VALHI INC /DE/ - Annual Report: 2007 (Form 10-K)
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-K
X
ANNUAL
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 -
For the fiscal year ended December 31,
2007
Commission file number 1-5467
VALHI,
INC.
(Exact
name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
87-0110150
|
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of
Incorporation
or organization)
|
(IRS
Employer
Identification
No.)
|
5430
LBJ Freeway, Suite 1700, Dallas, Texas
|
75240-2697
|
|
(Address
of principal executive offices)
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(Zip
Code)
|
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code:
|
(972)
233-1700
|
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class
|
Name of each exchange
on
which
registered
|
|
Common
stock ($.01 par value per share)
|
New York Stock
Exchange
|
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None.
Indicate
by check mark:
If
the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the
Securities Act. Yes No
X
If
the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section
15(d) of the Act. Yes No
X
Whether
the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or
15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or
for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports),
and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90
days. Yes X
No
If
disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not
contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant's
knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by
reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. Yes
X No
Whether
the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer or a
non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company (as defined in Rule 12b-2
of the Act). Large accelerated filer
Accelerated filer X
non-accelerated filer
smaller reporting company .
Whether
the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the
Act). Yes No
X .
The
aggregate market value of the 7.3 million shares of voting common stock held by
nonaffiliates of Valhi, Inc. as of June 30, 2007 (the last business day of the
Registrant's most recently-completed second fiscal quarter) approximated $119.7
million.
As
of February 29, 2008, 113,679,278 shares of the Registrant's common stock were
outstanding.
Documents
incorporated by reference
The
information required by Part III is incorporated by reference from the
Registrant's definitive proxy statement to be filed with the Commission pursuant
to Regulation 14A not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year
covered by this report.
PART
I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Valhi,
Inc. (NYSE: VHI) is primarily a holding company. We operate through
our wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries, including NL Industries, Inc.,
Kronos Worldwide, Inc., CompX International Inc. and Waste Control Specialists
LLC (“WCS”). Prior to March 26, 2007 we were also the largest
shareholder of Titanium Metals Corporation (“TIMET”), although we owned less
than a majority interest and we accounted for our investment in TIMET by the
equity method. On February 28, 2007 our board of directors declared a
special dividend of all of the TIMET common stock we owned. The
special dividend was paid on March 26, 2007 to stockholders of record as of
March 12, 2007. After completion of the dividend, we own
approximately 1% of TIMET primarily through our NL subsidiary. See
Note 3 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. Kronos (NYSE: KRO),
NL (NYSE: NL) and CompX (NYSE: CIX) each file periodic reports with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
Our
principal executive offices are located at Three Lincoln Center, 5430 LBJ
Freeway, Suite 1700, Dallas, Texas 75240. Our telephone number is
(972) 233-1700. We maintain a worldwide website at www.valhi.net.
Brief
History
LLC
Corporation, our legal predecessor, was incorporated in Delaware in 1932. We are
the successor company of the 1987 merger of LLC Corporation and another entity
controlled by Contran Corporation. We are majority owned by a
subsidiary of Contran, which owns approximately 93% of our outstanding common
stock at December 31, 2007. Substantially all of Contran's
outstanding voting stock is held by trusts established for the benefit of
certain children and grandchildren of Harold C. Simmons (for which Mr. Simmons
is the sole trustee) or is held directly by Mr. Simmons or other persons or
related companies to Mr. Simmons. Consequently, Mr. Simmons may be deemed to
control Contran and us.
Key
events in our history include:
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·
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1979
– Contran acquires control of LLC;
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|
·
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1981
- Contran acquires control of our other predecessor
company;
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|
·
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1982 - Contran
acquires control of Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc., a predecessor
to CompX;
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·
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1984 - Keystone
spins-off an entity that includes what is to become CompX; this entity
subsequently merges with LLC;
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·
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1986
- Contran acquires control of NL, which at the time owns 100% of Kronos
and a 50% interest in TIMET;
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·
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1987
- LLC and another Contran controlled company merge to form Valhi, our
current corporate structure;
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·
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1988
- NL spins-off an entity that includes its investment in
TIMET;
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·
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1995
- WCS begins start-up operations;
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·
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1996
- TIMET completes an initial public
offering;
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·
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2003
– NL completes the spin-off of Kronos through the pro-rata distribution of
Kronos shares to its shareholders including
us;
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·
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2004
through 2005 - NL distributes Kronos shares to its shareholders, including
us, through quarterly dividends;
and
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·
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2007
– We distribute all of our TIMET common stock to our shareholders through
a stock dividend.
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Unless
otherwise indicated, references in this report to “we”, “us” or “our” refer to
Valhi, Inc. and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
Forward-Looking
Statements
This
Annual Report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in
this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are not historical in nature are
forward-looking in nature about our future that are not statements of historical
fact. Statements are found in this report including, but not limited
to, statements found in Item 1 - "Business," Item
1A – “Risk Factors,” Item 3 - "Legal Proceedings," Item 7 - "Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and
Item 7A - "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk," are
forward-looking statements that represent our beliefs and assumptions based on
currently available information. In some cases you can identify these
forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "believes," "intends,"
"may," "should," "could," "anticipates," "expected" or comparable terminology,
or by discussions of strategies or trends. Although we believe the
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we do
not know if these expectations will be correct. Forward-looking
statements by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties that
could significantly impact expected results. Actual future results could differ
materially from those predicted. While it is not possible to identify all
factors, we continue to face many risks and uncertainties. Among the
factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from those
described herein are the risks and uncertainties discussed in this Annual Report
and those described from time to time in our other filings with the SEC
including, but not limited to, the following:
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·
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Future
supply and demand for our products;
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·
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The
cyclicality of certain of our businesses (such as Kronos’ TiO2
operations;
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·
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Customer
inventory levels (such as the extent to which Kronos’ customers may, from
time to time, accelerate purchases of TiO2 in
advance of anticipated price increases or defer purchases of TiO2in
advance of anticipated price
decreases;
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·
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Changes
in our raw material and other operating costs (such as energy
costs);
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·
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The
possibility of labor disruptions;
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·
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General
global economic and political conditions (such as changes in the level of
gross domestic product in various regions of the world and the impact of
such changes on demand for, among other things, TiO2);
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·
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Competitive
products and substitute products;
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·
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Possible
disruption of our business or increases in the cost of doing business
resulting from terrorist activities or global
conflicts;
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·
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Customer
and competitor strategies;
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·
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The
impact of pricing and production
decisions;
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·
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Competitive
technology positions;
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·
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The
introduction of trade barriers;
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·
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Restructuring
transactions involving us and our
affiliates;
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·
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Potential
consolidation of our competitors;
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·
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The
extent to which our subsidiaries were to become unable to pay us
dividends;
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·
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Uncertainties
associated with new product
development;
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·
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Fluctuations
in currency exchange rates (such as changes in the exchange rate between
the U.S. dollar and each of the euro, the Norwegian kroner and the
Canadian dollar);
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·
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Operating
interruptions (including, but not limited to, labor disputes, leaks,
natural disasters, fires, explosions, unscheduled or unplanned downtime
and transportation interruptions);
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·
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The
timing and amounts of insurance
recoveries;
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·
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Our
ability to renew or refinance credit
facilities;
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·
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The
ultimate outcome of income tax audits, tax settlement initiatives or other
tax matters;
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·
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The
ultimate ability to utilize income tax attributes or changes in income tax
rates related to such attributes, the benefit of which has been recognized
under the more likely than not recognition criteria (such as Kronos’
ability to utilize its German net operating loss
carryforwards);
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·
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Environmental
matters (such as those requiring compliance with emission and discharge
standards for existing and new facilities, or new developments regarding
environmental remediation at sites related to our former
operations);
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·
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Government
laws and regulations and possible changes therein (such as changes in
government regulations which might impose various obligations on present
and former manufacturers of lead pigment and lead-based paint, including
NL, with respect to asserted health concerns associated with the use of
such products);
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·
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The
ultimate resolution of pending litigation (such as NL's lead pigment
litigation and litigation surrounding environmental matters of NL and
Tremont); and
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·
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Possible
future litigation.
|
Should
one or more of these risks materialize (or the consequences of such development
worsen), or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results
could differ materially from those currently forecasted or
expected. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statement whether as a result of changes in information,
future events or otherwise.
Segments
We have
three consolidated operating segments at December 31, 2007:
Chemicals
Kronos
Worldwide, Inc.
|
Our
chemicals segment is operated through our majority ownership of
Kronos. Kronos is a leading global producer and marketer of
value-added titanium dioxide pigments (“TiO2”). TiO2,
which imparts whiteness, brightness and opacity, is used for a variety of
manufacturing applications including: plastics, paints, paper and other
industrial products. Kronos has production facilities in Europe
and North America. TiO2
sales were over 90% of Kronos’ sales in 2007.
|
Component
Products
CompX
International Inc.
|
We
operate in the component products industry through our majority ownership
of CompX. CompX is a leading manufacturer of security products,
precision ball bearing slides and ergonomic computer support systems used
in the office furniture, transportation, postal, tool storage, appliance
and a variety of other industries. CompX is also a leading
manufacturer of stainless steel exhaust systems, gauges and throttle
controls for the performance marine industry. CompX has
production facilities in North America and Asia.
|
Waste
Management
Waste
Control Specialists LLC
|
WCS
is our wholly-owned subsidiary which owns and operates a West Texas
facility for the processing, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous,
toxic and certain types of low-level radioactive waste. WCS is
in the process of seeking to obtain regulatory authorization to expand its
low-level and mixed low-level radioactive waste handling
capabilities.
|
For
additional information about our segments and equity investments see “Part II –
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of Operations” and Notes 2 and 7 to our Consolidated Financial
Statements.
CHEMICALS
SEGMENT - KRONOS WORLDWIDE, INC.
Business
Overview - Through our majority owned subsidiary,
Kronos, we are a leading global producer and marketer of value-added TiO2,
which is a white inorganic pigment used to impart whiteness, brightness and
opacity for products such as coatings, plastics, paper, fibers, food, ceramics
and cosmetics. Kronos and its predecessors have produced and marketed
TiO2
in North America and Europe for over 80 years. TiO2
is considered a "quality of life" product with demand and growth affected by
gross domestic product and overall economic conditions in various regions of the
world. We produce TiO2
in four facilities in Europe and two facilities in North America, including one
facility in the U.S. that is owned by a 50/50 joint venture. We also
mine ilmenite, the raw material used in the production of TiO2,
in Norway.
TiO2’s value is
in its whitening properties and hiding power (opacity), which is the ability to
cover or mask other materials effectively and efficiently. TiO2 is the
largest commercially used whitening pigment by volume because it provides more
hiding power than any other commercially produced white pigment due to its high
refractive index rating. In addition, TiO2 has
excellent resistance to interaction with other chemicals, good thermal stability
and resistance to ultraviolet degradation. We ship TiO2 to our
customers in either a powder or slurry form via rail, truck or ocean
carrier.
Approximately
one-half of our 2007 TiO2 sales
volumes was to Europe. We believe we are the second-largest producer
of TiO2 in Europe,
with an estimated 20% of European TiO2 sales
volumes. We estimated we had 15% of North American TiO2 sales
volumes.
Per
capita consumption of TiO2 is
greatest in the United States and Western Europe and far exceeds consumption in
other areas of the world. We expect these markets to continue to be the largest
consumers of TiO2 for the
near future. It is probable significant markets for TiO2 could
emerge in Eastern Europe, the Far East, India or China, as the economies in
these regions continue to develop.
Manufacturing,
Operations and Products – We produce TiO2 using two
different methods: the chloride process and the sulfate process. The
chloride process, which begins with raw natural rutile ore or purchased slag as
the base, utilizes newer technology, is less labor intensive, requires less
energy and results in less waste. The chloride process produces
rutile TiO2 which is
preferred for the majority of customer applications because it has a bluer
undertone and higher durability than sulfate process rutile TiO2. Chloride
process rutile TiO2 is
preferred for use in coatings and plastics, the two largest end-use
markets. As a result approximately three-fourths of the TiO2 we produce
is chloride based rutile. For the overall TiO2 industry,
chloride based TiO2 sales have
increased relative to sulfate process pigments over the last several
years. The sulfate process, which begins with ilmenite ore or
purchased slag as a base, produces both rutile and anatase TiO2. Anatase
TiO2
is a much smaller percentage of annual global TiO2 production
and is preferred for use in selected paper, ceramics, rubber tires, man-made
fibers, food and cosmetics applications.
After the
intermediate TiO2 pigment is
produced by either the chloride or sulfate process, it is “finished” into
products with specific performance characteristics for particular end-use
applications through proprietary processes involving various chemical surface
treatments and intensive micronizing (milling). We currently produce
over 40 different TiO2 grades,
sold under our Kronos™
trademark, which provide a variety of performance properties to meet our
customers' specific requirements. Our major customers include
domestic and international paint, plastics and paper
manufacturers. Directly and through our distributors and agents, we
sell and provide technical services for our products to over 4,000 customers in
over 100 countries, with the majority of our sales in Europe and North
America.
We
believe there are no effective substitutes for TiO2. Extenders,
such as kaolin clays, calcium carbonate and polymeric opacifiers, are used in a
number of end-use markets as white pigments, however the opacity in these
products is not able to duplicate the performance characteristics of TiO2. Therefore,
we believe these products are not an effective substitute for TiO2.
Over the
last 10 years we have focused on expanding our annual production capacity by
obtaining additional operating efficiencies at our existing plants through
modest capital expenditures. In 2007, we produced 512,000
metric tons of TiO2 compared
to 516,000 metric tons 2006. Our production records include our 50%
share of TiO2 produced
at our joint-venture owned Louisiana facility. We believe our
attainable production capacity for 2008 is approximately 532,000 metric tons
with some slight additional capacity available in 2009, through our continued
debottlenecking efforts.
TiO2 sales were
about 90% of our total Chemicals sales in 2007. The remaining 10% of
our total chemical sales is comprised of other products that are complementary
to our Ti02
business. These products are as follows:
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·
|
We
own and operate an ilmenite mine in Norway pursuant to a governmental
concession with an unlimited term, and we are currently excavating a
second mine located near the first mine. Ilmenite is a raw
material used directly as a feedstock by some sulfate-process TiO2
plants, including all of our European sulfate-process
plants. We also sell ilmenite ore to third-parties, some of
whom are our competitors. The mines have estimated aggregate
reserves that are expected to last for at least another 60
years.
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|
·
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We
manufacture and sell iron-based chemicals, which are co-products and
processed co-products of the TiO2
pigment production process. These co-product chemicals are
marketed through our Ecochem division, and are used primarily as treatment
and conditioning agents for industrial effluents and municipal wastewater
as well as in the manufacture of iron pigments, cement and agricultural
products.
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·
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We
manufacture and sell titanium oxychloride and titanyl sulfate, which are
side-stream products from the production of TiO2. Titanium
oxychloride is used in specialty applications in the formulation of
pearlescent pigments, production of electroceramic capacitors for cell
phones and other electronic devices. Titanyl sulfate products
are used primarily in pearlescent
pigments.
|
Our
Chemicals Segment operated the following TiO2
facilities, two slurry facilities and an ilmenite mine at December 31,
2007.
Location
|
Description
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|
Leverkusen,
Germany (1)
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Chloride
and sulfate process TiO2
production
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Nordenham,
Germany
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Sulfate
process TiO2
production
|
|
Langerbrugge,
Belgium
|
Chloride
process TiO2
production
|
|
Fredrikstad,
Norway (2)
|
Sulfate
process TiO2
production
|
|
Varennes,
Quebec
|
Chloride
and sulfate process TiO2
production,
slurry
facility
|
|
Lake
Charles, Louisiana (3)
|
Chloride
process TiO2
production
|
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Lake
Charles, Louisiana
|
Slurry
facility
|
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Hauge
I Dalane, Norway (4)
|
Ilmenite
mine
|
|
(1)
|
The
Leverkusen facility is located within an extensive manufacturing complex
owned by Bayer AG. We own the Leverkusen facility, which represents about
one-third of our current Ti02
production capacity, but we lease the land under the facility from Bayer
AG under a long term agreement which expires in 2050. Lease
payments are periodically negotiated with Bayer for periods of at least
two years at a time. Bayer provides some raw materials,
including chlorine, auxiliary and operating materials, utilities and
services necessary to operate the Leverkusen facility under separate
supplies and services agreements.
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(2)
|
The
Fredrikstad plant is located on public land and is leased until 2013, with
an option to extend the lease for an additional 50
years.
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(3)
|
We
operate this facility in a 50/50 joint venture with Huntsman Holdings
LLC. See Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial
Statements.
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(4)
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We
are currently excavating a second mine located near our current mine in
Norway.
|
We
produce our iron-based chemicals products in Germany, Norway and Belgium, and we
produce our titanium chemicals products in Belgium and Canada. Our
Chemicals Segment also leases various corporate and administrative offices in
the U.S. and various sales offices in the U.S. and Europe.
Raw
Materials - The
primary raw materials used in chloride process TiO2 are
titanium-containing feedstock (natural rutile ore or purchased slag), chlorine
and coke. Chlorine and coke are available from a number of
suppliers. Titanium-containing feedstock suitable for use in the
chloride process is available from a limited, but increasing, number of
suppliers around the world, principally in Australia, South Africa, Canada,
India and the United States. We purchased chloride process grade slag
in 2007 from Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium, under a long-term supply contract that
expires at the end of 2011. We purchase natural rutile ore primarily
from Iluka Resources, Limited under a long-term supply contract that expires at
the end of 2009. We expect to successfully obtain long-term
extensions to those and other existing supply contracts prior to their
expiration. We expect the raw materials purchased under these
contracts to meet our chloride process feedstock requirements over the next
several years.
The
primary raw materials used in sulfate process TiO2 are
titanium-containing feedstock (primarily ilmenite from our Norwegian mine or
purchased slag) and sulfuric acid. Titanium-containing feed stock
suitable for use in the sulfate process is available from a limited number of
suppliers, principally in Norway, Canada, Australia, India and South
Africa. We are one of the few vertically integrated producers of
sulfate process TiO2. We
own and operate a rock ilmenite mine in Norway which supplied all the ilmenite
used in our European sulfate process TiO2 in 2007.
We expect ilmenite production from our mine to meet our European sulfate process
feedstock requirements for the foreseeable future. For our Canadian sulfate
process TiO2, we
purchase sulfate grade slag, primarily from Q.I.T. Fer et Titane Inc. (also a
subsidiary of Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium), under a long-term supply contract
that expires at the end of 2009 and Tinfos Titan and Iron KS of Norway under a
supply contract that expires in 2010. We expect these contracts will meet our
sulfate process feedstock requirements over the next few years. Sulfuric acid is
available from a number of suppliers.
Many of
our raw material contracts contain fixed quantities we are required to purchase,
although these contracts allow for an upward or downward adjustment in the
quantity purchased. We are not required to purchase feedstock in
excess of amounts we would reasonably consume in a year. Raw material
pricing under these agreements is generally negotiated annually.
The
following table summarizes our raw materials procured or mined in
2007.
Production Process/Raw
Material
|
Raw
Materials
Procured or Mined
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(In
thousands of metric tons)
|
||||
Chloride process plants
-
|
||||
purchased slag or
natural rutile ore
|
470 | |||
Sulfate process
plants:
|
||||
Raw ilmenite ore
mined and used
internally
|
311 | |||
Purchased
slag
|
25 |
Ti02 Manufacturing
Joint Venture -
We hold a 50% interest in a manufacturing joint venture with a subsidiary
of Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN). The joint venture owns and operates a
chloride process TiO2 facility
in Lake Charles, Louisiana. We share production from the facility
equally with Huntsman pursuant to separate offtake agreements.
A
supervisory committee composed of four members, two of whom we appoint and two
of whom are appointed by Huntsman, directs the business and affairs of the joint
venture, including production and output decisions. Two general
managers, one we appoint and one appointed by Huntsman, manage the joint venture
operations acting under the direction of the supervisory committee.
We are
required to purchase one-half of the TiO2 produced
by the joint venture. Because we do not control the joint venture, it
is not consolidated in our Consolidated Financial Statements; instead we use the
equity method to account for our interest. The joint venture operates
on a break-even basis, and therefore we do not have any equity in earnings from
the joint venture. With the exception of raw material costs and
packaging costs for the pigment grades produced, we share all costs and capital
expenditures of the joint venture equally with Huntsman. Our share of
the net costs is reported as cost of sales as the related TiO2 is
sold. See Note 7 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for
additional financial information.
Patents and
Trademarks
– We
hold patents for products and production processes which we believe are
important to our continuing business activities. We seek patent
protection for technical developments, principally in the United States, Canada
and Europe, and from time to time we enter into licensing arrangements with
third parties. Our existing patents generally have terms of 20 years
from the date of filing, and have remaining terms ranging from 2 to 19
years. We actively protect our intellectual property rights,
including our patent rights, and from time to time we are engaged in disputes
relating to the protection and use of intellectual property relating to our
products. We also rely on unpatented proprietary know-how, continuing
technological innovation and other trade secrets to develop and maintain our
competitive position. Our proprietary chloride production process is
an important part of our technology, and our business could be harmed if we fail
to maintain confidentiality of trade secrets used in this
technology.
Our major
trademarks, including KronosTM, are
protected by registration in the United States and elsewhere for products we
manufacture and sell.
Sales
– We sell to
a diverse customer base, with no single customer makes up more than 10% of our
Chemicals Segment’s sales in 2007. Our ten largest Chemicals Segment
customers accounted for approximately 27% of the Chemicals Segment’s 2007
sales. Due in part to the increase in paint production in the spring
to meet spring and summer painting season demand, our sales are slightly
seasonal with TiO2 sales
generally higher in the first half of the year.
Competition - The TiO2 industry
is highly competitive, with five major producers including us. Our
four largest competitors are: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. ("DuPont"),
National Titanium Dioxide Company Ltd. (Cristal), Tronox Incorporated and
Huntsman. These four largest competitors, plus the next largest
producer Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd., have estimated individual shares of
TiO2
production capacity ranging from 4% (for Ishihara) to 22% (for DuPont), and an
estimated aggregate share of worldwide TiO2 production
volume in excess of 60%. DuPont has about one-half of total North
American TiO2 production
capacity and is our principal North American competitor.
We
compete primarily on the basis of price, product quality and technical service,
and the availability of high performance pigment grades. Although
certain TiO2
grades are considered specialty pigments, the majority of our TiO2 grades and
substantially all of our production are considered commodity pigments with price
generally being the most significant competitive factor. We believe
we are the leading seller of TiO2 in several
countries, including Germany, with an estimated 12% of worldwide TiO2 sales
volumes in 2007. Overall, we are the world's fifth-largest producer
of TiO2.
Worldwide
capacity additions in the TiO2 market
resulting from construction of greenfield plants require significant capital
expenditures and substantial lead time (typically three to five years in our
experience). We are not aware of any TiO2 plants
currently under construction. DuPont has announced its intention to
build a TiO2
facility in China, but it is not clear when construction will begin and
it is not likely that any product would be available until 2011, at the
earliest.
We expect
that industry capacity will increase as we and our competitors continue to
debottleneck our existing facilities. We expect the average annual
increase in industry capacity from announced debottlenecking projects to be less
than the average annual demand growth for TiO2 during the
next three to five years. However, we do not know if future increases
in the TiO2 industry
production capacity and future average annual demand growth rates for TiO2 will
conform to our expectations. If actual developments differ from our
expectations, ours and the TiO2 industry's
performances could be unfavorably affected.
Research and
Development - Our
research and development activities are focused primarily on improving both the
chloride and sulfate production processes, improving product quality and
strengthening our competitive position by developing new pigment
applications. We conduct our research and development activities
primarily at our Leverkusen, Germany facility. We spent approximately
$9 million in 2005, $11 million in 2006 and $12 million in 2007 on these
activities and certain technical support programs.
We are
continually improving the quality of our finished grades, and we have been
successful at developing new grades for existing and new applications to meet
the needs of our customers and increase product life cycle. Since
2002, we have added 14 new grades for plastics, coatings, fiber or paper
laminate applications.
Regulatory and
Environmental Matters -
Our operations are governed by various environmental laws and
regulations. Certain of our operations are, or have been, engaged in
the handling, manufacture or use of substances or compounds that may be
considered toxic or hazardous within the meaning of applicable environmental
laws and regulations. As with other companies engaged in similar
businesses, certain of our past and current operations and products have the
potential to cause environmental or other damage. We have implemented
and continue to implement various policies and programs in an effort to minimize
these risks. Our policy is to maintain compliance with applicable
environmental laws and regulations at all of our facilities and to strive to
improve our environmental performance. It is possible that future
developments, such as stricter requirements of environmental laws and
enforcement policies, could adversely affect our production, handling, use,
storage, transportation, sale or disposal of such substances as well as our
consolidated financial position, results of operations or
liquidity.
Our U.S.
manufacturing operations are governed by federal environmental and worker health
and safety laws and regulations, principally the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act ("RCRA"), the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Clean Air
Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Toxic Substances
Control Act ("TSCA"), and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation
and Liability Act, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization
Act ("CERCLA"), as well as the state counterparts of these
statutes. We believe our joint venture Louisiana TiO2 facility
and a Louisiana TiO2 slurry
facility we own are in substantial compliance with applicable requirements of
these laws or compliance orders issued thereunder. These are our only
U.S. facilities.
While the
laws regulating operations of industrial facilities in Europe vary from country
to country, a common regulatory framework is provided by the European Union
("EU"). Germany and Belgium are members of the EU and follow its
initiatives. Norway, although not a member of the EU, generally
patterns its environmental regulations after the EU. We believe we
have obtained all required permits and we are in substantial compliance with
applicable environmental requirements for our European and Canadian
facilities.
At our
sulfate plant facilities in Germany, we recycle weak sulfuric acid either
through contracts with third parties or at our own facilities. At our
Norwegian plant, we ship spent acid to a third party location where it is
treated and disposed. At our German sulfate process facilities we
have contracted with a third party to treat certain sulfate-process
effluents. Either party may terminate the contract after giving three
or four years advance notice, depending on the contract.
From time
to time, our facilities may be subject to environmental regulatory
enforcement under U.S. and foreign statutes. Typically we
establish compliance programs to resolve such
matters. Occasionally, we may pay penalties, but to date such
penalties have not had a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial
position, results of operations or liquidity. We believe all of our
facilities are in substantial compliance with applicable environmental
laws.
Capital
expenditures in 2007 related to ongoing environmental compliance, protection and
improvement programs were $5.6 million, and are currently expected to be
approximately $7 million in 2008.
Employees
- As of
December 31, 2007, our Chemicals Segment employed the following number of
people:
Europe
|
1,940 | |||
Canada
|
410 | |||
United
States(1)
|
50 | |||
Total
|
2,400 |
(1)
Excludes employees of our Louisiana joint venture.
Our
hourly employees in production facilities worldwide, including the TiO2 joint
venture, are represented by a variety of labor unions under labor agreements
with various expiration dates. Our European union employees are
covered by master collective bargaining agreements in the chemicals industry
that are renewed annually. Our Canadian union employees are covered
by a collective bargaining agreement that expires in June 2010.
COMPONENT
PRODUCTS SEGMENT - COMPX INTERNATIONAL INC.
Business Overview
- Through our majority-owned subsidiary, CompX, we are a leading global
manufacturer of security products, precision ball bearing slides, and ergonomic
computer support systems used in the office furniture, transportation, postal,
tool storage, appliance and a variety of other industries. We are
also a leading manufacturer of stainless steel exhaust systems, gauges and
throttle controls for the performance marine industry as a result of the
acquisition of two performance manufacturers in August 2005 and April
2006. See Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial
Statements. Our products are principally designed for use in medium-
to high-end product applications, where design, quality and durability are
critical to our customers.
Manufacturing,
Operations and Products - We manufacture locking mechanisms and other
security products for sale to the postal, transportation, furniture, banking,
vending, and other industries. We believe that we are a North
American market leader in the manufacture and sale of cabinet locks and other
locking mechanisms. Our security products are used in a variety of
applications including ignition systems, mailboxes, vending and gaming machines,
parking meters, electrical circuit panels, storage compartments, office
furniture and medical cabinet security. These products include:
|
·
|
disc
tumbler locks, which provide moderate security and generally represent the
lowest cost lock to produce;
|
|
·
|
pin
tumbler locking mechanisms, which are more costly to produce and are used
in applications requiring higher levels of security, including our KeySet high security
system, which allows the user to change the keying on a single lock 64
times without removing the lock from its enclosure;
and
|
|
·
|
our
innovative eLock®
electronic locks, which provide stand alone security and audit trail
capability for drug storage and other valuables through the use of a
proximity card, magnetic stripe, or keypad
credentials.
|
A
substantial portion of our security products’ sales consist of products with
specialized adaptations to individual manufacturer’s specifications, some of
which are listed above. We also have a standardized product line
suitable for many customers which is offered through a North American
distribution network with our STOCK LOCKS distribution
program to lock distributors and for smaller original equipment manufacturers
(“OEMs”).
We
manufacture a complete line of furniture components (precision ball bearing
slides and ergonomic computer support systems) for use in applications such as
computer related equipment, tool storage cabinets, imaging equipment, file
cabinets, desk drawers, automated teller machines, appliances and other
applications. These products include:
|
·
|
our
patented Integrated
Slide Lock, which allows a file cabinet manufacturer to reduce the
possibility of multiple drawers being opened at the same
time;
|
|
·
|
our
patented adjustable Ball
Lock, which reduces the risk of heavily-filled drawers, such as
auto mechanic tool boxes, from opening while in
movement;
|
|
·
|
our
Self-Closing
Slide, which is designed to assist in closing a drawer and is used
in applications such as bottom mount
freezers;
|
|
·
|
articulating
computer keyboard support arms (designed to attach to desks in the
workplace and home office environments to alleviate possible strains and
stress and maximize usable workspace), along with our patented LeverLock keyboard
arm, which is designed to make the adjustment of an ergonomic keyboard arm
easier;
|
|
·
|
CPU
storage devices which minimize adverse effects of dust and moisture;
and
|
|
·
|
complimentary
accessories, such as ergonomic wrist rest aids, mouse pad supports and
flat screen computer monitor support
arms.
|
We also
manufacture and distribute marine instruments, hardware and accessories for
performance boats. Our specialty marine component products are high
performance components designed to operate within precise tolerances in the
highly corrosive marine environment. These products
include:
|
·
|
original
equipment and aftermarket stainless steel exhaust headers, exhaust pipes,
mufflers, other exhaust components and billet accessories;
and
|
|
·
|
high
performance gauges and related components such as GPS
speedometers, throttles, controls, tachometers and
panels.
|
Our
Component Products segment operated the following manufacturing facilities at
December 31, 2007.
Furniture Components
|
Security Products
|
Marine Components
|
||
Kitchener,
Ontario
|
Mauldin,
SC
|
Neenah,
WI
|
||
Byron
Center, MI
|
Grayslake,
IL
|
Grayslake,
IL
|
||
Taipei,
Taiwan
|
We also
lease a distribution facility located in California.
Raw Materials
– Our
primary raw materials are:
|
·
|
zinc
(used in the manufacture of locking
mechanisms);
|
|
·
|
coiled
steel (used in the manufacture of precision ball bearing slides and
ergonomic computer support
systems);
|
|
·
|
stainless
steel (used in the manufacture of exhaust headers and pipes and other
marine components); and
|
|
·
|
plastic
resins (used for injection molded plastics in the manufacture of ergonomic
computer support systems).
|
These raw
materials are purchased from several suppliers and are readily available from
numerous sources.
We
occasionally enter into raw material arrangements to mitigate the short-term
impact of future increases in raw material costs. While these
arrangements do not necessarily commit us to a minimum volume of purchases, they
generally provide for stated unit prices based upon achievement of specified
purchase volumes. We utilize purchase arrangements to stabilize our
raw material prices, provided we meet the specified minimum monthly purchase
quantities. Raw materials purchased outside of these arrangements are sometimes
subject to unanticipated and sudden price increases. Due to the competitive
nature of the markets served by our products, it is often difficult to recover
all increases in raw material costs through increased product selling prices or
raw material surcharges. Consequently, overall operating margins can
be affected by such raw material cost pressures. Steel and zinc
prices are cyclical, reflecting overall economic trends and specific
developments in consuming industries and are currently at historically high
levels.
Patents and
Trademarks – Our Component Products
Segment holds a number of patents relating to its component products, certain of
which we believe are important to our continuing business
activity. Patents generally have a term of 20 years, and our patents
have remaining terms ranging from less than one year to 15 years at December 31,
2007. Our major trademarks and brand names
include:
Furniture
Components
|
Security
Products
|
Marine Components
|
||
CompX
Precision Slides®
|
CompX
Security Products®
|
Custom
Marine®
|
||
CompX
Waterloo®
|
National
Cabinet Lock®
|
Livorsi
Marine®
|
||
CompX
ErgonomX®
|
Fort
Lock®
|
CMI
Industrial Mufflers™
|
||
CompX
DurISLide®
|
Timberline®
|
Custom
Marine Stainless
|
||
Dynaslide®
|
Chicago
Lock®
|
Exhaust™
|
||
Waterloo
Furniture
|
STOCK
LOCKS®
|
The
#1 Choice in
|
||
Components
Limited®
|
KeSet®
|
Performance
Boating®
|
||
TuBar®
|
Mega
Rim™
|
|||
ACE
II®
|
Race
Rim™
|
|||
eLocks®
|
||||
Sales
- Our
Component Products Segment sells directly to large OEM customers through our
factory-based sales and marketing professionals and engineers working in concert
with field salespeople and independent manufacturers' representatives. We select
manufacturers' representatives based on special skills in certain markets or
relationships with current or potential customers.
A
significant portion of our sales are also made through
distributors. We have a significant market share of cabinet lock
sales as a result of the locksmith distribution channel. We support
our distributor sales with a line of standardized products used by the largest
segments of the marketplace. These products are packaged and merchandised for
easy availability and handling by distributors and end users. Due to
our success with the STOCK
LOCKS inventory program within the security products business unit,
similar programs have been implemented for distributor sales of ergonomic
computer support systems within the furniture components business
unit.
In 2007,
our ten largest customers accounted for approximately 31% of our total sales;
however, no one customer accounted for sales of 10% or more in
2007. Of the 31%, 13% was related to security products and 18% was
related to furniture components and overall, our customer base is diverse and
the loss of any single customer would not have a material adverse effect on our
operations.
Competition – The markets in which our
Component Products Segment competes are highly competitive. We
compete primarily on the basis of product design, including ergonomic and
aesthetic factors, product quality and durability, price, on-time delivery,
service and technical support. We focus our efforts on the middle and
high-end segments of the market, where product design, quality, durability and
service are placed at a premium by the customer.
Our
performance marine components business unit’s products compete with small
domestic manufacturers and is minimally affected by foreign
competitors. Our security products and furniture components business
units’ products compete against a number of domestic and foreign
manufacturers. Suppliers, particularly the foreign furniture
components suppliers, have put intense price pressure on our
products. In some cases, we have lost sales to these lower cost
foreign manufacturers. We have responded by: shifting the manufacture
of some products to our lower cost facilities; working to reduce costs and gain
operational efficiencies through workforce reductions and process improvements
in all of our facilities; and by working with our customers to be their
value-added supplier of choice by offering customer support services which
foreign suppliers are generally unable to provide.
Regulatory and
Environmental Matters - Our facilities are
subject to federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to
the use, storage, handling, generation, transportation, treatment, emission,
discharge, disposal, remediation of, and exposure to, hazardous and
non-hazardous substances, materials and wastes. We are also subject
to federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations relating to worker
health and safety. We believe we are in substantial compliance with
all such laws and regulations. To date, the costs of maintaining
compliance with such laws and regulations have not significantly impacted our
Component Products Segment’s results. We currently do not anticipate
any significant costs or expenses relating to such matters; however, it is
possible future laws and regulations may require us to incur significant
additional expenditures.
Employees - As of December 31, 2007, we
employed the following number of people:
United
States
|
636 | |||
Canada(1)
|
259 | |||
Taiwan
|
134 | |||
Total
|
1,029 | |||
(1)
Approximately 75% of our Canadian employees are represented by a labor
union covered by a collective bargaining agreement that expires in January 2009
which provides for annual wage increases from 1% to 2.5% over the term of the
contract.
We
believe our labor relations are good at all of our facilities.
WASTE
MANAGEMENT SEGMENT - WASTE CONTROL SPECIALISTS LLC
Business Overview
– Our Waste Management Segment was formed in 1995 and in early 1997 we
completed construction of the initial phase of our waste disposal facility in
West Texas. The facility is designed for the processing, treatment,
storage and disposal of certain hazardous and toxic wastes. We
received the first wastes for disposal in 1997. Subsequently, we have expanded
our permitting authorizations to include the processing, treatment and storage
of low-level and mixed low-level radioactive wastes and the disposal of certain
types of exempt low-level radioactive wastes.
We
currently operate our waste disposal facility on a relatively limited basis
while we navigate the regulatory licensing requirements to receive permits for
the disposal of byproduct 11.e(2) waste material and for a broad range of
low-level and mixed low-level radioactive wastes.
Facility,
Operations and Services - Our Waste Management Segment has permits by the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ("TCEQ") and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency ("EPA") to accept hazardous and toxic wastes governed by RCRA
and TSCA. In October 2005, our RCRA permit was renewed for a new
ten-year period. Likewise in September 2005, our five-year TSCA
authorization was renewed for a new five-year period. Our RCRA permit
and TSCA authorization are subject to additional renewals by the agencies
assuming we remain in compliance with the provisions of the
permits.
In
November 1997, the Texas Department of State Health Services (“TDSHS”) issued a
license to Waste Control Specialists for the treatment and storage, but not
disposal, of low-level and mixed low-level radioactive wastes. In
June 2007, the TDSHS regulatory authority for this license was transferred to
TCEQ. The current provisions of this license generally enable us to
accept such wastes for treatment and storage from U.S. commercial and federal
generators, including the Department of Energy ("DOE") and other governmental
agencies. We accepted the first shipments of such wastes in
1998. We have obtained additional authority to dispose of certain
categories of low-level radioactive material including naturally-occurring
radioactive material ("NORM") and exempt-level materials (radioactive materials
that do not exceed certain specified radioactive concentrations and are exempt
from licensing).
Our waste
disposal facility also serves as a staging and processing location for material
that requires other forms of treatment prior to final disposal as mandated by
the EPA or other regulatory bodies. Our 20,000 square foot treatment
facility provides for waste treatment/stabilization, warehouse storage,
treatment facilities for hazardous, toxic and mixed low-level radioactive
wastes, drum to bulk, and bulk to drum materials handling and repackaging
capabilities. Treatment operations involve processing wastes through
one or more chemical or other treatment methods, depending upon the particular
waste being disposed and regulatory and customer
requirements. Chemical treatment uses chemical oxidation and
reduction, chemical precipitation of heavy metals, hydrolysis and neutralization
of acid and alkaline wastes, and results in the transformation of waste into
inert materials through one or more of these chemical
processes. Certain treatment processes involve technology which we
may acquire, license or subcontract from third parties.
Once
treated and stabilized, waste is either (i) placed in our landfill, (ii) stored
onsite in drums or other specialized containers or (iii) shipped to third-party
facilities for final disposition. Only waste that meets certain
specified regulatory requirements can be disposed of in our fully-lined
landfill, which includes a leachate collection system.
We
operate one Waste Management facility located on a 1,338-acre site in West
Texas, which we own. The site is permitted for 5.4 million cubic
yards of airspace landfill capacity for the disposal of RCRA and TSCA
wastes. We also own approximately 13,500 acres of additional land
surrounding the permitted site, a small portion of which is located in New
Mexico, which is available for future expansion. We believe our
facility has superior geological characteristics which make it an
environmentally-desirable location for this type of waste
disposal. The facility is located in a relatively remote and arid
section of West Texas. The possibility of leakage into any
underground water table is considered highly remote because the ground is
composed of triassic red bed clay. However, we do not believe there
are any underground aquifers or other usable sources of water below the site
based in part on extensive drilling by the oil and gas industry and our own test
wells.
Sales –
Our Waste
Management Segment’s target customers are industrial companies, including
chemical, aerospace and electronics businesses and governmental agencies,
including the DOE, which generate hazardous, mixed low-level radioactive and
other wastes. We employ our own salespeople to market our services to
potential customers.
Competition - The hazardous waste
industry (other than low-level and mixed low-level radioactive waste) currently
has excess industry capacity caused by a number of factors, including a relative
decline in the number of environmental remediation projects generating hazardous
wastes and efforts on the part of waste generators to reduce the volume of waste
and/or manage waste onsite at their facilities. These factors have
led to reduced demand and increased price pressure for non-radioactive hazardous
waste management services. While we believe our broad range of permits for the
treatment and storage of low-level and mixed-level radioactive waste streams
provides us certain competitive advantages, a key element of our long-term
strategy is to provide "one-stop shopping" for hazardous, low-level and mixed
low-level radioactive wastes. To offer this service we will have to
obtain the additional regulatory authorizations for which we have
applied.
Competition
within the hazardous waste industry is diverse and based primarily on facility
location/proximity to customers, pricing and customer service. We
expect price competition to be intense for RCRA- and TSCA-related
wastes. With respect to our currently-permitted activities, our
principal competitors are Energy Solutions, LLC, American Ecology Corporation
and Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. These competitors are well
established and have significantly greater resources than we do, which could be
important factors to our potential customers. We believe we may have
certain competitive advantages, including our environmentally-desirable
location, broad level of local community support, a rail transportation network
leading to our facility and our capability for future site
expansion.
Regulatory and
Environmental Matters -
While the waste management industry has benefited from increased
governmental regulation, it has also become subject to extensive and evolving
regulation by federal, state and local authorities. The regulatory
process requires Waste Management businesses to obtain and retain numerous
operating permits covering various aspects of their operations, any of which
could be subject to revocation, modification or denial. Regulations also allow
public participation in the permitting process. Individuals as well
as companies may oppose the granting of permits. In addition,
governmental policies and the exercise of broad discretion by regulators are
subject to change. It is possible our ability to obtain and retain
permits on a timely basis could be impaired in the future. The loss
of an individual permit or the failure to obtain a permit could have a
significant impact on our Waste Management Segment’s future operating plans,
financial condition, results of operations or liquidity, especially because we
only own and operate one disposal site. For example, adverse
decisions by governmental authorities on our permit applications could cause us
to abandon projects, prematurely close our facility or restrict
operations. We expect our RCRA permit and our license from the TCEQ,
as amended, to expire in 2015 and our TSCA authorization to expire in
2010. Such permits, licenses and authorizations can be renewed
subject to compliance with the requirements of the application process and
approval by the TCEQ or EPA, as applicable.
Prior to
June 2003, Texas state law prohibited the applicable Texas regulatory agency
from issuing a license for the disposal of a broad range of low-level and mixed
low-level radioactive waste to a private enterprise operating a disposal
facility. In June 2003, a new Texas state law was enacted that allows the TCEQ
to issue a low-level radioactive waste disposal license to a private entity,
such as us. Our Waste Management Segment is the only entity to apply for such a
license with the TCEQ. The application was declared administratively
complete by the TCEQ in February 2005. The TCEQ began its technical
review of the application in May 2005. In October 2007 we received
notification that the TCEQ had prepared a draft license for the disposal of
byproduct material at our facility and made the preliminary decision that this
license met all statutory and regulatory requirements. We are
uncertain as to the length of time it will take for the draft byproduct waste
material license to become final and for agencies to complete their reviews and
act upon our other license applications. We currently believe the
applicable state agency will not issue a final decision on our application for
byproduct waste material until late 2008, and we do not expect to receive a
final decision on our application for low-level and mixed low-level radioactive
waste disposal until 2009. We do not know if we will be successful in
obtaining these licenses.
From time
to time federal, state and local authorities have proposed or adopted other
types of laws and regulations for the waste management industry, including laws
and regulations restricting or banning the interstate or intrastate shipment of
certain waste, changing the regulatory agency issuing a license, imposing higher
taxes on out-of-state waste shipments compared to in-state shipments,
reclassifying certain categories of hazardous waste as non-hazardous and
regulating disposal facilities as public utilities. Certain states
have issued regulations that attempt to prevent waste generated within that
particular state from being sent to disposal sites outside that
state. The U.S. Congress has also considered legislation that would
enable or facilitate such bans, restrictions, taxes and
regulations. Due to the complex nature of industry regulation,
implementation of existing or future laws and regulations by different levels of
government could be inconsistent and difficult to foresee. While we
attempt to monitor and anticipate regulatory, political and legal developments
that affect the industry, we cannot assure you we will be able to do
so. Nor can we predict the extent to which legislation or regulations
that may be enacted, or any failure of legislation or regulations to be enacted,
may affect our operations in the future.
The
demand for certain hazardous waste services we intend to provide is dependent in
large part upon the existence and enforcement of federal, state and local
environmental laws and regulations governing the discharge of hazardous waste
into the environment. We and the industry as a whole could be
adversely affected to the extent such laws or regulations are amended or
repealed or their enforcement is lessened.
Because
of the high degree of public awareness of environmental issues, companies in the
waste management business may be, in the normal course of their business,
subject to judicial and administrative proceedings. Governmental
agencies may seek to impose fines or revoke, deny renewal of, or modify any
applicable operating permits or licenses. In addition, private
parties and special interest groups could bring actions against us alleging,
among other things, a violation of operating permits or opposition to new
license authorizations.
Employees
- At
December 31, 2007, we had 110 employees. We believe our labor
relations are good.
TITANIUM
METALS - TITANIUM METALS CORPORATION
As
discussed in Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, we completed a
special dividend of our TIMET common stock on March 26, 2007. We now
own approximately 1% of TIMET’s common stock, and we account for our investment
in TIMET’s common stock as available-for-sale marketable securities carried at
fair value.
OTHER
NL Industries,
Inc. - At
December 31, 2007, NL owned 86% of CompX and 36% of Kronos. NL also owns 100% of
EWI RE, Inc., an insurance brokerage and risk management services company
and also holds certain marketable securities and other
investments. See Note 16 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for
additional information.
Tremont
LLC - Tremont is
primarily a holding company through which we hold indirect ownership interests
in Basic Management, Inc. ("BMI"), which provides utility services to, and owns
property (the "BMI Complex") adjacent to, TIMET’s facility in Nevada, and The
Landwell Company L.P. ("Landwell"), which is engaged in efforts to develop
certain land holdings for commercial, industrial and residential purposes
surrounding the BMI Complex.
Business
Strategy - We
routinely compare our liquidity requirements and alternative uses of capital
against the estimated future cash flows to be received from our subsidiaries and
unconsolidated affiliates, and the estimated sales value of those
businesses. As a result, we have in the past, and may in the future,
seek to raise additional capital, refinance or restructure indebtedness,
repurchase indebtedness in the market or otherwise, modify our dividend policy,
consider the sale of our interest in our subsidiaries, business units,
marketable securities or other assets, or take a combination of these or other
steps, to increase liquidity, reduce indebtedness and fund future activities,
which have in the past and may in the future involve related
companies. From time to time, we and our related entities consider
restructuring ownership interests among our subsidiaries and related companies.
We expect to continue this activity in the future.
We and
other entities that may be deemed to be controlled by or affiliated with Mr.
Harold C. Simmons routinely evaluate acquisitions of interests in, or
combinations with, companies, including related companies, we perceive to be
undervalued in the marketplace. These companies may or may not be
engaged in businesses related to our current businesses. In some
instances we actively manage the businesses we acquire with a focus on
maximizing return-on-investment through cost reductions, capital expenditures,
improved operating efficiencies, selective marketing to address market niches,
disposition of marginal operations, use of leverage and redeployment of capital
to more productive assets. In other instances, we have disposed of
our interest in a company prior to gaining control. We intend to
consider such activities in the future and may, in connection with such
activities, consider issuing additional equity securities and increasing our
indebtedness.
Website and
Available Information –
Our fiscal year ends December 31. We furnish our stockholders
with annual reports containing audited financial statements. In
addition, we file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy and information
statements and other information with the SEC. Certain of our
consolidated subsidiaries (Kronos, NL and CompX) also file annual, quarterly and
current reports, proxy and information statements and other information with the
SEC. We also make our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form
10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments thereto, available free of
charge through our website at www.valhi.net as soon
as reasonably practical after they have been filed with the SEC. We
also provide to anyone, without charge, copies of such documents upon written
request. Requests should be directed to the attention of the
Corporate Secretary at our address on the cover page of this Form
10-K.
Additional
information, including our Audit Committee charter, our Code of Business Conduct
and Ethics and our Corporate Governance Guidelines, can also be found on our
website. Information contained on our website is not part of this
Annual Report.
The
general public may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s
Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The
public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by
calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. We are an electronic
filer. The SEC maintains an Internet website at www.sec.gov that
contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information
regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including
us.
ITEM 1A. RISK
FACTORS
Listed
below are certain risk factors associated with us and our
businesses. In addition to the potential effect of these risk factors
discussed below, any risk factor which could result in reduced earnings or
operating losses, or reduced liquidity, could in turn adversely affect our
ability to service our liabilities or pay dividends on our common stock or
adversely affect the quoted market prices for our securities.
Our assets consist primarily of
investments in our operating subsidiaries, and we are dependent upon
distributions from our subsidiaries to service our
liabilities. A significant portion of our assets consists of
ownership interests in our subsidiaries and affiliates. A majority of
our cash flows are generated by our subsidiaries, and our ability to service our
liabilities and to pay dividends on our common stock depends to a large extent
upon the cash dividends or other distributions we receive from our
subsidiaries. Our subsidiaries and affiliates are separate and
distinct legal entities and they have no obligation, contingent or otherwise, to
pay cash dividends or other distributions to us. In addition, in some
cases our subsidiaries’ ability to pay dividends or other distributions could be
subject to restrictions as a result of debt covenants, applicable tax laws or
other restrictions imposed by current or future agreements. Events
beyond our control, including changes in general business and economic
conditions, could adversely impact the ability of our subsidiaries to pay
dividends or make other distributions to us. If our subsidiaries
should become unable to make sufficient cash dividends or other distributions to
us, our ability to service our liabilities and to pay dividends on our common
stock could be adversely affected. In addition, if the level of
dividends and other distributions we receive from our subsidiaries were to
decrease to such a level that we were required to liquidate any of our
investments in the securities of our subsidiaries or affiliates in order to
generate funds to satisfy our liabilities, we may be required to sell such
securities at a time or times at which we would not be able to realize what we
believe to be the actual value of such assets.
Demand for, and prices of, certain of
our products are cyclical and we may experience prolonged depressed market
conditions for our products, which may result in reduced earnings or operating
losses. A significant portion of our revenues is attributable to sales of
TiO2. Pricing
within the global TiO2 industry
over the long term is cyclical, and changes in industry economic conditions,
especially in Western industrialized nations, can significantly impact our
earnings and operating cash flows. This may result in reduced
earnings or operating losses.
