雅保公司 (ALB) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to Albemarle Corporation's Q2 2026 earnings call. I will now hand it over to Meredith Bandy, Vice President of Investor Relations and Sustainability.

您好，歡迎參加雅保公司（Albemarle Corporation）2026 年第二季財報電話會議。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 second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. Our earnings were released after market close yesterday, and you'll find the press release and earnings presentation posted to our website under the Investors section at albemarle.com.

謝謝，歡迎各位參加雅保 2026 年第二季財報電話會議。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. As a reminder, some of the statements made during this call, including 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 applies to this call. Please also note that some of our comments today may refer to non-GAAP financial measures. You can find reconciliations in our earnings materials.

今天與我一同參與電話會議的有：執行長 Kent Masters、財務長 Neal Sheorey、營運長 Mark Mummert，以及商務長 Eric Norris；他們也將出席問答環節。提醒各位，本次電話會議中的部分陳述（包括展望、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用語。同樣的用語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。您可在我們的財報資料中找到相關調節表。

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

現在我把電話交給 Kent。

Thank you, Meredith. Our strong start to 2026 continued in the second quarter, supported by disciplined execution and improving conditions across our key markets. Second quarter net sales of $1.7 billion increased 31% year-over-year, driven by higher pricing in energy storage and both higher pricing and volumes in specialties. Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $858 million, with our enterprise EBITDA margin expanding to 49%. Importantly, we converted that performance into cash.

謝謝你，Meredith。我們在 2026 年的強勁開局於第二季延續，這得益於嚴謹的執行力，以及我們主要市場環境的改善。第二季淨銷售額為 17 億美元，年增 31%，主要由能源儲存業務較高的定價，以及特用化學品業務的定價與銷量同步提升所帶動。調整後 EBITDA 較去年同期增加逾一倍至 8.58 億美元，企業整體 EBITDA 利潤率擴大至 49%。更重要的是，我們將這些表現轉化為現金。

We generated $710 million of cash from operations, representing a more than 80% operating cash conversion and $638 million of free cash flow in the quarter. We are also on track to reach the high end of our $100 million to $150 million full year target for cost and productivity improvements. These results reflect a deliberate focus on operational excellence and cost discipline.

本季我們營運活動產生現金 7.10 億美元，代表超過 80% 的營運現金轉換率，且自由現金流為 6.38 億美元。我們也正按計畫達成全年 1 億至 1.5 億美元成本與生產力改善目標的高端。這些成果反映我們對營運卓越與成本紀律的刻意聚焦。

We also benefit from globally diverse and resilient key end markets. Global lithium consumption was up 45% year-over-year through May, tracking above our forecasted range, driven by continued strength in stationary storage and improving growth in electric vehicles. Needed supply increases are coming to market slower than demand growth due to limited spodumene availability, temporary disruptions in shipments from Africa and slower-than-expected ramp-up of Chinese lepidolite mines. And as a result, inventories are low and the physical lithium market remains tight.

我們也受惠於全球多元且具韌性的關鍵終端市場。截至 5 月，全球鋰消費量年增 45%，高於我們預測區間，主要由固定式儲能的持續強勁，以及電動車成長改善所帶動。由於輝石（spodumene）供應有限、非洲出貨的短期中斷，以及中國透鋰長石（lepidolite）礦山產能爬坡慢於預期，所需的供給增量進入市場的速度低於需求成長。因此，庫存偏低，實體鋰市場仍然吃緊。

We are improving our 2026 outlook considerations, including raising our specialty sales and EBITDA outlooks due to a strong year-to-date performance and reducing expected capital spending, thanks to ongoing capital efficiency efforts. Beyond our 2026 outlook, we are also advancing resource options that can support sustainable growth through the cycle.

我們正在更新 2026 年展望的考量，包括因年初至今表現強勁而上調特用化學品的銷售與 EBITDA 展望，並因持續的資本效率提升而下調預期資本支出。除了 2026 年展望之外，我們也在推進可在景氣循環中支持永續成長的資源選項。

On today's call, I'll focus on our efforts at the Salar de Atacama, where we're leveraging decades of brine processing expertise to advance direct lithium extraction. We also have opportunities at our Australian hard-rock joint ventures. Wodgina is outperforming on better-than-planned ore availability and recoveries. This is helping offset the impact of a fire at Greenbushes CGP3 plant, which occurred on June 9. CGP3 restarted on August 1.

在今天的電話會議中，我將聚焦於我們在阿塔卡馬鹽湖（Salar de Atacama）的工作；我們正運用數十年的鹵水處理專業來推進直接鋰萃取（DLE）。我們在澳洲硬岩合資案也有機會。Wodgina 受惠於礦石供應量與回收率優於原先規劃，表現超出預期。這有助於抵銷 Talison 合資企業 Greenbushes CGP3 工廠於 6 月 9 日發生火災所帶來的影響。CGP3 已於 8 月 1 日重新啟動。

Now I'll turn it over to Neal to discuss recent results and outlook. I will then cover recent market trends and give more detail on our resources before we open the call for Q&A.

現在我把電話交給 Neal，請他說明近期業績與展望。之後我將補充近期市場趨勢，並在我們進入問答環節前，提供更多關於資源面的細節。

Thank you, Kent, and good morning, everyone. I'll begin with our second quarter results on Slide 5. Second quarter net sales were $1.7 billion, driven by energy storage pricing, up 73%, while specialties pricing and volumes were up 11% and 8%, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $858 million, up 155% year-over-year, reflecting higher net sales and our ongoing cost and productivity improvements. Both segments contributed to this strong growth with energy storage adjusted EBITDA up 229% and specialties up 61%. Net income attributable to Albemarle was $480 million, and we reported diluted earnings per share of $3.52.

謝謝你，Kent，各位早安。我將從第 5 頁的第二季業績開始。第二季淨銷售額為 17 億美元，主要由能源儲存定價上升（上升 73%）所帶動；同時，特用化學品的定價與銷量分別上升 11% 與 8%。本季調整後 EBITDA 為 8.58 億美元，年增 155%，反映淨銷售額提升以及我們持續推動的成本與生產力改善。兩大事業部門皆對此強勁成長有所貢獻：能源儲存調整後 EBITDA 年增 229%，特用化學品年增 61%。歸屬於雅保的淨利為 4.80 億美元，我們報告的稀釋後每股盈餘為 3.52 美元。

Turning to Slide 6. I'll walk through the key drivers of our year-over-year EBITDA performance. As I mentioned, second quarter adjusted EBITDA increased primarily due to higher pricing in both segments. Due to higher lithium pricing, our cost of goods sold reflects increased Chilean commission payments and higher-priced spodumene inventory. The impact of higher spodumene pricing is offset by increased equity income from our Talison joint venture versus the prior year.

接著看第 6 頁。我將說明 EBITDA 年對年表現的關鍵驅動因素。如我所提，第二季調整後 EBITDA 的增加主要來自兩個事業部門的定價提升。由於鋰價上升，我們的銷貨成本反映了智利佣金支付增加，以及以較高價格取得的輝石庫存。較高的輝石價格影響，已由我們 Talison 合資企業相較去年增加的權益法投資收益所抵銷。

Across both segments, cost and productivity improvements helped offset raw material and supply chain cost increases related to the situation in the Middle East. Corporate and All Other reflects a reduction in adjusted EBITDA due to the Ketjen Refining Solutions divestiture, partially offset by favorable foreign exchange impacts.

在兩個事業部門中，成本與生產力改善有助於抵銷與中東局勢相關的原物料與供應鏈成本上升。「公司與其他」反映調整後 EBITDA 的下降，主因為 Ketjen Refining Solutions 的出售；部分由有利的匯率影響所抵銷。

Turning to Slide 7. We are maintaining our total company outlook ranges and expect to come in at the high end of the scenario ranges due to strong year-to-date performance and an increased specialties outlook. These factors offset modestly lower expected energy storage sales volume due to the fire at the CGP3 plant at the Talison joint venture. Our outlook ranges continue to reflect the expected impact of supply chain disruptions related to the situation in the Middle East, which we still estimate at approximately $70 million to $90 million on an unmitigated basis for the full year. In Specialties, we are increasing our outlook due to higher pricing and volumes, which I will cover in more detail on the next slide.

接著看第 7 頁。我們維持公司整體展望區間不變，並預期將落在情境區間的高端，原因是年初至今表現強勁以及特用化學品展望上修。這些因素抵銷了因 Talison 合資企業 CGP3 工廠火災而導致能源儲存預期銷售量略為下調的影響。我們的展望區間仍反映與中東局勢相關的供應鏈中斷之預期影響；在未採取緩解措施的基礎下，我們對全年影響的估計仍約為 7,000 萬至 9,000 萬美元。在特用化學品方面，我們因定價與銷量提升而上調展望；我將在下一頁更詳細說明。

The Specialties segment delivered another strong quarter. Net sales were $424 million, up 20% year-over-year, and adjusted EBITDA was $118 million, up 61% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 28%, up 700 basis points from the prior year period. The solid performance in the second quarter was primarily due to higher pricing and volume and favorable product mix as a result of bromine market disruptions related to the situation in the Middle East. As a result, we are increasing our full year outlook ranges, raising net sales to $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion and adjusted EBITDA to $275 million to $325 million. This increase reflects strong year-to-date performance as our teams have worked to capture the upside of increased bromine pricing while mitigating Middle East-related supply chain disruptions through proactive cost management.

特用化學品事業部門再度交出強勁的一季。淨銷售額為 4.24 億美元，年增 20%；調整後 EBITDA 為 1.18 億美元，年增 61%。調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 28%，較去年同期提升 700 個基點。第二季的穩健表現主要來自較高的定價與銷量，以及因中東局勢導致溴素市場供給受擾而帶來的有利產品組合。因此，我們上調全年展望區間，將淨銷售額提高至 14 億至 16 億美元，並將調整後 EBITDA 提高至 2.75 億至 3.25 億美元。此一上調反映年初至今的強勁表現；我們的團隊在積極成本管理下，一方面把握溴素價格上漲帶來的上行空間，另一方面緩解與中東相關的供應鏈中斷。

Our second half outlook assumes stabilization of the bromine market as we've seen pricing normalize since reaching a peak in April, and it reflects continued uncertainty in the Middle East. As such, we expect third quarter net sales and EBITDA to be lower sequentially. Long term, we continue to see margin upside for the Specialties segment as our business and asset diversity continues to deliver positives. Specialties benefits from diverse end markets, including electronics and semiconductors, building and construction, oil and gas and pharmaceuticals. Geographic diversity also complements the platform's end market diversity and adds resilience against regional volatility.

