Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc (AMR) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. And welcome to the Alpha Metallurgical Resources Second Quarter 2024 Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this conference is being recorded.

問候。歡迎參加阿爾法冶金資源 2024 年第二季業績電話會議。（操作員說明）請注意，本次會議正在錄製中。

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

現在我將把會議交給東道主艾米麗·奧奎因 (Emily O'Quinn)，她是負責投資者關係和傳播的高級副總裁。你現在可以開始了。

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。在開始之前，請允許我提醒您，在我們準備好的發言中，我們對預期業務和財務業績的評論包含前瞻性陳述，實際結果可能與討論的結果存在重大差異。

For more information regarding forward-looking statements and some of the factors that can affect them, please refer to the company's second quarter 2024 earnings release and the associated SEC filing.

有關前瞻性陳述以及可能影響這些陳述的一些因素的更多信息，請參閱該公司 2024 年第二季度收益發布和相關 SEC 文件。

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.

另請參閱這些文件，以了解有關我們使用非 GAAP 衡量標準及其與 GAAP 衡量標準的調整的資訊。Alpha 執行長 Andy Eidson 出席了今天的電話會議；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 will turn the call over to Andy.

參加電話會議的還有我們的財務長 Todd Munsey；以及我們的首席商務長 Dan Horn。這樣，我就把電話轉給安迪。

Thanks, Emily, and good morning everyone. This morning we issued earnings release detailing our second quarter 2024 financial results which included adjusted EBITDA of $116 million and 4.6 million ton shipped within the quarter.

謝謝艾米麗，大家早安。今天早上，我們發布了收益報告，詳細介紹了 2024 年第二季度的財務業績，其中調整後的 EBITDA 為 1.16 億美元，該季度發貨量為 460 萬噸。

Insite of the challenging market backdrop the Alpha team delivered another solid quarter performance. Both the operations and the sales teams executed very well within the areas taking control by hitting ambitious shipping targets, producing well and most of all operating safely throughout the period.

在充滿挑戰的市場背景下，Alpha 團隊再次實現了穩健的季度表現。營運和銷售團隊在控制區域內執行得非常好，實現了雄心勃勃的運輸目標，生產良好，最重要的是整個期間安全運營。

As we discussed in our most recent earnings call in May, weakening steel demand has negatively impacted metallurgical coal markets, and our second quarter realizations reflect that negative pressure. This is not a surprise, however, as waning demand and difficult uncertainty or significant uncertainty across the world brought about the difficult market we experienced in Q2.

正如我們在 5 月最近的財報電話會議中討論的那樣，鋼鐵需求疲軟對冶金煤炭市場產生了負面影響，我們第二季的實現反映了這種負面壓力。然而，這並不奇怪，因為需求減弱和全球範圍內的困難不確定性或重大不確定性給我們在第二季度經歷了困難的市場。

These conditions have intensified in the third quarter and persisted today. As is typical at this time of each year, the domestic negotiation process has begun with North American customers for next year's contracts.

這些情況在第三季加劇並持續至今。正如每年這個時候一樣，與北美客戶就明年合約進行的國內談判過程已經開始。

Over the coming months, we expect to secure commitments for 2025 domestic tons, and we'll provide an update later in the year on those commitments and our overall shipment volume guidance for 2025. In the interim, we continue to ship our contracted tons to our customers, and we're listening closely to the market to hear how we may be able to meet current and future customer needs.

在接下來的幾個月裡，我們預計將獲得 2025 噸國內噸的承諾，我們將在今年稍後提供這些承諾的最新資訊以及 2025 年總體出貨量指引。在此期間，我們繼續向客戶運送合約噸數，並且我們正在密切傾聽市場的聲音，以了解我們如何能夠滿足當前和未來的客戶需求。

Given the recent met market deterioration and volatility, we remain focused on our first priority of preserving the franchise in order to weather whatever market conditions may lie ahead. To that end, we increased our total liquidity by nearly 25% during the second quarter. We continue to take a wait-and-see approach with regard to capital returns as we monitor the market dynamics.

鑑於最近遇到的市場惡化和波動，我們仍然將重點放在保留特許經營權上，以應對未來可能出現的任何市場狀況。為此，我們在第二季將總流動性增加了近 25%。在監控市場動態的同時，我們繼續對資本回報採取觀望態度。

As we've proven with our previous activity in the buyback program, we're eager to return capital to the shareholders when conditions allow. I also want to note, particularly with the backdrop that we're dealing with today, when the market, it's pretty easy to fall into the trap of thinking right now is forever.

正如我們先前的回購計畫活動所證明的那樣，我們渴望在條件允許時向股東返還資本。我還想指出，特別是在我們今天面臨的背景下，市場很容易陷入「現在就是永遠」的思維陷阱。

This tough market has lasted a bit longer than it has in recent years, at least in respect to the usual peaks and valleys of the cycle, but the peaks of the past three years also lasted longer than had been expected. One thing is certain, though, and that is that the world needs steel, and metallurgical coal makes steel.

