VALHI INC /DE/ - Annual Report: 2012 (Form 10-K)

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012

Commission file number 1-5467

VALHI, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (972) 233-1700

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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  ¨

Whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).     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).

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 12.4 million shares of voting common stock held by nonaffiliates of Valhi, Inc. as of June 30, 2012 (the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently-completed second fiscal quarter) approximated $154.5 million.

As of March 8, 2013, 339,115,449 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.

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PART I

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”). Kronos (NYSE: KRO), NL (NYSE: NL) and CompX (NYSE MKT: 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 Contran and one of its subsidiaries, which own approximately 93% of our outstanding common stock at December 31, 2012. 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 entities related to Mr. Simmons. Consequently, Mr. Simmons may be deemed to control Contran and us.

Key events in our history include:

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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 on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Statements in this Annual Report that are not historical facts are forward-looking in nature and represent management’s beliefs and assumptions based on currently available information. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “believes,” “intends,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “anticipates,” “expects” or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategies or trends. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we do not know if these expectations will be correct. Such statements by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could significantly impact expected results. Actual future results could differ materially from those predicted. The factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from those described herein are the risks and uncertainties discussed in this Quarterly Report and those described from time to time in our other filings with the SEC include, but are not limited to, the following:

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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.

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Segments

We have three consolidated operating segments at December 31, 2012:

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.

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CHEMICALS SEGMENT—KRONOS WORLDWIDE, INC.

Business Overview

Through our majority-controlled subsidiary, Kronos, we are leading global producer and marketer of value-added TiO₂ pigments, a base industrial product used in a wide range of applications. Kronos, along with its distributors and agents, sells and provide technical services for our products to over 4,000 customers in approximately 100 countries with the majority of sales in Europe and North America. We believe we have developed considerable expertise and efficiency in the manufacture, sale, shipment and service of our products in domestic and international markets.

TiO₂ is a white inorganic pigment used in a wide range of products for its exceptional ability to impart whiteness, brightness, opacity and durability. TiO₂ is a critical component of everyday applications, such as coatings, plastics and paper, as well as many specialty products such as inks, food and cosmetics. TiO₂ is widely considered to be superior to alternative white pigments in large part due to its hiding power (or opacity), which is the ability to cover or mask other materials effectively and efficiently. TiO₂ is designed, marketed and sold based on specific end-use applications.

TiO₂ is the largest commercially used whitening pigment because it has a high refractive rating giving it more hiding power than any other commercially produced white pigment. In addition, TiO₂ has excellent resistance to interaction with other chemicals, good thermal stability and resistance to ultraviolet degradation. Although there are other white pigments on the market, we believe there are no effective substitutes for TiO₂ because no other white pigment has the physical properties for achieving comparable opacity and brightness or can be incorporated in as cost-effective a manner. Pigment extenders such as kaolin clays, calcium carbonate and polymeric opacifiers are used together with TiO₂ in a number of end-use markets. However, these products are not able to duplicate the opacity performance characteristics of TiO₂ and we believe these products are unlikely to have a significant impact on the use of TiO₂.

TiO₂ is considered a “quality-of-life” product. Demand for TiO₂ has generally been driven by worldwide gross domestic product and has generally increased with rising standards of living in various regions of the world. According to industry estimates, TiO₂ consumption has grown at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 2.5% since 2000. Per capita consumption of TiO₂ in the United States and Western Europe far exceeds that in other areas of the world, and these regions are expected to continue to be the largest consumers of TiO₂. We believe that North America and Western Europe currently account for approximately 16% and 22% of global TiO₂ consumption, respectively. Markets for TiO₂ are increasing in South America, Eastern Europe, the Far East and China and we believe these are significant markets where we expect continued growth as economies in these regions continue to develop and quality-of-life products, including TiO₂, experience greater demand.

In recent years, global production capacity for TiO₂ has increased primarily due to debottlenecking existing production facilities in the western world and construction of new plants in China. However, during 2008 and 2009, several TiO₂ manufacturers permanently reduced capacity at high operating cost facilities in Europe, North America and China, in part in connection with environmental-related issues. Decreased capacity, along with the decline in customer inventories which occurred in the first half of 2009, led to industry-wide tightness in TiO₂ inventories. As a result of these

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factors, TiO₂ selling prices began to increase in the second half of 2009 and continued to increase throughout 2010 and 2011. As demand weakened in 2012 as a result of global economic weakness and uncertainty, TiO₂ selling prices decreased. We expect that demand for TiO₂ products will increase as economic conditions improve in the various regions of the world.

Products and End-use Markets

Including our predecessors, we have produced and marketed TiO₂ in North America and Europe, our primary markets, for over 90 years. We believe that we are the largest producer of TiO₂ in Europe with approximately one-half of our sales volumes attributable to markets in Europe. The table below shows our market share for our significant markets, Europe and North America, for the last three years.

We believe that we are the leading seller of TiO₂ in several countries, including Germany, with an estimated 10% share of worldwide TiO₂ sales volume in 2012. Overall, we are the world’s third-largest producer of TiO₂.

We offer our customers a broad portfolio of products that include over 40 different TiO₂ pigment grades under the Kronos^® trademark which provide a variety of performance properties to meet customers’ specific requirements. Our major customers include domestic and international paint, plastics, decorative laminate and paper manufacturers. We ship TiO₂ to our customers in either a powder or slurry form via rail, truck and/or ocean carrier. Sales of our core TiO₂ pigments represented approximately 90% of our net sales in 2012. We and our agents and distributors primarily sell and provide technical services for our products in three major end-use markets: coatings, plastics and paper.

The following tables show our approximate sales volume by geographic region and end use for the year ended December 31, 2012:

Some of the principal applications for our products include the following.

TiO₂ for Coatings—Our TiO₂ is used to provide opacity, durability, tinting strength and brightness in industrial coatings, as well as coatings for home interiors and exteriors, automobiles, aircraft, machines, appliances, traffic paint and other special purpose coatings. The amount of TiO₂ used in coatings varies widely depending on the opacity, color and quality desired. In general, the higher the opacity requirement of the coating, the greater the TiO₂ content.

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TiO₂ for Plastics—We produce TiO₂ pigments that improve the optical and physical properties in plastics, including whiteness and opacity. TiO₂ is used to provide opacity in items such as containers and packaging materials, and vinyl products such as windows, door profiles and siding. TiO₂ also generally provides hiding power, neutral undertone, brightness and surface durability for housewares, appliances, toys, computer cases and food packages. TiO₂’s high brightness along with its opacity, is used in some engineering plastics to help mask their undesirable natural color. TiO₂ is also used in masterbatch, which is a concentrate of TiO₂ and other additives and is one of the largest uses for TiO₂ in the plastics end-use market. In masterbatch, the TiO₂ is dispersed at high concentrations into a plastic resin and is then used by manufacturers of plastic containers, bottles, packaging and agricultural films.

TiO₂ for Paper—Our TiO₂ is used in the production of several types of paper, including laminate (decorative) paper, filled paper and coated paper to provide whiteness, brightness, opacity and color stability. Although we sell our TiO₂ to all segments of the paper end-use market, our primary focus is on the TiO₂ grades used in paper laminates, where several layers of paper are laminated together using melamine resin under high temperature and pressure. The top layer of paper contains TiO₂ and plastic resin and is the layer that is printed with decorative patterns. Paper laminates are used to replace materials such as wood and tile for such applications as counter tops, furniture and wallboard. TiO₂ is beneficial in these applications because it assists in preventing the material from fading or changing color after prolonged exposure to sunlight and other weathering agents.

TiO₂ for Other Applications—We produce TiO₂ to improve the opacity and hiding power of printing inks. TiO₂ allows inks to achieve very high print quality while not interfering with the technical requirements of printing machinery, including low abrasion, high printing speed and high temperatures. Our TiO₂ is also used in textile applications where TiO₂ functions as an opacifying and delustering agent. In man-made fibers such as rayon and polyester, TiO₂ corrects an otherwise undesirable glossy and translucent appearance. Without the presence of TiO₂, these materials would be unsuitable for use in many textile applications.

We produce high purity sulfate process anatase TiO₂ used to provide opacity, whiteness and brightness in a variety of cosmetic and personal care products, such as skin cream, lipstick, eye shadow and toothpaste. Our TiO₂ is also found in food products, such as candy and confectionaries, and in pet foods where it is used to obtain uniformity of color and appearance. In pharmaceuticals, our TiO₂ is used commonly as a colorant in pill and capsule coatings as well as in liquid medicines to provide uniformity of color and appearance. Kronos^® purified anatase grades meet the applicable requirements of the CTFA (Cosmetics, Toiletries and Fragrances Association), USP and BP (United States Pharmacopoeia and British Pharmacopoeia) and the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration).

