Array Technologies Inc (ARRY) 2021 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to Array Technologies' Second Quarter 2021 Earnings Call and Webcast. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Cody Mueller, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

各位好，歡迎收聽 Array Technologies 2021 年第二季財報電話會議與網路直播。（接線員指示）提醒各位，本次會議將被錄音。現在很榮幸將電話交給投資人關係部的 Cody Mueller。請開始。

Good evening, and thank you for joining us on today's conference call to discuss Array Technologies' second quarter 2021 results. Slides for today's presentation are available on the Investor Relations section of our website, arraytechinc.com.

各位晚安，感謝各位參加今天的電話會議，一同討論 Array Technologies 2021 年第二季業績。今日簡報投影片可於我們網站 arraytechinc.com 的「投資人關係」專區取得。

During this conference call, management will make forward-looking statements based on current expectations and assumptions which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from our forward-looking statements. If any of our key assumptions are incorrect because of other factors discussed in today's earnings press release and the comments made during this conference call or in our latest reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, each of which can be found on our website at arraytechinc.com, we do not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements.

在本次電話會議中，管理團隊將基於目前的預期與假設發表前瞻性陳述，該等陳述受風險與不確定性影響。實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述存在重大差異。若我們的任何關鍵假設因其他因素而不正確（包括今日財報新聞稿所討論事項，以及本次電話會議中的評論，或我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交之報告與申報文件中的內容；上述資料均可於 arraytechinc.com 查閱），我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述之義務。

Today's presentation also includes references to non-GAAP financial measures. You should refer to the information contained in the company's second quarter press release for definitional information and reconciliations of historical non-GAAP measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures.

今日簡報亦包含對非 GAAP 財務衡量指標的引用。請參閱公司第二季新聞稿中所載之定義資訊，以及歷史非 GAAP 指標與可比 GAAP 財務指標之調節表。

With that, let me turn the call over to Jim Fusaro, Array Technologies' CEO.

接下來，我把電話交給 Array Technologies 執行長 Jim Fusaro。

Thanks, Cody, and good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining our second quarter earnings call. In addition to Cody, I'm joined by Nipul Patel, our Chief Financial Officer; Brad Forth, our Board Chairman; and Jeff Krantz, our Chief Commercial Officer.

謝謝你，Cody，各位晚安。感謝各位參加我們的第二季財報電話會議。除了 Cody 之外，與我一同出席的還有：我們的財務長 Nipul Patel、董事會主席 Brad Forth，以及商務長 Jeff Krantz。

I want to open my remarks today by thanking our employees. Solar is a very dynamic industry that demands hard work, execution and tremendous dedication to be successful. Our employees have met every challenge that has been thrown at them over the past several months, and they continue to deliver. We have a fantastic team, and I'm incredibly proud to be a part of it.

我想先以感謝我們的員工作為今天發言的開場。太陽能是一個非常動態的產業，要成功需要努力、執行力以及極大的投入。我們的員工在過去幾個月面對每一項挑戰都迎刃而解，並持續交出成果。我們擁有一支非常出色的團隊，我也非常以能成為其中一員為榮。

But with that said, we have a full agenda for today's call. I will provide an update on our business, then turn it over to Nipul to provide a detailed walk-through of our second quarter results, and then our Chairman, Brad Forth, will provide an overview of the transaction with Blackstone that we announced earlier today.

不過話說回來，今天的議程很滿。我將先提供公司營運近況更新，接著交由 Nipul 詳細說明第二季業績，然後由我們的主席 Brad Forth 概述我們今天稍早宣布與 Blackstone 的交易。

Turning to Slide 4. There are really 3 key themes that work in our business right now. The first is that demand for our products continues to grow. Our order book at the end of the second quarter was the highest it has ever been in our history, and that momentum has continued going into the third quarter.

請看投影片第 4 頁。目前我們的業務主要有 3 個關鍵主題。第一，對我們產品的需求持續成長。第二季末我們的訂單存量（order book）創下公司歷史新高，而這股動能在第三季仍持續延伸。

In July alone, we won 18 new projects, totaling more than $135 million. The commodity price increases and the logistics cost challenges that have been plaguing the industry over the past several months are not cutting into demand. The world wants more solar. The strength of that demand is reflected in our second quarter results. We saw a 76% increase in revenues year-over-year. But despite that top line growth, we only grew EBITDA by 23% year-over-year, which brings us to the second theme that's at work in our business, cost inflation.

僅在 7 月，我們就拿下 18 個新專案，總額超過 1.35 億美元。過去幾個月困擾產業的大宗商品價格上漲與物流成本挑戰，並未削弱需求。全球都想要更多太陽能。這股需求強度也反映在我們第二季的業績上：營收年增 76%。但儘管營收成長，我們的 EBITDA 僅年增 23%，這也帶出我們業務的第二個主題：成本通膨。

Like most manufacturers, we have seen tremendous increases in input and freight costs over the past several months driven by the reopening of the global economy following the pandemic lockdowns. The magnitude of the increases, and particularly the unprecedented speed with which they have occurred, have put significant pressure on our margins. Our gross margin in the second quarter was down 610 basis points.

與多數製造商一樣，隨著疫情封鎖後全球經濟重啟，過去幾個月我們看到原物料投入成本與運費大幅上升。漲幅之大，尤其是上漲速度前所未見，對我們的毛利率造成顯著壓力。我們第二季毛利率下滑 610 個基點。

Our response to that inflation is part of the third theme in our business, which is the actions we have taken to strengthen our business and accelerate our growth. First, we have changed our business processes to reduce our exposure to future increases in commodity input costs. We have locked 85% of our input costs for the remainder of the year, including nearly all of our steel requirements. And the orders we have booked since changing our business processes are that gross margins are in line with, and in some cases, even above our historical average.

我們對通膨的因應，屬於第三個主題：我們採取的行動，以強化業務並加速成長。首先，我們已調整營運流程，以降低未來大宗商品投入成本上升的曝險。我們已鎖定今年剩餘期間 85% 的投入成本，包括幾乎所有鋼材需求。而在我們調整流程後所取得的訂單，其毛利率與我們的歷史平均一致，部分甚至高於歷史平均。

The second action we have taken is to strengthen our Board and management team. In the last 2 months, we have added 3 new independent directors, Gerrard Schmid, Paulo Almirante and Bilal Khan; and 3 new executives, including Erica Brinker as our new Chief Marketing Officer, who will also lead our ESG and commercial excellence groups; Ken Stacherski as our new Senior Vice President of Operations, who will lead procurement, supply agreements and manufacturing operations; and Tyson Hottinger as our new Chief Legal Officer, who will oversee our legal, compliance and governance functions. Their combined expertise and experience will help us as we continue to grow the company.

第二項行動是強化董事會與管理團隊。過去兩個月，我們新增了 3 位新的獨立董事：Gerrard Schmid、Paulo Almirante 與 Bilal Khan；並新增 3 位高階主管，包括：新任行銷長 Erica Brinker（亦將領導我們的 ESG 與商業卓越團隊）、新任營運資深副總裁 Ken Stacherski（將負責採購、供應協議與製造營運），以及新任法務長 Tyson Hottinger（將負責法務、法遵與公司治理職能）。他們的專業與經驗將協助我們持續推動公司成長。

It's important to keep in mind that we have more than tripled the size of Array by nearly every measure over the past 2 years, such as revenues, customers and country we sell in. We are adding additional talent to an already great team to help us manage the much larger increasingly global company that we are becoming.

