UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D. C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

x

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

or

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

o

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15 (D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the transition period from                    to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commission File Number 1-8472

 

 

 

Hexcel Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware

 

94-1109521

(State of Incorporation)

 

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

 

281 Tresser Boulevard
Stamford, Connecticut 06901
(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (203) 969-0666

 

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

 

Title of each class

 

Name of each exchange on which registered

COMMON STOCK

 

NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes         x           No           o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes         o            No           x

Indicate by check mark 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           o

Indicate by check mark 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. x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer  x

 

 

 

Accelerated filer  o

 

 

Non-accelerated filer  o

 

 

 

Smaller reporting company  o

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).

Yes         o            No           x

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates was $1,982,310,985 based on the reported last sale price of common stock on June 30, 2007, which is the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

The number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

 

Class

 

Outstanding as of February 18, 2008

COMMON STOCK

 

95,814,889

Documents Incorporated by Reference:

 

Proxy Statement for Annual Meeting of Stockholders (to the extent specified herein) — Part III.

 



 

PART I

ITEM 1. Business.

 

General Development of Business

 

Hexcel Corporation, founded in 1946, was incorporated in California in 1948, and reincorporated in Delaware in 1983.  Hexcel Corporation and its subsidiaries (herein referred to as “Hexcel”, “we”, “us”, or “our”), is a leading advanced composites company.  We develop, manufacture, and market lightweight, high-performance composites, including carbon fibers, reinforcements, prepregs, honeycomb, matrix systems, adhesives and composite structures, for use in the commercial aerospace, space and defense and industrial applications.  Our products are used in a wide variety of end applications, such as commercial and military aircraft, space launch vehicles and satellites, wind turbine blades, automotive, bikes, skis and a wide variety of other recreational equipment.

 

We serve international markets through manufacturing facilities and sales offices located in the United States and Europe, and through sales representation offices located in Asia, Australia and South America.  We are also an investor in two joint ventures, one located in China and one in Malaysia, which manufacture composite structures for commercial aerospace.

 

Narrative Description of Business and Segments

 

We are a manufacturer of products within a single industry: Advanced Composites.  In 2007, Hexcel successfully concluded the sale of a significant portion of our previously reported Reinforcements segment.  In order to take full advantage of the many growing applications for advanced composite materials, we decided to narrow our focus and consolidate our activities around our carbon fiber, reinforcements for composites, honeycomb, matrix and engineered products product lines.  In 2007, we completed the combination of our Reinforcements’ activities related to advanced composites with our previously reported Composites and Structures segments as a single organization.  We successfully concluded the reorganization during 2007, with the divesture of our European Architectural business and the U.S. electronics, ballistics and general industrial (“EBGI”) product lines.  These businesses are therefore being reported as discontinued operations within this annual report on Form 10-K.  Unless otherwise indicated, all information within this annual report on Form 10-K reflects the continuing operations of Hexcel.

 

Hexcel now reports two segments, Composite Materials and Engineered Products, from the three segments reported in 2006, Composites, Structures and Reinforcements.  The Composite Materials segment is now comprised of the same product lines as previously included under prior Composites segment, with the exception of specially machined honeycomb, which are now included under the Engineered Products segment, and the addition of the product lines previously reported under the Reinforcements segment that were not included in the sale of EBGI.  The Engineered Products segment is comprised of the product lines previously included under the prior Structures segment, with the addition of the specially machined honeycomb product line.  All prior financial statement periods have been revised to reflect the new segment structure.

 

The following summaries describe the ongoing activities related to the Composite Materials and Engineered Products segments as of December 31, 2007.

 

Composite Materials

 

The Composite Materials segment manufactures and markets carbon fibers, fabrics and specialty reinforcements, prepregs, structural adhesives, honeycomb, composite panels, molding compounds, polyurethane systems, gel coats and laminates that are incorporated into many applications, including military and commercial aircraft, wind turbine blades and recreational products.

 

The following table identifies the principal products and examples of the primary end-uses from the Composite Materials segment:

 

SEGMENT

 

PRODUCTS

 

PRIMARY END-USES

COMPOSITE MATERIALS

 

Carbon Fibers

 

·  Raw materials for fabrics and prepregs

·  Filament winding for various space, defense and industrial applications

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Industrial Fabrics and Specialty Reinforcements

 

·  Raw materials for prepregs and honeycomb

·  Composites and components used in aerospace, defense, wind energy, automotive, marine, recreation and other industrial applications

·  Civil engineering and construction applications

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prepregs and Other Fiber-Reinforced Matrix Materials

 

·  Composite structures

·  Commercial and military aircraft components

·  Satellites and launchers

·  Aeroengines

 

 

1



 

 

 

 

 

·  Wind turbine rotor blades

·  Yachts, trains and performance cars

·  Skis, snowboards, hockey sticks, tennis rackets and bicycles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Structural Adhesives

 

·  Bonding of metals, honeycomb and composite materials

·  Aerospace, ground transportation and industrial applications

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honeycomb

 

·  Composite structures and interiors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carbon Fibers:  HexTowTM carbon fibers are manufactured for sale to third-party customers as well as for our own use in manufacturing certain reinforcements and composite materials.  Carbon fibers are woven into carbon fabrics, used as reinforcement in conjunction with a resin matrix to produce pre-impregnated composite materials (referred to as “prepregs”) and used in filament winding and advanced fiber placement to produce finished composite components.  Key product applications include structural components for commercial and military aircraft, space launch vehicles, wind blade components, and certain other applications such as recreational and industrial equipment.

 

Industrial Fabrics and Specialty Reinforcements:  Industrial fabrics and specialty reinforcements are made from a variety of fibers, including carbon, aramid and other high strength polymers, several types of fiberglass, quartz, ceramic and other specialty fibers.  These reinforcements are used in the production of prepregs and other matrix materials used in primary and secondary structural aerospace applications such as wing components, horizontal and vertical stabilizer components, fairings, radomes and engine nacelles as well as overhead storage bins and other interior components.  Our reinforcements are also used in the manufacture of a variety of industrial and recreational products such as wind energy blades, automotive components, boats, surfboards, skis and other sporting goods equipment and certain civil engineering and construction applications.

 

Prepregs:  HexPly® prepregs are manufactured for sale to third-party customers and for internal use by our Engineered Products segment in manufacturing composite laminates and monolithic structures, including finished components for aircraft structures and interiors.  Prepregs are manufactured by combining high-performance reinforcement fabrics or unidirectional fibers with a resin matrix to form a composite material with exceptional structural properties not present in either of the constituent materials.  Reinforcement fabrics used in the manufacture of prepregs include glass, carbon, aramid, quartz, ceramic and other specialty reinforcements.  Resin matrices include bismaleimide, cyanate ester, epoxy, phenolic, polyester, polyimide and other specialty resins.

 

Other Fiber-Reinforced Matrix Materials:  New fiber reinforced matrix developments include HexMC®, a new form of quasi-isotropic carbon fiber prepreg that enables small to medium sized composite components to be mass produced.  HexTOOL is a specialized form of HexMC for use in the cost-effective construction of high temperature composite tooling.  HexFIT® film infusion material is a product that combines resin films and dry fiber reinforcements to save lay-up time in production and enables the manufacture of large contoured composite structures, such as wind turbine blades.

 

Resins:  Polymer matrix materials are sold in bulk and film form for use in direct process manufacturing of composite parts.  Resins can be combined with fiber reinforcements in manufacturing processes such resin transfer molding (RTM), resin film infusion (RFI) or vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) to produce high quality composite components for both aerospace and industrial applications.

 

Structural Adhesives:  We manufacture and market a comprehensive range of Reduxâ film and paste adhesives.  These structural adhesives, which bond metal to metal and composites and honeycomb structures, are used in the aerospace industry and for many industrial applications.

 

Honeycomb:  HexWeb® honeycomb is a lightweight, cellular structure generally composed of nested hexagonal cells.  The product is similar in appearance to a cross-sectional slice of a beehive.  It can also be manufactured in asymmetric cell configurations for more specialized applications.  Honeycomb is primarily used as a lightweight core material and acts as a highly efficient energy absorber.  When sandwiched between composite or metallic facing skins, honeycomb significantly increases the stiffness of the structure, while adding very little weight.

 

We produce honeycomb from a number of metallic and non-metallic materials.  Most metallic honeycomb is made from aluminum and is available in a selection of alloys, cell sizes and dimensions.  Non-metallic materials used in the manufacture of honeycomb include fiberglass, carbon fiber, thermoplastics, non-flammable aramid papers, aramid fiber and other specialty materials.

 

We sell honeycomb as standard blocks and in slices cut from a block. Honeycomb is also supplied as sandwich panels, with facing skins bonded to either side of the core material.  Aerospace is the largest market for honeycomb products.  We also sell honeycomb for non-aerospace applications including automotive parts, high-speed trains and mass transit vehicles, energy absorption products, marine vessel compartments, portable shelters, and other industrial uses.  In addition, we produce honeycomb for our Engineered Products segment for use in manufacturing finished parts for airframe Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEMs”).

 

2

 



 

The following table identifies the key customers and the major manufacturing facilities of the Composite Materials segment:

 

COMPOSITE MATERIALS

KEY CUSTOMERS

 

MAJOR MANUFACTURING FACILITIES

Alenia

 

FACC

 

Casa Grande, Arizona

Alliant Techsystems

 

Gamesa

 

Decatur, Alabama

BAE Systems

 

GKN

 

Dagneux, France

The Boeing Company

 

Goodrich

 

Duxford, England

Bombardier

 

Lockheed Martin

 

Linz, Austria

CFAN

 

Northrop Grumman

 

Les Avenieres, France

Composites One

 

Safran

 

Parla, Spain

CTRM Aero Composites

 

Spirit Aerosystems

 

Salt Lake City, Utah

Cytec Engineered Materials

 

Trek

 

Seguin, Texas

EADS (Airbus and Eurocopter)

 

United Technologies

 

 

Embraer-Empresa

 

Vestas

 

 

 

Net sales for the Composite Materials segment to third-party customers were $941.9 million in 2007, $858.2 million in 2006, and $791.5 million in 2005, which represented approximately 80%, 82%, and 83% of our net sales, respectively.  Net sales for composite materials are highly dependent upon the number of large commercial aircraft produced as further discussed under the captions “Significant Customers,” “Markets” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”  In addition, about 3% of our total production of composite materials in 2007 was used internally by the Engineered Products segment.

 

Engineered Products

 

The Engineered Products segment manufactures and markets composite structures and precision machined honeycomb parts for use in the aerospace industry. Composite structures are manufactured from a variety of composite and other materials, including prepregs, honeycomb, structural adhesives and advanced molding materials, using such manufacturing processes as autoclave processing, multi-axis numerically controlled machining, heat forming, compression molding and other composite manufacturing techniques. Composite structures and machined honeycomb include such items as aerodynamic fairings, wing panels, rotor blades, and other specific aircraft components.

 

The following table identifies the principal products and examples of the primary end-uses from the Engineered Products segment:

 

SEGMENT

 

PRODUCTS

 

PRIMARY END-USES

ENGINEERED PRODUCTS

 

Composite Structures

 

·

Aircraft structures and finished aircraft components, including wing to body fairings, wing panels, flight deck panels, door liners, helicopter blades, spars and tip caps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Machined Honeycomb

 

·

Aircraft structural sub-components and semi-finished components used in helicopter blades, engine nacelles, and aircraft surfaces (flaps, wings, elevators and fairings)

 

Net sales for the Engineered Products segment to third-party customers were $229.2 million in 2007, $191.3 million in 2006, and $166.1 million in 2005, which represented approximately 20%, 18%, and 17% of our net sales, respectively.

 

The Engineered Products business unit has equity investments in two Asian joint ventures. They consist of BHA Aero Composite Parts Co., Ltd. (“BHA Aero”) and Asian Composites Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd. (“ACM”).  Under the terms of the joint venture agreements, Hexcel and Boeing have transferred the manufacture of certain semi-finished composite components to these joint ventures.  Hexcel purchases the semi-finished composite components from the joint ventures, inspects and performs additional skilled assembly work before delivering them to Boeing.  The joint ventures also manufacture composite components for other tier 1 aircraft component manufacturers.  These Asian joint ventures had combined revenues of $63.0 million and $53.0 million in 2007 and 2006, respectively.  For additional information on the Joint Venture investment see Note 6, Investments in Affiliated Companies.

 

The following table identifies the key customers and the major manufacturing facilities of the Engineered Procucts segment:

 

 

ENGINEERED PRODUCTS

KEY CUSTOMERS

 

MAJOR MANUFACTURING FACILITIES

The Boeing Company

 

Kent, Washington

Sikorsky

 

Pottsville, Pennsylvania

Spirit

 

Burlington, Washington

Bombardier

 

Welkenraedt, Belgium

Hawker / Beechcraft

 

Tianjin, China (JV)

 

 

Alor Setar, Malaysia (JV)

 

3



 

Divestitures and Related Matters

 

In July of 2006, we announced our intention to explore strategic alternatives for portions of our previously reported Reinforcements segment.  In order to take full advantage of the many growing applications for advanced composite materials, we decided to narrow our focus and consolidate our activities around our carbon fiber, reinforcements for composites, honeycomb, matrix and engineered products product lines.  In doing so, we decided to combine our Reinforcements activities related to advanced composites with our previously reported Composites and Structures segments into a single organization, and explore the sale of our European Architectural business, our EBGI product lines and our interest in the TechFab joint venture, previously reported within the Reinforcements segment.

 

In December 2006, we completed the sale of our interest in TechFab LLC (“TechFab”) to our joint venture partner for $22.0 million in cash.  TechFab is headquartered in Anderson, SC and manufactures non-woven reinforcement materials used in the manufacture of construction and roofing materials, sail cloth and other specialty applications.  As a result of the sale, we recognized a after-tax gain of $9.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.  The TechFab joint venture was part of our previously reported Reinforcements segment.

 

In February 2007, we completed the sale of our European Architectural business.  Cash proceeds from the sale were $25.0 million.  As a result of the sale, we recognized an after-tax gain of $6.5 million.

 

In August 2007, we completed the sale of the EBGI portion of our reinforcements business.  Cash proceeds from the sale, net of transaction costs, were $58.5 million, resulting in a net after-tax loss of $3.4 million.  The sale includes up to $12.5 million of additional payments contingent upon future sales of the Ballistics product line.  Any additional payments will be recorded as income when earned.

 

With the completion of the EBGI sale, our previously announced portfolio review reached a successful conclusion, resulting in total cash proceeds, before any earnout payments, of $106.0 million and a net after-tax gain of $12.7 million.

 

In December of 2005, Hexcel and Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc. (“DIC”) decided to dissolve the DIC-Hexcel Limited (“DHL”) joint venture. This joint venture was located in Komatsu, Japan, and produced and sold prepregs, honeycomb and decorative laminates using technology licensed from us and DIC.  The dissolution was completed in the fourth quarter of 2006 with Hexcel receiving a cash distribution of $0.1 million.  The DHL joint venture was part of our previously reported Composites segment.

 

See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Note 2 “Discontinued Operations” and Note 6 “Investments in Affiliated Companies” to the accompanying consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information related to the status of our strategic review, results from discontinued operations and information related to our joint ventures.

