RTI reports profits after losses last year

THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN
A lump-sum payment from Boeing Co. helped boost profits.
WEATHERSFIELD -- RTI International Metals made a turnaround from last year's fourth-quarter loss, reporting first-quarter profits of $3.9 million, or 19 cents per share, on sales of $66.2 million.
"We achieved our goal of returning to profitability," said Timothy G. Rupert, president and chief executive of RTI, parent company of RMI Titanium. The company ended 2000 with a $6.7 million profit, but it lost $87,000 in the fourth quarter.
The company's first-quarter results were nearly double the $1.6 million, or 8 cents per share profit it reported in the same period a year ago, but most of the increase resulted from a lump-sum settlement from the Boeing Co.
Boeing failed to buy the amount of titanium it promised to buy in 2000 under its five-year supply contract with RMI, so the contract allows the titanium producer to bill for the titanium not bought. The aircraft maker paid $6 million, which amounted to 18 cents per share.
RTI shipped 2.4 million pounds in the first quarter, up 22 percent from the previous quarter, and prices averaged $14.97 per pound, up five percent. The company's titanium group reported a $300,000 operating loss on sales of $30.1 million, while the fabrication and distribution group reported operating income of $1.1 million on sales of $36.1 million.