ProFrac Holding Corp (ACDC) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the ProFrac Holding Corp. 2023 Year-End and Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加 ProFrac Holding Corp. 2023 年年終和第四季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Michael Messina. Thank you, Mr. Messina, you may begin.

現在我很高興向您介紹主持人邁克爾·梅西納。謝謝你，梅西納先生，你可以開始了。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us for ProFrac Holding Corp.'s conference call and webcast to review our fourth quarter and 2023 year-end results. With me today are Matt Wilks, Executive Chairman; Ladd Wilks, Chief Executive Officer; Lance Turner, Chief Financial Officer; and Matt Zinn, CEO of the Proppant Business.

謝謝你，接線生。大家，早安。感謝您參加 ProFrac Holding Corp. 的電話會議和網路廣播，回顧我們第四季和 2023 年年終業績。今天與我在一起的有執行主席馬特威爾克斯 (Matt Wilks)；拉德·威爾克斯，首席執行官；蘭斯‧特納，財務長；和支撐劑業務執行長 Matt Zinn。

Following my remarks, management will provide high-level commentary on the financial highlights of the fourth-quarter and full-year 2023, as well as the business outlook before opening the call up to your questions. There will be a replay of today's call available by webcast on the company's website at pfholdingscorp.com as well as the telephonic recording available until March 20, 2024. More information on how to access these replay features is included in the company's earnings release.

在我發表演講之後，管理層將在電話會議開始回答大家的問題之前，對第四季度和 2023 年全年的財務亮點以及業務前景進行高級評論。今天的電話會議將在公司網站 pfholdingscorp.com 上透過網路直播重播，並在 2024 年 3 月 20 日之前提供電話錄音。有關如何存取這些重播功能的更多資訊包含在該公司的財報中。

Please note that information reported on this call speaks only as of today, March 13, 2024. And therefore, you are advised that any time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the time of any replay listening or transcript reading.

請注意，本次電話會議報告的資訊僅截至今天（2024 年 3 月 13 日）。因此，我們建議您，任何時間敏感的資訊在任何重播聆聽或文字記錄閱讀時可能不再準確。

Also, comments on this call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States federal securities laws, including management's expectations of future financial and business performance. These forward-looking statements reflect the current views of ProFrac management and are not guarantees of future performance.

此外，本次電話會議的評論可能包含美國聯邦證券法意義內的前瞻性陳述，包括管理階層對未來財務和業務績效的預期。這些前瞻性陳述反映了 ProFrac 管理階層目前的觀點，並非對未來績效的保證。

Various risks, uncertainties and contingencies could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in management's forward-looking statements.

各種風險、不確定性和意外事件可能導致實際結果、績效或成就與管理階層前瞻性陳述中表達的結果有重大差異。

The listener or reader is encouraged to read ProFrac's Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be found at sec.gov or on the company's Investor Relations website section under the SEC Filings tab to understand those risks, uncertainties and contingencies.

我們鼓勵聽眾或讀者閱讀ProFrac 向美國證券交易委員會提交的10-K 表格和其他文件，這些文件可以在sec.gov 或該公司投資者關係網站的SEC 文件標籤下找到，以了解這些風險、不確定性和意外事件。

The comments today also include certain non-GAAP financial measures as well as other adjusted figures to exclude the contribution of Flotek. Additional details and reconciliations to the most directly comparable consolidated and GAAP financial measures are included in the quarterly earnings press release, which can be found on the company's website.

今天的評論還包括某些非公認會計準則財務指標以及其他調整後的數據，以排除 Flotek 的貢獻。季度收益新聞稿中包含了與最直接可比較的合併和公認會計準則財務指標的更多詳細資訊和調節，您可以在公司網站上找到新聞稿。

And now, I would like to turn the call over to ProFrac's Executive Chairman, Mr. Matt Wilks.

現在，我想將電話轉給 ProFrac 執行主席 Matt Wilks 先生。

Thanks, Michael, and good morning, everyone. After my prepared remarks, Ladd and Matt Zinn will take a deeper dive into the performance of our subsidiaries, and Lance will provide additional insight into our financial performance.

謝謝邁克爾，大家早安。在我準備好的發言之後，拉德和馬特·津恩將更深入地了解我們子公司的業績，蘭斯將提供有關我們財務業績的更多見解。

While fourth-quarter results were challenged, we continue to take strategic actions to better position ProFrac for growth in 2024, and we are already seeing improved results in the first quarter. Despite the industry headwinds that persisted in the second half of 2023, we meaningfully grew free cash flow for the year to $293 million, an increase of 173% over 2022.

儘管第四季度的業績受到挑戰，但我們繼續採取策略行動，以更好地定位 ProFrac 以實現 2024 年的成長，並且我們已經看到第一季的業績有所改善。儘管 2023 年下半年產業逆風持續存在，但我們今年的自由現金流大幅成長至 2.93 億美元，比 2022 年成長 173%。

This substantial cash flow generation demonstrates the earnings capabilities of our vertically integrated operating structure and the resiliency and differentiation of our services in the face of market softness. We were hindered a bit in 2023 by our exposure to the spot market and our strategy to hold prices steady when activity flattened, but we have adjusted and now entered 2024 with positive momentum.

如此大量的現金流產生證明了我們垂直一體化營運結構的獲利能力以及我們服務在市場疲軟的情況下的彈性和差異化。2023 年，我們對現貨市場的曝險以及活動平淡時保持價格穩定的策略受到了一些阻礙，但我們已經進行了調整，現在以積極的勢頭進入 2024 年。

I'd also like to highlight that in 2023, we grew our asset base and improved our capital structure, a strategy that we believe will pay dividends for years to come. We completed the acquisition of REV Energy Holdings and producer services holdings, which added frac fleets and expanded ProFrac's geographic footprint to include the Rockies and Bakken.

我還想強調，到 2023 年，我們擴大了資產基礎並改善了資本結構，我們相信這項策略將在未來幾年帶來紅利。我們完成了對 REV Energy Holdings 和生產服務控股公司的收購，增加了壓裂船隊並擴大了 ProFrac 的地理覆蓋範圍，將落基山脈和巴肯地區納入。

We also completed the acquisition of Performance Profits, which demonstrated our commitment to the Haynesville, greatly enhanced our vertical integration strategy and made ProFrac the largest provider of in-basin sand in North America with a multi-basin footprint.

我們也完成了對 Performance Profits 的收購，這體現了我們對 Haynesville 的承諾，大大增強了我們的垂直整​​合策略，並使 ProFrac 成為北美最大的盆地砂供應商，業務遍及多個盆地。

Then, in October, we announced our intent to maximize the full value of our profit production segment, which operates through the wholly owned subsidiary, Alpine Silica, and confidentially filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC.

然後，在 10 月份，我們宣布打算最大化利潤生產部門的全部價值（該部門透過全資子公司 Alpine Silica 營運），並秘密向 SEC 提交了 S-1 表格的註冊聲明。

Finally, in December, we refinanced our senior secured term loan through two new financings, which will both mature in January of 2029. This recapitalization provides a bifurcated capital structure to allow for future optionality designed to realize the full value potential of the profit segment as well as enhance ProFrac's overall financial flexibility.