Historically,
the markets for many of our products have experienced alternating periods of
increasing and decreasing demand. Relative changes in the selling
prices for our products is one of the main factors that affects the level of our
profitability. In periods of increasing demand, our selling prices
and profit margins generally will tend to increase, while in periods of
decreasing demand our selling prices and profit margins generally tend to
decrease. Future growth in demand for TiO2 may not be
sufficient to alleviate any future conditions of excess industry capacity, and
such conditions may not be sustained or may be further aggravated by anticipated
or unanticipated capacity additions or other events.
The
demand for TiO2 during a
given year is also subject to annual seasonal fluctuations. TiO2 sales are
generally higher in the first half of the year. This is due in part
to the increase in paint production in the spring to meet demand during the
spring and summer painting season. See Item 7. “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for
further discussion on production and price changes.
We sell several of our products in
mature and highly competitive industries and face price pressures in the markets
in which we operate, which may result in reduced earnings or operating
losses. The markets in which Kronos, CompX and WCS operate
their businesses are highly competitive. Competition is based on a
number of factors, such as price, product quality and service. Some
of our competitors may be able to drive down prices for our products because
their costs are lower than our costs. In addition, some of our
competitors' financial, technological and other resources may be greater than
our resources, and these competitors may be better able to withstand changes in
market conditions. Our competitors may be able to respond more
quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer
requirements. Further, consolidation of our competitors or customers
in any of the industries in which we compete may result in reduced demand for
our products or make it more difficult for us to compete with our
competitors. In addition, in some of our businesses new competitors
could emerge by modifying their existing production facilities so they could
manufacture products that compete with our products. The occurrence
of any of these events could result in reduced earnings or operating
losses.
Higher costs or limited availability
of our raw materials may reduce our earnings and decrease our
liquidity. The number of sources and availability of certain
raw materials is specific to the particular geographical regions in which our
facilities are located. For example, titanium-containing feedstocks
suitable for use in producing our TiO2 are
available from a limited number of suppliers around the
world. Political and economic instability in the countries from which
we purchase our raw material supplies could adversely affect their
availability. If our worldwide vendors were not able to meet their
contractual obligations and we were otherwise unable to obtain necessary raw
materials or if we would have to pay more for our raw materials and other
operating costs, we may be required to reduce production levels or reduce our
gross margins if we were unable to pass price increases onto our customers,
which may decrease our liquidity and operating income and results of
operations.
We could incur significant costs
related to legal and environmental remediation matters. NL
formerly manufactured lead pigments for use in paint. NL and others
pigment manufacturers have been named as defendants in various legal proceedings
seeking damages for personal injury, property damage and governmental
expenditures allegedly caused by the use of lead-based paints. These
lawsuits seek recovery under a variety of theories, including public and private
nuisance, negligent product design, negligent failure to warn, strict liability,
breach of warranty, conspiracy/concert of action, aiding and abetting,
enterprise liability, market share or risk contribution liability, intentional
tort, fraud and misrepresentation, violations of state consumer protection
statutes, supplier negligence and similar claims. The plaintiffs in
these actions generally seek to impose on the defendants responsibility for lead
paint abatement and health concerns associated with the use of lead-based
paints, including damages for personal injury, contribution and/or
indemnification for medical expenses, medical monitoring expenses and costs for
educational programs. As with all legal proceedings, the outcome is
uncertain. Any liability NL might incur in the future could be
material. See also Item 3.
Certain
properties and facilities used in our former businesses are the subject of
litigation, administrative proceedings or investigations arising under various
environmental laws. These proceedings seek investigation and
remediation costs, personal injury or property damages and/or damages for injury
to natural resources. Some of these proceedings involve claims for
substantial amounts. Environmental obligations are difficult to
assess and estimate for numerous reasons, and we may incur costs for
environmental remediation in the future in excess of amounts currently
estimated. Any liability we might incur in the future could be
material.
Our failure to enter into new markets
with our current compoenent products businesses would result in the
continued significant impact of fluctuations in demand within the office
furniture manufacturing industry on our operating results. In an effort
to reduce our dependence on the office furniture market for certain products and
to increase our participation in other markets, we have been devoting resources
to identifying new customers and developing new applications for those products
in markets outside of the office furniture industry, such as home appliances and
tool boxes. Developing these new applications for our products
involves substantial risk and uncertainties due to our limited experience with
customers and applications in these markets, as well as facing competitors who
are already established in these markets. We may not be successful in
developing new customers or applications for our products outside of the office
furniture industry. Significant time may be required to develop new
applications and uncertainty exists as to the extent to which we will face
competition in this regard.
Our development of new component products as well as innovative
features for our
current component products is critical to sustaining
and growing our Component Product Segment
sales. Historically,
our ability to provide value-added custom engineered component products that
address requirements of technology and space utilization has been a key element
of our success. The introduction of new products and features
requires the coordination of the design, manufacturing and marketing of such
products with current and potential customers. The ability to
implement such coordination may be affected by factors beyond our
control. While we will continue to emphasize the introduction of
innovative new products that target customer-specific opportunities, there can
be no assurance that any new products we introduce will achieve the same degree
of success that we have achieved with our existing
products. Introduction of new products typically requires us to
increase production volume on a timely basis while maintaining product
quality. Manufacturers often encounter difficulties in increasing
production volumes, including delays, quality control problems and shortages of
qualified personnel or raw materials. As we attempt to introduce new
products in the future, there can be no assurance that we will be able to
increase production volume without encountering these or other problems, which
might negatively impact our financial condition or results of
operations.
Our leverage may impair our financial
condition or limit our ability to operate our businesses. We
have a significant amount of debt, substantially all of which relates to Kronos’
Senior Secured Notes and our loans from Snake River Sugar Company. Our level of
debt could have important consequences to our stockholders and creditors,
including:
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making
it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with
respect to our liabilities;
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increasing
our vulnerability to
adverse general economic and industry
conditions;
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requiring
that a portion of our cash flow from operations be used for the
payment of interest on our debt, reducing our ability to use our cash flow
to fund working capital, capital expenditures, dividends on our common
stock, acquisitions and general corporate
requirements;
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limiting
our ability to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital,
capital expenditures, acquisitions or general corporate
requirements;
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limiting
our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business
and the industry in which we operate;
and
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placing
us at a competitive disadvantage relative to other less leveraged
competitors.
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In
addition to our indebtedness, we are party to various lease and other agreements
pursuant to which we are committed to pay approximately $362 million in
2008. Our ability to make payments on and refinance our debt, and to
fund planned capital expenditures, depends on our ability to generate cash
flow. To some extent, this is subject to general economic, financial,
competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our
control. In addition, our ability to borrow additional funds under
our subsidiaries’ credit facilities will in some instances depend in part on our
subsidiaries’ ability to maintain specified financial ratios and satisfy certain
financial covenants contained in the applicable credit agreements.
Our
business may not generate sufficient cash flows from operating activities to
allow us to pay our debts when they become due and to fund our other liquidity
needs. As a result, we may need to refinance all or a portion of our
debt before maturity. We may not be able to refinance any of our debt
in a timely manner on favorable terms, if at all. Any inability to
generate sufficient cash flows or to refinance our debt on favorable terms could
have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.
None.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
We along
with our subsidiaries: Kronos, CompX, WCS and NL lease office space for our
principal executive offices in Dallas, Texas. A list of operating
facilities for each of our subsidiaries is described in the applicable business
sections of Item 1 - "Business." We believe our facilities are
generally adequate and suitable for their respective uses.
ITEM 3. LEGAL
PROCEEDINGS
We are
involved in various legal proceedings. In addition to information
included below, certain information called for by this Item is included in
Note 17 to our Consolidated Financial Statements, which is incorporated
herein by reference.
Lead
pigment litigation - NL
NL’s
former operations included the manufacture of lead pigments for use in paint and
lead-based paint. NL, other former manufacturers of lead pigments for
use in paint and lead-based paint (together, the “former pigment manufacturers”)
and the Lead Industries Association (“LIA”), which discontinued business
operations in 2002, have been named as defendants in various legal proceedings
seeking damages for personal injury, property damage and governmental
expenditures allegedly caused by the use of lead-based
paints. Certain of these actions have been filed by or on behalf of
states, counties, cities or their public housing authorities and school
districts, and certain others have been asserted as class
actions. These lawsuits seek recovery under a variety of theories,
including public and private nuisance, negligent product design, negligent
failure to warn, strict liability, breach of warranty, conspiracy/concert of
action, aiding and abetting, enterprise liability, market share or risk
contribution liability, intentional tort, fraud and misrepresentation,
violations of state consumer protection statutes, supplier negligence and
similar claims.
The
plaintiffs in these actions generally seek to impose on the defendants
responsibility for lead paint abatement and health concerns associated with the
use of lead-based paints, including damages for personal injury, contribution
and/or indemnification for medical expenses, medical monitoring expenses and
costs for educational programs. A number of cases are inactive or
have been dismissed or withdrawn. Most of the remaining cases are in
various pre-trial stages. Some are on appeal following dismissal or
summary judgment rulings in favor of either the defendants or the
plaintiffs. In addition, various other cases are pending (in which we
are not a defendant) seeking recovery for injury allegedly caused by lead
pigment and lead-based paint. Although we are not a defendant in
these cases, the outcome of these cases may have an impact on cases that might
be filed against us in the future.
We believe that these actions are
without merit, and we intend to continue to deny all allegations of wrongdoing
and liability and to defend against all actions vigorously. We have
never settled any of these cases, nor have any final adverse judgments against
us been entered. However, see the discussion below in The State of Rhode Island
case. See also Note 17 to our Consolidated Financial
Statements.
We have
not accrued any amounts for any of the pending lead pigment and lead-based paint
litigation cases, including the Rhode Island case. Liability that may
result, if any, cannot be reasonably estimated. In addition, new
cases may continue to be filed against us. We cannot assure you that
we will not incur liability in the future in respect of any of the pending or
possible litigation in view of the inherent uncertainties involved in court and
jury rulings. The resolution of any of these cases could result in
recognition of a loss contingency accrual that could have a material adverse
impact on our net income for the interim or annual period during which such
liability is recognized, and a material adverse impact on our consolidated
financial condition and liquidity.
In September 1999, an amended complaint
was filed in Thomas v. Lead
Industries Association, et al. (Circuit Court, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Case
No. 99-CV-6411) adding as defendants the former pigment manufacturers to a suit
originally filed against plaintiff's landlords. Plaintiff, a minor,
alleged injuries purportedly caused by lead on the surfaces of premises in homes
in which he resided. Plaintiff sought compensatory and punitive
damages. The case was tried in October 2007, and in November 2007 the
jury returned a verdict in favor of all defendants. In January 2008,
the judge denied plaintiff’s motion for a new trial. The time for
appeal has not yet expired.
In
October 1999, we were served with a complaint in State of Rhode Island v. Lead
Industries Association, et al. (Superior Court of Rhode Island, No.
99-5226). The State sought compensatory and punitive damages, as well
as reimbursement for public and private building abatement expenses and funding
of a public education campaign and health screening programs. A 2002
trial on the sole question of whether lead pigment in paint on Rhode Island
buildings is a public nuisance resulted in a mistrial when the jury was unable
to reach a verdict on the question, with the jury reportedly deadlocked 4-2 in
defendants' favor. In 2005, the trial court dismissed the conspiracy
claim with prejudice, and the State dismissed its Unfair Trade Practices Act
claim without prejudice. A second trial commenced
against us and three other defendants on November 1, 2005 on the State’s
remaining claims of public nuisance, indemnity and unjust
enrichment. Following the State’s presentation of its case, the trial
court dismissed the State’s claims of indemnity and unjust
enrichment. In February 2006, the jury found that we and two other
defendants substantially contributed to the creation of a public nuisance as a
result of the collective presence of lead pigments in paints and coatings on
buildings in Rhode Island. The jury also found that we and the two
other defendants should be ordered to abate the public
nuisance. Following the trial, the trial court dismissed the State’s
claim for punitive damages. In March 2007, the final judgment and
order was entered, and defendants filed an appeal. In April 2007, the
State cross-appealed the issue of exclusion of past and punitive damages, as
well as the dismissal of one of the defendants. Oral argument on the
appeal has been scheduled for May 2008. While the appeal is pending,
the trial court continues to move forward on the abatement
process. In September 2007, the State submitted its plan of abatement
and defendants’ filed a response in December 2007. In December 2007,
the Judge named two special masters to assist the judge in determining the scope
of any abatement remedy.
In October 1999, we were served with a
complaint in Smith, et al. v.
Lead Industries Association, et al. (Circuit Court for Baltimore City,
Maryland, Case No. 24-C-99-004490). Plaintiffs, seven minors from
four families, each seek compensatory damages of $5 million and punitive damages
of $10 million for alleged injuries due to lead-based
paint. Plaintiffs allege that the former pigment manufacturers and
other companies alleged to have manufactured paint and/or gasoline additives,
the LIA and the National Paint and Coatings Association are jointly and
severally liable. We have denied liability. In February
2006, the trial court issued orders dismissing the Smith family’s case and
severing and staying the cases of the three other families. In March
2006, the plaintiffs appealed. In August 2007, the Special Court of
Appeals dismissed the appeal. In December 2007, the Maryland Court of
Appeals accepted review.
In April
2000, we were served with a complaint in County of Santa Clara v. Atlantic
Richfield Company, et al. (Superior Court of the State of California,
County of Santa Clara, Case No. CV788657) brought against the former pigment
manufacturers, the LIA and certain paint manufacturers. The County of
Santa Clara seeks to represent a class of California governmental entities
(other than the state and its agencies) to recover compensatory damages for
funds the plaintiffs have expended or will in the future expend for medical
treatment, educational expenses, abatement or other costs due to exposure to, or
potential exposure to, lead paint, disgorgement of profit, and punitive
damages. Solano, Alameda, San Francisco, Monterey and San Mateo
counties, the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles and San Diego, the
Oakland and San Francisco unified school districts and housing authorities and
the Oakland Redevelopment Agency have joined the case as
plaintiffs. In February 2003, defendants filed a motion for summary
judgment, which was granted in July 2003. In March 2006, the
appellate court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiffs’ trespass claim, Unfair
Competition Law claim and public nuisance claim for government-owned properties,
but reversed the dismissal of plaintiffs’ public nuisance claim for residential
housing properties, plaintiffs’ negligence and strict liability claims for
government-owned buildings and plaintiffs’ fraud claim. In January
2007, plaintiffs amended the complaint to drop all of the claims except for the
public nuisance claim. In April 2007, the trial court ruled that the
contingency fee arrangement between plaintiffs and their counsel was illegal,
and in May 2007, plaintiffs appealed the ruling. The proceedings have
been stayed pending resolution of this appeal.
In June 2000, a complaint was filed in
Illinois state court, Lewis,
et al. v. Lead Industries Association, et al. (Circuit Court of Cook
County, Illinois, County Department, Chancery Division, Case
No. 00CH09800). Plaintiffs seek to represent two classes, one
consisting of minors between the ages of six months and six years who resided in
housing in Illinois built before 1978, and another consisting of individuals
between the ages of six and twenty years who lived in Illinois housing built
before 1978 when they were between the ages of six months and six years and who
had blood lead levels of 10 micrograms/deciliter or more. The
complaint seeks damages jointly and severally from the former pigment
manufacturers and the LIA to establish a medical screening fund for the first
class to determine blood lead levels, a medical monitoring fund for the second
class to detect the onset of latent diseases, and a fund for a public education
campaign. In March 2002, the court dismissed all
claims. Plaintiffs appealed, and in June 2003 the appellate court
affirmed the dismissal of five of the six counts of the plaintiffs, but reversed
the dismissal of the conspiracy count. In May 2004, defendants filed
a motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs’ conspiracy count, which was granted
in February 2005. In February 2006, the court of appeals reversed the
trial court’s dismissal of the case and remanded the case for further
proceedings. The case is now proceeding in the trial
court.
In
February 2001, we were served with a complaint in Barker, et al. v. The
Sherwin-Williams Company, et al. (Circuit Court of Jefferson County,
Mississippi, Civil Action No. 2000-587, and formerly known as Borden, et al. vs. The
Sherwin-Williams Company, et al.). The complaint seeks joint
and several liability for compensatory and punitive damages from more than 40
manufacturers and retailers of lead pigment and/or paint, including us, on
behalf of 18 adult residents of Mississippi who were allegedly exposed to lead
during their employment in construction and repair activities. The
claims of all but one of the plaintiffs have been dismissed without prejudice
with respect to us.
In May
2001, we were served with a complaint in City of Milwaukee v. NL Industries,
Inc. and Mautz Paint (Circuit Court, Civil Division, Milwaukee County,
Wisconsin, Case No. 01CV003066). Plaintiff sought compensatory and
equitable relief for lead hazards in Milwaukee homes, restitution for amounts it
has spent to abate lead and punitive damages. The case was tried in
May and June 2007, and in June 2007, the jury returned a verdict in favor of
NL. In December 2007, plaintiff filed a notice of
appeal.
In
November 2003, we were served with a complaint in Lauren Brown v. NL Industries, Inc.,
et al. (Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, County Department, Law
Division, Case No. 03L 012425). The complaint seeks damages against
us and two local property owners on behalf of a minor for injuries alleged to be
due to exposure to lead paint contained in the minor’s residence. We
have denied all allegations of liability. The case is proceeding in
the trial court.
In January 2006, we were served with a
complaint in Hess, et al. v.
NL Industries, Inc., et al. (Missouri Circuit Court 22nd
Judicial Circuit, St. Louis City, Cause No. 052-11799). Plaintiffs
are two minor children who allege injuries purportedly caused by lead on the
surfaces of the home in which they resided. Plaintiffs seek
compensatory and punitive damages. We denied all allegations of
liability. The case is proceeding in the trial court.
In December 2006 and January 2007, we
were served with ten complaints by various cities in the State of
Ohio. Of these, eight were dismissed by the plaintiffs without
prejudice, one was dismissed by the court on defendants’ motion to dismiss and
no appeal was taken, and one remains pending: Columbus City, Ohio v.
Sherwin-Williams Company et al. (Court of Common Pleas, Franklin County,
Ohio, Case No. 06CVH-12-16480). The City of Columbus seeks
compensatory and punitive damages, detection and abatement in residences,
schools, hospitals and public and private buildings within the City which are
accessible to children and damages for funding of a public education campaign
and health screening programs. Plaintiff seeks judgments of joint and
several liability against the former pigment manufacturers and the
LIA. We intend to deny liability and to defend against all of the
claims vigorously.
In
January and February 2007, we were served with several complaints, the majority
of which were filed in Circuit Court in Milwaukee County,
Wisconsin. In some cases, complaints have been filed elsewhere in
Wisconsin. The plaintiff(s) are minor children who allege injuries
purportedly caused by lead on the surfaces of the homes in which they
reside. Plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive
damages. The defendants in these cases include us, American Cyanamid
Company, Armstrong Containers, Inc., E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company,
Millennium Holdings, LLC, Atlanta Richfield Company, The Sherwin-Williams
Company, Conagra Foods, Inc. and the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family
Services. In some cases, additional lead paint manufacturers and/or
property owners are also defendants. We have denied all liability in
those cases in which we have been required to answer and, we intend to deny all
liability in the other cases. Of these cases, nine have been
dismissed without prejudice, and 21 remain pending. Seven of the
remaining cases have been removed to Federal court. These cases are
proceeding at the trial court level.
In
January 2007, we were served with a complaint in Smith et al. v. 2328 University
Avenue Corp. et al. (Supreme Court, State of New York, Case No.
13470/02). Plaintiffs, two minors and their mother, allege
negligence, strict liability, and breach of warranty and seek compensatory and
punitive damages for injuries purportedly caused by lead paint on the surfaces
of the apartment in which they resided. In March 2007, we filed a
motion to dismiss the claims, which was denied in October 2007. In
November 2007, we filed a notice of appeal.
In May
2007, we were served with a complaint in State of Ohio, ex rel. Marc Dann
Attorney General v. Sherwin-Williams Company et al. (U.S. District Court,
Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, Case No.
2:08-cv-079). The State seeks compensatory and punitive damages,
detection and abatement in residences, schools, hospitals and public and private
buildings within the State accessible to children and damages for funding of a
public education campaign and health screening programs. Plaintiff
seeks judgments of joint and several liability against the former pigment
manufacturers and the LIA. In January 2008, the case was removed to
Federal court, and in February we filed a motion to dismiss the
claims.
In
October 2007, we were served with a complaint in Jones v. Joaquin Coe et al.
(Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County, Case No.
ESX-L-9900-06). Plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages for
injuries purportedly caused by lead paint on the surfaces of the apartments in
which he resided as a minor. Other defendants include three former
owners of the apartment building at issue in this case. In December
2007, NL denied all liability. The matter is proceeding in the trial
court.
In
addition to the foregoing litigation, various legislation and administrative
regulations have, from time to time, been proposed that seek to (a) impose
various obligations on present and former manufacturers of lead pigment and
lead-based paint with respect to asserted health concerns associated with the
use of such products and (b) effectively overturn court decisions in which we
and other pigment manufacturers have been successful. Examples of
such proposed legislation include bills which would permit civil liability for
damages on the basis of market share, rather than requiring plaintiffs to prove
that the defendant’s product caused the alleged damage, and bills which would
revive actions barred by the statute of limitations. While no
legislation or regulations have been enacted to date that are expected to have a
material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of
operations or liquidity, the imposition of market share liability or other
legislation could have such an effect.
Environmental
Matters and Litigation
General - Our
operations are governed by various environmental laws and
regulations. Certain of our businesses are and have been engaged in
the handling, manufacture use or disposal of substances or compounds that may be
considered toxic or hazardous within the meaning of applicable environmental
laws and regulations. As with other companies engaged in similar
businesses, certain of our past and current operations and products have the
potential to cause environmental or other damage. We have implemented
and continue to implement various policies and programs in an effort to minimize
these risks. Our policy is to maintain compliance with applicable
environmental laws and regulations at all of our plants and to strive to improve
our environmental performance. From time to time, we may be subject
to environmental regulatory enforcement under U.S. and foreign statutes, the
resolution of which typically involves the establishment of compliance
programs. It is possible that future developments, such as stricter
requirements of environmental laws and enforcement policies, could adversely
affect our production, handling, use, storage, transportation, sale or disposal
of such substances. We believe that all of our facilities are in
substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws.
Certain
properties and facilities used in our former operations, including divested
primary and secondary lead smelters and former mining locations of NL, are the
subject of civil litigation, administrative proceedings or investigations
arising under federal and state environmental laws. Additionally, in
connection with past disposal practices, we are currently involved as a
defendant, potentially responsible party (“PRP”) or both, pursuant to the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, as amended
by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (“CERCLA”), and similar
state laws in various governmental and private actions associated with waste
disposal sites, mining locations, and facilities we or our predecessors
currently or previously owned, operated or were used by us or our subsidiaries,
or their predecessors, certain of which are on the EPA’s Superfund National
Priorities List or similar state lists. These proceedings seek
cleanup costs, damages for personal injury or property damage and/or damages for
injury to natural resources. Certain of these proceedings involve
claims for substantial amounts. Although we may be jointly and
severally liable for these costs, in most cases we are only one of a number of
PRPs who may also be jointly and severally liable. In addition, we
are a party to a number of personal injury lawsuits filed in various
jurisdictions alleging claims related to environmental conditions alleged to
have resulted from our operations.
Environmental
obligations are difficult to assess and estimate for numerous reasons
including:
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complexity
and differing interpretations of governmental
regulations;
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number
of PRPs and their ability or willingness to fund such allocation of
costs;
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financial
capabilities of the PRPs and the allocation of costs among
them;
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solvency
of other PRPs;
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multiplicity
of possible solutions; and
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number
of years of investigatory, remedial and monitoring activity
required.
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In
addition, the imposition of more stringent standards or requirements under
environmental laws or regulations, new developments or changes regarding site
cleanup costs or allocation of costs among PRPs, solvency of other PRPs, the
results of future testing and analysis undertaken with respect to certain sites
or a determination that we are potentially responsible for the release of
hazardous substances at other sites, could cause our expenditures to exceed our
current estimates. Because we may be jointly and severally liable for the total
remediation cost at certain sites, the amount for which we are ultimately liable
for may exceed our accruals due to, among other things, the reallocation of
costs among PRPs or the insolvency of one or more PRPs. We cannot
assure you that actual costs will not exceed accrued amounts or the upper end of
the range for sites for which estimates have been made, and we cannot assure you
that costs will not be incurred for sites where no estimate presently can be
made. Further, additional environmental matters may arise in the
future. If we were to incur any future liability, this could have a
material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of
operations and liquidity.
We record
liabilities related to environmental remediation obligations when estimated
future expenditures are probable and reasonably estimable. We adjust
our environmental accruals as further information becomes available to us or
circumstances change. We generally do not discount estimated future
expenditures to their present value due to the uncertainty of the timing of the
pay out. We recognize recoveries of remediation costs from other
parties, if any, as assets when their receipt is deemed probable. At
December 31, 2007, we had no receivables for recoveries.
We do not
know and cannot estimate the exact time frame over which we will make payments
for our accrued environmental costs. The timing of payments depends
upon a number of factors including the timing of the actual remediation process;
which in turn depends on factors outside of our control. At each
balance sheet date, we estimate the amount of our accrued environmental costs we
expect to pay within the next twelve months, and we classify this estimate as a
current liability. We classify the remaining accrued
environmental costs as a noncurrent liability.
NL - On a quarterly basis, NL
evaluates the potential range of liability at sites where NL has been named as a
PRP or defendant, including sites for which our wholly-owned environmental
management subsidiary, NL Environmental Management Services, Inc. (“EMS”) has
contractually assumed our obligations. See Note 17 to our
Consolidated Financial Statements. At December 31, 2007, we had
accrued approximately $50 million for those environmental matters related to NL
that we believe are reasonably estimable. We believe that it is not
possible to estimate the range of costs for certain sites. The upper
end of the range of reasonably possible costs to us for sites for which we
believe it is possible to estimate costs is approximately $71 million, including
the amount currently accrued. We have not discounted these estimates
to present value.
At
December 31, 2007, there are approximately 20 sites for which we are not
currently able to estimate a range of costs. For these sites,
generally the investigation is in the early stages, and we are unable to
determine whether or not we actually had any association with the site, the
nature of our responsibility, if any, for the contamination at the site and the
extent of contamination at the site. The timing and availability of
information on these sites is dependent on events outside of our control, such
as when the party alleging liability provides information to us. At
certain of these previously inactive sites, we have received general and special
notices of liability from the EPA alleging that we, along with other PRPs, are
liable for past and future costs of remediating environmental contamination
allegedly caused by former operations conducted at the sites. These
notifications may assert that we, along with other PRPs, are liable for past
clean-up costs that could be material to us if we are ultimately found
liable.
In
December 2003, we were served with a complaint in The Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma et al.
v. ASARCO Incorporated et al. (United States District Court, Northern
District of Oklahoma, Case No. 03-CII-846H(J)). The complaint alleges
public nuisance, private nuisance, trespass, unjust enrichment, strict
liability, deceit by false representation and asserts claims under CERCLA and
RCRA against us and six other mining companies with respect to former operations
in the Tar Creek mining district in Oklahoma. The complaint seeks
class action status for former and current owners, and possessors of real
property located within the Quapaw Reservation. Among other things,
the complaint seeks actual and punitive damages from defendants. We
have moved to dismiss the complaint and have denied all of plaintiffs’
allegations. In June 2004, the court dismissed plaintiffs’ claims for
unjust enrichment and fraud as well as one of the RCRA claims. In
February 2006, the court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling that
plaintiffs waived their sovereign immunity to defendants’ counter claim for
contribution and indemnity. In April 2007, plaintiffs amended the
complaint to add certain claims against the United States, to add an additional
defendant, to remove certain bankrupt defendants, and to conform the complaint
to recent developments in the governing law. In June 2007, plaintiffs
amended the complaint to drop the class allegations. In December
2007, the court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the Tribe’s medical
monitoring claims.
In
February 2004, we were served in Evans v. ASARCO (United
States District Court, Northern District of Oklahoma, Case No. 04-CV-94EA(M)), a
purported class action on behalf of two classes of persons living in the town of
Quapaw, Oklahoma: (1) a medical monitoring class of persons who have lived in
the area since 1994, and (2) a property owner class of residential, commercial
and government property owners. Four individuals are named as
plaintiffs, together with the mayor of the town of Quapaw, Oklahoma, and the
School Board of Quapaw, Oklahoma. Plaintiffs allege causes of action
in nuisance and seek a medical monitoring program, a relocation program,
property damages and punitive damages. We answered the complaint and
denied all of plaintiffs’ allegations. The trial court subsequently
stayed all proceedings in this case pending the outcome of a class certification
decision in another case that had been pending in the same U.S. District Court,
a case from which we have been dismissed with prejudice.
In
January 2006, we were served in Brown et al. v. NL Industries, Inc.
et al. (Circuit Court Wayne County, Michigan, Case No. 06-602096
CZ). Plaintiffs, property owners and other past or present residents
of the Krainz Woods Neighborhood of Wayne County, Michigan, allege causes of
action in negligence, nuisance, trespass and under the Michigan Natural
Resources and Environmental Protection Act with respect to a lead smelting
facility formerly operated by us and another defendant. Plaintiffs
seek property damages, personal injury damages, loss of income and medical
expense and medical monitoring costs. In February 2006, we filed a
petition to remove the case to federal court. In May 2007, we moved
to dismiss several plaintiffs who failed to respond to discovery
requests. In August 2007, the case was remanded to state
court.
In June
2006, we and several other PRPs received a Unilateral Administrative Order from
the EPA regarding a formerly-owned mine and milling facility located in Park
Hills, Missouri. The Doe Run Company is the current owner of the
site, and its predecessor purchased the site from us in approximately
1936. Doe Run is also named in the Order. In August 2006,
Doe Run ceased to negotiate with us regarding an appropriate allocation of costs
for the remediation. In 2007, the parties engaged in mediation
regarding an appropriate allocation of costs for the remediation and in January
2008, the parties reached an agreement in principle on allocation calling for
the preparation of a definitive agreement. If such an agreement is
not reached, we intend to pursue Doe Run for its share of the costs associated
with complying with the Order.
In June
2006, we were served with a complaint in Donnelly and Donnelly v. NL
Industries, Inc. (State of New York Supreme Court, County of Rensselaer,
Cause No. 218149). The plaintiffs, a man who claims to have worked near
one of our former sites in New York and his wife, allege that he suffered
injuries (which are not described in the complaint) as a result of exposure to
harmful levels of toxic substances as a result of our conduct. Plaintiffs
claim damages for negligence, product liability and derivative losses on the
part of the wife. In July 2006, we removed this case to Federal
Court. In August 2006, we answered the complaint and denied all of
the plaintiffs’ allegations. Discovery is proceeding. No
trial date has been set.
In July
2006, we were served with a complaint in Norampac Industries, Inc. v. NL
Industries, Inc. (United States District Court, Western District of New
York, Case No. 06-CV-0479). In February 2008, the parties settled the
matter and filed a stipulation with the court dismissing the case.
In
October 2006, we entered into a consent decree in the United States District
Court for the District of Kansas, in which we agreed to perform remedial design
and remedial actions in OU-6, Waco Subsite, of the Cherokee County Superfund
Site. We conducted milling activities on the portion of the site
which we have agreed to remediate. We are also sharing responsibility
with other PRPs as well as the EPA for remediating a tributary that drains the
portions of the site in which the PRPs operated. We will also
reimburse the EPA for a portion of its past and future response costs related to
the site.
See also
Item 1 “Regulatory and
Environmental Matters”.
Tremont - Prior to 2005,
Tremont, another of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, entered into a voluntary
settlement agreement with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and
certain other PRPs pursuant to which Tremont and the other PRPs would undertake
certain investigatory and interim remedial activities at a former mining site
partly operated by NL located in Hot Springs County,
Arkansas. Tremont had entered into an agreement with Halliburton
Energy Services, Inc., another PRP for this site, which provides for, among
other things, the interim sharing of remediation costs associated with the site
pending a final allocation of costs through an agreed-upon procedure in
arbitration, as further discussed below.
On
December 9, 2005, Halliburton and DII Industries, LLC, another PRP of this site,
filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of
Texas, Houston Division, Case No. H-05-4160, against NL, Tremont and certain of
its subsidiaries, M-I, L.L.C., Milwhite, Inc. and Georgia-Pacific Corporation
seeking:
|
·
|
to
recover response and remediation costs incurred at the
site;
|
|
·
|
a
declaration of the parties’ liability for response and remediation costs
incurred at the site;
|
|
·
|
a
declaration of the parties’ liability for response and remediation costs
to be incurred in the future at the site;
and
|
|
·
|
a
declaration regarding the obligation of Tremont to indemnify Halliburton
and DII for costs and expenses attributable to the
site.
|
On
December 27, 2005, a subsidiary of Tremont filed suit in the United States
District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, Hot Springs Division, Case
No. 05-6089, against Georgia-Pacific, seeking to recover response costs it has
incurred and will incur at the site. Subsequently, plaintiffs in the
Houston litigation
agreed to stay that litigation by entering into an amendment with NL, Tremont
and its affiliates to the arbitration agreement previously agreed upon for
resolving the allocation of costs at the site. The Tremont subsidiary
subsequently also agreed with Georgia Pacific to stay the Arkansas litigation, and
subsequently that matter was consolidated with the Houston litigation, where the
court has agreed to stay the plaintiffs claims against Tremont and its
subsidiaries, but denied Tremont’s motions to dismiss and to stay the claims
made by M-I, Milwhite and Georgia Pacific.
In June
and September, 2007 the arbitration panel chosen by the parties to address the
issues noted above returned decisions favorable to NL, Tremont and its
affiliates. Among other things, the panel found that Halliburton is
obligated to indemnify Tremont and its affiliates (including NL) against all
costs and expenses, including attorney fees, associated with any environmental
remediation at the site, and ordered Halliburton to pay Tremont approximately
$10.0 million in cash in recovery of past investigation and remediation costs
and legal expenses incurred by Tremont related to the site, plus any future
remediation and legal expenses incurred after specified dates, together with
post-judgment interest accruing after September 1, 2007. In October
2007 Tremont filed a motion with the court in the Houston litigation to confirm
the arbitration panel’s decisions, and Halliburton filed a motion to vacate such
decisions. A confirmation hearing was held on November 13, 2007 and
we are awaiting the opinion of the court on this matter. Due to the
uncertain nature of the on-going legal proceedings, we have not accrued a
receivable for any awards at December 31, 2007. Pending a final
confirmation of the arbitration panel’s decisions, Tremont has accrued for this
site based upon the agreed-upon interim cost sharing
allocation. Tremont has $.5 million accrued at December 31, 2007 for
this matter.
Other - We have also accrued
approximately $4.9 million at December 31, 2007 for other environmental cleanup
matters. This accrual is near the upper end of the range of our
estimate of reasonably possible costs for such matters.
Insurance coverage
claims.
We are
involved in various legal proceedings with certain of our former insurance
carriers regarding the nature and extent of the carriers’ obligations to us
under insurance policies with respect to certain lead pigment and asbestos
lawsuits. The issue of whether insurance coverage for defense costs or
indemnity or both will be found to exist for our lead pigment and asbestos
litigation depends upon a variety of factors, and we cannot assure you that such
insurance coverage will be available. We have not considered any potential
insurance recoveries for lead pigment or asbestos litigation matters in
determining related accruals.
We have agreements with two former
insurance carriers pursuant to which the carriers reimburse us for a portion of
our past and future lead pigment litigation defense costs. We are not able
to determine how much we will ultimately recover from these carriers for past
defense costs incurred by us, because of certain issues that arise regarding
which past defense costs qualify for reimbursement. See Note 17 to the
Consolidated Financial Statements. While we continue to seek
additional insurance recoveries, we do not know if we will be successful in
obtaining reimbursement for either defense costs or indemnity. We have not
considered any additional potential insurance recoveries in determining accruals
for lead pigment or asbestos litigation matters. Any additional insurance
recoveries would be recognized when the receipt is probable and the amount is
determinable.
We have
settled insurance coverage claims concerning environmental claims with certain
of our principal former carriers. We do not expect further material
settlements relating to environmental remediation coverage.
ITEM 4. SUBMISSION
OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
None.
PART
II
ITEM
5.
|
MARKET
FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
AND
ISSUER PURCHASES OR EQUITY
SECURITIES
|
Common Stock and Dividends -
Our common stock is listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol:
VHI). As of February 29, 2008, we had approximately 3,100 holders of
record of our common stock. The following table sets forth the high
and low closing per share sales prices for our common stock and dividends for
the periods indicated. On February 29, 2008 the closing price of our
common stock was $19.33.
High
|
Low
|
Cash
dividends
paid
|
||||||||||
Year
ended December 31, 2006
|
||||||||||||
First Quarter
|
$ | 18.90 | $ | 17.00 | $ | .10 | ||||||
Second Quarter
|
25.81 | 18.14 | .10 | |||||||||
Third Quarter
|
27.50 | 22.75 | .10 | |||||||||
Fourth Quarter
|
27.92 | 22.92 | .10 | |||||||||
Year ended December 31, 2007
|
||||||||||||
First Quarter
|
$ | 31.32 | $ | 13.20 | $ | .10 | ||||||
Second Quarter
|
19.56 | 14.90 | .10 | |||||||||
Third Quarter
|
25.15 | 15.44 | .10 | |||||||||
Fourth Quarter
|
26.69 | 15.94 | .10 | |||||||||
First
Quarter 2008 through February 29
|
$ | 20.62 | $ | 14.14 | $ | - |
We paid
regular quarterly cash dividends of $.10 per share during 2006 and
2007. In February 2008, our board of directors declared a first
quarter 2008 dividend of $.10 per share, to be paid on March 31, 2008 to
shareholders of record as of March 11, 2008. In addition to our regular
dividend, in March 2007 we paid a special dividend to our shareholders in the
form of shares of TIMET common stock. In the special dividend we
distributed approximately 56.8 million shares of TIMET common stock, which
amount represented all of the TIMET common stock we owned at that date and
approximately 35.1% of the outstanding TIMET common stock. See Note 3
to our Consolidated Financial Statements. However, declaration and
payment of future dividends, and the amount thereof, is discretionary and is
dependent upon our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements
for our businesses, contractual requirements and restrictions and other factors
deemed relevant by our Board of Directors. The amount and timing of
past dividends is not necessarily indicative of the amount or timing of any
future dividends which we might pay. In this regard, our revolving
bank credit facility currently limits the amount of our quarterly cash dividends
to $.10 per share, plus an additional aggregate amount of $173.0 million at
December 31, 2007.
Performance Graph - Set forth below is a
line graph comparing the yearly change in our cumulative total stockholder
return on our common stock against the cumulative total return of the S&P
500 Composite Stock Price Index and the S&P 500 Industrial Conglomerates
Index for the period from December 31, 2002 through December 31,
2007. The graph shows the value at December 31 of each year assuming
an original investment of $100 at December 31, 2002, and assumes the
reinvestment of our regular quarterly cash dividends in shares of our stock and
the sale of the TIMET shares distributed in our special dividend with the
proceeds also reinvested in our stock.
December
31,
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
2002
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Valhi
common stock
|
$ | 100 | $ | 184 | $ | 202 | $ | 237 | $ | 338 | $ | 475 | ||||||||||||
S&P
500 Composite Stock Price Index
|
100 | 129 | 143 | 150 | 173 | 183 | ||||||||||||||||||
S&P
500 Industrial Conglomerates Index
|
100 | 135 | 161 | 155 | 168 | 176 |
The information
contained in the performance graph shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or
“filed” with the SEC, or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the
Securities Exchange Act, as amended, except to the extent we specifically
request that the material be treated as soliciting material or specifically
incorporate this performance graph by reference into a document filed under the
Securities Act or the Securities Exchange Act.
Treasury Stock Purchases - In
March 2005, our board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to 5.0
million shares of our common stock in open market transactions, including block
purchases, or in privately negotiated transactions, which may include
transactions with our affiliates. In November 2006, our board of directors
authorized the repurchase of an additional 5.0 million shares. We may purchase
the stock from time to time as market conditions permit. The stock
repurchase program does not include specific price targets or timetables and may
be suspended at any time. Depending on market conditions, we could
terminate the program prior to completion. We will use our cash on
hand to acquire the shares. Repurchased shares will be retired and
cancelled or may be added to our treasury stock and used for employee benefit
plans, future acquisitions or other corporate purposes. See Notes 14
and 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
The
following table discloses certain information regarding the shares of our common
stock we purchased in November 2007 (our only purchases during the fourth
quarter of 2007). All of these purchases were made under the
repurchase program in open market transactions.
Period
|
Total
number of shares purchased
|
Average
price
paid
per
share, including
commissions
|
Total
number of shares purchased as part of a publicly-announced plan
|
Maximum
number of shares that may yet be purchased under the publicly-announced
plan at end of
period
|
||||||||||||
November 1, 2007
to November 30,
2007
|
61,100 | $ | 21.48 | 61,100 | 4,006,600 |
ITEM
6.
|
SELECTED
FINANCIAL DATA
|
The
following selected financial data has been derived from our audited Consolidated
Financial Statements. The following selected financial data should be
read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes
and Item 7 - "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations."
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||||||||||
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||||||||
(In
millions, except per share data)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
STATEMENTS
OF OPERATIONS DATA:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Net sales:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Chemicals
|
$ | 1,008.2 | $ | 1,128.6 | $ | 1,196.7 | $ | 1,279.5 | $ | 1,310.3 | ||||||||||
Component products
|
173.9 | 182.6 | 186.3 | 190.1 | 177.7 | |||||||||||||||
Waste management
|
4.1 | 8.9 | 9.8 | 11.8 | 4.2 | |||||||||||||||
Total
net sales
|
$ | 1,186.2 | $ | 1,320.1 | $ | 1,392.8 | $ | 1,481.4 | $ | 1,492.2 | ||||||||||
Operating income
(loss):
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Chemicals
|
$ | 123.6 | $ | 102.4 | $ | 165.6 | $ | 138.1 | $ | 88.6 | ||||||||||
Component products
|
9.1 | 16.2 | 19.3 | 20.6 | 16.0 | |||||||||||||||
Waste management
|
(11.5 | ) | (10.2 | ) | (12.1 | ) | (9.5 | ) | (14.1 | ) | ||||||||||
Total
operating income
|
$ | 121.2 | $ | 108.4 | $ | 172.8 | $ | 149.2 | $ | 90.5 | ||||||||||
Equity in earnings (losses) of TIMET
|
$ | (2.3 | ) | $ | 22.7 | $ | 64.9 | $ | 101.1 | $ | 26.9 | |||||||||
Income (loss) from continuing
operations
|
$ | (84.8 | ) | $ | 225.5 | $ | 82.1 | $ | 141.7 | $ | (45.7 | ) | ||||||||
Discontinued operations
|
(2.9 | ) | 3.7 | (.2 | ) | - | - | |||||||||||||
Cumulative effect of change in accounting principle
|
.6 | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||
Net income (loss)
|
$ | (87.1 | ) | $ | 229.2 | $ | 81.9 | $ | 141.7 | $ | (45.7 | ) | ||||||||
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE DATA:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Income (loss) from continuing operations
|
$ | (.71 | ) | $ | 1.87 | $ | .69 | $ | 1.20 | $ | (.40 | ) | ||||||||
Net income (loss)
|
$ | (.73 | ) | $ | 1.90 | $ | .69 | $ | 1.20 | $ | (.40 | ) | ||||||||
Cash dividends
|
$ | .24 | $ | .24 | $ | .40 | $ | .40 | $ | .40 | ||||||||||
Weighted average common shares outstanding
|
119.9 | 120.4 | 118.5 | 116.5 | 114.7 | |||||||||||||||
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOW DATA:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Cash provided by
(used in):
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Operating activities
|
$ | 108.5 | $ | 142.1 | $ | 104.3 | $ | 86.3 | $ | 63.5 | ||||||||||
Investing activities
|
(33.8 | ) | (58.1 | ) | 20.4 | (89.5 | ) | (65.4 | ) | |||||||||||
Financing activities
|
(71.2 | ) | 78.4 | (115.8 | ) | (87.6 | ) | (56.1 | ) | |||||||||||
BALANCE SHEET DATA (at year end):
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Total assets
(1)
|
$ | 2,307.2 | $ | 2,690.5 | $ | 2,578.4 | $ | 2,804.7 | $ | 2,603.0 | ||||||||||
Long-term debt
|
632.5 | 769.5 | 715.8 | 785.3 | 889.8 | |||||||||||||||
Stockholders’ equity
(1)(2)
|
631.2 | 876.1 | 797.3 | 866.8 | 618.4 |
(1)
|
We
adopted the asset and liability recognition provisions of Statement of
Financial Accounting Standard (“SFAS”) No. 158 as of December 31, 2006 and
the measurement date provisions of SFAS No. 158 as of December 31,
2007. See Notes 11 and 18 to our Consolidated Financial
Statements.
|
(2)
|
We
adopted FASB Interpretation Number (“FIN”) 48 as of January 1,
2007. See Note 18 to our Consolidated Financial
Statements.
|
ITEM
7.
|
MANAGEMENT’S
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF
OPERATIONS
|
RESULTS
OF OPERATIONS
Business
Overview
We are
primarily a holding company. We operate through our wholly-owned and
majority-owned subsidiaries, including NL Industries, Inc., Kronos Worldwide,
Inc., CompX International, Inc., Tremont LLC and Waste Control Specialists LLC
(“WCS”). Prior to March 26, 2007 we were the largest shareholder of
Titanium Metals Corporation (“TIMET”) although we owned less than a majority
interest. Kronos (NYSE: KRO), NL (NYSE: NL) and CompX (NYSE: CIX)
each file periodic reports with the SEC.
We have
three consolidated operating segments:
|
·
|
Chemicals – Our
chemicals segment is operated through our majority ownership of
Kronos. Kronos is a leading global producer and marketer of
value-added titanium dioxide pigments (“TiO2”). TiO2 is
used for a variety of manufacturing applications, including plastics,
paints, paper and other industrial
products.
|
|
·
|
Component Products – We
operate in the component products industry through our majority ownership
of CompX. CompX is a leading global manufacturer of security
products, precision ball bearing slides and ergonomic computer support
systems used in the office furniture, transportation, tool storage and a
variety of other industries. CompX is also a leading
manufacturer of stainless steel exhaust systems, gauges and throttle
controls for the performance marine
industry.
|
|
·
|
Waste Management – WCS
is our wholly-owned subsidiary which owns and operates a West Texas
facility for the processing, treatment and, storage of hazardous, toxic
and low level radioactive waste as well as the disposal of hazardous,
toxic and certain low level radioactive waste. WCS is in the
process of seeking to obtain regulatory authorization to expand its
low-level and mixed low-level radioactive waste disposal
capabilities.
|
On March
26, 2007 we completed a special dividend of the TIMET common stock we owned to
our stockholders. We accounted for our 35% interest in TIMET by the
equity method through March 31, 2007. As a result we now own
approximately 1% of TIMET’s outstanding common stock. Accordingly we
now account for our share of TIMET common stock as available-for-sale marketable
securities carried at fair value. See Note 3 to the Consolidated
Financial Statements. TIMET is a leading global producer of titanium
sponge, melted products and milled products. Titanium is used for a
variety of commercial, aerospace, military, medical and other emerging
markets. TIMET is also the only titanium producer with major
production facilities in both of the world’s principal titanium markets: the
U.S. and Europe.
Income
From Continuing Operations Overview
Year
Ended December 31, 2006 Compared to Year Ended December 31,
2007 –
We
reported a net loss from continuing operations of $45.7 million or $.40 per
diluted share in 2007 compared to income from continuing operations of $141.7
million, or $1.20 per diluted share, in 2006 and income of $82.1 million, or
$.69 per diluted share, in 2005.
Our
diluted earnings per share decreased from 2006 to 2007 due primarily to the net
effects of:
|
·
|
an
income tax charge recognized by our Chemicals Segment in 2007 primarily as
a result of a reduction in German tax
rates;
|
|
·
|
an
income tax benefit due to a net decrease in our reserve for uncertain tax
positions in 2007;
|
|
·
|
lower
effective income tax rate in 2006 primarily due to the favorable
resolution in 2006 related to audits in our Chemicals Segment’s operations
in Germany, Belgium and Norway;
|
|
·
|
ceasing
to record equity in earnings from TIMET due to the distribution of our
TIMET shares in the first quarter of
2007;
|
|
·
|
the
gain in 2006 from the sale of certain land in
Nevada;
|
|
·
|
lower
operating income from each of our segments in
2007;
|
|
·
|
a
charge in 2006 from the redemption of our 8.875% Senior Secured
Notes;
|
|
·
|
lower
interest expense in 2007 resulting from the April 2006 refinancing of our
Senior Secured Notes; and
|
|
·
|
lower
dividend income from Amalgamated Sugar Company in 2007 as the additional
dividend it owed to us was completely paid in
2006.
|
Our
income from continuing operations in 2006 includes (net of tax and minority
interest, as applicable):
|
·
|
a
net income tax benefit of $.21 per diluted share at our Chemicals Segment
related to the net effect of the withdrawal of certain income tax
assessments previously made by Belgian and Norwegian tax authorities, the
favorable resolution of certain income tax issues related to our German
and Belgian operations and the enactment of a reduction in Canadian
federal income tax rates offset by the unfavorable resolution of certain
other income tax issues related to our German
operations;
|
|
·
|
income
of $.20 per diluted share related to the sale of our land in
Nevada;
|
|
·
|
a
charge related to the redemption of our 8.875% Senior Secured Notes of
$.09 per diluted share;
|
|
·
|
a
gain of $.09 per diluted share related to TIMET’s sale of its minority
interest in VALTIMET, a manufacturing joint venture located in France;
and
|
|
·
|
income
of $.03 per diluted share related to certain insurance recoveries
recognized by NL.
|
Our net
loss in 2007 includes (net of tax and minority interest):
|
·
|
a
charge of $.52 per diluted share as a result of the effect of a reduction
of the German income tax rates in
2007;
|
|
·
|
a
charge of $.05 per diluted share related to the adjustment of certain
German tax attributes within our Chemicals
Segment;
|
|
·
|
an
income tax benefit of $.03 per diluted share due to a net decrease in our
reserve for uncertain tax positions;
and
|
|
·
|
income
of $.03 per diluted share related to certain insurance recoveries
recognized by NL.
|
We
discuss these amounts more fully below.
Year
Ended December 31, 2005 Compared to Year Ended December 31,
2006 –
We
reported income from continuing operations of $141.7 million, or $1.20 per
diluted share, in 2006 compared to income of $82.1 million, or $.69 per diluted
share, in 2005.
