US specialty alloys producer ATI raised its full-year earnings guidance following a stronger-than-expected third-quarter performance driven by persistently robust demand for its commercial aerospace, defense and specialty energy products.
The Texas-based company expects adjusted profit of $1.19bn-$1.2bn, up from its August expectation of $1.135bn-1.185bn, the third forecast increase this year, ATI said on 29 October.
Third-quarter commercial jet engine sales increased on the year by 39pc to $603mn, as the company began commercial production of a sixth nickel-based superalloy that is used in an engine's hot section. ATI completed customer qualifications for the alloy after securing a "contract win" headed into 2026.
The company did not provide details about the alloy's composition and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Still, it noted that it is one of two companies globally that make the alloy.
ATI reiterated that jet engines represent the company's most important growth market, pointing to elevated original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and aftermarket demand for its isothermal forgings and other components.
"A key engine OEM told us that if we doubled our current production for them today, they would take it all," ATI chief executive Kimberly Fields said. "We hear that kind of demand signal consistently."
Commercial airframe revenue in July-September increased from a year earlier by 11pc to $219mn, supported by new business after customers' inventories have "largely normalized". The company noted that it is not seeing any impact from aerospace manufacturers' slower ramp targets on its order books, which are now "very closely aligned" with aircraft production schedules.
Defense sales increased by 6.5pc to $172mn and specialty energy sales grew by 49pc to $80mn in the same period, as ATI shifted production for the latter to meet commercial nuclear and industrial gas turbine demand.
ATI's third-quarter revenue climbed on the year by nearly 73pc to $190mn as revenue increased by 27pc to $1.4bn.
New titanium furnace still in qualification
ATI continues to work on qualifying its new electron beam (EB) furnace in Richland, Washington, as securing customer approvals has taken longer than the company initially expected.
It now anticipates completing qualifications for most of its standard-quality titanium products by the end of 2026, with the timeline for premium-quality (PQ) products pushed out to "mid-2027". ATI noted that lead times for its PQ titanium remain extended at "about 20 months".
Quarterly titanium sales comprised a smaller percentage of ATI's third-quarter revenue, falling to 16pc from 19pc a year earlier, but titanium sales rose from the second quarter by 1 percentage point. Nickel-based and specialty alloys remained the company's largest revenue generator, accounting for 52pc of its total sales in July-September, up from 44pc a year earlier and up from 51pc in the second quarter.