這個艱難的市場持續的時間比近年來要長一些，至少就週期的通常高峰和低谷而言是這樣，但過去三年的高峰持續時間也比預期的要長。但有一件事是肯定的，就是全世界需要鋼鐵，而冶金煤可以煉鋼。

So the most important thing for Alpha is that we continue to operate safely, maintain high productivity, and take advantage of every opportunity the market presents to us. That's what our 4,000 team members are good at, and I'm confident that's what they'll do.

因此，對 Alpha 來說，最重要的是我們繼續安全運營，保持高生產力，並利用市場提供給我們的每一個機會。這就是我們 4,000 名團隊成員所擅長的，我相信他們也會這麼做。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Todd for details on our Q2 financial results.

接下來，我會將電話轉給托德，以了解有關我們第二季度財務業績的詳細資訊。

Thanks, Andy. Second quarter, adjusted EBITDA was $116 million, down from $190 million in Q1. We sold 4.6 million tons in the quarter compared to 4.4 million in Q1. Met segment realizations decreased quarter-over-quarter with an average second quarter realization of $141.86 compared to $166.68 for the first quarter.

謝謝，安迪。第二季調整後 EBITDA 為 1.16 億美元，低於第一季的 1.9 億美元。我們本季的銷售量為 460 萬噸，而第一季為 440 萬噸。Met 部門的實現額季比下降，第二季的平均實現額為 141.86 美元，而第一季的平均實現額為 166.68 美元。

Export met tons priced against Atlantic indices and other pricing mechanisms in the second quarter realized $135.47 per ton, while export coal priced on Australian indices realized $153.52. These are compared to realizations of $172.24 per ton and $193.70 respectively in the first quarter. The Q2 realization for our metallurgical sales was a total weighted average of $145.94 per ton down from $176.20 per ton in the prior quarter.

第二季度，根據大西洋指數和其他定價機制定價的出口煤炭噸價實現每噸 135.47 美元，而根據澳洲指數定價的出口煤炭實現每噸 153.52 美元。相比之下，第一季的實現價格分別為每噸 172.24 美元和 193.70 美元。第二季我們冶金銷售額的加權平均總收益為每噸 145.94 美元，低於上一季每噸 176.20 美元。

Realizations in the incidental thermal portion of the Met segment decreased $75.82 per ton in the second quarter as compared to $76.53 per ton in the first quarter. Cost of coal sales for our Met segment decreased to $109.31 per ton in the second quarter down from $115.65 per ton in Q1. The primary drivers of the cost reduction were lower sales related costs as a result of softening coal prices and a reduction in third-party purchased coal costs in the quarter.

第二季 Met 部門附帶熱力部分的實現額下降了每噸 75.82 美元，而第一季為每噸 76.53 美元。第二季 Met 部門的煤炭銷售成本從第一季的每噸 115.65 美元降至每噸 109.31 美元。成本降低的主要驅動力是煤炭價格疲軟以及本季第三方採購煤炭成本下降導致銷售相關成本下降。

SG&A excluding non-cash stock compensation and non-recurring items decreased to $14.2 million in Q2 as compared to $19.9 million in the first quarter. CapEx in the second quarter was $61.1 million down from $63.6 million in the first quarter.

不包括非現金股票補償和非經常性項目的銷售、管理及行政費用 (SG&A) 第二季下降至 1,420 萬美元，而第一季為 1,990 萬美元。第二季資本支出為 6,110 萬美元，低於第一季的 6,360 萬美元。

Moving to the balance sheet and cash flows, as of June 30, 2024, we had $336.1 million in unrestricted cash an increase of $66.7 million, or nearly 25% from our March 31 unrestricted cash figure of $269.4 million. We had $95.6 million in unused availability under our ABL at the end of the quarter.

轉向資產負債表和現金流，截至2024 年6 月30 日，我們擁有3.361 億美元的非限制性現金，比3 月31 日的非限制性現金2.694 億美元增加了6,670 萬美元，即近25% 。截至本季末，我們的 ABL 下有 9,560 萬美元的未使用可用性。

As of the end of June, Alpha had total liquidity of $356.7 million up from $288.1 million at the end of the first quarter. Cash provided by operating activities was $138.1 million in the second quarter down from $196.1 million in Q1.

截至6月底，Alpha的流動性總額為3.567億美元，高於第一季末的2.881億美元。第二季經營活動提供的現金為 1.381 億美元，低於第一季的 1.961 億美元。

As of June 30, our ABL facility had no borrowings and $59.4 million of letters of credit outstanding down from $61.3 million in the prior quarter. In terms of our committed position for 2024 at the midpoint of guidance, 71% of our metallurgical tonnage in the Met segment is committed and priced at an average price of $157.97.

截至 6 月 30 日，我們的 ABL 設施沒有借款，未償還信用證為 5,940 萬美元，低於上一季的 6,130 萬美元。就我們對 2024 年指導中點的承諾定位而言，我們在 Met 領域的冶金噸位中有 71% 已承諾，平均價格為 157.97 美元。

Another 29% 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 of $75.96.

