Alliance Resource Partners LP (ARLP) 2021 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Alliance Resource Partners LP First Quarter 2021 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded.

各位好，歡迎參加 Alliance Resource Partners LP 2021 年第一季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）請注意，本活動將被錄音。

I would like to now turn the conference over to Brian Cantrell, Senior VP and Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

現在我想把會議交給資深副總裁兼財務長 Brian Cantrell。請開始。

Thank you, Matt, and welcome, everyone. Earlier this morning, Alliance Resource Partners released its first quarter 2021 financial and operating results, and we will now discuss these results as well as our perspective on market conditions and outlook. Following our prepared remarks, we'll open the call to your questions.

謝謝你，Matt，也歡迎各位。今天稍早，Alliance Resource Partners 公布了 2021 年第一季財務與營運結果，我們現在將討論這些結果，以及我們對市場狀況與展望的看法。在我們的準備發言之後，我們將開放各位提問。

Before beginning, a reminder that some of our remarks today may include forward-looking statements, subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, that are contained in our filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are also reflected in this morning's press release. While these forward-looking statements are based on the information currently available to us, if one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those we projected or expected. In providing these remarks, the partnership has no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by law to do so.

在開始之前提醒各位，我們今天的部分發言可能包含前瞻性陳述，並受多項風險、不確定性與假設影響；相關內容不時載於我們向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的文件中，亦反映於今天早上的新聞稿。雖然這些前瞻性陳述係基於我們目前可得資訊，但若一項或多項風險或不確定性成真，或我們的基本假設證明不正確，實際結果可能與我們所預測或預期者有重大差異。除非法律要求，合夥企業無義務因新資訊、未來事件或其他原因而公開更新或修訂任何前瞻性陳述。

Finally, we'll also be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. Definitions and reconciliations of the differences between these non-GAAP financial measures and the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are contained at the end of ARLP's press release, which has been posted on our website and furnished to the SEC on Form 8-K.

最後，我們也將討論若干非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。這些非 GAAP 財務衡量指標與最直接可比較之 GAAP 財務衡量指標之間差異的定義與調節表，載於 ARLP 新聞稿末尾；該新聞稿已張貼於我們網站，並以 Form 8-K 提供給 SEC。

With the required preliminaries out of the way, I'll turn the call over to Joe Craft, our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, for his opening comments. Joe?

必要的開場事項說明完畢後，我將把電話會議交給我們的董事長、總裁兼執行長 Joe Craft，請他發表開場評論。Joe？

Thank you, Brian, and good morning, everyone. We entered 2021 with the expectation that Alliance was poised to benefit from improved U.S. and global economic activity and increased energy demand as vaccines became more available. The solid financial performance we posted earlier this morning and that Brian will review in more detail in a moment suggest our expectations were well founded.

謝謝你，Brian，各位早安。我們在進入 2021 年時預期，隨著疫苗供應更為普及，美國與全球經濟活動改善、能源需求增加，Alliance 將可從中受益。今天早上我們公布的穩健財務表現，以及 Brian 稍後將更詳細說明的內容，顯示我們的預期是有根據的。

Coming into the year, we focused on advancing key initiatives across the Alliance organization. Among those initiatives were efforts we mentioned during our last earnings call to maximize the value of our existing assets and to explore new value-creating opportunities. We took the first step to unlock and highlight value embedded in our existing assets with the addition of a new Coal Royalties segment to separately report royalty income from coal reserves owned by ARLP's land company and leased to certain of our mining subsidiaries, primarily in the Illinois Basin.

在年初，我們專注於推動 Alliance 組織內多項關鍵倡議。其中包括我們在上次財報電話會議提到的：極大化既有資產價值，以及探索新的創造價值機會。我們透過新增「煤炭權利金（Coal Royalties）」部門，將由 ARLP 土地公司持有並出租給部分採礦子公司（主要位於伊利諾盆地）的煤炭儲量所產生之權利金收入獨立揭露，作為釋放並凸顯既有資產內含價值的第一步。

We believe combining Coal Royalties with Oil & Gas Royalties to form a larger enhanced total royalties group provides several benefits. Aggregating the results of all our royalty activities allows us to better inform ARLP's unitholders and analysts of the cash flow potential of this part of our business to generate long-term royalty income, free of CapEx requirements, with minimal working capital requirements and limited operating costs.

我們相信，將煤炭權利金與油氣權利金（Oil & Gas Royalties）結合，形成更大且更完善的整體權利金群組，可帶來多項效益。彙總我們所有權利金活動的成果，能讓我們更有效向 ARLP 的單位持有人與分析師說明此業務部分的現金流潛力：在無需資本支出（CapEx）要求、營運資金需求極低且營運成本有限的情況下，仍可產生長期權利金收入。

With visibility to the mine plans of our coal operating subsidiaries, we expect results from our Coal Royalties segment will be rather predictable, adding greater certainty and stability to the results of our total royalty activity. We also expect to realize future cost efficiencies by combining the management of our various royalty activities. In addition, we believe aggregating the cash flow from these 2 royalty sources will improve our ability to secure lower-cost financing to support future growth of these segments.

由於我們能掌握煤炭營運子公司的礦場計畫，我們預期煤炭權利金部門的結果將相當可預測，進一步提升我們整體權利金活動結果的確定性與穩定性。我們也預期，透過整合各項權利金活動的管理，未來可實現成本效率。此外，我們相信彙總這兩項權利金來源的現金流，將提升我們取得較低成本融資的能力，以支持這些部門未來成長。

As we look at other royalty companies, our recent total enterprise value multiples have been in the range of 7 to 11x EBITDA, well above ARLP's current 3.3x multiple. By emphasizing the full magnitude of ARLP's royalty activities and as we continue to expand in this area, we are hopeful that the market will begin to fully recognize the true value of this part of our business.

若觀察其他權利金公司，我們近期的總企業價值倍數約在 7 至 11 倍 EBITDA，明顯高於 ARLP 目前的 3.3 倍。透過強調 ARLP 權利金活動的完整規模，並持續在此領域擴張，我們希望市場能開始充分認識這部分業務的真正價值。

As we have managed through the uncertainties and disruptions created by the pandemic over the last year, ARLP has been clearly focused on protecting our balance sheet and we continued to make progress on this initiative during the 2021 quarter. Utilizing free cash flow generated during the quarter and cash on hand, ARLP reduced its total debt and finance lease obligations by $52.9 million and lowered total leverage to 1.43x, a 6.5% improvement from the sequential quarter.

在過去一年因疫情造成的不確定性與干擾中，ARLP 明確聚焦於保護資產負債表，且在 2021 年第一季持續推進此項工作。運用本季產生的自由現金流與手上現金，ARLP 將總負債與融資租賃義務減少 5,290 萬美元，並將總槓桿降至 1.43 倍，較前一季改善 6.5%。

We have also been very clear that once the situation began to stabilize, returning cash to our unitholders was among our highest priorities. On the strength of our recent performance and with our outlook continuing to improve, management believes we have reached that point, and I'm very pleased that the Board supported our view by declaring a $0.10 per unit cash distribution to unitholders for the 2021 quarter.

我們也一再明確表示，一旦情勢開始穩定，將現金回饋給單位持有人是我們最優先事項之一。憑藉近期表現的支撐，且展望持續改善，管理團隊認為我們已到達該時點；我也非常高興董事會支持我們的看法，宣布就 2021 年第一季向單位持有人發放每單位 0.10 美元的現金分配。

In setting an annualized distribution level at approximately 30% of this year's anticipated free cash flow before investments in growth opportunities, this distribution provides ARLP with the flexibility to pursue projects capable of providing long-term value for our unitholders while maintaining a conservative balance sheet. With our estimated distributable cash flow coverage ratio comfortably above 4x for the year, we also believe this distribution is sustainable for the foreseeable future.

將年度化分配水準設定為約占今年預期自由現金流（在投資成長機會之前）的 30%，此分配使 ARLP 在維持保守資產負債表的同時，仍保有彈性以追求可為單位持有人提供長期價值的專案。以我們估計今年可分配現金流覆蓋倍數（coverage ratio）舒適地高於 4 倍來看，我們也認為此分配在可預見的未來具可持續性。

I'll now turn the call back to Brian for a more detailed look at our results. Brian?

接下來我把電話會議交回 Brian，請他更詳細說明我們的業績。Brian？

Thank you, Joe. This morning, ARLP reported net income for the 2021 quarter of $24.7 million or $0.19 per basic and diluted limited partner unit, an increase of $169.5 million compared to a net loss of $144.8 million for the 2020 quarter. And excluding the impact of $157 million of noncash charges in the 2020 quarter, we more than doubled the adjusted net income of $12.2 million in that prior quarter.