 

Financial Information About Segments and Geographic Areas

 

Financial information and further discussion of our segments and geographic areas, including external sales and long-lived assets, are contained under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and in Note 19 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Significant Customers

 

Approximately 25%, 24%, and 23% of our 2007, 2006, and 2005 net sales, respectively, were to The Boeing Company (“Boeing”) and related subcontractors.  Of the 25% of sales to Boeing and its subcontractors in 2007, 20.7% related to commercial aerospace market applications and 4.5% related to space and defense market applications.  Approximately 22%,  26%, and 27% of our 2007, 2006, and 2005 net sales, respectively, were to European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (“EADS”), including its business division Airbus Industrie (“Airbus”), and its subcontractors.  Of the 22% of sales to EADS and its subcontractors in 2007, 18.8% related to commercial aerospace market applications 3.3% related to space and defense market applications.

 

(In millions)

 

2007

 

2006

 

2005

 

Commercial Aerospace:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boeing and subcontractors

 

$

242.6

 

$

189.5

 

$

154.5

 

EADS and subcontractors

 

219.9

 

232.3

 

215.9

 

Total

 

$

462.5

 

$

421.8

 

$

370.4

 

Space and Defense:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boeing and subcontractors

 

$

52.8

 

$

60.7

 

$

63.3

 

EADS and subcontractors

 

38.9

 

38.2

 

40.6

 

Total

 

$

91.7

 

$

98.9

 

$

103.9

 

 

4



Markets

 

Our products are sold for a broad range of end-uses. The following tables summarize our net sales to third-party customers by market and by geography for each of the three years ended December 31:

 

 

 

2007

 

2006

 

2005

 

Net Sales by Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commercial aerospace

 

53

%

52

%

49

%

Industrial

 

25

 

27

 

28

 

Space and defense

 

22

 

21

 

23

 

Total

 

100

%

100

%

100

%

Net Sales by Geography (a)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

39

%

36

%

36

%

U.S. exports

 

8

 

9

 

9

 

Europe

 

53

 

55

 

55

 

Total

 

100

%

100

%

100

%

 


(a)          Net sales by geography based on the location in which the sale was manufactured.

 

Net Sales to External Customers (b)

 

2007

 

2006

 

2005

 

United States

 

40

%

36

%

37

%

Europe

 

48

 

51

 

50

 

All Others

 

12

 

13

 

13

 

Total

 

100

%

100

%

100

%

 


(b)          Net sales to external customers based on the location to which the sale was delivered.

 

Commercial Aerospace

 

The commercial aerospace industry is our largest user of advanced composites.  The economic benefits airlines can obtain from weight savings in both fuel economy and aircraft range, combined with the design enhancement that comes from the advantages of advanced composites over traditional materials, have caused the industry to be the leader in the use of these materials.  While military aircraft and space craft have championed the development of these materials, commercial aerospace has had the greater consumption requirements and has commercialized the use of these products.  Accordingly, the demand for advanced structural material products is closely correlated to the demand for commercial aircraft.

 

The use of advanced composites in commercial aerospace is primarily in the manufacture of new commercial aircraft.  The aftermarket for these products is very small as many of these materials are designed to last for the life of the aircraft.  The demand for new commercial aircraft is driven by two principal factors, the first of which is airline passenger traffic (the number of revenue passenger miles flown by the airlines) which affects the required size of airline fleets.  According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, passenger traffic has grown at an annual compound rate of 5.5% from 1985 to 2006 and has seen year on year growth of 5.5% (estimate), 5.9% and 8.0% during 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.  Growth in passenger traffic requires growth in the size of the fleet of commercial aircraft operated by airlines worldwide.

 

The second factor, which is less sensitive to the general economy, is the replacement rates for existing aircraft.  The rates of retirement of passenger and freight aircraft, resulting mainly from obsolescence, are determined in part by the regulatory requirements established by various civil aviation authorities worldwide as well as public concern regarding aircraft age, safety and noise.  These rates may also be affected by the desire of the various airlines to improve operating costs with higher payloads and more fuel-efficient aircraft (which in turn is influenced by the price of fuel) and by reducing maintenance expense.  In addition, there is expected to be increasing pressure on airlines to replace their aging fleet with more fuel efficient and quieter aircraft to be more environmentally responsible.  When aircraft are retired from commercial airline fleets, they may be converted to cargo freight aircraft or scrapped.

 

Each new generation of commercial aircraft has used increasing quantities of advanced composites, replacing metals.  This follows the trend previously seen in military fighter aircraft where advanced composites may now exceed 50% of the weight of the airframe.  Early versions of commercial jet aircraft, such as the Boeing 707, which was developed in the early 1950’s, contained almost no composite materials.  One of the first aircraft to use a meaningful amount of composite materials, the Boeing 767 entered into service in 1983, and was built with an airframe containing approximately 6% composite materials.  The airframe of Boeing’s 777 aircraft, which entered service in 1995, is approximately 11% composite.  By comparison, the next generation of aircraft in development will contain significantly higher composite content by weight.  The Airbus A380 which was certified in December 2006, is being built with an airframe containing approximately 23% composite by weight.  The first aircraft was delivered in 2007.  Boeing is starting to assemble the first 787 aircraft with a content of 50% or more composite materials by weight.  Its maiden flight is expected in mid-2008 and the aircraft is projected to enter into service early in 2009.  In December 2006, Airbus formally launched the A350 XWB also projected to have a composite content of 50% or more by weight.  The A350 XWB is forecast to enter into

 

5



service in 2013.

 

The impact of Boeing and Airbus’ production rate changes on us is typically influenced by two factors: the mix of aircraft produced and the inventory supply chain effects of increases or reductions in aircraft production.  We have products on all Boeing and Airbus planes.  The dollar value of our materials varies by aircraft type – twin aisle aircraft use more of our materials than narrow body aircraft and newer designed aircraft use more our materials than older generations.  On average, for established programs we deliver products into the supply chain about six months prior to aircraft delivery.  Depending on the product, orders placed with us are received anywhere between one and eighteen months prior to delivery of the aircraft to the customer.  For aircraft that are in the ramp-up stage, such as the A380 and the B787, we will have sales as much as a few years in advance of the delivery.  Increased aircraft deliveries combined with the secular penetration resulted in our commercial aerospace revenues increasing by approximately 14% and 16% in 2007 and 2006, respectively.

 

Set forth below are historical aircraft deliveries as announced by Boeing and Airbus:

 

 

 

1994

 

1995

 

1996

 

1997

 

1998

 

1999

 

2000

 

2001

 

2002

 

2003

 

2004

 

2005

 

2006

 

2007

 

Boeing (including McDonnell
Douglas)

 

312

 

256

 

271

 

375

 

563

 

620

 

491

 

527

 

381

 

281

 

285

 

290

 

398

 

441

 

Airbus

 

123

 

124

 

126

 

182

 

229

 

294

 

311

 

325

 

303

 

305

 

320

 

378

 

434

 

453

 

Total

 

435

 

380

 

397

 

557

 

792

 

914

 

802

 

852

 

684

 

586

 

605

 

668

 

832

 

894

 

 

Commercial aerospace represented 53% of our 2007 net sales. Approximately 74% of these revenues can be identified as sales to Boeing, Airbus and their subcontractors for the production of commercial aircraft. The balance of our commercial aerospace sales are related to regional and business aircraft manufacture, and other commercial aircraft applications. Regional aircraft production has also increased over time, but does not directly follow the cycle of large commercial aircraft deliveries. These applications also exhibit increasing utilization of composite materials with each new generation of aircraft.

 

Industrial Markets

 

We group under this market segment revenue from applications for our products outside the aerospace and electronics markets. A number of these applications represent emerging opportunities for our products.  In developing new applications, we seek those opportunities where advanced composites technology offer significant benefits to the end user, often applications that demand high engineering performance.  Within this segment, the major end market sub-segments include, in order of size based on our 2007 sales, wind energy, general industrial applications, recreational equipment (e.g., bicycles, snowboards, tennis rackets and hockey sticks), and  transportation (e.g., automobiles, mass transit and high-speed rail, and marine applications).  Our participation in these market applications complements our commercial and military aerospace businesses, and we are committed to pursuing the utilization of advanced structural material technology where industrial customers can generate significant value.

 

Space & Defense

 

The space & defense market has historically been an innovator in the use of, and source of significant demand for, advanced composites.  The aggregate demand by space and defense customers is primarily a function of procurement of military aircraft that utilize advanced composites by the United States and certain European governments.  We are currently qualified to supply materials to a broad range of over 80 military aircraft and helicopter programs.  The top ten programs by revenues represent less than 50% of our Space & Defense revenues.  These programs include the F/A-18E/F Hornet, the F-22 Raptor, and the Eurofighter (Typhoon), as well as the C-17, the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, and the Blackhawk, Tiger and NH90 helicopters.  In addition, there are new programs in development such as the F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter or “JSF”), CH53K heavy lift helicopter and the EADS A400M military transport planned to enter production later in the decade.  The benefits that we obtain from these programs will depend upon which are funded and the extent of such funding.  Space applications for advanced composites include solid rocket booster cases, fairings and payload doors for launch vehicles, and buss and solar arrays for military and commercial satellites.

 

Contracts for military and some commercial programs may contain provisions applicable to both U.S. Government contracts and subcontracts.  For example, under a termination for   convenience clause, the prime contractors may flow down this clause to materials suppliers such as Hexcel.  According to the terms of a contract, we may be subject to U.S. government Federal Acquisition Regulations, Department of Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement, Cost Accounting Standards, and associated procurement laws.

 

Further discussion of our markets, including certain risks, uncertainties and other factors with respect to “forward-looking statements” about those markets, is contained under the caption “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

 

Backlog

 

In recent years, our customers have increasingly demanded shorter order lead times and “just-in-time” delivery performance.  While we have many multi-year contracts with our major aerospace customers, most of these contracts specify the proportion of the customers’ requirements that will be supplied by us and the terms under which the sales will occur, not the specific quantities to be

 

 

6



procured.  Our industrial customers have always desired to order their requirements on as short a lead-time as possible.  As a result, twelve-month order backlog is not a meaningful trend indicator for us, and therefore, we do not monitor it in the management of our business.

 

Raw Materials and Production Activities

 

Our manufacturing operations are vertically integrated.  We produce carbon fibers, industrial fabrics, composite materials and composites structures as well as sell these materials to third-party customers for their use in the manufacture of their products.

 

We manufacture high performance carbon fiber from polyacrylonitrile (“PAN”) precursor produced at our Decatur, Alabama facility.  The primary raw material for PAN is acrylonitrile.  All the PAN we produce is for internal carbon fiber production.  We consume approximately 55% by value of the carbon fiber we produce and sell the remainder of our output to third-party customers.  However, as one of the world’s largest consumers of carbon fiber, we purchase significantly greater quantities of carbon fiber than we produce for our own use.  The sources of carbon fiber we can use in any product or application are sometimes dictated by its customer qualifications or certifications, otherwise we select a fiber based on performance, price and availability.  With the increasing demand for carbon fiber, particularly in aerospace applications, the supply of carbon fiber started to tighten in 2005.  In response to increasing demand, the majority of carbon fiber manufacturers have announced plans to increase their manufacturing capacity over the next two to three years.  In 2005, we announced our plans to expand our PAN and carbon fiber capacity by about 50% to serve the growing needs of our customers and our own downstream products.   The first of the fiber lines was completed at the end of 2006 and production began in the first quarter of 2007.  The second line, a greenfield site near Madrid, Spain, was essentially completed in December 2007 and will begin production by end of the  first quarter of 2008.  In October 2007, we announced another 70% increase in PAN and carbon fiber capacity, which will increase our nameplate capacity to a total of about 16 million pounds of carbon fiber by 2010.  After a new line starts production, it can take over a year to be certified for aerospace qualifications.  However, these lines can start supplying fiber for many industrial and recreational applications in a very short time period.

 

We purchase glass yarn from a number of suppliers in the United States, Europe and Asia. Aramid and high strength fibers are produced by only a few companies, and during periods of high demand, can be in short supply.  In addition, epoxy and other specialty resins, aramid paper and aluminum specialty foils are used in the manufacture of composite products. When entering into multi-year contracts with aerospace customers, the business attempts to get back-to-back commitments from key raw material suppliers.

 

Our manufacturing activities are generally based on a combination of “make-to-order” and “make-to-forecast” production requirements. We coordinate closely with key suppliers in an effort to avoid raw material shortages and excess inventories. However, many of the key raw materials we consume are available from relatively few sources, and in many cases the cost of product qualification makes it impractical to develop multiple sources of supply. The lack of availability of these materials could under certain circumstances have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations.

 

Research and Technology; Patents and Know-How

 

Research and Technology (“R&T”) departments support our businesses worldwide. Through R&T activities, we maintain expertise in precursor and carbon fiber, chemical and polymer formulation and curatives, fabric forming and textile architectures, advanced composite structures, process engineering, application development, analysis and testing of composite materials, computational design, and other scientific disciplines related to our worldwide business base.

 

Our products rely primarily on our expertise in materials science, textiles, process engineering and polymer chemistry.  Consistent with market demand, we have been placing more emphasis on cost effective product design and lean manufacturing in recent years while seeking to improve the consistency of our products.  Towards this end, we have entered into formal and informal alliances, as well as licensing and teaming arrangements, with several customers, suppliers, external agencies and laboratories.  We believe that we possess unique capabilities to design, develop and manufacture composite materials and structures.  We have over 400 patents and pending applications worldwide, have licensed many key technologies, and have granted technology licenses and patent rights to several third parties in connection with joint ventures and joint development programs.  It is our policy to actively enforce our proprietary rights.  We believe that the patents and know-how rights currently owned or licensed by Hexcel are adequate for the conduct of our business.

 

We spent $34.2 million, $29.7 million, and $24.8 million for R&T in 2007, 2006, and 2005, respectively.  We increased our R&T spending in 2007 to support new product development and qualification activities particularly in relation to commercial aircraft applications.  These expenditures were expensed as incurred.

 

Environmental Matters

 

We are subject to federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations designed to protect the environment and to regulate the discharge of materials into the environment.  We believe that our policies, practices, and procedures are properly designed to prevent unreasonable risk of environmental damage and associated financial liability.  To date, environmental control regulations have not had a significant adverse effect on our overall operations.

 

Our aggregate environmental related accruals at December 31, 2007 and 2006 were $3.2 million and $5.3 million, respectively.  As of December 31, 2007 and December 31, 2006, $2.1 million and $2.4 million, respectively, were included in other current accrued

 

 

7



 

liabilities, with the remainder included in other non-current liabilities.  As related to certain of our environmental matters, our accruals were estimated at the low end of a range of possible outcomes since there was no better point within the range.  If we had accrued for these matters at the high end of the range of possible outcomes, our accruals would have been $4.6 million and $2.7 million higher at December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively.  Environmental remediation spending charged directly to our reserve balance for 2007, 2006, and 2005, was $2.7 million, $2.8 million, and $1.4 million, respectively.  In addition, our operating costs relating to environmental compliance were $8.2 million, $8.0 million, and $6.5 million, for 2007, 2006, and 2005, respectively, and were charged directly to expense.  Capital expenditures for environmental matters approximated $2.3 million, $0.8 million and $1.1 million for 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

 

These accruals can change significantly from period to period due to such factors as additional information on the nature or extent of contamination, the methods of remediation required, changes in the apportionment of costs among responsible parties and other actions by governmental agencies or private parties, or the impact, if any, of Hexcel being named in a new matter.  A discussion of environmental matters is contained in Item 3, “Legal Proceedings,” and in Note 16 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Sales and Marketing

 

A staff of salaried market managers, product managers and sales personnel sell and market our products directly to customers worldwide.  We also use independent distributors and manufacturer representatives for certain products, markets and regions.  In addition, we operate various sales representation offices in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific.