今年還有 29% 的 Met 噸位已承諾，但尚未定價。Met 部門的熱副產品部分已完全投入使用，價格處於指導中位數，平均為 75.96 美元。

As we discussed in the last quarterly call, we expected market softness to limit our repurchase activity in Q2, and we communicated our intention of building and maintaining our liquidity position. We did not repurchase any shares in the second quarter under the company's share of buyback program.

正如我們在上一季電話會議中討論的那樣，我們預計市場疲軟將限制我們第二季的回購活動，並且我們傳達了建立和維持流動性頭寸的意圖。我們在第二季度沒有根據公司的股份回購計劃回購任何股份。

As of July 31, 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 on cash flow levels and market conditions. We have repurchased a total of 6.6 million shares under the existing plan at an average share price of $165.74.

截至2024年7月31日，已發行普通股數約1,300萬股。剩餘的股票回購計畫授權允許根據現金流水準和市場狀況進行約 4 億美元的額外回購。根據現有計劃，我們總共回購了 660 萬股股票，平均股價為 165.74 美元。

I will now turn the call over to Jason for an update on operations in the quarter.

我現在將把電話轉給傑森，以了解本季營運的最新情況。

Thanks Todd, and good morning everyone. I'm pleased to report that our teams continue to operate safely and efficiently in the second quarter. We have again achieved safety and environmental performance that's better than the industry average.

謝謝托德，大家早安。我很高興地報告，我們的團隊在第二季度繼續安全且有效率地運作。我們再次取得了優於業界平均的安全和環保績效。

Over the last few months, our minor rescue teams have received numerous individual and team awards at competitions throughout the region, including many first place finishes. There are simply too many to list here, but we are very proud of each and every member of these outstanding teams, and we appreciate their dedication to safety and preparedness.

在過去的幾個月裡，我們的小型救援隊在整個地區的比賽中獲得了許多個人和團隊獎項，其中包括許多第一名。這裡無法一一列出，但我們為這些傑出團隊的每一位成員感到非常自豪，我們感謝他們對安全和準備工作的奉獻。

On our last quarterly call, I explained the process we're undertaking to communicate the current market conditions with our partners and suppliers. Since then, we've had a lot of good conversations, many of which have resulted in improved pricing agreements.

在上一次季度電話會議上，我解釋了我們正在與合作夥伴和供應商溝通當前市場狀況的流程。從那時起，我們進行了許多良好的對話，其中許多都導致了定價協議的改進。

In some cases, we have transitioned to new suppliers where viable, lower cost options were available to Met or match our supply needs with market realities. As these changes take effect, we expect these actions to have a positive impact on our costs.

在某些情況下，我們已經轉向新的供應商，那裡有可行的、成本更低的選擇，可以滿足我們的供應需求或將我們的供應需求與市場現實相匹配。隨著這些變化的生效，我們預計這些行動將對我們的成本產生正面影響。

Additionally, we continue to fine tune our in-house manufacturing capabilities, which have afforded us increased flexibility and timeliness in replacing certain parts, and safely maximizing the life spans of our existing equipment. We will continue to leverage the talent and the capabilities of our manufacturing teams to assist us in this regard.

此外，我們繼續微調我們的內部製造能力，這使我們在更換某些零件方面具有更大的靈活性和及時性，並安全地最大限度地延長現有設備的使用壽命。我們將繼續利用製造團隊的人才和能力在這方面為我們提供幫助。

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

我現在將把電話轉給丹，以了解市場的最新情況。

Thanks Jason and good morning. Weakened global demand for steel has persisted, resulting in continued metallurgical coal market softness over the past several months. Factors influencing steel demand include economic policies and conditions globally, as well as the health of national and regional economies, some of which have been very negatively impacted by geopolitical unrest and violent conflicts.

謝謝傑森，早安。全球鋼鐵需求持續疲軟，導致過去幾個月冶金煤炭市場持續疲軟。影響鋼鐵需求的因素包括全球經濟政策和狀況，以及國家和地區經濟的健康狀況，其中一些經濟受到地緣政治動盪和暴力衝突的嚴重負面影響。

Additionally, more than 60 national elections are scheduled to occur or have already occurred across the world in 2024, including races for leadership in the United States, India, and many European countries, all important destinations for Alphas. The higher than usual volume of elections across the globe has created additional geopolitical uncertainty, which affects consumer confidence and demand for steel.

此外，2024 年全球將舉行或已舉行 60 多場國家選舉，其中包括美國、印度和許多歐洲國家的領導權競選，這些都是阿爾法的重要目的地。全球選舉數量高於平常，造成了額外的地緣政治不確定性，影響了消費者信心和鋼鐵需求。

Metallurgical coal prices softened during the second quarter of 2024. The Australian premium low-vol index dropped from $246.50 per metric ton on April 1 to $234 per metric ton at the end of the second quarter. The US East Coast low-vol index decreased from $222 per metric ton at the beginning of April to $218 at the end of June.

