The Company is a leading producer and global supplier of titanium mill products and a manufacturer of fabricated titanium and specialty metal components for the international aerospace, defense, energy, and industrial and consumer markets. It is a successor to entities that have been operating in the titanium industry since 1951. The Company first became publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 1990 under the name RMI Titanium Co. and the symbol “RTI”, and was reorganized into a holding company structure in 1998 under the name RTI International Metals, Inc.
Industry Overview
Titanium’s physical characteristics include a high strength-to-weight ratio, high temperature performance, and superior corrosion and erosion resistance. Relative to other metals, it is particularly effective in extremely harsh conditions. Given these properties, its scope of potential uses would be much broader than current uses but for its higher cost of production as compared to other metals. The first major commercial application of titanium occurred in the early 1950’s when it was used in components in aircraft gas turbine engines. Subsequent applications were developed to use the material in other aerospace component parts and in airframe construction. Traditionally, a majority of the U.S. titanium industry’s output has been used in aerospace applications. However, in recent years, significant quantities of the industry’s output have been used in non-aerospace applications, such as the global chemical processing industry, oil and gas exploration and production, geothermal energy production, consumer products, and non-aerospace military applications such as armor protection.
The U.S. titanium industry’s reported shipments were approximately 73 million pounds in 2007, approximately 77 million pounds in 2008, and are estimated to be approximately 60 million pounds in 2009. Demand from all major market segments is expected to decrease in 2010 due to the continuing global economic uncertainty as well as the previously announced delays in the production of Boeing’s 787 platform, which has created excess inventory in the supply chain. The cyclical nature of the aerospace and defense industries have been the principal cause of the fluctuations in the demand for titanium-related products.
Aircraft manufacturers and their subcontractors generally order titanium mill products six to eighteen months in advance of final aircraft production. This long lead time is due to the time it takes to produce a final assembly or part that is ready for installation in an airframe or jet engine. Therefore, titanium demand from commercial aerospace is likely to precede any expected increase or decrease in aircraft production.
The Company conducts its operations in three reportable segments: the Titanium Group, the Fabrication Group, and the Distribution Group.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations: Overview
RTI International Metals, Inc. (the “Company,” “RTI,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a leading producer and global supplier of titanium mill products and a supplier of fabricated titanium and specialty metal components for the international aerospace, defense, energy, and industrial and consumer markets.
The Titanium Group melts, processes, and produces a complete range of titanium mill products which are further processed by its customers for use in a variety of commercial aerospace, defense, and industrial and consumer applications. With operations in Niles, Ohio; Canton, Ohio; and Hermitage, Pennsylvania; and the new facility under construction in Martinsville, Virginia, the Titanium Group has overall responsibility for the production of primary mill products including, but not limited to, bloom, billet, sheet, and plate. In addition, the Titanium Group produces ferro titanium alloys for its steel-making customers. The Titanium Group also focuses on the research and development of evolving technologies relating to raw materials, melting and other production processes, and the application of titanium in new markets.
The Fabrication Group is comprised of companies with significant hard-metal expertise that extrude, fabricate, machine, and assemble titanium and other specialty metal parts and components. Its products, many of which are complex engineered parts and assemblies, serve the commercial aerospace, defense, oil and gas, power generation, medical device, and chemical process industries, as well as a number of other industrial and consumer markets. With operations located in Houston, Texas; Washington, Missouri; Laval, Canada; and a representative office in China, the Fabrication Group provides value-added products and services such as engineered tubulars and extrusions, fabricated and machined components and sub-assemblies, as well as engineered systems for deepwater oil and gas exploration and production infrastructure.
The Distribution Group stocks, distributes, finishes, cuts-to-size, and facilitates just-in-time delivery services of titanium, steel, and other specialty metal products, primarily nickel-based specialty alloys. With operations in Garden Grove, California; Windsor, Connecticut; Sullivan, Missouri; Staffordshire, England; and Rosny-Sur-Seine, France; the Distribution Group services a wide variety of commercial aerospace, defense, and industrial and consumer customers.