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Our TiO₂ business is enhanced by the following three complementary businesses, which comprised approximately 10% of our net sales in 2012:

Manufacturing, Operations and Properties

We produce TiO₂ in two crystalline forms: rutile and anatase. Rutile TiO₂ is manufactured using both a chloride production process and a sulfate production process, whereas anatase TiO₂ is only produced using a sulfate production process. Manufacturers of many end-use applications can use either form, especially during periods of tight supply for TiO₂. The chloride process is the preferred form for use in coatings and plastics, the two largest end-use markets. Due to environmental factors and customer considerations, the proportion of TiO₂ industry sales represented by chloride process pigments has increased relative to sulfate process pigments and in 2012, chloride process production facilities represented approximately 52% of industry capacity. The sulfate process is preferred for use in selected paper products, ceramics, rubber tires, man-made fibers, food and cosmetics. Once an intermediate TiO₂ pigment has been 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).

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We produced 469,000 metric tons of TiO₂ in 2012, down from the 550,000 metric tons we produced in 2011. Our production amounts include our share of the output produced by our TiO₂ manufacturing joint venture discussed below in “TiO₂ Manufacturing Joint Venture.” Our average production capacity utilization rates were at or near full capacity in 2010 and 2011 and at approximately 85% of capacity in 2012.

We operate four TiO₂ plants in Europe (one in each of Leverkusen, Germany; Nordenham, Germany; Langerbrugge, Belgium; and Fredrikstad, Norway). In North America, we have a TiO₂ plant in Varennes, Quebec, Canada and, through the manufacturing joint venture described below in “TiO₂ Manufacturing Joint Venture,” a 50% interest in a TiO₂ plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Our production capacity in 2012 was 550,000 metric tons, approximately three-fourths of which was from the chloride production process.

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The following table presents the division of our expected 2013 manufacturing capacity by plant location and type of manufacturing process:

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We own the land underlying all of our principle production facilities unless otherwise indicated in the table above.

Our production capacity has increased by approximately 20% over the past ten years due to debottlenecking programs, with only moderate capital expenditures. We believe that our annual attainable production capacity for 2013 is approximately 550,000 metric tons, although we currently expect that we will operate at less-than-full production capacity for the year.

We also operate two ilmenite mines in Norway pursuant to a governmental concession with an unlimited term. In addition, we operate a rutile slurry manufacturing plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which converts dry pigment manufactured for us at the Lake Charles TiO₂ facility into a slurry form that is then shipped to customers.

We have various corporate and administrative offices located in the U.S., Germany, Norway, Canada and Belgium and various sales offices located in the U.S., Canada, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

TiO₂ Manufacturing Joint Venture

Kronos Louisiana, Inc., one of our subsidiaries, and Tioxide Americas, Inc. (Tioxide), a subsidiary of Huntsman Corporation, each own a 50% interest in a manufacturing joint venture, Louisiana Pigment Company, L.P., or LPC. LPC owns and operates a chloride-process TiO₂ plant located in Lake Charles, Louisiana. We and Huntsman share production from the plant equally pursuant to separate offtake agreements, unless we and Huntsman agree otherwise (such as in 2012, when we purchased approximately 52% of the production from the plant).

A supervisory committee directs the business and affairs of the joint venture, including production and output decisions. This committee is composed of four members, two of whom we appoint and two of whom Huntsman appoints. Two general managers manage the operations of the joint venture acting under the direction of the supervisory committee. We appoint one general manager and Huntsman appoints the other.

The joint venture is not consolidated in our financial statements, because we do not control it. We account for our interest in the joint venture by the equity method. The joint venture operates on a break-even basis and therefore we do not have any equity in earnings of the joint venture. We are required to purchase one half of the TiO₂ produced by the joint venture, unless we and Huntsman agree otherwise (such as in 2012, when we purchased approximately 52% of the production from the plant). All costs and capital expenditures are shared equally with Huntsman with the exception of raw material and packaging costs for the pigment grades produced. Our share of net costs is reported as cost of sales as the TiO₂ is sold. See Notes 7 and 16 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

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 is available from a number of suppliers, while petroleum coke is available from a limited number of suppliers. Titanium-containing feedstock suitable for use in the chloride process is available from a limited but increasing number of suppliers principally in Australia, South Africa, Canada, India and the United States. We purchase chloride process grade slag from Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium under a long-term supply contract

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that expires at the end of 2016 and from Tronox Mineral Sands (PTY) LTD under a new supply contract entered into in January 2013 that expires in December 2015. The 2013 Tronox Mineral Sands contract replaced the Exxaro TSA Sands contract which expired at the end of 2012. We purchase upgraded slag from Q.I.T. Fer et Titane Inc. (a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium) under a long-term supply contract that expires at the end of 2015. We purchase natural rutile ore primarily from Iluka Resources, Limited under new supply contracts entered into in January 2013 and Sierra Rutile Limited under contracts that expire in 2013. The 2013 Iluka contracts replaced the Iluka contract which expired at the end 2012. In the past we have been, and we expect that we will continue to be, successful in obtaining short-term and long-term extensions to these and other existing supply contracts prior to their expiration. We expect the raw materials purchased under these contracts, and contracts that we may enter into in the near term, 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 or purchased sulfate grade slag and sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is available from a number of suppliers. Titanium-containing feedstock suitable for use in the sulfate process is available from a limited number of suppliers principally in Norway, Canada, Australia, India and South Africa. As one of the few vertically-integrated producers of sulfate process TiO₂, we operate two rock ilmenite mines in Norway, which provided all of the feedstock for our European sulfate process TiO₂ plants in 2012. We expect ilmenite production from our mines to meet our European sulfate process feedstock requirements for the foreseeable future. For our Canadian sulfate process plant, we also purchase sulfate grade slag primarily from Q.I.T. Fer et Titane Inc. (a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium), under a long-term supply contract that expires at the end of 2014. We expect the raw materials purchased under these contracts, and contracts that we may enter into in the near term, to meet our sulfate process feedstock requirements over the next several years.

Many of our raw material contracts contain fixed quantities we are required to purchase, or specify a range of quantities within which we are required to purchase. The pricing under these agreements is generally negotiated quarterly.

The following table summarizes our raw materials purchased or mined in 2012.

Sales and Marketing

Our marketing strategy is aimed at developing and maintaining strong customer relationships with new and existing accounts. Because TiO₂ represents a significant raw material cost for our customers, the purchasing decisions are often made by our customers’ senior management. We work to

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maintain close relationships with the key decision makers, through in-depth frequent in-person meetings. We endeavor to extend these commercial and technical relationships to multiple levels within our customers’ organization using our direct sales force and technical service group to accomplish this objective. We believe this has helped build customer loyalty to Kronos and strengthened our competitive position. Close cooperation and strong customer relationships enable us to stay closely attuned to trends in our customers’ businesses. Where appropriate, we work in conjunction with our customers to solve formulation or application problems by modifying specific product properties or developing new pigment grades. We also focus our sales and marketing efforts on those geographic and end-use market segments where we believe we can realize higher selling prices. This focus includes continuously reviewing and optimizing our customer and product portfolios.

Our marketing strategy is also aimed at working directly with customers to monitor the success of our products in their end-use applications, evaluate the need for improvements in product and process technology and identify opportunities to develop new product solutions for our customers. Our marketing staff closely coordinates with our sales force and technical specialists to ensure that the needs of our customers are met, and to help develop and commercialize new grades where appropriate.

We sell a majority of our products through our direct sales force operating from six sales offices in Europe and one sales office in North America. We also utilize sales agents and distributors who are authorized to sell our products in specific geographic areas. In Europe, our sales efforts are conducted primarily through our direct sales force and our sales agents. Our agents do not sell any TiO₂ products other than Kronos^® brand products. In North America, our sales are made primarily through our direct sales force and supported by a network of distributors. In addition to our direct sales force and sales agents, many of our sales agents also act as distributors to service our smaller customers in all regions. We offer the same high level of customer and technical service to the customers who purchase our products through distributors as we offer to our larger customers serviced by our direct sales force.

