Arcosa Inc (ACA) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Arcosa, Inc. Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Shelby, and I will be your conference call coordinator today. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded.

早安，女士們、先生們，歡迎參加 Arcosa, Inc. 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。我叫謝爾比，今天我將擔任你們的電話會議協調員。提醒一下，今天的通話正在錄音。

Now I would like to turn the call over to your host, Erin Drabek, Director of Investor Relations for Arcosa. Ms. Drabek, you may begin.

現在我想將電話轉給主持人，Arcosa 投資者關係總監 Erin Drabek。德拉貝克女士，您可以開始了。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining Arcosa's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. With me today are Antonio Carrillo, President and CEO; and Gail Peck, CFO. A question-and-answer session will follow their prepared remarks.

大家早安，感謝您參加 Arcosa 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。今天與我在一起的有總裁兼執行長安東尼奧·卡里略 (Antonio Carrillo)；和財務長蓋爾·佩克。在他們準備好的發言之後將舉行問答環節。

A copy of yesterday's press release and the slide presentation for this morning's call are posted on our Investor Relations website, ir.arcosa.com. A replay of today's call will be available for the next 2 weeks. Instructions for accessing the replay number are included in the press release. A replay of the webcast will be available for 1 year on our website under the News and Events tab.

昨天的新聞稿副本和今天上午電話會議的幻燈片簡報已發佈在我們的投資者關係網站 ir.arcosa.com 上。今天的電話會議將在接下來的兩週內重播。新聞稿中包含存取重播號碼的說明。網路廣播的重播將在我們網站的「新聞和活動」標籤下提供，為期一年。

Today's comments and presentation slides contain financial measures that have not been prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the closest GAAP measure are included in the appendix of the slide presentation.

今天的評論和簡報幻燈片包含未按照公認會計原則準備的財務指標。投影片簡報的附錄中包含非公認會計原則財務指標與最接近的公認會計原則財務指標的調節表。

In addition, today's conference call contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the company's SEC filings for more information on these risks and uncertainties, including the press release we filed yesterday, and our Form 10-Q expected to be filed later today.

此外，今天的電話會議包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》所定義的前瞻性陳述。前瞻性陳述受到風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與此類前瞻性陳述有重大差異。請參閱該公司向 SEC 提交的文件，以了解有關這些風險和不確定性的更多信息，包括我們昨天提交的新聞稿以及預計今天晚些時候提交的 10-Q 表格。

I would now like to turn the call over to Antonio.

我現在想把電話轉給安東尼奧。

Thank you, Erin. Good morning. Thank you for joining us to discuss our third quarter results and the outlook for the remainder of 2023. Please turn to Page 4.

謝謝你，艾琳。早安.感謝您與我們一起討論我們的第三季業績以及 2023 年剩餘時間的展望。請翻至第 4 頁。

Arcosa generated double-digit growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA normalizing for the divestiture of the storage tank business. Our solid financial results underscore the resilience of our diversified portfolio and the enhanced operating leverage in our cyclical businesses as production volumes improve.

Arcosa 實現了兩位數的營收成長，並因儲罐業務剝離而調整後的 EBITDA 正常化。我們穩健的財務表現凸顯了我們多元化投資組合的彈性，以及隨著產量提高而增強的周期性業務的營運槓桿。

Starting with Construction Products. Strong pricing and recovery in natural aggregates volumes drove 9% adjusted EBITDA growth. We made progress on our improvement plan for specialty materials and margins for the business increased sequentially. I am pleased to announce that we recently closed on three bolt-on acquisitions in Construction Products.

從建築產品開始。強勁的定價和天然骨材產量的復甦推動調整後 EBITDA 成長 9%。我們的特種材料改進計劃取得了進展，業務利潤率環比增長。我很高興地宣布，我們最近完成了建築產品領域的三項補強收購。

In September, we acquired a stabilized sand producer, enhancing our presence in the fast-growing North Houston market. Following quarter end, we acquired two recycled aggregate producers, expanding our presence in Phoenix and entering the Florida recycled market. Our newly acquired businesses in Florida has six locations, predominantly in Central Florida from Orlando to Tampa. Combined, these three acquisitions represent an investment of approximately $41 million at an attractive multiple of roughly 7x EBITDA. We continue to have an attractive pipeline of additional bolt-on opportunities.

九月，我們收購了一家穩定砂生產商，增強了我們在快速成長的北休士頓市場的影響力。接下來的季度末，我們收購了兩家再生骨材生產商，擴大了我們在鳳凰城的業務，並進入了佛羅裡達州的再生市場。我們在佛羅裡達州新收購的企業有六個地點，主要位於佛羅裡達州中部，從奧蘭多到坦帕。這三項收購合計投資額約 4,100 萬美元，約 7 倍 EBITDA，極具吸引力。我們繼續擁有一系列有吸引力的額外補充機會。

While Engineered Structures revenue increased. Segment profitability was below our expectations. Our utility structures business was impacted by several headwinds, including a shift in production mix, that certain high-margin orders were delayed to 2024 as well as an unfavorable foreign currency impact.

而工程結構收入則增加。分部獲利能力低於我們的預期。我們的公用事業結構業務受到多種不利因素的影響，包括生產結構的變化、某些高利潤訂單被推遲到 2024 年以及不利的外匯影響。

Additionally, we experienced operational challenges, including equipment downtime, which required the outsourcing of some processes at higher costs. During the quarter, we began implementing correcting actions that enabled initial margin improvement in the month of September.

此外，我們還遇到了營運挑戰，包括設備停機，這需要以更高的成本外包一些流程。在本季度，我們開始實施糾正措施，使 9 月的利潤率得到初步改善。

On the positive side, our wind business performed well in the third quarter even as production volume remained relatively low. With our continued focus on driving operational efficiencies, we anticipate our wind business will be profitable on an EBITDA basis for the year before considering the net benefit of tax credits. This forecast compares favorably with our earlier expectation for breakeven EBITDA performance for 2023.

從積極的一面來看，儘管產量仍然相對較低，但我們的風電業務在第三季度表現良好。隨著我們繼續致力於提高營運效率，我們預計在考慮稅收抵免的淨收益之前，我們的風電業務今年將在 EBITDA 基礎上實現盈利。這項預測與我們先前對 2023 年盈虧平衡 EBITDA 表現的預期相比較。

Transportation Products generated strong results, driven by volume and pricing growth in both barge and steel components. While the barge order intake during the quarter was modest, inquiries continue to be healthy. And our backlog nearly doubled on a year-over-year basis, providing production visibility well into 2024.

在駁船和鋼鐵零件的銷售和價格成長的推動下，運輸產品取得了強勁的業績。儘管本季的駁船訂單量不大，但詢盤仍然健康。我們的積壓訂單比去年同期幾乎翻了一番，為 2024 年的生產提供了可視性。

In summary, I am pleased with our solid year-to-date financial performance. We have continued to advance our strategic priorities, expanding our growth businesses both through M&A and organic projects. At the same time, we've positioned our cyclical businesses to capitalize on the expected improvement in market fundamentals next year.

