			1			12			—			2			3			7
Interest income	(8	)		(1	)		(2	)		(4	)		(1	)		(6	)		(2	)		(1	)		(1	)		(2	)
Interest expense	91			21			21			24			25			109			26			28			27			28
Refinancing expense	9			—			9			—			—			—			—			—			—			—
Income tax provision (benefit)	330			27			102			116			85			247			117			30			35			65
Certain Items attributable to Celanese Corporation (Table 8)	139			77			(1	)		13			50			(1,216	)		(1,294	)		24			28			26
Adjusted EBIT	2,473			652			648			691			482			1,131			300			290			199			342
Depreciation and amortization expense(1)	362			93			91			90			88			344			87			88			86			83
Operating EBITDA	2,835			745			739			781			570			1,475			387			378			285			425
	2021			Q4 '21			Q3 '21			Q2 '21			Q1 '21			2020			Q4 '20			Q3 '20			Q2 '20			Q1 '20
	(In $ millions)
Engineered Materials	9			4			2			1			2			5			2			1			—			2
Acetate Tow	—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—
Acetyl Chain	—			—			—			—			—			1			—			—			1			—
Other Activities(2)	—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—
Accelerated depreciation and amortization expense	9			4			2			1			2			6			2			1			1			2
Depreciation and amortization expense(1)	362			93			91			90			88			344			87			88			86			83
Total depreciation and amortization expense	371			97			93			91			90			350			89			89			87			85

______________________________
(1)		Excludes accelerated depreciation and amortization expense as detailed in the table above, which amounts are included in Certain Items above.
(2)		Other Activities includes corporate Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses, the results of captive insurance companies and certain components of net periodic benefit cost (interest cost, expected return on plan assets and net actuarial gains and losses).