We sell to a diverse customer base with just one customer, Behr Process Corporation, making up more than 10% of our sales in 2012. Our largest ten customers accounted for approximately 34% of sales in 2012.

Neither our business as a whole nor that of any of our principal product groups is seasonal to any significant extent. However, TiO₂ sales are generally higher in the second and third quarters of the year, due in part to the increase in paint production in the spring to meet demand during the spring and summer painting seasons. With certain exceptions, we have historically operated our production facilities at near full capacity rates throughout the entire year, which among other things helps to minimize our per-unit production costs. As a result, we normally will build inventories during the first and fourth quarters of each year, in order to maximize our product availability during the higher demand periods normally experienced in the second and third quarters.

Competition

The TiO₂ industry is highly competitive. We compete primarily on the basis of price, product quality, technical service and the availability of high performance pigment grades. Since TiO₂ is not a traded commodity, its pricing is largely a product of negotiation between suppliers and their respective customers. Although certain TiO₂ grades are considered specialty

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pigments, the majority of our grades and substantially all of our production are considered commodity pigments with price and availability being the most significant competitive factors along with quality and customer service. During 2012, we had an estimated 10% share of worldwide TiO₂ sales volume, and based on sales volumes, we believe we are the leading seller of TiO₂ in several countries, including Germany.

Our principal competitors are E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., or Dupont; Millennium Inorganic Chemicals, Inc. (a subsidiary of National Titanium Dioxide Company Ltd.), or Cristal; Huntsman Corporation; Tronox Incorporated; and Sachtleben Chemie GmbH. The top five TiO₂ producers account for approximately 58% of the world’s production capacity.

The following chart shows our estimate of worldwide production capacity in 2012:

DuPont has over one-half of total North American TiO₂ production capacity and is our principal North American competitor.

Over the past ten years, we and our competitors increased industry capacity through debottlenecking projects, which in part compensated for the shut down of TiO₂ plants in France, the United States, the United Kingdom and China. In addition, in May 2011, Dupont announced a comprehensive plan to add approximately 350,000 metric tons of global capacity in the next three years. Although overall industry demand is expected to be higher in 2013 as compared to 2012 as a result of improving worldwide economic conditions, we do not expect any other significant efforts will be undertaken by us or our competitors to further increase capacity for the foreseeable future, other than through debottlenecking projects. If actual developments differ from our expectations, the TiO₂ industry’s performance and that of our own could be unfavorably affected.

The TiO₂ industry is characterized by high barriers to entry consisting of high capital costs, proprietary technology and significant lead times (typically three to five years in our experience) required to construct new facilities or to expand existing capacity. In addition, we believe the suppliers of titanium-containing feedstock do not currently have the ability to supply the raw materials that would be required to operate any such new TiO₂ production capacity until they have invested in additional infrastructure required to expand their own production capacity, which we believe will take a few years to complete. We believe it is unlikely any new TiO₂ plants will be constructed in Europe or North America in the foreseeable future.

Research and Development

We employ scientists, chemists, process engineers and technicians who are engaged in research and development, process technology and quality assurance activities in Leverkusen, Germany. These individuals have the responsibility for improving our chloride and sulfate production processes, improving product quality and strengthening our competitive position by developing new applications. Our expenditures for these activities were approximately $13 million in 2010, $20 million in 2011 and $19 million in 2012. We expect to spend approximately $20 million on research and development in 2013.

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We continually seek to improve the quality of our grades and have been successful at developing new grades for existing and new applications to meet the needs of our customers and increase product life cycles. Since 2007, we have added six new grades for plastics and coatings.

Patents, Trademarks, Trade Secrets and Other Intellectual Property Rights

We have a comprehensive intellectual property protection strategy that includes obtaining, maintaining and enforcing our patents, primarily in the United States, Canada and Europe. We also protect our trademark and trade secret rights and have entered into license agreements with third parties concerning various intellectual property matters. We have also from time to time been involved in disputes over intellectual property.

Patents—We have obtained patents and have numerous patent applications pending that cover our products and the technology used in the manufacture of our products. Our patent strategy is important to us and our continuing business activities. In addition to maintaining our patent portfolio, we seek patent protection for our technical developments, principally in the United States, Canada and Europe. U.S. patents are generally in effect for 20 years from the date of filing. Our U.S. patent portfolio includes patents having remaining terms ranging from one year to 19 years.

Trademarks and Trade Secrets—Our trademarks, including Kronos^®, are covered by issued and/or pending registrations, including in Canada and the United States. We protect the trademarks that we use in connection with the products we manufacture and sell and have developed goodwill in connection with our long-term use of our trademarks. We conduct research activities in secret and we protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets through reasonable measures, including confidentiality agreements and security procedures. We rely upon unpatented proprietary knowledge and 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 our trade secrets used in this technology.

Employees

As of December 31, 2012, Kronos employed the following number of people:

Certain employees at each of our production facilities are organized by labor unions. In Europe, our union employees are covered by master collective bargaining agreements for the chemical industry that are generally renewed annually. In Canada, our union employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that expires in June 2013. It is possible that there could be future work stoppages or other labor disruptions that could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial position or liquidity.

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Regulatory and Environmental Matters

Our operations and properties are governed by various environmental laws and regulations, which are complex, change frequently and have tended to become stricter over time. These environmental laws govern, among other things, the generation, storage, handling, use and transportation of hazardous materials; the emission and discharge of hazardous materials into the ground, air or water; and the health and safety of our employees. Certain of our operations are, or have been, engaged in the generation, storage, 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 comply with applicable environmental laws and regulations at all our facilities and to strive to improve our environmental performance. It is possible that future developments, such as stricter requirements in environmental laws and enforcement policies, could adversely affect our operations, including production, handling, use, storage, transportation, sale or disposal of hazardous or toxic substances or require us to make capital and other expenditures to comply, and could adversely affect our consolidated financial position and results of operations or liquidity.

Our U.S. manufacturing operations are governed by federal, state and local environmental and worker health and safety laws and regulations. These include the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or 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 and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, or CERCLA, as well as the state counterparts of these statutes. Some of these laws hold current or previous owners or operators of real property liable for the costs of cleaning up contamination, even if these owners or operators did not know of, and were not responsible for, such contamination. These laws also assess liability on any person who arranges for the disposal or treatment of hazardous substances, regardless of whether the affected site is owned or operated by such person. Although we have not incurred and do not currently anticipate any material liabilities in connection with such environmental laws, we may be required to make expenditures for environmental remediation in the future.

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, or the EU. Germany and Belgium are members of the EU and follow its initiatives. Norway is not a member but generally patterns its environmental regulatory actions after the EU.

At our sulfate plant facilities in Germany, we recycle spent sulfuric acid either through contracts with third parties or at our own facilities. In addition, at our German locations we have a contract with a third-party to treat certain sulfate-process effluents. At our Norwegian plant, we ship spent acid to a third party location where it is used as a neutralization agent. These contracts may be terminated by either party after giving three or four years advance notice, depending on the contract.

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From time to time, our facilities may be subject to environmental regulatory enforcement under U.S. and non-U.S. statutes. Typically we establish compliance programs to resolve these matters. Occasionally, we may pay penalties. To date such penalties have not involved amounts having a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity. We believe that all of our facilities are in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws.

In December 2006, the EU approved Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals, or REACH, which took effect on June 1, 2007 and will be phased in over an 11-year period from the implementation date. Under REACH, companies that manufacture or import more than one ton of a chemical substance per year in the EU will be required to register such chemical substances in a central data base. REACH affects our European operations by imposing a testing, evaluation and registration program for many of the chemicals we use or produce in Europe. Under REACH, substances of very high concern may require authorization for further use and may also be restricted in the future, which could increase our production costs. We have established a REACH team that is working to identify and list all substances purchased, manufactured or imported by or for us in the EU. We spent $2.6 million in 2010 and $.4 million in each of 2011 and 2012 on REACH compliance and we do not anticipate that future compliance costs will be material to us.

Our capital expenditures related to ongoing environmental compliance, protection and improvement programs, including capital expenditures which are primarily focused on increased operating efficiency but also result in improved environmental protection such as lower emissions from our manufacturing facilities, were $25.2 million in 2012 and are currently expected to be approximately $25 million in 2013.

COMPONENT PRODUCTS SEGMENT—COMPX INTERNATIONAL INC.