總而言之，我對我們今年迄今穩健的財務表現感到滿意。我們繼續推進我們的策略重點，透過併購和有機項目擴大我們的成長業務。同時，我們對週期性業務進行了定位，以利用明年市場基本面的預期改善。

Finally, our balance sheet and liquidity position remains strong, providing flexibility for capital allocation.

最後，我們的資產負債表和流動性狀況依然強勁，為資本配置提供了靈活性。

Gail will now provide detail on our financial results for the quarter, and I will return to discuss our updated outlook. Gail?

蓋爾現在將提供有關本季度財務業績的詳細信息，我將回來討論我們更新的前景。蓋爾？

Thank you, Antonio. I'll begin on Slide 11 to discuss our third quarter segment results. Starting with Construction Products, revenues increased 7%, driven by higher pricing across our construction aggregates and specialty materials businesses, a recovery in volumes in natural aggregates as well as organic volume growth and acquisition-related contribution and trench shoring.

謝謝你，安東尼奧。我將從幻燈片 11 開始討論我們第三季的業績。從建築產品開始，收入增長了 7%，這得益於我們的建築骨料和特種材料業務的定價上漲、天然骨料銷量的恢復以及有機銷量的增長以及收購相關的貢獻和溝渠支撐。

Adjusted segment EBITDA increased 9% year-over-year, reflecting strong pricing gains and reduced inflationary cost pressures. Freight-adjusted segment EBITDA margin was flat, as higher margins in natural and recycled aggregates were offset by lower margin in specialty materials.

調整後的部門 EBITDA 年成長 9%，反映出強勁的定價收益和通膨成本壓力的減輕。運費調整後的部門 EBITDA 利潤率持平，因為天然和再生骨材的較高利潤率被特種材料較低的利潤率所抵消。

Turning to natural aggregates. Pricing momentum remains strong across our markets with average organic pricing up high single digits on a freight-adjusted basis, led by our West region. Third quarter natural aggregates volumes increased by high single digits, driven by strong growth in our Gulf Coast and Texas regions, partially offset by modest declines in our West and Ohio River Valley regions.

轉向天然骨材。我們整個市場的定價動能依然強勁，在運費調整後的基礎上，平均有機定價上漲了高個位數，其中以西部地區為首。在墨西哥灣沿岸和德州地區強勁成長的推動下，第三季自然骨材產量出現高個位數成長，但部分被西部和俄亥俄河谷地區的小幅下降所抵消。

Favorable pricing and lower inflationary costs, particularly for diesel, resulted in year-over-year margin expansion. In recycled aggregates, we continued to focus on value over volume. Pricing was up significantly in the third quarter, driving year-over-year margin expansion despite a decline in [volumes].

有利的定價和較低的通膨成本（尤其是柴油）導致利潤率同比增長。在再生骨材方面，我們持續關注價值而非數量。儘管銷量下降，但第三季的定價大幅上漲，推動利潤率年增。

Within specialty materials, overall demand remained healthy, particularly for our industrial and flooring plaster and lightweight aggregates. Pricing gains were solid for these product lines. While multifamily starts have receded from peak in some markets, our customers' backlogs are strong and plaster supply remains constrained.

在特種材料中，整體需求保持健康，特別是對我們的工業和地板石膏以及輕質骨材。這些產品線的定價漲幅強勁。儘管一些市場的多戶住宅開工量已從高峰期回落，但我們客戶的積壓訂單依然強勁，石膏供應仍受到限制。

Third quarter margins decreased year-over-year, but improved significantly from the second quarter as we made progress on our operational improvement plan and increased throughput. We remain focused on driving continued margin improvement in this business.

第三季的利潤率年減，但由於我們在營運改善計畫和吞吐量方面取得進展，較第二季顯著改善。我們仍專注於推動該業務的利潤率持續提高。

Finally, revenues in our trench shoring business grew 25% on higher organic volumes as well as contribution from the Houston acquisition that closed earlier in the year. Margins also expanded slightly and our backlog and inquiry levels remain supportive of growth in 2024.

最後，由於有機銷售的增加以及今年稍早完成的休士頓收購的貢獻，我們的溝渠支撐業務收入成長了 25%。利潤率也略有擴大，我們的積壓訂單和詢價水準仍然支持 2024 年的成長。

Moving to Engineered Structures on Slide 12. Adjusted segment EBITDA declined 6% and margins were 140 basis points lower year-over-year, normalizing for the storage tanks divestiture. Our wind towers business performed well and benefited as anticipated from $5.6 million of net AMP tax credits, which more than offset the impact from lower wind tower volumes.

轉到投影片 12 上的工程結構。調整後的部門 EBITDA 下降 6%，利潤率年減 140 個基點，使儲槽剝離正常化。我們的風塔業務表現良好，並如預期受益於 560 萬美元的淨 AMP 稅收抵免，這足以抵消風塔銷量下降的影響。

Results for our utility structures business were below our expectations, although revenues grew at a solid double-digit pace, led by strong unit volume growth. Several factors impacted segment profitability during the quarter. There was a shift in product mix as certain higher-margin projects were pushed into 2024 and were substituted with lower margin bid work.

儘管在單位銷售強勁成長的帶動下，營收以兩位數的速度穩定成長，但我們的公用事業結構業務的表現卻低於我們的預期。有幾個因素影響了該季度的部門獲利能力。隨著某些利潤率較高的項目被推遲到 2024 年，並被利潤率較低的投標工作所取代，產品結構發生了變化。

From an operational standpoint, equipment downtime at several locations resulted in additional expense and production inefficiencies.

從營運角度來看，多個地點的設備停機導致額外費用和生產效率低。

Lastly, a stronger peso impacted the profitability of our manufacturing operations in Mexico. The peso began appreciating relative to the dollar earlier in the year and was up more than 15% in the third quarter compared to year ago levels. In prior quarters, we overcame negative currency effects through operating efficiencies.

最後，比索走強影響了我們在墨西哥製造業務的獲利能力。今年早些時候，比索相對於美元開始升值，第三季比去年同期上漲了 15% 以上。在前幾個季度，我們透過營運效率克服了貨幣的負面影響。

Turning to our backlog. We ended the quarter with combined backlog for utility, wind, and related structures of $1.5 billion, approximately in line with the second quarter as order activity and utility structures kept pace with shipments.

轉向我們的積壓工作。本季結束時，公用事業、風能和相關結構的積壓訂單總計為 15 億美元，與第二季大致持平，因為訂單活動和公用事業結構與出貨量保持同步。

Moving to Transportation Products on Slide 13. Segment revenues were up 30%, driven by volume growth and improved pricing in both our barge and steel components businesses. Adjusted segment EBITDA more than tripled with margins reaching a 3-year high. This significant improvement was accretive to our consolidated margin, reflecting the significant operating leverage in these businesses.

