雅保公司 (ALB) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the fourth quarter Albemarle Corporation earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加 Albemarle Corporation 第四季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）提醒各位，本次通話將被錄音。

I would like to turn the call over to Meredith Bandy, Vice President of Investor Relations and Sustainability. You may begin.

我想把電話交給投資人關係與永續發展副總裁 Meredith Bandy。您可以開始了。

All right. Thanks, Michelle. Thank you all, and welcome to Albemarle's Fourth Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. Our earnings were released after close of market yesterday, and you'll find our press release and earnings presentation posted on our website under the Investors section at albemarle.com.

好的。謝謝你，Michelle。謝謝各位，歡迎參加 Albemarle 2021 年第四季財報電話會議。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; and Scott Tozier, Chief Financial Officer. Our GBU Presidents, Raphael Crawford, Netha Johnson and Eric Norris 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，以及財務長 Scott Tozier。我們的 GBU 總裁 Raphael Crawford、Netha Johnson 與 Eric Norris 也將出席問答環節。

As a reminder, some of the statements made during this call, including outlook, guidance, expected company performance and timing of expansion projects may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. Please note the cautionary language about forward-looking statements contained in our press release and earnings presentation. That same language applies to this call.

提醒各位，本次通話中的部分陳述（包括展望、指引、預期公司表現以及擴產專案時程）可能構成聯邦證券法所定義的前瞻性陳述。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文字；相同文字亦適用於本次通話。

Please also note that some of the comments made today refer to non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation to GAAP financial measures can be found in our earnings release and the appendix of our earnings presentation.

也請注意，今天部分評論提及非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。與 GAAP 財務衡量指標的調節表可見於我們的財報新聞稿以及財報簡報附錄。

Now I'll turn the call over to Kent.

現在我把電話交給 Kent。

Thanks, Meredith, and thank you all for joining us today. On today's call, I will highlight our quarterly results, recap our 2021 successes and update you on our expansion plans. Scott will provide more details on our financial results, outlook and capital allocation priorities. And finally, I'll walk you through our 2022 objectives.

謝謝你，Meredith，也謝謝各位今天加入我們。在今天的電話會議中，我將重點說明本季業績、回顧我們 2021 年的成功，並向各位更新擴產計畫。Scott 將就我們的財務結果、展望與資本配置優先事項提供更多細節。最後，我會帶各位了解我們 2022 年的目標。

2021 was a transformative year for Albemarle. Our strategic execution and ability to effectively manage the challenges of the global pandemic enabled us to capitalize on the strength of the lithium and bromine markets and generate results that exceeded expectations. For the year, excluding our Fine Chemistry Services business, which was sold in June of 2021, we increased net sales by 11% to $3.3 billion, which was in line with our previous guidance. Adjusted EBITDA grew 13% in 2021 to $871 million, surpassing the upper end of our guidance.

2021 年對 Albemarle 而言是具有轉型意義的一年。我們的策略執行力以及有效管理全球疫情挑戰的能力，使我們得以把握鋰與溴市場的強勁態勢，並創造超出預期的成果。全年而言，排除於 2021 年 6 月出售的 Fine Chemistry Services 業務後，我們的淨銷售額成長 11% 至 33 億美元，符合先前指引。2021 年調整後 EBITDA 成長 13% 至 8.71 億美元，超越指引上緣。

Looking ahead, our outlook for 2022 has improved based primarily on favorable market conditions for lithium and bromine. We expect adjusted EBITDA to grow between 35% and 55% versus 2021, excluding Fine Chemistry Services. To continue driving this growth, we are focused on quickly bringing capacity online with accelerated investments. La Negra III and IV is currently in commercial qualification, and we expect to start realizing first sales from this facility in the second quarter.

展望未來，基於鋰與溴的有利市場條件，我們對 2022 年的展望主要有所改善。排除 Fine Chemistry Services 後，我們預期調整後 EBITDA 將較 2021 年成長 35% 至 55%。為持續推動此成長，我們聚焦於透過加速投資，快速讓產能上線。La Negra III 與 IV 目前正處於商業認證階段，我們預期將於第二季開始自該設施實現首批銷售。

In November, we achieved mechanical completion of the first train at Kemerton. The construction team is now dedicated to the second train, and we will be able to leverage our experience from train 1 to improve efficiencies and timeliness of this project. And we recently signed a nonbinding letter agreement to explore the expansion of our MARBL joint venture with increased optionality and reduced risk.

11 月，我們達成 Kemerton 第一條產線的機械完工。施工團隊目前正專注於第二條產線，我們也將能運用第一條產線的經驗，以提升本專案的效率與時程表現。此外，我們近期簽署一份不具約束力的意向協議，探討擴大我們的 MARBL 合資企業，以提高選擇性並降低風險。

Now looking at Slide 5. We introduced this slide early last year to lay out our 2021 objectives designed to support the 4 pillars of our strategy: to grow profitably, to maximize productivity, to invest with discipline and to advance sustainability. I would like to thank our teams for their extraordinary efforts. Virtually all the goals we set last year were met or exceeded despite challenges related to severe weather, supply chain issues and the ongoing effects of the pandemic. The focus of our people around the world is what drove our strong year and underscores our ability to deliver on our commitments. These accomplishments have also set the stage for us to take advantage of the growth opportunities ahead.

現在請看投影片 5。我們在去年年初推出這張投影片，用以說明我們為支持策略四大支柱所設定的 2021 年目標：獲利成長、最大化生產力、紀律投資以及推進永續發展。我想感謝我們團隊的非凡努力。儘管面臨惡劣天候、供應鏈問題與疫情持續影響等挑戰，我們去年設定的幾乎所有目標都已達成或超越。全球同仁的專注促成了我們強勁的一年，也凸顯我們履行承諾的能力。這些成就也為我們把握未來成長機會奠定了基礎。

Just as important as driving growth is an ongoing dedication to strong ESG values. I'm very proud of what you see on Slide 6. Since I became CEO in 2020, one of my main priorities has been continued improvement in sustainability. I'm pleased to see that these efforts are increasingly being recognized externally, but it certainly isn't a new initiative for Albemarle. Sustainability is not just doing the right thing but also doing it the right way.

同樣重要的是，在推動成長的同時持續堅守強健的 ESG 價值。我對投影片 6 所呈現的內容感到非常自豪。自我於 2020 年擔任執行長以來，我的主要優先事項之一就是持續提升永續表現。我很高興看到這些努力愈來愈獲得外部認可，但這對 Albemarle 而言絕非新倡議。永續不僅是做對的事，也是在正確的方式下把事情做好。

For example, the lithium market is expected to see significant demand growth in the coming years. As a leader in lithium production, we expect to be an example and help define the standards of sustainability in this market as it goes through this fundamental shift.

例如，預期未來幾年鋰市場將出現顯著的需求成長。作為鋰生產的領導者，我們期望成為典範，並在市場經歷這一根本性轉變之際，協助界定該市場的永續標準。

Now turning to Slide 7 and more on the lithium market outlook. Based on our current market data, EV trends and regular interactions with our customers, we are revising our lithium demand outlook upwards once again. We now expect 2025 lithium demand of approximately 1.5 million tons, up more than 30% from our previous estimates. Beyond 2025, we anticipate continued growth with lithium demand of more than 3 million tons by 2030.

接著看投影片 7，進一步談鋰市場展望。根據我們目前的市場數據、電動車（EV）趨勢以及與客戶的定期互動，我們再次上調鋰需求展望。我們目前預期 2025 年鋰需求約為 150 萬噸，較先前估計上調逾 30%。2025 年之後，我們預期仍將持續成長，至 2030 年鋰需求將超過 300 萬噸。

EV sales growth is accelerating as consumers become more energy-conscious, governments incentivize clean energy, technology improves and EV's approach pricing parity with internal combustion vehicles. In 2021, global EV production nearly doubled to over 6 million vehicles from 3 million in 2020. By the end of the decade, EVs are expected to account for close to 40% of automotive sales.

隨著消費者更重視能源、政府提供潔淨能源誘因、技術進步，以及電動車價格逐步接近內燃機車款的平價水準，電動車銷售成長正在加速。2021 年全球電動車產量幾乎倍增，從 2020 年的 300 萬輛增至超過 600 萬輛。到本十年末，預期電動車將占汽車銷售接近 40%。

When you look at last year's growth rate of nearly 50% and the auto industry's ambitions for a rapid transition to EVs, it's easy to see why demand expectations are so bullish. However, meeting this demand will be a challenge.

當你看到去年接近 50% 的成長率，以及汽車產業對快速轉向電動車的企圖心，就不難理解為何需求預期如此樂觀。然而，要滿足這樣的需求將是一項挑戰。

Turning to our Wave 2 projects on Slide 8. La Negra III and IV, which will add conversion capacity for our Chilean brine resource in the Salar de Atacama, is currently in the customer qualification process. We anticipate incremental volumes and revenue contribution from this project in the second quarter of this year.

接著看投影片 8 的第二波（Wave 2）專案。La Negra III 與 IV 將為我們位於阿塔卡馬鹽沼（Salar de Atacama）的智利鹵水資源新增轉換產能，目前正處於客戶認證流程。我們預期今年第二季起，該專案將帶來增量出貨量與營收貢獻。

While there are significant changes taking place to the political landscape in Chile, we do not anticipate any material impacts to our business. We support the Chilean people's right of self-determination and applaud the peaceful leadership transition in that country. Our team has already begun building relationships with the incoming administration.

儘管智利政治版圖正發生重大變化，我們不預期對業務造成任何重大影響。我們支持智利人民的自決權，並讚許該國和平的政權交接。我們的團隊也已開始與新政府建立關係。

As I mentioned earlier, Kemerton I reached mechanical completion late last year and is currently in the commissioning phase. This puts us on track to begin first sales in the second half of this year. Kemerton II remains on track to reach mechanical completion by the end of this year.

