Stockholders' equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Stockholders' equity

Stockholders' equity

Note 14 - Stockholders’ equity:

Long-term incentive compensation plan - We have a long-term incentive plan that provides for the award of stock to our board of directors, up to a maximum of 200,000 shares. We awarded 33,250 shares in 2020, 13,750 shares in 2021 and 15,000 shares in 2022 under this plan. At December 31, 2022, 51,150 shares were available for future grants.

Long-term incentive compensation plans of subsidiaries and affiliates - CompX and Kronos each have a share-based incentive compensation plan pursuant to which an aggregate of up to 200,000 shares of their common stock can be awarded to members of their board of directors. At December 31, 2022, Kronos had 111,800 shares available for award and CompX had 131,050 shares available for award.

Dividends - During 2020, 2021 and 2022 our board of directors approved and we paid quarterly dividends of $.04, $.06 and $.07, respectively, per share to stockholders aggregating $7.8 million, $11.7 million and $13.7 million, respectively. In addition, our board of directors declared a special dividend on our common stock which totaled $17.1 million ($.35 per share) that we paid on August 31, 2022. The declaration and payment of future dividends, and the amount thereof, is discretionary and is dependent upon our financial condition, cash requirements, contractual obligations and restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. The amount and timing of past dividends is not necessarily indicative of the amount or timing of any future dividends which might be paid. There are currently no contractual restrictions on the amount of dividends which we may pay.

Accumulated other comprehensive loss - Changes in accumulated other comprehensive loss attributable to NL stockholders, including amounts resulting from our investment in Kronos Worldwide (see Note 6), are presented in the table below.

	Years ended December 31,
	2020		2021		2022
	(In thousands)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax:
Currency translation:
Balance at beginning of period	$	(172,843)	$	(169,575)	$	(171,235)
Other comprehensive income (loss)		3,268		(1,660)		(6,956)
Balance at end of period	$	(169,575)	$	(171,235)	$	(178,191)
Defined benefit pension plans:
Balance at beginning of period	$	(78,257)	$	(80,704)	$	(68,468)
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Amortization of prior service cost and net losses included in   net periodic pension cost		4,330		4,813		3,592
Net actuarial gain (loss) arising during the year		(6,777)		7,423		20,881
Plan settlement		—		—		138
Balance at end of period	$	(80,704)	$	(68,468)	$	(43,857)
OPEB plans and other:
Balance at beginning of period	$	(590)	$	(910)	$	(1,053)
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Amortization of net gain included in net periodic   OPEB cost		(320)		(143)		(369)
Net actuarial gain arising during the year		—		—		529
Change in value of debt securities		—		—		(50)
Balance at end of period	$	(910)	$	(1,053)	$	(943)
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss:
Balance at beginning of period	$	(251,690)	$	(251,189)	$	(240,756)
Other comprehensive income		501		10,433		17,765
Balance at end of period	$	(251,189)	$	(240,756)	$	(222,991)

See Note 5 for further discussion on our marketable securities and Note 11 for amounts related to our defined benefit pension plans.

Other – During 2022, we purchased 2,000 shares of our common stock from Kronos for a nominal amount in a private transaction that was approved in advance by our independent directors. We cancelled these treasury shares and allocated their cost to common stock at par value and additional paid-in capital.

During 2022, CompX acquired 78,900 shares of its Class A common stock for an aggregate amount of approximately $1.7 million under prior repurchase authorizations. Of these shares, 70,000 shares were purchased in a market transaction, and 8,900 shares were purchased from two of its affiliates in two separate private transactions that were also approved in advance by CompX’s independent directors. During 2021, CompX purchased 75,000 shares of its Class A common stock in a market transaction for approximately $1.3 million. At December 31, 2022, 523,647 shares were available for purchase under CompX’s prior repurchase authorizations.