2024 年第二季冶金煤價格走軟。澳洲溢價低波動指數從 4 月 1 日的每噸 246.50 美元下跌至第二季末的每噸 234 美元。美國東海岸低波動率指數從 4 月初的每噸 222 美元下跌至 6 月底的每噸 218 美元。

The US East Coast High-Vol A index moved from $223 per metric ton at the start of the quarter to $212 per metric ton at the end of the quarter, and the US East Coast high-vol index decreased from $198 per metric ton to $190 at quarter close.

美國東岸高波動率A指數從季初的223美元/噸上漲至季末的212美元/噸，美國東岸高波動指數從198美元/噸下降至190美元/噸季度收盤時。

This quarter close, all four indices have decreased further. The Australian premium low-vol and US East Coast low-vol indices fell to $215 and $211, respectively on August 2. US East Coast High-Vol A and High-Vol B indices measured 205 and 183 per ton, respectively as of the same date.

本季收盤時，所有四個指數均進一步下跌。8 月 2 日，澳洲溢價低波動率指數和美國東岸低波動率指數分別跌至 215 美元和 211 美元。截至同一日期，美國東海岸高波動 A 指數和高波動 B 指數分別為每噸 205 和 183。

In the thermal coal market, the API two index was $118.05 per metric ton on April 1 and decreased to $107.10 per metric ton at the end of June, and on August 2, the API two index was at $122.20 per metric ton.

動力煤市場，4月1日API二級指數為118.05美元/噸，6月底降至107.10美元/噸，8月2日API二級指數為122.20美元/噸。

In terms of office performance, we continue to ship contracted tons to our customers as planned. In Q2 our sales, operations and logistics teams were able to hit some internal shipping milestones, recording 4.6 million tons shipped within the quarter.

在辦公室績效方面，我們繼續按計劃向客戶運送合約噸數。在第二季度，我們的銷售、營運和物流團隊實現了一些內部運輸里程碑，本季出貨量達到 460 萬噸。

This is even more impressive considering that we worked around a planned week long period in May where one of the DTA stacker reclaimers was down for maintenance. I'm proud of how our team has risen to the challenge and continued to focus on the controllable aspects of our jobs, performing well despite the current poor market dynamics.

考慮到我們在 5 月計劃的為期一周的時間內工作，其中一台 DTA 堆取料機停機進行維護，這一點更令人印象深刻。我為我們的團隊如何迎接挑戰並繼續專注於工作的可控方面而感到自豪，儘管當前市場動態不佳，但仍表現良好。

As you will recall from our Q1 earnings call back in May, we spoke about the market deterioration that we were seeing, which has only intensified since then with periods of very little or no spot demand.

正如您在5 月的第一季財報電話會議中所記得的那樣，我們談到了我們所看到的市場惡化情況，自那時以來，隨著現貨需求很少或沒有現貨需求的時期，這種情況只會加劇。

As we look ahead to the balance of the year, we remain confident in our ability to meet our full year 2024 shipment volume guidance and looking a bit further to 2025, the customary domestic solicitation process has begun and we are in early discussions with North American customers regarding 2025 business.

展望今年剩下的時間，我們對實現 2024 年全年出貨量指導的能力仍然充滿信心，並展望 2025 年，慣例的國內招標流程已經開始，我們正在與北美公司進行早期討論有關2025 年業務的客戶。

It's much too early in the process to speculate about where volumes or pricing will land, but we will provide an update on Alpha sales commitments at the appropriate time. Finally, I'm pleased to say that rail performance has been solid and we have not experienced material indirect impacts from the Baltimore Bridge collapse.

現在推測銷售或定價將達到什麼水平還為時過早，但我們將在適當的時候提供 Alpha 銷售承諾的最新資訊。最後，我很高興地說，鐵路性能一直很穩定，我們沒有經歷過巴爾的摩大橋倒塌帶來的實質間接影響。

As a reminder, with the majority ownership stake in DTA, Alpha does not utilize the Baltimore terminals to export our coals. Despite the disruption to other coal producers and transportation flows, our rail partners have performed well and we have not experienced ancillary challenges from the aftermath of the bridge collapse.

需要提醒的是，Alpha 擁有 DTA 的多數股權，因此不利用巴爾的摩碼頭出口我們的煤炭。儘管其他煤炭生產商和運輸流程受到干擾，但我們的鐵路合作夥伴表現良好，我們沒有經歷橋樑倒塌帶來的附帶挑戰。

We remain grateful for the positive rail performance and look forward to continuing to provide excellent service to our customers around the world. And with that operator, we are now ready to open the call for questions.

我們仍然對鐵路的積極表現表示感謝，並期待繼續為世界各地的客戶提供優質的服務。透過該接線員，我們現在準備好開始提問。

Thank you. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝。（操作員說明）

Lucas Pipes, B. Riley Securities.