重要的是要記住，過去兩年我們幾乎在所有衡量指標上都將 Array 的規模擴大了三倍以上，例如營收、客戶數，以及我們銷售的國家數。我們是在既有優秀團隊之上再增補人才，以協助我們管理這家規模更大、且日益全球化的公司。

The third action we have taken is to partner with Blackstone to give us the capital to accelerate both our internal and external growth plans. Brad will speak more about the specifics of the transaction, but we believe this is significant for us as it further positions Array as a leader in our space.

第三項行動是與 Blackstone 合作，為我們提供資本，以加速內生成長與外延成長計畫。Brad 將進一步說明交易細節，但我們相信這對我們意義重大，因為它將進一步鞏固 Array 在本領域的領導地位。

And finally, policy tailwinds at work within our business. We have talked a lot in the past about how solar has become the most common competitive source of generation here in the U.S., with or without incentives. Solar really isn't alternative energy anymore. It has become a primary source of new generation capacity. The government recognizes this. However, they want it to grow even faster, which is why we are seeing additional policy support being added.

最後，是政策順風正在推動我們的業務。我們過去多次提到，在美國，太陽能已成為最常見且具競爭力的發電來源之一，不論是否有補貼。太陽能其實已不再是替代能源，而是新增發電容量的主要來源。政府也認同這一點。不過，他們希望成長速度更快，因此我們看到更多政策支持正在加入。

The extension of the ITC by 2 years that occurred in December, coupled with the expansion of the safe harbor to 2025 that occurred in June, are all major accelerants for the industry, and their impact really hasn't been fully felt yet.

去年 12 月 ITC 延長 2 年，加上今年 6 月將安全港（safe harbor）擴展至 2025 年，都是推動產業的重要加速器，而其影響其實尚未完全顯現。

If we flip now to Slide 5, I'll provide some more detail on our results for the quarter. Revenues for the second quarter of 2021 were $203 million as we had strong delivery execution to close out the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $16.2 million on higher volume, coupled with a more favorable mix of projects than we had anticipated.

如果我們翻到投影片第 5 頁，我將提供本季業績的更多細節。2021 年第二季營收為 2.03 億美元，因為我們在季末展現強勁的交付執行力以完成出貨。調整後 EBITDA 為 1,620 萬美元，受惠於較高出貨量，以及專案組合較我們原先預期更為有利。

Moving to our order book. I mentioned on last quarter's call that we are seeing record levels of quoting activity. During the second quarter, we saw many of those quotes convert to orders, with the result being a record $882 million at the end of June, which represents 45% year-over-year increase. That number includes project wins of over $300 million in the second quarter alone. As I mentioned earlier, that momentum has continued into the third quarter.

接著看我們的訂單存量。我在上一季電話會議提到，我們看到報價活動達到歷史高檔。第二季期間，許多報價轉為訂單，使得 6 月底訂單存量達到創紀錄的 8.82 億美元，年增 45%。該數字包含僅第二季就超過 3 億美元的專案得標。如我先前所述，這股動能已延續至第三季。

In July, we were awarded 18 new projects, totaling approximately $135 million. Most importantly, these new wins have gross margins in line with and in some cases, above what we have achieved historically.

在 7 月，我們獲得 18 個新專案，總額約 1.35 億美元。最重要的是，這些新得標專案的毛利率與我們歷史水準一致，部分甚至高於我們過往達成的水準。

If we go to the next slide, I'll dive a little deeper on the cost environment and how it impacted the quarter. The key takeaway from this slide, which will come to no surprise, is that we are in an unprecedented inflationary cost environment. Compared to the second quarter of last year, hot rolled coil has tripled, ocean freight has doubled, and aluminum is up 60%. Against that backdrop, our actual purchase material cost is up 14% year-over-year, and our gross margin is down 610 basis points.

如果我們到下一張投影片，我將更深入說明成本環境以及其對本季的影響。這張投影片的關鍵重點（應該不令人意外）是：我們正處於前所未見的通膨成本環境。與去年第二季相比，熱軋鋼捲價格已成長至三倍，海運運費翻倍，鋁價上漲 60%。在此背景下，我們實際採購材料成本年增 14%，毛利率下滑 610 個基點。

Turning to the next slide. I'll spend some time talking about the changes we have made to our business processes to limit our exposure to future increases in input costs. Historically, we would agree to a price with our customers when they would award us a project. Once the project was awarded, we would start the process of final design and engineering, the result of which was a detailed bill of materials.

接下來看下一張投影片。我會花一些時間談談我們為了限制未來投入成本上升所帶來的曝險，而對業務流程所做的變更。過去，當客戶授予我們一個專案時，我們會與客戶先就價格達成一致。一旦專案獲得授予，我們就會開始最終設計與工程作業，最終產出一份詳細的物料清單。

Once we have that bill of materials, we would place orders from suppliers. The process of finalizing the design and generating the bill of materials could take up to 90 days. The result was that if input costs moved down during that period, our expected gross margin on the order would increase. And if they moved up, it would decrease.

一旦有了這份物料清單，我們就會向供應商下單。完成最終設計並產出物料清單的流程可能需要長達 90 天。因此，如果在這段期間投入成本下滑，我們對該訂單的預期毛利率就會提高；若投入成本上升，則毛利率會下降。

Historically, prices from our suppliers didn't really move much during the 90-day window. And in most cases, they actually went down. At the same time, by ordering later and only after the full bill of materials was complete, we minimized our working capital investment and the chance that we would order too much or too few of a particular component.

過去，我們供應商的報價在這 90 天的期間內其實不太會變動，而且多數情況下還會下降。同時，透過延後下單、並且只在完整物料清單完成後才下單，我們將營運資金投入降到最低，也降低了某項零組件下單過多或過少的風險。

That changed in early April when prices for nearly every one of our inputs moved up dramatically in a very short period of time. That 90-day window, which had historically benefited us by reducing our working capital investment and giving us time to negotiate the best price from our suppliers, became a gap that could allow price and cost to become mismatched.

這種情況在 4 月初發生了改變，當時幾乎我們所有投入項目的價格都在極短時間內大幅上漲。這個過去能讓我們受益的 90 天窗口——既可降低營運資金投入、也讓我們有時間與供應商談到最佳價格——反而變成一個可能導致售價與成本錯配的缺口。

During the second quarter, we took action to close that gap by changing our business process. Today, if a customer wants a fixed price, we offer 2 options: either we offer a price that is good for 30 days with collars around the movement of commodity pricing, if commodity prices move outside those collars, the price is no longer valid and we will requote the project using updated costs; or we offer a price that is good for 7 days only.