謝謝你，Joe。今天早上，ARLP 公布 2021 年第一季淨利為 2,470 萬美元，或每基本及稀釋後有限合夥人單位 0.19 美元，較 2020 年第一季淨損 1.448 億美元增加 1.695 億美元。若排除 2020 年第一季 1.57 億美元的非現金費用影響，我們的調整後淨利較前一季的 1,220 萬美元增加逾一倍。

Lower coal shipments contributed to a 9.2% decline in total revenues compared to the 2020 quarter. Lower revenues, however, were largely offset by a $37.8 million reduction in operating expenses as efficiency initiatives at our coal operations continue to drive down costs. As a result, segment adjusted EBITDA in the 2021 quarter decreased only slightly to $109.8 million compared to $111.7 million in the 2020 quarter.

相較 2020 年第一季，煤炭出貨量下降使總營收下滑 9.2%。然而，較低的營收大致被營運費用減少 3,780 萬美元所抵銷，因為我們煤炭營運的效率提升措施持續推動成本下降。因此，2021 年第一季部門調整後 EBITDA 僅小幅下降至 1.098 億美元，較 2020 年第一季的 1.117 億美元略低。

While these results were generally in line with our expectations, ARLP's performance for the 2021 quarter would have been even better but for weather-related transportation disruptions and an unplanned customer plant outage, causing approximately 950,000 tons of delayed coal shipments and negatively impacting our cash flow and EBITDA by approximately $13 million. We currently expect these delayed coal shipments will be delivered to customers over the balance of the year.

雖然這些結果大致符合我們的預期，但若非天候相關的運輸中斷以及客戶工廠的非計畫性停機，ARLP 2021 年第一季的表現本可更佳；上述因素造成約 95 萬噸煤炭出貨延遲，並使我們的現金流與 EBITDA 約減少 1,300 萬美元。我們目前預期，這些延遲的煤炭出貨將在今年剩餘期間交付給客戶。

Taking a closer look at the performance of ARLP's coal operations, the previously mentioned shipment delays as well as lower price realizations due to the expiration of higher-priced legacy contracts, led coal sales revenue in the 2021 quarter lower compared to both the 2020 and sequential quarters. Unplanned shipment delays also impacted total coal inventories, which increased by 1.2 million tons during the 2021 quarter.

更深入檢視 ARLP 煤炭營運表現，前述出貨延遲，以及因較高價格的既有合約到期而導致的實現價格下降，使 2021 年第一季煤炭銷售收入較 2020 年第一季及前一季均有所下滑。非計畫性出貨延遲也影響煤炭總庫存，2021 年第一季庫存增加 120 萬噸。

Ongoing expense control initiatives at all ARLP operations drove cost per ton lower compared to the 2020 quarter, with total segment adjusted EBITDA expense declining 10.5% to $29.72 per ton for the 2021 quarter. Compared to the sequential quarter, total segment adjusted EBITDA expense per ton increased 5.2%, primarily due to increased subsidence expense and severance taxes at our Tunnel Ridge mine and higher costs associated with increased metallurgical coal sales at our Mettiki mine.

ARLP 各項營運持續推動費用控管措施，使每噸成本較 2020 年第一季下降；2021 年第一季部門調整後 EBITDA 總費用下降 10.5%，至每噸 29.72 美元。相較前一季，部門調整後 EBITDA 每噸總費用上升 5.2%，主要因 Tunnel Ridge 礦場的地層下陷（subsidence）費用與遣散稅增加，以及 Mettiki 礦場冶金煤銷售增加所帶來的較高成本。

ARLP's royalties segments posted solid results for the 2021 quarter. Our Oil & Gas Royalties segment benefited from significantly higher commodity prices compared to both the 2020 and sequential quarters, pushing ARLP's average price realizations per BOE higher by 21.6% and 30.5%, respectively. Although sales volumes continue to reflect the impacts of dramatically reduced drilling and completion activity during much of last year, increased operator activity on our acreage led production for the 2021 quarter to exceed our expectations. Strong commodity pricing and greater-than-anticipated production drove segment adjusted EBITDA for Oil & Gas Royalties to $11.9 million, an increase of 16.7% compared to the sequential quarter.

ARLP 的權利金部門在 2021 年第一季繳出穩健成果。我們的油氣權利金部門受惠於商品價格較 2020 年第一季及前一季顯著上升，使 ARLP 每 BOE 的平均實現價格分別提高 21.6% 與 30.5%。儘管銷售量仍反映去年大部分時間鑽井與完井活動大幅縮減的影響，但我們持有礦權土地上的營運商活動增加，使 2021 年第一季產量超出我們預期。強勁的商品價格與高於預期的產量，推動油氣權利金部門調整後 EBITDA 達 1,190 萬美元，較前一季增加 16.7%。

For our Coal Royalties segment, increased revenue per royalty tons sold more than offset lower volumes, leading segment adjusted EBITDA higher to $7.3 million, an increase of 5.3% and 3.7% compared to the 2020 and sequential quarters, respectively. On a combined basis, our Oil & Gas Royalties and Coal Royalties contributed $19.2 million of segment adjusted EBITDA in the 2021 quarter or approximately 17.5% of ARLP's consolidated total.

就我們的煤炭權利金（Coal Royalties）部門而言，每權利金噸售出之收入增加，足以抵銷銷量下降，使該部門調整後 EBITDA 提升至 730 萬美元，較 2020 年同期及前一季分別增加 5.3% 與 3.7%。合併計算下，我們的石油與天然氣權利金（Oil & Gas Royalties）及煤炭權利金於 2021 年該季度合計貢獻 1,920 萬美元的部門調整後 EBITDA，約占 ARLP 合併總額的 17.5%。

I'll close my comments with an update on guidance. On the strength of ARLP's performance to start the year and an improved outlook for the balance of the year, we are increasing full year guidance for 2021. With strong coal burn during the polar vortex in February, lower utility stockpiles and a favorable natural gas price curve, we expect increased coal buying activity in our domestic markets over the rest of 2021. Improving international coal market fundamentals should also create additional export sales opportunities this year. As a result, ARLP is increasing the midpoint of its 2021 coal sales volumes to 31 million tons.

我將以對財測指引的更新作結。憑藉 ARLP 年初至今的表現強勁，以及對今年剩餘期間展望改善，我們上調 2021 年全年指引。由於 2 月極地渦旋期間煤炭燃燒量強勁、公用事業庫存較低，以及有利的天然氣價格曲線，我們預期 2021 年其餘時間國內市場的煤炭採購活動將增加。國際煤炭市場基本面改善亦應在今年創造更多出口銷售機會。因此，ARLP 將 2021 年煤炭銷售量指引中位數上調至 3,100 萬噸。

I mentioned earlier that production volumes for Oil & Gas Royalties exceeded our expectations during the 2021 quarter. The current pace of drilling, completion and permitting activity on our acreage suggest this trend will continue for the remainder of 2021, and we are now anticipating full year production near the top end of our initial ranges. With increased production and continued strength in commodity pricing, we now anticipate the 2021 EBITDA contribution from our Oil & Gas Royalties segment will be 20% to 25% above 2020 levels.

我先前提到，石油與天然氣權利金於 2021 年該季度的產量超出我們預期。我們在自有礦權/土地上的鑽井、完井與許可活動目前的步調顯示，此趨勢將在 2021 年剩餘期間延續，因此我們現在預期全年產量將接近原先區間的上緣。隨著產量增加及大宗商品定價持續強勁，我們目前預期 2021 年石油與天然氣權利金部門對 EBITDA 的貢獻將較 2020 年高出 20% 至 25%。

I will also note that we have increased the range for total segment adjusted EBITDA expense for our coal operations by approximately $1 per ton. This increase reflects the cost of intercompany coal royalties at our coal operating segments that are now reported separately in our Coal Royalties segment.

我也要指出，我們已將煤炭營運的總部門調整後 EBITDA 費用區間上調約每噸 1 美元。此增加反映煤炭營運部門內部公司間煤炭權利金的成本；該等成本目前已在我們的煤炭權利金部門中單獨列報。

With that, I'll turn the call back to Joe for some final comments. Joe?

接下來，我把電話交回給 Joe 做一些最後的評論。Joe？

Thank you, Brian. As we look to the future, ARLP is committed to creating long-term value for our unitholders, and I want to clearly state how we intend to achieve that goal.

謝謝你，Brian。展望未來，ARLP 致力於為我們的單位持有人創造長期價值，我想清楚說明我們打算如何達成這個目標。

First, ARLP remains committed to thermal coal. While headlines and rhetoric may suggest otherwise, recent challenges and disruptions experienced in Texas and California emphasized the importance of coal to maintaining an efficient, reliable and resilient power grid. The common sense reality is that until science and innovation allow for a transition away from coal and other fossil fuels, coal will remain an essential to the well-being and economic success of our country. Until that transition occurs, ARLP intends to be there with our low-cost operations, proudly supporting the economic vitality, standard of living and quality of life that the communities we serve desire and deserve.