盧卡斯‧派普斯 (Lucas Pipes)，B. 萊利證券 (Riley Securities)。

Thank you very much, operator. Good morning, everyone. Really solid cost performance in Q2, and I wanted to ask on those cost reductions if you could maybe break out the contribution to the reduction from both sales related as well as purchase coal.

非常感謝您，接線生。大家早安。第二季的成本效益非常穩定，我想詢問這些成本削減是否可以列出銷售相關以及購買煤炭對成本削減的貢獻。

And then any other kind of buckets that you could point to as major drivers and a little bit higher level. How much purchase coal do you kind of typically lend into your shipments? Thank you very much.

然後是任何其他類型的桶，您可以將其視為主要驅動力和更高的水平。您通常會借出多少採購煤炭來運送貨物？非常感謝。

Hey, Lucas. It's Andy. I'll hit the first piece myself. The breakdown on the cost reductions is roughly 50-50 between those two category items combined. They may be less than 100%. We may have 10% of other just general cost reduction, productivity, enhancement, that kind of stuff.

嘿，盧卡斯。是安迪。我會親自擊中第一塊。這兩類項目加起來的成本降低幅度大約是 50-50。它們可能低於 100%。我們可能有 10% 的其他只是一般性的成本降低、生產力、增強，諸如此類的東西。

But it's roughly split between those two items. As far as how much purchase coal we utilize on a given quarter, I'll let Dan jump on that one.

但它大致分為這兩個項目。至於我們在特定季度使用多少煤炭，我會讓 Dan 來討論這個問題。

Hi Lucas, good morning. Typically several hundred thousand tons a year. There's no fixed number. A lot of it depends on market conditions. Some of it depends on what our own minds are doing. We have some geology or quality issues.

嗨盧卡斯，早安。通常每年數十萬噸。沒有固定的數字。這在很大程度上取決於市場狀況。其中一些取決於我們自己的想法在做什麼。我們有一些地質或品質問題。

So I don't know the number off the top of my head, but it's in the several hundred thousand ton range. And just to put a little more color on it, some of those tons purchased are purchased against the indices. So as the indices have slid down, our purchase coal costs have slid down with it.

所以我不知道具體數字，但在幾十萬噸範圍內。為了增加一點色彩，其中一些購買的噸數是根據指數購買的。所以隨著指數的下滑，我們的煤炭採購成本也隨之下滑。

Got it. Thank you very much for that, Dan. And on the volume, midpoint of guidance implies an 8% reduction versus first half. So I wondered if you could maybe speak to that. Is that reflecting current market conditions, just a degree of conservatism after a very strong second quarter, and kind of zooming out on the industry, what's your take on the kind of supply situation more broadly?

知道了。非常感謝你，丹。就數量而言，指導中點意味著較上半年減少 8%。所以我想知道你是否可以談談這一點。這是否反映了當前的市場狀況，只是在第二季度非常強勁之後的某種程度的保守主義，以及對行業的某種程度的縮小，您對更廣泛的供應狀況有何看法？

Is it improving in the sense that some higher cost lines are rationalizing? And then there was also a major supply disruption in the quarter in North America. I wondered if you could maybe comment on that as well. Thank you very much for your perspective.

它是否在某些成本較高的線路正在合理化的意義上有所改善？此外，北美地區本季也出現了嚴重的供應中斷。我想知道你是否也可以對此發表評論。非常感謝您的觀點。

Hi, Lucas. I'll hit the first piece again. I'll let Dan cover the hard part of it. As far as the cadence on the shipments, there's nothing really intentional there. It's just how the shipments have fallen. We did have very strong production in shipment quarters in Q1 and Q2.

嗨，盧卡斯。我會再次擊中第一部分。我會讓丹來解決其中最困難的部分。就出貨節奏而言，沒有什麼是有意為之的。這就是出貨量下降的原因。我們在第一季和第二季的出貨季度確實有非常強勁的生產。

And so I think that got us a little bit ahead of the curve. So it's really just taking the back half of the year, which will probably, I mean, it looks like, looking at our forecast, it looks like it'll be kind of routable between Q3 and Q4 to get to that midpoint.

所以我認為這讓我們領先了一點。因此，這實際上只是用今年下半年的時間，我的意思是，看起來，從我們的預測來看，看起來可能會在第三季和第四季之間達到這個中點。

So with the vast majority of the book being committed, it's really just a function of running through those commitments and getting those tons where they need to be. But as far as the broader market question, Dan, I'll let you answer that one.

因此，隨著本書的絕大多數內容都得到了承諾，它實際上只是履行這些承諾並將這些承諾實現到需要的地方的功能。但就更廣泛的市場問題而言，丹，我會讓你回答這個問題。

Thanks, Andy. Well, yes, Lucas, I think we've seen some supply coming off around the edges, I guess, due to high costs. But we've also, of course, seen a couple of large met mines idle due to the mine fires. And frankly, even with some of that supply coming off, the market sort of still continues to balance itself.