Our
diluted earnings per share increased from 2005 to 2006 due primarily to the net
effects of:
|
·
|
a
lower effective income tax rate in 2006 primarily due to the favorable
resolution in 2006 related to audits in our Chemicals Segment’s operations
in Germany, Belgium and Norway and a provision in 2005 related to a change
in the permanent reinvestment conclusion for earnings of certain foreign
subsidiaries of our Component Products
Segment;
|
|
·
|
higher
equity in earnings from TIMET in
2006.
|
|
·
|
the
gain in 2006 from the sale of certain land in
Nevada;
|
|
·
|
lower
total operating income in 2006 as improvements in operating income from
our Component Products and Waste Management Segments were more than offset
by a decline in operating income at our Chemicals
Segment;
|
|
·
|
a
charge in 2006 from the redemption of our 8.875% Senior Secured
Notes;
|
|
·
|
the
write-off of accrued interest in 2005 on our prior loan to Snake River
Sugar Company;
|
|
·
|
securities
transaction gains realized in 2005;
and
|
|
·
|
lower
interest and dividend income in 2006 primarily due to lower distributions
received from The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC in
2006.
|
Our
income from continuing operations in 2005 includes (net of tax and minority
interest, as applicable):
|
·
|
income
related to certain income tax benefits recognized by TIMET of $.11 per
diluted share;
|
|
·
|
gains
from NL’s sales of shares of Kronos common stock of $.05 per diluted
share;
|
|
·
|
a
non-cash income tax expense of $.03 per diluted share related to
developments in certain income tax audits at NL and our Chemicals Segment
and a change in the permanent reinvestment conclusion for earnings of
certain foreign subsidiaries of our Component Products
Segment;
|
|
·
|
a
gain from the sale of our passive interest in a Norwegian smelting
operation of $.02 per diluted
share;
|
|
·
|
income
related to TIMET’s sale of certain real property adjacent to its Nevada
operations of $.02 per diluted share;
and
|
|
·
|
income
of $.01 per diluted share related to certain insurance recoveries
recognized by NL.
|
Our
income from continuing operations in 2006 includes (net of tax and minority
interest, as applicable):
|
·
|
a
net income tax benefit of $.21 per diluted share at our Chemicals Segment
related to the net effect of the withdrawal of certain income tax
assessments previously made by Belgian and Norwegian tax authorities, the
favorable resolution of certain income tax issues related to our German
and Belgian operations and the enactment of a reduction in Canadian
federal income tax rates offset by the unfavorable resolution of certain
other income tax issues related to our German
operations;
|
|
·
|
income
of $.20 per diluted share related to the sale of our land in
Nevada;
|
|
·
|
a
charge related to the redemption of our 8.875% Senior Secured Notes of
$.09 per diluted share;
|
|
·
|
a
gain of $.09 per diluted share related to TIMET’s sale of its minority
interest in VALTIMET, a manufacturing joint venture located in France;
and
|
|
·
|
income
of $.03 per diluted share related to certain insurance recoveries
recognized by NL.
|
We
discuss these amounts more fully below.
Current
Forecast for 2008 –
We
currently expect to report a lower net loss for 2008 as compared to the net loss
in 2007 due primarily to the net effects of:
|
·
|
lower
income taxes as the unfavorable effect of the reduction in German income
taxes rates was recognized 2007;
|
|
·
|
no
equity in earnings from TIMET as we ceased to account for our interest in
TIMET by the equity method following our March 2007 special distribution
of TIMET common stock; and
|
|
·
|
lower
expected operating income from our Chemicals Segment due to continued
lower average selling prices and increases in raw material
costs.
|
Critical
accounting policies and estimates
We have
based the accompanying “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations” upon our Consolidated Financial
Statements. We prepare our Consolidated Financial Statements in
accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America (“GAAP”). In many cases the accounting treatment of a particular
transaction does not require us to make estimates and
judgments. However, in other cases we are required to make estimates
and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and
disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial
statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the
reported period. On an on-going basis, we evaluate our estimates,
including those related to impairments of investments in marketable securities
and investments accounted for by the equity method, the recoverability of other
long-lived assets (including goodwill and other intangible assets), pension and
other postretirement benefit obligations and the underlying actuarial
assumptions related thereto, the realization of deferred income and other tax
assets and accruals for environmental remediation, litigation, income tax
contingencies. We base our estimates on historical experience and on
various other assumptions we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the
results of which form the basis for making judgments about the reported amounts
of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. Actual results might
differ significantly from previously-estimated amounts under different
assumptions or conditions.
“Our
critical accounting policies” relate to amounts having a material impact on our
financial position and results of operations, and that require our most
subjective or complex judgments. See Note 1 to our Consolidated
Financial Statements for a detailed discussion of our significant accounting
policies.
|
·
|
Marketable securities -
We own investments in certain companies that we account for as
marketable securities carried at fair value or that we account for under
the equity method. For these investments, we evaluate the fair
value at each balance sheet date. We use quoted market prices,
Level 1 inputs as defined in SFAS No. 157, to determine fair value for our
marketable debt securities and publicly traded investees. We
use Level 3 inputs to determine fair value for our other marketable
securities, primarily our investment in Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC. See
Note 18 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. We
record an impairment charge when we believe an investment has experienced
an other than temporary decline in fair value below its cost basis (for
marketable securities) or below its carrying value (for equity method
investees). Future adverse changes in market conditions or poor operating
results of underlying investments could result in losses or our inability
to recover the carrying value of the investments that may not be reflected
in an investment’s current carrying value, thereby possibly requiring us
to recognize an impairment charge in the
future.
|
At
December 31, 2007, the carrying value (which equals their fair value) of
substantially all of our marketable securities equaled or exceeded the cost
basis of each of such investment. Our investment in The Amalgamated
Sugar Company LLC represents approximately 78% of the aggregate carrying value
of all of our marketable securities at December 31, 2007. The $250
million carrying value is the same as its cost basis. At December 31,
2007, the $26.45 per share quoted market price of our investment in TIMET was
almost five times our per share net carrying value of our investment in
TIMET.
|
·
|
Goodwill – Our goodwill
totaled $406.8 million at December 31, 2007 resulting primarily from our
various step acquisitions of Kronos and NL. In accordance with
SFAF No. 142, Goodwill
and Other Intangible Assets, we do not amortize
goodwill.
|
|
Goodwill
is evaluated for impairment at least annually. Goodwill is also
evaluated for impairment if the book value of its reporting unit exceeds
its estimated fair value. A reporting unit can be a segment or
an operating division. For our Chemicals Segment, we use Level
1 inputs of publicly traded market prices to compare the book value to
assess impairment. For our Component Products Segment, we use
Level 3 inputs of a discounted cash flow technique. If the fair
value is less than the book value, the asset is written down to the
estimated fair value.
|
|
Considerable
management judgment is necessary to evaluate the impact of operating
changes and to estimate future cash flows. Assumptions used in
our impairment evaluations, such as forecasted growth rates and our cost
of capital, are consistent with our internal projections and operating
plans.
|
We did
not recognize an impairment charge for goodwill during 2007.
|
·
|
Long-lived assets – We
account for our long-lived assets, including our investment in WCS, in
accordance with SFAS No. 144, Accounting for the Impairment
or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets. We assess property, equipment and
capitalized permit costs for impairment only when circumstances indicate
an impairment may exist. During 2007, as a result of continued
operating losses, certain long-lived assets of our Waste Management
Segment were evaluated for impairment as of December 31,
2007. Our analysis, based on estimated future undiscounted cash
flows of WCS’ operations, indicated no impairment was present
as the estimate exceeded the carrying value of WCS’ net
assets. Considerable management judgment is necessary to
evaluate the impact of operating changes and to estimate future cash
flows. Assumptions used in our impairment evaluations, such as
forecasted growth rates and our cost of capital, are consistent with our
internal projections and operating
plans.
|
|
·
|
Employee benefit plan costs -
We provide a range of benefits including various defined benefit
pension and other postretirement benefits for our employees. We
record annual amounts related to these plans based upon calculations
required by GAAP, which make use of various actuarial assumptions, such
as: discount rates, expected rates of returns on plan assets, compensation
increases, employee turnover rates, mortality rates and expected health
care trend rates. We review our actuarial assumptions annually
and make modifications to the assumptions based on current rates and
trends when we believe appropriate. As required by GAAP,
modifications to the assumptions are generally recorded and amortized over
future periods. Different assumptions could result in the
recognition of different expense amounts over different periods of
times. These assumptions are more fully described below under
“—Assumptions on defined benefit pension plans and postretirement benefit
plans.”
|
|
·
|
Income taxes – We
recognize deferred taxes for future tax effects of temporary differences
between financial and income tax reporting in accordance with SFAS 109 Accounting for Income
Taxes. While we have considered future taxable income
and ongoing prudent and feasible tax planning strategies in assessing the
need for uncertain tax positions, it is possible that in the future we may
change our estimate of the amount of the deferred income tax assets that
would more-likely-than-not be realized in the future. If such
changes take place, there is a risk that an adjustment to our deferred
income tax asset valuation allowance may be required that would either
increase or decrease, as applicable, our reported net income in the period
such change in estimate was made.
|
We also
evaluate at the end of each reporting period whether some or all of the
undistributed earnings of our foreign subsidiaries are permanently reinvested
(as that term is defined in GAAP). While we may have concluded in the
past that some undistributed earnings are permanently reinvested, facts and
circumstances can change in the future, such as a change in the expectation
regarding the capital needs of our foreign subsidiaries, could result in a
conclusion that some or all of the undistributed earnings are no longer
permanently reinvested. If our prior conclusions change, we would
recognize a deferred income tax liability in an amount equal to the estimated
incremental U.S. income tax and withholding tax liability that would be
generated if all of such previously-considered permanently reinvested
undistributed earnings were distributed to us. We did not change our
conclusions on our undistributed foreign earnings in 2007.
Beginning
in 2007, we record a reserve for uncertain tax positions in accordance with
FIN No. 48, Accounting for Uncertain Tax
Positions for tax position where we believe it is more-likely-than-not
our position will not prevail with the applicable tax
authorities. From time to time, tax authorities will examine certain
of our income tax returns. Tax authorities may interpret tax regulations
differently than we do. Judgments and estimates made at a point in time
may change based on the outcome of tax audits and changes to or further
interpretations of regulations, thereby resulting in an increase or decrease in
the amount we are required to accrue for uncertain tax positions (and therefore
a decrease or increase in our reported net income in the period of such
change). Our reserve for uncertain tax positions changed during 2007.
See Note 18 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
|
·
|
Litigation and environmental
liabilities - We are involved in numerous legal and environmental
actions in part due to NL’s former involvement in the manufacture of
lead-based products. In accordance with SFAS No. 5, Accounting for Contingencies,
we record accruals for these liabilities when estimated future
expenditures associated with such contingencies become probable, and we
can reasonably estimate the amounts of such future
expenditures. However, new information may become available to
us, or circumstances (such as applicable laws and regulations) may change,
thereby resulting in an increase or decrease in the amount we are required
to accrue for such matters (and therefore a decrease or increase in our
reported net income in the period of such change). At December 31, 2007 we
have recorded total accrued environmental liabilities of $55.7
million.
|
Operating
income for each of our three operating segments are impacted by certain of these
significant judgments and estimates, as summarized below:
|
·
|
Chemicals
– reserves for obsolete or unmarketable inventories, impairment of equity
method investees, goodwill and other long-lived assets, defined benefit
pension and OPEB plans and loss
accruals.
|
|
·
|
Component
Products – reserves for obsolete or unmarketable inventories, impairment
of long-lived assets and loss
accruals.
|
|
·
|
Waste
Management – impairment of long-lived assets and loss
accruals.
|
In
addition, general corporate and other items are impacted by the significant
judgments and estimates for impairment of marketable securities and equity
method investees, defined benefit pension and OPEB plans, deferred income tax
asset valuation allowances and loss accruals.
Segment
Operating Results – 2006 Compared to 2007 and 2005 Compared to 2006
–
Chemicals
–
We
consider TiO2 to be a
“quality of life” product, with demand affected by gross domestic product
(“GDP”) in various regions of the world. Over the long-term, we
expect demand for TiO2 will grow
by 2% to 3% per year, consistent with our expectations for the long-term growth
in GDP. However, even if we and our competitors maintain consistent
shares of the worldwide market, demand for TiO2 in any
interim or annual period may not change in the same proportion as the change in
GDP, in part due to relative changes in the TiO2 inventory
levels of our customers. We believe our customers’ inventory levels
are partly influenced by their expectation for future changes in market TiO2 selling
prices.
The
factors having the most impact on our reported operating results
are:
|
·
|
TiO2
average selling prices;
|
|
·
|
foreign
currency exchange rates (particularly the exchange rate for the U.S.
dollar relative to the euro and the Canadian
dollar);
|
|
·
|
TiO2
sales and production volumes; and
|
|
·
|
manufacturing
costs, particularly maintenance and energy-related
expenses.
|
The key
performance indicators for our Chemicals Segment are our TiO2 average
selling prices, and our TiO2 sales and
production volumes.
Years ended December 31,
|
% Change
|
|||||||||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2005-06 | 2006-07 | ||||||||||||||||
(Dollars
in millions)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Net sales
|
$ | 1,196.7 | $ | 1,279.5 | $ | 1,310.3 | 7 | % | 2 | % | ||||||||||
Cost of goods
sold
|
884.1 | 980.8 | 1,062.2 | 11 | % | 8 | % | |||||||||||||
Gross margin
|
$ | 312.6 | $ | 298.7 | $ | 248.1 | (4 | )% | (17 | )% | ||||||||||
Operating income
|
$ | 165.6 | $ | 138.1 | $ | 88.6 | (17 | )% | (36 | )% | ||||||||||
Percent of net sales:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Cost of
sales
|
74 | % | 77 | % | 81 | % | ||||||||||||||
Gross margin
|
26 | % | 23 | % | 19 | % | ||||||||||||||
Operating income
|
14 | % | 11 | % | 7 | % | ||||||||||||||
TiO2 operating statistics:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Sales volumes*
|
478 | 511 | 519 | 7 | % | 1 | % | |||||||||||||
Production volumes*
|
492 | 516 | 512 | 5 | % | (1 | )% | |||||||||||||
Production rate as
percent of capacity
|
99 | % |
Full
|
98 | % | |||||||||||||||
Percent change in net sales:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
TiO2 product pricing
|
- | % | (4 | )% | ||||||||||||||||
TiO2 sales volumes
|
7 | % | 1 | % | ||||||||||||||||
TiO2 product mix
|
- | % | - | % | ||||||||||||||||
Changes
in currency exchange rates
|
- | % | 5 | % | ||||||||||||||||
Total
|
7 | % | 2 | % |
*Thousands
of metric tons
Net Sales – Our Chemicals
Segment’s sales increased by 2% or $30.8 million in 2007 compared to 2006 due
primarily to a 5% favorable effect of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange
rates, which increased sales by approximately $65 million, or 5% and to a lesser
extent a 1% increase in TiO2 sales
volumes, offset by a 4% decline in average selling prices in 2007 as compared to
2006. Our Chemicals Segment’s sales volumes in 2007 were a new
record for us. The increase in our TiO2 sales
volumes in 2007 was due primarily to higher sales volumes in Europe and export
markets, which were partially offset by lower sales volumes in North
America.
Our
Chemicals Segment’s sales increased by 7% or $82.8 million in 2006 compared to
2005 due primarily to a 7% increase in TiO2 sales
volumes and to a lesser extent the favorable effect of fluctuations in foreign
currency exchange rates, which increased sales by approximately $2 million, or
less than 1%. Our Chemicals Segment’s sales volumes in 2006 were a
new record for us at that time. The increase in our TiO2 sales
volumes in 2006 was due primarily to higher sales volumes in the United States,
Europe and in export markets, which were partially offset by lower sales volumes
in Canada. Our sales volumes in Canada were impacted by decreased
demand for TiO2 used in
paper products.
Cost of Goods Sold – Our
Chemicals Segment’s cost of sales increased in 2007 primarily due to the impact
of higher sales volumes, lower utility costs, lower production volumes, and the
effect of changes in currency exchange rates and higher operating
costs. Cost of sales as a percentage of sales increased in 2007 due
to the net effects of lower average selling prices, lower utility costs, higher
other manufacturing costs (including maintenance) and slightly lower production
volumes. TiO2 production
volumes decreased 1% for 2007 compared to the same period in 2006, which
unfavorably impacted our income from operations comparisons. Our
operating rates were near full capacity in both periods.
Our
Chemicals Segment’s cost of sales increased in 2006 primarily due to the impact
of higher sales volumes and higher operating costs. Cost of sales as
a percentage of sales increased in 2006 primarily due to a 15% increase in
utility costs (primarily energy costs), a 4% increase in raw material
costs and currency fluctuations (primarily the Canadian
dollar). The negative impact of the increase in raw materials and
energy costs on our Chemicals Segment’s gross margin and operating income
comparisons was somewhat offset by record TiO2 production
volumes that increased 5% in 2006 as compared to 2005. We continued
to gain operational efficiencies by enhancing our processes and debottlenecking
production to meet long-term demand. Our operating rates were near
full capacity in 2005 and at full capacity in 2006, and our TiO2 production
volumes in 2006 were a new record for us for the fifth consecutive
year.
Operating Income – Our
Chemicals Segment’s operating income declined in 2007 primarily due to the
decrease in gross margin and the effect of fluctuations in foreign currency
exchange rates. The decline in operating income is driven by the
decline in gross margin, which decreased to 19% in 2007 compared to 23% in
2006. While our sales volumes were higher in 2007, our gross margin
decreased primarily because of lower average TiO2 selling
prices, lower production volumes and higher manufacturing costs, which more than
offset the impact of higher sales volumes. Changes in currency rates
have also negatively affected our gross margin. We estimate the
negative effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates decreased
operating income by approximately $4 million when comparing 2007 to
2006.
Our
Chemicals Segment’s operating income declined in 2006 primarily due to the
decrease in gross margin and the effect of fluctuations in foreign currency
exchange rates. While our sales volumes were higher in 2006, our
gross margin decreased as we were not able to achieve pricing levels to offset
the negative impact of our increased operating costs (primarily energy and raw
materials costs). Changes in currency rates also negatively affected
our gross margin. We estimate the negative effect of changes in
foreign currency exchange rates decreased operating income by $20 million in
2006 as compared to 2005.
Our
Chemicals Segment’s operating income is net of amortization of purchase
accounting adjustments made in conjunction with our acquisitions of interests in
NL and Kronos. As a result, we recognize additional depreciation
expense above the amounts Kronos reports separately, substantially all of which
is included within cost of goods sold. We recognized additional
depreciation expense of $16.6 million in 2005, $13.2 million in 2006 and $3.6
million in 2007, which reduced our reported Chemicals Segment’s operating income
as compared to amounts reported by Kronos. In the third quarter of 2006, certain
of the basis differences became fully amortized, and as a result the
amortization of our purchase accounting adjustments was lower in 2007 as
compared to 2006 and 2005.
Foreign Currency Exchange Rates –
Our Chemicals Segment has substantial operations and assets located
outside the United States (primarily in Germany, Belgium, Norway and
Canada). The majority of sales generated from our foreign operations
are denominated in foreign currencies, principally the euro, other major
European currencies and the Canadian dollar. A portion of our sales generated
from our foreign operations are denominated in the U.S.
dollar. Certain raw materials used worldwide, primarily
titanium-containing feedstocks, are purchased in U.S. dollars, while labor and
other production costs are purchased primarily in local
currencies. Consequently, the translated U.S. dollar value of our
foreign sales and operating results are subject to currency exchange rate
fluctuations, which may favorably or adversely impact reported earnings and may
affect the comparability of period-to-period operating
results. Overall, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates had
the following effects on our Chemicals Segment’s net sales and operating income
in 2007 and 2006 as compared to the respective prior year.
Increase
(decrease) –
Year ended December
31,
|
||||||||
2005 vs. 2006
|
2006 vs. 2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Impact
on:
|
||||||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 2 | $ | 65 | ||||
Operating
income
|
(20 | ) | (4 | ) |
Other - On September 22,
2005, the chloride-process TiO2 facility
operated by our 50%-owned joint venture, Louisiana Pigment Company (“LPC”),
temporarily halted production due to Hurricane Rita. Although storm
damage to core processing facilities was not extensive, a variety of factors,
including loss of utilities, limited access and availability of employees and
raw materials, prevented the resumption of partial operations until October 9,
2005 and full operations until late 2005. The majority of LPC’s
property damage and unabsorbed fixed costs for periods in which normal
production levels were not achieved were covered by insurance, and insurance
covered our lost profits (subject to applicable deductibles) resulting from our
share of the loss of production at LPC. Both we and LPC filed claims
with our insurers. We recognized a gain of $1.8 million related to
our business interruption claim in the fourth quarter of 2006, which is included
in other income on our Consolidated Statement of Operations.
Outlook - We currently expect
our Chemicals Segment’s operating income in 2008 will be lower in 2008 compared
to than 2007, as the favorable effects of anticipated modest improvements in
sales volume, production volume and average TiO2 selling
prices are expected to be more than offset by higher productions costs,
particularly raw material and energy costs as well as higher freight costs and
unfavorable currency effects. Our expectations as to the future of the
TiO2
industry are based upon a number of factors beyond our control, including
worldwide growth of gross domestic product, competition in the marketplace,
unexpected or earlier than expected capacity additions and technological
advances. If actual developments differ from our expectations, our
results of operations could be unfavorably affected.
Our
Chemicals Segment’s efforts to debottleneck our production facilities to meet
long-term demand continue to prove successful. Recent debottlenecking
efforts included, among other things, the addition of finishing capacity in the
German chloride process facility and equipment upgrades and enhancements in
several locations to allow for reduced downtime for maintenance
activities. Our production capacity has increased by approximately
30% over the past ten years due to debottlenecking programs, with only moderate
capital expenditures. We believe our annual attainable production
capacity for 2008 is approximately 532,000 metric tons, with some slight
additional capacity expected to be available in 2009 through our continued
debottlenecking efforts.
Component Products
–
The key performance indicator for our
Component Products Segment is operating income margin.
Years ended December 31,
|
% Change
|
|||||||||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2005-06 | 2006-07 | ||||||||||||||||
(Dollars
in millions)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 186.3 | $ | 190.1 | $ | 177.7 | 2 | % | (7 | )% | ||||||||||
Cost
of goods sold
|
142.6 | 143.6 | 132.5 | 1 | % | (8 | )% | |||||||||||||
Gross
margin
|
$ | 43.7 | $ | 46.5 | $ | 45.2 | 6 | % | (3 | )% | ||||||||||
Operating
income
|
$ | 19.3 | $ | 20.6 | $ | 16.0 | 7 | % | (22 | )% | ||||||||||
Percent
of net sales:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Cost
of goods sold
|
77 | % | 76 | % | 75 | % | ||||||||||||||
Gross
margin
|
23 | % | 24 | % | 25 | % | ||||||||||||||
Operating
income
|
10 | % | 11 | % | 9 | % |
Net Sales – Our Component
Product Segment’s sales decreased in 2007 as compared to 2006 primarily due to
lower sales of certain products to the office furniture market where Asian
competitors have established selling prices at a level below which we consider
would return a minimal margin as well as lower order rates from many of our
customers due to unfavorable economic conditions, offset in part by the effect
of sales price increases for certain products to mitigate the effect of higher
raw material costs.
Our
Component Product Segment’s sales increased in 2006 as compared to 2005
primarily due to new sales volumes generated from the August 2005 and April 2006
acquisitions of two marine component businesses, which increased sales by $11.3
million in 2006. Other factors contributing to the increase in sales
include sales volume increases in security products resulting from improved
demand and the favorable effects of currency exchange rates on furniture
component sales, offset in part by sales volume decreases for certain furniture
components products due to competition from lower priced Asian
manufacturers.
Cost of Goods Sold – Our
Component Products Segment’s cost of sales
decreased as a percentage of sales in 2007 compared to 2006, and as a result
gross margin increased over the same period. During 2007, we
experienced the favorable effects of an improved product mix and improvements in
our operating efficiency through cost reductions partially offset by the
unfavorable effect of relative changes in foreign currency exchange rates, lower
sales to the office furniture industry due to competition from lower priced
Asian manufacturers and lower order rates from many of our customers due to
unfavorable economic conditions.
Our
Component Products Segment’s cost of sales
decreased as a percentage of sales in 2006 compared to 2005, and as a result
gross margin increased over the same period. The gross margin
improvement is primarily due to an improved product mix, with a decline in
lower-margin furniture components sales and an increase in sales of higher
margin security and marine component products, as well as a continued focus on
reducing costs, offset in part by higher raw material costs and the unfavorable
effect of changes in currency exchange rates.
Operating Income – Our Component Products
Segment’s operating income decreased in 2007 due to the unfavorable effects of
the $2.7 million in costs related to the consolidation of three of Component
Products Segment’s northern Illinois facilities into one newly
completed facility, a $2.4 million unfavorable effect of relative changes in
foreign currency exchange rates (including the $1.2 million in foreign exchange
transaction losses), and the effect of lower sales.
Our Component Products
Segment’s gross margin and operating income increased in 2006 primarily due to
the increase in sales and the favorable change in product mix, as well as
decreased operational costs as a result of a continuous focus on reducing costs
across all product lines, partially offset by the negative impact of currency
exchange rates and higher raw material costs.
Foreign Currency Exchange Rates –
Our Component Products
Segment has substantial operations and assets located outside the United States
in Canada and Taiwan. The majority of sales generated from our
foreign operations are denominated in the U.S. dollar, with the rest denominated
in foreign currencies, principally the Canadian dollar and the New Taiwan
dollar. Most of our raw materials, labor and other
production costs for our foreign operations are denominated primarily in local
currencies. Consequently, the translated U.S. dollar values of our
foreign sales and operating results are subject to currency exchange rate
fluctuations which may favorably or unfavorably impact reported earnings and may
affect comparability of period-to-period operating results. Overall,
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates had the following effects on our
Component Products Segment’s sales and operating income in 2007 and 2006 as
compared to the respective prior years.
Increase
(decrease) –
Year ended December
31,
|
||||||||
2005 vs. 2006
|
2006 vs. 2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Impact
on:
|
||||||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 1.1 | $ | .9 | ||||
Operating
income
|
(1.1 | ) | (2.4 | ) |
Outlook – Demand is slowing
across most product segments as customers react to the condition of the overall
economy. Asian sourced competitive pricing pressures are expected to
continue to be a challenge for us as Asian manufacturers, particularly those
located in China, gain share in certain markets. We believe the
impact of this environment will be mitigated through our on-going initiatives to
expand both new products and new market opportunities. Our strategy
in responding to the competitive pricing pressure has included reducing
production costs through product reengineering, improving manufacturing
processes through lean manufacturing techniques and moving production to
lower-cost facilities, including our own Asian-based manufacturing
facilities. In addition, we continue to develop sources for lower
cost components for certain product lines to strengthen our ability to meet
competitive pricing when practical. We also emphasize and focus on
opportunities where we can provide value-added customer support services that
Asian-based manufacturers are generally unable to provide. As a
result of pursuing this strategy, we will forego certain segment sales in favor
of developing new products and new market opportunities where we believe the
combination of our cost control initiatives and value-added approach will
produce better results for our shareholders. We also expect raw
material cost volatility to continue during 2008, which we may not be able to
fully recover through price increases or surcharges due to the competitive
nature of the markets we serve.
Waste
Management –
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 9.8 | $ | 11.8 | $ | 4.2 | ||||||
Cost
of goods sold
|
15.4 | 15.0 | 11.7 | |||||||||
Gross
margin
|
$ | (5.6 | ) | $ | (3.2 | ) | $ | (7.5 | ) | |||
Operating
loss
|
$ | (12.1 | ) | $ | (9.5 | ) | $ | (14.1 | ) |
General – We continue to
operate WCS’s waste management facility on a relatively limited basis while we
navigate the regulatory licensing requirements to receive permits for the
disposal of byproduct waste material and for a broad range of low-level and
mixed low-level radioactive wastes. We have previously filed license
applications for such disposal capabilities with the applicable Texas state
agencies, and in October 2007 we received notification that the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality has prepared a draft license for the disposal of
byproduct material at our facility and made the preliminary decision that this
license meets all statutory and regulatory requirements. We are
uncertain as to the length of time it will take for the draft byproduct waste
material license to become final and for agencies to complete their reviews and
act upon our other license applications. We currently believe the
applicable state agency will not issue a final decision on our application for
byproduct waste material until late 2008, and we do not expect to receive a
final decision on our application for low-level and mixed low-level radioactive
waste disposal until 2009. We do not know if we will be successful in
obtaining these licenses. While the approvals for these licenses are
still in progress, we currently have permits that allow us to treat, store and
dispose of a broad range of hazardous and toxic wastes, and to treat and store a
broad range of low-level and mixed low-level radioactive wastes.
Net sales and operating loss –
Our Waste Management Segment’s sales decreased during 2007 compared to
2006, and our Waste Management operating loss increased, due to lower
utilization of our waste management services, primarily due to the completion in
2006 of a few projects that have not yet been replaced with new business in
2007. Our Waste Management Segment’s sales increased in 2006 as
compared to 2005, and our Waste Management operating loss decreased over the
same periods, as we obtained new customers and existing customers increased
their utilization of our waste management services. We continue to
seek to increase our Waste Management Segment’s sales volumes from waste streams
permitted under our current licenses.
Outlook – We are also
exploring opportunities to obtain certain types of new business (including
disposal and storage of certain types of waste) that, if obtained, could help to
increase our Waste Management Segment’s sales, and decrease our Waste Management
Segment’s operating loss, in 2008. Our ability to increase our Waste
Management Segment’s sales volumes through these waste streams, together with
improved operating efficiencies through further cost reductions and increased
capacity utilization, are important factors in improving our Waste Management
operating results and cash flows. Until we are able to increase our
Waste Management Segment’s sales volumes, we expect we will continue to
generally report operating losses in our Waste Management
Segment. While achieving increased sales volumes could result in
operating profits, we currently do not believe we will report any significant
levels of Waste Management operating profit until we have obtained the licenses
discussed above.
We
believe WCS can become a viable, profitable operation, even if we are
unsuccessful in obtaining a license for the disposal of a broad range of
low-level and mixed low-level radioactive wastes. However, we do not
know if we will be successful in improving WCS’s cash
flows. We have in the past, and we may in the future, consider
strategic alternatives with respect to WCS. We could report a loss in
any such strategic transaction.
Equity in earnings of TIMET –
As discussed in Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, we
completed a special dividend of our TIMET common stock on March 26,
2007. We now own approximately 1% of TIMET’s common stock, and we
account for our investment in TIMET’s common stock as available-for-sale
marketable securities carried at fair value. Prior to March 31, 2007,
we accounted for our interest in TIMET by the equity method.
General
Corporate Items, Interest Expense, Provision for Income Taxes, Minority
Interest
Interest and Dividend Income –
A significant portion of our interest and dividend income in 2005, 2006
and 2007 relates to the distributions we received from The Amalgamated Sugar
Company LLC and, in 2005, from the interest income of $3.9 million we earned on
our $80 million loan to Snake River Sugar Company that Snake River prepaid in
October 2005. We recognized dividend income from the LLC of $45.0
million in 2005, $31.1 million in 2006 and $25.4 million in 2007.
In
October 2005, we and Snake River amended the Company Agreement of the LLC
pursuant to which, among other things, the LLC is required to make higher
minimum levels of distributions to its members (including us) as compared to
levels required under the prior Company Agreement. Under the new
agreement, we should receive annually aggregate distributions from the LLC of
approximately $25.4 million. In addition, because certain specified
conditions were met during the 15-month period that commenced on October 1,
2005, the LLC was required to distribute to us an additional $25 million during
the 15-month period. This distribution is in addition to the $25.4
million distribution noted above. We received approximately $20
million of this additional amount in the fourth quarter of 2005, and the
remaining $6 million during 2006. We did not receive similar
additional amounts during 2007, nor do we expect to receive any additional
amount during 2008. Therefore, we expect our interest and dividend
income from the LLC in 2008 will be similar to the amount we received in
2007. See Notes 4 and 15 to our Consolidated Financial
Statements. Other general corporate interest and dividend income in
2008 is expected to be slightly lower than 2007 due to lower expected balances
available for investment.
Insurance Recoveries –
Insurance recoveries relate primarily to amounts NL received from certain of its
former insurance carriers, and relate principally to the recovery of prior lead
pigment litigation defense costs incurred by NL. We have agreements with
two former insurance carriers pursuant to which the carriers reimburse us for a
portion of our past and future lead pigment litigation defense costs, and the
insurance recoveries in 2005, 2006 and 2007 include amounts we received from
these carriers. We are not able to determine how much we will ultimately
recover from the carriers for past defense costs incurred because of certain
issues that arise regarding which past defense costs qualify for
reimbursement. Insurance recoveries in 2005 and 2006 also include amounts
we received for prior legal defense and indemnity coverage for certain of our
environmental expenditures. We do not expect to receive any further material
insurance settlements relating to environmental remediation
matters.
While we
continue to seek additional insurance recoveries for lead pigment and asbestos
litigation matters, we do not know if we will be successful in obtaining
reimbursement for either defense costs or indemnity. We have not
considered any additional potential insurance recoveries in determining accruals
for lead pigment litigation matters. Any additional insurance recoveries
would be recognized when the receipt is probable and the amount is
determinable. See Note 17 to our Consolidated Financial
Statements.
Securities Transactions
– Net
securities transactions gains in 2005 relate principally to a $14.7 million
pre-tax gain related to NL’s sales of shares of Kronos common stock in market
transactions and a $5.4 pre-tax million gain related to Kronos’ sale of its
passive interest in a Norwegian smelting operation, which had a nominal carrying
value for financial reporting purposes. See Note 15 to our
Consolidated Financial Statements.
Other general corporate income items
– The gain
on disposal of fixed assets in 2006 relates to the sale of certain land in
Nevada that was not associated with any of our operations. NL has
certain real property, including some subject to environmental remediation,
which might be sold in the future for a profit. See Note 15 to our
Consolidated Financial Statements.
Corporate Expenses, Net –
Corporate expenses were flat in 2006 as compared to 2005 as higher
litigation and environmental expenses at NL were offset by lower environmental
and pension expenses for other subsidiaries. Corporate expenses were
$4.6 million higher in 2007 as compared to 2006 due to higher environmental and
litigation expenses at NL, which were offset somewhat by lower pension expenses
for other subsidiaries.
We expect
corporate expenses in 2008 will be somewhat lower as compared to 2007, in part
due to slightly lower expected legal and environmental expenses at
NL. However, obligations for environmental remediation costs are
difficult to assess and estimate, and it is possible that actual costs for
environmental remediation will exceed accrued amounts or that costs will be
incurred in the future for sites in which we cannot currently estimate the
liability. If these events were to occur during 2008, our corporate
expenses would be higher than our current estimates. See Note 17 to our
Consolidated Financial Statements.
Loss on Prepayment of Debt –
In April 2006, we issued our euro 400 million aggregate principal amount of 6.5%
Senior Secured Notes due 2013, and used the proceeds to redeem our euro 375
million aggregate principal amount of 8.875% Senior Secured Notes in May
2006. As a result of this prepayment, we recognized a $22.3 million
pre-tax interest expense charge in 2006, representing the call premium on the
old Notes and the write-off of deferred financing costs and the existing
unamortized premium on the old Notes. See Note 9 to our Consolidated
Financial Statements. The annual interest expense on the new 6.5% Notes is
approximately euro 6 million less than on the old 8.875% Notes.
Interest Expense – We have a
significant amount of indebtedness denominated in the euro, primarily through
our subsidiary Kronos International, Inc. (“KII”). From 2005 until
May 2006, KII had euro 375 million aggregate principal amount of 8.875% Senior
Secured Notes outstanding. KII has had euro 400 million
aggregate principal amount of 6.5% Senior Secured Notes outstanding since April
2006. The interest expense we recognize on these fixed rate Notes
will vary with fluctuations in the euro exchange rate. See also Item 7A,
“Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.”
Interest
expense decreased slightly to $64.4 million in 2007 from $67.6 million in
2006. Interest expense was lower in 2007 because we replaced the
8.875% Senior Secured Notes with 6.5% Senior Secured Notes during the second
quarter of 2006 offset by the effect of having both notes outstanding during May
2006. This interest savings which was partially offset by unfavorable
changes in currency exchange rates in 2007 compared to 2006. The
interest expense we recognize on our Senior Secured Notes will vary with
fluctuations in the euro exchange rate. In the fourth quarter of
2007, CompX issued a $52.6 million promissory note which bears interest at LIBOR
plus 1%. See Note 9 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Interest
expense decreased slightly from 2005 to 2006, from $69.2 million in 2005 to
$67.6 million in 2006. Interest expense was lower in 2006 as the
decreased interest rate on the new 6.5% Notes offset the effect of the 30 days
of interest expense in April 2006 when both issues of the Senior Secured Notes
were outstanding and the effect of changes in currency exchange
rates.
Assuming
currency exchange rates do not change significantly from their current levels,
we expect interest expense will be higher in 2008 as compared to 2007 in part
due to the new promissory note CompX issued to TIMET in the fourth quarter of
2007.
Provision for Income Taxes –
We recognized income tax expense of $104.6 million in 2005, $63.8 million in
2006 and $103.2 million in 2007. See Note 12 to our Consolidated
Financial Statements for a tabular reconciliation of our statutory tax expense
to our actual tax expense. Some of the more significant items
impacting this reconciliation are summarized below.
Our
provision for income taxes in 2007 includes:
|
·
|
a
charge of $87.4 million related to the reduction of our net deferred
income tax asset in Germany resulting from the reduction in their income
tax rates;
|
|
·
|
a
charge of $8.7 million related to the adjustment of certain German income
tax attributes; and
|
|
·
|
a
$3.8 million benefit resulting from a net reduction in our reserve for
uncertain tax positions.
|
Our
income tax expense in 2006 includes:
|
·
|
an
income tax benefit of $21.7 million related to an increase in the amount
of our German trade tax net operating loss carryforward, as a result of
the resolution of certain income tax audits in
Germany;
|
|
·
|
an
income tax benefit of $10.4 million primarily resulting from the reduction
in our income tax contingency reserves related to favorable developments
of income tax audit issues in Belgium, Norway and
Germany;
|
|
·
|
an
income tax benefit of $1.4 million related to the favorable resolution of
certain income tax audit issues in Germany and Belgium;
and
|
|
·
|
a
$1.3 million benefit resulting from the enactment of a reduction in
Canadian income tax rates.
|
Our
income tax expense in 2005 includes:
|
·
|
an
income tax benefit of $11.5 million related to the favorable effects of
developments with respect to certain non-U.S. income tax audits of Kronos,
principally in Belgium and Canada;
|
|
·
|
an
income tax benefit of $7.0 million related to the favorable effect of
developments with respect to certain income tax items of
NL;
|
|
·
|
a
$17.5 million provision for income taxes related to the loss of certain
income tax attributes of Kronos in Germany;
and
|
|
·
|
a
provision for income taxes of $9.0 million related to a change in CompX’s
permanent reinvestment conclusion regarding certain of its non-U.S.
subsidiaries.
|
In
addition, as discussed in Note 1 to our Consolidated Financial Statements, we
recognize deferred income taxes with respect to the excess of the financial
reporting carrying amount over the income tax basis of our direct investment in
Kronos. The amount of such deferred income taxes can vary from period
to period and have a significant impact on our overall effective income tax
rate. The aggregate amount of such deferred income taxes included in
our provision for income taxes was $10.4 million in 2005 and $13.8 million in
2006, and our provision for income taxes in 2007 included a deferred income tax
benefit of $13.9 million associated with our investment in Kronos.
Minority Interest in Continuing
Operations – Minority interest in
earnings (losses) declined from a cost of $12.0 million in 2006 to a benefit of
$3.5 million in 2007 due to a losses at Kronos and NL and lower income at
CompX. During October 2007, our ownership interest in CompX increased
to approximately 86%; and as a result our minority interest in CompX’s earnings
decreased beginning in the fourth quarter of 2007. See Notes 3 and 13
to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Minority
interest in earnings increased slightly from a cost of $11.6 million in 2005 to
$12.0 million in 2006. This increase is due to higher earnings at
CompX and Kronos. These increases were mostly offset by an increase
in our ownership percentage of Kronos and CompX in 2006 as compared to 2005
through our purchases of their common stock throughout 2005 and 2006 as well as
by lower income at NL. In addition, see Note 13 to our Consolidated
Financial Statements.
Related Party Transactions
– We are a
party to certain transactions with related parties. See Note 16 to
our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Assumptions
on defined benefit pension plans and OPEB plans.
Defined benefit pension
plans. We
maintain various defined benefit pension plans in the U.S., Europe and
Canada. See Note 11 to our Consolidated Financial
Statements. At December 31, 2007, the projected benefit obligations
for all defined benefit plans comprised $87.4 million related to U.S. plans and
$450.7 million related to foreign plans. Substantially, all of the
projected benefit obligations attributable to foreign plans related to plans
maintained by Kronos, and approximately 16%, 48% and 36% of the projected
benefit obligations attributable to U.S. plans related to plans maintained by
Kronos, NL, and Medite Corporation, a former business unit of Valhi (the “Medite
plan”).
We
account for our defined benefit pension plans using SFAS No. 87, Employer’s Accounting for Pensions,
as amended by SFAS No. 158 effective December 31, 2006. Under
SFAS No. 87, we recognize defined benefit pension plan expense and prepaid and
accrued pension costs based on certain actuarial assumptions, principally the
assumed discount rate, the assumed long-term rate of return on plan assets and
the assumed increase in future compensation levels. Upon adoption of
SFAS No. 158 effective December 31, 2006, we recognize the full funded status of
our defined benefit pension plans as either an asset (for overfunded plans) or a
liability (for underfunded plans) in our Consolidated Balance
Sheet.
We
recognized consolidated defined benefit pension plan expense of $13.1 million in
2005, $16.0 million in 2006 and $15.6 million in 2007. The amount of
funding requirements for these defined benefit pension plans is generally based
upon applicable regulations (such as ERISA in the U.S.), and will generally
differ from pension expense recognized under SFAS No. 87 for financial reporting
purposes. We made contributions to all of our defined benefit pension
plans of $19.2 million in 2005, $28.1 million in 2006 and $28.0 million in
2007.
The
discount rates we utilize for determining defined benefit pension expense and
the related pension obligations are based on current interest rates earned on
long-term bonds that receive one of the two highest ratings given by recognized
rating agencies in the applicable country where the defined benefit pension
benefits are being paid. In addition, we receive advice about
appropriate discount rates from our third-party actuaries, who may in some cases
utilize their own market indices. We adjust these discount rates as
of each valuation date (December 31st for all
plans beginning in 2007) to reflect the then-current interest rates on such
long-term bonds. We use these discount rates to determine the
actuarial present value of the pension obligations as of December 31st of that
year. We also use these discount rates to determine the interest
component of defined benefit pension expense for the following
year.
Approximately
62%, 18%, 13% and 3% of the projected benefit obligations attributable to plans
maintained by Kronos at December 31, 2007 related to plans in Germany, Canada,
Norway and the U.S., respectively. The Medite plan and NL’s plans are
all in the U.S. We use several different discount rate assumptions in
determining our consolidated defined benefit pension plan obligations and
expense because we maintain defined benefit pension plans in several different
countries in North America and Europe and the interest rate environment differs
from country to country.
We used
the following discount rates for our defined benefit pension plans:
Discount
rates used for:
|
||||||||||||
Obligations
at
December
31, 2005 and expense in 2006
|
Obligations
at
December
31, 2006 and expense in 2007
|
Obligations
at
December
31, 2007 and expense in 2008
|
||||||||||
Kronos
and NL plans:
|
||||||||||||
Germany
|
4.0 | % | 4.5 | % | 5.5 | % | ||||||
Canada
|
5.0 | 5.0 | 5.3 | |||||||||
Norway
|
4.5 | 4.8 | 5.5 | |||||||||
U.S.
|
5.5 | 5.8 | 6.1 | |||||||||
Medite
plan
|
5.5 | 5.8 | 6.4 |
The
assumed long-term rate of return on plan assets represents the estimated average
rate of earnings we expect to be earned on the funds invested or to be invested
in the plans’ assets provided to fund the benefit payments inherent in the
projected benefit obligations. Unlike the discount rate, which is
adjusted each year based on changes in current long-term interest rates, the
assumed long-term rate of return on plan assets will not necessarily change
based upon the actual, short-term performance of the plan assets in any given
year. Defined benefit pension expense each year is based upon the
assumed long-term rate of return on plan assets for each plan and the actual
fair value of the plan assets as of the beginning of the
year. Differences between the expected return on plan assets for a
given year and the actual return are deferred and amortized over future periods
based either upon the expected average remaining service life of the active plan
participants (for plans for which benefits are still being earned by active
employees) or the average remaining life expectancy of the inactive participants
(for plans for which benefits are not still being earned by active
employees).
At
December 31, 2007, the fair value of plan assets for all defined benefit plans
comprised $133.1 million related to U.S. plans and $312.3 million related to
foreign plans. All of such plan assets attributable to foreign plans
related to plans maintained by Kronos, and approximately 15%, 44% and 41% of the
plan assets attributable to U.S. plans related to plans maintained by Kronos, NL
and the Medite plan, respectively. Approximately 50%, 23%, 18% and 6%
of the plan assets attributable to plans maintained by Kronos at December 31,
2007 related to plans in Germany, Canada, Norway and the U.S.,
respectively. We use several different long-term rates of return on
plan asset assumptions in determining our consolidated defined benefit pension
plan expense because we maintain defined benefit pension plans in several
different countries in North America and Europe, the plan assets in different
countries are invested in a different mix of investments and the long-term rates
of return for different investments differs from country to
country.
In
determining the expected long-term rate of return on plan asset assumptions, we
consider the long-term asset mix (e.g. equity vs. fixed income) for the assets
for each of its plans and the expected long-term rates of return for such asset
components. In addition, we receive advice about appropriate
long-term rates of return from our third-party actuaries. Such
assumed asset mixes are summarized below:
|
·
|
During
2007, substantially all of the Kronos, NL and Medite plan, assets in the
U.S. were invested in The Combined Master Retirement Trust (“CMRT”), a
collective investment trust sponsored by Contran to permit the collective
investment by certain master trusts which fund certain employee benefits
plans sponsored by Contran and certain of its
affiliates. Harold C. Simmons is the sole trustee of the
CMRT. The CMRT’s long-term investment objective is to provide a
rate of return exceeding a composite of broad market equity and fixed
income indices (including the S&P 500 and certain Russell indices),
while utilizing both third-party investment managers as well as
investments directed by Mr. Simmons. During the 19-year history
of the CMRT through December 31, 2007, the average annual rate of return
of the CMRT (excluding the CMRT’s investment in TIMET common stock) has
been approximately 14% (including a 17% return during 2006 and an 11%
return during 2007).
|
|
·
|
In
Germany, the composition of our plan assets is established to satisfy the
requirements of the German insurance
commissioner.
|
|
·
|
In
Canada, we currently have a plan asset target allocation of 60% to equity
securities and 40% to fixed income securities, with an expected long-term
rate of return for such investments to average approximately 125 basis
points above the applicable equity or fixed income
index.
|
|
·
|
In
Norway, we currently have a plan asset target allocation of 14% to equity
securities, 64% to fixed income securities and the remainder primarily to
cash and liquid investments. The expected long-term rate of
return for such investments is approximately 8.5%, 5.0% and 4.5%,
respectively.
|
Our
pension plan weighted average asset allocations by asset category were as
follows:
December 31, 2006
|
||||||||||||||||
CMRT
|
Germany
|
Canada
|
Norway
|
|||||||||||||
Equity
securities and limited
partnerships
|
97 | % | 23 | % | 66 | % | 13 | % | ||||||||
Fixed
income securities
|
2 | 48 | 32 | 64 | ||||||||||||
Real
estate
|
1 | 14 | - | - | ||||||||||||
Cash,
cash equivalents and other
|
- | 15 | 2 | 23 | ||||||||||||
Total
|
100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
December 31, 2007
|
||||||||||||||||
CMRT
|
Germany
|
Canada
|
Norway
|
|||||||||||||
Equity
securities and limited
partnerships
|
98 | % | 28 | % | 60 | % | 18 | % | ||||||||
Fixed
income securities
|
- | 49 | 34 | 68 | ||||||||||||
Real
estate
|
2 | 12 | - | - | ||||||||||||
Cash,
cash equivalents and other
|
- | 11 | 6 | 14 | ||||||||||||
Total
|
100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
We
regularly review our actual asset allocation for each of our plans, and
periodically rebalance the investments in each plan to more accurately reflect
the targeted allocation when considered appropriate.
The
assumed long-term rates of return on plan assets used for purposes of
determining net period pension cost for 2005, 2006 and 2007 were as
follows:
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
Kronos
and NL plans:
|
||||||||||||
Germany
|
5.5 | % | 5.3 | % | 5.8 | % | ||||||
Canada
|
7.0 | 7.0 | 6.8 | |||||||||
Norway
|
5.5 | 6.5 | 5.5 | |||||||||
U.S.
|
10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | |||||||||
Medite
plan
|
10.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 |
We
currently expect to utilize the same long-term rates of return on plan asset
assumptions in 2008 as we used in 2007 for purposes of determining our 2008
defined benefit pension plan expense.
To the
extent that a plan’s particular pension benefit formula calculates the pension
benefit in whole or in part based upon future compensation levels, the projected
benefit obligations and the pension expense will be based in part upon expected
increases in future compensation levels. For all of our plans for
which the benefit formula is so calculated, we generally base the assumed
expected increase in future compensation levels on the average long-term
inflation rates for the applicable country.
In
addition to the actuarial assumptions discussed above, because Kronos maintains
defined benefit pension plans outside the U.S., the amounts we recognize for
defined benefit pension expense and prepaid and accrued pension costs will vary
based upon relative changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
As
discussed above, assumed discount rates and rates of return on plan assets are
re-evaluated annually. A reduction in the assumed discount rate generally
results in an actuarial loss, as the actuarially-determined present value of
estimated future benefit payments will increase. Conversely, an increase
in the assumed discount rate generally results in an actuarial gain. In
addition, an actual return on plan assets for a given year that is greater than
the assumed return on plan assets results in an actuarial gain, while an actual
return on plan assets that is less than the assumed return results in an
actuarial loss. Other actual outcomes that differ from previous
assumptions, such as individuals living longer or shorter than assumed in
mortality tables, which are also used to determine the actuarially-determined
present value of estimated future benefit payments, changes in such mortality
table themselves or plan amendments, will also result in actuarial losses or
gains. Upon adoption of SFAS No. 158 effective December 31, 2006, these
amounts are recognized in other comprehensive income. In addition,
any actuarial gains generated in future periods would reduce the negative
amortization effect included in earnings of any cumulative unrecognized
actuarial losses, while any actuarial losses generated in future periods would
reduce the favorable amortization effect included in earnings of any cumulative
unrecognized actuarial gains.