第一，ARLP 仍然致力於動力煤。雖然新聞標題與言論可能暗示相反，但德州與加州近期所經歷的挑戰與中斷，凸顯煤炭對維持高效率、可靠且具韌性的電網之重要性。務實的現實是，在科學與創新允許我們轉離煤炭及其他化石燃料之前，煤炭仍將是我國福祉與經濟成功不可或缺的一環。在轉型發生之前，ARLP 打算以我們的低成本營運持續在場，並以此為榮，支持我們所服務社區所渴望且應得的經濟活力、生活水準與生活品質。

Secondly, we recognize and embrace the ongoing transition towards new energy and power technologies. As I mentioned during our last earnings call, we intend to participate in that transition and are focused on evaluating and pursuing opportunities to do so. As these opportunities continue to develop, we plan to utilize the talent and entrepreneurial spirit of our people, optimize the cash flow and value of our existing assets and leverage ARLP's financial strength to pursue activities that we believe have the potential to generate attractive returns with sustainable long-term growth and cash flows.

第二，我們認知並擁抱持續朝向新型能源與電力技術的轉型。如同我在上次法說會所提到的，我們打算參與這項轉型，並專注於評估與追求相關機會。隨著這些機會持續發展，我們計畫運用員工的才能與創業精神，最佳化既有資產的現金流與價值，並運用 ARLP 的財務實力，推動我們相信有潛力在可持續的長期成長與現金流下，創造具吸引力報酬的活動。

As we have always done, we intend to execute on our plans in a disciplined manner. Our capital allocation priorities will be balanced and focused, designed to return cash to unitholders while providing ARLP with the flexibility to simultaneously pursue strategic opportunities, protect our balance sheet and maintain access to capital.

一如既往，我們打算以嚴謹自律的方式執行計畫。我們的資本配置優先順序將兼顧平衡與聚焦，旨在回饋現金給單位持有人，同時讓 ARLP 保有彈性以同步追求策略性機會、保護資產負債表並維持資本取得管道。

While challenges exist, we are optimistic and excited about the future for Alliance. As we continue to define our future, ARLP remains focused on delivering strong performance and generating attractive long-term total returns for all our stakeholders.

儘管仍有挑戰，我們對 Alliance 的未來保持樂觀並感到振奮。當我們持續勾勒未來方向時，ARLP 仍專注於交出強勁表現，並為所有利害關係人創造具吸引力的長期總報酬。

That concludes our prepared comments, and I'll now ask the operator to open the call for questions.

以上為我們事先準備的發言，接下來我請接線員開放提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question will come from Nathan Martin with Seaport Global.

（接線員指示）我們的第一個問題來自 Seaport Global 的 Nathan Martin。

I guess, first, it looks like you priced an additional 2 million tons in the domestic market and about 400,000 in the export market since last quarter. Can you guys give us a sense of where those incremental tons may have priced?

我想，首先，看起來自上季以來，你們在國內市場又定價了額外 200 萬噸，在出口市場約 40 萬噸。你們能否讓我們了解一下，這些新增噸數大概是以什麼價格定下來的？

We've -- all of the pricing has been embedded in our ranges that we gave in our guidance this quarter, which we did not change from the last quarter. So we're right on target with what our expectations are for the year.

我們——所有的定價都已反映在本季指引所提供的區間內，而該區間我們並未相較上季做任何調整。所以就今年的預期而言，我們完全符合目標。

Okay. Directionally, Joe, any comments there? I mean, like you said, I saw you maintained your full year $40 to $42 guidance.

了解。就方向性而言，Joe，你有什麼評論嗎？我的意思是，如你所說，我看到你們維持全年每噸 40 到 42 美元的指引。

I hesitate to discuss that. We're right in the middle of some price negotiations. So I prefer to defer that comment on a more specific basis, if you understand.

我對討論這個有些猶豫。我們正處於一些價格談判的中間階段，所以如果你能理解的話，我比較希望暫緩就更具體的層面做評論。

Fair enough. Totally understand. Then maybe then on the roughly 5 million tons you guys have left to committed price kind of to get to the midpoint of your guidance, can you give us an idea on maybe the breakdown between domestic and export expectations for those tons?

合理。完全理解。那麼，針對你們大約還有 500 萬噸尚未承諾價格、以達到指引中位數的部分，你們能否提供一些想法，例如這些噸數在國內與出口之間的預期分配？

We've got about anywhere from 500,000 to 800,000. Well, we've got in our plan that we provided these numbers, there's right at 500,000 tons in the forecast. So that would show you the split between domestic and export that we're targeting. However, we believe that we could sell anywhere from another 1 million to 1.5 million tons in the export market. And that pricing could be more attractive than some of the domestic opportunities. So we're trying to evaluate that as the year goes on as to whether we're better to place those tons in the export market or place them in the domestic market.

我們大概有 50 萬到 80 萬噸。嗯——在我們提供這些數字的計畫中，預測值正好是 50 萬噸。這可以讓你看出我們鎖定的國內與出口分配。不過，我們認為在出口市場還可能再賣出約 100 萬到 150 萬噸，而且那個定價可能比部分國內機會更具吸引力。因此，我們會隨著年度進行評估，看看把這些噸數放在出口市場是否更好，或是放在國內市場更好。

We are pretty confident, as we look at our open position and the opportunities that will be presented in 2021, that we'll have plenty of opportunities to place that tonnage, but we are not currently anticipating increasing volumes beyond what we've given guidance to in this quarter's press release.

就我們的未結部位以及 2021 年將出現的機會來看，我們相當有信心會有充足的機會來配置這些噸數，但目前我們並不預期把銷量提高到超過本季新聞稿所提供的指引水準。

Got it. And then you guys made some comments on this in your prepared remarks, but you did build about 1 million tons of inventory, I think, the 1.8 in the quarter. Brian, I believe you said maybe that's kind of ratable throughout the rest of the year. Can you give us maybe a more specific idea about kind of what you guys see for shipment cadence Q2 through Q4?

了解。然後你們在事先準備的發言中也提到一些，但你們確實建立了大約 100 萬噸的庫存，我想本季是 180 萬噸。Brian，我記得你說可能在今年剩餘時間會逐步消化。你能否更具體說明一下，你們對 Q2 到 Q4 的出貨節奏有何看法？

Yes. Well, part of the inventory build in the first quarter is obviously just due to some seasonality. I mean, it's not unusual to see -- and just to clarify, too, Nate, I don't believe I said it's ratably, we just do expect that those tons will be delivered over the balance of the year. I believe we had, by way of example, 220 million tons, plus or minus, in transit, scheduled for export. I recall correctly, those tons were actually delivered and monetized very early in April.

可以。第一季庫存增加的一部分，顯然是因為季節性因素。我的意思是，看到——另外也澄清一下，Nate，我不認為我說過會「平均」分配；我們只是預期這些噸數會在今年剩餘期間交付。舉例來說，我相信我們有大約 22 萬噸（上下浮動）在運途中、排定要出口。我記得沒錯的話，這些噸數其實在 4 月初就已交付並實現收益。

I think in terms of overall cadence going forward, the normal seasonality that you see midyear around miners' vacations, and in the fourth quarter, due to the year-end holiday schedules for Thanksgiving, Christmas, et cetera, it will be fairly typical with what we've done historically, I believe.

我認為就未來整體節奏而言，你會看到年中礦工休假期間的正常季節性，以及第四季因感恩節、聖誕節等年終假期排程所造成的季節性；我相信這將與我們過往的歷史表現相當典型。

Maybe it's 200,000 in the quarter. I think you said 200 million.

可能是本季 20 萬噸吧。我想你剛剛說的是 2 億。

Oh, I'm sorry. 200 million tons.

喔，抱歉。是 2 億噸。

I got that, too.

我也聽成那樣。

Thank you for correcting that.

謝謝你更正。

Yes, so we had interruptions by weather, and then we also had interruptions by transportation sources just not being able to fill out their crews. So we would hope and believe some of that will roll right into the second quarter. So...

是的，所以我們受到天候影響而中斷，另外運輸端也有中斷，因為運輸業者無法補足人力編制。因此我們希望並相信其中一部分會順延到第二季。所以……

And that was actually going to be one of my other questions, Joe. You touched on from transportation infrastructure kind of side of things. How is that looking today versus, obviously, a couple of months ago during the polar vortex and maybe from both the rail and/or barge standpoint?

而那其實也是我另外一個問題之一，Joe。你提到運輸基礎設施這一端的情況。相較於幾個月前極地渦旋期間，現在看起來如何？也許從鐵路和／或駁船兩方面來看？

On the barge, I think we're seeing with the waters receding, that's becoming a little bit more in focus. But on the rail side, it's continuing to be an item that we're having to have discussions. So that we do, in fact, as we believe that the volumes will be consistent going forward, we've got to be ready for delivering that coal when the customer needs it and when we want to deliver it. So we're having conversations. We're -- they've been constructive. We're hopeful people will decide to go back to work. I think we've got a challenge right now because throughout everywhere we see in state of Kentucky as an example, there's 100,000 jobs that the Kentucky chamber just posted that are open that we're finding people not wanting to come back to work.