轉到幻燈片 13 上的運輸產品。在駁船和鋼鐵零件業務的銷售成長和定價改善的推動下，該部門收入增長了 30%。調整後的部門 EBITDA 成長了兩倍多，利潤率達到三年來的新高。這項顯著改善增加了我們的綜合利潤，反映了這些業務的巨大營運槓桿。

We received barge orders of $21 million, predominantly for hopper barges, representing a book-to-bill of 0.3. We ended the quarter with total barge backlog of $240 million, approximately 75% of which we expect to deliver during 2024.

我們收到了 2,100 萬美元的駁船訂單，主要是漏斗駁船，訂單出貨比為 0.3。截至本季末，我們的駁船積壓總額為 2.4 億美元，我們預計將在 2024 年交付其中約 75%。

I'll conclude on Slide 14 with some comments on our cash flow and balance sheet position. We generated $44 million of operating cash flow during the quarter, which was down year-over-year due to a $29 million increase in working capital, primarily driven by high overall volumes and the timing of collection of receivables. We anticipate a moderation in working capital needs in the fourth quarter, but our expectation is that working capital will be a use of cash for the full year.

我將在投影片 14 上對我們的現金流量和資產負債表狀況發表一些評論。本季我們產生了 4,400 萬美元的營運現金流，年減，原因是營運資金增加了 2,900 萬美元，這主要是由於整體交易量較高和應收帳款催收時間的推動。我們預計第四季度營運資金需求將放緩，但我們預計全年營運資金將主要使用現金。

As we continue to make progress on the organic projects underway in Construction Products and Engineered Structures, net capital expenditures were $42 million during the quarter, an increase of $12 million year-over-year. Third quarter free cash flow was $2 million.

隨著我們在建築產品和工程結構領域正在進行的有機項目繼續取得進展，本季淨資本支出為 4,200 萬美元，年增 1,200 萬美元。第三季自由現金流為 200 萬美元。

With one quarter remaining, we have tightened our full year CapEx range to $200 million to $210 million. We ended the quarter with net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 1x and available liquidity of $633 million. During the quarter, we amended our credit facility to increase our revolver from $500 million to $600 million, extend the maturity date to 2028 and repay in full our $135 million term loan. Pricing and financial covenants remained unchanged. Our healthy balance sheet and liquidity continue to provide ample flexibility to pursue disciplined capital allocation.

還剩下一個季度，我們已將全年資本支出範圍收緊至 2 億至 2.1 億美元。本季末，我們的淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 比率為 1 倍，可用流動資金為 6.33 億美元。本季度，我們修改了信貸安排，將循環貸款從 5 億美元增加到 6 億美元，將到期日延長至 2028 年，並全額償還 1.35 億美元的定期貸款。定價和財務契約維持不變。我們健康的資產負債表和流動性繼續為追求嚴格的資本配置提供充足的靈活性。

I will now turn the call back over to Antonio for an update on our outlook.

我現在將把電話轉回給安東尼奧，以了解我們前景的最新情況。

Thank you, Gail. Arcosa continues to perform well and is on track to generate double-digit growth in both revenue and adjusted EBITDA for 2023.

謝謝你，蓋爾。 Arcosa 繼續表現良好，並有望在 2023 年實現收入和調整後 EBITDA 兩位數的成長。

Please turn to Slide 16. Given our solid year-to-date performance and our visibility into the fourth quarter, we are confident in our 2023 revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance. At the midpoint of our guidance ranges, we forecast 11% revenue growth and 30% adjusted EBITDA growth on a year-over-year basis, normalizing for the storage tanks divestitures.

請參閱投影片 16。鑑於我們今年迄今的穩健業績和對第四季度的預見性，我們對 2023 年收入和調整後 EBITDA 指導充滿信心。在我們指導範圍的中點，我們預計收入將年增 11%，調整後的 EBITDA 將年增 30%，使儲槽剝離正常化。

Consistent with our prior guidance, our 2023 adjusted EBITDA forecast assumes estimated wind-related net tax credits of between $17 million and $22 million, pending final clarification from the IRS.

與我們先前的指導一致，我們的 2023 年調整後 EBITDA 預測假設與風電相關的淨稅收抵免估計在 1700 萬美元至 2200 萬美元之間，有待美國國稅局的最終澄清。

Please turn to Slide 17 to review the outlook for our growth businesses. In Construction Products, pricing across our portfolio has remained strong. Public construction activity is accelerating at both the federal and local levels, and we are seeing healthy demand in multifamily, nonresidential and heavy industrial construction. Although volume in single-family residential has stabilized in recent months, the near-term outlook for this specific market is less clear, given higher mortgage rates.

請參閱投影片 17 回顧我們成長型業務的前景。在建築產品方面，我們的產品組合定價仍然強勁。聯邦和地方各級的公共建築活動都在加速，我們看到多戶型、非住宅型和重工業建築的健康需求。儘管單戶住宅的成交量近幾個月已趨於穩定，但鑑於抵押貸款利率上升，該特定市場的近期前景不太明朗。

In Engineered Structures, market fundamentals remain positive, as major growth drivers are intact. Utilities continue to allocate significant CapEx towards grid-hardening initiatives, an infrastructure that connects renewable sources to the grid. In addition, road infrastructure spending continues to fuel demand for our traffic structures products.

在工程結構領域，市場基本面依然樂觀，因為主要成長動力完好無損。公用事業公司繼續將大量資本支出分配給電網強化計劃，即將再生能源連接到電網的基礎設施。此外，道路基礎設施支出持續刺激對我們交通結構產品的需求。

In telecom, we have seen order softness due to carriers reducing CapEx pending following significant levels of 5G investment. Overall, order activity and backlog visibility remains strong, reinforcing our positive view.

在電信領域，我們看到由於營運商在 5G 投資大幅增加後減少了待決資本支出，導致訂單疲軟。總體而言，訂單活動和積壓訂單的可見性仍然強勁，強化了我們的正面看法。

As I mentioned before, we are already executing on the improvement plan to increase our margins and are seeing early signs of progress. We expect margins to improve in the fourth quarter, even though some equipment will not be operating at 100% capacity.

正如我之前提到的，我們已經在執行改進計劃以增加利潤，並看到了進展的早期跡象。我們預計第四季的利潤率將會改善，儘管有些設備不會以 100% 的產能運作。

Let's turn now to our cyclical businesses, starting on Slide 18. Aided by incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act, the wind industry is expected to enter a multiyear up cycle. In this environment, we're making necessary preparations across our footprint to optimize production capacity.

現在讓我們轉向週期性業務，從幻燈片 18 開始。在《通貨膨脹削減法案》的激勵下，風電行業預計將進入多年上升週期。在這種環境下，我們正在整個業務範圍內進行必要的準備，以優化生產能力。

Our new brownfield facility in New Mexico, we're staffing key plant personnel and working on building modifications. Our expectation remains that we will deliver towers from this facility starting in mid-2024. In addition to these efforts, we are making incremental investments across our existing plants to further enhance our manufacturing efficiency and flexibility.