Business Overview

Through our majority-controlled subsidiary, CompX, we are a leading manufacturer of security products used in recreational transportation, postal, office and institutional furniture, cabinetry, tool storage, healthcare and a variety of other industries. We are also a leading manufacturer of stainless steel exhaust systems, gauges, and throttle controls primarily for recreational boats. Our products are principally designed for use in medium to high-end product applications, where design, quality and durability are valued by our customers. In December 2012, CompX sold its furniture components reporting unit which included two manufacturing facilities.

Manufacturing, Operations, and Products

Security Products. Our security products reporting unit, with one manufacturing facility in South Carolina and one in Illinois shared with the marine components reporting unit, manufactures mechanical and electronic cabinet locks and other locking mechanisms used in a variety of applications including ignition systems, mailboxes, file cabinets, desk drawers, tool storage cabinets, vending and gaming machines, high security medical cabinetry, electrical circuit panels, storage compartments and gas station security. We believe we are a North American market leader in the manufacture and sale of cabinet locks and other locking mechanisms. These products include:

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A substantial portion of security products’ sales consist of products with specialized adaptations to an individual customer’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 to locksmith distributors and smaller original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) via our STOCK LOCKS^® distribution program.

Marine Components. Our marine components reporting unit, with a facility in Wisconsin and a facility shared with Security Products in Illinois, manufactures and distributes stainless steel exhaust systems, gauges, throttle controls, hardware and accessories primarily for performance and ski/wakeboard boats. Our specialty marine component products are high precision components designed to operate within tight tolerances in the highly demanding marine environment. These products include:

Our business segments operated three manufacturing facilities at December 31, 2012.

Raw Materials

Our primary raw materials are:

These raw materials are purchased from several suppliers, are readily available from numerous sources and accounted for approximately 10% of our total cost of sales for 2012.

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We occasionally enter into short-term supply arrangements for our commodity related raw materials to mitigate the impact of future increases in raw material prices that are affected by commodity markets. These arrangements generally provide for stated unit prices based upon specified purchase volumes, which help us stabilize our commodity related raw material costs to a certain extent. Commodity related raw materials purchased outside of these arrangements are sometimes subject to unanticipated and sudden price increases. We generally seek to mitigate the impact of fluctuations in these raw material costs on our margins through improvements in production efficiencies or other operating cost reductions. In the event we are unable to offset raw material cost increases with other cost reductions, it may be difficult to recover those cost increases through increased product selling prices or raw material surcharges due to the competitive nature of the markets served by our products. Consequently, overall operating margins can be affected by commodity related raw material cost pressures. Commodity market prices are cyclical, reflecting overall economic trends, specific developments in consuming industries and speculative investor activities.

Patents and Trademarks

We hold a number of patents relating to our component products, certain of which are believed to be important to us and our continuing business activity. Patents generally have a term of 20 years, and our patents have remaining terms ranging from 3 to 14 years at December 31, 2012. Our major trademarks and brand names include:

Sales, Marketing and Distribution

A majority of our component sales are sold directly to large OEM customers through our factory-based sales and marketing professionals supported by engineers working in concert with field salespeople and independent manufacturer’s representatives. We select manufacturer’s representatives based on special skills in certain markets or relationships with current or potential customers.

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In addition to sales to large OEM customers, a significant portion of our security products sales are made through distributors. We have a significant North American market share of cabinet lock security product sales as a result of the locksmith distribution channel. We support our locksmith 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.

In 2012, our ten largest customers, all customers of our security products reporting unit, accounted for approximately 38% of CompX’s total sales. Harley Davidson accounted for approximately 12% of CompX’s total sales for the year ended December 31, 2012. Overall, our customer base is diverse and the loss of any single customer would not in itself have a material adverse effect on our operations.

Competition

The markets in which we participate 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 valued by the customer. Security products compete against a number of domestic and foreign manufacturers. Marine components compete with small domestic manufacturers and is minimally affected by foreign competitors.

Regulatory and Environmental Matters

Our operations are subject to federal, state and local 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 (“Environmental Laws”). Our operations also are subject to federal, state and local 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 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.

Discontinued Operations

On December 28, 2012, CompX completed the sale of its furniture components reporting unit to a competitor of that segment for proceeds (net of expenses) of approximately $58.0 million in cash. We recognized a pre-tax gain of approximately $23.7 million on the disposal of these operations ($15.7 million, net of income taxes and noncontrolling interest). See Note 3 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

Employees

As of December 31, 2012, CompX employed 466 people all in the United States. We believe our labor relations are good at all of our facilities.

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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 management facility in West Texas. The original facility was initially 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 expanded our authorizations to include the processing, treatment and storage of LLRW and mixed LLRW and the disposal of certain types of exempt LLRW. In May 2008, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) issued a byproduct materials disposal license to us. In January 2009, TCEQ issued a near-surface LLRW disposal license to us. This license was signed in September 2009.

We currently operate our waste management facility on a limited basis as our Federal LLRW site has not taken waste for disposal. We began construction of the byproduct facility infrastructure at our site in Andrews County, Texas in the third quarter of 2008, and this facility began disposal operations in October 2009. Construction of the Compact and Federal LLRW disposal facilities began in January 2011. The Compact LLRW site was fully certified and operational in April 2012, and the Federal LLRW site was fully certified and operational in September 2012.

Facility, Operations and Services

Our Waste Management Segment operates one waste management facility located on a 1,338-acre site in West Texas. The facility is permitted for 6.5 million cubic yards of airspace landfill capacity for the disposal of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), Toxic Substance Control Act (“TSCA”), Byproduct and LLRW and mixed LLRW 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 and 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. Pursuant to the requirements of WCS’ LLRW disposal license, the State of Texas, acting by and through the TCEQ, owns the real property for WCS’ licensed “compact waste disposal facility” and leases it back to WCS; and WCS owns the real property for its licensed “federal waste disposal facility”. The remainder of WCS’ permitted site, and the Texas portion of the surrounding land described above, is subject to the sale-leaseback transaction WCS entered into with the County of Andrews, Texas, as discussed in Note 9 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

The waste management facility operates under various licenses and permits, including in the following categories:

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Our LLRW Treatment/Storage 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 and treatment facilities for hazardous, toxic and mixed LLRW, 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

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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 currently is either: (i) placed in our landfills, (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 landfills.

Sales

Our Waste Management Segment’s target customers are industrial companies, including nuclear utilities, chemical, aerospace and electronics businesses and governmental agencies, including the DOE, which generate low-level radioactive, 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 LLRW and mixed LLRW) 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 LLRW and mixed LLRW streams provide us certain competitive advantages, a key element of our long-term strategy is to provide “one-stop shopping” for hazardous, LLRW and mixed LLRW.

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 continue to be intense for RCRA- and TSCA-related wastes. With respect to our low-level radioactive activities, our principal competitors are EnergySolutions, Inc., US Ecology Inc., 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.

The LLRW industry has very limited competition because; (i)commercial low-level waste disposal facilities can only be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”) or states that have an agreement with NRC to assume portions of its regulatory authority (“Agreement States”), (ii) the facilities must be designed, constructed and operated to meet strict safety standards and (iii) the operator of the facility must extensively characterize the site on which the facility is located and analyze how the facility will perform for thousands of years into the future. Prior to the receipt of our license, there were only three low-level waste disposal facilities in the United States. None of the three disposal facilities accept Class B or C LLRW from generators located in states which do not have a formal agreement with the state in which the disposal facility is located (the “Compact System” or the “Compact”). We believe we will be very competitive due to the limited amount of competition and our “one-stop shopping” capabilities once our new facilities are completed and in operation.

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In the future, other commercial options may be available for the disposal of Class B/C radioactive waste. In addition, onsite storage by our customers is also an option and could be our biggest competition for disposal services. Eventually, waste in storage must be disposed of so the customers can decommission their facilities, so storage is only competing for the timing of the eventual disposal.

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 modify, obtain or retain permits on a timely basis could be impaired in the future. The loss of an individual permit or the failure to modify or 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 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. See “Facility, Operations and Services” above for a discussion of some of our Waste Management Segment’s permits. Our RCRA permit for the RCRA landfill expires in 2015 and TSCA authorization for the RCRA landfill expires in 2015. Our byproduct material disposal license expires in 2018 and our LLRW disposal license expires in 2024. Our RCRA permit for the Federal LLRW disposal facility expires in 2018, and the TSCA authorization for that facility is pending. Our LLRW treatment/storage license is under timely renewal and is currently being reviewed by the TCEQ. Such permits, licenses and authorizations can be renewed subject to compliance with the requirements of the application process and approval by the TCEQ or the EPA, as applicable.

The Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission (“Texas Compact Commission”) is responsible for managing the disposal capacity of the Compact LLRW disposal facility. They do this by approving or denying export petitions from Texas Compact generators that wish to ship their waste to a different disposal site or approving or denying import petitions from out-of-compact generators that wish to ship their waste to the Compact LLRW disposal facility. The Texas Compact Commission has approved rules for the export and import of LLRW and began approving import agreements in 2012.

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 a particular Compact from being sent to disposal sites outside that Compact. The U.S. Congress has also considered legislation that would enable or facilitate

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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 and radioactive 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 those wastes 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 or challenges to current or new license authorizations.

Employees

At December 31, 2012, WCS had 163 employees. We believe our labor relations are good.

OTHER

NL Industries, Inc.—At December 31, 2012, NL owned 87% of CompX and 30% 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.

In addition, we also own real property related to certain of our former business units.

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 an 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.

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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 reports 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, such as us, that file electronically with the SEC.

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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.

The majority of our operating cash flows are generated by our operating subsidiaries, and our ability to service 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 and affiliates. Our subsidiaries and affiliates are separate and distinct legal entities and they have no obligation, contingent or otherwise, to pay such cash dividends or other distributions to us. In addition, the payment of dividends or other distributions from our subsidiaries could be subject to restrictions on, or taxation of, dividends or repatriation of earnings under applicable law, monetary transfer restrictions, currency exchange regulations in jurisdictions in which our subsidiaries operate or any other restrictions imposed by current or future agreements to which our subsidiaries may be a party, including debt instruments. 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 were to 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, a significant portion of our assets consist of ownership interests in our subsidiaries and affiliates. If we were required to liquidate any of such securities 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 long-term value of such assets.

Demand for, and prices of, certain of our products are influenced by changing market conditions for our products, which may result in reduced earnings or operating losses.

Approximately 90% of our Chemicals revenues are attributable to sales of TiO₂. Pricing within the global TiO₂ industry over the long term is cyclical and changes in economic conditions, especially in Western industrialized nations, can significantly impact our earnings and operating cash flows. 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 are one of the main factors that affect 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. In addition, pricing may affect customer inventory levels as customers may from time to time accelerate purchases of TiO₂ in advance of anticipated price increases or defer purchases of TiO₂ in advance of anticipated price decreases. Our ability to further increase capacity without additional investment in greenfield or brownfield capacity increases may be limited and as a result, our profitability may become even more dependent upon the selling prices of our products.

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The demand for TiO₂ during a given year is also subject to annual seasonal fluctuations. TiO₂ sales are generally higher in the second and third quarters 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.

The TiO₂ industry is concentrated and highly competitive and we face price pressures in the markets in which we operate, which may result in reduced earnings or operating losses.

The global market in which we operate our business is concentrated with the top five TiO₂ producers accounting for 58% of the world’s production capacity and is 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 such 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 may result in reduced demand for our products or make it more difficult for us to compete with our competitors. 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. In addition, many of our raw material contracts contain fixed quantities we are required to purchase.

The number of sources for and availability of certain raw materials is specific to the particular geographical region in which a facility is located. For example, titanium-containing feedstocks suitable for use in our TiO₂ facilities 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 unable to meet their contractual obligations and we were unable to obtain necessary raw materials, we could incur higher costs for raw materials or may be required to reduce production levels. After experiencing significant increases in our feedstock ore costs in 2012 as compared to 2011, we expect that our ore costs will be somewhat lower in 2013 as compared to 2012. In addition, we may also experience higher operating costs such as energy costs, which could affect our profitability. We may not always be able to increase our selling prices to offset the impact of any higher costs or reduced production levels, which could reduce our earnings and decrease our liquidity.

We have long-term supply contracts that provide for our TiO₂ feedstock requirements that currently expire through 2016, most of which we may be able to renew. We may not be successful in renewing these contracts or in obtaining long-term extensions to these contracts prior to expiration. Our current agreements (including those entered into in January 2013) require us to purchase certain minimum quantities of feedstock with minimum purchase commitments aggregating approximately $1.8 billion in years subsequent to December 31, 2012. In addition, we have other long-term supply and service contracts that provide for various raw materials and services. These agreements require us to purchase certain minimum quantities or services with

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minimum purchase commitments aggregating approximately $122 million at December 31, 2012. Our commitments under these contracts could adversely affect our financial results if we significantly reduce our production and were unable to modify the contractual commitments.

We could incur significant costs related to legal and environmental remediation matters.

NL formerly manufactured lead pigments for use in paint. NL and others 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 we might incur in the future could be material. See also Item 3—“Legal Proceedings—Lead pigment litigation.”

Certain properties and facilities used in our former operations are the subject of litigation, administrative proceedings or investigations arising under various environmental laws. These proceedings seek cleanup 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. See also Item 3—“Legal Proceedings—Environmental matters and litigation.”

Many of the markets in which our Component Products Segment operates are mature and highly competitive resulting in pricing pressure and the need to continuously reduce costs.

Many of the markets we serve are highly competitive, with a number of competitors offering similar products. We focus our efforts on the middle and high-end segment of the market where we feel that we can compete due to the importance of product design, quality and durability to the customer. However, our ability to effectively compete is impacted by a number of factors. The occurrence of any of these factors could result in reduced earnings or operating losses.

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Our development of innovative features for current products is critical to sustaining and growing our Component Product Segment’s sales.

Historically, our Component Products Segment’s ability to provide value-added custom engineered products that address requirements of technology and space utilization has been a key element of our success. We spend a significant amount of time and effort to refine, improve and adapt our existing products for new customers and applications. Since expenditures for these types of activities are not considered research and development expense under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), the amount of our research and development expenditures, which is not significant, is not indicative of the overall effort involved in the development of new product features. The introduction of new product features requires the coordination of the design, manufacturing and marketing of the new product features with current and potential customers. The ability to coordinate these activities with current and potential customers may be affected by factors beyond our control. While we will continue to emphasize the introduction of innovative new product features that target customer-specific opportunities, there can be no assurance that any new product features we introduce will achieve the same degree of success that we have achieved with our existing products. Introduction of new product features 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 product features 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.

Failure to protect our intellectual property rights or claims by others that we infringe their intellectual property rights could substantially harm our business.

CompX relies on patent, trademark and trade secret laws in the United States and similar laws in other countries to establish and maintain intellectual property rights in our technology and designs. Despite these measures, any of our intellectual property rights could be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or misappropriated. Others may independently discover our trade secrets and proprietary information, and in such cases we could not assert any trade secret rights against such parties. Further, there can be no assurance that any of our pending trademark or patent applications will be approved. Costly and time-consuming litigation could be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our intellectual property rights. In addition, the laws of certain countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Therefore, in certain jurisdictions, we may be unable to protect our technology and designs adequately against unauthorized third party use, which could adversely affect our competitive position.

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Third parties may claim that we or our customers are infringing upon their intellectual property rights. Even if we believe that such claims are without merit, they can be time-consuming and costly to defend and distract our management’s and technical staff’s attention and resources. Claims of intellectual property infringement also might require us to redesign affected technology, enter into costly settlement or license agreements or pay costly damage awards, or face a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting us from marketing or selling certain of our technology. If we cannot or do not license the infringed technology on reasonable pricing terms or at all, or substitute similar technology from another source, our business could be adversely impacted.

Our Waste Management Segment operates in a highly regulated industry, and third parties may from time to time seek to challenge our Waste Management Segment’s licenses and permits. We may not be successful in obtaining new business to effectively operate our LLRW disposal facilities.

Our Waste Management Segment is required to comply with various federal, state and local regulations, as well as comply with the terms of our operating permits and licenses as they may be modified or amended. Failure to comply with any such regulation or permit requirements, or failure to obtain renewals, could adversely impact our operations. In addition, we must be successful in obtaining new business from our commercial and governmental customers in order to effectively operate our Compact and Federal LLRW disposal facilities. Third parties may from time to time seek to challenge our current operating licenses and permits. There is no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining such new business. Failure to obtain a sufficient amount of new business to effectively operate our LLRW disposal facilities could adversely impact our earnings and decrease our liquidity.

Our leverage may impair our financial condition or limit our ability to operate our businesses.