Table 2 - Supplemental Segment Data and Reconciliation of Segment Adjusted EBIT and Operating EBITDA - Non-GAAP Measures - Unaudited
	2021						Q4 '21						Q3 '21						Q2 '21						Q1 '21						2020						Q4 '20						Q3 '20						Q2 '20						Q1 '20
	(In $ millions, except percentages)
Operating Profit (Loss) / Operating Margin
Engineered Materials	411			15.1	%		67			9.5	%		91			13.3	%		123			18.0	%		130			20.2	%		235			11.3	%		62			10.8	%		84			16.0	%		(13	)		(3.1	)%		102			18.1	%
Acetate Tow	56			10.9	%		4			3.1	%		12			9.4	%		24			17.4	%		16			13.4	%		118			22.7	%		30			22.4	%		30			23.3	%		31			24.4	%		27			20.9	%
Acetyl Chain(1)	1,819			33.5	%		535			36.2	%		517			34.7	%		516			36.6	%		251			23.8	%		563			17.9	%		186			20.4	%		121			15.6	%		121			18.3	%		135			16.9	%
Other Activities(2)	(340	)					(89	)					(84	)					(96	)					(71	)					(252	)					(75	)					(51	)					(56	)					(70	)
Total	1,946			22.8	%		517			22.7	%		536			23.7	%		567			25.8	%		326			18.1	%		664			11.7	%		203			12.8	%		184			13.0	%		83			7.0	%		194			13.3	%
Less: Net Earnings (Loss) Attributable to NCI(1)	6						2						1						2						1						7						1						2						2						2
Operating Profit (Loss) Attributable to Celanese Corporation	1,940			22.7	%		515			22.6	%		535			23.6	%		565			25.7	%		325			18.1	%		657			11.6	%		202			12.7	%		182			12.9	%		81			6.8	%		192			13.2	%
Operating Profit (Loss) / Operating Margin Attributable to Celanese Corporation
Engineered Materials	411			15.1	%		67			9.5	%		91			13.3	%		123			18.0	%		130			20.2	%		235			11.3	%		62			10.8	%		84			16.0	%		(13	)		(3.1	)%		102			18.1	%
Acetate Tow	56			10.9	%		4			3.1	%		12			9.4	%		24			17.4	%		16			13.4	%		118			22.7	%		30			22.4	%		30			23.3	%		31			24.4	%		27			20.9	%
Acetyl Chain(1)	1,813			33.4	%		533			36.1	%		516			34.7	%		514			36.5	%		250			23.7	%		556			17.7	%		185			20.3	%		119			15.3	%		119			18.0	%		133			16.6	%
Other Activities(2)	(340	)					(89	)					(84	)					(96	)					(71	)					(252	)					(75	)					(51	)					(56	)					(70	)
Total	1,940			22.7	%		515			22.6	%		535			23.6	%		565			25.7	%		325			18.1	%		657			11.6	%		202			12.7	%		182			12.9	%		81			6.8	%		192			13.2	%
Equity Earnings and Dividend Income, Other Income (Expense) Attributable to Celanese Corporation
Engineered Materials	127						30						40						32						25						115						15						21						26						53
Acetate Tow	146						34						34						37						41						126						29						28						32						37
Acetyl Chain	8						2						2						2						2						5						2						2						—						1
Other Activities(2)	7						1						1						4						1						19						4						5						5						5
Total	288						67						77						75						69						265						50						56						63						96
Non-Operating Pension and Other Post-Retirement Employee Benefit (Expense) Income Attributable to Celanese Corporation
Engineered Materials	—						—						—						—						—						1						1						—						—						—
Acetate Tow	—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—
Acetyl Chain	—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—
Other Activities(2)	106						(7	)					37						38						38						16						(67	)					28						27						28
Total	106						(7	)					37						38						38						17						(66	)					28						27						28
Gain (Loss) On Sale of Investments in Affiliates
Engineered Materials	—						—						—						—						—						1,408						1,408						—						—						—
Acetate Tow	—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—
Acetyl Chain	—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—
Other Activities(2)	—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—						—
Total	—						—						—						—						—						1,408						1,408						—						—						—
Certain Items Attributable to Celanese Corporation (Table 8)
Engineered Materials	33						16						6						6						5						(1,356	)					(1,404	)					11						27						10
Acetate Tow	5						—						—						1						4						5						—						1						1						3
Acetyl Chain	28						1						(1	)					(2	)					30						7						—						5						(3	)					5
Other Activities(2)	73						60						(6	)					8						11						128						110						7						3						8
Total	139						77						(1	)					13						50						(1,216	)					(1,294	)					24						28						26

______________________________
(1)		Net earnings (loss) attributable to NCI is included within the Acetyl Chain segment.
(2)		Other Activities includes corporate SG&A expenses, the results of captive insurance companies and certain components of net periodic benefit cost (interest cost, expected return on plan assets and net actuarial gains and losses).

