TOR Minerals International, Inc (TORM) research, news, and more from GeoInvesting

Company description

Wed, 05 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Headquartered in Corpus Christi, Texas, TOR Minerals International is a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty mineral and pigment products for high performance applications with manufacturing and regional offices located in the United States, Netherlands and Malaysia.

Research

Thu, 09 Nov 2017 16:34:02 GMT

Sold a Portion Of Our TORM Position

In our October 27, 2017 email we highlighted TORM’s Q3 2017 results. We stated that the subpar quarter would lead to short-term uncertainty and possibly lead us to exit our position. We have sold off a portion of our long position, but are still holding some shares for the long-term as the stock remains a part of our multi-bagger themed mock portfolio.

Research

Fri, 27 Oct 2017 04:00:00 GMT

GB $TORM (7.60), a producer of high performance specialty minerals, announced its Q3 2017 results:

Sales of $9.5 million vs $10.0 million in the prior year
Loss per share of $0.09 vs EPS of $0.08 in the prior year

Short-term uncertainty will lead us to possibly exit our position. Long-term multibagger story still intact at this time.

Comments from management:

“Both top and bottom-line financial performance were negatively affected by an abrupt reduction in the orders from our largest customer. To offset lower fixed cost absorption, we have accelerated plans to improve efficiencies of our specialty alumina production and are cutting some variable costs in that area without compromising the ability to resume rapid growth. To provide greater consistency in our financial performance, we have been working diligently to introduce new products and diversify our customer base. In the past year, these efforts have shown significant traction, as evidenced by the successful growth of OPTILOAD and the rapid commercialization of TOR BRITE, which is proving to be a viable substitute for TiO2 in a growing number of applications. We are optimistic that these new products will be among the largest contributors of our revenue mix in the coming years," commented Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer. "Our TiO2 business continued significant growth in Asia, improving trends in Europe; and during the third quarter, we saw the first year-over-year increase in North America in several years. Due to prior cost improvement efforts, TiO2 has contributed nicely to profitability this year. Overall, we expect near-term financial performance will remain under pressure from lower specialty alumina volumes. Nevertheless, we are optimistic about the growth of our new specialty alumina products. Continued commercial traction with these products, combined with continued strength in our core European specialty alumina business, increasingly positive contribution from our TiO2 business and cost and efficiency initiatives, should allow us to show incremental improvements in financial performance in the coming quarters, and longer term, our strategy is focused on resuming double-digit growth."

We have followed TORM for several years and customer concentration continues to be a major issue for the company. Until management gains traction on new product initiatives, this will continue to be the case.

After listening to the related conference call, it looks like a best case scenario for TORM is that its largest customer would be back on-line by mid-November or December. A worst case scenario seems to push this timeline to the end of Q1 2018. As far as our decision, we will be looking to exit our position in the near-term. One thing to keep in mind is that management has had a habit of miscalculating “time to recovery” from setbacks in the past.

We still believe TORM will outperform if it can succeed in diversifying its customer base, but it will take time. This is why the stock is included in the Multibagger Mock Portfolio. This portfolio is intended for investors who have long-term investment horizons, and are willing to hold through short-term price or business disruptions.

Research

Fri, 04 Aug 2017 14:22:19 GMT

GB and a selection in the MultiBagger Mock Portfolio TORM ($7.75) reported strong Q2 2017 results:

Sales of $10.7 vs $9.8 million in the prior year
EPS of $0.10 vs $0.03 in the prior year. The $0.10 quarter marks the highest EPS level in more than 3 years.

Quotes from management:

"While we had mixed results on our top line, we posted a strong recovery in profitability during the second quarter, posting the highest earnings per share number we have seen in more than three years," commented Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer. "We saw continued strength in our Specialty Alumina business and are well positioned to continue double-digit growth in our largest product category. While flat in terms of revenue comparisons, our TiO2 business saw improving trends in Europe and Asia. Due to our cost improvement efforts, TiO2 has also begun to contribute nicely to overall profitability this year. Our barium sulfate-related revenue was also relatively flat year over year, but continues to add nice contribution margin to the overall business. Overall, we remain confident that we are well-positioned to deliver double-digit sales growth during 2017, as well as further improve profitability and returns for our shareholders."

For more color on the TORM story, please see our full February 15, 2017 GeoBargain article, “Tor Minerals: Headwinds Turn Into Tailwinds That Should Help Shares Rise”

Research

Mon, 08 May 2017 14:50:43 GMT

TORM ($7.05) - On April 27, 2017, TORM announced its Q1 2017 results which we summarized here. In the release, TORM talked about the increase in prices of its TiO2 business, reflecting the recent health of the segment. Today, $HUN, a competitor of TORM’s also announced global price increases for all its titanium dioxide pigments. Along with industry wide increases in Tio2 prices, we believe this confirms the strength of the segment and validates the recent price increases TORM has discussed. TOR Minerals International, Inc. produces and sells specialty mineral products.

Research

Thu, 27 Apr 2017 16:17:44 GMT

TORM ($7.30) reported Q1 2017 results:

Sales of $10.7 million vs $9.6 million
Loss per share of $0.04 vs EPS of $0.08. Loss for the quarter was due to temporary decrease in gross margins which the Company believes will normalize in future quarters.

