Air Products and Chemicals Inc (APD) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Air Products Fourth Quarter Earnings Release Conference Call. Today's call is being recorded at the request of Air Products. Please note that this presentation and the comments made on behalf of Air Products are subject to copyright by Air Products, and all rights are reserved.

早上好，歡迎參加空氣產品公司第四季度收益發布電話會議。今天的電話是應空氣產品公司的要求進行錄音的。請注意，本演示文稿和代表 Air Products 發表的評論受 Air Products 的版權保護，並保留所有權利。

Beginning today's call is Mr. Simon Moore.

開始今天的電話的是西蒙·摩爾先生。

Thank you, Simon. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Air Products Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Results Teleconference. This is Simon Moore, Vice President of Investor Relations, Corporate Relations and Sustainability. I'm pleased to be joined today by Seifi Ghasemi, our Chairman, President and CEO; Dr. Samir Serhan, our Chief Operating Officer; Melissa Schaeffer, our Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Sean Major, our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary; and Sidd Manjeshwar, our Vice President and Corporate Treasurer. After our comments, we'll be pleased to take your questions. Our earnings release and the slides for this call are available on our website at airproducts.com.

謝謝你，西蒙。大家，早安。歡迎來到空氣產品公司 2022 年第四季度收益結果電話會議。我是投資者關係、企業關係和可持續發展部副總裁 Simon Moore。我很高興今天有我們的董事長、總裁兼首席執行官 Seifi Ghasemi 加入；我們的首席運營官 Samir Serhan 博士； Melissa Schaeffer，我們的高級副總裁兼首席財務官； Sean Major，我們的執行副總裁、總法律顧問兼秘書；以及我們的副總裁兼企業財務主管 Sidd Manjeshwar。在我們發表評論後，我們很樂意回答您的問題。我們的收益發布和此次電話會議的幻燈片可在我們的網站 airproducts.com 上找到。

This discussion contains forward-looking statements. Please refer to the forward-looking statement disclosure that can be found in our earnings release and on Slide #2. In addition, throughout today's discussion, we will refer to various financial measures. Unless we specifically state otherwise, when we refer to earnings per share, EBITDA, EBITDA margin, the effective tax rate and ROCE both on a total company and segment basis, we are referring to our adjusted non-GAAP financial measures, adjusted earnings per share, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted effective tax rate and adjusted return on capital employed. Reconciliations of these measures to our most direct with comparable GAAP financial measures can be found on our website in the relevant earnings release section.

本討論包含前瞻性陳述。請參閱我們的收益發布和幻燈片#2中的前瞻性聲明披露。此外，在今天的討論中，我們將提到各種財務措施。除非我們另有明確說明，否則當我們提及以公司和部門為基礎的每股收益、EBITDA、EBITDA 利潤率、有效稅率和 ROCE 時，我們指的是調整後的非公認會計原則財務指標、調整後的每股收益、調整後的 EBITDA、調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率、調整後的有效稅率和調整後的資本回報率。這些措施與我們最直接的可比 GAAP 財務措施的對賬可以在我們網站的相關收益發布部分找到。

Now I'm pleased to turn the call over to Seifi.

現在我很高興將電話轉給 Seifi。

Thank you, Simon, and good day to everyone. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to be on our call today. I am extremely proud to say that Air Products, with grit and determination, has again made great progress this year despite macroeconomic headwinds. We exceeded our financial goals, had great results and, at the same time, reached many key milestones that significantly advanced our growth strategy. I would like to thank each one of our talented, dedicated and motivated employees at Air Products for their exceptional efforts. I'm proud to be working alongside them as they continue to deliver strong near-term results as well as executing our long-term strategy.

謝謝你，西蒙，祝大家有美好的一天。感謝您從百忙之中抽出時間來接聽我們今天的電話。我非常自豪地說，儘管宏觀經濟逆風，空氣產品公司憑藉勇氣和決心，今年再次取得了巨大進展。我們超越了財務目標，取得了豐碩的成果，同時達到了許多重要里程碑，顯著推進了我們的增長戰略。我要感謝空氣產品公司每一位才華橫溢、敬業且積極進取的員工所做的非凡努力。我很自豪能與他們一起工作，因為他們將繼續取得強勁的近期成果並執行我們的長期戰略。

Before I discuss our results, I would like to share some good news. In his opening comments, Simon mentioned that Mr. Sidd Manjeshwar is joining us on our call today. In addition to Sidd's existing responsibilities as our Corporate Treasurer, he will also be taking on the additional responsibility for leading our Investor Relations team. As we shared last quarter, Simon is planning to retire at the end of March 2023. For the next few months, Simon and Sidd will be working closely together to ensure a smooth transition. Sidd brings a breadth of knowledge and expertise across finance disciplines. And since joining Air Products in April of 2021, he has played a key role in supporting our financial policies and strategies. I know he will be an exceptional and excellent resource for our investors and analysts as we continue to communicate and execute our growth strategy. Sidd, congratulations from all of us. And would you like to say something at this stage?

在討論我們的結果之前，我想分享一些好消息。西蒙在開場白中提到，Sidd Manjeshwar 先生今天將加入我們的電話會議。除了 Sidd 作為公司財務主管的現有職責外，他還將承擔領導我們投資者關係團隊的額外職責。正如我們上個季度所分享的，西蒙計劃在 2023 年 3 月下旬退休。在接下來的幾個月裡，西蒙和西德將密切合作，以確保順利過渡。 Sidd 帶來了跨金融學科的廣泛知識和專業知識。自 2021 年 4 月加入空氣產品公司以來，他在支持我們的財務政策和戰略方面發揮了關鍵作用。我知道隨著我們繼續溝通和執行我們的增長戰略，他將成為我們投資者和分析師的傑出資源。希德，我們所有人的祝賀。你想在這個階段說點什麼嗎？

Thank you, Seifi. I appreciate your kind words, and I'm humbled and honored to be part of this tremendous team and to be taking on these additional responsibilities. I am very much looking forward to meeting with our analysts and investors and continue the great work Simon has done to engage them and share our exciting growth strategy. Thank you once again, and I look forward to connecting with everyone.

謝謝你，賽菲。感謝您的客氣話，我很榮幸能成為這個龐大團隊的一員並承擔這些額外的責任。我非常期待與我們的分析師和投資者會面，並繼續西蒙為吸引他們所做的出色工作並分享我們令人興奮的增長戰略。再次感謝您，我期待與大家聯繫。

Thank you, Sidd. And now please turn to Slide #3. Before I will discuss our results, I would like to highlight our safety performance, which is always our highest priority. We continue to make progress, but we can always do more to ensure the safety and well-being of our employees. Our ultimate goal is a zero incidents and accidents.

謝謝你，西德。現在請轉到幻燈片#3。在討論我們的結果之前，我想強調一下我們的安全績效，這始終是我們的首要任務。我們不斷取得進步，但我們始終可以做更多工作來確保員工的安全和福祉。我們的最終目標是零事故和事故。

Now please turn to Slide #4. For fiscal year 2022, our business delivered strong earnings per share of $10.41, an increase of 15% compared to last year. Price and volume both improved across the regions, and the Jazan project contributed as expected. Our team delivered these impressive results despite a $0.24 per share headwind from currency and challenging macroeconomic environment. These results for sure confirm the resilience of our business portfolio and the absolute commitment of our people to deliver near-term results.

現在請轉到幻燈片#4。在 2022 財年，我們的業務實現了強勁的每股收益 10.41 美元，與去年相比增長了 15%。各地區的價格和數量均有所改善，而 Jazan 項目的貢獻如預期。儘管貨幣和充滿挑戰的宏觀經濟環境帶來每股 0.24 美元的逆風，我們的團隊仍取得了這些令人印象深刻的成果。這些結果肯定證實了我們業務組合的彈性以及我們員工對實現近期成果的絕對承諾。

Now please turn to Slide #5. These excellent results confirm once again that Air Products has the capacity to deliver near-term performance while executing our ambitious long-term growth strategy.

現在請轉到幻燈片#5。這些出色的結果再次證實，空氣產品公司有能力在執行我們雄心勃勃的長期增長戰略的同時提供近期業績。

On Slide #6, you see that since 2014, our goal has been to deliver an average EPS growth of 10% per year. In the last 8 years, we have exceeded this goal and delivered 11% for this time period. As you can see on Slide #7, we have consistently delivered positive earnings growth since 2014 regardless of the macroeconomic conditions. Our onsite business with its take-or-pay contracts gives us downside protection, and our merchant business, having volume and price flexibility, and provide upside potential. In addition, our backlog of nearly $20 billion will add significant long-term growth in the future.

在幻燈片 #6 中，您會看到自 2014 年以來，我們的目標是實現每股平均每年 10% 的增長。在過去的 8 年中，我們已經超過了這個目標，並在這段時間內交付了 11%。正如您在幻燈片 7 中看到的那樣，自 2014 年以來，無論宏觀經濟狀況如何，我們一直實現正收益增長。我們的現場業務及其照付不議合同為我們提供了下行保護，而我們的商戶業務則具有數量和價格的靈活性，並提供了上行潛力。此外，我們近 200 億美元的積壓訂單將在未來增加顯著的長期增長。

Now I'm on Slide #8. For fiscal year 2023, our guidance is to continue this trend and deliver adjusted earnings per share of $11.20 to $11.50. I would discuss our guideline in more detail later in the call.

現在我在幻燈片#8。對於 2023 財年，我們的指導是繼續這一趨勢，並提供 11.20 美元至 11.50 美元的調整後每股收益。我將在稍後的電話會議中更詳細地討論我們的指南。

Now please turn to Slide #9. The strength and the stability of our business provides a secure steady cash flow, and we are committed to reward our shareholders by paying a healthy dividend. The whole team is very proud that we have provided 40 consecutive years of dividend increase to our shareholders. This extraordinary achievement is a testament to our people and their strength and stability of our business.

現在請轉到幻燈片#9。我們業務的實力和穩定性提供了安全穩定的現金流，我們致力於通過支付健康的股息來回報我們的股東。整個團隊都為我們連續 40 年向股東提供股息增長而感到自豪。這一非凡成就證明了我們的員工及其對我們業務的實力和穩定性。

On Slide #10, you can see that our dividend has grown 10% per year on the average in the past 8 years, mirroring our earnings growth. We expect to return more than $1.4 billion to our shareholders in calendar 2022. And still have significant cash flow to support our growth opportunities.

在幻燈片 #10 上，您可以看到我們的股息在過去 8 年中平均每年增長 10%，反映了我們的盈利增長。我們預計在 2022 年向股東返還超過 14 億美元。並且仍有大量現金流來支持我們的增長機會。

I would like to point out that on Slide #11, which is still my favorite slide, about 3 quarters of the decline since the peak margin was due to higher energy cost pass-through which increases our sales but does not impact profit.

我想指出，在幻燈片 #11 上，這仍然是我最喜歡的幻燈片，自峰值利潤率以來下降了約 3 個季度，這是由於更高的能源成本轉嫁增加了我們的銷售額但不影響利潤。

On Slide #12, you can see a summary of our management principles, which I have shown to you every quarter in the past 8 years. These principles have guided and will continue to guide our performance as we go forward, and we intend to follow these policies consistently as we go forward.

