Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc (AMR) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. Welcome to the Alpha Metallurgical Resources first-quarter 2024 results conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

問候。歡迎參加 Alpha Metallurgical Resources 2024 年第一季業績電話會議。（操作員指示）

Please note this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Emily O'Quinn, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Communications. You may now begin.

請注意，本次會議正在錄製。現在，我將會議交給主持人、投資者關係和傳播部高級副總裁 Emily O'Quinn。現在你可以開始了。

Thank you, Rob, and good morning, everyone. Before we get started, let me remind you that during our prepared remarks, our comments regarding anticipated business and financial performance contain forward-looking statements and actual results may differ materially from those discussed.

謝謝你，羅布，大家早安。在我們開始之前，請允許我提醒您，在我們準備好的評論中，我們對預期業務和財務表現的評論包含前瞻性陳述，實際結果可能與討論的結果有重大差異。

For more information regarding forward-looking statements and some of the factors that can affect them, please refer to the company's first-quarter 2024 earnings release and the associated SEC filings. Please also see those documents for information about our use of non-GAAP measures and their reconciliation to GAAP measures. Participating on the call today are Alpha's Chief Executive Officer, Andy Eidson; and our President and Chief Operating Officer, Jason Whitehead.

有關前瞻性陳述以及可能影響前瞻性陳述的一些因素的更多信息，請參閱公司 2024 年第一季度收益報告和相關的 SEC 文件。另請參閱這些文件，以了解我們使用非 GAAP 指標及其與 GAAP 指標的協調資訊。今天參加電話會議的有 Alpha 執行長 Andy Eidson；以及我們的總裁兼營運長 Jason Whitehead。

Also participating on the call are Todd Munsey, our Chief Financial Officer; and Dan Horn, our Chief Commercial Officer. With that, I'll turn the call over to Andy.

參加電話會議的還有我們的財務長 Todd Munsey；以及我們的商務長 Dan Horn。說完這些，我會把電話轉給安迪。

Thanks, Emily, and good morning, everyone. Today we announced financial results for first quarter 2024 with adjusted EBITDA of $190 million. This was another solid quarter of work from the Alpha team, despite some challenging circumstances and a significant softening of met coal market starting in March.

謝謝，艾米麗，大家早安。今天，我們公佈了 2024 年第一季的財務業績，調整後的 EBITDA 為 1.9 億美元。儘管面臨一些挑戰，且煤炭市場自 3 月開始明顯疲軟，但 Alpha 團隊在本季仍取得了另一個紮實的工作成果。

Since the quarter closed, we witness further deterioration in market fundamentals, which sets up a challenging backdrop for the second quarter. Although our Q2 performance will obviously reflect the market environment in which we're operating, I remain confident in our strength and ability to weather volatility. For more than a few years now, we've used the word nimble to describe how we prefer to operate constantly evaluating lots of data to find areas that can be optimized or to plug cost leaks.

自本季結束以來，我們目睹了市場基本面的進一步惡化，這為第二季帶來了挑戰。儘管我們第二季的業績顯然會反映我們所處的市場環境，但我仍然對我們的實力和抵禦波動的能力充滿信心。幾年來，我們一直使用「靈活」這個詞來描述我們喜歡如何運營，不斷評估大量數據以找到可以優化的領域或堵塞成本漏洞。

We believe that this approach is valuable in all market conditions, but especially in down cycles when quickly adapting to economic reality becomes a true necessity. In response to the sharp market decline that has occurred so far in 2024, we've made small adjustments to safely reduce costs where possible by optimizing production and logistics.

我們相信這種方法在所有市場條件下都很有價值，尤其是在經濟下行週期，快速適應經濟現實成為真正的必要條件。為了因應 2024 年迄今出現的市場急劇下滑，我們做出了小幅調整，透過優化生產和物流盡可能安全地降低成本。

Given our size and scale the magnitude of these changes, it doesn't impact our previously announced volume expectations for the year, but these adjustments are allowing us to respond appropriately to deterioration in the market. We will continue monitoring external market drivers while also maintaining a close eye on controllable costs within our business, and we'll take further action as necessary.

考慮到我們的規模和範圍，這些變化的幅度不會影響我們之前宣布的今年的銷售預期，但這些調整使我們能夠對市場惡化做出適當的反應。我們將繼續監控外部市場驅動因素，同時密切注意業務內部的可控成本，並在必要時採取進一步行動。

As I visit our operations and talk with employees, I'm consistently impressed by the Alpha drive to overcome challenges and make the most of difficult circumstances. Our first quarter performance is yet another example of this determination. Subjectively, I see it in mine visits, but there is also objective measures that don't get a lot of attention.

當我參觀我們的營運部門並與員工交談時，我始終對 Alpha 克服挑戰和充分利用困難環境的動力印象深刻。我們第一季的業績再次證明了這個決心。主觀上，我在礦山訪問中看到了這一點，但也有客觀措施沒有引起太多關注。

One in particular is a productivity metric called tons per man hour. As is always the case, safe production is our highest priority at Alpha and we continually promote a safety mine set first and foremost. And somewhat counterintuitively, we usually see that safety, efficiency and productivity go hand in hand.

其中一個特別的生產力指標是「每工時噸數」。一如既往，安全生產是 Alpha 的首要任務，我們不斷推行將安全礦場放在首位。有點違反直覺的是，我們通常看到安全、效率和生產力是並行的。

MSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, aggregates droves of data each quarter, including production by operator and tons per man hour, which is exactly as it sounds. As a company Alpha consistently performs well and has led the pack in this measurement among room and pillar or continuous miner operators for the last eight quarters.

礦山安全與健康管理局 (MSHA) 每季度都會匯總大量數據，包括操作員的產量和每工時噸數，正如其名稱所示。作為一家公司，Alpha 一直表現良好，並且在過去八個季度中在房柱式或連續採礦機運營商的測量中一直處於領先地位。

Despite the well known differences between continuous miners and longwall operations, Alpha's operations often performed well against certain longwall operations, too. I'm proud to say that in Q1, Alpha led all of our notable peers, longwall operators included with the tons per hour metric, roughly 14% more productive than the next operator in line.

儘管連續採礦機和長壁作業之間存在眾所周知的差異，但 Alpha 的作業通常也比某些長壁作業表現更好。我很自豪地說，在第一季度，Alpha 領先於我們所有著名的同行，包括長壁操作員，以每小時噸數為指標，其生產效率比排在其後的操作員高出約 14%。

That kind of safe, consistent performance is a testament to the scale and effectiveness of our teams. We encourage this behavior among our operations and are consistently looking for ways to maintain this industry leading position. During our fourth quarter earnings call, we discussed our intention to slower pause the buyback program in an effort to build cash balances back up to our targeted levels, especially given the market dynamics currently at play, we continue to believe this is the right strategy.

這種安全、一致的表現證明了我們團隊的規模和效率。我們鼓勵在營運中採取這種行為，並不斷尋找方法來保持這一行業領先地位。在第四季度財報電話會議上，我們討論了暫停回購計劃的意圖，以便將現金餘額恢復到目標水平，特別是考慮到當前的市場動態，我們仍然相信這是正確的策略。

Our capital return philosophy remains the same and will continue to be driven by our cash flow. As minimum cash levels and market conditions allow, we will utilize available free cash flow for the buyback program. Lastly, we hosted our Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 2. This meeting included a vote to elect members of our Board of Directors.

