Chart JV Provides Increased Access to Middle East, Incremental Positive

3/16 - "Chart Industries announced it has entered into a joint venture with S&A Abahsain and Specialized Industrial Equipment to manufacture air-cooled heat exchangers in Saudi Arabia. A new 85,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility, slated to come online later this year, will be built specifically to capitalize on high demand for oil and gas equipment in the Middle East."

"With only a modest capital investment, Chart gains direct access to a geographic region which is currently experiencing high demand for its specialized products...We believe that Chart will be the first company to establish full manufacturing capabilities of heat exchangers in the country, which should provide a competitive advantage and additional access to projects."

"We are not changing our rating, estimates, or price target for Chart Industries following this announcement, though we view it as an incremental positive. As Chart continues to expand its global manufacturing footprint and network, we believe the company will further benefit from increased infrastructure spending driven by strong, multi-year secular growth in global energy markets, particularly LNG."