在幻燈片 #12 上，您可以看到我們管理原則的摘要，我在過去 8 年中的每個季度都向您展示了這些原則。這些原則已經並將繼續指導我們前進的表現，我們打算在前進的過程中始終如一地遵循這些政策。

Now please turn to Slide #13, for a brief overview of our latest green hydrogen project that we announced recently. We took another significant step forward toward a clean hydrogen future by announcing our investment of about $500 million in a new green hydrogen project in Massena, New York, located on the banks on the St. Lawrence River. The facility will produce about 35 metric tons of green liquid hydrogen using almost 100 megawatts of hydroelectric power provided by the New York Power Authority. We are excited about this project since it broadens our renewable energy sources to include hydro power in addition to solar and green energy. It also demonstrates the growing support for the energy transition in the United States, which has been further reinforced with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. We are actively pursuing other project opportunities for green hydrogen in the United States, driven by this world-leading legislation. I look forward to sharing more information about these projects as we go forward.

現在請轉到幻燈片 #13，簡要概述我們最近宣布的最新綠色氫項目。我們宣布投資約 5 億美元在紐約馬塞納的一個新的綠色氫項目，該項目位於聖勞倫斯河畔。我們朝著清潔氫的未來又邁出了重要的一步。該設施將使用紐約電力局提供的近 100 兆瓦水力發電生產約 35 公噸綠色液態氫。我們對這個項目感到興奮，因為它擴大了我們的可再生能源，除了太陽能和綠色能源之外，還包括水力發電。它還表明美國對能源轉型的支持越來越大，隨著《通脹降低法案》的通過，這種支持得到了進一步加強。在這項世界領先的立法的推動下，我們正在美國積極尋求其他綠色氫項目機會。我期待在我們前進的過程中分享有關這些項目的更多信息。

Now please turn to Slide #14. As you know, we announced our sustainable aviation fuel project with World Energy in April. This project is another great example of the investment opportunities that further support -- that is further supported by the Investment Reduction Act (sic) [Inflation Reduction Act] at legislation. We are -- as a result of that legislation and the incentives put for sustainable fuel aviation, we are expanding our scope. And now with investment -- we'll increase our investment from $2 billion to $2.5 billion in this project. We still expect that this project will contribute more than the minimum returns that we have promised you before. Projects like these are aligned with our energy transition strategy and will continue to drive our earnings now and well into the future.

現在請轉到幻燈片#14。如您所知，我們在 4 月宣布了與 World Energy 的可持續航空燃料項目。這個項目是進一步支持的投資機會的另一個很好的例子——這得到了立法中的投資減少法案（原文如此）[通貨膨脹減少法案]的進一步支持。我們 - 由於該立法和對可持續燃料航空的激勵措施，我們正在擴大我們的範圍。現在有了投資——我們將對這個項目的投資從 20 億美元增加到 25 億美元。我們仍然期望這個項目的貢獻將超過我們之前向您承諾的最低迴報。此類項目符合我們的能源轉型戰略，並將繼續推動我們現在和未來的收益。

Now with that, I would like to turn the call to Melissa Schaeffer, our CFO. Melissa?

現在，我想將電話轉給我們的首席財務官 Melissa Schaeffer。梅麗莎？

Thank you, Seifi. As Seifi mentioned, our business performance -- performed very well despite the macroeconomic challenges this fiscal year. Our onsite business, which generates about half of our total company sales, once again held firm, while our merchant team successfully managed through the significant energy cost increases. Our people worked hard to overcome supply chain challenges across the region, keeping our facilities running and our customers supplied. I would like to thank the entire Air Products team for their hard work and a job well done.

謝謝你，賽菲。正如 Seifi 所說，儘管本財年宏觀經濟面臨挑戰，但我們的業務表現仍然非常出色。我們的現場業務（約占公司總銷售額的一半）再次保持堅挺，而我們的商人團隊成功地應對了能源成本的顯著增加。我們的員工努力克服整個地區的供應鏈挑戰，保持我們的設施正常運轉並為我們的客戶提供供應。我要感謝整個 Air Products 團隊的辛勤工作和出色的工作。

Now please turn to Slide 12 for an overview of our full year results. Underlying sales were strong, up 14%, with significant contributions for both price and volume. Overall, price increased 6%, which corresponds to a 15% increase in our merchant business. Year-over-year price improved every quarter in our last -- in our 3 largest regional segments and across most of our major product lines.

現在請轉到幻燈片 12，了解我們全年業績的概覽。基礎銷售強勁，增長 14%，對價格和數量都有重大貢獻。總體而言，價格上漲了 6%，相當於我們的商家業務增長了 15%。在我們的上一個季度中，我們的 3 個最大的區域部門和我們大多數主要產品線的價格都在每個季度都有所提高。

Our volume grew 8%, driven by improved hydrogen, new plants, merchant demand and increased sales of equipment activity. EBITDA was up 9% due to favorable price, volume and equity affiliate income, which are partially offset by a higher cost and unfavorable currency. EBITDA margin was down just over 400 basis points and was negatively impacted by over 400 basis points by energy cost pass-through, which drove approximately half the total sales increase but added no profit. The impact of the energy cost pass-through was particularly noticeable in the Americas and Europe, where we have a meaningful hydrogen business.

我們的銷量增長了 8%，這得益於氫能改善、新工廠、商業需求和設備活動銷售的增加。由於有利的價格、數量和股權附屬收入，EBITDA 增長了 9%，這部分被更高的成本和不利的貨幣所抵消。 EBITDA 利潤率僅下降了 400 多個基點，並受到能源成本轉嫁的 400 多個基點的負面影響，這推動了大約一半的總銷售額增長，但沒有增加利潤。能源成本轉嫁的影響在美洲和歐洲尤為明顯，我們在那裡開展了有意義的氫氣業務。

ROCE has climbed steadily in the last 5 quarters reaching 11.2%, which is 110 basis points higher than last year. We expect ROCE to further improve as we bring new projects on stream and continue to put the cash on our balance sheet to work. Adjusting for cash, our ROCE would have been 13.6% this quarter.

ROCE 在過去 5 個季度穩步攀升，達到 11.2%，比去年高出 110 個基點。我們預計 ROCE 將進一步提高，因為我們將新項目投入生產，並繼續將我們資產負債表上的現金投入使用。調整現金後，本季度我們的 ROCE 為 13.6%。

Now please turn to Slide 13 for a discussion of our full year EPS. Our full year adjusted EPS from continuing operations was up $1.39 or 15%. Volume was favorable at $0.80 and was particularly strong in Asia and the Americas. The increased sales equipment in our corporate segment also helped drive higher volume. Price more than offset the significant energy cost increases adding $0.81, driven by our strong price action in our 3 largest segments.

現在請轉到幻燈片 13，討論我們的全年每股收益。我們來自持續經營的全年調整後每股收益增長了 1.39 美元或 15%。成交量為 0.80 美元，在亞洲和美洲尤為強勁。我們企業部門銷售設備的增加也有助於推動銷量增長。由於我們在 3 個最大細分市場的強勁價格行動，價格超過了能源成本的顯著增長，增加了 0.81 美元。

Our other costs were $0.84 unfavorable and were driven by external factors, such as inflation and inefficiencies caused by COVID restrictions in certain parts of China as well as a supply chain disruption across the region. We also incurred additional costs purposefully to support our future growth. These include resources required to develop projects and bring them onstream as well as investments and facilities such as our new helium storage cavern, which will generate significant value in the future. We continue to closely monitor our costs and are focused on productivity actions across our businesses.

我們的其他成本是不利的 0.84 美元，並且是由外部因素驅動的，例如中國某些地區的 COVID 限制導致的通貨膨脹和效率低下，以及整個地區的供應鏈中斷。我們還故意產生額外成本以支持我們未來的增長。其中包括開發項目並將其投產所需的資源以及投資和設施，例如我們新的氦氣儲存洞穴，這將在未來產生巨大的價值。我們將繼續密切監控我們的成本，並專注於我們業務的生產力行動。

Currency lowered our earnings by $0.24 or 3% as the U.S. dollar strengthened against most key currencies the latter half of the fiscal year. Since the revenue and cost are denominated in their respective local currencies, this is primarily a translation rather than a transaction impact. Equity affiliate income was up $0.74, primarily due to the first phase of our Jazan project, which contributed as we committed. Our effective tax rate of 18.2% was 70 basis points lower than last year, and we expect an effective tax rate of 19% to 20% in FY 2023. Interest expense was lower, adding $0.05 to earnings, primarily due to a reduced debt balance.

由於本財年下半年美元兌大多數主要貨幣走強，貨幣使我們的收益降低了 0.24 美元或 3%。由於收入和成本以各自的當地貨幣計價，這主要是一種換算而不是交易影響。股權附屬收入增加了 0.74 美元，這主要是由於我們的 Jazan 項目的第一階段，這正如我們所承諾的那樣做出了貢獻。我們 18.2% 的有效稅率比去年低 70 個基點，我們預計 2023 財年的有效稅率為 19% 至 20%。利息費用較低，收益增加 0.05 美元，主要是由於債務餘額減少.

Now please turn to Slide 14 for a review of our fourth quarter results. In comparison to last year, we achieved double-digit growth for both sales and profits as our teams worked hard to overcome considerable macroeconomic headwinds. Each region found its own success and achieved better results through its respective key drivers, which will be detailed later in the regional review.

現在請轉到幻燈片 14，查看我們第四季度的業績。與去年相比，由於我們的團隊努力克服相當大的宏觀經濟逆風，我們的銷售額和利潤均實現了兩位數的增長。每個地區都通過各自的關鍵驅動因素找到了自己的成功並取得了更好的成果，這將在稍後的地區審查中詳細介紹。

Underlying sales were up 17% and with about equal contributions from both volume and price. Volumes are up 9% better, primarily in Asia and Americas, driven by new plants, recovery in hydrogen and better merchant volumes. For the fourth consecutive quarter, we achieved double-digit increase in merchant pricing, which was up 20% compared to last year. As cost pressures persist, we continue to work hard on pricing each region.

基礎銷售額增長了 17%，數量和價格的貢獻大致相同。在新工廠、氫氣回收和更好的商戶數量的推動下，銷量增長了 9%，主要是在亞洲和美洲。連續第四個季度，我們的商家定價實現了兩位數的增長，與去年相比增長了 20%。由於成本壓力持續存在，我們將繼續努力為每個地區定價。

Currency translated from the strengthening U.S. dollar negatively impacted our results this quarter, reducing sales by about 6% and EBITDA by 5%. Despite this headwind, EBITDA increased 10% as favorable price, volume and equity affiliate income more than offset higher costs. The 450-basis point decline in EBITDA margin was primarily attributed to energy cost pass-through, which impacted margins by about 450 basis points.

美元走強所換算的貨幣對我們本季度的業績產生了負面影響，銷售額減少了約 6%，EBITDA 減少了 5%。儘管存在這種不利因素，但由於有利的價格、數量和股權附屬收入超過了較高的成本，EBITDA 增長了 10%。 EBITDA 利潤率下降 450 個基點主要歸因於能源成本轉嫁，這對利潤率造成了約 450 個基點的影響。

Sequentially, volumes improved across all segments and price increased primarily due to actions in our Europe segment. EBITDA was up 6% sequentially, absorbing 3% of currency headwinds, and favorable price and volume more than offset higher costs.