During
2007, our defined benefit pension plans generated a net actuarial gain of $69.6
million. This actuarial gain, resulted primarily from the general overall
increase in the assumed discount rates from 2006 to 2007, offset in part by an
expected return on plan assets in excess of the actual
return.
Based on
the actuarial assumptions described above and our current expectations for what
actual average foreign currency exchange rates will be during 2008, we currently
expect our aggregate defined benefit pension expense will approximate $10
million in 2008. In comparison, we currently expect to be required to
make approximately $28 million of aggregate contributions to such plans during
2008.
As noted
above, defined benefit pension expense and the amounts recognized as prepaid and
accrued pension costs are based upon the actuarial assumptions discussed
above. We believe all of the actuarial assumptions used are
reasonable and appropriate. If Kronos and NL had lowered the assumed
discount rates by 25 basis points for all of their plans as of December 31,
2007, their aggregate projected benefit obligations would have increased by
approximately $26 million at that date, and their aggregate defined benefit
pension expense would be expected to increase by approximately $2 million during
2007. Similarly, if Kronos and NL lowered the assumed long-term rates
of return on plan assets by 25 basis points for all of their plans, their
defined benefit pension expense would be expected to increase by approximately
$1 million during 2008. Similar assumed changes with respect to the
discount rate and expected long-term rate of return on plan assets for the
Medite plan would not be significant.
OPEB plans. We provide certain
health care and life insurance benefits for certain of our eligible retired
employees. See Note 11 to our Consolidated Financial
Statements. At December 31, 2007, approximately 36%, 34% and 30% of
our aggregate accrued OPEB costs relate to Tremont, Kronos and NL,
respectively. Kronos provides such OPEB benefits to retirees in the
U.S. and Canada, and NL and Tremont provide such OPEB benefits to retirees in
the U.S. We account for such OPEB costs under SFAS No. 106, Employers Accounting for
Postretirement Benefits other than Pensions, as amended by SFAS No.
158. Under SFAS No. 106, OPEB expense and accrued OPEB costs are
based on certain actuarial assumptions, principally the assumed discount rate
and the assumed rate of increases in future health care costs. Upon
adoption of SFAS No. 158 effective December 31, 2006, we recognize the full
unfunded status of our OPEB plans as a liability.
We
recognized consolidated OPEB expense of $1.2 million in 2005, $2.3 million in
2006 and $2.4 million in 2007. Similar to defined benefit pension
benefits, the amount of funding will differ from the expense recognized for
financial reporting purposes, and contributions to the plans to cover benefit
payments aggregated $5.0 million in 2005, $4.4 million in 2006 and $2.9 million
in 2007. Substantially all of our accrued OPEB costs relates to
benefits being paid to current retirees and their dependents, and no material
amount of OPEB benefits are being earned by current employees. As a
result, the amount we recognize for OPEB expense for financial reporting
purposes has been, and is expected to continue to be, significantly less than
the amount of OPEB benefit payments we make each year. Accordingly,
the amount of accrued OPEB costs we recognize has been, and is expected to
continue to, decline gradually.
The
assumed discount rates we utilize for determining OPEB expense and the related
accrued OPEB obligations are generally based on the same discount rates we
utilize for our U.S. and Canadian defined benefit pension plans.
In
estimating the health care cost trend rate, we consider our actual health care
cost experience, future benefit structures, industry trends and advice from
third-party actuaries. In certain cases, NL has the right to pass on
to retirees all or a portion of any increases in health care costs; for these
retirees, any future increase in health care costs will have no effect on the
amount of OPEB expense and accrued OPEB costs we recognize. During
each of the past three years, we have assumed that the relative increase in
health care costs will generally trend downward over the next several years,
reflecting, among other things, assumed increases in efficiency in the health
care system and industry-wide cost and plan-design containment
initiatives. For example, at December 31, 2007, the expected rate of
increase in future health care costs range is 5.8% to 8.5% in 2008, declining to
a range of 4.0% to 5.5% in 2010 to 2014 and thereafter.
Based on
the actuarial assumptions described above and Kronos’ current expectation for
what actual average foreign currency exchange rates will be during 2008, we
expect our consolidated OPEB expense will approximate $2 million in
2008. In comparison, we expect to be required to make approximately
$3.5 million of contributions to such plans during 2008.
As noted
above, OPEB expense and the amount we recognize as accrued OPEB costs are based
upon the actuarial assumptions discussed above. We believe all of the
actuarial assumptions we use are reasonable and appropriate. If we
had lowered the assumed discount rates by 25 basis points for all of our OPEB
plans as of December 31, 2007, our aggregate projected benefit obligations would
have increased by approximately $1 million at that date, our OPEB expense would
be expected to be approximately the same during 2008. Similarly, if
the assumed future health care cost trend rate had been increased by 100 basis
points, our accumulated OPEB obligations would have increased by approximately
$3.5 million at December 31, 2007, and OPEB expense would be expected to
increase by $.3 in 2008.
Foreign
operations
We have
substantial operations located outside the United States, principally Chemicals
operations in Europe and Canada and Component Products operations in Canada and
Taiwan. The functional currency of these operations is the local
currency. As a result, the reported amount of our assets and
liabilities related to these foreign operations will fluctuate based upon
changes in currency exchange rates.
LIQUIDITY
AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Consolidated
Cash Flows
Operating Activities -
Trends in
cash flows from operating activities (excluding the impact of significant asset
dispositions and relative changes in assets and liabilities) are generally
similar to trends in our operating income.
Cash
flows provided by our operating activities decreased from $86.3 million in 2006
to $63.5 million in 2007. This $22.8 million decrease in cash
provided was due primarily to the net effects of the following
items:
|
·
|
lower
consolidated operating income in 2007 of $58.7 million, due to lower
earnings across all of our segments, particularly at our Chemicals
Segment;
|
|
·
|
the
$20.9 million call premium we paid in 2006 when we prepaid our 8.85%
Senior Secured Notes, which is required to be included in cash flows from
operating activities;
|
|
·
|
lower
net cash used by changes in receivables, inventories, payables and accrued
liabilities in 2007 of $11.6 million, due primarily to relative changes in
Kronos’ inventory levels;
|
|
·
|
lower
cash paid for income taxes in 2007 of $10.6 million due in part to the
2006 payment of certain income taxes associated with the settlement of
prior year income tax audits; and
|
|
·
|
higher
net cash contributed to our Ti02
joint venture which increased $7.2 million in 2007 as compared to
2006.
|
Cash
flows provided by our operating activities decreased from $104.3 million in 2005
to $86.3 million in 2006. This decrease in cash provided was due
primarily to the net effects of the following items:
|
·
|
higher
net cash provided by changes in receivables, inventories, payables and
accrued liabilities in 2006 of $39.0 million, due primarily to relative
changes in Kronos’ inventory
levels;
|
|
·
|
lower
consolidated operating income in 2006 of $23.6 million, due primarily to
the lower earnings in our Chemicals
Segment;
|
|
·
|
the
$20.9 million call premium we paid in 2006 when we prepaid our 8.875%
Senior Secured Notes, which GAAP requires to be included in the
determination of cash flows from operating
activities;
|
|
·
|
lower
general corporate interest and dividends received in 2006 of $16.2
million, primarily due to a lower level of distributions received from The
Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC in
2006;
|
|
·
|
lower
cash paid for environmental remediation expenditures of $6.7 million in
2006;
|
|
·
|
lower
cash paid for income taxes in 2006 of $11.2 million, due in part to the
$21.0 million tax payment we made in 2005 to settle NL’s prior-year income
tax audit that was offset in part by the 2006 payment of approximately
$19.2 million of income taxes associated with the settlement of prior year
income tax audits;
|
|
·
|
lower
cash paid for interest in 2006 of $7.0 million, primarily as a result of
the May 2006 redemption of our 8.875% Senior Secured Notes (which paid
interest semiannually in June and December) and the April 2006 issuance of
our 6.5% Senior Secured Notes (which pay interest semiannually in April
and October starting in October 2006);
and
|
|
·
|
lower
distributions received from our Louisiana joint venture of $2.6 million
due to relative changes in their cash requirements in
2006.
|
Relative
changes in working capital assets and liabilities can have a significant effect
on cash flows from operating activities. Changes in working capital
were affected by accounts receivable and inventory changes:
|
·
|
Kronos’
average days sales outstanding (“DSO”) increased from 61 days at December
31, 2006 to 63 days at December 31, 2007, due to the timing of collection
of higher accounts receivables balances at the end of
2007. CompX’s average DSO increased from 41 days at December
31, 2006 to 44 days at December 31, 2007 due to timing of collection on
the higher accounts receivable balance at the end of
2007.
|
|
·
|
Kronos’
average number of days in inventory (“DII”) decreased from 68 days at
December 31, 2006 to 59 days at December 31, 2007 due to the effects of
higher sales volumes and lower production volumes. CompX’s
average DII increased from 57 days at December 31, 2006 to 66 days at
December 31, 2007 due primarily to higher commodity raw material costs
during 2007.
|
|
·
|
Kronos’
average DSO increased from 55 days at December 31, 2005 to 61 days at
December 31, 2006 due to the timing of collection on higher accounts
receivable balances at the end of December. CompX’s average DSO
increased slightly from 40 days at December 31, 2005 to 41 days at
December 31, 2006 due to slightly higher accounts receivable balance at
the end of 2005.
|
|
·
|
Kronos’
average DII increased from 59 days at December 31, 2005 to 68 days at
December 31, 2006, as their record TiO2
production volumes in 2006 exceeded their record TiO2
sales volumes during the period. CompX’s average DII decreased
slightly from 59 days at December 31, 2005 to 57 days at December 31, 2006
due primarily to reductions in raw materials during 2006 as we utilized
the higher than normal balance in inventory at the end of 2005 that was
acquired during 2005 as part of our efforts to mitigate the impact of
volatility in raw material prices.
|
We do not
have complete access to the cash flows of our majority-owned subsidiaries, due
in part to limitations contained in certain credit agreements of our
subsidiaries and because we do not own 100% of these subsidiaries. A
detail of our consolidated cash flows from operating activities is presented in
the table below. Intercompany dividends have been
eliminated.
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Cash
provided by (used in) operating activities:
|
||||||||||||
Kronos
|
$ | 97.8 | $ | 71.8 | $ | 89.9 | ||||||
NL
Parent
|
(20.1 | ) | 6.9 | (11.2 | ) | |||||||
CompX
|
20.0 | 27.4 | 11.9 | |||||||||
Waste
Control Specialists
|
(7.7 | ) | (3.9 | ) | (11.2 | ) | ||||||
Tremont
|
(5.0 | ) | (1.5 | ) | (3.1 | ) | ||||||
Valhi
Parent
|
101.4 | 96.6 | 59.9 | |||||||||
Other
|
(.7 | ) | (1.1 | ) | (.7 | ) | ||||||
Eliminations
|
(81.4 | ) | (109.9 | ) | (72.0 | ) | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 104.3 | $ | 86.3 | $ | 63.5 | ||||||
Investing
Activities
–
We
disclose capital expenditures by our business segments in Note 2 to our
Consolidated Financial Statements.
We
purchased the following securities in market transactions during
2007:
|
·
|
other
marketable securities of $23.3
million;
|
|
·
|
CompX
common stock through their stock repurchase program for $3.3 million;
and
|
|
·
|
TIMET
common stock for $.7 million.
|
In
addition, during 2007 we sold other marketable securities for $28.5
million.
We
purchased the following securities in market transactions during
2006:
|
·
|
shares
of Kronos common stock for $25.4
million;
|
|
·
|
shares
of TIMET common stock for $18.7
million;
|
|
·
|
shares
of CompX common stock for $2.3 million;
and
|
|
·
|
other
marketable securities for $43.4
million.
|
In
addition, during 2006 we:
|
·
|
sold
other marketable securities for $42.9
million;
|
|
·
|
sold
certain land holdings in Nevada for $37.9
million;
|
|
·
|
acquired
a performance marine components products company for $9.8 million;
and
|
|
·
|
capitalized
$8.3 million of expenditures related to WCS’ permitting
efforts.
|
We
purchased the following securities in market transactions during
2005:
|
·
|
shares
of TIMET common stock for $18.0
million;
|
|
·
|
shares
of Kronos common stock for $7.0
million;
|
|
·
|
shares
of CompX common stock for $3.6 million;
and
|
|
·
|
other
marketable securities for $29.4
million.
|
In
addition, during 2005 we:
|
·
|
sold
shares of Kronos common stock for $19.2
million;
|
|
·
|
sold
other marketable securities for $19.7
million;
|
|
·
|
collected
$80 million on our loan to Snake River Sugar
Company;
|
|
·
|
collected
$10 million on our loan to one of the Contran family trusts described in
Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial
Statements;
|
|
·
|
collected
a net $4.9 million on our short-term loan to
Contran;
|
|
·
|
received
a net $18.1 million from the sale of our European Thomas Regout operations
(which had $4.0 million of cash at the date of
disposal);
|
|
·
|
received
$3.5 million from the sale of our Norwegian smelting
operation;
|
|
·
|
acquired
a performance marine components products company for $7.3 million;
and
|
|
·
|
capitalized
$4.1 million of expenditures related to WCS’ permitting
efforts.
|
Financing
Activities
–
In
October 2007, CompX’s repurchased a net 2.7 million shares of its Class A common
stock held by TIMET. CompX purchased for aggregate consideration of $52.6
million, which it paid in the form of a promissory note. The promissory
note bears interest at LIBOR plus 1% and provides for quarterly principal
repayments of $250,000 commencing in September 2008, with the balance due at
maturity in September 2014. CompX may make prepayments on the promissory
note at any time, in any amount, without penalty. The promissory note is
subordinated to CompX’s U.S. revolving bank credit agreement. In addition,
during 2007 we had the following debt transactions:
|
·
|
repaid
$2.6 million under CompX’s promissory note payable to TIMET;
and
|
|
·
|
net
borrowings of $9 million under Kronos’ U.S. bank credit
facility.
|
In April
2006, we issued euro 400 million aggregate principal amount of our 6.5% Senior
Secured Notes due 2013 ($498.5 million when issued), and used the proceeds to
redeem our euro 375 million aggregate principal amount of 8.875% Senior Secured
Notes in May 2006 ($470.5 million when redeemed). In addition, during
2006 we had the following debt transactions:
|
·
|
borrowed
and repaid $4.4 million under Kronos’ Canadian revolving credit
facility;
|
|
·
|
repaid
a net $5.1 million under Kronos’ U.S. bank credit facility;
and
|
|
·
|
repaid
$1.5 million of certain of CompX’s
indebtedness.
|
During
2005, we:
|
·
|
repaid
an aggregate euro 10 million ($12.9 million when repaid) under Kronos’
European revolving credit facility;
|
|
·
|
borrowed
a net $11.5 million under Kronos’ U.S. credit
facility;
|
|
·
|
entered
into additional capital lease arrangements for certain mining equipment
for the equivalent of $4.4 million;
and
|
|
·
|
borrowed
and repaid $5 million under Valhi’s revolving bank credit
facility.
|
We paid
aggregate cash dividends on our common stock of $48.8 million in 2005), $48.0
million in 2006 and $45.6 million in 2007 ($.10 per share per
quarter). Distributions to minority interest in 2005, 2006 and 2007
are primarily comprised of Kronos cash dividends paid to shareholders other than
us or NL, NL dividends paid to shareholders other than us and CompX dividends
paid to shareholders other than NL.
We
purchased approximately 3.5 million, 1.9 million and .6 million shares of our
common stock in 2005, 2006 and 2007, respectively, in market and other
transactions for $62.1 million, $43.8 million and $11.1 million,
respectively. See Notes 14 and 16 to our Consolidated Financial
Statements. We funded these purchases with our available cash on
hand. Other cash flows from financing activities in 2005, 2006
and 2007 relate principally to shares of common stock issued by us and our
subsidiaries upon the exercise of stock options.
Outstanding
Debt Obligations
At
December 31, 2007, our consolidated third-party indebtedness was comprised
of:
|
·
|
KII’s
euro 400 million aggregate principal amount 6.5% Senior Secured Notes
($585.5 million at December 31, 2007, including the effect of the
unamortized original issue discount) due in
2013;
|
|
·
|
Our
$250 million loan from Snake River Sugar Company due in
2027;
|
|
·
|
CompX’s
promissory note payable to TIMET ($50 million outstanding at December 31,
2007) which bears interest at LIBOR plus 1% (6.0% at December 31, 2007)
and has quarterly principal repayments of $250,000 commencing in September
2008 due in 2014;
|
|
·
|
Kronos’
U.S. revolving bank credit facility ($15.4 million outstanding) due in
September 2008; and
|
|
·
|
$5.7
million of other indebtedness.
|
We are in
compliance with all of our debt covenants at December 31, 2007. See
Note 9 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. At December 31,
2007, $16.8 million of our indebtedness is due within the next twelve months,
and therefore we do not currently expect we will be required to use a
significant amount of our available liquidity to repay indebtedness during the
next twelve months.
Certain
of our credit agreements contain provisions that could result in the
acceleration of indebtedness prior to its stated maturity for reasons other than
defaults for failure to comply with applicable covenants. For
example, certain credit agreements allow the lender to accelerate the maturity
of the indebtedness upon a change of control (as defined in the agreement) of
the borrower. The terms of Valhi’s revolving bank credit facility
could require Valhi to either reduce outstanding borrowings or pledge additional
collateral in the event the fair value of the existing pledged collateral falls
below specified levels. In addition, certain credit agreements could
result in the acceleration of all or a portion of the indebtedness following a
sale of assets outside the ordinary course of business.
Future
Cash Requirements
Liquidity
–
Our
primary source of liquidity on an ongoing basis is our cash flows from operating
activities and borrowings under various lines of credit and notes. We
generally use these amounts to (i) fund capital expenditures, (ii) repay
short-term indebtedness incurred primarily for working capital purposes and
(iii) provide for the payment of dividends (including dividends paid to us by
our subsidiaries) or treasury stock purchases. From time-to-time we
will incur indebtedness, generally to (i) fund short-term working capital needs,
(ii) refinance existing indebtedness, (iii) make investments in marketable and
other securities (including the acquisition of securities issued by our
subsidiaries and affiliates) or (iv) fund major capital expenditures or the
acquisition of other assets outside the ordinary course of
business. Occasionally we sell assets outside the ordinary course of
business, and we generally use the proceeds to (i) repay existing indebtedness
(including indebtedness which may have been collateralized by the assets sold),
(ii) make investments in marketable and other securities, (iii) fund major
capital expenditures or the acquisition of other assets outside the ordinary
course of business or (iv) pay dividends.
We
routinely compare our liquidity requirements and alternative uses of capital
against the estimated future cash flows we expect to receive from our
subsidiaries, and the estimated sales value of those units. As a
result of this process, we have in the past and may in the future seek to raise
additional capital, refinance or restructure indebtedness, repurchase
indebtedness in the market or otherwise, modify our dividend policies, consider
the sale of our interests in our subsidiaries, affiliates, business units,
marketable securities or other assets, or take a combination of these and other
steps, to increase liquidity, reduce indebtedness and fund future
activities. Such activities have in the past and may in the future
involve related companies.
We
periodically evaluate acquisitions of interests in or combinations with
companies (including our affiliates) that may or may not be engaged in
businesses related to our current businesses. We intend to consider
such acquisition activities in the future and, in connection with this activity,
may consider issuing additional equity securities and increasing
indebtedness. From time to time, we also evaluate the restructuring
of ownership interests among our respective subsidiaries and related
companies.
Based
upon our expectations of our operating performance, and the anticipated demands
on our cash resources, we expect to have sufficient liquidity to meet our
short-term obligations (defined as the twelve-month period ending December 31,
2008) and our long-term obligations (defined as the five-year period ending
December 31, 2012, our time period for long-term budgeting). If
actual developments differ from our expectations, our liquidity could be
adversely affected.
At
December 31, 2007, we had credit available under existing facilities of
approximately $301 million, which was comprised of:
|
·
|
$152
million under Kronos’ various U.S. and non-U.S. credit
facilities;
|
|
·
|
$99
million under Valhi’s revolving bank credit facility;
and
|
|
·
|
$50
million under CompX’s revolving credit
facility.
|
At
December 31, 2007, we had an aggregate of $222.7 million of restricted and
unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. A
detail by entity is presented in the table below.
Amount
|
||||
(In
millions)
|
||||
Valhi
Parent
|
$ | 40.9 | ||
Kronos
|
77.2 | |||
NL
Parent
|
71.9 | |||
CompX
|
18.4 | |||
Tremont
|
10.6 | |||
Waste
Control Specialists
|
3.7 | |||
Total
cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities
|
$ | 222.7 |
Capital
Expenditures –
We
currently expect our aggregate capital expenditures for 2008 will be
approximately $104 million ($64 million for Kronos, $12 million for CompX and
$28 million for WCS). The WCS amount includes approximately $9
million in capitalized permit costs and major infrastructure improvements
related to a new disposal contract signed in late 2007. Under the
terms of the contract, we expect to be reimbursed for a majority of these
infrastructure improvements that we will recognize as revenue over the life of
the contract. We expect our 2008 capital expenditures will be
financed primarily by cash flows from operating activities or existing cash
resources and credit facilities. Our capital expenditures are
primarily for improvements and upgrades to existing facilities.
Repurchases
of our Common Stock –
We have
in the past, and may in the future, make repurchases of our common stock in
market or privately-negotiated transactions. At December 31, 2007 we
had approximately 4.0 million shares available for repurchase of our common
stock under the authorizations described in Note 14 to our Consolidated
Financial Statements.
Dividends
–
Because
our operations are conducted primarily through subsidiaries and affiliates, our
long-term ability to meet parent company level corporate obligations is largely
dependent on the receipt of dividends or other distributions from our
subsidiaries and affiliates. Based on the approximately 29.0 million
shares of Kronos we held at December 31, 2007 and Kronos’ current quarterly
dividend rate of $.25 per share, we would receive aggregate annual dividends
from Kronos of $29.0 million. NL’s current quarterly cash dividend is
$.125 per share, although in the past NL has paid a dividend in the form of
Kronos common stock. If NL pays its regular quarterly dividends in
cash, based on the 40.4 million shares we held of NL common stock at December
31, 2007, we would receive aggregate annual dividends from NL of $20.2 million.
We do not expect to receive any distributions from WCS during 2008.
Our
subsidiaries have various credit agreements which contain customary limitations
on the payment of dividends, typically a percentage of net income or cash flow;
however, these restrictions in the past have not significantly impacted their
ability to pay dividends.
Investment
in our Subsidiaries and Affiliates and Other Acquisitions –
We have
in the past, and may in the future, purchase the securities of our subsidiaries
and affiliates or third parties in market or privately-negotiated
transactions. We base our purchase decisions on a variety of factors,
including an analysis of the optimal use of our capital, taking into account the
market value of the securities and the relative value of expected returns on
alternative investments. In connection with these activities, we may consider
issuing additional equity securities or increasing our
indebtedness. We may also evaluate the restructuring of ownership
interests of our businesses among our subsidiaries and related
companies.
We
generally do not guarantee any indebtedness or other obligations of our
subsidiaries or affiliates. Our subsidiaries are not required to pay
us dividends. If one or more of our subsidiaries were unable to
maintain its current level of dividends, either due to restrictions contained in
a credit agreement or to satisfy its liabilities or otherwise, our ability to
service our liabilities or to pay dividends on our common stock might be
adversely impacted. If this were to occur, we might consider reducing
or eliminating our dividends or selling interests in subsidiaries or other
assets. If we were required to liquidate assets to generate funds to
satisfy our liabilities, we might be required to sell at what we believe would
be less than the actual value of such assets.
WCS is
required to provide certain financial assurances to Texas governmental agencies
with respect to certain decommissioning obligations related to its facility in
West Texas. The financial assurances may be provided by various
means, including a parent company guarantee assuming the parent meets specified
financial tests. In March 2005, we agreed to guarantee certain of
WCS’ specified decommissioning obligations. WCS currently estimates
these obligations at approximately $4.4 million. Such obligations
would arise only upon a closure of the facility and WCS’ failure to perform such
activities. We do not currently expect we will have to perform under
this guarantee for the foreseeable future.
WCS’
primary source of liquidity currently consists of intercompany borrowings from
one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries under the terms of a revolving credit
facility. We eliminate these intercompany borrowings in our
Consolidated Financial Statements. During 2007, WCS borrowed a net
$20.1 million from our subsidiary. WCS used these net borrowings
primarily to fund its operating loss and capital expenditures. We
contributed $19.7 million of these net borrowings to WCS’ equity in November
2007. We expect that WCS will likely borrow additional amounts from
us during 2008 under the terms of the revolving credit facility, and we may
similarly contribute such borrowings to WCS’ capital. At December 31,
2007, WCS can borrow an additional $30.2 million under this facility, which
matures in March 2009.
Investment
in The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC –
The terms
of The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC Company Agreement provide for an annual
"base level" of cash dividend distributions (sometimes referred to as
distributable cash) by the LLC of $26.7 million, from which we are entitled to a
95% preferential share. Distributions from the LLC are dependent, in part, upon
the operations of the LLC. We record dividend distributions from the
LLC as income when they are declared by the LLC, which is generally the same
month in which we receive the distributions, although distributions may in
certain cases be paid on the first business day of the following
month. To the extent the LLC's distributable cash is below this base
level in any given year, we are entitled to an additional 95% preferential share
of any future annual LLC distributable cash in excess of the base level until
such shortfall is recovered. Based on the LLC's current projections
for 2008, we expect distributions received from the LLC in 2008 will exceed our
debt service requirements under our $250 million loans from Snake River Sugar
Company by approximately $1.8 million.
We may,
at our option, require the LLC to redeem our interest in the LLC beginning in
2012, and the LLC has the right to redeem our interest in the LLC beginning in
2027. The redemption price is generally $250 million plus the amount
of certain undistributed income allocable to us, if any. In the event
we require the LLC to redeem our interest in the LLC, Snake River has the right
to accelerate the maturity of and call our $250 million loans from Snake
River. Redemption of our interest in the LLC would result in us
reporting income related to the disposition of our LLC interest for income tax
purposes, although we would not be expected to report a gain in earnings for
financial reporting purposes at the time our LLC interest is
redeemed. However, because of Snake River’s ability to call our $250
million loans from Snake River upon redemption of our interest in the LLC, the
net cash proceeds (after repayment of the debt) generated by the redemption of
our interest in the LLC could be less than the income taxes that we would be
required to pay as a result of the disposition.
Off-balance
Sheet Financing
We do not
have any off-balance sheet financing agreements other than the operating leases
discussed in Note 17 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Commitments
and Contingencies
We are
subject to certain commitments and contingencies, as more fully described in the
Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements and in this Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,
including:
|
·
|
certain
income tax examinations which are underway in various U.S. and non-U.S.
jurisdictions;
|
|
·
|
certain
environmental remediation matters involving NL, Tremont and Valhi;
|
|
·
|
certain
litigation related to NL’s former involvement in the manufacture of lead
pigment and lead-based paint; and
|
|
·
|
certain
other litigation to which we are a
party.
|
In
addition to those legal proceedings described in Note 17 to our Consolidated
Financial Statements, various legislation and administrative regulations have,
from time to time, been proposed that seek to (i) impose various obligations on
present and former manufacturers of lead pigment and lead-based paint (including
NL) with respect to asserted health concerns associated with the use of such
products and (ii) effectively overturn court decisions in which we and other
pigment manufacturers have been successful. Examples of such proposed
legislation include bills which would permit civil liability for damages on the
basis of market share, rather than requiring plaintiffs to prove that the
defendant's product caused the alleged damage, and bills which would revive
actions barred by the statute of limitations. While no legislation or
regulations have been enacted to date that are expected to have a material
adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or
liquidity, enactment of such legislation could have such an effect.
As more
fully described in the Notes to our Consolidated Financial Statements, we are a
party to various debt, lease and other agreements which contractually and
unconditionally commit us to pay certain amounts in the future. See
Notes 9 and 17 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. Our
obligations related to the long-term supply contract for the purchase of
Ti02 feedstock
is more fully described in Note 17 to our Consolidated Financial Statements and
above in “Business – Chemicals – Kronos Worldwide, Inc. - manufacturing process,
properties and raw materials.” The following table summarizes our
contractual commitments as of December 31, 2007 by the type and date of
payment.
Payment due date
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Contractual commitment
|
2008
|
2009/2010 | 2011/2012 |
2013
and
after
|
Total
|
|||||||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Indebtedness:
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Principal
|
$ | 16.8 | $ | 4.3 | $ | 4.3 | $ | 881.2 | $ | 906.6 | ||||||||||
Interest
|
65.9 | 129.7 | 129.3 | 346.5 | 671.4 | |||||||||||||||
Operating
leases
|
9.9 | 12.5 | 6.2 | 21.6 | 50.2 | |||||||||||||||
Kronos’
long-term supply
contracts
for the
purchase of
TiO2
feedstock
|
208.0 | 404.0 | 100.0 | - | 712.0 | |||||||||||||||
CompX
raw material and
other
purchase commitments
|
16.2 | - | - | - | 16.2 | |||||||||||||||
Fixed
asset acquisitions
|
35.6 | - | - | - | 35.6 | |||||||||||||||
Income
taxes
|
9.8 | - | - | - | 9.8 | |||||||||||||||
Total
|
$ | 362.2 | $ | 550.5 | $ | 239.8 | $ | 1,249.3 | $ | 2,401.8 |
The
timing and amount shown for our commitments related to indebtedness (principal
and interest), operating leases and fixed asset acquisitions are based upon the
contractual payment amount and the contractual payment date for such
commitments. With respect to indebtedness involving revolving credit facilities,
the amount shown for indebtedness is based upon the actual amount outstanding at
December 31, 2007, and the amount shown for interest for any outstanding
variable-rate indebtedness is based upon the December 31, 2007 interest rate and
assumes that such variable-rate indebtedness remains outstanding until the
maturity of the facility. The amount shown for income taxes is the
amount of our consolidated current income taxes payable at December 31, 2007,
which is assumed to be paid during 2008. A significant portion of the
amount shown for indebtedness relates to KII’s 6.5% Senior Secured Notes ($585.5
million at December 31, 2007), which is denominated in the euro. See
Item 7A – “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” and Note
9 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Our
contracts for the purchase of TiO2 feedstock
contain fixed quantities that we are required to purchase, although certain of
these contracts allow for an upward or downward adjustment in the quantity
purchased, generally no more than 10%, based on our feedstock
requirements. The pricing under these agreements is generally based
on a fixed price with price escalation clauses primarily based on consumer price
indices, as defined in the respective contracts. The timing and
amount shown for our commitments related to the long-term supply contracts for
TiO2
feedstock are based upon our current estimate of the quantity of material
that will be purchased in each time period shown, and the payment that would be
due based upon such estimated purchased quantity and an estimate of the effect
of the price escalation clause. The actual amount of material
purchased, and the actual amount that would be payable by us, may vary from such
estimated amounts.
The above
table of contractual commitments does not include any amounts under our
obligation under the Louisiana Pigment Company, L.P. joint venture, as the
timing and amount of such purchases are unknown and dependent on, among other
things, the amount of TiO2 produced
by the joint venture in the future, and the joint venture’s future cost of
producing such TiO2. However,
the table of contractual commitments does include amounts related to our share
of the joint venture’s ore requirements necessary for it to produce TiO2 for
us. See Notes 7 and 17 to our Consolidated Financial Statements and
“Business – Chemicals – Kronos Worldwide, Inc.”
In
addition, we are party to an agreement that could require us to pay certain
amounts to a third party based upon specified percentages of our qualifying
Waste Management revenues. We have not included any amounts for this
conditional commitment in the above table because we currently believe it is not
probable that the we will be required to pay any amounts pursuant to this
agreement.
The above
table does not reflect any amounts that we might pay to fund our defined benefit
pension plans and OPEB plans, as the timing and amount of any such future
fundings are unknown and dependent on, among other things, the future
performance of defined benefit pension plan assets, interest rate assumptions
and actual future retiree medical costs. Such defined benefit pension
plans and OPEB plans are discussed above in greater detail in Note 11 to our
Consolidated Financial Statements.
The above
table does not reflect any amounts that we might pay to settle any of our
uncertain tax positions, as the timing and amount of any such future settlements
are unknown and dependent on, among other things, the timing of tax
audits. See Notes 12 and 18 to our Consolidated Financial
Statements.
Recent
Accounting Pronouncements
See Note
18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements
ITEM
7A. QUANTITATIVE
AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
General. We are exposed to market
risk from changes in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and equity
security prices. We periodically use currency forward contracts or
interest rate swaps to manage a portion of these market risks. We
have not entered into these contracts for trading or speculative purposes in the
past, nor do we currently anticipate entering into such contracts for trading or
speculative purposes in the future. Otherwise, we generally do not
enter into forward or option contracts to manage such market
risks. Other than the contracts discussed below, we were not a party
to any forward or derivative option contract related to foreign exchange rates,
interest rates or equity security prices at December 31, 2006 and
2007. See Notes 1 and 19 to our Consolidated Financial Statements for
a discussion of the assumptions we used to estimate the fair value of the
financial instruments to which we are a party at December 31, 2006 and
2007.
Interest rates. We are exposed to
market risk from changes in interest rates, primarily related to our
indebtedness.
At
December 31, 2007, our aggregate indebtedness was split between 93% of
fixed-rate instruments and 7% of variable-rate borrowings (in 2006 the
percentages were: 99% of fixed-rate instruments and 1% of variable rate
borrowings). The large percentage of fixed-rate debt instruments
minimizes earnings volatility that would result from changes in interest
rates. The following table presents principal amounts and weighted
average interest rates for our aggregate outstanding indebtedness at December
31, 2007. Information shown below for such foreign currency
denominated indebtedness is presented in its U.S. dollar equivalent at December
31, 2007 using an exchange rate of 1.4716 U.S. dollars per euro.
Beginning
in the first quarter of 2008, we will be required to segregate our fair value
measurements into three levels based on the type of inputs used in determining
fair value. The level of observable input is defined by SFAS No. 157,
Fair Value Measurements,
see Note 18 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. Level 1
inputs are quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or
liabilities. Level 2 inputs are inputs other than quoted prices that
are observable for the asset or liability either directly or indirectly,
including quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities. Level 3
inputs are unobservable inputs for the asset or liability for which there are no
readily available quoted prices for similar assets. We use our
judgment to determine fair value which could include a variety of techniques
including discounted cash flows analysis, valuation models which may use quoted
prices, or other internally developed inputs. The table below shows
the fair value of our financial liabilities at December 31, 2007.
Amount
|
|||||||||||||
Indebtedness*
|
Carrying
value
|
Fair
value
|
Interest
rate
|
Maturity
Date
|
|||||||||
(In
millions)
|
|||||||||||||
Fixed-rate
indebtedness:
|
|||||||||||||
Euro-denominated KII
6.5%
Senior Secured Notes
|
$ | 585.5 | $ | 507.7 | 6.5 | % |
2013
|
||||||
Valhi loans from Snake River
|
250.0 | 250.0 | 9.4 | % |
2027
|
||||||||
Other
|
.4 | .4 |
Various
|
Various
|
|||||||||
fixed-rate
|
$ | 835.9 | $ | 758.1 | 7.4 | % | |||||||
Variable-rate indebtedness -
|
|||||||||||||
CompX
promissory note to TIMET
|
50.0 | 50.0 | 6.0 | % |
2014
|
||||||||
Kronos U.S. revolver
|
15.4 | 15.4 | 7.5 | % |
2008
|
||||||||
variable-rate
|
$ | 65.4 | $ | 65.4 | 6.4 | % | |||||||
Total
|
$ | 901.3 | $ | 823.5 | 7.3 | % |
* Denominated
in U.S. dollars, except as otherwise indicated. Excludes capital
lease obligations.
At
December 31, 2006, our fixed rate indebtedness aggregated $781.8 million (the
fair value was $769.3 million) with a weighted-average interest rate of 7.4%;
our variable rate indebtedness aggregated $6.5 million, which approximated fair
value, with a weighted average interest rate of 8.3%. Approximately 68% of such
fixed rate indebtedness was denominated in the euro, with the remainder
denominated in the U.S. dollar. All of the outstanding variable rate
borrowings were denominated in the U.S. dollar.
Foreign currency exchange
rates. We
are exposed to market risk arising from changes in foreign currency exchange
rates as a result of manufacturing and selling our products
worldwide. Our earnings are primarily affected by fluctuations in the
value of the U.S. dollar relative to the euro, the Canadian dollar, the
Norwegian kroner and the British pound sterling.
As
described above, at December 31, 2007, we had the equivalent of $585.5 million
of outstanding euro-denominated indebtedness (in 2006 the equivalent of $525.0
million of euro-denominated indebtedness). The potential increase in
the U.S. dollar equivalent of the principal amount outstanding resulting from a
hypothetical 10% adverse change in exchange rates at such date would be
approximately $58.9 million at December 31, 2007
(in 2006 the amount was $52.8 million).
We
periodically use currency forward contracts to manage a portion of foreign
currency exchange rate market risk associated with trade receivables, or similar
exchange rate risk associated with future sales, denominated in a currency other
than the holder's functional currency. These contracts generally
relate to our Chemicals and Component Products operations. We have
not entered into these contracts for trading or speculative purposes in the
past, nor do we currently anticipate entering into such contracts for trading or
speculative purposes in the future. Some of the currency forward
contracts we enter into meet the criteria for hedge accounting under GAAP and
are designated as cash flow hedges. For these currency forward
contracts, gains and losses representing the effective portion of our hedges are
deferred as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income, and are
subsequently recognized in earnings at the time the hedged item affects
earnings. For the currency forward contracts we enter into which do
not meet the criteria for hedge accounting, we mark-to-market the estimated fair
value of such contracts at each balance sheet date, with any resulting gain or
loss recognized in income currently as part of net currency
transactions. We had no forward contracts outstanding at December 31,
2006 or 2007.
Marketable equity and debt security
prices. We
are exposed to market risk due to changes in prices of the marketable securities
that we own. The fair value of such debt and equity securities
(determined using Level 1 and Level 3 inputs) at December 31, 2006 and 2007 was
$271.6 million and $327.0 million, respectively. The potential change
in the aggregate fair value of these investments, assuming a 10% change in
prices, would be $27.2 million at December 31, 2006 and $32.7 million at
December 31, 2007.
Other. We believe there may be
a certain amount of incompleteness in the sensitivity analyses presented
above. For example, the hypothetical effect of changes in interest
rates discussed above ignores the potential effect on other variables that
affect our results of operations and cash flows, such as demand for our
products, sales volumes and selling prices and operating
expenses. Contrary to the above assumptions, changes in interest
rates rarely result in simultaneous comparable shifts along the yield
curve. Also, our investment in The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC
represents a significant portion of our total portfolio of marketable
securities. That investment serves as collateral for our loans from
Snake River Sugar Company, and a decrease in the fair value of that investment
would likely be mitigated by a decrease in the fair value of the related
indebtedness. Accordingly, the amounts we present above are not
necessarily an accurate reflection of the potential losses we would incur
assuming the hypothetical changes in market prices were actually to
occur.
The above
discussion and estimated sensitivity analysis amounts include forward-looking
statements of market risk which assume hypothetical changes in market
prices. Actual future market conditions will likely differ materially
from such assumptions. Accordingly, such forward-looking statements
should not be considered to be projections by us of future events, gains or
losses.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
The
information called for by this Item is contained in a separate section of this
Annual Report. See "Index of Financial Statements and Schedules"
(page F-1).
ITEM 9.
|
CHANGES IN
AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL
DISCLOSURE
|
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS
AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls
and Procedures –
We
maintain a system of disclosure controls and procedures. The term
"disclosure controls and procedures," as defined by Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e),
means controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information
required to be disclosed in the reports we file or submit to the SEC under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Act”), is recorded, processed,
summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC's rules
and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without
limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information we are
required to disclose in the reports we file or submit to the SEC under the Act
is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal
executive officer and our principal financial officer, or persons performing
similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions to be made regarding
required disclosure. Each of Steven L. Watson, our President and
Chief Executive Officer, and Bobby D. O’Brien, our Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer, have evaluated the design and effectiveness of our disclosure
controls and procedures as of December 31, 2007. Based upon their
evaluation, these executive officers have concluded that our disclosure controls
and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2007.
Internal
Control Over Financial Reporting –
We also
maintain internal control over financial reporting. The term
“internal control over financial reporting,” as defined by Exchange Act Rule
13a-15(f), means a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our
principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing
similar functions, and effected by our board of directors, management and other
personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of
financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external
purposes in accordance with GAAP, and includes those policies and procedures
that:
|
·
|
pertain
to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and
fairly reflect our transactions and dispositions of our
assets,
|
|
·
|
provide
reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit
preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our
receipts and expenditures are made only in accordance with authorizations
of our management and directors,
and
|
|
·
|
provide
reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of
unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have
a material effect on our Condensed Consolidated Financial
Statements.
|
Section
404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to include a management report
on internal control over financial reporting in this Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2007. Our independent registered public
accounting firm is also required to audit our internal control over financial
reporting as of December 31, 2007.
As
permitted by the SEC, our assessment of internal control over financial
reporting excludes (i) internal control over financial reporting of our equity
method investees and (ii) internal control over the preparation of our financial
statement schedules required by Article 12 of Regulation
S-X. However, our assessment of internal control over financial
reporting with respect to our equity method investees did include our controls
over the recording of amounts related to our investment that are recorded in our
Consolidated Financial Statements, including controls over the selection of
accounting methods for our investments, the recognition of equity method
earnings and losses and the determination, valuation and recording of our
investment account balances.
Changes
in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting –
There has
been no change to our internal control over financial reporting during the
quarter ended December 31, 2007 that has materially affected, or is reasonably
likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial
reporting.
Management’s Report on Internal
Control Over Financial Reporting -
Our
management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal
control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule
13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Our evaluation of the effectiveness of our
internal control over financial reporting is based upon the criteria established
in Internal Control –
Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations
of the Treadway Commission (commonly referred to as the “COSO”
framework). Based on our evaluation under that framework, we have
concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of
December 31, 2007.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that has audited our
Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report has audited the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December
31, 2007, as stated in their report which is included in this Annual Report on
Form 10-K.
Certifications
-
Our chief
executive officer is required to annually file a certification with the New York
Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), certifying our compliance with the corporate governance
listing standards of the NYSE. During 2007, our chief executive
officer filed such annual certification with the NYSE, indicating we were in
compliance with such listing standards without qualification. Our
chief executive officer and chief financial officer are also required to, among
other things, quarterly file certifications with the SEC regarding the quality
of our public disclosures, as required by Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of 2002. We have filed the certifications for the quarter ended
December 31, 2007 as exhibits 31.1 and 31.2 to this Annual Report on Form
10-K.
ITEM 9B. OTHER
INFORMATION
Not
applicable.
PART
III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS,
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The
information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to our definitive
Proxy Statement we will file with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120
days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this report (the "Valhi Proxy
Statement").
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION
The
information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the Valhi
Proxy Statement.
ITEM 12. SECURITY
OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT
AND
RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The
information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the Valhi
Proxy Statement.
ITEM 13.
|
CERTAIN
RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS AND DIRECTOR
INDEPENDENCE
|
The
information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the Valhi
Proxy Statement. See also Note 17 to the Consolidated Financial
Statements.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL
ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
The
information required by this Item is incorporated by reference to the Valhi
Proxy Statement.
PART
IV
ITEM
15. EXHIBITS
AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(a)
and (c)
|
Financial
Statements and Schedules
|
The Registrant
|
Our
Consolidated Financial Statements and schedules listed on the accompanying
Index of Financial Statements and Schedules (see page F-1) are filed
as part of this Annual Report.
|
50%-or-less
owned persons
|
TIMET’s
condensed consolidated financial statements are filed as Exhibit 99.1 of
this Annual Report pursuant to Rule 3-09 of Regulation
S-X. TIMET’s Management’s Report on Internal Control Over
Financial Reporting is not included as part of Exhibit 99.1. We
are not required to provide any other consolidated financial statements
pursuant to Rule 3-09 of Regulation
S-X.
|
(b)
|
Exhibits
|
Included
as exhibits are the items listed in the Exhibit Index. We have
retained a signed original of any of these exhibits that contain signatures, and
we will provide such exhibit to the Commission or its staff upon request. We
will furnish a copy of any of the exhibits listed below upon request and payment
of $4.00 per exhibit to cover our costs of furnishing the
exhibits. Such requests should be directed to the attention of our
Corporate Secretary at our corporate offices located at 5430 LBJ Freeway, Suite
1700, Dallas, Texas 75240. Pursuant to Item 601(b)(4)(iii) of
Regulation S-K, we will furnish to the Commission upon request any instrument
defining the rights of holders of long-term debt issues and other agreements
related to indebtedness which do not exceed 10% of our consolidated total assets
as of December 31, 2007.
Item No.
|
Exhibit Item
|
3.1
|
Restated
Articles of Incorporation of the Registrant - incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 3.1 to our Current Report on Form 8-K/A (File No. 1-5467)
dated March 26, 2007 and filed by us on March 29, 2007.
|
3.2
|
By-Laws
of the Registrant as amended - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of
our Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-5467) dated November 6,
2007.
|
4.1
|
Indenture
dated April 11, 2006 between Kronos International, Inc. and The Bank of
New York, as Trustee, governing Kronos International's 6.5% Senior Secured
Notes due 2013 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to Kronos
International, Inc.’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 333-100047)
filed with the SEC on April 11, 2006.
|
10.1
|
Intercorporate Services Agreement
between the Registrant and Contran Corporation effective as of January 1,
2004 – incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31,
2004.
|
10.2
|
Intercorporate
Services Agreement between Contran Corporation and NL effective as of
January 1, 2004 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to NL's
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-640) for the quarter ended
March 31, 2004.
|
10.3
|
Intercorporate
Services Agreement between Contran Corporation and CompX effective January
1, 2004 – incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to CompX’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-13905) for the year ended December 31,
2003.
|
10.4
|
Intercorporate
Services Agreement between Contran Corporation and Kronos Worldwide, Inc.
effective January 1, 2004 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit No. 10.1
to Kronos’ Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-31763) for the
quarter ended March 31, 2004.
|
10.5
|
Stock
Purchase Agreement dated April 1, 2005 between Valhi, Inc. and Contran
Corporation – incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to our Current
Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-5467) dated April 1,
2005.
|
10.6
|
Stock
Purchase Agreement dated November 1, 2006 between Valhi, Inc. and Valhi
Holding Company – incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 – to our
Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-5467) dated November 1,
2006.
|
10.7
|
Stock
Purchase Agreement dated as of March 26, 2007 between Valhi, Inc. and
Contran Corporation - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to our
Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-5467) dated March 26, 2007 and
filed by us on March 27, 2007.
|
10.8
|
Consent
Agreement dated as of March 29, 2007 between Valhi, Inc. and Contran
Corporation – incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to our Current
Report on Form 8-K/A (File No. 1-5467) dated March 26, 2007 and filed by
us on March 29, 2007.
|
Item No.
|
Exhibit Item
|
10.9
|
Stock
Purchase Agreement dated as of October 16, 2007 between TIMET Finance
Management Company and CompX International Inc. - incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.1 of CompX’s Current Report on Form
8-K (File No. 1-13905) dated October 22,
2007.
|
10.10
|
Agreement
and Plan of Merger dated as of October 16, 2007 among CompX International
Inc., CompX Group, Inc. and CompX KDL LLC - incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.2 of CompX’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-13905)
dated October 22, 2007.
|
10.11
|
Subordinated
Term Loan Promissory Note dated October 26, 2007 executed by CompX
International Inc. and payable to the order of TIMET Finance Management
Company – incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 of CompX’s Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-13905) for the quarter ended September 30,
2007.
|
10.12
|
Form
of Subordination Agreement among TIMET Finance Management Company, CompX
International Inc., CompX Security Products, Inc., CompX Precision Slides
Inc., CompX Marine Inc., Custom Marine Inc., Livorsi Marine Inc., Wachovia
Bank, National Association as administrative agent for itself, Compass
Bank and Comerica Bank - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 of
CompX’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated October 22,
2007.
|
10.13*
|
Valhi,
Inc. 1997 Long-Term Incentive Plan - incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.12 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-5467) for
the year ended December 31, 1996.
|
10.14*
|
CompX
International Inc. 1997 Long-Term Incentive Plan - incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.2 to CompX's Registration Statement on Form S-1
(File No. 333-42643).
|
10.15*
|
NL
Industries, Inc. 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan – incorporated by reference
to Appendix A to NL’s Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A (File No. 1-640) for
the annual meeting of shareholders held on May 9, 1998.
|
10.16*
|
Kronos
Worldwide, Inc. 2003 Long-Term Incentive Plan – incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.4 to Kronos’ Registration Statement on Form 10 (File No.
