Ascent Industries Co (ACNT) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for participating in today's conference call to discuss Ascent's financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023.

大家下午好，感謝大家參加今天的電話會議，討論 Ascent 截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日的第三季財務業績。

Joining us today are Ascent's Executive Chairman of the Board, Ben Rosenzweig; President and CEO, Chris Hutter; CFO, Bill Steckel; and the company's outside Investor Relations Advisor, Cody Cree. Following their remarks, we'll open the call for your questions.

今天加入我們的是 Ascent 董事會執行主席 Ben Rosenzweig；總裁兼執行長克里斯·哈特；財務長比爾‧斯特克爾；以及公司的外部投資者關係顧問 Cody Cree。在他們發表講話後，我們將開始電話詢問您的問題。

Before we go further, I would like to turn the call over to Cody Cree as he reads the company's Safe Harbor statement within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that provides important cautions regarding forward-looking statements. Cody, please go ahead.

在我們進一步討論之前，我想將電話轉給 Cody Cree，他正在閱讀該公司 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的安全港聲明，該聲明提供了有關前瞻性聲明的重要警告。科迪，請繼續。

Thanks, Sri. Before we continue, I'd like to remind all participants that the discussion today may contain certain forward-looking statements pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the federal securities laws.

謝謝，斯里。在我們繼續之前，我想提醒所有參與者，根據聯邦證券法的安全港條款，今天的討論可能包含某些前瞻性陳述。

These statements are based on information currently available to us and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.

這些陳述基於我們目前掌握的信息，並受到各種風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果出現重大差異。

Ascent advises all those listening to this call to review the latest 10-Q and 10-K posted on its website for a summary of these risks and uncertainties.

Ascent 建議所有收聽本次電話會議的人員查看其網站上發布的最新 10-Q 和 10-K，以總結這些風險和不確定性。

Ascent does not undertake the responsibility to update any forward-looking statements. Further, the discussion today may include non-GAAP measures. In accordance with Regulation G, the company has reconciled these amounts back to the closest GAAP-based measurement. The reconciliations can be found in the earnings press release issued earlier today and posted on the Investors section of the company's website at ascentco.com.

Ascent 不承擔更新任何前瞻性聲明的責任。此外，今天的討論可能包括非公認會計準則措施。根據 G 條例，該公司已將這些金額調整回最接近的基於 GAAP 的衡量標準。這些調節表可以在今天稍早發布的收益新聞稿中找到，並發佈在該公司網站 ascentco.com 的投資者部分。

Please note that this call is available for replay via a webcast link that is also posted on the Investors section of the company's website. Additionally, an updated presentation on the Investors section of the website, which we encourage you to view.

請注意，該電話會議可透過網路廣播連結重播，該連結也發佈在公司網站的投資者部分。此外，我們鼓勵您查看網站投資者部分的更新簡報。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Ascent's Executive Chairman of the Board, Ben Rosenzweig. Ben?

說到這裡，我想將電話轉給 Ascent 董事會執行主席 Ben Rosenzweig。本？

Thank you, Cody, and good afternoon, everyone. After a challenging last few quarters and the closing of our Munhall operations efficiently behind us, we began seeing signs of improvement within our operations during the third quarter.

謝謝你，科迪，大家下午好。在經歷了過去幾季的挑戰以及我們有效關閉 Munhall 業務之後，我們在第三季開始看到我們的業務有所改善的跡象。

I want to be clear that we still do not view our current level of performance as acceptable, and there is much work left to be done, but we are turning the corner.

我想明確的是，我們仍然不認為我們目前的表現水平是可以接受的，而且還有很多工作要做，但我們正在扭轉局面。

Persistent volatility in the macro environment still hampered sales volumes across both segments in the third quarter as we continued to see larger scale projects being pushed out or delayed, along with several of our end markets experiencing a decline in demand.

宏觀環境的持續波動仍然阻礙了第三季這兩個細分市場的銷量，因為我們繼續看到較大規模的項目被推遲或推遲，以及我們的幾個終端市場的需求下降。

Despite the lower sales volumes, we were able to return to positive adjusted EBITDA in the quarter and continue to manage working capital more efficiently.

儘管銷售量下降，我們仍能夠在本季恢復正調整後的 EBITDA，並繼續更有效地管理營運資金。

Most impactfully, towards the end of the quarter, we were pleased to welcome Bryan Kitchen to Ascent as President of Ascent Chemicals. Bryan joins Ascent with a proven track record of taking underperforming businesses and putting them back on the road to growth and profit maximization.