最後，我們在 12 月透過兩項新融資為我們的優先擔保定期貸款進行再融資，這兩項融資均將於 2029 年 1 月到期。此次資本重組提供了一個分叉的資本結構，以便為未來提供選擇性，旨在實現利潤部門的全部價值潛力，並增強 ProFrac 的整體財務靈活性。

The common theme of all these achievements and strategic initiatives is that they demonstrate how highly motivated we are to enhance ProFrac's position as a leader in the oilfield services industry. And these items were executed with a very targeted approach. We will remain steadfast in our pursuit of enhancing value and strive to navigate the market accordingly, with the end goal of being the industry's best of breed.

所有這些成就和策略舉措的共同主題是，它們表明我們有多麼積極地提升 ProFrac 作為油田服務行業領導者的地位。這些項目都是以非常有針對性的方式執行的。我們將堅定不移地追求價值提升，努力駕馭市場，最終目標是成為業界最佳。

Moving forward, I am pleased to report on the transformative progress we are making, as well as the improving visibility we see approaching in the current market. We remain hyper focused on the operational performance that we have discussed over the past few quarters, which includes vertical integration, benefits of scale, enhancing utilization and cost control across all of our subsidiaries.

展望未來，我很高興地報告我們正在取得的變革進展，以及我們在當前市場中看到的可見度的提高。我們仍然高度關注過去幾季討論的營運績效，其中包括垂直整合、規模效益、提高所有子公司的利用率和成本控制。

In addition, today, we are working even more closely with each customer to ensure strong working relationships, providing valued solutions and maintaining long-lasting partnerships. We are constantly evaluating all of our efforts in evolving these key priorities in 2024.

此外，今天，我們與每位客戶更加密切合作，以確保牢固的工作關係，提供有價值的解決方案並維持長期的合作關係。我們不斷評估我們在 2024 年制定這些關鍵優先事項所做的所有努力。

Before I get to that, however, I do want to comment on the challenges of 2023, both externally and internally. As the market flattened out, our position of holding the line on price caused us to miss out on the large efficiency gains experienced throughout the industry. This, combined with the ongoing integration, led to lower market share as we reduced costs to accommodate. This was a mistake. We fully appreciate the negative impact this had on our financial performance in the back half of the year.

然而，在此之前，我確實想先評論一下 2023 年的外部和內部挑戰。隨著市場趨於平淡，我們堅持價格管制的立場導致我們錯過了整個產業所經歷的巨大效率提升。這與正在進行的整合相結合，導致市場份額下降，因為我們降低了適應成本。這是一個錯誤。我們充分認識到這對我們下半年的財務表現所產生的負面影響。

We are committing to correcting that in 2024 and getting back to our foundation. The foundation we were built on, which is maximizing vertical integration and high asset utilization is quarter restoring our per unit operating costs to the lowest in the industry. Prior to 2023, we were a profit leader in our industry. When comparing our metrics, we surpassed the overall peer group each year. In 2020, we were one of the few that had positive EBITDA. In 2022, we were the first in our peer group to reach record level profitability metrics.

我們致力於在 2024 年糾正這個問題並回歸我們的基礎。我們建立的基礎是最大化垂直整合和高資產利用率，四分之一將我們的單位營運成本恢復到行業最低水準。2023 年之前，我們是產業利潤領先者。在比較我們的指標時，我們每年都超越了整體同行。2020 年，我們是少數擁有正 EBITDA 的公司之一。2022 年，我們是同業中第一個達到創紀錄水準獲利指標的公司。

ProFrac expects to outperform in 2024 and gain market share, regardless of whether activity rises, falls or remains at constant levels. To achieve our goals, we are focused on three primary things: first, our customers. What we do best is pump. We always have and always will.

ProFrac 預計到 2024 年將表現優於大盤並獲得市場份額，無論活動是上升、下降還是保持在恆定水平。為了實現我們的目標，我們主要關註三件事：第一，我們的客戶。我們最擅長的是泵浦。我們一直如此，也永遠如此。

This year, we are doubling down on our efforts to ensure the entire team is focused on providing tailored solutions for the customer, partnering with the customer to achieve long-term results and generate long-term value with constant improvement is our value proposition. This also means that we are partnering with the right customers that set us up for success to also achieve our next goal, utilization. We have expanded our targets for the benefits of utilization across the entire organization. Today, our utilization focus is not only on total fleet count, and how many fleets are deployed, but also on the efficiency of active fleets and how many hours they were able to complete.

今年，我們加倍努力，確保整個團隊專注於為客戶提供量身定制的解決方案，與客戶合作實現長期成果，透過不斷改進創造長期價值是我們的價值主張。這也意味著我們正在與正確的客戶合作，為我們的成功奠定基礎，並實現我們的下一個目標—利用率。我們擴大了整個組織的利用效益目標。如今，我們的利用率重點不僅在於車隊總數和部署了多少車隊，還在於活躍車隊的效率以及它們能夠完成多少小時。

We want to improve utilization of labor hours, the utilization of our manufacturing facilities, our sand mine as well as every single asset and team at ProFrac. We are measuring it all. And we plan to improve each -- at each and every level. This is taking one of our foundational building blocks and ingraining it across the entire organization. We have 45 high-quality fleet, and we are not satisfied until they are all pumping stages.

我們希望提高勞動時間的利用率、生產設施、沙礦以及 ProFrac 的每項資產和團隊的利用率。我們正在衡量這一切。我們計劃在每個層面上進行改進。這是我們的基本建置模組之一，並將其植根於整個組織。我們擁有45個優質船隊，不到全部泵站我們都不滿意。

Finally, our focus will continue to be on cost. We believe that we have the lowest operating costs in the industry, and we are going to keep it that way. In addition, if there is a strong value proposition to improve our capabilities, our utilization or our customer offering, we are prepared to deploy capital to meet that need. However, we are going to ensure that we remain lean and effectively. With these priorities front and center for all of our teams, we expect our business to lead the industry.

最後，我們的重點將繼續放在成本上。我們相信我們擁有業內最低的營運成本，並且我們將保持這種狀態。此外，如果有一個強大的價值主張來提高我們的能力、利用率或客戶服務，我們就準備好部署資本來滿足該需求。然而，我們將確保我們保持精簡和有效。憑藉這些優先事項成為我們所有團隊的首要任務和中心，我們期望我們的業務能夠引領業界。

As we grew through acquisitions, we scaled up our stimulation segment, we have adapted with a multi-pronged strategy suited for all customer types and have built a more dedicated business model to deliver full cycle resiliency.

隨著我們透過收購實現成長，我們擴大了刺激業務的規模，我們採取了適合所有客戶類型的多管齊下的策略，並建立了更專門的業務模式來提供全週期的彈性。

This year, we expect to generate a significant amount of cash that will be focused on the balance sheet, and we intend to delever to a point that will put us in a position to talk about returning cash to shareholders. Our focus in 2022 and 2023 was to build the business that we have today, exploit the cash generation capability of that business and pass these rewards on to our shareholders.