在駁船方面，我認為隨著水位回落，我們看到情況變得更清楚一些。但在鐵路運輸這一端，這仍然是我們必須持續討論的一個議題。因此，確實如我們所相信的，未來運量將保持一致，我們必須準備好在客戶需要時、以及我們希望交付時，把煤交付出去。所以我們正在進行對話。我們——這些對話是具建設性的。我們希望大家會決定回去工作。我認為我們現在面臨挑戰，因為以肯塔基州為例，我們在全州各地看到，肯塔基商會剛公布有10萬個職缺，但我們發現人們不願意回去工作。

So this is a real challenge when we want to take care of people that are unfortunately not having a job. But when we give the benefits that are so generous, that they don't want to come back to work, it really creates a problem. And not sure how that's going to shake out, but labor is tight, and that's across the board, whether it's service industries or railroads or coal operators or aluminum operators, labor is tight. And it's great to talk about a jobs plan, but it seems like we've got job opportunities and we need the workers to step up and go back to work.

所以，當我們想照顧那些不幸失業的人時，這確實是一個很大的挑戰。但當我們提供的福利如此慷慨，以致他們不想回去工作時，就真的會造成問題。我也不確定最後會如何發展，但勞動力很吃緊，而且是全面性的，不論是服務業、鐵路、煤炭業者或鋁業者，勞動力都很緊。談「就業計畫」當然很好，但看起來我們其實有工作機會，而我們需要勞工挺身而出、回去工作。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question will come from [Alan Arsht], a private investor.

（接線員指示）下一個問題來自私人投資人[Alan Arsht]。

Great quarter. I had a question about your relations -- your royalty revenue per barrel has in relationship to West Texas Intermediate crude pricing. And I mean it's up to around $57 today. I think you were averaging in the high 30s for Q1. And I wondered, is there a 1:1 relationship or something less? How do you look at that?

本季表現很棒。我有個問題是關於你們的關係——你們每桶的權利金收入與西德州中質原油（WTI）價格之間的關係。我的意思是，今天大約漲到57美元。我想你們第一季平均在30多美元的高檔。我想知道，這之間是1:1的關係，還是會更低？你們怎麼看？

Yes. Thanks, Alan. It is definitely not a 1:1 relationship. When we are disclosing our volumes, we're doing that on a barrel of oil equivalent. So that takes into account natural gas. I believe that's typically converted on a 6:1 basis for moving from MMBtu to barrel of oil, and it also includes our oil liquids volume stream, which, again, is not correlated to the price of oil.

是的，謝謝你，Alan。這絕對不是1:1的關係。當我們揭露產量時，是以油當量桶（BOE）來呈現。因此其中會納入天然氣。我相信通常是以6:1的基礎，將MMBtu換算成一桶油，另外也包含我們的液態油品（oil liquids）產量來源，而這部分同樣不會與油價呈現一致的相關性。

So when you look at our volumes embedded within the operating results and analysis table in our press release, we showed that about for this past quarter, a little over 48% of our BOE volumes were specifically oil. And our price per BOE, again, includes all 3 revenue streams and not just the oil stream.

所以當你看我們新聞稿中「營運結果與分析」表格裡所揭露的產量時，我們顯示在上一季，我們的BOE產量中有略高於48%是明確來自原油。而我們每BOE的價格，同樣包含三種收入來源，而不只是原油這一條收入流。

So when you look at just our oil stream, it was reflecting the WTI for the month of March. So it does correlate. And actually, when you look at our average sales per BOE this quarter, I believe that's a record for us since we've been in the oil and gas space.

所以如果只看我們的原油收入流，它反映的是3月份的WTI。因此確實是有相關性的。而且實際上，當你看我們本季每BOE的平均銷售價格，我相信這是我們自從進入油氣領域以來的最高紀錄。

So with the strength in natural gas prices and, I guess, NGLs, that should be a nice upward trend for you?

所以在天然氣價格走強以及我猜NGL（天然氣液）走強的情況下，這對你們應該會是很不錯的上升趨勢？

Yes. I mean the forward curve on all 3 of those products is currently favorable. Expectations are today that they'll remain that way through the balance of this year. And just as importantly, the volumes that we're seeing definitely exceeded our expectations by about 10% or so in the first quarter relative to what we thought would occur. So that improved pricing for those products is encouraging operator activity in the basins that we are participating in.

是的。我的意思是，這三種產品目前的遠期曲線都偏有利。今天市場的預期是，這種狀況會在今年剩餘期間維持。而同樣重要的是，我們看到的產量確實超出我們的預期，大約高出10%左右，相較於第一季我們原先認為會發生的情況。因此，這些產品價格的改善，正在鼓勵我們所參與盆地中的營運商提高活動。

So we're in the middle of an updated reserve report for our oil and gas activities. Hopefully, we'll be able to incorporate that adjusted volume stream as well as the forward curve and give some more details during our next earnings discussions.

所以我們正在進行一份更新的油氣儲量報告。希望我們能把調整後的產量來源以及遠期曲線納入其中，並在下一次財報討論時提供更多細節。

I had one other question, really two. One other question about the possible acquisition of unrelated coal royalties. Is that in your plans?

我還有另一個問題，其實是兩個。另一個問題是關於可能收購與你們無關的煤炭權利金資產。這在你們的計畫之中嗎？

We are looking at different ways that we could utilize our talent in the land royalty business. So that could be to other minerals that will participate at a greater level with battery technology, et cetera. It could be some other land-related investments that tie to turbines, to solar facilities, to -- so yes, we are looking at that segment to think in terms of deploying capital that would provide long-term stable royalty cash flow.

我們正在思考不同方式，來運用我們在土地權利金業務上的人才。因此，這可能會延伸到其他礦產——例如在電池技術等領域會更深度參與的礦產。也可能是一些其他與土地相關的投資，與風機、太陽能設施等相連結——所以是的，我們正在看這個領域，從資本部署的角度思考，尋找能提供長期穩定權利金現金流的機會。

I noticed this is kind of slightly off the subject, but some of the big dry natural gas companies have sold overriding royalty interest as a form of financing. And I wondered if those could happen in the coal industry as well.

我注意到這有點離題，但一些大型乾氣公司曾出售超額權利金權益（overriding royalty interest）作為一種融資方式。我想知道，煤炭產業是否也可能發生類似情況。

Well, on the coal side, essentially, that's not -- I mean, when they're selling that for financing, they're selling to people like us. So we could buy overriding royalties, and that's essentially some of what we're doing on the coal side. If you -- on the minerals side, we haven't participated as much in override royalties. We could, and we've looked at that.

嗯，在煤炭這邊，基本上那不是——我的意思是，當他們為了融資而出售時，他們是賣給像我們這樣的人。所以我們可以買超額權利金，而這本質上就是我們在煤炭端所做的一部分。如果你——在礦產那邊，我們參與超額權利金的程度沒有那麼高。我們可以做，而且我們也研究過。

In the coal side, we have bought properties that -- where we own fee, but where we've had to also buy leases. And that's one reason when you look at our guidance for our cost on royalties, where it shows in our release. Yes, that our royalty revenues $2.45, $2.55. Our expense is $0.95 to $1.05, that roughly $1 are third-party leases that we have to pay to other people that own the feed property of some of the coal leases and we own some fees ourselves. So there's a blend of some override that we're charging back to our lessor.

在煤炭端，我們買過一些資產——我們擁有完全所有權（fee），但同時也必須買入租約。這也是為什麼當你看我們對權利金成本的指引（在我們的公告中有揭露）時會看到：是的，我們的權利金收入是2.45到2.55美元；我們的費用是0.95到1.05美元，其中大約1美元是我們必須支付給第三方的租賃費，因為某些煤炭租約的地表/土地完全所有權（fee property）是由其他人持有，而我們自己也持有部分完全所有權。因此，這裡混合了我們向出租方回收（charge back）的部分超額權利金。

So there is opportunity for financing coal acquisitions and/or providing capacity to other coal operators. And if it would be low-cost reserves, then we would be interested in looking at that. That's not really where our primary interest is. Our primary interest is looking at the areas that would be either in the oil and gas sector or in non fossil fuels that would participate in the transition, in this new transition to new energy vision that's being discussed in political circles today.

所以，確實存在為煤炭收購提供融資和/或為其他煤炭業者提供產能的機會。如果是低成本儲量，我們會有興趣評估。但那並不是我們的主要關注點。我們的主要關注點是尋找油氣領域的機會，或是參與轉型的非化石燃料領域——也就是目前政治圈所討論的這一波邁向新能源願景的轉型。

Okay. And then finally, I was curious about the details of your recent bond offering. I looked, I didn't see them in your release.

好的。最後，我想了解你們最近債券發行的細節。我看了一下，沒有在你們的公告裡看到。

The bonds were issued a number of years ago. They mature in May of '25. Currently, they're trading about 93.5%, I think, is the last trade I saw, which is roughly a 9.5% yield compared to the face of 7.5%.

那些債券是幾年前發行的。它們在2025年5月到期。目前交易價格大約是93.5%，我想這是我看到的最後一筆成交，換算下來相對於票面利率7.5%，殖利率大約是9.5%。

I thought you had refinanced. That was...

我以為你們已經再融資了。那是……

Yes, you may be thinking about our revolving credit facilities with our commercial banks. We redid that a year ago in March, and it matures in March of 2024.

是的，你可能想到的是我們與商業銀行的循環信用額度。我們在去年3月重新辦理過，並且在2024年3月到期。

Our next question will come from Lucas Pipes with B. Riley.