我們對下半年展望假設溴市場趨於穩定，因為自4月觸頂以來，我們已看到價格回歸常態化，且該展望亦反映中東地區持續存在的不確定性。因此，我們預期第三季淨銷售額與EBITDA將較前一季下滑。長期而言，隨著我們的業務與資產多元化持續帶來正面效益，我們仍看好特種產品（Specialties）事業部的利潤率上行空間。特種產品受惠於多元終端市場，包括電子與半導體、建築與營造、油氣以及製藥。地理多元化亦與該平台的終端市場多元化相輔相成，並提升對區域性波動的韌性。

Turning to Energy storage on Slide 9. Net sales increased 78% year-over-year and adjusted EBITDA increased 229%, both driven by higher pricing. Second quarter sales volumes were 65,000 tons lithium carbonate equivalent, or LCE, with an average realized price of approximately $20 per kilogram LCE. Realized price was approximately 15% below market pricing due to the dilutive impact of spodumene sales on an LCE basis and the 3-month pricing lag for our long-term agreements. See Slide 24 in the appendix for additional information.

接著看第9頁的能源儲存。淨銷售額年增78%，調整後EBITDA年增229%，兩者皆由較高的價格所帶動。第二季銷售量為65,000噸碳酸鋰當量（LCE），平均實現價格約為每公斤LCE 20美元。由於以LCE基礎計算時，鋰輝石（spodumene）銷售的稀釋影響，以及我們長期合約存在3個月的定價滯後，實現價格約較市場價格低15%。更多資訊請參閱附錄第24頁。

For the third quarter, net sales and adjusted EBITDA are expected to decrease sequentially due to lower sales volumes and assuming that pricing is lower sequentially for the quarter as it stands today. Additionally, energy storage margins are expected to decrease sequentially due to the timing of spodumene inventories and also assuming that today's pricing continues for the quarter.

就第三季而言，預期淨銷售額與調整後EBITDA將較前一季下降，原因是銷售量較低，且以目前情況假設本季價格亦將較前一季走低。此外，能源儲存利潤率預期也將較前一季下降，原因在於鋰輝石庫存的時點因素，並同樣假設本季延續今日的價格水準。

As a reminder, it takes approximately 4 months to ship and process spodumene purchased from the Talison joint venture. In a rising price environment, this creates a margin tailwind as we process lower cost inventory while benefiting from higher selling prices. In a declining price environment, that timing effect reverses and is dilutive to margins. For the full year, energy storage sales volumes are now expected to be in the range of 225,000 to 235,000 tons LCE or flat to down 4% year-over-year. This reflects the delay in the CGP3 ramp following the June 9 fire, partially offset by better-than-planned production at Wodgina. As Kent mentioned, CGP3 restarted last weekend and is now ramping back up.

提醒一下，從Talison合資企業採購的鋰輝石，運送並加工約需4個月。在價格上升的環境下，當我們加工較低成本的庫存、同時受惠於較高的銷售價格時，這會形成利潤率的順風。在價格下跌的環境下，該時點效應會反轉，並對利潤率造成稀釋。就全年而言，能源儲存銷售量目前預期為225,000至235,000噸LCE，約為年增持平至年減4%。此反映6月9日火災後CGP3爬坡延遲，部分由Wodgina優於計畫的產量所抵銷。如Kent所提，CGP3已於上週末重新啟動，目前正逐步恢復產能。

Turning to Slide 10. We continue to focus on converting earnings into cash as evidenced by our performance over the last 3 years. First half operating cash flow conversion is at the high end of our long-term target range of 60% to 70%. In the second quarter, we benefited from increased Talison dividends and nonrecurring working capital reductions driven by favorable inventory and accounts receivable. On a full year basis, we still expect cash flow to be impacted by $87.5 million of deferred revenue related to our 2025 customer prepayment, which benefits EBITDA but does not contribute cash and approximately $100 million of spend related to idling Kemerton Train 1.

接著看第10頁。我們持續聚焦將獲利轉化為現金，這可由我們過去3年的表現看出。上半年營運現金流轉換率位於我們60%至70%長期目標區間的高端。第二季我們受惠於Talison股利增加，以及由有利的存貨與應收帳款所帶動的一次性營運資金下降。以全年而言，我們仍預期現金流將受到兩項因素影響：與2025年客戶預付款相關的遞延收入8,750萬美元（有利於EBITDA但不帶來現金），以及約1億美元用於閒置Kemerton第一列（Train 1）的支出。

Slide 11 highlights our continued focus on cost and productivity. Thus far, we have achieved approximately $100 million of run rate savings year-to-date. This performance puts us on track to reach the high end of our $100 million to $150 million full year target. Across these gross improvements, roughly 40% has been driven by supply chain and back-office initiatives.

第11頁強調我們持續聚焦成本與生產力。截至目前，我們年初至今已達成約1億美元的年度化（run rate）節省。此表現使我們有望達成全年1億至1.5億美元目標的高端。在這些毛利改善中，約40%來自供應鏈與後勤（back-office）措施。

The remaining 60% includes manufacturing cost out and incremental volumes and yield. Examples of these productivity improvements include debottlenecking projects at La Negra, JBC and our lithium conversion sites in China. Importantly, these improvements continue to help us offset the supply chain disruptions and cost inflation related to the situation in the Middle East.

其餘60%包括製造成本降低，以及增量產量與良率提升。這些生產力改善的例子包括La Negra、JBC以及我們在中國的鋰轉換（conversion）據點的去瓶頸（debottlenecking）專案。重要的是，這些改善持續協助我們抵銷與中東局勢相關的供應鏈中斷與成本通膨。

With that, I'll turn it back over to Kent to discuss the market outlook.

接下來，我把時間交還給Kent，請他說明市場展望。

First, let me highlight the breadth of Albemarle's end markets and why we are generally seeing resilient demand trends. Our portfolio serves key markets across mobility, energy, connectivity and health, and that diversity strengthens our resilience through the cycle. Electric vehicles and stationary storage remain significant long-term growth drivers. Together, these 2 end markets make up about 50% to 60% of Albemarle's total net sales last year.

首先，我想強調Albemarle終端市場的廣度，以及為何我們整體上看到具韌性的需求趨勢。我們的產品組合服務於移動、能源、連結與健康等關鍵市場，而這種多元性強化了我們穿越景氣循環的韌性。電動車與固定式儲能仍是重要的長期成長驅動因素。合計而言，這兩個終端市場約占Albemarle去年總淨銷售額的50%至60%。

We'll talk in more detail on both these markets in a moment. In specialties, electronics and semiconductors, building and construction and oil and gas remain key market segments. AI-related demand continues to support electronics and semiconductor applications. In oil and gas, clear brine fluid demand has remained stable in the Middle East, while geopolitical uncertainty has incentivized demand in other regions such as the Americas and Europe. We can serve all these geographies from our global asset network, creating resilience in volatile environments like we face today.

我們稍後會更詳細討論這兩個市場。在特種產品方面，電子與半導體、建築與營造以及油氣仍是關鍵市場區隔。與AI相關的需求持續支撐電子與半導體應用。在油氣方面，中東地區的澄清鹵水（clear brine）流體需求維持穩定，而地緣政治不確定性則帶動美洲與歐洲等其他地區的需求。我們可透過全球資產網路服務所有這些地區，在如同當前所面臨的波動環境中建立韌性。

Let's now turn to a deeper dive into EV and stationary storage markets. Turning to Slide 13. Lithium demand is up 45% through May, primarily driven by continued strength in stationary storage. We are increasing our 2026 and 2030 stationary storage forecast ranges due to that strong demand. We now expect stationary storage battery production of 900 to 1,100 gigawatt hours in 2026, up 11% or 100 gigawatt hours from our prior forecast.

接著我們更深入探討電動車與固定式儲能市場。請看第13頁。截至5月，鋰需求成長45%，主要由固定式儲能持續強勁所帶動。基於這股強勁需求，我們上調2026年與2030年固定式儲能的預測區間。我們目前預期2026年固定式儲能電池產量為900至1,100吉瓦時，較先前預測上調11%或增加100吉瓦時。

We are also raising the low end of our 2030 stationary storage range to between 1,500 and 2,000 gigawatt hours, up approximately 9% from our prior forecast. As a result of this change, we are also raising the low end of our 2030 forecast for total lithium demand by 100,000 tons. Lithium demand growth continues to outstrip supply growth. As a result, we exited the second quarter near record lows in terms of days of lithium salt inventory.

我們也將2030年固定式儲能區間的低端上調至1,500至2,000吉瓦時，較先前預測約上調9%。由於此變動，我們也將2030年總鋰需求預測的低端上調10萬噸。鋰需求成長仍持續超越供給成長。因此，我們在第二季末的鋰鹽庫存天數接近歷史新低。

Based on mass balance calculations, we also estimate spodumene inventories are at near historic lows and some conversion sites in China have reportedly shut down or reduced production due to the lack of spodumene availability. Lithium demand continues to diversify by application and geography as stationary storage gained share.

根據物料平衡（mass balance）計算，我們也估計鋰輝石庫存接近歷史低點；且據報導，由於鋰輝石供應不足，中國部分轉換廠已停產或減產。隨著固定式儲能占比提升，鋰需求在應用與地理分布上持續多元化。

Slide 14 highlights the strength of stationary storage demand. Global stationary storage production has nearly doubled year-over-year with broad support across most geographic regions. Long-term demand remains supported by multiple secular trends. First, global electricity demand growth is accelerating, led by urbanization, AI and data centers and EVs. With grid upgrades taking multiple years, stationary storage is the fastest and most cost-effective way to support grid reliability.

第14頁突顯固定式儲能需求的強勁。全球固定式儲能產量年增近一倍，且多數地理區域皆有廣泛支撐。長期需求仍受到多項結構性趨勢支持。首先，全球用電需求成長正在加速，主要由都市化、AI與資料中心以及電動車所帶動。由於電網升級需要多年時間，固定式儲能是支撐電網可靠性最快且最具成本效益的方式。

Also, policy support in regions like China, Europe and Australia improves project economics for stationary storage and renewables. We now expect stationary storage to make up about 30% of 2026 global lithium market demand, nearing parity with light-duty EVs.