今年，我們預計將產生大量現金，這些現金將集中用於資產負債表，並且我們打算去槓桿化，使我們能夠談論向股東返還現金。我們 2022 年和 2023 年的重點是建立我們今天擁有的業務，利用該業務的現金產生能力，並將這些回報傳遞給我們的股東。

We will continue to execute upon our strategic goals and maintain focus on our key priorities, to create long-term value for our stakeholders and provide best-in-class services to our customers. We believe we are well positioned in 2024 for profitable growth.

我們將繼續執行我們的策略目標，並繼續專注於我們的關鍵優先事項，為我們的利害關係人創造長期價值，並為我們的客戶提供一流的服務。我們相信，我們已做好 2024 年獲利成長的準備。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Ladd.

這樣，我就把電話轉給拉德。

Thank you, Matt. I want to start by thanking our amazing team for their hard work and dedication and commitment to safety. We're extremely proud of the reputation that our people have built with our customers. This is a direct result of an extreme focus on the customer experience and the strong culture throughout our entire organization to make customer service our number one priority. We also recognize that the team is vital in order for us to accomplish our three priorities in 2024.

謝謝你，馬特。首先，我要感謝我們出色的團隊的辛勤工作、奉獻精神和對安全的承諾。我們對我們的員工與客戶建立的聲譽感到非常自豪。這是我們高度重視客戶體驗以及整個組織將客戶服務放在第一位的強大文化的直接結果。我們也認識到，團隊對於我們在 2024 年完成三個優先事項至關重要。

Now diving into our 2023 results, I'd like to give a state of the union for PF Holdings. On the Pressure Pumping side, we have activated 10 fleets as we focused on utilization and a dedicated customer base. We believe our profitability per spread should revert to the $20 million to $25 million level, in line with expectations for our peers and exclusive of profit generated by the Proppant segment.

現在深入探討我們 2023 年的業績，我想介紹一下 PF Holdings 的情況。在壓力泵方面，我們已經啟動了 10 個車隊，因為我們專注於利用率和專門的客戶群。我們相信，我們的每價差獲利能力應恢復至 2,000 萬至 2,500 萬美元的水平，與我們同行的預期一致，且不包括支撐劑部門產生的利潤。

Our focus on utilization is shining through. Starting in late Q2 2023, our white space in our Frac calendar reached unsustainable levels and our pumping hours per active fleet dropped. In 2024, we plan to improve utilization by at least 30%. While we did see some lost time in January, primarily due to weather, I'm happy to share that January was a stellar start to the year. And in the month of February, we achieved a pumping efficiency that was 20% higher than what we averaged in Q2 and Q3 of last year. And we think there is room to grow that figure as we continue to align with dedicated high-efficiency customers that have strong backlog of work.

我們對利用率的關注是顯而易見的。從 2023 年第二季末開始，我們的壓裂日曆中的空白達到了不可持續的水平，每個活躍車隊的抽油小時數下降了。到 2024 年，我們計劃將利用率提高至少 30%。雖然我們在一月確實損失了一些時間，主要是由於天氣原因，但我很高興與大家分享，一月份是今年的一個好開始。2 月份，我們的泵送效率比去年第二季和第三季的平均值高出 20%。我們認為，隨著我們繼續與積壓大量工作的專注高效率客戶保持一致，這一數字還有成長的空間。

Now that our recent acquisitions have been fully integrated into the ProFrac umbrella, we have refocused on our core pumping stages and selling sand. In addition, our leadership teams have been spending a lot of time on location with our operations teams across the organization, instilling a laser-like focus on our strategic initiatives so that all segments are aligned in our shared goals.

現在，我們最近的收購已完全整合到 ProFrac 旗下，我們重新專注於我們的核心泵階段和銷售沙子。此外，我們的領導團隊花費了大量時間與整個組織的營運團隊進行現場交流，高度關注我們的策略舉措，以便所有部門都與我們的共同目標保持一致。

This has already led to quicker decision-making, more direct allocation of capital and improved customer service across our business lines, and we continue to improve on those fronts. Additionally, we continue gearing up and preparing fleets for reactivation this year to accommodate anticipated customer demand. We remain focused on dedicated agreements with operators at favorable prices. Current pricing levels are constructive, especially when coupled with higher utilization and optimal cost structure.

這已經帶來了更快的決策、更直接的資本配置以及改善了我們整個業務線的客戶服務，並且我們將繼續在這些方面進行改進。此外，我們將繼續為今年重新啟動車隊做好準備，以滿足預期的客戶需求。我們仍然專注於以優惠的價格與營運商簽訂專門協議。目前的定價水準是有建設性的，特別是在結合更高的利用率和優化的成本結構時。

We're targeting approximately 80% of our fleet to be working for customers with larger programs on a dedicated basis. We also continued to maintain a strong presence and reputation with the customers in the gassy place which we believe will pay dividends in the future.

我們的目標是讓大約 80% 的機隊專門為開展大型專案的客戶提供服務。我們也繼續在這個充滿氣體的地方在客戶中保持強大的影響力和聲譽，我們相信這將在未來帶來紅利。

Moving forward, we continue to believe we are well positioned to be the preferred pressure pumping and profit provider for large multi-basin operators. These operators require service providers with equivalent scale that can provide custody over the supply chain of materials. This is exactly what we were built for at ProFrac.

展望未來，我們仍然相信我們有能力成為大型多盆地營運商的首選壓力泵和利潤提供者。這些運營商需要具有同等規模的服務供應商，能夠對材料供應鏈提供託管服務。這正是我們創建 ProFrac 的目的。

On the proppant side, we have made a lot of progress on diversifying our customer base, and we think we are poised to see the increased utilization that we have discussed. Entering 2024, we made organizational changes that support our strategic initiatives for enhancing growth, and we are very excited to welcome Matt Zinn and Rick Reynolds to our proppant business.

在支撐劑方面，我們在客戶群多元化方面取得了很大進展，我們認為我們已經準備好看到我們所討論的利用率的提高。進入 2024 年，我們進行了組織變革，以支持我們促進成長的策略舉措，我們非常高興地歡迎 Matt Zinn 和 Rick Reynolds 加入我們的支撐劑業務。

Matt has over 18 years of industry experience driving results and will lead the Proppant business as CEO. Rick Reynolds is COO and joined us with the Performance acquisition. Rick has over 35 years of mining experience, driving operational improvements and peak utilization. We have the utmost confidence in Matt and Rick and both have already provided critical value to the business in the RFP and budgeting season, setting Alpine up for major success in 2024.

Matt 擁有超過 18 年推動業績的行業經驗，並將作為執行長領導支撐劑業務。Rick Reynolds 是營運長，他在 Performance 收購中加入了我們。Rick 擁有超過 35 年的採礦經驗，致力於推動營運改善和尖峰利用率。我們對 Matt 和 Rick 充滿信心，兩人都已經在 RFP 和預算季節為業務提供了關鍵價值，為 Alpine 在 2024 年取得重大成功奠定了基礎。

Today, I've invited Matt Zinn to join us and give additional commentary on current operations and our expectations for the year. Matt, take it away.