如我先前提到，Kemerton I 於去年年底完成機械完工，目前正處於試車（commissioning）階段。這使我們按計畫在今年下半年開始首批銷售。Kemerton II 仍按計畫於今年年底前達成機械完工。

The OEMs and battery manufacturers have been investing heavily in growth, including commitments in North America and Europe, and the lithium industry must do the same.

整車廠（OEM）與電池製造商已大舉投資成長，包括在北美與歐洲的承諾，而鋰產業也必須採取同樣行動。

Turning to Slide 9. We provide an overview of how Albemarle is investing to support downstream growth. Since our Investor Day, we have accelerated and further defined our Wave 3 projects, including the announcement of 3 strategic investments in China. This wave of investments will provide Albemarle with approximately 200,000 tons of additional capacity. That's up from 150,000 tons of capacity originally planned for Wave 3. We've also continued to progress our growth options for Wave 4. Based on discussions with our customers, we are analyzing options to restart our Kings Mountain lithium mine and the potential to build conversion assets in North America and Europe.

接著看投影片 9。我們概述 Albemarle 如何投資以支持下游成長。自投資人日以來，我們已加速並進一步明確界定第三波（Wave 3）專案，包括宣布在中國的 3 項策略性投資。這一波投資將為 Albemarle 帶來約 20 萬噸的新增產能，高於原先第三波規劃的 15 萬噸產能。我們也持續推進第四波（Wave 4）的成長選項。根據與客戶的討論，我們正在分析重啟 Kings Mountain 鋰礦的選項，以及在北美與歐洲建置轉換資產的可能性。

Our vertical integration, access to high-quality, low-cost resources, years of experience bringing conversion capacity online and strong balance sheet provide us with considerable advantages.

我們的垂直整合、高品質且低成本資源的取得、多年讓轉換產能上線的經驗，以及強健的資產負債表，為我們帶來相當可觀的優勢。

I'm on Slide 10 now. In China, we expect to close the acquisition of the Qinzhou conversion facility in the first half of this year. This transaction is progressing well, and we continue to work through the appropriate regulatory reviews. The Qinzhou plant is currently being commissioned, and we have begun tolling our spodumene to assist with that process.

我現在在投影片 10。在中國，我們預期將於今年上半年完成對欽州（Qinzhou）轉換設施的收購。此交易進展順利，我們也持續推進必要的監管審查。欽州工廠目前正在試車，我們已開始以代工（tolling）方式處理我們的鋰輝石（spodumene），以協助該流程。

We continue to progress the 2 greenfield lithium conversion projects in Meishan and Zhangjiagang. We have started site clearing at Meishan and expect to break ground at Zhangjiagang later this year. We expect mechanical completion of both projects by the end of 2024.

我們持續推進位於眉山與張家港的兩個綠地鋰轉換專案。我們已在眉山開始場地清理，並預期今年稍晚在張家港動工。我們預期兩個專案皆將於 2024 年底前達成機械完工。

The restart of 1 of 3 processing lines at the Wodgina mine is going well, with first spodumene concentrate production now expected in the second quarter. At Greenbushes, Talison continues to ramp production from the CGP 2 facility to meet design throughput and recovery rates. In addition, the tailings project at Talison is on track.

Wodgina 礦場三條加工產線中的其中一條重啟進展順利，目前預期將於第二季生產首批鋰輝石精礦。在 Greenbushes，Talison 持續提升 CGP 2 設施的產量，以達到設計處理量與回收率。此外，Talison 的尾礦專案也按計畫推進。

Before I turn the call over to Scott, I'd like to highlight our bromine growth projects on Slide 11. Our bromine business is investing in innovation and capital projects to take advantage of growth opportunities. We expect new products to make up more than 10% of annual bromine revenues by 2025, up from essentially a standing start. The first of these products to launch is Saytex Alero, our next-generation polymeric flame retardant. We first discussed Saytex Alero at our Investor Day last year, and I'm excited to say that we have achieved first commercial sales in January and expect to scale production throughout the year.

在我把電話交給 Scott 之前，我想重點說明投影片 11 上的溴成長專案。我們的溴業務正投資於創新與資本專案，以把握成長機會。我們預期到 2025 年，新產品將占年度溴營收的 10% 以上，從幾乎零的起點大幅提升。首個推出的產品是 Saytex Alero，這是我們下一代聚合型阻燃劑。我們在去年投資人日首次討論 Saytex Alero，很高興地表示，我們已於 1 月達成首次商業銷售，並預期在全年逐步擴大產量。

We've also invested in the resource expansion at the Smackover Formation in Arkansas, and we continue to grow our conversion and derivative capacity in both Arkansas and Jordan.

我們也投資於阿肯色州 Smackover 地層的資源擴增，並持續在阿肯色州與約旦擴充我們的轉換與衍生品產能。

With that as an overview, I'll turn the call over to Scott to discuss recent results and our outlook.

以上為整體概述，接下來我把電話交給 Scott，請他說明近期業績與我們的展望。

Thanks, Kent, and good morning, everyone. I'll begin on Slide 12.

謝謝你，Kent，各位早安。我將從投影片 12 開始。

For the fourth quarter, we generated net sales of $894 million, which is an increase of $15 million compared to the prior year quarter. This was driven by higher sales from lithium and bromine, partially offset by the loss of revenue from our Fine Chemistry Services business, which was sold in June 2021. Excluding FCS, we grew by 11%.

第四季我們的淨銷售額為 8.94 億美元，較去年同期增加 1,500 萬美元。成長主要來自鋰與溴的銷售增加，但部分被我們於 2021 年 6 月出售的精細化學服務（Fine Chemistry Services，FCS）業務所流失的營收所抵銷。若排除 FCS，我們成長 11%。

The fourth quarter net loss attributable to Albemarle was $4 million, reflecting an increased cost estimate to construct our Kemerton lithium hydroxide plant due to anticipated cost overruns from the impact of pandemic-related issues on the supply chain and labor.

第四季歸屬於 Albemarle 的淨損為 400 萬美元，反映我們對 Kemerton 氫氧化鋰工廠建造成本的估計上修，原因是疫情相關問題對供應鏈與勞動力造成影響，導致預期的成本超支。

Fourth quarter adjusted diluted EPS of $1.01 was down 14% from the prior year. The primary adjustment to EPS is the $1.13 add-back of that Kemerton revision.

第四季調整後稀釋每股盈餘（EPS）為 1.01 美元，較去年同期下降 14%。對 EPS 的主要調整項目，是將 Kemerton 成本修正的 1.13 美元加回。

Let's turn to Slide 13 for more detail on adjusted EBITDA performance. Excluding FCS, fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA was up 12% from the prior year. Lithium results remained strong driven by higher volumes as well as higher pricing. Bromine results were roughly flat year-over-year, reflecting strong performance in late 2020 and repeating it in 2021. And Catalysts improved in the fourth quarter as refinery markets continue to rebound and the business saw benefits from onetime items.

接著看投影片 13，以更詳細說明調整後 EBITDA 的表現。排除 FCS 後，第四季調整後 EBITDA 較去年同期成長 12%。鋰業績在更高出貨量與更高價格帶動下維持強勁。溴業績年對年大致持平，反映 2020 年底的強勁表現並在 2021 年重現。催化劑業務在第四季改善，因煉油市場持續復甦，且業務受益於一次性項目。

Our second half sales grew 13% from the first half of the year, following relatively flat growth since mid-2020. This acceleration of growth is expected to continue into 2022.

下半年銷售額較上半年成長 13%，此前自 2020 年年中以來成長相對平緩。我們預期這一成長加速將延續至 2022 年。

On Slide 14, you can see we are expecting both volume and pricing growth in all 3 of our business units in 2022. We expect net sales of between $4.2 billion to $4.5 billion and adjusted EBITDA in the range of $1.15 billion to $1.3 billion. This implies an adjusted EBITDA margin of between 27% and 29%. Adjusted diluted EPS and net cash from operations are also expected to improve year-over-year. We anticipate healthy growth in adjusted EBITDA in all 4 quarters this year, and we expect Q1 to be the strongest quarter for several reasons.

在投影片 14，你可以看到我們預期 2022 年三個事業單位的銷量與價格皆將成長。我們預期淨銷售額介於 42 億至 45 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 介於 11.5 億至 13 億美元。這意味著調整後 EBITDA 利潤率介於 27% 至 29%。調整後稀釋 EPS 與營運活動淨現金流也預期將年對年改善。我們預期今年四個季度的調整後 EBITDA 都將健康成長，且基於多項原因，我們預期第一季將是最強的一季。

All 3 GBUs are expected to benefit from lower-cost inventory sold at prices that have been raised in anticipation of inflation. In the first quarter, lithium also has the benefit of strong shipments from our Talison joint venture to our partner as well as a onetime spodumene sales material produced at Wodgina on initial start-up in 2019.

三個全球事業單位（GBUs）預期都將受益於以較低成本庫存、在已因應通膨而調升的價格下出售。第一季方面，鋰業務亦受益於我們 Talison 合資企業對合作夥伴的強勁出貨，以及 Wodgina 於 2019 年初次啟動時所生產、一次性的鋰輝石銷售物料。

And finally, going forward, higher spodumene transfer pricing increases are going to increase our cost of sales and only partially be offset by higher Talison joint venture income, which is included in our EBITDA after tax. And this creates a tax-impacted EBITDA margin drive.

最後，展望未來，更高的鋰輝石內部移轉定價上調將提高我們的銷貨成本，且僅會被較高的 Talison 合資企業收益部分抵銷；該收益在稅後計入我們的 EBITDA。這會造成受稅負影響的 EBITDA 利潤率壓力。

As Kent mentioned, CapEx is expected to increase to the $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion range this year as we accelerate lithium investments to meet increased customer demand. The key actions to meet or exceed this guidance include: first, successful execution of our lithium project start-ups; second, closing the acquisition in China; third, solid performance at our sold-out plants in lithium, bromine and FCC catalysts; fourth, continued strength in our end-use markets and favorable pricing environment; and lastly, solid procurement to combat inflation.

