Ashland Inc. (ASH) 2019 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Ashland Fourth Quarter Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

各位女士、先生，感謝您稍候，歡迎參加 Ashland 第四季財報電話會議。(接線員指示) 請注意，今日會議將被錄音。(接線員指示)

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Mr. Seth Mrozek, Director of Investor Relations at Ashland. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我想將會議交給今天的講者——Ashland 投資人關係總監 Seth Mrozek 先生。先生，請開始。

Thank you, Liz. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Ashland's Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2019 Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. My name is Seth Mrozek, Director, Ashland Investor Relations. Joining me on the call today are Bill Wulfsohn, Ashland's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Guillermo Novo, Ashland Director and incoming Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Kevin Willis, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，Liz。各位早安，歡迎參加 Ashland 2019 會計年度第四季財報電話會議與網路直播。我叫 Seth Mrozek，Ashland 投資人關係總監。今天與我一同參與電話會議的有：Ashland 董事長兼執行長 Bill Wulfsohn；Ashland 董事、即將上任的董事長兼執行長 Guillermo Novo；以及資深副總裁兼財務長 Kevin Willis。

We released preliminary results for the quarter ended September 30, 2019, shortly before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time yesterday, November 18. The news release issued last night was furnished to the SEC in a Form 8-K.

我們在昨天 11 月 18 日（週一）美東時間下午 5:00 前不久，發布了截至 2019 年 9 月 30 日之季度的初步結果。美東時間。昨晚發布的新聞稿已以 Form 8-K 形式提交給美國證券交易委員會（SEC）。

During this morning's call, we will reference slides that are currently being webcast on our website, ashland.com, under the Investor Relations section. The slides can also be found on the Investor Relations section of our website. We encourage you to follow along with the webcast during the call.

在今天上午的電話會議中，我們將引用目前於我們網站 ashland.com「投資人關係」專區進行網路直播的投影片。投影片也可在我們網站的投資人關係專區找到。我們鼓勵您在通話期間一邊觀看網路直播一邊跟進。

Please turn to Slide 2. As a reminder, during today's call, we will be making forward-looking statements on a number of matters, including our outlook for fiscal year 2020. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause future results or events to differ materially from today's projections. We believe any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, but cannot assure that such expectations will be achieved. Please refer to Slide 2 of the presentation for a fuller explanation of those risks and uncertainties and the limits applicable to forward-looking statements.

請翻到投影片第 2 頁。提醒各位，在今天的電話會議中，我們將就多項事項發表前瞻性陳述，包括我們對 2020 會計年度的展望。這些前瞻性陳述受風險與不確定性影響，可能導致未來結果或事件與今日預測有重大差異。我們相信任何此類陳述係基於合理假設，但無法保證這些預期將會實現。請參閱簡報投影片第 2 頁，以取得對相關風險與不確定性，以及前瞻性陳述適用限制的更完整說明。

Please also note that we will be referring to certain actual and projected financial metrics of Ashland on an adjusted basis, which are non-GAAP financial measures. We will refer to these measures as adjusted and present them in order to supplement your understanding and assessment of the financial performance of our ongoing business. Non-GAAP measures should not be considered a substitute for or superior to financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. The most directly comparable GAAP measures as well as reconciliations of the non-GAAP measures to those GAAP measures are available on our website and in the appendix of today's slide presentation.

另請注意，我們將以調整後（adjusted）基礎引用 Ashland 若干實際與預估財務指標，這些屬於非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。我們將把這些衡量指標稱為「調整後」，並提出以補充您對我們持續經營業務財務表現的理解與評估。非 GAAP 指標不應被視為依 GAAP 計算之財務指標的替代或更優者。與之最直接可比的 GAAP 指標，以及非 GAAP 指標與 GAAP 指標之調節表，可在我們網站及今日投影片簡報的附錄中取得。

Please turn to Slide 3. Bill will begin the call this morning with his opening comments, and then introduce Guillermo. Guillermo will then provide a summary of his background and commentary on what he has learned over the recent months. Next, Kevin will review financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2019. Finally, Guillermo will close with his priorities as incoming CEO and his outlook for Ashland's continuing journey. We will then open the line for questions.

請翻到投影片第 3 頁。Bill 將在今天上午以開場致詞開始，接著介紹 Guillermo。Guillermo 隨後將概述其背景，並分享他在近幾個月所學到的內容與看法。接下來，Kevin 將回顧 2019 會計年度第四季及全年財務結果。最後，Guillermo 將以其即將上任執行長的優先事項作結，並分享他對 Ashland 持續旅程的展望。之後我們將開放提問。

With that, please turn to Slide 4, and I will turn the call over to Bill for his opening comments. Bill?

接下來，請翻到投影片第 4 頁，我將把電話會議交給 Bill 進行開場致詞。Bill？

Thank you, Seth, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，Seth，各位早安。

I'd also like to welcome Guillermo Novo to the call. We have been working actively together on his transition, and he has been strongly engaged since the announcement that he will be joining as Ashland's Chief Executive and Chairman. We look forward to his comments, perspectives and priorities, but, first, I'd like to quickly discuss fiscal year '19.

我也想歡迎 Guillermo Novo 參與本次電話會議。我們一直積極合作推進他的交接，他自宣布將加入並擔任 Ashland 執行長兼董事長以來，也高度投入。我們期待聽到他的評論、觀點與優先事項；不過首先，我想先快速談談 2019 會計年度。

Fiscal year '19 was a year of important gains in the context of difficult external conditions. From a financial perspective, we faced challenging end market conditions and a stronger U.S. dollar.

2019 會計年度是在艱困外部環境下仍取得重要進展的一年。從財務角度來看，我們面臨終端市場狀況具挑戰性以及美元走強。

In this context, Ashland took aggressive action. We implemented a program to reduce layers, increase operational agility and improve our competitiveness. This program was also focused on reducing our fixed costs by $120 million on a run rate basis. This program contributed greatly to Ashland's reduced adjusted selling, general and administrative expense in fiscal year 2019, which were reduced by more than $50 million or 8%.

在此背景下，Ashland 採取了積極行動。我們推行一項計畫，以精簡層級、提升營運敏捷性並改善競爭力。該計畫亦著重於以年化運行率（run rate）為基礎，將固定成本降低 1.2 億美元。此計畫對 Ashland 2019 會計年度調整後銷售、一般及行政費用（SG&A）的下降貢獻良多，該費用降低逾 5,000 萬美元或 8%。

As a result, adjusted EBITDA margins increased to 21.3% of sales compared to 19.9% in the prior fiscal year. These gains also enabled Ashland to deliver adjusted earnings per share growth of 14% versus fiscal 2018. Thus, while lower than we originally anticipated, Ashland made important financial gains in a difficult context.

因此，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率提升至銷售額的 21.3%，相較前一會計年度為 19.9%。這些成果也使 Ashland 得以實現調整後每股盈餘較 2018 會計年度成長 14%。因此，儘管低於我們原先預期，Ashland 仍在艱困環境下取得重要的財務進展。

From an operational perspective, we also made many important gains. In fiscal year 2019, we launched 23 new products to support targeted growth in our pharmaceutical, nutrition, personal care, nutraceutical and coatings businesses. We expanded the use of our new Ashland production system, which helped drive improvements in safety, quality, asset reliability and overall customer satisfaction.

從營運角度來看，我們也取得許多重要進展。在 2019 會計年度，我們推出 23 項新產品，以支持我們在製藥、營養、個人護理、營養保健品（nutraceutical）及塗料業務的目標性成長。我們擴大導入新的 Ashland 生產系統，協助推動安全、品質、資產可靠度及整體客戶滿意度的改善。

During the year, we substantially expanded our focus on sustainability. We have established a sustainability council, which is focused on sustainable sourcing, reducing our environmental impact and increasing sales of natural-based products. We've had numerous and important gains in this critical area, which are profiled in our sustainability report, which can be found on ashland.com.

在這一年中，我們大幅強化對永續發展的關注。我們成立了永續發展委員會，聚焦於永續採購、降低環境影響，以及提升天然來源產品的銷售。我們在這個關鍵領域取得多項重要進展，相關內容已收錄於我們的永續報告中，可於 ashland.com 查閱。

From a capital allocation perspective, we made great gains in fiscal year 2019. During the year, Ashland returned $264 million to shareholders through both share repurchases and dividends. Furthermore, in August, Ashland divested the Composites business and Marl BDO facility to INEOS. The proceeds from this transaction allowed us to reduce debt by $940 million in the fourth quarter.

從資本配置角度來看，我們在 2019 會計年度取得了很大進展。在該年度，Ashland 透過庫藏股回購與股利，合計向股東返還 2.64 億美元。此外，8 月時 Ashland 將 Composites（複合材料）業務及 Marl BDO 設施出售給 INEOS。該交易所得使我們得以在第四季減少 9.4 億美元的債務。

In summary, while we faced challenges in fiscal year 2019, we also made additional financial, operational and strategic gains.

總結而言，雖然我們在 2019 會計年度面臨挑戰，但也取得了更多財務、營運與策略上的進展。

Importantly, just after the close of fiscal 2019, we announced that I will leave Ashland at the end of the calendar year, and Guillermo will take on the role as Ashland's next Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. As I reflect upon my tenure with Ashland, I'm proud of the transformation we've completed and the team's many accomplishments.

重要的是，在 2019 會計年度結束後不久，我們宣布我將於曆年年底離開 Ashland，而 Guillermo 將接任 Ashland 下一任董事長兼執行長。回顧我在 Ashland 的任期，我為我們完成的轉型以及團隊的諸多成就感到自豪。

Please turn to Slide 5. Before I begin, I'd like to note that safety and responsible operations are our first and fundamental priority, and, in 2018, Ashland was recognized by the American Chemistry Council as the responsible care company of the year, and we were also named one of America's safest companies by EHS today.