我們的資本回報理念保持不變，並將繼續由我們的現金流驅動。在最低現金水準和市場條件允許的情況下，我們將利用可用的自由現金流進行回購計畫。最後，我們在 5 月 2 日舉辦了年度股東大會。這次會議包括選舉董事會成員的投票。

All seven of our board members were elected by the shareholders to serve a term of one year. The full results of the Annual Meeting have been provided through our SEC filings.

我們所有七名董事會成員均由股東選舉產生，任期為一年。年度會議的全部結果已透過我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件提供。

I'll now turn it over to Todd for additional details regarding our first quarter financial results.

現在我將把話題交給托德，以了解有關我們第一季財務業績的更多詳細資訊。

Thanks Andy. First quarter adjusted EBITDA was $190 million, down from $266 million in fourth quarter 2023. We sold 4.4 million tons in the quarter. Quarter over quarter realizations decreased for the Met segment with an average first quarter realization of $166.68 compared to $183.76 for the fourth quarter.

謝謝安迪。第一季調整後的 EBITDA 為 1.9 億美元，低於 2023 年第四季的 2.66 億美元。本季我們銷售了 440 萬噸。大都會部門的季度實現金額較上季下降，第一季平均實現額為 166.68 美元，而第四季為 183.76 美元。

Export met tons priced against Atlantic indices and other pricing mechanisms in the first quarter realized $172.24 per ton, while export coal priced on Australian indices realized $193.70. These are compared to realizations of $175.32 per ton and $213.41, respectively, in the fourth quarter.

第一季度，以大西洋指數和其他定價機制定價的出口金屬噸價格為每噸 172.24 美元，以澳洲指數定價的出口煤炭價格為每噸 193.70 美元。相比之下，第四季的實現價格分別為每噸 175.32 美元和 213.41 美元。

Realization for our metallurgical sales in the first quarter was a total weighted average of $176.20 per ton, down from $193.54 per ton in the prior quarter. Realizations and the incidental thermal portion of the Met segment decreased to $76.53 per ton in Q1 as compared to $89.76 per ton in Q4. Cost of coal sales for our Met segment decreased to $115.65 per ton in the first quarter, down from $119 per ton in Q4.

我們第一季冶金銷售的總加權平均金額為每噸 176.20 美元，低於上一季的每噸 193.54 美元。第一季度，Met 部門的實現價和附帶熱能部分下降至每噸 76.53 美元，而第四季為每噸 89.76 美元。我們 Met 部門的煤炭銷售成本在第一季下降至每噸 115.65 美元，低於第四季的每噸 119 美元。

SG&A, excluding non-cash stock compensation and non-recurring items, increased to $19.9 million in the first quarter as compared to $16.9 million in the fourth quarter. Q1 CapEx was $63.6 million, up from $61.5 million in the fourth quarter.

第一季銷售、一般及行政費用（不含非現金股票薪資及非經常性項目）增至 1,990 萬美元，而第四季為 1,690 萬美元。第一季資本支出為 6,360 萬美元，高於第四季的 6,150 萬美元。

Moving to the balance sheet and cash flows as of March 31, 2024, we had $269.4 million in unrestricted cash, roughly flat against the $268.2 million at the end of the fourth quarter. We had $93.7 million in unused availability under our ABL at the end of the quarter. Alpha had total liquidity of $288.1 million as of the end of March, which is net of a $75 million minimum liquidity ABL covenant.

截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日的資產負債表和現金流量顯示，我們擁有 2.694 億美元的非限制現金，與第四季末的 2.682 億美元基本持平。截至本季末，我們的 ABL 下尚有 9,370 萬美元未使用。截至 3 月底，Alpha 的總流動資金為 2.881 億美元，扣除 7,500 萬美元的最低流動資金 ABL 契約。

Cash provided by operating activities decreased slightly quarter-over-quarter to $196.1 million in Q1 as compared to $199.4 million in Q4. As of March 31, our ABL facility had no borrowings and $61.3 million of letters of credit outstanding, up from $60.9 million in the prior quarter.

第一季經營活動提供的現金環比略有下降，為 1.961 億美元，而第四季為 1.994 億美元。截至 3 月 31 日，我們的 ABL 設施沒有借款，未償還信用證為 6,130 萬美元，高於上一季的 6,090 萬美元。

Turning now to our committed position for 2024, 49% of our metallurgical tonnage in the Met segment is committed and priced at the midpoint of guidance at an average price of $168.26. Another 49% of our Met tonnage for the year is committed but not yet priced. The thermal byproduct portion of the Met segment is fully committed and priced at the midpoint of guidance at an average price of $76.10.

現在談談我們對 2024 年的承諾情況，我們在 Met 部門的冶金噸位中有 49% 已承諾，價格處於指導中點，平均價格為 168.26 美元。我們今年的另外 49% 的大宗商品噸位已承諾但尚未定價。Met 部門的熱能副產品部分已全部投入生產，價格處於指導價的中間點，平均價格為 76.10 美元。

With first quarter actuals and increased visibility into the balance of the year, we announced two adjustments to our 2024 guidance. We now expect idle operations expense for the year to be between $25 million and $33 million, up from the previous range of $18 million to $28 million.

隨著第一季的實際情況和對全年餘額的了解不斷增加，我們宣布對 2024 年指引進行兩項調整。我們現在預計今年的閒置營運費用將在 2,500 萬美元至 3,300 萬美元之間，高於先前的 1,800 萬美元至 2,800 萬美元。

For the 2024 tax rate, we decreased guidance to a range of 10% to 15% down from the previous expectation of 12% to 17%. During the first quarter, we repurchased approximately 305,000 shares at a cost of approximately $116 million, including shares repurchased from employees in connection with tax withholdings on annual stock vestings.

對於 2024 年的稅率，我們將指導範圍從先前預期的 12% 至 17% 下調至 10% 至 15%。在第一季度，我們回購了約 305,000 股股票，耗資約 1.16 億美元，其中包括與年度股票歸屬稅預扣相關的從員工手中回購的股票。

As of April 30, 2024, the number of common stock shares outstanding was approximately $13 million. The remaining stock buyback program authorization permits approximately $400 million in additional repurchases, contingent upon cash flow levels and market conditions. We continuously monitor market conditions and due to the current weakness in the pricing environment relative to Q1, our focus in Q2 will shift toward maintaining our liquidity position.

截至 2024 年 4 月 30 日，流通在外的普通股股數約為 1,300 萬美元。剩餘的股票回購計畫授權允許額外回購約 4 億美元，但取決於現金流水準和市場條件。我們持續監測市場狀況，由於目前定價環境相對於第一季而言較為疲軟，我們第二季的重點將轉向維持流動性狀況。

While we do not guide toward share repurchase activity, we do expect market softness to limit our repurchase activity in Q2.

雖然我們沒有對股票回購活動進行指導，但我們確實預計市場疲軟將限制我們在第二季的回購活動。

I will now turn the call over to Jason.

現在我將把電話轉給傑森。

Thanks, Todd, and good morning, everyone. I mentioned on our last call that our teams continue to achieve new company records in safety and environmental stewardship. Since then, Alpha operations and team members have received public recognition with a number of awards for their work. Our Paramount in Southern West Virginia mine rescue teams placed first and second respectively, in the Southeast Regional Mine Rescue contest in March.