如 Kent 所提，為加速鋰投資以滿足客戶需求增加，今年資本支出（CapEx）預期將提高至 13 億至 15 億美元區間。達成或超越此指引的關鍵行動包括：第一，成功執行我們的鋰專案啟動；第二，完成在中國的收購案；第三，鋰、溴與 FCC 催化劑等滿載工廠維持穩健表現；第四，終端市場持續強勁與有利的定價環境；最後，透過穩健採購以對抗通膨。

Let's turn to Slide 15 for more details by GBU. Lithium's full year 2022 EBITDA is expected to be up 65% to 85%, a significant improvement from our previous outlook. We now expect volume growth to be up 20% to 30% for the year with the new capacity coming online as well as ongoing efficiency improvements. Average realized pricing is now expected to increase 40% to 45% compared to 2021 due to strong market pricing as well as the expiration of pricing concessions originally agreed to in late 2019.

接著看投影片 15，按各 GBU 提供更多細節。鋰業務 2022 全年 EBITDA 預期將成長 65% 至 85%，較我們先前展望大幅改善。隨著新增產能上線及持續的效率提升，我們目前預期全年銷量成長 20% 至 30%。平均實現價格目前預期較 2021 年上升 40% 至 45%，原因包括市場價格強勁，以及原先於 2019 年底同意的價格讓利到期。

In some cases, as these concessions rolled off, pricing reverted to legacy contracts with significantly higher variable pricing. And as we've been saying, we've also taken the opportunity to work with our strategic customers to renegotiate contracts to more variable rate structures.

在某些情況下，隨著這些讓利逐步到期，定價回歸到既有合約，而其可變動定價顯著更高。正如我們一直所說，我們也把握機會與策略客戶合作，重新協商合約，使其更偏向可變費率結構。

Catalysts EBITDA is expected to be up 5% to 15%. This is below our previous outlook primarily due to cost pressures related to high natural gas pricing in Europe and raw material inflation. Volumes are expected to grow across segments with overall refining markets improving. We continue to see volumes returning to prepandemic levels in late 2022 or 2023. FCC volumes are already there, but HPC volumes are lagging.

催化劑 EBITDA 預期成長 5% 至 15%。這低於我們先前的展望，主要因歐洲天然氣價格高企及原物料通膨帶來的成本壓力。隨著整體煉油市場改善，各細分市場的銷量預期都將成長。我們仍預期銷量將於 2022 年底或 2023 年回到疫情前水準。FCC 銷量已回到該水準，但 HPC 銷量仍相對落後。

Bromine EBITDA is expected to be up 5% to 10%, slightly above our previous outlook based on strong flame retardant demand supported by macro trends, such as digitalization and electrification. Volumes are expected to increase based on the expansions we began in 2021. And as discussed, higher pricing and ongoing cost and efficiency improvements are expected to offset higher freight and raw material costs.

溴 EBITDA 預期成長 5% 至 10%，在阻燃劑需求強勁的支撐下，略高於我們先前的展望；此需求受數位化與電氣化等總體趨勢支持。銷量預期將因我們於 2021 年啟動的擴產而增加。如前所述，更高的定價以及持續的成本與效率改善，預期將抵銷較高的運費與原物料成本。

Now turning to Slide 16, I'll provide some additional color on lithium volume growth. This slide shows the expected lithium production volume ramp from the new conversion facilities we expect to complete this year. We begin the year with a baseload production of 88,000 metric tons in 2021, which includes Silver Peak, Kings Mountain, Xinyu, Chengdu and La Negra I and II. And you can see that this is virtually a 50-50 split of carbonate and hydroxide. As our Wave 2 projects come online, output will begin to favor hydroxide.

接著看投影片 16，我將補充一些關於鋰銷量成長的說明。本頁顯示我們預期今年完成的新轉換設施所帶來的鋰產量爬坡。我們以 2021 年 88,000 公噸的基礎產量開始新年度，其中包括 Silver Peak、Kings Mountain、Xinyu、新余、Chengdu、成都，以及 La Negra I 與 II。你可以看到，碳酸鋰與氫氧化鋰幾乎各占一半。隨著我們第二波（Wave 2）專案上線，產出將開始更偏向氫氧化鋰。

Generally speaking, we expect it to take about 2 years to ramp to full conversion capacity at a new plant, including approximately 6 months for commissioning and qualification. Therefore, we expect to reach our full 200,000 tons of conversion production by early 2025.

一般而言，我們預期新工廠需要約 2 年時間才能爬坡至完整轉換產能，其中包含約 6 個月的試車與認證。因此，我們預期將於 2025 年初達成完整的 200,000 噸轉換產量。

Before I turn it back to Kent, I'd like to update you on our capital allocation priorities, and I'll turn to Slide 17 to do that. Our capital allocation priorities remain the same. Our primary focus is to invest in profitable growth opportunities, particularly for lithium and bromine. Strategic portfolio management and maintaining financial flexibility are important levers to support this growth. For example, we have divested noncore businesses like FCS and reallocated funds to organic and inorganic growth opportunities, like the expected acquisition of the Qinzhou plant.

在我把話交回給 Kent 之前，我想先向各位更新我們的資本配置優先順序，為此我會翻到第 17 頁。我們的資本配置優先順序維持不變。我們的首要重點是投資於具獲利性的成長機會，特別是在鋰與溴素方面。策略性的投資組合管理以及維持財務彈性，是支持此成長的重要槓桿。舉例來說，我們已處分像 FCS 這類非核心業務，並將資金重新配置至內生成長與外生成長機會，例如預期收購欽州工廠。

The strategic review of Catalysts is progressing well and is on track for us to make an announcement of the outcome in the first half of this year. We'll also continue to evaluate bolt-on acquisitions to accelerate growth or bolster our portfolio of top-tier assets.

催化劑事業的策略性檢討進展順利，並按計畫在今年上半年宣布結果。我們也將持續評估補強型（bolt-on）收購，以加速成長或強化我們的一流資產組合。

As always, future dividends and share repurchases are subject to Board approval. However, we expect to continue to support our dividend. Given the outsized growth opportunities we see in lithium, we don't anticipate share repurchases in the foreseeable future.

一如既往，未來的股利與庫藏股回購仍須經董事會核准。不過，我們預期將持續支持股利發放。鑑於我們在鋰領域看到的超額成長機會，我們不預期在可預見的未來進行庫藏股回購。

And with that, I'll turn it back to Kent.

以上，我把話交回給 Kent。

Thanks, Scott. I'll end our prepared remarks on Slide 18, outlining our 2022 objectives aligned with our long-term strategy.

謝謝，Scott。我將在第 18 頁結束我們的事先準備發言，概述與我們長期策略一致的 2022 年目標。

First, we will continue to grow profitably. This means completing our Wave 2 expansions and progressing Wave 3 expansions to grow lithium conversion capacity and volumes. We'll also focus on safely and efficiency starting up those facilities.

首先，我們將持續以獲利方式成長。這代表完成我們的 Wave 2 擴產，並推進 Wave 3 擴產，以提升鋰轉換產能與出貨量。我們也將聚焦於以安全且高效率的方式啟動這些設施。

Next, we will continue to maximize productivity, and this is even more important in today's environment with rising cost for raw materials. We will leverage our operational discipline to offset inflation through manufacturing excellence, implementing lean principles and embracing smart technology to improve HSE, cost, reliability and quality. Our procurement cost-saving initiatives and manufacturing excellence projects will be key to offsetting higher raw materials and freight cost as we work to achieve adjusted EBITDA margin of between 27% and 29%.

其次，我們將持續將生產力最大化，而在當前原物料成本上升的環境下，這點更為重要。我們將運用營運紀律，透過製造卓越來抵銷通膨影響，導入精實原則並採用智慧科技，以改善 HSE、成本、可靠度與品質。我們的採購降本措施與製造卓越專案，將是抵銷較高原物料與運費成本的關鍵，同時我們也致力達成 27% 至 29% 的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率。

We will invest with discipline. As Scott discussed, portfolio management and maintaining our investment-grade credit rating are both high priority for us and will continue to be a focus in 2022. Importantly, we plan to complete the Catalysts strategic review later this year, which will maximize value and set that business up for success while enabling us to focus on growth.

我們將以紀律投資。如 Scott 所述，投資組合管理與維持我們的投資級信用評等，對我們而言都是高度優先事項，並將在 2022 年持續成為重點。重要的是，我們計畫在今年稍晚完成催化劑事業的策略性檢討，以最大化價值並讓該業務具備成功條件，同時使我們能更專注於成長。

Finally, we will advance sustainability. That means driving progress toward our goals for greenhouse gas emissions and fresh water use and setting additional sustainability targets. We'll also continue to work with our customers to improve the sustainability of the lithium supply chain by completing our mine site certifications, Scope 3 greenhouse gas assessments and analyzing product life cycles.

最後，我們將推進永續發展。這代表推動我們在溫室氣體排放與淡水使用目標上的進展，並設定更多永續目標。我們也將持續與客戶合作，透過完成礦區認證、範疇三（Scope 3）溫室氣體評估，以及分析產品生命週期，來提升鋰供應鏈的永續性。

So with that, I'd like to open the call for questions, and I'll turn it back to Michelle.

那麼，接下來我想開放提問，並把話交回給 Michelle。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from David Deckelbaum with Cowen.

（接線員指示）我們的第一個問題來自 Cowen 的 David Deckelbaum。

I was curious if you could talk a little bit about the lithium pricing outlook. You raised your outlook to 40% to 45% increase in '22. When you think about that, and you talked about renegotiating your fixed price contracts, how do we think about your exposure to spot market fluctuations now as we head into 2023? And I guess, in conjunction with that, would you expect that you would see further pricing increases into 2023 based on your outlook today?

我想請教你們能否談談鋰價的展望。你們把 2022 年的展望上調至上漲 40% 到 45%。在這樣的背景下，你們也提到正在重新協商固定價格合約；當我們展望 2023 年時，該如何看待你們目前對現貨市場波動的曝險？另外，配合你們今天的展望，你們是否預期 2023 年還會有進一步的價格上漲？

This is Eric Norris. So our pricing outlook -- let me start first with the composition, what we see in 2022. We have, as Scott and Kent indicated in their prepared remarks, moved our pricing structures to be more variable. About upwards of close to 50% of our existing battery-grade contracts have a variable component to an index with a price and a ceiling. Those indices are not what you would see in China. Those are indices based upon global publicly available indices, such as Benchmark Minerals, Fastmarkets and the like.