請翻到投影片第 5 頁。在我開始之前，我想指出，安全與負責任的營運是我們首要且最根本的優先事項；而在 2018 年，Ashland 獲美國化學理事會（American Chemistry Council）評選為年度責任照護公司（responsible care company of the year），同時也被《EHS Today》評為美國最安全的公司之一。

We completed Ashland's multi-decade transformation from a conglomerate focused on oil refining marketing in 1997 to the pure-play specialty materials company we are today. When I joined the company 5 years ago, our specialty materials portion of our business represented 41% of our sales versus 96% today.

我們完成了 Ashland 歷時數十年的轉型：從 1997 年以石油煉製與行銷為重點的綜合企業，轉變為今日專注於特用材料的純粹型（pure-play）公司。當我在 5 年前加入公司時，我們業務中特用材料的占比為銷售額的 41%，而如今已達 96%。

As part of that effort, we created an independent, publicly traded Valvoline in 2017, acquired several businesses, including Pharmachem and Vornia, and sold the Composites business and Marl BDO facility to INEOS. We now have a focused business with many differentiated products supplied to industry-leading customers in very attractive markets. We have created a far more competitive and agile organization by eliminating layers and reducing adjusted SG&A expenses.

作為該項努力的一部分，我們於2017年成立了獨立且公開上市的 Valvoline，並收購了包括 Pharmachem 與 Vornia 在內的多項業務，同時將複合材料（Composites）業務及 Marl BDO 廠房出售給 INEOS。我們如今擁有更聚焦的業務，向產業領先客戶於極具吸引力的市場中供應多項差異化產品。透過精簡層級並降低調整後的 SG&A 費用，我們打造出更具競爭力且更敏捷的組織。

Ashland adjusted EBITDA margins have improved from 17.6% in fiscal year 2014 to 21.3% in fiscal 2019. Similar gains have been realized in Ashland Specialty Ingredients business, where adjusted EBITDA margins have improved from 21.2% in fiscal year 2014 to 23.4% in fiscal 2019.

Ashland 的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率已由2014會計年度的17.6%提升至2019會計年度的21.3%。Ashland Specialty Ingredients 業務亦取得類似改善，其調整後 EBITDA 利潤率由2014會計年度的21.2%提升至2019會計年度的23.4%。

During this 5-year period, we've returned $1.3 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchase and dividends, and, at the same time, we've substantially improved Ashland's financial strength and financial flexibility. With the spin-off of Valvoline, we transferred the large majority of Ashland's pension obligations. We also established an asbestos trust, which, along with anticipated insurance proceeds, will help to fund future asbestos claim, indemnity and legal costs.

在這5年期間，我們以庫藏股回購與股利的形式向股東回饋了13億美元，同時也大幅提升了 Ashland 的財務實力與財務彈性。隨著 Valvoline 的分拆，我們移轉了 Ashland 絕大部分的退休金義務。我們亦設立了石棉信託基金，該基金連同預期的保險理賠收入，將有助於支應未來石棉索賠、賠償與法律成本。

We lowered gross debt from $3.3 billion as of December 31, 2014 to $1.7 billion at the end of fiscal year 2019. And finally, as a result of these actions, we delivered 40% total shareholder returns since January 2015 versus 26% for the S&P 400 chemicals industry index over the same period.

我們將總負債由2014年12月31日的33億美元降至2019會計年度末的17億美元。最後，受惠於上述行動，自2015年1月以來我們實現了40%的股東總報酬率，相較之下，同期 S&P 400 化學產業指數為26%。

Moving to Slide 6. And looking forward, we've transformed the company from a portfolio management orientation and set the foundation to be the premier specialty chemicals company. We've established a new blueprint, which outlines our core operational priorities, the Ashland way which defines our culture. And we have also established our always solving brand, which is essential to us driving the value proposition which we bring to our customers.

接著看第6頁投影片。展望未來，我們已將公司從投資組合管理導向轉型，並奠定成為頂尖特用化學品公司的基礎。我們建立了新的藍圖，概述我們的核心營運優先事項，以及定義我們文化的「Ashland 之道」。我們也建立了「always solving」品牌，這對於推動我們帶給客戶的價值主張至關重要。

At the same time, our journey is not complete. We have many opportunities and challenges as we work to achieve our full potential by delivering greater revenue growth, margin expansion and cash conversion. This is the right time for new leadership as we move from portfolio transformation to take the additional and essential steps required to reach our full potential.

同時，我們的旅程尚未完成。在透過更高的營收成長、利潤率擴張與現金轉換來發揮全部潛力的過程中，我們仍有許多機會與挑戰。當我們從投資組合轉型邁向採取額外且必要的步驟以達成全部潛力之際，現在正是引入新領導團隊的適當時機。

I'm excited by the naming of Guillermo Novo as Ashland's next Chairman and CEO. Guillermo is a proven leader who has the right experience, skills and leadership abilities to take Ashland to the next level of performance. And under Guillermo's leadership, I'm excited for Ashland's future, and I'm very confident that the Ashland team will accelerate its operational, strategic and financial performance.

我很高興 Ashland 任命 Guillermo Novo 為下一任董事長兼執行長。Guillermo 是一位經驗證的領導者，具備正確的經驗、技能與領導能力，能帶領 Ashland 邁向下一個績效層級。在 Guillermo 的領導下，我對 Ashland 的未來充滿期待，也非常有信心 Ashland 團隊將加速其營運、策略與財務表現。

With that, I will turn the call over to Guillermo.

接下來，我把電話會議交給 Guillermo。

Thank you, Bill.

謝謝你，Bill。

It's a real pleasure to have the opportunity to connect to all of you today, and I'm looking forward to meeting many of you in the near future. Bill, I'd like to thank you for all the support during this transition period, it's been incredibly helpful in getting me up to speed. I'm very grateful for that. I also want to thank everyone at Ashland for the warm welcome and for the support and enthusiasm you've demonstrated. Your energy, passion and commitment to our success is a real testament to the quality of the organization we have. I'm very excited and proud of having the opportunity to join Ashland and be part of this great team.

今天很高興有機會與各位交流，我也期待在不久的將來與各位中的許多人見面。Bill，我想感謝你在這段交接期間提供的所有支持，這對於讓我迅速掌握狀況非常有幫助。我對此非常感激。我也要感謝 Ashland 的每一位同仁給予熱情的歡迎，以及你們所展現的支持與熱忱。你們的活力、熱情與對成功的承諾，充分證明了我們組織的高品質。我非常興奮也深感自豪，能有機會加入 Ashland，成為這支優秀團隊的一員。

Please turn to Slide 8. For those of you that don't know me, let me take this opportunity to introduce myself. I'm Guillermo Novo. I've been a Director at Ashland from May of this year. I will be officially joining Ashland as a new CEO in January. Most recently, I've been the CEO of Versum Materials, a specialty semiconductor materials company.

請翻到第8頁投影片。對於不認識我的各位，我藉此機會做個自我介紹。我是 Guillermo Novo。我自今年5月起擔任 Ashland 董事。我將於1月正式加入 Ashland 擔任新任執行長。最近，我擔任 Versum Materials 的執行長，該公司為一家特用半導體材料公司。

For the past 30 years, I've been working in the specialty materials industry most of my career with Rohm and Haas, and later with Dow Chemical, Air Products and Versum Materials.

過去30年來，我大部分職涯都在特用材料產業工作，曾任職於 Rohm and Haas，之後也在 Dow Chemical、Air Products 以及 Versum Materials 任職。

One of the things that excites me the most about joining Ashland is that it feels like coming home. Although most recently I've been involved in the semiconductor materials space, most of my career has been the very same industries and markets that Ashland is focused on. For most of those last 30 years, I've been intimately involved in personal care, pharma, coatings, construction materials, adhesives and many other markets. I have competed with many of Ashland's businesses for decades and have a great respect for the businesses and all the experienced professionals that have also been involved in these industries for decades.

加入 Ashland 最令我興奮的一點是，這種感覺就像回到家。雖然我最近投入的是半導體材料領域，但我職涯的大部分時間都在 Ashland 所聚焦的相同產業與市場。在過去30年中的大部分時間，我都深度參與個人護理、製藥、塗料、建築材料、黏著劑以及許多其他市場。我與 Ashland 的多項業務競爭了數十年，並對這些業務以及同樣在這些產業深耕數十年的資深專業人士抱持高度敬意。

I've always said that if you want to be in specialty materials, the best spaces to be focused on are pharma, semiconductor materials, personal care and additives or functional materials. I just left semiconductor materials.

我一直說，如果你要投入特用材料，最值得聚焦的領域是製藥、半導體材料、個人護理，以及添加劑或功能性材料。我剛離開半導體材料領域。

Ashland is focused on 3 of the top 4 segments, so it's a great position to be in. We are excited about the markets where -- about the markets where you can create significant value and where we have leadership positions in most of them. You couldn't ask for more.

Ashland 聚焦於前四大領域中的三個，因此所處位置非常有利。我們對這些市場感到振奮——在這些市場中你可以創造顯著價值，而我們在其中大多數市場都擁有領導地位。你再也無法要求更多了。

But enough about introduction. Let's talk about Ashland. I want to start by commenting on the high-level drivers of our performance in Q4 and the full year. I will then pass it to Kevin to take you through the details.