最有影響力的是，在本季末，我們很高興歡迎 Bryan Kitchen 加入 Ascent，擔任 Ascent Chemicals 總裁。布萊恩 (Bryan) 加入 Ascent 時，在接管表現不佳的企業並將其帶回增長和利潤最大化的道路上擁有良好的記錄。

We believe that Bryan has the potential to take Ascent Chemicals to new heights with a durable growth strategy and we are pleased with the actions he has already taken to return this segment to profitable growth.

我們相信，布萊恩有潛力透過持久的成長策略將 Ascent Chemicals 帶到新的高度，我們對他為使該部門恢復獲利成長而採取的行動感到高興。

Within our tubular segment, we continue to streamline and optimize our operations now that we have completely shuttered our Munhall facility. While we do expect some cash and non-cash costs within the ranges we laid out last call, we have worked through the vast majority of the expected costs and look forward to having this completely off our books as we enter 2024.

在我們的管材領域，我們已經完全關閉了 Munhall 工廠，並繼續精簡和優化我們的營運。雖然我們確實預計一些現金和非現金成本在我們上次電話會議設定的範圍內，但我們已經解決了絕大多數預期成本，並期待在進入 2024 年時將其完全從我們的賬簿中剔除。

We continue to believe we have a healthy asset base and strong reputation within the tubular industry that can return to consistent growth and generate the earnings and cash flow to fund future growth opportunities.

我們仍然相信，我們在管材行業擁有健康的資產基礎和良好的聲譽，可以恢復持續成長，並產生收益和現金流，為未來的成長機會提供資金。

Similar to our specialty chemicals segment, our sales are continuing to be impacted by the broader economic slowdown. While some of our end markets have been more affected than others, particularly those for premium ornamental stainless steel tubing that go into more discretionary purchases, it is safe to say that we are seeing a heightened level of caution when it comes to spending across many of our distribution customers.

與我們的特種化學品部門類似，我們的銷售繼續受到更廣泛的經濟放緩的影響。雖然我們的一些終端市場比其他市場受到的影響更大，特別是那些需要更多自由支配購買的優質裝飾不銹鋼管，但可以肯定地說，在涉及許多領域的支出時，我們看到了更加謹慎的態度。我們的分銷客戶。

We still believe there is healthy long-term demand potential for premium American-made tubular products, and we're continuing to optimize our operations to be ready for when the pendulum swings back in our favor.

我們仍然相信美國製造的優質管材產品具有健康的長期需求潛力，並且我們正在繼續優化我們的運營，以便為形勢向有利於我們的方向擺動時做好準備。

In terms of capital allocation, our biggest priority has been and will continue to be repurchasing shares in the open market. In fact, we've repurchased nearly 100,000 shares in the open market through the first nine months of 2023.

在資本配置方面，我們的首要任務一直是並將繼續是在公開市場回購股票。事實上，截至 2023 年前 9 個月，我們已在公開市場回購了近 10 萬股股票。

We were able to ramp up our volumes significantly in Q3 with a 10b5 program in place, repurchasing nearly 45,000 shares, which is almost 2.5 times more than we were able to repurchase last quarter.

透過實施 10b5 計劃，我們在第三季大幅增加了交易量，回購了近 45,000 股股票，幾乎是我們上季回購量的 2.5 倍。

Now that we can effectively repurchase stock in the open market nearly every single day, we continue to expect to be as aggressive as possible on this front.

既然我們幾乎每天都可以在公開市場上有效地回購股票，我們仍然期望在這方面盡可能積極地進行。

M&A does remain a long-term focus for our organization, while we recognize the need to focus on building a more stable foundation prior to layering in larger deals. We are nowhere near satisfied with how this year has gone. But I do believe that where we sit today and as we've worked through our budgeting process for 2024, we made it over the largest of our hurdles, and the company is well positioned to be much more focused and efficient.

併購確實仍然是我們組織的長期重點，同時我們認識到在進行更大的交易之前需要專注於建立更穩定的基礎。我們對今年的表現並不滿意。但我確實相信，我們今天所處的位置以及我們完成 2024 年預算流程的過程中，我們已經克服了最大的障礙，並且公司處於有利位置，可以更加專注和高效。

We continue to appreciate the patience of our shareholders and remained aligned with your interests as the largest holders of the company shares. We've unquestionably made mistakes, but I've learned from them and feel very confident in the team we've assembled to lead this company into 2024. We look forward to re-earning your trust over the coming quarters.

我們仍然感謝股東的耐心，並與您作為公司股票最大股東的利益保持一致。毫無疑問，我們犯過錯誤，但我從中吸取了教訓，並對我們組建的團隊充滿信心，將帶領這家公司走向 2024 年。我們期待在未來幾季重新贏得您的信任。

Now I'd like to pass the call over to Chris to provide more details on our operational performance in both segments. I'll be back to answer any questions during the Q&A portion. Chris, over to you.

現在我想將電話轉接給克里斯，以提供有關我們在這兩個領域的營運績效的更多詳細資訊。我會回來回答問答部分的任何問題。克里斯，交給你了。

Thanks, Ben, and thank you all for joining today's call.

謝謝本，也謝謝大家參加今天的電話會議。

Jumping right into our tubular products segment, we are pleased to be moving forward with our focus being squarely on Bristol tubular products, American stainless tubing, and specialty pipe and tube, now that operations have completely ceased in Munhall.

直接進入我們的管材產品領域，我們很高興能夠繼續前進，我們的重點是布里斯托爾管材產品、美國不銹鋼管材以及特殊管道和管材，現在蒙霍爾的業務已經完全停止。

During Q3, destocking trends within the industry continue to persist as many of our customers remain over inventoried relative to their immediate needs. This is directly correlated with both the prolonged volatility we continue to experience in our broader macroeconomic economy and our distribution customers' uncertainties surrounding near-term commodity pricing.

在第三季度，行業內的去庫存趨勢繼續持續，因為我們的許多客戶的庫存相對於他們的即時需求仍然過剩。這與我們在更廣泛的宏觀經濟中持續經歷的長期波動以及我們的分銷客戶圍繞近期商品定價的不確定性直接相關。

Surcharges continue to work down, especially on a year-over-year basis, which is not necessarily bad for us long term, but certainly played a role in slowing inventory buys from distributors.

附加費繼續下降，尤其是同比下降，這對我們長期而言不一定是壞事，但肯定在減緩分銷商的庫存購買方面發揮了作用。

So it's difficult to predict. We'd expect surcharges to come down a bit more throughout the end of the year with larger buys coming during periods of flattened surcharges.

所以很難預測。我們預計附加費在今年年底會進一步下降，在附加費持平期間會有更大的購買量。

As we've discussed in the past, we've been targeting larger infrastructure projects for this segment that provide a healthier margin profile for us. Unfortunately, we have seen many of these orders pushed out one to two quarters, which continue to be a drag on our volumes.

正如我們過去所討論的，我們一直致力於為該細分市場開展更大的基礎設施項目，從而為我們提供更健康的利潤狀況。不幸的是，我們發現許多訂單被推遲了一到兩個季度，這繼續拖累我們的銷售。

However, we have a scrappy team that is turning over every stone to drum up demand, and we are working hard to optimize factors within our control.

然而，我們有一支鬥志旺盛的團隊，正在竭盡全力爭取需求，我們正在努力優化我們控制範圍內的因素。

Import products continued to impact volumes, specifically on our smaller diameter products. However, we are seeing some signs of stabilization and have begun to -- began winning bet business back to the quality issues of the imported products.

進口產品持續影響銷量，特別是我們較小的直徑產品。然而，我們看到了一些穩定的跡象，並開始將賭注贏回進口產品的品質問題。

We would expect this to continue to help us, but some of it still depends on the health of the broader economy, which ultimately impacts the price first quality decisions of our customers.

我們預計這將繼續幫助我們，但其中一些仍然取決於更廣泛的經濟的健康狀況，這最終會影響我們客戶的價格優先品質決策。

Within ASTI, we're holding relatively stable even with a meaningful drop in end market demand for some of the high-end consumer products we supply, specifically the marine market, which is down over 40% year over year as consumers pare back these types of luxury purchases.

在 ASTI 內部，即使我們供應的一些高端消費品的終端市場需求大幅下降，特別是海洋市場，隨著消費者減少這些類型的產品，該市場同比下降超過 40%，但我們仍保持相對穩定的奢侈品購買。

But we have remained aggressive on pricing and believe we are beginning to take some market share here because we can afford a much more quick turn inventory model and our competitors, which is very highly during times of end market fluctuations.

但我們在定價上仍然保持積極態度，並相信我們開始在這裡佔據一些市場份額，因為我們可以負擔得起更快的周轉庫存模式和我們的競爭對手，在終端市場波動時期，這種模式非常高。

During the year, we embarked on some products that we believe would drive cost savings and avoidance at all facilities. I'm pleased that those efforts accelerated further in Q3 with some vendor consolidation on the procurement side and the use of some of the excess equipment supplies from the closure of Munhall to be used across our remaining sites in place of purchasing new equipment.

在這一年中，我們推出了一些產品，我們相信這些產品將推動所有設施的成本節約和避免。我很高興這些努力在第三季進一步加速，採購方面進行了一些供應商整合，並利用關閉 Munhall 所產生的一些過剩設備供應，將其用於我們剩餘的工廠，以代替購買新設備。

These are initiatives that not only are large in an individual basis, but can aggregate in the six figures and help us control costs throughout all input pricing environments. We continue to have confidence in the long-term viability of our tubular products segment.

這些措施不僅在單一基礎上規模很大，而且匯總起來可以達到六位數，並幫助我們在所有投入定價環境中控製成本。我們仍然對管材產品領域的長期生存能力充滿信心。

We worked through downcycles before. So none of this is new to us, but it's obviously still challenging. The biggest difference is we no longer produce commodity galvanized product out of a high-cost facility like we were dealing with at Munhall.

我們之前曾經歷過下行週期。所以這對我們來說都不是什麼新鮮事，但顯然仍然具有挑戰性。最大的區別是我們不再像我們在 Munhall 那樣使用高成本設施生產商品鍍鋅產品。

Exiting that fixed cost base and further taking advantage of the slowdown to ramp up our operational efficiency creates a much more durable segment that is better positioned for these cycles in the future.

退出固定成本基礎並進一步利用經濟放緩來提高我們的營運效率，創造了一個更持久的細分市場，可以更好地適應未來的這些週期。

We firmly believe we are creating a healthier and more productive tubular segment, and we continue to expect earnings improvements to accelerate over the coming quarters.

我們堅信，我們正在創建一個更健康、更有效率的管材細分市場，我們繼續預計未來幾季獲利將加速改善。

Turning to our specialty chemicals segment. Some chemicals has experienced general softness across segments. The softness has been compounded further by destocking and working capital corrections in segments such as paints and coatings and personal care, as well as select insourcing by customers who now find themselves with historically low volumes of internal asset utilization.

轉向我們的特種化學品領域。一些化學物質在各個領域都經歷了普遍疲軟。油漆、塗料和個人護理等領域的去庫存和營運資本調整，以及現在發現自己的內部資產利用率處於歷史低點的客戶選擇內包，進一步加劇了疲軟狀況。

Outside of these expectations, we believe our demand has largely been consistent with the softness of the markets we serve. We are currently in the process of raising pricing as a result of our cost escalations. In conjunction with this exercise, we are also working to implement strategies that allow us to adjust pricing more efficiently and quickly to broader macro conditions.

除了這些預期之外，我們相信我們的需求在很大程度上與我們所服務的市場的疲軟程度一致。由於成本上升，我們目前正在提高定價。結合這項工作，我們也致力於實施策略，使我們能夠更有效、更快速地根據更廣泛的宏觀條件調整定價。

I still remain highly confident in this segment and the profitable growth potential we see on the horizon. Having Bryan at the helm has further solidified my confidence and provided our team with a renewed sense of optimism in the future.

我仍然對這一領域以及我們即將看到的獲利成長潛力充滿信心。布萊恩的掌舵進一步堅定了我的信心，讓我們的團隊對未來有了新的樂觀感。

While we do not forecast material near-term market recovery, our team led by Bryan has been actively working to diversify the markets and customers that we serve while optimizing our cost basis and taking actions to extract the appropriate value for our products and services.

雖然我們預計近期市場不會出現實質復甦，但布萊恩領導的團隊一直在積極努力實現我們所服務的市場和客戶的多元化，同時優化我們的成本基礎並採取行動為我們的產品和服務獲取適當的價值。

At the end of the day, we feel confident that there are multiple things we can, should, and will improve upon that will get us back on track next year.

歸根究底，我們相信我們可以、應該並且將會在許多方面進行改進，這將使我們明年重回正軌。

With all of this happening as we speak, we do believe that all these efforts will be accretive to our segment level adjusted EBITDA as soon as Q1 of 2024.

隨著所有這一切的發生，我們確實相信所有這些努力最快將在 2024 年第一季為我們的細分市場調整後 EBITDA 帶來增值。

As a whole, our organization is in a much better position today than it has been over the last several quarters. We're obviously still a good distance from where we want to be, but a roadmap that can get us back there quickly has been developed and we are making tangible progress towards our long-term strategic goals.

總體而言，我們組織今天的處境比過去幾季好得多。顯然，我們距離我們想要的目標還有很長的距離，但可以讓我們快速回到目標的路線圖已經制定，並且我們正在朝著我們的長期策略目標取得切實進展。

Although macro volatility doesn't seem to be letting up in the near future, we will continue to be hammering away improving our operations and be sure to capitalize on every growth opportunity that comes our way.

儘管宏觀波動在不久的將來似乎不會減弱，但我們將繼續努力改善我們的運營，並確保利用我們遇到的每一個成長機會。

We have a strong leadership team in place, a more efficient operational footprint, and teams within each segment working together much more cohesively. We are firmly committed to delivering the value that all of our stakeholders have come to expect from us. And we look forward to exceeding those expectations in the future.

我們擁有強大的領導團隊、更有效率的營運足跡，並且每個部門的團隊都更緊密地合作。我們堅定地致力於提供所有利害關係人對我們的期望的價值。我們期待未來超越這些期望。

Now I would like to turn the call over to our CFO, Bill Steckel, who will provide a detailed overview of our third quarter financial results, then I'll return to answer any questions you may have. Bill, the floor is yours.

現在我想將電話轉給我們的財務長 Bill Steckel，他將提供我們第三季財務業績的詳細概述，然後我將回答您可能提出的任何問題。比爾，地板是你的。

Thank you, Chris, and good afternoon, everyone. Before I jump into the financials. I want to remind everyone that we have categorized the financial results from our Munhall facility into discontinued operations, given that we permanently ceased operations at the end of August.

謝謝克里斯，大家下午好。在我進入財務之前。我想提醒大家，鑑於我們在 8 月底永久停止運營，我們已將 Munhall 工廠的財務業績歸類為已停止運營。

To give a more accurate representation of our performance ex Munhall, the results I'll be discussing today are from continuing operations, and we have adjusted our prior year periods to reflect the results ex Munhall to enable more relevant comparisons.

為了更準確地反映我們在 Munhall 之前的業績，我今天將討論的結果來自持續經營業務，並且我們調整了前一年的業績以反映在 Munhall 之前的業績，以便進行更相關的比較。

Additionally, I want to update you all on the impact of the Munhall closure on our financials to date. Through the third quarter, we have incurred approximately $2.6 million of pretax cash charges and approximately $10.1 million of non-cash charges, which remain in line with the original expectations.

此外，我想向大家通報 Munhall 關閉對我們迄今為止財務狀況的影響的最新情況。截至第三季度，我們產生了約 260 萬美元的稅前現金費用和約 1,010 萬美元的非現金費用，與最初的預期相符。

With that, let's talk about third quarter continuing operations. Net sales from continuing operations were $56.1 million compared to $78.2 million in the prior year period. The decrease is due to the lower overall sales volume within both tubular products and the specialty chemicals segments.

接下來，我們來談談第三季的持續經營業務。持續經營業務的淨銷售額為 5,610 萬美元，而去年同期為 7,820 萬美元。下降的原因是管材產品和特用化學品領域的整體銷售下降。

Gross profit from continuing operations was $6 million, or 10.7% of net sales, compared to $14.1 million, or 18.0% of net sales, in the third quarter of 2022. The decrease is primarily attributable to the decline in net sales.

持續經營毛利潤為 600 萬美元，佔淨銷售額的 10.7%，而 2022 年第三季為 1,410 萬美元，佔淨銷售額的 18.0%。這一下降主要歸因於淨銷售額下降。

Net loss from continuing operations was $12.8 million, or $1.26 diluted loss per share, compared to net income from continuing operations of $3.1 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2022.

持續經營業務淨虧損為 1,280 萬美元，即稀釋後每股虧損 1.26 美元，而 2022 年第三季持續經營業務淨利為 310 萬美元，即稀釋後每股虧損 0.30 美元。

The decrease is primarily attributable to an $11.4 million noncash goodwill impairment within the specialty chemicals segment, along with the aforementioned decline in gross profit.

這一下降主要歸因於特種化學品部門內 1,140 萬美元的非現金商譽減值，以及上述毛利的下降。

Adjusted EBITDA was $0.9 million compared to $8.2 million in the third quarter of 2022. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 1.7% compared to 10.5% in the prior year period.

調整後 EBITDA 為 90 萬美元，而 2022 年第三季為 820 萬美元。調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 1.7%，而去年同期為 10.5%。

Lastly, looking at our liquidity position as of September 30, 2023, total debt was $53 million compared to $71.5 million at December 31, 2022. As of September 30, we had $41.8 million of borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility compared to $37.6 million at December 31, 2022.

最後，看看我們截至2023 年9 月30 日的流動性狀況，總債務為5,300 萬美元，而2022 年12 月31 日為7,150 萬美元。截至9 月30 日，我們的循環信貸安排下的借款能力為4,180 萬美元，而2022 年12 月31 日為3,760 萬美元。2022 年 12 月 31 日。

During the third quarter of 2023, we repurchased 44,799 shares at an average cost of $8.87 per share for approximately $400,000, bringing total year-to-date purchases for 2023 to nearly 96,000 shares. We currently have 584,024 shares remaining under our share repurchase authorization.

2023 年第三季度，我們以約 40 萬美元的平均成本每股 8.87 美元回購了 44,799 股股票，使 2023 年年初至今的回購總量達到近 96,000 股。目前，我們的股票回購授權尚有 584,024 股。

And with that, I'll now turn it back over to the operator for Q&A.

就這樣，我現在將其轉回給操作員進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) Vincent Anderson, Stifel.

（操作員說明）Vincent Anderson，Stifel。

Yeah, good afternoon, gentlemen.

是的，下午好，先生們。

Hey, Vince.

嘿，文斯。

Hey. So just starting off, I was hoping you could discuss if there are any specific drivers of the goodwill impairment. Maybe specifically if that was the loss of a single customer or just a more normal review of the recent operating environment?

嘿。因此，首先，我希望您能討論一下商譽減損是否有任何特定的驅動因素。也許具體來說，如果這是單一客戶的流失，或者只是對最近的營運環境更正常的審查？

Yeah, it's pretty much related to the Danville operation and not necessarily the loss of a customer, but the normalization of the customers go-forward estimated annual volume.

是的，這與丹維爾的營運有很大關係，不一定是客戶的流失，而是客戶未來預計年銷售量的正常化。

Okay. And then sticking to a high level, I know guidance is not on the table, but just looking at your overall level of profitability, how much leverage do you think you have in hand right now from self-help over the next few quarters, if we were to assume you no real help in the overall demand environment?

好的。然後堅持高水平，我知道指導不在桌面上，但只是看看你的整體盈利水平，你認為你現在在未來幾個季度的自助中擁有多少槓桿，如果我們假設您對整體需求環境沒有真正的幫助？

I'd say a lot, Vince. I mean, we feel pretty good that we can get back to where we were before on the chemical side within the next few quarters without necessarily feeling like there's going to be a post-stress market environment.

我想說很多，文斯。我的意思是，我們感覺很好，我們可以在接下來的幾個季度內回到化學品方面的水平，而不必感覺將會出現壓力後的市場環境。

Now obviously, I'll caveat that with -- I know it's pretty bad out there on the chemical side. And we would hope that it doesn't get worse. But there are a lot of things under our control that can get us back to where we were before, which if you recall, is still not where we think we need to be.

顯然，我要警告一下——我知道化學方面的情況非常糟糕。我們希望情況不會變得更糟。但有很多事情在我們的控制之下，可以讓我們回到以前的狀態，如果你還記得的話，這仍然不是我們認為我們需要達到的狀態。

So if you were to kind of make that bridge from that mid single digit EBITDA margin on the chem side, back to where we were in the, call it, 10% range is within our control. And then that bridge up to the much higher, mid teens or so.

因此，如果你想從化學方面的中間個位數 EBITDA 利潤率回到我們所處的位置，稱之為 10% 的範圍在我們的控制範圍之內。然後，這個橋樑就上升到更高的、十幾歲左右的水平。

We think hopefully there will be a little bit of a normalization in the market and some of these headwinds will abate but there is a lot within our control.

我們認為，市場預期會出現一定程度的正常化，其中一些不利因素將會減弱，但有許多因素在我們的控制範圍內。

Okay. Excellent. And then -- I've got a few. I assume, that's okay. I'm just going to keep going.