Quotes from management:

“The decrease in gross margin was primarily related to a temporary increase in maintenance activities and costs at the U.S. and Netherlands-based manufacturing facilities, which negatively affected utilization and efficiencies of these operations.”

"We had mixed results during the first quarter with strong revenue growth offset by a temporary decrease in gross margin performance. While extended-maintenance affected our margin performance during the first quarter, we expect the level of maintenance activity will return to normal during the balance of the year," commented Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer. "First quarter marked a clear turning point in the health of our TiO2 business with the first positive year-over-year comparison in more than three years. We have recently implemented price increases for TiO2 pigments in certain geographies and have added distribution capabilities. As we enter the seasonally strong period for TiO2, the segment is well-positioned to deliver profitable growth for the year. We also expect profitable growth from our specialty alumina business this year as efforts to diversify the revenue mix are gaining traction with new and existing customers in new application areas and new geographies. Overall we remain confident that we are well-positioned to deliver double-digit revenue growth during 2017, as well as further improve profitability and returns for our shareholders."

While we are disappointed in the sub-par Q1 2017 EPS, the fact that it was due to a temporary margin decrease provides some comfort. Management's commentary continues to echo that the Company has reached a turning point and foresees improved financial results moving forward.

For more color on the TORM story, please see our full February 15, 2017 article, “Tor Minerals: Headwinds Turn Into Tailwinds That Should Help Shares Rise”

Research

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 16:17:43 GMT

TORM ($7.33) - Jefferies upgraded $CC to “Buy” from “Hold” and increased its price target to $48 from $35. The analyst firm stated that TiO2 and fluoropolymers could drive this upside. We view this as a positive for GeoBargain TORM as the TiO2 market is one of the main markets it serves.

For more color on the TORM story, please see our full February 15, 2017 article, “Tor Minerals: Headwinds Turn Into Tailwinds That Should Help Shares Rise”.

Research

Fri, 24 Feb 2017 18:02:47 GMT

TORM ($7.20) - On February 13, 2017 we stated that we were coding TORM as a GeoBargain and that we initiated a long position; the stock was trading at $6.05 at that time. On February 15, 2017, we released our article, “Tor Minerals: Headwinds Turn Into Tailwinds That Should Help Shares Rise”. Shares hit a new high of $7.95 the day after our article was released.

Yesterday after the close, TORM reported Q4 2016 results:

Sales of $8.9 million vs $7.9 million in the prior year
Non GAAP net loss of $0.05 vs a non GAAP net loss of $0.42 in the prior year quarter

Quote from management:

"We have implemented several strategic initiatives to diversify our revenue base, lower our cost structure and improve returns. As a result, we have demonstrated significant improvement in financial performance during 2016, restoring both top line growth and profitability to the business," said Dr. Karasch. "While we continuously work to improve our cost position, due to the success of our key strategic initiatives, we can now spend more time focusing on top-line growth. Combined with improving market conditions, we believe that we are well positioned to deliver double digit top line growth in each of our product groups for the next several years, as well as further improve profitability and returns for our shareholders."

In our TORM article we mentioned that seasonality, customer concentration risk and lumpy order flow could lead to quarterly losses from time to time, especially in Q4. We listened to the TORM earnings call to determine if we should be concerned that the company lost money in Q4 on higher sales. We learned that Q4 included unexpected maintenance costs, although this item was not quantified. More importantly, the conference call echoed the press release and management expanded a bit on future growth prospects and profitability. Our impression is that TORM has reached an inflection point and that all three of its operating segments will grow profitably moving forward. This point was stressed multiple times by management on the call. Furthermore, the company is aggressively diversifying its customer base and introducing new high margin products. Unfortunately, management did not really expand on these topics in the press release, so momentum investors might sell shares on the Q4 headline loss. We will look to add on pullbacks based on conference call information arbitrage.

Quotes from conference call:

We demonstrate significant improvement in financial performance growing through 2016. Restoring both top line growth and profitability to the business we also progressed with several key initiatives that will provision the company for double digit top line growth and even more attractive profitability and returns during the next three to five years…

...we expect growth and profitability will outpace the top line as we increase utilization and leverage incremental sales over fixed costs.”

Management talked about the 3 initiatives that it anticipates will lead to this growth:

“...

Ongoing efforts to grow and diversify the geographic end market and customer mix of our specialty alumina business.

To compete and produce adequate margin contribution in the market for commodity grade, barium sulfate fillers we have deployed new processing technology that lower our production costs.

Lower the breakeven point and earn an adequate return from our titanium oxide pigment business.

…”

We encourage investors to read the full transcript. If shares happen to pullback on these results, we will be looking to add to our long position.

Research

Mon, 13 Feb 2017 16:00:11 GMT

Initiated Starter Position In TORM

We are coding $TORM ($6.05) as a GeoBargain based on the stock selling under tangible book value and a strong possibility that its restructuring efforts have reached an inflection point for the Company.

Our follow up due diligence has led us to initiate a starter position in TORM. The company is currently heading into its Q4, one of its traditionally weak quarters along with Q1. We have only nibbled at shares because of this weakness, but we over the course of the mid to longer term, we feel shares could trend closer to its tangible book value of $8.27.