今天，我邀請馬特·津恩 (Matt Zinn) 加入我們，並對當前的營運情況和我們對今年的期望發表更多評論。馬特，把它拿走。

Thanks, Ladd. I am honored and humbled to be chosen as the steward of the Proppant Production segment. We are extremely excited about the assets we have and the transformation taking place within the organization. On our last call, Ladd spoke about how we are marketing all eight lines for the first time with a focus on securing term contracts with customers at sustainable prices that support our goal of consistent high utilization of our mines.

謝謝，拉德。我很榮幸也很榮幸被選為支撐劑生產部門的管理者。我們對我們擁有的資產以及組織內正在發生的轉型感到非常興奮。在我們的最後一次電話會議上，拉德談到了我們如何首次行銷所有八條生產線，重點是以可持續的價格與客戶簽訂定期合同，以支持我們實現礦山持續高利用率的目標。

I am pleased to report that we had success over the recent RFP season. The contracts that we secured with customers over this process are a mixture of traditional take or pay and percentage of customer demand. These percentage of demand contracts, while not as desirable as take-or-pay contracts aligned with our desire to develop long-lasting partnerships with our customers with upside potential as our customers become more efficient or expand their completion activity.

我很高興地報告，我們在最近的 RFP 季節取得了成功。我們在過程中與客戶簽訂的合約是傳統的照付不議和客戶需求百分比的混合。這些需求合約的百分比雖然不如照付不議合約那麼理想，但符合我們與客戶建立長期合作夥伴關係的願望，隨著我們的客戶變得更加高效或擴大其完成活動，這些合作夥伴關係具有上升潛力。

While we have a great foundation with this commercial approach, we have seen weather impact us in Q1, along with customer impacts related to natural gas prices. We estimate we lost approximately 300,000 to 400,000 tons of sales in January and February, but expect to further increase production into the warmer months. Our first-quarter utilization is expected to increase slightly from the fourth quarter. However, we then expect utilization to increase to 65% to 75% starting in the second quarter.

雖然我們在這種商業方法方面擁有良好的基礎，但我們在第一季看到了天氣對我們的影響，以及與天然氣價格相關的客戶影響。我們估計 1 月和 2 月的銷售損失約 30 萬至 40 萬噸，但預計在溫暖的月份將進一步增加產量。我們第一季的利用率預計將比第四季略有增加。然而，我們預計從第二季開始利用率將增加至 65% 至 75%。

We are confident that our focused effort on commercial and operational growth in our Proppant segment will meaningfully improve 2024 metrics and results. Alpine is in the middle of a transformation and will produce higher throughput, higher utilization and lower cost per ton, and we believe that it will soon emerge as the sand market leader in 2024.

我們相信，我們在支撐劑領域的商業和營運成長方面的重點努力將有意義地改善 2024 年的指標和結果。Alpine 正處於轉型之中，將產生更高的吞吐量、更高的利用率和更低的每噸成本，我們相信它將很快在 2024 年成為砂石市場的領導者。

I will now hand it over to Lance to provide more detail on our consolidated financial results.

我現在將把它交給蘭斯，以提供有關我們合併財務業績的更多詳細資訊。

Thank you, Matt. To recap the year, we generated $688 million of adjusted EBITDA on $2.6 billion in revenue for an overall EBITDA margin of 26%. We also generated $293 million of free cash flow in 2023 that was used to significantly expand our asset base, both in Stimulation Services and the Proppant Production segments. Fourth-quarter revenue totaled $489 million, a sequential decrease driven primarily by the lower fleet count as it bottomed in the middle of the fourth quarter.

謝謝你，馬特。回顧這一年，我們的營收為 26 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 6.88 億美元，整體 EBITDA 利潤率為 26%。我們也在 2023 年產生了 2.93 億美元的自由現金流，用於大幅擴大我們在增產服務和支撐劑生產領域的資產基礎。第四季營收總計 4.89 億美元，季減主要是因為機隊數量在第四季中期觸底而減少。

EBITDA was $110 million as we experienced slightly lower efficiencies on our active assets and lower pricing for our products and services. For the fourth quarter, stimulation services revenues were down sequentially to $403 million. About 75% of this reduction was driven by our lower number of fleets. The remaining decline was driven by slightly lower pricing for our services. The number of integrated fleets fluctuated with our active fleet count, but we continue to supply approximately 30% of our fleets with materials.

EBITDA 為 1.1 億美元，因為我們的活躍資產效率略有下降，而且我們的產品和服務定價較低。第四季度，增產服務收入季減至 4.03 億美元。其中約 75% 的減少是由於我們的機隊數量減少所致。其餘的下降是由於我們的服務價格略有下降所致。綜合機隊的數量隨著我們活躍機隊的數量而波動，但我們繼續為大約 30% 的機隊提供材料。

Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was $58 million for the fourth quarter. This segment was impacted by approximately $10 million in shortfall payments related to our supply agreement with Flotek. The profitability per active fleet for the fourth quarter was also impacted by white space in the calendar.

第四季該部門調整後 EBITDA 為 5,800 萬美元。該部門受到與 Flotek 供應協議相關的約 1000 萬美元的缺口付款的影響。第四季每個活躍機隊的獲利能力也受到日曆空白的影響。

In the first quarter, as our focus on dedicated high-efficiency customers takes hold, we expect to improve profitability per active fleet. In general, we expect 60% to 70% incrementals on increased efficiencies when all else is equal.

在第一季度，隨著我們對專注的高效率客戶的關注，我們預計將提高每個活躍機隊的獲利能力。一般來說，在其他條件相同的情況下，我們預計效率將提高 60% 到 70%。

Proppant Production segment generated $383 million of full year revenues, which was up substantially when compared to the $90 million generated in 2022 due to the sand mines added during the year. Revenues for the fourth quarter were $93 million, down approximately 6%, driven largely by lower sand pricing.

支撐劑生產部門全年營收為 3.83 億美元，與 2022 年的 9,000 萬美元相比大幅成長，原因是年內增加了沙礦。第四季的收入為 9,300 萬美元，下降約 6%，主要是由於沙子價格下降。

Approximately 75% of the volumes were sold to third parties during the fourth quarter, which is in line with our commercial strategy to focus on customers where we can add the most value. Adjusted EBITDA for the Proppant Production segment totaled $45 million for the fourth quarter.

第四季約 75% 的銷售量出售給第三方，這符合我們專注於能夠增加最大價值的客戶的商業策略。第四季支撐劑生產部門調整後 EBITDA 總計 4,500 萬美元。

The Manufacturing segment generated revenues of $34 million, down approximately 22% from the third quarter. Approximately 83% of this segment was intercompany revenue as we expanded our third-party sales during the quarter for this segment. The decrease in sales in the fourth quarter was a continued result of stimulation services reducing purchases and focusing on utilizing inventory on hand.

製造部門的收入為 3,400 萬美元，較第三季下降約 22%。該部門約 83% 是公司間收入，因為我們在本季擴大了該部門的第三方銷售。第四季銷售額的下降是刺激服務減少採購並專注於利用現有庫存的持續結果。

Adjusted EBITDA for the Manufacturing segment was $1.8 million which was comparable to the prior quarter. This segment is also focused on reducing inventory levels and lead times on its product offering. It has been impacted as steel prices have retreated and is working through raw materials purchased in 2022. We expect to remain at these levels of profitability until it works through its high-cost inventory over the course of 2024 and starts adding lower market-priced raw materials in the second half of 2024.