Table 2 - Supplemental Segment Data and Reconciliation of Segment Adjusted EBIT and Operating EBITDA - Non-GAAP Measures - Unaudited (cont.)
	2021						Q4 '21						Q3 '21						Q2 '21						Q1 '21						2020						Q4 '20						Q3 '20						Q2 '20						Q1 '20
	(In $ millions, except percentages)
Adjusted EBIT / Adjusted EBIT Margin
Engineered Materials	571			21.0	%		113			16.0	%		137			20.0	%		161			23.6	%		160			24.8	%		403			19.4	%		82			14.3	%		116			22.1	%		40			9.5	%		165			29.3	%
Acetate Tow	207			40.3	%		38			29.5	%		46			35.9	%		62			44.9	%		61			51.3	%		249			48.0	%		59			44.0	%		59			45.7	%		64			50.4	%		67			51.9	%
Acetyl Chain	1,849			34.1	%		536			36.3	%		517			34.7	%		514			36.5	%		282			26.7	%		568			18.0	%		187			20.5	%		126			16.2	%		116			17.5	%		139			17.4	%
Other Activities(2)	(154	)					(35	)					(52	)					(46	)					(21	)					(89	)					(28	)					(11	)					(21	)					(29	)
Total	2,473			29.0	%		652			28.7	%		648			28.6	%		691			31.4	%		482			26.8	%		1,131			20.0	%		300			18.9	%		290			20.6	%		199			16.7	%		342			23.4	%
Depreciation and Amortization Expense(1)
Engineered Materials	135						35						33						34						33						129						32						33						32						32
Acetate Tow	39						10						10						9						10						36						10						9						9						8
Acetyl Chain	171						43						44						43						41						162						41						41						41						39
Other Activities(2)	17						5						4						4						4						17						4						5						4						4
Total	362						93						91						90						88						344						87						88						86						83
Operating EBITDA / Operating EBITDA Margin
Engineered Materials	706			26.0	%		148			20.9	%		170			24.9	%		195			28.6	%		193			29.9	%		532			25.6	%		114			19.9	%		149			28.3	%		72			17.1	%		197			35.0	%
Acetate Tow	246			47.9	%		48			37.2	%		56			43.8	%		71			51.4	%		71			59.7	%		285			54.9	%		69			51.5	%		68			52.7	%		73			57.5	%		75			58.1	%
Acetyl Chain	2,020			37.2	%		579			39.2	%		561			37.7	%		557			39.5	%		323			30.6	%		730			23.2	%		228			25.1	%		167			21.5	%		157			23.7	%		178			22.3	%
Other Activities(2)	(137	)					(30	)					(48	)					(42	)					(17	)					(72	)					(24	)					(6	)					(17	)					(25	)
Total	2,835			33.2	%		745			32.7	%		739			32.6	%		781			35.5	%		570			31.7	%		1,475			26.1	%		387			24.3	%		378			26.8	%		285			23.9	%		425			29.1	%

______________________________
(1)		Excludes accelerated depreciation and amortization expense, which amounts are included in Certain Items above. See Table 1 for details.
(2)		Other Activities includes corporate SG&A expenses, the results of captive insurance companies and certain components of net periodic benefit cost (interest cost, expected return on plan assets and net actuarial gains and losses).

Table 3
Adjusted Earnings (Loss) per Share - Reconciliation of a Non-GAAP Measure - Unaudited
	2021					Q4 '21					Q3 '21					Q2 '21					Q1 '21					2020					Q4 '20					Q3 '20					Q2 '20					Q1 '20
				per share					per share					per share					per share					per share					per share					per share					per share					per share					per share
	(In $ millions, except per share data)
Earnings (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Celanese Corporation	1,912			17.06		528			4.83		519			4.67		542			4.81		323			2.83		1,997			16.85		1,453			12.50		209			1.76		110			0.93		225			1.88
Income tax provision (benefit)	330					27					102					116					85					247					117					30					35					65
Earnings (loss) from continuing operations before tax	2,242					555					621					658					408					2,244					1,570					239					145					290
Certain Items attributable to Celanese Corporation (Table 8)	139					77					(1	)				13					50					(1,216	)				(1,294	)				24					28					26
Refinancing and related expenses	9					—					9					—					—					—					—					—					—					—
Adjusted earnings (loss) from continuing operations before tax	2,390					632					629					671					458					1,028					276					263					173					316
Income tax (provision) benefit on adjusted earnings(1)	(359	)				(95	)				(94	)				(105	)				(64	)				(123	)				(33	)				(32	)				(18	)				(41	)
Adjusted earnings (loss) from continuing operations(2)	2,031			18.12		537			4.91		535			4.82		566			5.02		394			3.46		905			7.64		243			2.09		231			1.95		155			1.30		275			2.29
	Diluted shares (in millions)(3)
Weighted average shares outstanding	111.2					108.6					110.5					112.3					113.5					117.8					115.7					118.0					118.3					119.3
Incremental shares attributable to equity awards	0.9					0.8					0.5					0.5					0.5					0.7					0.6					0.6					0.5					0.6
Total diluted shares	112.1					109.4					111.0					112.8					114.0					118.5					116.3					118.6					118.8					119.9

______________________________
(1)		Calculated using adjusted effective tax rates (Table 3a) as follows:

	2021					Q4 '21					Q3 '21					Q2 '21					Q1 '21					2020					Q4 '20					Q3 '20					Q2 '20					Q1 '20
Adjusted effective tax rate	15					15					15					16					14					12					12					12					10					13

(2)

Excludes the immediate recognition of actuarial gains and losses and the impact of actual vs. expected plan asset returns.