在第二季，我們採取行動，透過改變業務流程來縮小這個缺口。如今，如果客戶希望固定價格，我們提供兩種選項：其一，我們提供一個 30 天有效的報價，並對大宗商品價格波動設定上下限區間；若大宗商品價格超出該區間，該價格即不再有效，我們將依更新後的成本重新報價該專案；其二，我們提供僅 7 天有效的報價。

Under both options, we now require our customers to sign an LOI and make a deposit, which enables us to procure the materials and components that are not impacted by the final design. Buying those components when the customer signs an LOI helps us to lock in our margin on the order because both price and material costs become largely fixed from the outset of the ordering process.

在這兩種選項下，我們現在都要求客戶簽署意向書（LOI）並支付訂金，這使我們能夠採購那些不受最終設計影響的材料與零組件。當客戶簽署 LOI 時就購買這些零組件，有助於我們鎖定該訂單的利潤率，因為從下單流程一開始，售價與材料成本在很大程度上就已固定。

The early results of this new process have been great. We are winning projects and locking margins on them in at levels that are at or above what we have historically achieved. I am confident we are on the path to getting margins back in line with our historical performance and targets.

這項新流程的初步成果非常好。我們正在贏得專案，並將其利潤率鎖定在不低於、甚至高於我們歷史水準的水平。我有信心，我們正走在讓利潤率回到符合歷史表現與目標的軌道上。

However, if you turn to Slide 8, it's important to keep in mind that this is a business with long lead times, and we still have a lot of orders to fulfill that have pre-inflation pricing that was agreed to under the previous process. Those pre-inflation projects create a hangover effect as they are recognized out of our backlog. This chart shows you the percentage of our revenues that we expect to come from pre-inflation orders over the next several quarters. The key takeaway is that our margins are going to recover gradually as those old projects burn off and more of our revenue comes from projects booked under the new process.

不過，如果你翻到第 8 張投影片，請務必記住，這是一個交期很長的業務，我們仍有大量訂單需要履行，而這些訂單是在通膨前、依照舊流程所同意的價格所簽訂。這些通膨前專案在從我們的在手訂單（backlog）中逐步認列時，會產生「宿醉效應」。這張圖表顯示未來幾個季度，我們預期有多少比例的營收將來自通膨前訂單。重點是：隨著這些舊專案逐步消化、更多營收來自新流程下承接的專案，我們的利潤率將會逐步回升。

Now I will turn it over to Nipul for a review of our second quarter results.

接下來我把時間交給 Nipul，請他回顧我們第二季的業績。

Thanks, Jim. Revenues for the second quarter increased 76% to $202.8 million compared to $114.9 million for the prior year period. As Jim mentioned, this increase is driven by continued demand for our product, but is also reflective of a favorable comparison to the second quarter of last year, which had lower shipments as a result of the pull-forward of orders into the first quarter of 2020 related to the ITC step-down.

謝謝，Jim。第二季營收較去年同期的 1.149 億美元成長 76%，達到 2.028 億美元。如 Jim 所提到，這項成長來自我們產品需求持續強勁，同時也反映了與去年第二季的有利比較基期；去年第二季因 2020 年第一季與 ITC step-down 相關的訂單提前拉貨（pull-forward），導致出貨量較低。

Gross profit increased 21% to $26.8 million compared to $22.2 million in the prior year period driven primarily by higher volume in the quarter. Gross margin decreased from 19.3% to 13.2% driven by higher commodity and shipping costs, as discussed by Jim earlier, but were partially offset by better absorption of fixed costs on higher revenue.

毛利較去年同期的 2,220 萬美元成長 21%，達到 2,680 萬美元，主要由本季出貨量增加所帶動。毛利率由 19.3% 降至 13.2%，原因是如 Jim 先前所述，大宗商品與運輸成本上升，但部分被較高營收帶來的固定成本吸收改善所抵銷。

Operating expenses increased to $21.1 million compared to $21 million during the same period in the prior year. The increase continues to reflect higher costs associated with being a public company as well as increase in headcount to support our product development and international growth initiatives. These increases were partially offset by lower contingent consideration expense of $3.4 million in the quarter.

營業費用增加至 2,110 萬美元，去年同期為 2,100 萬美元。增加主要反映成為上市公司後的相關成本提高，以及為支持產品開發與國際成長計畫而增加的人力。上述增加部分被本季較低的或有對價費用 340 萬美元所抵銷。

Net loss was $17,000 compared to net income of $2.4 million during the same period in the prior year, and basic and diluted income per share were 0 compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.02 during the same period in the prior year. It is important to note here that our net income in the second quarter of 2020 is reflective of a $6.6 million income tax benefit related to the CARES Act, for which we had no comparable benefit this year.

淨損為 1.7 萬美元，去年同期為淨利 240 萬美元；基本與稀釋每股盈餘為 0，而去年同期基本與稀釋每股盈餘為 0.02 美元。需要特別指出的是，2020 年第二季的淨利反映了與《CARES 法案》相關的 660 萬美元所得稅利益，而今年沒有可比的稅務利益。

Adjusted EBITDA increased 23% to $16.2 million compared to $13.1 million for the prior year period. Adjusted net income increased 19% to $8.5 million compared to $7.1 million during the same period in the prior year, and adjusted basic and diluted adjusted net income per share was $0.07 compared to $0.06 during the same period in the prior year.

調整後 EBITDA 較去年同期的 1,310 萬美元成長 23%，達到 1,620 萬美元。調整後淨利較去年同期的 710 萬美元成長 19%，達到 850 萬美元；調整後基本與稀釋每股調整後淨利為 0.07 美元，去年同期為 0.06 美元。

Finally, our free cash flow for the period was negative $92.6 million, which was $45.2 million lower than the same period in the prior year. The increase in the use of cash is primarily driven by a higher burn-off of deferred revenue of $32 million and the net impact from the change in accounts receivable, inventory and AP of about $6 million due to the timing of our shipments.

最後，本期自由現金流為負 9,260 萬美元，較去年同期少 4,520 萬美元。現金使用增加主要是因遞延收入消化（burn-off）增加 3,200 萬美元，以及因出貨時點所致，應收帳款、存貨與應付帳款（AP）變動的淨影響約 600 萬美元。

Turning to our outlook on Slide 11. As Jim mentioned earlier, we have secured a significant portion of our cost input and have largely completed our open contracts review. At this point, we feel confident in providing an updated outlook for 2021.

接著看第 11 張投影片的展望。如 Jim 先前提到，我們已鎖定相當大部分的投入成本，並且基本完成未結合約的檢視。基於目前情況，我們有信心提供 2021 年更新後的展望。

We expect revenues to be between $850 million and $940 million. This range reflects shifting of some projects out of 2021 and into 2022 due to customer requests as well as increased lead times due to logistical challenges. We expect adjusted EBITDA to be between $55 million and $75 million. This range reflects the previously mentioned volume shifts into 2022 as well as the higher commodity and logistics costs under pre-inflation contracts.

我們預期營收介於 8.5 億至 9.4 億美元。此區間反映部分專案因客戶要求而由 2021 年遞延至 2022 年，以及因物流挑戰導致交期拉長。我們預期調整後 EBITDA 介於 5,500 萬至 7,500 萬美元。此區間反映前述部分量體遞延至 2022 年，以及通膨前合約下較高的大宗商品與物流成本。

We expect adjusted diluted EPS to be between $0.15 and $0.25. This range reflects the impact of dividends on the Blackstone preferred investment as well as the paydown of the revolver and the term loan that will occur in connection with the transaction.