001-31763).
|
10.17
|
Agreement
Regarding Shared Insurance dated as of October 30, 2003 by and between
CompX International Inc., Contran Corporation, Keystone Consolidated
Industries, Inc., Kronos Worldwide, Inc., NL Industries, Inc., Titanium
Metals Corporation and Valhi, Inc. – incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.32 to Kronos’ Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-31763) for the
year ended December 31, 2003.
|
10.18
|
Formation
Agreement of The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC dated January 3, 1997 (to
be effective December 31, 1996) between Snake River Sugar Company and The
Amalgamated Sugar Company - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.19 to
the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-5467) for the year
ended December 31, 1996.
|
Item No.
|
Exhibit Item
|
10.19
|
Master
Agreement Regarding Amendments to The Amalgamated Sugar Company Documents
dated October 19, 2000 – incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the
Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-5467) for the
quarter ended September 30, 2000.
|
10.20
|
Prepayment
and Termination Agreement dated October 14, 2005 among Valhi, Inc., Snake
River Sugar Company and Wells Fargo Bank Northwest, N.A. – incorporated by
reference to Exhibit No. 10.1 to the Registrant’s Amendment No. 1 to its
Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-5467) dated October 18,
2005.
|
10.21
|
Company
Agreement of The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC dated January 3, 1997 (to
be effective December 31, 1996) - incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.20 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-5467) for
the year ended December 31, 1996.
|
10.22
|
First
Amendment to the Company Agreement of The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC
dated May 14, 1997 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the
Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-5467) for the
quarter ended June 30, 1997.
|
10.23
|
Second
Amendment to the Company Agreement of The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC
dated November 30, 1998 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.24 to
the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-5467) for the year
ended December 31, 1998.
|
10.24
|
Third
Amendment to the Company Agreement of The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC
dated October 19, 2000 – incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the
Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-5467) for the
quarter ended September 30, 2000.
|
10.25
|
Amended
and Restated Company Agreement of The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC dated
October 14, 2005 among The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC, Snake River
Sugar Company and The Amalgamated Collateral Trust – incorporated by
reference to Exhibit No. 10.7 to the Registrant’s Amendment No. 1 to its
Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-5467) dated October 18,
2005.
|
10.26
|
Subordinated
Promissory Note in the principal amount of $37.5 million between Valhi,
Inc. and Snake River Sugar Company, and the related Pledge Agreement, both
dated January 3, 1997 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.21 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-5467) for
the year ended December 31, 1996.
|
10.27
|
Limited
Recourse Promissory Note in the principal amount of $212.5 million between
Valhi, Inc. and Snake River Sugar Company, and the related Limited
Recourse Pledge Agreement, both dated January 3, 1997 -
incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.22 to the Registrant's Annual
Report on Form 10-K (File No. 1-5467) for the year ended December 31,
1996.
|
10.28
|
Subordinated
Loan Agreement between Snake River Sugar Company and Valhi, Inc., as
amended and restated effective May 14, 1997 - incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.9 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q (File No. 1-5467) for the quarter ended June 30,
1997.
|
Item No.
|
Exhibit Item
|
10.29
|
Second
Amendment to the Subordinated Loan Agreement between Snake River Sugar
Company and Valhi, Inc. dated November 30, 1998 - incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.28 to the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K
(File No. 1-5467) for the year ended December 31, 1998.
|
10.30
|
Third
Amendment to the Subordinated Loan Agreement between Snake River Sugar
Company and Valhi, Inc. dated October 19, 2000 – incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File
No. 1-5467) for the quarter ended September 30, 2000.
|
10.31
|
Fourth
Amendment to the Subordinated Loan Agreement between Snake River Sugar
Company and Valhi, Inc. dated March 31, 2003 - incorporated by reference
to Exhibit No. 10.1 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
(file No. 1-5467) for the quarter ended March 31, 2003.
|
10.32
|
Contingent
Subordinate Pledge Agreement between Snake River Sugar Company and Valhi,
Inc., as acknowledged by First Security Bank National Association as
Collateral Agent, dated October 19, 2000 – incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.4 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No.
1-5467) for the quarter ended September 30, 2000.
|
10.33
|
Contingent
Subordinate Security Agreement between Snake River Sugar Company and
Valhi, Inc., as acknowledged by First Security Bank National Association
as Collateral Agent, dated October 19, 2000 – incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.5 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No.
1-5467) for the quarter ended September 30, 2000.
|
10.34
|
Contingent
Subordinate Collateral Agency and Paying Agency Agreement among Valhi,
Inc., Snake River Sugar Company and First Security Bank National
Association dated October 19, 2000 – incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.6 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-5467)
for the quarter ended September 30, 2000.
|
10.35
|
Deposit
Trust Agreement related to the Amalgamated Collateral Trust among ASC
Holdings, Inc. and Wilmington Trust Company dated May 14,
1997 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the
Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-5467) for the
quarter ended June 30, 1997.
|
10.36
|
First
Amendment to Deposit Trust Agreement dated October 14, 2005 among ASC
Holdings, Inc. and Wilmington Trust Company – incorporated by reference to
Exhibit No. 10.2 to the Registrant’s Amendment No. 1 to its Current Report
on Form 8-K (File No. 1-5467) dated October 18, 2005.
|
10.37
|
Pledge
Agreement between The Amalgamated Collateral Trust and Snake River Sugar
Company dated May 14, 1997 - incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No.
1-5467) for the quarter ended June 30, 1997.
|
Item No.
|
Exhibit Item
|
||
10.38
|
Second
Pledge Amendment (SPT) dated October 14, 2005 among The Amalgamated
Collateral Trust and Snake River Sugar Company – incorporated by reference
to Exhibit No. 10.4 to the Registrant’s Amendment No. 1 to its Current
Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-5467) dated October 18,
2005.
|
||
10.39
|
Guarantee
by The Amalgamated Collateral Trust in favor of Snake River Sugar Company
dated May 14, 1997 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4
to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-5467) for
the quarter ended June 30, 1997.
|
||
10.40
|
Second
SPT Guaranty Amendment dated October 14, 2005 among The Amalgamated
Collateral Trust and Snake River Sugar Company – incorporated by reference
to Exhibit No. 10.5 to the Registrant’s Amendment No. 1 to its Current
Report on Form 8-K (File No. 1-5467) dated October 18,
2005.
|
||
10.41
|
Voting
Rights and Collateral Deposit Agreement among Snake River Sugar Company,
Valhi, Inc., and First Security Bank, National Association dated May 14,
1997 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the
Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-5467) for the
quarter ended June 30, 1997.
|
||
10.42
|
Subordination
Agreement between Valhi, Inc. and Snake River Sugar Company dated May 14,
1997 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to the
Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-5467) for the
quarter ended June 30, 1997.
|
||
10.43
|
First
Amendment to the Subordination Agreement between Valhi, Inc. and Snake
River Sugar Company dated October 19, 2000 – incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 10.7 to the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No.
1-5467) for the quarter ended September 30, 2000.
|
||
10.44
|
Form
of Option Agreement among Snake River Sugar Company, Valhi, Inc. and the
holders of Snake River Sugar Company’s 10.9% Senior Notes Due 2009 dated
May 14, 1997 - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to
the Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-5467) for the
quarter ended June 30, 1997.
|
||
10.45
|
Option
Agreement dated October 14, 2005 among Valhi, Inc., Snake River Sugar
Company, Northwest Farm Credit Services, FLCA and U.S. Bank National
Association – incorporated by reference to Exhibit No. 10.6 to the
Registrant’s Amendment No. 1 to its Current Report on Form 8-K (File No.
1-5467) dated October 18, 2005.
|
||
10.46
|
First
Amendment to Option Agreements among Snake River Sugar Company, Valhi
Inc., and the holders of Snake River's 10.9% Senior Notes Due 2009 dated
October 19, 2000 – incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the
Registrant's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-5467) for the
quarter ended September 30, 2000.
|
||
10.47
|
Formation
Agreement dated as of October 18, 1993 among Tioxide Americas Inc., Kronos
Louisiana, Inc. and Louisiana Pigment Company, L.P. - incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.2 of NL's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File
No. 1-640) for the quarter ended September 30, 1993.
|
||
Item No.
|
Exhibit Item
|
||
10.48
|
Joint
Venture Agreement dated as of October 18, 1993 between Tioxide Americas
Inc. and Kronos Louisiana, Inc. - incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.3 of NL's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-640) for the
quarter ended September 30, 1993.
|
||
10.49
|
Kronos
Offtake Agreement dated as of October 18, 1993 by and between Kronos
Louisiana, Inc. and Louisiana Pigment Company, L.P. - incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.4 of NL's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No.
1-640) for the quarter ended September 30, 1993.
|
||
10.50
|
Amendment
No. 1 to Kronos Offtake Agreement dated as of December 20, 1995 between
Kronos Louisiana, Inc. and Louisiana Pigment Company, L.P. - incorporated
by reference to Exhibit 10.22 of NL’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No.
1-640) for the year ended December 31 1995.
|
||
10.51
|
Allocation
Agreement dated as of October 18, 1993 between Tioxide Americas Inc., ICI
American Holdings, Inc., Kronos Worldwide, Inc. (f/k/a Kronos, Inc.) and
Kronos Louisiana, Inc. - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to
NL's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-640) for the quarter ended
September 30, 1993.
|
||
10.52
|
Lease
Contract dated June 21, 1952, between Farbenfabrieken Bayer
Aktiengesellschaft and Titangesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung (German
language version and English translation thereof) - incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.14 of NL's Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No.
1-640) for the year ended December 31, 1985.
|
||
10.53
|
Administrative
Settlement for Interim Remedial Measures, Site Investigation and
Feasibility Study dated July 7, 2000 between the Arkansas Department of
Environmental Quality, Halliburton Energy Services, Inc., M I, LLC and TRE
Management Company - incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Tremont
Corporation's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 1-10126) for the
quarter ended June 30, 2002.
|
||
21.1***
|
Subsidiaries
of the Registrant.
|
||
23.1***
|
Consent
of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP with respect to Valhi’s Consolidated
Financial Statements
|
||
23.2***
|
Consent
of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP with respect to TIMET’s Consolidated
Financial Statements
|
||
31.1***
|
Certification
|
||
31.2***
|
Certification
|
||
32.1***
|
Certification
|
||
99.1
|
Consolidated
financial statements of Titanium Metals Corporation incorporated by
reference to TIMET’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 0-28538) for the
year ended December 31, 2007.
|
||
* Management
contract, compensatory plan or agreement.
**
Portions of the exhibit have been omitted pursuant to a request for
confidential
treatment.
*** Filed
herewith.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section
13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly
caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized.
VALHI,
INC.
(Registrant)
|
|
By: /s/ Steven L.
Watson
|
|
Steven
L. Watson, March 13, 2008
(President
and Chief Executive Officer)
|
Pursuant to the requirements of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the
following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the
dates indicated:
/s/ Harold C.
Simmons
|
/s/ Steven L.
Watson
|
|
Harold
C. Simmons, March 13, 2008
(Chairman
of the Board)
|
Steven
L. Watson, March 13, 2008
(President,
Chief Executive Officer
and
Director)
|
|
/s/ Thomas E.
Barry
|
/s/ Glenn R.
Simmons
|
|
Thomas
E. Barry, March 13, 2008
(Director)
|
Glenn
R. Simmons, March 13, 2008
(Vice
Chairman of the Board)
|
|
/s/ Norman S.
Edelcup
|
/s/ Bobby D.
O’Brien
|
|
Norman
S. Edelcup, March 13, 2008
(Director)
|
Bobby
D. O’Brien, March 13, 2008
(Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer, Principal Financial
Officer)
|
|
/s/ W. Hayden
McIlroy
|
/s/ Gregory M.
Swalwell
|
|
W.
Hayden McIlroy, March 13, 2008
(Director)
|
Gregory
M. Swalwell, March 13, 2008
(Vice
President and Controller,
Principal
Accounting Officer)
|
|
/s/ J. Walter Tucker,
Jr.
|
||
J.
Walter Tucker, Jr. March 13, 2008
(Director)
|
||
Annual
Report on Form 10-K
Items
8, 15(a) and 15(c)
Index
of Financial Statements and Schedules
Financial
Statements
|
Page
|
Report of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm
|
F-2
|
Consolidated Balance Sheets -
December 31, 2006 and 2007
|
F-4
|
Consolidated Statements of
Operations –
Years ended December 31, 2005,
2006 and 2007
|
F-6
|
Consolidated Statements of
Comprehensive Income (Loss) –
Years ended December 31, 2005,
2006 and 2007
|
F-7
|
Consolidated Statements of
Stockholders’ Equity –
Years ended December 31, 2005,
2006 and 2007
|
F-9
|
Consolidated Statements of Cash
Flows –
Years ended December 31, 2005,
2006 and 2007
|
F-10
|
Notes to Consolidated Financial
Statements
|
F-13
|
Financial
Statement Schedule
|
|
Schedule I – Condensed Financial
Information of Registrant
|
S-1
|
We omitted Schedules II, III and
IV because they are not applicable or the required amounts are either not
material or are presented in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial
Statements.
|
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the
Stockholders and Board of Directors of Valhi, Inc.:
In our
opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related
consolidated statements of operations, of comprehensive income, of changes in
stockholders’ equity and of cash flows present fairly, in all material respects,
the financial position of Valhi, Inc. and its subsidiaries at December 31, 2006
and 2007 and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of
the three years in the period ended December 31, 2007 in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
In addition, in our opinion, the financial statement schedule listed in the
accompanying index presents fairly, in all material respects, the information
set forth therein when read in conjunction with the related consolidated
financial statements. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all
material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2007, based on criteria established in Internal Control -
Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company's management is responsible for
these financial statements and financial statement schedule, for maintaining
effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of
the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the
accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these
financial statements, on the financial statement schedule and on the Company's
internal control over financial reporting based on our integrated audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that
we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the
financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether effective
internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material
respects. Our audits of the financial statements included examining, on a
test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates
made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement
presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting
included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial
reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and
evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on
the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other
procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our
audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
As
discussed in Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, the Company
changed the manner in which it accounts for pension and other postretirement
benefit obligations in 2006 and the manner in which it accounts for uncertain
tax positions in 2007.
A
company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to
provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal
control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i)
pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and
fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company;
(ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to
permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are
being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of
the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or
timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the
company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial
statements.
Because
of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not
prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of
effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance
with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP
Dallas,
Texas
March 13,
2008
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
BALANCE SHEETS
(In
millions)
ASSETS
|
||||||||
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
Current
assets:
|
||||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
$ | 189.2 | $ | 138.3 | ||||
Restricted
cash equivalents
|
9.1 | 7.2 | ||||||
Marketable
securities
|
12.6 | 7.2 | ||||||
Accounts
and other receivables, net
|
228.3 | 241.4 | ||||||
Refundable
income taxes
|
1.9 | 7.7 | ||||||
Receivable
from affiliates
|
.8 | 4.6 | ||||||
Inventories,
net
|
309.0 | 337.9 | ||||||
Prepaid
expenses and other
|
17.9 | 16.2 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
10.6 | 10.4 | ||||||
Total
current assets
|
779.4 | 770.9 | ||||||
Other
assets:
|
||||||||
Marketable
securities
|
259.0 | 319.8 | ||||||
Investment
in affiliates
|
396.7 | 137.9 | ||||||
Pension
asset
|
40.1 | 47.6 | ||||||
Goodwill
|
385.2 | 406.8 | ||||||
Other
intangible assets
|
3.9 | 2.7 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
264.4 | 168.7 | ||||||
Other
assets
|
64.7 | 67.3 | ||||||
Total
other assets
|
1,414.0 | 1,150.8 | ||||||
Property
and equipment:
|
||||||||
Land
|
42.1 | 48.2 | ||||||
Buildings
|
242.2 | 277.1 | ||||||
Equipment
|
928.4 | 1,051.9 | ||||||
Mining
properties
|
30.7 | 39.8 | ||||||
Construction
in progress
|
20.6 | 48.9 | ||||||
1,264.0 | 1,465.9 | |||||||
Less
accumulated depreciation
|
652.7 | 784.6 | ||||||
Net
property and equipment
|
611.3 | 681.3 | ||||||
Total
assets
|
$ | 2,804.7 | $ | 2,603.0 | ||||
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
BALANCE SHEETS (CONTINUED)
(In
millions, except share data)
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
||||||||
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
Current
liabilities:
|
||||||||
Current
maturities of long-term debt
|
$ | 1.2 | $ | 16.8 | ||||
Accounts
payable
|
101.8 | 115.6 | ||||||
Accrued
liabilities
|
119.7 | 133.2 | ||||||
Payable
to affiliates
|
17.2 | 19.0 | ||||||
Income
taxes
|
11.1 | 9.8 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
2.2 | 3.3 | ||||||
Total
current liabilities
|
253.2 | 297.7 | ||||||
Noncurrent
liabilities:
|
||||||||
Long-term
debt
|
785.3 | 889.8 | ||||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
479.2 | 402.8 | ||||||
Accrued
pension costs
|
188.7 | 140.0 | ||||||
Accrued
postretirement benefits cost
|
33.6 | 33.6 | ||||||
Accrued
environmental costs
|
46.1 | 40.3 | ||||||
Other
|
28.1 | 89.9 | ||||||
Total
noncurrent liabilities
|
1,561.0 | 1,596.4 | ||||||
Minority
interest in net assets of subsidiaries
|
123.7 | 90.5 | ||||||
Stockholders'
equity:
|
||||||||
Preferred
stock, $.01 par value; 5,000
shares authorized;
0 and 5,000 shares issued
|
- | 667.3 | ||||||
Common
stock, $.01 par value; 150.0 million
shares authorized;
118.9 million and 118.4
million
shares issued
|
1.2 | 1.2 | ||||||
Additional
paid-in capital
|
107.4 | 10.4 | ||||||
Retained
earnings
|
839.2 | (74.1 | ) | |||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive income (loss)
|
(43.1 | ) | 51.5 | |||||
Treasury
stock, at cost – 4.0 million and
4.0
million shares
|
(37.9 | ) | (37.9 | ) | ||||
Total
stockholders' equity
|
866.8 | 618.4 | ||||||
Total
liabilities, minority interest and
stockholders'
equity
|
$ | 2,804.7 | $ | 2,603.0 | ||||
Commitments
and contingencies (Notes 4, 9, 12, 16 and 17)
See
accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In
millions, except per share data)
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
Revenues
and other income:
|
||||||||||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 1,392.8 | $ | 1,481.4 | $ | 1,492.2 | ||||||
Other
income, net
|
68.0 | 89.9 | 42.3 | |||||||||
Equity
in earnings of:
|
||||||||||||
Titanium
Metals Corporation ("TIMET")
|
64.9 | 101.1 | 26.9 | |||||||||
Other
|
3.6 | 3.8 | 1.7 | |||||||||
Total
revenue and other income
|
1,529.3 | 1,676.2 | 1,563.1 | |||||||||
Cost
and expenses:
|
||||||||||||
Cost
of goods sold
|
1,042.1 | 1,139.4 | 1,206.3 | |||||||||
Selling,
general and administrative
|
219.7 | 229.4 | 238.4 | |||||||||
Loss
on prepayment of debt
|
- | 22.3 | - | |||||||||
Interest
|
69.2 | 67.6 | 64.4 | |||||||||
Total
costs and expenses
|
1,331.0 | 1,458.7 | 1,509.1 | |||||||||
Income
before taxes
|
198.3 | 217.5 | 54.0 | |||||||||
Provision
for income taxes
|
104.6 | 63.8 | 103.2 | |||||||||
Minority
interest in after-tax earnings
(losses)
|
11.6 | 12.0 | (3.5 | ) | ||||||||
Income
(loss) from continuing operations
|
82.1 | 141.7 | (45.7 | ) | ||||||||
Discontinued
operations, net of tax
|
(.2 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$ | 81.9 | $ | 141.7 | $ | (45.7 | ) | |||||
Net
income (loss) per share:
|
||||||||||||
Basic
|
$ | .69 | $ | 1.22 | $ | (.40 | ) | |||||
Diluted
|
$ | .69 | $ | 1.20 | $ | (.40 | ) | |||||
Cash
dividends per share
|
$ | .40 | $ | .40 | $ | .40 | ||||||
Weighted average shares outstanding:
|
||||||||||||
Basic
|
118.2 | 116.1 | 114.7 | |||||||||
Diluted
|
118.5 | 116.5 | 114.7 | |||||||||
See
accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(In
millions)
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$ | 81.9 | $ | 141.7 | $ | (45.7 | ) | |||||
Other
comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
|
||||||||||||
Marketable
securities
|
(1.3 | ) | 2.0 | 23.3 | ||||||||
Currency
translation
|
(25.3 | ) | 27.5 | 29.4 | ||||||||
Defined
benefit pension plans
|
(24.2 | ) | 5.6 | 32.1 | ||||||||
Other
postretirement benefit plans
|
- | - | .6 | |||||||||
Total
other comprehensive income (loss), net
|
(50.8 | ) | 35.1 | 85.4 | ||||||||
Comprehensive
income
|
$ | 31.1 | $ | 176.8 | $ | 39.7 | ||||||
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) (CONTINUED)
(In
millions)
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive income (net
of tax):
|
||||||||||||
Marketable
securities:
|
||||||||||||
Balance at beginning of year
|
$ | 5.5 | $ | 4.2 | $ | 6.2 | ||||||
Other
comprehensive income (loss)
|
(1.3 | ) | 2.0 | 23.3 | ||||||||
TIMET
distribution
|
- | - | (2.4 | ) | ||||||||
Balance at end of year
|
$ | 4.2 | $ | 6.2 | $ | 27.1 | ||||||
Currency translation:
|
||||||||||||
Balance at beginning of year
|
$ | 36.9 | $ | 11.6 | $ | 39.1 | ||||||
Other
comprehensive income (loss)
|
(25.3 | ) | 27.5 | 29.4 | ||||||||
TIMET
distribution
|
- | - | (4.0 | ) | ||||||||
Balance at end of year
|
$ | 11.6 | $ | 39.1 | $ | 64.5 | ||||||
Minimum pension liabilities:
|
||||||||||||
Balance at beginning of year
|
$ | (53.9 | ) | $ | (78.1 | ) | $ | - | ||||
Other
comprehensive income (loss)
|
(24.2 | ) | 5.6 | - | ||||||||
Adoption of SFAS No. 158
|
- | 72.5 | - | |||||||||
|
||||||||||||
Balance at end of year
|
$ | (78.1 | ) | $ | - | $ | - | |||||
Defined benefit pension plans:
|
||||||||||||
Balance at beginning of year
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | (85.0 | ) | |||||
Other
comprehensive income (loss):
|
||||||||||||
Amortization
of prior service cost and net losses included in net periodic
pension cost
|
- | - | 4.1 | |||||||||
Net
actuarial gain arising during year
|
- | - | 28.0 | |||||||||
Adoption of SFAS No. 158
|
- | (85.0 | ) | 1.2 | ||||||||
TIMET
distribution
|
- | - | 12.9 | |||||||||
Balance at end of year
|
$ | - | $ | (85.0 | ) | $ | (38.8 | ) | ||||
OPEB plans:
|
||||||||||||
Balance at beginning of year
|
$ | - | $ | - | $ | (3.4 | ) | |||||
Other
comprehensive income (loss):
|
||||||||||||
Amortization
of prior service cost and net losses included in net periodic
pension cost
|
- | - | - | |||||||||
Net
actuarial gain arising during year
|
- | - | .6 | |||||||||
Adoption of SFAS No. 158
|
- | (3.4 | ) | - | ||||||||
TIMET
distribution
|
- | - | 1.5 | |||||||||
Balance at end of year
|
$ | - | $ | (3.4 | ) | $ | (1.3 | ) | ||||
Total accumulated other comprehensive income
(loss):
|
||||||||||||
Balance at beginning of year
|
$ | (11.5 | ) | $ | (62.3 | ) | $ | (43.1 | ) | |||
Other
comprehensive income (loss)
|
(50.8 | ) | 35.1 | 85.4 | ||||||||
Adoption of SFAS No. 158
|
- | (15.9 | ) | 1.2 | ||||||||
TIMET
distribution
|
- | - | 8.0 | |||||||||
Balance at end of year
|
$ | (62.3 | ) | $ | (43.1 | ) | $ | 51.5 |
See
accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Years
ended December 31, 2005, 2006 and 2007
(In
millions)
Preferred
stock
|
Common
stock
|
Additional
paid-in
capital
|
Retained
earnings
|
Accumulated
other
comprehensive
income (loss)
|
Treasury
stock
|
Total
stockholders'
equity
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance
at December 31, 2004
|
$ | - | $ | 1.2 | $ | 111.0 | $ | 813.4 | $ | (11.5 | ) | $ | (37.9 | ) | $ | 876.2 | ||||||||||||
Net
income
|
- | - | - | 81.9 | - | - | 81.9 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Cash
dividends
|
- | - | - | (48.8 | ) | - | - | (48.8 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Other
comprehensive loss, net
|
- | - | - | - | (50.8 | ) | - | (50.8 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Treasury
stock:
|
- | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Acquired
|
- | - | - | - | - | (62.1 | ) | (62.1 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Retired
|
- | - | (3.2 | ) | (58.9 | ) | - | 62.1 | - | |||||||||||||||||||
Other,
net
|
- | - | 1.0 | - | - | - | 1.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Balance
at December 31, 2005
|
- | 1.2 | 108.8 | 787.6 | (62.3 | ) | (37.9 | ) | 797.4 | |||||||||||||||||||
Net
income
|
- | - | - | 141.7 | - | - | 141.7 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Cash
dividends
|
- | - | - | (48.0 | ) | - | - | (48.0 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Other
comprehensive income, net
|
- | - | - | - | 35.1 | - | 35.1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Change
in accounting SFAS No.
158 – asset
and liability
recognition provisions
of SFAS
No. 158
|
- | - | - | - | (15.9 | ) | - | (15.9 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Treasury
stock:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Acquired
|
- | - | - | - | - | (43.8 | ) | (43.8 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Retired
|
- | - | (1.7 | ) | (42.1 | ) | - | 43.8 | - | |||||||||||||||||||
Other,
net
|
- | - | .3 | - | - | - | .3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Balance
at December 31, 2006
|
- | 1.2 | 107.4 | 839.2 | (43.1 | ) | (37.9 | ) | 866.8 | |||||||||||||||||||
Net
loss
|
- | - | - | (45.7 | ) | - | - | (45.7 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Cash
dividends
|
- | - | (34.2 | ) | (11.4 | ) | - | - | (45.6 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Dividend
of TIMET common stock
|
- | - | (55.0 | ) | (850.4 | ) | 8.0 | - | (897.4 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Change
in accounting:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIN
No. 48
|
- | - | - | (1.6 | ) | - | - | (1.6 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
SFAS
No. 158 - measurement
date provisions
|
- | - | - | (2.2 | ) | 1.2 | - | (1.0 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Issuance
of preferred stock
|
667.3 | - | - | - | - | - | 667.3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Other
comprehensive income, net
|
- | - | - | - | 85.4 | - | 85.4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Treasury
stock:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Acquired
|
- | - | - | - | - | (11.1 | ) | (11.1 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Retired
|
- | - | (9.2 | ) | (1.9 | ) | - | 11.1 | - | |||||||||||||||||||
Other,
net
|
- | - | 1.4 | (.1 | ) | - | - | 1.3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
$ | 667.3 | $ | 1.2 | $ | 10.4 | $ | (74.1 | ) | $ | 51.5 | $ | (37.9 | ) | $ | 618.4 |
See
accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
F- 9
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In
millions)
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
||||||||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$ | 81.9 | $ | 141.7 | $ | (45.7 | ) | |||||
Depreciation
and amortization
|
74.5 | 72.5 | 66.3 | |||||||||
Securities
transactions, net
|
(20.3 | ) | (.7 | ) | .1 | |||||||
Write-off
of accrued interest receivable
|
21.6 | - | - | |||||||||
Loss
on prepayment of debt
|
- | 22.3 | - | |||||||||
Call
premium paid on redemption of Senior
Secured Notes
|
- | (20.9 | ) | - | ||||||||
Loss
(gain) on disposal of property and equipment
|
1.6 | (35.3 | ) | 1.3 | ||||||||
Noncash
interest expense
|
3.0 | 2.0 | 1.6 | |||||||||
Benefit
plan expense greater (less) than cash
funding requirements:
|
||||||||||||
Defined
benefit pension expense
|
(6.4 | ) | (5.3 | ) | (4.6 | ) | ||||||
Other
postretirement benefit expense
|
(3.0 | ) | (1.5 | ) | .9 | |||||||
Deferred
income taxes:
|
||||||||||||
Continuing
operations
|
42.7 | 37.3 | 86.4 | |||||||||
Discontinued
operations
|
(.7 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Minority
interest:
|
||||||||||||
Continuing
operations
|
11.6 | 12.0 | (3.5 | ) | ||||||||
Discontinued
operations
|
(.2 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Equity
in:
|
||||||||||||
TIMET
|
(64.9 | ) | (101.2 | ) | (26.9 | ) | ||||||
Other
|
(3.6 | ) | (3.8 | ) | (1.7 | ) | ||||||
Net
distributions from (contributions to):
|
||||||||||||
TiO2
manufacturing joint venture
|
4.9 | 2.3 | (4.9 | ) | ||||||||
Other
|
1.0 | 2.3 | 1.0 | |||||||||
Other,
net
|
.3 | 1.0 | 1.9 | |||||||||
Change
in assets and liabilities:
|
||||||||||||
Accounts
and other receivables, net
|
(4.1 | ) | 8.2 | 9.1 | ||||||||
Inventories,
net
|
(48.9 | ) | (3.8 | ) | 3.9 | |||||||
Accounts
payable and accrued liabilities
|
.7 | (6.8 | ) | (4.8 | ) | |||||||
Income
taxes
|
16.1 | (21.1 | ) | (9.6 | ) | |||||||
Accounts
with affiliates
|
3.8 | 1.4 | (2.0 | ) | ||||||||
Other
noncurrent assets
|
(4.6 | ) | 6.0 | (2.7 | ) | |||||||
Other
noncurrent liabilities
|
(2.3 | ) | (13.8 | ) | (4.3 | ) | ||||||
Other,
net
|
(.4 | ) | (8.5 | ) | 1.7 | |||||||
Net
cash provided by operating activities
|
$ | 104.3 | $ | 86.3 | $ | 63.5 | ||||||
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (CONTINUED)
(In
millions)
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
Cash
flows from investing activities:
|
||||||||||||
Capital
expenditures
|
$ | (62.8 | ) | $ | (63.8 | ) | $ | (63.8 | ) | |||
Purchases
of:
|
||||||||||||
Kronos
common stock
|
(7.0 | ) | (25.4 | ) | - | |||||||
TIMET
common stock
|
(18.0 | ) | (18.7 | ) | (.7 | ) | ||||||
CompX
common stock
|
(3.6 | ) | (2.3 | ) | (3.3 | ) | ||||||
NL
common stock
|
- | (.4 | ) | - | ||||||||
Business
units
|
(7.3 | ) | (9.8 | ) | - | |||||||
Marketable
securities
|
(29.4 | ) | (43.4 | ) | (23.3 | ) | ||||||
Capitalized
permit costs
|
(4.1 | ) | (8.3 | ) | (7.1 | ) | ||||||
Proceeds
from disposal of:
|
||||||||||||
Marketable
securities
|
19.7 | 42.9 | 28.5 | |||||||||
Property
and equipment
|
.6 | 39.4 | .6 | |||||||||
Business
unit
|
18.1 | - | - | |||||||||
Kronos
common stock
|
19.2 | - | - | |||||||||
Interest
in Norwegian smelting operation
|
3.5 | - | - | |||||||||
Change
in restricted cash equivalents, net
|
(1.8 | ) | (2.9 | ) | 2.4 | |||||||
Collection
of loan to Snake River Sugar Company
|
80.0 | - | - | |||||||||
Cash
of disposed business unit
|
(4.0 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Loans
to affiliates:
|
||||||||||||
Loans
|
(11.0 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Collections
|
25.9 | - | - | |||||||||
Other,
net
|
2.4 | 3.2 | 1.3 | |||||||||
Net
cash provided by (used in) investing activities
|
20.4 | (89.5 | ) | (65.4 | ) | |||||||
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
||||||||||||
Indebtedness:
|
||||||||||||
Borrowings
|
57.0 | 772.7 | 331.1 | |||||||||
Principal
payments
|
(54.2 | ) | (751.6 | ) | (324.4 | ) | ||||||
Deferred
financing costs paid
|
(.1 | ) | (9.0 | ) | - | |||||||
Valhi
cash dividends paid
|
(48.8 | ) | (48.0 | ) | (45.6 | ) | ||||||
Distributions
to minority interest
|
(12.0 | ) | (8.9 | ) | (8.5 | ) | ||||||
Treasury
stock acquired
|
(62.1 | ) | (43.8 | ) | (11.1 | ) | ||||||
NL
common stock issued
|
2.5 | .1 | - | |||||||||
Issuance
of Valhi common stock and other, net
|
1.9 | .9 | 2.4 | |||||||||
Net
cash used in financing activities
|
(115.8 | ) | (87.6 | ) | (56.1 | ) | ||||||
Net
increase (decrease)
|
$ | 8.9 | $ | (90.8 | ) | $ | (58.0 | ) |
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (CONTINUED)
(In
millions)
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents - net change from:
|
||||||||||||
Operating,
investing and financing
activities
|
$ | 8.9 | $ | (90.8 | ) | $ | (58.0 | ) | ||||
Currency
translation
|
(1.7 | ) | 5.0 | 7.1 | ||||||||
Net
change for the year
|
7.2 | (85.8 | ) | (50.9 | ) | |||||||
Balance
at beginning of year
|
267.8 | 275.0 | 189.2 | |||||||||
Balance
at end of year
|
$ | 275.0 | $ | 189.2 | $ | 138.3 | ||||||
Supplemental
disclosures:
Cash
paid for:
|
||||||||||||
Interest,
net of amounts capitalized
|
$ | 65.0 | $ | 57.9 | $ | 62.5 | ||||||
Income
taxes, net
|
54.1 | 42.9 | 32.3 | |||||||||
Noncash
investing activities:
Note
receivable received upon
disposal
of business unit
|
4.2 | - | - | |||||||||
Inventories
received as partial
consideration
for disposal of
interest
in Norwegian smelting
operation
|
1.9 | - | - | |||||||||
Accruals
for capital expenditures
|
- | - | 9.7 | |||||||||
Noncash
financing activities:
|
||||||||||||
Dividend
of TIMET common stock
|
- | - | 897.4 | |||||||||
Issuance
of preferred stock in settlement of tax obligation
|
- | - | 667.3 | |||||||||
Issuance
of note payable to TIMET
for
acquisition of minority interest
|
- | - | 52.6 |
See
accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
December
31, 2007
Note
1
- Summary
of significant accounting policies:
Nature of our
business. Valhi, Inc. (NYSE: VHI)
is primarily a holding company. We operate through our wholly-owned
and majority-owned subsidiaries, including NL Industries, Inc., Kronos
Worldwide, Inc., CompX International Inc., Tremont LLC and Waste Control
Specialists LLC (“WCS”). Prior to March 26, 2007 we were the largest
shareholder of Titanium Metals Corporation (“TIMET”) although we owned less than
a majority interest. See Note 3. Kronos (NYSE: KRO), NL
(NYSE: NL), and CompX (NYSE: CIX) each file periodic reports with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
Organization. We are majority owned
by a subsidiary of Contran Corporation, which owns approximately 93% of our
outstanding common stock at December 31, 2007. Substantially all of
Contran's outstanding voting stock is held by trusts established for the benefit
of certain children and grandchildren of Harold C. Simmons (for which Mr.
Simmons is the sole trustee) or is held directly by Mr. Simmons or other persons
or related companies to Mr. Simmons. Consequently, Mr. Simmons may be deemed to
control Contran and us.
Unless
otherwise indicated, references in this report to “we,” “us” or “our” refer to
Valhi, Inc and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole.
Management’s
estimates. The preparation of our
Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), requires us to make
estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of our assets and
liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at each balance
sheet date and the reported amounts of our revenues and expenses during each
reporting period. Actual results may differ significantly from
previously-estimated amounts under different assumptions or
conditions.
Principles
of consolidation. Our
consolidated financial statements include the financial position, results of
operations and cash flows of Valhi and our majority-owned and wholly-owned
subsidiaries. We eliminate all material intercompany accounts and
balances.
We
account for increases in our ownership interest of our consolidated subsidiaries
and equity method investees, either through our purchase of additional shares of
their common stock or through their purchase of their own shares of common
stock, by the purchase method (step acquisition). Unless otherwise
noted, such purchase accounting generally results in an adjustment to the
carrying amount of goodwill for our consolidated subsidiaries. We
account for decreases in our ownership interest of our consolidated subsidiaries
and equity method investees through cash sale of their common stock to third
parties (either by us or by our subsidiary) by recognizing a gain or loss in net
income equal to the difference between the proceeds from such sale and the
carrying value of the shares sold. The effect of other decreases in
our ownership interest, which is usually the result of employee stock options
exercises, is generally not material. See Note 18.
Foreign currency
translation. The financial statements of our foreign
subsidiaries are translated to U.S. dollars in accordance with the provisions of
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 52 “Foreign Currency
Translation.” The functional currency of our foreign subsidiaries is
generally the local currency of the country. Accordingly, we
translate the assets and liabilities at year-end rates of exchange, while we
translate their revenues and expenses at average exchange rates prevailing
during the year. We accumulate the resulting translation adjustments
in stockholders' equity as part of accumulated other comprehensive income
(loss), net of related deferred income taxes and minority
interest. We recognize currency transaction gains and losses in
income.
Derivatives and
hedging activities. We recognize derivatives
as either an asset or liability measured at fair value in accordance with SFAS
No. 133, Accounting for
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, as amended and
interpreted. We recognize the effect of changes in the fair value of
derivatives either in net income or other comprehensive income, depending on the
intended use of the derivative.
Cash and cash
equivalents. We classify bank time deposits and government and
commercial notes and bills with original maturities of three months or less as
cash equivalents.
Restricted cash
equivalents and marketable debt securities. We classify cash
equivalents and marketable debt securities that have been segregated or are
otherwise limited in use as restricted. To the extent the restricted
amount relates to a recognized liability, we classify the restricted amount as
current or noncurrent according to the corresponding liability. To
the extent the restricted amount does not relate to a recognized liability, we
classify restricted cash as a current asset and we classify the restricted debt
security as either a current or noncurrent asset depending upon the maturity
date of the security. See Notes 4 and 7.
Marketable
securities; securities transactions. We carry marketable debt
and equity securities at fair value based upon quoted market prices, Level 1
inputs as defined in SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurements, or
Level 2 or Level 3 inputs as otherwise disclosed. See Note
19. We recognize unrealized and realized gains and losses on trading
securities in income. We accumulate unrealized gains and losses on
available-for-sale securities as part of accumulated other comprehensive income,
net of related deferred income taxes and minority interest. Realized
gains and losses are based on specific identification of the securities
sold.
Accounts
receivable. We provide an allowance for doubtful accounts for
known and estimated potential losses arising from our sales to customers based
on a periodic review of these accounts.
Inventories and
cost of sales. We state inventories at the lower of cost or
market, net of allowance for obsolete and slow-moving inventories. We
generally base inventory costs on average cost or the first-in, first-out
method. Our cost of sales includes costs for materials, packing and
finishing, utilities, salary and benefits, maintenance and
depreciation.
Investment in
affiliates and joint ventures. We account for investments in
more than 20%-owned but less than majority-owned companies by the equity
method. See Note 7. We allocate any differences between
the cost of each investment and our pro-rata share of the entity's
separately-reported net assets among the assets and liabilities of the entity
based upon estimated relative fair values. We amortize these
differences, which were not material at December 31, 2007, to income as the
entities depreciate, amortize or dispose of the related net assets.
Goodwill and
other intangible assets; amortization expense. We account for
goodwill and other intangible assets in accordance with SFAS No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible
Assets. Goodwill represents the excess of cost over fair value
of individual net assets acquired in business combinations accounted for by the
purchase method. Goodwill is not subject to periodic
amortization. We amortize other intangible assets by the
straight-line method over their estimated lives and state them net of
accumulated amortization. We evaluate goodwill for impairment,
annually, or when circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be
recoverable. See Note 8.
We
amortize identifiable intangible assets by the straight-line method over their
estimated useful lives as follows:
Asset
|
Useful lives
|
|
Patents
|
15 years
|
|
Customer lists
|
7 to 8
years
|
Capitalized
operating permits. Our Waste Management Segment capitalizes
direct costs for the acquisition or renewal of operating permits and amortizes
these costs by the straight-line method over the term of the applicable
permit. Amortization of capitalized operating permit costs was $.1
million in each of 2005, 2006 and 2007. At December 31, 2007, net
capitalized operating permit costs include (i) $.2 million in costs to renew
certain permits for which the renewal application is pending with the applicable
regulatory agency and (ii) $26.4 million in costs to apply for certain new
permits which have not yet been issued by the applicable regulatory
authority. We currently expect renewal of the permits for which the
application is still pending will occur in the ordinary course of business, and
we have been amortizing costs related to these renewals from the date the prior
permit expired. For costs related to new permits that have not yet
been issued, we will either (i) amortize such costs from the date the permit is
issued or (ii) write off such costs to expense at the earlier of (a) the date
the applicable regulatory authority rejects the permit application or (b) the
date we determine issuance of the permit is not probable. All
operating permits are generally subject to renewal at the option of the issuing
governmental agency.
Property and
equipment; depreciation expense. We state property and
equipment at acquisition cost, including capitalized interest on borrowings
during the actual construction period of major capital projects. We
did not capitalize any material interest costs in 2005, 2006 or
2007. We compute depreciation of property and equipment for financial
reporting purposes (including mining properties) principally by the
straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as
follows:
Asset
|
Useful lives
|
|
Buildings and
improvements
|
10 to 40
years
|
|
Machinery and
equipment
|
3 to 20
years
|
We
expense expenditures for maintenance, repairs and minor renewals as incurred
that do not improve or extend the life of the assets, including planned major
maintenance.
We have a
governmental concession with an unlimited term to operate an ilmenite mine in
Norway. Mining properties consist of buildings and equipment used in
our Norwegian ilmenite mining operations. While we own the land and
ilmenite reserves associated with the mine, such land and reserves were acquired
for nominal value and we have no material asset recognized for the land and
reserves related to such mining operations.
We
perform impairment tests when events or changes in circumstances indicate the
carrying value may not be recoverable. We perform the impairment test
by comparing the estimated future undiscounted cash flows associated with the
asset to the asset's net carrying value to determine if an impairment
exists. We assess impairment of property and equipment in accordance
with SFAS No. 144, Accounting
for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.
Long-term
debt. We state long-term debt net of any unamortized original
issue premium or discount. We classify amortization of deferred
financing costs and any premium or discount associated with the issuance of
indebtedness as interest expense, and compute amortization by the interest
method over the term of the applicable issue.
Employee benefit
plans. Accounting and funding policies for our retirement
plans are described in Notes 11 and 18.
Income
taxes. We and our qualifying subsidiaries are members of
Contran's consolidated U.S federal income tax group (the "Contran Tax
Group"). We and certain of our qualifying subsidiaries also file
consolidated income tax returns with Contran in various U.S. state
jurisdictions. As a member of the Contran Tax Group, we are jointly and
severally liable for the federal income tax liability of Contran and the other
companies included in the Contran Tax Group for all periods in which we are
included in the Contran Tax Group. See Note 17. Contran’s policy for
intercompany allocation of income taxes provides that subsidiaries included in
the Contran Tax Group compute their provision for income taxes on a separate
company basis. Generally, subsidiaries make payments to or receive
payments from Contran in the amounts they would have paid to or received from
the Internal Revenue Service or the applicable state tax authority had they not
been members of the Contran Tax Group. The separate company
provisions and payments are computed using the tax elections made by
Contran. We made net cash payments to Contran of $.5 million in 2005,
$1.2 million in 2006 and $5.8 million in 2007.
We
recognize deferred income tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax
consequences of temporary differences between amounts recorded in the
Consolidated Financial Statements and the tax basis of our assets and
liabilities, including investments in our subsidiaries and affiliates who are
not members of the Contran Tax Group and undistributed earnings of foreign
subsidiaries which are not permanently reinvested. In addition, we
recognize deferred income taxes with respect to the excess of the financial
reporting carrying amount over the income tax basis of our direct investment in
Kronos common stock because the exemption under GAAP to avoid recognition of
such deferred income taxes is not available to us. The earnings of our foreign
subsidiaries subject to permanent reinvestment plans aggregated $720 million at
December 31, 2007 (in 2006 the amount was $745 million). It is not
practical for us to determine the amount of the unrecognized deferred income tax
liability related to these earnings due to the complexities associated with the
U.S. taxation on earnings of foreign subsidiaries repatriated to the
U.S. We periodically evaluate our deferred tax assets in the various
taxing jurisdictions in which we operate and adjust any related valuation
allowance based on the estimate of the amount of such deferred tax assets we
believe does not meet the more-likely-than-not recognition
criteria.
Prior to
2007, we provided a reserve for uncertain income tax positions when we believed
the benefit associated with a tax position was not probable of prevailing with
the applicable tax authority and the amount of the lost benefit was reasonably
estimable. Beginning in 2007, we record a reserve for uncertain tax
positions in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board
Interpretation No. 48 (“FIN”), Accounting for Uncertain Tax
Positions for tax position where we believe it is more-likely-than-not
our position will not prevail with the applicable tax
authorities. See Note 18.
NL,
Kronos, CompX, Tremont and WCS are members of the Contran Tax
Group. NL, Kronos and CompX are each a party to a tax
sharing agreement with us and Contran pursuant to which they generally compute
their provision for income taxes on a separate-company basis, and make payments
to or receive payments from us in amounts that they would have paid to or
received from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service or the applicable state tax
authority had they not been a member of the Contran Tax Group.
Environmental
remediation costs. We record liabilities related to
environmental remediation obligations when estimated future expenditures are
probable and reasonably estimable. We adjust our accruals as further
information becomes available to us or as circumstances change. We
generally do not discount estimated future expenditures to their present value
due to the uncertainty of the timing of the ultimate payout. We
recognize any recoveries of remediation costs from other parties when we deem
their receipt to be probable. We had no such receivables at December
31, 2006 and 2007.
Net sales. We
record sales when products are shipped and title and other risks and rewards of
ownership have passed to the customer, or when we perform
services. We include amounts charged to customers for shipping and
handling costs in net sales. We state sales net of price, early
payment and distributor discounts and volume rebates. We report taxes
assessed by a governmental authority such as sales, use, value added and excise
taxes on a net basis.
Selling, general and administrative
expenses; shipping and handling costs; advertising costs; research and
development costs. Selling, general and administrative
expenses include costs related to marketing, sales, distribution, shipping and
handling, research and development, legal, environmental remediation and
administrative functions such as accounting, treasury and finance, and includes
costs for salaries and benefits, travel and entertainment, promotional materials
and professional fees. Shipping and handling costs of our Chemicals
Segment were approximately $76 million in 2005, $81 million in 2006 and $82
million in 2007. Shipping and handling costs of our Component
Products and Waste Management Segments are not material. We expense
advertising and research, development and sales technical support costs as
incurred. Advertising costs were approximately $2 million in each of
2005, 2006 and 2007. Research, development and certain sales
technical support costs were approximately $9 million in 2005, $11 million in
2006 and $12 million in 2007.
Note
2
- Business
and geographic segments:
Business
segment
|
Entity
|
%
owned at
December 31, 2007
|
||
Chemicals
|
Kronos
|
95%
|
||
Component
products
|
CompX
|
86%
|
||
Waste
management
|
WCS
|
100%
|
Our
ownership of Kronos includes 59% we hold directly and 36% held directly by
NL. We own 83% of NL. Our ownership of CompX is through
NL. See Note 3.
Prior to
March 26, 2007, we owned 35% of TIMET directly and through a wholly-owned
subsidiary. On March 26, 2007, we completed a special dividend of the
TIMET stock we owned. As a result, we now own approximately 1% of the
TIMET shares outstanding. We accounted for our ownership of TIMET by
the equity method through the date of the special dividend. See Note
3. At December 31, 2007, TIMET owned an additional .5% of NL and less
than .1% of Kronos, see Note 12. Because we do not consolidate TIMET,
the shares of NL and Kronos held by TIMET are not considered as owned by us for
financial reporting purposes.
We are
organized based upon our operating subsidiaries. Our operating
segments are defined as components of our consolidated operations about which
separate financial information is available that is regularly evaluated by our
chief operating decision maker in determining how to allocate resources and in
assessing performance. Each operating segment is separately managed,
and each operating segment represents a strategic business unit offering
different products.
We have
three consolidated reportable operating segments:
|
·
|
Chemicals – Our
Chemicals Segment is operated through our majority ownership of
Kronos. Kronos is a leading global producer and marketer of
value-added titanium dioxide pigments (“TiO2”). TiO2 is
used for a variety of manufacturing applications, including plastics,
paints, paper and other industrial products. Kronos has production
facilities located throughout North America and Europe. Kronos
also owns a one-half interest in a TiO2
production facility located in Louisiana. See Note
7.
|
|
·
|
Component Products – We
operate in the component products industry through our majority ownership
of CompX. CompX is a leading manufacturer of security products,
precision ball bearing slides and ergonomic computer support systems used
in the office furniture, transportation, tool storage and a variety of
other industries. CompX is also a leading manufacturer of
stainless steel exhaust systems, gauges and throttle controls for the
performance marine industry.
|
|
·
|
Waste Management – WCS
is our wholly-owned subsidiary that owns and operates a West Texas
facility for the processing, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous,
toxic and certain types of low level radioactive waste. WCS is
in the process of obtaining regulatory authorization to expand its
low-level and mixed low-level radioactive waste handling
capabilities.
|
We
evaluate segment performance based on segment operating income, which we define
as income before income taxes and interest expense, exclusive of certain
non-recurring items (such as gains or losses on disposition of business units
and other long-lived assets outside the ordinary course of business and certain
legal settlements) and certain general corporate income and expense items
(including securities transactions gains and losses and interest and dividend
income), which are not attributable to the operations of the reportable
operating segments. The accounting policies of our reportable
operating segments are the same as those described in Note 1. Segment
results we report may differ from amounts separately reported by our various
subsidiaries and affiliates due to purchase accounting adjustments and related
amortization or differences in how we define operating
income. Intersegment sales are not material.
Interest
income included in the calculation of segment operating income is not material
in 2005, 2006 or 2007. Capital expenditures include additions to
property and equipment but exclude amounts we paid for business units acquired
in business combinations. See Note 3. Depreciation and
amortization related to each reportable operating segment includes amortization
of any intangible assets attributable to the segment. Amortization of
deferred financing costs and any premium or discount associated with the
issuance of indebtedness is included in interest expense.
Segment
assets are comprised of all assets attributable to each reportable operating
segment, including goodwill and other intangible assets. Our
investment in the TiO2
manufacturing joint venture (see Note 7) is included in the Chemicals Segment
assets. Corporate assets are not attributable to any operating
segment and consist principally of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash
equivalents, marketable securities and loans to third parties. At
December 31, 2007, approximately 24% of corporate assets were held by NL (in
2006 the percentage was 18%), with substantially all of the remainder held
directly by Valhi.