製造部門調整後 EBITDA 為 180 萬美元，與上一季相當。該部門還致力於降低其產品的庫存水準和交貨時間。由於鋼材價格回落，該公司受到了影響，並正在透過 2022 年購買的原材料來解決問題。我們預計該公司的獲利能力將保持在這樣的水平，直到該公司在 2024 年消化掉高成本庫存，並在 2024 年下半年開始添加市場價格較低的原材料。

Selling, general and administrative costs were $59 million in the fourth quarter, down approximately $2 million primarily due to lower stock compensation costs. This was combined with a significant reduction in acquisition-related expenses as we have made tremendous progress on the integration of the recent acquisitions. Cash capital expenditures totaled $33.1 million in the fourth quarter, down 37% from the third quarter.

第四季的銷售、一般和管理成本為 5,900 萬美元，減少約 200 萬美元，主要是因為股票補償成本降低。同時，由於我們在整合近期收購方面取得了巨大進展，收購相關費用也大幅減少。第四季現金資本支出總計 3,310 萬美元，較第三季下降 37%。

As we've mentioned on previous calls, when we reduce our fleet count, CapEx usually takes more time to be reduced. We are pleased with our ability to act swiftly to rightsize our spending levels to more accurately reflect the demand we are seeing from customers and we will continue to prudently evaluate our spending going forward.

正如我們在先前的電話會議中提到的，當我們減少機隊數量時，資本支出通常需要更多時間才能減少。我們很高興能夠迅速採取行動，調整我們的支出水平，以更準確地反映我們從客戶那裡看到的需求，我們將繼續審慎評估我們未來的支出。

As we laid out in our earnings release, we expect to incur maintenance CapEx between $150 million and $200 million for the full year. In addition, we are targeting an estimated $100 million in growth capital focused on fleet upgrades and mine optimization. We believe maintenance CapEx will be approximately $3 million to $4 million per fleet per year in the stimulation Services segment.

正如我們在財報中所述，我們預計全年的維護資本支出將在 1.5 億至 2 億美元之間。此外，我們的目標是估計 1 億美元的成長資本，重點用於船隊升級和礦場優化。我們認為，在增產服務領域，每艘船隊每年的維護資本支出約為 300 萬至 400 萬美元。

In addition, the Proppant Production segment is planning to spend approximately $30 million to $50 million in total capital expenditures for the year. We will remain disciplined with our capital allocation plans and focus on allocating capital where it can achieve the best return on investment.

此外，支撐劑生產部門計劃今年的總資本支出約為 3,000 萬至 5,000 萬美元。我們將繼續嚴格執行我們的資本配置計劃，並專注於將資本配置到能夠實現最佳投資回報的地方。

Operating cash flow was $42.7 million during the fourth quarter. Working capital was reduced by approximately $10.5 million while we continue to manage our receivables and payables. In addition, we saw a $35 million reduction in inventory and remain committed to utilizing our inventory on hand and expect to see continued reductions in 2024, particularly as we prepare to deploy fleets.

第四季營運現金流為 4,270 萬美元。在我們繼續管理應收帳款和應付帳款的同時，營運資金減少了約 1,050 萬美元。此外，我們的庫存減少了 3500 萬美元，並繼續致力於利用我們現有的庫存，預計 2024 年將繼續減少，特別是在我們準備部署機隊時。

Despite these inventory reductions, we expect total working capital to increase through 2024 as we seek to deploy additional fleets, increase efficiencies and sell more sand. Total cash and cash equivalents as of December 31 was $25 million, including $6 million attributable to Flotek. Total liquidity at quarter end was approximately $103 million, borrowings under the ABL credit facility ended the quarter with $117.4 million.

儘管庫存減少，但我們預計到 2024 年總營運資本將增加，因為我們尋求部署更多船隊、提高效率並銷售更多沙子。截至 12 月 31 日，現金及現金等價物總額為 2,500 萬美元，其中 Flotek 歸屬於 600 萬美元。季度末的流動性總額約為 1.03 億美元，ABL 信貸安排下的借款本季末為 1.174 億美元。

At the end of the fourth quarter, we had approximately $1.1 billion of debt outstanding, majority of which does not mature until January 2029. Our primary objective in the near term remains generating free cash flow for delevering the balance sheet.

截至第四季末，我們的未償債務約為 11 億美元，其中大部分要到 2029 年 1 月才會到期。我們近期的主要目標仍然是產生自由現金流以降低資產負債表的槓桿率。

Everyone within our organization is laser-focused on operational execution, efficiencies and providing best-in-class service to our customer. We believe this focus will improve our relative positioning within the market and lead to improved results in 2024. That concludes our formal remarks.

我們組織內的每個人都專注於營運執行、效率並為客戶提供一流的服務。我們相信，這一重點將改善我們在市場中的相對定位，並帶來 2024 年業績的改善。我們的正式發言到此結束。

Operator, please open the line for questions.

接線員，請開通提問線。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Luke Lemoine, Piper Sandler.

盧克·勒莫因，派珀·桑德勒。

Hey, good morning. Matt, with reactivating 10 fleets, it looks like you're probably displacing some competitors. Can you talk a little more about just kind of the market structure, how you're attacking this? And as you see it right now, is tenor reactivations about the right number? Or is the goal to eventually work back up to 45 fleets?

嗨，早安。馬特，透過重新啟動 10 個艦隊，看起來您可能會取代一些競爭對手。您能多談談市場結構嗎？您是如何應對這一問題的？正如您現在所看到的，男高音重新激活的數量是否正確？或者最終目標是恢復到 45 個機隊？

Yes. So we've added 10, and the majority of those have come in the first quarter. And so there's only one or two that was actually in Q4 that we added. And we expect to end at some point in this year, around 41%, 42%. And if the market is there, we're going to go ahead and take it to 45% and then get full utilization across the platform.

是的。所以我們增加了 10 個，其中大部分是在第一季完成的。因此，我們實際上在第四季度添加了一兩個。我們預計會在今年某個時候結束，大約是 41%、42%。如果市場存在，我們將繼續將其提高到 45%，然後在整個平台上充分利用。

Okay. And then you cited your February pumping analysis setting a record. You added the 10 fleets. Ladd, you talked about getting EBITDA per fleet back to $20 million to $25 million annualized just kind of look in the Stimulation segment. Is this where you guys currently are? Or when do you see this transpiring this year?

好的。然後您引用了您二月的抽水分析創下的記錄。您新增了 10 支艦隊。Ladd，您談到將每個機隊的 EBITDA 恢復到年化 2000 萬至 2500 萬美元，就像刺激領域的情況一樣。這就是你們現在所在的地方嗎？還是你認為今年什麼時候會發生這種事？

Not to put a specific date on it. We're not quite there yet, but we expect to be there in the first half.

不要在上面註明具體日期。我們還沒有完全做到這一點，但我們預計會在上半年實現這一目標。

Okay. And then maybe just one quick one. I know you're not disclosing your fleet count, but just kind of trying this roughly in 4Q, were you kind of maybe in the mid-20s and now you're in the mid-30s?