下一個問題來自B. Riley的Lucas Pipes。

Joe and Brian, you mentioned the royalty business in your prepared remarks, specifically the value [ARP] between where line is trading today and where you see your comps for the royalty business trade. And now you're also shifting royalty -- coal royalty profits into that segment, further increasing its relative size. And so I wonder, what's the end game to close this ARP ? Is it separating these businesses completely, a public listing, for example? Would really appreciate your thoughts on that.

Joe和Brian，你們在事先準備的發言中提到權利金業務，特別是[ARP]的價值——也就是目前股價交易水準與你們認為權利金業務同業可比公司交易水準之間的差距。現在你們也把權利金——煤炭權利金的利潤——轉入該部門，進一步提高其相對規模。所以我想問，縮小這個ARP差距的最終目標是什麼？是把這些業務完全分拆嗎？例如公開上市？很希望聽聽你們的想法。

Right now, Lucas, we're trying to make sure people understand our cash flows. And when you think of that [ARP], we don't see any difference between a coal royalty and an oil and gas royalty in the sense that they're both stable cash flows from production with limited capital, limited operating expense, limited working capital. And we've got management teams that basically are managing land, whether it's oil and gas or coal, it's similar.

目前，Lucas，我們正努力確保大家理解我們的現金流。當你想到那個[ARP]時，我們不認為煤炭權利金與油氣權利金有任何差異，因為兩者都是來自生產的穩定現金流，資本投入有限、營運費用有限、營運資金需求有限。而我們的管理團隊基本上是在管理土地，不論是油氣或煤炭，本質上是相似的。

So as we think about trying to manage those together to bring some efficiencies, we felt it was reasonable to say, let's bring these cash flows that are very predictable on the coal side that we know from our mine plans that we're going to be mining for the next 10 years plus that, that should be provided to this segment to provide the ability that when we go try to finance oil and gas acquisitions, in particular, we may be able to get lower cost of financing than we would be if we try to do it as a coal company. So it's really driven more by our financing needs and thinking on ways we can finance our growth of our company.

因此，當我們思考把它們一起管理以帶來一些效率時，我們認為合理的做法是：把煤炭端那些非常可預測的現金流納入這個部門——我們從礦山計畫知道未來10年以上都會持續開採——讓這個部門具備能力，使我們在嘗試為油氣收購（特別是油氣收購）進行融資時，可能取得比作為一家煤炭公司去融資更低的資金成本。所以這更多是由我們的融資需求所驅動，並思考我們可以用哪些方式為公司的成長融資。

ESG has discriminated against a well-run coal company like ours. If you took the name of coal off of our company, we would be able to borrow in the low single digits. But because we're a coal company, people want to charge us double digits just because an ESG stigma or whatever that they want to call it. But I mean we're being discriminated against, and we need to find a way to address that issue. But in the interim, I think one way to provide ability to get low-cost financing is to show stable cash flow to potential lenders that would allow for us growing that segment without having to borrow at rates that are not justifiable.

ESG 一直在歧視像我們這樣經營良好的煤炭公司。若把「煤炭」這個名字從我們公司拿掉，我們就能以個位數低利率借款。但因為我們是煤炭公司，人們就想向我們收取兩位數利率，只因為所謂的 ESG 汙名或不管他們想怎麼稱呼它。我的意思是，我們正在被歧視，我們需要找到方法來解決這個問題。但在此期間，我認為提供取得低成本融資能力的一種方式，是向潛在放款人展示穩定的現金流，讓我們能夠擴大該業務板塊，而不必以不合理的利率借款。

So I think that's part strategy as far as trying to grow it. We do want to grow it, but we're trying to grow it primarily to grow the strength of Alliance. We are in transition. We think that transition should be 15 to 20 years, not 5 or 9 to 15 in the thought of the -- what in the world in the utility industry really do, practically speaking. I mean most utility executives talk in terms of 2050, not 2030 or 2035. And 2030 to 2035 is just not practical. It's -- we're -- the administration is not telling the truth. They're misleading the American people and investors to believe that we can transition that fast.

所以我認為這是嘗試擴張的一部分策略。我們確實想要成長，但我們主要是想透過成長來強化 Alliance 的實力。我們正處於轉型期。我們認為這個轉型應該是 15 到 20 年，而不是 5 年，或 9 到 15 年——就公用事業產業實務上真正能做到的而言。我的意思是，多數公用事業高層談的是 2050 年，而不是 2030 或 2035。2030 到 2035 根本不切實際。這——我們——政府並沒有說實話。他們在誤導美國民眾與投資人，讓大家相信我們能轉型得那麼快。

Now having said that, we've got to deal with reality, they may do it anyway. And so we've got to think in terms of how do we take the cash flow we have today, redeploy it so that by 2030, 2035, we've got as much cash flow generated in the future as we have today and hopefully even more. So we've got to grow where the market is going to be. So I think mineral's going to be a large part of that.

話雖如此，我們仍必須面對現實，他們可能還是會照做。因此我們必須思考：如何把我們今天的現金流重新配置，讓我們在 2030、2035 年時，未來所產生的現金流至少與今天一樣，甚至更多。所以我們必須在市場將要前往的方向成長。我認為礦產將會是其中很大的一部分。

Yes, there's some effort as well on the transportation sector to reduce the demand. But everything I read believes that EV's best case, most optimistic case may penetrate 50% of the market. And I think that's a very aggressive target. So we believe that investing in oil and gas still will provide for -- good long-term returns for 3 decades. And so we're not -- we're still feeling that, that's an area where we can make investments that can be very attractive that -- where we've got a solid base that we can invest around, to where we can generate long-term investments or returns for our shareholders.

是的，運輸部門也有一些努力在降低需求。但我讀到的所有資料都認為，電動車在最佳情境、最樂觀情境下，可能也只會滲透到 50% 的市場。我認為那已是非常激進的目標。因此我們相信，投資油氣仍將在未來 30 年帶來——良好的長期報酬。所以我們並沒有——我們仍然認為那是我們可以進行投資的領域，且可能非常具吸引力——我們有穩固的基礎可以圍繞其投資，從而為股東創造長期投資或回報。

Really appreciate all this color, super helpful. You touched on this just now, but the balance sheet. And when I think about an EV to EBITDA in the 3s, one could maybe -- any dollar that you allocate towards debt reduction creates value for shareholders. In my opinion, not -- let's not get into it, but anyway. So, Brian, is there an argument to be made to be running this business with no leverage at all?

非常感謝你提供這些細節，真的很有幫助。你剛剛也提到了資產負債表。當我看到 EV/EBITDA 在 3 倍左右時，我會覺得——也許——你把任何一美元配置到減債上，都能為股東創造價值。以我個人看法，不——我們先不深入，但總之。Brian，有沒有理由讓這家公司在完全沒有槓桿的情況下經營？

I mean, certainly you could, in theory, suggest that. I don't think it makes rational sense, running a business as we have traditionally in the 1x level seems to be conservative and achievable. I think current enterprise value multiples, to your point, I believe, Lucas, do reflect concerns about ability to refinance. We do have strong relationships with our banks. We recently participated in a high-yield conference a few months ago, had very good discussions with a variety of different investors. And while there certainly are some who have, for virtual investing purposes, put a red line around thermal coal, there remains a very wide, deep pool of capital that continues to be available to thermal coal.

我的意思是，當然，理論上你可以這麼建議。但我不認為那在理性上說得通；我們傳統上以約 1 倍的水準經營，似乎既保守又可達成。我認為目前的企業價值倍數，如你所說，Lucas，確實反映了市場對再融資能力的擔憂。我們與往來銀行的關係很強。我們幾個月前也參加了一場高收益債會議，與各類投資人進行了非常好的交流。雖然確實有一些人出於虛擬投資（virtual investing）的目的，對動力煤（thermal coal）劃下紅線，但仍然存在一個非常廣泛且深厚的資本池，持續對動力煤提供資金。

To Joe's point, current cost is above where we think that should be. But we are continuing to evaluate those markets, strengthen the relationships that we have and look at opportunities to pursue pools of capital that we haven't necessarily done so in the past. I think driving our leverage near 1:1, as we have done historically, remains an objective. But to completely delever makes it pretty difficult to grow the company, and I think we are absolutely focused on growth. If we're able to achieve that, then cash flows will take care of themselves and the ability to return value to the unitholders and our creditors will be clear.

如 Joe 所說，目前的資金成本高於我們認為應有的水準。但我們仍在持續評估這些市場、強化既有關係，並尋找機會去接觸我們過去未必涉足的資本池。我認為把槓桿推動到接近 1:1（如我們歷史上一貫所做）仍是目標。但若完全去槓桿化，會讓公司成長變得相當困難，而我認為我們絕對聚焦於成長。如果我們能做到，現金流自然會跟上，回饋價值給單位持有人與債權人的能力也會很清楚。

Let me add to that, Lucas. I mean, again, I think your question was centered around us being a coal company. And I think the message we started with last quarter, and we're trying to continue to talk through, but this is an evolving evaluation. Every fossil fuel company that's a publicly traded company that I pay attention to have transition teams trying to think through what is the definition of this transition and how can we participate in the transition from this energy business model to the next one.