隨後，所有細分市場的銷量都有所改善，價格上漲主要是由於我們歐洲細分市場的行動。 EBITDA 環比增長 6%，吸收了 3% 的貨幣逆風，有利的價格和數量足以抵消更高的成本。

Now please turn to Slide 15. Our fourth quarter GAAP EPS was $2.56 per share and included a negative impact of $0.32 for 2 non-GAAP items, both of which were noncash. First, we recognized a $0.27 per share loss on the divestiture of our business in Russia, which we exited as a result of the Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as we had previously announced. This charge is separately presented as business and asset actions on our P&L. We also recognized a loss of $0.05 per share for the impairment of 2 small equity affiliates in Asia, which is included in the equity affiliate line item. Excluding the non-GAAP items, our fourth quarter adjusted EPS was $2.89 per share, an increase of $0.38 or 15% from prior year. We achieved this excellent result despite a negative $0.15 or 6% currency impact.

現在請轉到幻燈片 15。我們第四季度的 GAAP 每股收益為 2.56 美元，其中包括 2 個非 GAAP 項目的 0.32 美元的負面影響，這兩個項目都是非現金的。首先，我們承認剝離我們在俄羅斯的業務導致每股虧損 0.27 美元，正如我們之前宣布的那樣，由於俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭，我們退出了該業務。該費用在我們的損益表中作為業務和資產行動單獨列報。我們還確認了每股 0.05 美元的虧損，原因是亞洲 2 家小型股權關聯公司的減值，包括在股權關聯公司項目中。不計非公認會計原則項目，我們第四季度調整後每股收益為 2.89 美元，比上年增長 0.38 美元或 15%。儘管貨幣影響為負 0.15 美元或 6%，但我們仍取得了這一優異成績。

Price, volume and cost together contributed $0.46. Volume contributed $0.33 and was particularly strong in Asia and America. Price, net of variable costs, was favorable $0.39 with Asia, Europe and the Americas each achieving significant price improvements. Price has improved throughout the year due to the outstanding efforts of our regional teams who helped us improve our pricing, net of variable costs, from a modest negative impact in the first quarter to a positive impact in each quarter's since then.

價格、數量和成本共同貢獻了 0.46 美元。成交量貢獻了 0.33 美元，在亞洲和美洲尤為強勁。扣除可變成本後的價格有利 0.39 美元，亞洲、歐洲和美洲均實現了顯著的價格改善。由於我們的區域團隊的傑出努力，價格全年有所改善，他們幫助我們改進了扣除可變成本後的定價，從第一季度的適度負面影響到此後每個季度的積極影響。

Other costs were $0.26 unfavorable. Almost half of the cost increases this quarter were due to higher incentive compensation, which is performance-based and reflective of our strong results. The remaining increase was primarily due to inflation supply chain disruptions, higher planned maintenance and the addition of resources needed to support our growth.

其他成本為 0.26 美元不利。本季度幾乎一半的成本增加是由於更高的激勵薪酬，這是基於績效的，反映了我們的強勁業績。剩餘的增長主要是由於通貨膨脹供應鏈中斷、更高的計劃維護和增加支持我們增長所需的資源。

Currency was negative $0.15, and which was about $0.05 worse than we had expected when we provided Q4 guidance in July. The Jazan joint venture drove the improvement of equity affiliate income. However, many of our other equity affiliates compared unfavorably due to the strong performance last year, in part due to the lower medical oxygen demand for COVID this year.

貨幣為負 0.15 美元，比我們在 7 月份提供第四季度指導時的預期低了約 0.05 美元。 Jazan 合資企業推動了股權關聯公司收入的提高。然而，由於去年的強勁表現，我們的許多其他股權關聯公司的表現不佳，部分原因是今年對 COVID 的醫用氧氣需求較低。

Now please turn to Slide 16. The stability of our business allows us to generate strong cash flow despite the challenging environment. In fiscal year 2022, we generated more than $3 billion of distributable cash flow or almost $14 per share, which is up 15% compared to last year. From our distributable cash flow, we paid over 45% or roughly $1.4 billion as dividends to our shareholders. This leaves more than $1.7 billion available for high-return projects, 20% more than last year. This droves cash flow, especially in uncertain times, enable us to continue to create shareholder value through increasing dividends and capital deployment for high-return projects.

現在請轉到幻燈片 16。儘管環境充滿挑戰，但我們業務的穩定性使我們能夠產生強勁的現金流。在 2022 財年，我們產生了超過 30 億美元的可分配現金流或每股近 14 美元，與去年相比增長了 15%。從我們的可分配現金流中，我們向股東支付了超過 45% 或大約 14 億美元的股息。這為高回報項目留下了超過 17 億美元的資金，比去年增加了 20%。這推動了現金流，特別是在不確定的時期，使我們能夠通過增加股息和高回報項目的資本配置來繼續創造股東價值。

Slide 17 provides an update of our capital deployment. As you see, our capital deployment potential has increased to about $37 billion through fiscal 2027. The $37 billion includes over $8 billion of cash and additional debt capacity available today, more than $17 billion we expect to be available by 2027 and $11 billion already spent. We still believe this capacity is conservative given the potential for additional EBITDA growth, which would generate additional cash flow and additional borrowing capacity.

幻燈片 17 提供了我們資本部署的更新。如您所見，到 2027 財年，我們的資本部署潛力已增加到約 370 億美元。這 370 億美元包括超過 80 億美元的現金和今天可用的額外債務能力，我們預計到 2027 年將超過 170 億美元，並且已經花費了 110 億美元.考慮到 EBITDA 增長的潛力，我們仍然認為這種能力是保守的，這將產生額外的現金流和額外的借貸能力。

As always, we continue to focus on managing our debt balance to maintain our current targeted A/A2 rating. So you can see, our backlog has grown to nearly $20 billion, which will provide substantial amount of growth in the future. We have already spent 30% and have already committed 73% of the updated capacity we show here. We have made great progress and still have substantial investment capacity remaining to invest in high-return projects. We believe that investing in these high-return projects is the best way to create shareholder value for the long run. We continually evaluate our capital deployment options and determine the best way to use available cash entrusted to us by our shareholders.

與往常一樣，我們將繼續專注於管理我們的債務餘額，以維持我們目前的目標 A/A2 評級。所以你可以看到，我們的積壓已經增長到近 200 億美元，這將在未來提供可觀的增長。我們已經花費了 30%，並且已經承諾了我們在此處顯示的更新容量的 73%。我們取得了長足的進步，但仍有相當大的投資能力可以投資高回報項目。我們認為，投資這些高回報項目是長期創造股東價值的最佳方式。我們不斷評估我們的資本配置方案，並確定使用股東委託給我們的可用現金的最佳方式。

Before I turn the call back to Seifi, I would like to mention that starting first quarter of fiscal 2023, we will exclude the nonservice pension impact from our adjusted results. These nonservice-related components and our defined benefit plans, including effects of the changing interest rates and movements of the capital markets, are unrelated to our operations. By excluding these items, we believe that we can better provide visibility to our underlying results. The recap of earnings per share by quarter for fiscal year 2021 and 2022 are included in our reconciliation tables available on our websites. The EPS guidance for the first quarter and the full year of fiscal 2023, which Seifi will discuss in more detail later, reflects this change.

在我將電話轉回 Seifi 之前，我想提一下，從 2023 財年第一季度開始，我們將從調整後的結果中排除非服務性養老金的影響。這些與服務無關的組成部分和我們的固定福利計劃，包括利率變化和資本市場變動的影響，與我們的運營無關。通過排除這些項目，我們相信我們可以更好地為我們的基本結果提供可見性。 2021 財年和 2022 財年按季度劃分的每股收益回顧包含在我們網站上提供的對賬表中。 Seifi 稍後將更詳細討論的 2023 財年第一季度和全年每股收益指引反映了這一變化。

Now to begin the review of our business segment results, I'll turn the call back over to Seifi. Seifi?

現在開始審查我們的業務部門結果，我將把電話轉回 Seifi。賽菲？

Thank you, Melissa. Now please turn to Slide #18 for our Asia fourth quarter results. Sales and profit both improved double digits despite the continued currency headwinds. Volume and price together were up 19%, but they're partially offset by 7% weaker currencies. Volume by itself was up 15%, benefiting from new, small to midsized traditional industrial gas plants in our onsite business across this region as well as an increase in spot opportunities for sales. Merchant price was 9% stronger than last year, which increased the region's overall sales by 3%. Price was up across the key countries and most major product lines.

謝謝你，梅麗莎。現在請轉到第 18 張幻燈片，了解我們的亞洲第四季度業績。儘管持續存在貨幣逆風，但銷售額和利潤均增長了兩位數。成交量和價格一起上漲了 19%，但它們被 7% 的疲軟貨幣部分抵消了。銷量本身增長了 15%，這得益於我們在該地區的現場業務中新建的中小型傳統工業氣體工廠，以及現貨銷售機會的增加。商戶價格比去年上漲 9%，使該地區的整體銷售額增長了 3%。主要國家和大多數主要產品線的價格上漲。

Continued COVID restrictions in certain parts of China modestly reduced volumes and created supply chain inefficiencies that contributed to higher distribution costs. EBITDA was up 13% after -- even after absorbing 7% of negative currencies as favorable volume and price more than offset unfavorable costs and a lower contribution from our equity affiliates. Sequentially, the strong volume drove both sales and profit increase versus the previous quarter.

中國某些地區的持續 COVID 限制適度減少了銷量，並造成供應鏈效率低下，從而導致更高的分銷成本。即使在吸收了 7% 的負貨幣後，EBITDA 仍增長了 13%，因為有利的數量和價格足以抵消不利的成本以及我們的股權關聯公司的較低貢獻。因此，與上一季度相比，強勁的銷量推動了銷售額和利潤的增長。

Now I would like to turn the call to Simon to talk about our European fourth quarter results. Simon?

現在我想把電話轉給西蒙談談我們在歐洲的第四季度業績。西蒙？

Thank you, Seifi. Now please turn to Slide 22. Power cost recovery via price for our merchant business is a primary focus to manage the ever-higher energy costs in Europe. Our onsite business has contractual pass-through, which enables us to pass the energy cost to our customers, and almost all of our natural gas usage is for on-site hydrogen production. As the chart shows, power costs for Europe this quarter soared to more than 5x the level of the beginning of 2021. Our commercial team has tirelessly implemented price increases to compensate for these costs in our merchant business, turning a headwind at the beginning of the year to a tailwind by year-end. Although we have fully recovered the higher power costs for the year, we are keeping a watchful eye on energy costs heading into the winter season, and we remain focused on power cost recovery in this region.

謝謝你，賽菲。現在請轉到幻燈片 22。通過價格為我們的商業業務回收電力成本是管理歐洲日益高漲的能源成本的主要重點。我們的現場業務有合同轉嫁，這使我們能夠將能源成本轉嫁給我們的客戶，而且我們幾乎所有的天然氣使用都用於現場製氫。如圖所示，本季度歐洲的電力成本飆升至 2021 年初水平的 5 倍以上。我們的商業團隊不知疲倦地實施漲價以彌補我們商戶業務中的這些成本，在到年底順風順水。儘管我們已經完全收回了今年較高的電力成本，但我們仍密切關注進入冬季的能源成本，並且我們仍然專注於該地區的電力成本回收。

Now please turn to Slide 23 for a review of our Europe results. In addition to significant energy cost increases, unfavorable currency movements also pressured our European businesses. All major local currencies were weaker versus the U.S. dollar by double digits. Compared to prior year, price increased 19% for the region resulting from a 30% increase in merchant pricing. Prices were higher in all key subregions and product lines.