 

Competition

 

In the production and sale of advanced composites, we compete with a number of U.S. and international companies on a worldwide basis.  The broad markets for composites are highly competitive, and we have focused on both specific submarkets and specialty products within markets.  In addition to competing directly with companies offering similar products, we compete with producers of substitute composites such as structural foam, infusion technology, wood and metal.  Depending upon the material and markets, relevant competitive factors include approvals, database of usage, technology, product performance, delivery, service, price and customer preference for sole sourcing.

 

Employees

 

As of December 31, 2007, we employed 4,081 full-time employees, 2,212 in the United States and 1,869 in other countries.  The number of full-time employees as of December 31, 2006 and 2005 was 4,459 and 4,460, respectively.

 

Other Information

 

Our internet website is www.hexcel.com. We make available, free of charge through our website, our Form 10-Ks, 10-Qs and 8-K’s, and any amendments to these forms, as soon as reasonably practicable after filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

ITEM                  1A. Risk Factors

 

An investment in our common stock or debt securities involves risks and uncertainties.  You should consider the following risk factors carefully, in addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, before deciding to purchase any of our securities.

 

The markets in which we operate can be cyclical, and downturns in them may adversely affect the results of our operations.

 

Some of the markets in which we operate have been, to varying degrees, cyclical and have experienced downturns.  We are currently in an upturn of demand in the commercial aerospace and wind energy industries. However, a downturn in these markets could occur at any time, and in the event of a downturn, we have no way of knowing if, when and to what extent there might be a recovery. Any deterioration in any of the cyclical markets we serve could adversely affect our financial performance and operating results.

 

While Boeing and Airbus increased their production and deliveries of commercial aircraft in 2007, have had three years in a row of record orders and have announced further increases for 2008, any significant reduction in demand could result in reduced net sales for our commercial aerospace products and could reduce our operating margins. Approximately 53% of our net sales for 2007 were derived from sales to the commercial aerospace industry. Reductions in demand for commercial aircraft or a delay in deliveries could result from many factors, including a terrorist event similar to that which occurred on September 11, 2001 and any subsequent military response, changes in the propensity for the general public to travel by air, a rise in the cost of aviation fuel, consolidation and liquidation of airlines and slower macroeconomic growth.  Both Boeing and Airbus have experienced various delays in their newest aircraft programs, including the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380 and A350.  These delays have or could have delayed our expected growth.  Future delays in these or other major Boeing or Airbus programs could similary impact our results.

 

In addition, our customers continue to emphasize the need for improved yield in the use of our products and cost reduction throughout the supply chain.  In response to these pressures, we may be required to reduce the price of some products in the future. Where possible, we seek to offset or mitigate the impact of such price reductions by productivity improvements and reductions in the

 

 

8



 

costs of the materials and services we procure.

 

A significant decline in business with Boeing, EADS, Vestas, or other significant customers could materially impact our business, operating results, prospects and financial condition.

 

We have concentrated customers in the commercial aerospace, space and defense, and wind energy markets.  In the commercial aerospace market, approximately 74%, and in the space and defense market, approximately 36%, of our 2007 net sales were made to Boeing and EADS (including Airbus) and their related subcontractors.  In addition, for the years ended December 31, 2007 and December 31, 2006, approximately 25% of our total consolidated net sales was made to Boeing and its related subcontractors for both years, and approximately 22% and 23% of our total consolidated net sales, respectively, was made to EADS, including Airbus and its related subcontractors.  A significant portion of our total sales (but less than 10%) in 2007 and 2006 was made to Vestas in our wind energy market.  Significant changes in the demand for our customers’ end products, the share of their requirements that is awarded to us or changes in the design or materials used to construct their products could result in a significant loss of business with these customers.  The loss of, or significant reduction in purchases by, Boeing, EADS and Vestas or any of our other significant customers could materially impair our business, operating results, prospects and financial condition.  The level of purchases by our customers is often affected by events beyond their control, including general economic conditions, demand for their products, business disruptions, disruptions in deliveries, strikes and other factors.

 

Reductions in space and defense spending could result in a decline in our net sales.

 

The growth in military aircraft production that has occurred in recent years may not be sustained, individual programs important to Hexcel may be cancelled, production may not continue to grow nor may the increased demand for replacement helicopter blades continue. The production of military aircraft depends upon defense budgets and the related demand for defense and related equipment. Approximately 22% of our net sales in 2007 were derived from space and defense industries.

 

Changes to the capital expansion plans could materially impact our operating results and financial condition.

 

The company has significantly increased its capital expenditures in recent years, including capital expenditure spending of $120.6 million in 2007, $117.9 million in 2006 and $64.3 million in 2005.  During that period, major projects completed include carbon fiber lines in Salt Lake City, Utah and Spain, the precursor line in Decatur, Alabama, satellite prepreg plants in Germany and France and additional wind energy capacity in Austria.  In October 2007 we announced an additional $180 million carbon fiber capacity to be completed by the end of 2009.  Based on expected growth estimates, the company anticipates that it will continue a high level of capital expenditures for additional capacity for carbon fiber and other products through investing in existing and new facilities. Our 2008 capital expenditures are estimated to be $150 million, including the announced carbon fiber expansion.  As noted above, we operate in markets which historically have been cyclical and our business is concentrated in a few large customers and our growth is highly dependent on the sucess of their programs.  Our capacity expansion plans could cost more than we anticipated, take longer to complete than scheduled, or fail to produce the quantity or quality of product to meet the requirements of customers.  This could result in our not achieving the growth in business that our capital expenditure plans were designed to deliver, resulting in much higher manufacturing and capital expenditure costs, pressure on our capital structure and a material adverse impact on our financial statements. In addition, these capital expansions are dependent on our ability to generate cash and have access to financing on a timely and cost effective basis.

 

A decrease in supply or increase in cost of raw materials could result in a material decline in our profitability.

 

Because we purchase large volumes of raw materials, such as epoxy and phenolic resins, aluminum foil, carbon fiber, fiberglass yarn and aramid paper, any restrictions on the supply or the increase in the cost of our raw materials could significantly reduce our profit margins.  Efforts to mitigate restrictions on the supply or price increases of these raw materials by long-term purchase agreements, productivity improvements or by passing cost increases to our customers may not be successful. Our profitability depends largely on the price and continuity of supply of these raw materials, which are supplied through a sole source or a limited number of sources.

 

With increased demand for carbon fiber and constrained supply, in 2006 and 2007 we have made capital expenditures to increase our manufacturing capacity, and will make further expenditures in 2008, as noted above.  These amounts are all significantly higher than historical levels, and represent our efforts to expand capacity to meet the increasing forecasted demand.

 

We have substantial international operations subject to uncertainties which could affect our operating results.

 

We believe that revenue from sales outside the U.S. will continue to account for a material portion of our total revenue for the foreseeable future.  Additionally, we have invested significant resources in our international operations and we intend to continue to make such investments in the future. Our international operations are subject to numerous risks, including:

 

·

the difficulty of enforcing agreements and collecting receivables through some foreign legal systems;

 

 

·

foreign customers may have longer payment cycles than customers in the U.S.;

 

 

·

cost of compliance with international trade laws of all of the countries in which we do business, including export control laws, relating to sales and purchases of goods and equipment and transfers of technology;

 

 

·

tax rates in some foreign countries may exceed those of the U.S. and foreign earnings may be subject to withholding requirements or the imposition of tariffs, exchange controls or other restrictions;

 

9


 


·

 

general economic and political conditions in the countries where we operate may have an adverse effect on our operations in those countries or not be favorable to our growth strategy;

 

 

 

·

 

governments may adopt regulations or take other actions that would have a direct or indirect adverse impact on our business and market opportunities; and

 

 

 

·

 

the potential difficulty in enforcing our intellectual property rights in some foreign countries, and the potential for the intellectual property rights of others to affect our ability to sell product in certain markets.

 

Any one of the above could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

 

In addition, fluctuations in currency exchange rates may influence the profitability and cash flows of our business.  For example, our European operations sell some of the products they produce in U.S. dollars, yet the labor and overhead costs incurred in the manufacture of those products is denominated in Euros or British pound sterling. As a result, the local currency margins of goods manufactured with costs denominated in local currency, yet sold in U.S. dollars, will vary with fluctuations in currency exchange rates, reducing when the U.S. dollar weakens against the Euro and British pound sterling. In addition, the reported U.S. dollar value of the local currency financial statements of our foreign subsidiaries will vary with fluctuations in currency exchange rates. While we enter into currency exchange rate hedges from time to time to mitigate these types of fluctuations, we cannot remove all fluctuations or hedge all exposures, and our earnings are impacted by changes in currency exchange rates.

 

During the past several years, some countries in which we operate or plan to operate have been characterized by varying degrees of inflation and uneven growth rates. We currently do not have political risk insurance in the countries in which we conduct business. While we carefully consider these risks when evaluating our international operations we cannot provide assurance that we will not be materially adversely affected as a result of such risks.

 

We could be adversely affected by environmental and safety requirements.

 

Our operations require the handling, use, storage and disposal of certain regulated materials and wastes. As a result, we are subject to various laws and regulations pertaining to pollution and protection of the environment, health and safety.  These requirements govern, among other things, emissions to air, discharge to waters and the generation, handling, storage, treatment and disposal of waste and remediation of contaminated sites.  We have made, and will continue to make, capital and other expenditures in order to comply with these laws and regulations.  These laws and regulations are complex, change frequently and could become more stringent in the future.

 

We have been named as a “potentially responsible party” under the U.S. Superfund law or similar state laws at several sites requiring clean up. These laws generally impose liability for costs to investigate and remediate contamination without regard to fault. Under certain circumstances liability may be joint and several, resulting in one responsible party being held responsible for the entire obligation.  Liability may also include damages to natural resources.  In connection with our Lodi, New Jersey facility, Hexcel, along with the approximately 73 other companies, has been directed by state and federal regulatory authorities to contribute to the assessment and restoration of a stretch of the Passaic River, a project currently estimated to cost $900 million to $2.3 billion.  We have also incurred and likely will continue to incur expenses to investigate and clean up our existing and former facilities. We have incurred substantial expenses for work at these sites over a number of years, and these costs, for which we believes we have adequate reserves, will continue for the foreseeable future.  The ongoing operation of our manufacturing plants also entails environmental risks, and we may result in our incurring material costs or liabilities in the future which could adversely affect us.

 

In addition, we may be required to comply with evolving environmental, health and safety laws, regulations or requirements that may be adopted or imposed in the future or to address newly discovered information or conditions that require a response.  Although most of the our properties have been the subject of environmental site assessments, there can be no assurance that all potential instances of soil and groundwater contamination have been identified, even at those sites where assessments have been conducted. Accordingly, we may discover previously unknown environmental conditions and the cost of remediating such conditions may be material.  See “Legal Proceedings” below and Note 16 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Our forward-looking statements and projections may turn out to be inaccurate.

 

This Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. These statements also relate to future prospects, developments and business strategies. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. Such statements are based on current expectations, are inherently uncertain, and are subject to changing assumptions.

 

Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: (a) expectations of increases in production and delivery rates of commercial aircraft by Airbus and Boeing and their impact on our commercial aerospace sales; (b)  the impact of the push-out in deliveries of the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787; (c) expectations of composite content on new commercial aircraft programs and our share of those requirements; (d) expectations of growth in revenues from space & defense applications; (e) expectations as to the availability of carbon fiber for non-aerospace applications; (f) expectations regarding growth in sales of composite materials for wind energy, recreation and other industrial applications; (g) expectations regarding working capital trends and expenditures; (h) expectations as to the level of capital expenditures and when we will complete the construction and qualification of its carbon fiber

 

 

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capacity expansion; and (i) the impact of various market risks, including fluctuations in the interest rates underlying our variable-rate debt, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, and fluctuations in the market price of our common stock.

 

 Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the following: changes in general economic and business conditions; changes in current pricing and cost levels; changes in political, social and economic conditions and local regulations, particularly in Asia and Europe; foreign currency fluctuations; changes in aerospace delivery rates; reductions in sales to any significant customers, particularly Airbus or Boeing; changes in sales mix; changes in government defense procurement budgets; changes in military aerospace programs technology; industry capacity; competition; disruptions of established supply channels; manufacturing capacity constraints; and the availability, terms and deployment of capital.

 

If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected, estimated or projected. In addition to other factors that affect our operating results and financial position, neither past financial performance nor our expectations should be considered reliable indicators of future performance. Investors should not use historical trends to anticipate results or trends in future periods. Further, our stock price is subject to volatility. Any of the factors discussed above could have an adverse impact on our stock price. In addition, failure of sales or income in any quarter to meet the investment community’s expectations, as well as broader market trends, can have an adverse impact on our stock price. We do not undertake an obligation to update our forward-looking statements or risk factors to reflect future events or circumstances.

 

ITEM      1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

 

None.

 

ITEM 2. Properties

 

We own and lease manufacturing facilities and sales offices located throughout the United States and in other countries, as noted below. The corporate offices and principal corporate support activities are located in leased facilities in Stamford, Connecticut. Our research and technology administration and principal laboratories are located in Dublin, California; Duxford, United Kingdom; and Les Avenieres, France.

 

The following table lists our manufacturing facilities by geographic location, related segment, and principal products manufactured. This table does not include manufacturing facilities owned by entities in which we have a joint venture interest.

 

Manufacturing Facilities

Facility Location

 

Segment

 

Principal Products

United States:

 

 

 

 

Decatur, Alabama

 

Composite Materials

 

PAN Precursor (used to produce Carbon Fibers)

Salt Lake City, Utah

 

Composite Materials

 

Carbon Fibers; Prepregs

Seguin, Texas

 

Composite Materials

 

Industrial Fabrics; Specialty Reinforcements

Casa Grande, Arizona

 

Composite Materials

 

Honeycomb and Honeycomb Parts

Kent, Washington

 

Engineered Products

 

Composite structures

Pottsville, Pennsylvania

 

Engineered Products

 

Specially machined Honeycomb Parts

Burlington, Washington

 

Engineered Products

 

Specially machined Honeycomb Parts

International:

 

 

 

 

Dagneux, France

 

Composite Materials

 

Prepregs

Nantes, France

 

Composite Materials

 

Prepregs

Les Avenieres, France

 

Composite Materials

 

Electronic Fabrics; Industrial Fabrics; Specialty Reinforcements

Illescas, Spain

 

Composite Materials

 

Carbon Fibers

Parla, Spain

 

Composite Materials

 

Prepregs

Linz, Austria

 

Composite Materials

 

Prepregs

Duxford, United Kingdom

 

Composite Materials

 

Prepregs; Adhesives; Honeycomb and Honeycomb Parts

Nantes, France

 

Composite Materials

 

Prepregs

Stade, Germany

 

Composite Materials

 

Prepregs

Welkenraedt, Belgium

 

Engineered Products

 

Specially machined Honeycomb Parts

 

We lease the land and buildings in Nantes, France and Stade, Germany; and the land on which the Burlington, Washington facility is located.  We also lease portions of the facilities located in Casa Grande, Arizona and Les Avenieres, France.  We own all other remaining facilities.  In connection with our debt refinancing, on March 1, 2005, we granted mortgages in connection with our new senior secured credit facility on the facilities located in Casa Grande, Arizona; Decatur, Alabama; Dublin, California; Kent, Washington; Livermore, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Seguin, Texas.  For further information, refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and to Note 8 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

In October 2007, we announced our plans to build a Wind Energy Prepreg Facility in Tianjin, China.  The land and facility will be

 

 

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leased with all equipment owned by Hexcel.