Lucas，我再補充一下。我的意思是，再次，我認為你的問題核心在於我們是一家煤炭公司。我認為我們從上季開始傳達的訊息、並且持續想要討論的是——但這是一個持續演進的評估。每一家我關注的公開上市化石燃料公司，都有轉型團隊在思考：這個轉型的定義是什麼？以及我們如何參與從這種能源商業模式轉向下一種模式的過程。

So we're in the energy business. Our name is Alliance Resource Partners, not Alliance Coal particularly. And it was set up that way in the middle '90s because we wanted to be an investor in energy, because we believe people love to have their lights on. And we saw that in Texas in [states], 2 weeks of disruption of electric generation created shortage worldwide plastics. It's still a contributing factor, the shortage in chips, that everybody is talking about.

所以我們是在能源產業。我們的名字是 Alliance Resource Partners，而不是特別叫 Alliance Coal。之所以在 90 年代中期這樣設計，是因為我們想成為能源領域的投資者，因為我們相信人們喜歡家裡有電。我們在德州的 [states] 看到，發電中斷兩週就造成全球塑膠短缺。這仍是造成晶片短缺的因素之一，而這正是大家一直在談論的。

So people need to understand the scale of the U.S. energy generation in this country and what it means to the world economy. And we've got relationships. We've been in this business from day 1, going way back to the '60s, predated me. We've been in this business and we're in the energy business. And we've got relationships with our customers, our utility customers, that if they want to transition to something else, there's no reason why we can't help be a supplier to them in whatever choice they make.

所以人們需要理解美國在本國的能源發電規模，以及這對世界經濟意味著什麼。我們有各種關係。我們從第一天起就在這個行業，追溯到 60 年代，甚至早於我。我們一直在這個行業，我們是在能源產業。我們與客戶、也就是公用事業客戶有合作關係；如果他們想轉向其他方案，沒有理由我們不能在他們所做的任何選擇中，協助成為其供應商。

There's going to be a lot of capital. You're reading about it with this -- the Biden infrastructure plan, $2 trillion. They're talking hundreds of billions of dollars that they want to channel back into the electric grid and the transportation sector. In specifics, there's $18 billion plus $4 billion that Senator Manchin has earmarked. So there's $22 billion of federal money that's going to come to areas affected by their policies, i.e., coal communities specifically. And who's going to invest $18 billion of federal money or take advantage of tax credits if it's not people that are already there?

將會有大量資本投入。你從這個——拜登基礎建設計畫，2 兆美元，就能看到。他們談到要把數千億美元導回電網與運輸部門。具體而言，參議員 Manchin 已經劃撥了 180 億美元加上 40 億美元。所以有 220 億美元的聯邦資金將流向受其政策影響的地區，也就是特別指煤炭社區。若不是已經在當地的人，誰會去投資這 180 億美元的聯邦資金，或利用稅收抵免？

So I'm hopeful in conversations with the banks that they will start looking at how am I going to participate in this transition. Am I going to lend money to the solar industry, the wind industry, the transmission industry, the EV industry? Are they going to lend money to new technologies? And if they are, can we participate in that? And can they look at that in a different vein than just looking at it as the -- just the solid cash flow that we're going to have from coal for the next 15 years. It's just unfortunate that you get -- we get labeled because we're in the coal company, that people can't look beyond just that definition and can't look at the strength of our cash flow as a low-cost producer to an essential fuel that's going to be needed over the next 3 quarters -- or 3 decades.

所以我希望在與銀行的對話中，他們會開始思考：我要如何參與這個轉型？我要把錢借給太陽能產業、風電產業、輸電產業、電動車產業嗎？他們會把錢借給新技術嗎？如果會，我們能否參與其中？他們能否用不同的角度來看待，而不只是把它視為——僅僅是我們未來 15 年從煤炭獲得的穩定現金流。很不幸的是，你會——我們會被貼標籤，因為我們是煤炭公司，人們無法超越這個定義，也無法看到我們作為低成本生產者、面對未來 3 個季度——或 30 年——仍將被需要的關鍵燃料所展現的強勁現金流。

So we're targeting areas -- in areas where we live, where we have skilled people, where we have relationships with the state governments, with the federal governments, with utilities to say we can be your partner. And these skills are very transferable to what we do. And that's our target. We can't do it overnight, but we recognize that we've been discriminated against in lending practices. And unfortunately, that's one reason why we're only using 30% of our cash flow to pay to our unitholders. We should be able to do more than that, but we are having to use our free cash flow that we're generating without borrowing to see how we're going to define what areas that we start investing in to show that we have the capability to build businesses like we've done in the past, and we've got a track record of doing, that we can build businesses that are ready to be financed for that future growth, whatever that transition in that time period is.

所以我們鎖定的領域——是在我們生活的地方、我們有人才技能的地方、我們與州政府、聯邦政府以及公用事業單位有關係的地方，去說：我們可以成為你們的夥伴。而這些技能與我們所做的事情高度可轉移。這就是我們的目標。我們不可能一夕之間做到，但我們也認知到，我們在放貸實務上遭到歧視。不幸的是，這也是為什麼我們只用 30% 的現金流支付給單位持有人。我們本應能做得更多，但我們必須在不借款的情況下，運用我們所產生的自由現金流，去思考並界定我們要開始投資哪些領域，以證明我們有能力像過去一樣建立業務——而且我們也有這樣的紀錄——我們能建立可為未來成長取得融資的事業，不論那個轉型在那段期間會是什麼樣子。

Fortunately, I believe we've got 2 decades to do that. It may be 15 years, I don't know. But we're very focused on it. Fortunately, we've got enough cash flow that we can engage in businesses. And we're one of the few in these areas of coal communities that have the financial resources that can benefit from all these tax credits and all this federal money that they want to throw out to encourage this transition from fossil fuels.

幸運的是，我相信我們還有 20 年的時間可以做到這件事。也可能是 15 年，我不確定。但我們非常專注於此。幸運的是，我們有足夠的現金流，能夠投入各種業務。而且在這些煤礦社區相關領域中，我們是少數擁有財務資源的公司之一，能夠從這些稅收抵免以及他們想要投入、用以鼓勵從化石燃料轉型的所有聯邦資金中受益。

That's our strategy. And hopefully, that helps you understand the context of how we're looking at the balance sheet. And it's something that's got some uncertainty to it, and that's why we're being conservative. But I'm very confident that we're in a great, great place to be able to take advantage of these opportunities, probably more so than a lot of people.

這就是我們的策略。希望這能幫助你理解我們如何看待資產負債表的脈絡。這件事確實帶有一些不確定性，所以我們才會採取保守作法。但我非常有信心，我們正處在一個非常、非常有利的位置，能夠把握這些機會，可能比很多人都更有優勢。

Our next question will come from Arthur Calavritinos with ANC Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 ANC Capital 的 Arthur Calavritinos。

A couple of questions, one short-term and a couple longer term. And a great discussion on the last question. I've been getting a lot of reports in Europe being very cold and being sort of running short on stuff. I'm just wondering on your -- and particularly in April, what's going on with the -- any color on the export market? What's -- are you getting any extra lift there? Anything you can speak to that?

我有幾個問題，一個偏短期，另外幾個偏長期。剛才那個問題的討論很精彩。我一直收到很多報告說歐洲非常冷，而且某些物資似乎有點短缺。我想請教你們——特別是 4 月——出口市場那邊的情況如何？能否分享一些看法？你們是否因此得到額外的提振？有沒有什麼可以談的？

So for the month of April, we've been -- there's basically been dealing with some high transportation costs, some driven by oil prices, diesel. Some driven by just the capacity, some driven by the Suez Canal disruption. So there's several things that are happening in the transportation piece of the business that we believe has started to show some reduction that could provide opportunities. So we're -- we're still bullish.

就 4 月而言，我們——基本上一直在應對一些較高的運輸成本，其中一部分是由油價、柴油價格所驅動；一部分是由運力所驅動；還有一部分是由蘇伊士運河中斷所驅動。所以在業務的運輸環節，有好幾件事同時在發生，而我們認為這些因素已開始出現一些下降，可能帶來機會。因此我們——我們仍然看多。

We're -- I mean, we do sell some to Europe, but we're more targeted to India right now. And India has got the virus resurging, that's created some pause, but we're still in conversations with our customers. And we believe that there's definite demand, because not only does that virus affect the demand for products, but it really affects their ability to mine coal because we know what it did to us a year ago when people were testing positive, as to how disruptive it can be to the operation.

我們——我的意思是，我們確實有賣一些到歐洲，但目前我們更聚焦在印度。印度的病毒疫情再度升溫，造成了一些暫停，但我們仍在與客戶持續溝通。我們相信需求是明確存在的，因為病毒不僅影響產品需求，也會嚴重影響他們的採煤能力；我們知道一年前當人們檢測呈陽性時對我們造成了什麼影響——它對營運的干擾可能非常大。

So we continue to feel that the export market is constructive. Again, I would remind that in large part, this recent resurgence was tied to the political issues between Australia and China. Those still exist, and they are also unpredictable. But in that backdrop, April was slowed a little bit because of the cost of transportation. We think that will correct itself and we do believe the second half of the year, as I said earlier, that we'll have the potential -- potentially to do more than 1 million to 2 million tons than what we had planned for and what's in our current forecast. And if we do that, that would probably take away from domestic market sales, just strengthen lower inventories for our customers going into next year.