我們預期調整後稀釋每股盈餘（EPS）介於 0.15 至 0.25 美元。此區間反映 Blackstone 優先股投資的股利影響，以及與該交易相關將進行的循環信貸（revolver）與定期貸款（term loan）償還。

Now I will turn it over to Brad to discuss our recent transaction with Blackstone.

接下來我把時間交給 Brad，請他說明我們近期與 Blackstone 的交易。

Thanks, Nipul. I'll take a few minutes to provide an overview of the Blackstone investment, our rationale for it and what it achieves for the company and our shareholders. As you know, the transition to renewable energy is a mega trend that will last for decades. The awesome scale of the investment required to make that transition creates enormous business opportunities across multiple product categories and in every geography.

謝謝，Nipul。我會花幾分鐘概述 Blackstone 的投資、我們進行該投資的理由，以及它為公司與股東帶來的成果。如各位所知，向再生能源轉型是一個將持續數十年的超級趨勢。推動這項轉型所需的龐大投資規模，為多個產品類別與各個地理市場帶來巨大的商機。

While expansion into new geographies and complementary product categories have always been a core to our growth strategy, we believe the current macro environment has created an ideal situation for consolidation. Inflation, logistical challenges and other supply chain disruptions underscore the need for scaled players that have product and geographic diversity.

雖然拓展至新地理市場與互補的產品類別一直是我們成長策略的核心，但我們認為目前的總體環境為產業整併創造了理想條件。通膨、物流挑戰及其他供應鏈中斷，凸顯了具備規模、產品多元與地域多元的業者之必要性。

At the same time, it also reinforces the need for continuous innovation, not only in products, but also in business processes. Like in all industries, accelerating consolidation and innovation requires capital. Our Board and management team wanted to identify a capital partner that understood the tremendous opportunity ahead of us and would appropriately value what we have already built.

同時，這也強化了持續創新的必要性，不僅是在產品上，也包括在業務流程上。與所有產業一樣，加速整併與創新需要資本。我們的董事會與管理團隊希望找到一位資本夥伴，能理解我們面前的巨大機會，並能對我們已經建立的成果給予適當的價值評估。

We found that partner in Blackstone. They have a long-standing commitment to invest in companies that are leading the energy transition and have a keen appreciation for our technology leadership. The full details of the Blackstone transaction are in the documents we filed on Form 8-K, but I would like to walk through some of the key features of the deal.

我們在黑石（Blackstone）找到了這位夥伴。他們長期致力於投資引領能源轉型的公司，並對我們在技術上的領導地位有深刻的認同。黑石交易的完整細節載於我們以 Form 8-K 提交的文件中，但我想帶大家快速說明這筆交易的一些關鍵特點。

The transaction we are entering into is unique in several ways. First, it is large. Under the terms of the agreement, Blackstone has agreed to purchase up to $500 million of perpetual preferred stock from us. That gives us an extraordinary amount of firepower. Second, it's flexible. We plan to draw $350 million initially, and we have the ability to draw all or a portion of the remaining $150 million at any time until June of 2023. That gives us the flexibility to draw capital exactly when we need it and not before.

我們即將進行的這筆交易在多個方面都很獨特。第一，它規模很大。依據協議條款，黑石同意向我們購買最多 5 億美元的永久優先股。這讓我們擁有極為可觀的資金火力。第二，它很有彈性。我們計畫先行提取 3.5 億美元，並可在 2023 年 6 月之前的任何時間，隨時提取剩餘 1.5 億美元的全部或部分金額。這讓我們能在真正需要時才動用資本，而不是提前動用。

Third, its financial terms are very attractive, which we think reflects the strength of our company and the tremendous growth opportunity that Blackstone sees for Array. The preferred is perpetual. It does not have a maturity date. We have the flexibility to call the preferred in the future if we choose to, but we are never obligated to. It is truly an equity security.

第三，它的財務條款非常具吸引力，我們認為這反映了公司實力，以及黑石所看到 Array 的巨大成長機會。該優先股為永久性，沒有到期日。我們未來若選擇，可彈性地贖回該優先股，但我們從未有義務必須贖回。它確實是一種股權型證券。

The dividend rate is only 5.75%, which is inside of where we could raise bond financing today. And the upside we have provided in our shares is very modest when you compare the amount of capital we are raising to our current market capitalization. The ownership dilution on the initial draw is only 5.8%.

股息率僅 5.75%，低於我們目前可透過發行債券取得的融資成本。而且，與我們籌資金額相較於目前市值相比，我們在股份上提供的上行空間非常有限。初次提取資金所造成的持股稀釋僅為 5.8%。

Now turning to Page 14. I'll talk about why we think this transaction is so compelling for our company and our shareholders. First, it's an accelerant for the internal and external growth strategies we were already pursuing and comes at a time when we see an opportunity to take significant market share, both organically and inorganically.

接著請看第 14 頁。我將說明為何我們認為這筆交易對公司與股東而言極具吸引力。第一，它能加速我們原本就正在推進的內生成長與外延成長策略，且正值我們看到有機與無機方式皆可取得顯著市占的機會之際。

Following the completion of the transaction, we will be undrawn on our $200 million revolver, hold more than $136 million in cash and have another $150 million available to draw under the Blackstone commitment. That puts us in an extraordinarily strong position to make investments that accelerate our growth.

交易完成後，我們將不再動用 2 億美元的循環信貸額度（revolver），持有超過 1.36 億美元的現金，並且在黑石承諾額度下仍有另外 1.5 億美元可供提取。這使我們處於極為強勁的地位，得以進行能加速成長的投資。

Second, it gives us a pristine balance sheet. Like most companies in our industry, our EBITDA and cash flow have been hit hard by the extraordinary supply chain disruption that is occurring. This transaction brings our leverage down to 2x and results in nearly $325 million of available liquidity for working capital and growth initiatives.

第二，它讓我們擁有非常乾淨的資產負債表。與本產業多數公司一樣，我們的 EBITDA 與現金流也受到目前正在發生的異常供應鏈中斷的嚴重衝擊。這筆交易將把我們的槓桿降至 2 倍，並帶來近 3.25 億美元可用流動性，用於營運資金與成長計畫。

Third, we know the last several months have been disappointing for our shareholders. We believe an investment by one of the most respected asset managers in the world is a strong endorsement for our technology and capabilities, and that the work that Blackstone did to make this investment validates our tremendous growth potential.

第三，我們知道過去幾個月對股東而言令人失望。我們相信，全球最受尊敬的資產管理公司之一的投資，是對我們技術與能力的強力背書，而黑石為完成此投資所做的工作，也驗證了我們巨大的成長潛力。

Fourth, we believe partnering with Blackstone brings Array more than just capital. Blackstone is a significant investor in both companies and projects in the solar sector, and we see opportunities to grow our sales, particularly internationally, by leveraging their relationships.