此外，中國、歐洲與澳洲等地區的政策支持，改善了固定式儲能與再生能源專案的經濟性。我們目前預期，固定式儲能將約占 2026 年全球鋰市場需求的 30%，接近與輕型電動車（EV）需求持平。

Turning to Slide 15. Year-to-date, global EV sales are up 10% year-over-year. EV sales growth inflected in the second quarter, up 16% versus prior year. European EV demand remains strong, up 31% year-to-date, driven by policy support in key markets like the U.K., Germany, France and others. Europe also benefits from increased model availability and affordability as Chinese OEMs have increased exports and domestic production for the region.

接著看第 15 頁投影片。年初至今，全球電動車銷量年增 10%。第二季電動車銷售成長出現轉折，較去年同期成長 16%。歐洲電動車需求仍然強勁，年初至今成長 31%，主要受英國、德國、法國等關鍵市場的政策支持所帶動。隨著中國 OEM 增加對該地區的出口與在地生產，歐洲也受惠於車型供給增加與價格更具可負擔性。

In China, growing EV exports and larger battery sizes have helped offset weaker domestic EV unit sales. The rest of the world was the fastest-growing region in the first half, up 90% year-over-year and has overtaken North America as the third largest market, led by growth in Brazil, Australia, India and South Korea.

在中國，電動車出口成長與電池容量變大，有助於抵消國內電動車銷量疲弱的影響。世界其他地區在上半年是成長最快的區域，年增 90%，並已超越北美成為第三大市場，成長主要由巴西、澳洲、印度與南韓帶動。

Turning to Slide 16 for an update on our Australian joint ventures. As previously mentioned, Greenbushes' CGP3 plant restarted on August 1. We had previously expected the plant to reach full run rate by year-end. Prior to this incident, the plant was ramping ahead of schedule. However, to ensure adequate contingency for our downstream operations, we've assumed CGP3 reaches full run rate in the first quarter of 2027.

接著看第 16 頁投影片，更新我們在澳洲的合資企業進展。如先前提到，Greenbushes 的 CGP3 工廠已於 8 月 1 日重新啟動。我們先前預期該工廠可在年底前達到滿載運轉。在此次事件之前，該工廠的爬坡進度其實超前於原定時程。然而，為確保我們下游營運具備足夠的備援，我們假設 CGP3 將於 2027 年第一季達到滿載運轉。

Greenbushes is in the middle of a multiyear transformation. Mine optimization studies are progressing well, and we anticipate operational improvements and further brownfield expansion projects. Our primary focus remains on operating the mine safely, and we have good alignment with all partners towards that goal.

Greenbushes 正處於一項為期多年的轉型之中。礦山最佳化研究進展良好，我們預期將帶來營運改善以及更多棕地擴建專案。我們的首要重點仍是安全地營運礦山，且我們與所有合作夥伴在此目標上有良好一致性。

At Wodgina, operations are performing well, supported by better-than-planned ore availability and recoveries. All 3 processing trains are now operating. Ore quality is expected to remain consistent next quarter before improving later this year as the availability of clean ore increases. As we have highlighted before, these hard rock assets are an important part of our long-term resource position and provide near-term brownfield growth opportunities.

在 Wodgina，營運表現良好，受惠於優於計畫的礦石供應量與回收率。目前 3 條處理產線皆已運轉。預期下季礦石品質將維持一致，並在今年稍晚隨著潔淨礦石供應增加而改善。如我們先前強調，這些硬岩資產是我們長期資源布局的重要一環，並提供近期棕地成長機會。

Moving to Slide 17. Albemarle has decades of brine processing expertise at Magnolia and Silver Peak in the United States, the Salar de Atacama and La Negra in Chile and JBC in Jordan. That foundational experience informs how we are advancing DLE technology at the Salar de Atacama. Our dedicated team of scientists, engineers and operators have a deep understanding of DLE fundamentals based on more than 10 years of research and innovation. Over that time, we've evaluated dozens of DLE technologies, including both proprietary and third-party solutions.

接著看第 17 頁投影片。Albemarle 在美國 Magnolia 與 Silver Peak、智利 Salar de Atacama 與 La Negra，以及約旦 JBC，累積了數十年的鹵水處理專業。這些基礎經驗，指引我們在 Salar de Atacama 推進 DLE（直接鋰萃取）技術。我們專責的科學家、工程師與操作團隊，基於超過 10 年的研究與創新，對 DLE 的基本原理有深刻理解。在此期間，我們評估了數十種 DLE 技術，包括自有技術與第三方解決方案。

Our highest and best opportunity to leverage DLE is in the Salar de Atacama based on the large scale and high grade of that world-class asset. At the Salar, we have progressed from scientific research and lab scale work to pilot validation and integrated pilot testing. In March of 2026, we submitted an environmental assessment permit for a DLE project at the Salar de Atacama. Our phased approach to DLE is intended to support future growth and sustainability while leveraging Albemarle's existing infrastructure and process chemistry expertise. We intend to advance this project prudently, subject to regulatory approvals, community consultation and technology validation.

我們運用 DLE 的最佳機會在 Salar de Atacama，因其具備世界級資產的大規模與高品位特性。在該鹽湖，我們已從科學研究與實驗室規模工作，推進至中試驗證與整合式中試測試。2026 年 3 月，我們已就 Salar de Atacama 的 DLE 專案提交環境影響評估許可申請。我們採取分階段推進 DLE 的方式，旨在在運用 Albemarle 既有基礎設施與製程化學專長的同時，支持未來成長與永續性。在取得監管核准、完成社區諮詢與技術驗證的前提下，我們將審慎推進此專案。

On Slide 18, we show our phased DLE concept at the Salar de Atacama. Our current environmental permit submission seeks authorization for up to 6 trains. The planned investment will start with 1 train as we prove the technology at a commercial scale. Under this scenario, lithium-rich brine would be extracted from the Salar through pumping wells and sent in parallel to the existing evaporation ponds and the proposed DLE plant. The concentrated lithium solution from the DLE plant would be combined in the final solar evaporation ponds and further concentrated before being converted at La Negra into battery-grade lithium carbonate.

在第 18 頁投影片，我們展示 Salar de Atacama 的分階段 DLE 概念。我們目前提交的環境許可申請，尋求核准最多 6 條產線。規劃投資將先從 1 條產線開始，以在商業規模上驗證技術。在此情境下，富鋰鹵水將透過抽取井自鹽湖抽出，並行送往既有蒸發池與擬建的 DLE 工廠。DLE 工廠產出的濃縮富鋰溶液，將在最後的太陽能蒸發池中合併並進一步濃縮，之後於 La Negra 轉換為電池級碳酸鋰。

Our proposed DLE plant does not use solvent extraction, meaning that we retain the option to reincorporate the lithium depleted brine back into the Salar through dedicated wells. The Atacama integrated pilot plant has operated for more than a year, or over 3,000 operating hours, giving us valuable data and confidence in our process design and scale-up capability. Recoveries are critical to efficiency and sustainability, particularly in brine deposits. This is something we've worked on for years. A conventional pond system recovers about 30% to 40% of the lithium in extracted brine.

我們擬建的 DLE 工廠不使用溶劑萃取，這表示我們保留透過專用井將貧鋰鹵水回注至 Salar 的選項。Atacama 整合式中試工廠已運轉超過一年，或超過 3,000 小時的運轉時數，為我們提供了寶貴數據，並提升我們對製程設計與放大能力的信心。回收率對效率與永續性至關重要，尤其是在鹵水礦床中。這是我們多年來持續投入的重點。傳統的池式系統約可回收抽取鹵水中 30% 至 40% 的鋰。

With Albemarle's Salar yield improvement technology, we've been able to increase recoveries to 50% to 60%. Our DLE pilot plant has demonstrated recoveries of over 90%, allowing us to extract more lithium with a smaller footprint and more fully utilize this world-class resource. Our team is also focused on minimizing water footprint in Chile. Approximately 85% of processed water is recycled at the current DLE pilot plant. Our DLE project is consistent with our broader strategy, leverage our world-class resources, technical expertise and existing infrastructure to create durable long-term value while improving sustainability outcomes.

透過 Albemarle 的 Salar 產率提升技術，我們已能將回收率提高至 50% 至 60%。我們的 DLE 中試工廠已展示超過 90% 的回收率，使我們能以更小的占地萃取更多鋰，並更充分利用這項世界級資源。我們的團隊也聚焦於在智利將用水足跡降至最低。目前 DLE 中試工廠約有 85% 的製程用水可回收再利用。我們的 DLE 專案與更廣泛的策略一致：運用世界級資源、技術專長與既有基礎設施，在提升永續成果的同時，創造可長期維持的價值。

In summary, Albemarle delivered another strong quarter, including net sales of $1.7 billion and cash from operations of $710 million. We are improving our 2026 outlook considerations by increasing specialties outlook, optimizing capital expenditure spend and tracking toward the high end of our cost and productivity target. We are also capitalizing on long-term secular growth opportunities in energy transition and energy resilience, including strong global grid storage demand. Finally, we remain focused on execution and disciplined capital allocation to enable us to grow ratably through the cycle.

總結而言，Albemarle 再度交出強勁的一季表現，包括淨銷售額 17 億美元，以及營運活動現金流入 7.10 億美元。我們正透過上調特用化學品展望、最佳化資本支出投入，並朝向成本與生產力目標的高端推進，來改善我們對 2026 年展望的考量。我們也正把握能源轉型與能源韌性帶來的長期結構性成長機會，包括全球電網儲能需求強勁。最後，我們仍專注於執行力與嚴謹的資本配置，以使我們能在景氣循環中穩健成長。

With that, I'll turn the call over to the operator for Q&A.

接下來，我將把電話會議交給接線員進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) David Begleiter, Deutsche Bank Securities.

(接線員指示) 德意志銀行證券（Deutsche Bank Securities）的 David Begleiter。

Kent and Neal, can you just clarify your comments on guidance coming at the top end of the scenario ranges? Which one are you referring to total company or energy storage? Just some clarification, that would be great.

Kent 和 Neal，你們能否釐清一下你們提到的指引落在情境區間高端的評論？你們指的是整體公司還是能源儲存？若能稍作說明就太好了。

David, this is Neal. It's really both, and maybe I can clarify that a little bit. So we were referring to the $20 per kg LCE scenario. And actually, if you -- there's a couple of reasons why we say that we're towards the top end. First of all, if you look at market pricing so far this year in the first half of the year, it has trended actually on average a little bit higher than $20.