我們在新墨西哥州新建了一座棕地工廠，我們正在為工廠主要人員配備人員並進行建築改造。我們的期望仍然是從 2024 年中期開始從該工廠交付塔樓。除了這些努力之外，我們還在現有工廠進行增量投資，以進一步提高我們的製造效率和靈活性。

During the third quarter, we were pleased to receive a small qualification order from a new customer for two towers, with delivery expected late 2024. We continue to have productive conversations with our customers for additional projects with deliveries beyond 2024.

第三季度，我們很高興收到新客戶的兩座塔的小額合格訂單，預計將於 2024 年末交付。我們將繼續與客戶就 2024 年之後交付的其他項目進行富有成效的對話。

We remain confident in the growth outlook for the wind tower business, which serves only the onshore market. While order fulfillment is complex and requires time to negotiate our backlog of about $1.1 billion, supports our expectation for increased production volumes and strengthen profitability next year.

我們對僅服務於陸上市場的風塔業務的成長前景仍然充滿信心。雖然訂單履行很複雜，需要時間來協商我們約 11 億美元的積壓訂單，但這支持了我們明年產量增加和獲利能力增強的預期。

Turning to Slide 19. Our Transportation Products segment performed well in the third quarter, with the barge business still in the early stages of a cyclical upturn. Barge backlog at the end of the quarter was up 87% on a year-over-year basis, underscoring the growing demand for our barges and strengthening our production visibility into 2024.

轉向幻燈片 19。我們的運輸產品部門在第三季度表現良好，駁船業務仍處於週期性好轉的早期階段。本季末駁船積壓量年增 87%，凸顯了對我們駁船的需求不斷增長，並增強了我們到 2024 年的生產能見度。

While we remain confident in the midterm outlook for this business, some customers recently have delayed purchasing decisions. Unusually low water levels on the Mississippi River system, which should be temporary and higher interest rates, weighted on the demand for the quarter. We do not believe these concerns are reflective of the fundamental shift in customer sentiment. In this environment, we have taken actions to maintain our manufacturing flexibility, and we continue to have strong visibility into our production schedule for 2024.

儘管我們對該業務的中期前景仍然充滿信心，但一些客戶最近推遲了購買決定。密西西比河系統異常低的水位（這應該是暫時的）和較高的利率影響了本季的需求。我們不認為這些擔憂反映了客戶情緒的根本轉變。在這種環境下，我們已採取行動保持製造靈活性，並且我們繼續對 2024 年的生產計劃保持清晰的了解。

In closing, our cost is well positioned for continued growth in the fourth quarter and into 2024, with significantly improved visibility in our cyclical businesses, while our growth businesses benefit from healthy pricing and demand environment. We're confident in our outlook. We remain focused on the execution of our strategy and strengthening our capabilities to deliver on the many growth opportunities across our portfolio.

最後，我們的成本處於有利位置，可以在第四季度直至 2024 年持續成長，我們的週期性業務的可見性顯著提高，而我們的成長業務受益於健康的定價和需求環境。我們對我們的前景充滿信心。我們仍然專注於執行我們的策略並增強我們的能力，以在我們的投資組合中提供許多成長機會。

Before I open the call to questions, I want to recognize all the Arcosa team for their hard work. Yesterday was our fifth anniversary as an independent public company, and it is easy to forget how much this company has changed in just a short period of time. We have come a long way, we convinced that the best is yet to come.

在開始提問之前，我想對所有 Arcosa 團隊的辛勤工作表示認可。昨天是我們作為一家獨立上市公司的五週年紀念日，人們很容易忘記這家公司在短短的時間內發生了多大的變化。我們已經走了很長的路，我們相信最好的尚未到來。

I also want to thank all the Arcosa stakeholders, our employees, customers, investors and suppliers for their support and confidence during these 5 years.

我還要感謝所有 Arcosa 利害關係人、我們的員工、客戶、投資者和供應商在這 5 年來的支持和信任。

Now I would like to open the call for questions.

現在我想開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) And we'll take our first question from Garik Shmois with Loop Capital.

（操作員說明）我們將回答 Loop Capital 的 Garik Shmois 提出的第一個問題。

I was wondering, first off, just on Construction Products. You said there is some volume growth, which is stronger than we had anticipated, recognizing you had some favorable geographic mix. But just wondering if you could maybe a little bit more detail by end markets? And what you were seeing that was driving some of the volume gains?

首先，我想知道建築產品。您說銷量有所增長，比我們預期的要強勁，因為您認識到您擁有一些有利的地理組合。但只是想知道您是否可以透過終端市場提供更多細節？您認為是什麼推動了銷售量的成長？

Sure. Garik, this is Gail. I'll take that. Yes, we were pleased. As we mentioned in my comments, volumes for natural aggregates were up high single digits. That's the first volume increase we've seen really in about a year. So to your question, looking at the markets, the volumes were up in Texas.

當然。加里克，這是蓋爾。我會接受的。是的，我們很高興。正如我們在評論中提到的，天然骨材的產量增加了高個位數。這是我們大約一年來真正看到的首次銷售成長。對於你的問題，從市場來看，德克薩斯州的銷量有所增加。

If you recall, we said volumes were flat in the second quarter. So seeing some continuation of positives there. Certainly, positive lettings in the state. Non-res doing well. And resi is okay. We're seeing some new neighborhoods in the North and South DFW area. So we were encouraged by that. We did have a new greenfield in Texas that we didn't have last year that is performing well. And we had good stabilized volumes in down in Houston.

如果您還記得的話，我們說過第二季的銷量持平。因此，我們看到了一些正面因素的延續。當然，該州的出租積極。非資源表現良好。雷西還可以。我們在 DFW 北部和南部地區看到了一些新的社區。所以我們對此感到鼓舞。我們在德克薩斯州確實有一個去年沒有的新綠地，但表現良好。我們在休士頓的羽絨外套成交量也非常穩定。

In the Gulf region, we also had volumes up. They were up in the second quarter as well. LNG and refinery project work is healthy. DOT work is healthy. There's a limited gravel availability in the Gulf Coast that's also helping our volumes.

在海灣地區，我們的銷量也有所增加。他們在第二季度也有所上升。液化天然氣和煉油工程工作進展順利。 DOT 工作是健康的。墨西哥灣沿岸的礫石供應有限，這也有助於提高我們的產量。

Where we did see volumes down, as I mentioned, was in the Ohio River Valley in the West, but they were down slightly. So we did see volumes up sequentially. So we're encouraged. It's early. As I said, it's the first quarter in the year, but we're encouraged with what we're seeing from a volume perspective.

正如我所提到的，我們確實看到銷量下降的地方是西部的俄亥俄河谷，但略有下降。所以我們確實看到成交量連續上升。所以我們受到鼓舞。現在還早。正如我所說，這是今年第一季度，但我們對從銷售角度看到的情況感到鼓舞。

One thing I'd like to mention that it was told in my remarks, but I think we also had during the quarter across our portfolio in the U.S., a significant disruptions from the heat that we experienced throughout the country.