第四，我們相信與黑石合作帶給 Array 的不僅僅是資本。黑石在太陽能領域的公司與專案上都是重要投資人，我們看見可透過其人脈關係來推動銷售成長的機會，尤其是在國際市場。

We also see opportunities to reduce our costs by taking advantage of the expertise and purchasing power of Blackstone. Blackstone has a long track record of working with the companies it invests in to leverage suppliers across their entire portfolio of investments. Their partner companies have seen savings in everything from health insurance to steel, and we plan to work closely with Blackstone to identify areas where Array can achieve similar cost reductions. We also plan to leverage their global M&A resources and expertise.

我們也看見可藉由黑石的專業能力與採購規模來降低成本的機會。黑石長期以來與其投資的公司合作，運用其整體投資組合來整合供應商資源。他們的合作夥伴公司在從健康保險到鋼材等各方面都看到了節省，我們也計畫與黑石密切合作，找出 Array 可達成類似降本的領域。我們也計畫運用他們全球的併購（M&A）資源與專業。

Lastly, we believe we have achieved all of these at a very modest cost. The shares that Blackstone will receive in the transaction represent only 5.8% of our basic shares outstanding on a pro forma basis. We think that is a very small amount of dilution to our existing shareholders for the benefits that this transaction brings.

最後，我們相信我們以非常有限的成本達成了上述所有目標。黑石在本次交易中將取得的股份，按備考（pro forma）基礎計算，僅相當於我們基本流通股數的 5.8%。我們認為，對既有股東而言，為換取本交易帶來的效益，這是非常小幅的稀釋。

I will now turn it back over to Nipul to provide a quick overview of what our balance sheet will look like pro forma for the transaction. Nipul?

接下來我把時間交回給 Nipul，請他快速概述在本次交易的備考基礎下，我們的資產負債表將會是什麼樣子。Nipul？

Thanks, Brad. This next page gives you a sense of what our balance sheet looks like after giving effect to the Blackstone transaction and the application of the proceeds. We will be using the $350 million from the initial tranche to repay $100 million of outstandings under our term loan, sweep our revolver down to 0 and put about $136 million of cash on our balance sheet.

謝謝，Brad。下一頁讓各位了解在反映黑石交易及資金用途後，我們的資產負債表大致會是什麼樣子。我們將使用初始批次的 3.5 億美元來償還定期貸款（term loan）項下 1 億美元的未償餘額，把循環信貸額度（revolver）清償至 0，並在資產負債表上保留約 1.36 億美元現金。

The result of this is the dramatic decrease in our leverage and increase in our available liquidity that Brad spoke about. For modeling purposes, we will be giving 7.875 million shares to Blackstone in connection with the transaction, so our total share count will increase to about 135 million.

其結果就是 Brad 所提到的：我們的槓桿大幅下降、可用流動性顯著增加。就建模而言，我們將在本次交易中向黑石發行 787.5 萬股，因此我們的總股數將增加至約 1.35 億股。

Now I'll turn it back to Jim for some closing remarks.

現在我把時間交回給 Jim，請他做一些結語。

Thanks, Nipul. I'll conclude by saying, while there is no doubt that the cost environment this year has had an impact on a lot of businesses, ours very much included, I cannot stress enough how optimistic I am about the solar industry and our place within it.

謝謝，Nipul。我最後想說，雖然毫無疑問，今年的成本環境已對許多企業造成影響，我們也深受其害，但我再怎麼強調也不為過：我對太陽能產業以及我們在其中的位置感到非常樂觀。

I believe we have taken a difficult situation and used it to make ourselves better. We have strengthened our relationship with customers through our laser focus on execution and transparency. We have built better relationships with suppliers and created more flexibility and diversity than we have ever had. We have adapted our business processes and strengthened leadership that positions us well for the next stage of growth. And finally, with the Blackstone partnership, we have taken important steps to ensure that we will be a global leader in renewable energy.

我相信我們把一個艱難的局面，轉化為讓自己變得更好的契機。我們透過對執行力與透明度的高度聚焦，強化了與客戶的關係。我們與供應商建立了更好的關係，並創造出前所未有的更高彈性與多元性。我們調整了業務流程並強化領導團隊，使我們在下一階段成長中具備良好定位。最後，透過與黑石的合作夥伴關係，我們已採取重要步驟，確保我們將成為全球再生能源領域的領導者。

And with that, operator, please open the lines for questions.

那麼，接線員，請開放電話線供提問。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question today is coming from Brian Lee from Goldman Sachs.

（接線員指示）今天的第一個問題來自高盛（Goldman Sachs）的 Brian Lee。

And congrats on the Blackstone investment here. I guess first off, curious on the order book. You mentioned several times throughout the presentation that gross margins are in line with last year's levels. Can you maybe quantify that a bit? I know gross margins were in the 19% range pretty consistently in Q2 through Q4 of 2020; 23% for the full year because of some safe harbor volumes at the beginning of the year.

恭喜你們獲得黑石的投資。我想先問一下訂單簿（order book）。你們在簡報中多次提到毛利率與去年水準一致。你們能否量化一下？我知道 2020 年 Q2 到 Q4 的毛利率大致都穩定在 19% 左右；全年為 23%，是因為年初有一些 safe harbor 的出貨量。

So just wondering, are we to think that the 19% level is where we're tracking on the new orders? And -- or is it even higher than that? Maybe that's the first question. And then the timing of delivery on the new orders, is this all for mid- to late 2022?

所以我想確認一下，我們是否應該認為新簽訂的訂單毛利率大約就是 19% 的水準？還是——甚至更高？這可能是第一個問題。第二個問題是，新訂單的交付時點，是否全部都落在 2022 年年中到年底？

Hey, Brian. It's Nipul. How are you? Yes. So to answer your first question, the new orders that were signed, they're in the low 20s, as a gross margin percentage, is part of our historical. And there, the timing is into 2022, throughout 2022.

嗨，Brian。我是 Nipul。你好嗎？是的，回答你的第一個問題，新簽的訂單毛利率百分比在 20% 出頭，屬於我們的歷史區間。而交付時點是在 2022 年，貫穿整個 2022 年。

Okay. That's great. Very helpful. And then second question here, just on the guidance for 2021, good to see you guys reinstating that. There's still a pretty wide range on EBITDA and profit outlook ranges for '21. Can you kind of speak to what the biggest swing factors are? It sounds like input costs and especially steel are locked in. So wondering why there's still a wide range. What's the puts and takes around how you would fall at the lower end or the higher end?

好的。太好了，非常有幫助。那第二個問題，關於你們 2021 年的財測指引，很高興看到你們重新提供指引。不過 2021 年 EBITDA 與獲利展望區間仍然相當寬。你們能談談最大的波動因素是什麼嗎？聽起來投入成本、尤其是鋼材，已經鎖定了。所以我想知道為什麼區間仍然很寬？有哪些因素會讓結果落在區間的低端或高端？

And you didn't really mention pricing too much. Can you -- maybe that's a swing factor. Can you give us a sense of what you've been able to do on the pricing side of things, on the existing sort of awarded orders that you went back through over the past quarter and then kind of what you're seeing on new orders?