In our November 4, 2016 email, we highlighted TORM’s Q3 2016 results and offered our reasons for tracking the company. After a closer dive into the story and our December call with management, we feel there is no real need for deviation from our original thesis. We encourage you to look back at our “Reasons for Tracking” note for a summary of the company’s recent Q3 2016 results, as well as our original comments on the story. To see all our TORM research go here.

Research

Thu, 15 Dec 2016 15:54:03 GMT

TORM ($5.95) - In our November 4, 2016 email, we highlighted TORM’s Q3 2016 results and offered our reasons for tracking the company. We recently had a chance to speak with management and feel there is no real need for deviation from our original thesis. We encourage you to look back at our “Reasons for Tracking” note for a summary of the company’s recent Q3 2016 results as well as our original comments on the story. To see all our TORM research go here. Here is a quick summary of the company’s main operating segments:

Specialty alumina accounted for 52% of Q2 2016 sales. These products are primarily used as fire retardant fillers, engineered fillers, white pigment in plastics and rubber applications as well as for use in catalyst applications.
Barium Sulfate and other specialty minerals accounted for 22% of Q2 2016 sales. These products are used as an extender filler in plastic and paint applications.
Titanium dioxide (“TiO2”) which accounted for 26% of Q2 2016 sales and is used as value added replacement pigments used in plastics, coating and paint applications, as well as a wide range of other industrial applications. The TiO2 and the Barium Sulfate segments address some similar applications. However, TiO2 serves more specialty products and higher end customer product needs. While this segment continues to face headwinds for the foreseeable future, the Company has lowered the cost structure and required investments to a point where it’s now contributing to profit at current production levels. Although unit demand (tons) has not necessarily suffered over the past several years, margins took a hit as China went “hyperdrive” to add TiO2 plants to increase supply and drive prices down. The company’s competitive advantage had been to deliver a superior high quality product at lower prices.

Our summary from our call with management is as follows:

The company is actively looking for new customers in its Specialty alumina segment and pursuing global diversification . Management believes this will help offset quarterly volatility which has been the norm for the company in the past.
We are still very bullish on the long term story. We believe TORM has multibagger potential for longer term investors who are willing to deal with the quarter to quarter volatility and short-term pain from time to time.
A new customer in the alumina business could accelerate this multibagger potential.
The company is trading below its tangible book value per share of $8.27 and seems it is back on track for growth.

Research

Mon, 07 Nov 2016 16:10:42 GMT

TORM ($5.25) - In our November 4, 2016 email we highlighted TORM’s Q3 2016 results and offered our reasons for tracking the company. We encourage you to also read the Q3 conference call transcript which we feel is very bullish. Here are some highlights of the call:

“I am very encouraged by the improvements we have made and believe we are well-positioned to restore more meaningful revenue growth as well as further improved profitability and returns for our shareholders in the coming quarters and years.”

“Overall, our specialty alumina business is clearly on track to show double-digit growth during 2016 and for several years to follow. We also expect our barium sulfate related products will -- contribute to growth over the next several years, and over time we believe this segment will continue to become a more meaningful portion of our business. While this is generally a commodity business, we have recently installed new equipment that is lowering our production cost as well as allowing us to make and sell greater quantities of premium rates, which have greater margin contribution.”

Research

Fri, 04 Nov 2016 13:23:22 GMT

TORM ($5.40) - In our October 20, 2016 email we stated we would be revisiting the TORM story due to recent restructuring initiatives. Please see our full reasons for tracking below. As we stated before, the company has a history of overpromising and under-delivering. We will be reaching out to management to address this concern.

Yesterday after the close TORM reported Q3 2016 results:

Sales of $10.0 million vs $8.9 million in the prior year
Non GAAP EPS of $0.10 vs a loss of $0.02 in the prior year

Quotes from management:

"Strong performance in our alumina business more than made up for continued weakness in TiO2 market conditions, putting total revenue back on a growth trajectory for the year. In addition, incremental contribution from our alumina business, as well as strategic initiatives to improve efficiencies of our TiO2 business, have resulted in significant improvements in profitability," said Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer. "While our strategies must continuously focus on lowering cost position, due to the successful growth our specialty alumina and barium sulfate businesses, along with what appears to be weak, but stabilizing conditions in the TiO2 market, we are now increasing focus on top line growth. We are expanding sales, marketing and distribution efforts to drive sales growth in the coming quarters, as well as investing in research and development to introduce new specialty mineral products that can provide long-term growth for our business."

Reasons For Tracking

Specialty chemical company TORM is an Ex-GeoBargain that is once again garnering our attention. We bought this microcap stock in October 2011 after the company completed some restructuring moves/financing to avoid bankruptcy after the Great Recession.

We first coded TORM as a GeoBargain on February 24, 2011 at $13.50 and shares quickly spiked, reaching a high of $24.80 by the end of March 2011. However, soon after, a multi-year retreat began as one of its business segments faced industry headwinds. The stock’s performance was hampered since then, but recent management initiatives have brought the company back to profitability.

TORM produces and sells specialty mineral products that include flame retardant and smoke suppressant fillers, engineered fillers, and titanium dioxide (TiO2)-color hybrid pigments for use in plastics, coatings, paints, and catalysts applications.