		Actual Plan Asset Returns			Expected Plan Asset Returns
		(In percentages)
Q4 '21 & 2021		1.1			6.3
Q4 '20 & 2020		12.4			6.5

(3)

Potentially dilutive shares are included in the adjusted earnings per share calculation when adjusted earnings are positive.

Table 3a
Adjusted Tax Rate - Reconciliation of a Non-GAAP Measure - Unaudited
	Actual
	2021			2020
	(In percentages)
US GAAP annual effective tax rate	15			11
Discrete quarterly recognition of GAAP items(1)	(2	)		12
Tax impact of other charges and adjustments(2)	(1	)		(9	)
Utilization of foreign tax credits	(1	)		(3	)
Changes in valuation allowances, excluding impact of other charges and adjustments(3)	3			—
Other(4)	1			1
Adjusted tax rate	15			12

______________________________
Note: As part of the year-end reconciliation, we will update the reconciliation of the GAAP effective tax rate for actual results.
(1)		Such as changes in tax laws (including US tax reform), deferred taxes on outside basis differences, changes in uncertain tax positions and prior year audit adjustments.
(2)		Reflects the tax impact on pre-tax adjustments presented in Certain Items (Table 8), which are excluded from pre-tax income for adjusted earnings per share purposes.
(3)		Reflects changes in valuation allowances related to changes in judgment regarding the realizability of deferred tax assets or current year operations, excluding other charges and adjustments.
(4)		Tax impacts related to full-year forecasted tax opportunities and related costs.

Table 4
Net Sales by Segment - Unaudited
	2021			Q4 '21			Q3 '21			Q2 '21			Q1 '21			2020			Q4 '20			Q3 '20			Q2 '20			Q1 '20
	(In $ millions)
Engineered Materials	2,718			707			684			682			645			2,081			572			526			420			563
Acetate Tow	514			129			128			138			119			519			134			129			127			129
Acetyl Chain	5,430			1,476			1,489			1,409			1,056			3,147			910			776			662			799
Other Activities	—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—			—
Intersegment eliminations(1)	(125	)		(37	)		(35	)		(31	)		(22	)		(92	)		(25	)		(20	)		(16	)		(31	)
Net sales	8,537			2,275			2,266			2,198			1,798			5,655			1,591			1,411			1,193			1,460