謝謝，托德，大家早安。我在上次電話會議上提到，我們的團隊在安全和環境管理方面繼續創造新的公司記錄。自那時起，Alpha 營運和團隊成員的工作得到了公眾的認可，並獲得了許多獎項。我們位於西維吉尼亞州南部的派拉蒙礦山救援隊在三月的東南地區礦山救援比賽中分別獲得第一名和第二名。

In addition to earning these top spots overall, both teams collected a host of other first aid technician team and bench awards at this event including Alpha Southern West Virginia team claiming first place in the Mine Rescue and First Aid competition and our Paramount team coming in second.

除了獲得這些最高名次之外，兩支隊伍還在本次比賽中獲得了許多其他急救技術員團隊和替補獎項，其中阿爾法南西弗吉尼亞隊在礦山救援和急救比賽中獲得第一名，我們的派拉蒙隊獲得第二名。

Each year, the West Virginia Office of Miners Health, Safety and Training presents Mountaineer Guardian awards to operations that exhibit high safety standards. For 2023, six Alpha operations were named Mountaineer Guardian recipients. Cedar Grove Number 3 Mine, Bandmill Prep Plant, Kingston Prep Plant, Kingston South Surface Mine, Rolling Thunder Mine, and Workman Creek Surface Mine.

每年，西維吉尼亞州礦工健康、安全和培訓辦公室都會向表現出高安全標準的作業頒發登山守護者獎。2023 年，六個 Alpha 行動被授予「登山者守護者」稱號。Cedar Grove 3 號礦場、Bandmill 準備廠、Kingston 準備廠、Kingston South 露天礦場、Rolling Thunder 礦場和 Workman Creek 露天礦場。

Additionally, last week, a number of Alpha operations were recognized at the Holmes Mine Safety Awards Banquet in the surface mines category, Black Castle Surface Mine, Kingston North Surface Mine, Kingston South Surface Mine, and Workman Creek Surface Mine were award winners. In the underground mines category, the Marfork Belt Transfer System, Cedar Grove Number 2 Mine, Slabcamp Mine, Glen Allen Mine, Kingston Number 2 Mine, Horse Creek Eagle Mine, and the Road Fork 52 Mine were recognized.

此外，上週，Alpha 公司的多家礦場在霍姆斯礦山安全獎頒獎晚宴的露天礦類別中獲得了表彰，其中黑城堡露天礦、金斯頓北露天礦、金斯頓南露天礦和 Workman Creek 露天礦均獲獎。在地下礦山類別中，Marfork 傳送帶轉運系統、Cedar Grove 2 號礦山、Slabcamp 礦山、Glen Allen 礦山、Kingston 2 號礦山、Horse Creek Eagle 礦山和 Road Fork 52 礦山獲得認可。

In the plants and load outs category, Pax Loadout, Marmet Dock, Feats Loadout, Mammoth Plant and River Loadout, Power Mountain Processing Plant, Bandmill Prep Plant and Marfork Processing Plant all received awards. Finally, I'm proud to announce a couple of individual achievements. Steve Arky Giles received the Sharon Cook award for his outstanding safety service and positive impact on the training and retraining of miners.

在工廠和裝載類別中，Pax Loadout、Marmet Dock、Feats Loadout、Mammoth Plant 和 River Loadout、Power Mountain Processing Plant、Bandmill Prep Plant 和 Marfork Processing Plant 都獲得了獎項。最後，我很自豪地宣布幾項個人成就。史蒂夫·阿基·吉爾斯因其出色的安全服務和對礦工培訓和再培訓的積極影響而獲得了莎倫·庫克獎。

[Archie] is a safety representative at our Midwest Virginia Surface region, and exemplifies an unwavering commitment to safe production. Brian Keaton, our Senior Vice President of Safety and the author of Safe Production brought home the Safety Leader of the Year Award, and I'll point out that's two years in a row that an Alpha leader has received this award.

[Archie] 是我們中西部維吉尼亞州地面區域的安全代表，他對安全生產有著堅定不移的承諾。我們的安全高級副總裁兼《安全生產》作者 Brian Keaton 榮獲年度安全領袖獎，我要指出的是，這是 Alpha 領導者連續兩年獲得該獎項。

I want to congratulate Archie, Brian and all the individuals at the award-winning locations I just mentioned. It's a long list, which is an accurate reflection of how important safety is within this company. Turning to environmental, in West Virginia, Alpha operations received three environmental awards for 2023. The West Virginia DEP recognized Workman Creek for exemplary reclamation of surface mine operations on their Middle Ridge permit and Kingston for exemplary construction techniques of Valley Fill on their Kingston North Surface Mine permit.

我要向阿奇、布萊恩以及我剛才提到的獲獎地點的所有個人表示祝賀。這是一個很長的清單，準確地反映了安全在該公司的重要性。在環境方面，在西維吉尼亞州，Alpha 業務獲得了 2023 年三項環境獎。西維吉尼亞州環境保護署 (DEP) 表彰了 Workman Creek 公司在其 Middle Ridge 許可證上對露天礦場作業進行的模範複墾，並表彰了 Kingston 公司在其 Kingston North 露天礦場許可證上對 Valley Fill 施工技術的模範施工。

The West Virginia DEP also awarded Elk Run for exemplary reclamation of the Queen and Black Queen Mines. In Virginia, Alpha operations received five awards for environmental performance. Paramont's Deep Mine 26 received awards for the Met Coal Producers Association for Best AML Dangerous Highwall Elimination, and from the Interstate Mining Compact Commission, they received the National Reclamation Award.

西維吉尼亞州環境保護署也向 Elk Run 頒發了獎項，以表彰其在皇后礦和黑皇后礦的模範復墾工作。在維吉尼亞州，Alpha 公司因其環保表現而榮獲五項獎項。Paramont 的 Deep Mine 26 獲得了大都會煤炭生產商協會頒發的最佳 AML 危險高牆消除獎，並且獲得了州際採礦契約委員會頒發的國家復墾獎。

The MCPA also awarded Paramont for best completed deep mine at Deep Mine 25 and best active deep mine at Deep Mine 41. Lastly, the MCPA awarded Dickerson Russell for Best Active fill at our McClure preparation plant. I want to congratulate both of our environmental and operations teams for their commitment to environmental excellence, and all that they do to go beyond compliance.

莫三比克採礦與採礦局也授予派拉蒙特公司 25 號深礦最佳完工深礦獎和 41 號深礦最佳在用深礦獎。最後，MCPA 授予 Dickerson Russell 我們 McClure 製劑廠最佳活性填料獎。我要祝賀我們的環境和營運團隊對環境卓越的承諾，以及他們為超越合規所做的一切。

First quarter performance for operations was solid, especially in light of some challenges we face, and I'll expand on that shortly. As Andy mentioned before, I could not be prouder that our teams sell in both safety and in productivity measures like tons per man hour. We can be safe and productive at the same time, which is exactly what we aim to do every day.