David，我是 Neal。其實兩者都是，我可以再多釐清一點。我們指的是每公斤 LCE 20 美元的情境。而且，如果你——我們之所以說接近區間高端，有幾個原因。首先，如果你看今年迄今、也就是上半年為止的市場定價走勢，平均而言其實略高於 20 美元。

So naturally, that pushes us towards the higher end of the $20 range. Then in addition to that, obviously, we've had a little bit better volume performance in the first half of the year. We've been working on our cost and productivity improvement. And at least at an enterprise level, you had the very strong performance from specialties, particularly in the second quarter. So for all of those reasons, at an enterprise level, if pricing had been at that $20, we would be towards the upper end of that range in the first half of the year. And then the same would be true for the Energy Storage segment as well.

所以很自然地，這會把我們推向 20 美元區間的較高端。此外，很明顯地，我們在上半年銷量表現也稍微更好一些。我們一直在推動成本與生產力改善。而且至少在企業整體層面，專業化學品業務表現非常強勁，尤其是在第二季。因此，基於所有這些原因，在企業層面，如果定價是在 20 美元，那麼我們在上半年就會落在該區間的上緣。能源儲存事業部也同樣如此。

Very helpful. And Kent, just on a potential government funding for lithium, there's been an increasing talk about the government focused on critical mineral supply chain and shoring that up in the U.S. Can you talk about where you stand on those discussions.

非常有幫助。Kent，另外關於鋰的潛在政府資金支持，近期越來越多討論提到政府聚焦於關鍵礦物供應鏈並在美國強化（shoring）該供應鏈。你能談談你們在這些討論中的進展嗎？

Okay. So look, there has been a lot of talk about it in discussions, and we've talked to the government quite a bit. So we've been involved in that process for quite some time. We don't have anything to tell you about today that involves that. So -- but it continues around critical minerals.

好的。所以你看，相關討論確實很多，我們也和政府談了不少。我們參與這個流程已經有一段時間了。但就今天而言，沒有任何與此相關、可以對你們說明的事項。所以——不過關於關鍵礦物的討論仍在持續。

Lithium is probably not the highest priority across all those critical minerals, and you probably see that for the projects that they've announced. But we have conversations, we're talking to them, but we have nothing to tell you about today.

在所有這些關鍵礦物之中，鋰可能不是最高優先順序，你從他們已宣布的專案大概也看得出來。但我們確實有在對話、也在和他們溝通，只是今天沒有任何可以對你們說明的內容。

Patrick Cunningham, Citi.

Patrick Cunningham，花旗（Citi）。

This is Rachel on for Patrick. So you've noted lithium demand is accelerating higher than expectations and growing faster than supply. So curious to hear kind of your latest thoughts on the supply side of the equation and if the market requires higher pricing levels to support new investments.

我是代替 Patrick 的 Rachel。你們提到鋰需求加速成長、超出預期，且需求增速快於供給。因此想請教你們對供給端最新的看法，以及市場是否需要更高的價格水準來支撐新的投資。

Okay. So you kind of said it. So demand is a little stronger than we were anticipating. It is strong. There's a bit -- it was -- EVs were weak in the first quarter, but they kind of trended back in the second quarter and then energy storage demand is kind of off the charts.

好的。你其實已經把重點說出來了。需求確實比我們原先預期的更強一些。需求很強。有一點——第一季電動車（EV）偏弱，但第二季有回升趨勢，而能源儲存需求則幾乎是爆發式成長。

And that -- and so with EVs coming back, there is strong demand. Supply is a little behind that. So when we look out, say, for the year, there is supply coming on and you always need that supply to come on because this market is growing. It's a little -- it's behind demand. So that's probably why you see inventories getting down to levels which we haven't seen for a while.

因此——隨著 EV 回升，需求很強。供給相對落後一些。所以當我們往外看，例如看全年，確實會有新增供給上線，而且你也需要新增供給上線，因為這個市場正在成長。但供給仍稍微落後於需求。這大概就是為什麼你會看到庫存降到我們一段時間以來未見的水準。

So the inventories of the physical market is very tight. And then you'll see -- there are projects on the board. We expect investments to come. You need that to keep up with supply. And then your question about is pricing driving that.

所以實體市場的庫存非常吃緊。接著你會看到——目前也有一些專案在規劃中。我們預期投資會進來。你需要這些投資才能跟上供給。然後你問到價格是否在驅動這件事。

I don't mean we're in a range where good projects will -- people will invest in good projects and more speculative projects, probably not. So it's not a bad place from a pricing perspective. I don't think it's driving projects that weren't planned, and it's not taking projects that were planned off the books. So it's not a bad place to be.

我的意思是，我們目前所處的價格區間，好的專案——大家會投資好的專案；但更具投機性的專案，可能就不會。所以從價格角度來看，這不是個糟糕的位置。我不認為它在推動那些原本沒有規劃的專案，也沒有把原本已規劃的專案從名單上拿掉。所以這不是個糟糕的狀態。

Got it. And you've raised both the 2026 and 2030 stationary storage demand forecast. So curious to hear if anything changed specifically in your customer discussions or project pipeline visibility to give you the confidence to increase the longer-term outlook.

了解。另外，你們上調了 2026 年與 2030 年的固定式儲能需求預測。想請教是否在客戶討論或專案管線能見度方面有什麼具體變化，使你們更有信心提高長期展望。

Yes. Look, I think it's just the confidence that we see in the projects that are happening, the supply chain that's getting built out and all the activity. Eric, maybe you want to talk about any specific customer discussions that give us more confidence.

是的。你看，我認為主要是我們對正在發生的專案、正在建置的供應鏈，以及所有活動的信心提升。Eric，也許你可以談談是否有任何特定的客戶討論，讓我們更有信心。

Well, most of the chemistry in question that we're talking about that's driving this is driving our demand is iron phosphate chemistry comes out of China. So our customer discussions there indicate a market that is tight and struggling to keep up with installation demand. Installations are exceeding actual battery production. We can track sort of about a 1-year lag between when lithium is sold and when it goes into an installation. And the latter the installation number that's been announced, is larger than what's being produced today. And that drives a healthy market, and we're seeing that in our customer base in China right now.

嗯，我們談到、且正在推動這一波需求的主要化學體系，是磷酸鐵鋰（LFP）體系，而它主要來自中國。因此，我們在那邊的客戶討論顯示市場很緊，且在滿足裝機需求方面相當吃力。裝機量正在超過實際電池產量。我們可以追蹤鋰銷售到最終進入裝機之間大約有 1 年的落後期。而目前已宣布的裝機數字，比今天的產量還要大。這帶動了一個健康的市場，而我們現在在中國的客戶群中也看到了這一點。

John Roberts, Mizuho.

John Roberts，瑞穗（Mizuho）。

Could you talk a little bit about the constrained supply out of both Africa and China, lepidolite. How long would you expect that to last?

你能談談來自非洲以及中國（鋰雲母 lepidolite）的供給受限情況嗎？你預期這種情況會持續多久？

Yes. So that's been the story over the last year, I would say, and it's starting to move. So you see that starting to move, and that will go into the back half of the year of a bit of additional supply. I think it's a little different. Africa is moving a little faster. Lepidolite, I think we've seen one mine come back on and start to ramp up. So that will add capacity. But as we said, the market is pretty tight. Inventories are low. We kind of need that capacity.

是的。我會說這是過去一年以來的主軸，而現在開始出現變化。你會看到供給開始回升，並在下半年帶來一些額外供給。我認為情況有點不同。非洲的進展稍微快一些。至於鋰雲母（lepidolite），我想我們已看到有一座礦山重新啟動並開始爬坡增產。這會增加產能。但如我們所說，市場相當吃緊。庫存偏低。我們某種程度上需要這些產能。

And then what's the sequential price assumed for bromine in the specialties guidance?

另外，在特用化學品（specialties）指引中，對溴（bromine）的環比價格假設是什麼？

John, this is Neal. So look, it's hard to give you a specific price on bromine in the -- for the third quarter, mainly because as we've shown you before, there is a bromine index in China, but only about 1/3 of our volume tracks that bromine index. One thing I will say about the Chinese bromine index, which you can observe is that index hit a peak back in the second quarter and has come back down to levels today that are probably closer to where we started the year. So that's one data point.

John，我是 Neal。你看，很難給你第三季溴的具體價格，主要是因為如我們之前向你展示的，中國有一個溴價指數，但我們只有大約 1/3 的銷量會跟隨該溴價指數。關於中國溴價指數，我可以說的一點是——你也能觀察到——該指數在第二季觸頂後已回落，現在大概更接近我們年初的水準。所以這是一個資料點。

The other data point is that, look, I think supply-demand fundamentals were quite a bit tighter in the first half of the year due to the situation in the Middle East and as some supply chains were reorienting. So right now, what we're assuming is that there's a little bit more normalized kind of supply-demand fundamental in the back half of the year. But I will admit, we're watching this closely because obviously, the situation in the Middle East hasn't gone away. So generally speaking, we're assuming that pricing kind of holds where it is today, but it is a live situation.

另一個資料點是：你看，我認為由於中東局勢，以及部分供應鏈正在重新調整方向，上半年供需基本面明顯更為吃緊。因此我們目前的假設是，下半年供需基本面會稍微回到較正常化的狀態。但我也承認，我們正在密切關注，因為很顯然，中東局勢並沒有消失。所以整體而言，我們假設價格大致維持在目前水準，但這仍是一個持續變動的情勢。

Arun Viswanathan, RBC.

Arun Viswanathan，RBC。

I guess, first off, I just wanted to ask about the volume picture. So maybe we should get some initial expectations for volume for next year. I guess you will be facing maybe some limitations this year just given the fire, but then that could be offset by Wodgina extra production. So do you expect to grow volumes next year and maybe kind of in the low single-digit range? Or how should we think about how volumes evolve from here for energy storage?

我想，首先我想問一下出貨量的情況。所以也許我們可以先了解一下明年出貨量的初步預期。我想你們今年可能會因為火災而面臨一些限制，但這可能會被Wodgina的額外產量所抵消。那麼你們預期明年出貨量會成長嗎？可能是低個位數的成長？或者我們應該如何看待從現在起能源儲存相關出貨量的演變？

Yes. So I'll start with that. But I would say, I mean, this year is -- I think we'll get close to offsetting the fire at Talison with extra performance at Wodgina. So we were kind of tight there. We kind of pulled back on our volume estimates a little bit, but we think we can cover that for the most part.