不過，介紹就到這裡。讓我們談談 Ashland。我想先就第四季與全年表現的高層次驅動因素做一些評論。接著我會交給 Kevin，帶各位深入了解細節。

Please turn to Slide 10. Safety, health and environmental and sustainability are a very important part of the industry and core to Ashland's DNA. For us, it's more than just meeting numbers and goals. It reflects the values and our discipline.

請翻到第10頁投影片。安全、健康、環境與永續發展是本產業非常重要的一部分，也是 Ashland DNA 的核心。對我們而言，這不僅僅是達成數字與目標。它反映了我們的價值觀與紀律。

Given the industries we serve, this commitment is also a business imperative. I'm happy to report that our recordable injury performance showed improvement, both versus prior year and our 3-year rolling average.

鑑於我們所服務的產業，這項承諾同時也是一項業務上的必要條件。我很高興報告，我們的可記錄傷害（recordable injury）表現有所改善，無論相較前一年或相較三年滾動平均皆然。

Unfortunately, we did not start 2020 well as we did have an incident at our Nanjing plant in October. Although the incident did not impact anyone, and the plant is back on stream, our operations were impacted. This is a reminder of why our commitment to EH&S is critical to this industry and our performance.

不幸的是，我們在2020年的開局並不理想，因為10月我們南京工廠發生了一起事件。雖然該事件未影響任何人，且工廠已恢復運轉，但我們的營運仍受到影響。這再次提醒我們，對於本產業與我們的績效而言，對 EH&S 的承諾為何至關重要。

Ashland's commitment to sustainability is equally important for our long-term success. It's been great to see all the progress our teams have made in everything from how we design and develop new products, run our operations and how we make our customers more sustainable.

Ashland 對永續發展的承諾，對我們的長期成功同樣重要。很高興看到我們團隊在各方面取得的進展，從我們如何設計與開發新產品、如何營運，到我們如何協助客戶提升永續性。

On the business side, we have had a challenging year. At a broad level, softer market demand, geopolitical dynamics and a high level of market uncertainty has impacted demand across many markets. We continue to enjoy leadership positions in most of our markets, and the majority of our businesses have performed well in the context of this environment. However, we have also had some challenges that are specific to Ashland. The volume losses we've experienced in oral care, pharma chem and, to a lesser extent, some coproducer business, impacted our performance and will continue to have an impact in 2020.

在業務方面，我們度過了充滿挑戰的一年。從整體來看，較疲弱的市場需求、地緣政治態勢以及高度的市場不確定性，已影響多個市場的需求。我們在大多數市場仍持續保持領先地位，而且在此環境下，我們的大部分業務表現良好。然而，我們也面臨一些Ashland特有的挑戰。我們在口腔護理、Pharmachem，以及在較小程度上部分共同生產商（coproducer）業務所經歷的銷量流失，影響了我們的表現，並將在2020年持續造成影響。

As you know, in oral care, we lost some important business at Colgate earlier this year. We also recently lost some business at another important customer. Although the drivers were different, in both cases, the losses were driven by reformulation decisions by customers. This obviously impacted our revenue and gross profit for the year as well as our cost absorption for the business. The products we supply are unique chemistry with specific production assets. In the near term, there is no other customer or markets to reposition this volume. We have some exciting ideas to leverage this technology in other markets, but it will take us some time to develop them. Although most of the impact is reflected in our results this year, it is unlikely that we will load these assets in the near term, so we will need to address the cost absorption issues in other ways.

如各位所知，在口腔護理方面，我們今年稍早在高露潔（Colgate）失去了一些重要業務。我們最近也在另一位重要客戶那裡失去了一些業務。雖然驅動因素不同，但兩起流失皆源於客戶的配方重新調整（reformulation）決策。這顯然影響了我們本年度的營收與毛利，以及該業務的成本吸收。我們供應的產品屬於獨特化學品，並需要特定的生產資產。短期內，沒有其他客戶或市場可以重新配置這些產量。我們有一些令人振奮的想法，計畫在其他市場運用這項技術，但仍需要一些時間來開發。雖然大部分影響已反映在我們今年的業績中，但短期內不太可能讓這些資產滿載運轉，因此我們需要以其他方式解決成本吸收問題。

In Pharmachem, for a number of different reasons, we also experienced volume loss at several key customers. I have not had the opportunity to meet with the Pharmachem team, but I know that we have an experienced team, and that they are actively working a pipeline of opportunities that are in development and which they plan to bring on during 2020. We have some challenges in this business, and, together, we will address them.

在Pharmachem方面，基於多種不同原因，我們在數個關鍵客戶也出現了銷量流失。我尚未有機會與Pharmachem團隊會面，但我知道我們擁有一支經驗豐富的團隊，且他們正積極推進一系列正在開發中的機會管線，並計畫在2020年導入。這項業務確實面臨一些挑戰，而我們將共同加以解決。

With the sale of the Composites business, we lost the moral asset. The loss of this asset impacted our ability to continue to support some coproducer swap business. The loss impacted our sales, but will have a small impact on our profitability.

隨著Composites業務出售，我們失去了moral asset。該資產的流失影響了我們持續支援部分共同生產商交換（swap）業務的能力。這項流失影響了我們的銷售，但對獲利能力的影響將較小。

Clearly, we have issues to address, but, as I said, the majority of the portfolio is well positioned, and we are very excited about the opportunities and the future that lies ahead.

顯然，我們有一些問題需要處理；但如我所說，我們的投資組合大多數部分都具備良好定位，我們也對眼前的機會與未來發展感到非常振奮。

Let me pass it now to Kevin to take you through some of the details of the quarter and the year, and then I'll come back to talk about our plans for the future. Kevin?

接下來我把時間交給Kevin，請他帶各位了解本季與本年度的一些細節，之後我會再回來談談我們未來的計畫。Kevin？

Thank you, Guillermo, and good morning, everyone. Please turn to Slide 11. First, I'll begin with a broad overview of results and accomplishments during the quarter.

謝謝你，Guillermo，各位早安。請翻到投影片第11頁。首先，我將先概述本季的整體業績與達成事項。

In early September, we successfully closed on the sale of the Composites business and the Marl BDO facility to INEOS Enterprises. As Bill previously mentioned, we used the net proceeds from the sale to reduce debt by $940 million, which reduced our net leverage to about 2.6 turns.

在9月初，我們順利完成將Composites業務與Marl BDO廠出售給INEOS Enterprises的交易。如Bill先前提到，我們將出售所得淨額用於償還9.4億美元債務，使我們的淨槓桿降至約2.6倍。

Overall, financial results were mixed in both the fourth quarter and the fiscal year. Ashland sales were down in both periods due primarily to specific challenges in our Pharmachem and personal care businesses and general industrial market demand weakness. As Guillermo mentioned, we are actively working on the challenges we can address.

整體而言，第四季與本會計年度的財務結果呈現好壞參半。Ashland在兩個期間的銷售皆下滑，主要原因是Pharmachem與個人護理業務的特定挑戰，以及一般工業市場需求疲弱。如Guillermo所提到，我們正積極處理我們能夠解決的挑戰。

On the other hand, adjusted EBITDA grew in both the fourth quarter and fiscal year due primarily to successful execution on our cost reduction program. I'll provide a summary of that program and its expected impact on fiscal year '20 later on this call.

另一方面，調整後EBITDA在第四季與本會計年度皆成長，主要歸功於我們成功執行成本削減計畫。我稍後會在本次電話會議中，概述該計畫以及其對2020會計年度的預期影響。

Please turn to Slide 12. Total Ashland sales in the quarter were $609 million, down 9% from the year-ago period due to lower sales in Specialty Ingredients. Negative currency and the Colgate-Gantrez reformulation each represented 1 point of this decline.

請翻到投影片第12頁。本季Ashland總銷售額為6.09億美元，較去年同期下降9%，主要因Specialty Ingredients銷售較低。匯率不利因素與Colgate-Gantrez配方重新調整各占此次下滑的1個百分點。

SG&A costs declined significantly in the quarter as we realized the positive impact of the cost reduction program and lower incentive compensation, though the lower costs drove improved EBITDA and EBITDA margin for Ashland, which both increased versus the prior year. Adjusted EPS also grew by 8%, reflecting the improved cost position and reduced share count following the conclusion of our $200 million accelerated share repurchase program during the summer. The effective tax rate in the quarter was 23%, driven by income mix and discrete tax items primarily.

本季SG&A成本顯著下降，因我們實現了成本削減計畫的正面效益以及較低的激勵性薪酬；較低的成本也帶動Ashland的EBITDA與EBITDA利潤率改善，兩者皆較去年增加。調整後EPS亦成長8%，反映成本結構改善，以及我們在夏季完成2億美元加速庫藏股回購計畫後，流通股數下降。本季有效稅率為23%，主要由所得組合與一次性稅務項目所驅動。

Now let's take a look at the segment results in the fourth quarter. Please turn to Slide 13. Specialty Ingredients sales were $579 million, down 9% versus prior year, due primarily to the challenged results at Pharmachem and personal care, including the impact of the Colgate reformulation, plus the impact of continued weak industrial end market demand. The product mix was negative overall, which impacted gross margins, though this impact was partially offset by favorable pricing and lower raw material costs. The favorable pricing continues to be a good story for specialty ingredients as the commercial teams have been diligent during a prolonged period of raw material volatility.