 

In November 2005, we announced our plans to build a carbon fiber plant near Madrid, Spain in connection with our carbon fiber expansion program.  In January 2006, we entered into an agreement to purchase land in Illescas, Spain on which to construct the plant.  Construction and commissioning of the new line was completed in February 2008 and we expect the new line to be qualified for the production of aerospace products by early 2009.

 

In October 2005, we announced our plans to build Aerospace Prepreg Facilities in Nantes, France and Stade, Germany.  The land and buildings are leased with all equipment owned by Hexcel.  Construction of the Stade plant was completed in April 2007 and the qualification of key Airbus aerospace products was completed in December 2007.  Construction of the Nantes plant was completed in November 2007 and we expect the facility to be qualified for production of key Airbus aerospace products by mid 2008.

 

In January 2004, we announced our intention to consolidate the activities of our Livermore, California facility into other manufacturing facilities, principally into the Salt Lake City, Utah plant.  Manufacturing ceased and the transfer of activities from this facility was completed during the first quarter of 2007.  We are currently in the final stages of preparing the Livermore site for sale and we anticipate the sale will be completed during 2008.

 

In connection with our portfolio review and the consolidation activities mentioned above, the sale of certain properties located in Anderson, South Carolina; Statesville, North Carolina; Washington, Georgia; and Decines, France were completed during 2007.

 

ITEM 3. Legal Proceedings

 

We are involved in litigation, investigations and claims arising out of the normal conduct of our business, including those relating to commercial transactions, environmental, employment, and health and safety matters.  We estimate and accrue our liabilities resulting from such matters based on a variety of factors, including the stage of the proceeding; potential settlement value; assessments by internal and external counsel; and assessments by environmental engineers and consultants of potential environmental liabilities and remediation costs.  Such estimates are not discounted to reflect the time value of money due to the uncertainty in estimating the timing of the expenditures, which may extend over several years.

 

While it is impossible to ascertain the ultimate legal and financial liability with respect to certain contingent liabilities and claims, we believe, based upon our examination of currently available information, our experience to date, and advice from legal counsel, that the individual and aggregate liabilities resulting from the ultimate resolution of these contingent matters, after taking into consideration our existing insurance coverage and amounts already provided for, will not have a material adverse impact on our consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

 

Environmental Matters

 

We are subject to various U.S. and international federal, state and local environmental, and health and safety laws and regulations.  We are also subject to liabilities arising under the Federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA” or “Superfund”), the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and similar state and international laws and regulations that impose responsibility for the control, remediation and abatement of air, water and soil pollutants and the manufacturing, storage, handling and disposal of hazardous substances and waste.

 

We have been named as a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) with respect to several hazardous waste disposal sites that we do not own or possess, which are included on, or proposed to be included on, the Superfund National Priority List of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) or on equivalent lists of various state governments.  Because CERCLA allows for joint and several liability in certain circumstances, we could be responsible for all remediation costs at such sites, even if we are one of many PRPs.  We believe, based on the amount and the nature of our waste, and the number of other financially viable PRPs, that our liability in connection with such matters will not be material.

 

Lodi, New Jersey Site

 

Pursuant to the New Jersey Industrial Site Recovery Act, we entered into a Remediation Agreement to pay for the environmental remediation of a manufacturing facility we own and formerly operated in Lodi, New Jersey.  We have commenced remediation of this site in accordance with an approved plan; however, the ultimate cost of remediating the Lodi site will depend on developing circumstances.  The total accrued liability related to this matter was $1.7 million as of December 31, 2007.

 

Lower Passaic River Study Area

 

In October 2003, we received, along with 66 other entities, a directive from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) that requires the entities to assess whether operations at various New Jersey sites, including our former manufacturing site in Lodi, New Jersey, caused damage to natural resources in the Lower Passaic River watershed. In May, 2005, the NJDEP dismissed us from the Directive. In February 2004, 42 entities, including Hexcel, received a general notice letter from the EPA which requested that the entities consider helping to finance an estimated $10 million towards an EPA study of environmental conditions in the Lower Passaic River watershed.  In May 2005, we signed onto an agreement with EPA to participate (bringing the total number of participating entities to 43) in financing such a study up to $10 million, in the aggregate. Since May, 2005, a number of additional PRPs have joined into the agreement with EPA.  In October 2005, we along with the other EPA notice recipients were advised by the EPA that the notice recipients’ share of the costs of the EPA study was expected to significantly exceed the earlier EPA

 

 

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estimate.  While we and the other recipients were not obligated by our agreement to share in such excess, a Group of notice recipients (73 companies including Hexcel) negotiated an agreement with EPA to assume responsibility for the study pursuant to an Administrative Order on Consent.  Although we believe we have viable defenses to the EPA claims and expect that other as yet unnamed parties also will receive notices from the EPA, we have established a reserve as of December 31, 2007 for our estimated cost in relation to the EPA study.  In June 2007, EPA issued a draft Focused Feasibility Study (“FFS”) that considers six interim remedial options for the lower eight miles of the river, in addition to a “no action” option.  The estimated costs for the six options range from $900 million to $2.3 billion.  The PRP Group provided comments to EPA on the FFS; EPA has not yet taken further action.  The Administrative Order on Consent regarding the study does not cover work contemplated by the FFS.  Finally, the Federal Trustees for natural resources have indicated their intent to perform a natural resources damage assessment on the river and invited the PRPs to participate in the development and performance of this assessment.  The PRP Group, including Hexcel, has not agreed to participate.  Our ultimate liability for investigatory costs, remedial costs and/or natural resource damages in connection with the Lower Passaic River cannot be determined at this time.

 

Kent, Washington Site

 

We were party to a cost-sharing agreement regarding the operation of certain environmental remediation systems necessary to satisfy a post-closure care permit issued to a previous owner of the Kent, Washington, site by the EPA. Under the terms of the cost-sharing agreement, we were obligated to reimburse the previous owner for a portion of the cost of the required remediation activities. Management has determined that the cost-sharing agreement terminated in December 1998; however, the other party disputes this determination.  The Washington Department of Ecology has issued a unilateral Enforcement Order to us requiring us to (a) maintain the interim remedial system and to perform system separation, (b) to conduct a focused remedial investigation and (c) to conduct a focused feasibility study to develop recommended long term remedial measures.  We asserted defenses against performance of the order, particularly objecting to the remediation plan proposed by the previous owner, who still owns the adjacent contaminated site.  However, we are currently complying with the order, without withdrawing our defenses.

 

Omega Chemical Corporation Superfund Site, Whittier, CA

 

We are a PRP at a former chemical waste site in Whittier, CA. The PRPs at Omega have established a PRP Group, the “Omega PRP Group”, and are currently investigating and remediating soil and groundwater at the site pursuant to a Consent Decree with the EPA, entered into in March 2000. Hexcel contributed approximately 0.01% of the waste tonnage sent to the site during its operations.  In addition to the Omega site specifically, there is regional groundwater contamination in the area as well. EPA has not determined who it will identify as PRPs to investigate and, as necessary, remediate the regional groundwater contamination.  Although it is likely that Hexcel will incur costs associated with the regional investigation and remediation as a member of the Omega Group, our ultimate liability, if any, in connection with this matter cannot be determined at this time.

 

Environmental remediation reserve activity for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006, 2005 was as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

For the year ended

 

 

 

(In millions)

 

December 31,
2007

 

December 31,
2006

 

December 31,
2005

 

Beginning remediation accrual balance

 

$

5.3

 

$

4.2

 

$

4.8

 

Current period expenses

 

0.6

 

3.9

 

0.8

 

Cash expenditures

 

(2.7

)

(2.8

)

(1.4

)

Ending remediation accrual balance

 

$

3.2

 

$

5.3

 

$

4.2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Capital expenditures for environmental matters

 

$

2.3

 

$

0.8

 

$

1.1

 

 

Our estimate of liability as a PRP and our remaining costs associated with our responsibility to remediate the Lodi, New Jersey; Kent, Washington; and other sites are accrued in the consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2007 and 2006, our aggregate environmental related accruals were $3.2 million and $5.3 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2007 and 2006, $2.1 million and $2.4 million, respectively, was included in current other accrued liabilities, with the remainder included in other non-current liabilities.  As related to certain environmental matters, the accrual was estimated at the low end of a range of possible outcomes since no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount.  If we had accrued for these matters at the high end of the range of possible outcomes, our accrual would have been $4.6 million and $2.7 million higher at December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively.

 

These accruals can change significantly from period to period due to such factors as additional information on the nature or extent of contamination, the methods of remediation required, changes in the apportionment of costs among responsible parties and other actions by governmental agencies or private parties, or the impact, if any, of being named in a new matter.

 

Litigation

 

Austrian Exotherm Claim

 

On August 4, 2006, at our Neumarkt, Austria, manufacturing facility, resin being mixed exothermed, releasing gases and smoke inside and outside of the facility.  Our internal investigation revealed that the cause of the exotherm was a failure of the mixing mechanism.  Three employees of our Austrian subsidiary, Hexcel Composites GmbH, have been charged under Section 180 of the

 

 

13



 

Austrian Criminal Code; the charge is that they deliberately caused a violation of an environmental law or regulation when the gases and smoke were released.  Hexcel Composites GmbH has not been charged, although it could be charged under the same Section.  We have offered independent counsel to the employees at our expense.  We are not in a position to predict the outcome of the case against the employees or whether a charge will be filed against Hexcel Composites GmbH, but we will defend any charges vigorously.

 

Hercules Claim

 

Hercules Incorporated (“Hercules”) was one of our co-defendants in certain previously disclosed antitrust lawsuits relating to carbon fiber products.  As previously disclosed, Hercules filed an action against us in New York seeking a declaratory judgment that, pursuant to a 1996 Sale and Purchase Agreement (whereby we acquired the carbon fiber and prepreg assets of Hercules), we were required to indemnify Hercules for its settlements in the antitrust lawsuits and for any liability claims that may be asserted by any of the opt-outs from those suits (Hercules Incorporated v. Hexcel, filed in the Supreme Court of State of New York, County of New York, December, 6, 2004).  On April 30, 2007, the New York court, on summary judgment, dismissed the indemnity counts in Hercules’ complaint.  Hercules appealed the dismissal.  On February 7, 2008 the Appellate Division court unanimously affirmed the dismissal.  Hercules also claims that Hexcel failed to cooperate with Hercules’ defense in the antitrust cases; this claim was not part of the motion for summary judgment and has yet to go to trial, but we intend to defend it vigorously.  We have not recorded a reserve related to this matter as we do not consider the likelihood of an unfavorable judgment probable.

 

ITEM 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

 

None.

 

PART II

 

ITEM 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters

 

Hexcel common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.  The range of high and low sales prices of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange Composite Tape is contained in Note 23 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

Hexcel did not declare or pay any dividends in 2007, 2006 or 2005.  The payment of dividends is limited under the terms of certain of our debt agreements.

 

On February 15, 2008 there were 1,209 holders of record of our common stock.

 

The following chart provides information regarding repurchases of Hexcel common stock:

 

Period

 

 

(a)
Total Number of Shares (or Units) Purchased

 

 

(b)
Average Price Paid per Share (or Unit)

 

 

(c)
Total Number of Shares (or Units) Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs

 

 

(d)
Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares (or Units) that May Yet Be Purchased Under
the Plans or Programs

October 1 – October 31, 2007

 

 

0

 

 

N/A

 

 

0

 

 

0

November 1 – November 30, 2007

 

 

0

 

 

N/A

 

 

0

 

 

0

December 1 – December 31, 2007

 

 

3,426

 

 

$25.22

 

 

0

 

 

0

Total

 

 

3,426(1)

 

 

$25.22

 

 

0

 

 

0

 

 


 (1) All Shares were delivered by employees in payment of the exercise price of non-qualified stock options.

 

ITEM 6. Selected Financial Data

 

The information required by Item 6 is contained on page 24 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the caption “Selected Financial Data” and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

The information required by Item 7 is contained on pages 25 to 42 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K under

 

14



 

“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

ITEM 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

 

The information required by Item 7A is contained under the heading “Market Risks” on pages 40 to 42 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

ITEM 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

 

The information required by Item 8 is contained on pages 43 to 82 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K under “Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” and is incorporated herein by reference. The Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm is contained on page 45 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the caption “Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

ITEM 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

 

None.

 

ITEM 9A. Controls and Procedures

 

The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.  In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management necessarily is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

 

The Company carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on the foregoing, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

 

Management’s report on our internal control over financial reporting is contained on page 44 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

 

ITEM 9B. Other Information

 

None.

 

PART III

 

ITEM 10.  Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

 

The information required by Item 10 will be contained in our definitive proxy statement for the 2007 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the close of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007.  Such information is incorporated herein by reference.

 

ITEM 11.  Executive Compensation

 

The information required by Item 11 will be contained in our definitive proxy statement for the 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the close of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007.  Such information is incorporated herein by reference.

 

ITEM 12.  Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

 

The information required by Item 12 will be contained in our definitive proxy statement for the 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the close of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007.  Such information is incorporated herein by reference.

 

ITEM 13.  Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

 

The information required by Item 13 will be contained in our definitive proxy statement for the 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the close of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007.  Such information is incorporated herein by reference.

 

15



 

ITEM 14.  Principal Accountant Fees and Services

 

The information required by Item 14 will be contained in our definitive proxy statement for the 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the close of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007.  Such information is incorporated herein by reference.

PART IV

ITEM 15.  Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

(a) Financial Statements, Financial Statement Schedules and Exhibits

 

        (1)  Financial Statements:

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2007 and 2006

Consolidated Statements of Operations for each of the three years ended December 31, 2007

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) and Comprehensive Income for each of the three years ended December 31, 2007

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for each of the three years ended December 31, 2007

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

        (2)  Financial Statement Schedule for the three years ended December 31, 2007:

Schedule II – Valuation and Qualifying Accounts

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

All other schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the required information is shown in the financial statements or the notes thereto.

        (3)  Exhibits:

The following list of exhibits includes exhibits submitted with this Form 10-K as filed with the SEC and those incorporated by reference to other filings.

 

Exhibit No.

 

Description

 

 

 

2.1

 

Asset Purchase Agreement, dated as of June 21, 2007 by and among JPS Industries, Inc., Hexcel Corporation and Hexcel Reinforcements Corp. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated June 26, 2007).

 

 

 

3.1

 

Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Hexcel Corporation (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 1 to Hexcel’s Registration Statement on Form 8-A dated July 9, 1996, Registration No. 1-08472).