謝謝，安迪。嗯，是的，盧卡斯，我想我們已經看到一些供應量在邊緣減少，我想，由於成本高昂。當然，我們也看到一些大型礦場因礦火而閒置。坦白說，即使部分供應減少，市場仍在繼續保持平衡。

In other words, it takes some supply off, but there's also some demand gone. So it's still net-net kind of where it is. I don't think there's been enough supply come off to materially impact the market.

換句話說，它減少了一些供應，但也減少了一些需求。所以它仍然是網路網路。我認為供應量不足以對市場產生重大影響。

Having said that, we're shipping steady. Our order book looks like we'd like it to look. And we're just going forward on that basis kind of a week at a time. We are seeing a little bit of pickup in India, for example. And no surprise, the monsoon season's wrapping up, and we expect to resume a little bit more shipments into India.

話雖如此，我們的出貨量穩定。我們的訂單簿看起來就像我們希望的那樣。我們只是在此基礎上一次一週地前進。例如，我們在印度看到了一些回升。毫不奇怪，季風季節即將結束，我們預計將恢復對印度的更多發貨。

Dan, do you think the market is oversupplied today? And if so, how many tons is it possible to quantify?

丹，您認為今天市場供應過剩嗎？如果是的話，可以量化多少噸？

Boy, oh, boy, that's a tough one, Lucas. I don't know. I'd say it's balanced. I don't think -- I can speak for Alpha. Our inventories -- we brought our inventories down in Q2 a bit. So we're comfortable with our inventory situation. We're not piling the coal up. It's here. It's doesn’t feel that over supply to me.

天哪，哦，天哪，這太難了，盧卡斯。我不知道。我想說的是，這是平衡的。我不認為──我可以代表阿爾法說話。我們的庫存—第二季我們的庫存略有下降。因此，我們對庫存狀況感到滿意。我們不會把煤炭堆起來。就在這裡。我並不覺得供應過剩。

That’s helpful. Thank you very much. I’ll try to ask one last question. Andy, could you maybe speak to your strategic priorities at this time, obviously the market has changed a bit, but the equity market, coal market supply are softer. You are ahead of your cash target.

這很有幫助。非常感謝。我將嘗試問最後一個問題。Andy，您能不能談談您現在的策略重點，顯然市場發生了一些變化，但股市、煤炭市場供應都比較疲軟。您已經超出現金目標了。

So wondering how you kind of think about everything and how you want to position Alpha optimally during this time? Thank you.

那麼想知道你如何看待一切以及你想如何在這段時間對阿爾法進行最佳定位？謝謝。

Yes, Lucas. In markets like these, it's pretty easy. Our strategy is kind of defined for us, which is, as I said in the prepared comments, protecting the franchise. The fact that this market has lasted longer than it typically does when you're talking about the Shoulder Season.

是的，盧卡斯。在這樣的市場中，這很容易。我們的策略是為我們定義的，正如我在準備好的評論中所說，保護特許經營權。事實上，當你談論平季時，這個市場持續的時間比通常情況要長。

You've got usually a couple of three months of doldrums, so to speak. This has gone on a good bit longer than that. Don't necessarily see the end of it just yet. We see, as Dan said, we see some inklings that things may be on a turn, but it could be like a battleship and it takes a while.

可以這麼說，你通常會經歷三個月的低迷期。這件事持續的時間比這還要長。還不一定看到結局。正如丹所說，我們看到一些跡象表明事情可能正在轉變，但這可能就像一艘戰艦，而且需要一段時間。

So with that in mind, getting above our target liquidity number is more about just creating more of a buffer. We have operated, I think we've been most successful because we have operated so conservatively trying to protect the balance sheet.

因此，考慮到這一點，超過我們的目標流動性數量更多的是創造更多的緩衝。我們的運作，我認為我們是最成功的，因為我們的運作非常保守，試圖保護資產負債表。

I think that's going to remain our number one priority until we are comfortable that the market has turned in a more substantial fashion and for a longer period of time before we get too aggressive on anything but that.

我認為這將仍然是我們的首要任務，直到我們對市場已經以更實質的方式轉變感到滿意，並且在更長的一段時間內，我們才會在除此之外的任何事情上過於激進。

Andy and team, you've done a great job managing this market, both in the good and bad times. I'll be looking forward to that. In the meantime, I wish you continued best of luck.

安迪和他的團隊，無論在順境或逆境，你們在管理這個市場方面都做得非常好。我會很期待的。同時，我祝你繼續好運。

Thank you, Lucas.

謝謝你，盧卡斯。

Nathan Martin, The Benchmark Company.

內森馬丁，基準公司。

Thanks, operator. Good morning, everyone. Maybe just digging in a little bit more on Lucas's last question. Obviously, the market is experiencing quite a bit of turmoil right now. Andy, you just touched on that. It sounds like that's where your focus is, the market's looking for signals there.