第一季的營運表現穩健，特別是考慮到我們面臨的一些挑戰，我很快就會詳細說明這一點。正如安迪之前提到的，我為我們的團隊在安全性和生產力指標（例如每工時噸數）方面的銷售表現感到無比自豪。我們可以同時確保安全且有效率地工作，這正是我們每天的目標。

As we all know, much has changed since spring of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm. Already such a competitive labor market became even more challenging, recruiting new talent to work in a crowded hands on environment seemed almost impossible times.

眾所周知，自 2020 年春季 COVID-19 疫情席捲全球以來，情況已經發生了很大變化。競爭如此激烈的勞動力市場變得更具挑戰性，在擁擠的環境中招募新人才似乎幾乎是不可能的。

As a result of inflation calls, business calls like supplies and labors to grow to unprecedented highs, while critical supply component availability cratered. Frankly, in some cases, you just couldn't get supplies. As we've discussed on previous calls, how we've mitigated many of these hurdles by increasing the scale of our rebuild facilities, stocking our warehouses with parts and supplies to weather the storm and with acquisitions like Maxim manufacturing and Maxim Transportation.

由於通貨膨脹的壓力，供應和勞動力等商業需求增長到前所未有的高度，而關鍵供應部件的可用性卻大幅下降。坦白說，在某些情況下，你就是無法獲得補給。正如我們在先前的電話會議上討論過的，我們透過擴大重建設施的規模、在倉庫中儲備零件和物資以渡過難關以及收購 Maxim 製造和 Maxim 運輸等公司來緩解許多此類障礙。

Todd spoke to the quarter over quarter decrease in Australian index export realizations of approximately $20 a ton, which is representative of the recent downward trend in coking coal price. This trend is also shedding light on the softening of the supply competition in our industry, which has eased in recent quarters.

托德表示，澳洲指數出口實現價格環比下降約每噸 20 美元，這代表了近期焦煤價格的下降趨勢。這一趨勢也顯示我們行業的供應競爭正在減弱，近幾季這種競爭已經有所緩和。

Now we're facing a very different set of circumstances than the ones we navigated successfully after COVID and in many ways more challenging. The decisions are harder to make the necessary with the uncertainty of how long the markets will stay in this current trough. Year to date 2024, there's been a lot of behind-the-scenes work going on to steer Alpha through these headwinds.

現在，我們面臨的情況與新冠疫情之後我們成功應對的情況截然不同，而且在許多方面更具挑戰性。由於不確定市場將在當前低谷中停留多久，因此做出必要的決定變得更加困難。截至 2024 年，我們已經進行了大量幕後工作來幫助 Alpha 克服這些困難。

With over 1,200 active suppliers, it takes some time to communicate what is happening in the market as well as Alpha's needs and expectations going forward, but we are well underway with this process, while we value the partnership formed with suppliers over the years, we have not hesitated to change the viable lower-cost options as they present themselves.

由於擁有超過 1,200 家活躍供應商，因此需要一些時間來溝通市場動態以及 Alpha 未來的需求和期望，但我們正在順利進行這一過程，同時我們重視多年來與供應商建立的合作夥伴關係，我們毫不猶豫地改變可行的低成本方案。

Alpha is also shifting focus in our rebuild and manufacturing facilities. As I mentioned, the availability of certain supplies has improved. We're not always in a situation where we have to make it to have it, and our initiatives are centered around maximizing margins. Any component we build is at a discount versus sourcing it from a third party, but we're evaluating every plan project with the goal of utilizing our facilities in a way that brings the highest return to Alpha.

Alpha 也將重點轉移到重建和製造設施。正如我所提到的，某些物資的供應已經改善。我們並不總是處於必須努力才能獲得目標的境地，我們的舉措都圍繞著最大化利潤。我們製造的任何組件與從第三方採購相比都有折扣，但我們正在評估每個計劃項目，目標是以利用我們的設施為 Alpha 帶來最高回報的方式進行。

It is a blessing to have the expertise in-house to seamlessly move from machining things like tracks and chains for continuous miners to fabricate and shoot work for preparation plants. Lastly, while citing and communicating the current market trend or employees, Alpha has made the difficult decision to make certain incentives cuts across the organization.

擁有內部專業知識可以無縫地從加工連續採礦機的履帶和鏈條等產品轉向製造和拍攝準備工廠的工作，這真是一件幸事。最後，在引用和傳達當前市場趨勢或員工趨勢的同時，Alpha 做出了艱難的決定，即在整個組織範圍內削減某些激勵措施。

These reductions equate to about $35 million per year. But with the seasoned workforce we have, I believe they understand how cyclical the markets are, and although no one likes it, most understand actions like these are necessary to ensure sustainability.

這些削減相當於每年約 3500 萬美元。但憑藉我們經驗豐富的員工隊伍，我相信他們了解市場的周期性，儘管沒有人喜歡它，但大多數人都明白這樣的行動對於確保永續性是必要的。

I'll now turn the call over to Dan for an update on the markets.

現在我將把電話轉給丹，讓他介紹市場的最新情況。

Thanks, Jason, and good morning, everyone. In recent months, metallurgical coal markets have softened due to weakened global demand for steel. Economic pressures, geopolitical uncertainty, and global recessionary fears, have contributed to the demand dynamics and volatility in metallurgical coal markets.

謝謝，傑森，大家早安。近幾個月來，由於全球鋼鐵需求減弱，冶金煤市場已疲軟。經濟壓力、地緣政治不確定性以及全球經濟衰退的擔憂導致了冶金煤市場的需求動態和波動。

Economic conditions remain uneven across the world with generally stronger circumstances in the United States than in Europe and in certain parts of Asia, which continue to experience significant geopolitical strife. Metallurgical coal prices fell significantly during the first quarter of 2024. All four indices that offer closely monitor saw a drop of 16% or more within the quarter with the Australian PLV index representing the largest reduction of 25%.

全球經濟狀況依​​然不平衡，美國經濟狀況整體比歐洲和亞洲部分地區強，而後兩者仍在經歷嚴重的地緣政治衝突。2024年第一季，冶金煤價格大幅下跌。密切關注的四個指數在本季度均下跌了 16% 或更多，其中澳洲 PLV 指數跌幅最大，為 25%。

The Australian premium Low-Vol index dropped from $324.75 per metric ton on January 2, 2024 to $244.50 per metric ton at the end of the first quarter. The US East Coast Low-Vol index decreased from $268 per metric ton at the beginning of January to $225 per metric ton at the end of March.

澳洲優質低波動率原油指數從 2024 年 1 月 2 日的每公噸 324.75 美元跌至第一季末的每公噸 244.50 美元。美國東海岸低波動率指數從 1 月初的每公噸 268 美元降至 3 月底的每公噸 225 美元。

The US East Coast High-Vol A index moved from $281 per metric ton at the start of the year to $225 per metric ton at quarter close and US East Coast High-Vol B decreased from $252 per metric ton to $200 per metric ton at the end of the quarter. Since then the PLV has dropped from its quarter close level to $238 per metric ton on May 3.

美國東海岸高波動率 A 指數從年初的每公噸 281 美元上漲至季度末的每公噸 225 美元，美國東海岸高波動率 B 指數從每公噸 252 美元下跌至季度末的每公噸 200 美元。自此以後，PLV 已從季度收盤水準下跌至 5 月 3 日的每公噸 238 美元。

The other three indices have also softened from their end of quarter levels with US East Coast indices of Low-Vol, High-Vol A and High-Vol B measuring $217, $220 and $195 per ton, respectively as of May 3. In the thermal coal market, the API2 index moved from $101.55 per metric ton on January 2 to $118.25 per metric ton at the end of March, and on May 3, the API2 was at $109 per metric ton.