 

 

 

3.2

 

Certificate of Amendment of the Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Hexcel Corporation (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002, filed on March 31, 2003).

 

 

 

3.3

 

Amended and Restated Bylaws of Hexcel Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated December 17, 2007).

 

 

 

4

 

Indenture dated as of February 1, 2005 between Hexcel Corporation and The Bank of New York, as trustee, relating to the issuance of the 6.75% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 4, 2005).

 

 

 

10.1

 

Credit Agreement, dated as of March 1, 2005 by and among Hexcel Corporation, as Borrower, the Lenders listed therein, as Lenders, Banc of America Securities LLC, as Syndication Agent and Joint Lead Arranger, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., as Sole Book Manager and Joint Lead Arranger, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as Administrative Agent, and Credit Suisse First Boston and Wachovia Bank, National Association, as Documentation Agents (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 2, 2005).

 

 

 

10.1(a)

 

First Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of December 5, 2006 by and among Hexcel Corporation, the financial institutions listed therein, as Lenders, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as administrative agent for the Lenders (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated December 11, 2006).

 

 

 

10.2

 

Security Agreement, dated as of March 1, 2005 by and among Hexcel Corporation, each of the subsidiary guarantors listed therein, and each additional guarantor that may become a party, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as Administrative Agent for and representative of the beneficiaries defined therein (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 2, 2005).

 

 

 

10.3

 

Subsidiary Guaranty, dated as of March 1, 2005 by Clark-Schwebel Holding Corp. and Hexcel Reinforcements Corp., as Guarantors, in favor of and for the benefit of Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, as agent for and representative of any swap counterparties defined therein and the lenders party to the Credit Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated March 2, 2005)

 

 

 

10.4*

 

Hexcel Corporation 2003 Incentive Stock Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002, filed on March 31, 2003).

 

16



 

 

 

 

10.4(a)*

 

Hexcel Corporation 2003 Incentive Stock Plan as amended and restated December 11, 2003 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3(a) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003).

 

 

 

10.4(b)*

 

Hexcel Corporation 2003 Incentive Stock Plan as amended and restated May 19, 2005 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated May 24, 2005).

 

 

 

10.5*

 

Hexcel Corporation Incentive Stock Plan, as amended and restated on January 30, 1997, and further amended on December 10, 1997 and March 25, 1999 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed on July 26, 1999).

 

 

 

10.5(a)*

 

Hexcel Corporation Incentive Stock Plan, as amended and restated on January 30, 1997, and further amended on December 10, 1997, March 25, 1999 and December 2, 1999 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3(c) of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1999).

 

 

 

10.5(b)*

 

Hexcel Corporation Incentive Stock Plan, as amended and restated on February 3, 2000 (incorporated herein by reference to Annex A of the Company’s Proxy Statement dated March 31, 2000).

 

 

 

10.5(c)*

 

Hexcel Corporation Incentive Stock Plan, as amended and restated on December 19, 2000 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3(e) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000).

 

 

 

10.5(d)*

 

Hexcel Corporation Incentive Stock Plan, as amended and restated on December 19, 2000 and further amended on January 10, 2002 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3(f) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001).

 

 

 

10.6*

 

Hexcel Corporation 1998 Broad Based Incentive Stock Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 4.3 of the Company’s Form S-8 filed on June 19, 1998, Registration No. 333-57223).

 

 

 

10.6(a)*

 

Hexcel Corporation 1998 Broad Based Incentive Stock Plan, as amended on February 3, 2000 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Hexcel’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended June 30, 2000).

 

 

 

10.6(b)*

 

Hexcel Corporation 1998 Broad Based Incentive Stock Plan, as amended on February 3, 2000, and further amended on February 1, 2001 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.4(b) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000).

 

 

 

10.6(c)*

 

Hexcel Corporation 1998 Broad Based Incentive Stock Plan, as amended on February 3, 2000, and further amended on February 1, 2001 and January 10, 2002 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.4(c) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001).

 

 

 

10.6(d)*

 

Hexcel Corporation 1998 Broad Based Incentive Stock Plan, as amended on February 3, 2000, and further amended on February 1, 2001, January 10, 2002 and December 12, 2002 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.4(d) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002).

 

 

 

10.7*

 

Hexcel Corporation Management Stock Purchase Plan, as amended and restated on May 19, 2005 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated May 24, 2005).

 

 

 

10.8*

 

Hexcel Corporation Long-Term Incentive Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001).

 

 

 

10.9*

 

Form of Employee Option Agreement (2008).

 

 

 

10.10*

 

Form of Employee Option Agreement (2007) (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006)

 

 

 

10.11*

 

Form of Employee Option Agreement (2005 and 2006) (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated January 12, 2005).

 

 

 

10.12*

 

Form of Employee Option Agreement (2004) (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003).

 

 

 

10.13*

 

Form of Employee Option Agreement (2003) (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Company’s

 

17



 

 

 

Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002).

 

 

 

10.14*

 

Form of Employee Option Agreement (2002) (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001).

 

 

 

10.15*

 

Form of Employee Option Agreement (2000) (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000).

 

 

 

10.16*

 

Form of Employee Option Agreement Special Executive Grant (2000) dated December 20, 2000 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000).

 

 

 

10.17*

 

Form of Employee Option Agreement Special Executive Grant (1999) dated December 2, 1999 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1999).

 

 

 

10.18*

 

Form of Employee Option Agreement (1999) dated December 2, 1999 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1999).

 

 

 

10.19*

 

Form of Employee Option Agreement (1999) (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended March 31, 1999).

 

 

 

10.20*

 

Form of Employee Option Agreement (1998) (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.4 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended September 30, 1998).

 

 

 

10.21*

 

Form of Retainer Fee Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for Non-Employee Directors (2004 and 2005) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003).

 

 

 

10.22*

 

Form of Retainer Fee Option Agreement for Non-Employee Directors (2003) (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.19 the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002).

 

 

 

10.23*

 

Form of Retainer Fee Option Agreement for Non-Employee Directors (2000) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.16 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000).

 

 

 

10.24*

 

Form of Retainer Fee Option Agreement for Non-Employee Directors (1999) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.14 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1999).

 

 

 

10.25*

 

Form of Supplemental Compensation Option Agreement (Directors) (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.23 to Hexcel’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001).

 

 

 

10.26*

 

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement (2008).

 

 

 

10.27*

 

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement (2007) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.29 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006).

 

 

 

10.28*

 

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement (2006) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 13, 2006).

 

 

 

10.29*

 

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement (2005) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated January 12, 2005).

 

 

 

10.30*

 

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement (2004) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.30 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003).

 

 

 

10.31*

 

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for Non-Employee Directors (2007) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended June 30, 2007).

 

 

 

10.32*

 

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for Non-Employee Directors (2006) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended June 30, 2007).

 

 

 

10.33*

 

Form of Restricted Stock Unit Agreement for Non-Employee Directors (2004, 2005) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.38 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004).

 

18



 

 

 

 

10.34*

 

Form of Exchange Performance Accelerated Stock Option Agreement (incorporated Herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to Hexcel’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended September 30, 1998).

 

 

 

10.35*

 

Form of Performance Based Award Agreement (2008).

 

 

 

10.36*

 

Form of Performance Based Award Agreement (2007) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.38 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006).

 

 

 

10.37*

 

Form of Performance Based Award Agreement (2006) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated February 13, 2006).

 

 

 

10.38*

 

Hexcel Corporation 1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended and restated as of March 19, 2003 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.43 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002, filed on March 31, 2003).

 

 

 

10.39*

 

Hexcel Corporation Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.2 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated December 16, 2004).

 

 

 

10.40*

 

Employment Agreement dated as of July 30, 2001 between Hexcel Corporation and David E. Berges (incorporated by reference herein to Exhibit 10.37 to Hexcel’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-66582), filed on August 2, 2001).

 

 

 

10.40(a)*

 

Amendment, dated December 12, 2002, to Employment Agreement dated as of July 30, 2001 between Hexcel Corporation and David E. Berges (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.43(a) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002).

 

 

 

10.40(b)*

 

Second Amendment, dated as of November 16, 2004, to the Employment Agreement dated as of July 20, 2001 between Hexcel Corporation and David E. Berges (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated November 22, 2004).

 

 

 

10.40(c)*

 

Employee Option Agreement dated as of July 30, 2001 between Hexcel Corporation and David E. Berges (incorporated by reference herein to Exhibit 10.37(a) to Hexcel’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-66582), filed on August 2, 2001).

 

 

 

10.40(d)*

 

Employment Option Agreement (performance-based option) dated as of July 30, 2001 between Hexcel Corporation and David E. Berges (incorporated by reference herein to Exhibit 10.37(b) to Hexcel’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-66582), filed on August 2, 2001).

 

 

 

10.40(e)*

 

Supplemental Executive Retirement Agreement dated as of July 30, 2001 between Hexcel Corporation and David E. Berges (incorporated by reference herein to Exhibit 10.37(d) to Hexcel’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-66582), filed on August 2, 2001).

 

 

 

10.40(f)*

 

First Amendment to Supplemental Executive Retirement Agreement between Hexcel Corporation and David E. Berges, dated December 31, 2007 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated January 7, 2008).

 

 

 

10.40(g)*

 

Letter Agreement dated August 1, 2001 between Hexcel Corporation and David E. Berges (incorporated by reference herein to Exhibit 10.37(e) to Hexcel’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 (No. 333-66582), filed on August 2, 2001).

 

 

 

10.40(h)*

 

Letter Agreement dated August 28, 2001 between Hexcel Corporation and David E. Berges (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2001).

 

 

 

10.41*

 

Executive Severance Agreement, made as of the 27th day of April, 2007, between Wayne C. Pensky and Hexcel Corporation (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to Hexcel’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended June 30, 2007).

 

 

 

10.41(a)*

 

Amended and Restated Executive Deferred Compensation Agreement between Hexcel Corporation and Wayne C. Pensky, dated December 31, 2007 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.3 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated January 7, 2008).

 

19



 

 

 

 

10.42*

 

Letter agreement between Hexcel Corporation and Stephen C. Forsyth, dated April 27, 2007 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated May 1, 2007).

 

 

 

10.42(a)*

 

Supplemental Executive Retirement Agreement dated as of May 10, 2000 between Hexcel Corporation and Stephen C. Forsyth (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.5 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended June 30, 2000).

 

 

 

10.42(b)*

 

First Amendment to Supplemental Executive Retirement Agreement dated as of July 30, 2001 between Hexcel Corporation and Stephen C. Forsyth (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.43(d) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001).

 

 

 

10.43*

 

Supplemental Executive Retirement Agreement dated as of May 10, 2000 between Hexcel and Ira J. Krakower (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.6 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended June 30, 2000).

 

 

 

10.43(a)*

 

Amendment to Agreements, dated as of October 11, 2000 by and between Hexcel Corporation and Ira J. Krakower (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.7 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended September 30, 2000).

 

 

 

10.43(b)*

 

First Amendment to Supplemental Executive Retirement Agreement dated as of July 30, 2001 between Hexcel Corporation and Ira J. Krakower (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.44(c) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001).

 

 

 

10.43(c)*

 

Second Amendment to Supplemental Executive Retirement Agreement between Hexcel Corporation and Ira J. Krakower, dated December 31, 2007 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.2 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated January 7, 2008).

 

 

 

10.44*

 

Form of Executive Severance Agreement between Hexcel and certain executive officers dated as of February 3, 1999 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended March 31, 1999).

 

 

 

10.45*

 

Form of Executive Severance Agreement between Hexcel and certain executive officers dated as of February 3, 1999 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended March 31, 1999).

 

 

 

10.46*

 

Amendment to Agreements, dated as of October 11, 2000 by and between Hexcel Corporation and William Hunt (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.14 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended September 30, 2000).

 

 

 

10.46(a)*

 

Amendment to Amendments to Agreements, dated as of November 21, 2000, by and between Hexcel Corporation and William Hunt (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.45(a) to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000).

 

 

 

10.46(b)*

 

Service Agreement, dated January 1, 1992, between Ciba-Geigy PLC (subsequently assigned to Hexcel Composites Limited) and William Hunt.

 

 

 

10.46(c)*

 

Letter Agreement regarding pension and life assurance benefits, dated August 19, 1992 between Ciba-Geigy PLC (subsequently assigned to Hexcel Composites Limited) and William Hunt (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended March 31, 2005).

 

 

 

10.46(d)*

 

Letter Agreement regarding pension and related benefits, dated January 21, 1999, between Hexcel Composites Limited, Hexcel Corporation and William Hunt (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.3 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended March 31, 2005).

 

 

 

10.47*

 

Form of Amendment, dated as of November 16, 2004, to Executive Severance Agreement dated as of February 3, 1999 between Hexcel Corporation and each of Messrs. Stephen C. Forsyth, Ira J. Krakower and Joseph H. Shaulson (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.2 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated November 22, 2004).

 

 

 

10.48*

 

Executive Severance Agreement between Hexcel and Robert G. Hennemuth, dated as of March 20, 2006 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended March 31, 2006).

 

20



 

 

 

 

10.48(a)*

 

Executive Deferred Compensation and Consulting Agreement, dated as of March 20, 2006, between Hexcel Corporation and Robert G. Hennemuth (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended March 31, 2006).

 

 

 

10.48(b)*

 

Amended and Restated Executive Deferred Compensation Agreement between Hexcel Corporation and Robert G. Hennemuth, dated December 31, 2007 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.4 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated January 7, 2008).

 

 

 

10.49*

 

Director Compensation Program (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated December 16, 2004).

 

 

 

10.49(a)*

 

Director Compensation Program, as of December 15, 2005 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to Hexcel’s Current Report on Form 8-K dated December 20, 2005).

 

 

 

10.49(b)*

 

Director Compensation Program, as of December 15, 2005 (incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to Hexcel’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the Quarter ended June 30, 2007).

 

 

 

21

 

Subsidiaries of the Company.

 

 

 

23

 

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

 

 

 

24

 

Power of Attorney (included on signature page).

 

 

 

31.1

 

Certification of Chief Executive Officer, Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

31.2

 

Certification of Chief Financial Officer, Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

32

 

Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as Adopted Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 


*  Indicates management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

 

21



 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

 

Hexcel Corporation

 

 

 

 

February 22, 2008

 

 

/s/ DAVID E. BERGES

 

(Date)

 

 

David E. Berges

 

 

 

Chief Executive Officer

 

22



 

KNOWN TO ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints each of David E. Berges, Wayne Pensky and Ira J. Krakower, individually, his attorney-in-fact, with the power of substitution, for him in any and all capacities, to sign any amendments to this report, and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that each said attorney-in-fact, or his substitute or substitutes, may do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature

 

Title

 

Date

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ DAVID E. BERGES

 

Chairman of the

 

February 22, 2008

(David E. Berges)

 

Board of Directors and

 

 

 

 

Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

 

(Principal Executive Officer)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ WAYNE PENSKY

 

Senior Vice President and

 

February 22, 2008

(Wayne Pensky)

 

Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

(Principal Financial Officer)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ MARK I. CLAIR

 

Vice President, Corporate Controller and

 

February 22, 2008

(Mark I. Clair)

 

Chief Accounting Officer

 

 

 

 

(Principal Accounting Officer)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ JOEL S. BECKMAN

 

Director

 

February 22, 2008

(Joel S. Beckman)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ H. ARTHUR BELLOWS, JR.

