BASF Launches Key Steam Cracker at New Zhanjiang Verbund Site

BASF SE BASFY has started up its steam cracker at its new Verbund complex in Zhanjiang, China. This marks a key pillar for the company’s multi-billion-euro investment in China and one of the largest single projects in its global network for the Asia-Pacific region.  The steam cracker, a central facility that breaks down hydrocarbons like naphtha and butane into key building blocks such as ethylene and propylene, began operations as planned, with an annual ethylene capacity of around 1 million metric tons. This installation is the first of its kind globally to power its main compressors entirely with renewable energy, reflecting BASF’s push toward more sustainable chemical production.  The cracker will supply multiple downstream units on the site and help extend BASF’s value chain locally to serve a broad range of industries in China, the world’s largest and fastest-growing chemical market. This development follows earlier progress at the Zhanjiang site, including the start-up of several propylene downstream plants and positions the new facility as one of BASF’s largest integrated complexes worldwide. Zhanjiang will be the company’s third biggest Verbund site globally after Ludwigshafen and Antwerp. Shares of BASFY are up 0.5% over the past six months against the industry’s 13% decline. Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchBASFY’s Zacks Rank & Key PicksBASFY carries a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).Better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space include LSB Industries, Inc. LXU, Air Liquide S.A. AIQUY and Commercial Metals Company CMC. LXU and CMC sport a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), while AIQUY carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LXB’s current-year earnings is pegged at 36 cents per share, indicating a 57% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, with the average earnings surprise being 141.3%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AIQUY’s current fiscal-year earnings stands at $1.59 per share, implying a 28.23% year-over-year increase. Shares of AIQUY are down 12.5% over the past six months.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CMC’s current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at $7.05 per share, indicating a 125.24% year-over-year increase. Shares of CMC are up 39.6% over the past six months.Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge GainsQuantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power.Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report BASF SE (BASFY): Free Stock Analysis Report Air Liquide (AIQUY): Free Stock Analysis Report Lsb Industries Inc. (LXU): Free Stock Analysis Report Commercial Metals Company (CMC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks