雅保公司 (ALB) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to Albemarle Corporation's Q1 2026 earnings call.

您好，歡迎參加雅保公司（Albemarle Corporation）2026 年第一季財報電話會議。

I will now hand it over to Meredith Bandy, Vice President of Investor Relations and Sustainability.

現在我將把電話交給投資人關係與永續發展副總裁 Meredith Bandy。

Thank you, and welcome, everyone, to Albemarle's first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. Our earnings were released after market closed yesterday, and you'll find the press release and earnings presentation posted to our website under the Investors section at albemarle.com.

謝謝，並歡迎各位參加雅保 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。我們的財報已於昨日收盤後發布，您可在 albemarle.com 網站「投資人」專區找到新聞稿與財報簡報。

Joining me on the call today are Kent Masters, Chief Executive Officer; Neal Sheorey, Chief Financial Officer. Mark Mummert, Chief Operations Officer; and Eric Norris, Chief Commercial Officer, are also available for Q&A.

今天與我一同參與電話會議的有執行長 Kent Masters 與財務長 Neal Sheorey。營運長 Mark Mummert 與商務長 Eric Norris 也將出席問答環節。

As a reminder, some of the statements made during this call, including our outlook, guidance, expected company performance and strategic initiatives may constitute forward-looking statements. Please note the cautionary language about forward-looking statements contained in our press release and earnings presentation. That same language also applies to this call. Please also note that some of our comments today may refer to non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations can be found in our earnings materials.

提醒各位，本次電話會議中的部分陳述（包括我們的展望、指引、預期公司表現與策略性計畫）可能構成前瞻性陳述。請留意我們新聞稿與財報簡報中關於前瞻性陳述的警示性語言；同樣的語言亦適用於本次電話會議。另請注意，我們今天的部分評論可能會提及非 GAAP 財務衡量指標；相關調節表可在我們的財報資料中查閱。

And now I'll turn the call over to Kent.

現在我把電話交給 Kent。

Thank you, Meredith. I'm pleased to report that Albemarle's performance is off to a strong start for 2026. For the first quarter, we reported net sales of $1.4 billion, up 33% year-over-year. We also delivered adjusted EBITDA of $664 million, more than double the same period last year, reflecting higher pricing and volume in both Energy Storage and Specialties, as well as cost and productivity improvements.

謝謝你，Meredith。我很高興報告，雅保在 2026 年的表現有一個強勁的開局。第一季我們的淨銷售額為 14 億美元，年增 33%。我們也達成調整後 EBITDA 6.64 億美元，較去年同期增加一倍以上，反映能源儲存與特用化學品兩大業務的價格與銷量提升，以及成本與生產力改善。

We continue to see strong end market demand, which I will discuss in greater detail as we get into the presentation. Our business is well positioned in resilient end markets. We are maintaining our outlook for strong lithium market growth led by energy storage demand, which is up 117% year-over-year.

我們持續看到終端市場需求強勁，我將在簡報中更詳細說明。我們的業務在具韌性的終端市場中具備良好定位。我們維持對鋰市場強勁成長的展望，成長主要由能源儲存需求帶動，該需求年增 117%。

We remain focused on the areas within our control and made progress during the quarter, enhancing operational excellence, focusing on cost and productivity discipline and driving cash generation to enable long-term volume and earnings growth. In the first quarter, following the successful sales of our Eurecat joint venture and the controlling stake in Ketjen, we repaid $1.3 billion of debt, further strengthening our balance sheet and reducing interest expense.

我們仍專注於可控範圍內的事項，並在本季取得進展：提升營運卓越、強化成本與生產力紀律，並推動現金創造，以支持長期的銷量與獲利成長。第一季，在成功出售我們的 Eurecat 合資企業以及 Ketjen 的控股權之後，我們償還了 13 億美元債務，進一步強化資產負債表並降低利息費用。

As Neal will share shortly, we are raising our 2026 outlook for Specialties net sales between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA outlook between $225 million and $275 million, reflecting higher pricing and volumes in our Specialties business. Moreover, year-to-date, we've delivered $40 million in cost and productivity improvements and remain on track to hit our full year target of $100 million to $150 million. We're able to maintain our corporate outlook scenarios as these improvements offset supply chain disruptions.

如 Neal 稍後將分享的，我們上調 2026 年特用化學品淨銷售額展望至 13 億至 15 億美元，並將調整後 EBITDA 展望上調至 2.25 億至 2.75 億美元，反映特用化學品業務更高的價格與銷量。此外，截至目前我們已實現 4,000 萬美元的成本與生產力改善，並仍按計畫達成全年 1 億至 1.5 億美元的目標。由於這些改善抵銷了供應鏈中斷的影響，我們得以維持公司整體展望情境。

Now, I'll turn it over to Neal to discuss recent results and outlook. I will then cover recent market trends and growth projects before we open the call for Q&A.

接下來我把電話交給 Neal，請他說明近期業績與展望。之後我將在開放問答前，介紹近期市場趨勢與成長專案。

Thank you, Kent, and good morning, everyone. I will begin with first quarter performance on slide 5. First quarter net sales were $1.4 billion, up 33% year-over-year, driven by higher volumes and pricing in both segments. Energy Storage pricing increased 51%. Volumes for Energy Storage and Specialties were up 14% and 7%, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $664 million, up $397 million year-over-year, reflecting higher volumes and price as well as ongoing cost and productivity improvements in both segments.

謝謝你，Kent，各位早安。我將從第 5 頁的第一季表現開始。第一季淨銷售額為 14 億美元，年增 33%，主要由兩大事業部的銷量與價格提升所帶動。能源儲存的價格上升 51%。能源儲存與特用化學品的銷量分別增加 14% 與 7%。本季調整後 EBITDA 為 6.64 億美元，年增 3.97 億美元，反映更高的銷量與價格，以及兩大事業部持續的成本與生產力改善。

Both segments also saw strong adjusted EBITDA growth with Energy Storage up 196% and Specialties up 30%. Our adjusted EBITDA margin increased by more than 20 percentage points compared to the prior year quarter due to higher pricing and our continued focus on cost and productivity improvements. We reported diluted earnings of $2.34 per share.

兩大事業部的調整後 EBITDA 也都強勁成長：能源儲存年增 196%，特用化學品年增 30%。由於價格提升以及我們持續聚焦成本與生產力改善，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率較去年同期提高超過 20 個百分點。我們報告的稀釋後每股盈餘為 2.34 美元。

Turning to slide 6. I'll go over the key drivers of our year-over-year EBITDA performance. Q1 adjusted EBITDA increased by 148%, primarily due to higher pricing and volume in both Energy Storage and Specialties segments. In addition, cost of goods sold benefited year-over-year from cost and productivity improvements in both segments.

接著看第 6 頁。我將說明年對年 EBITDA 表現的關鍵驅動因素。第一季調整後 EBITDA 增加 148%，主要來自能源儲存與特用化學品兩大事業部的價格與銷量提升。此外，銷貨成本也因兩大事業部的成本與生產力改善而較去年同期受益。

By segment, Specialties EBITDA increased 30% year-over-year due to higher pricing and favorable product mix. Energy Storage EBITDA increased 196%, driven by higher lithium market pricing and increased volumes. Both segments' results were bolstered by cost and productivity improvements as well. The corporate EBITDA change reflects favorable foreign exchange impacts and the fully consolidated results of Ketjen prior to the divestiture.

以事業部來看，特用化學品 EBITDA 年增 30%，主要因價格提升與有利的產品組合。能源儲存 EBITDA 年增 196%，由更高的鋰市場價格與銷量增加所帶動。兩大事業部的結果也同樣受惠於成本與生產力改善。公司層級 EBITDA 的變動反映有利的匯率影響，以及在處分前 Ketjen 完全併表的結果。

Turning to slide 7 and our outlook. As usual, we provide total company outlook considerations based on recently observed lithium market pricing scenarios. We are maintaining our total company outlook for 2026 across all three price scenarios despite global supply chain disruptions related to the Middle East. We estimate that the unmitigated full year cost impact of these supply chain disruptions would be approximately $70 million to $90 million, and expect it to be offset by the following: Reduced interest expense following our debt reduction actions in Q1, and stronger-than-expected pricing and volumes in the Specialties business, which gives us the confidence to increase our full year Specialties outlook, which I will cover on slide 8.

接著看第 7 頁與我們的展望。如同以往，我們會根據近期觀察到的鋰市場價格情境，提供公司整體展望考量。儘管中東相關的全球供應鏈中斷造成影響，我們仍在三種價格情境下維持 2026 年公司整體展望。我們估計若未採取緩解措施，這些供應鏈中斷對全年成本的影響約為 7,000 萬至 9,000 萬美元，並預期可由以下因素抵銷：第一季減債行動後利息費用降低，以及特用化學品業務的價格與銷量優於預期，使我們有信心上調全年特用化學品展望；我將在第 8 頁說明。

The Specialties segment had a stronger-than-expected quarter. Net sales increased 12% year-over-year and adjusted EBITDA increased 30%, primarily due to higher pricing, favorable product mix and cost and productivity improvements. For the second quarter, we expect net sales to increase sequentially due to higher pricing for bromine specialties. EBITDA is also expected to increase modestly as favorable price and volume mix are partially offset by higher costs due to supply chain disruptions. Additionally, operations at the Jordan Bromine Company joint venture have fully recovered from the flooding event in late December 2025 and continue to operate despite geopolitical tensions and disruptions in the region.

特用化學品事業部本季表現優於預期。淨銷售額年增 12%，調整後 EBITDA 年增 30%，主要由價格提升、有利的產品組合，以及成本與生產力改善所帶動。第二季方面，我們預期淨銷售額將因溴系特用產品價格提高而較前一季成長。EBITDA 也預期小幅增加，因有利的價格與銷量組合部分被供應鏈中斷導致的較高成本所抵銷。此外，約旦溴業公司（Jordan Bromine Company）合資企業的營運已自 2025 年 12 月下旬的洪災事件中完全恢復，並在區域地緣政治緊張與干擾下持續運作。

Looking ahead and taking all these factors into consideration, we are increasing the range of our full year outlook considerations for the Specialties segment. We are raising our guidance for net sales to $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion, and for adjusted EBITDA to $225 million to $275 million, and we now expect EBITDA margin in the high teens. While outlooks for end markets such as petrochemicals and oil and gas remain volatile due to geopolitical tensions, this increase in outlook reflects bromine price and volume opportunities that we see, coupled with our strong operational execution and the success of our cost and productivity improvements.

展望未來並綜合考量上述因素，我們上調特用化學品事業部全年展望考量區間。我們將淨銷售額指引上調至 13 億至 15 億美元，並將調整後 EBITDA 上調至 2.25 億至 2.75 億美元；我們目前預期 EBITDA 利潤率落在 10% 高段。雖然石化與油氣等終端市場的展望仍因地緣政治緊張而波動，但此次上調反映我們所看到的溴價格與銷量機會，加上我們強勁的營運執行力，以及成本與生產力改善的成果。

Moving to Energy Storage on slide 9. First quarter sales volumes were 53,000 tons lithium carbonate equivalent, or LCE, with an average realized price of approximately $17 per kilogram. The gap between our average realized price and market price is primarily driven by two factors: the one quarter pricing lag in our long-term contracts and sales of spodumene, which dilute our realized price on an LCE basis. First quarter net sales increased 70% year-over-year due to higher pricing and volumes. Adjusted EBITDA nearly tripled, supported by the same price and volume factors as well as the timing of consumption of spodumene inventories.

接著看第 9 頁的能源儲存。第一季銷售量為 53,000 噸碳酸鋰當量（LCE），平均實現價格約為每公斤 17 美元。我們的平均實現價格與市場價格之間的差距主要由兩個因素造成：長期合約存在一季的定價落後，以及銷售鋰輝石（spodumene）使得以 LCE 計算的實現價格被稀釋。第一季淨銷售額年增 70%，主要因價格與銷量提升。調整後 EBITDA 幾乎成長至三倍，除相同的價格與銷量因素外，也受鋰輝石庫存耗用時點影響。

For the second quarter, net sales and EBITDA are expected to be up sequentially, assuming flat lithium market pricing due to increased volumes and pricing lags in our long-term contracts. EBITDA margin is expected to decrease sequentially due to the timing of spodumene inventory consumption and higher costs due to supply chain disruptions related to the Middle East.

第二季方面，在假設鋰市場價格持平的情況下，淨銷售額與 EBITDA 預期將較前一季成長，主要由銷量增加以及長期合約的定價落後所帶動。由於鋰輝石庫存耗用時點，以及中東相關供應鏈中斷導致的較高成本，EBITDA 利潤率預期將較前一季下降。

On a full year basis, we are maintaining our Energy Storage outlook scenario ranges even after including the impacts of cost increases due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Our volume guidance also remains unchanged.

以全年為基礎，即使納入中東地緣政治緊張局勢導致的成本上升影響，我們仍維持能源儲存業務展望情境區間不變。我們的出貨量指引也維持不變。

Turning to slide 10. We continue to be successful in driving productivity improvements and converting earnings to cash. We are on track to deliver our full year 2026 cost and productivity improvements of $100 million to $150 million. Year-to-date, we have achieved $40 million in savings, primarily related to manufacturing and supply chain, including debottlenecking projects such as increasing spodumene utilization at our lithium conversion facilities in China and ramping new assets to their full production capability. We generated $346 million of operating cash flow and $248 million of free cash flow in the first quarter.

接著看第10頁。我們持續成功推動生產力提升，並將獲利轉化為現金。我們正按計畫在2026全年達成1億至1.5億美元的成本與生產力改善目標。截至目前，我們已實現4,000萬美元的節省，主要來自製造與供應鏈，包括去瓶頸專案，例如提高我們在中國鋰轉換設施的鋰輝石利用率，以及將新資產爬坡至其完整產能。我們在第一季產生3.46億美元的營運現金流與2.48億美元的自由現金流。

Capital expenditures were $99 million in the quarter. We continue to expect full year CapEx of $550 million to $600 million. At the $20 per kilogram lithium price scenario, full year operating cash flow conversion is expected to be within our long-term target range of 60% to 70%. As previously noted, there are select headwinds to our cash metrics this year, including recognizing deferred revenue related to the customer prepayment we entered in 2025, which will benefit EBITDA, but not contribute cash, and cash costs related to idling Kemerton Train 1, of which approximately $25 million occurred in the first quarter.

本季資本支出為9,900萬美元。我們仍預期全年資本支出（CapEx）為5.5億至6億美元。在每公斤20美元的鋰價情境下，全年營運現金流轉換率預期將落在我們長期目標區間60%至70%之內。如先前所述，今年我們的現金指標面臨若干特定逆風，包括認列與我們於2025年簽訂之客戶預付款相關的遞延收入（將有利於EBITDA，但不會帶來現金貢獻），以及與Kemerton第1列（Train 1）停工相關的現金成本，其中約2,500萬美元發生在第一季。

Turning to slide 11. We took advantage of our successful cash and portfolio management actions to pay down debt and further strengthen our balance sheet and financial flexibility. During the quarter, we repaid $1.3 billion of debt, reducing our weighted average interest rate to about 3.1% and lowering our annual interest expense by approximately $60 million. We ended the first quarter with a net debt-to-EBITDA leverage ratio of 1 times. And from a debt profile standpoint, we have no major maturities due until late 2028. Together, these factors offer us substantial flexibility and resilience to navigate the current environment.

接著看第11頁。我們利用成功的現金與投資組合管理行動來償還債務，並進一步強化資產負債表與財務彈性。本季我們償還了13億美元的債務，將加權平均利率降至約3.1%，並使年度利息費用降低約6,000萬美元。我們在第一季末的淨負債對EBITDA槓桿比率為1倍。從債務到期結構來看，我們在2028年末之前沒有重大到期項目。綜合而言，這些因素為我們在當前環境中提供了相當大的彈性與韌性。

I will now turn the call back over to Kent to detail our market outlook.

我現在把電話交回給Kent，請他說明我們的市場展望。

Thanks, Neal. Turning to slide 12. Before we dive into the details of the lithium markets, I wanted to take a moment to look at the company more holistically. Our overall portfolio is well positioned in resilient end markets, and that gives us confidence in the long-term outlook for our business, even with the current geopolitical uncertainties. As a market leader with globally diverse operations, we can pivot to meet dynamic market needs. More than half of our net sales are in new energy end markets like electric vehicles and energy storage with strong secular growth trends. Both Energy Storage and the Specialties segment benefit from these trends.

謝謝，Neal。接著看第12頁。在深入鋰市場細節之前，我想先用更整體的角度看待公司。我們的整體投資組合在具韌性的終端市場中布局良好，即使面對當前地緣政治不確定性，也讓我們對業務的長期展望保持信心。作為市場領導者且營運遍及全球，我們能夠靈活調整以滿足動態的市場需求。我們超過一半的淨銷售額來自電動車與能源儲存等新能終端市場，具備強勁的長期結構性成長趨勢。能源儲存與特用化學品（Specialties）事業部皆受惠於這些趨勢。

Our Specialties segment end markets are diverse, including electronics, semiconductors, building and construction, and energy. AI demand strength continues to drive strong electronics demand, particularly in Asia and the Americas. Building and construction demand continues in line with our forecasts. While less than 5% of our net sales are in oil and gas markets, we anticipate near-term demand growth as investments shift away from the Middle East towards other regional markets.

我們的特用化學品事業部終端市場多元，包括電子、半導體、建築與營造，以及能源。AI需求的強勁持續帶動電子需求成長，尤其在亞洲與美洲。建築與營造需求也持續符合我們的預測。雖然我們在油氣市場的淨銷售額占比不到5%，但隨著投資從中東轉向其他區域市場，我們預期短期需求將成長。

Now turning to slide 13. Global lithium demand is tracking in line with our forecast. So far this year, lithium consumption is up 37%, towards the upper range of our 2026 forecast of 15% to 40%. We are holding our outlook steady due in part to geopolitical uncertainties.

接著看第13頁。全球鋰需求的走勢與我們的預測一致。今年迄今，鋰消耗量成長37%，接近我們2026年預測15%至40%的上緣。由於部分地緣政治不確定性，我們維持展望不變。

That said, our early estimates suggest that lithium demand will be relatively resilient to the situation in the Middle East. For example, demand could be slightly up due to greater emphasis on energy storage or electric vehicles, or slightly down due to broader supply chain disruptions. Either of these scenarios falls within our 2026 forecast range. Importantly, lithium demand continues to diversify with two key end markets, energy storage and electric vehicles.

即便如此，我們的初步估計顯示，鋰需求對中東局勢的敏感度相對較低。例如，因更重視能源儲存或電動車，需求可能略為上升；或因更廣泛的供應鏈中斷，需求可能略為下降。上述任一情境都落在我們2026年預測區間內。重要的是，鋰需求持續多元化，兩大關鍵終端市場為能源儲存與電動車。

Now turning to slide 14. Strong growth in the energy storage sector more than compensated for weak EV sales volumes during the first quarter. In China, seasonal weakness during the Lunar New Year and prebuying in December ahead of subsidy changes led to reduced EV sales in the first quarter. 2026 Chinese subsidies have shifted support to premium vehicle segments in Q1 leading to a 20% increase in average Chinese battery size and increased demand for lithium hydroxide. Due to the increased average battery size, global EV sales were up 3% year-over-year on a gigawatt hour basis despite a 6% drop in unit sales.

接著看第14頁。第一季能源儲存領域的強勁成長，已足以彌補電動車銷量疲弱。在中國，農曆新年期間的季節性走弱，以及因補貼政策變動而在12月提前購買，導致第一季電動車銷售下滑。2026年中國補貼在第一季將支持重心轉向高端車款，使中國電池平均容量增加20%，並帶動氫氧化鋰需求上升。由於平均電池容量增加，儘管整車銷量下滑6%，全球電動車銷售以GWh計仍年增3%。

In the United States, EV sales were lower year-over-year, largely attributed to reduced incentives. However, I'll note that the U.S. market now represents less than 10% of the global EV market. Developing markets in other regions such as Brazil, India and Australia have collectively grown 74% year-over-year as EV penetration continues to diversify globally. European EV sales continue to show robust growth as well, driven by greater policy support, particularly in Germany, France and the U.K.

在美國，電動車銷售年減，主要歸因於補貼減少。不過我要指出，美國市場目前占全球電動車市場的比重已低於10%。巴西、印度與澳洲等其他地區的新興市場合計年增74%，顯示電動車滲透率在全球持續多元化。歐洲電動車銷售也持續展現強勁成長，主要受更強的政策支持所帶動，尤其在德國、法國與英國。

Overall, we remain on track to hit our five-year CAGR for energy storage volume growth of 15%. We achieved 25% CAGR over the first three years and expect to deliver moderate growth over 2026 and 2027 as our large projects complete their ramp. It's important to note that completing this phase of growth requires little to no additional CapEx. Our scaled, low-cost, world-class resources are performing well today with capital-efficient brownfield opportunities to fuel future growth.

整體而言，我們仍按計畫達成能源儲存出貨量五年複合年成長率（CAGR）15%的目標。我們在前三年達成25%的CAGR，並預期在2026與2027年，隨著大型專案完成爬坡，將交付較為溫和的成長。需要強調的是，完成此一成長階段幾乎不需要額外資本支出。我們具規模、低成本、世界級的資源目前表現良好，並擁有資本效率高的棕地（brownfield）機會以支撐未來成長。

Turning to our joint ventures on slide 16. Operations at both Wodgina and Greenbushes are operating well and in line with our expectations. At Wodgina, we have a clear line of sight to operate all three trains at full capacity. Ore quality is expected to drop slightly over the next two quarters before improving in the December quarter as the Stage 3 pit deepens and availability of higher quality ore increases.

接著看第16頁的合資企業。Wodgina與Greenbushes兩處營運皆表現良好，並符合我們的預期。在Wodgina，我們對三條產線（trains）全數滿載運轉有明確可視性。預期未來兩季礦石品質將略為下降，之後在12月季度，隨著第3階段礦坑加深且較高品質礦石供應增加，品質將改善。

Greenbushes is a world-class asset, and we are confident in the path forward and strategic direction. The CGP3 investment there is operational and ramping as planned. Our team is working closely with Talison's management team on value optimization studies to unlock the additional value as part of a multiyear transformation.

Greenbushes是世界級資產，我們對未來路徑與策略方向充滿信心。當地的CGP3投資已投入營運，並按計畫爬坡。我們的團隊正與Talison管理團隊密切合作，進行價值最佳化研究，作為多年期轉型的一部分，以釋放額外價值。

As a result of these studies, the team has identified productivity improvements, including lower waste movements and a smaller truck fleet operating at higher utilization, helping to reduce the impact of fuel price increases. To date, neither operation has been disrupted by global fuel supply interruptions, with good visibility of ongoing supply. Having access to both of these high-quality hard rock resources plus our low-cost brine position at the Salar de Atacama positions Albemarle well for global growth.

基於這些研究，團隊已辨識出生產力改善項目，包括降低廢土移運量，以及以較小的卡車車隊在更高利用率下運作，協助降低燃料價格上升的影響。截至目前，兩處營運皆未受全球燃料供應中斷影響，且對持續供應具有良好可視性。能同時取得這兩處高品質硬岩資源，加上我們在阿塔卡馬鹽湖（Salar de Atacama）的低成本鹵水布局，使Albemarle在全球成長上具備良好定位。

Slide 17 shows our progress as our longer-term projects at the Salar de Atacama in Chile and Kings Mountain in the United States. At the Salar de Atacama, we have initiated the environmental permitting process for a commercial DLE project. While the permit evaluates up to six trains of DLE, I want to stress that these investments would be phased in a prudent manner, contingent on approvals and investment decisions.

第17頁顯示我們在智利阿塔卡馬鹽湖與美國Kings Mountain等長期專案的進展。在阿塔卡馬鹽湖，我們已啟動商業化DLE（直接鋰萃取）專案的環境許可申請流程。雖然該許可評估最多可達六條DLE產線（trains），但我要強調，這些投資將以審慎方式分階段推進，並以核准結果與投資決策為前提。

Our pilot plant at La Negra has now operated for over a year and has achieved quality and recovery targets, including greater than 94% lithium recovery. We are evaluating numerous adsorbents and membranes, including proprietary and third-party technologies, and we've been able to incorporate findings from the pilot operation into our early engineering for the commercial plant.

我們位於La Negra的試驗工廠目前已運轉超過一年，並達成品質與回收率目標，包括鋰回收率超過94%。我們正在評估多種吸附劑與膜材料，包括自有與第三方技術，並已能將試驗運轉的發現納入商業化工廠的前期工程設計。

At Kings Mountain, we are currently obtaining the required permits and conducting comprehensive economic and environmental predevelopment evaluations prior to making a final investment decision. The project recently received federal mining permits, a meaningful milestone, and we continue to engage with local and state entities to obtain their respective approvals. As we continue drilling and engineering work, the more we learn about Kings Mountain, the more confident we are in the long-term strategic value of this asset. We look forward to sharing our progress as there are further developments.

在Kings Mountain，我們目前正取得所需許可，並在做出最終投資決策前，進行全面的經濟與環境前期開發評估。該專案近期取得聯邦採礦許可，這是一項重要里程碑；我們也持續與地方及州政府單位合作，以取得各自的核准。隨著我們持續進行鑽探與工程作業，我們對Kings Mountain此一資產的長期策略價值愈加有信心。我們期待在後續有進一步進展時與各位分享。

To summarize, we're off to a strong start in 2026 as we continue to demonstrate operational excellence and capitalize on the secular growth opportunities supported by our end markets across mobility, energy, connectivity and health, including the global need for long-term energy security. We are continuing to take disciplined actions to enhance our long-term competitive advantage and leveraging our strengths, including our world-class resources, expertise and innovation to position us for sustainable growth and value creation over the long term.

總結來說，2026 年我們開局強勁，持續展現卓越的營運表現，並把握由我們終端市場在移動、能源、連結性與健康等領域所支撐的長期結構性成長機會，其中也包括全球對長期能源安全的需求。我們將持續採取嚴謹且有紀律的行動，以強化我們的長期競爭優勢，並運用我們的優勢，包括世界級的資源、專業能力與創新，讓我們在長期實現可持續成長與價值創造。

With that, I'll turn it over to the operator to take your questions.

接下來，我把時間交給主持人來進行提問。

(Operator Instructions) David Begleiter, Deutsche Bank.

（主持人指示）德意志銀行 David Begleiter。

Kent, have you seen any -- at this higher level of lithium pricing, have you seen any change in buyer behavior either getting ahead of or whatever else to deal with the higher pricing in the lithium market?

Kent，在鋰價處於較高水準的情況下，你是否看到買方行為有任何改變，例如提前採購或採取其他方式來因應鋰市場較高的價格？

Thanks, David. So I don't know that we've seen a real change in behavior. I mean, it is evolving. So we have to -- it's only been a few months, right, since price has changed. And I wouldn't say we've seen a change. The conversations may be a little different. Eric is a little closer to it. So maybe you can comment.

謝謝你，David。所以我不確定我們是否看到行為上有真正的改變。我的意思是，它正在演變中。所以我們必須——畢竟價格改變也才幾個月，對吧？我不會說我們看到改變。對話內容可能有些不同。Eric 更貼近這一塊，所以也許你可以補充評論。

Yes. David, I would say that -- I'd substantiate what Kent said. It's fairly new. Most of the growth has been on the ESS side, as we described in the call here. There's a lot of interest in the sort of the carbonate supply chain. That contrasts with EVs outside of China, which are a little weaker on the hydroxide side in terms of sentiment. All in all, though, we've got a pipeline of customers who are very interested in talking with us about certainly spot bids, but also contracts, and we're being very cautious as we look at that in terms of how we think about where we want to take that contract mix over time.

是的。David，我會說——我會佐證 Kent 所說的。這還算相當新。正如我們在這次電話會議中所描述的，大部分的成長來自 ESS 端。市場對碳酸鋰供應鏈有很高的興趣。這與中國以外的電動車市場形成對比，後者在氫氧化鋰端的情緒面相對偏弱。總體而言，我們有一個客戶管線，許多客戶非常有興趣與我們洽談，當然包括現貨出價，也包括合約；而我們在評估時非常謹慎，會從長期角度思考我們希望合約組合如何隨時間演進。

Very good. And just on the DLE opportunity in Chile, any early thoughts on potential cost improvements or benefits from this route versus your traditional solar evaporation route?

很好。再請教一下關於智利的 DLE 機會，對於相較於你們傳統的太陽能蒸發路線，這條路徑在潛在成本改善或效益方面，有沒有任何初步想法？

Yes. So it's more about being able to access more lithium in the Salar at the cost position we're at rather than trying to do -- it's not really a cost improvement program, it's about being able to access more lithium in the Salar under kind of the environmental conditions there.

是的。所以重點更多在於，能以我們目前的成本定位在鹽湖（Salar）中取得更多鋰資源，而不是試圖去做——這並不是真正的成本改善計畫；而是在那裡的環境條件下，能夠在鹽湖中取得更多鋰。

Patrick Cunningham, Citi.

花旗 Patrick Cunningham。

Kent, you seem to hint the broader deployment of renewables as a result of the crisis could be a potential positive for lithium demand. I guess, is that anything that you've seen already? And how would you expect the market to respond to higher embedded risk premium in oil, concerns around energy security?

Kent，你似乎暗示，危機導致更廣泛部署再生能源，可能對鋰需求是正面因素。我想問，這是你們已經看到的現象嗎？另外，面對油價中更高的風險溢價、以及對能源安全的擔憂，你預期市場會如何反應？

Yes. So there's a lot there, and it's difficult to see that in the market. I mean, we think that may have an impact on both EVs, but also Energy Storage segment, as we're calling that now. It's difficult to see. But I would say energy security and grid resiliency is probably one of the bigger drivers around that. I'm not sure that's about the Middle East crisis, but it's clear that's a big driver around the world.

是的。這裡面有很多面向，而且很難在市場上直接看出來。我的意思是，我們認為這可能同時影響電動車，也影響我們現在稱之為能源儲存（Energy Storage）的部門。這很難看得很清楚。但我會說，能源安全與電網韌性可能是其中較大的驅動因素之一。我不確定這是否與中東危機有關，但很明顯，這在全球都是一個重要的驅動因素。

Got it. And then just on Greenbushes, I think one of your JV partners noted some issues around grade recoveries and production stability, maybe even suggesting that they're more systemic. I guess, is this in line with your assessment? And how does it affect the ramp-up at Greenbushes?

了解。接著關於 Greenbushes，我想你們的一家合資夥伴提到品位回收率與生產穩定性方面有一些問題，甚至暗示可能更具系統性。我想問，這是否符合你們的評估？以及這會如何影響 Greenbushes 的爬坡？

So look, Greenbushes is operating in line with our expectations and the outlook considerations that we put forward. So every year, we look at all of our assets, and we make a risk-adjusted forecast around that, and we're fully in line with that. And the ramp of CGP3, so we started that up at the end of the year, and we expect it to ramp through this year. And I would say that ramp is on schedule. So it's fully in line with our expectations and our plan.

所以你看，Greenbushes 的營運表現符合我們的預期，也符合我們提出的展望考量。每一年我們都會檢視所有資產，並據此做出風險調整後的預測，而目前完全符合該預測。另外 CGP3 的爬坡——我們在年底啟動，並預期今年會持續爬坡。我會說這個爬坡進度按計畫進行。所以一切都完全符合我們的預期與計畫。

Mike Sison. Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo 的 Mike Sison。

This is Abigail on for Mike. So as you look further ahead to your brownfield projects, what are the hurdle rates for these? Is there any scenario which any of these don't happen? And then how much capacity do you think these would add beyond 2027?

我是代替 Mike 的 Abigail。展望更長期、針對你們的棕地（brownfield）專案，這些專案的門檻報酬率（hurdle rates）是多少？是否存在任何情境會導致其中一些專案不會發生？另外，你認為這些專案在 2027 年之後會增加多少產能？

So look, we look at it as -- so we are now kind of ramping investments that we've made that gets us through that profile that we showed you there. So it slows down a little bit of growth into '27. That's ramping the kind of bigger investments that we've made over time. The next phase would be those brownfield investments, and we think that gets us somewhere in the high single-digit growth rate maybe for that period of time. And those are at existing assets. So that would be, for example, Greenbushes, Wodgina, and at the Salar de Atacama.

所以你看，我們的看法是——我們現在是在把先前已投入的投資逐步爬坡，讓我們達到剛才向你展示的那個產能/成長曲線。因此到 2027 年，成長會稍微放緩一些。這主要是把我們過去一段時間所做的較大型投資逐步爬坡到位。下一階段會是那些棕地投資，我們認為在那段期間可能能帶來接近高個位數的成長率。而這些都在既有資產上進行，例如 Greenbushes、Wodgina，以及 Salar de Atacama。

And we think of over time, after that, we think there are more significant investments we could make on resources that we own, Kings Mountain, for example, and then further trains at the Salar de Atacama. So we have a pretty good line of sight for growth. But the first tranche of that would be those brownfields. The returns would be -- I mean, it's hard to say what the -- we would look for hurdle rates. It would be traditionally the way we look at that, and we'll make those decisions at the time depending on how we see the market growth, pricing, what the costs look like from those assets.

而從更長期來看，在那之後，我們認為還可以在我們自有資源上進行更顯著的投資，例如 Kings Mountain，以及在 Salar de Atacama 增建更多產線（trains）。所以我們對成長有相當清晰的能見度。但第一批（tranche）會是那些棕地專案。至於報酬——我的意思是，很難說具體的——我們會以門檻報酬率的方式來評估，這也是我們一貫的做法；並且會在當下依據我們對市場成長、價格，以及這些資產成本狀況的判斷來做決策。

Okay. Got it. And then for the 2026, 2027 projects, you're talking about requiring minimal additional CapEx. Can you just give us a feel for size there? Any color you can give would be helpful.

好的，了解。那麼關於 2026、2027 年的專案，你們提到只需要極少的額外資本支出（CapEx）。能否讓我們大概了解一下規模？任何你能提供的補充說明都會很有幫助。

Yes. Well, I think for '26 and '27, it's really just ramping up the projects that we've built and done. Probably the most significant one there would be the full ramp of Greenbushes, CGP3, and then getting Wodgina operating on three full trains. We're operating three trains today, but we anticipate working through a more difficult part of the mine.

是的。我想對於 2026 和 2027 年而言，主要就是把我們已建成並完成的專案逐步爬坡到位。其中最重要的可能是 Greenbushes 的全面爬坡、CGP3，然後讓 Wodgina 以三條完整產線運作。我們今天已在運作三條產線，但我們預期會經歷礦山較困難的一段區域。

So the quality of the resource is not as good. We expect that to improve in the fourth quarter. That's the thinking around that. And that's kind of where those incremental volumes come from, plus just the normal productivity things that we do with better recoveries, Salar yield at Salar de Atacama, for example, the project we've invested in, and we're still working to get more and more out of that.

所以資源品質沒有那麼好。我們預期在第四季會改善。這就是我們的判斷。這也就是那些增量產量的來源，再加上我們日常所做的生產力提升，例如更好的回收率、Salar de Atacama 的鹽湖收率（yield）等；例如我們已投資的那個專案，我們仍在努力從中取得更多、再更多的產出。

Josh Spector, UBS.

UBS 的 Josh Spector。

It's Chris Perrella on for Josh. Can you unpack the puts and takes to the 1Q energy storage margin? Given the $20 a kilogram spot price you guys experienced in the first quarter, I would have thought margins would be closer to 50%. So just kind of why were they so much better?

我是代替 Josh 的 Chris Perrella。你能否拆解一下第一季能源儲存毛利率的正負因素？考量到你們在第一季經歷每公斤 20 美元的現貨價格，我原本以為毛利率會更接近 50%。所以為什麼實際上好得多？

Yes. Chris, this is Neal. Sure, I can take that. Really, the main driver of that is the traditional lag that we see in spodumene costs and how we consume spodumene through our supply chain. So really, there was a small uplift in margin because essentially, we're consuming spodumene that we purchased from our mines in the fourth quarter, which was obviously a lower price than what you saw in the first quarter. But it's minimal.

是的，Chris，我是 Neal。當然，我可以回答。主要驅動因素其實是我們在鋰輝石（spodumene）成本上看到的傳統滯後效應，以及我們在供應鏈中消耗鋰輝石的方式。所以毛利率出現小幅上升，基本上是因為我們消耗的是第四季從自有礦山採購的鋰輝石，而那時的價格顯然低於你在第一季看到的價格。但這個影響幅度不大。

I think you see that our full year outlook, if you assume kind of flat pricing across the year, we've guided to Energy Storage potentially being in that mid-50% range. So there was a little bit of an uplift in the first quarter due to that. But obviously, that will start to normalize as we go through the year, assuming pricing stays consistent for the rest of the year. And that's why we gave you guidance that we expect margins to come in a little bit in the second quarter as, all things being equal, assuming that, that normalizes.

我想你可以看到，我們對全年展望而言，如果你假設全年價格大致持平，我們給出的指引是能源儲存（Energy Storage）可能落在 50% 中段的區間。因此，第一季因為這個因素有些許上揚。但很明顯地，隨著我們走過全年，在假設今年剩餘時間價格維持一致的情況下，這會開始回歸常態。也因此我們給你們的指引是：我們預期第二季的利潤率會稍微收斂一些，因為在其他條件相同、且假設其回歸常態的情況下，利潤率會正常化。

All right. And then just as a follow-up there, the Specialties outlook, you did $75 million, $76 million in the first quarter EBITDA, higher in the second quarter. What's causing that to drop off in your outlook in the back half of the year?

好的。那接著就此追問一下，關於特用化學品（Specialties）的展望，你們第一季 EBITDA 做到 7,500 萬、7,600 萬美元，第二季更高。那是什麼原因導致你們對下半年展望中，EBITDA 會下滑？

Yes, I can start with that, Chris, again. It is really, at this point, just the uncertainty that Kent mentioned in the opening remarks. Right now, the visibility that we have is at least through the middle of the year, and we are driving some price and volume initiatives that give us that confidence around the second quarter. I think we'll continue to give you updates as we go through the year. There's obviously a lot of uncertainty around the world, of course, stemming from the situation in the Middle East, and we're just watching that very closely.

是的，Chris，我可以先回答。現階段主要就是 Kent 在開場致詞提到的不確定性。就目前而言，我們能見度至少到年中；而我們也在推動一些價格與銷量的措施，讓我們對第二季有信心。我想我們會在全年推進過程中持續向各位更新。當然，全球存在很多不確定性，尤其是源自中東局勢，我們也正非常密切地關注。

Vincent Andrews, Morgan Stanley.

Vincent Andrews，摩根士丹利。

Just wanted to follow up a bit on the brownfield opportunity and just color a few things in. Kent, were you saying that these assets could potentially start up as early as 2028, or would the timeline on that be a bit longer? If you could just help us understand what the lead time would be?

我想再追問一下棕地（brownfield）機會，並補充一些細節。Kent，你的意思是這些資產可能最早在 2028 年就能啟動（start up）嗎？還是時程會更長一些？能否幫我們理解一下前置時間（lead time）大概會是多久？

Yes. So well, none of the projects are finalized. So there are opportunities now. So I'm not sure we even call them projects. But there are things that we've talked about and discussed over time and we'll bring those on when we think it's the right time, right? And obviously, a couple of those are with our joint venture projects, so we need to align with our joint venture partners as well. So somewhere in that -- it's definitely clearly after '27, in that time frame, but we think that is the next leg of growth for us in that phase. And we say that because the bigger investments and bigger projects like Kings Mountain would be after that, right? So it fills the gap in between those two.

是的。首先，這些都還沒有定案。所以目前是存在機會。我甚至不確定我們是否該稱它們為「專案」。但確實有一些我們長期以來談過、討論過的事項；我們會在我們認為時機成熟時把它們推進，對吧？而且其中有幾項顯然是與我們的合資（joint venture）專案相關，所以我們也需要與合資夥伴對齊。因此大概會落在那個——很明確是在 2027 年之後的時間框架內；我們認為那會是我們在那個階段的下一段成長。之所以這麼說，是因為像 Kings Mountain 這種更大投資、更大型的專案會在那之後，對吧？所以它是在兩者之間填補空檔。

Okay. And Neal, can I just ask you, on slide 10, you talk about it, at $20/kg, the free cash flow or the operating cash flow conversion would be 60% to 70%. As prices ramp higher than that, how much of that drops down to cash flow versus how much would go up to working capital? So would we stick with the 60% to 70% range? Would it be higher than that? Would it be in the lower end of the range? How should we think about it?

了解。Neal，我也想請教你一下，在第 10 頁投影片，你提到在 20 美元/公斤時，自由現金流或營運現金流的轉換率會是 60% 到 70%。當價格上升到高於這個水準時，有多少會落到現金流、又有多少會增加到營運資金（working capital）？所以我們會維持在 60% 到 70% 的區間嗎？會高於這個區間嗎？還是會落在區間的低端？我們應該怎麼看？

Yes, Vince, look, I think it, of course, always matters in the shape of how that pricing moves up. If it's a very sudden move up in pricing, particularly if it's towards the end of the year, then I would expect that our cash conversion will compress in the immediate just because of how sharply the working capital runs up and how quickly we can get that back in terms of cash. If it's a little bit more gradual, look, I still think that 60% to 70%, when we've done our benchmarking and our modeling, that seems to be the right place for us to be from a steady-state perspective. So if it is a little bit more of a ratable kind of movement up, I would expect us to be able to still be in that range.

是的，Vince，你看，我認為這當然取決於價格上升的型態。如果價格是非常突然地上升，尤其是發生在年底附近，那我預期我們的現金轉換率在短期內會被壓縮，因為營運資金會急劇上升，而我們把它以現金形式回收的速度會跟不上。若上升較為漸進，我仍然認為 60% 到 70%——在我們做過同業對標與模型推估後——從穩態（steady-state）的角度看，這似乎是適合我們的水準。所以如果是比較平均、可分攤（ratable）的上升，我預期我們仍能維持在那個區間。

Arun Viswanathan, RBC Capital Markets.

Arun Viswanathan，RBC 資本市場。

Congrats on the strong results. And apologies if this was asked earlier, but did you discuss the reduction of output at Greenbushes? It looks like it's about 10% to 15%, and how that affects kind of your own operations?

恭喜你們有很強的業績表現。若這題先前已有人問過也請見諒，但你們是否有談到 Greenbushes 的產量下調？看起來大約是 10% 到 15%，以及這對你們自身營運的影響？

Okay. So we had said that in an earlier question. So Greenbushes is operating in line with the plan that we have, right? And as we look at that every year, we build our plans, we look at all of our resource assets and we risk adjust those. And so what we've built in our plan for Greenbushes this year, the mine is operating to those plans, including the ramp of CGP3. So we're on our plan for the ramp of CGP3. And we started that project, first ore at the end of '25, and we felt like we could ramp it throughout the year. And then it's a schedule according to that ramp, but we should be at full capacity by the end, and we think we're on that schedule.

好的。我們在前面一個問題其實有提到。Greenbushes 目前是依照我們的計畫在運作，對吧？我們每年檢視時都會制定計畫，檢視所有資源資產並做風險調整。因此，我們今年對 Greenbushes 納入計畫的內容，礦山正依照該計畫運作，也包含 CGP3 的爬坡（ramp）。所以 CGP3 的爬坡我們是按計畫進行。我們在 25 年底開始該專案、取得第一批礦石（first ore），並且我們認為可以在全年逐步爬坡。接著會依照那個爬坡來排程，但我們應該會在年底達到滿載產能，我們也認為目前進度符合該時程。

Okay. And then you noted that ESS demand could be a little bit stronger, I guess, and we did notice kind of stronger EV demand also in the last month versus the first few months of the year. So are you seeing demand improvement? And obviously, I think you're still guiding to about flattish volumes. So is there any way you can address that upside on demand, if there is any? Or would that be unlikely this year and potentially likely next year? How should we think about your opportunities to capture some of that extra demand, if there is any?

了解。你們也提到 ESS 需求可能會稍微更強；我們也注意到最近一個月相較於今年前幾個月，電動車（EV）需求也更強。所以你們是否看到需求改善？而且很明顯你們仍指引銷量大致持平。那你們能否談談若需求有上行，你們是否有方式可以因應？或者今年不太可能、可能要到明年才會發生？我們應該如何看待你們把握額外需求（如果有的話）的機會？

Yes. Eric can talk about maybe a little bit more detail. But I would just say, look, the market is growing, it is strong, but we're working through the seasonality, right? The early part of the year is always difficult to figure out what exactly is going to happen with the Lunar New Year, China is such a big market. That has a big impact, and we're off of that now. Demand is strong, but I'm not sure we're ready to kind of say it's at a different level.

是的。Eric 可以補充更細的內容。但我先說，我們看到市場在成長、也很強勁，但我們正在消化季節性因素，對吧？每年年初總是很難判斷農曆新年會帶來什麼影響；中國是非常大的市場，影響很大，而我們現在已經走過那段時間。需求確實強，但我不確定我們是否已準備好說它已經到了一個不同的層級。

Yes. So this is just to add, on a demand basis, our customers, the battery companies around the world, particularly in Asia, who produce for this market, their order books are full from now through the beginning of '27. So demand is very strong in Energy Storage, driven by the factors of grid reliability, renewables in various parts of the world, as well as AI and behind-the-meter storage. So there's very favorable trends that are driving that kind of an outlook.

是的，我補充一下。就需求面而言，我們的客戶——全球的電池公司，特別是亞洲、為這個市場供貨的那些——他們從現在到 27 年初的訂單簿（order books）都是滿的。因此能源儲存的需求非常強，主要由電網可靠性、全球各地的再生能源發展，以及 AI 與表後儲能（behind-the-meter storage）等因素所驅動。所以有非常有利的趨勢在推動這樣的展望。

And Arun, this is Neal. I think you had asked about our demand forecast -- sorry, our volume growth forecast for this year, which is flat with last year. Look, underneath that volume forecast was an assumption, as Kent highlighted, about how we see our resources ramping through the year. That's one part CGP3 and the other one being the improvements that are getting driven at Wodgina. Everything is going according to our plan, which is why we're still holding on to that volume outlook. But obviously, as we go through the year, if we start to see upside, we'll continue to give you updates. I think our volume growth potential this year, in particular, is really driven by how well those resources continue to move in their capacity expansion.

Arun，我是 Neal。我想你問的是我們的需求預測——抱歉，是今年的銷量成長預測，也就是與去年持平。你看，在這個銷量預測之下，有一個假設，如 Kent 所強調的，是我們如何看待資源在全年逐步爬坡。其中一部分是 CGP3，另一部分是 Wodgina 推動的改善。一切都按我們的計畫進行，這也是為什麼我們仍維持那個銷量展望。但很明顯，隨著我們走過全年，如果開始看到上行，我們會持續向各位更新。我認為今年的銷量成長潛力，特別取決於這些資源在擴產過程中持續推進的表現。

Yes, it's about availability of product from our perspective rather than market. Market is pretty strong.

是的，從我們的角度來看，關鍵在於產品供給的可得性，而不是市場。市場其實相當強。

Laurence Alexander, Jefferies.

Laurence Alexander，Jefferies。

Two questions. First, can you talk a little bit about whether there's any advantages or disadvantages for you if the LFP producers need to switch to yellow phosphorus to reduce their sulfur consumption, and also how higher sulfur prices are affecting your economics versus your peers? And then secondly, just longer term, if you do undertake something like Kings Mountain, what would you see as like the desirable range for your balance sheet? And what balance sheet metrics would you use as boundary conditions?

兩個問題。第一，你能否談談如果 LFP 生產商為了降低硫的消耗而需要改用黃磷（yellow phosphorus），這對你們而言是否有任何優勢或劣勢？另外，較高的硫價相較於同業，對你們的經濟性（economics）有何影響？第二，拉長時間來看，如果你們確實推進像 Kings Mountain 這樣的專案，你們認為資產負債表（balance sheet）理想的區間會是什麼？你們會用哪些資產負債表指標作為邊界條件（boundary conditions）？

Okay. So maybe, Eric, you can talk about the LFP chemistries a little bit, because --

好的。所以也許，Eric，你可以稍微談一下 LFP 的化學體系，因為——

Yes. So you might have to expand a little bit on your question, Laurence. Let me answer the part of it that is clear to me and I think is important to understand. We talked in the call about raw material costs rising $70 million to $90 million across the enterprise, and we have a variety of ways we're mitigating that. One of those drivers, a fairly big driver, is sulfuric acid. I don't think we are advantaged or disadvantaged versus anybody who buys sulfuric acid around the world, particularly in Asia, where a lot of the conversion activity happens for hard rock conversion. So that's a cost that's affecting supply. In fact, frankly, any acid roast and leaching process is going to be impacted by that. Your first question was not clear to me, maybe you could restate it.

是的。所以 Laurence，你可能需要把你的問題再延伸說明一下。讓我先回答其中我聽得清楚、也覺得重要的一部分。我們在電話會議中談到，整個企業的原材料成本上升了 7,000 萬到 9,000 萬美元，而我們有多種方式在緩解這個影響。其中一個驅動因素、而且是相當大的驅動因素，是硫酸。我不認為相較於全球任何購買硫酸的公司，我們有什麼優勢或劣勢，尤其是在亞洲——那裡有大量硬岩轉換的轉換活動。因此，這是一項正在影響供應的成本。事實上，坦白說，任何酸焙與浸出流程都會受到影響。你的第一個問題我不太清楚，也許你可以再重述一次。

So my understanding was that one way to offset the cost on sulfuric acid for the LFP producers is for them to switch to yellow phosphorus. And that if they did, I was curious as to whether there's any issues with the contaminant profiles of the lithium from different mines. Like I mean, my understanding is you have an advantage in terms of being able to reformulate your product. But maybe I'm just overthinking kind of the dynamics there.

所以我的理解是，對 LFP 生產商而言，抵消硫酸成本的一種方式，是改用黃磷。而如果他們這麼做，我想知道不同礦山來源的鋰在污染物（雜質）特徵上是否會有任何問題。我的意思是，我的理解是你在重新配方你的產品方面有優勢。但也許我只是把其中的動態想得太複雜了。

Well, I think one of the advantages of those LFP producers, the cathode producers who reside almost entirely in China that they have is their upstream capabilities to access phosphorus in various forms of it. I've had some discussions with some of these companies about how they do that. I understand any trade-offs are not impacting their ability to deliver quality. And that's, at the moment, the best I could say. If we learn more, we'll certainly share more.

嗯，我認為那些 LFP 生產商——幾乎完全位於中國的正極材料生產商——其中一個優勢，是他們在上游取得各種形式磷資源的能力。我和其中一些公司討論過他們如何做到這點。我了解到，任何取捨並未影響他們交付品質的能力。就目前而言，我能說的大概就是這些。如果我們了解到更多，我們一定會分享更多。

And then, Laurence, this is Neal. Maybe I can start with your question on Kings Mountain. Look, what I would say, as you can see as a company, because of the extreme volatility that we've seen over the last five years, we are obviously in a position of balance sheet strength. And we are on purpose taking a conservative stance right now just because of the volatility we've seen in general. But as we look at Kings Mountain, and I want to highlight, we're nowhere near a final investment decision.

然後 Laurence，我是 Neal。也許我可以先從你關於 Kings Mountain 的問題開始。你看，我想說的是，正如你所見，因為過去五年我們看到極端的波動性，作為一家公司，我們顯然具備強健的資產負債表。我們是刻意在目前採取保守立場，主要是因為整體波動性。但當我們看 Kings Mountain 時，我想強調的是——我們離最終投資決策還差得很遠。

Joel Jackson, BMO Capital.

Joel Jackson，BMO Capital。

The first question is, you're talking about Q2 margins guidance or commentary as if spot prices hold Q1 levels. Our prices or market prices are actually higher in Q2 than Q1. So can you talk about that? I mean what quarter-over-quarter price increase would you need to hold Q1 margins? Or how would you frame it?

第一個問題是，你們在談 Q2 的毛利率指引或評論時，似乎是假設現貨價格維持在 Q1 水準。但我們的價格或市場價格在 Q2 其實比 Q1 更高。所以你能談談這點嗎？我的意思是，你們需要多大的季對季價格上升才能維持 Q1 的毛利率？或者你會怎麼表述？

So I think -- let me start, Neal, and then you can talk a little bit more detail. But I mean, look, there is -- a portion of our volume is on contracts or about 40% on contracts, and there's a lag on that, right? There's typically a three-month lag on how pricing moves through that. So that will move up slightly just as we go through the quarter if prices stay where they are. So we're not forecasting prices, but that's just a function of the way our contracts work. So it will move up, and that will impact margin as we move forward through the quarter. Then it becomes more steady state as it will catch up as long as prices are flat.

我想——讓我先開始，Neal，然後你可以再補充一些細節。不過你看，我們有一部分銷量是合約定價——大約 40% 在合約上——而那裡存在滯後效應，對吧？通常價格傳導會有三個月的滯後。因此，如果價格維持在目前水準，隨著我們走過這一季，合約價格會略微上調。我們不是在預測價格，但這只是我們合約運作方式的結果。所以它會上升，而這會在我們往前推進本季時影響毛利率。之後只要價格持平，等它追上來，就會進入較穩態的狀態。

Yes. Just to add to that, look, if you hold everything flat, essentially to get to that higher margin that you're assuming, basically, from our $20 scenario to our $30 scenario, everything basically scales linearly. So to get to the higher margin, you have to make an assumption around just a higher price realization in the second quarter, all other things being equal. So it really comes down to pricing.

是的。補充一下，你看，如果你把其他一切都假設不變，基本上要達到你所假設的較高毛利率——也就是從我們的 20 美元情境到 30 美元情境——所有東西基本上是線性縮放的。所以要達到較高毛利率，你必須對第二季更高的實現價格（price realization）做出假設，在其他條件相同的情況下。因此，關鍵真的就在定價。

Okay. And Kent and team, if I circle back to the Greenbushes question, which is, I've heard your answer a couple of times now on what you're saying about Greenbushes being the plan. But one of your JV partners really went public the other week and talked about safety, and it was in the prepared remarks, and it was very aggressive in wanting to call out to the public what they feel should be happening or is happening at Greenbushes.

好的。Kent 和團隊，如果我回到 Greenbushes 的問題，也就是：我已經聽過你們幾次的回答，關於你們說 Greenbushes 仍按計畫進行。但你們的一位合資夥伴在前幾週確實公開談到安全問題，而且是在事先準備的發言稿裡，語氣非常強硬，想向大眾點出他們認為在 Greenbushes 應該發生或正在發生的事情。

It is a different commentary that you're giving today. Why do you think your JV partner is wanting to do that? Is this just about negotiating how the mine plan should go forward, production, throughput, concentrate grades, and you have different interest being a customer of the spodumene as well? Like why do you think your partner is so aggressive in the market talking about safety and Greenbushes issues?

這和你們今天給的評論不一樣。你覺得為什麼你們的合資夥伴想這麼做？這只是關於協商礦山計畫未來該如何推進——產量、處理量、精礦品位——而你們作為鋰輝石客戶也有不同利益嗎？你覺得為什麼你們的夥伴在市場上談安全與 Greenbushes 問題時如此強勢？

Yes. So I guess I would -- look, I'm not going to comment on their perspective of what they're doing. I would say they're our partner's partner, right? So as we go through that -- but we do have -- we're not happy with the safety position at the mine. We've had lots of conversations with the management team and our partners around that. We have a plan, and it's improving, and we're working toward that. Safety is not something that you move overnight. It's a long-term program.

是的。所以我想我會——你看，我不會評論他們的觀點或他們在做什麼。我會說他們是我們夥伴的夥伴，對吧？所以在我們處理這件事的過程中——但我們確實對礦山的安全狀況不滿意。我們已經和管理團隊以及我們的夥伴就此進行了很多對話。我們有一個計畫，而且情況正在改善，我們也正朝那個方向努力。安全不是一夜之間就能改變的事情。這是一個長期計畫。

We feel that we're on the right track there. But the mine is operating to the plan that we thought they would during the year, and we don't see exceptions to that. So the way we view it is that we are on plan. The CGP3 project started up last year, and it is ramping through the year, and we're on that ramp plan. So we don't see a variance in our plan, and I can't comment on what our partner is thinking when they talk publicly.

我們覺得我們走在正確的軌道上。但礦山的運作符合我們原先預期的年度計畫，我們沒有看到例外。因此我們的看法是：我們是按計畫進行。CGP3 專案去年啟動，目前正逐步爬坡，我們也符合那個爬坡計畫。所以我們看不到我們計畫的偏差，而我也無法評論我們的夥伴在公開談論時在想什麼。

Colin Rusch, Oppenheimer & Co.

Colin Rusch，Oppenheimer & Co.。

As we look at some of the NDA compliance deadlines coming up at the start of 2028, I'm just curious about how you're planning to meet those and what we can think about from a CapEx perspective if there is any to meet some of those requirements?

當我們看到一些 NDA 合規期限在 2028 年初即將到來時，我很好奇你們打算如何滿足那些要求，以及從資本支出（CapEx）的角度來看，若要符合其中一些要求，是否需要任何投入？

I'm not sure I understand that question. Can you just say that again?

我不確定我理解這個問題。你可以再說一次嗎？

Yes, so NDA requirements for military batteries. We're looking at having to have entire supply chains in North America to meet some of those requirements. I'm just curious about your ability to meet those volumes and any CapEx plans that you have here over the next two years to be in line with them.

好的，所以是軍用電池的 NDA 要求。我們看到為了符合其中一些要求，必須在北美擁有完整的供應鏈。我很好奇你們滿足那些需求量的能力，以及你們在未來兩年為了與之對齊而可能有的任何資本支出計畫。

Okay. Look, that's a segment of the market that we would want to serve. We actually have probably the only lithium produced today in the United States comes from Silver Peak and processed at Kings Mountain. So that's the only kind of pure lithium processed in the U.S. today. We have that. It's a pretty small volume. It's not a big piece of the market, but we can serve that through other locations with allied countries like Chile as well.

好的。你看，那是我們想要服務的一個市場區隔。實際上，今天美國境內生產的鋰，可能只有來自 Silver Peak，並在 Kings Mountain 進行加工。所以那是目前美國唯一一種在美國加工的「純」鋰。我們有這個能力。量相當小，不是市場很大的一部分，但我們也可以透過其他地點、以及像智利這樣的盟國來服務。

So I mean, it is an opportunity for us. And as we look going forward to make investments, obviously, Kings Mountain, the mine itself would be one of the opportunities to serve that particular volume. Look, I would say we're not over-indexed on it. We think about the total market overall, but military applications in the U.S. is definitely an opportunity for us.

所以我的意思是，這對我們而言是一個機會。而當我們往前看要做投資時，顯然 Kings Mountain——礦山本身——會是服務那一特定需求量的機會之一。你看，我會說我們不會過度押注在這上面。我們會從整體市場來思考，但美國的軍用應用對我們而言確實是一個機會。

Great. And then as you look at the European demand for EVs and seeing that grow, is there any concern that there's new regulations coming out of Europe in terms of compliance around supply not being able to come from China for any of those OEMs or through the EU properly from a regulatory perspective?

很好。然後當你們看到歐洲電動車需求並且看到其成長時，是否擔心歐洲會推出新的法規，從合規角度要求那些 OEM 的供應不能來自中國，或是從歐盟監管角度來看，供應鏈無法透過歐盟適當合規？

Yes. Look, so there is a lot of conversation going now around critical minerals. And when we hear that, we think lithium, and around diverse supply chains, global supply chains, allied countries, that's going to move a lot over time. From our standpoint, we have a diverse portfolio, so around the world, so both brine and hard rock, but in a variety of different countries, and we think we'll be able to satisfy that one way or the other. So if it's tighter regulation, it just makes a different opportunity for us. If it's not as tight, we have our full portfolio to work with. So we see it as an opportunity, not a concern. And then we have to wait and see exactly how it plays out.

是的。你看，現在圍繞關鍵礦物有很多討論。當我們聽到這個時，我們會想到鋰，以及多元化供應鏈、全球供應鏈、盟友國家等，這些都會隨時間而有很大變化。就我們的立場而言，我們擁有多元化的投資組合，遍布全球，因此同時涵蓋鹵水與硬岩，且分布在多個不同國家，我們認為無論如何都能滿足需求。所以如果監管更嚴格，對我們而言只是帶來不同的機會；如果沒那麼嚴格，我們也有完整的投資組合可以運用。因此我們把它視為機會，而不是疑慮。接下來就要等待並觀察它究竟會如何發展。

John Roberts, Mizuho.

John Roberts，瑞穗（Mizuho）。

I have just one. Assuming this year plays out according to plan, where do you think your debt level should be this time next year? What would be a targeted debt level?

我只有一個問題。假設今年按計畫推進，你認為明年此時你們的負債水位應該是多少？目標負債水位會是什麼？

Yes, John, this is Neal. Look, I mean, I guess there's a lot of estimating and forecasting to get to that number. But look, if you -- I'm sure you're doing this math on your side, if you just take flat pricing from where we are today and just run that across the end of the year, we exited first quarter at 1x net debt-to-EBITDA. And you can imagine that at these kind of prices, we'll probably trend down from there below 1x. So obviously, like I had said before, our stance right now is to be in a little bit more conservative balance sheet position and for all the volatility and uncertainty that we see in the world, and that's our posture for the year.

是的，John，我是Neal。你看，我想要得到那個數字需要做很多估算與預測。不過你看，如果你——我相信你那邊也在算這筆帳——如果只用今天的平盤價格一路推算到年底，我們在第一季結束時的淨負債對EBITDA為1倍。你可以想像，在這樣的價格水準下，我們很可能會從那裡往下走到低於1倍。所以很明顯，如我之前所說，我們目前的立場是讓資產負債表更保守一些，考量到我們在全球看到的各種波動與不確定性，這就是我們今年的姿態。

Yes. I would add to that. Look, we've brought ourselves through a tough period, and we clearly want to be a little more conservative as we go through that. We haven't worked out all the details around that, but we're trying to -- our overall goal, we're building a company that will be able to work through the cycle regardless of where it goes and that we would still be -- can be opportunistic at the bottom of the cycle. That's what we're trying to do. The balance sheet is definitely a part of that strategy.

是的。我也補充一下。你看，我們走過了一段艱難時期，而我們顯然希望在接下來的過程中更保守一些。我們還沒有把所有細節都敲定，但我們正在努力——我們的整體目標是打造一家無論景氣循環走向如何，都能穿越周期的公司，並且在周期底部仍能——仍然可以把握機會。我們就是在做這件事。資產負債表絕對是這項策略的一部分。

Kevin McCarthy, Vertical Research Partners.

Kevin McCarthy，Vertical Research Partners。

I was wondering if you could speak to the quarterly cadence of your lithium sales volumes. You're guiding flat for the year. I think in the first quarter, you had 53 kilotons, which was up appreciably. It looks like your comps are a little tougher in the back half. So maybe you could speak to how you would foresee that flowing through in the second quarter and the balance of the year?

我想請你談談你們鋰銷售量的季度節奏。你們對全年指引是持平。我記得第一季你們是53千噸，增幅相當明顯。看起來你們在下半年同比基期會比較吃力。所以也許你可以談談你預期第二季以及今年剩餘時間會如何反映？

Yes. Kevin, this is Neal. I'm very happy to start. So the first quarter is typically our softest quarter, of course, because of Chinese New Year and just general seasonality. You should expect volumes to pick up here in the second quarter and the third quarter. I would not expect our fourth quarter volumes to be as strong as they were last year, mainly because we had inventory reductions that we did at the end of the year, as we saw that kind of strength in demand come through in the fourth quarter.

是的。Kevin，我是Neal。我很樂意先回答。第一季通常是我們最淡的一季，當然是因為農曆新年以及一般的季節性因素。你應該預期第二季與第三季的銷量會回升。我不預期第四季的銷量會像去年那麼強，主要是因為我們在去年年底做了庫存去化，當時我們看到第四季需求出現那種強勁的表現。

And so that's the reason why we've been guiding to this overall sort of flat volume year-over-year. It's exactly what you said. We have tougher comps on a year-over-year basis as we go through the year. And so that's why you saw some volume growth here in the first quarter. That was the easiest of all the comps. Those will get tougher as we go through the year just because of the elevated sales volumes that we had last year.

因此，這就是我們指引全年整體銷量同比大致持平的原因。正如你所說，隨著今年推進，我們的同比比較基期會更具挑戰性。所以你才會在第一季看到一些銷量成長；那是所有比較基期中最容易的一個。隨著今年進行，因為去年我們的銷售量偏高，這些同比基期會變得更難。

Very good. And then I'm tempted to ask, does Albemarle have any visibility at all into whether your lithium molecules end up in an EV versus an energy storage system? And if you do have any visibility, do you care? In other words, is there any strategic or commercial effort to influence your mix in one direction or the other? How do you think about that?

很好。接著我很想問，Albemarle是否能看到你們的鋰最終是用在電動車（EV）還是用在儲能系統（ESS）？如果你們確實有一些能見度，你們在意嗎？換句話說，你們是否有任何策略或商業上的努力，去影響你們的組合往某一個方向傾斜？你們怎麼看這件事？

So I mean we do see where it goes. I mean it's not 100% transparent, because a lot of times it's the same customers, but we have those discussions. We know where they're going. We understand order books and one versus the other, because they have different profiles. So I think it is important that we understand that. We think we have pretty good visibility of it. It's not perfect, because it is the same customer base, but it relies on customer conversations and their transparency with us. But we feel like we have a pretty good handle on that. Eric, do you want to comment on that further?

所以我的意思是，我們確實能看到它流向哪裡。當然不是100%透明，因為很多時候是同一批客戶，但我們會進行這些討論。我們知道它們會去哪裡。我們理解訂單簿，以及兩者之間的差異，因為它們有不同的特性。所以我認為我們理解這點很重要。我們覺得自己有相當不錯的能見度。它不完美，因為客戶基礎相同，但這依賴我們與客戶的對話以及他們對我們的透明度。不過我們覺得我們掌握得相當好。Eric，你要不要再補充一下？

No, I think that's right. I think that's right. Clearly, someone buying carbonate for LFP production, that could go EV or ESS, but it comes down to the knowledge we have on the ground to be able to ascertain the difference. And to the second part of your question, it does matter in that we want to make sure we're close to understanding what's driving growth, so we can plan our own capacities and approaches to the market accordingly.

不，我覺得這樣說是對的，我覺得是對的。很明顯，購買碳酸鋰用於LFP生產的客戶，最終可能用在EV或ESS，但關鍵在於我們在第一線掌握的資訊，能夠判斷其中差異。至於你問題的第二部分，這確實重要，因為我們希望貼近理解成長的驅動因素，這樣我們才能相應地規劃自身產能與市場策略。

Mazahir Mammadli, Rothschild.

Mazahir Mammadli，Rothschild。

I just wanted to ask about the lithium market. So if we assume that the current market conditions persist, what kind of supply response would you expect over the coming year or so? And particularly, would you say that the current price is high enough for some of the unconventional supply that we saw in 2022, 2023 to come online?

我想問一下鋰市場。如果我們假設目前的市場狀況持續，你預期未來一年左右供給端會有什麼樣的反應？特別是，你會說目前的價格是否高到足以讓我們在2022、2023看到的一些非常規供給重新上線？

So I guess, first, I would say, it takes time almost for anything to come back, right? So if you've idled capacity and you've kept it in the right shape, condition, you can bring it back in pretty short order. But if you really put it in care and maintenance, it's going to take some time. And when you talk about mines, you have to think about things like yellow equipment and all of that, which is not sitting on the shelf. And even brownfield mines, it's a couple of years. And if it's greenfield, it's further than that.

所以我想，首先我要說的是，幾乎任何產能要回來都需要時間，對吧？如果你只是讓產能閒置，並且維持在良好狀態與條件下，你可以在相當短的時間內把它拉回來。但如果你真的進入封存維護（care and maintenance），那就會需要一些時間。當你談到礦山時，你還得考慮像是大型工程機械等，這些不是隨手就能拿到的。即便是棕地礦（brownfield），也要好幾年；如果是綠地礦（greenfield），時間就更長。

And then some of the unconventional. I don't know that we're at prices where things get a little crazy. I think also people learned a lesson in the last cycle about the nature of the market. I don't think we're going to see a massive supply adjustment to this, at least that's not how we're thinking about it at prices where we are now. If you think about a lot of the projects that were on the books and maybe even still happening, we're now getting to the point where their financial forecasts are in the market, so to speak. It's not that we've gone way above them, that we're just getting back to the numbers they were using to justify projects. So I don't think you see a huge supply response.