We have a significant amount of debt, primarily related to Kronos’ Term Loan, our loans from Snake River Sugar Company and Contran Corporation and WCS financing capital lease. As of December 31, 2012, our total consolidated debt was approximately $910.1 million. Our level of debt could have important consequences to our stockholders and creditors, including:

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In addition to our indebtedness, we are party to various lease and other agreements (including feedstock ore purchase contracts as previously described) pursuant to which, along with our indebtedness, we are committed to pay approximately $767.4 million in 2013. Our ability to make payments on and refinance our debt and to fund planned capital expenditures depends on our future 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 funds under our subsidiaries’ credit facilities in the future will, in some instances, depend in part on these subsidiaries’ ability to maintain specified financial ratios and satisfy certain financial covenants contained in the applicable credit agreement.

Our business may not generate cash flows from operating activities sufficient to enable 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, in the current credit markets. 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.

Global climate change legislation could negatively impact our financial results or limit our ability to operate our businesses.

We operate production facilities in several countries, and we believe all of our worldwide production facilities are in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws. In many of the countries in which we operate, legislation has been passed, or proposed legislation is being considered, to limit greenhouse gases through various means, including emissions permits and/or energy taxes. In several of our production facilities, we consume large amounts of energy, primarily electricity and natural gas. To date, the permit system in effect in the various countries in which we operate has not had a material adverse effect on our financial results. However, if greenhouse gas legislation were to be enacted in one or more countries, it could negatively impact our future results from operations through increased costs of production, particularly as it relates to our energy requirements. If such increased costs of production were to materialize, we may be unable to pass price increases onto our customers to compensate for increased production costs, which may decrease our liquidity, operating income and results of operations.

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None.

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.

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. To the extent the plaintiffs seek compensatory or punitive damages in these actions, such damages are generally unspecified. In some cases, the damages are unspecified pursuant to the requirements of applicable state law. 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 (in which we are not a defendant) are pending that seek 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.

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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 do not believe it is probable that we have incurred any liability with respect to all of the lead pigment litigation cases to which we are a party, and liability to us that may result, if any, in this regard cannot be reasonably estimated, because:

Accordingly, we have not accrued any amounts for any of the pending lead pigment and lead-based paint litigation cases. In addition, we have determined that liability to us which may result, if any, cannot be reasonably estimated because there is no prior history of a loss of this nature on which an estimate could be made and there is no substantive information available upon which an estimate could be based.

In April 2000, NL was 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. 1-00-CV-788657) brought by a number of California government entities against the former pigment manufacturers, the LIA and certain paint manufacturers. The County of Santa Clara sought 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. In July 2003, the trial judge granted defendants’ motion to dismiss all remaining claims. Plaintiffs appealed and the intermediate appellate court reinstated public nuisance, negligence, strict liability, and fraud claims in March 2006. After disapproval of contingency fee contracts by the trial court, and approval by the intermediate appellate court, in July 2010, the California Supreme Court ruled that public entities could pursue this public nuisance case assisted by private counsel on a contingent fee basis after revising the respective retention agreements to conform with the requirements set forth in the Supreme Court’s opinion. A fourth amended complaint was filed in March 2011 on behalf of The People of California by the County Attorneys of Alameda, Ventura, Solano, San Mateo, Los Angeles and Santa Clara, and the City Attorneys of San Francisco, San Diego and Oakland. That complaint alleged that the presence of lead paint created a public nuisance in each of the prosecuting attorney jurisdictions and seeks its abatement. In early 2012, the trial judge lifted the stay that had been in effect while the contingency fees were litigated; discovery is proceeding. Currently, trial has been set for June 2013.

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

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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 April 2008, the trial court judge certified a class of children whose blood lead levels were screened venously between August 1995 and February 2008 and who had incurred expenses associated with such screening. In March 2012, the trial court judge decertified the class. In June 2012, the trial court judge granted plaintiffs the right to appeal his decertification order, and in August 2012 the appellate court granted plaintiffs permission to appeal.

In January and February 2007, NL was 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 plaintiffs 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, Atlantic 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. Of the cases filed, five remain pending and four of the remaining cases have been removed to Federal court (Burton, Owens, B. Stokes, and Gibson). In June 2010, the defendant ARCO’s motion for summary judgment was granted in Gibson. In November 2010, Gibson was dismissed as to all defendants in a ruling holding that application of Wisconsin’s risk contribution doctrine deprived defendants of due process. In December 2010, the plaintiff appealed to the U.S. 7^th Circuit Court of Appeals. In light of the Gibson ruling and appeal, the Clark case in state court and the cases in Federal Court have been stayed.

In February 2010, NL was served with a complaint in Sifuentes v. American Cyanamid Company, et al. (United District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Case No. 10-C-0075). The plaintiff in this case is a minor who alleges injuries purportedly caused by lead on the surface of the home in which he resided. The claims raised in this case are identical to those in the Wisconsin cases described above. Defendants include us, American Cyanamid Company, Armstrong Containers, Inc., E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company, Atlantic Richfield Company and The Sherwin-Williams Company. In light of the Gibson ruling and appeal described above, the parties have agreed to stay the case pending a decision.

In February 2011, NL was served with an amended complaint in Allen, et al. v. American Cyanamid, et al. (United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Case No. 11-C-55). The case consists of 164 plaintiffs who allege injuries purportedly caused by lead on the surfaces of the homes in which they resided as minors. The complaint alleges negligence and strict liability and seeks compensatory damages jointly and severally from us, American Cyanamid Company, Armstrong Containers, Inc., E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company, Atlantic Richfield Company and The Sherwin-Williams Company. In May 2011, defendants moved to dismiss the case for lack of diversity and misjoinder. The case is currently stayed pending the appeal in Gibson.

In April 2011, NL was served with a complaint in Williams v. Goodwin, et al. (Circuit Court, Milwaukee County, Case No. 2011-CV-1045). The plaintiff in this case is a minor who alleges injuries purportedly caused by lead on the surfaces of the home in which she resided. The complaint alleges

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negligence and strict liability and seeks compensatory and punitive damages jointly and severally from us, American Cyanamid Company, Armstrong Containers, Inc., E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company, Atlantic Richfield Company, The Sherwin-Williams Company as well as the plaintiff’s landlord, property manager and their insurance companies. In October 2011, the judge stayed the case pending the appeal in Gibson.

In May 2011, NL was served with an amended complaint in Valoe, et al. v. American Cyanamid, et al. (United States District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, Case No. 11-CV-425). The plaintiffs in this case are minors who allege injuries purportedly caused by lead on the surfaces of the homes in which they resided. The complaint alleges negligence and strict liability and seeks compensatory damages jointly and severally from us, American Cyanamid Company, Armstrong Containers, Inc., E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Company, Atlantic Richfield Company and The Sherwin-Williams Company. In June 2011, the judge stayed the case pending the appeal in Gibson.

In October 2012, NL was served with a second amended petition in Bullock, et al. v. Weed Property Management, LLC., et al (District of Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Case No. CJ-2011-8912). Plaintiffs in this case are a minor who alleges injuries from lead paint exposure and his mother. The second amended petition alleges negligence and strict products liability and seeks compensatory and punitive damages from us, The Sherwin-Williams Company and the plaintiffs’ former landlords. In November 2012, defendants, including us, filed motions to dismiss the case.

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.

New cases may continue to be filed against NL. 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. In the future, if new information regarding such matters becomes available to us (such as a final, non-appealable adverse verdict against us or otherwise ultimately being found liable with respect to such matters), at that time we would consider such information in evaluating any remaining cases then-pending against us as to whether it might then have become probable we have incurred liability with respect to these matters, and whether such liability, if any, could have become reasonably estimable. The resolution of any of these cases could result in the 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.

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Environmental Matters and Litigation

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 environmental performance. From time to time, we may be subject to environmental regulatory enforcement under U.S. and non-U.S. 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 NL’s former operations, including divested primary and secondary lead smelters and former mining locations, are the subject of civil litigation, administrative proceedings or investigations arising under federal and state environmental laws and common law. Additionally, in connection with past operating practices, NL is 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 that we or our predecessors, our subsidiaries or their predecessors currently or previously owned, operated or used, 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 NL may be jointly and severally liable for these costs, in most cases NL is only one of a number of PRPs who may also be jointly and severally liable, and among whom costs may be shared or allocated. In addition, NL is also 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.

Obligations associated with environmental remediation and related matters are difficult to assess and estimate for numerous reasons including the:

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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 the 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. 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 and related 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 statements, results of operations and liquidity.