現在我們來看第四季的部門別結果。請翻到投影片第13頁。Specialty Ingredients銷售額為5.79億美元，較去年下降9%，主要因Pharmachem與個人護理（包括Colgate配方調整的影響）表現受挫，加上工業終端市場需求持續疲弱的影響。整體產品組合不利，影響毛利率，但此影響部分被有利的定價與較低的原料成本所抵銷。有利的定價對Specialty Ingredients仍是個好消息，因商務團隊在原料長期波動期間一直保持嚴謹的定價紀律。

Operating income and EBITDA both declined by 5% versus prior year, as lower gross profit was partially offset by lower SG&A costs. And these lower SG&A costs increased EBITDA margin to 26.3% for the quarter, the highest quarterly margin achieved in specialty ingredients in 7 years.

營業利益與EBITDA皆較去年下降5%，因毛利下降部分被較低的SG&A成本所抵銷。而這些較低的SG&A成本使本季EBITDA利潤率提升至26.3%，為Specialty Ingredients在7年來達成的最高單季利潤率。

Please turn to Slide 14. Turning to Intermediates and Solvents. Sales in the quarter were $30 million, down 3% from the year-ago period as both volumes and pricing declined, reflecting changing market demand dynamics. However, both gross profit margin and EBITDA margin improved as raw material costs were lower in the quarter versus prior year.

請翻到投影片第14頁。接著看Intermediates and Solvents。本季銷售額為3,000萬美元，較去年同期下降3%，因銷量與價格皆下滑，反映市場需求動態的變化。然而，毛利率與EBITDA利潤率皆有所改善，因本季原料成本較去年同期更低。

Please turn to Slide 15. As both Bill and Guillermo discussed earlier, fiscal year '19 was a challenging year for both organic sales growth and operating segment earnings growth. Total Ashland sales declined by 4% with results from Pharmachem, personal care, namely oral care, but also in hair, and weak industrial demand contributing to the decline. However, we continue to see positive results in pharma and our global coatings business.

請翻到投影片第15頁。如Bill與Guillermo先前所討論，2019會計年度在有機銷售成長與營運部門獲利成長方面都是充滿挑戰的一年。Ashland總銷售額下降4%，其中Pharmachem、個人護理（尤其是口腔護理，亦包括美髮）以及疲弱的工業需求皆促成了下滑。不過，我們在製藥與全球塗料業務仍持續看到正面成果。

Also, while adhesives' top line has been challenged, earnings in that business have been very resilient. In total, Ashland EBITDA and EPS both grew compared to the prior year due to our lower cost position. While these results are below expectations we had at the beginning of the year, we are confident we have identified the issues to be addressed and are actively working on them here at the beginning of fiscal '20.

此外，雖然黏著劑（adhesives）的營收端面臨挑戰，但該業務的獲利表現仍相當具韌性。整體而言，Ashland的EBITDA與EPS皆因成本結構較低而較去年成長。雖然這些結果低於我們在年初的預期，但我們有信心已找出需要處理的問題，並在2020會計年度一開始就積極推動改善。

Please turn to Slide 16. Finally, I'd like to make a few comments about the cost reduction program, which contributed so significantly to results in this fiscal year. Given its size and scope, the program was challenging, and I want to thank the team for all the efforts to make it a success. As of today, the program is substantially complete. We were north of $115 million on a run rate basis as of September 30, and we expect to exceed our targeted $120 million run rate by the end of this calendar year. The carryover impact from the program in fiscal '20 is expected to be roughly $25 million of SG&A cost savings.

請翻到第16頁投影片。最後，我想就成本削減計畫做幾點說明；該計畫對本會計年度的業績成果貢獻良多。鑑於其規模與範疇，這項計畫具挑戰性，我要感謝團隊為使其成功所付出的所有努力。截至今日，該計畫已大致完成。截至9月30日，以年化執行率（run rate）計算，我們已超過1.15億美元，並預期在本曆年年底前超越目標的1.20億美元年化執行率。該計畫在2020會計年度的遞延效益，預期約為2,500萬美元的SG&A成本節省。

Please turn to Slide 17, and I will now turn the call back over to Guillermo for his closing remarks. Guillermo?

請翻到第17頁投影片，接下來我把電話交回給Guillermo，請他做結語。Guillermo？

Thank you, Kevin.

謝謝你，Kevin。

Before we talk about the future, let me take a moment to address and recognize our team, many of whom I assume are listening to this call.

在談未來之前，讓我先花點時間向我們的團隊致意並表達肯定；我想其中許多人正在收聽這通電話會議。

I know that it's been a challenging environment for our business in the last year, and that the portfolio transformation the company has gone through has created much change and stress in the organization. On behalf of our Board and all our stakeholders, I want to thank you for your dedication and commitment to our success. You are at the core of our business. As we move forward, know that we have a profitable and healthy company and that we have very strong businesses that are well positioned for success.

我知道過去一年對我們的業務而言是充滿挑戰的環境，而公司所經歷的投資組合轉型，也在組織內部帶來許多變動與壓力。我代表董事會以及所有利害關係人，感謝各位對我們成功的投入與承諾。各位是我們業務的核心。展望未來，請相信我們是一家獲利且健康的公司，並且我們擁有定位良好、具備成功條件的強勁事業。

Specialty materials are about knowledge, creativity, innovation and commitment. We need to stay focused on creating value for our customers through innovation, partnership and quality and reliability of supply. Each and every one of us has an important role to play and contributions to make.

特用材料關乎知識、創意、創新與承諾。我們必須持續專注於透過創新、夥伴關係，以及供應的品質與可靠性，為客戶創造價值。我們每一個人都扮演重要角色，也都能做出貢獻。

We have very supportive customers and investors who want us to be successful. Most of us have been in these industries for a long time. If we stay focused on what we do best, create value for our customers, we will have an exciting and rewarding future ahead. It's up to us to create our future.

我們有非常支持我們的客戶與投資人，他們希望我們成功。我們多數人在這些產業深耕已久。只要我們專注於最擅長的事、為客戶創造價值，未來將會令人振奮且收穫豐富。我們的未來取決於我們自己去創造。

Please turn to Slide 19. From our comments, I hope it's clear that we understand both the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead. Let me share with you some of my early observations and then move to our plans for the future.

請翻到第19頁投影片。從我們的說明中，我希望大家清楚，我們理解前方的挑戰與機會。我先與各位分享一些我初步的觀察，接著談我們未來的計畫。

As I commented before, although Ashland is now a focused pure-play specialty materials company, the businesses have had a long and proud history in the industries we serve. Our core businesses like pharma, personal care, coatings, additives and adhesives are strong, and we enjoy market leadership positions in most of our markets. We have a very strong base on which to build our future.

如我先前所述，雖然Ashland如今是一家聚焦的純特用材料公司（pure-play），但我們的事業在所服務的產業中擁有悠久且值得自豪的歷史。我們的核心事業，如製藥、個人護理、塗料、添加劑與黏著劑等都很強勁，且在多數市場中享有市場領導地位。我們擁有非常堅實的基礎，可用以打造未來。

Like all companies at different points in their history, we have issues that we need to address. Earlier, I mentioned some specific business issues we have to address in oral care and Pharmachem. We also have some structural changes that we will need to make as we now become a smaller and more focused pure-play specialty materials company.

如同所有公司在其發展歷程的不同階段一樣，我們也有需要處理的問題。先前我提到，我們在口腔護理與Pharmachem方面有一些特定的業務問題需要解決。此外，隨著我們成為規模更小、聚焦度更高的純特用材料公司，我們也需要進行一些結構性調整。

As I look at the opportunities ahead, I'm excited about the future of the company and the value we can create for all stakeholders. We're in exciting markets with leadership positions. We have strong teams with deep industry knowledge, relationships and expertise. For our markets, we have industry-leading innovation capabilities that we can leverage and drive growth and improve the quality of our portfolio. And our challenges, our challenges are really opportunities we can take advantage of to drive improvement. We have multiple improvement opportunities that we can act on to create value.

當我看向前方的機會時，我對公司的未來以及我們能為所有利害關係人創造的價值感到振奮。我們身處令人興奮的市場，並擁有領導地位。我們有強大的團隊，具備深厚的產業知識、人脈關係與專業能力。在我們的市場中，我們擁有業界領先的創新能力，可加以運用以推動成長並提升投資組合品質。而我們的挑戰，其實就是我們可以把握、用來推動改善的機會。我們有多項改善機會可以採取行動以創造價值。

Please turn to Slide 20. Our objectives have not changed. We want to maintain industry-leading EH&S and sustainability performance. We want to drive above-market organic revenue and EBITDA growth. We want to expand EBITDA margins, and we want to generate strong free cash flow.

請翻到第20頁投影片。我們的目標沒有改變。我們希望維持業界領先的環境、健康與安全（EH&S）以及永續表現。我們希望推動高於市場的有機營收與EBITDA成長。我們希望擴大EBITDA利潤率，並產生強勁的自由現金流。

Please turn to Slide 21. My priorities are very clear: to develop and articulate our strategy, to improve our operating performance, to align and right size our cost structure and to maintain disciplined capital allocation. I am already working with our leadership team to act on these priorities.

請翻到第21頁投影片。我的優先事項非常明確：制定並清楚闡述我們的策略、改善營運績效、使成本結構一致並調整至適當規模，以及維持嚴謹的資本配置。我已經與領導團隊合作，著手推動這些優先事項。

Our first step will be to move from a functional-led model to a business-led model. Our business units will be at the center of how we create value and how we operate. We are already working to define our future business units and their leadership teams. These teams will have the line of sight and ownership for all activities impacting their business. They will have the resources and ownership and accountability to develop their strategies and drive operating performance.

