Methanex's Q1 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Miss

Methanex Corporation MEOH logged a first-quarter 2025 profit (attributable to shareholders) of $111 million or $1.44 per share, up from $53 million or 77 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.

Adjusted earnings per share (barring one-time items) in the reported quarter were $1.30 per share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.25.

Revenues fell roughly 2.2% year over year to $896 million in the quarter. The top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,039.5 million.

Adjusted EBITDA in the reported quarter rose around 55% year over year to $248 million. 

(Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

MEOH’s Operational Highlights

Production in the quarter totaled 1,619,000 tons, down 5.9% year over year. Production also fell from the prior quarter due to a planned turnaround at Geismar 2 and an unplanned outage at Geismar 3, which was somewhat offset by increased production from Chile.

Total sales volume in the first quarter totaled 2,217,000 tons, down 16.9% year over year. The figure missed our estimate of 2,629,000 tons.

The average realized price for methanol was $404 per ton in the quarter, up from $343 per ton in the prior-year quarter. The figure was above our estimate of $396 per ton.

MEOH’s Financials

Cash and cash equivalents were $1,087.4 million at the end of the quarter. Cash flow from operating activities was $315 million in the quarter. The company returned $12.5 million to shareholders through dividends in the reported quarter.

MEOH’s Outlook

The company expects its 2025 production to be lower than its previously estimated 7.5 million tons (Methanex interest) because of the unplanned G3 outage. Second-quarter 2025 results will include an update to production guidance for 2025. Quarterly production may vary depending on gas availability, turnarounds, unscheduled outages and unanticipated events.

The company expects lower adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2025 than in the first quarter, owing to fewer produced sales caused principally by the G3 outage and a lower average realized price. Based on the prices stated in April and May, the company expects the average realized price to be between $360 and $370 per ton for these two months.

MEOH’s Price Performance

Shares of Methanex have lost 33.1% in the past year against a 28.9% decline of the industry.

MEOH’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

MEOH currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space include Hawkins, Inc. HWKN, Franco-Nevada Corporation FNV and Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. ASM. While HWKN sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), FNV and ASM carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Hawkins is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter results on May 14. The consensus estimate for Hawkins’ earnings is pegged at 74 cents. HWKN beat the consensus estimate in one of the last four quarters while missing thrice, with the average earnings surprise being 6.1%. 

Franco-Nevada is slated to release first-quarter results on May 8. The consensus estimate for FNV’s first-quarter earnings is pegged at $1. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for first-quarter earnings has been going up over the past 60 days.

Avino Silver & Gold Mines is slated to release first-quarter results on May 13. The consensus estimate for ASM’s first-quarter earnings is pegged at 3 cents. ASM has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 94.4%, on average.  

 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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