We record liabilities related to environmental remediation and related matters when estimated future expenditures are probable and reasonably estimable. We adjust such accruals as further information becomes available to us or as circumstances change. Unless the amounts and timing of such estimated future expenditures are fixed and reasonably determinable, 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 costs from other parties, if any, as assets when their receipt is deemed probable. At December 31, 2011 and 2012, we have not recognized any receivables for recoveries.

We do not know and cannot estimate the exact time frame over which we will make payments for our accrued environmental and related costs. The timing of payments depends upon a number of factors, including but not limited to 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 and related costs which 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.

On a quarterly basis, we evaluate the potential range of our liability for environmental remediation and related costs at sites where we have 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. At December 31, 2012, NL had accrued approximately $48 million related to approximately 50 sites associated with remediation and related matters that we believe are at the present time and/or in their current phase reasonably estimable. The upper end of the range of reasonably possible costs to us for remediation and related matters for which we believe it is possible to estimate costs is approximately $144 million, including the amount currently accrued. Other than as indicated above, these accruals have not been discounted to present value.

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We believe that it is not possible to estimate the range of costs for certain sites. At December 31, 2012, there were approximately 5 sites for which NL is not currently able to estimate a range of costs. For these sites, generally the investigation is in the early stages, and NL is unable to determine whether or not we actually had any association with the site, the nature of its responsibility, if any, for the contamination at the site and the extent of contamination at and cost to remediate 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, NL has received general and special notices of liability from the EPA and/or state agencies alleging that we, sometimes with other PRPs, are liable for past and future costs of remediating environmental contamination allegedly caused by former operations. These notifications may assert that NL, along with any other alleged PRPs, are liable for past and/or future clean-up costs. As further information becomes available to us for any of these sites which would allow us to estimate a range of costs, we would at that time adjust our accruals. Any such adjustment could result in the recognition of an accrual that would have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements, results of operations and liquidity.

In June 2006, NL and several other PRPs received a Unilateral Administrative Order (UAO) 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, which was purchased by a predecessor of Doe Run from us in approximately 1936. Doe Run is also named in the Order. In April 2008, the parties signed a definitive cost sharing agreement for sharing of the costs anticipated in connection with the order and in May 2008, the parties began work at the site as required by the UAO and in accordance with the cost sharing agreement. In the fourth quarter of 2010, NL reached its capped payment obligation under the cost sharing agreement with Doe Run. Doe Run is financing the remainder of the work. Construction was completed at the end of 2012. A Removal Action Report and Post-Removal Site Control Plan will be completed in the first half of 2013.

In June 2008, NL received a Directive and Notice to Insurers from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) regarding the Margaret’s Creek site in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey. NJDEP alleged that a waste hauler transported waste from one of our former facilities for disposal at the site in the early 1970s. NJDEP referred the site to the EPA, and in November 2009, the EPA added the site to the National Priorities List under the name “Raritan Bay Slag Site.” In 2012, EPA notified NL of its potential liability at this site. We are monitoring closely the scope of the remedial activities that may be required at the site and the identification of other PRPs.

In September 2008, NL received a Special Notice letter from the EPA for liability associated with the Tar Creek site and a demand for related past and future costs. NL responded with a good-faith offer to pay certain of the past costs and to complete limited work in the areas in which we operated. NL is involved in an ongoing dialogue with the EPA regarding a potential settlement. In October 2008, we received a claim from the State of Oklahoma for past, future and relocation costs in connection with the site. The state continues to monitor for a potential settlement between the EPA and NL and may subsequently attempt to pursue a separate settlement with NL.

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In June 2009, NL was served with a complaint in Consolidation Coal Company v. 3M Company, et al. (United States District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina, Civil Action No. 5:09-CV-00191-FL). The complaint seeks to recover against NL and roughly 170 other defendants under CERCLA for past and future response costs. The plaintiffs allege that NL’s former Albany operation allegedly sent three PCB-containing transformers to the Ward Transformer Superfund Site. In December 2012, NL received a notice of potential responsibility for past costs from EPA. NL has denied liability and will defend vigorously against all claims.

In June 2009, NL was served with a third-party complaint in New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection v. Occidental Chemical Corp., et al. (L-009868-05, Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County). NL is one of approximately 300 third-party defendants (with a potential expansion of the case to over 3,200 unnamed parties) that have been sued by third-party plaintiffs Maxus Energy Corporation and Tierra Solutions, Inc., in response to claims by the State of New Jersey against them seeking to recover past and future environmental cleanup costs of the State and to obtain funds to perform a natural resource damage assessment in connection with contamination in the Passaic River and adjacent waters and sediments (the Newark Bay Complex). NL was named in the third-party complaint based upon its ownership of one former operating site and purported connection to a former Superfund site (at which we were a small PRP) alleged to have contributed to the contamination in the Newark Bay Complex. In October 2010, the judge agreed to a phasing of the case to allow for trial on direct defendants’ liability and damages as the first and second phases of the case with third party claims to follow in a later phase. NL has denied liability and will defend vigorously against all of the claims.

In August 2009, NL was served with a complaint in Raritan Baykeeper, Inc. d/b/a NY/NJ Baykeeper et al. v. NL Industries, Inc. et al. (United States District Court, District of New Jersey, Case No. 3:09-cv-04117). This is a citizen’s suit filed by two local environmental groups pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Clean Water Act against NL, current owners, developers and state and local government entities. The complaint alleges that hazardous substances were and continue to be discharged from our former Sayreville, New Jersey property into the sediments of the adjacent Raritan River. The former Sayreville site is currently being remediated by owner/developer parties under the oversight of the NJDEP. The plaintiffs seek a declaratory judgment, injunctive relief, imposition of civil penalties and an award of costs. In the third quarter of 2012, NL filed a motion to stay the case.

In January 2010, NL was served with an amended complaint in Los Angeles Unified School District v. Pozas Brothers Trucking Co., et al. (Los Angeles Superior Court, Central Civil West, LASC Case No. BC 391342). The complaint was filed against several defendants in connection with the alleged contamination of a 35 acre site in South Gate, California acquired by the plaintiff by eminent domain to construct a middle school and high school. The plaintiff alleges that The 1230 Corporation (f/k/a Pioneer Aluminum, Inc.) operated on a portion of property within the 35 acre site and is responsible for contamination caused by its operations and that NL is liable as an alleged successor to The 1230 Corporation, which is a subsidiary of NL. The plaintiff has brought claims for contribution, indemnity and nuisance and is seeking past and future clean-up and other response costs. We have denied liability and will defend vigorously against all of the claims.

In June 2011, NL was served in ASARCO LLC v. NL Industries, Inc., et al. (United States District Court, Western District of Missouri, Case No. 4:11-cv-00138-DGK). The plaintiff brought this CERCLA contribution action against several defendants to recover a portion of the amount it paid in settlement with the U.S. Government during its Chapter 11 bankruptcy in

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relation to Tar Creek Superfund Site in Ottawa County, Oklahoma, the Cherokee County Superfund Site in southeast Kansas, the Oronogo-Duenweg Lead Mining Belt Superfund Site in Jasper County, Missouri and the Newton County Mine Tailing Site in Newton County, Missouri. NL has denied liability and will defend vigorously against all of the claims. In the second quarter of 2012, NL filed a motion to stay the case.

In September 2011, NL was served in ASARCO LLC v. NL Industries, Inc., et al. (United States District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Case No. 4:11-cv-00864). The plaintiff brought this CERCLA contribution action against several defendants to recover a portion of the amount it paid in settlement with the U.S. Government during its Chapter 11 bankruptcy in relation to the Southeast Missouri Mining District. NL has denied liability and will defend vigorously against all of the claims. In the third quarter of 2012, NL filed motions to dismiss or stay the case.

In July 2012, NL was served in EPEC Polymers, Inc., v. NL Industries, Inc., (United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Case 3:12-cv-03842-PGS-TJB). The Plaintiff, a landowner of property located across the Raritan River from our former Sayreville, New Jersey operation, claims that contaminates from NL’s former Sayreville operation came to be located on its land. The complaint seeks compensatory and punitive damages and alleges, among other things, trespass, private nuisance, negligence, strict liability, and claims under CERCLA and the New Jersey Spill Act. NL intends to deny liability and will defend vigorously against all of the claims.

In July 2012, NL entered into an administrative settlement with the EPA to resolve its purported liability for the remediation of a portion of a site associated with the former Jewett White Lead facility in Staten Island, New York.