現在請轉到幻燈片 23，查看我們的歐洲結果。除了大幅增加能源成本外，不利的貨幣走勢也給我們的歐洲業務帶來壓力。所有主要當地貨幣兌美元均下跌兩位數。與去年相比，由於商家定價上漲了 30%，該地區的價格上漲了 19%。所有主要次區域和產品線的價格均較高。

Our volume was flat this quarter as a favorable contract amendment with an on-site electronics customer offset modestly weaker demand across our businesses. Additionally, our results no longer reflect our immaterial Russia business, which was divested in August. Negative currency reduced sales by 15% and EBITDA by 12% compared to last year. Despite this currency headwind, EBITDA improved 8% as positive price and better mix more than offset higher costs. Higher energy cost pass-through negatively impacted EBITDA margin by about 750 basis points. Excluding this impact, margin was slightly higher than last year.

我們本季度的銷量持平，因為與現場電子客戶簽訂的有利合同修訂抵消了我們業務中適度疲軟的需求。此外，我們的業績不再反映我們在 8 月剝離的非實質性俄羅斯業務。與去年相比，負匯率減少了 15% 的銷售額和 12% 的 EBITDA。儘管存在貨幣逆風，但 EBITDA 提高了 8%，因為正價格和更好的組合抵消了更高的成本。較高的能源成本轉嫁對 EBITDA 利潤率產生了約 750 個基點的負面影響。排除此影響，利潤率略高於去年。

Compared to the prior quarter, price contributed 5% via our ongoing price actions Volume added another 5% driven by better hydrogen activities following a planned customer turnaround last quarter and the previously mentioned contract amendment. Despite a 5% currency headwind, EBITDA was up 5% as better price and volume more than covered the higher costs. EBITDA margin was relatively flat, excluding the negative impact of higher energy cost pass-through. Compared to Q1 of this year, Europe's operating income has improved about $50 million or about 50%, thanks primarily to our team's successful pricing efforts.

與上一季度相比，通過我們正在進行的價格行動，價格貢獻了 5%，在上季度計劃的客戶周轉和前面提到的合同修訂之後，由於氫活動的改善，銷量又增加了 5%。儘管存在 5% 的貨幣逆風，但 EBITDA 增長了 5%，因為更好的價格和數量超過了更高的成本。 EBITDA 利潤率相對持平，不包括較高能源成本轉嫁的負面影響。與今年第一季度相比，歐洲的營業收入增加了約 5000 萬美元或約 50%，這主要歸功於我們團隊成功的定價努力。

Now I would like to turn the call over to Dr. Serhan for a discussion of our other segments.

現在我想把電話轉給 Serhan 博士，討論我們的其他部分。

Thank you, Simon. Now please turn to Slide 24 for a review of our Americas results. Strong underlying sales accounted for half of the nearly 40% sales increase compared to last year, while the other half was due to higher energy cost pass-through, which had no profit impact but diluted our margins. Price improved for the region by 8%. This is equivalent to a 21% increase in our merchant business. Prices improved in all key product lines over last year. Our team in the Americas did an excellent job raising prices to more than cover the higher energy cost.

謝謝你，西蒙。現在請轉到幻燈片 24，查看我們在美洲的結果。強勁的基礎銷售額佔銷售額同比增長近 40% 的一半，而另一半是由於較高的能源成本轉嫁，這對利潤沒有影響但稀釋了我們的利潤率。該地區的價格上漲了 8%。這相當於我們的商戶業務增長了 21%。與去年相比，所有主要產品線的價格都有所改善。我們在美洲的團隊在提高價格以彌補更高的能源成本方面做得非常出色。

Volume grew 12%, primarily due to improvements in merchant and hydrogen. We saw an increase in helium volume this quarter, and the demand for hydrogen has been climbing steadily in the past several quarters. We expect hydrogen to follow this recovery path as we move into 2023. Planned maintenance activities have declined compared to last quarter as expected, but they were higher compared to last year. Maintenance activities were significantly below average in the fourth quarter last year.

銷量增長 12%，主要是由於商業和氫氣的改善。我們看到本季度的氦氣量有所增加，過去幾個季度對氫氣的需求一直在穩步攀升。我們預計，隨著我們進入 2023 年，氫氣將遵循這條恢復路徑。與上一季度相比，計劃的維護活動如預期的那樣有所下降，但與去年相比有所增加。去年第四季度的維護活動明顯低於平均水平。

EBITDA grew 8% over last year, driven by positive price and volume, partially offset by higher costs and lower equity affiliate income. Higher energy cost pass-through negatively impacted EBITDA margin by about 650 basis points. Sequentially, volume was up 4% and improved across all product lines. Price was also favorable, 1%, more than covering the higher variable cost. EBITDA increased 7%, mainly due to better price, volume and lower planned maintenance, which more than offset higher of our costs.

EBITDA 比去年增長了 8%，主要是由於價格和數量的增長，但部分被成本上升和股權附屬收入下降所抵消。較高的能源成本轉嫁對 EBITDA 利潤率產生了約 650 個基點的負面影響。隨後，銷量增長了 4%，並且所有產品線的銷量都得到了改善。價格也很優惠，1%，超過了較高的可變成本。 EBITDA 增長 7%，主要是由於更好的價格、數量和較低的計劃維護，這足以抵消我們較高的成本。

Now please turn to Slide 25 for a review of our Middle East and India segments. Sales and operating income in this segment are modest since our Middle East and India wholly owned operations are smaller in size. The segment EBITDA is, however, significant since it includes the affiliate income related to the Jazan joint venture and our India joint venture in Air Products. For the quarter, sales were higher versus last year due to acquisitions.

現在請轉到幻燈片 25，查看我們的中東和印度部分。由於我們在中東和印度全資擁有的業務規模較小，因此該部門的銷售和營業收入不高。然而，EBITDA 部分非常重要，因為它包括與 Jazan 合資企業和我們在 Air Products 的印度合資企業相關的附屬收入。由於收購，本季度的銷售額高於去年。

Operating income converted unfavorably to last year due to mainly unfavorable contract settlement in last year. We also expect planned maintenance activity to increase next quarter. The over $40 million increase in equity income included our share of the Jazan joint venture net profit, which is delivering as we expected. We have been receiving cash distributions from the joint venture.

主要是去年合同結算不利所致，營業收入較上年不利。我們還預計下個季度計劃的維護活動將增加。超過 4000 萬美元的股本收入增加包括我們在 Jazan 合資企業淨利潤中的份額，這符合我們的預期。我們一直收到來自合資企業的現金分配。

Please turn to Slide 26 for our Corporate segment. This segment includes our share of equipment businesses as well as our centrally managed functions and corporate costs. For our sale of equipment activities, our LNG business historically has been (inaudible), but our non-LNG related project activities have grown in recent years to become major contributors for this segment. The cadence of the project activities and the timing of sales and profit recognition can vary the segment's results. Our ongoing effort to support our growth strategy has also increased the centrally managed functions and corporate costs.

請轉到幻燈片 26 了解我們的企業部分。這部分包括我們在設備業務中的份額以及我們集中管理的職能和公司成本。對於我們的設備銷售活動，我們的 LNG 業務歷來（聽不清），但我們的非 LNG 相關項目活動近年來有所增長，成為該部門的主要貢獻者。項目活動的節奏以及銷售和利潤確認的時間可能會改變分部的結果。我們為支持我們的增長戰略所做的持續努力也增加了集中管理的職能和公司成本。

For the fiscal year, the segment capital improved over $20 million, but the fourth quarter sales and profit were lower than last year primarily due to our sale of equipment project activities. We also added resources to support our product strategy. As mentioned before, increase for potential LNG projects have jumped recently, but they will not drive our near-term results as these projects take time to develop. We're working hard to signing new projects to maintain the good momentum in this segment.

在本財年，部門資本增加了超過 2000 萬美元，但第四季度的銷售額和利潤低於去年，這主要是由於我們的設備項目活動的銷售。我們還增加了資源來支持我們的產品戰略。如前所述，潛在液化天然氣項目的增長最近有所增加，但它們不會推動我們的近期業績，因為這些項目需要時間來開發。我們正在努力簽署新項目，以保持該領域的良好勢頭。

At this point, I would like to turn the call back to Seifi to provide his closing comments. Seifi?

在這一點上，我想將電話轉回 Seifi，以提供他的結束評論。賽菲？

Thank you, Dr. Serhan. We believe that investing in high-return projects is a better choice for our shareholders and share buyback in the long term. We are also confident that we can deliver on near-term results while achieving our long-term goals. Although the projects that we seek to execute are large and take time, we have the competencies and the people to execute these projects and have been diligently working on them for many years to get to where we are.

謝謝你，Serhan 博士。我們相信投資高回報項目是我們股東和長期股票回購的更好選擇。我們也有信心在實現長期目標的同時取得近期成果。儘管我們尋求執行的項目很大且需要時間，但我們有能力和人員來執行這些項目，並且多年來一直在努力工作以達到我們的目標。

Now Air Products has entered a new phase of our company's evolution, in which we expect a steady stream of meaningful contribution from these new projects going forward and for years to come. By choosing capital deployment over share buyback, we believe that we have traded quick gains in the near term for greater reward in the future.

現在，空氣化工產品公司已進入公司發展的新階段，我們期待這些新項目在未來和未來幾年內源源不斷地做出有意義的貢獻。通過選擇資本配置而不是股票回購，我們相信我們已經在短期內以快速收益換取未來更大的回報。

Now please turn to Slide #27. Economies around the world continue to face considerable obstacles. The conflict in Ukraine persists, COVID restrictions in China may continue, we see that inflation, currency and supply chain issues will remain as headwinds. As always, we will push price -- we will push for price increases to compensate for additional costs, pursue additional volume opportunities and obviously pay close attention to our costs.

現在請轉到幻燈片#27。世界各地的經濟體繼續面臨相當大的障礙。烏克蘭的衝突仍在持續，中國的新冠疫情限制可能會繼續，我們認為通脹、貨幣和供應鏈問題仍將是不利因素。與往常一樣，我們將推動價格——我們將推動價格上漲以補償額外成本，尋求額外的銷量機會，並且顯然會密切關注我們的成本。

With that background, for fiscal year 2023, we expect our earnings per share to be in the range of $11.20 to $11.50, representing an 11% increase at midpoint over last year. This includes an expected roughly $0.50 of negative currency impact. I would also like to add that our projections for next year are based on the fundamental assumption that the economies around the world performed as we see them today. That means we don't have a crystal ball, so we have not projected any economic growth around the world, neither have we projected a significant recession. Our guidance is based on what we see today in the economies in Americas, Europe and China.

在此背景下，我們預計 2023 財年的每股收益將在 11.20 美元至 11.50 美元之間，比去年的中點增長 11%。這包括預期的大約 0.50 美元的負面貨幣影響。我還想補充一點，我們對明年的預測是基於一個基本假設，即世界各地的經濟表現如我們今天所見。這意味著我們沒有水晶球，所以我們沒有預測世界各地的經濟增長，我們也沒有預測嚴重的衰退。我們的指導基於我們今天在美洲、歐洲和中國的經濟體中看到的情況。

For quarter 1 of fiscal '23 -- for first quarter of fiscal '23, our earnings per share guidance is $2.60 to $2.80, up 5% to 13% over last year. Please also note that our prior results for the first quarter benefited from a gain of roughly $0.20 related to the finalization of the Jazan suppression unit joint venture. In terms of CapEx, we see our CapEx expenditure for next year to be approximately $5 billion to $5.5 billion, including the approximately $1 billion for the Phase 2 of the Jazan project.