其他三個指數也較季末水準下降，截至 5 月 3 日，美國東海岸低波動性指數、高波動性 A 指數和高波動性 B 指數分別為每噸 217 美元、220 美元和 195 美元。動力煤市場，API2指數從1月2日的每公噸101.55美元漲至3月底的每公噸118.25美元，5月3日API2指數為每公噸109美元。

These macro index numbers certainly suggest softness, but from Alpha's perspective, we believe they may not reflect the full extent of the market deterioration that has occurred in recent weeks or the significant drop-off in sales activity.

這些宏觀指數數字確實顯示了疲軟，但從 Alpha 的角度來看，我們認為它們可能無法反映最近幾週市場惡化的全部程度或銷售活動的大幅下降。

Before I close my remarks, I want to briefly discuss the March 26 Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, which has blocked shipping access to and from Baltimore Harbor. In terms of coal markets and Alpha specifically, we have not used the Baltimore terminals to export our coal in nearly a decade and thus did not have any coal stored there at the time of the bridge collapse.

在結束演講之前，我想簡要討論一下 3 月 26 日巴爾的摩弗朗西斯·斯科特基大橋倒塌事件，該事件阻塞了巴爾的摩港的航運通道。就煤炭市場，尤其是 Alpha 而言，近十年來我們沒有使用巴爾的摩碼頭出口煤炭，因此在橋樑倒塌時那裡沒有儲存任何煤炭。

Instead, the vast majority of our export business travels through Dominion Terminal Associates, in which we hold a 65% ownership interest and comparable throughput capacity rights. We also have the ability to use other East Coast terminals for export shipments as necessary or in cases where it is opportunistic for us to do so. Therefore, we do not believe that the bridge's collapse will have direct effects on our business.

相反，我們的絕大部分出口業務都是透過 Dominion Terminal Associates 進行的，我們持有該公司 65% 的所有權和相當的吞吐能力權利。我們也可以根據需求或在有利時機使用其他東海岸碼頭進行出口運輸。因此，我們認為橋樑倒塌不會對我們的業務產生直接影響。

We like other producers, may experience some indirect effects, such as greater competition for rail capacity as companies who have historically exported their products through Baltimore's port seek alternate options. This increased demand for rail transport may also result in rail congestion, longer shipment times or higher costs. However, our majority ownership in DTA continues to service well and we do not expect any material adverse effects from the Baltimore bridge collapse to Alpha's business.

與其他生產商一樣，我們可能會受到一些間接影響，例如，由於過去透過巴爾的摩港口出口產品的公司尋求替代方案，鐵路運力競爭將加劇。鐵路運輸需求的增加也可能導致鐵路擁擠、運輸時間延長或成本上升。然而，我們在 DTA 的多數股權繼續發揮良好作用，我們預計巴爾的摩大橋倒塌不會對 Alpha 的業務造成任何重大不利影響。

Lastly, speaking of DTA, the team recently completed a planned week long outage for ship loader maintenance. The maintenance was successful and the terminal is back to operating at full capacity. Another scheduled equipment maintenance outage is scheduled to occur in the middle of May.

最後，說到 DTA，該團隊最近完成了為期一週的船舶裝載機維護計畫停機。維護工作成功，終端機已恢復滿載運轉。另一次預定的設備維護停機預計將於五月中旬進行。

The downtime is expected to be roughly one week and will only impact one of the stacker reclaimer machines at the terminal. This means DTA will be able to continue operating with the other equipment, but overall throughput will be less during the time when this machine is down for maintenance.

預計停機時間約為一周，並且僅影響碼頭的一台堆取料機。這意味著 DTA 將能夠繼續與其他設備一起運行，但在該機器停機維護期間，整體吞吐量將會降低。

And with that operator, we are now ready to open the call for questions.

有了這個接線員，我們現在就可以開始回答問題了。

Thank you. At this time we'll be conducting a question-and-answer session.(Operator Instructions)

謝謝。此時我們將進行問答環節。 （操作員指示）

Lucas Pipes, B. Riley Securities.

派普斯 (Lucas Pipes)、B.萊利證券 (B. Riley Securities)。

Thank you very much, operator. Good morning, everyone. Andy, first, I want to tip my hat to because you're probably the only executive who mentioned lots of data in the prepared remarks without also mentioning AI. So well done there, but in all seriousness, a great, great job on the cost and productivity side in Q1. And I wondered if you could maybe speak to kind of from here on out what are some of the key initiatives?

非常感謝，接線生。大家早安。安迪，首先，我要向您致敬，因為您可能是唯一一位在準備好的發言中提到大量數據而沒有提到人工智慧的高管。所以做得很好，但說實話，第一季在成本和生產力方面做得非常出色。我想知道您是否可以談談從現在開始的一些主要舉措是什麼？

They were partially discussed on the prepared remarks, but maybe you could expand on were we're really looking to drive on cost savings from here on out and manage what you describe as a weaker market environment? Thank you.

在準備好的發言中已經部分討論了這些問題，但也許您可以詳細說明一下，我們是否真的希望從現在開始節省成本，並管理您所描述的較弱的市場環境？謝謝。

Sure, Lucas. And I hate to beat me to the punch on the AI. We'll get to that maybe next earnings call. We'll have a lot of work to do on that. But as far as I think Jason covered a good portion of that, a lot of this is organic productivity improvements. And and I have to say it's amazing watching Jason and the team work the level of detail that they review their operations at.

當然，盧卡斯。我不想在人工智慧方面搶先一步。我們或許會在下次財報電話會議上討論這個問題。我們在這方面還有很多工作要做。但我認為 Jason 已經涵蓋了其中很大一部分，其中許多是有機生產力的提升。而且我不得不說，看到傑森和他的團隊如此細緻地審查他們的操作真是令人驚嘆。

It really is I mean, it would be something that could be a test case for AI. It requires a much bigger brain than than I currently contain to monitor all the things that they've got going on, but the sheer volume of metrics down to whether it's equipment uptime or any number of things that are being evaluated real time is pretty incredible.

我的意思是，這確實可以成為人工智慧的一個測試案例。它需要一個比我現在擁有的更大的大腦來監控他們正在進行的所有事情，但無論是設備正常運行時間還是實時評估的任何事物，其指標數量都是相當驚人的。

And it's really again across the number of operations we have and the fact that we're pushing out $17 million-ish tons, small changes have pretty significant snowball effects when they're applied across the entire portfolio. So I don't really want to get into any specifics unless there's some things that Jason walk to throw at you.

事實上，考慮到我們的業務數量以及我們推出的價值 1700 萬美元左右的噸位，當小的變化應用於整個投資組合時，就會產生相當顯著的滾雪球效應。因此，我真的不想談論任何細節，除非 Jason 向你提出一些事情。

But again, it goes back to capturing all the appropriate data that covers every aspect of operations and then being able to cut it in a way that that you can really derive some wisdom from I mean, information without wisdom is kind of pointless. And we've got the right team to take this data and make some significant impact out of it.