是的。我先回答這個。不過我會說，今年——我認為我們會接近用Wodgina的額外表現來抵消Talison的火災影響。所以我們那邊其實蠻吃緊的。我們把出貨量預估稍微下修了一點，但我們認為大部分都能補回來。

And that will make us kind of flat year-over-year just because of our capacity. We will have growth into next year as CGP3 ramps. So we'll get -- we won't get the full year of it probably next year, I mean close. And we're saying we get close to full production in the first quarter, then you'd see that annualizing as we go forward. So we'll have room for growth next year. It will be -- I mean you can do the math on what that looks like. So it's high single digits.

而這會讓我們在年對年上大致持平，主要是因為我們的產能限制。隨著CGP3爬坡，明年我們會有成長。所以我們——明年可能拿不到完整一年的貢獻，但應該接近。我們的說法是第一季接近滿產，之後你會看到隨時間推進的年化效果。所以明年我們會有成長空間。這會是——我的意思是，你可以自己算一下大概會是什麼樣子。所以是高個位數成長。

Yes, Arun, and maybe I can point you back to, this is a slide that we put out, gosh, I think it might have been 2 quarters ago. So I don't expect you to remember this. But if you follow our 15% CAGR volume growth that we've said we're doing from '22 to '27, that would put 2027 in the range of 240,000 to 260,000 tons LCE. And I would say now that CGP3 is back and ramping back up, we're back on that trajectory. So that's maybe a way to think about 2027.

是的，Arun，也許我可以請你回頭看一下，我們之前發布過的一張投影片，天啊，我想可能是兩季前。所以我不指望你會記得這個。但如果你依照我們所說的從2022年到2027年出貨量15%複合年成長率（CAGR），那麼2027年會落在約24萬到26萬噸LCE的區間。而我會說，現在CGP3已經回來並正在重新爬坡，我們也回到那條軌跡上。所以這也許是思考2027年的一種方式。

Okay. Great. Appreciate it. And then just as a follow-up, just on the pricing outlook, you guys had mentioned that the market is relatively tight, energy storage demand is very robust. But we have seen anticipatory -- would you agree that we've seen anticipatory price declines ahead of new supply coming back online, specifically the lepidolite as well as the Zimbabwe tons.

好的。很好。謝謝，感謝說明。接著追問一下，關於價格展望，你們提到市場相對偏緊、能源儲存需求非常強勁。但我們也看到一些提前反映——你是否同意，我們看到在新供給回到線上之前，價格已經出現提前下跌，特別是鋰雲母（lepidolite）以及辛巴威的供給量。

Do you expect that decline -- the recent price declines to kind of plateau and moderate as you go into the second half? Or do you see continued price declines possible, especially given the low inventory levels that you mentioned. So why have prices, I guess, been going down? And do you expect that to stop?

你們預期這波下跌——近期的價格下跌會在進入下半年後趨於平台並緩和嗎？或者你們認為仍可能持續下跌，尤其考量你們提到的低庫存水位？所以我想問的是，為什麼價格會下跌？你們預期這會停止嗎？

Yes. So we're not going to tell you what we think the price is in the quarter. So we've not been very good at predicting that. But it's a very speculative market, driven by traders in China for the most part with the inventories tight, the demand that we've seen, you do have a forecasting volumes coming back on. But again, with the growth rates we see, we need that. Otherwise, you're going to get into a more difficult problem. But price, it was up, it has come back.

是的。所以我們不會告訴你我們認為本季價格會是多少。我們在預測這件事上一直不太擅長。但這是一個非常投機的市場，主要由中國的交易商所驅動；在庫存偏緊、我們看到的需求之下，確實也有對供給回歸量的預期。但再說一次，以我們看到的成長率來看，我們需要那些供給。否則你會面臨更棘手的問題。但價格之前上漲，現在又回落了。

But it's kind of, I'd say, consolidating, right, around the price where it is right now, which is around $20 or so, which is not -- that's not a bad price as we've talked about. So I can't speculate as to what it's going to do. It's very heavily driven by trading and someone's view of volumes coming on. We do see those volumes coming on, but we need that with the growth rate with the 45% growth, you're going to have to have supply coming on or you're going to -- it's going to get very, very tight.

但我會說，它目前大致是在現有價位附近盤整，約在20美元左右；如我們談過的，這並不是——這不是個差的價格。所以我無法推測它接下來會怎麼走。它非常高度受到交易行為以及某些人對供給回歸量的看法所驅動。我們確實看到那些供給會回來，但以45%的成長率來看，我們需要供給上線，否則——市場會變得非常、非常緊。

Laurence Alexander, Jefferies.

Laurence Alexander，Jefferies。

So given your progress with the DLE at the Atacama, can you give your perspective on the attractiveness or not of projects elsewhere in Chile? What would you need to see for those to move up your priority list?

鑑於你們在阿塔卡馬（Atacama）推進DLE的進展，你能否談談你對智利其他地區專案吸引力（或不具吸引力）的看法？你們需要看到什麼，才會把那些專案往優先順序上調？

Well, I would look, DLE, we've done a lot of work over time, and we've kind of prioritized the Salar de Atacama for that. So that's our focus. We still got technology development work to do, but we feel pretty good about it enough that we've submitted the permit, and we've kind of built a plan around that. So I think I want to execute on that project first and then see where that goes against other resources in Chile or in other places in South America or wherever. I think the -- we're getting more confidence in DLE and brine resources. And -- but we want to execute against the project in the Salar de Atacama, and then we'll be able to talk about that.

嗯，我會這樣看，DLE我們長期做了很多工作，而我們也把阿塔卡馬鹽湖（Salar de Atacama）作為優先項目。所以那是我們的重點。我們仍有一些技術開發工作要做，但我們對它的信心已經相當足夠，因此我們已提交許可申請，並圍繞此建立了計畫。所以我認為我想先把阿塔卡馬鹽湖的專案執行好，然後再看它相對於智利其他資源、或南美其他地方、或任何其他地區的資源，表現如何。我想——我們對DLE與鹵水資源的信心正在提升。而——但我們希望先把阿塔卡馬鹽湖的專案落地執行，之後我們就能再談其他。

Joel Jackson, BMO.

Joel Jackson，BMO。

It's Evan on for Joel. Your cash buildup has been quite large recently, and some of your peers have announced restarts and project go ahead. When would we expect you to go ahead with some of your brownfield projects or shorter of that? How does the company want to use your extra cash?

我是Evan，代Joel提問。你們最近的現金累積相當可觀，而你們的一些同業已宣布重啟與專案放行（go ahead）。我們何時可以預期你們推進一些棕地（brownfield）專案或更短期的項目？公司打算如何運用多出的現金？

Okay. So let me start with projects. So I mean, we are kind of -- we're executing against that now. So you see CGP3, that we would consider that one of those. It's online now and ramping up after we had some issues there.

好的。那我先從專案談起。我的意思是，我們現在其實正在執行這些。所以你看到CGP3，我們會把它視為其中之一。在那邊遇到一些問題之後，它現在已經上線並正在爬坡。

And then the other projects, we have not gone through an FID. We've not agreed those projects with our partners either. But there's potential for doing projects both in Wodgina and at Talison additional. But we need to ramp CGP3 before we take that on. Again, we'll have to agree with our partners and get to FID. So that's going to take us a little bit of time, but that would be our next phase of growth.

至於其他專案，我們尚未完成FID（最終投資決策）。我們也還沒有與合作夥伴就那些專案達成一致。但在Wodgina以及Talison擴建方面都有做專案的潛力。不過在承接那些之前，我們需要先把CGP3爬坡完成。同樣地，我們必須與合作夥伴達成一致並完成FID。所以這會需要一些時間，但那會是我們下一階段的成長。

And then further out, the Salar de Atacama project that we're talking about is another. And then we have Kings Mountain. And then further, further out, we have Antofalla. Those are all resources we own. So there's -- potential there could be other resources that become available.

然後再往外延伸，我們正在談的阿塔卡馬鹽沼（Salar de Atacama）專案是另一個。接著我們還有 Kings Mountain。再更遠一些，我們有 Antofalla。這些都是我們擁有的資源。所以——那裡有潛力，可能還會有其他資源變得可用。

So we expect your cash question. So we want to have a strong balance sheet and we've been doing that. We've used it for that. These growth projects are a big opportunity for us to invest. And we think given brownfield nature in jurisdictions that we know with partners that we know, with technology that we know, we feel that those are low-risk, good return projects. But that said, we're always evaluating projects against all alternatives for the use of capital, and we do that every time we look at a big investment.

所以我們預期你會問到現金的問題。因此我們希望維持強健的資產負債表，而我們也一直在這麼做。我們也把資金用在這上面。這些成長專案對我們而言是很大的投資機會。而且我們認為，鑑於這些是在我們熟悉的司法管轄區、與我們熟悉的合作夥伴、採用我們熟悉的技術的棕地（brownfield）性質，我們覺得這些是低風險、報酬良好的專案。但即便如此，我們始終會把專案與所有資本使用的替代方案做比較評估，每次我們看一筆大型投資時都會這麼做。

Great. And would you mind providing an update on the revamp of CGP3? Just any color you could give on the revamp.

很好。你介意提供一下 CGP3 改造（revamp）的最新進度嗎？任何你能分享的改造細節都可以。

Well, it's been up about -- back on about 5 days now. And it's operating at reduced rates, but it's operating, I think, reasonably well as what we would have expected to be 5 days in from a restart.

嗯，它大概在——大約 5 天前重新開起來了。目前以較低的負荷運轉，但它確實在運轉；我認為就重啟後第 5 天的狀況來看，表現算是相當符合我們的預期。

Vincent Andrews, Morgan Stanley.

Vincent Andrews，摩根士丹利。

Neal, can I ask you on Specialties, just to give us a little bit of help bridging things into '27 sort of all else equal. How do we think about the normalization of the bromine price versus the incremental cost, the $70 million to $90 million, which I assume is largely in Specialties. It would seem like for the year that the higher price has offset the $70 million to $90 million. But will that $70 million to $90 million go away in 2027, assuming this resolution of the conflict by then? And then within the non-Chinese index business, has there been any benefit to you from the disruption caused by Iran in terms of you gained any market share?

Neal，我想就 Specialties 問一下，請你幫我們把事情銜接到 2027 年、在其他條件不變的情況下該怎麼看。我們該如何看待溴（bromine）價格的正常化，相對於新增成本 7,000 萬到 9,000 萬美元（我猜主要是在 Specialties）？看起來今年較高的價格抵消了這 7,000 萬到 9,000 萬美元。但如果假設到 2027 年衝突已解決，那 2027 年這 7,000 萬到 9,000 萬美元會消失嗎？另外，在非中國指數（index）業務方面，伊朗造成的供應擾動是否對你們有任何好處，例如你們是否因此取得任何市占？

Have your prices gone up in that part of the business? Or is that -- we're really just talking about the Chinese index volume that we need to think about?