我是 Eric Norris。關於我們的定價展望——我先從 2022 年我們所看到的組成談起。正如 Scott 與 Kent 在事先準備發言中所指出的，我們已將定價結構調整得更具變動性。我們現有電池級合約中，接近 50%（甚至略高）包含與某個指數連動的變動成分，並設有價格與上限。這些指數並非你在中國看到的那種，而是基於全球公開可得的指數，例如 Benchmark Minerals、Fastmarkets 等。

The remaining 10% of our business is spot in China. So that is going to be exposed to what you see. And the rest is largely, at this point, fixed. Although as Scott indicated, as we continue to approach customers and then they seek to add to their volumes through our expansions, we are in those discussions asking them and considering moving to more variable with them as well.

其餘約 10% 的業務是在中國的現貨，因此會暴露於你所看到的市場變動。其餘部分在目前大多仍是固定價格。儘管如 Scott 所說，隨著我們持續與客戶接洽、而他們也希望透過我們的擴產增加採購量，我們在這些討論中也會提出並考量與他們一樣轉向更具變動性的機制。

So we have bottom line increased our exposure to pricing upside, but I think you need to consider that the contracts that we -- or excuse me, the indices we're using largely are the global indices, not the China indices, where you see much higher price in the China market than you do globally.

因此，總體而言我們提高了對價格上行的曝險；但你需要注意的是，我們所使用的指數主要是全球指數，而非中國指數；在中國市場，你會看到的價格遠高於全球市場價格。

So in terms of the outlook going forward, I mean, I would say that we expect -- it really comes down to what China pricing does. It is the lead, sort of the tip of the spear. Where that goes, the indices follow globally. Those global industries are about half, in some cases, of current China prices. So there's probably room to go in those indices, but with prices where they are in China, one could only speculate where they would go. And could they go down? We don't know. There'll always be some variability on that 10% of our business that's in China.

至於未來展望，我會說最終關鍵在於中國價格的走勢。它是領先指標，有點像矛尖；它往哪裡走，全球指數就會跟著走。那些全球指數在某些情況下大約只有目前中國價格的一半。因此這些指數可能仍有上行空間，但在中國價格已到目前水準的情況下，只能推測它會走到哪裡。它會下跌嗎？我們不知道。對於我們在中國的那 10% 業務，始終會有一些波動性。

Appreciate that. My follow-up is just on the capital raise, a $200 million increase this year to the budget. It sounds like that's accelerating some of the conversion assets in China. Could you just give a little bit more color around that? And when do you expect to see some of the volumetric impact relative to your original outlook?

了解，謝謝。我的追問是關於資本籌措：你們今年把資本支出預算提高了 2 億美元。聽起來這是在加速中國的一些轉換資產。你能否再多提供一些背景說明？相較於你們原先的展望，你們預期何時會看到在出貨量上的影響？

You're talking about our Wave 3 expansions, when we see those volumes coming on?

你是在問我們的 Wave 3 擴產，何時會看到那些產量釋出嗎？

It sounds like that the timing has now accelerated around Wave 3. So if you were to look at it based on your original vision that you laid out at the Investor Day, how much time are you pulling forward with that additional $200 million around the conversion assets?

聽起來 Wave 3 的時程現在已加速。如果以你們在投資人日所提出的原始藍圖來看，因為這額外的 2 億美元投入轉換資產，你們把時程提前了多少？

Yes. So we brought it forward because of the acquisition at Qinzhou. We were hoping to do an acquisition but we didn't have that nailed down when we did the equity raise and the comments that we made then. So that brought it forward. And we've increased the capacity about 50,000 tons in that wave. So the time frame has been pulled a bit forward because we've confirmed that acquisition, and then we've increased that wave by 50,000 tons. And as we said before, the 2 greenfields, we think, will be on by the end of 2024.

是的。我們之所以提前，是因為收購欽州案。我們原本希望進行收購，但在我們進行股權募資以及當時所做的評論時，尚未把這件事敲定。因此這使時程提前。此外，我們也在該波次把產能增加了約 5 萬噸。由於我們已確認這項收購，且又把該波次增加 5 萬噸，因此時程被稍微往前拉。如同我們先前所說，兩個綠地（greenfield）專案我們認為會在 2024 年底前投產。

Our next question comes from Bob Koort with Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自 Goldman Sachs 的 Bob Koort。

Kent or Eric, I was wondering if you could talk about your strategy on contracting to customers in a growing and very tight market. Is there an approach to not contract all your volume to ensure your customers can get deliverability? Do you want to have as much as possible fixed volume obligations? How do you think about that?

Kent 或 Eric，我想請你們談談在一個快速成長且供應非常吃緊的市場中，你們與客戶簽約（contracting）的策略。你們是否會採取不把所有產量都簽出去的做法，以確保客戶能取得交付？你們希望盡可能多地承擔固定量的供貨義務嗎？你們如何思考這件事？

I'll just talk at a high level, and Eric can give you a little more detail on it. But I think we've talked about it. We want to have a portfolio across the range of those projects. So we're not tying up all the volume on long-term fixed contracts. But we do want to have that element of it. It's becoming probably a bigger part. We're probably fighting to make sure that we keep the portfolio the way we envision it.

我先從較高層次談，Eric 可以再補充一些細節。我想我們之前談過：我們希望在各類專案之間維持一個投資組合配置。因此我們不會把所有產量都用長期固定合約綁死，但我們確實也希望保有那一部分。那部分可能正在變得更大。我們大概是在努力確保投資組合能維持我們所設想的樣貌。

Yes. I don't have much to add, Bob. You heard how I answered David's question just before you on the mix. We've seen an influence to have up to a half on some sort of variable price that has some floors and ceilings, a bit of spot and then the rest fixed. And we still strive to have, as we grow the business and add capacity, an amount that we can play in the spot markets. And that gives us excess to flex with our contract customers as they grow as well. Strategy still remains to be a partner to our customers and to seek those partnerships for their long-term growth, and that's becoming in this market a very important topic, that security of supply.

是的，Bob，我沒有太多補充。你剛才也聽到我在回答 David 的問題時提到的組合。我們看到的趨勢是：最多約一半採用某種帶有地板與天花板的變動定價機制，搭配一部分現貨，其餘則為固定。我們仍然努力在業務成長與新增產能的同時，保留一定比例可以在現貨市場操作。這也讓我們在合約客戶同樣成長時，有額外的彈性可以配合。策略仍然是成為客戶的合作夥伴，並尋求支持其長期成長的合作關係；在目前的市場中，供應安全已成為非常重要的議題。

Can I ask a follow-up? What was the reason and what are the ramifications of changing your MARBL agreement?

我可以追問一下嗎？更改你們的 MARBL 協議的原因是什麼？又會帶來哪些影響？

Yes. We're in the middle of that. So I don't really want to front run the discussions that we're having with our joint venture partner. But It's really about expanding to give us more reach and mitigating some of the risks that we see in the marketplace by sharing it with a partner.

可以。我們正在進行當中。所以我不太想在我們與合資夥伴正在進行的討論之前就先行透露。不過這主要是為了擴大規模、讓我們觸及更廣，同時透過與夥伴分攤來降低我們在市場上看到的一些風險。

Our next question comes from Jeff Zekauskas with JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通（JPMorgan）的 Jeff Zekauskas。

When you look at your lithium carbonate, your LCE production from now to 2025, does your cost per ton change very much? And in what direction?

當你看你們從現在到 2025 年的碳酸鋰、以及以 LCE 計的產量時，你們每噸成本會有很大變化嗎？方向會是怎樣？

This is Eric. As Scott described, Wave 3 is hydroxide-based and spodumene-based in that regard. That's a higher cost of production than carbonate production out of Chile. So generally speaking, because of the higher cost to produce hydroxide versus carbonate out of brine, the average cost goes up slightly. But that's a function of resource and product mix. We continue to drive productivity throughout the portfolio to ensure that we're operating at a low conversion cost to take advantage of the good resources we have.

我是 Eric。如 Scott 所描述，第三波（Wave 3）在這方面是以氫氧化鋰為主、且以鋰輝石為原料。相較於智利鹵水生產的碳酸鋰，這會是更高的生產成本。因此一般而言，由於以鹵水生產碳酸鋰相較於生產氫氧化鋰成本更低，平均成本會略微上升。但這取決於資源與產品組合。我們持續在整個產品組合中推動生產力提升，以確保我們維持低轉換成本，來發揮我們所擁有優質資源的優勢。

And I think Scott said that the first quarter would have the -- of '22 would have the highest EBITDA total of the year. Why is that given that lithium production would be much greater in the second half?

我想 Scott 說過，2022 年第一季會是全年 EBITDA 總額最高的一季。為什麼會這樣？因為鋰的產量在下半年會大得多。

So there are a couple of dynamics happening there. First is we've been aggressive around pricing given inflation coming through. And in the first quarter, we're selling out of inventory where that inflation has not actually hit our cost base yet. That's true across all of our businesses. So that inflation catches up to us in the back half of the year, and we've already implemented pricing. So there's a lull on that.

這裡有幾個動態因素。第一，我們在定價上相當積極，因為通膨正在傳導。在第一季，我們銷售的是庫存，而通膨其實尚未反映到我們的成本基礎上。這在我們所有業務都是如此。因此到了下半年，通膨會追上我們，而我們已經實施了提價，所以中間會出現一段空窗期。

And then it's really the same answer on lithium. That's across all the businesses, but particularly in lithium. Spodumene prices have gone up dramatically. In the first quarter, we're selling out of inventories, which have '21 costs. And in '22, those cost increases come through the P&L. And that was the dynamic Scott was talking about, where our EBITDA becomes tax-affected because it's minority interest from JV income. Because even though we're protected from those spodumene prices going up, it shifts from being in our pure EBITDA to minority interest, which gets added to EBITDA but on an after-tax basis. So those are the 2 drivers for why the first quarter is the highest EBITDA level.