但同樣，它又回到了捕獲涵蓋營運各個方面的所有適當數據，然後能夠以一種真正能從中獲得一些智慧的方式對其進行剪切，我的意思是，沒有智慧的信息是毫無意義的。我們擁有合適的團隊來獲取這些數據並產生重大影響。

This is Jason. I'll follow up a little bit. I mean, Andy covered the first half of it really well. And I guess the second part that we're really keying in on now is just with the softening, I guess of the supply market and things are easier to get now relative to maybe even a few quarters ago, things have really turned around there.

這是傑森。我會稍微跟進一下。我的意思是，安迪很好地涵蓋了前半部分。我想我們現在真正關注的第二部分是供應市場的疲軟，相對於幾個季度前而言，現在的情況更容易得到，情況確實發生了好轉。

So, we want to make sure that we're utilizing our rebuild facilities and our manufacturing facilities to get the absolute best return for Alpha. So, as we're able to pick things up off the shelf, we may see in some cases, it makes sense to shift the things that we're fabricating and we're making for internal use.

因此，我們希望確保利用我們的重建設施和製造設施為 Alpha 獲得絕對最佳的回報。因此，當我們能夠從貨架上挑選東西時，我們可能會發現，在某些情況下，將我們正在製造和生產的東西轉移到內部使用是有意義的。

Thank you very much, Andy and Jason. I want to touch on the market a little bit. From my vantage point there, kind of a lot of mixed signals. Pricing is seemingly holding in there, but you describe demand is softer and maybe softer than the behold.

非常感謝安迪和傑森。我想稍微談一下市場。從我的角度來看，有很多混合訊號。價格似乎保持穩定，但您所描述的需求較弱，甚至可能比實際更弱。

So I wondered if you could maybe expand on that and where you see the market today, if there are green shoots or if there may be more signs of caution ahead and, if you repeat it on that the outlook on the buyback is maybe more muted here in this environment.

所以我想知道您是否可以就此展開討論，您如何看待今天的市場，是否有復甦的跡象，或者未來是否會有更多謹慎的跡象，如果您重複這一點，那麼在這種環境下，回購的前景可能會更加暗淡。

How should we think about that? And is it would it be reasonable to expect that if you get to a $300 million cash balance, for example, that you would resume cash sort of resume share purchases with any cash in excess of that? Just wondering how you think about that. Thank you.

我們該如何看待這個問題？例如，如果您的現金餘額達到 3 億美元，您是否會合理地預期，您會使用超出該金額的現金恢復現金或恢復股票購買？只是想知道您對此有何看法。謝謝。

Yes, Lucas, I'll hit the second part of the question first, and I'll let Dan deal with the market. But on the buyback, we've talked about it before. We're kind of slaves to our 13-week cash flow forecast. We're obviously we're not ambivalent to the method of capital return.

是的，盧卡斯，我先來回答問題的第二部分，然後讓丹來處理市場。但關於回購，我們之前已經討論過了。我們有點像是 13 週現金流預測的奴隸。我們顯然對資本回報法並不感到矛盾。

We're all in on the buyback, but we are somewhat agnostic as far as following what the forecast is it's kind of a there's a cold logic to it. And naturally, job one is to protect the franchise. And when we're in market, a market with choppy waters like this we do want to make sure that we have enough dry powder to withstand any maintained down legs, even if we get below some previously tested mark's of whether whether we call it [225], the bottom or [200], the bottom or even less who knows, I don't think we're going to see things like that.

我們都參與了回購，但對於是否遵循預測，我們有些不可知，這是一種冷酷的邏輯。當然，首要任務是保護特許經營權。當我們進入市場時，在這種波濤洶湧的市場中，我們確實希望確保我們有足夠的乾粉來承受任何持續的下跌，即使我們跌破了一些先前測試的標記，我們稱之為[225]底部或[200]底部甚至更低，誰知道呢，我認為我們不會看到這樣的事情。

But the world changes quicker than we can keep up with. But we've got approximately a month before our trading window closes and that means that we'll have the opportunity to play with the [10b5] programming up until probably the first week of June before we have to lock it down and leave it. And so we've got some time to analyze the market, get more information, see if we're seeing some reversal in trend that would support firing up the buyback in earnest again.

但世界變化的速度比我們能跟上的速度還要快。但我們的交易窗口關閉前還有大約一個月的時間，這意味著我們將有機會在 6 月的第一周之前使用 [10b5] 編程，然後我們才必須將其鎖定並保留。因此，我們有時間來分析市場，獲取更多信息，看看我們是否看到趨勢逆轉，從而支持再次認真啟動回購。

But until then, I'm not I don't want to commit one way or the other. We're just -- we're going to play it as required to keep our cash balances at a comfortable place to where we don't have to stay up, but not worrying about where everything is going to come from.

但在那之前，我不會做出任何承諾。我們只是——我們將按照要求行事，將我們的現金餘額保持在一個舒適的水平，這樣我們就不必熬夜，但不必擔心一切的來源。

But Dan, I'll let you comment on the market piece on that.

但是丹，我讓你對此市場部分進行評論。

Yeah, good morning, Lucas. I guess this market I would describe is still kind of a balanced market. We -- there's no doubt steel production around the world is down. It's been a long time. I guess since I've seen all of our markets have kind of depressed steel markets.

是的，早上好，盧卡斯。我想我所描述的這個市場仍然是一個平衡的市場。我們——毫無疑問，全球鋼鐵產量都在下降。已經過去很久了。我想，因為我已經看到我們所有的市場都出現了鋼鐵市場的低潮。

There's not a lot of good demand in any markets. India, as you know, is a little weaker than they've been in few years. And I guess a lot of that is obviously due to economic circumstances and the other piece that people don't talk about as much as it affects us. There's a lot of metallurgical coke out there, that's been kind of an overhang situation and I think that's affecting our coking coal shipments.

任何市場都沒有太多的良好需求。如你所知，印度比前幾年稍微弱了一些。我想，這在很大程度上顯然是由於經濟狀況，以及人們很少談論的另一個因素，儘管它對我們的影響很大。市面上有許多冶金焦炭，這是一種過剩的情況，我認為這影響了我們的焦煤運輸。

And that's starting to work off. So I suppose if you're looking for a green shoot. One of the green shoots might be that we see some of the coking coal and coke market pricing starting to go up and maybe not quite the availability of metallurgical coal and the number of blast furnaces, hot metal production actually is probably starting to increase too.

而這項措施已開始見效。所以我想如果你正在尋找一個綠芽。其中一個跡象可能是，我們看到部分煉焦煤和焦炭市場價格開始上漲，而冶金煤的供應量和高爐數量以及鐵水產量實際上可能也開始增加。

So but it won't happen immediately. We don't think so we're still seeing a lower demand than usual and a certain amount of deferrals or delays to the you know, that's something else that piece of our business is up. Customers still buy same tons, but they'll spread out the shipments just a little bit honest, and that has the cumulative effect as well.

但這不會立即發生。我們不這麼認為，我們仍然看到需求低於平常，並且有一定程度的延遲或延遲，這是我們業務的另一部分。顧客仍然購買相同數量的貨物，但他們會稍微公平地分散發貨量，這也會產生累積效應。

Thank you, Dan, are you seeing any movement on the supply side, either good or bad?

