Celanese's dividend will continue to grow and the chemical company will move toward an investment-grade credit rating, Chief Executive Mark Rohr said in an interview on his first day on the job.

Celanese is the world's largest producer of acetyl intermediate chemicals, which are used to make paints and glues. It also is a large producer of acetate tow, used to make cigarette filters.

Despite its strong profit - the company earned $607 million last year - Celanese pays a quarterly dividend of just 6 cents, far below peers Eastman Chemical and Ashland.

Rohr, 60, who is also chairman of the board of directors, said investors can expect that to change.

"I believe in a strong program of dividends and dividend growth," Rohr told Reuters on Monday. "You've seen that sort of start with Celanese and you should expect that we'll continue to do that."

The Dallas-based company last raised its dividend in April 2011, with a 20% boost.

Rohr, who resigned as CEO of Albemarle last summer and as the company's chairman on Feb. 1, added he also is a strong proponent of share repurchases.

Moving the company toward an investment-grade credit rating and paying down its $2.87 billion in long-term debt, is a "priority," he said.

Moody's Investors Service currently rates most of Celanese's debt two notches below investment grade.

By contrast, Rohr's previous employer, Albemarle, has $749.3 million in long-term debt and an investment-grade rating.

"It is a priority of mine that we have a balanced approach to using cash and moving the company to investor grade credit rating over time is a priority," said Rohr.

New products& deals

Under Rohr's predecessor, David Weidman, Celanese began investing heavily in coal-to-ethanol technology. The company is spending more than $700 million to build two new chemical plants in Nanjing, China.

Rohr said that expansion will continue and in addition he would like Celanese to get closer to its customers and better respond to their needs.

"You've got to know as much about the customer's market as he or she does and you've got to anticipate what their challenges are and bring chemistry to them in a way that creates value," he said. "And when that happens, then you can get paid for it."

Potential new products include artificial joints, electronics and specialized coatings, Rohr said.

The drive to be closer to customers mimics a trend in the chemical industry championed by DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman.

Acquisitions at Celanese also are likely, with "a lot of M&A potential," Rohr said.

"You should expect that we will make acquisitions," Rohr said. "I'll do it in a way that doesn't detract from our financial position, but would be part of our move toward an investment-grade credit rating."

Celanese was founded in New York in 1918 by a Swiss chemist who had discovered a unique method of dyeing fibers. In 1987, the company's chemical assets were bought by a German company, which spun the company off in a 1999 initial public offering (IPO) on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

In 2004 Blackstone Group swooped in and took the company private, only to then spin it back out in another IPO the next year and moving its headquarters back to the United States.

Rohr's first day came just after the company moved into a new office in Dallas this past weekend, opting for an open concept design that has become standard among many large corporations.

Rohr also sits on the board of directors of Ashland, a Celanese peer, and the American Chemistry Council, an industry trade group.