你們在那一塊業務的價格有上漲嗎？還是說——我們真正需要關注的其實只是中國指數的量？

Okay. A lot in there, Vincent. Let me answer maybe the first half starting there, and then I'll pass it over to Eric to talk about the market piece of things in the back half of the year or in the back half of your question. Look, with regards to Specialties and probably too early for me to say what's going to happen to that $70 million to $90 million impact. I would just be guessing at the situation in the Middle East.

好的。Vincent，問題很多。我先回答前半段，然後我會把後半段、也就是你問題中關於市場的部分，交給 Eric 來談。你看，關於 Specialties，以及那 7,000 萬到 9,000 萬美元的影響會如何發展，我現在說可能還太早。我只能是在猜測中東的情勢。

Obviously, if things resolved there. Certainly, we would hope that some of that cost escalation would go away or some of those supply chains will get back to kind of a normal position. So that would be helpful to us.

顯然，如果那邊的事情得到解決，我們當然希望部分成本上升會消退，或是部分供應鏈能回到比較正常的狀態。那對我們會有幫助。

But I would say the team has done a really, really great job of managing through the situation in the Middle East so far in the front end of this year. And so that $70 million to $90 million, we didn't really see a lot of that impact yet in the first half of the year. But again, the situation is still a live dynamic. And so that's why we continue to say we still think that there's this potential through the year.

但我想說，團隊在今年前半段到目前為止，確實在管理中東局勢方面做得非常、非常好。因此那 7,000 萬到 9,000 萬美元，我們在上半年其實還沒有看到太多影響。但同樣地，情勢仍在持續變動。所以我們才會持續表示，今年仍然存在這種潛在影響的可能性。

With regards to margins in 2027, you're right that the bromine pricing has really increased here in the first half of the year due to some exogenous factors that has pushed our margin up pretty considerably. We're using this moment right now to continue to focus on cost and productivity, specifically in the specialties business to get the profitability of that business back into a better place than where it has been in the last year or 2.

至於 2027 年的利潤率，你說得對：由於一些外生因素，溴的定價在今年上半年確實大幅上升，這也相當顯著地推升了我們的利潤率。我們正利用當下這個時點，持續聚焦成本與生產力，特別是在 Specialties 業務，讓該業務的獲利能力回到比過去 1 到 2 年更好的水準。

So I think even though you might have pricing kind of coming off maybe potentially as we go through 2027, certainly not as strong as we've seen in 2026. I do think -- I do expect that some of the cost and productivity that we're working on is going to shine through. And so net-net, I think that's why we continue to say we're on this multiyear journey of improving margins in Specialties. And we'll have more to say, I think, as we go through this year and start preparing for 2027.

所以我認為，即使到了 2027 年，你可能會看到定價有所回落——或許會逐步回落——當然不會像 2026 年這麼強。但我確實認為——也預期——我們正在推動的一些成本與生產力改善會開始顯現成效。因此綜合來看（net-net），這也是為什麼我們一直說，我們正走在一段為期多年的旅程上，去改善 Specialties 的利潤率。我想隨著今年的推進、並開始為 2027 年做準備，我們會有更多可以分享的內容。

Maybe with that, I'll pass it over to Eric to talk about the market.

那麼我把問題交給 Eric 來談市場。

Vincent, you may or may not know this, this is a fairly diverse business. The upstream part of the business, which is elemental bromine and HBr, that's the part that is traded in the China market and -- or you see a price index rather, I should say, in the China market, the SunSirs Index. That's well less than 1/3 of our business. And so any -- and certainly, that skyrocketed up, that provided some opportunities and there was a benefit to that. But the vast majority of our business is downstream.

Vincent，你可能知道也可能不知道，這是一個相當多元的業務。業務的上游部分，也就是元素溴（elemental bromine）和 HBr，那一部分是在中國市場交易的——或者更準確地說，你會在中國市場看到一個價格指數，也就是 SunSirs 指數。那部分遠低於我們業務的 1/3。所以任何——而且確實，那個價格飆升帶來了一些機會，也確實有受益。但我們業務的絕大多數是在下游。

It's the derivatives we sell downstream. And those have localized to their markets, pricing dynamics, in some cases, limited competition where we have a differentiation play.

也就是我們在下游銷售的衍生品（derivatives）。而這些產品在各自市場有在地化的定價動態；在某些情況下，競爭有限，而我們有差異化的策略。

And in other cases, a regional play where we have a regional ability to supply that others can't, particularly in a volatile market. We're able to take advantage of that, both from a volumetric basis and in a few cases, price based. But the balloon, if you will, of pricing you're referring to is a pretty isolated part of our cost structure.

在其他情況下，則是區域型的策略：我們具備區域供應能力，而其他人做不到，尤其是在市場波動時。我們能在量的層面、以及少數情況下在價格層面加以把握。但你所提到的那個定價「膨脹」（如果你願意這麼說）其實是我們成本結構中相當孤立的一部分。

The other thing we do across this business is it goes to the $70 million to $90 million, it's a second pricing mechanism. It's the pass-through of higher raw material costs. That obviously ebbs and flows with what those raw material costs will do over a period of time. That's separate and apart from what you saw in the upstream part of the business in China.

另外，我們在整個業務中做的另一件事，與那 7,000 萬到 9,000 萬美元有關，是第二種定價機制。也就是把較高的原物料成本轉嫁（pass-through）出去。這顯然會隨著原物料成本在一段時間內的變化而起伏。這與你在中國上游業務部分看到的情況是分開、且不同的。

I don't know if that helps, but I think it's a more diverse business. And as we go forward, I just want to emphasize we are looking at how we significantly improve the productivity and cost in this business and optimize some of those profitabilities in what is a pretty complex downstream set of derivatives with some good opportunities to do that, that we help -- that we expect to frame a more improved profitability going forward.

我不知道這樣是否有幫助，但我認為這是一個更為多元的業務。而展望未來，我只想強調，我們正在檢視如何大幅提升這項業務的生產力與成本表現，並在相當複雜的下游衍生品組合中，優化其中一些獲利能力；我們看到一些不錯的機會可以做到這點，而我們也預期這將有助於在未來建立更佳的獲利能力。

Joshua Spector, UBS.

Joshua Spector，瑞銀（UBS）。

I was wondering if you could share some of your thoughts around some of the China battery tax breaks and how that might impact lithium demand, if at all? And if that has any ability on an ability to pay for lithium into that market. Just curious how you'd see that play out.

我想請您分享一下，您對中國針對電池的一些稅收減免有何看法，以及這是否、以及在多大程度上會影響鋰的需求？以及這是否會影響該市場對鋰的支付能力。只是好奇您認為會如何發展。

I'm sorry. Could you repeat the question again, I'm sorry. It was with regard to China, could you repeat it?

不好意思。可以再重複一次問題嗎，不好意思。是關於中國的，能再重複一次嗎？

China tax breaks specifically on batteries, how you see that impacting China demand, if at all, and how that potentially impacts the ability to pay for lithium?

具體是中國針對電池的稅收減免，您怎麼看這會不會影響中國的需求，以及這可能如何影響其對鋰的支付能力？

Yes. I would say what we are seeing in the market, particularly on the grid storage side is that any changes in tax, there's been a consumption tax change. There's been a rollback of VAT on exported batteries that's phased in has been overwhelmed by demand. Yes, there have been moments of time where I think people are trying to get orders in before certain things expire, but the demand has been so strong that it has offset really any impacts we're seeing there that are of significance.

是的。我會說，我們在市場上看到的情況，特別是在電網儲能端，任何稅制變動——例如消費稅的調整。另外，對出口電池的增值稅（VAT）退稅回撤是分階段實施的，但已被需求所淹沒。是的，確實有一些時點我認為人們會在某些政策到期前趕著下單，但需求非常強勁，基本抵消了我們所看到的、任何具有顯著影響的因素。

And so -- and that's on the stationary storage side. There have been changes on the EV side as well, and that has led to a change in incentive regime. That has pushed actually towards higher energy density batteries, which has helped increase the gigawatt hours even as unit sales have been lower this year, although now recovering after a pull forward demand into last year in that incentive regime.

所以——這是在固定式儲能端。在電動車（EV）端也有一些變化，這導致激勵機制有所調整。這其實推動了更高能量密度的電池，因而即使今年整車銷量較低，吉瓦時（GWh）仍有所提升；不過在去年激勵機制下需求提前釋放之後，今年目前也正在回升。

That's helpful. And if I could just ask on volume growth into next year, I mean, given that's out of Australia, should we assume that, that's primarily spot volumes, so your mix will shift that way. Or are there any other conversations happening on the rest of your volumes to perhaps get more of that back into the contract type structure?

這很有幫助。如果我可以再問一下明年的出貨量成長：考量這些量來自澳洲，我們是否應該假設主要是現貨量，因此你們的組合會往那個方向移動？或者你們是否也在就其餘的出貨量進行其他討論，可能把更多量拉回到合約型結構？

It's a -- well, it's kind of hard to say, but it's probably a mix across the portfolio, right? So it'd be more -- there will be probably more spot than some of our contract volumes. So I wouldn't assume it all goes spot, but it would -- it's probably the same mix of our normal portfolio.

這個——嗯，這有點難說，但大概會是整個產品組合的混合，對吧？所以會是——現貨可能會比我們部分合約量更多一些。因此我不會假設全部都走現貨，但——大概會是我們正常組合的相同配置。

Yes. Well, I would say there are two things. I think that might be the right -- the answer to your immediate question maybe gives an opportunity to make a broader point, which is there are 2 things that are driving our mix that are going to result in a higher proportion of volume. It's either spot or sold under shorter duration contracts. One is China is growing faster than the rest of the world.

是的。嗯，我會說有兩點。我想你剛才那個問題的答案，或許也提供了一個機會來講更廣泛的一點：有兩個因素正在驅動我們的組合，並將使得更高比例的量要麼是現貨，要麼是在較短期限合約下銷售。第一是中國的成長速度快於世界其他地區。

And the other is that generally, spodumene is done not on long-term contracts. It's done on a market base or shorter term. We do have some longer term, but they're not done under this sort of floor ceiling basis. They're done on a market basis. So as a result, that percentage of contracts that we have that are under -- that we refer to as long-term agreements with floors and ceilings has become slightly smaller because of those 2 mix phenomenon that's going on in the market.