對於 23 財年第一季度——對於 23 財年第一季度，我們的每股收益指導為 2.60 美元至 2.80 美元，比去年增長 5% 至 13%。另請注意，我們第一季度的先前業績得益於與 Jazan 壓制裝置合資企業的最終確定相關的大約 0.20 美元的收益。就資本支出而言，我們預計明年的資本支出約為 50 億至 55 億美元，其中包括 Jazan 項目第二階段的約 10 億美元。

Now please turn to Slide #28. As you may recall from our last earnings call, I have been hosting in-person discussions with our employees across the regions to share our strategy and answer their questions. My goal is to talk with our more than 21,000 employees around the world over the course of the next year in small groups. I am happy to say that our employees around the world share our core values and focus on our common goals. Their commitment and motivation are truly a long-term competitive advantage. As I stated at the beginning of this call, I am proud to be working alongside them to make Air Products the leader of the clean energy future for the world.

現在請轉到幻燈片#28。您可能還記得我們上次的財報電話會議，我一直在與我們在各地區的員工進行面對面的討論，以分享我們的戰略並回答他們的問題。我的目標是在明年以小組形式與我們在全球的 21,000 多名員工進行交流。我很高興地說，我們在世界各地的員工分享我們的核心價值觀並專注於我們的共同目標。他們的承諾和動力是真正的長期競爭優勢。正如我在電話會議開始時所說的那樣，我很自豪能與他們一起工作，使空氣產品公司成為世界清潔能源未來的領導者。

Now we are more than pleased to answer your questions.

現在我們非常樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) I will now move to our first question, which comes from Steve Byrne from Bank of America.

（操作員說明）我現在將轉到我們的第一個問題，該問題來自美國銀行的 Steve Byrne。

I wanted to ask a little bit about this greenfield project up in New York. The capital costs at $5 a watt seem a little higher. Is this an undeveloped site? And maybe more importantly, what do you see as the primary demand for this product? It's a pretty remote location. What would be the end markets that you're going to be selling this liquid hydrogen into?

我想問一些關於紐約這個新建項目的問題。每瓦 5 美元的資本成本似乎要高一些。這是一個未開發的網站嗎？也許更重要的是，您認為該產品的主要需求是什麼？這是一個相當偏遠的地方。您將把這種液態氫銷售到哪些終端市場？

Excellent question. First of all, in terms of the capital cost, this is a greenfield site; number two, it includes, if you're comparing it, for example, to what we are doing at NEOM, it includes liquifaction because we believe that the future of hydrogen for mobility is in -- full of liquids rather than gas hydrogen. Therefore, the facility is designed to include the liquefier, and it also includes auxiliary investments in order to develop the site and also in terms of how we get the product to the customers. The primary market that we are targeting is obviously hydrogen for mobility. The site might seem remote, but once you have liquid hydrogen, the cost of distribution of liquid hydrogen is not that significant. We right now have liquid -- make liquid hydrogen near Toronto in Canada and sell it in California.

很好的問題。首先，就資金成本而言，這是一個綠地；第二，它包括，例如，如果你將它與我們在 NEOM 所做的比較，它包括液化，因為我們相信移動性氫的未來是——充滿液體而不是氣態氫。因此，該設施的設計包括液化器，還包括輔助投資，以開發場地以及我們如何將產品提供給客戶。我們瞄準的主要市場顯然是用於移動的氫。該站點可能看起來很偏遠，但是一旦有了液氫，液氫的分配成本就不會那麼高了。我們現在有液體——在加拿大多倫多附近製造液態氫並在加利福尼亞出售。

So the location, we chose it because of the proximity to the power and the site that was there and access to the water. So I'm not concerned about the distribution cost because that is not going to be that significant in the overall scheme of things. And besides that, 35 tons a day, considering that any heavy truck on the average uses about 60 kilograms per day, you need about 600 trucks and it will consume the output of this facility. So we are very optimistic about it, and we are very thankful to the state of New York to NAPA and to the Governor for facilitating us locating in this location and using hydro power.

因此，我們選擇了這個位置，因為它靠近電源和那裡的場地並且可以進入水。所以我不擔心分銷成本，因為這在整體方案中不會那麼重要。除此之外，每天35噸，考慮到任何重型卡車平均每天使用大約60公斤，你需要大約600輛卡車，它會消耗這個設施的產量。因此，我們對此非常樂觀，我們非常感謝紐約州對 NAPA 和州長為我們提供便利並使用水力發電。

And Seifi, one follow-up for you on the European pricing results in merchants, up 30%. Your 2 large competitors reported something similar. That's really impressive. Can you comment on how much of that would be a surcharge that's potentially reversible? And would you characterize your primary merchant customers as -- the hydrogen cost is relatively modest in their cost deck and thus they can absorb a 30% increase?

和 Seifi，一個跟進的歐洲定價結果在商家中，上漲了 30%。您的 2 個大型競爭對手報告了類似的情況。這真是令人印象深刻。您能否評論其中有多少是可能可逆的附加費？您是否會將您的主要商業客戶描述為——氫氣成本在他們的成本甲板上相對適中，因此他們可以吸收 30% 的增長？

Well, the price increases in Europe are mainly on liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen and liquid argon and helium, and obviously, hydrogen, all related to the cost of electricity. And in addition to that, there is general inflation. So the cost increases are a reflection of the increase of our overall cost. So if electricity prices go down, it doesn't mean that all of our costs are necessarily have gone down. And therefore, we are going to try to hang on to the price increases for as long as we can because a lot of it is justified just based on inflation rather than just purely power costs.

那麼，歐洲的價格上漲主要是液氧和液氮以及液氬和氦，當然還有氫氣，所有這些都與電力成本有關。除此之外，還有普遍的通貨膨脹。所以成本增加是我們整體成本增加的反映。因此，如果電價下降，並不意味著我們所有的成本都必然下降。因此，我們將盡可能長時間地堅持價格上漲，因為其中很多僅基於通貨膨脹而不是純粹的電力成本是合理的。

We'll now move on to our next question over the phone, which comes from Jeff Zekauskas from JPMorgan.

我們現在將通過電話繼續我們的下一個問題，該問題來自摩根大通的 Jeff Zekauskas。

I'm sure, Seifi, in your spare time, you read the Inflation Reduction Act. In calculating the tax benefit for your Louisiana facility, is it $85 a ton x 5 million tons or $425 million a year? Or is it a bigger number or a smaller number?

我敢肯定，Seifi，在您的業餘時間，您閱讀了《降低通貨膨脹法》。在計算路易斯安那州工廠的稅收優惠時，是每噸 85 美元 x 500 萬噸還是每年 4.25 億美元？或者它是一個更大的數字還是一個更小的數字？

Jeff, the numbers are very clear in the Inflation Reduction Act with respect to CO2 sequestration. For every ton, you get $85. And obviously, our project in Louisiana is going to produce 5 million tons a year of CO2 that we plan to sequester, so your math is exactly correct. We will get a benefit of about $425 million, $430 million a year for 12 years in doing the sequestration after tax. That is correct.

傑夫，《減少通貨膨脹法》中關於二氧化碳封存的數字非常清楚。每噸，你得到85美元。很明顯，我們在路易斯安那州的項目每年將產生 500 萬噸二氧化碳，我們計劃封存這些二氧化碳，所以你的數學是完全正確的。我們將獲得約 4.25 億美元的收益，每年 4.3 億美元，為期 12 年，用於進行稅後隔離。那是對的。

Okay. Second question maybe is for Melissa. In your cash flow statement, you have other adjustments for the year of negative $304.9 million, call it, negative $305 million. What is that? And your undistributed equity earnings are negative $215 million versus, I think, $481 million of equity income. Is that going to get any better in the future? So what's the first number? And is the second number going to improve?

好的。第二個問題可能是針對梅麗莎的。在您的現金流量表中，您對當年負 3.049 億美元的其他調整，稱之為負 3.05 億美元。那是什麼？您的未分配股權收益為負 2.15 億美元，而我認為是 4.81 億美元的股權收益。以後會不會好很多？那麼第一個數字是多少？第二個數字會改善嗎？

I can answer that question, but you wanted Melissa to answer. That's not a problem. Melissa, would you please take that question?

我可以回答這個問題，但你想讓梅麗莎回答。這不是問題。梅麗莎，請你回答這個問題好嗎？

Yes. So the other investing activities, is that your question, Jeff?

是的。那麼其他投資活動，是你的問題嗎，傑夫？

The other adjustments, because other adjustment is negative $304.9 million? What's that?

其他調整，因為其他調整是負 3.049 億美元？那是什麼？

Okay. Thank you. So that is largely intercompany CTA, Jeff. There is -- a portion of that is associated to one of our large projects deferred costs, but the massive -- mass majority is associated to our intercompany CTA.

好的。謝謝你。所以這主要是公司間 CTA，傑夫。其中有一部分與我們的一個大型項目遞延成本有關，但大部分與我們的公司間 CTA 有關。

So does that change next year?

那麼明年會改變嗎？

So that will -- there will be a decrease next year associated again to that role, that the large project deferred cost, but it won't change largely now.

因此，明年將再次與該角色相關聯的減少，即大型項目遞延成本，但現在不會有很大變化。

Okay. And the undistributed earnings of equity method investments, are we going to get closer to the equity income?

好的。而權益法投資的未分配收益，是不是更接近於權益收益呢？

So Jeff, that's largely associated to our project for JIGPC. And so the fluctuations in there is all just the timing of the distributions from that joint venture.

傑夫，這在很大程度上與我們的 JIGPC 項目有關。因此，那裡的波動只是該合資企業分配的時間。

(Operator Instructions) We'll now move on to our next question on the phone, which comes from Mr. John Roberts from Credit Suisse.

（操作員說明）我們現在將繼續討論電話中的下一個問題，該問題來自瑞士信貸的 John Roberts 先生。

Welcome, Sidd. Seifi, for the clean hydrogen, other than sustainable aviation fuel, do you expect to have primarily a merchant pricing model where you don't have any volume guarantees?

歡迎，西德。 Seifi，對於除了可持續航空燃料之外的清潔氫，您是否希望主要有一個沒有任何數量保證的商業定價模式？

For the hydrogen business? No, I think that it will be a mixture because I think some customers, even for when they are using it for fuel, like large trucking firms and all of that, they would want to and they have talked about the possibility of long-term contracts to ensure supply. So I think that we will have a combination of both, John.

對於氫業務？不，我認為這將是一種混合物，因為我認為一些客戶，即使他們將其用作燃料，例如大型卡車運輸公司和所有這些，他們會想要並且他們已經談到長期的可能性合同確保供應。所以我認為我們將兩者結合，約翰。

We'll now move on to our next question over the phone, which comes from David Begleiter from Deutsche Bank.

我們現在將通過電話繼續我們的下一個問題，該問題來自德意志銀行的 David Begleiter。

This is David Huang here for Dave. I guess, on the SAF project, what's the expanded scope on the SAF project include? And is any of the increased investment due to any project cost inflation?