謝謝你，丹，你是否看到供應方面有任何動靜，無論是好的還是壞的？

Circumstance that we hear anecdotally of some business, some mines that are idling them. You buy read a couple of them in the in some of the medias. So there seems to be some production coming off offline here in the US. And I guess another point that I need that weigh certainly on the High-Vol coals in US is the thermal market, as you know, has been really terrible for the last year or so. There was really no summer demand last year, no winter demand.

我們偶爾會聽到一些關於一些企業、一些礦場停產的情況。您可以在一些媒體上讀到其中幾篇。因此，美國似乎有一些生產正在停止。我想我需要強調的另一點是，美國高揮發性煤炭的熱能市場在過去一年左右表現非常糟糕。去年確實沒有夏季需求，也沒有冬季需求。

So there's been a real overhang of thermal coal and a little bit of that thermal coal tends to creep into our High-vol markets here too. That's another area that it hasn't really been talked about a lot, but some of that coal actually ends up competing with the coal and coal the prices down to. And I think some of those thermal operations. We've heard anecdotally have been slowing down as well.

因此，動力煤確實存在過剩現象，有一部分動力煤也傾向於滲透到我們這裡的高波動市場。這是另一個尚未被廣泛討論的領域，但實際上，部分煤炭最終會與其他煤炭競爭，導致煤炭價格下降。我認為其中一些是熱操作。我們聽說也有所放緩。

Very helpful. Gentlemen, I really appreciate all the color. Thanks so much and continue. Best of luck.

非常有幫助。先生們，我真的很欣賞所有的色彩。非常感謝並繼續。祝你好運。

Thanks, Lucas.

謝謝，盧卡斯。

Nathan Martin, The Benchmark Company.

內森馬丁（Nathan Martin），基準公司。

Thanks, operator. Good morning, everyone.

謝謝，接線生。大家早安。

Hey Nate.

嘿，內特。

Maybe I will start off with that kind of a mixed question. I know domestic shipments seasonally light in the first quarter. But it looked like Aussie index export tons also kind of dip below your typical one-third or so, let's call it, a net sales level and then the exports tied to the other pricing mechanisms were about 51% of sales looks like. So Dan, maybe great to get your thoughts behind kind of the mix drivers there? And then maybe how should we kind of think about that mix evolving with those three buckets here in the second quarter?

也許我會從這種混合問題開始。我知道第一季國內出貨量因季節原因而較淡。但看起來澳洲指數出口噸位也低於典型的三分之一左右，我們稱之為淨銷售水平，然後與其他定價機制相關的出口約佔銷售額的 51％。那麼丹，也許很高興能聽聽你對混合驅動的看法？那麼，我們或許該如何看待第二季這三個面向的組合演變呢？

And Nate, I guess I'd take exceptions to light. I wouldn't say it was light shipping schedule. I think we're 4 million tons. But there were certainly some deferrals we saw coming out of Asia. So a lighter spot demand and a little bit of deferral. So that did skew the Aussie index based volumes a bit downward, probably see that in Q2 as well before it picks up.

內特，我想我會接受例外。我不會說這是輕鬆的運輸計劃。我認為我們有400萬噸。但我們確實看到亞洲出現了一些延期的情況。因此現貨需求較輕，且有一點延期。因此，這確實導致澳元指數的交易量略有下降，在第二季度可能也會出現這種情況，然後才會回升。

India still looks real solid for us, but for the reasons that have been addressed, the elections coming up and things. There is definitely both on term and spot business, a little bit less coming out of India. And then just generally Southeast Asia and China, a little slower than we had hoped as well for just overall economic reasons.

對我們來說，印度看起來仍然非常穩固，但是由於已經解決的原因、即將舉行的選舉等因素。定期和現貨業務肯定都有，但來自印度的業務略少一些。然後總體而言，東南亞和中國的成長速度也比我們預期的要慢一些，這只是由於整體經濟原因。

Okay, got it. And just to clarify then. I was just saying light from an Aussie indexed percentage of sales, not 4 million, 4.1 million tons or light, so. That makes sense. I guess sticking with the demand thing, Pacific Basin had been kind of outpacing the Atlantic Basin for a few quarters. Now it sounds like maybe things a little bit weaker near term in India, as you just mentioned. Maybe could I get your thoughts on Europe? I mean, how are things looking there? Maybe when do you think that market could start to improve?

好的，明白了。只是為了澄清一下。我只是說從澳洲指數化銷售百分比來看輕質原油，而不是 400 萬噸、410 萬噸或輕質原油，所以。這很有道理。我想，堅持需求因素，太平洋航運在過去幾季已經超過了大西洋航運。現在聽起來，正如您剛才提到的，印度的情況近期可能會稍微疲軟。也許我可以了解一下您對歐洲的看法？我的意思是，那裡的情況怎麼樣？您認為市場什麼時候會開始好轉？

I think it's safe to say Europe should have a produce more hot metal in '24 than they did in '23. That seems to be in the cards. Several of our customers have more blast furnaces operating. As I mentioned, there's an overhang on Coke and with the low coal prices up where there's a fair amount of purchased coke are going into Europe that probably won't last in my experience that last for a while.

我認為可以肯定地說，歐洲 24 年生產的熱金屬應該比 23 年多。這似乎是有可能的。我們的一些客戶擁有更多運作的高爐。正如我所提到的，可口可樂有過剩問題，而且隨著煤炭價格走低，大量購買的焦炭將流向歐洲，根據我的經驗，這種情況可能不會持續一段時間。

And then when the cheap Coke gets worked off, the categories began producing more of their own. So I tend to think of Europe start to pick up. That probably applies to South America as well.

然後，當廉價可樂被消耗殆盡時，各個類別就開始生產更多自己的可樂。所以我傾向於認為歐洲會開始復甦。這也可能適用於南美洲。

Okay. Got it. Thanks for that color. And then maybe shifting over to DTA, I know some prepared remarks there, specifically some comments, I guess, on the Baltimore port outage related to transportation. But did you guys see any benefit maybe from the Baltimore port outage as far as tonnage necessarily needing to shift away and likely Hinton Roads taking the majority of that?

好的。知道了。謝謝你這個顏色。然後也許轉到 DTA，我知道那裡有一些準備好的評論，特別是一些關於巴爾的摩港口運輸中斷的評論。但你們是否認為巴爾的摩港口停駛會帶來任何好處，因為噸位必然需要轉移，而欣頓錨地很可能承擔了其中的大部分？

I guess short answer would be no, Nate. We're moving clicking along with our business as we had before. We got a few phone calls right after the bridge collapse, but it didn't really translate into any spot business. We know that there's a fair amount of Norfolk Southern base business that's moved to Lamberts Point, that would have shipped out of Baltimore and that probably got back in the queue a little bit there. So that's a minor effect, I think, on Alpha there's just little more volume going out of Amber's point than there was prior. But as far as DTA, I'd have to say we didn't see any effects.