而且你其實沒有太多提到定價。你能不能——也許那是一個關鍵變數。你能否讓我們了解一下，在定價方面你們做到了什麼：針對過去一季你們回頭檢視的、既有已得標訂單（既有已授予的訂單），以及你們在新訂單上看到的情況？

Yes. Sure. Hey, I'll take that one, too. So yes, we completed our (inaudible) of the contracted orders that we had, open orders that we had, and that's what came with our guidance. And the guidance range really reflects the macro environment, Brian. It's pretty dynamic still. So we still have some uncertainty around some further project delays, hence the guidance range on revenue and also maybe potentially a little bit of logistics costs. So we built that in the overall guidance, but feel good that -- confident enough in those numbers to put that guidance out.

是的，當然。嘿，我也來回答這題。是的，我們已完成對我們手上已簽約訂單（inaudible）、以及未結訂單的檢視，而這些也都反映在我們的財測指引中。指引區間其實反映了總體環境，Brian，現在仍然相當動態。所以我們對於一些進一步的專案延遲仍有不確定性，因此才會在營收上給出區間指引，另外也可能還有一點物流成本。我們把這些都納入整體指引中，但我們對——對這些數字有足夠信心，才會發布這樣的指引。

The next question is coming from Mark Strouse from JPMorgan.

下一個問題來自摩根大通（JPMorgan）的 Mark Strouse。

Just to the extent that you're talking about locking in your cost with suppliers, are you able to talk about the duration of those fixes and what kind of maybe wiggle room you've left yourself looking out longer-term to the -- in the extent that prices decline?

就你們提到與供應商鎖定成本這件事而言，你們能否談談這些固定價格的期間有多長？以及從更長期來看——在價格下跌的情況下——你們為自己保留了多少彈性空間？

Yes, Mark, it's Jim. So we certainly have the ability to flex our supply chain to meet any opportunity to reduce -- or excuse me, to reduce our costs and increase the margin. When you look at the duration, certainly, everything that we have within our backlog that we're reporting, that is pretty much locked and loaded. So you can think of that over the next 12 months. And beyond that, we continue to work with our suppliers and customers accordingly.

是的，Mark，我是 Jim。我們當然有能力彈性調整供應鏈，以把握任何降低——或更正，降低成本並提高毛利的機會。就期間來看，當然，我們在所揭露的在手訂單（backlog）裡的所有項目，基本上都已經鎖定並就緒。所以你可以把它視為未來 12 個月的狀況。至於更長期，我們會持續與供應商與客戶相應合作。

Okay. That's helpful. And then on the last call, you talked about kind of your view that you could potentially gain some market share and just given your size, given your ability to procure materials that some of your smaller competitors might not be able to. I understand it might be early still, but just based on your order activity, do you get the sense that, that is coming to fruition?

好的，這很有幫助。然後在上一次電話會議中，你提到你們認為有機會提升一些市占率，考量到你們的規模、以及你們採購材料的能力可能是一些較小競爭對手做不到的。我知道可能還早，但就你們的接單活動來看，你是否感覺這件事正在實現？

Yes, absolutely. When you look at our order book being up 45% year-on-year and just -- I know it's a snapshot in time and you can consolidate the complete year. But if you use that as a proxy for the overall industry, we certainly feel like we're outpacing the industry growth here, and we remain very optimistic there.

是的，絕對是。你看我們的訂單簿年增 45%，而且——我知道這只是某個時間點的快照，你也可以把整年度合併來看。但如果把它當作整體產業的代理指標，我們確實覺得我們的成長速度正在超越產業成長，我們對此仍然非常樂觀。

And the feedback we're getting from our customers would indicate that we continue to take share of demand. So we're very excited about that going forward. And your comment about the flexibility of the supply chain is spot on. We continue to build that out, and we're really excited about Ken Stacherski and others that are taking a point on that for us on the supply chain side.

而且我們從客戶那邊得到的回饋也顯示，我們持續在需求端取得市占。所以我們對未來非常興奮。你提到供應鏈的彈性也非常到位。我們會持續把這一塊建構起來，我們也很期待 Ken Stacherski 以及其他同仁在供應鏈端為我們主導推進。

The next question is coming from Philip Shen from ROTH Capital Partners.

下一個問題來自 ROTH Capital Partners 的 Philip Shen。

The first one is on working capital. I was wondering if you could comment on how you expect your working capital needs to trend in the coming quarters. So I think we see -- or saw that your DSOs and inventory days increased meaningfully in the quarter. So do you expect that to remain elevated in the coming quarters? Or do you think that peaks out in Q2 and improves as we go ahead?

第一個問題是關於營運資金。我想請你們評論一下，未來幾季你們預期營運資金需求的趨勢。我想我們看到——或看到你們本季的 DSO（應收帳款週轉天數）和存貨天數都明顯上升。所以你們預期接下來幾季會維持在較高水準嗎？還是你們認為在第二季達到高峰，之後會逐步改善？

Yes. So we see that it will be slightly elevated for the balance of the year. We look at cash conversion cycle. And we have that around the high 70s for the end of the year. And then we are converging down as we go into next year, looking to get that back down to 70 days, which is our target.

是的。我們認為今年剩餘期間會略為偏高。我們看的是現金轉換週期（cash conversion cycle），我們預期年底大約在 70 多天的高檔（high 70s）。然後進入明年會逐步收斂下降，目標是把它降回 70 天，也就是我們的目標水準。

Got it. And then over the past few months, Nipul, did you guys trip any covenants or -- with the current creditors? Or did you guys -- were you guys at risk at all for tripping covenants? And just trying to understand what kind of -- with the context for the Blackstone deal.

了解。然後過去幾個月，Nipul，你們有沒有觸發任何契約條款（covenants）——跟現有債權人之間？或者你們是否曾有觸發契約條款的風險？我想了解一下這些情況，作為 Blackstone 交易的背景。

Yes. So regarding your question, no, we had not tripped any covenants as of Q2. The Blackstone deal really is we look at it from a macro level. The deal provides strength to our balance sheet, of course, but it's also -- it's a determining factor -- one of the determining factors in doing the deal. It's really the partnership with Blackstone and the advantage of growing in the market is why we decided to go with that.

是的。就你的問題而言，沒有，截至第二季我們沒有觸發任何契約條款。Blackstone 這筆交易我們是從總體層面來看。這筆交易當然能強化我們的資產負債表，但同時——它也是促成交易的因素——其中一個決定性因素。真正讓我們決定做這筆交易的原因，是與 Blackstone 的合作夥伴關係，以及在市場中成長的優勢。

The next question today is coming from Colin Rusch from Oppenheimer.

今天下一個問題來自 Oppenheimer 的 Colin Rusch。

I wanted to check on any sort of payments around the fixed contracts. Are there any prepayments, deposits that you needed to put down? And then with paying back some of this term loan, are there any prepayment expenses that you have to account for here in the third quarter?

我想確認一下與固定合約相關的任何付款。你們是否需要支付任何預付款、訂金？另外，隨著你們償還部分這筆定期貸款（term loan），在第三季是否有任何需要入帳的提前償還費用？

Colin, are you speaking in reference to prepayments to suppliers?

Colin，你指的是對供應商的預付款嗎？

Yes. Deposits on some of those contracts for materials.