 

Director

 

February 22, 2008

(H. Arthur Bellows, Jr.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ LYNN BRUBAKER

 

Director

 

February 22, 2008

(Lynn Brubaker)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ JEFFREY C. CAMPBELL

 

Director

 

February 22, 2008

(Jeffrey C. Campbell)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ SANDRA L. DERICKSON

 

Director

 

February 22, 2008

(Sandra L. Derickson)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ W. KIM FOSTER

 

Director

 

February 22, 2008

(W. Kim Foster)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ JEFFREY A. GRAVES

 

Director

 

February 22, 2008

(Jeffrey A. Graves)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ DAVID C. HURLEY

 

Director

 

February 22, 2008

(David C. Hurley)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/s/ DAVID L. PUGH

 

Director

 

February 22, 2008

(David L. Pugh)

 

 

 

 

 

23


 


 

 

Selected Financial Data

 

The following table summarizes selected financial data as of and for the five years ended December 31:

 

(In millions, except per share data)

 

2007

 

2006

 

2005

 

2004

 

2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Results of Operations (a):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net sales

 

$

1,171.1

 

$

1,049.5

 

$

957.6

 

$

837.0

 

$

730.0

 

Cost of sales

 

888.1

 

801.0

 

733.4

 

647.9

 

577.4

 

Gross margin

 

283.0

 

248.5

 

224.2

 

189.1

 

152.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses

 

114.0

 

105.5

 

97.1

 

98.3

 

84.7

 

Research and technology expenses

 

34.2

 

29.7

 

24.8

 

23.0

 

19.4

 

Business consolidation and restructuring expenses

 

7.3

 

9.9

 

2.9

 

2.7

 

3.9

 

Other expense (income), net

 

12.6

 

 

15.1

 

3.0

 

(2.2

)

Operating income

 

114.9

 

103.4

 

84.3

 

62.1

 

46.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest expense

 

21.4

 

23.6

 

29.6

 

43.4

 

49.3

 

Non-operating expense, net

 

1.1

 

0.1

 

40.9

 

2.2

 

2.6

 

Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes, equity in earnings and discontinued operations

 

92.4

 

79.7

 

13.8

 

16.5

 

(5.1

)

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

 

33.4

 

34.7

 

(113.8

)

2.6

 

10.1

 

Income (loss) from continuing operations before equity in earnings and discontinued operations

 

59.0

 

45.0

 

127.6

 

13.9

 

(15.2

)

Equity in earnings from and gain on sale of investments in affiliated companies

 

4.3

 

19.9

 

3.6

 

1.1

 

(1.4

)

Net income (loss) from continuing operations

 

63.3

 

64.9

 

131.2

 

15.0

 

(16.6

)

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax

 

(2.0

)

1.0

 

10.1

 

13.8

 

5.5

 

Net income (loss)

 

61.3

 

65.9

 

141.3

 

28.8

 

(11.1

)

Deemed preferred dividends and accretion

 

 

 

(30.8

)

(25.4

)

(9.6

)

Net income (loss) available to common shareholders

 

$

61.3

 

$

65.9

 

$

110.5

 

$

3.4

 

$

(20.7

)

Basic net income (loss) per common share:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing operations

 

$

0.67

 

$

0.70

 

$

1.67

 

$

(0.27

)

$

(0.68

)

Discontinued operations

 

(0.02

)

0.01

 

0.17

 

0.35

 

0.14

 

Net income (loss) per common share

 

$

0.65

 

$

0.71

 

$

1.84

 

$

0.09

 

$

(0.54

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted net income (loss) per common share:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing operations

 

$

0.66

 

$

0.68

 

$

1.40

 

$

(0.25

)

$

(0.68

)

Discontinued operations

 

(0.02

)

0.01

 

0.11

 

0.33

 

0.14

 

Net income (loss) per common share

 

$

0.64

 

$

0.69

 

1.51

 

$

0.08

 

$

(0.54

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted-average shares outstanding:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

94.7

 

93.4

 

60.0

 

39.3

 

38.6

 

Diluted

 

96.5

 

95.5

 

93.7

 

42.1

 

38.6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financial Position (a):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total assets

 

$

1,060.5

 

$

1,014.5

 

$

880.6

 

$

776.8

 

$

722.7

 

Working capital

 

$

177.7

 

$

206.5

 

$

174.5

 

$

157.3

 

$

140.7

 

Long-term notes payable and capital lease obligations

 

$

315.5

 

$

409.8

 

$

416.8

 

$

430.4

 

$

481.3

 

Stockholders’ equity (deficit) (b)

 

$

427.6

 

$

301.6

 

$

210.7

 

$

(24.4

)

$

(93.4

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other Data (a):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

$

39.8

 

$

37.4

 

$

38.8

 

$

41.5

 

$

42.1

 

Capital expenditures and deposits for capital purchases

 

$

120.6

 

$

117.9

 

$

64.3

 

$

35.0

 

$

19.4

 

Shares outstanding at year-end, less treasury stock

 

95.8

 

93.8

 

92.6

 

53.6

 

38.7

 


(a)   All financial data presented has been restated to report our U.S. EBGI business and our Architectural business in France as discontinued operations.

(b)   No cash dividends were declared per share of common stock during any of the five years ended December 31, 2007.

 

24



 

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Business Overview

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

(In millions, except per share data)

 

2007

 

2006

 

2005

 

Net sales

 

$

1,171.1

 

$

1,049.5

 

$

957.6

 

Gross margin %

 

24.2

%

23.7

%

23.4

%

Business consolidation and restructuring expenses

 

$

7.3

 

$

9.9

 

$

2.9

 

Other expense, net

 

$

12.6

 

$

 

$

15.1

 

Operating income (a)

 

$

114.9

 

$

103.4

 

$

84.3

 

Operating income %

 

9.8

%

9.9

%

8.8

%

Non-operating expense, net

 

$

1.1

 

$

0.1

 

$

40.9

 

Provision (benefit) for income taxes (b)

 

$

33.4

 

$

34.7

 

$

(113.8

)

Equity in earnings from and gain on sale of investments in affiliated companies

 

$

4.3

 

$

19.9

 

$

3.6

 

Income from continuing operations

 

$

63.3

 

$

64.9

 

$

131.2

 

Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax

 

$

(2.0

)

$

1.0

 

$

10.1

 

Net income

 

$

61.3

 

$

65.9

 

$

141.3

 

Deemed preferred dividends and accretion

 

$

 

$

 

$

(30.8

)

Net income available to common shareholders

 

$

61.3

 

$

65.9

 

$

110.5

 

Diluted net income per common share

 

$

0.64

 

$

0.69

 

$

1.51

 


(a)   One of the Company’s performance measures is operating income adjusted for non-recurring operating expenses and business consolidation and restructuring expenses, which is a non-GAAP measure.  Adjusted operating income for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005 was $134.8 million, $114.5 million and $101.8 million or 11.5%, 10.9% and 10.6% as a percentage of net sales, respectively.  A reconciliation to adjusted operating income is provided below:

 

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

 

(In millions)

 

2007

 

2006

 

2005

 

GAAP operating income

 

$

114.9

 

$

103.4

 

$

84.3

 

Business consolidation and restructuring expenses

 

7.3

 

9.9

 

2.9

 

Secondary offering transaction costs

 

 

1.2

 

1.0

 

FAS 123(R) expense (1)

 

 

 

(3.4

)

Legal fees and expenses related to litigation settlements

 

 

 

1.9

 

Other expense, net

 

12.6

 

 

15.1

 

Adjusted operating income

 

$

134.8

 

$

114.5

 

$

101.8

 


(1)      The Company adopted FAS 123(R) as of January 1, 2006. The year ended December 31, 2005 has been adjusted to reflect stock compensation expense as if it was adopted on January 1, 2005.

 

(b)         The provision (benefit) for income taxes includes non-cash benefits of $119.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2005 arising from the reversal of the previously recorded valuation allowance against our U.S. deferred tax assets.  See Note 10 in the accompanying consolidated financial statements for further detail.

 

Business Trends

 

The primary markets we serve continued to grow in 2007, as our customers continue to expand their use of advanced composites.  2007 was our fourth consecutive year of sales growth, as our average annual sales growth rate from 2003 to 2007 was 13%.

 

·              The commercial aerospace market continued to grow in 2007.  The International Civil Aviation Organization estimates that global passenger traffic measured as revenue passenger kilometers increased by 5.5% in 2007.  Boeing and Airbus have reported commercial aircraft net orders of 2,754, easily surpassing the figure of 1,834 in 2006.   They made 894 new commercial aircraft deliveries, 7.5% higher that the 832 delivered in 2006 and 53% higher than the 2003 deliveries of 586.  Both Boeing and Airbus expect to further increase deliveries in 2008.

 

·              Reflecting the strength of our customers’ demand, our commercial aerospace sales increased by 14% in 2007 compared to 2006 (11% in constant currency). Boeing and its subcontractors, manufacturers of engines and nacelles, and regional aircraft producers as a group increased over 25% as compared to 2006. Airbus and its subcontractor sales ended down about 5% from the prior year, as the comparisons for the first half of 2007 were significantly impacted by the June 2006 announcement of the A380 delay.   Our sales to the regional and business aircraft markets were also strong in 2007 with increases over 25% for the year.

 

25



 

·              2007 provided further confirmation of the longstanding trend of the commercial aerospace industry utilizing a greater proportion of advanced composite materials with each new generation of aircraft.  Among the new aircraft orders received by Boeing and Airbus were orders for their new composite-rich aircraft, currently in development.  Boeing has now recorded 857 orders and commitments for its 787 Dreamliner aircraft.  Boeing has indicated that this aircraft will have at least 50% composite content by weight, including composite wings and fuselage, compared to the 11% composite content used in the construction of its 777 aircraft and 6% for the 767 the aircraft it is primarily replacing.  The 787 is expected to enter into service early in 2009.  Hexcel estimates that it has $1.0 million to $1.3 million of content per plane.  In December 2006, Airbus announced the launch of the A350 XWB which they indicated will also have at least 50% composite content by weight. Airbus has received 320 orders to date for the A350, which is expected to enter into service by 2013.  Meanwhile, the Airbus A380 has 23% composite content by weight and has more Hexcel material used in its production than any aircraft previously manufactured, approximately $3 million per plane.  The first A380 was delivered to a customer in October 2007.

 

·              With continued increases in aircraft production and the contribution of the A380 and B787 ramp-up, total 2008 commercial aerospace revenues are projected to grow in the 12% - 15% range as compared to 2007.   The ramp-up of these new programs accelerate the secular penetration story for composites in commercial aerospace.

 

·              Our Space and Defense sales of $255.7 million were 15.2% higher as compared to 2006 (12.5% in constant currency).  Our sales in 2006 were essentially flat compared to 2005 as inventory adjustments at certain rotorcraft customers slowed revenue growth in 2006.  Over the two year period our sales average annual growth was 8% per year, which is in line with historical levels and our expectations.  We continue to benefit from our extensive qualifications to supply composite materials and, in some cases, composite structures to a broad range of military aircraft and helicopter programs around the world.

 

·              Our Industrial sales of $293.6 million were 4.8% higher as compared to 2006 (1.7% lower in constant currency).  Industrial sales include wind energy, general industrial applications, recreation and transportation.  Wind energy growth was in the mid-teens for the year as compared to 2006 in constant currency, while capacity constraints, a weak winter sports market and selective portfolio pruning resulted in the other submarkets to decrease from the prior year.

 

·              Led by the expected strong growth in wind energy revenues, Industrial sales growth should return to the mid-teens in 2008.  After a  weak year for recreational and “other industrial” sales, we expect modest growth for non-wind related sales.

 

·              In total we anticipate 2008 consolidated revenues to grow in a range of 10% - 15% year on year, assuming the Euro and British Pound currency exchange rates for the year of 2008 are comparable to 2007.

 

Further information regarding our outlook for 2008 is contained in our Form 8-K dated December 6, 2007.  This 8-K should be read in conjunction with the risk factor section included in this Form 10-K.

 

Portfolio Review

 

In July of 2006, we announced our intention to explore strategic alternatives for portions of our previously reported Reinforcements segment.  In order to take full advantage of the many growing applications for advanced composite materials, we decided to narrow our focus and consolidate our activities around our carbon fiber, reinforcements for composites, honeycomb, matrix and engineered products product lines.  In doing so, we decided to combine our Reinforcements activities related to advanced composites with our previously reported Composites and Structures segments into a single organization, and explore the sale of our European Architectural business, our EBGI product lines and our interest in the TechFab joint venture, previously reported within the Reinforcements segment.

 

In December of 2006, we completed the sale of our interest in TechFab LLC (“TechFab”) to our joint venture partner for $22.0 million in cash.  TechFab is headquartered in Anderson, SC and manufactures non-woven reinforcement materials used in the manufacture of construction and roofing materials, sail cloth and other specialty applications.  As a result of the sale, we recognized an after-tax gain of $9.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.

 

In February of 2007, we completed the sale of our European Architectural business.  Cash proceeds from the sale were $25.0 million.  As a result of the sale, we recognized an after-tax gain of $6.5 million.

 

On August 6, 2007, we completed the sale of the EBGI portion of our reinforcements business.  Cash proceeds from the sale, net of transaction costs, were $58.5 million, resulting in a net after-tax loss of $3.4 million.  The sale includes up to $12.5 million of additional earnout payments contingent upon annual sales for three years of the Ballistics product line.  Any additional payments will be recorded as income when earned.

 

With the completion of the EBGI sale, our previously announced portfolio review has reached a successful conclusion, resulting in total cash proceeds, before any earnout payments, of $105.5 million and a net after-tax gain of $12.7 million.

 

26



 

Results of Operations

 

We have two reportable segments: Composite Materials and Engineered Products.  Although these segments provide customers with different products and services, they often overlap within three end business markets: Commercial Aerospace, Industrial and Space & Defense.   Therefore, we also find it meaningful to evaluate the performance of our segments through the three end business markets.  Further discussion and additional financial information about our segments may be found in Note 19 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

2007 Compared to 2006

 

Net Sales:  Consolidated net sales of $1,171.1 million for 2007 were $121.6 million, or 11.6% higher than the $1,049.5 million of net sales for 2006. The increase was primarily attributable to sales growth within Commercial Aerospace.  Had the same U.S. dollar, British Pound Sterling and Euro exchange rates applied in 2006 as in 2007 (“in constant currency”), consolidated net sales for 2007 would have been $87.0 million, or 8.0% higher than 2006 net sales of $1,084.1 million (restated “in constant currency” using 2007 rates).