好的。然後也許只是一個快速的。我知道你並沒有透露你的機隊數量，但只是在第四季度進行了大概的嘗試，你是不是大概在 20 多歲，現在你在 30 多歲？

That's correct.

這是正確的。

Okay. All right. Thanks, Matt.

好的。好的。謝謝，馬特。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Alek Skylar, Stifel.

亞歷克·斯凱拉，斯蒂菲爾。

Hi. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for taking my question. So just to start us off here, just kind of following up on the prior question line. If you could just -- on the 10 fleet that you reactivate, I was just wondering if you could comment on sort of the pricing dynamics in the market as well as overall supply and demand and what you're seeing given what gas prices have been doing, et cetera.

你好。大家早安，感謝您提出我的問題。因此，我們從這裡開始，只是跟進之前的問題。如果您可以——關於您重新啟動的 10 個車隊，我只是想知道您是否可以對市場的定價動態以及總體供需以及您所看到的天然氣價格發表評論做事等等。

Yes. I think top line, the market is flattish, and so we're coming in, we're adding fleets in an environment where there's not an increase of active fleets in the market. So that is -- have an impact on top line. But the utilization and absorption of costs and reducing our per unit cost across the business far outweighs any concessions we make on the top line. And we expect that trend to continue as far as cost.

是的。我認為最重要的是，市場表現平淡，所以我們進來，我們在市場上活躍機隊沒有增加的環境中增加機隊。也就是說——對營收有影響。但成本的利用和吸收以及整個業務單位成本的降低遠遠超過了我們在營收方面所做的任何讓步。我們預計這種趨勢在成本方面將持續下去。

Got it. Appreciate the color. And then just shifting gears to the Proppant segment. I'm just wondering if you could comment on the current spot pricing for frac sand. And I guess, just kind of your exposure to that market, given your comments on contracting year to date or fourth quarter?

知道了。欣賞顏色。然後就轉向支撐劑領域。我只是想知道您是否可以對壓裂砂當前的現貨定價發表評論。我想，考慮到您對今年迄今為止或第四季度的合約的評論，您對這個市場的了解程度如何？

I'll defer to Matt Zinn on this one.

在這一點上我會聽從 Matt Zinn 的意見。

We're still seeing spot pricing in the 20s, depending on the market up into the 30s and some other segments, not necessarily the Permian. And we continue to see some exposure to that market, but our focus is continuing to wire longer-term supply term agreements with customers and have a minimal exposure to the spot market as possible.

我們仍然看到 1920 年代的現貨定價，具體取決於 30 年代和其他一些細分市場的市場，不一定是二疊紀。我們繼續看到對該市場的一些敞口，但我們的重點是繼續與客戶簽訂長期供應條款協議，並盡可能減少對現貨市場的曝險。

Got it. Appreciate it. If I could just squeeze one more in. I was just wondering if you could provide some additional color on your '24 free cash flow expectations and any kind of target we could think about the leverage ratio exiting the year.

知道了。欣賞它。如果我能再擠一個進去就好了。我只是想知道您是否可以就您的 24 年自由現金流預期以及我們可以考慮的今年槓桿率目標提供一些額外的資訊。

So on services, I don't want to guide too aggressively, but we expect to generate a tremendous amount of free cash, pay down debt. And it's not unreasonable for us to be able to cut our debt in half this year.

因此，在服務方面，我不想過於激進地指導，但我們期望產生大量的自由現金，償還債務。今年我們能夠將債務削減一半，這並不是沒有道理的。

Got it. I appreciate the color. And with that, I'll turn it back.

知道了。我很欣賞它的顏色。有了這個，我會把它轉回來。

Arun Jayaram, JPMorgan.

阿倫‧賈亞拉姆，摩根大通。

Hey, good morning, gentlemen. I wanted to see if you could give us a sense of the [tuck-in] pricing concessions, did you yield, call it, relative to the leading edge in order to improve the utilization from the beginning of the fourth quarter?

嘿，早上好，先生們。我想看看您能否讓我們了解一下相對於領先優勢的[tuck-in]定價優惠，您是否做出了讓步，稱之為相對領先優勢，以提高第四季度初的利用率？

And thoughts on could this -- what has been maybe the reaction to -- from your peers? From some of your market share gains? And could this -- do you worry that this could have maybe a destabilizing impact on the level of pricing discipline that we did observe in the industry last year?

您的同行對此有何想法？可能對此有何反應？來自您的部分市場佔有率成長？您是否擔心這可能會對我們去年在業界觀察到的定價紀律程度產生不穩定影響？

Morning, Arun. I really don't care what it does to our competitors. I don't spend a lot of time thinking about them. We're doing what's right for ProFrac. We're taking market share. We're not going to hold up pricing to their benefit and key market share to do it. We're taking our market share back. And I don't really care what it does to them. What I like is what it does for us.

早安，阿倫。我真的不在乎這對我們的競爭對手有何影響。我不會花很多時間去思考它們。我們正在做適合 ProFrac 的事情。我們正在搶奪市場份額。我們不會為了他們的利益和關鍵市場份額而堅持定價。我們正在奪回我們的市場份額。我真的不在乎這對他們有什麼影響。我喜歡的是它為我們所做的事情。

Got it. Got it. And Matt, Ladd mentioned a target to get to $20 million to $25 million in EBITDA per fleet. But we're just trying to think about our modeling in the next couple of quarters? Where do you think you're at from a profitability perspective as we sit here today?

知道了。知道了。Matt Ladd 提到了每個機隊 EBITDA 達到 2000 萬至 2500 萬美元的目標。但我們只是想考慮接下來幾季的建模？當我們今天坐在這裡時，您認為從盈利角度來看您處於什麼位置？

As we sit here today, high teens.

當我們今天坐在這裡時，青少年們。

High teens, okay. That's helpful.

十幾歲的孩子，好。這很有幫助。

.Mid to high teens. And then in -- before the half ends, we expect to be in that 20% to 25% range.

.中高青少年。然後在半場結束之前，我們預計會在 20% 到 25% 的範圍內。

Understood, understood. And maybe --

明白了，明白了。有可能--

The biggest driver for it is cost absorption and utilization rates diluting our cost per unit.

其最大的驅動因素是成本吸收和利用率稀釋了我們的單位成本。

Right, right. And then just maybe, Matt, your perspective, what are the recent things that we have seen as we've seen call it five natural gas companies, [Cochera], Chesapeake, CompTox, EQT and CNX now pulling back on CapEx. Could you talk about some of your just natural gas exposure today and just maybe potential impacts to the frac and Proppant side of the businesses?

是的是的。然後，馬特，從你的角度來看，我們最近看到的事情是什麼，我們看到五家天然氣公司，[Cochera]、Chesapeake、CompTox、EQT 和 CNX 現在正在削減資本支出。您能否談談您今天所接觸的一些天然氣以及對業務的壓裂和支撐劑的潛在影響？

Yes, we've got about a third of our business exposed to gas markets. And -- we don't have a crystal ball. We don't know when the gas market is going to come back. We don't know how deep or why this gap is going to be, but we're committed to be patient and -- or big believers and the demand drivers that are coming later this decade. So we're staying committed to our customer base there, staying committed to these basins and welcome a huge increase to duck inventory and hope for improving commodity.