好的。出色的。然後——我有一些。我想，沒關係。我會繼續前進。

But can you just maybe discuss at a -- I don't know if you want to speak for Bryan too soon, but at a high level in your chemicals portfolio right now, how you're thinking about securing new business for volumes lost during this destocking period versus trying to keep the door open for existing relationships, and I don't want to say counting on the assumption that next year is better, but how aggressive are you right now in getting things filled versus maybe managing more of the cost side than just how you go about securing?

但是，您是否可以在一次會議上討論一下——我不知道您是否想太早代表布萊恩發言，但目前在您的化學品投資組合中，您正在考慮如何確保新業務以彌補期間損失的數量。這個去庫存時期與試圖為現有關係敞開大門，我不想說指望明年會更好，但你現在在填充物品方面有多積極，而不是管理更多成本不僅僅是你如何確保安全？

It's a great question. I mean, we're doing both. I mean, we're extremely aggressive on the customer topside, and it's somewhat difficult or noisy in the numbers. But we have facilities. Obviously, our chemical business has three facilities.

這是一個很好的問題。我的意思是，我們兩者都在做。我的意思是，我們在客戶方面非常積極，但在數字上卻有些困難或吵雜。但我們有設施。顯然，我們的化學業務擁有三個設施。

We have certain facilities that are overperforming and certain facilities that are underperforming. So, this is -- I would say it's more limited to one facility, the operational struggles right now, which we're addressing, and have some light at the end of the tunnel on it.

我們有某些設施表現出色，也有某些設施表現不佳。所以，我想說，這更局限於一個設施，目前的運營困難，我們正在解決這個問題，並且在隧道的盡頭有一些線索。

But there's also a lot of good things and some very good wins we've had within other parts of the chemical business that we're extremely excited about.

但我們在化學業務的其他領域也取得了很多好事和一些非常好的勝利，對此我們感到非常興奮。

So after discussing with Brian, this is -- he's very optimistic about 2024.

所以在與 Brian 討論之後，他對 2024 年非常樂觀。

Okay. No, that's good to hear, and that probably answers my next question. But maybe more specifically, you have some larger customers on the chemical side in areas that used to be more predictable revenue streams like agriculture and parts of personal care.

好的。不，很高興聽到這個消息，這可能會回答我的下一個問題。但也許更具體地說，您在化學品方面擁有一些較大的客戶，這些領域曾經是更可預測的收入來源，例如農業和個人護理部分。

I'm curious if they've started to offer you guys any kind of color on there planning into next year or if it's too early to even be counting on those conversations having anyway?

我很好奇他們是否已經開始為你們提供明年的計劃，或者現在指望這些對話是否還為時過早？

I mean, we're having on, but I think it's they're -- they have cloudiness in their forecast also. So we're getting -- I would say the range band we have is much wider than normal with the customer volume expectations, whether it be the personal care side and or even just steel, oil and gas or case goods.

我的意思是，我們正在經歷，但我認為他們的預測也存在不確定性。所以我們得到——我想說，我們的範圍比正常情況下的客戶數量預期要寬得多，無論是個人護理方面，甚至只是鋼鐵、石油和天然氣或成箱貨物。

Historically, we'd have years of our standard deviation of volume. It would be GBP1 million, GBP1.5 million. Now it's already GBP500,000 to GBP2 million. So we're having those discussions and doing the best we can to also backfill additional demand with other customers.

從歷史上看，我們的交易量標準差會存在多年。這將是 100 萬英鎊、150 萬英鎊。現在已經是50萬英鎊到200萬英鎊了。因此，我們正在進行這些討論，並盡最大努力滿足其他客戶的額外需求。

Okay, excellent. And then, Bryan came in with a lot of experience. And we've talked a bit about the commercial side already, obviously. But curious if you shared any initial thoughts on your procurement and inventory management side of things and just if you've had a chance to do like a proper post-mortem on how the business was managed through the last couple of years on that front?

好的，非常好。然後，布萊恩帶著豐富的經驗進來了。顯然，我們已經討論了一些商業方面的問題。但好奇您是否分享了對採購和庫存管理方面的初步想法，以及您是否有機會對過去幾年在這方面的業務管理方式進行適當的事後剖析？

The high-level view is he has. And we've already recognized the opportunity and we have a team being put in place.