然後在鋰業務上其實也是同樣的答案。這適用於所有業務，但在鋰尤其明顯。鋰輝石價格大幅上漲。第一季我們賣的是庫存，成本是 2021 年的；而到了 2022 年，這些成本上升會反映到損益表（P&L）中。這就是 Scott 所說的動態：我們的 EBITDA 會受到稅務影響，因為它來自合資企業收益中的少數股權（minority interest）。因為即使我們在鋰輝石價格上漲方面受到保護，它也會從我們純粹的 EBITDA 轉移到少數股權，少數股權會加回到 EBITDA，但它是以稅後基礎計入。因此，這兩個因素驅動第一季成為 EBITDA 最高的一季。

Our next question comes from P.J. Juvekar with Citi.

下一個問題來自花旗（Citi）的 P.J. Juvekar。

How quickly do you see the Wodgina ramp-up? And is that limited by available conversion capacity in Australia and China? And then talking about conversion capacity, your potential North American/European conversion capacities in Wave 4, what does it take to move it to Wave 3?

你們認為 Wodgina 的爬坡會有多快？是否會受到澳洲與中國可用轉換產能的限制？另外談到轉換產能，你們在第四波（Wave 4）中潛在的北美／歐洲轉換產能，要怎麼做才能把它移到第三波（Wave 3）？

I'm going to take the second question first and then probably talk to Eric for the first. The waves are really just our definition of projects. So nothing else is going to change. It's not going to move North America from 4 to 3 because 3 is defined, and we're well into execution on those projects right now. And we're still defining exactly what we will do in Wave 4. But we would look to accelerate those, but they'll still remain in Wave 4.

我先回答第二個問題，然後可能再請 Eric 談第一個。所謂「波次」其實只是我們對專案的定義，所以不會有其他改變。北美不會從 4 移到 3，因為第 3 波已經定義清楚，而且我們目前正深入執行那些專案。我們仍在界定第 4 波究竟要做什麼。不過我們會考慮加速推進，但它們仍會歸在第 4 波。

And P.J., on your first question about Wodgina, with our joint venture partner we are only ramping up the first train of Wodgina with 50,000 tons of 6% spodumene, a little over 30,000 tons on an LCE basis. We look at the growth in conversion capacity in hydroxide from Wave 3 that Kent described as the output -- or excuse me, the consumer for that material. As a side note, spodumene tends to come on pretty quickly. It's a different kind of plant operation than a chemical conversion plant, which tends to ramp over 2 years. A spodumene plant can come up within 6 months.

P.J.，關於你第一個有關 Wodgina 的問題，我們與合資夥伴目前只會把 Wodgina 的第一條產線（train）爬坡到 5 萬噸 6% 品位鋰輝石，換算成 LCE 基礎略高於 3 萬噸。我們把 Kent 所描述的第 3 波氫氧化鋰轉換產能成長視為該材料的去向——或者說，消費端。順帶一提，鋰輝石通常能很快投產。它的工廠操作型態不同於化學轉換廠，後者通常需要 2 年爬坡；鋰輝石工廠可在 6 個月內拉升產出。

Plus those trains are already built.

而且那些產線都已經建好了。

Plus trains are built and they're just being restarted. So we would expect by midyear to see spodumene flowing from that and put it into the assets that we talked about in Wave 3. And we'd consider looking at tolling for the balance. And then as we continue to progress Wave 3 and other expansion activities, we'd look down the road. We've made no decisions yet on the second and third train at Wodgina, but those would be for down the road, giving us plenty of dry powder, so to speak, to support our growth as we continue to build out conversion capacity.

沒錯，產線已建好，現在只是重新啟動。因此我們預期到年中就會看到鋰輝石開始出貨，並把它投入我們在第 3 波所談到的資產。我們也會考慮就剩餘部分採取代工（tolling）。接著，隨著我們持續推進第 3 波與其他擴產活動，我們會再往後看。我們對 Wodgina 的第二、第三條產線尚未做任何決定，但那會是更長遠的事；可以說，我們保留了充足的「乾粉」來支持我們在持續建置轉換產能時的成長。

Great. And you guided to lithium volume growth of 20% to 30%, which I would think is in line with where the industry is growing. But you have so much new capacity coming online in '22, first half and second half. So I would have thought that your volumes would grow faster than the industry. Any reason why it's not growing faster than the industry?

很好。你們指引鋰的銷量成長為 20% 到 30%，我認為這大致符合產業成長。但你們在 2022 年上半年與下半年都有很多新產能上線，所以我原本以為你們的銷量會比產業成長更快。為什麼沒有更快？

Well, certainly, we'd like to continue to maintain our position in the industry and grow with the industry. And you're right, with this growth guidance, we are doing that. But underneath that are the practical realities of capacity limitation. So the guidance we've given, you dates of when we think these plants will come online. We first have that first qualification process. We have a 6-month period before it can be qualified, and then we have about a 2-year ramp to ramp that. When you back calculate that math, that's on our fixed base of 88,000 tons last year. That is the growth increment you get. So it happens to correspond to market growth, but it's going as fast as we can on our capacity expansion.

當然，我們希望持續維持在產業中的地位，並與產業一起成長。你說得對，依照這個成長指引，我們確實是在做到這點。但在其背後有一些產能限制的現實因素。我們給出的指引包含我們認為這些工廠何時會上線的時間點。首先有第一階段的認證（qualification）流程，需要 6 個月才能完成認證，之後大約還需要 2 年的爬坡期。把這些時間倒推回去，以去年 8.8 萬噸的固定基礎來算，得到的就是你看到的增量。因此它剛好對應到市場成長，但就我們的產能擴張而言，已經是我們能做到的最快速度。

Our next question comes from Christopher Parkinson with Mizuho.

下一個問題來自瑞穗（Mizuho）的 Christopher Parkinson。

Just 2 quick questions. Just the first would be for the Western OEMs, let's say, all in on the EV front, just what's your assessment of their own perceptions just regarding some of the newer competitor supply additions and how that product will or potentially will not be accepted in the marketplace in the ultra, let's say, near to intermediate term? Any color would be helpful.

兩個很快的問題。第一個是關於西方 OEM：假設他們在電動車（EV）方面全面投入，你對他們自身的看法有何評估——特別是對於一些較新的競爭對手新增供應，以及那些產品在超短期到中期是否會、或可能不會被市場接受？任何補充說明都很有幫助。

By that, you're referring to Western OEMs' view of new lithium competitors coming into the market who are trying to bring capacity to market? Look, I mean, I think you'd have to ask their view on things. I will say this, security of supply is a very, very big concern in the market. I think that's why in a pure spot market like China, you see prices that are in order of magnitude higher than they were a year ago. It's folks trying to get supplied at any price.

你的意思是，西方 OEM 對於新進鋰競爭者進入市場、試圖把產能推向市場的看法嗎？我想你得去問他們對這些事情的看法。不過我可以說的是，供應安全在市場上是一個非常、非常大的關切。我認為這也是為什麼在像中國這樣的純現貨市場，你會看到價格比一年前高出一個數量級。大家是在不計代價地確保供應。

So that is true, certainly in China given those prices, but that same sentiment is true here in the U.S., particularly as Western OEMs -- or in Europe as well, underwrite big investments. So they are looking for lithium wherever they can get it. I think the offering that Albemarle brings, and as part of our dialogue with them, is we have the resources. We have the execution capability, and we're reliable in bringing on supply. So we're an attractive partner for them in those dialogues, and we're in the middle of all those discussions now as we bring on this new capacity and look into the future to bring on future capacity, particularly as Kent referenced, as we look to localize capacity in North America and Europe.

因此，這在中國當然成立，從那些價格就看得出來；但同樣的情緒在美國也存在，在歐洲也一樣，尤其當西方 OEM 承擔（underwrite）大型投資時更是如此。所以他們正在盡可能從任何地方取得鋰。我認為 Albemarle 能提供的價值，以及我們與他們對話的一部分，是：我們有資源、有執行能力，而且在導入供應方面可靠。因此在這些對話中，我們對他們而言是具吸引力的夥伴；而且當我們導入這些新產能、並展望未來導入更多產能時，我們正處於所有這些討論的進行中——特別是如 Kent 所提到的，當我們希望在北美與歐洲推動產能在地化時。

That's helpful. And just a quick follow-up. Just what would just be your latest thought process? On the demand front, you already hit on a few things. But just in terms of battery technologies, energy density, just any color on what you've seen in terms of new model launches and potentially advancing high-nickel cathode chemistries? That would be very helpful.

這很有幫助。再快速追問一下，您目前最新的思考是什麼？在需求面您已經提到幾點了。但就電池技術而言，包含能量密度，以及您在新車型推出、以及可能推進高鎳正極材料化學體系方面所看到的情況，能否再提供一些補充說明？那會非常有幫助。

Yes. So on battery chemistry for electric vehicles, Over the 2025 and 2030 view that we've characterized in our growth charts in the earnings deck, we still see high nickel being the key to higher range. And we further see innovations on the anode side in pre-lithiation and new technologies that will further allow more energy density and cost effectiveness of those nickel chemistries with that parity to internal combustion engines and coming in within that 18- to 24-month period.

是的。就電動車的電池化學體系而言，從我們在財報簡報的成長圖表中所描述的 2025 年與 2030 年展望來看，我們仍然認為高鎳是提升續航里程的關鍵。我們也看到負極端在預鋰化與新技術方面的創新，將進一步提升這些鎳系化學體系的能量密度與成本效益，使其與內燃機達到成本平價，並在 18 到 24 個月的期間內實現。

That being said, it's pretty clear and our projections would show that LFP for lower energy density for lower-range vehicles, lower-cost vehicles is going to remain a segment of this market, not only now but through this 10-year period. And it's a double-digit percentage over that period of time, a low double-digit percentage but a double-digit percentage of the market. But most of the growth will be hydroxide.