F-69
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Net
sales:
|
||||||||||||
Chemicals
|
$ | 1,196.7 | $ | 1,279.5 | $ | 1,310.3 | ||||||
Component
products
|
186.3 | 190.1 | 177.7 | |||||||||
Waste
management
|
9.8 | 11.8 | 4.2 | |||||||||
Total
net sales
|
$ | 1,392.8 | $ | 1,481.4 | $ | 1,492.2 | ||||||
Cost
of goods sold:
|
||||||||||||
Chemicals
|
$ | 884.1 | $ | 980.8 | $ | 1,062.2 | ||||||
Component
products
|
142.6 | 143.6 | 132.4 | |||||||||
Waste
management
|
15.4 | 15.0 | 11.7 | |||||||||
Total
cost of goods sold
|
$ | 1,042.1 | $ | 1,139.4 | $ | 1,206.3 | ||||||
Gross
margin:
|
||||||||||||
Chemicals
|
$ | 312.6 | $ | 298.7 | $ | 248.1 | ||||||
Component
products
|
43.7 | 46.5 | 45.3 | |||||||||
Waste
management
|
(5.6 | ) | (3.2 | ) | (7.5 | ) | ||||||
Total
gross margin
|
$ | 350.7 | $ | 342.0 | $ | 285.9 | ||||||
Operating
income (loss):
|
||||||||||||
Chemicals
|
$ | 165.6 | $ | 138.1 | $ | 88.6 | ||||||
Component
products
|
19.3 | 20.6 | 16.0 | |||||||||
Waste
management
|
(12.1 | ) | (9.5 | ) | (14.1 | ) | ||||||
Total
operating income
|
172.8 | 149.2 | 90.5 | |||||||||
Equity
in:
|
||||||||||||
TIMET
|
64.9 | 101.1 | 26.9 | |||||||||
Other
|
3.6 | 3.8 | 1.7 | |||||||||
General
corporate items:
|
||||||||||||
Interest
and dividend income
|
57.8 | 41.6 | 30.9 | |||||||||
Securities
transaction gains, net
|
20.2 | .7 | (.1 | ) | ||||||||
Write-off
of accrued interest
|
(21.6 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Gain
on disposal of fixed assets
|
- | 36.4 | - | |||||||||
Insurance
recoveries
|
3.0 | 7.6 | 6.1 | |||||||||
General
expenses, net
|
(33.2 | ) | (33.0 | ) | (37.6 | ) | ||||||
Loss
on prepayment of debt
|
- | (22.3 | ) | - | ||||||||
Interest
expense
|
(69.2 | ) | (67.6 | ) | (64.4 | ) | ||||||
Income
before income taxes
|
$ | 198.3 | $ | 217.5 | $ | 54.0 |
Years ended December
31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Depreciation
and amortization:
|
||||||||||||
Chemicals
|
$ | 60.1 | $ | 57.4 | $ | 52.5 | ||||||
Component
products
|
10.9 | 11.8 | 11.0 | |||||||||
Waste
management
|
2.8 | 2.7 | 2.3 | |||||||||
Corporate
|
.7 | .6 | .5 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 74.5 | $ | 72.5 | $ | 66.3 | ||||||
Capital
expenditures:
|
||||||||||||
Chemicals
|
$ | 43.4 | $ | 50.9 | $ | 47.4 | ||||||
Component
products
|
10.5 | 12.1 | 13.8 | |||||||||
Waste
management
|
7.0 | .5 | 2.4 | |||||||||
Corporate
|
1.9 | .3 | .2 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 62.8 | $ | 63.8 | $ | 63.8 | ||||||
December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Total
assets:
|
||||||||||||
Operating
segments:
|
||||||||||||
Chemicals
|
$ | 1,694.1 | $ | 1,826.8 | $ | 1,862.6 | ||||||
Component
products
|
155.2 | 169.2 | 185.4 | |||||||||
Waste
management
|
49.6 | 53.4 | 59.7 | |||||||||
Investments
accounted for by the
equity
method:
|
||||||||||||
TIMET
common stock
|
138.7 | 264.1 | - | |||||||||
Other
joint ventures
|
16.5 | 18.8 | 19.4 | |||||||||
Corporate
and eliminations
|
524.3 | 472.4 | 475.9 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 2,578.4 | $ | 2,804.7 | $ | 2,603.0 | ||||||
Geographic
information. We attribute net sales to the place of
manufacture (point-of-origin) and the location of the customer
(point-of-destination); we attribute property and equipment to their physical
location. At December 31, 2007 the net assets of our non-U.S.
subsidiaries included in consolidated net assets approximated $624 million (in
2006 the total was $642 million).
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Net
sales - point of origin:
|
||||||||||||
United
States
|
$ | 618.8 | $ | 667.1 | $ | 638.4 | ||||||
Germany
|
613.1 | 672.0 | 700.6 | |||||||||
Canada
|
266.0 | 265.2 | 260.7 | |||||||||
Belgium
|
186.9 | 192.9 | 209.8 | |||||||||
Norway
|
160.5 | 173.5 | 184.3 | |||||||||
Taiwan
|
14.2 | 15.9 | 11.7 | |||||||||
Eliminations
|
(466.7 | ) | (505.2 | ) | (513.3 | ) | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 1,392.8 | $ | 1,481.4 | $ | 1,492.2 | ||||||
Net
sales - point of destination:
|
||||||||||||
North
America
|
$ | 589.2 | $ | 609.9 | $ | 545.8 | ||||||
Europe
|
693.6 | 732.9 | 811.8 | |||||||||
Asia
and other
|
110.0 | 138.6 | 134.6 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 1,392.8 | $ | 1,481.4 | $ | 1,492.2 | ||||||
December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Net
property and equipment:
|
||||||||||||
United
States
|
$ | 75.2 | $ | 78.2 | $ | 82.3 | ||||||
Germany
|
278.9 | 301.4 | 332.1 | |||||||||
Canada
|
87.9 | 80.6 | 89.6 | |||||||||
Norway
|
64.4 | 76.2 | 95.8 | |||||||||
Belgium
|
61.7 | 67.2 | 74.1 | |||||||||
Taiwan
|
8.3 | 7.7 | 7.4 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 576.4 | $ | 611.3 | $ | 681.3 | ||||||
Note
3 - Business combinations and related transactions:
NL Industries, Inc. Our
ownership of NL has remained at approximately 83% since the beginning of 2005 as
stock option exercises by NL employees were offset in part by our purchase of
36,600 shares of NL in market transactions during 2006 for an aggregate of $.4
million.
Kronos Worldwide, Inc. At
the beginning of 2005, we held an aggregate of 94% of Kronos’ outstanding common
stock. During the first quarter of 2005, NL paid a quarterly
dividends in shares of Kronos common stock, in which an aggregate of
approximately .3 million shares of Kronos common stock then were distributed to
NL shareholders (including us) in the form of pro-rata dividends. We
received 83% of the Kronos shares distributed by NL.
NL made
certain other pro-rata distributions to its stockholders in the form of shares
of Kronos common stock prior to 2005. All of NL’s distributions of Kronos common
stock were taxable to NL and NL recognized a taxable gain equal
to the difference between the fair market value of the Kronos shares distributed
on the various dates of distribution and NL's adjusted tax basis in the shares
at the dates of distribution. The amount of the tax liability related
to the Kronos shares distributed to NL shareholders, other than us, was
approximately $.7 million in 2005, and we recognized this amount as a component
of our consolidated provision for income taxes in 2005. Other than
our recognition of these NL tax liabilities, the completion of this 2005
quarterly distribution of Kronos common stock by NL had no other impact on our
consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash
flows.
With
respect to the shares of Kronos NL distributed to us in all of NL’s pro-rata
distributions, we and NL previously agreed that substantially all of the income
tax liability generated from the distribution of these shares could be paid by
NL to us in the form of shares of Kronos common stock held by
NL. Prior to 2005, NL transferred shares of Kronos common stock to us
in satisfaction of the tax liability and the tax liability generated from the
use of Kronos shares to settle the tax liability. The aggregate
amount of such tax liability, including the tax liability resulting from the use
of Kronos common stock to settle such liability was $230
million. Such aggregate tax liability includes $3.3 million related
to the Kronos shares distributed by NL to us in the first quarter of 2005, and
NL paid this tax liability to us in cash. To date, we have not paid the
$230 million tax liability to Contran because Contran has not paid the liability
to the applicable tax authority. The income tax liability will become
payable to Contran, and by Contran to the applicable tax authority, when the
shares of Kronos transferred or distributed by NL to us are sold or otherwise
transferred outside the Contran Tax Group or in the event of certain
restructuring transactions involving us. We have recognized deferred
income taxes for our investment in Kronos common stock, and, in accordance with
GAAP, the amount of the deferred income taxes we have recognized ($205 million
at December 31, 2007) is limited to this $230 million tax
liability.
During
2005 and 2006, we purchased an aggregate of 1.2 million shares of Kronos common
stock in market transactions for $32.4 million. During 2005, we sold
an aggregate of .5 million shares of Kronos common stock in market transactions
for proceeds of $19.2 million. We recognized pre-tax gains related to
the reduction of our ownership interest in Kronos related to these sales of
$14.7 million in 2005. See Note 15.
TIMET. At the beginning of
2005, we owned an aggregate of 41% of TIMET’s outstanding common stock either
directly and through a wholly-owned subsidiary. Our ownership of
TIMET was reduced to 35% by December 31, 2006 due to stock option exercises by
TIMET employees and the conversion of shares of TIMET’s convertible preferred
stock into TIMET common stock, offset in part by our purchase of an aggregate of
4.7 million shares of TIMET common stock (as adjusted for certain TIMET stock
splits) in market transactions during 2005 and 2006 for an aggregate of $36.7
million.
On March
26, 2007, we completed a special dividend of the TIMET common stock we owned to
our stockholders. Each of our stockholders received .4776 of a share
of TIMET common stock for each share of our common stock held. For
financial reporting purposes, we continued to apply the equity method to our
investment in TIMET through March 31, 2007. As a result of the
distribution, we now own approximately 1% of the TIMET shares
outstanding. We accounted for our dividend of TIMET common stock as a
spin-off in which we reduced our stockholders’ equity by the aggregate book
value of the shares distributed, net of applicable tax, or approximately $897.4
million. For income tax purposes, the dividend of TIMET common stock
was taxable to us based on the difference between the aggregate fair value of
the TIMET shares distributed ($36.90 per share, or an aggregate of $2.1 billion)
and our tax basis of the shares distributed. This tax obligation was
approximately $667.7 million, after we utilized available net operating loss
(“NOL”) carryforwards of $57.8 million and alternative minimum tax credit
(“AMT”) carryforwards of $1.1 million.
We and our qualifying subsidiaries are
members of Contran’s consolidated U.S. federal income tax group (the “Contran
Tax Group”), and we make payments to Contran for income taxes in amounts that we
would have paid to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service had we not been a member of
the Contran Tax Group. As a member of the Contran Tax Group, the tax obligation
generated from the special dividend is payable to Contran. In order
to discharge substantially all of this tax obligation we owed to Contran, in
March 2007 we issued to Contran shares of a new issue of our preferred
stock. See Note 14. Because Contran directly or indirectly
owned approximately 92% of our common stock at March 26, 2007, we distributed a
substantial portion of the TIMET shares to other members of the Contran Tax
Group. As a result, Contran is not currently required to pay
approximately $620 million of this tax obligation to the applicable tax
authority, because the gain on the shares distributed to members of Contran’s
Tax Group is currently deferred at the Contran level. This income tax
liability would become payable by Contran to the applicable tax authority when
the shares of TIMET common stock we distributed to other members of the Contran
Tax Group are sold or otherwise transferred outside the Contran Tax Group or in
the event of certain restructuring transactions involving Contran and
us.
NL owns
approximately 4.7 million shares of our common stock, and for financial
reporting purposes we account for our proportional interest in such shares as
treasury stock. See Note 14. Under Delaware Corporation
Law, NL receives dividends on its Valhi shares. As a result, NL
received approximately 2.2 million shares of the TIMET common stock we
distributed in the special dividend. In addition, in March 2007 we
purchased shares of our common stock in market transactions under our repurchase
program described in Note 14. Because we purchased these shares
between the record date and payment date of the special dividend, we became
entitled to receive the shares of TIMET common stock we distributed in the
special dividend with respect to the shares of our common stock we repurchased,
or approximately 19,000 shares of TIMET common stock. We allocated
the cost of our shares we repurchased between the TIMET and Valhi common stock
acquired based upon relative market values on the date of purchase, and we
allocated an aggregate of $.7 million to the TIMET shares we
acquired. At the end of the first quarter of 2007, the aggregate
number of TIMET shares we owned represented approximately 1% of TIMET’s
outstanding common stock. Accordingly, effective March 31, 2007 we
began accounting for our shares of TIMET common stock as available-for-sale
marketable securities carried at fair value, and the difference between the
aggregate fair value and the cost basis of our TIMET shares is recognized as a
component of accumulated other comprehensive income, net of applicable income
tax and minority interest. The cost basis of the TIMET shares NL
received was $11.4 million, which represents our basis in such TIMET shares
under the equity method immediately before the special
dividend. During the fourth quarter of 2007, NL sold .8 million of
its TIMET shares to us for a cash price of $33.50 per share, or an aggregate of
$26.8 million. For financial reporting purposes, NL’s previous $4 million
aggregate cost basis of these .8 million shares is also our cost basis in these
shares. At December 31, 2007, the quoted market price for TIMET’s
common stock was $26.45 per share, for an aggregate market value of our TIMET
shares of $60.2 million. See Note 4. As a result, a substantial
portion of the increase in our accumulated other comprehensive income related to
marketable securities during 2007 relates to the unrealized gain, net of
applicable income tax and minority interest, related to these shares of TIMET
common stock.
For income tax purposes, the tax basis
in the shares of TIMET received by NL in the special dividend is equal to the
fair value of such TIMET shares on the date of the special
dividend. However, because the fair value of all of the TIMET shares
we distributed exceeded our cumulative earnings and profits as of the end of
2007, NL was required to reduce the tax basis of its shares of Valhi common
stock by an amount equal to the lesser of (i) its tax basis in such Valhi shares
and (ii) its pro-rata share of the amount by which the aggregate fair value of
the TIMET shares we distributed exceeded our earnings and
profits. Additionally, and since NL’s pro-rata share of the amount by
which the aggregate fair value of the TIMET shares we distributed exceeds our
earnings and profits is greater than the tax basis of its Valhi shares, NL was
required to recognize a capital gain for the difference. The benefit
to NL associated with receiving a fair-value tax basis in its TIMET shares was
completely offset by the elimination of the tax basis in its Valhi shares and
the capital gain NL is required to recognize for the excess. NL’s
income tax generated from this capital gain is approximately $11.2
million. For financial reporting purposes, NL provides deferred
income taxes for the excess of the carrying value over the tax basis of its
shares of both Valhi and TIMET common stock, and as a result the $11.2 million
current income tax generated by NL was offset by deferred income taxes NL had
previously provided on its shares of Valhi common stock. However,
because we account for our proportional interest in the Valhi shares held by NL
as treasury stock, we also eliminate our proportional interest in the deferred
income taxes NL recognizes at its level with respect to the Valhi shares it
holds. As a result, for financial reporting purposes we had not
previously recognized our proportional interest in the $11.2 million of income
taxes (or $9.3 million) that NL had previously
recognized. Accordingly, as part of the special dividend we were
required to recognize $9.3 million of income taxes related to the income tax
effect to NL of the special dividend.
NL is
also a member of the Contran Tax Group, and NL makes payments to us for income
taxes in amounts it would have paid to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service had NL
not been a member of the Contran Tax Group. Approximately $10.8 million of the
$11.2 million tax generated by NL is payable to us (the remaining $.4 million
relates to one of NL’s subsidiaries that was not a member of the Contran Tax
Group). We are not currently required to pay this $10.8 million tax
liability to Contran, nor is Contran currently required to pay this tax
liability to the applicable tax authority, because the related taxable gain is
currently deferred at our level and the Contran level since we and NL are
members of the Valhi tax group on a separate company basis and of the Contran
Tax Group on the distribution date. This income tax liability would
become payable by us to Contran, and by Contran to the applicable tax authority,
when the shares of Valhi common stock held by NL are sold or otherwise
transferred outside the Contran Tax Group or in the event of certain
restructuring transactions involving NL and Valhi. At December 31,
2007, this $10.8 million is recognized as a component of our deferred income
taxes.
A summary
of the $897.4 million net reduction in our stockholders’ equity as a result of
the special dividend is summarized as follows:
Amount
|
||||
(In
millions)
|
||||
Investment
in TIMET
|
$ | 276.7 | ||
Deferred
income taxes previously recognized:
|
||||
Investment
in TIMET
|
(56.9 | ) | ||
NOL
and AMT carryforwards
|
21.4 | |||
Income
taxes generated from the special dividend:
|
||||
Valhi
level, net of amount included in other comprehensive
income
|
646.9 | |||
NL
level
|
9.3 | |||
Total
|
$ | 897.4 |
CompX International Inc. At the beginning of
2005, we held approximately 68% of CompX stock through NL’s investment in CompX
and TIMET held approximately 15% of CompX stock. See Note
2. During 2005 and 2006, NL purchased an aggregate of 381,000 shares
of CompX common stock in market transactions for approximately $5.9
million.
In August
2007, CompX’s board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to 500,000
shares of its Class A common stock in open market transactions, including block
purchases, or in privately-negotiated transactions at unspecified prices and
over an unspecified period of time. This authorization was in
addition to the 467,000 shares of Class A common stock that remained available
for repurchase under prior authorizations of CompX’s board of
directors. CompX may repurchase its common stock from time to time as
market conditions permit. The stock repurchase program does not include specific
price targets or timetables and may be suspended at any
time. Depending on market conditions, CompX may terminate the program
prior to its completion. CompX will use cash on hand to acquire the
shares. Repurchased shares will be added to CompX’s treasury and
cancelled. During 2007, CompX purchased 179,100 shares of its Class A common
stock in market transactions for an aggregate of $3.3 million. At
December 31, 2007 approximately 804,400 shares were available for purchase under
these repurchase authorizations.
In
October 2007, the independent members of CompX’s board of directors authorized
the repurchase and cancellation of a net 2.7 million shares of its Class A
common stock held by TIMET, including the Class A shares held indirectly by
TIMET through its ownership interest in CompX Group. These repurchases
were made outside of CompX’s stock repurchase plan discussed
above. CompX purchased these shares for $19.50 per share, or
aggregate consideration of $52.6 million, which it paid in the form of a
promissory note. The price per share was determined based on CompX’s open
market repurchases of its Class A common stock around the time the repurchase
was approved. The promissory note bears interest at LIBOR plus 1% and
provides for quarterly principal repayments of $250,000 commencing in September
2008, with the balance due at maturity in September 2014. CompX may make
prepayments on the promissory note at any time, in any amount, without
penalty. The promissory note is subordinated to CompX’s U.S. revolving
bank credit agreement. See Notes 9 and 16.
As a
result of CompX’s repurchase and/or cancellation of its Class A shares owned
directly or indirectly by TIMET, TIMET no longer has any direct or indirect
ownership in CompX or CompX Group, CompX’s outstanding Class A shares were
reduced by 2.7 million shares and our ownership interest in CompX increased to
86%.
In August
2005, CompX completed the acquisition of a marine components products business
for cash consideration of $7.3 million, net of cash acquired, and in April 2006
CompX completed the acquisition of another marine component products business
for cash consideration of $9.8 million, net of cash acquired. We
completed these acquisitions to expand the marine component products business
unit of CompX. We have included the results of operations and cash
flows of the acquired businesses in our Component Products Segment of the
Consolidated Financial Statements from the respective dates of
acquisition. The purchase prices have been allocated among the
tangible and intangible net assets acquired based upon an estimate of the fair
value of such net assets. The pro forma effect to us, assuming these
acquisitions had been completed as of January 1, 2005, is not
material.
Note
4
- Marketable
securities:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Current
assets (available-for-sale):
|
||||||||
Restricted
debt securities
|
$ | 10.0 | $ | 5.9 | ||||
Other
debt securities
|
2.6 | 1.3 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 12.6 | $ | 7.2 | ||||
Noncurrent
assets (available-for-sale):
|
||||||||
The
Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC
|
$ | 250.0 | $ | 250.0 | ||||
TIMET
|
- | 60.2 | ||||||
Restricted
debt securities
|
2.8 | 3.2 | ||||||
Other
debt securities and common stocks
|
6.2 | 6.4 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 259.0 | $ | 319.8 |
Amalgamated Sugar. Prior to 2005, we
transferred control of the refined sugar operations previously conducted by our
wholly-owned subsidiary, The Amalgamated Sugar Company, to Snake River Sugar
Company, an Oregon agricultural cooperative formed by certain sugarbeet growers
in Amalgamated’s areas of operations. Pursuant to the transaction, we
contributed substantially all of the net assets of our refined sugar operations
to Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC, a limited liability company controlled by
Snake River, on a tax-deferred basis in exchange for a non-voting ownership
interest in the LLC. The cost basis of the net assets we transferred
to the LLC was approximately $34 million. When we transferred control
of our operations to Snake River in return for our interest in the LLC, we
recognized a gain in earnings equal to the difference between $250 million (the
fair value of our investment in the LLC as evidenced by its $250 million
redemption price, as discussed below) and the $34 million cost basis of the net
assets we contributed to the LLC, net of applicable deferred income
taxes. Therefore, the cost basis of our investment in the LLC is $250
million. As part of this transaction, Snake River made certain loans
to us aggregating $250 million. These loans are collateralized by our
interest in the LLC. Snake River's sources of funds for its loans to
us, as well as its $14 million contribution to the LLC in exchange for its
voting interest in the LLC, included cash contributions by the grower members of
Snake River and $180 million in debt financing we provided. We
collected $100 million of the $180 million prior to 2005 when Snake River
obtained an equal amount of third-party financing, and collected the remaining
$80 million during 2005 when Snake River obtained new third-party
financing. See Notes 9 and 15.
We and
Snake River share in distributions from the LLC up to an aggregate of $26.7
million per year (the "base" level), with a preferential 95% share going to
us. To the extent the LLC's distributions are below this base level
in any given year, we are entitled to an additional 95% preferential share of
any future annual LLC distributions in excess of the base level until the
shortfall is recovered. Under certain conditions, we are entitled to
receive additional cash distributions from the LLC. At our option, we
may require the LLC to redeem our interest in the LLC beginning in 2012, and the
LLC has the right to redeem, at their option, our interest in the LLC beginning
in 2027. The redemption price is generally $250 million plus the
amount of certain undistributed income allocable to us. If we redeem
our interest in the LLC, Snake River has the right to accelerate the maturity of
and call our $250 million loans from Snake River. See Note
9.
The LLC
Company Agreement contains certain restrictive covenants intended to protect our
interest in the LLC, including limitations on capital expenditures and
additional indebtedness of the LLC. We also have the ability to
temporarily take control of the LLC if our cumulative distributions from the LLC
fall below specified levels, subject to satisfaction of certain conditions
imposed by Snake River’s current third-party senior lenders.
Prior to
2005, Snake River agreed that the annual amount of (i) the distributions paid by
the LLC to us plus (ii) the debt service payments paid by Snake River to us on
our prior $80 million loan to Snake River would at least equal the annual amount
of interest payments we owe to Snake River on our $250 million
loan. In 2005, and following the complete repayment of our $80
million loan to Snake River, Snake River agreed that the annual amount of
distributions we receive from the LLC would exceed the annual amount of interest
payments we owe to Snake River on our $250 million in loans from Snake River by
at least $1.8 million. If we receive less than the required minimum amount,
certain agreements we previously made with Snake River and the LLC, including a
reduction in the amount of cumulative distributions that we must receive from
the LLC in order to prevent us from becoming able to temporarily take control of
the LLC, would retroactively become null and void and we would be able to
temporarily take control of the LLC if we so desired. Through
December 31, 2007, Snake River and the LLC maintained the applicable minimum
required levels of cash flows to us.
We report
the cash distributions received from the LLC as dividend income. We
recognize distributions when they are declared by the LLC, which is generally
the same month we receive them, although in certain cases distributions may be
paid on the first business day of the following month. See Note
15. The amount of such future distributions we will receive from the
LLC is dependent upon, among other things, the future performance of the LLC’s
operations. Because we receive preferential distributions from the LLC and we
have the right to require the LLC to redeem our interest for a fixed and
determinable amount beginning at a fixed and determinable date, we account for
our investment in the LLC as an available-for-sale marketable security carried
at estimated fair value. The fair value is determined using Level 3
inputs as defined is SFAS No. 157 as the $250 million redemption price of our
investment in the LLC. We also provide certain services to the LLC,
as discussed in Note 16. We do not expect to report a gain on the
redemption at the time our LLC interest is redeemed, as the redemption price of
$250 million is expected to equal the carrying value of our investment in the
LLC at the time of redemption.
TIMET. See Note 3 for
information on our investment in TIMET.
Other. The aggregate cost of
the restricted and unrestricted debt securities and other available-for-sale
marketable securities approximates their net carrying value at December 31, 2006
and 2007. During 2006 and 2007, we purchased other available-for-sale
marketable securities (primarily common stocks and debt securities) for an
aggregate of $43.4 million and $23.3 million, respectively, and subsequently
sold a portion of such securities for an aggregate of $42.9 million and $28.5
million, respectively, which generated a net securities transaction gain of
approximately $.7 million in 2006 and a loss of $.1 million in
2007. See Note 15.
Note
5
- Accounts
and other receivables, net:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Accounts
receivable
|
$ | 228.0 | $ | 239.2 | ||||
Notes
receivable
|
3.2 | 4.5 | ||||||
Accrued
interest and dividends receivable
|
.1 | .1 | ||||||
Allowance
for doubtful accounts
|
(3.0 | ) | (2.4 | ) | ||||
Total
|
$ | 228.3 | $ | 241.4 |
Note
6
- Inventories,
net:
December
31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Raw
materials:
|
||||||||
Chemicals
|
$ | 46.1 | $ | 66.2 | ||||
Component
products
|
5.8 | 6.3 | ||||||
Total
raw materials
|
51.9 | 72.5 | ||||||
Work
in process:
|
||||||||
Chemicals
|
25.7 | 19.9 | ||||||
Component
products
|
8.7 | 9.8 | ||||||
Total
in-process products
|
34.4 | 29.7 | ||||||
Finished
products:
|
||||||||
Chemicals
|
168.4 | 171.6 | ||||||
Component
products
|
7.1 | 8.2 | ||||||
Total
finished products
|
175.5 | 179.8 | ||||||
Supplies
(primarily chemicals)
|
47.2 | 55.9 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 309.0 | $ | 337.9 |
Note
7
- Other
assets:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Investment
in affiliates:
|
||||||||
TIMET:
|
||||||||
Common stock
|
$ | 264.1 | $ | - | ||||
Preferred stock
|
.2 | - | ||||||
Total investment in TIMET
|
264.3 | - | ||||||
Ti02 manufacturing joint venture
|
113.6 | 118.5 | ||||||
Basic Management and Landwell
|
18.8 | 19.4 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 396.7 | $ | 137.9 | ||||
Other assets:
|
||||||||
Waste disposal site operating permits, net
|
$ | 22.8 | $ | 29.8 | ||||
Deferred financing costs
|
9.2 | 8.2 | ||||||
IBNR receivables
|
6.6 | 7.8 | ||||||
Loans and other receivables
|
3.2 | 1.8 | ||||||
Restricted cash equivalents
|
.4 | .1 | ||||||
Other
|
22.5 | 19.6 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 64.7 | $ | 67.3 |
Investment in
TIMET. On
March 26, 2007, we completed a special dividend of the TIMET common stock we
owned to our stockholders. See Note 3.
Certain
selected financial information of TIMET is summarized below:
December
31,
2006
|
||||
(In
millions)
|
||||
Current assets
|
$ | 757.6 | ||
Property and equipment
|
329.8 | |||
Marketable securities
|
56.8 | |||
Other noncurrent assets
|
72.7 | |||
Total assets
|
$ | 1,216.9 | ||
Current liabilities
|
$ | 211.1 | ||
Accrued pension and postretirement benefits
|
80.2 | |||
Other noncurrent liabilities
|
25.4 | |||
Minority interest
|
21.3 | |||
Stockholders’ equity
|
878.9 | |||
Total liabilities, minority interest and
stockholders’ equity
|
$ | 1,216.9 |
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Net
sales
|
$ | 749.8 | $ | 1,183.2 | ||||
Cost
of sales
|
550.4 | 747.1 | ||||||
Operating
income
|
171.1 | 382.8 | ||||||
Net
income attributable to common stockholders
|
143.7 | 274.5 |
We also
previously owned 14,700 shares of TIMET Series A convertible preferred stock,
which we converted into 196,000 shares of TIMET common stock immediately prior
to the March 2007 special distribution.
Investment in
TiO2 manufacturing
joint venture. Our Chemicals Segment
and another Ti02 producer,
Tioxide America, Inc. (”Tioxide”), are equal owners of a manufacturing joint
venture (Louisiana Pigment Company, L.P., or “LPC”) that owns and operates a
TiO2
plant in Louisiana. Tioxide is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Huntsman
Holdings LLC.
We and
Tioxide are both required to purchase one-half of the TiO2 produced
by LPC. LPC operates on a break-even basis and, accordingly, we
report no equity in earnings of LPC. Each owner's acquisition
transfer price for its share of the TiO2 produced
is equal to its share of the joint venture's production costs and interest
expense, if any. Our share of net cost is reported as cost of sales
as the related Ti02 acquired
from LPC is sold. We include the distributions from LPC, which
generally relate to excess cash from non-cash production costs, and
contributions to LPC, which generally relate to cash required by LPC when it
builds working capital, in cash flows from operating activities in our
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. We report distributions or contributions
net of any contributions or distributions we made during the
periods. Our net distributions of $4.9 million in 2005 and $2.3
million in 2006 are stated net of contributions of $10.1 million in 2005 and
$11.9 million in 2006. Contributions of $4.9 million in 2007 are stated net of
distributions of $8.0 million.
Certain
selected financial information of LPC is summarized below:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Current assets
|
$ | 56.2 | $ | 68.3 | ||||
Property and equipment
|
192.6 | 195.2 | ||||||
Total assets
|
$ | 248.8 | $ | 263.5 | ||||
Liabilities, primarily current
|
$ | 18.8 | $ | 23.8 | ||||
Partners’ equity
|
230.0 | 239.7 | ||||||
Total liabilities and partners’ equity
|
$ | 248.8 | $ | 263.5 |
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Net
sales:
|
||||||||||||
Kronos
|
$ | 109.4 | $ | 124.1 | $ | 124.6 | ||||||
Tioxide
|
110.4 | 125.2 | 125.0 | |||||||||
Cost
of sales
|
219.6 | 249.3 | 249.6 | |||||||||
Net
income
|
- | - | - |
On
September 22, 2005, LPC’s facility temporarily halted production due to
Hurricane Rita. Although storm damage to core processing facilities
was not extensive, a variety of factors, including loss of utilities, limited
access and availability of employees and raw materials, prevented the resumption
of partial operations until October 9, 2005 and full operations until late
2005. The majority of LPC’s property damage and unabsorbed fixed
costs, for periods in which normal production levels were not achieved, were
covered by insurance, and insurance covered our lost profits (subject to
applicable deductibles) resulting from our share of the lost production at
LPC. Both we and LPC filed claims with our insurers. We
recognized income of $1.8 million related to our business interruption claim in
the fourth quarter of 2006, which is included in other income on our
Consolidated Statement of Operations.
Investment
in Basic Management and Landwell. We also own a 32% interest in Basic
Management, Inc., which, provides utility services in the industrial park where
one of TIMET's plants is located, among other things. We also have
12% interest in The Landwell Company, which is actively engaged in efforts to
develop certain real estate. Basic Management owns an additional 50%
interest in Landwell. For federal income tax purposes Landwell is
treated as a partnership, and accordingly the combined results of operations of
Basic Management and Landwell include a provision for income taxes on Landwell's
earnings only to the extent that such earnings accrue to Basic
Management. We record our equity in earnings of Basic Management and
Landwell on a one-quarter lag because their financial statements are generally
not available to us on a timely basis. Certain selected combined
financial information of Basic Management and Landwell is summarized
below.
September 30,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Current assets
|
$ | 45.7 | $ | 39.6 | ||||
Property and equipment
|
11.7 | 11.1 | ||||||
Prepaid costs and other
|
5.0 | 4.7 | ||||||
Land and development costs
|
15.6 | 15.4 | ||||||
Notes and other receivables
|
2.8 | 1.6 | ||||||
Investment in undeveloped land and water rights
|
41.4 | 45.7 | ||||||
Total assets
|
$ | 122.2 | $ | 118.1 | ||||
Current liabilities
|
$ | 17.6 | $ | 15.2 | ||||
Long-term debt
|
20.3 | 18.2 | ||||||
Deferred income taxes
|
6.1 | 6.5 | ||||||
Other noncurrent liabilities
|
1.3 | 1.3 | ||||||
Equity
|
76.9 | 76.9 | ||||||
Total liabilities and equity
|
$ | 122.2 | $ | 118.1 |
Twelve months ended September
30,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Total
revenues
|
$ | 30.4 | $ | 31.4 | $ | 23.5 | ||||||
Income
before income taxes
|
14.9 | 16.6 | 10.2 | |||||||||
Net
income
|
12.8 | 13.5 | 9.0 |
Other. We
have certain related party transactions with some of these affiliates, as more
fully described in Note 16.
The IBNR
receivables relate to certain insurance liabilities, the risk of which we have
reinsured with certain third party insurance carriers. We report the
insurance liabilities related to this IBNR receivable which have been reinsured
as part of noncurrent accrued insurance claims and expenses. Certain
of our insurance liabilities are classified as a current liability and the
related IBNR receivable is classified with prepaid expenses and other current
assets. See Notes 10 and 16.
Note
8 – Goodwill and other intangible assets:
Goodwill. Changes in the
carrying amount of goodwill during the past three years by operating segment is
presented in the table below.
Operating segment
|
||||||||||||
Chemicals
|
Component
Products
|
Total
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Balance
at December 31, 2004
|
$ | 339.7 | $ | 14.4 | $ | 354.1 | ||||||
Goodwill
acquired
|
1.3 | 8.0 | 9.3 | |||||||||
Assets
sold
|
- | (1.4 | ) | (1.4 | ) | |||||||
Changes
in foreign exchange rates
|
- | (.2 | ) | (.2 | ) | |||||||
Balance
at December 31, 2005
|
341.0 | 20.8 | 361.8 | |||||||||
Goodwill
acquired during the year
|
17.6 | 5.6 | 23.2 | |||||||||
Changes
in foreign exchange rates
|
- | .2 | .2 | |||||||||
Balance
at December 31, 2006
|
358.6 | 26.6 | 385.2 | |||||||||
Goodwill
acquired during the year
|
(.1 | ) | 21.7 | 21.6 | ||||||||
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
$ | 358.5 | $ | 48.3 | $ | 406.8 |
Goodwill
is assigned to four of our reporting units. Substantially all of our
goodwill related to our Chemicals Segment was generated from our various step
acquisitions of NL and Kronos. Substantially all of the goodwill
related to the Component Products Segment was generated from CompX's
acquisitions of certain business units and the step acquisition of CompX
discussed in Note 3. The Component Products Segment goodwill is
assigned to the three reporting units within that operating segment: security
products, furniture, and marine components. In accordance with SFAS
No. 142 we test for goodwill impairment at the reporting unit
level. We use discounted cash flows to estimate the fair value of the
three Component Product Segment units. In determining the estimated
fair value of our Chemicals Segment, we consider the quoted market prices for
Kronos’ common stock.
In
accordance with the requirements of SFAS No. 142, we review goodwill for each of
our four reporting units for impairment during the third quarter of each year or
when circumstances arise that indicate an impairment might be
present. If the fair value of an evaluated asset is less than its
book value, the asset is written down to fair value. Our 2005, 2006
and 2007 annual impairment reviews of goodwill indicated no
impairments.
Other
intangible assets.
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Definite-lived
customer list intangible asset
|
$ | 1.3 | $ | .6 | ||||
Patents
and other intangible assets
|
2.6 | 2.1 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 3.9 | $ | 2.7 |
F-69
Amortization
expense was $3.5 million, $4.2 million and $1.2 million in December 31, 2005,
2006 and 2007, respectively. Estimated aggregate intangible asset
amortization expense for the next five years is as follows:
2008
|
$.7 million
|
|
2009
|
.6
million
|
|
2010
|
.6
million
|
|
2011
|
.6
million
|
|
2012
|
.3
million
|
Note
9 - Long-term debt:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Valhi
– Snake River Sugar Company
|
$ | 250.0 | $ | 250.0 | ||||
Subsidiary
debt:
|
||||||||
Kronos International 6.5% Senior Secured Notes
|
525.0 | 585.5 | ||||||
CompX
promissory note payable to TIMET
|
- | 50.0 | ||||||
Kronos U.S. bank credit facility
|
6.4 | 15.4 | ||||||
Other
|
5.1 | 5.7 | ||||||
Total subsidiary debt
|
536.5 | 656.6 | ||||||
Total debt
|
786.5 | 906.6 | ||||||
Less current maturities
|
1.2 | 16.8 | ||||||
Total long-term debt
|
$ | 785.3 | $ | 889.8 |
Valhi. Our $250 million in loans
from Snake River Sugar Company are collateralized by our interest in The
Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC. The loans bear interest at a weighted
average fixed interest rate of 9.4% and are due in January 2027. At
December 31, 2007, $37.5 million of the loans are recourse to us and the
remaining $212.5 million is nonrecourse to us. Under certain conditions, Snake
River has the ability to accelerate the maturity of these loans. See
Note 4.
We have a
$100 million revolving bank credit facility which matures in October 2008,
generally bears interest at LIBOR plus 1.5% (for LIBOR-based borrowings) or
prime (for prime-based borrowings), and is collateralized by 20 million shares
of Kronos common stock we own. The agreement limits our ability to
pay dividends and incur additional indebtedness and contains other provisions
customary in lending transactions of this type. In the event of a
change of control, as defined in the agreement, the lenders have the right to
accelerate the maturity of the facility. The maximum amount we may
borrow under the facility is limited to one-third of the market value of the
Kronos common stock we have pledged as collateral. Based on Kronos’
December 31, 2007 closing market price of $17.45 per share, the Kronos common
stock pledged under the facility provides sufficient collateral for the full
amount of the facility. At December 31, 2007, there were
no borrowings outstanding under the facility and $1.4 million of letters of
credit outstanding under the facility. At December 31, 2007 $98.6
million was available for future borrowings under the facility.
Kronos and its
subsidiaries. In April 2006, we issued
euro 400 million principal amount of 6.5% Senior Secured Notes due 2013 at
99.306% of the principal amount ($498.5 million when issued). We
collateralized the 6.5% Notes with a pledge of 65% of the common stock or other
ownership interests of certain of our first-tier European operating
subsidiaries: Kronos Titan GmbH, Kronos Denmark ApS, Kronos Limited and Societe
Industrielle Du Titane, S.A. We issued the 6.5% Notes pursuant to an
indenture which contains a number of covenants and restrictions which, among
other things, restricts our ability to incur additional debt, incur liens, pay
dividends or merge or consolidate with, or sell or transfer all or substantially
all of Kronos’ European assets to, another entity. At our option, we
may redeem the 6.5% Notes on or after October 15, 2009 at redemption prices
ranging from 103.25% of the principal amount, declining to 100% on or after
October 15, 2012. In addition, on or before April 15, 2009, we may
redeem up to 35% of the Notes with the net proceeds of a qualified public equity
offering at 106.5% of the principal amount. In the event of a change
of control of KII, as defined in the agreement, we would be required to make an
offer to purchase our 6.5% Notes at 101% of the principal amount. We
would also be required to make an offer to purchase a specified portion of our
6.5% Notes at par value in the event KII generates a certain amount of net
proceeds form the sale of assets outside the ordinary course of business, and
such net proceeds are not otherwise used for specified purposes within a
specified time period. At December 31, 2006 and 2007, the estimated
market price of the 6.5% Notes was approximately euro 970 and euro 860,
respectively, per euro 1,000 principal amount, and the carrying amount of the
6.5% Notes includes euro 2.5 million ($3.3 million) and euro 2.1 million ($3.1
million) of unamortized original issue discount at December 31, 2006 and 2007,
respectively.
In May
2006, we used the net proceeds from the 6.5% Notes to redeem our existing 8.875%
Senior Secured Notes at 104.437%% of the aggregate principal amount of euro 375
million for an aggregate of $491.4 million, including the $20.9 million call
premium. We recognized a $22.3 million pre-tax interest charge in
2006 related to the prepayment of the 8.875% Notes, consisting of the call
premium on the 8.875% Notes and the write-off of deferred financing costs and
unamortized premium related to the notes.
Our
Chemicals Segment’s operating subsidiaries in Germany, Belgium, Norway and
Denmark have a euro 80 million secured revolving bank credit facility that
matures in June 2008. We may denominate borrowings in euros,
Norwegian kroners or U.S. dollars. Outstanding borrowings bear
interest at the applicable interbank market rate plus 1.125%. We may
also issue up to euro 5 million of letters of credit. The facility is
collateralized by the accounts receivable and inventories of the borrowers, plus
a limited pledge of all of the other assets of the Belgian
borrower. This facility contains certain restrictive covenants that,
among other things, restricts our ability to incur additional debt, incur liens,
pay dividends or merge or consolidate with, or sell or transfer all or
substantially all of the assets of the borrowers to, another
entity. At December 31, 2007, there were no outstanding borrowings
and the equivalent of $117.7 million was available for borrowings under the
facility. We expect to obtain an extension of our European secured
revolving credit facility prior to the current June 2008 maturity.
Our
Chemicals Segment has a $50 million U.S. revolving credit facility that matures
in September 2008. This facility is collateralized by our U.S.
accounts receivable, inventories and certain fixed assets. We are
limited to borrowing the lesser of $45 million or a formula-determined amount
based upon the accounts receivable and inventories that have been
pledged. Borrowings bear interest at either the prime rate or rates
based upon the eurodollar rate (7.5% at December 31, 2007). The
facility contains certain restrictive covenants which, among other things,
restrict our ability to incur debt, incur liens, pay dividends in certain
circumstances, sell assets or enter into mergers. At December 31,
2007, $15.4 million was outstanding and $23.0 million was available for
borrowings under the facility. We expect to obtain an extension of
our U.S. revolving credit facility prior to the current September 2008
maturity.
Our
Chemicals Segment also has a Cdn. $30 million Canadian revolving credit facility
that matures in January 2009. This facility is collateralized by our
Canadian accounts receivable and inventories. We are limited to
borrowing the lesser of Cdn. $26 million or a formula-determined amount based
upon the accounts receivable and inventories that have been
pledged. Borrowings bear interest at rates based upon either the
Canadian prime rate, the U.S. prime rate or LIBOR. The facility
contains certain restrictive covenants that, among other things, restrict our
ability to incur additional debt, incur liens, pay dividends in certain
circumstances, sell assets or enter into mergers. At December 31,
2007, no amounts were outstanding and the equivalent of $11.4 million was
available for borrowings under the facility.
Under the
cross-default provisions of the 6.5% Notes, the 6.5% Notes may be accelerated
prior to their stated maturity if Kronos’ European subsidiaries default under
any other indebtedness in excess of $20 million due to a failure to pay the
other indebtedness at its due date (including any due date that arises prior to
the stated maturity as a result of a default under the other
indebtedness). Under the cross-default provisions of the European
revolving credit facility, any outstanding borrowings under the facility may be
accelerated prior to their stated maturity if the borrowers or their parent
company default under any other indebtedness in excess of euro 5 million due to
a failure to pay the other indebtedness at its due date (including any due date
that arises prior to the stated maturity as a result of a default under the
other indebtedness). Under the cross-default provisions of the U.S.
revolving credit facility, any outstanding borrowing under the facility may be
accelerated prior to their stated maturity in the event of the bankruptcy of
Kronos. The Canadian revolving credit facility contains no
cross-default provisions. The European, U.S. and Canadian revolving credit
facilities each contain provisions that allow the lender to accelerate the
maturity of the applicable facility in the event of a change of control, as
defined in the respective agreement, of the applicable borrower. In
the event any of these cross-default or change-of-control provisions become
applicable, and the indebtedness is accelerated, we would be required to repay
the indebtedness prior to their stated maturity.
CompX. At December 31, 2007,
our Component Products Segment had a $50.0 million secured revolving bank credit
facility that matures in January 2009 and bears interest, at our option, at
rates based either on the prime rate or LIBOR. The facility is
collateralized by 65% of the ownership interests in CompX’s first-tier foreign
subsidiaries. The facility contains certain covenants and restrictions customary
in lending transactions of this type which, among other things, restricts our
ability to incur additional debt, incur liens, pay dividends or merge or
consolidate with, or transfer all or substantially all of CompX’s assets, to
another entity. The facility also requires maintenance of specified
levels of net worth (as defined in the agreement). The facility also
requires that CompX maintain specified levels of net worth as defined in the
agreement. In the event of a change of control of CompX, as defined
in the agreement, the lenders have the right to accelerate the maturity of the
facility. At December 31, 2007, we had no outstanding borrowings and
the full $50 million was available for borrowings under the
facility.
In
October 2007, CompX issued a $52.6 million a promissory note to TIMET in
exchange for the shares of CompX previously owned by TIMET. See Note
3. The promissory note bears interest at LIBOR plus 1% (6.0% at December
31, 2007) and provides for quarterly principal repayments of $250,000 commencing
in September 2008, with the balance due at maturity in September 2014.
CompX may make prepayments on the promissory note at any time, in any amount,
without penalty, including $2.6 million paid in the fourth quarter of
2007. The promissory note is subordinated to CompX’s U.S. revolving bank
credit agreement.
Aggregate
maturities of long-term debt at December 31, 2007
Years ending December 31,
|
Amount
|
|||
(In
millions)
|
||||
2008
|
$ | 16.8 | ||
2009
|
2.1 | |||
2010
|
2.2 | |||
2011
|
2.1 | |||
2012
|
2.2 | |||
2013
and thereafter
|
881.2 | |||
Total
|
$ | 906.6 | ||
Restrictions. Certain of the credit
facilities described above require the borrower to maintain minimum levels of
equity, require the maintenance of certain financial ratios, limit dividends and
additional indebtedness and contain other provisions and restrictive covenants
customary in lending transactions of this type. We are currently in
compliance with all of our applicable debt covenants. At December 31,
2007, none of the net assets of Valhi’s consolidated subsidiaries were
restricted.
At
December 31, 2007, amounts available for the payment of Valhi dividends pursuant
to the terms of Valhi’s revolving bank credit facility aggregated $.10 per Valhi
share outstanding per quarter, plus an additional $173.0 million. Any
purchases of treasury stock after December 31, 2007 would reduce this
amount.
Note
10 - Accrued liabilities:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Current:
|
||||||||
Employee
benefits
|
$ | 37.4 | $ | 37.6 | ||||
Environmental
costs
|
13.6 | 15.4 | ||||||
Accrued
sales discounts and rebates
|
8.5 | 15.3 | ||||||
Reserve
for uncertain tax positions
|
- | .3 | ||||||
Deferred
income
|
4.9 | 4.0 | ||||||
Interest
|
7.6 | 8.3 | ||||||
Other
|
47.7 | 52.3 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 119.7 | $ | 133.2 | ||||
Noncurrent:
|
||||||||
Reserve
for uncertain tax positions
|
$ | - | $ | 59.4 | ||||
Insurance
claims and expenses
|
13.9 | 15.2 | ||||||
Employee
benefits
|
7.2 | 8.4 | ||||||
Deferred
income
|
.5 | 1.1 | ||||||
Other
|
6.5 | 5.8 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 28.1 | $ | 89.9 |
The risks
associated with certain of our accrued insurance claims and expenses have been
reinsured, and the related IBNR receivables are recognized as noncurrent assets
to the extent the related liability is classified as a noncurrent
liability. See Note 7. Our reserve for uncertain tax
positions is discussed in Note 18.
Note
11 - Employee benefit plans:
Defined
contribution plans. We maintain various defined
contribution pension plans for our employees worldwide. Defined
contribution plan expense approximated $3 million in each of 2005, 2006 and
2007.
Defined benefit
plans. Kronos, NL and one of
our former business units sponsor various defined benefit pension plans
worldwide. Prior to December 31, 2007 Kronos and NL used a September
30th
measurement date for their defined benefit pension plans, and the former
business unit used a December 31st
measurement date. Effective December 31, 2007, all of our defined
benefit pension plans now use a December 31st
measurement date. See Note 18. The benefits under our
defined benefit plans are based upon years of service and employee
compensation. Our funding policy is to contribute annually the
minimum amount required under ERISA (or equivalent foreign) regulations plus
additional amounts as we deem appropriate.
We expect
to contribute the equivalent of $22.7 million to all of our defined benefit
pension plans during 2008. Benefit payments to plan participants out
of plan assets are expected to be the equivalent of:
2008
|
$ 28.0
million
|
|
2009
|
26.9
million
|
|
2010
|
25.5
million
|
|
2011
|
26.6
million
|
|
2012
|
29.1
million
|
|
Next 5 years
|
148.6
million
|
The
funded status of our defined benefit pension plans is presented in the table
below.
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Change
in projected benefit obligations ("PBO"):
|
||||||||
Balance
at beginning of the year
|
$ | 520.5 | $ | 547.9 | ||||
Service cost
|
7.8 | 7.9 | ||||||
Interest cost
|
23.8 | 26.8 | ||||||
Participants’ contributions
|
1.5 | 2.1 | ||||||
Actuarial gains
|
(19.8 | ) | (75.1 | ) | ||||
Change
in measurement date
|
- | 7.9 | ||||||
Plan
amendments
|
- | 4.4 | ||||||
Change in foreign currency exchange rates
|
40.3 | 53.0 | ||||||
Benefits paid
|
(26.2 | ) | (36.8 | ) | ||||
Balance
at end of the year
|
$ | 547.9 | $ | 538.1 | ||||
Change in plan assets:
|
||||||||
Fair value
at beginning of the year
|
$ | 338.1 | $ | 399.0 | ||||
Actual return on plan assets
|
36.7 | 18.3 | ||||||
Employer contributions
|
28.1 | 28.0 | ||||||
Participants’ contributions
|
1.5 | 2.1 | ||||||
Change
in measurement date
|
- | (.6 | ) | |||||
Change in foreign currency exchange rates
|
20.8 | 35.4 | ||||||
Benefits paid
|
(26.2 | ) | (36.8 | ) | ||||
Fair value at end of year
|
$ | 399.0 | $ | 445.4 | ||||
Funded
status
|
$ | (148.9 | ) | $ | (92.7 | ) | ||
Amounts recognized in the Consolidated
Balance Sheets:
|
||||||||
Pension asset
|
$ | 40.1 | $ | 47.6 | ||||
Accrued pension costs:
|
||||||||
Current
|
(.3 | ) | (.3 | ) | ||||
Noncurrent
|
(188.7 | ) | (140.0 | ) | ||||
Total
|
(148.9 | ) | (92.7 | ) | ||||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss:
|
||||||||
Actuarial losses
|
169.6 | 94.9 | ||||||
Prior service cost
|
7.4 | 6.6 | ||||||
Net transition obligations
|
4.3 | 3.7 | ||||||
Total
|
181.3 | 105.2 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 32.4 | $ | 12.5 | ||||
Accumulated
benefit obligations (“ABO”)
|
$ | 488.0 | $ | 466.9 |
The
amounts shown in the table above for unrecognized actuarial losses, prior
service cost and net transition obligations at December 31, 2006 and 2007 have
not been recognized as components of our periodic defined benefit pension cost
as of those dates. These amounts will be recognized as components of our
periodic defined benefit cost in future years. In accordance with SFAS No.