這是戴夫的大衛黃。我想，在 SAF 項目上，SAF 項目的擴展範圍包括哪些？是否由於任何項目成本膨脹而增加了投資？

The main reason is that the total capacity of the plant is approximately 340 million gallons a year. But the portion, that SAF, has been increased because with the IRA, as you know very well, there is going to be $1.25 incentive for making SAF. So we have changed the design of that plan to make more SAF, and that is adding to the cost. Is that okay?

主要原因是工廠的總產能約為每年 3.4 億加侖。但是，SAF 的部分已經增加，因為您非常清楚，有了 IRA，將有 1.25 美元的激勵來製作 SAF。所以我們改變了該計劃的設計以製造更多的 SAF，這增加了成本。可以嗎？

And then it looks like the Debang project in China has been delayed from second half '23 to first half '24. Can you talk about what's causing the delay?

然後看起來德邦在中國的項目已經從 23 年下半年推遲到 24 年上半年。你能談談造成延誤的原因嗎？

It's basically COVID-related and the COVID shutdowns that China is going through.

這基本上與 COVID 相關，以及中國正在經歷的 COVID 關閉。

We'll now move on to our next question over the phone, which comes from Mr. Josh Spector from UBS.

我們現在將通過電話繼續我們的下一個問題，該問題來自瑞銀的 Josh Spector 先生。

Seifi, I was wondering if I could clarify your assumptions for next year, I mean, particularly where you say no recession predicted. If you're kind of run rating current demand, I mean, I think it's arguable that Europe is in a recession, China is obviously underperforming. Are you assuming that, that continues? Or are you assuming any improvement in those markets?

Seifi，我想知道我是否可以澄清你對明年的假設，我的意思是，特別是在你說沒有預測到衰退的情況下。如果您對當前的需求進行評級，我的意思是，我認為歐洲處於衰退中是有爭議的，而中國顯然表現不佳。你假設，繼續嗎？或者您是否假設這些市場有任何改善？

No, we are not assuming any improvement in the markets. We are assuming improvement in our results. But we are saying that we have made our forecast for next year based on what we see today that, you're right, economic activity is down in Europe, it's down in China and it's debatable where it is in the U.S. We are basing our assumptions on currently what we see. That's correct. We are not assuming any significant economic growth, and we are not assuming any significant deterioration on where we are. Where we are is not a good place to be, but we are not expecting that to get much worse.

不，我們不假設市場有任何改善。我們假設我們的結果有所改善。但我們是說，我們已經根據我們今天看到的情況對明年做出了預測，你說得對，歐洲的經濟活動下降，中國的經濟活動下降，美國的哪個地方還值得商榷。我們的基礎是目前我們所看到的假設。這是正確的。我們沒有假設任何顯著的經濟增長，我們也沒有假設我們所處的位置有任何顯著惡化。我們所在的地方並不是一個好地方，但我們預計情況不會變得更糟。

That's helpful. And if I could just clarify, within Europe, what are the base volumes down? So I'm not sure how much that contract amendment helped volumes. So just curious on the base level there.

這很有幫助。如果我能澄清一下，在歐洲，基本銷量下降了多少？因此，我不確定該合同修訂對交易量有多大幫助。所以只是對那裡的基礎水平感到好奇。

You mean the contract amendment with respect to what? I'm sorry, I didn't...

你的意思是關於什麼的合同修改？對不起，我沒有...

On European volumes, you talked about volumes flat with the base business down the -- helped by the contract amendment for the volumes. So I'm just wondering what the base volumes are in Europe today or in third -- in your September quarter.

關於歐洲銷量，您談到銷量持平，基礎業務下降——這得益於銷量的合同修訂。所以我只是想知道今天歐洲或第三季度的基數是多少——在你的九月季度。

Are you referring to our onsite business or our merchant business? I'm not relating to the contract amendment. Simon, can you help me?

您是指我們的現場業務還是我們的商家業務？我與合同修改無關。西蒙，你能幫幫我嗎？

Yes, sure. Yes. So in Europe, we said our volumes were roughly flat. We said we had a positive contract amendment and so our base volumes were down slightly. We didn't quantify that because of the details around the contract amendment. But the base volumes were down modestly, Josh.

是的，當然。是的。所以在歐洲，我們說我們的銷量大致持平。我們說我們有一個積極的合同修正，所以我們的基本交易量略有下降。由於合同修訂的細節，我們沒有對此進行量化。但基數略有下降，喬希。

Right. Okay.

正確的。好的。

I will now move on to our next question sir, which comes from John McNulty from BMO Capital Markets.

先生，我現在將繼續我們的下一個問題，該問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 John McNulty。

So I guess first one would just be, when you think about the opportunities around the IRA bill and the potential for green versus, say, blue hydrogen and carbon sequestration, I guess, when you look at your backlog of opportunities, not the ones that you've already announced but future ones, I guess which way would you say Air Products may be leaning? Is there more opportunity, would you say in the blue arena, in the carbon sequestration arena? Or would you say green is kind of going to be the next big push for you guys? How would you characterize it?

所以我想第一個就是，當你考慮圍繞 IRA 法案的機會以及綠色與藍色氫和碳封存的潛力時，我想，當你看到你積壓的機會時，而不是那些你已經宣布了，但未來的，我猜你會說空氣產品公司可能會傾向於哪種方式？在藍色領域，在碳封存領域，還有更多的機會嗎？或者你會說綠色會成為你們的下一個大推動力嗎？你會如何描述它？

John, very good question. I would like to say all of the above. That means that the IRA is very favorable about pursuing green hydrogen opportunities. And we will do, as you saw with the announcement about the project in New York, and we will do additional green hydrogen projects in the United States. And then the coverage castration and the $85 a ton will help us do additional blue hydrogen projects. We are -- as you know, we are committed to the transition, and the IRA provides opportunity for us to do both of those things. Is that okay, John?

約翰，很好的問題。我想說以上所有。這意味著愛爾蘭共和軍非常有利於尋求綠色氫的機會。正如你在紐約項目公告中看到的那樣，我們將這樣做，我們將在美國開展更多的綠色氫項目。然後覆蓋去勢和每噸 85 美元將幫助我們做更多的藍色氫項目。我們是——如你所知，我們致力於過渡，愛爾蘭共和軍為我們提供了做這兩件事的機會。可以嗎，約翰？

Okay. Fair enough. Yes. No, that's fine. And then, I guess, the second question would just be, I saw you had signed, I guess, an agreement with one of the -- for a port project in the U.K. There was another one earlier in the year, I believe it was in the Netherlands. I guess can you speak to the confidence that you have around those regions actually taking in green ammonia, green hydrogen and the demand for it? Are you getting more comfortable with the demand environment in Europe for your green project most likely coming out of NEOM?

好的。很公平。是的。不，沒關係。然後，我想，第二個問題就是，我看到你已經與其中一個簽署了協議——關於英國的一個港口項目。今年早些時候還有另一個，我相信是在荷蘭。我想你能談談你對這些地區實際攝入綠色氨、綠色氫及其需求的信心嗎？對於最有可能來自 NEOM 的綠色項目，您是否對歐洲的需求環境感到更加滿意？

Yes. There has been -- especially since the war in Ukraine, there has been significant additional conversations about the need for green. Some countries in Europe are very much committed to green. Some countries are considering also blue. But -- and level of conversation in terms of significant demand for green and blue hydrogen in Europe is noticeable. Yes, you're very right on that.

是的。尤其是自烏克蘭戰爭以來，就綠色的必要性進行了重要的額外對話。歐洲的一些國家非常致力於綠色環保。一些國家也在考慮使用藍色。但是——就歐洲對綠色和藍色氫的大量需求而言，談話的程度是顯而易見的。是的，你說得很對。

We'll now move on to our next question over the phone, which comes from Vincent Andrews from Morgan Stanley.

我們現在將通過電話繼續我們的下一個問題，該問題來自摩根士丹利的文森特安德魯斯。

Seifi, with the New York project announcement, there's a reference to potentially building a fueling station network in the Northeast. Could you talk a little bit more about that? And what would sort of get you over the line on that project?

Seifi 在紐約項目公告中提到了可能在東北部建立加油站網絡。你能多談談嗎？什麼會讓你在那個項目上越界？

Well, obviously, we have the liquid hydrogen. In order to sell it, we would need hydrogen refueling stations at different locations so that the trucks can come and stop buy and get fuel. There are a lot of options about how we are doing that, and we are exploring all of those options. This is something that we know how to do. I think we already have about 112 of these stations or more than that around the world. We have patents. We know how to build these things. We know how to design these, and I have to say that I think we are at the forefront of technology for this kind of especially liquid stations. So we will be building those in order to be able to sell the product.

嗯，很明顯，我們有液態氫。為了賣掉它，我們需要在不同的地方加氫站，這樣卡車就可以停下來買燃料。關於我們如何做到這一點，有很多選擇，我們正在探索所有這些選擇。這是我們知道該怎麼做的事情。我認為我們已經擁有大約 112 個這樣的站點，或者比全世界更多。我們有專利。我們知道如何建造這些東西。我們知道如何設計這些，我不得不說，我認為我們處於這種特別是液體站的技術前沿。因此，我們將構建這些以便能夠銷售產品。

Okay. And just as a follow-up, post the IRA, there's been a lot of announcements, no surprise, for projects in the U.S. How are you thinking about the risk of CapEx inflation in the United States post the IRA?

好的。作為後續行動，在 IRA 發布後，美國的項目發布了很多公告，這不足為奇。您如何看待 IRA 發布後美國資本支出通脹的風險？

Well, I think in the context of the U.S. economy, even you add up that all of those projects are real projects rather than just MOUs. But I mean, it's not enough to kind of affect the inflation of the cost of a plant that you're going to build in the U.S., I don't think so. We are not focused on that. We don't think that's relevant.

嗯，我認為在美國經濟的背景下，即使你加起來，所有這些項目都是真正的項目，而不僅僅是諒解備忘錄。但我的意思是，僅僅影響你將在美國建造的工廠的成本膨脹是不夠的，我不這麼認為。我們並不專注於此。我們認為這無關緊要。

We'll now move to our next question over the phone, which comes from Mike Leithead from Barclays.

現在我們將通過電話轉到下一個問題，該問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Mike Leithead。

Great. Just one clarifying question, I think, for Melissa. But Seifi, if you want to answer, that would be great, too. The pension adjustment you're now making for adjusted EPS, I think in your reconciliation, you disclosed it was a $34 million income in fiscal '22. I understand you plan to exclude it from adjusted EPS going forward. But Melissa, what is your best estimate of what that line item might be for 2023?

偉大的。我認為，對於梅麗莎來說，這只是一個澄清問題。但是 Seifi，如果你想回答，那也很好。您現在為調整後的每股收益進行的養老金調整，我認為在您的對賬中，您披露了 22 財年的 3400 萬美元收入。我了解您計劃在未來將其排除在調整後的每股收益之外。但是梅麗莎，您對 2023 年該訂單項的最佳估計是多少？

Yes, Melissa should answer that. She does a better job than I would do on this. Melissa?

是的，梅麗莎應該回答這個問題。她在這方面做得比我做得更好。梅麗莎？

Yes. Thank you, Seifi. Yes, so for the nonservice components, so if I look back at FY '22, that was about $0.15 benefit. But we're forecasting for FY '23 an anticipated $0.35 headwind moving forward.