因此我們仍然認為出口市場的走勢是正向的。再次提醒，近期這波回升在很大程度上與澳洲與中國之間的政治問題有關。那些問題仍然存在，而且同樣難以預測。但在這樣的背景下，4 月因為運輸成本而稍微放緩。我們認為這會自行修正，而且我們確實相信今年下半年——如我先前所說——我們有潛力（可能）比原先規劃、以及目前預測中的數量多出 100 萬到 200 萬噸。如果我們做到那樣，可能會從國內市場銷售中挪出一些量，並在客戶進入明年時進一步強化其較低的庫存水位。

Okay. All right. And then just a couple of longer-term questions. I've been getting a lot of research reports, just big-picture thing, but just on the use of electrons, like the amount of electricity people are using and countries are using for the next 30 to 50 years. I had a report like it's going to increase by 60%. Again, it's maybe 2050. And what I'm seeing is now I'm seeing like companies like Amazon and Google, they use -- they have the cloud, they have data storage and all that stuff uses electricity. But unlike a steel plant, it never shuts off, right? I mean, in the old days, you have a steel plant, making sheet metal for F-150, and it shuts off, right? A lot of electricity, but then it shuts off.

好的。明白。接著是幾個較長期的問題。我一直收到很多研究報告，從大方向來看，是關於「用電量」——也就是未來 30 到 50 年人們與各國使用的電力規模。有一份報告說到 2050 年可能會增加 60%。另外我看到像 Amazon、Google 這類公司，他們有雲端、有資料儲存，而這些都需要用電。但不同於鋼鐵廠，它從來不會關機，對吧？我的意思是，以前你有一座鋼鐵廠，生產 F-150 用的鋼板，它會停機，對吧？用電量很大，但之後會停。

Anything you can speak to like, when I look at technology companies, they think that tech is being green but these tech guys use a lot of electricity that never is supposed to shut off. And just any color you may have or thoughts on that, I'd appreciate it.

你能否談談這點：當我看科技公司時，他們認為科技是在走向綠色，但這些科技公司用的電很多，而且理論上不應該停機。若你能提供一些觀察或想法，我會很感謝。

Well, there is. And then you add to that the EVs, when you start doing electric vehicles, that is an increase in demand. The policymaker would suggest that a lot of their focus is going to be on buildings and efficiency and that, that could offset some of that increased usage. We'll get it with -- we'll see. I mean, I had the opportunity to live in New York for a year last year, and there was discussions about they're going to tear down buildings because they're not efficient enough, build these skyscrapers again more efficiently. But I don't know how that works mathematically. But -- so there's a lot of analysis that would suggest that the efficiency could offset some of that growth. That's in the developed countries.

是的，確實如此。再加上電動車（EV），當你開始推動電動車時，需求會增加。政策制定者會說，他們很多重點會放在建築物與效率提升上，而這可能抵消部分用電增加。我們會——我們再看看。我是說，我去年有機會在紐約住了一年，當時有人討論要把一些建築拆掉，因為效率不夠，然後再以更高效率重建這些摩天大樓。但我不知道這在數學上怎麼算得通。不過——所以有很多分析認為，效率提升可以抵消部分成長。那是在已開發國家。

Then you get into the emerging countries, which we include China and India in that. There's going to continue to be tremendous uses of electricity, including coal fire generation. So no matter what we do on fossil fuels in America, China and India are going to trump that plus. So that's a challenge that we've got to think through as to are we really making a difference? I know it makes a lot of people feel good, but I'm not sure that the cost benefit is there for our country. But I can speak about that, but I don't know that if the Biden administration listens to that.

接著你會看到新興國家——我們把中國和印度也算在其中——用電量仍將持續大幅增加，其中也包括燃煤發電。所以不管我們在美國對化石燃料做什麼，中國和印度都會在總量上超過、甚至加倍抵消。這就是我們必須思考的挑戰：我們真的有在產生影響嗎？我知道這會讓很多人感覺良好，但我不確定對我們國家而言，成本效益是否成立。我可以談這些，但我不確定拜登政府是否會聽進去。

Yes. It's funny. On the skyscrapers, I've read and heard that. You can build them, but there's basically very small windows. And so nobody wants that product. So yes, yes. So I hear you.

是的。很有趣。關於摩天大樓，我也讀過、聽過。你可以蓋，但基本上窗戶會非常小，所以沒有人想要那種產品。是的，是的。所以我懂你的意思。

And then on the other thing -- well, two things. One, on electric cars is like -- what is like 5% or 10% of the fleet? Like any math on that or like, what 5% or 10% of the fleet if they were electric? I think we got 220 million cars. What does that do or mean or anything like that? Does that move the needle like permanently for gas and coal for electricity? Or are we still in the early stages? And it's a tough guess.

另外還有一件事——其實兩件。第一，電動車大概——車隊占比是 5% 或 10%？有沒有什麼估算？如果車隊有 5% 或 10% 都是電動的會怎樣？我想我們有 2.2 億輛車。那會帶來什麼影響或代表什麼？對汽油需求以及用於發電的煤炭，是否會造成長期、實質性的改變？還是我們仍在早期階段？這很難猜。

Again, I think they are somewhat offset by the renewables as well as efficiency at that level. If you start going greater than that, then yes, there's going to be greater demand for electricity and coal and natural gas. I don't know, I mean natural gas has to supply it. I mean that's part of the challenge that these states are dealing with, is if I shut down a coal plant, am I really going to replace it with a natural gas plant that you want to be shut down in 5 years or 7 years? You've got to allow me to run that plant for 40 years. So that's a real challenge when we start throwing out all these numbers and deciding that we want to just cut down -- shut down coal plants by 2030. Well, what are you going to replace it with?

再說一次，我認為在那個程度上，部分會被再生能源以及效率提升所抵消。如果占比再往上走，那麼是的，對電力、煤炭與天然氣的需求會更高。我不知道——我的意思是，天然氣必須供應這部分。這也是各州正在面對的挑戰之一：如果我關掉一座燃煤電廠，我真的要用一座天然氣電廠來取代它，而你又希望那座天然氣電廠在 5 年或 7 年後也被關掉？你必須允許我讓那座電廠運轉 40 年。當我們開始拋出這些數字，並決定要在 2030 年前把燃煤電廠關掉時，這就成了真正的挑戰。那你要用什麼來取代？

And again, we've got reports, the MISO report that was issued in February. Again, this reinforced that renewable energy penetration increased more risk on their electric systems back to the transmission. Basically saying 30% renewables raise significant challenges and significant dollars in our transmission grid. We all know that, that cannot be done in 9 to 10 years. You can't get permitting done that quickly.

而且再說一次，我們有一些報告，例如 2 月發布的 MISO 報告。它再次強化了這一點：再生能源滲透率提高，會讓電力系統的風險上升，回到輸電層面。基本上是在說，當再生能源占比達到 30% 時，會對輸電電網帶來重大挑戰，並需要投入大量資金。我們都知道，那在 9 到 10 年內不可能完成。許可審批不可能那麼快。

So we really need to be truthful with how long this transition is. And I think our country would be better served if we started talking about year 2050 with commitments to get there than starting to talk about 2030 to 2035 that makes it so confusing for investors to determine exactly how to make sure they're investing in the right technologies and doing it in a low-cost way where we can compete in an international marketplace.

所以我們真的需要誠實面對這個轉型需要多長時間。我認為，如果我們開始談 2050 年、並承諾要達成目標，會比開始談 2030 到 2035 年更能服務國家利益；因為後者會讓投資人非常困惑，難以判斷該如何確保把資金投到正確的技術上，並以低成本方式推進，讓我們能在國際市場上具備競爭力。

Okay. Great. And then last one, just hydrogen. I mean reading about hydrogen in Japan, they're doing an experiment at utility with hydrogen from coal. So it just got me thinking about you guys. And you mentioned it on the last call, with new technologies, you do that phrase in the last call, on this call. Are you guys having a lot of incoming calls or guys that want to do hydrogen?

好的。很好。最後一個問題，關於氫能。我讀到日本在做氫能的事情，他們在公用事業端做一個用煤製氫的實驗。這讓我想到你們。你們在上一通電話會議提到過，關於新技術——你在上一通、以及這一通都用了那個說法。你們最近是否接到很多來電，或是有很多人想做氫能？

And I assume you must have some great engineers that know the properties of coal and what it could do in a new energy era or what these guys are doing and then you throw the money in the administration's plan. It just seems like you guys may be a natural fit for some -- as a JV partner or some kind of alliance with one of these newer like hydrogen technologies. Anything -- any...

