Tor Minerals (NASDAQ:TORM)

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- TOR Minerals International (NASDAQ: TORM), producer of synthetic titanium dioxide and color pigments, specialty aluminas, and other high performance mineral fillers, today announced that it has received a purchase order from a major international chemical customer to supply synthetic rutile titanium dioxide feedstock in an aggregate amount of $11 million. The Company expects to ship and recognize revenue for the entire transaction late during the second quarter of 2012.

"This order has a positive effect on our second quarter financial results. In addition to incremental gross profit contribution, the order should increase the utilization of our Malaysian plant and allow us to capture previously unabsorbed fixed costs," stated Dr. Olaf Karasch. "After fulfilling this purchase order, the balance of our inventory and feedstock production capacity for 2012 will be used for our internal needs. Long-term market conditions for the titanium dioxide feedstock appear to be favorable, and as such, we are exploring alternatives for delivering feedstock material to third parties during 2013 and on a regular basis thereafter."

GeoTeams Perspectice:
We consider contracts that total at least 50% of company’s quarterly revenue run rate to be significant. The company had been reporting quarterly revenues of around $9 to $12 million. The entire contract is slated to be recorded in the 2012 second quarter.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, May 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- TOR Minerals International, Inc. (the "Company") (Nasdaq: TORM), producer of synthetic titanium dioxide and color pigments, specialty aluminas, and other high performance mineral fillers, announced today that on May 3, 2012, the remaining five holders of the Company's 6% convertible debentures due May 4, 2016, four of whom are directors of the Company and one of whom is a greater than five percent shareholder, have converted debentures in the aggregate amount of $1,450,000 held by them into 547,142 shares of common stock of the Company in accordance with the terms of the debentures.  The 547,142 shares of the Company's common stock issued upon conversion of the debentures were included in the average fully diluted share count of 3,439,141 during the first quarter of 2012.  These conversions will eliminate the balance of convertible debt from the Company's balance sheet and will reduce interest expense for the Company.

Dr. Olaf Karasch, CEO of the Company said, "This action simplifies our capital structure and will save us approximately $80,000 in annual interest expense." 

First Quarter 2012 Results

• 1Q12 revenue increased 34% to $12.8 million 
• 1Q12 diluted net income increased 103% to $1.4 million 
• 1Q12 diluted EPS: $0.41 versus 1Q11 diluted EPS: $0.22 

Commenting on sales trends, Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We achieved record quarterly revenue again during the first quarter, marking our third quarter of record performance in the past four quarters. Overall, we continued to experience strong growth in sales volumes, as new customers are realizing the value-added characteristics of our niche specialty mineral products and are transitioning from sample to production order quantities. In addition, higher average selling prices in all of our product lines are contributing to our revenue growth."

During the first quarter of 2012, favorable trends in pricing, product mix and sales volumes more than offset increased raw material and energy costs. As a result, gross margin improved 310 basis points year over year to 24.9 percent of sales. Operating income increased to $1.9 million, or 14.7 percent of sales, compared to operating income of $0.9 million, or 9.0 percent of sales, reported in the same period a year ago.

"We saw the favorable effects of increased pricing in our TiO2 pigment business during the first quarter and posted the highest quarterly operating margin in our history," said Dr. Karasch. "In addition, we continued to demonstrate the earnings leverage in our business model and posted significant improvement in our profitability.

"We are off to a strong start for 2012, and if current trends continue, we are well positioned to exceed our targeted growth rates of 15 to 20 percent and post another record year. Already, we have customer demand to fill half of our expanded alumina plant capacity and based on our current assessment of market demand for TiO2 pigments, we expect favorable pricing and volume trends to continue in our TiO2 pigment business. With strong market demand, we also foresee good opportunities for the future sale of available synthetic rutile to third parties," concluded Dr. Karasch.

Fourth Quarter 2011 Results

• 4Q11 net sales increased 10% to $9.5 million 
• 4Q11 diluted net of income available to common shareholders increased 13% to $1.1 million 
• 4Q11 diluted earnings per common share: $0.35 was unchanged quarter over quarter
• Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased 32% to $41.0 million 
• Diluted net income available to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2011 increased 69% to $3.9 million 
• Diluted EPS for the year ended December 31, 2011: $1.21 versus Diluted earnings per common shares for the year ended December 31, 2010: $0.83

Commenting on sales trends, Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer, said, "While the pace of growth slowed during the fourth quarter due to the return to normal seasonal order trends, revenue reached record levels during 2011.  Overall, during 2011 we continued to experience strong growth in sales, as our new customers are realizing the value added characteristics of our niche specialty mineral products.  During 2011, we sold out of specialty alumina capacity and completed an expansion that doubled our production capabilities.  This new capacity came on line during the fourth quarter and, so long as market conditions continue to remain favorable, we expect specialty alumina sales to continue double-digit growth during 2012.  As we expected, pigment sales were negatively affected by increased competitive pricing pressure from Chinese-based commodity TiO2 producers.  However, order volumes have accelerated during the first six weeks of fiscal 2012, particularly in North America, which is our largest market for TiO2 pigments.  Pigment volumes are being positively affected as several new customers have reformulated with our pigments and are transitioning from sample to production order quantities. In addition, increased TiO2 color pigment pricing is contributing more to our revenue growth."