158, these amounts, net of deferred income taxes and minority interest, are
recognized in our accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at December 31,
2006 and 2007. We expect approximately $4.1 million, $.9 million and $.5
million of the unrecognized actuarial losses, prior service cost and net
transition obligations, respectively, will be recognized as components of our
periodic defined benefit pension cost in 2008. See Note 18. The
table below details the changes in other comprehensive income (loss) during
2007.
Year
ended
|
||||
December 31, 2007
|
||||
(In
millions)
|
||||
Changes
in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized
in other comprehensive income:
|
||||
Net
actuarial gain arising during the year
|
$ | 69.6 | ||
Plan
amendment
|
(4.4 | ) | ||
Change
in measurement date:
|
||||
Prior
service cost
|
.2 | |||
Transaction
obligation
|
.1 | |||
Actuarial
losses
|
2.5 | |||
Amortization
of unrecognized:
|
||||
Prior service cost
|
.7 | |||
Net transition obligations
|
.5 | |||
Net
actuarial losses
|
8.2 | |||
Total
|
$ | 77.4 | ||
The
components of our net periodic defined benefit pension cost are presented in the
tables below. During 2007, the amounts shown below for the
amortization of unrecognized actuarial losses, prior service cost and net
transition obligations, net of deferred income taxes and minority
interest, were recognized as components of our accumulated
other comprehensive income (loss) at December 31, 2006.
Years ended December
31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Net
periodic pension cost:
|
||||||||||||
Service cost
|
$ | 7.4 | $ | 7.8 | $ | 7.9 | ||||||
Interest cost
|
22.6 | 23.8 | 26.8 | |||||||||
Expected return on plan assets
|
(22.2 | ) | (25.7 | ) | (28.5 | ) | ||||||
Amortization
of unrecognized:
|
||||||||||||
Prior service cost
|
.6 | .6 | .7 | |||||||||
Net transition obligations
|
.3 | .4 | .5 | |||||||||
Net
actuarial losses
|
4.4 | 9.1 | 8.2 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 13.1 | $ | 16.0 | $ | 15.6 |
Certain
information concerning our defined benefit pension plans is presented in the
table below.
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Projected
benefit obligations:
|
||||||||
U.S.
plans
|
$ | 92.4 | $ | 87.4 | ||||
Foreign
plans
|
455.5 | 450.7 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 547.9 | $ | 538.1 | ||||
Fair
value of plan assets:
|
||||||||
U.S.
plans
|
$ | 130.3 | $ | 133.1 | ||||
Foreign
plans
|
268.7 | 312.3 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 399.0 | $ | 445.4 | ||||
Plans
for which the accumulated benefit obligation exceeds
plan assets:
|
||||||||
Projected
benefit obligations
|
$ | 428.0 | $ | 287.4 | ||||
Accumulated
benefit obligations
|
372.7 | 240.6 | ||||||
Fair
value of plan assets
|
236.4 | 164.4 | ||||||
A summary
of our key actuarial assumptions used to determine benefit obligations asset as
of December 31, 2006 and 2007 was:
December 31,
|
||||||||
Rate
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||
Discount
rate
|
4.8 | % | 5.6 | % | ||||
Increase
in future compensation levels
|
2.5 | % | 2.5 | % |
A summary
of our key actuarial assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for
2005, 2006 and 2007 are as follows:
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
Rate
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||||
Discount
rate
|
5.3 | % | 4.5 | % | 4.9 | % | ||||||
Increase
in future compensation levels
|
2.3 | % | 2.3 | % | 2.5 | % | ||||||
Long-term
return on plan assets
|
7.2 | % | 7.3 | % | 7.3 | % |
Variances
from actuarially assumed rates will result in increases or decreases in
accumulated pension obligations, pension expense and funding requirements in
future periods.
At
December 31, 2006 and 2007, substantially all of the projected benefit
obligations and plan assets attributable to our non-U.S. plans relate to plans
maintained by our Chemicals Segment, and all of the plans for which the ABO
exceeds the fair value of plan assets relate to our Chemicals Segment’s foreign
plans.
At
December 31, 2006 and 2007, substantially all of the assets attributable to our
U.S. plans were invested in the Combined Master Retirement Trust (“CMRT”), a
collective investment trust sponsored by Contran to permit the collective
investment by certain master trusts that fund certain employee benefits plans
sponsored by Contran and certain of its affiliates.
The
CMRT’s long-term investment objective is to provide a rate of return exceeding a
composite of broad market equity and fixed income indices (including the S&P
500 and certain Russell indicies) while utilizing both third-party investment
managers as well as investments directed by Mr. Simmons. Mr. Simmons
is the sole trustee of the CMRT. The trustee of the CMRT, along with
the CMRT's investment committee, of which Mr. Simmons is a member, actively
manage the investments of the CMRT. The trustee and investment
committee periodically change the asset mix of the CMRT based upon, among other
things, advice they receive from third-party advisors and their expectations as
to what asset mix will generate the greatest overall return. For the
years ended December 31, 2005, 2006 and 2007, the assumed long-term rate of
return for plan assets invested in the CMRT was 10%. In determining
the appropriateness of the long-rate of return assumption, we considered, among
other things, the historical rates of return for the CMRT, the current and
projected asset mix of the CMRT and the investment objectives of the CMRT's
managers. During the history of the CMRT from its inception in 1987
through December 31, 2007, the average annual rate of return of the CMRT
(excluding the CMRT’s investment in TIMET common stock) has been 14% (including
a 17% return for 2006 and a 11% return in 2007).
At
December 31, 2007, subtrusts of the CMRT held 8% of TIMET’s outstanding common
stock and .1% of our outstanding common stock. These shares are not
reflected in our Consolidated Financial Statements because we do not consolidate
the CMRT.
At
December 31, 2006 and 2007, plan assets attributable to our Chemicals Segment’s
foreign plans related primarily to Germany, Canada and Norway. In
determining the expected long-term rate of return on plan asset assumptions for
our foreign plans, we consider the long-term asset mix (e.g. equity vs. fixed
income) for the assets for each of our plans and the expected long-term rates of
return for the asset components. In addition, we receive advice about
appropriate long-term rates of return from our third-party
actuaries. The assumed asset mixes are summarized below:
|
·
|
Germany
- the composition of our plan assets is established to satisfy the
requirements of the German insurance
commissioner.
|
|
·
|
Canada
- we currently have a plan asset target allocation of 60% to equity
securities and 40% to fixed income securities. We expect the
long term rate of return for such investments to average approximately 125
basis points above the applicable equity or fixed income
index.
|
|
·
|
Norway
- we currently have a plan asset target allocation of 14% to equity
securities and 64% to fixed income securities and the remainder to liquid
investments such as money markets. The expected long-term rate
of return for such investments is approximately 8.5%, 5.0% and 4.5%,
respectively.
|
Our
pension plan weighted average asset allocation by asset category were as
follows:
December 31, 2006
|
||||||||||||||||
CMRT
|
Germany
|
Canada
|
Norway
|
|||||||||||||
Equity
securities and limited partnerships
|
97 | % | 23 | % | 66 | % | 13 | % | ||||||||
Fixed
income securities
|
2 | 48 | 32 | 64 | ||||||||||||
Real
estate
|
1 | 14 | - | - | ||||||||||||
Cash,
cash equivalents and other
|
- | 15 | 2 | 23 | ||||||||||||
Total
|
100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
December 31, 2007
|
||||||||||||||||
CMRT
|
Germany
|
Canada
|
Norway
|
|||||||||||||
Equity
securities and limited partnerships
|
98 | % | 28 | % | 60 | % | 18 | % | ||||||||
Fixed
income securities
|
- | 49 | 34 | 68 | ||||||||||||
Real
estate
|
2 | 12 | - | - | ||||||||||||
Cash,
cash equivalents and other
|
- | 11 | 6 | 14 | ||||||||||||
Total
|
100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % |
We
regularly review our actual asset allocation for each of our plans, and
periodically rebalance the investments in each plan to more accurately reflect
the targeted allocation when we consider it appropriate.
Postretirement
benefits other than pensions (“OPEB”). NL, Kronos and Tremont
provide certain health care and life insurance benefits for their eligible
retired employees. Kronos, NL and Tremont each use a December 31st
measurement date for their OPEB plans. We have no OPEB plan assets,
rather, we fund benefit payments as they are paid. At December 31,
2007, we expect to contribute the equivalent of approximately $3.5 million to
all of our OPEB plans during 2008. Benefit payments to OPEB plan
participants are expected to be the equivalent of:
2008
|
$ 3.5
million
|
|
2009
|
3.4
million
|
|
2010
|
3.3
million
|
|
2011
|
3.3
million
|
|
2012
|
3.1
million
|
|
Next 5 years
|
13.3
million
|
The
funded status of our OPEB plans is presented in the table below.
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Actuarial
present value of accumulated OPEB obligations:
|
||||||||
Balance
at beginning of the year
|
$ | 36.0 | $ | 37.4 | ||||
Service cost
|
.3 | .3 | ||||||
Interest cost
|
2.1 | 2.2 | ||||||
Actuarial losses (gains)
|
3.4 | (.7 | ) | |||||
Plan
amendments
|
- | (.5 | ) | |||||
Change in foreign currency exchange rates
|
- | 1.3 | ||||||
Benefits paid from
employer contributions
|
(4.4 | ) | (2.9 | ) | ||||
Balance at end of the year
|
$ | 37.4 | $ | 37.1 | ||||
Fair
value of plan assets
|
$ | - | $ | - | ||||
Funded
status
|
$ | (37.4 | ) | $ | (37.1 | ) | ||
Accrued OPEB costs recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets:
|
||||||||
Current
|
$ | (3.8 | ) | $ | (3.5 | ) | ||
Noncurrent
|
(33.6 | ) | (33.6 | ) | ||||
Total
|
(37.4 | ) | (37.1 | ) | ||||
Accumulated
other comprehensive income (loss):
|
||||||||
Net actuarial losses
|
4.7 | 3.4 | ||||||
Prior service credit
|
(1.6 | ) | (1.8 | ) | ||||
Total
|
3.1 | 1.6 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | (34.3 | ) | $ | (35.5 | ) |
The
amounts shown in the table above for unrecognized actuarial losses and prior
service credit at December 31, 2006 and 2007 have not been recognized as
components of our periodic OPEB cost as of those dates. These amounts
will be recognized as components of our periodic OPEB cost in future
years. In accordance with SFAS No. 158, these amounts, net of
deferred income taxes and minority interest, are now recognized in our
accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at December 31, 2006 and
2007. We expect to recognize approximately $.1 million of the
unrecognized actuarial losses and $.3 million of prior service credit as
components of our periodic OPEB cost in 2008. See Note 18. The table
below details the changes in other comprehensive income during
2007.
Year
ended
|
||||
December 31, 2007
|
||||
(In
millions)
|
||||
Changes
in benefit obligations recognized in other
comprehensive income (loss):
|
||||
Net
actuarial loss (gain) arising during the year
|
$ | .8 | ||
Plan
amendments
|
.5 | |||
Amortization
of unrecognized:
|
||||
Prior service cost
|
(.3 | ) | ||
Net
actuarial losses
|
.2 | |||
Total
|
$ | 1.2 | ||
The
components of our periodic OPEB cost is presented in the table
below. During 2007, the amounts shown below for the amortization of
unrecognized actuarial gains/losses and prior service credit, net of deferred
income taxes and minority interest, were recognized as
components of our accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) at December 31,
2006.
Years ended December
31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Net
periodic OPEB cost (credit):
|
||||||||||||
Service cost
|
$ | .2 | $ | .3 | $ | .3 | ||||||
Interest cost
|
2.0 | 2.1 | 2.2 | |||||||||
Amortization
of unrecognized:
|
||||||||||||
Prior service credit
|
(.9 | ) | (.2 | ) | (.3 | ) | ||||||
Actuarial losses (gains)
|
(.1 | ) | .1 | .2 | ||||||||
Total
|
$ | 1.2 | $ | 2.3 | $ | 2.4 |
A summary
of our key actuarial assumptions used to determine the net benefit obligation as
of December 31, 2006 and 2007 follows:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
Healthcare
inflation:
|
||||||||
Initial
rate
|
7% - 7.5 | % | 5.8% - 8.5 | % | ||||
Ultimate
rate
|
4% – 5.5 | % | 4.0% - 5.5 | % | ||||
Year
of ultimate rate achievement
|
2009 - 2010 | 2010 - 2014 | ||||||
Discount
rate
|
5.8 | % | 6.1 | % |
Assumed
health care cost trend rates have a significant effect on the amounts we report
for health care plans. A one percent change in assumed health care
trend rates would have the following effects:
1% Increase
|
1% Decrease
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Effect
on net OPEB cost during 2007
|
$ | .3 | $ | (.3 | ) | |||
Effect
at December 31, 2007 on postretirement
obligation
|
3.5 | (2.4 | ) |
The
weighted average discount rate used in determining the net periodic OPEB cost
for 2007 was 5.8% (the rate was 5.5% in 2006 and 5.7% in 2005). The
weighted average rate was determined using the projected benefit obligations as
of the beginning of each year.
Variances
from actuarially-assumed rates will result in additional increases or decreases
in accumulated OPEB obligations, net periodic OPEB cost and funding requirements
in future periods.
The
Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 provides a
federal subsidy to sponsors of retiree health care benefit plans that provide a
prescription drug benefit that is at least actuarially equivalent to Medicare
Part D. We are eligible for the federal subsidy. We account for the
effect of this subsidy prospectively from the date we determined actuarial
equivalence. The subsidy did not have a material impact on the
applicable accumulated postretirement benefit obligation, and will not have a
material impact on the net periodic OPEB cost going forward.
Note
12 - Income taxes:
Years ended December
31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Pre-tax
income:
|
||||||||||||
United States
|
$ | 80.1 | $ | 151.4 | $ | 3.0 | ||||||
Non-U.S. subsidiaries
|
118.2 | 66.1 | 51.0 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 198.3 | $ | 217.5 | $ | 54.0 | ||||||
Expected tax expense, at U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 35%
|
$ | 69.4 | $ | 76.1 | $ | 18.9 | ||||||
Non-U.S. tax rates
|
(.1 | ) | (2.1 | ) | .1 | |||||||
Incremental U.S. tax and rate differences on equity in earnings
|
23.6 | 18.4 | (14.1 | ) | ||||||||
Excess of book basis over tax basis of shares of Kronos common stock sold
|
1.9 | - | - | |||||||||
Change
in German income tax attributes
|
17.5 | (21.7 | ) | 8.7 | ||||||||
Income tax related
to distribution of shares of Kronos
|
.7 | - | - | |||||||||
Assessment (refund) of prior year income taxes, net
|
2.3 | (1.4 | ) | (.8 | ) | |||||||
U.S. state income taxes, net
|
4.3 | 2.9 | 1.5 | |||||||||
Tax contingency reserve adjustment, net
|
(19.1 | ) | (10.4 | ) | (3.8 | ) | ||||||
Nondeductible expenses
|
5.2 | 4.9 | 3.6 | |||||||||
German
tax rate change
|
- | - | 87.4 | |||||||||
Canadian
tax rate change
|
- | (1.3 | ) | .4 | ||||||||
Other, net
|
(1.1 | ) | (1.6 | ) | 1.3 | |||||||
Provision for income taxes
|
$ | 104.6 | $ | 63.8 | $ | 103.2 | ||||||
Components of income tax expense (benefit):
|
||||||||||||
Currently payable
(refundable):
|
||||||||||||
U.S. federal and state
|
$ | 25.9 | $ | 2.1 | $ | (1.9 | ) | |||||
Non-U.S.
|
35.9 | 24.4 | 14.4 | |||||||||
Total
|
61.8 | 26.5 | 12.5 | |||||||||
Deferred income taxes (benefit):
|
||||||||||||
U.S. federal and state
|
20.8 | 71.3 | (11.3 | ) | ||||||||
Non-U.S.
|
22.0 | (34.0 | ) | 102.0 | ||||||||
Total
|
42.8 | 37.3 | 90.7 | |||||||||
Provision for income taxes
|
$ | 104.6 | $ | 63.8 | $ | 103.2 | ||||||
Comprehensive provision for income taxes (benefit) allocable to:
|
||||||||||||
Income from continuing operations
|
$ | 104.6 | $ | 63.8 | $ | 103.2 | ||||||
Discontinued operations
|
(.4 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Dividend
of TIMET common stock
|
.2 | - | 668.3 | (1) | ||||||||
Other comprehensive income:
|
||||||||||||
Marketable securities
|
- | 3.3 | 11.3 | |||||||||
Currency translation
|
(8.6 | ) | 9.6 | 8.7 | ||||||||
Pension
plans
|
(38.7 | ) | 9.2 | 38.5 | ||||||||
OPEB
plans
|
- | - | .5 | |||||||||
Other
|
- | - | (.6 | ) | ||||||||
Adoption
of SFAS No. 158:
|
||||||||||||
Pension
plans
|
- | (19.6 | ) | (1.4 | ) | |||||||
OPEB
plans
|
- | (1.7 | ) | - | ||||||||
Total
|
$ | 57.1 | $ | 64.6 | $ | 828.5 | ||||||
(1)
|
Represents
the current income taxes generated at the Valhi level and the associated
utilization of NOL and AMT carryforwards resulting from the TIMET special
dividend. See Note 3.
|
The
components of the net deferred tax liability at December 31, 2006 and 2007 are
summarized below.
December 31,
|
||||||||||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||||||||||
Assets
|
Liabilities
|
Assets
|
Liabilities
|
|||||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||||||
Tax effect of temporary differences
related to:
|
||||||||||||||||
Inventories
|
$ | 3.3 | $ | (2.6 | ) | $ | 1.6 | $ | (3.2 | ) | ||||||
Marketable securities
|
- | (129.0 | ) | 4.4 | (116.6 | ) | ||||||||||
Property and equipment
|
20.1 | (81.3 | ) | .5 | (81.9 | ) | ||||||||||
Accrued OPEB costs
|
12.3 | - | 12.3 | - | ||||||||||||
Pension
asset
|
- | (49.7 | ) | - | (46.9 | ) | ||||||||||
Accrued
pension cost
|
69.5 | - | 38.4 | - | ||||||||||||
Accrued environmental liabilities and other deductible differences
|
51.0 | - | 49.6 | - | ||||||||||||
Other taxable differences
|
- | (77.6 | ) | - | (27.6 | ) | ||||||||||
Investments in subsidiaries and affiliates
|
- | (268.1 | ) | - | (218.8 | ) | ||||||||||
Tax
loss and tax credit carryforwards
|
245.7 | - | 164.2 | - | ||||||||||||
Valuation
allowance
|
- | - | (2.9 | ) | - | |||||||||||
Adjusted gross deferred tax assets (liabilities)
|
401.9 | (608.3 | ) | 268.1 | (495.0 | ) | ||||||||||
Netting of items by tax jurisdiction
|
(126.9 | ) | 126.9 | (89.0 | ) | 88.9 | ||||||||||
275.0 | (481.4 | ) | 179.1 | (406.1 | ) | |||||||||||
Less net current deferred tax asset (liability)
|
10.6 | (2.2 | ) | 10.4 | (3.3 | ) | ||||||||||
Net noncurrent deferred tax asset (liability)
|
$ | 264.4 | $ | (479.2 | ) | $ | 168.7 | $ | (402.8 | ) |
We
adopted the provisions of FIN No. 48, Accounting for Uncertain Tax
Positions, in the first quarter of 2007. See Note
18.
Following
a European Union Court of Justice decision and subsequent proceedings which
concluded in 2007 that we believe may favorably impact us, we initiated a new
tax planning strategy. If we are successful, we would generate a substantial
cash tax benefit in the form of refunds of income taxes we have previously paid
in Europe which we currently do not expect to affect our future earnings when
received. It may be a number of years before we know if our implementation
of this tax planning strategy will be successful, and accordingly we have not
currently recognized any refundable income taxes that we might ultimately
receive. Partially as a result of and consistent with our initiation of
this new tax planning strategy, in 2007 we amended prior-year income tax returns
in Germany. As a consequence of amending our tax returns, our German
corporate and trade tax net operating loss carryforwards were reduced by an
aggregate of euro 13.4 million and euro 22.6 million, respectively, and,
accordingly, we recognized an $8.7 million provision for deferred income taxes
in 2007 related to the adjustment of our German tax attributes.
In August
2007, Germany enacted certain changes in their income tax laws. The most
significant change is the reduction of the German corporate and trade income tax
rates. We have a significant net deferred income tax asset in Germany,
primarily related to the benefit associated with our corporate and trade tax net
operating loss carryforwards. We measure our net deferred taxes using the
applicable enacted tax rates, and the effect of any change in the applicable
enacted tax rate is recognized in the period of enactment. Accordingly, we
are reporting a decrease in our net deferred tax asset in Germany of $87.4
million in 2007, which is recognized as a component of our provision for income
taxes.
In June
2006, Canada enacted a 2% reduction in the Canadian federal income tax rate and
the elimination of the federal surtax. The 2% reduction will be
phased in from 2008 to 2010, and the federal surtax will be eliminated in
2008. As a result, during 2006 we recognized a $1.3 million income
tax benefit related to the effect of such reduction on our previously-recorded
net deferred income tax liability with respect to Kronos’ and CompX’s operations
in Canada.
Due to
the resolution of certain income tax audits in Germany, we also recognized a
$21.7 million income tax benefit in 2006 primarily related to an increase in the
amount of our German trade tax net operating loss carryforward. The
increase resulted from a reallocation of expenses between our German units
related to periods in which such units did not file on a consolidated basis for
German trade tax purposes, with the net result that the amount of our German
trade tax carryforward recognized by the German tax authorities has
increased.
Principally
as a result of the withdrawal of tax assessments previously made by Belgian and
Norwegian tax authorities and the resolution of our ongoing income tax audits in
Germany, we recognized a $10.4 million income tax benefit in 2006 related to the
total reduction in our income tax contingency reserve.
Due to
the favorable resolution of certain income tax audits related to our German and
Belgian operations during 2006, we recognized a net $1.4 million income tax
benefit related to adjustments of prior year income taxes.
During
2005, we reached an agreement in principle with the German tax authorities
regarding their objection to the value assigned to certain intellectual property
rights held by Kronos’ operating subsidiary in Germany. Under the
agreement, the value assigned to such intellectual property for German income
tax purposes was reduced retroactively, resulting in a reduction in the amount
of Kronos’ net operating loss carryforwards in Germany as well as a future
reduction in the amount of amortization expense attributable to such
intellectual property. As a result, we recognized a $17.5 million non-cash
deferred income tax expense in 2005 related to this agreement. The
$19.1 million non-cash tax contingency adjustment income tax benefit in 2005
relates primarily to the withdrawal or reduction of tax assessments previously
made by Belgian and Canadian tax authorities, as well as favorable developments
with respect to certain U.S. income tax items.
Tax
authorities are continuing to examine certain of our foreign tax returns and
have or may propose tax deficiencies, including penalties and
interest. We cannot guarantee that these tax matters will be resolved
in our favor due to the inherent uncertainties involved in settlement
initiatives and court and tax proceedings. We believe we have
adequate accruals for additional taxes and related interest expense which could
ultimately result from tax examinations. We believe the ultimate
disposition of tax examinations should not have a material adverse effect on our
consolidated financial position, results of operations or
liquidity.
We are
required to recognize a deferred income tax liability with respect to the
incremental U.S. taxes (federal and state) and foreign withholding taxes that we
would incur when the undistributed earnings of our foreign subsidiaries are
subsequently repatriated, unless we have determined that those undistributed
earnings are permanently reinvested for the foreseeable future. We are also
required to reassess the permanent reinvestment conclusion on an ongoing basis
to determine if our intentions have changed. Prior to the third
quarter of 2005, we had not recognized a deferred tax liability related to such
incremental income taxes on the undistributed earnings of CompX’s foreign
operations, as those earnings were subject to specific permanent reinvestment
plans. As of September 30, 2005, and based primarily upon changes in
CompX management’s strategic plans for certain of their foreign operations, we
determined that the undistributed earnings of these subsidiaries could no longer
be considered to be permanently reinvested, except for the pre-2005 earnings of
our Taiwanese subsidiary. Accordingly, we recognized an aggregate
$9.0 million provision for deferred income taxes on the aggregate undistributed
earnings of these foreign subsidiaries in 2005 when our reinvestment plans
changed.
At
December 31, 2007, Kronos had the equivalent of $780 million and $215 million of
the net operating loss carryforwards for German corporate and trade tax
purposes, respectively, all of which have no expiration date and CompX had $.8
million of U.S. net operating loss carryforwards expiring in 2008 through
2017. At December 31, 2007, the U.S. net operating loss carryforwards
of CompX are limited in utilization to approximately $.4 million per
year.
Note
13 - Minority interest:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Minority
interest in net assets:
|
||||||||
NL
Industries
|
$ | 56.0 | $ | 55.6 | ||||
Kronos
Worldwide
|
22.3 | 20.5 | ||||||
CompX
International
|
45.4 | 14.4 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 123.7 | $ | 90.5 |
Years ended December
31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Minority
interest in after-tax earnings (losses)– continuing
operations:
|
||||||||||||
NL
Industries
|
$ | 6.4 | $ | 4.4 | $ | (2.8 | ) | |||||
Kronos
Worldwide
|
4.9 | 4.1 | (3.3 | ) | ||||||||
CompX
International
|
.3 | 3.5 | 2.6 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 11.6 | $ | 12.0 | $ | (3.5 | ) |
Subsidiary of NL. Minority interest in
NL's subsidiary related to NL's previously majority-owned environmental
management subsidiary, NL Environmental Management Services, Inc.
("EMS"). EMS was established in 1998, at which time EMS contractually
assumed certain of NL's environmental liabilities. EMS' earnings were
based, in part, upon its ability to favorably resolve these liabilities on an
aggregate basis. NL continues to consolidate EMS and provides
accruals for the reasonably estimable costs for the settlement of EMS'
environmental liabilities, as discussed in Note 17. In June 2005, we
received notices from the three minority shareholders of EMS indicating they
were each exercising their right, which became exercisable on June 1, 2005, to
require EMS to purchase their shares in EMS as of June 30, 2005 for a
formula-determined amount as provided in EMS’ certificate of
incorporation. In accordance with the certificate of incorporation,
we made a determination in good faith of the amount payable to the three former
minority shareholders to purchase their shares of EMS stock, this amount may be
subject to review by a third party. See Note 17. In June
2005, EMS set aside funds as payment for the shares of EMS, but as of December
31, 2007, the former minority shareholders have not tendered their
shares. Therefore, the liability owed to these former minority
shareholders has not been extinguished for financial reporting purposes as of
December 31, 2007 and remains recognized as a current liability in our
Consolidated Financial Statements. We have similarly classified the
funds which have been set aside in current cash and cash
equivalents.
Subsidiary of
Kronos. Minority interest in Kronos’ subsidiary relates to
Kronos’ majority-owned subsidiary in France, which conducts Kronos’ sales and
marketing activities in that country.
Note
14 - Stockholders' equity:
Shares of common
stock
|
||||||||||||
Issued
|
Treasury
|
Outstanding
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Balance
at December 31, 2004
|
124.2 | (4.0 | ) | 120.2 | ||||||||
Issued
|
.1 | - | .1 | |||||||||
Acquired
|
- | (3.5 | ) | (3.5 | ) | |||||||
Retired
|
(3.5 | ) | 3.5 | - | ||||||||
Balance
at December 31, 2005
|
120.8 | (4.0 | ) | 116.8 | ||||||||
Acquired
|
- | (1.9 | ) | (1.9 | ) | |||||||
Retired
|
(1.9 | ) | 1.9 | - | ||||||||
Balance
at December 31, 2006
|
118.9 | (4.0 | ) | 114.9 | ||||||||
Issued
|
.1 | - | .1 | |||||||||
Acquired
|
- | (.6 | ) | (.6 | ) | |||||||
Retired
|
(.6 | ) | .6 | - | ||||||||
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
118.4 | (4.0 | ) | 114.4 |
The
shares of Valhi common stock issued during the past three years consist of
employee stock options exercises and stock awards issued annually to members of
our board of directors.
Valhi share repurchases and
cancellations. In 2005, our board of directors authorized the
repurchase of up to 5.0 million shares of our common stock in open market
transactions, including block purchases, or in privately negotiated
transactions, which may include transactions with our affiliates or
subsidiaries. In 2006, our board of directors authorized the
repurchase of an additional 5.0 million shares. We may purchase the stock from
time to time as market conditions permit. The stock repurchase
program does not include specific price targets or timetables and may be
suspended at any time. Depending on market conditions, we may
terminate the program prior to completion. We will use cash on hand
to acquire the shares. Repurchased shares could be retired and
cancelled or may be added to our treasury stock and used for employee benefit
plans, future acquisitions or other corporate purposes. During 2005,
2006 and 2007, we purchased approximately 3.5 million, 1.9 million and .6
million shares, respectively, of our common stock pursuant to this repurchase
program in market or other transactions for an aggregate of $62.1 million, $43.8
million and $11.1 million, respectively. See Note 16.
During
2005, 2006 and 2007, we cancelled 3.5 million, 1.9 million and .6 million of our
treasury shares, respectively, and allocated their cost to common stock at par
value, additional paid-in capital and retained earnings. These cancellations had
no impact on our net shares outstanding for financial reporting
purposes. The 4.0 million shares of treasury stock we report for
financial reporting purposes at December 31, 2005, 2006 and 2007 represents our
proportional interest in 4.7 million Valhi shares held by NL. Under
Delaware Corporation Law, 100% (and not the proportionate interest) of a parent
company's shares held by a majority-owned subsidiary of the parent is considered
to be treasury stock. As a result, our common shares outstanding for
financial reporting purposes differ from those outstanding for legal
purposes.
Preferred stock. As discussed
in Note 3, we incurred a tax obligation to Contran upon payment of the special
dividend in the amount of $667.7 million. In order to discharge $667.3
million of this tax obligation, in March 2007 we issued to Contran 5,000 shares
of a new issue of our Series A Preferred Stock having a liquidation preference
of $133,466.75 per share, or an aggregate liquidation preference of $667.3
million. The 5,000 preferred shares we issued to Contran represents
all of the shares of Series A Preferred Stock we are authorized to issue.
The preferred stock has a par value of $.01 per share and pays a non-cumulative
cash dividend at an annual rate of 6% of the aggregate liquidation preference
only when authorized and declared by our board of directors. The shares of
Series A Preferred Stock are non-convertible, and the shares do not carry any
redemption or call features (either at our option or the option of the
holder). A holder of the Series A shares does not have any voting
rights, except in limited circumstances, and is not entitled to a preferential
dividend right that is senior to our shares of common stock. Upon the
liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs, a holder of the Series A
shares is entitled to be paid a liquidation preference of $133,466.75 per share,
plus an amount (if any) equal to any declared but unpaid dividends, before any
distribution of assets is made to holders of our common stock. We
recorded the shares of Series A Preferred Stock issued to Contran at $667.3
million, representing the amount of the discharged tax obligation. We did not
declare any dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock through December 31,
2007.
Valhi stock options and
restricted stock. We have an incentive stock option plan that
provides for the discretionary grant of, among other things, qualified incentive
stock options, nonqualified stock options, restricted common stock, stock awards
and stock appreciation rights. We may issue up to 5 million shares of
our common stock pursuant to this plan. We grant options at the fair
market value on the date of grant. The options generally vest ratably
over a five-year period beginning one year from the date of grant and expire 10
years from the date of grant. If we grant restricted stock, it is
generally forfeitable unless certain periods of employment are completed. Our
outstanding options at December 31, 2007 represent less than 1% of our
outstanding shares and expire at various dates through 2013, with a
weighted-average remaining term of 1.1 years. At December 31, 2007,
approximately 550,000 options remained outstanding exercisable at prices lower
than the market price of our common stock at December 31, 2007 ($15.94 per
share). At December 31, 2007, these options have an aggregate amount
payable upon exercise of $5.9 million and an aggregate intrinsic value (defined
as the excess of the market price of our common stock over the exercise price)
of $2.9 million. At December 31, 2007, an additional 4.0 million
shares were available for grant under the plan. The intrinsic value
of Valhi options exercised at the various dates of exercise aggregated
approximately $.5 million in 2005, $.4 million in 2006 and $1.6 million in 2007,
and the related income tax benefit from such exercises was approximately $.2
million in 2005, $.1 million in 2006 and $.6 million in 2007.
Stock option plans of subsidiaries
and affiliate. NL and CompX maintain
plans which provide for the grant of options to purchase their common
stocks. Provisions of these plans vary by
company. Outstanding options to purchase common stock of NL and CompX
at December 31, 2007 are summarized below. There are no outstanding
options to purchase Kronos common stock at December 31, 2007.
Shares
|
Exercise
price
per
share
|
Amount
payable
upon
exercise
|
||||||||||
(In
thousands, except
per
share amounts)
|
||||||||||||
NL
Industries
|
97 | $ | 2.66 - $11.49 | $ | 960 | |||||||
CompX
|
349 | $ | 12.15 - $20.00 | $ | 6,643 |
Other. Prior to and within six
months of Contran’s 2005 sale to us of the 2.0 million shares of our common
stock described in Note 16, Contran purchased shares of our common stock in
market transactions. In settlement of any alleged short-swing profit
derived from these transactions as calculated pursuant to Section 16(b) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, Contran remitted approximately
$645,000 to us in 2005. We recorded this amount, net of $226,000 of
related income taxes, as a capital contribution, increasing our additional
paid-in capital.
Note
15
- Other
income, net:
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Securities
earnings:
|
||||||||||||
Dividends
and interest
|
$ | 57.8 | $ | 41.6 | $ | 30.9 | ||||||
Securities
transactions, net
|
20.3 | .7 | (.1 | ) | ||||||||
Write-off
of accrued interest
|
(21.6 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Total
|
56.5 | 42.3 | 30.8 | |||||||||
Insurance
recoveries
|
3.0 | 7.7 | 6.1 | |||||||||
Currency
transactions, net
|
5.2 | (3.5 | ) | (.8 | ) | |||||||
Disposal
of property and equipment, net
|
(1.6 | ) | 35.3 | (1.3 | ) | |||||||
Other,
net
|
4.9 | 8.1 | 7.5 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 68.0 | $ | 89.9 | $ | 42.3 |
Dividends
and interest income includes distributions from The Amalgamated Sugar Company
LLC of $45.0 million in 2005, $31.1 million in 2006 and $25.4 million in 2007,
and interest income of $3.9 million in 2005 related to our loan to Snake River
Sugar Company that was prepaid in October 2005. The $21.6 million
write-off of accrued interest receivable in 2005 relates to accrued interest on
the prior loan that we forgave and cancelled when Snake River agreed to prepay
the loan in October 2005.
Net
securities transaction gains in 2005 relate primarily to (i) a $14.7 million
pre-tax gain from NL’s sale of approximately 470,000 shares of Kronos common
stock in market transactions for aggregate proceeds of $19.2 million and (ii) a
$5.4 million pre-tax gain from Kronos’ sale of our passive interest in a
Norwegian smelting operation, which had a nominal carrying value for financial
reporting purposes, for aggregate consideration of approximately $5.4 million
consisting of cash of $3.5 million and inventories with a value of $1.9
million.
Insurance
recoveries in 2005, 2006 and 2007 relate to amounts NL has received from certain
of its former insurance carriers, and relate principally to recovery of prior
lead pigment litigation defense costs incurred by NL. We have agreements
with two former insurance carriers pursuant to which the carriers will reimburse
us for a portion of our past and future lead pigment litigation defense costs,
and the insurance recoveries in 2005, 2006 and 2007 include amounts we received
from these carriers. We are not able to determine how much we will
ultimately recover from the carriers for the past defense costs incurred because
of certain issues that arise regarding which past defense costs qualify for
reimbursement. Insurance recoveries in 2005 and 2006 also include amounts
we received for prior legal defense and indemnity coverage for certain of our
environmental expenditures. We do not expect to receive any further material
insurance settlements relating to environmental remediation
matters.
While we
continue to seek additional insurance recoveries for lead pigment and asbestos
litigation matters, we do not know if we will be successful in obtaining
additional reimbursement for either defense costs or indemnity. We
recognize insurance recoveries in income only when receipt of the recovery is
probable and we are able to reasonably estimate the amount of the
recovery.
In 2006
we sold certain land we own in Henderson, Nevada for net proceeds of $37.9
million. We recognized a $36.4 million gain on the
sale. The land was not used in any of our operations.
Note
16 - Related party transactions:
We may be
deemed to be controlled by Mr. Harold C. Simmons. See
Note 1. We and other entities that may be deemed to be
controlled by or affiliated with Mr. Simmons sometimes engage in (a)
intercorporate transactions such as guarantees, management and expense sharing
arrangements, shared fee arrangements, joint ventures, partnerships, loans,
options, advances of funds on open account, and sales, leases and exchanges of
assets, including securities issued by both related and unrelated parties, and
(b) common investment and acquisition strategies, business combinations,
reorganizations, recapitalizations, securities repurchases, and purchases and
sales (and other acquisitions and dispositions) of subsidiaries, divisions or
other business units. These transactions have involved both related
and unrelated parties and have included transactions which resulted in the
acquisition by one related party of a publicly-held minority equity interest in
another related party. We periodically consider, review and evaluate,
and understand that Contran and related entities consider, review and evaluate
such transactions. Depending upon the business, tax and other
objectives then relevant, it is possible we might be a party to one or more such
transactions in the future.
From time
to time, we will have loans and advances outstanding between us and various
related parties, including Contran, pursuant to term and demand
notes. We generally enter into these loans and advances for cash
management purposes. When we loan funds to related parties, we are
generally able to earn a higher rate of return on the loan than we would earn if
we invested the funds in other instruments. While certain of these
loans may be of a lesser credit quality than cash equivalent instruments
otherwise available to us, we believe we have evaluated the credit risks
involved and appropriately reflect those credit risks in the terms of the
applicable loans. When we borrow from related parties, we are
generally able to pay a lower rate of interest than we would pay if we borrowed
from unrelated parties.
Prior to
2005, EMS entered into a $25 million revolving credit facility with one of the
family trusts discussed in Note 1. During 2005, the family trust
completely repaid the outstanding balance under this loan, and the facility was
terminated. During 2005 we loaned varying amounts to Contran at a
rate of prime less .5%. Interest income on all loans to related
parties, including EMS’ loan to one of the Contran family trusts, was $572,000
in 2005. There was no such interest income in 2006 or
2007. Our loans to Contran were unsecured.
In
October 2007, the independent members of CompX’s board of directors authorized
the repurchase and cancellation of a net 2.7 million shares of its Class A
common stock held by TIMET, including the Class A shares held indirectly by
TIMET through its ownership interest in CompX Group. CompX purchased these
shares for $19.50 per share, or aggregate consideration of $52.6 million, which
it paid in the form of a promissory note. The price per share was
determined based on CompX’s open market repurchases of its Class A common stock
around the time the repurchase was approved. The promissory note
bears interest at LIBOR plus 1% and provides for quarterly principal repayments
of $250,000 commencing in September 2008, with the balance due at maturity in
September 2014. CompX may make prepayments on the promissory note at any
time, in any amount, without penalty. The promissory note is subordinated
to CompX’s U.S. revolving bank credit agreement. Interest expense related
to CompX’s note payable to TIMET was $.6 million in 2007. See Notes 3
and 9.
Under the
terms of various intercorporate services agreements ("ISAs") we enter into with
Contran, employees of Contran provide us certain management, tax planning,
financial and administrative services on a fee basis. Such charges
are based upon estimates of the time devoted by the Contran employees to our
affairs, and the compensation and other expenses associated with those
persons. Because of the large number of companies affiliated with
Contran, we believe we benefit from cost savings and economies of scale gained
by not having certain management, financial and administrative staffs duplicated
at all of our subsidiaries, thus allowing certain Contran employees to provide
services to multiple companies but only be compensated by
Contran. The net ISA fees charged to us by Contran and
approved by the independent members of the applicable board of directors
aggregated $20.0 million in 2005, $23.7 million in 2006 and $23.4 million in
2007. The 2005 and 2006 amounts include a full year of ISA fees paid
by TIMET, because we disposed of substantially all of our TIMET shares at the
end of the first quarter of 2007 (see Note 3), included only three months of ISA
fees paid by TIMET.
Tall
Pines Insurance Company and EWI RE, Inc. provide for or broker certain insurance
or reinsurance policies for Contran and certain of its subsidiaries and
affiliates, including us. Tall Pines and EWI are our
subsidiaries. Consistent with insurance industry practices, Tall
Pines and EWI receive commissions from the insurance and reinsurance
underwriters and/or assess fees for the policies that they provide or broker to
us. Tall Pines purchases reinsurance for substantially all of the risks it
underwrites. We expect these relationships with Tall Pines and EWI
will continue in 2008.
Contran
and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates, including us, purchase certain
of their insurance policies as a group, with the costs of the jointly-owned
policies being apportioned among the participating companies. With
respect to some of these policies, it is possible that unusually large losses
incurred by one or more insureds during a given policy period could leave the
other participating companies without adequate coverage under that policy for
the balance of the policy period. As a result, we and Contran have
entered into a loss sharing agreement under which any uninsured loss is shared
by those entities who have submitted claims under the relevant
policy. We believe the benefits in the form of reduced premiums and
broader coverage associated with the group coverage for such policies justifies
the risk associated with the potential of any uninsured loss.
Basic
Management, Inc., among other things, provides utility services (primarily water
distribution, maintenance of a common electrical facility and sewage disposal
monitoring) to TIMET and other manufacturers within an industrial complex
located in Nevada. The other owners of BMI are generally the other
manufacturers located within the complex. BMI provides power
transmission and sewer services on a cost reimbursement basis, similar to a
cooperative, while water delivery is currently provided at the same rates as are
charged by BMI to an unrelated third party. Amounts paid by TIMET to
BMI for these utility services were $1.4 million in 2005, $2.3 million in 2006
and $2.2 million in 2007. TIMET also paid BMI an electrical
facilities upgrade fee of $.8 million in 2005, 2006 and 2007. This
$.8 million annual fee is scheduled to terminate after January
2010.
In 2005,
we purchased 2.0 million shares of our common stock, at a discount to the
then-current market price, from Contran for $17.50 per share or an aggregate
purchase price of $35.0 million, and in 2006 we purchased 1.0 million shares of
our common stock, also at a discount to the then-current market price, from a
subsidiary of Contran for $23.50 per share or an aggregate purchase price of
$23.5 million. The independent members of our board of directors
approved both of these purchases. During 2005, we also purchased
175,000 shares of our common stock for an aggregate of $3.1 million from The
Simmons Family Foundation, a charitable organization of which Mr. Simmons is a
trustee, based on the market price of Valhi common stock on the date of
purchase. All of these shares were purchased under our stock
repurchase program described in Note 14.
COAM
Company is a partnership which has a sponsored research agreement with the
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas to develop and
commercially market patents and technology resulting from a cancer research
program (the "Cancer Research Agreement"). At December 31, 2007, we
are a partner of COAM along with Contran and another Contran
subsidiary. Mr. Harold C. Simmons is the manager of
COAM. The Cancer Research Agreement, as amended, provides for funds
of up to $39 million through 2015. Funding requirements pursuant to
the Cancer Research Agreement is without recourse to the COAM partners and the
partnership agreement provides that no partner shall be required to make capital
contributions. Capital contributions are expensed as
paid. We have not made contributions to COAM during the past three
years, and we do not expect we will make any capital contributions to COAM in
2008.
We
provide certain research, laboratory and quality control services within and
outside the sweetener industry for The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC and
others. We have also granted to The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC a
non-exclusive, royalty-free perpetual license to use all currently existing or
hereafter developed technology which is applicable to sugar operations and
provides for payment of certain royalties to The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC
from future sales or licenses of the subsidiary’s technology to third
parties. Research and development services charged to The Amalgamated
Sugar Company LLC, included in other income, were $1.0 million in 2005 and $1.1
million in each of 2006 and 2007. The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC
provides certain administrative services to us, and the cost of such services
(based upon estimates of the time devoted by employees of the LLC to our
affairs, and the compensation of such persons) is considered in the agreed-upon
research and development services fee paid by the LLC to us and is not
separately quantified.
Receivables
from and payables to affiliates are summarized in the table below.
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Current
receivables from affiliates:
|
||||||||
Contran
- income taxes, net
|
$ | .6 | $ | 4.4 | ||||
Other
|
.2 | .2 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | .8 | $ | 4.6 | ||||
Current payables to affiliates:
|
||||||||
Louisiana Pigment Company
|
$ | 11.7 | $ | 11.4 | ||||
Contran – trade items
|
5.5 | 7.1 | ||||||
TIMET
|
- | .5 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 17.2 | $ | 19.0 | ||||
CompX
promissory note payable to TIMET(1)
|
$ | - | $ | 50.0 | ||||
(1) Included
in long-term debt.
Payables
to Louisiana Pigment Company are primarily for the purchase of TiO2. Our
purchases in the ordinary course of business from LPC are disclosed in Note
7. See Notes 3 and 9 for more information on the CompX note
payable to TIMET.
Note
17 - Commitments and contingencies:
Lead
pigment litigation - NL
NL's
former operations included the manufacture of lead pigments for use in paint and
lead-based paint. NL, other former manufacturers of lead pigments for
use in paint and lead-based paint (together, the “former pigment
manufacturers”), and the Lead Industries Association (“LIA”), which discontinued
business operations in 2002, have been named as defendants in various legal
proceedings seeking damages for personal injury, property damage and
governmental expenditures allegedly caused by the use of lead-based
paints. Certain of these actions have been filed by or on behalf of
states, counties, cities or their public housing authorities and school
districts, and certain others have been asserted as class
actions. These lawsuits seek recovery under a variety of theories,
including public and private nuisance, negligent product design, negligent
failure to warn, strict liability, breach of warranty, conspiracy/concert of
action, aiding and abetting, enterprise liability, market share or risk
contribution liability, intentional tort, fraud and misrepresentation,
violations of state consumer protection statutes, supplier negligence and
similar claims.
The
plaintiffs in these actions generally seek to impose on the defendants
responsibility for lead paint abatement and health concerns associated with the
use of lead-based paints, including damages for personal injury, contribution
and/or indemnification for medical expenses, medical monitoring expenses and
costs for educational programs. A number of cases are inactive or
have been dismissed or withdrawn. Most of the remaining cases are in
various pre-trial stages. Some are on appeal following dismissal or
summary judgment rulings in favor of either the defendants or the
plaintiffs. In addition, various other cases are pending (in which we
are not a defendant) seeking recovery for injury allegedly caused by lead
pigment and lead-based paint. Although we are not a defendant in these cases,
the outcome of these cases may have an impact on cases that might be filed
against us in the future.
We
believe these actions are without merit, and we intend to continue to deny all
allegations of wrongdoing and liability and to defend against all actions
vigorously. We have never settled any of these cases, nor have any
final adverse judgments been entered against us. However, see the
discussion below in The State
of Rhode Island case.
In
October 1999, we were served with a complaint in State of Rhode Island v. Lead
Industries Association, et al. (Superior Court of Rhode Island, No.
99-5226). The State sought compensatory and punitive damages, as well as
reimbursement for public and private building abatement expenses and funding of
a public education campaign and health screening programs. A 2002 trial on
the sole question of whether lead pigment in paint on Rhode Island buildings is
a public nuisance, resulted in a mistrial when the jury was unable to reach a
verdict on the question, with the jury reportedly deadlocked 4-2 in defendants'
favor. In 2005, the trial court dismissed the conspiracy claim with
prejudice, and the State dismissed its Unfair Trade Practices Act claim without
prejudice. A
second trial commenced against us and three other defendants on November 1, 2005
on the State’s remaining claims of public nuisance, indemnity and unjust
enrichment. Following the State’s presentation of its case, the trial
court dismissed the State’s claims of indemnity and unjust enrichment. In
February 2006, the jury found that we and two other defendants substantially
contributed to the creation of a public nuisance as a result of the collective
presence of lead pigments in paints and coatings on buildings in Rhode
Island. The jury also found that we and the two other defendants should be
ordered to abate the public nuisance. Following the trial, the trial court
dismissed the State’s claim for punitive damages. In March 2007, the final
judgment and order was entered, and defendants filed an appeal. In April
2007, the State cross-appealed the issue of exclusion of past and punitive
damages, as well as the dismissal of one of the defendants. Oral argument
on the appeal has been scheduled for May 2008. While the appeal is
pending, the trial court continues to move forward on the abatement
process. In September 2007, the State submitted its plan of abatement and
defendants’ filed a response in December 2007. In December 2007, the Judge
named two special masters to assist the judge in determining the scope of any
abatement remedy.
The Rhode
Island case is unique in that this is the first time that an adverse verdict in
the lead pigment litigation has been entered against us. We believe there
are a number of meritorious issues which we have raised in the appeal in this
case; therefore we currently believe it is not probable that we will ultimately
be found liable in this matter. In addition, we cannot reasonably estimate
potential liability, if any, with respect to this and the other lead pigment
litigation. However, legal proceedings are subject to inherent
uncertainties, and we cannot assure you that any appeal would be
successful. Therefore it is reasonably possible we could in the near term
conclude that it is probable we have incurred some liability in the Rhode Island
matter that would result in recognizing a loss contingency accrual. The
potential liability could have a material adverse impact on net income for the
interim or annual period during which such liability is recognized, and a
material adverse impact on our consolidated financial condition and
liquidity.
We have
not accrued any amounts for any of the pending lead pigment and lead-based paint
litigation cases, including the Rhode Island case. Liability that may
result, if any, cannot be reasonably estimated. In addition, new cases may
continue to be filed against us. We cannot assure you that we will not
incur liability in the future in respect of any of the pending or possible
litigation in view of the inherent uncertainties involved in court and jury
rulings. The resolution of any of these cases could result in recognition
of a loss contingency accrual that could have a material adverse impact on our
net income for the interim or annual period during which such liability is
recognized, and a material adverse impact on our consolidated financial
condition and liquidity.
Environmental
matters and litigation
General - Our
operations are governed by various environmental laws and
regulations. Certain of our businesses are and have been engaged in
the handling, manufacture or use of substances or compounds that may be
considered toxic or hazardous within the meaning of applicable environmental
laws and regulations. As with other companies engaged in similar
businesses, certain of our past and current operations and products have the
potential to cause environmental or other damage. We have implemented
and continue to implement various policies and programs in an effort to minimize
these risks. Our policy is to maintain compliance with applicable
environmental laws and regulations at all of our plants and to strive to improve
our environmental performance. From time to time, we may be subject
to environmental regulatory enforcement under U.S. and foreign statutes, the
resolution of which typically involves the establishment of compliance
programs. It is possible that future developments, such as stricter
requirements of environmental laws and enforcement policies, could adversely
affect our production, handling, use, storage, transportation, sale or disposal
of such substances. We believe that all of our facilities are in
substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws.