In July 2012, NL entered into an administrative settlement with EPA pursuant to which NL would perform remediation at its former Carter White Lead facility in Omaha, Nebraska. The work was completed in November 2012. The current property owners are responsible for long-term maintenance of the remedy.

See also Item 1 “Regulatory and Environmental Matters.”

Other— We have also accrued approximately $2.2 million at December 31, 2012 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.

Other Litigation

In addition to the matters described above, we and our affiliates are also involved in various other environmental, contractual, product liability, patent (or intellectual property), employment and other claims and disputes incidental to present and former businesses. In certain cases, we have insurance coverage for these items, although we do not expect additional material insurance coverage for 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 or liquidity beyond the accruals already provided.

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Insurance Coverage Claims

NL is involved in certain legal proceedings with a number of its former insurance carriers regarding the nature and extent of the carriers’ obligations to NL 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.

NL has agreements with three former insurance carriers pursuant to which the carriers reimburse it for a portion of our future lead pigment litigation defense costs, and one such carrier reimburses us for a portion of its future asbestos litigation defense costs. We are not able to determine how much we will ultimately recover from these carriers for defense costs incurred by us because of certain issues that arise regarding which defense costs qualify for reimbursement. While NL continue to seek additional insurance recoveries, we do not know if it will be successful in obtaining reimbursement for either defense costs or indemnity. Accordingly, 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. See Note 17 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

NL has settled insurance coverage claims concerning environmental claims with certain of its principal former carriers. We do not expect further material settlements relating to environmental remediation coverage.

Not applicable.

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PART II

Common Stock and Dividends—Our common stock is listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: VHI). As of March 8, 2013, there were approximately 2300 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 March 8, 2013 the closing price of our common stock was $16.65.

In May 2012, we amended our certificate of incorporation to increase the authorized number of shares of our common stock to 500 million. Subsequently in May 2012, we implemented a 3-for-1 split of our common stock in the form of a stock dividend. Other than the disclosure of the increase in the authorized number of shares of our common stock, we have adjusted all share and per-share amounts in our Annual Report to reflect this change.

We paid regular quarterly cash dividends of $.033 per share during the first quarter of 2011. During the second quarter of 2011 our board of directors voted to increase the regular quarterly dividend to $.042, which rate was paid in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. During the second quarter of 2012, in conjunction with the stock split noted above, our board of directors again increased our regular quarterly dividend to $.05 per share which we paid in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2012. In February 2013, our board of directors declared a first quarter 2013 dividend of $.05 per share, to be paid on March 28, 2013 to stockholders of record as of March 11, 2013. 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.

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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, 2007 through December 31, 2012. The graph shows the value at December 31 of each year assuming an original investment of $100 at December 31, 2007, and assumes the reinvestment of our regular quarterly dividends in shares of our common stock.

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.

Equity Compensation Plan Information—We have an equity compensation plan, which was approved by our stockholders, pursuant to which an aggregate of 200,000 shares of our common stock can be awarded to members of our board of directors. At December 31, 2012, an aggregate of 194,000 shares were available for future award under this plan. See Note 14 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

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 Note 14 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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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.”

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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”). Kronos (NYSE: KRO), NL (NYSE: NL) and CompX (NYSE MKT: CIX) each file periodic reports with the SEC.

We have three consolidated operating segments:

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Income From Continuing Operations Overview

Year Ended December 31, 2011 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2012—

We reported income from continuing operations attributable to Valhi stockholders of $141.4 million or $.41 per diluted share in 2012 compared to $214.5 million or $.63 per diluted share in 2011.

Our diluted earnings per share from continuing operations attributable to Valhi stockholders decreased from 2011 to 2012 primarily due to the net effects of:

Our income from continuing operations attributable to Valhi stockholders in 2012 includes:

Our income from continuing operations attributable to Valhi stockholders in 2011 includes:

We discuss these amounts more fully below.

Year Ended December 31, 2010 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2011—

We reported income from continuing operations attributable to Valhi stockholders of $214.5 million or $.63 per diluted share in 2011 compared to $50.7 million or $.14 per diluted share in 2010.

Our diluted earnings per share from continuing operations attributable to Valhi stockholders increased from 2010 to 2011 primarily due to the net effects of:

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Our income from continuing operations attributable to Valhi stockholders in 2011 includes:

Our income from continuing operations attributable to Valhi stockholders in 2010 includes:

We discuss these amounts more fully below.

Current Forecast for 2013—

We currently expect to report lower income from continuing operations attributable to Valhi stockholders for 2013 as compared to 2012 primarily due to the net effects of:

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

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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.

At December 31, 2012, the carrying value (which equals their fair value) of substantially all of our marketable securities equaled or exceeded the cost basis of each investment. Our investment in The Amalgamated Sugar Company LLC represents approximately 97% of the aggregate carrying value of all of our marketable securities at December 31, 2012. The $250 million carrying value is equal to its cost basis.

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We perform a goodwill impairment test annually in the third quarter of each year. Goodwill is also evaluated for impairment at other times whenever an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. A reporting unit can be a segment or an operating division based on the operations of the segment. For example, our Chemicals Segment produces a globally coordinated homogeneous product whereas our Component Products Segment operates as two distinct business units. For our Chemicals Segment, we use Level 1 inputs of publicly traded market prices to compare the book value to assess impairment. Because we test for goodwill at a reporting unit level for our Component Products Segment, we use Level 3 inputs of a discounted cash flow technique since Level 1 or Level 2 inputs of market prices are not available at the reporting unit level. We also consider control premiums when assessing fair value of our segments. 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. However, different assumptions and estimates could result in materially different findings which could result in the recognition of a material goodwill impairment.

We performed our annual goodwill impairment test in the third quarter of 2012 for each of our reporting units and concluded there was no impairment of the goodwill for those reporting units. However, as a result of the December 2012 disposition of CompX’s furniture components reporting unit and the December 2012 sale of all common stock of TIMET owned by Contran Corporation and its affiliates (including us and our subsidiaries), a significant portion of EWI’s insurance brokerage business was lost (including TIMET). Consequently, we reevaluated goodwill associated with EWI due to the triggering event caused by significant impact these dispositions had on EWI’s business in December 2012, and concluded that all of our goodwill related to EWI was impaired. Accordingly, we recognized a $6.4 million goodwill impairment in December 2012, see Note 8 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

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As a result of continued operating losses in CompX’s Marine Components reporting unit, we evaluated the recoverability of the Marine Components long-lived assets during the third quarter of 2012. We determined that the undiscounted cash flows exceed the current net asset value and therefore the Marine Components long-lived assets are not impaired. However, if our future cash flows from operations less capital expenditures were to drop significantly below our current expectations (approximately 70% below our expectations for Custom Marine and 80% below our expectations for Livorsi Marine), it is reasonably likely we would conclude an impairment was present. At December 31, 2012 the net asset carrying values of Custom Marine and Livorsi Marine were $3.4 million and $2.8 million, respectively.

No other long-lived assets in our other reporting units were tested for impairment during 2012 because there were no circumstances indicating an impairment might exist.

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We record a reserve for uncertain tax positions where we believe it is more-likely-than-not our tax 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 2012. See Note 12 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

We also evaluate at the end of each reporting period whether or not some or all of the undistributed earnings of our non-U.S. subsidiaries are not 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 be required to recognize a deferred income tax liability in an amount equal to the estimated incremental U.S. income taxes and withholding tax liability that would be generated if all such previously-considered permanently reinvested undistributed earnings were to be distributed to the U.S.

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Operating income (loss) for each of our three operating segments is impacted by certain of these significant judgments and estimates, as summarized below:

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, and loss accruals.

Segment Operating Results—2011 Compared to 2012 and 2010 Compared to 2011—

Chemicals—

We consider TiO₂ to be a “quality of life” product, with demand affected by gross domestic product, or GDP, and overall economic conditions in our markets located 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 that our customers’ inventory levels are influenced in part by their expectation for future changes in market TiO₂ selling prices as well as their expectation for future availability of product. Although certain of our TiO₂ grades are considered specialty pigments, the majority of our grades and substantially all of our production are considered commodity pigment products with price and availability being the most significant competitive factors along with quality and customer service.

The factors having the most impact on our reported operating results are:

Our key performance indicators are our TiO₂ average selling prices and our level of TiO₂ sales and production volumes. TiO₂ selling prices generally follow industry trends and prices will increase or decrease generally as a result of competitive market pressures.

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