我想提及的一件事是，我的演講中已經提到了這一點，但我認為本季度我們在美國的投資組合也受到了全國各地高溫天氣的嚴重干擾。

And when we have a significant amount of hot base here in Texas specifically, and that slowed construction a lot. And it creates all sorts of impacts across our portfolio, even in a plants, turnover increased, absenteeism increased. So I think we saw during the quarter, and this is just -- I don't have a number to give you for -- but I think that this third quarter had quite of an impact related to weather.

當我們在德克薩斯州有大量的熱基地時，這大大減緩了建設速度。它對我們的投資組合產生了各種各樣的影響，甚至在工廠中，營業額增加，缺勤率增加。所以我認為我們在本季度看到了這一點，這只是——我沒有具體的數字可以給你——但我認為第三季度與天氣有關的影響很大。

Yes. And maybe just to add on to that a little bit more color. The weather side, we probably saw that even more pronounced in our recycled aggregates business. We did see volumes down and recycled in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the quarter.

是的。也許只是為了增加一點色彩。在天氣方面，我們可能在再生骨材業務中看到這一點更為明顯。我們確實看到本季達拉斯-沃斯堡地區的產量下降和回收。

Understood. I wanted to ask, just on the acquisitions that you had announced, recognizing they're relatively small, but wondering -- particularly interested actually on the entrance into Florida. Do you think that this could be a new platform for you? Or is that opportunity just a bit of a one-off and an opportunistic acquisition more than anything?

明白了。我想問一下，就您宣布的收購而言，我承認它們規模相對較小，但我想知道——實際上對進入佛羅裡達州特別感興趣。您認為這對您來說可能是一個新平台嗎？或者說這個機會只是一次性的，是機會主義的收購？

We had a small operation already in Florida that came with our StonePoint acquisition a few years ago. So it's a market that we really like. There's not a lot of consolidation, especially in the recycled side. But we do see -- once we enter into a market, we start seeing our pipeline increase. We just simply get more calls from local small companies that are interested. So it is a platform that we want to develop. It's in a market we're really interested in. And we already have additional opportunities in the pipeline.

幾年前我們收購 StonePoint 後，我們已經在佛羅裡達州開展了一家小型業務。所以這是我們真正喜歡的市場。整合並不多，尤其是在回收方面。但我們確實看到——一旦我們進入一個市場，我們就開始看到我們的管道增加。我們只是接到更多當地小公司有興趣的電話。所以這是我們想要開發的一個平台。這是我們真正感興趣的市場。而且我們已經在準備更多的機會。

Got it. Last question for me. Just on the project delays and utility structures. Any visibility as to what was driving that and potentially the timing of when the volume ships, recognizing it's probably more of a 2024 story?

知道了。對我來說最後一個問題。只是關於工程延誤和公用設施結構。知道這可能更多是一個 2024 年的故事嗎？

Yes. I'll tell you, I wouldn't say it's only utilities. I would say you will see this as -- I mean the industry is hot. The demand is very, very strong. Just like we're seeing with wind towers, where sometimes projects get announced and there's a lot of noise around them. When projects start hitting the ground, you face reality and even though people say, well, now there's more layoffs happening and things like that.

是的。我告訴你，我不會說這只是公用事業。我想說你會認為這是——我的意思是這個行業很熱門。需求非常非常強烈。就像我們在風塔上看到的那樣，有時項目宣布後，周圍就會有很多噪音。當專案開始落地時，你就會面對現實，儘管人們說，好吧，現在發生了更多的裁員之類的事情。

The reality is that in the blue collar labor force, there has not been a shortage of jobs. So there's still -- it's hard to get people permitting for transmission power for wind tower farms, for all these things is taking time.

現實情況是，藍領勞動力中並不缺乏工作。因此，仍然很難讓人們允許風塔發電場傳輸電力，因為所有這些事情都需要時間。

So the way I would think about this -- our growth is not going to be a straight line. I think we're going to see these ups and downs as we get -- go through this bottlenecks that we have to be breaking as we grow. So that's -- to me, that is the biggest deal -- the biggest issue happening.

所以我的想法是──我們的成長不會是一條直線。我認為，隨著我們的成長，我們將會看到這些起起落落——經歷我們必須打破的瓶頸。所以對我來說，這是最重要的事情——正在發生的最大問題。

And we'll take our next question from Trey Grooms with Stephens.

我們將回答特雷·格魯姆斯和史蒂芬斯提出的下一個問題。

I guess I wanted to touch on kind of sticking with Construction Products here. Pricing has been strong. It sounds like generally, the outlook in the market is that '24 could be another good year for pricing. Is there any color that you could give us on how you're thinking about your pricing outlook on the Construction Products side of the business?

我想我想在這裡談談對建築產品的堅持。定價一直很強勁。聽起來總體來說，市場前景是 24 年可能是定價的另一個好年。您能否向我們透露一下您對建築產品業務定價前景的看法？

The -- I think what you hear from our peers and our competitors is similar to what we were trying to do. I think we have pricing out increases right now. We have another pricing increase for January. We're going to try to continue pushing pricing and prioritizing pricing over volume.

我認為您從我們的同行和競爭對手那裡聽到的與我們試圖做的類似。我認為我們現在已經定價了上漲。我們一月再次漲價。我們將嘗試繼續推動定價，並將定價置於銷售量之上。

We will see some areas where we can get both, and that's going to be great. But we're going to be trying to focus on maximizing our margins. And even though -- again, people say, well, inflation is down, yes, but still the natural gas picking back up a little bit. And the inflation is not completely under control. So we have to continue to push our pricing.

我們將看到一些領域我們可以同時實現這兩者，這將是非常棒的。但我們將努力專注於利潤最大化。儘管人們又說，通貨膨脹有所下降，是的，但天然氣價格仍然略有回升。而且通貨膨脹並沒有完全控制。因此，我們必須繼續提高定價。

Yes. Yes. All right. That makes sense. And I guess on speaking of costs, you mentioned elevated costs in specialty materials. And it sounds like that's getting a little bit better, but is that going to be still kind of be a factor going forward? And I guess I'll just stop there.

是的。是的。好的。這就說得通了。我想在談到成本時，您提到了特種材料的成本上漲。聽起來情況似乎有所好轉，但這仍然會成為未來的因素嗎？我想我就到此為止。

Yes. So specialty materials, we mentioned in the second quarter, we had a really, really bad second quarter for specialty materials. Lots of factors came in and -- but I would say more -- there is a cost factor there, but I would say it's more a throughput factor.

是的。因此，我們在第二季度提到的特種材料，我們的特種材料第二季度非常非常糟糕。有很多因素進來，但我想說更多的是，其中有一個成本因素，但我想說這更多的是吞吐量因素。

When you look at -- the plans for specialty materials are much more complex their industrial plants. And we had some maintenance issues and other things that -- a lot of absenteeism and turnover during the second quarter. That's improving. We are -- we were able to keep our people much more.