我們的第一步將是從以職能為主導的模式，轉向以事業為主導的模式。事業單位將成為我們創造價值與營運方式的核心。我們已在著手界定未來的事業單位及其領導團隊。這些團隊將對所有影響其事業的活動具備清晰視野並擁有主導權。他們將擁有資源、所有權與問責，以制定策略並推動營運績效。

As part of this realignment, we will also be making changes to our organizations, business processes and systems to improve visibility, focus, alignment and ownership and accountability to support our performance improvement. A significant portion of our organization's incentive compensation will be aligned with their business unit performance.

作為此一重新對齊的一部分，我們也將調整組織、業務流程與系統，以提升可視性、聚焦度、對齊程度，以及所有權與問責，來支持績效改善。我們組織中相當大一部分的獎酬性激勵，將與其事業單位的績效對齊。

We have very different business model with -- businesses with different needs. Our second step will be to have each business define their business model and adjust their organization and cost structure to their needs, rebalancing both efficiency and effectiveness.

我們擁有非常不同的商業模式——各項事業的需求也不盡相同。我們的第二步將是讓各事業界定其商業模式，並依其需求調整組織與成本結構，在效率與效能之間重新取得平衡。

At a corporate level, we will structure our organization and activities to support the future needs of the business units and ensure we are in line with industry best practice for our company of our size and profile.

在公司層級，我們將建構組織與活動，以支援事業單位未來的需求，並確保就我們公司之規模與特性而言，符合產業最佳實務。

As always, we will maintain a disciplined approach to capital allocation and value creation. We recognize that it will take some time to put this in place, but we are already moving so that we can accelerate this process. Our intention is to demonstrate clear progress, both in actions -- the actions we take as well as in demonstrating continued improvement momentum.

一如既往，我們將維持嚴謹的資本配置與價值創造方法。我們了解這需要一些時間才能到位，但我們已經開始推進，以便加速此一流程。我們的意圖是展現明確進展，無論是在我們採取的行動上——以及在持續改善動能的展現上。

Please turn to Slide 22. With regards to our outlook, given the restructuring of our businesses and resulting resegmentation work, we are not providing guidance for fiscal year 2020 or Q1. As we begin to articulate our strategy and future business objectives, we would like to ground them on the business units and the structures we are defining. We will need more time to accomplish this.

請翻到第22頁投影片。關於我們的展望，鑑於我們業務的重整以及隨之而來的重新分部（resegmentation）工作，我們不提供2020會計年度或第一季的財測指引。當我們開始闡述策略與未來的業務目標時，我們希望以正在界定的事業單位與組織架構作為基礎。我們需要更多時間來完成這些工作。

Having said that, I do want to provide some color as to what we see as the dynamics and drivers for 2020 performance. Demand dynamics vary by business, but given the high level of macroeconomic uncertainty, we have a more conservative outlook on the broader market demand. We expect Q1 demand to remain similar to Q4.

話雖如此，我仍想補充一些我們對2020年表現之動態與驅動因素的看法。需求動態因事業而異，但鑑於總體經濟不確定性偏高，我們對整體市場需求採取較保守的看法。我們預期第一季需求將與第四季大致相近。

We've already communicated our view on oral care and Pharmachem. These are headwinds for us in the near term, but we are actively working to improve the longer-term performance of these businesses. The majority of our businesses are well positioned and face the normal market and competitive dynamics. The quicker we can put the new business units and teams in place, the sooner we can drive improvement.

我們已經就口腔護理與Pharmachem傳達過我們的看法。這些在短期內對我們而言是逆風，但我們正積極努力改善這些事業的長期表現。我們大多數的事業定位良好，面對的是正常的市場與競爭動態。我們越快把新的事業單位與團隊到位，就能越快推動改善。

Pricing and raw material movements will stay balanced. We will have roughly $25 million of SG&A improvement carryover from the cost improvement actions from 2019.

定價與原物料走勢將維持平衡。我們將因2019年的成本改善行動，帶來約2,500萬美元的SG&A改善結轉效益。

The temporary shutdown of our Nanjing plant will have a Q1 impact. And similarly, we're currently doing a catalyst changeover at a Lima plant. This is -- this usually occurs every 3 to 4 years, and will impact our Q1.

我們南京工廠的暫時停產將對第一季造成影響。同樣地，我們目前也正在利馬的一座工廠進行觸媒更換。這通常每3到4年會發生一次，並將影響我們第一季的表現。

As you can see, we have an exciting year ahead. We have some challenges to address, but we also have significant opportunities to drive improvement.

如各位所見，我們前方有令人振奮的一年。我們有一些挑戰需要面對，但也有重大的機會來推動改善。

Please turn to Slide 23 for some closing comments. I hope that you find the insights we have provided around our business and our path forward, useful and exciting. We are excited about the future and the opportunity we have to create value. We are now a pure-play specialty materials company that is well positioned in exciting, high-quality markets where we have leadership positions. We have a strong foundation on which to build our future, strong businesses, experienced teams with deep industry knowledge and relationships and industry-leading innovation capabilities. Our businesses are profitable, have good margins and generate strong free cash flow. More importantly, we have a number of levers we will be acting on to drive improvement over the -- our current performance.

請翻到第23頁投影片，我做一些結語。希望各位覺得我們就業務與未來方向所提供的洞見，既有用也令人振奮。我們對未來以及創造價值的機會感到興奮。我們現在是一家純粹的特用材料公司，在我們具領導地位、令人振奮且高品質的市場中具備良好定位。我們擁有堅實的基礎來打造未來：強健的事業體、具深厚產業知識與關係的資深團隊，以及業界領先的創新能力。我們的事業體具獲利能力、毛利率良好，並能產生強勁的自由現金流。更重要的是，我們有多項槓桿將採取行動，以推動改善並提升我們目前的表現。

Thank you for your time and interest in Ashland, and, operator, let's turn it over to Q&A.

感謝各位撥冗並對Ashland的關注；主持人，接下來我們進入問答。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from David Begleiter with Deutsche Bank.

(接線員指示) 我們的第一個問題來自德意志銀行的David Begleiter。

Guillermo, on Slide 21, you mentioned aligning and rightsizing the cost structure. Post the most recent cost program, how much more do you think there is to go on the cost side? If you can quantify that. And maybe even on margins, is -- what is the margin potential of the ASI business, you think, going forward?

Guillermo，在第21頁投影片，你提到要使成本結構對齊並進行適當規模調整。在最近一次成本方案之後，你認為在成本端還有多少空間可以再做？如果可以量化的話。另外在利潤率方面，你認為ASI業務未來的利潤率潛力是多少？

Okay. So, David, it's been -- it's nice to hear from you. So if you look at the alignment of costs, I look at it in 2 buckets that we need to align. As we form our businesses, each one of them is very, very different. Some are much more heavily involved with innovation, tech service, higher cost structures, but much higher margins. Others, there is innovation, but they are in a different type of business where margins are a little bit tighter and the business models need to change.

好的。David，很高興聽到你的聲音。談到成本對齊，我把需要對齊的部分分成兩個面向。隨著我們建立各個事業體，每一個都非常、非常不同。有些更高度依賴創新、技術服務，成本結構較高，但利潤率也高得多。另一些也有創新，但所處的業務型態不同，利潤率相對更緊，商業模式需要調整。

Today, we basically have -- the commercial groups are dedicated by business, but a lot of the rest of the organization is sort of allocated to the businesses. So the intent there is to form the businesses and then let them decide what they need. In some areas, they might increase some costs. In other areas, it might decrease. It really depends on their business model and what they want to do. So we will get that going as soon as we can. Forming the businesses is the first step, and then we will empower them so that they can define those things and we can support it.

目前基本上，我們的商務團隊是依事業體專屬配置，但組織中其餘許多部分則是以某種方式分攤到各事業體。因此我們的意圖是先把事業體建立起來，然後讓他們決定自己需要什麼。在某些領域，他們可能會增加一些成本。在其他領域，可能會降低。這真的取決於他們的商業模式以及他們想怎麼做。所以我們會盡快推動這件事。建立事業體是第一步，接著我們會賦權給他們，讓他們能界定這些需求，而我們則提供支援。

The other bucket is more the infrastructure support, some of the admin costs, some of the functions that really support the businesses, which, again -- well, 2 issues there is, what do the businesses need? And then we'll adjust accordingly. And the other part is really compare and benchmark ourselves to the rest of the industry and make sure that we are aligning ourselves with a $2.5 million to $3 billion company, what should we look like and really look at our profile for that.

另一個面向則更偏向基礎設施支援、部分行政成本，以及真正支援事業體的一些職能；同樣地——這裡有兩個議題：事業體需要什麼？然後我們會據此調整。另一部分則是把我們與同業做比較與標竿對照，確保我們的配置與一家25億到30億美元規模的公司相匹配：我們應該長什麼樣子，並真正檢視我們在該規模下的組織輪廓。

If you look at margins, and I've been asked this question before, how good can we get? I would say that the target, I know that has been set, 25% to 27%. You're going to hear me talk more about minimum 27% -- 25%. If you know the last company I went in, we were able to get much higher margins. I would have said -- if you had asked me the question you asked me at the beginning, I probably would -- I've given you a lower number than what we got to. So because the businesses really need to drive and develop their model, I don't know what I don't know yet. So I think there could be upside, and I don't -- I think the minimum is 25%, and we'll see how we progress as we get more information from the business units.

若看利潤率，而且我以前也被問過這個問題：我們能做到多好？我會說，既定的目標我知道是25%到27%。你會聽到我更多談到至少27%——至少25%。如果你了解我上一家任職的公司，我們能做到更高的利潤率。我會說——如果你在一開始就問我你現在問的問題，我可能會給你一個比我們最後達到的還低的數字。因此，因為各事業體需要真正推動並發展其商業模式，我目前還不知道我還不知道的部分。所以我認為可能有上行空間；我認為最低是25%，而隨著我們從各事業單位取得更多資訊，我們再看看進展如何。

Very good. And just on oral care, Guillermo, what's the hit from the new customer reformulation in 2020 versus 2019?