We are not long TORM, but plan to interview management in the coming days. We need to address with management the company’s history of overpromising and under delivering.

The company has 3 main operating categories:

Specialty alumina which accounted for 52% of Q2 2016 sales. These products are primarily used as fire retardant fillers, engineered fillers, white pigment in plastics and rubber applications as well as for use in catalyst applications.
Barium Sulfate and other specialty minerals accounted for 22% of Q2 2016 sales. These products are used as an extender filler in plastic and paint applications.
Titanium dioxide (“TiO2”) which accounted for 26% of Q2 2016 sales are specialty titanium dioxide used as a value added replacement pigments used in plastics, coating and paint applications, as well as a wide range of other industrial applications. While this segment continues to face headwinds for the foreseeable future, the Company has lowered the cost structure and required investments for this segment to a point where it’s now contributing to profit at current production levels.

Unfortunately, the company’s operational gains that helped propel the stock to highs are inconsistent. Lumpy order flow and competition are the culprits. Specifically, the company was hampered by its TiO2 segment which was pressured by pricing from China and higher raw material cost for several years. We also noticed that its barium sulfate business faces growth challenges. The company’s specialty alumina sub drives revenue. For example, through the first 6 months of 2016 sales from these two division were down 17%, offsetting an increase of 15% in its specialty alumina segment.

	2016 (6months)	2015	2014	2013	2012
Specialty Aluminas	$9.8	$16.7	$21.6	$18.0	$17.8
Barium Sulfate	$4.4	$9.1	$9.5	$8.0	$8.1
TiO2	$4.9	$11.1	$15.4	$20.0	$30.6
Totals	$19.1	$36.9	$46.5	$46.0	$56.5

After 3 years of prematurely telling investors that it had things under control we think management may finally have a chance to put the company in a position to grow its top and bottom line. Here are our reasons for tracking the company, mainly sourced from press release and conference call transcripts:

First 3 quarters of 2016 marked a return to profitability after two years of losses:

*Q3 was reported this morning. The company reported EPS of $0.10.

2. TiO2 Restructuring- The company ceased production of its TiO2 raw material (Synthetic Rutile feed stock) plant in late 2015.

“Management determined that it was more cost effective to continue purchasing feedstock material for its TiO2-based products from alternate sources than to resume production at its Malaysian facility.”

This move has allowed the TiO2 segment to return to profitability even at lower revenue levels.

3. It’s possible that the overall outlook for the company’s TiO2 business is improved.

“Now we have far less exposure to significant volatility that the titanium oxide industry has faced over the past decade and over time we have a business that can produce an adequate return on investment. Based on the report of a major titanium oxide commodity producers and other industry sources it appears that the pricing environment has stabilized and some industry participants are instituting price increases in commodity titanium oxide through the balance of year.”

“Regardless of micro conditions, we feel confident that our titanium oxide business is well-positioned to provide a positive contribution in 2016 and more consistent return profile over the next several years.”

4. It’s possible that the overall outlook for the company’s barium sulfate business is also improved.

“We expect our barium sulfate related products will also be a contributor to growth this year and overtime we believe this segment will continue to become a more meaningful portion of our business.”

“This year we faced a bit of a headwind as we had a significant barium sulfate customer in the America to reformulate the use of less our product. We expect to more than compensate for this with new customers and expect our barium sulfate business will continue to grow in North America and overseas market with new and existing customers in paints, coatings and plastics.”

5. The Company also expects its specialty alumina business to return to double digit growth for the next several years due to several new large volume applications moving into production.

6. TORM is focusing its capital expenditures (CAPEX) on its growing specialty alumina business.

“Early into the second quarter, we commissioned new equipment which expanded the plant capacity by approximately 50% and gives us some runway for growth during the next couple of years. The timing could not have been better as we produce record volume in the month of June levels we could not have reached without the added capacity. Our hydrated alumina business is hitting on all cylinders. Our core composite business in Europe showed continue growth and we continue to do more business with existing customers as well as adding new ones.”

7. Less exposure to financial volatility (alumina business)

“We are attending more industry tradeshows than we ever have before and have brought a new distribution partners. In addition for the past several quarters, we have been working with several large multinational customers to develop new large-volume application for our specialty hydrated alumina products. Test and pilot production runs a promising and we expect that several of these large-volume applications would be moving into production in the next year. As these applications become part of our mix in addition to driving growth, they will also further diversify our end business. We have far less exposure to the significant volatility that to the – sorry -- business market as well as customer concentration.

Overall our hydrated alumina business is clearly back on track to show double-digit growth during 2016 and for several years to follow.”

8. Overall optimism

“Strategic initiatives to divest our SR raw material productions assets and continued investments in our specialty alumina and barium sulfate businesses resulted in a return to profitability during the first half, as well as substantial improvements in our balance sheet. We improved our inventory turns from 2.2x to 3.0x, reducing our investment in inventory by more than 30% year-over-year. Our cash balance grew by $2.5 million and we reduced debt levels by $1.3 million during the first half of the year,” said Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer. “We have lowered the cost structure and the required investment in our TiO2 business to a point where it is now contributing to profit and returns at current production levels. We also expect that several new large-volume specialty alumina applications will be moving into production during the next year, and put the alumina business back on a double-digit growth trajectory for 2016 and for several years to follow. This Spring we finished the expansion of our alumina production facility in the Netherlands, which expanded capacity by approximately 50% and should allow us to meet the expected increase in demand.”