話雖如此，很明顯地，我們的預測也顯示，LFP（磷酸鐵鋰）因能量密度較低、適用於較短續航與較低成本車款，將會持續是市場的一個區隔，不僅是現在，在未來這 10 年期間也是如此。在這段期間它將占市場的雙位數百分比，雖然是較低的雙位數，但仍是雙位數。不過，大部分的成長將來自氫氧化鋰。

Our next question comes from Alex Yefremov with KeyBanc.

下一個問題來自 KeyBanc 的 Alex Yefremov。

I think as I look at your pricing guidance for Lithium segment, it was very strong. If I even assume some level of cost inflation, the cost number to get to your EBITDA and EPS guidance ends up being very high based on my model, at least, maybe as high as 40% or more per ton. Is there anything else beyond the spodumene and Talison dynamics that you already described in terms of cost that we should keep in mind for '22?

我看你們對鋰業務部門的定價指引非常強勁。即使我假設有一定程度的成本通膨，依照我的模型，為了達到你們的 EBITDA 與 EPS 指引，推算出的成本數字仍然非常高，至少可能高到每噸 40% 或以上。除了你們已經描述過的鋰輝石與 Talison 的動態之外，還有沒有其他與成本相關、我們在 2022 年需要留意的因素？

So I mean, I think you have to appreciate we're bringing on new plants. And when we bring them on, they're not loaded, right? So there's multiple facilities in that stage. So there's high fixed costs associated that -- with lower volumes. But other than that, I mean, the pricing movements are pretty aggressive and pretty consistent.

我想你必須理解，我們正在投產新工廠。而新工廠投產時並不是滿載運轉，對吧？所以有多個設施都處於那個階段。因此在產量較低的情況下，會有較高的固定成本。除此之外，我的意思是，價格變動相當激進，而且相當一致。

We've moved our portfolio quite a bit. We've been talking about that, and we've more or less done that. So we're more exposed to the market than we have been in the past. But I think you have to keep in mind that fixed cost piece about bringing on new facilities that are not loaded.

我們已經大幅調整了我們的產品組合，我們一直在談這件事，而且基本上也已經完成了。因此相較過去，我們對市場的曝險更高。但我認為你必須把那個固定成本的部分納入考量，也就是新設施投產但尚未滿載。

Okay. Appreciate it. And then I wanted to follow up on the pricing side. I guess, given approximately 50% of your volume have these indices, would any of these indices reset during the year? And could you end up above the 45% sort of upper bound of your lithium guidance -- price guidance?

好的，感謝。接著我想追問定價方面。我想，鑑於你們大約 50% 的銷量採用這些指數定價，這些指數是否會在年度中重新設定？而你們是否可能超過鋰價指引中約 45% 的上限？

It's Eric. I can answer that. They are all based on indices that continue to move. The recent movement has been upward in the past 3 months. Again, sort of the tip of the spear being China prices, which are significantly higher.

我是 Eric，我可以回答。它們全部都是依據會持續變動的指數。最近 3 個月的變動方向是上行。再次強調，最前端的指標是中國價格，而中國價格顯著更高。

Where the market goes long term, we don't know. If there is a downward sort of correction in China prices, that will hit the China spot volumes we have. If however these spot -- these indices for the large part of our business is variable fixed ceiling floor, those are well below those spot prices. It's very hard to say. If the prices remain high, we could definitely be to the higher end of our range on price.

市場長期會走到哪裡，我們不知道。如果中國價格出現向下修正，會影響我們在中國的現貨銷量。不過，若就我們業務中占比較大的那部分而言，這些指數合約是「浮動、但有固定上限與下限」的結構，而那些水準遠低於現貨價格。很難說。如果價格維持在高檔，我們的價格確實可能落在指引區間的高端。

I think part of your question was about are they fixed through the year. So they aren't. Those -- that move with the market -- can move during the year.

我想你問題的一部分是：它們是否在一年內固定不變。答案是否定的。那些會隨市場變動——在年度中也可能變動。

Our next question comes from Steve Richardson with Evercore.

下一個問題來自 Evercore 的 Steve Richardson。

Scott, could you give us any more color just in terms of how much is cost inflation versus pull-forward? I appreciate that you kind of addressed this a little bit earlier, but it is something that continues to come up in our conversations and would be helpful.

Scott，你能否再多提供一些細節，說明成本通膨與提前拉貨（pull-forward）各占多少？我知道你先前已稍微回應過，但這個議題在我們的討論中一直反覆出現，如果能更清楚會很有幫助。

And then on the cost piece, just on the previous question, I appreciate that you're dealing with a lot of fixed costs in terms of some of these new project starts. But could you maybe tease out, at least in terms of your unit cost, how much is process-related in terms of just general costs associated with the process versus what you're seeing in terms of this mismatch between volumes and fixed cost versus variable?

另外在成本部分，延續上一題，我理解你們在一些新專案啟動上承擔了不少固定成本。但你能否至少就單位成本拆解一下：有多少是製程相關、也就是與一般製程運作相關的成本；又有多少是因產量與固定成本之間不匹配所造成，相對於變動成本的影響？

Let me take the first part of your question and then I'll kick over to Scott to talk about the margin piece and the conversion costs. So looking at the change in our capital forecast, it's at least half acceleration. We have had additional cost executing projects in Western Australia during the pandemic, which has been a challenge for us, and we've had additional costs as well as extending the projects on that. And we also see inflation impacting the projects that we're kicking off now that we didn't see a year ago. So it's probably half acceleration and half additional costs associated with inflation and pandemic cost.

我先回答你問題的第一部分，接著我會請 Scott 來談毛利部分與轉換成本。就我們資本預測的變化來看，至少有一半是加速所致。我們在疫情期間於西澳執行專案時產生了額外成本，這對我們而言是一項挑戰；同時也因專案延長而增加了成本。此外，我們也看到通膨正在影響我們現在啟動的專案，而這是我們一年前沒有看到的。因此大概是一半來自加速，一半來自通膨與疫情相關的額外成本。

And Scott, I'll kick to you for the margin question.

Scott，毛利的問題我交給你。

Yes. So as you look at the lithium margins going into this year, the 2 factors are these plant start-ups and not being at full capacity. And that's probably $100 million drag in the year, somewhere in that range. And then the impact of the spodumene prices going up and changing the dynamic between cost of sales, so increasing our cost of sales but also increasing our equity income on an after-tax basis, that's probably north of $200 million. So those are the 2 biggest kind of movers as you're looking at the lithium margin.

好的。當你看今年鋰業務的毛利時，有兩個因素：第一是工廠啟動且尚未達到滿產，這大概會在全年造成約 1 億美元左右的拖累，約在那個範圍。第二是鋰輝石價格上漲，改變了銷貨成本之間的動態，也就是提高了我們的銷貨成本，但同時也在稅後基礎上提高了我們的權益法投資收益，這大概超過 2 億美元。因此，這兩項是你在看鋰毛利時最大的兩個主要變動因素。

Great. I appreciate the additional clarity. And one follow-up, if I may, just for Eric, on the lithium outlook on the demand side. The 1.5 million number is obviously huge relative to where the market had been, and I see the logic on the demand side. Can you address your view, like the industry's ability to hit this from a supply perspective? And at least how does this play out? Do we just end up seeing ever higher incentive price to bring marginal projects to bear? Or do we have a limiting factor here in terms of the supply side's ability to hit that number? And certainly, the 3 million in 2030 is a huge number as well.

很好，感謝更清楚的說明。我可以再追問一題嗎？想請 Eric 就需求面的鋰展望補充。150 萬噸這個數字相對於市場過去的水準顯然非常大，我也理解需求面的邏輯。你能否談談你對供給面、也就是產業要達到這個數字的能力的看法？這會如何發展？我們是否只會看到為了讓邊際專案得以上馬而出現愈來愈高的激勵價格？或者供給面在達到該數字上存在某種限制因素？當然，2030 年的 300 萬噸也是一個非常大的數字。

It's going to take everybody, being ourselves and our competition, being successful at hitting their milestones in order to meet that supply. So it's an all-out effort to get there. So I don't want to sugarcoat it. The reason the industry is so tight is because there's a view it takes a while and it doesn't go as it's always expected.

要滿足那樣的供給，需要所有人——包括我們自己以及競爭對手——都成功達成各自的里程碑。因此這是一場全力以赴的努力。我不想粉飾太平。產業之所以如此吃緊，是因為大家都認為這需要時間，而且實際進展往往不如原先預期。

In terms of price, I don't have a crystal ball. I don't -- I never would have predicted a $65 carbonate price. So I don't know how to think about where that would go in the future. It does reflect that hard slog I just referred to, I think, that everybody's got to step up and execute well in order to meet that demand.

至於價格，我沒有水晶球。我也——我從來不會預測碳酸鋰會到 65 美元的價格。所以我不知道該如何看待未來會走到哪裡。我認為這反映了我剛提到的那段艱辛過程：每個人都必須挺身而出、把執行做好，才能滿足那樣的需求。

Our next question comes from Joel Jackson with BMO Capital.

下一個問題來自 BMO Capital 的 Joel Jackson。

Some years ago, you guys had talked about kind of a 40% EBITDA margin for lithium as kind of being what I think you make it over the course of the cycle. We're now at 34%, 35% range over the last 3 years through much different pricing scenarios every year. And you talk about now fully loaded plants and how that may affect margin. You're going to be ramping on plants indefinitely for a long time. So should we be thinking about this as the right cost base going forward, this margin as the right kind of base going forward for lithium?

幾年前，你們曾談到鋰業務在整個景氣循環中大概可以做到 40% 的 EBITDA 利潤率。我們現在在過去 3 年、每年定價情境都很不同的情況下，利潤率大約在 34% 到 35% 的區間。你們也提到工廠滿載會如何影響利潤率。你們將在很長一段時間內持續擴產、讓工廠爬坡。因此，我們是否應該把這視為未來的正確成本基礎，也就是把這個利潤率視為鋰業務未來的合理基準？

In the long term we stand by that. One of the things you have to understand is as spodumene prices go up, that impacts our EBITDA margin because of the nature of the JV. So EBITDA effectively becomes tax-affected to some degree because of the product we purchase from Talison. And that won't be different with MARBL going forward.

從長期來看，我們仍然堅持那一點。你必須了解的一件事是，當鋰輝石價格上漲時，因為合資（JV）的性質，這會影響我們的 EBITDA 利潤率。因此，EBITDA 在某種程度上實際上會受到稅負影響，因為我們向 Talison 採購產品。而未來在 MARBL 也不會有所不同。

So that has an impact on the pure EBITDA margin, but it still flows through the P&L once you get fully to the bottom line. So I think to kind of answer your question, we still stand by the guidance that we've provided in the long term. We still think it's in that range.

所以這會影響純粹的 EBITDA 利潤率，但一旦你把損益表（P&L）一路看到最終淨利，它仍然會反映出來。因此，為了回答你的問題，我們仍然維持我們長期所提供的指引。我們仍然認為會落在那個區間內。

The next question is it's great to have a 3 million-ton demand forecast for lithium for 2030. But let's be honest, we're never going to get there. There's not supply out there. Even if there's supply, we're not going to get there in 8 years for 3 million tons, right? You've got to have new resources. You got to have new technologies, DLE, whatever. You have to have lots of assets that aren't producing now in lots of strange places, new feedstocks. So we're never going to get to 3 million tons. Would you agree with that? And if that's the case, what's going to happen? So does that mean the EV acceleration has got to come down, OEMs have to change your plan? Or do I have it wrong?

下一個問題是：到 2030 年鋰需求預測達 300 萬噸，這當然很好。但老實說，我們永遠不可能達到那個數字。外面沒有那麼多供給。就算有供給，我們也不可能在 8 年內達到 300 萬噸，對吧？你必須有新的資源。你必須有新的技術，DLE（直接鋰萃取）之類的。不管是什麼，你必須有很多目前尚未生產、分布在許多奇怪地方的資產，新的原料來源。所以我們永遠到不了 300 萬噸。你同意嗎？如果是這樣，會發生什麼事？這是否意味著電動車（EV）加速必須放緩、OEM 必須改變你們的計畫？還是我理解錯了？

Eric said it before, that it's a slog, but it's doable. I think the industry has to be aggressive and has to execute well. And I think you're seeing some of that -- we're getting through some of those growing pains. We think we're probably as experienced as anyone at doing these large conversion facilities and bringing on new resources. But it's a combination of resource and conversion capacity. It is a stretch, but -- and it does require some new technology and operating in some places where historically, the lithium industry hasn't done that, but it's not impossible.

Eric 之前說過，這是一場苦戰，但做得到。我認為產業必須積極進取，而且必須執行到位。我想你也看到了一些跡象——我們正在度過一些成長的陣痛。我們認為在建設這些大型轉換設施並導入新資源方面，我們大概和任何人一樣有經驗。但這是資源與轉換產能的組合。這確實是個拉伸的目標，但——而且確實需要一些新技術，並且要在一些歷史上鋰產業不曾這樣運作的地方營運，但並非不可能。

Our next question comes from Vincent Andrews with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利（Morgan Stanley）的 Vincent Andrews。

Kent, just wondering if you could mark the Wave 3 total CapEx for us. I think you originally cited at $1.5 billion, and I think you mentioned half of the increase for '22 was related to inflation. But it seems like maybe some of that was transitory if COVID indeed calms down. So how would you tell us to think about Wave 3 now versus the original $1.5 billion?

Kent，我想請問你能否為我們界定一下 Wave 3 的總資本支出（CapEx）。我記得你最初提到是 15 億美元，而且你也提到 2022 年增加的部分有一半與通膨有關。但看起來如果 COVID 真的緩和下來，其中一些可能是暫時性的。那你會如何讓我們現在去看待 Wave 3，相較於原先的 15 億美元？

It has stretched a little bit because we've accelerated and we've had inflation. So that inflation is -- if it goes away in 3 years, doesn't matter because we're building the projects in the next couple of years. So there is some impact on that. So we've accelerated because there's additional capacity associated with that. So that is half of the difference and the other half is inflationary. So you got to add that on.

它確實拉長了一點，因為我們加速推進，而且也遇到通膨。所以通膨這件事——如果它在 3 年後消失也無所謂，因為我們是在接下來幾年內建這些專案。因此這確實會有一些影響。我們之所以加速，是因為相關的額外產能。因此差異的一半來自加速，另一半是通膨因素。所以你必須把那部分加上去。

Our forecasting sees inflation in the capital equipment that we're buying in the next year and 2.

我們的預測顯示，在未來 1 到 2 年我們要採購的資本設備上會出現通膨。

So we -- if we thought of something like it was going to be like a $1.8 billion to $2 billion now instead of $1.5 billion, is that good for a ballpark number?

所以——如果我們把它想成現在大概會是 18 億到 20 億美元，而不是 15 億美元，作為一個大致的數字，這樣可以嗎？

I think I want to start estimating what the projects are going to turn out to be. But it's up definitely from $1.5 billion. Part of that is the acceleration. So I'm kind of focused on the inflation part. But overall, that's probably not a bad estimate.

我想我會開始估算這些專案最後會落在什麼水準。但它肯定高於 15 億美元。其中一部分是加速。因此我某種程度上更聚焦在通膨那一塊。但整體而言，這大概不是個太差的估計。

Okay. And just on the Salar de Atacama technology projects, can you just talk to us about what milestones are left to hit on that so that you'd be confident that you'll be able to execute it?

好的。另外關於阿塔卡馬鹽湖（Salar de Atacama）的技術專案，你能否談談還有哪些里程碑需要達成，才能讓你有信心能夠執行到位？

Yes. So we're just getting going into the real execution phase of that particular project, but I don't know that -- it's not as complicated a project as a conversion facility. So I think we feel pretty good about executing on that. We've lost a little bit of the float we had in the schedule, but that's it. We're still on plan and on the schedule that we had, but we have lost a little bit of the contingency from a time standpoint that we originally had built in.

可以。所以我們才剛開始進入那個特定專案真正的執行階段，但我不確定——它不像轉換設施那麼複雜。因此我認為我們對執行相當有信心。我們在時程上原本的緩衝（float）少了一點，但也就這樣。我們仍然按照計畫、按照原先的時程在走，只是從時間角度來看，我們確實失去了一些原本建進去的備援（contingency）。

Our next question comes from Kevin McCarthy with Vertical Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Vertical Research 的 Kevin McCarthy。

A couple of questions on your Catalysts business. First, I think you had announced some price increases in early January. Can you talk about the magnitude and the flow-through with regard to realization of those increases? And also related to Catalysts, any update on your level of confidence with regard to the ongoing strategic review?

關於你們的催化劑（Catalysts）業務有幾個問題。第一，我想你們在 1 月初宣布了一些漲價。你能談談漲價幅度，以及這些漲價在實現（realization）上的傳導情況嗎？另外也與催化劑相關：關於正在進行的策略檢討（strategic review），你們的信心程度有沒有更新？

Let me touch on the strategic review and then Raphael will talk about pricing. We're going through that process, and it's going well. The timing, we had said, we think, we'll have an answer by middle of the year. And I don't really want to front-run it or comment too much on it beyond that.

我先談策略檢討，然後 Raphael 會談定價。我們正在推進那個流程，而且進展順利。至於時程，我們之前說過，我們認為會在年中前後有答案。我不太想在那之前搶先透露或做太多評論，除此之外就不多說了。

Raphael?

Raphael？

Thanks, Kent. Kevin, as you saw, we announced a price increase in January. That's really to help offset the inflation that we've seen starting in the second half of 2021 into this year, particularly around natural gas. So that's building momentum. So I think we'll see north of $10 million worth of pricing in our forecast. Again, that's really to offset what we've seen on raw materials.

謝謝，Kent。Kevin，如你所見，我們在 1 月宣布了漲價。這主要是為了幫助抵銷我們從 2021 年下半年延續到今年所看到的通膨，特別是在天然氣方面。因此這正在累積動能。我認為在我們的預測中，定價帶來的貢獻會超過 1,000 萬美元。再次強調，這主要是為了抵銷我們在原物料上看到的成本上升。

As you know, Kevin, we produce performance products. So we create a lot of value for our customers. We think our pricing is justified. It's mostly around FCC catalysts where we're in a near sold-out position right now.

如你所知，Kevin，我們生產的是高性能產品（performance products）。因此我們為客戶創造了很大的價值。我們認為我們的定價是合理的。這主要集中在 FCC 催化劑上，而我們目前幾乎處於售罄的狀態。

All that being said, we've got a lot of confidence in what we shared as our long-term forecast for the business at Investor Day. We think some of the raw material headwinds will be covered with price over time, and we'll be on track to deliver what we said.

綜合來說，我們對在投資人日（Investor Day）所分享的該業務長期預測非常有信心。我們認為部分原物料的不利因素會隨時間透過價格來覆蓋，我們也會按計畫交付我們所說的成果。

And then second, Kent, I think you mentioned in your prepared remarks that you've begun to build some relationships with the incoming administration in Chile. Can you talk through what has changed in that country, I suppose, politically? But also there's an ongoing effort to rewrite the constitution. What in your mind will be fixed or remain the same? What are you watching in terms of potential changes? And how are you thinking about it in terms of capital allocation moving forward beyond La Negra III in country versus alternatives you may have in Australia, China, U.S. or other countries?

第二個問題，Kent，我想你在事先準備的發言中提到，你們已開始與智利即將上任的新政府建立一些關係。你能談談我想在政治上那個國家發生了什麼變化嗎？另外，還有一項正在進行的工作是重寫憲法。你認為哪些會被修正、哪些會維持不變？你在關注哪些潛在變化？以及就未來資本配置而言，除了在當地推進 La Negra III 之外，相較於你們在澳洲、中國、美國或其他國家的替代方案，你們是如何思考的？

Okay. There's a lot going on in Chile and the new administration is not really in place. And we're trying to build our relationships out in front of that with our local team there. But there have been discussions going on about rewriting the constitution and all of them. The mining royalties across multiple industries have been -- those discussions have been happening for the last 6 months, if not a year. So there's been a lot of discussion. So we're trying to build relationships with the new government, stay close to it.