然後關於一些非常規供給。我不確定我們目前的價格水準是否會讓事情變得有點瘋狂。我也認為人們在上一輪周期中對市場的本質學到了一課。我不認為我們會看到對此出現大規模的供給調整，至少我們目前不是這樣看待的，以我們現在的價格水準而言。你如果想想很多已列入計畫、甚至可能仍在推進的專案，我們現在正走到一個階段：它們的財務預測（某種程度上）已經反映在市場裡。並不是我們遠遠高於那些預測，而是我們只是回到它們當初用來論證專案可行性的數字附近。所以我不認為你會看到很大的供給反應。

And just a follow-up on the specialties business. So the bromine price in China, if you look at the current prices, almost as high as the peak in 2022. And in 2022, this segment generated EBITDA of over $0.5 billion. Is that a trajectory we should expect if the bromine price stays at this level? Or are there other moving parts that we should think about?

另外追問一下特種化學品業務。如果看中國的溴素價格，以目前價格來看，幾乎和2022年的高峰一樣高。而在2022年，這個部門創造了超過5億美元的EBITDA。如果溴素價格維持在這個水準，這會是我們應該預期的走勢嗎？還是有其他變動因素需要考量？

Yes. So there's a bit in there. So prices, they did peak. They've actually come off fairly quickly recently, but they were at a higher level, and we're below the performance level we were. But we recognize that we have some operational cost issues we need to address around that, and we're working on that. We've got projects around that.

是的。這裡面有幾個因素。價格確實曾經見頂。最近其實回落得相當快，但先前確實在較高水準，而我們目前的表現低於當時的績效水準。不過我們也認知到，在這方面我們有一些營運成本問題需要處理，我們正在著手改善。我們也有相關專案在推進。

And I guess the other piece, and Eric can talk about this, but that bromine price you see, there's a small amount of our bromine that we sell on that basis. But it is the most visible index that you can see. So I understand why you watch it. We watch it as well, and it's indicative in the market, but it's actually a very small part of our bromine that we sell on that index.

我想另外一點，而且 Eric 也可以談談這個，就是你看到的溴價格指數，我們只有少量的溴是依據那個基礎來銷售的。但它確實是你能看到的最顯眼指數。所以我理解你為什麼會關注它。我們也會看，它在市場上具有指標性，但實際上我們依該指數銷售的溴只占非常小的一部分。

Yes. Just to add to Kent's comment, this is Eric speaking. As you look at our overall Specialties sales, which, of course, includes lithium specialties and bromine specialties, it's 20% or less of our sales that are exposed to that kind of index, which is prevalent in China for upstream bromine. If you go around the world, regional markets behave differently. If you go down our value chain into derivatives, there you're going to get more of a specialty chemical type approach to pricing. So it does vary.

是的。補充 Kent 的評論，我是 Eric。你看我們整體的特用化學品（Specialties）銷售，當然包含鋰特用產品與溴特用產品，暴露在那種指數定價下的銷售占比是 20% 或更低；那種指數在中國上游溴市場較為普遍。放眼全球，各區域市場的表現不同。若沿著我們的價值鏈往下游到衍生物，你會看到更偏向特用化學品的定價方式。因此確實會有所差異。

And the pricing this year has been driven, we believe, by what has been a lot of anxiety at the beginning of the year around supply. But we had our own issues at JBC, which we resolved quickly. You have the Middle East crisis, which has created anxiety. In the midst of that, we've been able to position ourselves as a very reliable and diversified global supplier. That's helped us on the one hand. But on the other, as the Chinese seasonal production comes on, that has led to some price easing in China, too. So this all comes back to the question on the second half of the year and our visibility that Neal answered the question on earlier. So this is why we're a little cautious, but those are the factors that have contributed to what we're seeing right now in bromine.

而我們認為，今年的定價主要是受到年初市場對供應的高度焦慮所驅動。不過我們在 JBC 也有自身的問題，但很快就解決了。再加上中東危機造成的焦慮。在這樣的背景下，我們得以把自己定位為非常可靠且多元化的全球供應商，這一方面對我們有利。但另一方面，隨著中國季節性產量釋出，也導致中國價格有所走軟。因此這又回到下半年以及我們能見度的問題，Neal 先前已回答過。所以這也是我們稍微保守的原因；但以上就是目前我們在溴市場看到情況的主要因素。

Rock Hoffman, Bank of America.

Rock Hoffman，美國銀行（Bank of America）。

I understand not wanting to take a view on near-term market pricing. But just with current Chinese spot near $27/kg, is there upside to that $20/kg market scenario guide if pricing stays at current levels? And maybe just on the other side of the market balance equation, how would you assess any near-term supply shocks either in Zimbabwe, Jiangxi province or elsewhere?

我理解你們不想對短期市場定價表態。但以目前中國現貨接近 27 美元/公斤來看，如果價格維持在目前水準，你們所提供的 20 美元/公斤市場情境指引是否有上行空間？另外就市場供需平衡的另一端而言，你們如何評估近期在辛巴威、江西省或其他地區可能出現的供應衝擊？

Yes. So I guess -- I think the first one, if I understood the question, it's a pretty easy answer. If the Chinese price stays at $27, there's upside to our $20 forecast. I think the answer to that is yes. There's not a lot -- I don't think I'm taking a lot of risk in saying that. And the supply, I mean, what's happening, look, there's in and out moving. I think you're always going to have that in supply in the lithium when you're coming, there's African resources. Zimbabwe, we don't see that as a supply that comes off long term. I think that's a short-term issue, probably, call it, a negotiating position, if you will. So it has taken some product off the market, but we see it coming back in months or quarters as part of that.

是的。所以我想——我認為第一個問題，如果我理解得沒錯，答案很簡單：如果中國價格維持在 27 美元，那我們 20 美元的預測就有上行空間。我認為答案是肯定的。我不覺得這麼說有太大風險。至於供應，坦白說，供應就是會進進出出。我認為在鋰的供應端你總會看到這種情況，因為有非洲資源。辛巴威方面，我們不認為那會是長期退出的供應。我認為那可能是短期問題，大概可以說是一種談判立場。因此它確實讓部分產品暫時退出市場，但我們預期在幾個月或幾個季度內會回到市場。

The lepidolite in China is a little more difficult to call. Some of those have been offline, and offline for quite some time, almost going on a year for the CATL mine, I think we understand that to be more about permitting rather than operations, but then that still has to play out. I don't think we can answer that, but I don't think this is like an extraordinary thing. This is going to happen in the lithium world where supply comes in and out on a regular basis. The market is big enough now to where five years ago, a mine coming off like Zimbabwe or a couple of mines would have been massive. The market is big enough now to where it influences, but it's not a huge supply shock.

中國的鋰雲母（lepidolite）就比較難判斷。有些產能已經停產，而且停了相當一段時間，幾乎快一年了；以 CATL 的礦來說，我想我們理解那更多是許可（permitting）問題而非營運問題，但仍需要時間發展。我們不太能給出明確答案，但我不認為這是什麼特別異常的事件。在鋰的世界裡，供應會規律地進出。現在市場規模已經夠大，五年前像辛巴威那樣一座礦停供或幾座礦停供會是巨大的事件；而現在市場夠大，雖然會有影響，但不至於形成非常巨大的供應衝擊。

Understood. And just as a follow-up, any updated views on the two major contracts, which roll off at the end of this year? And more broadly, how should we think about potential shifts of that product mix from the current 60% spot, 40% contracted?

了解。再追問一下，對於兩份主要合約在今年底到期（roll off），你們是否有更新的看法？更廣泛地說，我們應如何看待產品組合可能從目前 60% 現貨、40% 合約的結構發生變化？

Yes. So we don't have anything to update on those. I mean -- and this is kind of business as usual as we've done these. We have conversations with our customers, and then we tend to adjust as we go through the year. But we have no update on those particular contracts at the moment. Eric, anything?

是的。所以我們目前沒有任何更新。我的意思是——這基本上就是我們一貫的日常作業。我們會和客戶對話，然後通常會在一年當中逐步調整。但就這兩份特定合約而言，目前沒有更新。Eric，有要補充的嗎？

No, business as usual, we continue to evaluate a path forward with those customers. We also have a pipeline of many others who are prospective contract customers, and we're evaluating the terms and whether those meet our objectives, and we'll update you when we have a better view of that towards the end of the year.

沒有，一切照常。我們持續與那些客戶評估後續的推進路徑。我們也有許多其他潛在的合約客戶名單（pipeline），正在評估條款以及是否符合我們的目標；等到接近年底、我們有更清楚的視角時，會再向各位更新。

Yes. And we're always talking about contracts with our customers. And you can imagine the conversations are different today than they were a year ago just because of where the market is. But we continue to talk to them, and we don't have any updates on that, but we will provide them once we have some clarity.

是的。而且我們一直都在和客戶談合約。你可以想像，因為市場位置不同，今天的對話和一年前不一樣。但我們會持續溝通；目前沒有更新，不過一旦有更明確的資訊，我們就會提供。

Thank you. That's all the time we have for questions. I will now pass it back to Kent Masters for closing remarks.

謝謝。由於時間關係，問答到此結束。我現在把時間交回給 Kent Masters 做結語。

Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today. We've managed through a challenging period and actively positioned the company for future growth and resilience. As we look ahead, I'm deeply optimistic about our company's trajectory. Our team is dedicated to delivering operational excellence and sustainable growth, and our efforts are bearing fruit. Together, we will continue to leverage our competitive strengths and world-class resources and process chemistry expertise to capitalize on the opportunities created by the energy transition. I look forward to sharing more milestones and successes with you in the coming quarters. Thank you.

謝謝主持人，也謝謝各位今天參與。我們已經度過一段充滿挑戰的時期，並積極為公司未來的成長與韌性做好布局。展望未來，我對公司的發展軌跡深具信心。我們的團隊致力於達成卓越營運與永續成長，而我們的努力正在開花結果。我們將攜手持續運用我們的競爭優勢、世界級資源，以及在製程化學方面的專業，來把握能源轉型所帶來的機會。我期待在接下來的幾個季度與各位分享更多里程碑與成果。謝謝。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與。您現在可以掛線。