While we will watch with a cautious eye due to our past history with TORM, the restructuring of its TiO2 business, its specialty alumina business entering a prolonged growth phase and the strengthening of the balance sheet via the divestiture of its Synthetic Rutile assets have sparked an interest in the company’s story.

Caveats:

1. Large orders can skew quarterly performance:

“While we expect double-digit growth for specialty alumina sales for the full year, we anticipate quarterly performance will be inconsistent as the order patterns of a large customer can vary significantly from quarter-to-quarter.”

“We anticipate quarterly performance will be inconsistent as the order patterns of a large customer can vary significantly from quarter-to-quarter.”

2. Low Margins

3. Has the TiO2 segment has indeed stabilized? Even though this sub is profitable at depressed revenue levels, the question remains if profitability can still be maintained if sales continue to decline.

Reasons For Tracking

Fri, 04 Nov 2016 04:00:00 GMT

Yesterday after the close TORM reported Q3 2016 results:

Sales of $10.0 million vs $8.9 million in the prior year
Non GAAP EPS of $0.10 vs a loss of $0.02 in the prior year

Quotes from management:

Reasons For Tracking

We are not long TORM, but plan to interview management in the coming days. We need to address with management the company’s history of overpromising and under delivering.

The company has 3 main operating categories:

Specialty alumina which accounted for 52% of Q2 2016 sales. These products are primarily used as fire retardant fillers, engineered fillers, white pigment in plastics and rubber applications as well as for use in catalyst applications.
Barium Sulfate and other specialty minerals accounted for 22% of Q2 2016 sales. These products are used as an extender filler in plastic and paint applications.
Titanium dioxide (“TiO2”) which accounted for 26% of Q2 2016 sales are specialty titanium dioxide used as a value added replacement pigments used in plastics, coating and paint applications, as well as a wide range of other industrial applications. While this segment continues to face headwinds for the foreseeable future, the Company has lowered the cost structure and required investments for this segment to a point where it’s now contributing to profit at current production levels.

	2016 (6months)	2015	2014	2013	2012
Specialty Aluminas	$9.8	$16.7	$21.6	$18.0	$17.8
Barium Sulfate	$4.4	$9.1	$9.5	$8.0	$8.1
TiO2	$4.9	$11.1	$15.4	$20.0	$30.6
Totals	$19.1	$36.9	$46.5	$46.0	$56.5

First 3 quarters of 2016 marked a return to profitability after two years of losses:

*Q3 was reported this morning. The company reported EPS of $0.10.

2. TiO2 Restructuring- The company ceased production of its TiO2 raw material (Synthetic Rutile feed stock) plant in late 2015.

“Management determined that it was more cost effective to continue purchasing feedstock material for its TiO2-based products from alternate sources than to resume production at its Malaysian facility.”

This move has allowed the TiO2 segment to return to profitability even at lower revenue levels.

3. It’s possible that the overall outlook for the company’s TiO2 business is improved.

“Now we have far less exposure to significant volatility that the titanium oxide industry has faced over the past decade and over time we have a business that can produce an adequate return on investment. Based on the report of a major titanium oxide commodity producers and other industry sources it appears that the pricing environment has stabilized and some industry participants are instituting price increases in commodity titanium oxide through the balance of year.”

“Regardless of micro conditions, we feel confident that our titanium oxide business is well-positioned to provide a positive contribution in 2016 and more consistent return profile over the next several years.”

4. It’s possible that the overall outlook for the company’s barium sulfate business is also improved.

“We expect our barium sulfate related products will also be a contributor to growth this year and overtime we believe this segment will continue to become a more meaningful portion of our business.”

“This year we faced a bit of a headwind as we had a significant barium sulfate customer in the America to reformulate the use of less our product. We expect to more than compensate for this with new customers and expect our barium sulfate business will continue to grow in North America and overseas market with new and existing customers in paints, coatings and plastics.”

5. The Company also expects its specialty alumina business to return to double digit growth for the next several years due to several new large volume applications moving into production.

6. TORM is focusing its capital expenditures (CAPEX) on its growing specialty alumina business.

“Early into the second quarter, we commissioned new equipment which expanded the plant capacity by approximately 50% and gives us some runway for growth during the next couple of years. The timing could not have been better as we produce record volume in the month of June levels we could not have reached without the added capacity. Our hydrated alumina business is hitting on all cylinders. Our core composite business in Europe showed continue growth and we continue to do more business with existing customers as well as adding new ones.”

7. Less exposure to financial volatility (alumina business)

“We are attending more industry tradeshows than we ever have before and have brought a new distribution partners. In addition for the past several quarters, we have been working with several large multinational customers to develop new large-volume application for our specialty hydrated alumina products. Test and pilot production runs a promising and we expect that several of these large-volume applications would be moving into production in the next year. As these applications become part of our mix in addition to driving growth, they will also further diversify our end business. We have far less exposure to the significant volatility that to the – sorry -- business market as well as customer concentration.

Overall our hydrated alumina business is clearly back on track to show double-digit growth during 2016 and for several years to follow.”