謝謝，接線生。大家早安。也許只是進一步探討盧卡斯的最後一個問題。顯然，目前市場正在經歷相當大的動盪。安迪，你剛剛談到了這一點。聽起來這就是你關注的焦點，市場正在尋找訊號。

At what point do you feel like you could get comfortable restarting the buyback? Is it a bigger buffer in cash? Is it the stock price looking opportunistically there? Any other thoughts would be great.

您覺得什麼時候可以放心地重新啟動回購？現金緩衝是否更大？是股價看起來機會主義嗎？任何其他想法都會很棒。

Good morning, Nate, by the way. I think to put a finer point on it, it's really going to be driven by the coal markets because as long as we remain in this band that we're bouncing around in because if you – right now at a roughly 215 PLV, we're at the lowest point we've been in two years.

順便說一句，早上好，內特。我認為更具體地說，它確實是由煤炭市場驅動的，因為只要我們保持在這個區間內，我們就會在這個區間內波動，因為如果你現在的 PLV 大約為 215，我們正處於兩年來的最低點。

If you exclude by my math about an 11-day period in 2022, this is the lowest price in three years. We're back into some territory we've not had to deal with for quite a while. As long as we remain in that band, I think we're going to have to stay focused on keeping the balance sheet strong, giving ourselves plenty of buffer because another turn down and you could quickly go from producing some cash to producing no cash or consuming cash.

如果按照我的計算排除 2022 年 11 天的時間，這是三年來的最低價格。我們又回到了一些我們已經有一段時間沒有處理過的領域了。只要我們保持在這個區間，我認為我們就必須集中精力保持資產負債表的強勁，為自己提供足夠的緩衝，因為如果再次出現下滑，你可能很快就會從產生一些現金到不產生現金或消耗現金。

That's going to be the real indicator of when it's time for us to start jumping back into the capital returns.

這將是我們何時開始回歸資本回報的真正指標。

Makes sense. Appreciate those thoughts, Andy. I guess thinking about the cost side of the equation, where do you guys think that marginal cost level is? I think, Dan, you mentioned maybe we've seen some tons kind of being left in the ground at this point.

有道理。欣賞這些想法，安迪。我想考慮一下等式的成本方面，你們認為邊際成本水準在哪裡？我想，丹，你提到也許我們此時已經看到大量的東西被留在地下。

Are you guys considering any of that at this point given where the PLV price is or where the US indices are? Also, any more commentary around your inventories? I think, Dan, you said you're pretty comfortable at today's level. Any opportunity to draw them down more or are you looking to build at this point?

考慮到 PLV 價格或美國指數的位置，你們現在是否正在考慮這些？另外，關於您的庫存還有更多評論嗎？我想，丹，你說過你對今天的水平感到很舒服。有沒有機會進一步拉低他們的水平，或者你現在打算加強？

Thanks.

謝謝。

Nate, I'll get the first piece. As far as marginal cost and the cost curves, I know there's been a lot of conversation about that. I do think that the cost curve number, call it 200 to 225 zip code is probably reasonable for where the all-in cost is sitting verbally.

內特，我要拿第一塊。至於邊際成本和成本曲線，我知道對此有很多討論。我確實認為成本曲線數字（稱為 200 到 225 郵遞區號）對於口頭上的總成本來說可能是合理的。

I don't think that kind of data is terribly predictive on how a company is going to behave because it doesn't take into account the relative strength of their balance sheets. It doesn't take into account their ability or their desire to capture market share while they might be losing a little bit of sacrificing some EBITDA.

我認為這類數據不能很好地預測一家公司的行為方式，因為它沒有考慮到其資產負債表的相對實力。它沒有考慮到他們奪取市場份額的能力或願望，同時他們可能會損失一些 EBITDA。

And it also doesn't necessarily take into account fixed and variable cost splits, which also become pretty important when you're looking at thinking about idling or shutting down an operation.

而且它也不一定考慮到固定成本和可變成本的劃分，當您考慮閒置或關閉操作時，這也變得非常重要。

So at this point, we're still comfortable removing the tons that we're producing at margins that we feel are acceptable. So we'll continue doing that until the situation dictates otherwise. But as far as inventory levels, Dan, do you have anything else on that?

因此，在這一點上，我們仍然願意以我們認為可以接受的利潤來去除我們正在生產的噸數。因此，我們將繼續這樣做，直到情況另有要求為止。但就庫存水準而言，丹，您還有其他資訊嗎？

Not particularly, Andy. Nate, we're certainly not looking to build inventories. I would say that if we don't find the market to our liking, we're not afraid to build a little bit of inventory, particularly at DTA. But we've just been able to move along maintaining the inventories we have.

不特別，安迪。內特，我們當然不打算建立庫存。我想說，如果我們沒有找到我們喜歡的市場，我們不會害怕建立一點庫存，特別是在 DTA。但我們剛剛能夠維持現有的庫存。

I'd say we're comfortable with it, but we don't have any specific plans to build or reduce more than we already are. Our guidance is our guidance, and we at that will maintain comfortable inventories.