______________________________
(1)		Includes intersegment sales primarily related to the Acetyl Chain.

Table 4a
Factors Affecting Segment Net Sales Sequentially - Unaudited
Three Months Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Three Months Ended September 30, 2021
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	(1	)		5			(1	)		—			3		(1)
Acetate Tow	—			1			—			—			1
Acetyl Chain	(10	)		10			(1	)		—			(1	)
Total Company	(7	)		8			(1	)		—			—
Three Months Ended September 30, 2021 Compared to Three Months Ended June 30, 2021
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	(2	)		3			(1	)		—			—
Acetate Tow	(8	)		—			—			—			(8	)
Acetyl Chain	3			3			—			—			6
Total Company	1			3			(1	)		—			3
Three Months Ended June 30, 2021 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2021
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	(1	)		7			—			—			6
Acetate Tow	16			—			—			—			16
Acetyl Chain	7			27			—			—			34
Total Company	4			18			—			—			22
Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Three Months Ended December 31, 2020
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	6			6			1			—			13
Acetate Tow	(10	)		(1	)		—			—			(11	)
Acetyl Chain	(7	)		23			—			—			16
Total Company	(3	)		15			1			—			13
Three Months Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Three Months Ended September 30, 2020
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	7			—			2			—			9
Acetate Tow	4			(1	)		—			—			3
Acetyl Chain	6			10			1			—			17
Total Company	7			5			1			—			13
Three Months Ended September 30, 2020 Compared to Three Months Ended June 30, 2020
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	27			(6	)		4			—			25
Acetate Tow	1			1			1			—			3
Acetyl Chain	18			(2	)		1			—			17
Total Company	20			(3	)		2			(1	)		18
Three Months Ended June 30, 2020 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2020
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	(25	)		—			—			—			(25	)
Acetate Tow	(3	)		1			—			—			(2	)
Acetyl Chain	(6	)		(11	)		—			—			(17	)	(2)
Total Company	(13	)		(6	)		—			1			(18	)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 Compared to Three Months Ended December 31, 2019
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	4			—			—			—			4
Acetate Tow	(9	)		(4	)		—			—			(13	)
Acetyl Chain	5			(1	)		—			—			4
Total Company	3			(1	)		—			—			2

______________________________
(1)		2021 includes the effect of the acquisition of the Santoprene™ thermoplastic vulcanizates elastomers business.
(2)		2020 includes the effect of the acquisition of the Elotex® brand.

Table 4b
Factors Affecting Segment Net Sales Year Over Year - Unaudited
Three Months Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Three Months Ended December 31, 2020
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	5			20			(1	)		—			24
Acetate Tow	(3	)		(1	)		—			—			(4	)
Acetyl Chain	(6	)		68			—			—			62
Total Company	(2	)		46			(1	)		—			43
Three Months Ended September 30, 2021 Compared to Three Months Ended September 30, 2020
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	11			17			2			—			30
Acetate Tow	—			(2	)		—			1			(1	)
Acetyl Chain	11			80			1			—			92
Total Company	10			50			1			—			61
Three Months Ended June 30, 2021 Compared to Three Months Ended June 30, 2020
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	43			11			8			—			62
Acetate Tow	10			(1	)		—			—			9
Acetyl Chain	27			83			3			—			113
Total Company	31			50			4			(1	)		84
Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2020
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	7			2			6			—			15
Acetate Tow	(8	)		—			—			—			(8	)
Acetyl Chain	5			25			2			—			32
Total Company	5			14			4			—			23
Three Months Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Three Months Ended December 31, 2019
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	6			(4	)		4			—			6
Acetate Tow	(7	)		(3	)		1			—			(9	)
Acetyl Chain	19			(3	)		2			—			18
Total Company	12			(4	)		3			—			11
Three Months Ended September 30, 2020 Compared to Three Months Ended September 30, 2019
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	(10	)		(3	)		2			—			(11	)
Acetate Tow	(15	)		(3	)		—			—			(18	)
Acetyl Chain	(1	)		(11	)		1			—			(11	)
Total Company	(6	)		(7	)		1			1			(11	)
Three Months Ended June 30, 2020 Compared to Three Months Ended June 30, 2019
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	(27	)		(1	)		(1	)		—			(29	)
Acetate Tow	(18	)		(5	)		—			—			(23	)
Acetyl Chain	(14	)		(8	)		(1	)		—			(23	)
Total Company	(20	)		(5	)		(1	)		1			(25	)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2019
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	(9	)		(5	)		(1	)		—			(15	)
Acetate Tow	(17	)		(5	)		—			—			(22	)
Acetyl Chain	(3	)		(7	)		(1	)		1			(10	)
Total Company	(7	)		(6	)		(1	)		1			(13	)

