Titanium Metals Corp. said Monday that its fourth-quarter profit fell sharply compared to a year ago due to production delays in the commercial aerospace industry and the weak economy.
Net income fell to $4.9 million, or 3 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2009, from $34.4 million, or 19 cents per share in the year-earlier period.
Still, the company's earnings were above analysts' estimates of a penny per share, according to Thomson Financial.
Shares of Titanium Metals jumped by 41 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $12.20 in afternoon trading.
Revenue dropped to $183.5 million from $265.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2008 but surpassed the average estimate of $175.6 million.
For all of 2009, net income was $34.3 million, or 19 cents per share, compared to $162.2 million or 89 cents per share, in 2008. Sales fell to $774 million from $1.15 billion in 2008.
The company attributed the falling sales and profits to lower demand for titanium stemming from production delays at Boeing Co.
But Bobby O'Brien, CEO of Titanium, said that Boeing's plan to start delivering its new 787 airplane to customers by the fourth quarter of this year should boost demand for titanium for the next two to three years.
That, in turn, should boost the company's sales and operating profits, he said.
The longer-term outlook is also favorable, O'Brien said, because of the aerospace industry's interest in fuel-efficient aircraft, which require a higher proportion of titanium metal.
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