是的，我們大約有三分之一的業務涉及天然氣市場。而且──我們沒有水晶球。我們不知道天然氣市場何時會恢復。我們不知道這種差距有多深或為什麼會如此，但我們致力於保持耐心，或者是堅定的信徒以及本十年晚些時候將出現的需求驅動因素。因此，我們將繼續致力於那裡的客戶群，繼續致力於這些盆地，並歡迎鴨子庫存的大幅增加，並希望改善商品。

Dan Kutz, Morgan Stanley.

丹‧庫茨，摩根士丹利。

Hey, thanks. Good morning. Maybe just another one on the Proppant business. You guys have kind of touched on some of these points already, but just wondering if you can expand at all on some of the drivers that are contemplated in the utilization upside that you guys flagged in terms of will it be external particular basins where a lot of potential customer types, any tailwinds from more Proppant per well from a well design perspective. Just wondering if you could give us any more color on the drivers of that -- I think it's 65% to 75% utilization target out later this year? Thanks.

嘿，謝謝。早安.也許只是支撐劑業務的另一個案例。你們已經觸及了其中一些要點，但只是想知道你們是否可以擴展一些你們所標記的利用率上升的驅動因素，即是否是外部特定盆地，其中很多從油井設計的角度來看，潛在客戶類型的任何有利因素都來自每口井更多的支撐劑。只是想知道您是否可以給我們更多關於其驅動因素的資訊——我認為今年稍後的利用率目標是 65% 到 75%？謝謝。

Yes. We continue to see improved demand on our Permian assets, specifically and increasing utilization there. And it's a combination of third-party and internal. The focus right now is making sure that all of our customers are provided great service and great products, and we're continuing to focus on those areas. And South Texas and the Permian or the greatest utilization drivers for increase.

是的。我們繼續看到對二疊紀資產的需求有所改善，特別是那裡的利用率不斷提高。它是第三方和內部的結合。目前的重點是確保為我們所有的客戶提供優質的服務和優質的產品，我們將繼續專注於這些領域。德州南部和二疊紀盆地還是利用率增加的最大驅動力。

Great. Thanks. Appreciate that color. And then apologies if I missed this, but wondering if you could give us an update on efrac? Kind of what your nameplate capacity is now? How many of those fleets are working? What plans are for or some of the new builds that were maybe paused last year? And also more broadly, what plans are for dual fuel upgrades maybe in your 2024 budget?

偉大的。謝謝。欣賞那個顏色。如果我錯過了這一點，我深表歉意，但想知道您能否給我們有關 efrac 的最新資訊？現在你的銘牌容量是多少？其中有多少車隊正在運行？去年可能暫停的一些新建築有什麼計劃？更廣泛地說，您 2024 年的預算中可能有哪些雙燃料升級方案？

Yes. Fuel efficiency is continuing to be a major theme in the -- in this industry, and it's become a really strong demand driver for us. We're not at full utilization on our e-fleet, but expect to be this year. Again, this goes into how much operators spend on diesel and being able to eliminate as much of that cost as possible and grow margins alongside it so that everybody wins.

是的。燃油效率仍然是這個行業的一個主要主題，它已經成為我們真正強大的需求驅動力。我們的電子車隊尚未充分利用，但預計今年會實現。同樣，這涉及運營商在柴油上花費了多少費用，以及能夠盡可能消除該成本並同時增加利潤，以便每個人都贏。

On the e-fleet front, we expect to be fully utilized this year, working with operators they're very interested in a turnkey solution that's everything from gas, power gen, along with your e-fleet. And so -- we've begun to fund a high degree of success in bundling that as a turnkey solution and expect that to get us to full utilization this year.

在電動車隊方面，我們預計今年將充分利用，與營運商合作，他們對交鑰匙解決方案非常感興趣，涵蓋從天然氣、發電到電動車隊的一切。因此，我們已經開始為將其捆綁為交鑰匙解決方案取得高度成功提供資金，並期望這將使我們今年得到充分利用。

Great. All makes sense and appreciate the color. Thanks a lot. I'll turn it back.

偉大的。一切都有意義並欣賞顏色。多謝。我會把它轉回來。

Thank you.

謝謝。

John Daniel, Daniel Energy.

約翰·丹尼爾，丹尼爾·能源。

Hey, guys. Thanks for having me. Matt, in the press release, when you note the big step-up in the pumping hours in January and February, is that a function of just less white space on the calendar? Or is there something from a job design, which is letting you get more hours per day? Or both?

大家好。感謝您的款待。馬特，在新聞稿中，當您注意到一月和二月的抽水時間大幅增加時，這是否是日曆上空白區域減少的結果？或者工作設計中有什麼東西可以讓你每天工作更多的時間嗎？或兩者？

It's more associated with calendar efficiency. I mean, our crews are amazing. We get out regardless of customer type, we're usually pumping 20, 20-plus hours every single day that they have available to pump. But the question is, is that 18 days per month or is it 28 days per month?

它與日曆效率更相關。我的意思是，我們的工作人員很棒。無論客戶類型如何，我們通常都會每天吸奶 20、20 多個小時，只要他們有空就可以吸奶。但問題是，是每月18天還是每個月28天？

Right.

正確的。

And so going in working with customers on their program, making sure that we're aligning our interest with the right customers. And when you look at our revenue per pump hour, we recognize that we have to be a little bit more competitive with customers that can give us 28 or 30 days a month pumping.

因此，我們要與客戶合作制定他們的計劃，確保我們的利益與正確的客戶保持一致。當您查看我們每小時泵送的收入時，我們認識到，我們必須對能夠為我們提供每月 28 或 30 天泵送時間的客戶更具競爭力。

But what we see from getting more pump hours per month and the dilutive effect on our cost structure, it's more than worth it for us to come in and provide some top-line concession.

但從每月獲得更多泵工時數以及對我們成本結構的稀釋效應來看，我們介入並提供一些頂線讓步是非常值得的。

Okay. So I'm trying to translate here. It sounds like you would think you've got a better customer mix today than maybe four to five months ago. Is that a fair statement?

好的。所以我想在這裡翻譯一下。聽起來您會認為今天的客戶組合比四到五個月前更好。這是一個公平的說法嗎？

Well, we love all of our customers. But as far as customers that can give us a high percentage of pumping days per fleet. It's the highest it's ever been. This is the highest account -- this is the highest calendar efficiency that we've ever seen from our customer base.

嗯，我們愛我們所有的客戶。但就客戶而言，我們可以為每個車隊提供較高比例的泵送天數。這是有史以​​來最高的。這是最高的帳戶——這是我們從客戶群中看到的最高的日曆效率。

Okay. I got another one here, and this is not meant to be a got you question, but when you talk about full utilization later this year, are you assuming the US working frac crew count for the whole industry is growing? Or is this more of an increased market share?