Table 4c
Factors Affecting Segment Net Sales Year Over Year - Unaudited
Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2020
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	15			12			4			—			31
Acetate Tow	—			(1	)		—			—			(1	)
Acetyl Chain	9			62			2			—			73
Total Company	10			39			2			—			51
Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2019
	Volume			Price			Currency			Other			Total
	(In percentages)
Engineered Materials	(11	)		(3	)		1			—			(13	)
Acetate Tow	(14	)		(4	)		—			—			(18	)
Acetyl Chain	—			(8	)		1			—			(7	)
Total Company	(5	)		(6	)		—			1			(10	)

Table 5
Free Cash Flow - Reconciliation of a Non-GAAP Measure - Unaudited
	2021			Q4 '21			Q3 '21			Q2 '21			Q1 '21			2020			Q4 '20			Q3 '20			Q2 '20			Q1 '20
	(In $ millions, except percentages)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	(1,119	)		(1,286	)		(108	)		177			98			592			979			(78	)		(181	)		(128	)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	(1,042	)		(99	)		(228	)		(344	)		(371	)		(1,471	)		(933	)		(290	)		(232	)		(16	)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	1,757			584			630			427			116			1,343			274			431			379			259
Capital expenditures on property, plant and equipment	(467	)		(163	)		(102	)		(110	)		(92	)		(364	)		(85	)		(72	)		(88	)		(119	)
Distributions to NCI	(27	)		(6	)		(8	)		(8	)		(5	)		(29	)		(8	)		(8	)		(8	)		(5	)
Free cash flow(1)(2)	1,263			415			520			309			19			950			181			351			283			135
Net sales	8,537			2,275			2,266			2,198			1,798			5,655			1,591			1,411			1,193			1,460
Free cash flow as % of Net sales	14.8	%		18.2	%		22.9	%		14.1	%		1.1	%		16.8	%		11.4	%		24.9	%		23.7	%		9.2	%

______________________________
(1)		Free cash flow is a liquidity measure used by the Company and is defined by the Company as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities, less capital expenditures on property, plant and equipment, and adjusted for capital contributions or distributions to Mitsui related to our joint venture, Fairway.
(2)		Excludes required debt service and finance lease payments of $30 million and $26 million for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Table 6
Cash Dividends Received - Unaudited
	2021			Q4 '21			Q3 '21			Q2 '21			Q1 '21			2020			Q4 '20			Q3 '20			Q2 '20			Q1 '20
	(In $ millions)
Dividends from equity method investments	112			51			8			18			35			147			36			6			59			46
Dividends from equity investments without readily determinable fair values	147			33			35			37			42			126			28			29			32			37
Total	259			84			43			55			77			273			64			35			91			83
Table 7
Net Debt - Reconciliation of a Non-GAAP Measure - Unaudited
	2021			Q4 '21			Q3 '21			Q2 '21			Q1 '21			2020			Q4 '20			Q3 '20			Q2 '20			Q1 '20
	(In $ millions)
Short-term borrowings and current installments of long-term debt - third party and affiliates	791			791			103			500			497			496			496			958			1,045			749
Long-term debt, net of unamortized deferred financing costs	3,176			3,176			3,724			3,156			3,135			3,227			3,227			3,140			2,989			3,356
Total debt	3,967			3,967			3,827			3,656			3,632			3,723			3,723			4,098			4,034			4,105
Cash and cash equivalents	(536	)		(536	)		(1,340	)		(1,054	)		(791	)		(955	)		(955	)		(615	)		(539	)		(570	)
Net debt	3,431			3,431			2,487			2,602			2,841			2,768			2,768			3,483			3,495			3,535