很好。另外在口腔護理方面，Guillermo，新客戶配方重新調整在2020年相較2019年的衝擊是多少？

So we'll -- the hit started in this quarter. So it is going to impact us, both on the revenue and on the cost side into next year. But the bigger issue was the Colgate. And I think one of the big messages is, look, we -- the filling of the asset, if that was an expectation, is going to be more complicated for us because we have to develop new markets. We have some exciting opportunities, but it's going to take time. The impact maybe of this additional business might be $8 million to $10 million in sales.

所以——這個衝擊從本季就開始了。因此它會在明年持續影響我們，包含營收端與成本端。但更大的問題是高露潔（Colgate）。我認為其中一個重要訊息是：你看，我們——資產的產能填補，如果那是原先的期待，對我們而言會更複雜，因為我們必須開發新市場。我們有一些令人振奮的機會，但需要時間。這筆新增業務的影響，銷售額可能約為800萬到1,000萬美元。

Our next question comes from Christopher Parkinson with Crédit Suisse.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞士信貸（Crédit Suisse）的Christopher Parkinson。

Great. Naturally, the ASH portfolio has had to endure a few macro headwinds in 2019, but there are still those out there listening now that will simply say the portfolio just is in specialty and there aren't necessarily ample opportunities to adequately improve the margin profile of the ASH portfolio. I understand it's fairly early, but just what are your general thoughts on those statements? And what would be your response to those individuals?

很好。很自然地，ASH投資組合在2019年必須承受一些總體環境逆風，但現在仍有人在聽，會直接說這個投資組合就是特用領域，未必有足夠的機會能充分改善ASH投資組合的利潤率輪廓。我理解現在還算早期，但你對這些說法的整體看法是什麼？你會如何回應這些人？

Okay, I would respond very simply, I've had this question asked 3 years ago when we were spinning off in the other companies, and it was the same question. These are old businesses. They've been underperforming. Can they be -- will it be specialties? And we got them all over to 35% EBITDA margins. And if you look at the businesses that we sold to Evonik at that time, epoxy, additives, all that. Similar to these, they were 30 -- 40-year-old business. The nature of what we call specialties is the quality of the space we're in. Are we -- do we have the opportunity to create value for our customers? Having a robust portfolio, it doesn't mean that everything is the latest cutting edge, but that we have a portfolio mix, the asset capability, quality, reliability, tech service. There's a lot of other dimensions and the right business model to drive the performance. So, I'm very excited about the portfolio. I don't see any differences, frankly, from what I've seen in other specialty business, be it at Rohm and Haas or at Air Products or anywhere else.

好的，我會很簡單地回應：三年前我們在分拆其他公司時，我也被問過同樣的問題。這些是老業務。它們一直表現不佳。它們能不能——會不會成為特用？而我們把它們全部提升到35%的EBITDA利潤率。如果你看我們當時賣給Evonik的業務：環氧樹脂、添加劑等等。和這些類似，它們是30到40年的老業務。我們所稱的「特用」的本質，在於我們所處領域的品質。我們是否——是否有機會為客戶創造價值？擁有強健的產品組合，並不代表每一項都是最新、最尖端，但代表我們有產品組合的搭配、資產能力、品質、可靠性、技術服務。還有許多其他面向，以及能推動績效的正確商業模式。所以，我對這個投資組合非常興奮。坦白說，我看不出它與我在其他特用業務中所見有任何不同，不論是在Rohm and Haas、Air Products或其他地方。

And just a quick follow-up. Just given your background at Rohm and Haas and, yes, Air Products, Versum, just what do you think are -- just for the people that you're just introducing yourself into now, just what do you think are the 2 to 3 most relevant skill sets you've acquired over your career that just really help you guide the Ash portfolio going forward?

再快速追問一下。考量到您在 Rohm and Haas，以及沒錯，Air Products、Versum 的背景，對於那些您現在正開始讓他們認識您的同仁而言，您認為在您的職涯中所累積、最有助於您未來引導 Ashland 產品組合前進的 2 到 3 項最相關技能組是什麼？

Yes. So I would say 2 dimensions. One more of the business side of things. I've been involved in these industries. I understand what it takes to operate a specialty business, the balance between innovation, the customer service, but also, in some cases, the disciplined operating discipline that you need to have in running a full P&L across the portfolio. So -- and for me, it's more about learning Ashland than the businesses. I've been involved in these spaces for a long time.

是的。我會說有兩個面向。其中一個比較偏向業務面。我一直在這些產業裡。我了解經營特用化學品業務需要什麼：創新與客戶服務之間的平衡；同時在某些情況下，還需要在整個產品組合層級經營完整損益表（P&L）時所必須具備的嚴謹營運紀律。所以——對我而言，更多是學習 Ashland，而不是學習這些業務本身。我在這些領域已經深耕很長一段時間。

I think the other part has been really the last few years in transforming businesses with the spin-off and all that. This is sort of the same thing. It's a different situation because in a spin-off, it's cleaner. You have to start from scratch. But to a degree, it's the same thing. We've now become a different company. And I think part of what we need to do is drive the change. And I've just done this. So hopefully, I can work with the organization and -- to achieve this. And I will say, the -- I've already had a lot of discussions with the global organization, meetings with -- town hall meetings with people. There's a lot of receptivity from the organization. There's excitement. They understand that, hey, this is a different company now. And they actually have a lot of very good ideas of what we can do, that we will be implementing.

我認為另一部分則是過去幾年在分拆（spin-off）等過程中推動企業轉型的經驗。這某種程度上是同樣的事情。情境不同，因為分拆時比較乾淨。你必須從零開始。但在某種程度上，這也是同一件事。我們現在已經成為一家不同的公司。而我認為我們需要做的一部分，就是推動改變。而我做過這些。所以希望我能與組織合作——並達成這些目標。我也想說，我已經和全球組織進行了很多討論，和——也與同仁舉行了市政廳（town hall）會議。組織的接受度很高。大家很興奮。他們理解，嘿，現在這是一家不同的公司了。而且他們其實有很多非常好的想法，關於我們可以做什麼，而我們也將會加以落實。

Our next question comes from Laurence Alexander with Jefferies.

下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Laurence Alexander。

This is Dan Rizzo on for Laurence. You mentioned last call or that sunscreen was a headwind. I was wondering if that's still the case or if it's something that's bottomed and you expect a rebound in 2020.

我是代 Laurence 提問的 Dan Rizzo。您在上次電話會議提到，或是說防曬品是一項逆風。我想請問現在是否仍是如此，或是已經觸底，您預期 2020 年會反彈？

The sunscreen, last -- I mean, I think there was a lot of market dynamics with trade issues that disrupted us last quarter more than anything else. I know that there was some longer-term questions on the sunscreen market and things that might change in the future. Those things really didn't impact the performance per se. The performance were really more specific dynamics. We've overcome them, but, Kevin, maybe you want to comment a little bit on just the volumes and...

防曬品方面——我的意思是，我認為上季主要是因為貿易議題帶來的許多市場動態，對我們造成的干擾超過其他因素。我知道市場上對防曬品市場有一些較長期的疑問，以及未來可能會有些變化。但那些事情本身其實並沒有直接影響表現。表現更多是一些較具體的動態因素所致。我們已經克服了它們，不過 Kevin，也許你可以就量的部分稍微評論一下，還有……

Yes. We've actually seen -- we've seen a nice rebound on the skin care side. I would say that we've largely worked through the key issues that we had, and the team's done a nice job with that. And the other thing to remind you of is sunscreen is a seasonal business. There's not a lot of seasonal in personal care, but that is one business that's seasonal. And as we work toward the upcoming sunscreen season, we've done a lot of work with customers already in terms of how that's going to play out. So I mean, personally, I feel pretty good about the skin care part of the business in terms of what the team's been able to do and how they've been able to grow on a number of fronts.

好的。我們其實已經看到——在肌膚保養（skin care）端看到不錯的回升。我會說我們大致已經把先前的關鍵問題處理完畢，團隊在這方面做得很好。另外也提醒一下，防曬品是季節性業務。個人護理（personal care）裡季節性不多，但防曬品就是其中一個季節性業務。隨著我們邁向即將到來的防曬季，我們已經和客戶做了很多前期工作，討論這會如何展開。所以就我個人而言，對於肌膚保養這一塊業務，我對團隊能做到的事情，以及他們在多個面向的成長能力，感覺相當有信心。

Okay. And then just one other question. You mentioned that you've been pretty good with pricing and state trying to keep up with raw materials. Is it possible that pricing has led to -- or higher pricing has led to reformulations by customers? Is that kind of a risk when you're trying to figure out what to do going forward?

了解。另外還有一個問題。您提到你們在定價方面做得不錯，並表示會努力跟上原物料。是否有可能定價——或較高的價格——導致客戶進行配方調整（reformulations）？在你們思考未來策略時，這會是一種風險嗎？

Yes, there's always a balance to be struck, but, generally speaking, no. Most of the customers, especially in personal care, we provide a very broad portfolio of products to. And there's a long-term relationship there that is built on both trust and performance, and I think the team executes well around that. The fact of the matter is, as raws move, pricing has to move with it. Largely, our customers understand that, and that's a discussion, not a mandate. And so I think as we move forward, that's not going to change.