是的，針對材料的那些合約訂金。

Yes. Every one of these projects pretty much has its own DNA, and we pretty much cover our, how should I say it, prepayment through what we get through our customers by way of their deposits. So we try to work that timing to really cover that going forward. So I'll look to Nipul to make sure that we're accurate here, but it's fairly neutral when you look at it from a cash flow perspective.

是的。這些專案幾乎每一個都有它自己的 DNA，而我們基本上會透過從客戶那邊收到的訂金來覆蓋我們的——我該怎麼說——預付款。所以我們會盡量把時點安排好，讓它在未來能夠真正覆蓋。接下來我也請 Nipul 確認一下我們的說法是否精準，但從現金流角度來看，基本上是相當中性的。

Yes. Yes, that's true. And then also, related to the term loan, as discussed in the Blackstone deal, we've agreed to pay down at least $100 million on our term loan.

是的，是這樣沒錯。另外，關於定期貸款，如同在 Blackstone 交易中所討論的，我們已同意至少償還定期貸款 1 億美元。

Okay. I've got a clarifying question there, but I'll take that off-line. And then just in terms of some of the technology investments that you guys are making, can you speak to the acceleration on any of that, the competitive landscape and the need to -- continuing to evolve the offering as you guys go forward and work on gaining share?

好的。我有一個釐清問題，但我會私下再問。然後就你們正在進行的一些技術投資而言，你們能否談談其中是否有任何加速？以及競爭格局、以及你們在持續演進產品/方案以提升市占方面的需求？

Yes. With respect to the investment in technology, it's two-pronged. It's internal, and what we don't have within our 4 walls, we obviously continue to look outside. But we're making significant progress and gains on our SmarTrack. We'll be soon deploying our second revision of that, our SmarTrack 2.0, which we feel has a much superior solution in addressing severe weather conditions such as hail. We can get into the details on that. We're really excited about that.

是的。就技術投資而言，有兩個面向：內部，以及我們在自家四面牆內沒有的部分，我們當然會持續向外尋找。但我們在 SmarTrack 上取得了顯著進展與成果。我們很快會部署第二次改版，也就是 SmarTrack 2.0，我們認為它在應對冰雹等惡劣天候方面提供了更優越的解決方案。我們可以再深入細節。我們對此非常興奮。

And as we look at some of the more innovative technologies that are supporting what we're doing on our DuraTrack product today, again, everything we're doing there is addressing the ease of installation to address labor. That's our investment in the technology that we spoke of in the prior call and back in Q1.

而當我們看一些更具創新性的技術、用來支援我們目前在 DuraTrack 產品上所做的事情時，同樣地，我們在那裡所做的一切都是為了提升安裝便利性，以因應勞動力問題。這就是我們在上一通電話會議以及第一季時所提到的技術投資。

And then where we see opportunities when it comes to accelerating technologies that may not be within our 4 walls and we want to deploy a little quicker, well, that's exactly what we're partnering with Blackstone to go do. So we're really excited about our technology development and in the NPI.

另外，當我們看到一些加速導入技術的機會——可能不在我們自家四面牆內、而我們希望更快部署——那正是我們與 Blackstone 合作要去做的事情。所以我們對技術開發以及 NPI（新產品導入）非常興奮。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question today is coming from Joseph Osha from Guggenheim.

（接線員指示）我們今天的下一個問題來自 Guggenheim 的 Joseph Osha。

2 questions for you. First, we've seen, in some other businesses, not necessarily solar (inaudible) sustainability, some vendors managed to push the price risk all the way through to the end customer. I'm wondering if you've had any discussions with customers about simply passing through price increases? Or is that not viable? And then I do have a follow-up.

我有兩個問題。第一，我們在其他一些業務中看到——不一定是太陽能（inaudible）永續相關——有些供應商成功把價格風險一路轉嫁到終端客戶。我想知道你們是否曾與客戶討論過，乾脆把漲價直接轉嫁出去？還是這不可行？然後我還有一個追問。

Yes. We have those conversations frequently, especially in this current environment. But I would say, Joseph, the way we approach that is purely commercial. We want to make sure we have a win-win because we know that we are dealing with a specific project today in what would really amount to a portfolio of projects that we're managing. So to the extent we can price to win today and be competitive and at the same time, take further share, that's our objective, a balance between the short-term and long-term objectives. So those conversations are happening quite frequently.

是的。我們經常進行這些對話，尤其是在目前這樣的環境下。但我想說，Joseph，我們處理這件事的方式完全是以商業考量為出發點。我們希望確保是雙贏，因為我們知道，我們今天面對的是一個特定專案，而這實際上可視為我們正在管理的一個專案組合中的一部分。因此，在我們能夠在今天以具競爭力的價格爭取勝出、同時進一步提升市占的範圍內，這就是我們的目標——在短期與長期目標之間取得平衡。所以這些對話確實相當頻繁地在進行。

Okay. No doubt. And then the second question, look, obviously, in any given year, there are some projects that don't get done. But certainly, in the current environment, there are a lot of projects that developers sign deals that basically don't allow to build the project profitably. I'm just wondering as you survey the landscape, do you see the percentage of projects not getting built or being pushed out increasing at all?

好的。毫無疑問。那第二個問題，你看，顯然在任何一年，都會有一些專案最後沒有做成。但當然，在目前的環境下，有很多專案是開發商簽了合約，但條件基本上讓專案無法以獲利方式建造。我只是想問，當你們檢視整體市場時，你們是否看到未能開工或被延後的專案比例有任何上升？

Hey, Joseph, this is Jeff Krantz here. So I would say, from a macro perspective, not really, right? So for sure, there are some pushes and probably a bit more than what we see typically seasonally. But overall, we're not seeing this massive change in the amount of projects that are slipping.

嗨，Joseph，我是 Jeff Krantz。所以我會說，從宏觀角度來看，其實沒有，對吧？當然，確實有一些延後，而且可能比我們通常在季節性上看到的稍微多一點。但整體而言，我們沒有看到專案延宕數量出現大幅變化。

Next question is coming from Maheep Mandloi from Crédit Suisse.

下一個問題來自瑞士信貸（Crédit Suisse）的 Maheep Mandloi。

I'm sorry if I missed this, I was jumping between calls here, but could you just talk about the margin guidance for the first half of 2022? Do we expect a return back to that 18% target that you spoke about in the past or somewhat similar to 2019 or 2020 levels?

如果我漏聽了很抱歉，我剛才在不同電話會議之間切換，但你們能否談一下 2022 年上半年毛利率指引？我們是否預期會回到你們過去提到的 18% 目標，或是大致接近 2019 或 2020 年的水準？

So yes. Hey, Maheep, this is Nipul. We haven't provided that guidance for 2022. But what we can say is the projects we're signing in our order book of late in -- since May and especially in July have been at our historical margins, which have been in the low 20% range.

是的。嗨，Maheep，我是 Nipul。我們尚未提供 2022 年的那項指引。但我們可以說的是，自 5 月以來、尤其是 7 月，我們在訂單簿中近期簽下的專案毛利率已回到我們的歷史水準，也就是 20% 出頭的區間。

Got it. And then just a follow-up on some of the questions around the Blackstone transaction. Was there any covenants for the term loan or the revolvers, which required the capital in the second half? I'm just trying to understand the timing of the transaction here.