我想說，我們對此感到滿意，但我們沒有任何具體計劃來建造或減少比現有設施更多的設施。我們的指導就是我們的指導，我們將保持充足的庫存。

Yes, and Nate, to add one more thing onto that, this just offered my appreciation and congratulations to all the 4,000 plus employees of Alpha for what I believe actually was, I call it a solid quarter. It was better than a solid quarter from execution.

是的，Nate，在此基礎上再補充一點，這只是向 Alpha 的所有 4,000 多名員工表示感謝和祝賀，我認為實際上這是一個堅實的季度。從執行開始，這比一個完整的季度要好。

With this kind of market, it's easy for people to lose focus. Sometimes you see your injury rates creep up or your violations, environmental, something goes sideways, usually when we're in these markets like this, because people can feel the stress.

在這樣的市場中，人們很容易失去焦點。有時你會看到你的傷害率上升，或是你的違規行為、環境問題、某些事情出現問題，通常當我們在這樣的市場時，因為人們可以感受到壓力。

And both the sales and the operations team have done an incredible job maintaining a sprint pace just to keep things moving along. And it's a shame that the market is not giving us something that can really show what that kind of performance look like from a financial standpoint.

銷售和營運團隊都做了令人難以置信的工作，保持了衝刺的節奏，以保持事情的進展。令人遺憾的是，市場並沒有提供我們一些能夠真正從財務角度展示這種表現的東西。

But that being said, the people doing the work have done an incredible job, and I just want to make sure that's not lost.

但話雖這麼說，從事這項工作的人們已經完成了令人難以置信的工作，我只是想確保這一點不會丟失。

Appreciate that, guys. And then maybe, Jason, one for you, not to leave you out. I think in your prepared remarks, you called out some recent renegotiations with suppliers that should result in improving those costs even more.

很欣賞這一點，夥計們。然後也許，傑森，給你一個，不要把你排除在外。我認為在您準備好的發言中，您提到了最近與供應商進行的一些重新談判，這些談判應該會進一步改善這些成本。

I mean, obviously in the second quarter, the net segment cost number was below your full year guide. So any way to quantify how much those recent improvements with suppliers could help the costs for the full year?

我的意思是，顯然在第二季度，淨部門成本數字低於全年指南。那麼有什麼方法可以量化供應商最近的改進對全年成本的幫助有多大呢？

And maybe if we take a step back, where in that full year range would you guys expect costs to come in based on, let's just say the futures price, which is around $240 a metric ton or so for the Aussie benchmark today?

也許如果我們退後一步，你們預計在全年範圍內的成本會基於期貨價格（今天的澳元基準價格約為每噸 240 美元左右）？

Well, I don't think I can answer all that at this point, but I can tell you that it's a grueling process. Our suppliers, they've dealt with the exact same problems that we have since COVID, with inflation and just prices rising and labor shortages.

好吧，我想我現在無法回答所有這些問題，但我可以告訴你，這是一個艱苦的過程。我們的供應商所面臨的問題與我們自新冠疫情以來所面臨的問題完全相同，即通貨膨脹、物價上漲和勞動力短缺。

And they have all the exact same reasons or excuses, if you will, as the coal companies do. So there's a lot of back and forth, there's several meetings with each vendor and they have to go to their suppliers and kind of do the same thing. So it seems like a month's long process to gain an inch, but we are starting to see things move in a positive direction.

如果你願意的話，他們的理由或藉口與煤炭公司完全相同。因此，有很多來回，與每個供應商都有幾次會議，他們必須去找他們的供應商並做同樣的事情。因此，這似乎是一個月的漫長過程，但我們開始看到事情朝著正面的方向發展。

Appreciate that. Any thoughts around where pricing, excuse me, costs could land in that four-year range, just assuming kind of a flat 240 price?

很欣賞這一點。假設價格保持在 240 美元不變的情況下，請問您對定價（請問，成本會落在該四年範圍內）有什麼想法嗎？

Yes, I think we're just going to stick with our guidance at this time and if there's reason to update it later in the year, we'll do that.

是的，我認為我們目前只會堅持我們的指導，如果有理由在今年晚些時候更新它，我們會這樣做。

Okay, got it. Yes, just curious, because again, you guys did a fantastic job this quarter kind of coming below that range at that price. So, okay, I'll leave it there. Appreciate the time, guys, and best of luck in the second half.

好的，明白了。是的，只是好奇，因為你們本季做得非常出色，以這個價格低於這個範圍。所以，好吧，我就把它留在那裡。夥計們，珍惜時間，祝下半場好運。

Thanks Nate.

謝謝內特。

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

我們的問答環節已經結束。我現在將把電話轉給安迪‧艾德森 (Andy Eidson) 致閉幕詞。

Well, thanks everyone for joining the call today. We appreciate your interest in Alpha as always, and we hope you have a great rest of the day.

好的，感謝大家今天加入電話會議。我們感謝您一如既往地對 Alpha 感興趣，並希望您今天休息愉快。

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。此時您可以斷開線路，我們感謝您的參與。