是的，這之間永遠需要取得平衡，但一般而言，不會。我們的大多數客戶，尤其是在個人護理領域，我們提供給他們的是非常廣泛的產品組合。而且彼此之間有長期關係，建立在信任與績效之上，我認為團隊在這方面執行得很好。事實上，當原物料（raws）變動時，價格就必須隨之調整。大體上，我們的客戶理解這點，而這是一種討論，而不是命令。因此我認為，隨著我們往前走，這點不會改變。

For a period of time, raws were pretty flat to down. This is -- I'm going back aways, a couple of years, and I think we lost some of the pricing discipline within the organization. That's been regained. And for sure, certain times, you will test the market from a pricing perspective. I think that's an appropriate thing to do, and I think we do that in an appropriate way. So I mean, long story short, no, I don't think that we've caused reformulations because of pricing. I think our customers have their own dynamics. And to be clear, customers like Colgate are still large important customers that we provide a broad portfolio of products to. And we expect that to continue, and we expect to grow with them.

有一段時間，原物料相當持平甚至下滑。這——我回溯到更早之前，大概兩年前，我認為我們在組織內部有些定價紀律流失了。現在已經重新找回來。當然，在某些時點，你會從定價角度去測試市場。我認為這是適當的做法，而我們也以適當的方式在做。所以簡而言之，不，我不認為我們因為定價而造成客戶改配方。我認為客戶有他們自己的動態。而且要說清楚，像高露潔（Colgate）這樣的客戶仍然是我們重要的大型客戶，我們也提供給他們廣泛的產品組合。我們預期這會持續下去，也預期會與他們一起成長。

Our next question comes from Mike Sison with Wells Fargo.

下一個問題來自 Wells Fargo 的 Mike Sison。

Guillermo, I'm looking forward to working with you again. In terms of Specialty Ingredients, fourth quarter sales were down 9%. How much of that was from the challenges you're seeing at Pharmachem and personal care? How much of that was sort of just kind of end market weakness? And given the fiscal first quarter '20 conditions are going to be similar, is that the type of sales declines you see near term, meaning that sort of that down 9%-ish going forward?

Guillermo，我很期待再次與你合作。就特用原料（Specialty Ingredients）而言，第四季銷售額下滑 9%。其中有多少是來自你們在 Pharmachem 與個人護理所看到的挑戰？又有多少是終端市場疲弱所致？此外，考量到 2020 會計年度第一季的環境將會類似，短期內你們是否會看到類似的銷售下滑幅度，也就是未來大致維持在下滑約 9% 左右？

So let me give you sort of my high-level take, and then, Kevin, you can provide a little bit of the detail. I mean, clearly, for the quarter, Pharmachem was a very big impact. So definitely, we felt it. And there's no saying other than it was a major impact, and we have to address it more for 2020. I think in the other parts of the market, we -- most of the businesses did well. Oral care, obviously, the carryover still impacted us. For the quarter, it was not as big of an issue. But for the year, obviously, it has been with some of the dynamics at Colgate and the other customer that we got impacted. But one of the questions, and I know there's a lot of concern or questions around, hey, is there something wrong with the portfolio? What's happening? What we're trying to do is point that, yes, we have issues. We're trying to point where they are. Those are structural things that we need to deal with. The rest of the portfolio is actually going -- is well positioned. So as you said, the demand is going to vary by segments, adhesives and parts of the cellulosic additives, and it will have more industrial construction-type dynamics. But if you look at pharma, it's -- that runs at a different pace. We grew this year at mid-single digits. So a very healthy portfolio. Innovation's going. That segment should be, from a demand perspective, not impacted by some of the macroeconomic dynamics. And then the personal care is one that we're, I think, addressing those specific issues that impact us. But Kevin, let me give you...

所以我先給你一個比較高層次的看法，然後 Kevin 你可以補充一些細節。我的意思是，很明顯，就這一季而言，Pharmachem 造成了非常大的影響。所以我們確實感受到了。沒什麼好說的，這是重大影響，我們必須在 2020 年更進一步處理。我認為在市場的其他部分，我們——大多數業務表現都不錯。口腔護理方面，顯然，前期因素的延續仍然影響我們。就本季而言，這不是那麼大的問題。但就全年而言，顯然，因為高露潔以及我們受到影響的另一位客戶的一些動態因素，這個影響一直存在。但其中一個問題，而且我知道大家對此有很多擔憂或疑問，就是：嘿，產品組合是不是出了什麼問題？發生了什麼？我們想要指出的是，是的，我們確實有問題。我們正試著指出問題在哪裡。那些是我們需要處理的結構性問題。而產品組合的其餘部分其實——運作良好、定位也很到位。所以如你所說，需求會因細分市場而異，例如黏著劑以及部分纖維素添加劑，並且會更多受到工業、建築類型動態的影響。但如果你看製藥，它——運行節奏不同。我們今年以中個位數成長。所以這是一個非常健康的產品組合。創新也在推進。從需求角度來看，該細分市場不應該受到某些總體經濟動態的影響。然後個人護理方面，我認為我們正在處理那些對我們造成影響的特定問題。但 Kevin，讓我把話交給你……

No, Guillermo, I think you said it very well. I wouldn't really add anything. I mean, what we're seeing on the industrial side is just like you said, it's really tracking with the broader macro dynamics. And, frankly, as I mentioned in my comments, the adhesives business, while the top line was down, has been very resilient from a profitability perspective, thanks to our coatings. I think those teams are doing a nice job managing their P&L.

不，Guillermo，我覺得你講得很好。我其實不會再補充什麼。我的意思是，我們在工業端看到的情況就像你說的，確實是跟著更廣泛的總體經濟動態在走。坦白說，正如我在評論中提到的，黏著劑業務雖然營收下滑，但在獲利能力方面一直非常有韌性，這要歸功於我們的塗料業務。我認為那些團隊在管理他們的損益表方面做得很好。

Got it. And then just a quick follow-up. When you think about 2020, and I know you don't want to give specific guidance, but when you think about EBITDA for the total company next year, you've got a plus $25 million SG&A carryover. You've got weaker demand. You do have some things that are growing in terms of new products. So when you sort of add up sort of the positives and the negatives, can EBITDA grow next year? Or is it going to be sort of a year that's going to be challenged, given some of the negatives that you've talked about?

了解。然後再快速追問一下。當你思考 2020 年時，我知道你不想給出具體指引，但當你思考明年整體公司的 EBITDA，你有超過 2,500 萬美元的 SG&A 結轉影響。你也面臨較弱的需求。同時也有一些新產品帶來的成長。所以當你把正面與負面因素加總起來，明年 EBITDA 能成長嗎？還是說，考量你談到的一些負面因素，明年會是一個比較具挑戰的一年？

So Mike, when we don't give guidance. So we don't give guidance to a degree on some of these areas. So I think we have levers to perform. I do think the -- from the cost side, obviously, we can do more. The issue's timing and how quickly we can, so I don't want to overpromise things at this point in time. But I do think that if we move quickly, organize our teams and focus them, so that they have the full P&L ownership to drive each of their businesses, that the top line can also be stronger. And this is really around we have very solid businesses. These guys know what they're doing. I've met with the business teams, with the technology people. I mean, it's impressive. Well, I feel -- I really do feel at home versus any other company that I've been in and what they know. These guys have decades of experience. I see why it was very hard to compete against some of these businesses in the past just as I look at the strengths of what we have. So I think the issue is now more focus is the biggest -- the word I would use. Full P&L focus. It's not that we're not focused on what we do, but just looking at sales or just looking at manufacturing, all that isn't good enough for each of the businesses, given the different dynamics that we have.

所以 Mike，既然我們不提供指引。因此在某些領域我們也不會在一定程度上提供指引。我認為我們有一些槓桿可以用來提升表現。我確實認為——從成本端來看，顯然我們還能做更多。問題在於時點，以及我們能多快做到，所以我現在不想過度承諾。但我確實認為，如果我們快速行動、把團隊組織好並讓他們聚焦，讓他們對各自業務擁有完整的損益責任（P&L ownership）來推動，那麼營收端也可以更強。而這其實是因為我們擁有非常扎實的業務。這些人知道自己在做什麼。我已經和業務團隊、技術人員見過面。我的意思是，令人印象深刻。嗯，我覺得——我真的有回到家的感覺，相較於我待過的其他公司，以及他們所掌握的知識。這些人有數十年的經驗。當我看到我們擁有的優勢時，我也理解為什麼過去要和其中一些業務競爭會非常困難。所以我認為現在最大的問題是更聚焦——這是我會用的詞。完整的 P&L 聚焦。並不是說我們不專注於我們做的事，但只看銷售或只看製造，對每一個業務來說都不夠，因為我們面臨的動態各不相同。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from John Roberts with UBS.

(接線員指示) 我們的下一個問題來自 UBS 的 John Roberts。

You used to provide more granularity to the sales change in the Specialty Ingredients segment. Is that something that will come out in the 10-K? Or is it your intention going forward not to give us that kind of granularity that we had before?

你們過去會對 Specialty Ingredients（特用成分）部門的銷售變動提供更細的拆解。這會在 10-K 裡披露嗎？還是你們未來的意圖是不再提供我們以前那種細緻程度的資訊？

So definitely, we're going to be changing some of the things that we communicate, but we will show, as we move forward, as we resegment, we will talk about those new segments. So I think give us a little bit of time to do that work, and there will be more granularity that will come out. Will we provide the same thing that we did before? I think that some of these things are going to change. I understand everybody wants a lot of details, but I know, as a competitor, I love all this detail when I see it. And we need to -- I want to make sure that we're rebalancing, both for our own commercial interest as well as having good communications. But definitely, there's more to come, but we'll need to wait for the resegmentation to be done.