Third Quarter 2011 Results

 

• 3Q11 revenue increased 51% to $11.4 million versus $7.5 million in 3Q10
• 3Q11 diluted net income increased to $1.1 million versus 3Q10 diluted net income: $0.2 million
• 3Q11 diluted EPS: $0.33 versus 3Q10 EPS: $0.09
• Revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 increased 41% to $31.5 million 
• Diluted net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 increased 113% to $2.9 million 
• Diluted EPS for the nine months ended September 30, 2011: $0.86 versus Diluted EPS for the nine months ended September 30, 2010: $0.48

"Based on what we are seeing today, we are optimistic that we will continue to benefit from volume growth and price increases. For a relatively small incremental capital investment of less than $2 million, we have effectively doubled the capacity of our alumina plant in the Netherlands.  With this project complete and a strong backlog of orders, our specialty alumina growth rates should accelerate over the next several quarters," said Dr. Karasch.  "Recently, we have seen increased competitive pricing pressure from Chinese-based commodity TiO2 producers, which may affect near-term regional volume growth and selling prices in our Asian and South American markets.  At the same time, we expect recent price increases and continued volume growth in the U.S. and Europe to more than offset any near-term pressure in those markets."  

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, July 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TOR Minerals International (Nasdaq: TORM), producer of synthetic titanium dioxide and color pigments, specialty aluminas, and other high performance mineral fillers, today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011.  Highlights for the second quarter of 2011 as compared to the second quarter of 2010 included:

• 2Q11 revenue increased 32% to $10.5 million 
• 2Q11 diluted net income increased 110% to $1.0 million 
• 2Q11 diluted EPS: $0.30 versus 2Q10 EPS of $0.17

“During the past three years, our strategic focus has been to bring new, high-value added products to market, improve efficiency and lower our cost structure.  Our hard work has resulted in the best quarterly results in our history,” continued Dr. Karasch.  “Almost 80% of the growth in our TiO2 pigment sales is a result of higher volumes.  As a price follower, we have just begun to catch up to the price increases that the commodity TiO2 producers have put in place and expect to see increased revenue and margin contribution from increasing prices during the balance of the year.  The outlook for our alumina business remains strong.  We expect to complete our Netherlands alumina plant expansion during the current quarter, which will effectively double our alumina production capacity and help us to meet increasing demand from current and new customers.”

First Quarter Results:

• Revenue increased 40% year over year to $9.6 million versus 1Q10: $6.9 million
• Diluted net income to common shareholders: $697,000 versus 1Q10: $569,000
• EPS: $0.22 versus 1Q10 EPS: $0.26

 "While our margin percentage declined, we posted solid results for the first quarter, which was the second highest quarterly profit posted in more than a decade," said Dr. Karasch.  "Furthermore, pricing on our specialty TiO2 products lags that of commodity TiO2.  While our pricing has been favorable, it has yet to have a major impact on our profitability.  Going forward, we expect our pricing to catch up and provide a more meaningful contribution to year-over-year comparisons."

Fourth Quarter and Year End Highlights:

• 2010 record net income: $2.3 million versus 2009 net loss: ($0.2) million
• 2010 EPS: $0.83 versus 2009 net loss per share: ($0.10)
• 4Q10 EPS: $0.35 versus 4Q09 EPS: $0.08
• 4Q10 revenue increased 36% year over year to $8.7 million

The Company said that sales momentum accelerated during the first six weeks of 2011 and that if this trend continues, it expects to see year-over-year improvement in financial results during the first quarter of 2011.  "As a result of the hard work done to lower our cost structure, improve efficiencies, and diversify our customer, end market, and geographic mix, 2010 net income was the highest in the Company's history.  Looking forward, with continued acceptance of our new products, favorable market conditions, and a lower, more efficient cost structure, we are in a great position to deliver above market growth in revenue and earnings," Dr. Karasch concluded.  

We will watch TORM ($9.50) very closely. Investors may eventually view today's news positively.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TOR Minerals International, Inc. announced that on December 31, 2010, it entered into a new U.S. credit agreement with American Bank, N.A.  The agreement will replace the Company's previous U.S. credit facility, which had been scheduled to mature in February 2011, and increases the Company's U.S. borrowing capacity by $1.5 million to $3 million.  

Non-renewal of this credit risk had been a concern of many investors.  Another issue we still need to contend with is the volatility in quarterly results.

Commenting on the results, Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer said, "First quarter's operating margin was the highest in over six years. The noteworthy improvement in profitability is a result of the hard work we have done in the past two years to improve efficiencies and remove costs from our business. The improvement also reflects the powerful leverage in our business, as a large portion of each incremental sales dollar makes a significant contribution to our bottom line."

The Company said that during the past five months it has secured significant orders for specialty alumina products and expects to have growth in alumina sales beginning in the second quarter. Dr. Karasch said, "Growth in our specialty alumina business should further diversify the Company's customer and product concentration in this category." In addition, the Company said that its Ti02 pigment business is expected to benefit from a continuing recovery in the paint and plastics end markets, as well as what presently appears to be a favorable pricing environment.

If the trend continues, the Company said it expects to see continued improvement in financial results during 2010