高層的看法是他有的。我們已經認識到了這個機會，並且我們已經組建了一個團隊。

Bryan's a very aggressive, hard-working person that has deep connections within the chemical business and he's already identified a few people that he's brought on board with him, and we continued to upgrade the talent really on a weekly basis.

布萊恩是一個非常積極、勤奮的人，在化學行業有著深厚的人脈，他已經確定了一些與他一起加入的人，我們繼續每週對人才進行升級。

So we're feeling really good. We had a meeting last week with Bryan. And I think Bryan, myself, Bill and the entire Board are very optimistic about what he's going to deliver.

所以我們感覺非常好。上週我們與布萊恩舉行了一次會議。我認為布萊恩、我本人、比爾和整個董事會都對他將要實現的目標感到非常樂觀。

Great. And then so move to tubular for just a minute, Chris, I know you hate to look like you're hiding behind the macro environment when the business isn't operating as all you want it to, so if I can pose this as a hypothetical instead, if the tubular business was already where you wanted to be coming into the year that we've had in 2023, looking at the environment right now, what parts of the portfolio, whether it's the sales channels or just specific products, would you really be leaning on in this environment to support your through-cycle margins and which parts would you have to just kind of set expectations lower and focus on costs?

偉大的。然後，克里斯，我知道當業務沒有按照您希望的方式運作時，您討厭看起來像是躲在宏觀環境後面，所以如果我可以將其視為相反，假設，如果管材業務已經是您希望進入2023 年的目標，那麼看看現在的環境，投資組合的哪些部分，無論是銷售管道還是只是特定產品，將會實現在這種環境下，您確實需要依靠來支持您的整個週期利潤率，您需要降低哪些部分的期望並專注於成本？

No. I mean, I'll fall on the sword here. I mean, there's tremendous opportunity in tubular. Again, you have to look at each business unit specifically. Specialty pipe and tube, they're killing it. They're doing a great job. They've got demand and there's tremendous opportunity in growing that business.

不，我的意思是，我會倒在劍上。我的意思是，管狀領域有巨大的機會。同樣，您必須具體查看每個業務部門。特種管道和管材，他們正在殺死它。他們做得很好。他們有需求，並且有發展業務的巨大機會。

And so is the oil and gas market, which is one of the larger markets in Texas. Bristol is -- we definitely -- we missed the mark. There's huge demand for our large diameter pipe that goes into infrastructure applications and just didn't deliver on the sales forecast.

石油和天然氣市場也是如此，它是德州較大的市場之一。布里斯托——我們絕對——我們沒有達到目標。基礎設施應用對我們的大直徑管道有巨大的需求，但未能實現銷售預測。

So now there's a lot of things going on behind the scenes on improving the team there and getting that dialed in. But it's a very good business when it's operating the way it should operate, just not operating the way it needs to. So we have work to do there, absolutely.

因此，現在有很多事情在幕後進行，以改善那裡的團隊並讓其投入使用。但是，當它按照應有的方式運作時，這是一項非常好的業務，而不是按照需要的方式運作。所以我們絕對有工作要做。

All right. That's fair enough. Do you have -- I assume it's a constant review from your perspective, but are you still looking for any key leaders in the steel business? Or do you feel pretty good already?

好的。這很公平。我認為從您的角度來看，這是一次持續的審查，但您是否仍在尋找鋼鐵業的關鍵領導者？或者你已經感覺很好了嗎？

Yeah, I think we're always looking for the right talent leaders and we're always discussing how we grow the business and who we have run the business. So we're always looking for the right opportunity.

是的，我認為我們一直在尋找合適的人才領導者，我們一直在討論如何發展業務以及由誰來經營業務。所以我們一直在尋找合適的機會。

Okay, excellent. Well, thanks a lot. That was -- that's all for me.

好的，非常好。嗯，非常感謝。這就是——這就是我的全部。

Thanks, Vince.

謝謝，文斯。

(Operator Instructions) I'm showing no further questions in the queue at this time. I would now like to turn the call back over to Chris Hutter for any closing remarks.

（操作員說明）目前佇列中沒有顯示任何其他問題。我現在想將電話轉回給克里斯哈特 (Chris Hutter)，讓其發表結束語。

Thank you, Sri. We'd like to thank everyone for listening to today's call and look forward to speaking with you again for our fourth quarter and full year results for 2023.

謝謝你，斯里。我們感謝大家收聽今天的電話會議，並期待再次與大家討論我們的 2023 年第四季和全年業績。

This concludes today's program. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的節目到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。