我想簡短的回答是“不”，內特。我們正在像以前一樣繼續推進我們的業務。橋樑倒塌後，我們立即接到了幾通電話，但並沒有帶來任何現場業務。我們知道，有相當一部分諾福克南方鐵路公司的基地業務已經轉移到蘭伯茨角，這些業務原本會從巴爾的摩運出，現在可能又回到了那裡排隊。所以我認為這對 Alpha 的影響很小，只是 Amber 點的音量比以前稍微大了一點。但就 DTA 而言，我不得不說我們沒有看到任何影響。

Okay, perfect. Got it. And maybe just one more and maybe, Jason, Jason to you. I think you mentioned in your prepared remarks you guys are looking at the current market conditions. Did make a difficult decision to make some cuts to some labor incentives and have you seen much churn or labor attrition due to those? And then I think you mentioned that roughly $35 million or so in cost savings. How does that translate on $1 per ton basis maybe to your full year kind of Met segment coal costs?

好的，完美。知道了。也許再多一個，也許，傑森，對你來說就是傑森。我想您在準備好的發言中提到過，你們正在關注當前的市場狀況。您是否做出了削減部分勞動力激勵措施的艱難決定，並且是否因此而看到大量員工流失或勞動力減員？然後我想您提到了大約 3500 萬美元左右的成本節省。以每噸 1 美元計算，這對你們全年的 Met 部門煤炭成本來說意味著什麼？

Well, on an annual basis it's nominally $2. To answer your question about attrition, it's kind of early yet. We made those announcements, I think around the April 1, actually mid-March, excuse me, but from what I've seen since mid-March.

嗯，按年計算名義上是 2 美元。回答你關於人員流失的問題，現在回答還太早。我們發布了這些公告，我想是在 4 月 1 日左右，實際上是 3 月中旬，對不起，但從我自 3 月中旬以來看到的情況來看。

You know, attrition rates are generally in line with recent history. So we haven't seen definitely not on Exodus or anything, but we really haven't seen even much of an uptick yet, and I suspect that's just due to the just the general state of the market. I mean, we're not the only ones that we all have the same problem to know these things go together.

你知道，人員流失率通常與近期歷史相符。因此，我們肯定沒有看到 Exodus 或任何東西，但我們實際上還沒有看到太大的上漲，我懷疑這只是由於市場的整體狀況。我的意思是，我們並不是唯一有同樣問題的人，我們都知道這些事情是連在一起的。

Okay, perfect. Thanks. I'll leave it there, guys. Appreciate the time and info, and best of luck in the second quarter.

好的，完美。謝謝。我就把它留在那裡了，夥計們。感謝您的時間和信息，祝第二季好運。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Lucas Pipes, B. Riley Securities.

派普斯 (Lucas Pipes)、B.萊利證券 (B. Riley Securities)。

Thank you very much for taking my follow up. It's not on a I am it's on the idle mine expenses. Andy, can you comment on what the what drove the increase and is this something we should kind of as kind of hold steady over the coming years or maybe kind of revert back to lower? Thank you very much.

非常感謝您接受我的跟進。這不是我的錯，而是閒置礦場費用。安迪，您能否評論一下推動這一成長的原因是什麼？在未來幾年中，我們是否應該保持這一水平穩定，或者可能回落至較低水平？非常感謝。

I'll let Todd give the detailed answer, but it's always you have properties that are we'll call it in between. They could be in full reclamation status where the cost of the property is going through your your ARO balance sheet accounts. Sometimes when you're in between you've got some timing issues and you're going to pick up a little bit of extra idle expense while that that property's waiting to go into full actual reclamation status?

我會讓托德給出詳細的答案，但你總是擁有我們稱之為介於兩者之間的屬性。它們可能處於完全回收狀態，其中財產成本將透過您的 ARO 資產負債表帳戶計算。有時，當您處於中間狀態時，您會遇到一些時間問題，並且您會在該財產等待進入完全實際回收狀態時產生一些額外的閒置費用？

So Todd, that is that's pretty much in the ballpark of where?

那麼 Todd，那大概是在哪裡呢？

Yes, and I think that's the primary driver, Lucas. We did have a little bit of non-recoverable royalties relative to when we did the budget that we layered in, but the Andy has hit the major point there. So and in terms of looking forward, I think you can look back and see where that Range has been.

是的，我認為這是主要驅動力，盧卡斯。相對於我們制定預算時而言，我們確實有一些無法收回的版稅，但安迪已經觸及了主要問題。因此，展望未來，我認為您可以回顧一下並看看該範圍曾經在哪裡。

I mean, we certainly don't anticipate that to increase in the future. So and I think the range that we're in for the for the near future at least is probably where it will be.

我的意思是，我們當然不認為未來這數字還會增加。所以我認為至少在不久的將來我們所處的範圍可能就是它將處於的位置。

Thank you very much. And Andy, at some of your peers have public, they commented on the desire to kind of grow their met coal exposure, especially to the seaborne market. And what's your take right now on M&A on other properties for sale out there? If so, do you have any interest or not a I mean, you're a pure play as is, but curious to get your take on on M&A and some of those comments. Thank you.

非常感謝。安迪，您的一些同行在公開場合表示，他們希望擴大煤炭的市場份額，特別是在海運市場。您現在對其他待售房產的併購有何看法？如果是這樣，您是否有興趣？我的意思是，您是一個純粹的玩家，但好奇您對併購和一些評論的看法。謝謝。

Well, I think we've we've kind of hit it a little bit on on previous calls, we're always what all coal companies are for the most part, acquisitive. We are what we are today because of transactions we've done in the past. And so we're always looking and there are probably some smaller opportunities where, as Dan mentioned, we're seeing some small supply coming offline.

嗯，我想我們在之前的電話會議中已經談到過這一點，我們和大多數煤炭公司一樣，都具有收購精神。我們之所以能有今天，是因為我們過去所做的交易。因此，我們一直在尋找，可能存在一些較小的機會，正如丹所提到的，我們看到一些小規模的供應正在下線。

Some of these folks just are undercapitalized and with no ability to to get access to capital markets. There are probably a handful of pretty high quality or at least good quality mines out there that could be attractive that may be available over the next few months.

其中一些只是資金不足，沒有能力進入資本市場。可能有少數質量相當高或至少質量良好的礦山可能具有吸引力，並可能在未來幾個月內投入使用。

But as far as larger transactions, again, it's just really tough to envision a world where with everyone's current shareholder bases and capital structures, any significant deals getting done any anytime soon. And everyone really loves the buybacks.

但就更大規模的交易而言，我們再次強調，很難想像在每個人現有的股東基礎和資本結構下，任何重大交易都能在短期內完成。每個人都非常喜歡回購。

There's been a lot of value created. We agree with that. And so it's kind of challenging to look at a world where you're on you're doing the big transformational deals, at least from from our vantage point.

已經創造了很多價值。我們同意這一點。因此，至少從我們的角度來看待正在進行的重大轉型交易的世界是有點挑戰性的。

Andy, very helpful. I really appreciate it. And again, keep up the good work. Thank you.

安迪，非常有幫助。我真的很感激。再次，請繼續努力。謝謝。

Thanks, Lucas.

謝謝，盧卡斯。

We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the call over to Andy Eidson for closing remarks.

問答環節已結束。現在我想將電話交給安迪‧艾德森 (Andy Eidson) 來做結束語。

Thanks again, everyone, for your interest in Alpha and for being on the call with us today. And we hope you have a great rest of the week.

再次感謝大家對 Alpha 的關注以及今天參加我們的電話會議。我們希望您本週剩餘時間過得愉快。

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and we thank you for your participation

今天的會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路，感謝您的參與