We closed our distribution facilities located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Houston, Texas, during the first half of 2009. Both of these closures were completed as part of our ongoing cost rationalization strategy within the Distribution Group in light of current market conditions and did not have a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Both the Fabrication and Distribution Groups access the Titanium Group as their primary source of titanium mill products. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2009, 2008, and 2007, approximately 53%, 43%, and 42%, respectively, of the Titanium Group’s sales were to the Fabrication and Distribution Groups.
Trends and Uncertainties
Our business has been significantly impacted by the global economic uncertainty that continued throughout 2009. Our primary market, the commercial aerospace industry, was especially impacted due to the large capital commitments necessary to make aircraft purchases. This uncertainty led to a corresponding decrease in aircraft orders in 2009. Combined with the long-term delays in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner® program, this has caused a significant oversupply of inventory and a severe contraction in demand for titanium products. As a result, our spot sales of titanium mill products have been minimal in the current year. Somewhat offsetting these impacts has been our focus on removing some of the cyclicality of the industry by signing longer-term contracts for specific quantities of material. These contracts have allowed us to maintain a level of volumes in excess of those seen during the last market downturn following September 11, 2001.
In such market downturns, we strive to reduce our variable costs to counteract such declines in spot sales, although we cannot always do so as quickly as sales levels decline. We continue to balance our expectations of future business with our need to control costs.
Production delays related to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner® program continue to hamper our Fabrication and Distribution Groups. The 787 Dreamliner®, which was initially scheduled to begin customer deliveries in late 2007, currently has a first delivery date of late 2010. We have invested a significant amount of capital into our facilities to prepare for the ramp up of 787 Dreamliner® production. As such, while we have and continue to attempt to reduce our own variable expenses (primarily labor, outside processing, overtime, and supplies) to match the reduced near-term demand from Boeing, it is not practical to reduce our fixed costs in the short and intermediate term. While we expect to receive the anticipated volumes from this program, it will be difficult to predict in what period they will occur given the uncertainty in the program’s production schedule.
In addition, our results in 2009 were adversely impacted by Airbus’ failure to purchase approximately 1.0 million pounds of titanium mill products under its long-term supply agreement. We are currently in discussions with Airbus on the value and resolution of this shortfall volume.
Executive Summary
2009 was an extremely challenging year for the titanium industry as a whole and for us in particular. The global economic recession that began in the latter part of 2008 and continued throughout 2009, the extended delays for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner® program, along with the difficulties Airbus is still facing with their A400 military transport program, the unprecedented inventory buildup of titanium mill products, and Airbus’ failure to purchase approximately 1.0 million pounds of titanium mill products under its long-term supply agreement, all impacted our results in 2009.
Nonetheless, we managed to work through the downturn, exceeding our cost reduction targets and raising capital, leaving us with a strong balance sheet with over $121 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, and an undrawn $200 million credit facility at the end of the year.
Employees
At December 31, 2009, the Company and its subsidiaries employed 1,498 persons, 593 of whom were classified as administrative and sales personnel. Of the total number of employees, 665 employees were in the Titanium Group, 613 in the Fabrication Group, 158 in the Distribution Group, and 62 in RTI Corporate.
The United Steelworkers of America (“USW”) represents 346 of the hourly, clerical and technical employees at the Company’s plant in Niles, Ohio. The current Labor Agreement with the USW is set to expire on June 30, 2013. Hourly employees at the Company’s facility in Washington, Missouri are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (“IAMAW”). There are 142 employees in the bargaining unit. The current labor contract with the IAMAW expires on February 19, 2011. No other Company employees are represented by a union.
Available Information
Our Internet address is www.rtiintl.com. We make available, free of charge through our website, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as soon as reasonably practicable after such documents are electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. All filings are available at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room can be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, all filings are available via the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). We also make available on our website our corporate governance documents, including the Company’s Code of Business Ethics, governance guidelines, and the charters for various board committees.