而且我想你們一定有一些很優秀的工程師，了解煤的特性，以及在新能源時代煤能做什麼，或是這些人正在做什麼，然後你們再把資金投入政府的計畫裡。看起來你們可能很自然地適合——例如作為合資（JV）夥伴，或與這些較新的氫能技術之一建立某種聯盟。任何——任何……

More of the hydrogens focused on natural gas is coal. But that doesn't mean that we can't have a role, but they want to eliminate all coal mining. So they don't want any new technology that would utilize that.

氫能方面更多是聚焦在天然氣，而不是煤。但這不代表我們不能扮演角色，只是他們想要消除所有煤礦開採。所以他們不希望有任何會利用煤的新技術。

But there are some carbon capture things that are being worked on that we're evaluating. So there are things that can be done and that does feed into what you're saying. So there are some carbon capture that then would allow that to be tied into the hydrogen formula. But we do have some folks looking at that. I don't know that, that's something we're going to pursue, to be candid.

不過確實有一些正在推進的碳捕捉（carbon capture）技術，我們也在評估。所以確實有些事情可以做，這也呼應你剛才說的。有一些碳捕捉技術，之後就能把它納入氫能的配方／公式中。但我們確實有人在看這個。坦白說，我不確定這是不是我們會去追求的方向。

It's possible. I'm more focused on where our customers are, where the footprints are that we know there's going to be a lot of capital flow. And there are things that fit some of our, not only geographic footprint, but where we have people that have skills and talent that can provide running businesses other than just coal mining.

有可能。我更專注在我們的客戶在哪裡、我們已知會有大量資本流入的那些足跡（footprints）在哪裡。也有一些事情符合我們的——不只是地理足跡，也包括我們有人才與技能，能夠經營不僅僅是煤礦開採的其他業務。

Our next question will come from Matthew Fields with Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行（Bank of America）的 Matthew Fields。

I wanted to talk about capital allocation a little bit. I think you mentioned in your answer to Lucas' question about no leverage, that you kind of are trying to continue managing towards a 1x level. I appreciate that you thought through the distribution to be 30% of your sort of cash flow before growth projects. Do you think that you're going to end the year at about 1x? Or is that kind of a longer-term target?

我想稍微談一下資本配置。我想你在回答 Lucas 的問題、談到不加槓桿時提到，你們某種程度上是希望持續把槓桿管理在 1 倍左右。我也理解你們把分配（distribution）設定為成長專案之前的某種現金流的 30%。你覺得你們今年年底會在大約 1 倍嗎？還是那是比較長期的目標？

It's more of a long -- it's more of a longer-term target. I mean it is possible. I mean you get there both 2 ways, right, paying down debt or growing your EBITDA. And I think we made investments. But the ability to make them that accretive this year would be very difficult because we'll just be getting into them. And therefore, if we use that capital to grow, we're not paying down debt.

那比較偏長——比較偏長期的目標。我的意思是，也有可能。你可以透過兩種方式達成，對吧：償還債務或提高 EBITDA。我想我們做了投資。但要在今年就讓那些投資具備增厚效益（accretive）會非常困難，因為我們才剛開始投入。因此，如果我們用資本去成長，就不會用來償債。

Now where we are right now, we effectively paid down our debt, except for our equipment leases and our bonds. So we can still buy back the bonds. But I think that right now, our focus is on trying to find growth. And if we find that growth, it will be hard to get to 1x at the end of the year unless we find some great deal that we get 1x EBITDA from our investment right off the bat. But...

就我們目前的狀況而言，除了設備租賃與公司債之外，我們基本上已經把債務還掉了。所以我們仍然可以回購公司債。但我認為目前我們的重點是尋找成長。如果我們找到成長，那麼要在年底達到 1 倍會很難，除非我們找到一筆很棒的交易，讓我們的投資一開始就能立刻帶來 1 倍 EBITDA。但……

You still got about $90 million, $95 million between -- outstanding between your AR facility and your revolver. Do you see that being paid down close to 0 by the end of the year?

你們在應收帳款（AR）融資與循環信貸（revolver）之間，仍有大約 9,000 萬到 9,500 萬美元的未償餘額。你們預期年底前會把它償還到接近 0 嗎？

Our revolver?

我們的循環信貸？

The revolver?

循環信貸？

Well, between the AR facility and revolver, you've got about...

嗯，在 AR 融資與循環信貸之間，你們大概有……

Yes, the AR facility...

是的，AR 融資……

$95 million.

9,500 萬美元。

Yes. So the AR facility will stay intact. Obviously, it depends on whether we can deploy the capital or not. But we're hopeful we can use that free cash flow to grow and therefore, maintain our revolver on the AR facility. But the...

是的。所以 AR 融資會維持不變。當然，這取決於我們能否部署資本。但我們希望能用自由現金流來成長，因此維持我們在 AR 融資項下的循環信貸。不過……

Okay. And then your -- I think your revolver shrinks by about $80 million, maybe $78 million in May next month. Do you plan on kind of upsizing the AR facility or growing -- establishing some other credit facility to -- or are you okay with kind of that reduction in sort of overall facility availability? Is that just -- are we just going to kind of leave it there?

好的。然後你們的——我想你們的循環信貸在下個月 5 月會縮減大約 8,000 萬美元，可能是 7,800 萬美元。你們是否打算把 AR 融資加大規模，或是擴充——建立其他信貸額度來——或者你們可以接受整體可用額度的下降？也就是——我們就先維持這樣嗎？

Yes. I don't think you would see us go out and necessarily upsize the AR facility securitization until it renews in December of this year. We'll take a look at it at that point in time. And obviously, we are stepping down on capacity under the revolver, but we have paid it down to a level where we still have meaningful capacity that continues to be available to us. So absent other transactions that could cause us to touch one or both of those facilities, I think you can expect to see us leaving those intact for now.

是的。我不認為你會看到我們在今年 12 月到期續約之前，就出去把 AR 融資證券化（securitization）的規模加大。我們會在那個時間點再評估。很明顯地，我們在循環信貸項下的額度正在階段性下調，但我們已把借款餘額降到一個水位，使得我們仍有相當可觀的可用額度可供使用。因此，除非有其他交易使我們需要動用其中一項或兩項額度，我想你可以預期我們目前會先維持這些安排不變。

Our next question will come from Scott Ferguson with Pacific Value.

下一個問題來自 Pacific Value 的 Scott Ferguson。

So just I'm clear on the distribution. So that $0.40 distribution is at 30% of anticipated free cash flow for this year?

所以我確認一下分配。那個 0.40 美元的分配，是今年預期自由現金流的 30% 嗎？

Roughly, yes.

大致上，是的。

$0.40 annualized.

年化 0.40 美元。

Yes. Yes, $0.40 annualized.

是的。是的，年化 0.40 美元。

$0.10 per quarter.

每季 0.10 美元。

And that distribution levels, is that being constrained by your creditors?

那這個分配水準，是受到你們債權人的限制嗎？

No, it's not. Not at all. It's wanting to make sure that we execute on our objectives of returning appropriate levels of cash to our unitholders, but maintaining the flexibility to pursue the growth projects that we've been talking about. But there is no constraint on our facilities that we're bumping up against right now. We have plenty of room with the $0.40 per unit on an annualized basis.

不，完全不是。主要是要確保我們能達成目標：向我們的單位持有人（unitholders）返還適當水準的現金，同時保有彈性去推進我們一直在談的成長專案。但就目前而言，我們並沒有碰到任何融資契約的限制。我們在年化每單位 0.40 美元的水準下，仍有很大的空間。

And when you guys are prioritizing cash flow and doing your planning, are buybacks ever in that discussion? And if they are, where do they fall?

那你們在優先排序現金流、做規劃時，會把回購納入討論嗎？如果會，它的優先順序在哪裡？

Obviously, we have repurchased units in the past. And so it's a tool that remains on the table. I think, in fact, we still have $6 million or $7 million or $8 million of authorization to buy back units. But again, our focus is on deploying our cash flow to grow as well as return that cash to our unitholders through distribution. So it's possible, but I wouldn't say it's a high priority at this stage.

很明顯地，我們過去曾回購過單位（units）。所以這仍是一個可用的工具。我想事實上，我們仍有 600 萬或 700 萬或 800 萬美元的回購授權額度。但同樣地，我們的重點是把現金流用於成長，同時也透過分配把現金返還給單位持有人。所以有可能，但我不會說在這個階段它是高優先事項。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Brian Cantrell for any closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。我想把電話會議交回給 Brian Cantrell，請他做任何結語。

Thank you, everyone, for your time this morning. Good conversations. We appreciate your continued support of and interest in Alliance. Our next call to discuss our second quarter 2021 results is currently expected to occur in late July, and we hope that you'll join us again at that time.

謝謝各位今天早上的時間。對話很精彩。我們感謝各位持續對 Alliance 的支持與關注。我們下一次討論 2021 年第二季業績的電話會議，目前預計在 7 月下旬舉行，也希望屆時各位能再次參與。

This concludes our call for today. Thanks for your participation and support. Thank you.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與與支持。謝謝。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

本次會議現已結束。感謝各位出席今天的簡報。您現在可以掛線。