是的。謝謝你，賽菲。是的，所以對於非服務組件，如果我回顧一下 22 財年，那大約是 0.15 美元的收益。但我們預計 23 財年將面臨 0.35 美元的逆風。

Got it. And just to clarify, the $0.35 is just in that 1 year? It's not year-over-year, $0.35, correct?

知道了。澄清一下，0.35 美元只是在那一年？這不是同比，0.35 美元，對嗎？

That's correct. It's readjusted every year. Yes, absolutely, we'll provide a reconciliation table for that.

這是正確的。每年都會重新調整。是的，當然，我們會為此提供一個對帳表。

We'll now move on to our next question over the phone, which comes from Mike Harrison from Seaport Research Partners.

我們現在將通過電話繼續我們的下一個問題，該問題來自 Seaport Research Partners 的 Mike Harrison。

I was wondering if you could talk a little bit, Seifi, about what you're seeing in Europe with regard to natural gas prices. There's been a recent decline there. Obviously, that impacts the pass-through. But do you think that maybe changes your ability to get pricing? And do you have any encouraging feedback from customers that they're going to be running harder now that they're seeing some relief on natural gas costs?

Seifi，我想知道您能否談談您在歐洲看到的天然氣價格方面的情況。那裡最近有所下降。顯然，這會影響傳遞。但是您認為這可能會改變您獲得定價的能力嗎？您是否從客戶那裡得到任何令人鼓舞的反饋，即他們現在看到天然氣成本有所緩解，他們將更加努力地運行？

Mike, I think the natural gas prices increases in Europe have moderated, but there's still natural gas prices in Europe are around $30 per 1 million BTU, which is 6 or 7x what they used to be. In terms of the natural gas prices, as you correctly said, is mostly attached to for us. The relevant thing becomes if that higher natural gas costs affect the cost of electricity, which they do. And we haven't seen the electricity prices moderating as much as obviously we or the other people would like to see it. But I do not expect a significant change. But energy prices, as we all know, are pretty unpredictable. It depends on a lot of things, so I don't want to speculate on that. But the one thing that I hope, Mike, we have demonstrated is that we have the ability, the agility and the determination to be flexible and react to that and recover the cost increases, which we have done. I think that's the good news.

邁克，我認為歐洲的天然氣價格上漲已經放緩，但歐洲的天然氣價格仍然在每 100 萬英熱單位 30 美元左右，是過去的 6 或 7 倍。就天然氣價格而言，正如您所說，主要是依附於我們。如果更高的天然氣成本會影響電力成本，那麼相關的事情就變成了，他們確實這樣做了。而且我們還沒有看到我們或其他人顯然希望看到的電價放緩。但我預計不會有重大變化。但眾所周知，能源價格非常難以預測。這取決於很多事情，所以我不想推測。但我希望邁克，我們已經證明的一件事是，我們有能力、敏捷性和決心靈活應對並收回成本增加，我們已經做到了。我認為這是個好消息。

All right. And then my other question is on the hydrogen business in the U.S., kind of 2 pieces to this question. First of all, are you starting to see some better utilization and better hydrogen spot volumes from your refinery customers as we see diesel stocks being relatively low? And can you comment at all on the maintenance outages that you're expecting in Q1 compared to Q4 levels? Is it going to be a greater cost than you saw in Q4?

好的。然後我的另一個問題是關於美國的氫氣業務，這個問題有兩個問題。首先，由於我們看到柴油庫存相對較低，您是否開始從煉油廠客戶那裡看到一些更好的利用率和更好的氫氣現貨量？與第四季度相比，您能否就第一季度預期的維護中斷發表評論？它會比你在第四季度看到的成本更高嗎？

Sure, Mike. I would like to have Dr. Serhan answer that question. He mentioned something about that in his prepared remarks. But Dr. Serhan, would you like to kind of expand on your remarks about hydrogen demand?

當然，邁克。我想讓 Serhan 博士回答這個問題。他在準備好的講話中提到了一些有關這方面的內容。但是，Serhan 博士，您想進一步談談您對氫需求的看法嗎？

I mean, definitely, it's been picking up as we stated before in the last few quarters. So we are at the level now in our pipeline system in Texas, Louisiana really to the level before COVID and is still even recovering further. The refineries, our customers basically have the high utilization. The demand is very high. And definitely, we see more opportunities for additional volume, and we're really doing our best to add even more capacity to our pipeline system, so we can supply our customers.

我的意思是，毫無疑問，正如我們在過去幾個季度中所說的那樣，它一直在回升。因此，我們現在在路易斯安那州德克薩斯州的管道系統中處於 COVID 之前的水平，並且仍在進一步恢復中。煉油廠，我們的客戶基本上都有很高的利用率。要求非常高。毫無疑問，我們看到了更多增加產量的機會，我們確實在盡最大努力為我們的管道系統增加更多容量，以便我們可以為客戶提供服務。

We'll now move to our next question over the phone, which comes from Duffy Fischer from Goldman Sachs.

我們現在將通過電話轉到下一個問題，該問題來自高盛的 Duffy Fischer。

First question is just around the APAC business. The volumes there were very strong, up 16% relative to only up 2% last quarter. And Seifi, I think you called out a number of kind of smaller traditional ASUs starting up. So is it fair to anniversary that number over the next 3 quarters, that APAC should be very strong just because of the business that we've built in already?

第一個問題與亞太地區業務有關。那裡的銷量非常強勁，增長了 16%，而上一季度僅增長了 2%。 Seifi，我認為您召集了一些較小的傳統 ASU 啟動。那麼在接下來的三個季度中，這個數字對於週年紀念是否公平，因為我們已經建立了業務，亞太地區應該非常強大？

Duffy, I -- you're asking a very, very good question, and thank you for noticing the fact that we have grown our traditional business. We are not just focused on large projects in that part of the world. Theoretically, what you are saying is correct. The only unpredictable thing in this is what is going to happen to these shutdowns in China because, right now, one of the provinces that we operate, the Changxing province, they found some COVID cases in some of the coal mines and then now the whole state is shut down and all that. Those things do affect our business in the short term. So -- and they are totally unpredictable. But if you assume that none of those things will happen, obviously, the fact that we are bringing these new facilities online, they have helped last quarter and they will help in the future, absolutely.

達菲，我——你問了一個非常非常好的問題，感謝你注意到我們已經發展了我們的傳統業務這一事實。我們不僅僅專注於世界那個地區的大型項目。從理論上講，你說的是正確的。唯一不可預測的是，中國的這些停工將發生什麼，因為目前，我們經營的省份之一，長興省，他們在一些煤礦發現了一些 COVID 病例，然後是整個狀態被關閉等等。這些事情確實會在短期內影響我們的業務。所以——而且它們是完全不可預測的。但是，如果您假設這些事情都不會發生，顯然，我們將這些新設施上線這一事實，他們在上個季度提供了幫助，而且他們絕對會在未來提供幫助。

Perfect. And then maybe one just on your crystal ball because you've seen a few cycles. When you see the data, you have coming in, when you look at the world around you and you look at your customers, how do you think this cycle plays out kind of through this quarter into the early part of next year? Is there another leg down for your broader customer base? Or do you think we've kind of put in the trough here in the calendar Q4 and things get better as we get into next year?

完美的。然後可能只是在你的水晶球上，因為你已經看到了幾個週期。當您看到數據時，您已經進入，當您觀察周圍的世界並觀察您的客戶時，您認為這個週期會如何從本季度到明年年初？您的更廣泛的客戶群是否還有另一條腿？還是您認為我們在第四季度的日曆中已經進入了低谷，並且隨著我們進入明年，情況會變得更好？

So Duffy, I'm a little bit hesitant to predict that because, obviously, with our business, we are a leading indicator in terms of -- since we don't have any inventory. I can tell you exactly what is happening now, and now you know the state of affairs. But predicting what is going to happen in the next month or 2 months or 3 months, especially both in China and also in the U.S. and all of that, with so many different things moving, would be very difficult. But this is why, as I said, for our guidance, we assume that things are the way they are right now rather than predicting any of or down. So we have to wait and see. Sorry about that. I can't be specific, though.

所以達菲，我有點猶豫預測這一點，因為顯然，就我們的業務而言，我們是領先指標——因為我們沒有任何庫存。我可以確切地告訴你現在發生了什麼，現在你知道事態了。但是預測未來一個月或兩個月或三個月會發生什麼，尤其是在中國和美國，以及所有這一切，因為有這麼多不同的事情在發生變化，將是非常困難的。但這就是為什麼，正如我所說，為了我們的指導，我們假設事情就是現在的樣子，而不是預測任何情況或下降。所以我們必須拭目以待。對於那個很抱歉。不過，我不能具體。

We'll now move on to our next question over the phone, which comes from Christopher Parkinson from Mizuho.

我們現在將通過電話繼續我們的下一個問題，該問題來自瑞穗的克里斯托弗帕金森。

When you're looking at the world right now, can you just give us a quick update on where your rough estimates are for merchant operating rates in terms of just what you're seeing in the macro?

當您現在放眼世界時，能否根據您在宏觀中看到的情況，快速更新一下您對商家營業率的粗略估計？

Sure, Chris. I can give you that. I mean, right now, if you look at all of Asia, we are at around 77%, 78%. Europe is, depending on which country you are, it goes somewhere from as high as maybe 81%, 82% in U.K. to as low as 72%, 73% in certain parts of Europe. And in the U.S., we are at around 77%, 78%.

當然，克里斯。我可以給你那個。我的意思是，現在，如果你看看整個亞洲，我們大約是 77%、78%。歐洲是，根據您所在的國家/地區，它從英國的 81%、82% 到歐洲某些地區的 72%、73% 不等。在美國，我們的比例約為 77%、78%。

Very helpful. And Seifi, entirely understanding that you don't necessarily have a crystal ball. Obviously, there's been a lot of fluctuation in regional macro activity this year. It's been -- all been caused by various factors in Europe and China and so on and so forth. But if we just circle back to a previous question on China, I mean, what's your best -- I mean, what's your best view of the outlook for the Chinese economy after the Lunar New Year next year in terms of what you're hearing from the ground, what you're hearing for your customers? Just any insights would be very helpful.

非常有幫助。 Seifi，完全理解你不一定有水晶球。顯然，今年區域宏觀活動波動很大。這是——都是由歐洲和中國等各種因素造成的。但如果我們回到之前關於中國的問題，我的意思是，你最好的看法是什麼——我的意思是，就你所聽到的內容而言，你對明年農曆新年後中國經濟前景的最佳看法是什麼從地面上，您聽到的客戶是什麼？任何見解都會非常有幫助。

Well, Chris, thank you very much. Obviously, in China, everybody is obviously when they talk to you, nobody wants to be pessimistic. Everybody wants to be optimistic. So it's very difficult based on the input that you get talking to different people to make an estimate of what the real economy will do. I do not expect a significant change up or down. I think it will be steady. But who knows what's going to happen. But right now, it's my best estimate is exactly what we have put in our -- for our guidance is that things will stay where they are currently in terms of utilization and in terms of the GDP growth, okay.

好吧，克里斯，非常感謝你。顯然，在中國，每個人在與你交談時顯然都不想悲觀。每個人都希望保持樂觀。因此，根據您與不同人交談的信息，很難估計實體經濟會做什麼。我預計不會出現重大變化。我認為會穩定。但誰知道會發生什麼。但現在，我的最佳估計正是我們所投入的——因為我們的指導是，就利用率和 GDP 增長而言，情況將保持在目前的水平，好吧。

We'll now move on to our next question over the phone, which comes from Kevin McCarthy from Vertical Research Partners.