 

The following table summarizes net sales to third-party customers by segment and end market segment in 2007 and 2006:

 

(In millions)

 

Commercial
Aerospace

 

Industrial

 

Space &
Defense

 

Total

 

2007 Net Sales

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Composite Materials

 

$

455.2

 

$

292.4

 

$

194.3

 

$

941.9

 

Engineered Products

 

166.6

 

1.2

 

61.4

 

229.2

 

Total

 

$

621.8

 

$

293.6

 

$

255.7

 

$

1,171.1

 

 

 

53

%

25

%

22

%

100

%

2006 Net Sales

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Composite Materials

 

$

409.5

 

$

275.8

 

$

172.9

 

$

858.2

 

Engineered Products

 

137.8

 

4.4

 

49.1

 

191.3

 

Total

 

$

547.3

 

$

280.2

 

$

222.0

 

$

1,049.5

 

 

 

52

%

27

%

21

%

100

%

 

Commercial Aerospace:  Net sales to the commercial aerospace market segment increased by $74.5 million or 13.6% to $621.8 million for 2007 as compared to net sales of $547.3 million for 2006.  Net sales of the Composite Materials segment were $45.7 million higher, up 11.2% from 2006.  Net sales of the  Engineered Products segment increased by $28.8 million or 20.9% to $166.6 million in 2007.  In constant currency, net sales to the commercial aerospace market segment increased $63.8 million, or 11.4%.

 

Our overall year-over-year improvement was driven by increases in aircraft production in 2007 by Boeing, Airbus, their subcontractors and other aircraft manufacturers, as well as the resultant growth in demand by aircraft engine and nacelle manufacturers.  For the year, Boeing and its subcontractors, manufacturers of engines and nacelles, and regional aircraft producers as a group were up over 25% as compared to 2006.  Airbus and its subcontractor sales ended down about 5% from the prior year, as the comparisons for the first half of 2007 were significantly impacted by the June 2006 announcement of the A380 delay.

 

We continue to pursue the increased use of advanced composite materials in each new generation of aircraft.  Boeing and Airbus are currently developing the 787 and A350XWB aircraft, respectively, each of which employ higher percentage of advanced composite materials than any previous large commercial aircraft.

 

Industrial:  Net sales of $293.6 million for 2007 increased by $13.4 million, or 4.8%, compared to net sales of $280.2 million in 2006.  In constant currency, net sales to the industrial market segment decreased $5.2 million or 1.7%. This decrease was primarily due to lower revenues from recreation and automotive applications offset in part by strong growth in sales of composite materials used in wind energy applications.

 

Sales of composite materials used to manufacture wind turbine blades produced mid-teens percentage growth compared to 2006, and represents the largest contributor within our Industrial market segment.  Sales to recreation and other industrial markets for the year were down 9.2% due to capacity constraints, selective portfolio pruning and a weak winter sports market.

 

Space & Defense:  Net sales of $255.7 million increased $33.7 million, or 15.2%, for 2007 as compared to net sales of $222.0 million for 2006. In constant currency, net sales increased $28.4 million, or 12.5%.  Rotocraft sales across all geographic areas was the primary contributor to the sales growth and included a benefit from a change in recognition of tooling revenue 2007 in the amount of approximately $5 million.  The revenues that we derive from military and space programs tend to vary period to period based on customer ordering patterns and manufacturing campaigns.  We continue to benefit from our ability to supply composite materials and, in some cases, composite structures to a broad range of military aircraft and helicopter programs, including the F/A-18E/F (Hornet), the F-22 (Raptor), the European Fighter Aircraft (Typhoon), the C-17, the V-22 (Osprey) tilt rotor aircraft, and the Blackhawk, the Tiger and the NH90 helicopters.  In addition, the EADS A400M military transport aircraft and the F-35 (joint strike fighter or JSF) are currently under development and should enter low rate initial production later in the decade.

 

27



 

Gross Margin: Gross margin for 2007 was $283.0 million, or 24.2% of net sales, compared to gross margin of $248.5 million, or 23.7% of net sales, in 2006.  The improvement reflects primarily the contribution of higher net sales from Commercial Aerospace, Space & Defense and Wind Energy end markets, the product mix of those markets and improved operating effeciencies somewhat offset by higher maintenance, labor, freight and depreciation expenses.

 

Selling, General and Administrative (“SG&A”) Expenses:  SG&A expenses were $114.0 million, or 9.7% of net sales, for 2007 compared with $105.5 million, or 10.1% of net sales, for 2006.  The $8.5 million increase in SG&A expenses reflects, among other factors, $3.9 million attributed to changes in foreign exchange rates, an increase of $2.1 million for share-based compensation primarily from grants issued at the beginning of the year.  The remaining is primarily due to general increases in incentive compensation, salaries and benefits and costs related to personnel changes.

 

Research and Technology Expenses: R&T expenses for 2007 were $34.2 million, or 2.9% of net sales, compared with $29.7 million, or 2.8% of net sales, for 2006.  The $4.5 million increase was due to qualification costs (i.e. costs associated with certifying our products and processes to customer specifications) associated with the acceleration of opportunities for composites on new commercial aircraft programs including the Boeing 787 and investment in the development of new products and applications.

 

Business Consolidation and Restructuring Expenses: Business consolidation and restructuring expenses for 2007 were $7.3 million, compared with $9.9 million for 2006.  The decrease is primarily attributable to the establishment of a $7.4 million accrual in the fourth quarter of 2006 related to our organizational realignment.  The 2007 expense related to this program was $2.8 million.  This decrease was offset by an increase of $2.9 million during 2007, related to our Livermore program.

 

Other Expense, Net:  Other operating expense of $12.6 million during 2007 consists a $9.4 million pension settlement charge related to previously disclosed termination of our U.S. defined benefit plan, and a $3.2 million impairment charge related to certain purchased technology and fixed assets related to our portfolio realignment.  We did not incur any costs classified as other operating expense in 2006.

 

Operating Income: Operating income for 2007 was $114.9 million compared with operating income of $103.4 million for 2006.  Operating income as a percent of sales was 9.8% and 9.9% for 2007 and 2006 respectively.  The $11.5 million increase in operating income is due in part to greater sales for 2007 and product mix of those sales resulting in an increase in gross margin, partially offset by other expense of $12.6 million in 2007 where there was no such expense in 2006, and increased SG&A and R&T expenses.  One of the Company’s performance measures is operating income adjusted for non-recurring operating expenses and business consolidation and restructuring expenses, which is a non-GAAP measure.  Adjusted operating income for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 was $134.8 million and $114.5 million or 11.5% and 10.9% as a percentage of net sales, respectively.  A reconciliation to adjusted operating income is provided on page 25.

 

Operating income for the Composite Materials segment increased $23.7 million or 19.9% to $142.8 million, as compared to $119.1 million for 2006.  The increase in operating income is the result of an additional $83.7 million of segment revenue, slightly offset by a $3.2 million impairment charge from the write-off of previously acquired technology and certain related fixed assets.  Operating income for the Engineered Products segment decreased by $0.5 million compared with 2006 to $21.3 million.

 

We did not allocate corporate operating expenses of $49.2 million and $35.8 million to segments in 2007 and 2006, respectively.  The year-on-year increase in corporate operating expenses of $13.4 million is primarily attributable to the pension settlement expense of $9.4 million and inceased SG&A of $4.0 million from the higher stock and incentive compensation costs and the costs related to personnel changes.

 

Interest Expense:  Interest expense for 2007 was $21.4 million compared to $23.6 million for 2006.  The $2.2 million decrease primarily due to lower average outstanding debt under our senior secured credit facility resulting in a $2.8 million decrease in expense and lower bank fees of $0.7 million.  This decrease was partially offset by a $0.5 million increase in expense related to uncertain tax positions and a $0.7 million decrease in capitalized interest.

 

Non-Operating Expense, Net:  Non-operating expense for 2007 was $1.1 million and in 2006 it was $0.1 million.  Amounts reflect the accelerated amortization of deferred financing costs as a result of prepayments of the Company’s bank term loan with the net proceeds from asset sales.

 

Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes:  During 2007, we recorded a tax provision $33.4 million or 36.1% of pre-tax income.  During the fourth quarter of 2007, we recorded a $1.9 million benefit, which includes an adjustment of $2.3 million to certain prior period balances to primarily record additional deferred tax assets arising from state net operating loss carryforwards, offset by other discrete items of $0.4 million. Excluding this benefit the effective tax rate for the year was 38.2%.  The 2006 provision included a $4.5 million benefit for the reversal of a valuation allowance against our U.S. deferred tax assets related to capital losses.

 

As of December 31, 2007, there is a $7.7 million valuation allowance related to current and prior year net operating losses generated by our Belgian and certain UK subsidiaries.  Consistent with prior years, we continue to adjust our tax provision rate through the establishment, or release, of a non-cash valuation allowance attributable to current Belgian and certain UK net operating income (losses).  This practice will continue until such time as  the Belgian and UK operations have evidenced the ability to consistently generate sufficient taxable income such that in future years management can reasonably expect that the deferred tax assets can be utilized.

 

28



 

Equity in Earnings from and Gain on Sale of Investments in Affiliated Companies:  Equity in earnings from and gain on sale of investments in affiliated companies during 2007 of $4.3 million decreased by $15.6 million from 2006 due to the inclusion of a pre-tax gain of $15.7 million from the sale of our interest in TechFab LLC during 2006 to our joint venture partner for $22.0 million in cash.  For additional information, see Note 6 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Income from Continuing Operations:  Net income from continuing operations was $63.3 million, or $0.66 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2007 compared to $64.9 million, or $0.68 per diluted common share for the year ended December 31, 2006.  The decrease reflects the results discussed above.

 

Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations, Net:  Net loss from discontinued operations was $2.0 million, or $0.02 per diluted common share for the year ended December 31, 2007, which includes a net gain of $3.1 million related to the sales of the U.S. EBGI product lines and the European Architectural business.  For the year ended December 31, 2006, our discontinued operations resulted in net income of $1.0 million, or $0.01 per diluted common share.  The change in results from discontinued operations, excluding the 2007 gain on sales, was $6.1 million, primarily resulting from an after-tax charge of $9.7 million recognized during 2007 related to a litigation settlement.  Our net gain on the sales of discontinued businesses consists of a $6.5 million gain on the sale our Architectural business and a $3.4 million loss on the sale of our U.S. EBGI product lines.  For additional information, see Note 2 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

2006 Compared to 2005

 

Net Sales:  Consolidated net sales of $1,049.5 million for 2006 were $91.9 million, or 9.6% higher than the $957.6 million of net sales for 2005. The increase was primarily attributable to sales growth within Commercial Aerospace.  Had the same U.S. dollar, British Pound Sterling and Euro exchange rates applied in 2006 as in 2005 (“in constant currency”), consolidated net sales for 2006 would have been $88.8 million higher than the 2005 net sales of $957.6 million at $1,046.4 million.

 

The following table summarizes net sales to third-party customers by segment and end market segment in 2006 and 2005:

 

(In millions)

 

Commercial
Aerospace

 

Industrial

 

Space &
Defense

 

Total

 

2006 Net Sales

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Composite Materials

 

$

409.5

 

$

275.8

 

$

172.9

 

$

858.2

 

Engineered Products

 

137.8

 

4.4

 

49.1

 

191.3

 

Total

 

$

547.3

 

$

280.2

 

$

222.0

 

$

1,049.5

 

 

 

52

%

27

%

21

%

100

%

2005 Net Sales

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Composite Materials

 

$

356.7

 

$

261.4

 

$

173.5

 

$

791.6

 

Engineered Products

 

113.8

 

5.8

 

46.4

 

166.0

 

Total

 

$

470.5

 

$

267.2

 

$

219.9

 

$

957.6

 

 

 

49

%

28

%

23

%

100

%

 

Commercial Aerospace:  Net sales to the commercial aerospace market segment increased by $76.8 million or 16.3% to $547.3 million for 2006 as compared to net sales of $470.5 million for 2005. Net sales of the Composite Materials segment were $52.8 million higher, up 14.8% from 2005.  Net sales of the Engineered Products segment were higher by $24.0 million, up 21.1% from 2005.  In constant currency, net sales to the commercial aerospace market segment increased $75.7 million, or 16.1%, to $546.2 million.  Our overall year-over-year improvement was driven by increases in aircraft production in 2006 by Boeing, Airbus and other aircraft manufacturers, as well as the resultant growth in demand by aircraft engine and nacelle manufacturers.

 

Industrial:  Net sales of $280.2 million for 2006 reflected an increase of $13.0 million, or 4.9%, compared to net sales of $267.2 million in 2005.  In constant currency, net sales to the industrial market segment increased $11.8 million or 4.4%, to $279.0 million.  The industrial market consists primarily of wind, recreation, auto and other industrial sub-markets. Sales of composite materials used to manufacture wind turbine blades grew 18% compared to 2005, and  represents the largest contributor within our Industrial market segment.  These results reflect the underlying growth in global wind turbine installations.  Strong sales performance in wind and other industrial sub-markets was offset by weaker sales from recreation due to common volatility in the recreation equipment markets and automotive markets due to certain programs ending.

 

Space & Defense:  Net sales of $222.0 million increased $2.1 million, or 1.0%, for 2006 as compared to net sales of $219.9 million for 2005. In constant currency, net sales increased $1.3 million to $221.2 million.  Some inventory corrections at certain of our rotorcraft customers during 2006 constrained revenue growth compared to 2005.  The revenues that we derive from military and space programs tend to vary period  to period based on customer ordering patterns and manufacturing campaigns.  We continue to benefit from our ability to supply composite materials and, in some cases, composite structures to a broad range of military aircraft and helicopter programs, including the F/A-18E/F (Hornet), the F-22 (Raptor), the European Fighter Aircraft (Typhoon), the C-17, the V-22 (Osprey) tilt rotor aircraft, and the Blackhawk, the Tiger and the NH90 helicopters.

 

29



 

 

Gross Margin: Gross margin for 2006 was $248.5 million, or 23.7% of net sales, compared to gross margin of $224.2 million, or 23.4% of net sales, in 2005.  The improvement reflects primarily the contribution of higher net sales from Commercial Aerospace and our continued focus on cost containment.

 

Selling, General and Administrative (“SG&A”) Expenses:  SG&A expenses were $105.5 million, or 10.1% of net sales, for 2006 compared with $97.1. million, or 10.1% of net sales, for 2005.  The $8.4 million increase in SG&A expenses reflects, among other factors, an increase of $6.3 million for share-based compensation expense following our adoption of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123(R), Share-Based Payment (“FAS 123(R)”) and $1.1 million of disposition costs associated with divestures.

 

Research and Technology Expenses: R&T expenses for 2006 were $29.7 million, or 2.8% of net sales, compared with $24.8 million, or 2.6% of net sales, for 2005.  The $4.9 million increase was due to, among other factors, increased spending in support of new products and new commercial aircraft qualification activities (i.e. costs associated with certifying our products and processes to customer specifications).

 

Other Expense, Net:  We did not incur any costs classified as other operating expense in 2006.  Other expense, net for 2005 was $15.1 million, which included an accrual of $16.5 million for the settlement of litigation matters, offset partially by a $1.4 million gain on the sale of surplus land at one of our manufacturing facilities.

 

Operating Income: Operating income for 2006 was $103.4 million compared with operating income of $84.3 million for 2005.  Operating income as a percent of sales was 9.9% for  2006 and 8.8% for 2005.  The $19.1 million increase in operating income is due in part to greater sales for 2006 resulting in an increase in gross margin, and the fact that we incurred other expense, net, of $15.1 million in 2005 and there was no such expense in 2006.  As previously mentioned, during 2006 we incurred increased SG&A expenses of $6.3 million primarily due to the adoption of FAS 123(R) and increased R&T expenses of $4.9 million, primarily attributable to an increase in qualification activities.  In addition, business consolidation and restructuring expenses increased $7.0 million over the prior year to $9.9 million.  The increase in business consolidation and restructuring expenses result primarily from our organizational realignment and reduction of stranded costs that will result from divestures associated with our portfolio review, as well as the continuing costs associated with the closure of our Livermore, California facility.

