RMI’s parent touts ’07 records

The company’s senior executives will be leaving Weathersfield soon.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

WEATHERSFIELD — The parent company of RMI Titanium Co. is quite the record setter.

RTI International Metals said Tuesday that it set records for sales and earnings in 2007 and has no plans to slow down this year.

Booming demand for titanium in the making of airplanes will push results even higher in 2008, Dawne Hickton, RTI vice chairwoman and chief executive, said on a conference call with industry analysts and media.

Hickton said the Weathersfield-based company expects sales to increase 15 percent to 20 percent this year. Operating income — revenue from daily operations minus expenses — is expected to be up 7 percent to 12 percent.

If higher operating income translates into higher earnings, it would be the third straight year that profits hit a record. RTI also posted record earnings in 2006. Earnings, also known as net income, take into account additional factors beyond the daily operations of the business.

The company uses its RMI mill in Weathersfield and another mill in Canton to produce titanium in various shapes, much of which is turned into parts for military and commercial aircraft. RTI has fabrication plants elsewhere in North America to produced finished parts.

Hickton said aircraft makers have a seven-year backlog of orders as airlines seek to meet increasing demand in Asia and the Middle East.

RTI has been expanding its Weathersfield and Canton mills and building new plants in other states to meet a larger demand for titanium.

RTI sales for 2007 were $626.8 million, compared with $505.4 million in the previous year.

Earnings for last year were $92.6 million, or $4 a share, compared with $75.7 million, or $3.29 a share, in 2006.

Operating income last year was $141.2 million, up from $115.3 million in 2006.

RTI also said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter earnings in 2007 dropped to $24.9 million, compared with $26.8 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Hickton said the drop was the result of an unprecedented quarter in 2006.

RTI stock gained $3.10 a share, or 5.7 percent, Tuesday to close at $57.33. In the past year, the stock has traded between $44.60 and $101.49.

In other matters, Hickton said senior executives and support staff will begin moving out of the Weathersfield headquarters in March. The new office near the Pittsburgh International Airport will open officially April 1.

Hickton said the office will employ about 50, although some will be new hires. The company is moving executives closer to the airport because their duties require travel.

Hickton said more than 100 corporate employees will remain in Weathersfield, including the engineering, quality, safety and human resources departments.

The RMI mill also has about 365 hourly employees, which is up about 60 since 2004.

shilling@vindy.com