當你看到——特種材料的計劃比他們的工業工廠複雜得多。我們遇到了一些維護問題和其他問題——第二季度出現了大量缺勤和人員流動。這正在改善。我們能夠更多地留住我們的員工。

Our plans are improving quite a bit, in terms of Gail mentioned, we had a significant improvement in specialty materials, pretty significant improvement in the third quarter. So I was very pleased.

我們的計劃正在改進，就蓋爾所提到的而言，我們在特種材料方面有了顯著的改進，第三季的改進相當顯著。所以我很高興。

And the trend continues to look well. It was not only that it was better in the third than the second. But the trend throughout the third quarter sequentially, August and September, September was better than August, et cetera.

而且趨勢看起來仍然很好。不只是第三局比第二局好。但整個第三季的趨勢依序是8月和9月、9月好於8月等等。

So I'm pretty happy with what the team there is doing, but the important piece here is that the demand for the product is very, very strong. So it's really in our hands to continue to drive this improvement plan that we have. We have a great team. And demand is there and the margins are there, and everything is ready for us to continue to improve margins there and take it back to become a business that can be accretive to our margins.

所以我對團隊所做的事情非常滿意，但這裡重要的是對產品的需求非常非常強勁。因此，繼續推動我們現有的改進計劃確實掌握在我們手中。我們有一支很棒的團隊。需求就在那裡，利潤就在那裡，一切都準備好了，我們可以繼續提高那裡的利潤，並將其帶回成為一項可以增加我們利潤的業務。

Right. Yes. Okay. And then -- I'm sorry if you touched on this. I know you touched on it, but -- so sorry to come back to it again. But for just a little bit more detail on the transportation side. You called out low river levels. I think orders kind of impacted orders a little bit. But how do you kind of thinking about just given where we are in the cycle. How are you thinking about that business as we kind of look in '24 directionally?

正確的。是的。好的。然後——如果你談到這個，我很抱歉。我知道你提到過這個問題，但是——很抱歉再次回到這個主題。但只是想了解更多交通方面的細節。你喊出河流水位低。我認為訂單對訂單有一點影響。但是考慮到我們在周期中的位置，您如何思考？當我們展望 24 世紀時，您如何看待這項業務？

Yes. Let me talk first about the river levels. When you look at statistically, I mean, the last couple of months have been very, very low historically. But if you look seasonally, it's a normal season for this to happen.

是的。我先說一下河流水位。當你看統計數據時，我的意思是，過去幾個月的歷史水準非常非常低。但如果你從季節性角度來看，這是發生這種情況的正常季節。

So since a couple of weeks, we've received rain and levels are coming up quite a bit. So I think we don't expect it to be an issue going forward in the year or early 2024. So -- but when that happens, this more cyclical businesses, I would characterize the move in our customers as more volatile than in other businesses.

幾週以來，我們一直在下雨，水位上升了不少。因此，我認為我們預計這不會成為今年或 2024 年初的問題。所以，但當這種情況發生時，這種更具週期性的業務，我認為我們客戶的舉動比其他業務更具波動性。

So when things go by in a quarter, you will get all pessimistic. When things go great, you get all optimistic. So it's a -- we expect it to become better as we -- the important aspect, I will go back to the fundamentals of the business. The replacement market is there, the demand is there. The customer sentiment is positive that margins need to be replaced.

所以當事情經過一個季度的時候，你就會變得悲觀。當事情進展順利時，你就會變得樂觀。所以這是一個——我們期望它會變得更好，因為我們——重要的方面，我將回到業務的基本面。替換市場就在那裡，需求就在那裡。客戶對需要更換利潤的情緒持樂觀態度。

We have a good backlog into 2024. We have a significant portion of our sales already, let's say, secured. And that allows us to work with our customers on timing, on -- but I don't want to give away my capacity. So we want to focus on our margins. And we're going to -- we have time to work with our customers on getting new orders, et cetera. So we have time. I'm confident that the demand is there, and we're going to get the orders to fill 2024 and that is going to be a better year.

到 2024 年，我們的積壓量很大。可以說，我們的銷售額的很大一部分已經得到保障。這使我們能夠按時與客戶合作，但我不想放棄我的能力。因此，我們希望專注於我們的利潤。我們將有時間與客戶合作以獲得新訂單等等。所以我們有時間。我相信需求是存在的，我們將收到訂單來滿足 2024 年的需求，那將是更好的一年。

And we'll take our next question from Brent Thielman with D.A. Davidson.

我們將回答 Brent Thielman 和 D.A. 提出的下一個問題。戴維森。

Great. Antonio, could you speak a little more to the issues in the Engineered Structures segment? I mean it sounded like there was a mix issue, but maybe some inefficiencies in the system, maybe how long does it take for you to work through that, get the facilities where you want them to be? And then I guess, how do we think about the margin profile of the business is any different as we move into 2024?

偉大的。 Antonio，您能多談談工程結構領域的問題嗎？我的意思是，聽起來好像存在混合問題，但係統中可能存在一些效率低下的問題，也許您需要多長時間才能解決這個問題，讓設施到達您想要的位置？然後我想，進入 2024 年，我們如何看待該業務的利潤狀況有何不同？

Yes. So let me start with one that has been cooking for the year. As Gail mentioned in her script, the -- two of our biggest plants are in Mexico. And when you have manufacturing expenses, salaries, everything, depreciation, maintenance, et cetera -- in pesos, when you translate it into dollars and the dollar a year ago was at 21, and now it's at 18. But during the quarter, it grew below MXN 17 per dollar. So it appreciated pretty significantly.

是的。讓我從已經煮了一年的菜開始。正如蓋爾在她的劇本中提到的，我們最大的兩家工廠位於墨西哥。當你有製造費用、工資、一切、折舊、維護等等時——以比索為單位，當你將其轉換成美元時，一年前的美元匯率是21，現在是18。但在本季度，它美元兌 17 墨西哥比索跌破。所以它的升值相當顯著。

If you look historically -- and from Mexico, if you look historically, that's once in a lifetime thing that happens, but it happened. And that's okay. So throughout the year, it has been hitting us, but through efficiencies and really good margin orders, we have been able to not even talk about it. If you remember our call, we haven't even talked about it because we have been able to overcome it. This quarter, I mean, it was no different, except that the peso appreciated more.

如果你從歷史的角度看——從墨西哥看，如果你從歷史的角度看，那是一生中才會發生的事情，但它確實發生了。沒關係。因此，這一年以來，它一直在打擊我們，但透過效率和非常好的保證金訂單，我們甚至能夠不談論它。如果你還記得我們的電話，我們甚至沒有談論過它，因為我們已經能夠克服它。我的意思是，本季沒有什麼不同，只是比索升值更多。

And we have these operational issues that I mentioned. We have several equipment down in a few facilities that forced us to go outside and outsource pieces. And also the larger margin orders that moved into 2024.