了解。接著針對一些關於 Blackstone 交易的問題追問一下：定期貸款或循環信貸是否有任何契約條款（covenants）要求在下半年注入資本？我只是想理解這筆交易的時間點。

So the timing of the transaction was based on just Blackstone and us evaluating when would be the best time. As far as before you got on the call, we talked about it, really, the business conditions change through the year. And the deal with Blackstone does provide us strength in our balance sheet, but that wasn't the determining factor for the deal. We found a partner that we could take advantage of the growing market, and that's why we did the deal with Blackstone.

這筆交易的時間點，主要是基於 Blackstone 與我們共同評估何時是最佳時機。至於你上線前我們談到的，確實是商業環境在一年當中會有所變化。與 Blackstone 的交易確實強化了我們的資產負債表，但那並不是促成交易的決定性因素。我們找到了一個夥伴，能讓我們把握成長中的市場，這就是我們與 Blackstone 進行交易的原因。

Next question is coming from Moses Sutton from Barclays.

下一個問題來自 Barclays 的 Moses Sutton。

So the new contracts in 2022, capturing low 20s margin is quite impressive. I want to confirm that assumes current steel price or the hedge steel prices under the newer, tighter procurement process. And any assumptions there on freight moderating or that low 20s would be realized even if the macro is sort of held constant from here?

所以 2022 年的新合約能夠取得 20% 出頭的毛利率相當令人印象深刻。我想確認一下，這是以目前鋼價為假設，還是以在較新、更嚴格的採購流程下所做的鋼材避險價格為假設？另外，對於運費是否趨緩有任何假設嗎？或者即使宏觀環境從現在起大致維持不變，這個 20% 出頭的毛利率仍可實現？

Yes. Hey, Moses, this is Nipul. Yes, that low 20s margin is based on current cost conditions, which include freight.

是的。嗨，Moses，我是 Nipul。是的，這個 20% 出頭的毛利率是基於目前的成本條件，其中包含運費。

Great. Great. And is it fair to say that a majority or all of those new recent 2022 bookings have that margin profile? Or is it a minority portion of new bookings?

很好，很好。那是否可以說，近期這些 2022 年的新訂單中，大多數或全部都具有那樣的毛利率結構？還是只有少部分新訂單是那樣？

We would say it's a mix of the projects, but the overall average is over our 20% margin target.

我們會說各專案之間是混合的，但整體平均高於我們 20% 的毛利率目標。

Excellent. And one more for me, I'll jump in the queue. I may have missed it. Did you provide the callable terms on the perpetual preferred? And is it at par or any provisions there around if you wanted to call it at some point?

非常好。再問最後一個，我就回到隊列裡。我可能漏聽了：你們有提供永續特別股的可贖回條款嗎？是以面值（par）贖回，或是如果你們未來想贖回，有任何相關條款規定嗎？

We didn't provide those details. It's in the 8-K, but we can't call the preferred at our discretion.

我們沒有提供那些細節。內容在 8-K 裡，但我們不能自行決定贖回該特別股。

Our next question is coming from Jeff Osborne from Cowen and Company.

我們的下一個問題來自 Cowen and Company 的 Jeff Osborne。

I think on the last earnings call, you had talked about over 100 open-ended contracts, and obviously, giving guidance, you've come to a resolution on those. So I was wondering if you could just sort of articulate what happened with those in terms of your ability to raise price? Did any churn away and go to competitors? It doesn't sound like any projects were canceled, but any sense on churn would be helpful.

我記得在上一季的財報電話會議上，你們提到有超過 100 份開放式合約，而顯然在提供指引時，你們已經對那些合約達成解決方案。所以我想請你們說明一下，這些合約後續的情況如何，特別是你們提高價格的能力如何？是否有任何客戶流失轉向競爭對手？聽起來沒有任何專案被取消，但若能提供一些關於流失（churn）的情況會很有幫助。

Yes. To address it from your perspective -- or excuse me, your question, nothing was canceled and we didn't lose any. And like I said earlier, Jeff, everything was done on a commercial basis, and how we've gone through those are now reflected in our full year guidance.

是的。就你的觀點——或抱歉，就你的問題來說，沒有任何專案被取消，我們也沒有失去任何案子。正如我先前所說，Jeff，一切都是以商業方式處理，而我們處理的結果現在已反映在我們的全年指引中。

Got it. And just 2 other quick ones. Have you folks ever shared what logistics is as a percentage of COGS? I know you've talked about steel being close to 50%. That was question one.

了解。再兩個很快的問題。你們是否曾分享過物流成本占銷貨成本（COGS）的百分比？我知道你們談過鋼材接近 50%。這是第一個問題。

And then question 2, is any sense of cadence of the '22 bookings, are they more back-end-loaded versus front -- first half?

第二個問題是，對於 2022 年訂單的節奏，有沒有任何看法？它們是否更偏向下半年入帳，而不是上半年？

On the cadence, no, there's no preference there. With respect to the freight, that's somewhat variable because we have the opportunity to flex our supply chain. So what that means is we could have an overseas freight component, we can have a domestic freight component, which is vastly different. So the way to look at that is it's all encapsulated in the numbers that we provided with respect to that backlog, i.e., everything that we're doing with new orders is reflective of the historical margins.

關於節奏，沒有，我們沒有偏好。至於運費，那會有些變動，因為我們有機會彈性調整供應鏈。也就是說，我們可能有海外運輸的運費組成，也可能有國內運輸的運費組成，而兩者差異很大。因此，看待這件事的方式是：它都已包含在我們提供的數字中，尤其是與在手訂單（backlog）相關的數字；也就是說，我們在新訂單上所做的一切，都反映了歷史毛利率水準。

The next question today is coming from Kashy Harrison from Piper Sandler.

今天的下一個問題來自 Piper Sandler 的 Kashy Harrison。

I just had one quick one. I was wondering if you could share some color on the duration of that Nucor agreement that you announced last quarter. I don't know if that was something you could provide at this point.

我只有一個很快的問題。我想請問你們是否能分享一些關於你們上季宣布的那份與 Nucor 協議的期限資訊。我不確定你們目前是否能提供。

Yes. Kashy, we can't give you the specifics of that deal for obvious reasons. It's confidential between Nucor and ourselves. But what I would say is very high level, it's favorable for both parties, and we're certainly very glad that we're able to partner with them and continue to grow with them.

是的。Kashy，基於顯而易見的原因，我們無法提供那筆交易的具體細節。那是 Nucor 與我們之間的機密。但我可以在非常高層次上說，這對雙方都有利，我們也非常高興能與他們合作，並持續與他們一同成長。

Thank you. We reached the end of our question-and-answer session. And that does conclude today's teleconference and webcast. You may now disconnect your lines at this time, and have a wonderful day. We thank you for your participation today.

謝謝。我們已到問答環節的尾聲。今天的電話會議與網路直播也到此結束。您現在可以掛斷電話線，祝您有美好的一天。感謝您今天的參與。