好的。智利目前有很多事情在發生，而新政府其實還沒有真正就位。我們正透過當地團隊，嘗試在此之前先建立關係。但確實一直在討論重寫憲法等等。跨多個產業的礦業權利金（mining royalties）——這些討論已經持續了過去 6 個月，甚至可能有一年了。所以討論很多。我們正努力與新政府建立關係，並保持密切關注。

We don't anticipate a wholesale change in the direction that the government goes with respect to extractive industries, but we do think there'll be changes. Most of that is going to be as you look forward as opposed to on existing businesses, particularly around lithium. So we don't see a wholesale change in the way that the existing lithium business is done in Chile or our royalties that we pay. As an example, we think they're very progressive, probably the highest in the world on lithium for sure and probably even in extractive industry. And we think that will hold and maybe become an example for some of the other resource-based industries in Chile. So we're pretty optimistic about our position in Chile.

我們不預期政府在對待採掘型產業（extractive industries）的方向上會出現全面性的轉變，但我們確實認為會有一些變化。其中大部分會是著眼於未來，而不是針對既有業務，尤其是在鋰方面。因此，我們不認為智利現有鋰業務的運作方式或我們支付的權利金會出現全面性的改變。舉例來說，我們認為它們非常進步，就鋰而言可能是全球最高的，甚至在採掘產業中也可能是最高之一。我們認為這會維持下去，並且可能成為智利其他資源型產業的範例。因此，我們對我們在智利的地位相當樂觀。

From a capital allocation standpoint, We're spending money now on the Salar yield project. The La Negra III and IV project is really done, and we're in the process of ramping that up. So we won't really need to make a capital allocation decision vis-à-vis Chile for a while. So we'll have a much better view of what's happening in Chile and what the new administration, the direction that they're going and what the rules of the road are before we have to make a significant capital allocation decision there.

從資本配置的角度來看，我們目前正在為 Salar 鋰鹽湖專案投入資金。La Negra III 與 IV 專案其實已經完成，我們正在把產能爬坡拉上來。因此，短期內我們不太需要就智利相關事項做出資本配置決策。等到我們必須在那裡做出重大資本配置決策之前，我們將能更清楚地掌握智利正在發生的情況、新政府的走向，以及「遊戲規則」是什麼。

Our final question comes from Chris Kapsch with Loop Capital Market.

我們最後一個問題來自 Loop Capital Market 的 Chris Kapsch。

So slightly more nuanced follow-up on the pricing and then also the security of supply concept, something that Eric mentioned a couple of times. So obviously, it's an increasingly important theme, I think. And this is really juxtaposed against these new demand scenarios that you put out this morning, the 1.5 million and the 3 million ton demand scenarios by '25 and 2030.

我想就定價再做一個更細緻的追問，另外也想談談供應安全（security of supply）這個概念，Eric 提到過幾次。很顯然，這是一個愈來愈重要的主題。而這也正好與你們今天早上提出的新增需求情境形成對照：到 2025 年與 2030 年分別為 150 萬噸與 300 萬噸的需求情境。

So at your Analyst Day in September, you talked about just how the industry's cost curve will be steepening. And even your own portfolio, I would say you're going to experience that. But as you ramp Wave 3, even pulling forward the 50,000 metric tons, you're talking about 200,000 metric tons. That's only 20% of the increased industry demand from now to 2025, it looks like. So in terms of security of supply, we think these customers are just increasingly concerned about their ability to source lithium at reasonable prices.

在 9 月的分析師日上，你們談到整個產業的成本曲線將會變得更陡峭。甚至就你們自己的投資組合而言，我也會說你們將會感受到這點。但當你們推進 Wave 3、甚至把 5 萬公噸提前，你們談的是 20 萬公噸。看起來這只占從現在到 2025 年產業新增需求的 20%。因此，就供應安全而言，我們認為這些客戶愈來愈擔心他們能否以合理價格取得鋰的來源。

So my question really is, are they coming to you -- to a big and well-established and reliable integrated supplier like Albemarle and saying like, the pendulum swinging back towards this concept of being willing to pay higher fixed costs in order to ensure that supply. I know you've gone from sort of those floor pricing contracts to more of a variable structure. But I would think, given how acute this potential shortage is shaping up to be, that they'd be more motivated to do that. And is that something you're considering? Just wondering kind of -- it was kind of asked in a couple of other [hows] and different ways. But it just seems like there's -- this is going to be a tough scenario, and the only answer is going to be for higher prices to induce more supply. Anyway, any more color around that would be appreciated.

所以我真正的問題是，他們是否正在找你們——像 Albemarle 這樣規模大、歷史悠久、可靠且垂直整合的供應商——並表示擺盪的鐘擺正在回到這個概念：願意支付更高的固定成本以確保供應。我知道你們已從某種「底價」定價合約轉向較多的浮動結構。但我會認為，鑑於這種潛在短缺正變得如此尖銳，他們會更有動機這麼做。這是你們正在考慮的方向嗎？我只是想了解——之前也有人用幾種不同方式問過——但看起來這將是一個艱難的情境，而唯一的答案就是更高的價格來誘發更多供給。總之，如果能再多提供一些說明，我會很感謝。

Yes. So I'm going to take the first shot at that. And Eric, you can fill in if I miss some of the key points. But I guess the first thing is security of supply has always been a key part of our value proposition. And in our view, we -- it didn't get the attention that we thought it deserved in the past. We've always built on having multiple resources, different locations, diversification in our supply base and security of supply. Albemarle has a portfolio that is unlike anyone else's in the industry. And that's from both a conversion, geopolitical, resource, cost base, brine, rock, everything.

是的。我先回答這個問題。Eric，如果我漏掉一些重點，你可以再補充。我想第一點是，供應安全一直是我們價值主張的關鍵部分。而在我們看來，過去它並沒有得到我們認為應有的重視。我們一直以多元資源、不同地點、供應基礎的分散化，以及供應安全為基礎來建構。Albemarle 擁有一個在產業中無人能及的投資組合——不論是從轉換（conversion）、地緣政治、資源、成本基礎、鹵水、硬岩等各方面來看，都是如此。

So that said, it is getting more attention. And I think the OEMs and the battery manufacturers, but probably the OEMs more than anything else, are paying more attention to that. They're seeing that there may be a structural deficit or at least they want to make sure they align with the most reliable players. And we're having conversations with different people. They're just conversations about different pricing structures.

話雖如此，這確實正受到更多關注。我認為 OEM 與電池製造商——但可能 OEM 更甚——正在更重視這一點。他們看到可能存在結構性供給缺口，或至少他們想確保與最可靠的業者站在同一陣線。我們也正在與不同對象進行交流；目前主要是就不同的定價結構進行討論。

In the industry, we've shifted our -- the portfolio shift that we've done now is really something we started a couple of years ago, put it on hold when prices went so low because we didn't want to renegotiate contracts at a trough. But we've been able to do that now, and that will probably continue to evolve. The structure that we have now is probably not the one that lasts for the balance of the industry. So I suspect there are changes in those structures to come, and a lot of it will be based on security of supply and quality and the ability to bring on projects and deliver what you say you're going to do.

在產業方面，我們已完成的投資組合調整，其實是幾年前就開始推動的；但當價格跌得很低時，我們暫停了，因為我們不想在谷底重新談判合約。現在我們已能夠進行這些調整，而且未來可能還會持續演進。我們目前的結構，可能不會是整個產業在未來長期維持的結構。因此我推測，這些結構接下來會有變化，而其中很大一部分將取決於供應安全、品質，以及把專案上線並交付你所承諾事項的能力。

And if I can just have one follow-up. The -- just on -- I don't know if, Eric, you want to add to that. But also just on your decision to sell spodumene, because I thought that you had explained in the past that, that would be for captive conversion to hydroxide, but now you've elected to, it sounds like, opportunistically, sell some of the spodumene into the market.

如果我可以再追問一個問題——就——我不知道 Eric 你是否想補充剛才的部分。不過也想問你們決定出售鋰輝石（spodumene）的事，因為我記得你們過去解釋過，那會用於自用轉換成氫氧化鋰，但現在聽起來你們選擇了在市場上機會性地出售部分鋰輝石。

Yes. I wouldn't read into that, that, that's a change in our strategy. It was opportunistic, and it was product that we had sitting in inventory that had -- was made several years ago and had just been sitting. And we took the opportunity to sell that into the market because there was just an opportunity, and we took advantage of it. It's just opportunistic. You shouldn't read into that, that we've changed our view on selling spodumene in the market.

是的。我不會把那件事解讀為我們策略的改變。那是機會性的，而且是我們庫存裡放著的產品——幾年前生產的——一直放在那裡。我們抓住機會把它賣到市場上，因為當時確實有機會，我們就加以利用。這只是機會性操作。你不應該因此解讀為我們改變了在市場上出售鋰輝石的看法。

That's all the time we have scheduled for today's call. I'd like to turn the call back over to Kent Masters for closing remarks.

今天電話會議安排的時間就到這裡。我想把電話交回給 Kent Masters 做結語。

Okay. Thank you, Michelle, and thank you all for your participation on our call today. Our successes in '21 have positioned us well to capitalize on the strength in the markets that we serve. And this coming year is about execution. I'm confident in our team's ability to drive value for all of our stakeholders by accelerating the growth of our business in a sustainable way and to lead the industry by example. Thank you.

好的。謝謝 Michelle，也謝謝各位今天參與我們的電話會議。我們在 2021 年的成功，讓我們處於有利位置，能夠把握我們所服務市場的強勁動能。而接下來這一年重點在於執行。我有信心我們的團隊能以可持續的方式加速業務成長，為所有利害關係人創造價值，並以身作則引領產業。謝謝。

This concludes the program. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a great day.

本節目到此結束。您現在可以掛線。各位，祝您有美好的一天。