8. Overall optimism

“Strategic initiatives to divest our SR raw material productions assets and continued investments in our specialty alumina and barium sulfate businesses resulted in a return to profitability during the first half, as well as substantial improvements in our balance sheet. We improved our inventory turns from 2.2x to 3.0x, reducing our investment in inventory by more than 30% year-over-year. Our cash balance grew by $2.5 million and we reduced debt levels by $1.3 million during the first half of the year,” said Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer. “We have lowered the cost structure and the required investment in our TiO2 business to a point where it is now contributing to profit and returns at current production levels. We also expect that several new large-volume specialty alumina applications will be moving into production during the next year, and put the alumina business back on a double-digit growth trajectory for 2016 and for several years to follow. This Spring we finished the expansion of our alumina production facility in the Netherlands, which expanded capacity by approximately 50% and should allow us to meet the expected increase in demand.”

Caveats:

1. Large orders can skew quarterly performance:

“While we expect double-digit growth for specialty alumina sales for the full year, we anticipate quarterly performance will be inconsistent as the order patterns of a large customer can vary significantly from quarter-to-quarter.”

“We anticipate quarterly performance will be inconsistent as the order patterns of a large customer can vary significantly from quarter-to-quarter.”

2. Low Margins

Research

Thu, 20 Oct 2016 16:15:37 GMT

TORM ($5.64) - We are revisiting Ex-GeoBargain TORM. The Company’s recent restructuring initiatives of its business, its specialty alumina business entering a prolonged growth phase and the strengthening of the balance sheet via the divestiture of some of its assets warrant putting the company on our radar. We will release our full reasons for tracking the company shortly. We currently have no position in TORM. There is some history of overpromising and under delivering that we need to address with management.

Comments & Business Outlook

Fri, 31 Jul 2015 16:43:09 GMT

TORM ($5.75) reported second quarter 2015results:

Q2 2015 revenues of $9.9 million vs $12.3 million in the prior year
Q2 2015 loss per share of $0.04 vs EPS of $0.04 in the prior year

Management commentary:

“Despite the difficult revenue and income/loss comparisons and challenging market environment for our TiO2 business, we are maintaining and adding new customers and new applications for our high-performance specialty alumina and barium sulfate products, which gives us confidence that the long-term health of our business and opportunities for growth remain strong," commented Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer. "We expect our specialty alumina and barium sulfate business to resume volume growth from current levels and we remain optimistic about the outlook for these categories for the next several years. To meet anticipated demand for existing and new specialty alumina applications, we are currently in the process of expanding our production capacity. Our TiO2 revenue is likely to continue to be negatively affected by softer demand trends and pricing pressure across the industry. We are selling through TiO2 inventories that were produced last year which have a higher cost basis and expect margins in this business to improve in the coming quarters to reflect a reduction in raw material costs and the significant steps we have taken to reduce production costs. Overall, we intend to drive improvement in returns with faster inventory turnover and lower production costs, while refocusing investment in areas that can provide opportunities for significant growth and contribute attractive returns."

Comments & Business Outlook

Fri, 31 Oct 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Third Quarter 2014 Results

Q3 2014 revenues of $11.3 million vs $10.8 million in the prior year
Q3 2014 EPS of $0.09 vs $0.03 in the prior year

"Our Specialty Alumina business continues to post double-digit year-over-year growth, up 21 percent for the quarter and 27 percent year to date. Combined with the strength of our Barium Sulfate and other product groups, we were able to more than offset the tough market conditions and lower utilization levels of our TiO2 business, allowing us to post overall revenue growth and maintain profitability," commented Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer.

"We remain optimistic about the outlook for our specialty alumina business, and continue to expect double-digit revenue and profitability growth for this part of our business. Our TiO2 business is likely to continue to be negatively affected by softer demand trends and weak pricing across the industry," said Dr. Karasch. "Our strategic focus will remain on growing our specialty alumina business and improving efficiency and cost containment across all segments of the business. We believe this strategy should allow us to generate positive cash flow and produce continued improvement in profitability during the ongoing downturn in the TiO2 cycle."

Comments & Business Outlook

Fri, 25 Jul 2014 04:00:00 GMT

Second Quarter 2015 Results:

Revenues for Q2 2014 were $12.4 million vs $10.7 million in the prior year.
Non-GAAP EPS for Q2 2014 were $0.01 vs $0.06 in the prior year.

"Record quarterly sales in our Specialty Aluminas business was more than enough to offset the tough market conditions and lower utilization levels of our TiO2 business, allowing us to post overall revenue growth and maintain profitability," commented Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer. "As expected our margins were negatively affected by low levels of utilization as we temporarily shut down our SR facility in Malaysia during the second quarter given current TiO2 market conditions."

"We remain optimistic about the outlook for our Specialty Aluminas business, and continue to expect double-digit revenue and profitability growth for the remainder of 2014 for this part of our business. Our TiO2 business is likely to continue to be negatively affected by softer demand trends and high inventory levels across the industry," said Dr. Karasch. "Our strategic focus will remain on growing our Specialty Aluminas business and improving efficiency and cost containment across all segments of the business. We believe this strategy should allow us to generate positive cash flow and produce break even or better profitability during the ongoing downturn in the TiO2 cycle."