第二是，一般而言，鋰輝石（spodumene）並不是以長期合約方式交易。它通常是按市場基礎或較短期來做。我們確實有一些較長期的，但它們不是在這種「地板/天花板」（floor/ceiling）機制下簽的。它們是按市場基礎定價。因此，因為市場上正在發生的這兩種組合現象，我們所擁有、我們稱之為帶有地板與天花板的長期協議的合約占比，已經略微變小。

Matthew DeYoe, Bank of America.

Matthew DeYoe，美國銀行（Bank of America）。

I have two. So first, Eric, global lithium demand tracking 45%, clearly very strong. And I know this is no easy task. But when you look at the initial range given on the year, particularly the plus 15%, I mean, where do you think you were most strong or overly cautious? And is that still like a looming threat as it relates to potential deceleration? Or do you think that has been debunked?

我有兩個問題。第一，Eric，全球鋰需求追蹤到45%的成長，顯然非常強勁。我知道這不是件容易的事。但當你回看年初給出的年度區間，特別是上限加15%那部分，你覺得你們在哪些方面最強、或是過於保守？而這是否仍像是一個與潛在放緩相關的隱憂？還是你認為這已被證偽了？

And then on the DLE plant, just conceptually, is the goal to increase concentrations of lithium before it hits the brine ponds where you're removing magnesium? Like can the DLE plant operate independent of the brine ponds? Or is it just an added part of the loop? And if it's the latter, what's like the net economic benefit between added OpEx and added recoveries?

第二個是關於DLE工廠：從概念上說，目標是在鹵水進入鹵水池、你們去除鎂之前，提高鋰的濃度嗎？也就是說，DLE工廠能否獨立於鹵水池運作？還是它只是循環中的一個新增環節？如果是後者，那麼在增加的營運支出（OpEx）與增加的回收率之間，淨經濟效益大概是什麼？

I can answer the first question, and I'll let Kent answer the second one. So with regard to where we were most wrong, look, I think we're honest when we gave guidance at the beginning of the year and told you where we think we could be wrong, which was the growth in grid storage. We've come off a year that, frankly, surprised us in the prior year, 2025. We didn't -- the rate of growth, somewhat driven by AI, also driven by grid reliability and finally driven by renewables growth was incredibly strong last year. And we were redoubling our efforts to better get underneath the hood of that.

第一個問題我可以回答，第二個我讓Kent來回答。至於我們哪裡判斷最不準，坦白說，我們在年初給出指引時是誠實的，也告訴各位我們可能在哪裡出錯，也就是電網儲能的成長。我們剛經歷了一個坦白說讓我們意外的年度——上一年，也就是2025年。我們沒有——其成長速度在某種程度上受AI驅動，也受電網可靠性驅動，最後也受再生能源成長驅動，去年非常強勁。我們也加倍努力，想更深入地理解其中細節。

This is a market that's new. It's supplied largely, as you know, LFP out of China. So there was some effort on our part to get our hands around that, and that put that range on that. The upper end of that range was, if you will, sort of a sustained momentum coming out of '25 and the lower end of the range was a pullback. The pullback didn't happen.

這是一個新市場。如各位所知，它主要由中國的磷酸鐵鋰（LFP）供應。因此我們投入了一些努力去掌握這一塊，並因此給出了那個區間。如果你願意這麼說，區間上緣代表的是從25年延續下來的動能；區間下緣則是假設會出現回落。而回落並沒有發生。

And I think what -- another factor you have to remember is the policy plays a role here, incentives, tariffs, geopolitical aspects, those were unknowns to us as well. And for the prior question about did any tax headwinds slow down demand, they did not. Those were things we needed to see in the market before we could get comfortable with the higher end of the range. Grid storage or stationary storage in general, at a point where it's going to start to become as big a part of this market potentially as light-duty vehicles, EVs. So it's we have a higher degree of confidence around that now, I would say.

我想還有一個因素你必須記得：政策在這裡扮演角色——激勵、關稅、地緣政治層面，這些對我們而言也都是未知數。而回到前一個問題：是否有任何稅務逆風讓需求放緩？並沒有。在我們能對區間上緣更有把握之前，這些都是我們需要在市場中先觀察到的事情。電網儲能或一般的固定式儲能，正走到一個階段：它可能會開始成為這個市場中與輕型車、電動車（EV）同等重要的一部分。所以我會說，我們現在對此的信心更高了。

Do you want to answer the DLE question, Kent?

Kent，你要回答DLE的問題嗎？

Yes. So I mean, you see from the chart we put out. So it's a hybrid approach that we're taking. So we're still trying to leverage the solar evaporation in the pond system and the assets that we have, but we'll take a side stream from the normal pond system, run that through DLE, concentrate it and then put it back into the pond system to kind of finish it. So it's a hybrid system.

好的。所以你可以從我們發布的圖表中看到。我們採取的是一種混合式方法。我們仍然希望利用池塘系統中的太陽能蒸發，以及我們現有的資產，但我們會從正常的池塘系統引出一股側流，讓它通過DLE，把濃度提高，然後再把它送回池塘系統，算是完成最後的處理。所以這是一個混合系統。

It's a new approach. It's not full DLE. You could run full DLE technically, but we have those assets. And for the efficiency, I mean the solar evaporation is a very efficient way of doing this, and we're kind of kicking that. We're trying to leverage both the solar evaporation and the technology to get us more volumes and lower pumping rates, which allows us to get those more volumes.

這是一種新的方法。它不是完整的 DLE。技術上你可以運行完整的 DLE，但我們已經有那些資產。而就效率而言，我的意思是，太陽能蒸發是非常高效的做法，而我們某種程度上是在推動這個。我們正嘗試同時運用太陽能蒸發與技術，來取得更高的產量並降低抽取速率，這讓我們能取得更多的產量。

Kevin McCarthy, Vertical Research Partners.

Kevin McCarthy，Vertical Research Partners。

My first question is on inventories. Can you provide an update on where your own inventories are on a unit basis relative to what you would consider to be optimal. And then externally, would welcome any thoughts that you have on inventory levels throughout the supply chain.

我的第一個問題是關於庫存。你能否以單位基礎更新一下你們自有庫存相對於你們認為的最佳水準目前在哪裡。另外在外部方面，也希望聽聽你對整個供應鏈各環節庫存水位的看法。

Kevin, this is Neal. I'll start on the first part, and then I'll pass it over to Eric to talk about what he's seeing in the overall supply chain. Look, our inventories, we certainly ended the quarter lower than normal. You probably have done the calculation around our working capital. We tend to think about our working capital running at about 25% of sales, but we ended the second quarter more like 19% of sales.

Kevin，我是 Neal。我先回答第一部分，然後我會把問題交給 Eric，請他談談他在整體供應鏈看到的情況。你看，我們的庫存，確實在本季末低於正常水準。你可能已經根據我們的營運資金做過計算。我們通常認為營運資金約為銷售額的 25%，但我們在第二季末大約是銷售額的 19%。

And a good bit of that is because we ran into our inventory or we consumed some of our inventory in the quarter, part of that being because of the strong demand that we saw, part of that being because of the CGP3 fire that happened at the beginning of June. And so we were able to pivot into our inventories to be able to supply the market. So where I would put our current inventories are probably historically on the low side, and we'll need to build that back up, obviously, to be able to navigate the back half of the year, but then also be prepared for 2027 as well.

其中相當一部分是因為我們在本季動用了庫存或消耗了一些庫存；部分原因是我們看到需求強勁，部分原因是 6 月初發生的 CGP3 火災。因此我們能夠轉而動用庫存來供應市場。所以我會說我們目前的庫存從歷史角度看偏低，顯然我們需要把它補回來，以便應對今年下半年，同時也為 2027 年做好準備。

Maybe I'll pass it over to Eric then to talk about the market inventories.

那我把問題交給 Eric，請他談談市場庫存。

This follows the -- on the market side, follows the narrative that Kent said earlier and what is physically a very tight market. On the carbonate side, in particular, it's under 3 weeks of inventory in the upstream sort of converter cathode arena. And in hydroxide, it's under a month. Those are levels that at a month, we would -- for both either of those, we would have declared a tight market. Now we're under that.

在市場端，這延續了 Kent 先前提到的敘事，也就是實體市場非常緊俏。特別是在碳酸鋰端，在上游（轉換商/正極材料）領域，庫存不到 3 週。而在氫氧化鋰方面，不到 1 個月。以 1 個月的水準來看，無論哪一種，我們都會——對兩者而言——宣告市場偏緊。而現在我們低於那個水準。

So it's an illustration of a market that is quite tight at the moment.

所以這說明目前市場確實相當緊俏。

As you move downstream, we have indication. It's a little more opaque, but we -- our take would be that battery inventories are also not that high either. That would make sense if you pick that with the comments I made on stationary storage earlier where installations are exceeding battery production. Basically, the material as soon as it's made is going out into an installation. And similarly, while EVs has been weak, I mean, the main part of this market now is particularly out of China has become the LFP market, and that's being driven by this -- very much by the stationary storage dynamic. So net-net, a very tight market.

往下游走，我們有一些跡象。雖然透明度較低，但我們的看法是電池庫存也不算高。如果你把這點與我先前對固定式儲能的評論結合起來——裝機量正在超過電池產量——這是合理的。基本上，材料一製造出來就被用於安裝。同樣地，雖然電動車（EV）表現偏弱，但目前這個市場的主要部分，特別是中國以外，已經變成 LFP 市場，而這很大程度上是由固定式儲能的動能所驅動。總而言之，市場非常緊俏。

It's very helpful. And maybe a good segue to my second question, Eric, on energy storage. I appreciate the detail you set forth on Slides 13 and 14. If I did my math correctly, the new 2030 range, after the doubling, let's say, this year, it implies, I don't know, a mid-teens sort of a CAGR, which strikes me as relatively conservative. Just curious as to what kind of visibility or how conservative you think that medium- to long-term glide path is on the energy storage side.

這非常有幫助。也許這正好引出我的第二個問題，Eric，關於儲能。我很感謝你在第 13 與第 14 張投影片提供的細節。如果我算得沒錯，在今年先翻倍之後，新的 2030 年區間意味著，我不知道，大概是十幾%的 CAGR，這讓我覺得相對保守。我想了解的是，在儲能端，你認為這條中長期成長路徑的能見度如何，或你覺得它有多保守？

Look, I mean, I'll pair your question with an earlier question, Kevin, that focused on how we were cautious at the beginning of this year. I think we've gotten to a point where we're confident -- we've gotten more comfortable with our demand projections for this market in the next couple of years. As for the next 5 years, I think we're going to have to spend more time working on that. This is a market that -- the trend is favorable in that the market is proving stronger than we thought throughout. I don't know that that's going to be the case for sure. This is our best estimate at the moment.