我們遇到了我提到的這些營運問題。我們的一些工廠裡有幾台設備，這迫使我們到外面外包零件。還有進入 2024 年的較大保證金訂單。

As I mentioned in my remarks, I expect margins to improve in the fourth quarter as we -- the peso has improved a little bit, that should help. But also, as we ramp up our facilities that have been shut down and some equipment, I mentioned we will not have all our equipment ready for the fourth quarter. So the margin improvement should be, let's say, over time, we should see improvement.

正如我在發言中提到的，我預計第四季度的利潤率會有所改善，因為比索有所改善，這應該會有所幫助。而且，當我們增加已關閉的設施和一些設備時，我提到我們不會在第四季度準備好所有設備。因此，利潤率的改善應該是，隨著時間的推移，我們應該看到改善。

And then into '24, as we get into the bigger margin orders and reduce the smaller margin orders, we should return to the more normalized margins. So -- so this is -- some of the problem was self-inflicted. We have things to do there, and we have to learn the lesson, some orders outside. But I think the margin potential, the margin profile for the business should not change.

然後進入 24 年，當我們進入較大保證金訂單並減少較小保證金訂單時，我們應該返回到更標準化的保證金。所以——所以這就是——有些問題是自己造成的。我們在那裡還有事情要做，我們必須吸取教訓，一些外面的命令。但我認為業務的利潤潛力和利潤狀況不應改變。

Okay. And then can you talk about the demand climate you're seeing for wind, I guess, outside of the large order that is tied to the New Mexico investment? What does it look like outside of that from a customer demand perspective?

好的。然後你能談談你所看到的風能需求環境嗎？我想，除了與新墨西哥州投資相關的大訂單之外？從客戶需求的角度來看，除此之外，它是什麼樣子的？

Sure. And I'm going to start by saying what's -- I think so the obvious, but I want to reiterate it because when I sit down with people sometimes, they ask me about offshore wind. And we are not involved in offshore wind. Offshore wind it's a very complex environment, and we were not participating in this, and that's a good thing.

當然。我首先要說的是——我認為這是顯而易見的，但我想重申一下，因為當我有時與人們坐下來時，他們會問我有關海上風電的問題。而且我們不參與離岸風電。離岸風電是一個非常複雜的環境，我們沒有參與其中，這是一件好事。

So we are only in onshore wind. And in onshore wind, things are different. Going back 1 year, 1.5 years ago, we had no tax credits. The industry was slowing down. And if you remember at that time, I had mentioned when the Inflation Reduction Act got approved, I -- my expectation was that it would take longer for it to really kick in. We didn't expect these larger orders at the beginning of the year, and we thought it was going to be sometime 12 to 18 months for the industry to start working through permitting and all those things.

所以我們只使用陸域風電。而在陸域風電領域，情況則有所不同。回到 1 年、1.5 年前，我們沒有稅收抵免。該行業正在放緩。如果你當時還記得的話，我曾提到，當《減少通貨膨脹法案》獲得批准時，我的預期是它需要更長的時間才能真正發揮作用。我們沒想到在年初會出現這些更大的訂單。今年，我們認為該行業需要 12 到 18 個月的時間才能開始完成許可和所有這些事情。

We got this big order in the beginning. We're starting our new facility. We expect to start delivering towers in mid-2024, and we have a good backlog for 2024 for two of our other three plants. Having said so, there are still things to work out in terms of -- the credit has not been completely defined by the IRS. And the industry is starting to go through this permitting and bottlenecks in the system. So it's going to be choppy. I don't expect this to be -- every quarter, we get a big order.

我們一開始就接到這個大訂單了。我們的新設施即將投入使用。我們預計將於 2024 年中期開始交付塔架，另外三個工廠中的兩個工廠在 2024 年有大量積壓訂單。話雖如此，但仍有一些事情需要解決——美國國稅局尚未完全定義抵免額。該行業正開始經歷這種許可和系統瓶頸。所以會很不穩定。我不認為每個季度我們都會收到大訂單。

I think we're going to go through a few quarters where there is no orders and suddenly we get a big order. The fundamental aspect is that, what I said in my remarks, we are set up for better '24 than '23 given our production and margin profile. And we have time with our plants in good shape to be able to wait for those bigger orders to materialize and grow beyond 2024. So '24 should be better than '23 and then we should be ready to continue to ramp up as we move along.

我認為我們將經歷幾個季度沒有訂單的情況，然後突然我們收到一個大訂單。基本的方面是，正如我在演講中所說，鑑於我們的產量和利潤狀況，我們的“24 年”將比“23 年”更好。我們有時間讓我們的工廠處於良好狀態，以便能夠等待那些更大的訂單實現並在2024 年之後實現增長。因此，「24 年」應該比「23 年」更好，然後我們應該準備好在我們前進的過程中繼續擴大產能。

Okay. I guess just last one on Construction Products, the natural aggregates business in particular, I mean, given the fact that you've seen what seems to be sort of a volume inflection, we'll call it here this quarter. Are you more confident that you can continue to increase volumes in 2024 for that business?

好的。我想最後一個是關於建築產品，特別是天然骨料業務，我的意思是，考慮到您已經看到了似乎是某種數量變化的事實，我們將在本季度在這裡稱之為。您是否更有信心在 2024 年繼續增加該業務的銷售？

Well, as Gail mentioned in her comment before, we saw flattening volumes in the second quarter. We saw an increase in this quarter. We are as much smaller company than some of our peers. So we have more -- probably more volatility in our regional businesses than some of them that have a wider net and more geographic diversification.

嗯，正如蓋爾之前在評論中提到的那樣，我們看到第二季度的銷量持平。我們在本季看到了成長。我們的公司比一些同業小得多。因此，與一些擁有更廣泛網絡和更多地理多元化的企業相比，我們的區域業務的波動性可能更大。

We are in great geographies. And by being in great geographies means probably we have very good demand fundamentals. But there's still a lot of uncertainty. What we also think is that the infrastructure bill should start kicking in and should help us compensate reduction in volumes in housing and other areas. We are seeing heavy manufacturing builds throughout the country in our regions.

我們地理位置優越。地理位置優越意味著我們可能擁有非常好的需求基本面。但仍存在許多不確定性。我們也認為，基礎設施法案應該開始生效，並應該幫助我們補償住房和其他領域數量的減少。我們看到全國各地的重型製造業正在建設。

So I think everything is set up for some of the demand factors to be strong, some are not as strong. I think we have a lot of confidence in our pricing. So what I can tell you is that we are confident that our pricing will be able to help us with some volume improvements, get a, let's say, a positive mix pricing volume for 2024 and continue increasing our margins.