Comments & Business Outlook

Thu, 01 May 2014 04:00:00 GMT

First Quarter 2014 Results

Revenues for Q1 2014 were $13.1 million vs $11.4 million in the prior year.
EPS for Q1 2014 were $0.21 vs a loss of $0.03 in the prior year.

Commenting on the quarter, Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We reported sales growth of 15 percent and returned to profitability during the first quarter. We believe our performance reflects our efforts to improve operating efficiency at the plant level, including adjusting staffing levels and plant schedules. Our TiO2 segment continues to be pressured by ongoing industry-wide pricing pressures and higher inventory costs related to the purchase of higher-priced raw materials. We anticipate the SR plant in Malaysia being idle during the second quarter given current market conditions. This shutdown will adversely affect our profitability for the quarter."

"We remain optimistic about the outlook for our specialty alumina business, and continue to expect double-digit revenue and profitability growth for the remainder of 2014 for this part of our business. Our TiO2 business will continue to be negatively affected by softer demand trends, high raw material costs and high inventory levels across the industry," said Dr. Karasch. "Our strategic focus will remain on growing our specialty alumina business and improving efficiency and cost containment across all segments of the business. We believe this strategy should allow us to generate positive cash flow and produce breakeven or better profitability results during the ongoing downturn in the TiO2 cycle."

Comments & Business Outlook

Fri, 28 Feb 2014 05:00:00 GMT

Fourth Quarter 2013 Results

4Q13 net sales increased 32% to $13.0 million, versus 4Q12 net sales of $9.8 million.
4Q13 loss per share of ($0.60), versus 4Q12 net income per share of $0.07.

"The outlook for our specialty alumina business is positive revenue growth and profitability expected from this produce group during 2014. The outlook for our TiO2 business will likely continue to be negatively affected by lower average selling prices and the soft demand trends that are being experienced across the TiO2 industry," said Dr. Karasch. "Our business plans call for focus on our specialty alumina and other growth areas of our business, while continuing ongoing cost containment and efficiency measures. Our plan should allow us to generate positive cash flow and produce near breakeven profitability during the downturn in the TiO2 market."

Comments & Business Outlook

Wed, 19 Feb 2014 05:00:00 GMT

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, Feb. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TOR Minerals International (Nasdaq: TORM), producer of specialty aluminas, synthetic titanium dioxide and color pigments, and other high performance mineral fillers, today announced that due to the continued weakness in the titanium dioxide (TiO2) market, the company expects to report significant losses for its fourth quarter 2013 financial results, including a $1.3 million write-down of TiO2-related inventory.

"We are implementing measures to address our performance within the TiO2 and synthetic rutile segments of our business, including adjusting staffing levels and plant schedules to improve operational efficiencies and adjust inventory levels. Other segments of our business are on track to resume our 15% to 20% targeted growth rate and are helping to partially offset losses. For example, during the fourth quarter our specialty alumina business, which represents approximately 40% of total revenue, showed 18% growth," said Dr. Olaf Karasch, CEO of TOR Minerals. "Our business plans call for the company to manage through the downturn in the TiO2 market by generating cash flows from our other business segments and our ongoing cost containment measures in order to allow us to operate at breakeven profitability levels."

Deal Flow

Wed, 22 Jan 2014 05:00:00 GMT

ITEM 1.01 ENTRY INTO A MATERIAL DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT.

On January 17, 2014, TOR Minerals International, Inc. (the "Company") entered into the third amendment (the "Amendment") with American Bank, N.A. (the "Lender"). Under the terms of the Amendment, which has an effective date of January 1, 2014, the Company is required to pledge a certificate of deposit in the amount of $350,000 as additional security against the outstanding loan balance of $910,447.00.

Comments & Business Outlook

Wed, 06 Nov 2013 05:00:00 GMT

Third Quarter Results

The company reported revenue of $10.9 million, a decrease of 45% from $19.9 million in the same quarter 2012.
The company reported EPS of $0.03, compared to $0.53 for the same quarter 2012.

Commenting on results, Dr. Olaf Karasch, CEO of TOR Minerals, said, "Our strategic focus remains on product innovation and continuous reduction in production costs. While we expect near-term profitability will likely continue to be negatively affected by lower prices, lower fixed cost absorption, and the increased costs of raw materials and energy, improved production efficiencies and improve yields should help to partially offset these factors. In addition, our future results will benefit if our recently introduced specialty alumina and TiO2 color pigment products continue to gain market acceptance and these new specialty alumina and TiO2 color pigment products are showing promise."

Comments & Business Outlook

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 04:00:00 GMT

Second Quarter 2013 Results

2Q13 revenue decreased 24% to $10.7 million

2Q13 diluted net income of $150,000 versus 2Q12 diluted net income of $1.6 million

2Q13 diluted earnings per share of $0.04 versus 2Q12 diluted earnings per share of$0.45

Commenting on results, Dr. Olaf Karasch, CEO of TOR Minerals, said, "Our strategic focus remains on product innovation and continued reduction in production costs. As our new value-added products continue to gain market acceptance, we are focusing on achieving significant growth from our specialty alumina products over the next year. While we expect near-term profitability to continue to be negatively affected by lower prevailing TiO2 prices and the increased costs for related raw materials and energy, we also expect that fixed cost absorption in our Malaysian SR plant should improve through the balance of the year. In addition, we expect the incremental investments in our Malaysian SR plant to improve yields and reduce production costs."