好的。我在這裡得到了另一個問題，這並不是一個讓你困惑的問題，但是當你談論今年晚些時候的充分利用時，你是否假設整個行業的美國壓裂人員數量正在增長？還是這更多的是增加市場佔有率？

So when you look at the industry, I think we suffered from our own failures in 2023. And we come in -- we've come into 2024 with a deficit of our own that when we overcome that deficit will outperform our peer class just from stabilizing the business to where it should have been the whole time. And this -- we expect this to happen regardless of what the total market does.

所以當你審視這個行業時，我認為我們在 2023 年遭遇了自己的失敗。進入 2024 年，我們面臨著自己的赤字，當我們克服這一赤字時，我們將超越我們的同行，將業務穩定到一直應該達到的水平。我們預計無論整個市場如何變化，這種情況都會發生。

Okay. All right. And then one final one for me. This is probably more for Matt on the sand side. But can you speak to any inquiries in terms of -- not looking for price point here, but just the level of inquiries for sand maybe back half of the year out of the Haynesville mines? Are they starting to talk about that? Or is it too early?

好的。好的。然後是我的最後一張。這可能更適合沙地的馬特。但是，您能否就以下方面的任何詢問進行交談——這裡不是尋找價格點，而只是詢問半年以來海恩斯維爾礦場對沙子的詢問水平？他們開始談論這個了嗎？還是現在還太早？

No, we're constantly talking to our customers about their timing. I don't know that there's necessarily an RFP season for that region, so to speak, but we are closely aligned with all the major operators in that basin, and we're talking to them regularly about their upcoming programs and where they think their activity may shift based on gas pricing.

不，我們不斷與客戶討論他們的時間安排。可以這麼說，我不知道該地區是否一定有 RFP 季節，但我們與該盆地的所有主要運營商密切合作，我們定期與他們討論他們即將推出的計劃以及他們認為自己的計劃活動可能會根據天然氣定價而變化。

Okay, fair enough. I'll leave it at that. Thanks for including me.

好吧，很公平。我就這樣吧。謝謝你包括我。

Tom Curran, Seaport Research Partners.

湯姆‧柯蘭，海港研究夥伴。

Good morning. Matt Zinn, thank you for joining the call. Good to know you a little bit better. Opening question for you. Could you share some color on the nature of where the CapEx spend will be going for Alpine this year when it comes to your own budget?

早安.馬特辛恩（Matt Zinn），感謝您加入通話。很高興能更了解你一點。向您提出開放問題。就您自己的預算而言，您能否分享一些有關 Alpine 今年資本支出支出的性質的資訊？

We evaluate all our CapEx based on improving utilization or lowering cost structure. So improving reliability or lowering the cost of manufacturing. So that's our key focus is where our demand is and where we can lower cost or improve reliability. So the places that we have growth opportunity are where we're going to have the most bang for our buck.

我們根據提高利用率或降低成本結構來評估所有資本支出。因此提高可靠性或降低製造成本。因此，我們的重點是我們的需求所在以及我們可以降低成本或提高可靠性的地方。因此，我們擁有成長機會的地方就是我們能夠獲得最大利益的地方。

Got it. And then when it comes to utilization, could you tell us, one, where you exited the quarter at utilization-wise. And then two, from there to, let's say, north of 70%, what do you expect the split to be between internal -- feeding that ProFrac expected active fleet ramp? And then third-party sales. Again, in the ramp from where you exited utilization-wise to climbing north of 70% like you're targeting?

知道了。然後，說到利用率，您能否告訴我們，第一，您在利用率方面退出了本季。然後兩個，從那裡到，比方說，70％以北，您預計內部之間的差距是多少 - 滿足 ProFrac 預期的活躍船隊坡道？然後是第三方銷售。再說一次，在從利用率退出的地方爬升至目標 70% 以上的斜坡上？

Approximately two-thirds of the ramp is external customers and a third of the ramp is internal, just rough numbers. We continue to see strong demand based on our footprint in the Permian with large operators that have drilling programs, completion programs that spread across the basin, and we continue to see strong demand as we've reached out to those customers about their operations.

大約三分之二的成長是外部客戶，三分之一是內部客戶，這只是粗略的數字。基於我們在二疊紀的足跡，我們繼續看到強勁的需求，大型營運商擁有遍布整個盆地的鑽井計劃和完井計劃，而且當我們與這些客戶聯繫了解他們的業務時，我們繼續看到強勁的需求。

And at this point, Matt, would you say you've got all that demand in hand in whatever different forms it might exist, contracts, dedicated acreage, here mutual interest, whatever the nature of how you've secured that demand, you have it and it's just a question of executing from here on the third-party side?

在這一點上，馬特，你是否會說你已經掌握了所有可能存在的不同形式的需求，合同，專用面積，這裡的共同利益，無論你如何確保需求的性質，你都有它只是從第三方這邊執行的問題嗎？

Yes, we have a line of sight, and we're currently negotiating supply agreements as we speak, an assumption on a certain percentage of those being executed goes into that number. And then we'll execute like we have for years and years.

是的，我們有視線，我們目前正在談判供應協議，假設執行的數量中有一定比例。然後我們將像多年來一樣執行。

Got it. Okay. Thanks for taking my questions.

知道了。好的。感謝您回答我的問題。

Don Crist, Johnson Rice.

唐克里斯特、約翰遜賴斯。

Morning, gentlemen. Just one question for me. I remember from past conversations that the utilization of the sand plants was somewhere in the 50-ish percent before you acquired performance. Is that pretty good kind of bogey to start with and kind of where do we think it's going to go year-over-year as we kind of ramp towards that 65% to 75%?

早安，先生們。只是問我一個問題。我記得在過去的談話中，在獲得性能之前，沙廠的利用率約為 50% 左右。這是一個很好的柏忌，我們認為隨著我們逐漸向 65% 到 75% 的目標，它會逐年走向何方？

Yes, our historical utilization of our mines has been around that 50%. And we -- as we've become more focused on third-party agreements, that's where the ramp comes from.

是的，我們的礦場歷史利用率一直在 50% 左右。隨著我們越來越關注第三方協議，這就是成長的來源。

Right. So we should expect somewhere in the 50% year-over-year kind of bogey for modeling purposes?

正確的。那麼出於建模目的，我們應該預期會出現 50% 的年比柏忌嗎？

Correct.

正確的。

Good. I appreciate it. Everything else has been answered. Thank you.

好的。我很感激。其他一切都已得到解答。謝謝。

Thank you. And this concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the floor back over to management for closing comments.

謝謝。我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將發言權交還給管理層以徵求結束意見。

Thank you, operator. The takeaway today is that we are aggressively focused on growing value for all stakeholders. And we have a plan to get it done. We look forward to sharing our successes in the coming quarters as we increase utilization and drive improved results. We look forward to speaking with you again on our next call.

謝謝你，接線生。今天的要點是，我們積極致力於為所有利害關係人增加價值。我們有一個計劃來完成它。隨著利用率的提高和業績的改善，我們期待在未來幾季分享我們的成功經驗。我們期待在下次通話中再次與您交談。

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation. This does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines, and have a wonderful day.

女士們、先生們，感謝您的參與。今天的電話會議到此結束。您可以斷開線路，度過美好的一天。