所以我認為一切都是為了一些需求因素強勁而另一些因素不那麼強勁而做好的。我認為我們對我們的定價很有信心。因此，我可以告訴您的是，我們相信我們的定價將能夠幫助我們提高銷量，獲得 2024 年積極的混合定價量，並繼續增加我們的利潤。

I'm going to go back also to your question on wind towers. The other thing I forgot to mention. We mentioned a small order that we received for two towers. It's a very important step for Arcosa because, as you know, we're -- the industry doesn't have many, many customers. So having a new customer that's a large customer with a heavy presence in the U.S., it's important for us to qualify and be able to get another source of large orders in the future. So I'm excited about that.

我還要回到你關於風塔的問題。還有一件事我忘了說。我們提到了我們收到的兩座塔的小訂單。這對 Arcosa 來說是非常重要的一步，因為如你所知，我們這個行業沒有很多很多的客戶。因此，擁有一個在美國擁有大量業務的大客戶新客戶，對我們來說，獲得資格並能夠在未來獲得另一個大訂單來源非常重要。所以我對此感到很興奮。

(Operator Instructions) We'll take our next question from Julio Romero with Sidoti & Company.

（操作員說明）我們將接受 Sidoti & Company 的 Julio Romero 提出的下一個問題。

This is Alex Hantman on for Julio. My first question is expanding on something asked a little earlier. On macro, can you speak to the broader impact of higher interest rates and the general economic uncertainty across the portfolio? For example, I'm thinking about just which business units are most affected versus resilience at the moment.

我是亞歷克斯漢特曼 (Alex Hantman) 替胡里奧 (Julio) 發言。我的第一個問題是對之前提出的問題進行擴展。在宏觀方面，您能否談談利率上升和投資組合中總體經濟不確定性的更廣泛影響？例如，我正在考慮哪些業務部門目前受影響最大，以及復原能力。

This is Antonio. I would say that the biggest impact, of course, is housing where mortgage rates continue to be a moderator of demand. And then any one of our customers that has leverage, I think, has -- if you have to borrow to buy things, it's an important one.

這是安東尼奧.我想說，最大的影響當然是住房，抵押貸款利率仍然是需求的調節因素。我認為，我們的任何一位擁有槓桿的客戶都擁有——如果你必須借錢買東西，那麼它就是一個重要的槓桿。

So I would say barge is probably is one of them. But if you look at, for example, transmission towers, those things are -- I mean, they, of course, the utility have leverage and everything, but they are pretty insulated. The demand is very strong. I would say wind towers is the same thing.

所以我想說駁船可能是其中之一。但如果你看一下，例如，輸電塔，這些東西——我的意思是，它們當然，公用事業公司有槓桿作用和一切，但它們非常絕緣。需求非常強烈。我想說風塔也是一樣的。

So most of our projects have those fundamentals that are -- most of our products have their own fundamentals -- let's split construction products is one thing. The other ones are -- they have their own fundamentals that are really drivers of the demand. Interest rates, of course, affect the whole economy.

因此，我們的大多數專案都有這些基本原理——我們的大多數產品都有自己的基本原理——讓我們拆分建築產品是一回事。其他的是──它們有自己的基本面，而這些基本面確實是需求的驅動力。當然，利率會影響整個經濟。

So I'm not saying it doesn't affect. I'm just saying it's not the -- is the deciding factor to buy a barge or to buy a transmission tower. On the construction side, of course, housing, but also it affects multifamily and all these other projects. So we're not immune to interest rates. Of course, we're not.

所以我並不是說它不影響。我只是說這不是購買駁船或購買輸電塔的決定因素。在建築方面，當然是住房，但它也會影響多戶住宅和所有其他項目。所以我們不能免受利率的影響。當然，我們不是。

But I think with given our backlog and given our diversification, we're in really good shape to be able to overcome this and also talk about our balance sheet. We have a strong balance sheet. Gail mentioned, we just paid down some of the debt we had and we have a very, very good balance sheet to be able to allocate our capital correctly.

但我認為，考慮到我們的積壓和多元化，我們的狀況非常好，能夠克服這個問題並談論我們的資產負債表。我們擁有強大的資產負債表。蓋爾提到，我們剛剛還清了一些債務，我們擁有非常非常好的資產負債表，能夠正確分配我們的資本。

And also when you look at -- in this environment, having a strong balance sheet with higher interest rates. It also presents opportunities for us to be able to take advantages that other companies might not be able to do and some of the private equity firms might not be able to compete in some of the processes, et cetera. So there's risk and there's opportunities.

而且當你看到在這種環境下，擁有強勁的資產負債表和更高的利率。它也為我們提供了機會，使我們能夠利用其他公司可能無法做到的優勢，以及一些私募股權公司可能無法在某些流程中競爭等。所以有風險也有機會。

Yes, very helpful color. Thank you, Antonio. We've spoken a lot about the margin impacts today. So I wanted to just touch on the barge business. Could you give us a sense of how orders might trend in the fourth quarter?

是的，非常有用的顏色。謝謝你，安東尼奧。今天我們已經談論了很多關於利潤率的影響。所以我想談談駁船業務。您能為我們介紹一下第四季的訂單趨勢嗎？

I mentioned in my remarks that -- and later that the river was an issue during the third quarter. We don't expect it to be during the second part of the fourth quarter. And I think our customers, if you talk to them, they need the barges. They want the barges. Steel prices, which I have not mentioned in my remarks, but it's important they have come down quite a bit.

我在發言中提到──後來河牌圈是第三節的問題。我們預計不會是在第四季的下半年。我認為我們的客戶，如果你和他們交談，他們需要駁船。他們想要駁船。鋼材價格，我在演講中沒有提到，但重要的是它們已經下降了很多。

And during the third quarter, we got to a very appealing price for steel. It's picked up a little bit right now. So the conditions are there for us to be able to replace -- to replace new barges. Hot-rolled coil is coming up a little bit, but we're very close to the levels that we had a year ago when we closed all those barge orders.

在第三季度，我們的鋼材價格非常有吸引力。現在已經有一點回升了。所以我們有條件更換新的駁船。熱軋捲材價格略有上漲，但我們非常接近一年前關閉所有駁船訂單時的水平。

So it's not going to be again just like wind. This is not going to be something that every quarter, you get a one-to-one book-to-bill. But I'm confident that the demand is there and we have time. As I said, we have a pretty significant portion of our production already scheduled. We're going to be cautious in the way we accelerate our ramp-up, but we're confident in the midterm demand factors for the business.

所以它不會再像風一樣了。這不會是每個季度你都會得到一對一的圖書對帳單的情況。但我相信需求是存在的，我們有時間。正如我所說，我們已經安排了相當大一部分的生產。我們將在加速擴張的方式上保持謹慎，但我們對業務的中期需求因素充滿信心。

And it appears that we have no further questions at this time. I will now turn the program back over to Erin Drabek for closing remarks.

目前看來我們沒有其他問題了。我現在將把節目交還給艾琳德拉貝克 (Erin Drabek) 進行閉幕致詞。

Thank you for joining us today at our third quarter earnings conference call. We look forward to providing an additional update next quarter.

感謝您今天參加我們的第三季財報電話會議。我們期待下個季度提供額外的更新。

And that concludes today's teleconference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。