所以我們確實會改變一些我們對外溝通的內容，但隨著我們往前推進、並重新進行分部（resegment）之後，我們會談到那些新的分部。所以我想請給我們一點時間來完成這項工作，之後會有更多細節釋出。我們會提供和以前完全一樣的內容嗎？我認為其中一些事情會改變。我理解大家都想要很多細節，但我也知道，站在競爭對手的角度，當我看到這些細節時我會很喜歡。而我們需要——我想確保我們在自身商業利益與良好溝通之間重新取得平衡。但可以確定的是，後續還會有更多資訊，只是需要等重新分部完成。

And then, Kevin, I know you don't want to give any guidance, but maybe for the December quarter, could you give us the tax rate given the December -- the fiscal fourth quarter is typically not a representative tax rate to a go-forward basis, and it seemed like the interest expense was higher, at least than what we were modeling as well.

然後 Kevin，我知道你不想提供任何指引，但也許就 12 月這一季，你能否給我們稅率？因為 12 月——會計年度第四季通常不是能代表未來常態的稅率，而且利息費用看起來也比較高，至少高於我們的模型預估。

Sure. So if you look at our full year, the tax rate was about 13%. It was higher in Q4 due to the things I mentioned. Looking forward to full fiscal '20. Based on all we have going on, et cetera, it's really hard to give a narrow range at this point. But I would say somewhere in the, call it, 13% to 18% type range is probably reasonable. I mean, if you want to get more specific than that, yes, I would say a lot of people would model a couple of hundred basis point change versus in 2019.

當然。如果你看我們全年，稅率大約是 13%。由於我提到的那些因素，第四季的稅率更高。展望 2020 會計年度全年。基於我們目前正在進行的所有事情等等，現在要給出很窄的區間確實很難。但我會說大概在 13% 到 18% 這樣的區間可能是合理的。我的意思是，如果你想更具體一點，是的，我會說很多人可能會在模型中假設相較於 2019 年變動幾個百分點（約數百個基點）。

Q1 is almost always a funky tax rate for us because it's our weakest quarter, and you really can't judge the year by that. I mean, typically, we have a -- we've typically had a pretty low tax rate in Q1 relative to the full year rate. So, yes, it's really not appropriate for me to commit to anything. But if you look at the past, we've kind of hovered around that 13% to 15% range for full year. Once we have a solid number, we'll give it to you.

第一季對我們來說幾乎總是個有點怪的稅率，因為那是我們最弱的一季，而且你真的不能用那一季來判斷整年。我的意思是，通常，我們在第一季的稅率——相較於全年稅率——一直都偏低。所以，是的，我現在真的不適合承諾任何數字。但如果你看過去，我們全年大概都落在 13% 到 15% 的區間。一旦我們有了確定的數字，我們會提供給你。

Okay. And then welcome, Guillermo. And Bill, if you're still there, best wishes.

好的。另外，歡迎你，Guillermo。Bill，如果你還在線上，祝你一切順利。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Our next question comes from Mike Harrison with Seaport Global Securities.

下一個問題來自 Seaport Global Securities 的 Mike Harrison。

Going back to the oral care situation, part of strategy in the Specialty Ingredients business is customer intimacy focus and the idea that customers, as they are looking at reformulating, you're working with them on the next generation of product. Yet we've had this situation where Colgate and now another oral care customer have done a reformulation and Ashland is not participating in the new product. So is there something broken with that customer intimacy model? Can you just maybe provide a little bit more color in understanding? I know you said that Colgate remains an important customer. Help me understand how you guys kind of end up losing out on business like that with nothing to replace it.

回到口腔護理的情況，Specialty Ingredients 事業的策略之一是以客戶緊密合作為重點，並且認為當客戶在尋求重新配方時，你們會與他們一起開發下一代產品。然而我們遇到這樣的情況：高露潔（Colgate）以及現在另一家口腔護理客戶都做了重新配方，而 Ashland 並未參與新產品。所以，這個客戶緊密合作的模式是不是出了什麼問題？你能否提供更多背景，幫助我們理解？我知道你說過高露潔仍然是重要客戶。請幫我理解，你們怎麼會在這種情況下失去這類業務，而且沒有任何替代來補上。

Okay. So Mike, thanks for the question. Obviously, I'm spending a lot of time trying to understand all the dynamics on the different businesses. So let me answer your last question is, are we losing the intimacy with customers and all that? The answer is absolutely not. And you can see it where we're getting fantastic growth in -- in Personal Care, hey, our biologics grew last year 40%. This year, we got over double digits growth. So we have a lot of segments that are growing. So it's not a generic thing.

好的。Mike，謝謝你的問題。顯然，我花了很多時間試著理解各個不同業務的所有動態。所以我先回答你最後一個問題：我們是不是正在失去與客戶的緊密關係等等？答案是絕對沒有。你可以看到我們在——在個人護理（Personal Care）取得非常亮眼的成長；嘿，我們的生物製劑（biologics）去年成長了 40%。今年我們也有超過兩位數的成長。所以我們有很多正在成長的細分領域。因此這不是一個普遍性的問題。

This is -- oral care is a more concentrated market. Our customers decided to reformulate. One, they're not using anything of what we supply. So it's just a big change. We don't like it, but it happened. I agree with you. One of the things is we shouldn't be surprised, and that's something that we are looking to make sure that we understand what happened. And what -- and making sure that doesn't happen again, and that we just had another impact. So those are areas that clearly I'm looking into to make sure that it doesn't happen again in terms of the surprise factor. But I am not -- I'm not concerned that there's something broken. And I say that not because I'm talking to 1 or 2 individuals after several weeks meeting with a lot of people in R&D and commercial, different parts of the world. I had a chance to go to the pharma show in Frankfurt and see the interactions with customers. It's very, very strong.

這——口腔護理是一個更集中的市場。我們的客戶決定重新配方。第一，他們沒有使用任何我們供應的東西。所以這就是一個很大的改變。我們不喜歡，但事情就是發生了。我同意你的看法。其中一點是我們不應該感到意外，而這也是我們正在檢視的，確保我們了解發生了什麼。以及——並確保這種事不會再發生，而且我們剛剛又受到一次影響。所以這些領域我確實正在深入了解，確保就「意外」這個因素而言不會再發生。但我不——我不擔心有什麼機制壞掉了。我這麼說不是因為我只跟 1、2 個人談過；而是在這幾週我與研發與商務、世界各地不同部門的很多人會面之後得出的結論。我也有機會去法蘭克福的製藥展，看到與客戶的互動。那是非常、非常強的。

Great. And then, Guillermo, you also mentioned the importance of capital deployment and capital discipline. I was wondering, as we've come into a period here where you've got proceeds from the divestiture, and the Specialty ingredients business is an area that would seem to be ripe for adjacencies, can you just comment on the company's potential appetite for acquisitions going forward?

很好。另外，Guillermo，你也提到資本配置與資本紀律的重要性。我想請問，現在你們進入一個有出售資產所得款項的階段，而 Specialty Ingredients 業務看起來也很適合做相鄰領域的延伸，你能否談談公司未來對併購的意願？

So let me be very clear. Our agenda in the near term is to drive our improvement. That is, by far, where we want to focus. And M&A and all those things is not necessarily or what we're driving for at this point in time. I think once we get our margins, we get our businesses and that we articulate clear strategies by business, this is a specialty company with different businesses. We're not going to be able to talk about it just in one generic terms, we need to talk about pharma, we need to talk about personal care, each of the individual parts to articulate, and then how, as a company, we're going to support that whole agenda.

我先講得非常清楚。我們短期內的議程是推動自身改善。這是我們最想聚焦的重點，遠遠高於其他。而併購（M&A）以及那些事情，在目前這個時間點不一定是我們要推動的方向。我認為一旦我們把利潤率拉上來、把各個業務調整到位，並且能按業務清楚闡述策略——這是一家專業化公司，擁有不同的業務。我們不可能只用一個籠統的說法來談，我們需要談製藥、需要談個人護理，以及各個獨立部分來闡述，然後再談作為一家公司，我們將如何支持整個議程。

Having said that, there are segments that are obviously very strategic for us. If opportunities come, we are going to look and that we wouldn't hesitate to do something. And we'll communicate more of that later, but I'll be very clear, pharma, as an example, is a no-brainer. This is a key part of our growth. We have a lot of differentiation, and that's an area that we want to stay focused. But there are other ones across our portfolio, and we will communicate that more in the coming months.

話雖如此，有些細分領域對我們而言顯然非常具策略性。如果有機會出現，我們會去評估，而且我們不會猶豫去做一些事情。我們之後會再多做溝通，但我會很清楚地說，以製藥為例，這是不需要多想的。這是我們成長的關鍵部分。我們有很多差異化優勢，而這也是我們希望持續聚焦的領域。但在我們的投資組合中還有其他領域，我們會在接下來幾個月更進一步對外說明。

I'm showing no further questions in queue at this time. I'd like to turn the call back to Mr. Novo for closing remarks.

目前我看到隊列中沒有其他問題。我想把電話交回給 Novo 先生做結語。

Okay. Well, thank you very much, again, for your time and interest. I'm sure that we'll be having a lot of contacts over the coming weeks. I look forward to seeing you in the near future, and really thank you for your time and attention.

好的。那麼再次非常感謝各位的時間與關注。我相信在接下來幾週我們會有很多聯繫。我期待在不久的將來與各位見面，也非常感謝各位的時間與聆聽。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

各位女士、先生，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位參與。您現在可以掛線。