"Based on more favorable customer inventory levels and commentary from large TiO2 commodity producers, we are cautiously optimistic for a market recovery during second half of the year. In addition, we continue to innovate and have had success with our new premium TiO2 color pigment product, TIOPREM, which saw a 52 percent growth during the first half of 2013 and represented 13 percent of our TiO2 product sales. Longer term, we believe the demand and supply characteristics in the TiO2 industry will continue to create attractive opportunities for TOR Minerals, as customers increasingly discover the value-added attributes of substituting our HITOX® and TIOPREM® products for commodity TiO2," said Dr. Karasch.

Deal Flow

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 04:00:00 GMT

On April 17, 2013, TOR Minerals Malaysia, a wholly owned subsidiary of TOR Minerals International, Inc., amended its banking facility with RHB Bank Berhad ("RHB") to extend the maturity date from March 5, 2013 to March 24, 2014 and grant a Multi-Trade Line of RM 5,000,000 ($1,617,000). In addition, the RHB facility includes the following: (1) an overdraft line of credit up to RM 1,000,000; (2) an ECR of RM 9,300,000; (3) a bank guarantee of RM 1,200,000; and (4) a foreign exchange contract limit of RM 25,000,000 ($323,000, $3,008,000, $388,000 and $8,085,000, respectively).

Comments & Business Outlook

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Third Quarter 2012 Results

3Q12 sales increased 75 percent to $19.9 million
3Q12 diluted net income increased 69 percent to $1.8 million
3Q12 diluted EPS: $0.53 versus 3Q11 diluted EPS: $0.33
Tangible Book Value as of Sept. 30, 2012 was $11.69 per share, versus $9.11 last year

Commenting on sales trends, Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We posted our 8th consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement in revenue and earnings. A focus on delivering unique value-added products along with the geographic, product, customer and end-market diversification of our business, has allowed us to overcome the effects of a weak and uncertain global economy and produce another record quarter."

"We've made incremental investments in our SR plant this year, which are delivering 5 percent to 7 percent improvement in yields and lowering our production costs. We expect the efficiencies gained from these investments along with increased utilization of our facilities to provide a significant offset to increasing cost pressures from raw materials and rising energy prices," said Dr. Karasch.

"We expect that our TiO2 pigment customers will continue to reduce inventories to levels more closely aligned with near-term demand, and as a result this product group is likely to experience flat to down year-over-year comparisons over the next couple of quarters. While near-term volumes and pricing may be affected by economic weakness and uncertainty, we believe the long-term demand and supply characteristics in the TiO2 business will continue to create growth attractive opportunities for TOR Minerals, as customers increasingly discover the value-added attributes of substituting our HITOX® and TIOPREM® products for commodity TiO2. Offsetting these near-term pressures, we expect our specialty alumina and other revenue categories, which make up more than 50 percent of our historic revenue mix, to continue to show growth. We are also optimistic that beginning next year we will see recurring sales of SR to third parties. Overall, our goal is to continue to deliver on our targeted growth of 15 percent to 20 percent over the next three to five years," concluded Dr. Karasch.

Comments & Business Outlook

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 04:00:00 GMT

Second Quarter 2012 Results

2Q12 revenue increased 35 percent to $14.1 million
2Q12 diluted net income increased 57 percent to $1.6 million
2Q12 diluted EPS: $0.45 versus 2Q11 diluted EPS: $0.30

Commenting on sales trends, Dr. Olaf Karasch, Chief Executive Officer, said, "In addition to higher average selling prices, the growth of our pigment business reflects the markets re-discovery of our colored TiO2 pigments as a partial replacement for commodity TiO2 and other colored pigments in paint and plastic formulations. Many new customers are realizing the value-added characteristics of our niche specialty mineral products and are transitioning from sample to production order quantities, particularly in North America, our largest market."

"We continue to demonstrate the earnings leverage in our business model as our bottom line grew at more than twice the rate of revenue during the first half of the year," said Dr. Karasch. "While we expect cost pressures from raw materials and energy to continue during the balance of the year, increased utilization, favorable pricing, and improved efficiencies should offset these factors and drive continued earnings growth."

"We posted our 7th quarter of year-over-year improvement in revenue and earnings as our new products continued to gain market acceptance and we continued to benefit from earnings leverage and operating efficiencies," said Dr. Karasch. "We have differentiated products, low cost manufacturing techniques, and a culture that fosters continued innovation. Combined with the right strategies, our goal is to continue to deliver on our targeted growth of 15% to 20% over the next three to five years," concluded Dr. Karasch.

Contract Awards

Mon, 21 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

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.

Deal Flow

Fri, 04 May 2012 04:00:00 GMT

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."

Comments & Business Outlook

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:00:00 GMT

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.

Comments & Business Outlook

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT

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."

Comments & Business Outlook

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:00:00 GMT

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."

Comments & Business Outlook

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 04:00:00 GMT

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.”

Comments & Business Outlook

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT

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."

Comments & Business Outlook

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

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.

Research

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

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.

Comments & Business Outlook

Thu, 06 May 2010 04:00:00 GMT

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