你看，我會把你的問題和先前一個問題放在一起看，Kevin，那個問題聚焦在我們今年年初如何保持謹慎。我認為我們已經到了一個更有信心的階段——我們對未來幾年這個市場的需求預測更為踏實。至於接下來 5 年，我想我們還需要花更多時間去推敲。這是一個趨勢有利的市場，因為整體來看市場表現比我們原先想的更強。但我不敢說未來一定會如此。這是我們目前最好的估計。

Chris Parkinson, Wolfe Research.

Chris Parkinson，Wolfe Research。

This is Harris Fein on for Chris. Just with the EBITDA bridge on Slide 6, it looks like COGS were about a $150 million headwind. And that includes the spodumene price flow through the Chilean royalties and the productivity. Are you able to parse out those 3 components? And how should we be thinking about the quantum of the sequential spodumene inventory impact into the second half?

我是代替 Chris 的 Harris Fein。就第 6 張投影片的 EBITDA 橋接來看，COGS 似乎約有 1.5 億美元的逆風。其中包含了鋰輝石價格傳導、智利權利金以及生產力因素。你能否把這三個組成部分拆開說明？另外，我們應該如何看待鋰輝石庫存的連續性影響在下半年會有多大？

Yes. Look, I won't give you exact numbers around what drove COGS around all 3 of those items. But you can imagine that the spodumene lag or the spodumene inventory impact is the largest portion of the COGS driver that usually is the case for us. In terms of where -- how to think about maybe the spodumene cost lag as you go into the third quarter, look, the average market spodumene price in the second quarter was about $2,500, somewhere around there per ton thereabouts. And I think right now, we're probably in the $2,000 a range kind of case.

可以。你看，我不會就這三項因素各自對 COGS 的驅動提供精確數字。但你可以想像，鋰輝石的滯後效應或鋰輝石庫存影響是 COGS 變動中最大的一部分，對我們而言通常就是如此。至於第三季該如何看待鋰輝石成本滯後，你看，第二季市場鋰輝石平均價格大約是每噸 2,500 美元，差不多在那個區間。而我想現在大概是在 2,000 美元左右的情境。

So -- and again, remember that it takes about 4 months for spodumene to move through our inventory system and eventually get into salt and then to the customer. So take all of that into consideration that you will see this higher-priced spodumene rolling through our income statement in the third quarter. And that's just naturally because of where market prices were in the second quarter.

所以——再提醒一次，鋰輝石大約需要 4 個月才能在我們的庫存系統中流轉，最終進入鹽類產品並交付給客戶。因此把這些都納入考量，你會在第三季看到這些較高價格的鋰輝石反映在我們的損益表中。這純粹是因為第二季的市場價格水準所致。

That's helpful. And I'll take another shot at the question someone asked earlier. Just CapEx is coming down, but it looks like the supply-demand gap is actually widening -- you're generating a healthy amount of cash. The balance sheet is pretty clean. So in terms of incremental uses of cash, are we still thinking debt pay down? Is it more build cash and preserve optionality? How should we be thinking about that?

這很有幫助。我也再嘗試問一次先前有人問過的問題。CapEx 正在下降，但看起來供需缺口其實在擴大——你們正在產生相當可觀的現金。資產負債表也相當乾淨。那麼在現金的增量用途方面，我們仍然應該以償還債務為主嗎？還是更偏向累積現金、保留選擇權？我們應該如何看待這件事？

Yes. I think -- I mean, I said it before, so you're probably going to get the same answer, but we want to have a conservative balance sheet. We do at the moment. So there's not a whole lot of debt to pay down right now at the moment. We do have growth projects.

是的。我想——我的意思是，我之前也說過，所以你可能會得到相同的答案，但我們希望維持保守的資產負債表。我們目前確實如此。所以眼下其實沒有太多債務需要償還。我們確實有成長專案。

So capital is coming down. I think of that more as capital efficiency. We're getting more and more focused on trying to drive efficiency in that, and we've been on that now for a couple of years. And we're -- I think we're getting better at that. But then there'll be growth projects that we layer.

因此資本支出正在下降。我更把這視為資本效率。我們愈來愈專注於提升這方面的效率，而且這件事我們已經做了好幾年。而且我們——我認為我們在這方面做得愈來愈好。但接下來我們也會逐步疊加成長專案。

We've talked about brownfield projects. So there's a couple of brownfield projects we've got. We've talked about the Salar de Atacama. You know about Kings Mountain. So we have a portfolio of growth projects in the queue, we've just not really kicked off any of those at the moment. So we're not spending heavily against that. But there is -- we do have good growth projects.

我們談過棕地（brownfield）專案。所以我們手上有幾個棕地專案。我們也談過阿塔卡馬鹽湖（Salar de Atacama）。你也知道 Kings Mountain。所以我們有一個排隊中的成長專案組合，但目前其實還沒有真正啟動任何一個。因此我們在這方面的支出並不大。但確實——我們有很好的成長專案。

Again, as I said before, in jurisdictions we know in technology, we know and with partners that we know. So it is -- we feel pretty good about those projects going forward. So that's going to be where you see our focus. But again, we'll compare that against everything else, all the other alternatives, including our own shares. And we always look at that when we do a big investment, but that doesn't change.

再說一次，如我之前所說，這些都在我們熟悉的司法管轄區、我們熟悉的技術領域，並且與我們熟悉的合作夥伴一起進行。所以——我們對這些專案未來的推進感覺相當不錯。因此這將會是你看到我們聚焦的地方。但同樣地，我們會把這些與其他所有選項做比較，包括回購自家股票。而且每當我們做重大投資時都會看這一點，這點不會改變。

Mazahir Mammadli, Rothschild & Co.

Mazahir Mammadli，Rothschild & Co.

Just wanted to ask about lithium production. The Wodgina production surprise, should we take it as a bit of a one-off? Or is it a structural uplift in the production in ore quality? And on CGP3, basically, the Q1 '27 ramp-up timelines, it looks like it doesn't represent a massive slip versus the pre-fire expectations. Does that mean before the fire, you were kind of running ahead of the schedule on the ramp-up?

我想問一下鋰的產量。Wodgina 的產量意外驚喜，我們應該把它視為一次性的因素嗎？還是說這反映了礦石品質帶來的結構性產量提升？另外關於 CGP3，基本上 2027 年第一季的爬坡（ramp-up）時程，看起來相較於火災前的預期並沒有大幅延後。這是否表示在火災之前，你們其實在爬坡進度上是超前於計畫的？

Yes. So okay, Greenbushes first. You may have to remind me of the other question. But we were running a little bit ahead. And now this is our risk-adjusted view of that. So it's basically -- we just slipped the schedule from where we were by the outage. So the outage period, we've kind of shifted to that. That gets us to the first quarter. As we said, we've been up 5 days now. The restart, all that is going well. We're running at reduced rates. So we're back on a ramp schedule. And we -- that's our best guess is that first quarter. That's kind of all I can say.

是的。好，那先談 Greenbushes。你可能要提醒我另一個問題是什麼。但我們當時確實有點超前。而現在這是我們經風險調整後的看法。所以基本上——我們只是把時程從停機前的進度，因為這次停機而往後順延。也就是把停機期間整體往後平移。這會把我們帶到第一季。如我們所說，我們現在已經復工 5 天了。重啟等各方面進展都很順利。我們目前以較低的產能運轉。所以我們回到爬坡時程上。而我們——我們最好的估計就是第一季。我大概只能說到這裡。

And sorry, can you remind me of your -- oh, Wodgina.

抱歉，你能提醒我你的——喔，Wodgina。

Yes.

是的。

Yes. Look, that's -- we were working toward better ore, and we -- so that was in the plan. We just got there a little sooner. We're a little bit more efficient in getting there. We still got to work through some of that, and we expect later to get even better quality ore. So it was the plan. We got there a little early, and it's fortunate that it was at a time when it offset the fire at Greenbushes.

是的。你看，那是——我們一直在朝更好的礦石努力，而——所以那本來就在計畫之中。只是我們比預期更早達成。我們在達成這件事上效率更高了一些。我們仍需要把其中一些工作繼續推進，而且我們預期之後還能取得品質更好的礦石。所以這本來就是計畫。我們只是稍微提早達成，而很幸運的是，這發生在能夠抵消 Greenbushes 火災影響的時間點。

All right. And maybe if I could get your view on the supply-demand balance, specifically, what's your thinking of the impact of production restarts projects such as Bald Hill that has been restarted recently. Do you think that's enough to make a dent in the supply-demand balance?

好的。另外如果可以的話，我想請教你對供需平衡的看法，特別是像 Bald Hill 這類近期重啟的復產專案，其影響你怎麼看。你認為這足以對供需平衡造成明顯影響嗎？

So you see that you've got 45% growth, right, in demand. So you need some supply to keep up with it. So what we see right now, we're well -- we're behind that curve at this part of the year, which is why I think you see inventories being tight. Some of those coming on, lepidolite, the African stuff, will make a bit of a dent in that, but you need 45% to stand still, and it's hard to see getting 45%.

所以你看到需求成長 45%，對吧。因此你需要一些供給來跟上。我們目前看到的是——在今年這個時間點，我們遠遠落後於那條曲線，這也是為什麼我認為你會看到庫存偏緊。其中一些供給上來，像是鋰雲母（lepidolite）、非洲那邊的供給，會稍微改善一些，但你需要 45% 才能維持現狀，而要達到 45% 很難想像。

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

我們的提問時間就到這裡。我現在把電話交回給 Kent Masters 作結語。

Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today. Let me leave you with this. We continue to execute with discipline. Our end markets are strong, growing and increasingly diverse, and we are progressing growth options focused on our world-class low-cost resources. We remain focused on operational excellence, disciplined capital allocation and the durable competitive strength that set Albemarle apart. I look forward to sharing more milestones and successes with you in the coming quarters. Thank you.

謝謝接線員，也謝謝各位今天加入我們。我想用這段話作結。我們持續以紀律執行。我們的終端市場強勁、成長且日益多元，我們也在推進以世界級低成本資源為核心的成長選項。我們仍專注於卓越營運、具紀律的資本配置，以及使 Albemarle 脫穎而出的持久競爭優勢。我期待在接下來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。