我們現在將通過電話繼續我們的下一個問題，該問題來自 Vertical Research Partners 的 Kevin McCarthy。

This is Cory Murphy on for Kevin. Two questions on your project pipeline. First, your press release highlighted $1.3 billion of major projects in electronics, and on Slide 30, I see $900 million in Taiwan. What are the major projects you have in electronics? Any color you can provide on timing, location and future activity would be helpful.

這是凱文的科里墨菲。關於您的項目管道的兩個問題。首先，您的新聞稿突出了 13 億美元的電子重大項目，在幻燈片 30 上，我看到台灣有 9 億美元。您在電子領域有哪些主要項目？您可以在時間、位置和未來活動上提供的任何顏色都會有所幫助。

And then second, it appears as though the net-zero hydrogen project in Alberta increased in size by CAD 300 million to CAD 1.6 billion. Why is that? And what impact might that increase have on your project return expectations?

其次，阿爾伯塔省的淨零氫項目的規模似乎增加了 3 億加元，達到 16 億加元。這是為什麼？這種增長可能會對您的項目回報預期產生什麼影響？

Sure. In terms of the Canadian operation, the increase was a little bit of changes in scope and also with respect to once we got finalized with our customer about what they wanted. The return on that project is still very good because we adjusted the prices to compensate for that. So I don't expect any downside on that. And actually, we'll have some more to say about that project in the next few weeks.

當然。就加拿大業務而言，增加是范圍的一些變化，以及我們與客戶最終確定他們想要什麼的情況。該項目的回報仍然非常好，因為我們調整了價格來彌補這一點。所以我預計這不會有任何不利之處。實際上，我們將在接下來的幾週內就該項目發表更多意見。

With respect to the electronic projects, I can't say more than what we have disclosed because we are under confidentiality agreement with the customers. And the customers don't want us to talk about the project because they don't want anybody to know where it is and what they are doing. But you have the details. It's the $900 million in Taiwan for the very big semiconductor manufacturer, so you can almost guess what that is, and the other one is for some other people. So I can't give you any more -- be any more specific than what we have already been because of the restrictions by our customers.

關於電子項目，我不能說比我們透露的更多，因為我們與客戶簽訂了保密協議。客戶不希望我們談論這個項目，因為他們不希望任何人知道它在哪里以及他們在做什麼。但是你有細節。這是台灣非常大的半導體製造商的 9 億美元，所以你幾乎可以猜到那是什麼，另一個是給其他人的。因此，由於客戶的限制，我不能再給你更多信息了——比我們已經做過的更具體。

We'll now move on to our next question over the phone, which comes from Laurence Alexander from Jefferies.

我們現在將通過電話繼續我們的下一個問題，該問題來自 Jefferies 的 Laurence Alexander。

This is Dan Rizzo on for Laurence. You mentioned a little bit about COVID disruptions affecting supply chain and some projects in China. I was wondering if they are affecting your operations or your customers' operations as well.

這是勞倫斯的丹·里佐。您提到了一些關於影響供應鍊和中國一些項目的 COVID 中斷。我想知道它們是否會影響您的運營或您的客戶的運營。

Well, the reason we mentioned is that because they did affect our operations because it caused -- most of these lockdowns affect our distribution costs. And sometimes it causes some of the plans to have to shut down. So the reason we mentioned it is because they did have an effect on our operations, yes.

好吧，我們提到的原因是因為它們確實影響了我們的運營，因為它導致 - 大多數這些封鎖影響了我們的分銷成本。有時它會導致一些計劃不得不關閉。所以我們提到它的原因是因為它們確實對我們的運營產生了影響，是的。

And just final question. Just given the current environment with interest rates, is debt paydown a focus at all? I mean, I know you have a solid rating, but I was just wondering if it's something that you're considering given the potentially elevating costs.

最後一個問題。鑑於當前的利率環境，償還債務是否是一個焦點？我的意思是，我知道你有一個可靠的評級，但我只是想知道你是否正在考慮考慮到潛在的成本上漲。

Well, our debt is in form of bonds. It's not -- most of our debt -- we have approximately $7.5 billion, $8 billion of debt. Most of it is corporate bonds, where the interest rates are fixed. And we will pay them down based on the schedule that we have in the bond payments. And we disclose those, so you can see when you're supposed to pay down significant amounts of our debt, okay.

好吧，我們的債務是以債券的形式存在的。這不是——我們的大部分債務——我們大約有 75 億美元，80 億美元的債務。其中大部分是公司債券，利率是固定的。我們將根據我們在債券支付中的時間表償還它們。我們會披露這些信息，這樣您就可以知道何時應該償還我們的大量債務，好吧。

We'll now move on to our next question over the phone, which comes from Eric Petrie from Citi.

我們現在將通過電話繼續我們的下一個問題，該問題來自花旗的 Eric Petrie。

Any update or expected potential milestones from your MOU with Cummins and developing fuel cells for heavy-duty trucks?

您與康明斯的諒解備忘錄以及為重型卡車開發燃料電池的任何更新或預期的潛在里程碑？

They are working on it, and they are -- they have the trucks under development, and we are looking forward and receiving the trucks. I think they are a little bit delayed in terms of the schedule that they have promised us, but we are -- we continue working with them. And I have to say that we also are working with other people, too. It's not just Cummins.

他們正在努力，他們正在開發卡車，我們期待並接收卡車。我認為他們向我們承諾的時間表有點延遲，但我們正在 - 我們繼續與他們合作。我不得不說，我們也在與其他人合作。不僅僅是康明斯。

Okay. And then on your New York green hydrogen project, I think CapEx translates to roughly $14 million a ton per day. How do you see that for future green hydrogen projects going forward and the reduction in costs between electrolyzer, power and liquefication costs?

好的。然後在你的紐約綠色氫項目中，我認為資本支出相當於每天每噸大約 1400 萬美元。您如何看待未來的綠色氫項目以及電解槽、電力和液化成本之間的成本降低？

Well, the cost is very much location dependent in terms of how much work do you have to do, in terms of greenfield site, existing sites, what are the things that you have to do in order to get a real project going. But I don't expect the cost of building green hydrogen projects to significantly come down. There is no reason for that. We have inflation. And this thing about the fact that cost of electrolyzers will go down is a myth, number one; and number two, the electrolyzers are not a significant part of the cost of building the green hydrogen facility. So that is just something promoted by somebody, I don't know who. But in the real world, the cost of building a plant 2 years from now or 5 years from now or 3 years from now will be higher because of inflation. So the sooner you build these things, the better it is. That's okay? Sure. Thank you.

嗯，成本在很大程度上取決於您必須做多少工作，就新建場地，現有場地而言，您必須做哪些事情才能讓一個真正的項目進行。但我預計建設綠色氫項目的成本不會大幅下降。沒有理由這樣做。我們有通貨膨脹。關於電解槽成本將下降這一事實是一個神話，第一；第二，電解槽不是建設綠色氫設施成本的重要組成部分。所以這只是某人推銷的東西，我不知道是誰。但在現實世界中，由於通貨膨脹，2 年後或 5 年後或 3 年後建造工廠的成本會更高。因此，您越早構建這些東西，效果就越好。沒關係？當然。謝謝你。

We'll now move on to our next question over the phone, which comes from Sebastian Bray from Berenberg.

現在，我們將通過電話繼續我們的下一個問題，該問題來自貝倫貝格的塞巴斯蒂安·布雷 (Sebastian Bray)。

I would have 2, please. The first one follows up on the earlier question on interest costs. If I look at the refinancing schedule for Air Products and the expansion in CapEx over the next 2 or 3 years, the current interest charge in 2021 was $128 million. Melissa, would it be plausible for this number to double the space of 2 or 3 years? That's my first question.

請給我2個。第一個是對前面關於利息成本的問題的跟進。如果我看一下 Air Products 的再融資時間表和未來 2 或 3 年資本支出的擴張，2021 年的當前利息費用為 1.28 億美元。梅麗莎，這個數字將 2 年或 3 年的空間翻倍是否合理？這是我的第一個問題。

My second one is on changes in the scope to investments. We've had 2 or 3 investments be upscaled. Is there a chance at all that the same thing could happen to Louisiana and the $4.5 billion blue hydrogen project?

我的第二個是關於投資範圍的變化。我們已經升級了 2 或 3 項投資。路易斯安那州和價值 45 億美元的藍色氫項目是否有可能發生同樣的事情？

Okay. I will have Melissa answer the first question that you had. And the second question that you had with respect to the project in Louisiana, we are looking based on the Investment Reduction Act (sic) [Inflation Reduction Act] about the scope of that project. And we might actually change the scope and increased the scope, and as a result, increase the capital cost for that project. So that all depends on what we conclude in terms of what is the best options for us to take advantage of the legislation. So yes, it is possible that we would, say, a year from now, 2 years from now, that we have increased the scope of that project and we'll spent, I don't know, $5 billion or $6 billion on that project, depending on what we decide to do.

好的。我會讓梅麗莎回答你的第一個問題。您對路易斯安那州的項目提出的第二個問題是，我們正在根據《投資減少法》（原文如此）[通貨膨脹減少法]來了解該項目的範圍。而且我們實際上可能會改變範圍並擴大範圍，從而增加該項目的資本成本。因此，這一切都取決於我們得出的結論，即我們利用立法的最佳選擇是什麼。所以是的，我們有可能，比如說，一年後，兩年後，我們擴大了該項目的範圍，我們將花費，我不知道，50 億或 60 億美元項目，取決於我們決定做什麼。

So now Melissa, would you like to answer the first question, please?

那麼現在梅麗莎，你願意回答第一個問題嗎？

Yes. Thank you, Seifi. So we've talked a lot about a crystal ball. Obviously, we don't have a crystal ball of where interest rates are going to go. But we don't anticipate them moving up to a double level in the next year. That being said, right now, given our current access to the liquidity market, we actually don't anticipate having to go to the debt market in the near term. But obviously, we're always evaluating the market and the rates that we obtained given our A/A2 rating.

是的。謝謝你，賽菲。所以我們談了很多關於水晶球的事情。顯然，我們不知道利率將走向何方。但我們預計它們在明年不會上升到雙倍水平。話雖如此，目前，鑑於我們目前可以進入流動性市場，我們實際上預計短期內不必進入債務市場。但顯然，我們一直在評估市場和我們獲得的 A/A2 評級。

There are no further questions queued over the phone at this time. Mr. Ghasemi, I would like to turn the conference back over to you, sir, for any additional or closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題通過電話排隊。 Ghasemi 先生，先生，我想把會議轉回給你，以供任何補充或結束髮言。

Thank you very much. I would just like to thank everybody for listening to our presentation. We appreciate your interest, and we look forward to discussing our results with you again next quarter. As I said earlier, please stay safe and healthy, and all the very best. Thank you very much. And also thank you very much for the very good questions. We appreciate it. Have a great day. Thank you.

非常感謝。我要感謝大家收聽我們的演講。感謝您的關注，我們期待在下個季度再次與您討論我們的結果。正如我之前所說，請保持安全和健康，一切順利。非常感謝。也非常感謝你提出的非常好的問題。我們很感激。祝你有美好的一天。謝謝你。

Thank you very much for the speakers. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's call. Thank you very much for your participation. You may now disconnect.

非常感謝各位發言者。女士們先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。非常感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。