 

Operating income for the Composite Materials segment increased  $0.9 million or 1% to $119.1 million, as compared to $118.2 million for 2005.  Operating income for the Composite materials segment includes $9.9 million of business consolidation and restructuring expenses and $2.6 million in share-based compensation expense in 2006.  Operating income for the Engineered Products segment increased $8.3 million, resulting primarily from higher sales volumes.

 

We did not allocate corporate operating expenses of $35.8 million and $47.7 million to segments in 2006 and 2005, respectively.  The year-on-year decrease in corporate operating expenses of $10.0 million is primarily attributable to expense of $16.5 million associated with litigation settlements in 2005, offset by increased share-based compensation expense of $3.9 million.

 

Interest Expense:  Interest expense for 2006 was $23.6 million compared to $29.6 million for 2005.  The $6.0 million decline in interest expense primarily reflects a $3.5 million increase in interest expense capitalized in 2006 as a result of our carbon fiber capacity expansion.  Refer to Note 9 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

 

Non-Operating Expense, Net:  Non-operating expense for 2006 was $0.1 million compared to $40.9 million in 2005.  During 2005, we recognized $40.9 million in losses on the early retirement of debt, $40.3 million resulting from the first quarter’s debt refinancing.  Refer to Note 22 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

 

Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes:  During 2006, we recorded a tax provision $34.7 million or 43.5 % of pre-tax income.  The full year tax provision included a $4.5 million benefit of the reversal of the valuation allowance against our U.S. deferred tax assets related to capital losses.  During the fourth quarter of 2005, we recorded a $119.2 million benefit from the reversal of the majority of the previously recorded valuation allowance established on our U.S. federal, state and local deferred tax assets except for that portion where the evidence did not yet support a reversal.

 

As of December 31, 2006, no evidence exists to support the reversal of the $6.2 million valuation allowance related to our Belgian subsidiary.  Consistent with prior years, we continue to adjust our tax provision rate through the establishment, or release, of a non-cash valuation allowance attributable to currently generated Belgian net operating income (losses).  This practice will continue until such time as the Belgian operations have evidenced the ability to consistently generate sufficient taxable income such that in future years management can reasonably expect that the deferred tax assets can be utilized.

 

Equity in Earnings from and Gain on Sale of Investments in Affiliated Companies:  Equity in earnings from and gain on sale of investments in affiliated companies was $19.9 million in 2006 compared to $3.6 million in 2005.  During 2006, we completed the sale of our interest in TechFab to our joint venture partner for $22.0 million in cash.  As a result of the sale we recognized a gain of $15.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.  We recorded equity in earnings of affiliated companies of $1.9 million and $3.0 million during 2006 and 2005, respectively, related to the joint venture interests sold or dissolved during 2006. Equity in earnings of affiliated

 

 

 

30



 

 

companies does not affect our cash flows.  For additional information, see Note 6 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Income from Continuing Operations:  Net income from continuing operations was $64.9 million, or $0.68 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2006 compared to $131.2 million, or $1.40 per diluted common share for the year ended December 31, 2005.  The decrease reflects the results discussed above, primarily driven by the $119.2 million tax benefit from the reversal of the majority of the previously recorded valuation allowance established on our U.S. federal, state and local deferred tax assets.

 

Income from Discontinued Operations, Net:  Income from discontinued operations was $1.0 million, or $0.01 per diluted common share for the year ended December 31, 2006 compared to $10.1 million, or $0.11 per diluted common share for the year ended December 31, 2005.   During the fiscal year ending December 31, 2007 we completed the sale of our European Architectural business and U.S. electronics, ballistics and general industrial products lines (“EBGI”).  In accordance with the provisions of FAS 144 the results of operations for both business has been reported as discontinued operations.   For additional information, see Note 2 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Deemed Preferred Dividends and Accretion:  We recognized deemed preferred dividends and accretion of $30.8 million for 2005.  Included in deemed preferred dividends and accretion for 2005 are accelerated charges of $23.2 million resulting from the conversions of mandatorily redeemable convertible preferred stock into common stock.  For additional information, see Note 11 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Business Consolidation and Restructuring Programs

 

The aggregate business consolidation and restructuring activities for the three years ended December 31, 2007, consisted of the following:

 

 

 

Employee

 

Facility &

 

 

 

(In millions)

 

Severance

 

Equipment

 

Total

 

Balance as of December 31, 2004

 

$

3.3

 

$

1.0

 

$

4.3

 

Business consolidation and restructuring expenses

 

1.1

 

1.8

 

2.9

 

Cash expenditures

 

(0.6

)

(2.1

)

(2.7

)

Currency translation adjustments

 

(0.3

)

 

(0.3

)

Balance as of December 31, 2005

 

$

3.5

 

$

0.7

 

$

4.2

 

Business consolidation and restructuring expenses:

 

8.0

 

1.9

 

9.9

 

Cash expenditures

 

(1.4

)

(2.3

)

(3.7

)

Currency translation adjustments and other adjustments

 

0.6

 

 

0.6

 

Balance as of December 31, 2006

 

$

10.7

 

$

0.3

 

$

11.0

 

Business consolidation and restructuring expenses

 

2.0

 

5.3

 

7.3

 

Cash expenditures

 

(9.6

)

(5.3

)

(14.9

)

Currency translation adjustments and other adjustments

 

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2007

 

$

3.1

 

$

0.3

 

$

3.4

 

 

December 2006 Program

 

In December 2006, we announced that we had begun the process of realigning our organization into a single business and addressing stranded costs that will result from divestitures associated with our portfolio realignment.  During 2007 and 2006, we recorded business consolidation and restructuring expenses of $3.0 and $7.6 million in connection with this action.  We expect this program will be substantially completed by March 31, 2008.

 

Business consolidation and restructuring activities for this program consisted of the following:

 

 

 

Employee

 

Facility &

 

 

 

(In millions)

 

Severance

 

Equipment

 

Total

 

Balance as of December 31, 2005

 

$

 

$

 

$

 

Business consolidation and restructuring expenses

 

7.4

 

0.2

 

7.6

 

Cash expenditures

 

(0.4

)

(0.2

)

(0.6

)

Balance as of December 31, 2006

 

$

7.0

 

$

 

$

7.0

 

Business consolidation and restructuring expenses

 

2.8

 

0.2

 

3.0

 

Cash expenditures

 

(7.8

)

 

(7.8

)

Non-cash usage, including asset write-downs

 

 

(0.2

)

(0.2

)

Currency translation adjustments

 

0.3

 

 

0.3

 

Balance as of December 31, 2007

 

$

2.3

 

$

 

$

2.3

 

 

 

 

31



 

 

Livermore 2004 Program

 

In the first quarter of 2004, we announced our intent to consolidate the activities of our Livermore, California facility into other facilities, principally the Salt Lake City, Utah plant.  We recognized $4.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2007 and $1.8 million of expense for both of the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2005, associated with the facility closure and consolidation activities.  We made cash payments of $6.4 and $1.4 million during 2007 and 2006, respectively, related to employee severance and facility closure and consolidation activities.  The plant ceased operations on March 31, 2007.  The Livermore facility has now been dismantled and the site is being remediated as part of the preparation for the sale of the property, with the related costs being expensed as incurred.  This program had an accrued balance of $0.1 million as of December 31, 2007 for severance obligations and is adequate for the estimated future requirements related to the program.  Clean-up expenses will continue to be incurred into 2008 until the land sale is completed.

 

November 2001 Program

 

In November 2001, we announced a program to restructure business operations as a result of reductions in commercial aircraft production rates.  There was minimal activity in the program during 2005, 2006 and 2007 as this program is substantially complete.  During 2007 we reduced our accrued balance related to this program by $0.9 million as the statute of limitations expired related to certain recorded liabilities.  As of December 31, 2007, the accrued balances related to this program are for future severance obligations of $0.6 million and lease payments of $0.2 million that will continue into 2009 and are adequate for the estimated future requirements related to the program.

 

Retirement and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans

 

We maintain qualified and nonqualified defined benefit retirement plans covering certain current and former U.S. and European employees, as well as retirement savings plans covering eligible U.S. employees, and participate in a union sponsored multi-employer pension plan covering certain U.S. employees with union affiliations.  In addition, we provide certain postretirement health care and life insurance benefits to eligible U.S. retirees.  Benefits under the defined benefit retirement plans are generally based on years of service and employee compensation under either a career average or final pay benefits method.  Depending on the plan, postretirement health care and life insurance benefits are available to eligible employees who retire on or after age 58 or 65 after rendering a minimum of 15 or 25 years of service, respectively.  We also make profit sharing contributions when we meet or exceed certain performance targets, which are set annually.

 

Under the retirement savings plans, eligible U.S. employees can contribute up to 20% of their compensation to an individual 401(k) retirement savings account.  We make matching contributions equal to 50% of employee contributions, not to exceed 3% of employee compensation.

 

Effective December 31, 2000, we made certain changes to our U.S. retirement benefit plans that were intended to improve the flexibility and visibility of future retirement benefits for employees.  These changes included an increase in the amount that we contributed to individual 401(k) retirement savings accounts and an offsetting curtailment of our U.S. qualified defined benefit retirement plan (“U.S. Qualified Plan”).  Beginning January 1, 2001, we started to contribute an additional 2% to 3% of each eligible employee’s salary to an individual 401(k) retirement savings account, depending on the employee’s age.  This increases the maximum contribution to individual employee savings accounts to between 5% and 6% per year, before any profit sharing contributions.  Offsetting the estimated incremental cost of this additional benefit, participants in our U.S. Qualified Plan no longer accrued benefits under this plan after December 31, 2000, and no new employees will become participants.  However, employees retained all benefits earned under this plan as of that date.

 

In December 2006, our Board of Directors voted to terminate the U.S. Qualified Plan.  During the fourth quarter of 2007, we obtained approval from the Pension Benefit Guarentee Corporation and the Internal Revenue Service to proceed with the termination of the U.S. Qualified Defined Benefit Plan.  In December 2007 we began the process of distributing lump-sum benefit payments and purchasing annuity contracts for all the U.S. qualified plan participants.  During December, we distributed $19.7 million out of the pension fund in the form of lump-sum payments.  Cash contributions from Hexcel to the pension fund for the lump sum distributions were $3.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 and an additional $8 million is anticipated to be made in the first quarter of 2008 to complete the liquidation.

 

We continue to maintain our defined benefit retirement plans in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Austria covering certain employees of our subsidiaries in those countries.  The defined benefit plan in the United Kingdom (the “U.K. Plan”) is the largest of the European plans.  As of December 31, 2007, 85% of the total assets in the U.K. Plan were invested in equities.  Equity investments are made with the objective of achieving a return on plan assets consistent with the funding requirements of the plan, maximizing portfolio return and minimizing the impact of market fluctuations on the fair value of the plan assets.  We use long-term historical actual return experience to develop the expected long-term rate of return assumptions used in the net periodic cost calculations of our U.K. Plan.  As a result of an annual review of historical returns and market trends, the expected long-term weighted average rate of return for the U.K. Plan for the 2008 plan year will be 5.9%.

 

 

 

32



 

 

We account for our defined benefit retirement plans and our postretirement benefit plans using actuarial models required by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 87, Employers’ Accounting for Pensions (“FAS 87”), No. 88, Employers’ Accounting for Settlements and Curtailments of Defined Benefit Pension Plans and for Termination Benefits  (“FAS 88”), No. 106, Employers’ Accounting for Postretirement Benefits Other Than Pensions (“FAS 106”) and No. 158, Employers’ Accounting for Defined Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans — an amendment of FASB Statements No. 87, 88, 106, and 132(R).

 

These actuarial models require the use of certain assumptions, such as the expected long-term rate of return, discount rate, rate of compensation increase, healthcare cost trend rates, and retirement and mortality rates, to determine the net periodic costs of such plans.   These assumptions are reviewed and set annually at the beginning of each year.  In addition, these models use an “attribution approach” that generally spreads individual events, such as plan amendments and changes in actuarial assumptions, over the service lives of the employees in the plan.  That is, employees render service over their service lives on a relatively smooth basis and therefore, the income statement effects of retirement and postretirement benefit plans are earned in, and should follow, the same pattern.

 

We use our actual return experience, future expectations of long-term investment returns, and our actual and targeted asset allocations to develop our expected rate of return assumption used in the net periodic cost calculations of our funded U.S. and European defined benefit retirement plans.  Due to the difficulty involved in predicting the market performance of certain assets, there will almost always be a difference in any given year between our expected return on plan assets and the actual return.  Following the attribution approach, each year’s difference is amortized over a number of future years.  Over time, the expected long-term returns are designed to approximate the actual long-term returns and therefore result in a pattern of income and expense recognition that more closely matches the pattern of the services provided by the employees.

 

We annually set our discount rate assumption for retirement-related benefits accounting to reflect the rates available on high-quality, fixed-income debt instruments.  The discount rate assumption used to calculate net periodic retirement related costs for the U.S. funded plan was 4.75% for each of the last three years.  The rate of compensation increase, which is another significant assumption used in the actuarial model for pension accounting, is determined by us based upon our long-term plans for such increases and assumed inflation.  These rates used have remained relatively constant over the past three years and are expected to remain constant for 2008.  For the postretirement health care and life insurance benefits plan, we review external data and its historical trends for health care costs to determine the health care cost trend rates.  Retirement and mortality rates are based primarily on actual plan experience.

 

In connection with our decision to terminate the U.S. Qualified Plan, we made the decision to liquidate all our equity investments in the plan.  As such, as of December 31, 2006, our cash balances in this plan exceed the plan’s targeted range.  Such cash balances were invested in high quality government securities with maturities of one year or less as the termination process continues.  In addition, the U.S. Qualified Plan’s managed fixed income portfolio was liquidated during 2007.  The expected return on plan assets assumption for 2007 reflected this change in investment allocation.

 

Actual results that differ from our assumptions are accumulated and amortized over future periods and, therefore, generally affect the net periodic costs and recorded obligations in such future periods.  While we believe that the assumptions used are appropriate, significant changes in economic or other conditions, employee demographics, retirement and mortality rates, and investment performance may materially impact such costs and obligations.

 

For more information regarding our pension and other postretirement benefit plans, see Note 9 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Significant Customers

 

Approximately 25%, 24%, and 23% of our 2007, 2006, and 2005 net sales, respectively, were to The Boeing Company (“Boeing”) and related subcontractors.  Of the 25% of sales to Boeing and its subcontractors in 2007, 20.7% related to commercial aerospace market applications and 4.5% related to space and defense market applications.  Approximately 22%,  26%, and 27% of our 2007, 2006, and 2005 net sales, respectively, were to European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (“EADS”), including its business division Airbus Industrie (“Airbus”), and its subcontractors.  Of the 22% of sales to EADS and its subcontractors in 2007, 18.8% related to commercial aerospace market applications 3.3% related to space and defense market applications.

 

(In millions)

 

2007

 

2006

 

2005

 

Commercial: