Lazard Upgrades Stolt-Nielsen

Lazard Frères & Co. LLC recently upgraded shares of Stolt-Nielsen S.A. to Outperform from Hold on expectations of positive earnings beginning in 2001. Additionally, says a recent Lazard report, Stolt-Neilsen's March 14 announcement of an alliance with Aspen Technology is another positive indication of the company's commitment to strengthening its global infrastructure and establishing technical expertise in the chemical transportation market.

Aspen specializes in software used to optimize factory production capacity. The alliance, says, Lazard, will be integrated into Stolt's ChemLink.com logistics management system, which tracks chemical cargoes and transportation capacity in order to optimize constraints.

The ChemLink.com system books and tracks bulk liquid cargoes on parcel tankers, tank containers and rail cars, as well as bulk liquids stored in terminal facilities, allowing producers, receivers and their logistics service providers to seamlessly integrate their processes to be as efficient and effective as possible. The alliance of ChemLink with new software from Aspen Technology will allow customers to expand capacity optimization and combine it with various back-office systems.

In the announcement of the alliance, Stolt management stated that as this is an initial alliance, the company does not expect an immediate increase in earnings. Officials also noted that this is the first move in a number of steps the company is planning to further capitalize on the ChemLink initiative and to expand further the company's e-commerce presence. Lazard reports that the alliance is a good step toward Stolt's becoming a leading e-commerce solutions provider for the chemical transportation market.

According to Lazard Frères, Stolt-Nielsen is well positioned to further reinforce its role as the adjunct distribution system of choice for major chemical companies. Any additional announcements related to the company's e-commerce initiatives, Lazard adds, will probably act as further catalysts for the stock.

(Source: Lazard Frères & Co. LLC)