Certain
properties and facilities used in our former operations, including divested
primary and secondary lead smelters and former mining locations of NL, are the
subject of civil litigation, administrative proceedings or investigations
arising under federal and state environmental laws. Additionally, in
connection with past disposal practices, we are currently involved as a
defendant, potentially responsible party (“PRP”) or both, pursuant to the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, as amended
by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (“CERCLA”), and similar
state laws in various governmental and private actions associated with waste
disposal sites, mining locations, and facilities we or our predecessors
currently or previously owned, operated or were used by us or our subsidiaries,
or their predecessors, certain of which are on the United States Environmental
Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Superfund National Priorities List or similar state
lists. These proceedings seek cleanup costs, damages for personal
injury or property damage and/or damages for injury to natural
resources. Certain of these proceedings involve claims for
substantial amounts. Although we may be jointly and severally liable
for these costs, in most cases we are only one of a number of PRPs who may also
be jointly and severally liable. In addition, we are a party to a
number of personal injury lawsuits filed in various jurisdictions alleging
claims related to environmental conditions alleged to have resulted from our
operations.
Environmental
obligations are difficult to assess and estimate for numerous reasons
including:
|
·
|
complexity
and differing interpretations of governmental
regulations;
|
|
·
|
number
of PRPs and their ability or willingness to fund such allocation of
costs;
|
|
·
|
financial
capabilities of the PRPs and the allocation of costs among
them;
|
|
·
|
solvency
of other PRPs;
|
|
·
|
multiplicity
of possible solutions; and
|
|
·
|
number
of years of investigatory, remedial and monitoring activity
required.
|
In
addition, the imposition of more stringent standards or requirements under
environmental laws or regulations, new developments or changes regarding site
cleanup costs or allocation of costs among PRPs, solvency of other PRPs, the
results of future testing and analysis undertaken with respect to certain sites
or a determination that we are potentially responsible for the release of
hazardous substances at other sites, could cause our expenditures to exceed our
current estimates. Because we may be jointly and severally liable for the total
remediation cost at certain sites, the amount for which we are ultimately liable
for may exceed our accruals due to, among other things, the reallocation of
costs among PRPs or the insolvency of one or more PRPs. We cannot
assure you that actual costs will not exceed accrued amounts or the upper end of
the range for sites for which estimates have been made, and we cannot assure you
that costs will not be incurred for sites where no estimates presently can be
made. Further, additional environmental matters may arise in the
future. If we were to incur any future liability, this could have a
material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of
operations and liquidity.
We record
liabilities related to environmental remediation obligations when estimated
future expenditures are probable and reasonably estimable. We adjust
our environmental accruals as further information becomes available to us or
circumstances change. We generally do not discount estimated future
expenditures to their present value due to the uncertainty of the timing of the
pay out. We recognize recoveries of remediation costs from other
parties, if any, as assets when their receipt is deemed probable. At
December 31, 2007, we had no receivables for recoveries.
We do not
know and cannot estimate the exact time frame over which we will make payments
for our accrued environmental costs. The timing of payments depends
upon a number of factors including the timing of the actual remediation process;
which in turn depends on factors outside of our control. At each
balance sheet date, we estimate the amount of our accrued environmental costs we
expect to pay within the next twelve months, and we classify this estimate as a
current liability. We classify the remaining accrued
environmental costs as a noncurrent liability.
Changes
in our accrued environmental costs during the past three years are presented in
the table below.
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Balance
at the beginning of the year
|
$ | 76.7 | $ | 65.7 | $ | 59.7 | ||||||
Additions
charged to expense, net
|
5.7 | 4.0 | 4.4 | |||||||||
Payments,
net
|
(16.7 | ) | (10.0 | ) | (8.4 | ) | ||||||
Balance
at the end of the year
|
$ | 65.7 | $ | 59.7 | $ | 55.7 | ||||||
Amounts recognized in our Consolidated Balance Sheet at the end of the year:
|
||||||||||||
Current liabilities
|
$ | 16.6 | $ | 13.6 | $ | 15.4 | ||||||
Noncurrent liabilities
|
49.1 | 46.1 | 40.3 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 65.7 | $ | 59.7 | $ | 55.7 |
NL - On a quarterly basis, we
evaluate the potential range of our liability at sites where NL, its present or
former subsidiaries have been named as a PRP or defendant. At
December 31, 2007, we accrued approximately $50 million for those environmental
matters related to NL which we believe are reasonably estimable. We
believe that it is not possible to estimate the range of costs for certain
sites. The upper end of the range of reasonably possible costs to us
for sites for which we believe it is currently possible to estimate costs is
approximately $71 million, including the amount currently accrued. We
have not discounted these estimates to present value.
At
December 31, 2007, there were approximately 20 sites for which we are not
currently able to estimate a range of costs. For these sites,
generally the investigation is in the early stages, and we are unable to
determine whether or not NL actually had any association with the site, the
nature of our responsibility, if any, for the contamination at the site and the
extent of contamination at the site. The timing and availability of
information on these sites is dependent on events outside of our control, such
as when the party alleging liability provides information to us. At
certain of these previously inactive sites, we have received general and special
notices of liability from the EPA alleging that we, along with other PRPs, are
liable for past and future costs of remediating environmental contamination
allegedly caused by former operations conducted at the sites. These
notifications may assert that NL, along with other PRPs, are liable for past
clean-up costs that could be material to us if we are ultimately found
liable.
Tremont - Prior to 2005,
Tremont, another of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, entered into a voluntary
settlement agreement with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and
certain other PRPs pursuant to which Tremont and the other PRPs would undertake
certain investigatory and interim remedial activities at a former mining site
partly operated by NL located in Hot Springs County,
Arkansas. Tremont had entered into an agreement with Halliburton
Energy Services, Inc., another PRP for this site, which provides for, among
other things, the interim sharing of remediation costs associated with the site
pending a final allocation of costs through an agreed-upon procedure in
arbitration, as further discussed below.
On
December 9, 2005, Halliburton and DII Industries, LLC, another PRP of this site,
filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of
Texas, Houston Division, Case No. H-05-4160, against NL, Tremont and certain of
its subsidiaries, M-I, L.L.C., Milwhite, Inc. and Georgia-Pacific Corporation
seeking:
|
·
|
to
recover response and remediation costs incurred at the
site;
|
|
·
|
a
declaration of the parties’ liability for response and remediation costs
incurred at the site;
|
|
·
|
a
declaration of the parties’ liability for response and remediation costs
to be incurred in the future at the site;
and
|
|
·
|
a
declaration regarding the obligation of Tremont to indemnify Halliburton
and DII for costs and expenses attributable to the
site.
|
On
December 27, 2005, a subsidiary of Tremont filed suit in the United States
District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, Hot Springs Division, Case
No. 05-6089, against Georgia-Pacific, seeking to recover response costs it has
incurred and will incur at the site. Subsequently, plaintiffs in the
Houston litigation
agreed to stay that litigation by entering into an amendment with NL, Tremont
and its affiliates to the arbitration agreement previously agreed upon for
resolving the allocation of costs at the site. The Tremont subsidiary
subsequently also agreed with Georgia Pacific to stay the Arkansas litigation, and
subsequently that matter was consolidated with the Houston litigation, where the
court has agreed to stay the plaintiffs claims against Tremont and its
subsidiaries, but denied Tremont’s motions to dismiss and to stay the claims
made by M-I, Milwhite and Georgia Pacific.
In June
and September, 2007 the arbitration panel chosen by the parties to address the
issues noted above returned decisions favorable to NL, Tremont and its
affiliates. Among other things, the panel found that Halliburton is
obligated to indemnify Tremont and its affiliates (including NL) against all
costs and expenses, including attorney fees, associated with any environmental
remediation at the site, and ordered Halliburton to pay Tremont approximately
$10.0 million in cash in recovery of past investigation and remediation costs
and legal expenses incurred by Tremont related to the site, plus any future
remediation and legal expenses incurred after specified dates, together with
post-judgment interest accruing after September 1, 2007. In October
2007 Tremont filed a motion with the court in the Houston litigation to confirm
the arbitration panel’s decisions, and Halliburton filed a motion to vacate such
decisions. A confirmation hearing was held on November 13, 2007 and
we are awaiting the opinion of the court on this matter. Due to the
uncertain nature of the on-going legal proceedings we have not accrued a
receivable for the amounts awarded at December 31, 2007. Pending a
final confirmation of the arbitration panel’s decisions, Tremont has accrued for
this site based upon the agreed-upon interim cost sharing
allocation. Tremont has $.5 million accrued at December 31, 2007 for
this matter.
Other - We have also accrued
approximately $4.9 million at December 31, 2007 for other environmental cleanup
matters. This accrual is near the upper end of the range of our
estimate of reasonably possible costs for such matters.
Insurance
coverage claims
We are
involved in various legal proceedings with certain of our former insurance
carriers regarding the nature and extent of the carriers’ obligations to us
under insurance policies with respect to certain lead pigment and asbestos
lawsuits. The issue of whether insurance coverage for defense costs or indemnity
or both will be found to exist for our lead pigment and asbestos litigation
depends upon a variety of factors, and we cannot assure you that such insurance
coverage will be available. We have not considered any potential insurance
recoveries for lead pigment or asbestos litigation matters in determining
related accruals.
We have
agreements with two former insurance carriers pursuant to which the carriers
reimburse us for a portion of our past and future lead pigment litigation
defense costs. We are not able to determine how much we will ultimately
recover from these carriers for past defense costs incurred by us, because of
certain issues that arise regarding which past defense costs qualify for
reimbursement. While we continue to seek additional insurance recoveries,
we do not know if we will be successful in obtaining reimbursement for either
defense costs or indemnity. We have not considered any additional
potential insurance recoveries in determining accruals for lead pigment or
asbestos litigation matters. Any additional insurance recoveries would be
recognized when the receipt is probable and the amount is
determinable.
We have
settled insurance coverage claims concerning environmental claims with certain
of our principal former carriers. We do not expect further material
settlements relating to environmental remediation coverage.
New York cases - In October
2005 we were served with a complaint in OneBeacon American Insurance Company
v. NL Industries, Inc., et al. (Supreme Court of the State of New York,
County of New York, Index No. 603429-05). The plaintiff, a former
insurance carrier, seeks a declaratory judgment of its obligations to us under
insurance policies issued to us by the plaintiff’s predecessor with respect to
certain lead pigment lawsuits filed against us. In March 2006, the trial
court denied our motion to dismiss. In April 2006, we filed a notice of
appeal of the trial court’s ruling, and in September 2007, the Supreme Court –
Appellate Division (First Department) reversed and ordered that the OneBeacon
complaint be dismissed. The Appellate Division did not dismiss the
counterclaims and cross claims.
In
February 2006, we were served with a complaint in Certain Underwriters at Lloyds,
London v. Millennium Holdings LLC et al. (Supreme Court of the State of
New York, County of New York, Index No. 06/60026). The plaintiff, a former
insurance carrier of ours, seeks a declaratory judgment of its obligations to us
under insurance policies issued to us by plaintiff with respect to certain lead
pigment lawsuits. In April 2006, the trial court denied our motion to
dismiss. In October 2006, we filed a notice of appeal of the trial court’s
ruling, and in October 2007, the Supreme Court – Appellate Division (First
Department) denied our appeal. In January 2008, Lloyds filed a motion for
a preliminary injunction, seeking to block us from litigating our claims in the
Texas case described below, which was denied. In January 2008, Lloyds
appealed that decision and obtained a temporary restraining order which was
granted, not on the merits, but in order to obtain a review of the appeal by a
full panel.
Texas case - In November of
2005, we filed an action against OneBeacon and certain other insurance
companies, which also issued insurance policies to us in the past, captioned
NL Industries, Inc. v.
OneBeacon America Insurance Company, et. al. (District Court for Dallas
County, Texas, Case No. 05-11347). In April 2006, we filed a comprehensive
action against all of the insurance companies which issued policies to us that
potentially could provide insurance for lead pigment actions and/or asbestos
actions asserted against us, captioned NL Industries, Inc. v. American Re
Insurance Company, et al. (Dallas County Court at Law, Texas, Case No.
CC-06-04523-E). In this action, we assert that defendants have breached
their contractual obligations to us under such insurance policies with respect
to lead pigment and asbestos claims, and we seek a declaration as to the rights
and obligations of each insurance company with respect to such claims.
Both cases, as well as a third case in which we seek interpretation of a
Stand-Still Agreement that was in place between us and certain of our insurers,
have been consolidated into the NL Industries, Inc. v. American Re
Insurance Company, et al. case. In October 2007, we filed a motion
for summary judgment on the issue of OneBeacon’s obligation to defend us in the
Rhode Island lead pigment action (described above).
Other litigation
In April
2006, we were served with a complaint in Murphy, et al. v. NL Industries,
Inc., et al. (United States District Court, District of New Jersey, Case No.
2:06-cv-01535-WHW-SDW). The plaintiffs, in this action were the
former minority shareholders of NL Environmental Management Services, Inc.
(“EMS”). See Note 13. In July 2006, defendants filed,
among other things, a motion to disqualify plaintiffs’ counsel, which was
granted in January 2008. In February 2008, the plaintiffs voluntarily
dismissed the complaint without prejudice and simultaneously filed a
counterclaim, third party petition and a plea in intervention in the Terry S. Casey case discussed
below.
In May 2007, we filed a complaint in
Texas state court (Contran
Corporation, et al. v. Terry S. Casey, et al., Case No. 07-04855,
192nd Judicial District Court, Dallas
County, Texas) in which we alleged negligence,
conversion, and breach of contract against a former service provider to us who
was also a former minority shareholder of EMS. In February 2008, two other
former minority shareholders of EMS filed counterclaims, third-party petition
and petition in intervention, seeking damages related to their former ownership
in EMS. The counter-defendants named in the counterclaims are us and
Contran, and the third-party defendants are Valhi and certain of our current or
former officers or directors and certain current or former officers or directors
of EMS. See Note 13. The intervenors and counter-plaintiffs claim
that, in preparing the valuation of the minority shareholders’ preferred shares
for purchase by EMS, counter-defendants and third-party defendants have
committed minority shareholder oppression, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty,
civil conspiracy, breach of contract and tortuous interference with economic
relations under New Jersey law. We believe that these claims are without
merit and intend to deny all allegations of wrongdoing and defend against the
claims vigorously.
We have
been named as a defendant in various lawsuits in several jurisdictions, alleging
personal injuries as a result of occupational exposure primarily to products
manufactured by some of our former operations containing asbestos, silica and/or
mixed dust. Approximately 470 of these types of cases remain pending,
involving a total of approximately 7,000 plaintiffs and their
spouses. In addition, the claims of approximately 3,300 former
plaintiffs have been administratively dismissed from Ohio State
Courts. We do not expect these claims will be re-opened unless the
plaintiffs meet the courts’ medical criteria for asbestos-related
claims. We have not accrued any amounts for this litigation because
of the uncertainty of liability and inability to reasonably estimate the
liability, if any. To date, we have not been adjudicated liable in
any of these matters. Based on information available to us,
including:
|
·
|
facts
concerning our historical
operations;
|
|
·
|
the
rate of new claims;
|
|
·
|
the
number of claims from which we have been dismissed;
and
|
|
·
|
our
prior experience in the defense of these
matters,
|
we
believe that the range of reasonably possible outcomes of these matters will be
consistent with our historical costs (which are not
material). Furthermore, we do not expect any reasonably possible
outcome would involve amounts material to our consolidated financial position,
results of operations or liquidity. We have and will continue to
vigorously seek dismissal and/or a finding of no liability from each
claim. In addition, from time to time, we have received notices
regarding asbestos or silica claims purporting to be brought against former
subsidiaries, including notices provided to insurers with which we have entered
into settlements extinguishing certain insurance policies. These
insurers may seek indemnification from us.
In addition to the litigation described
above, we and our affiliates are involved in various other environmental,
contractual, product liability, patent (or intellectual property), employment
and other claims and disputes incidental to our present and former
businesses. In certain cases, we have insurance coverage for these
items, although we do not expect any additional material insurance coverage for
our environmental claims.
We
currently believe that the disposition of all claims and disputes, individually
or in the aggregate, should not have a material adverse effect on our
consolidated financial position, results of operations and liquidity beyond the
accruals already provided.
Other
matters
Concentrations of credit
risk. Sales
of TiO2 accounted
for approximately 90% of our Chemicals sales during the past three
years. TiO2 is
generally sold to the paint, plastics and paper industries, which are generally
considered "quality-of-life" markets whose demand for TiO2 is
influenced by the relative economic well-being of the various geographic
regions. TiO2 is sold to
over 4,000 customers and the ten largest customers accounted for approximately
27% of chemicals sales. No single customer accounted for more then
10% of sales in 2007. In each of the past three years, approximately
one-half of our TiO2 sales
volumes were to Europe with about 34% attributable to North America in
2007.
We sell
our Component Products primarily to original equipment manufacturers in North
America. In 2007, the ten largest customers accounted for
approximately 31% of component products sales. No single customer
accounted for more than 10% of sales in 2007.
At
December 31, 2007, consolidated cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
includes approximately $26.4 million on deposit at a single U.S. bank (in 2006
the amount was $79 million).
Operating
leases. Our principal Chemicals Segment operating subsidiary
in Germany, Kronos Titan GmbH, leases the land under its Leverkusen TiO2 production
facility pursuant to a lease with Bayer AG that expires in 2050. We
own the Leverkusen facility itself, which represents approximately one-third of
our current TiO2 production
capacity. This facility is located within Bayer’s extensive
manufacturing complex. We periodically establish the amount of rent
for the land lease associated with our Leverkusen facility by agreement with
Bayer for periods of at least two years at a time. The lease
agreement provides for no formula, index or other mechanism to determine changes
in the rent for the land lease; rather, any change in the rent is subject solely
to periodic negotiation between Bayer and us. We recognize any change
in the rent based on negotiations as part of lease expense starting from the
time such change is agreed upon by both of us, as any such change in the rent is
deemed “contingent rentals” under GAAP. Under a separate supplies and
services agreement expiring in 2011, Bayer provides some raw materials,
including chlorine, auxiliary and operating materials, utilities and services
necessary for us to operate our Leverkusen facility.
We also
lease various other manufacturing facilities and equipment. Some of
the leases contain purchase and/or various term renewal options at fair market
and fair rental values, respectively. In most cases we expect that,
in the normal course of business, such leases will be renewed or replaced by
other leases. Rent expense approximated $12 million in each of 2005,
2006 and 2007. At December 31, 2007, our future minimum payments
under noncancellable operating leases having an initial or remaining term of
more than one year were as follows:
Years ending December 31,
|
Amount
|
|||
(In
millions)
|
||||
2008
|
$ | 9.9 | ||
2009
|
7.2 | |||
2010
|
5.3 | |||
2011
|
3.3 | |||
2012
|
2.9 | |||
2013 and thereafter
|
21.6 | |||
Total(1)
|
$ | 50.2 |
(1)Approximately
$24 million relates to the Leverkusen facility lease. The minimum
commitment amounts for the lease included in the table above for each year
through the 2050 expiration of the lease are based upon the current annual
rental rate as of December 31, 2007.
Long-term contracts. We have long-term supply
contracts that provide for our TiO2 feedstock
requirements through 2011. The agreements require us to purchase
certain minimum quantities of feedstock with minimum purchase commitments
aggregating approximately $712 million at December 31, 2007.
Income
taxes. Contran and
us have agreed to a policy providing for the allocation of tax liabilities and
tax payments as described in Note 1. Under applicable law, we, as
well as every other member of the Contran Tax Group, are each jointly and
severally liable for the aggregate federal income tax liability of Contran and
the other companies included in the Contran Tax Group for all periods in which
we are included in the Contran Tax Group. Contran has agreed, however, to
indemnify us for any liability for income taxes of the Contran Tax Group in
excess of our tax liability previously computed and paid by us in accordance
with the tax allocation policy.
Note
18 – Recent accounting pronouncements:
Pension and Other Postretirement
Plans - In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 158, Employers’ Accounting for Defined
Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans. SFAS No. 158
requires us to recognize an asset or liability for the over or under funded
status of each of our individual defined benefit pension and postretirement
benefit plans on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. This standard does not
change the existing recognition and measurement requirements that determine the
amount of periodic benefit cost we recognize in net income. We
adopted the asset and liability recognition and disclosure requirements of this
standard effective December 31, 2006 on a prospective basis, in which we
recognized through other comprehensive income all of our prior unrecognized
gains and losses and prior service costs or credits, net of tax and minority
interest, as of December 31, 2006. We now recognize all changes in
the funded status of these plans through comprehensive income, net of tax and
minority interest. Any future changes will be recognized either in
net income, to the extent they are reflected in periodic benefit cost, or
through other comprehensive income. In addition, prior to
December 31, 2007 we used September 30 as a measurement date for certain of our
pension and postretirement benefit plans. In accordance with this standard,
effective December 31, 2007 we transitioned all of our plans which had
previously used a September 30 measurement date to a December 31 measurement
date using a 15 month net periodic benefit cost. Accordingly
one-fifth of the net periodic benefit cost for the period from October 1, 2006
through December 31, 2007, net of income taxes and minority interest, has been
allocated as a direct adjustment to retained earnings to reflect this change and
four-fifths of the cost was allocated to expense in 2007. To the
extent the net periodic benefit cost included amortization of unrecognized
actuarial losses, prior service cost and net transition obligations, which were
previously recognized as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income
at December 31, 2006, the effect on retained earnings, net of income taxes and
minority interest, was offset by a change in accumulated other comprehensive
income. See Note 11.
Fair Value Measurements – In September 2006, the
FASB issued SFAS No. 157, Fair
Value Measurements, which will become effective for us on January 1,
2008. SFAS No. 157 generally provides a consistent, single fair value
definition and measurement techniques for GAAP pronouncements. SFAS
No. 157 also establishes a fair value hierarchy for different measurement
techniques based on the objective nature of the inputs in various valuation
methods. In February 2008, the FASB issued FSP No. FAS 157-2, Effective Date of FASB Statement No.
157 which will delay the provisions of SFAS No. 157 for one year for all
nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial liabilities, except those that are
recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring
basis (at least annually). We will be required to ensure all of our
fair value measurements are in compliance with SFAS No. 157 on a prospective
basis beginning in the first quarter of 2008, except for non financial assets
and liabilities, which we will be required to be in compliance with SFAS No. 157
prospectively beginning in the first quarter of 2009. In addition, we
will be required to expand our disclosures regarding the valuation methods and
level of inputs we utilize in the first quarter of 2008, except for
non-financial assets and liabilities, which will require disclosure in the first
quarter of 2009. The adoption of this standard will not have a
material effect on our Consolidated Financial Statements.
Fair Value Option - In the
first quarter of 2007 the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, The Fair Value Option for Financial
Assets and Financial Liabilities. SFAS 159 permits companies to
chose, at specified election dates, to measure eligible items at fair value,
with unrealized gains and losses included in the determination of net
income. The decision to elect the fair value option is generally applied
on an instrument-by-instrument basis, is irrevocable unless a new election date
occurs, and is applied to the entire instrument and not to only specified risks
or cash flows or a portion of the instrument. Items eligible for the fair
value option include recognized financial assets and liabilities, other than an
investment in a consolidated subsidiary, defined benefit pension plans, OPEB
plans, leases and financial instruments classified in equity. An
investment accounted for by the equity method is an eligible item. The
specified election dates include the date the company first recognizes the
eligible item, the date the company enters into an eligible commitment, the date
an investment first becomes eligible to be accounted for by the equity method
and the date SFAS No. 159 first becomes effective for the company. If we
elect to measure eligible items at fair value under the standard, we would be
required to present certain additional disclosures for each item we elect. SFAS
No. 159 becomes effective for us on January 1, 2008. We do not expect
to elect to measure any additional assets or liabilities at fair value that are
not already measured at fair value under existing standards, therefore the
adoption of this standard will not have a material effect on our Consolidated
Financial Statements.
Noncontrolling Interest – In
December 2007 the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, Noncontrolling Interests in
Consolidated Financial Statements, an Amendment of ARB No.
51. SFAS No. 160 establishes a single method of accounting for
changes in a parent’s ownership interest in a subsidiary that do not result in
deconsolidation. On a prospective basis any changes in ownership will
be accounted for as equity transactions with no gain or loss recognized on the
transactions unless there is a change in control; under existing GAAP such
changes in ownership generally result either in the recognition of additional
goodwill (for an increase in ownership) or a gain or loss included in the
determination of net income (for a decrease in ownership). The
statement standardizes the presentation of noncontrolling interest as a
component of equity on the balance sheet and on a net income basis in the
statement of operations. This Statement also requires expanded
disclosures in the consolidated financial statements that clearly identify and
distinguish between the interests of the parent and the interests of the
noncontrolling owners of a subsidiary. Those expanded disclosures include a
reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the equity attributable
to the parent and the noncontrolling owners and a schedule showing the effects
of changes in a parent’s ownership interest in a subsidiary on the equity
attributable to the parent. This statement will be effective for us
on a prospective basis in the first quarter of 2009. We will be
required to reclassify our balance sheet and statement of operations to conform
to the new presentation requirements and to include the expanded disclosures at
this time. Because the new method of accounting for changes in
ownership applies on a prospective basis, we are unable to predict the impact of
the statement on our Consolidated Financial Statements. However, to the extent
we have subsidiaries that are not wholly owned at the date of adoption, any
subsequent increase in ownership of such subsidiaries for an amount of
consideration that exceeds the then-carrying value of the noncontrolling
interest related to the increased ownership would result in a reduction in the
amount of equity attributable to our shareholders.
Business Combinations – Also
in December 2007 the FASB issued SFAS No. 141 (revised 2007), Business Combinations, which
applies to us prospectively for business combinations that close in 2009 and
beyond. The statement expands the definition of a business
combination to include more transactions including some asset purchases and
requires an acquirer to recognize assets acquired, liabilities assumed and any
noncontrolling interest in the acquiree at the acquisition date at fair value as
of that date with limited exceptions. The statement also requires
that acquisition costs be expensed as incurred and restructuring costs that are
not a liability of the acquiree at the date of the acquisition be recognized in
accordance with SFAS No. 146, Accounting for Costs Associated with
Exit or Disposal Activities. Due to the unpredictable nature
of business combinations and the prospective application of this statement we
are unable to predict the impact of the statement on our Consolidated Financial
Statements.
Uncertain Tax Positions - In the second quarter
of 2006 the FASB issued FIN No. 48, Accounting for Uncertain Tax
Positions, which we adopted on January 1, 2007. FIN No. 48
clarifies when and how much of a benefit we can recognize in our consolidated
financial statements for certain positions taken in our income tax returns under
Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes,
and enhances the disclosure requirements for our income tax policies and
reserves. Among other things, FIN No. 48 prohibits us from
recognizing the benefits of a tax position unless we believe it is
more-likely-than-not our position will prevail with the applicable tax
authorities and limits the amount of the benefit to the largest amount for which
we believe the likelihood of realization is greater than 50%. FIN No.
48 also requires companies to accrue penalties and interest on the difference
between tax positions taken on their tax returns and the amount of benefit
recognized for financial reporting purposes under the new
standard. We are required to classify any future reserves for
uncertain tax positions in a separate current or noncurrent liability, depending
on the nature of the tax position.
Upon
adoption of FIN No. 48 on January 1, 2007, we increased our existing reserve for
uncertain tax positions, which we previously classified as part of our deferred
income taxes, from $55.3 million to $56.9 million and accounted for such $1.6
million increase as a decrease to retained earnings in accordance with the
transition provisions of the standard.
We accrue
interest and penalties on our uncertain tax positions as a component of our
provision for income taxes. The amount of interest and penalties we
accrued during 2007 was not material, and at December 31, 2007 we had $5.1
million accrued for interest and an immaterial amount accrued for penalties for
our uncertain tax positions.
The
following table shows the changes in the amount of our uncertain tax positions
(exclusive of the effect of interest and penalties) during 2007:
Amount
|
||||
(In
millions)
|
||||
Unrecognized
tax benefits:
|
||||
Amount
at adoption of FIN No. 48
|
$ | 51.7 | ||
Tax
positions take in prior periods:
|
||||
Gross
increases
|
.1 | |||
Gross
decreases
|
(1.9 | ) | ||
Tax
positions taken in current period:
|
||||
Gross
increases
|
11.3 | |||
Gross
decreases
|
(.5 | ) | ||
Settlements
with taxing authorities –
cash
paid
|
(.6 | ) | ||
Lapse
of applicable statute of limitations
|
(6.5 | ) | ||
Foreign
currency translation
|
1.0 | |||
Amount
at December 31, 2007
|
$ | 54.6 | ||
If our
uncertain tax positions were recognized, a benefit of $49.0 million would affect
our effective income tax rate. We currently estimate that our
unrecognized tax benefits will decrease by approximately $2.9 million during the
next twelve months due to the reversal of certain timing differences and the
resolution of certain examination and filing procedures related to one or more
of our subsidiaries.
We file
income tax returns in various U.S. federal, state and local jurisdictions.
We also file income tax returns in various foreign jurisdictions, principally in
Germany, Canada, Taiwan, Belgium and Norway. Our domestic income tax
returns prior to 2004 are generally considered closed to examination by
applicable tax authorities. Our foreign income tax returns are generally
considered closed to examination for years prior to 2002 for Canada, Belgium and
Taiwan; 2003 for Germany and 1998 for Norway
Note
19 - Financial instruments:
December 31,
|
||||||||||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||||||||||
Carrying
amount
|
Fair
value
|
Carrying
amount
|
Fair
value
|
|||||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||||||
Cash,
cash equivalents and restricted cash equivalents
|
$ | 198.7 | $ | 198.7 | $ | 145.6 | $ | 145.6 | ||||||||
Marketable
securities:
|
||||||||||||||||
Current
|
$ | 12.6 | $ | 12.6 | $ | 7.2 | $ | 7.2 | ||||||||
Noncurrent
|
259.0 | 259.0 | 319.8 | 319.8 | ||||||||||||
Long-term
debt (excluding capitalized leases):
|
||||||||||||||||
Publicly-traded
fixed rate debt -
|
||||||||||||||||
KII
Senior Secured Notes
|
$ | 525.0 | $ | 512.5 | $ | 585.5 | $ | 507.7 | ||||||||
CompX
variable rate promissory note
|
- | - | 50.0 | 50.0 | ||||||||||||
Snake
River Sugar Company fixed rate loans
|
250.0 | 250.0 | 250.0 | 250.0 | ||||||||||||
Other
fixed-rate debt
|
.3 | .3 | .4 | .4 | ||||||||||||
Variable
rate debt
|
6.5 | 6.5 | 15.4 | 15.4 | ||||||||||||
Minority
interest in:
|
||||||||||||||||
NL
common stock
|
$ | 56.0 | $ | 84.8 | $ | 55.7 | $ | 93.1 | ||||||||
Kronos
common stock
|
22.3 | 79.5 | 20.4 | 42.7 | ||||||||||||
CompX
common stock
|
45.4 | 91.0 | 14.4 | 25.2 | ||||||||||||
Valhi
common stockholders' equity
|
$ | 866.8 | $ | 2,985.0 | $ | 618.4 | $ | 1,823.6 |
The fair
value of our publicly-traded marketable securities and debt, minority interest
in NL Industries, Kronos and CompX and our common stockholders' equity are all
based upon quoted market prices, Level 1 inputs as defined in SFAS No. 157, at
each balance sheet date. The estimated fair value of our investment in The
Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC is $250 million (the redemption price of our
investment in the LLC). The fair value of our fixed-rate nonrecourse
loans from Snake River Sugar Company is based upon the $250 million redemption
price of our investment in the Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC, which
collateralizes the nonrecourse loans, these are Level 3 inputs as defined in
SFAS No. 157. Fair values of variable interest rate debt and other
fixed-rate debt are deemed to approximate book value. Due to their near-term
maturities, the carrying amounts of accounts receivable and accounts payable are
considered equivalent to fair value. See Notes 4 and 9.
We
periodically use currency forward contracts to manage a portion of foreign
currency exchange rate market risk associated with trade receivables, or similar
exchange rate risk associated with future sales, denominated in a currency other
than the holder's functional currency. These contracts generally
relate to our Chemicals and Component Products operations. We have
not entered into these contracts for trading or speculative purposes in the
past, nor do we currently anticipate entering into such contracts for trading or
speculative purposes in the future. Some of the currency forward
contracts we enter into meet the criteria for hedge accounting under GAAP and
are designated as cash flow hedges. For these currency forward
contracts, gains and losses representing the effective portion of our hedges are
deferred as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income, and are
subsequently recognized in earnings at the time the hedged item affects
earnings. For the currency forward contracts we enter into which do
not meet the criteria for hedge accounting, we mark-to-market the estimated fair
value of such contracts at each balance sheet date, with any resulting gain or
loss recognized in income currently as part of net currency
transactions. We had no forward contracts outstanding at December 31,
2006 or December 31, 2007.
Note
20 - Earnings per share:
Basic
earnings per share of common stock is based upon the weighted average number of
our common shares actually outstanding during each period. Diluted earnings per
share of common stock includes the impact of our outstanding dilutive stock
options as well as the dilutive effect, if any, of diluted earnings per share
reported by Kronos, NL, CompX or TIMET.
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions, except per share data)
|
||||||||||||
Basic
EPS computation:
|
||||||||||||
Numerator
-
|
||||||||||||
Income
(loss) from continuing operations
|
$ | 82.1 | $ | 141.7 | $ | (45.7 | ) | |||||
Denominator
-
|
||||||||||||
Weighted
average common shares
|
118.2 | 116.1 | 114.7 | |||||||||
Basic
EPS from continuing operations
|
$ | .69 | $ | 1.22 | $ | (.40 | ) | |||||
Diluted
EPS computation:
|
||||||||||||
Numerator:
|
||||||||||||
Income
(loss) from continuing operations
|
$ | 82.1 | $ | 141.7 | $ | (45.7 | ) | |||||
Net
effect of diluted earnings per share
of TIMET(1)
|
- | (2.3 | ) | - | ||||||||
Income
(loss) from continuing operations
for diluted earnings per share
|
$ | 82.1 | $ | 139.4 | $ | (45.7 | ) | |||||
Denominator:
|
||||||||||||
Weighted
average common shares – Basic
|
118.2 | 116.1 | 114.7 | |||||||||
Stock
option conversion(2)
|
.3 | .4 | - | |||||||||
Weighted
average common shares – Diluted
|
118.5 | 116.5 | 114.7 | |||||||||
Diluted
EPS from continuing operations
|
$ | .69 | $ | 1.20 | $ | (.40 | ) |
(1)
|
The
dilutive effect of dilutive earnings per share for Kronos, NL and CompX in
2005, 2006 and 2007 and for TIMET in 2005 and 2007 was not
significant.
|
(2)
|
Stock
option conversion excludes anti-dilutive shares of 267,000 during
2007.
|
Note
21
- Quarterly
results of operations (unaudited):
Quarter ended
|
||||||||||||||||
March 31
|
June 30
|
Sept. 30
|
Dec. 31
|
|||||||||||||
(In
millions, except per share data)
|
||||||||||||||||
Year ended December 31, 2006
|
||||||||||||||||
Net sales
|
$ | 354.3 | $ | 399.6 | $ | 383.1 | $ | 344.4 | ||||||||
Gross
margin
|
82.7 | 90.0 | 84.7 | 84.6 | ||||||||||||
Operating income
|
35.7 | 37.8 | 36.8 | 38.9 | ||||||||||||
Income from continuing operations
|
$ | 23.4 | $ | 17.8 | $ | 20.1 | $ | 80.4 | ||||||||
Discontinued operations
|
- | (.1 | ) | - | .1 | |||||||||||
Net income(1)
|
$ | 23.4 | $ | 17.7 | $ | 20.1 | $ | 80.5 | ||||||||
Per basic share:
|
||||||||||||||||
Continuing operations
|
$ | .20 | $ | .15 | $ | .17 | $ | .70 | ||||||||
Discontinued operations
|
- | - | - | - | ||||||||||||
Net
income
|
$ | .20 | $ | .15 | $ | .17 | $ | .70 | ||||||||
Year
ended December 31, 2007
|
||||||||||||||||
Net sales
|
$ | 359.0 | $ | 389.0 | $ | 390.6 | $ | 353.6 | ||||||||
Gross
margin
|
80.1 | 72.9 | 76.3 | 56.6 | ||||||||||||
Operating income
|
32.9 | 26.2 | 24.2 | 7.2 | ||||||||||||
Net income
(loss)
|
$ | 26.1 | $ | (4.9 | ) | $ | (52.7 | ) | $ | (14.2 | ) | |||||
Per basic share:
|
||||||||||||||||
Net
income (loss)
|
$ | .23 | $ | (.04 | ) | $ | (.46 | ) | $ | (.12 | ) |
(1) We
recognized the following amounts during the fourth quarter of 2006:
|
·
|
an
after-tax gain of $23.6 million, or $.20 per diluted share, related to the
sale of certain land in Nevada;
|
|
·
|
an
income tax benefit of $17.8 million, or $.15 per diluted share, net of
minority interest related to the favorable development with certain income
tax audits of Kronos; and
|
|
·
|
after-tax
income of $10.2 million, or $.09 per diluted share, related to our
pro-rata share of a gain recognized by TIMET on its sale of a business
investment.
|
See Notes
12 and 15.
The sum
of the quarterly per share amounts may not equal the annual per share amounts
due to relative changes in the weighted average number of shares used in the per
share computations.
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
SCHEDULE
I - CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT
Condensed
Balance Sheets
(In
millions)
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
Current
assets:
|
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents
|
$ | 67.3 | $ | 18.4 | ||||
Restricted cash equivalents
|
.3 | .4 | ||||||
Accounts and notes receivable
|
.8 | .5 | ||||||
Receivables from subsidiaries and affiliates:
|
||||||||
Income
taxes, net
|
1.8 | - | ||||||
Other
|
3.0 | - | ||||||
Deferred income taxes
|
1.7 | 1.6 | ||||||
Other
|
.2 | .3 | ||||||
Total current assets
|
75.1 | 21.2 | ||||||
Other assets:
|
||||||||
Marketable securities
|
250.0 | 271.9 | ||||||
Restricted cash equivalents
|
.4 | - | ||||||
Investment in and advances to subsidiaries and affiliate
|
1,102.7 | 918.0 | ||||||
Other assets
|
.2 | .3 | ||||||
Property and equipment, net
|
.9 | .9 | ||||||
Total other assets
|
1,354.2 | 1,191.1 | ||||||
Total
assets
|
$ | 1,429.3 | $ | 1,212.3 | ||||
Current liabilities:
|
||||||||
Payables to subsidiaries and affiliates:
|
||||||||
Income taxes, net
|
$ | - | $ | 1.5 | ||||
Other
|
- | .7 | ||||||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
|
3.1 | 3.1 | ||||||
Total current liabilities
|
3.1 | 5.3 | ||||||
Noncurrent liabilities:
|
||||||||
Long-term debt – Snake River Sugar Company
|
250.0 | 250.0 | ||||||
Deferred income taxes
|
308.7 | 321.4 | ||||||
Other
|
.7 | 17.2 | ||||||
Total noncurrent liabilities
|
559.4 | 588.6 | ||||||
Stockholders' equity
|
866.8 | 618.4 | ||||||
Total
liabilities and stockholders’ equity
|
$ | 1,429.3 | $ | 1,212.3 |
The
accompanying Notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
SCHEDULE
I - CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT (CONTINUED)
Condensed
Statements of Operations
(In
millions)
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
Revenues
and other income:
|
||||||||||||
Interest and dividend income
|
$ | 52.4 | $ | 36.0 | $ | 29.2 | ||||||
Write-off of accrued interest on loan to Snake River Sugar Company
|
(21.6 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Equity
in earnings of subsidiaries and
affiliates
|
88.8 | 151.6 | (63.0 | ) | ||||||||
Other
income, net
|
2.2 | 3.9 | 3.8 | |||||||||
Total
revenues and other income
|
121.8 | 191.5 | (30.0 | ) | ||||||||
Costs and expenses:
|
||||||||||||
General and administrative
|
8.5 | 7.9 | 7.6 | |||||||||
Interest
|
24.1 | 24.1 | 24.1 | |||||||||
Total
costs and expenses
|
32.6 | 32.0 | 31.7 | |||||||||
Income (loss)
before income taxes
|
89.2 | 159.5 | (61.7 | ) | ||||||||
Provision for income taxes (benefit)
|
7.1 | 17.8 | (16.0 | ) | ||||||||
Income from continuing operations
|
82.1 | 141.7 | (45.7 | ) | ||||||||
Discontinued operations
|
(.2 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Net income (loss)
|
$ | 81.9 | $ | 141.7 | $ | (45.7 | ) | |||||
The
accompanying Notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
SCHEDULE
I - CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT (CONTINUED)
Condensed
Statements of Cash Flows
(In
millions)
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
||||||||||||
Net income
(loss)
|
$ | 81.9 | $ | 141.7 | $ | (45.7 | ) | |||||
Write-off of accrued interest receivable
|
21.6 | - | - | |||||||||
Deferred income taxes
|
10.9 | 20.7 | (19.5 | ) | ||||||||
Equity in earnings of subsidiaries and affiliate:
|
||||||||||||
Continuing operations
|
(88.8 | ) | (151.6 | ) | 63.0 | |||||||
Discontinued operations
|
.2 | - | - | |||||||||
Dividends from subsidiaries and affiliates
|
58.6 | 87.0 | 49.2 | |||||||||
Other, net
|
(.3 | ) | (.7 | ) | .1 | |||||||
Net change in assets and liabilities
|
17.3 | (.6 | ) | 12.8 | ||||||||
Net cash provided by operating
activities
|
101.4 | 96.5 | 59.9 | |||||||||
Cash flows from investing activities:
|
||||||||||||
Purchases of:
|
||||||||||||
Kronos common stock
|
(7.0 | ) | (25.4 | ) | - | |||||||
TIMET common stock
|
(18.0 | ) | (18.7 | ) | (27.5 | ) | ||||||
NL
common stock
|
- | (.4 | ) | - | ||||||||
Loans to subsidiaries and affiliates:
|
||||||||||||
Loans
|
(35.4 | ) | (12.9 | ) | (20.1 | ) | ||||||
Collections
|
18.1 | .8 | - | |||||||||
Investment in other subsidiary
|
(2.9 | ) | (2.4 | ) | (5.3 | ) | ||||||
Collection of loan to Snake River Sugar Company
|
80.0 | - | - | |||||||||
Change in restricted cash equivalents, net
|
- | - | .1 | |||||||||
Other, net
|
- | 1.5 | - | |||||||||
Net cash provided by (used
in)
investing activities
|
34.8 | (57.5 | ) | (52.8 | ) | |||||||
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
SCHEDULE
I - CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT (CONTINUED)
Condensed
Statements of Cash Flows (Continued)
(In
millions)
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
||||||||||||
Indebtedness:
|
||||||||||||
Borrowings
|
$ | 5.0 | $ | - | $ | - | ||||||
Principal payments
|
(5.0 | ) | - | - | ||||||||
Cash
dividends
|
(48.8 | ) | (48.0 | ) | (45.6 | ) | ||||||
Treasury stock acquired
|
(62.1 | ) | (43.8 | ) | (11.1 | ) | ||||||
Other, net
|
.1 | .3 | .7 | |||||||||
Net cash used by financing activities
|
(110.8 | ) | (91.5 | ) | (56.0 | ) | ||||||
Cash and cash equivalents:
|
||||||||||||
Net increase (decrease)
|
25.4 | (52.5 | ) | (48.9 | ) | |||||||
Balance at beginning of year
|
94.4 | 119.8 | 67.3 | |||||||||
Balance at end of year
|
$ | 119.8 | $ | 67.3 | $ | 18.4 | ||||||
Supplemental disclosures –
Cash paid (received) for:
|
||||||||||||
Interest
|
$ | 23.3 | $ | 24.7 | $ | 24.0 | ||||||
Income taxes, net
|
(8.0 | ) | 1.3 | (10.9 | ) | |||||||
Noncash
financing activity:
|
||||||||||||
Dividend
of TIMET common stock
|
- | - | 897.4 | |||||||||
Issuance
of preferred stock in settlement
of tax obligation
|
- | - | 667.3 |
The
accompanying Notes are an integral part of the financial
statements.
VALHI,
INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
SCHEDULE
I - CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF REGISTRANT (CONTINUED)
NOTES
TO CONDENSED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
December
31, 2007
Note
1
- Basis
of presentation:
We have
prepared the accompanying Financial Statements on a “Parent Company”
basis. This means that our investments in the common stock or
membership interest of our majority and wholly-owned subsidiaries, including NL
Industries, Inc., Kronos Worldwide, Inc., Tremont LLC, Valcor, Inc. and Waste
Control Specialists LLC, are presented on the equity method of
accounting. Our Consolidated Financial Statements and the Notes
thereto, which include the financial position, results of operations and cash
flows of these subsidiaries, are incorporated by reference into these Parent
Company Financial Statements.
Note
2
- Investment
in and advances to subsidiaries and affiliate:
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Investment
in:
|
||||||||
NL
Industries (NYSE: NL)
|
$ | 300.0 | $ | 334.7 | ||||
Kronos
Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: KRO)
|
528.4 | 509.2 | ||||||
Tremont
LLC
|
179.6 | 13.4 | ||||||
Valcor
and subsidiary
|
2.2 | 13.7 | ||||||
Waste
Control Specialists LLC
|
36.3 | 40.8 | ||||||
TIMET
(NYSE: TIE) common stock
|
51.4 | - | ||||||
TIMET
preferred stock
|
.2 | - | ||||||
Total
|
1,098.1 | 911.8 | ||||||
Noncurrent
loans to Waste Control Specialists LLC
|
4.6 | 6.2 | ||||||
Total
|
$ | 1,102.7 | $ | 918.0 | ||||
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Equity
in earnings of subsidiaries and affiliate
from continuing operations
|
||||||||||||
NL
Industries
|
$ | 23.2 | $ | 22.7 | $ | (29.9 | ) | |||||
Kronos
Worldwide
|
34.3 | 43.4 | (39.0 | ) | ||||||||
Tremont
LLC
|
40.6 | 86.4 | 16.6 | |||||||||
Valcor
|
- | 1.4 | 2.6 | |||||||||
Waste
Control Specialists LLC
|
(13.4 | ) | (10.3 | ) | (15.2 | ) | ||||||
TIMET
|
4.1 | 8.0 | 1.9 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 88.8 | $ | 151.6 | $ | (63.0 | ) | |||||
Cash
dividends from subsidiaries
|
||||||||||||
NL
Industries
|
$ | 30.3 | $ | 20.1 | $ | 20.2 | ||||||
Kronos
Worldwide
|
27.9 | 29.0 | 29.0 | |||||||||
Tremont
LLC
|
.4 | 37.9 | - | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | 58.6 | $ | 87.0 | $ | 49.2 |
Equity in
earnings of discontinued operations relates to CompX’s operations in The
Netherlands.
Note
5 - Long-term debt:
Our $250 million in loans
from Snake River Sugar Company bear interest at a weighted average fixed
interest rate of 9.4%, are collateralized by our interest in The Amalgamated
Sugar Company LLC and are due in January 2027. At December 31, 2007,
$37.5 million of such loans are recourse to us and the remaining $212.5 million
is nonrecourse to us. Under certain conditions, Snake River has the ability to
accelerate the maturity of these loans.
We have a
$100 million revolving bank credit facility which matures in October 2008,
generally bears interest at LIBOR plus 1.5% (for LIBOR-based borrowings) or
prime (for prime-based borrowings), and is collateralized by 20 million shares
of Kronos common stock we own. The agreement limits our ability to
pay dividends and incur additional indebtedness and contains other provisions
customary in lending transactions of this type. In the event of a
change of control of us, as defined in the agreement, the lenders would have the
right to accelerate the maturity of the facility. The maximum amount
we may borrow under the facility is limited to one-third of the aggregate market
value of the shares of Kronos common stock we have pledged as
collateral. Based on Kronos’ December 31, 2007 quoted market price of
$17.45 per share, the Kronos common stock pledged under the facility provides
more than sufficient collateral coverage to allow for borrowings up to the full
amount of the facility. At December 31, 2007, there were no
borrowings outstanding under the facility and $1.4 million of letters of credit
outstanding under the facility. At December 31, 2007 $98.6 million
was available for future borrowings under the facility.
Note
6
- Income
taxes:
The
Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC is treated as a partnership for federal income tax
purposes. Valhi Parent Company’s provision for income taxes (benefit)
includes a tax provision (benefit) attributable to Valhi’s equity in earnings
(losses) of Waste Control Specialists, as recognition of such income tax
(benefit) is not appropriate at the Waste Control Specialist level.
Years ended December 31,
|
||||||||||||
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
||||||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||||||
Components of provision for income taxes (benefit):
|
||||||||||||
Currently payable (refundable)
|
$ | (3.8 | ) | $ | (2.9 | ) | $ | .2 | ||||
Deferred income taxes (benefit)
|
10.9 | 20.7 | (16.2 | ) | ||||||||
Total
|
$ | 7.1 | $ | 17.8 | $ | (16.0 | ) | |||||
Cash paid (received) for income taxes, net:
|
||||||||||||
Received from subsidiaries
|
$ | (9.0 | ) | $ | - | $ | (16.8 | ) | ||||
Paid to Contran
|
.5 | 1.2 | 5.8 | |||||||||
Paid to tax authorities
|
.5 | .1 | .1 | |||||||||
Total
|
$ | (8.0 | ) | $ | 1.3 | $ | (10.9 | ) |
December 31,
|
||||||||
2006
|
2007
|
|||||||
(In
millions)
|
||||||||
Components of the net deferred tax asset (liability) -
|
||||||||
tax effect of temporary differences related to:
|
||||||||
Investment
in:
|
||||||||
The
Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC
|
$ | (123.2 | ) | $ | (114.6 | ) | ||
Kronos Worldwide
|
(200.2 | ) | (204.7 | ) | ||||
Federal
and state loss carryforwards and other income
tax attributes
|
26.0 | 5.2 | ||||||
Accrued liabilities and other deductible differences
|
3.2 | 6.2 | ||||||
Other taxable differences
|
(12.8 | ) | (11.9 | ) | ||||
Total
|
$ | 307.0 | $ | (319.8 | ) | |||
Current
deferred tax asset
|
$ | 1.7 | $ | 1.6 | ||||
Noncurrent
deferred tax liability
|
(308.7 | ) | (321.4 | ) | ||||
Total
|
$ | (307.0 | ) | $ | (319.8 | ) |