ATI Broadens Aerospace Reach With Titanium Alloy Sheet Production

ATI Inc. ATI has opened a cutting-edge plant in Pageland, SC, to manufacture titanium alloy sheets. This material, while technically complex to make, is vital to airframe manufacturers because it adds strength and longevity to aerostructure components and assemblies. Customers have asked ATI to add this item to its titanium portfolio, recognizing the exceptional quality of its products. With its Pageland facility fully operational and in production, the company now offers a complete range of titanium materials, making titanium sheets that are wider and longer than anyone in the industry.

This product, known as 'pack rolled sheet,' must meet stringent industrial specifications. Production begins with the best of ATI's remarkable capabilities throughout the organization, from melt to rolling. Layers of titanium plate are hot rolled into ultra-thin sheets with gauges as thin as 0.020 inches and lengths of up to 25 feet, ensuring the greatest surface quality. This new solution significantly extends ATI's position as an aerospace leader, delivering customers unparalleled manufacturing capability and flexibility.

ATI recently announced a multi-year arrangement with Airbus to provide titanium plate, sheet and billet for narrow and widebody aircraft. The titanium alloy sheet for this engagement will be manufactured at the Pageland factory. ATI anticipates that more than two-thirds of Pageland's capacity will be under long-term agreements with a variety of aerospace clients, including the titanium alloy sheet for Airbus, with certification currently underway.

ATI Pageland Operations is vertically integrated, with leveling, annealing, finishing and inspection all housed under one roof in the almost 125,000-square-foot Greenfield site. The highly automated plant was designed with sustainability at its core: The electric furnaces match Pageland's electricity footprint with the purpose of South Carolina's power cooperatives — to transition to greener power options. All-electric furnaces and a very efficient water-jacketed pickle line provide no air pollutants and little wastewater outflow. 

The company, on its first-quarter call, provided its second-quarter view and updated full-year 2025 financial guidance, which incorporates expected share repurchases of approximately $250 million during the second quarter. For the second quarter, ATI anticipates adjusted EBITDA in the range of $195 million to $205 million and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) between 67 cents and 73 cents. For the full year, adjusted EBITDA is projected to be between $800 million and $840 million, with adjusted EPS expected to range from $2.87 to $3.09. The company also expects adjusted free cash flow for the full year to be between $240 million and $360 million, and capital expenditures are forecasted to be in the range of $260 million to $280 million.

ATI’s Rank & Other Key Picks

ATI currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, Alamos Gold Inc. AGI and Hawkins, Inc. HWKN.

Carpenter Technology currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 11.1%. The company's shares have soared 139.2% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Alamos Gold current-year earnings is pegged at $1.24 per share. AGI, carrying a Zacks Rank #1, surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters while missing twice, with the average earnings surprise being 1.4%. The company's shares have rallied 65.1% in the past year.

Hawkins, which currently carries a Zacks Rank #2, beat the consensus estimate in one of the trailing four quarters while missing thrice. In this time frame, it delivered an earnings surprise of roughly 8.2%, on average. The company's shares have rallied 54.6% in the past year.

 

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