Table 8
Certain Items - Unaudited
The following Certain Items attributable to Celanese Corporation are included in Net earnings (loss) and are adjustments to non-GAAP measures:
	2021			Q4 '21			Q3 '21			Q2 '21			Q1 '21			2020			Q4 '20			Q3 '20			Q2 '20			Q1 '20			Income Statement Classification
	(In $ millions)
Plant/office closures	7			5			4			3			(5	)		10			7			4			(4	)		3			Cost of sales / SG&A / Other (charges) gains, net / Gain (loss) on disposition of businesses and assets, net
Asset impairments	2			—			—			1			1			31			—			2			25			4			Cost of sales / Other (charges) gains, net
Clear Lake incident	—			—			—			—			—			4			—			—			—			4			Cost of sales
COVID-19	1			1			—			—			—			5			2			1			1			1			Cost of sales / SG&A
Mergers, acquisitions and dispositions	29			19			4			6			—			22			5			7			3			7			Cost of sales / SG&A
Impact from natural disasters(1)	41			—			—			—			41			—			—			—			—			—			Cost of sales
Actuarial (gain) loss on pension and postretirement plans	43			43			—			—			—			95			95			—			—			—			Cost of sales / SG&A / Non-operating pension and other postretirement employee benefit (expense) income
Restructuring	11			3			3			2			3			25			5			11			2			7			SG&A / Other (charges) gains, net / Non-operating pension and other postretirement employee benefit (expense) income
European Commission investigation	—			—			—			—			—			2			—			—			2			—			Other (charges) gains, net
Commercial disputes	16			4			2			1			9			(1	)		—			—			(1	)		—			Cost of sales / SG&A / Other (charges) gains, net
(Gain) loss on sale of investments in affiliates	—			—			—			—			—			(1,408	)		(1,408	)		—			—			—			Gain (loss) on sale of investments in affiliates
(Gain) loss on sale of assets(2)	(12	)		2			(14	)		—			—			—			—			—			—			—			Gain (loss) on disposition of businesses and assets, net
Other	1			—			—			—			1			(1	)		—			(1	)		—			—			SG&A / Gain (loss) on disposition of businesses and assets, net
Certain Items attributable to Celanese Corporation	139			77			(1	)		13			50			(1,216	)		(1,294	)		24			28			26

______________________________
(1)		Primarily associated with Winter Storm Uri.
(2)		Primarily associated with the sale of our Spondon site.

Table 9
Return on Invested Capital (Adjusted) - Presentation of a Non-GAAP Measure - Unaudited
							2021									2020
							(In $ millions, except percentages)									(In $ millions, except percentages)
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation							1,890									1,985
Adjusted EBIT (Table 1)							2,473									1,131
Adjusted effective tax rate (Table 3a)							15	%								12	%
Adjusted EBIT tax effected							2,102									995
	2021			2020			Average			2020			2019			Average
	(In $ millions, except percentages)
Short-term borrowings and current installments of long-term debt - third parties and affiliates	791			496			644			496			496			496
Long-term debt, net of unamortized deferred financing costs	3,176			3,227			3,202			3,227			3,409			3,318
Celanese Corporation stockholders' equity	4,189			3,526			3,858			3,526			2,507			3,017
Invested capital							7,704									6,831
Return on invested capital (adjusted)							27.3	%								14.6	%
Net earnings (loss) attributable to Celanese Corporation as a percentage of invested capital							24.5	%								29.1	%

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220126005922/en/

Investor Relations

Brandon Ayache

Phone: +1 972 443 8509

brandon.ayache@celanese.com

Media - U.S.

Travis Jacobsen

Phone: +1 972 443 3750

william.jacobsen@celanese.com

Media - Europe

Petra Czugler

Phone: +49 69 45009 1206

petra.czugler@celanese.com

Source: Celanese Corporation

FAQ

What are Celanese's earnings for the full year 2021?

Celanese reported record GAAP diluted earnings per share of $17.06 and adjusted earnings per share of $18.12 for the full year 2021.

How much did Celanese's net sales increase in 2021?

Celanese's net sales increased by 51% in 2021, totaling $8.5 billion.

What is Celanese's outlook for adjusted earnings in 2022?

Celanese anticipates adjusted earnings of at least $15.00 per share in 2022.

What challenges did Celanese face in Q4 2021?

In Q4 2021, Celanese faced supply chain disruptions and higher energy costs, which impacted production and operating profit.