Ashland Inc. (ASH) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to Ashland's second quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings conference call and webcast. (Operator instructions)

大家好，歡迎參加 Ashland 2025 會計年度第二季財報電話會議與網路直播。(接線員指示)

I would now like to turn the conference over to William Whitaker. Sir, you may begin.

現在我想將會議交給 William Whitaker。先生，您可以開始了。

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Ashland's second quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings conference call and webcast. My name is William Whitaker, Ashland Investor Relations.

各位大家好，歡迎參加 Ashland 2025 會計年度第二季財報電話會議與網路直播。我是 William Whitaker，Ashland 投資人關係部。

Joining me on the call today are Guillermo Novo, Ashland Chair and CEO; Kevin Willis, Ashland's CFO; and our business unit leaders, Alessandra Faccin, Jim Minicucci and Dago Caceres. During today's call, we will reference slides being webcast on our website, ashland.com, under the Investor Relations section. We encourage you to follow along.

今天與我一同參與電話會議的有 Ashland 董事長暨執行長 Guillermo Novo；Ashland 財務長 Kevin Willis；以及我們的事業單位主管 Alessandra Faccin、Jim Minicucci 與 Dago Caceres。在今天的電話會議中，我們將引用於本公司網站 ashland.com「投資人關係」專區同步網路直播的簡報投影片。我們鼓勵各位一同跟隨投影片。

Please turn to slide 2. We'll be discussing forward-looking statements on several matters, including our fiscal 2025 outlook, which involve risks and uncertainties as detailed on slide 2 and in our Form 10-K. These forward-looking statements involve 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.

請翻到第 2 頁投影片。我們將討論多項前瞻性陳述事項，包括我們對 2025 會計年度的展望；相關風險與不確定性如第 2 頁投影片及我們的 Form 10-K 所詳述。這些前瞻性陳述涉及風險與不確定性，可能導致未來結果或事件與今日的預測出現重大差異。我們相信此類陳述係基於合理假設，但無法保證可達成該等預期。

We'll also discuss certain adjusted financial metrics, both actual and projected, which are non-GAAP measures. We will refer to these measures as adjusted and present them to supplement your understanding and assessment of our ongoing business. GAAP reconciliations are available on our website and in the appendix of these slides.

我們也將討論若干經調整的財務指標（包含實際與預估），其為非 GAAP 衡量指標。我們將以「經調整」稱之，並用以補充各位對我們持續營運業務的理解與評估。GAAP 對帳表可於我們網站及本簡報附錄中取得。

I'll now hand the call over to Guillermo for his opening remarks. Guillermo?

接下來我把電話交給 Guillermo 進行開場致詞。Guillermo？

Thank you, William, and good morning to everyone. Thank you for joining us today. I'll be providing an update that covers four key areas, giving you a clear picture of our recent performance and strategic direction.

謝謝你，William，各位早安。感謝各位今天加入我們。我將提供涵蓋四個關鍵領域的最新進展，讓各位清楚了解我們近期表現與策略方向。

First, I'll review the highlights of our second quarter performance. Later, I'll provide more details on our strategic priorities. We will also discuss our proactive approach to the evolving tariff landscape. And finally, I'll take a detailed look at our updated fiscal year 2015 guidance.

首先，我會回顧第二季表現重點。稍後，我將更詳細說明我們的策略優先事項。我們也會討論面對不斷演變的關稅環境所採取的主動作為。最後，我將深入說明我們更新後的 2015 會計年度財測指引。

Please turn to slide 5. Let's begin with a recap of our second quarter performance. We saw a mixed demand environment that trended slower than expected. Q2 sales were $479 million, a 17% year-on-year decrease, including a peak $67 million impact from portfolio optimization.

請翻到第 5 頁投影片。我們先從第二季表現回顧開始。我們看到需求環境呈現分歧，且走勢較預期疲弱。第二季銷售額為 4.79 億美元，年減 17%，其中包含投資組合優化帶來的最高 6,700 萬美元影響。

Excluding this, the 5% revenue decline was mainly driven by lower carryover volumes and pricing. Pricing generally aligned with our planned assumptions, excluding in Intermediates. Adjusted EBITDA was $108 million, down $14 million year-over-year or 4% organically. This organic decline was partially offset by the cost savings initiatives, and we will manage production recovery after our Q1 maintenance pull forward.

若排除此影響，營收下滑 5% 主要由較低的遞延量（carryover volumes）與定價所致。除中間體（Intermediates）外，整體定價大致符合我們原先規劃的假設。經調整 EBITDA 為 1.08 億美元，年減 1,400 萬美元；若以有機口徑則下降 4%。此有機下滑部分被成本節省措施所抵銷；在第一季提前進行維修保養後，我們也將管理產能恢復。

Early cost benefits are already improving margins as segment details show. And it's all laying the groundwork for future profitable growth. Regarding capital allocation, we continue our balanced approach, repurchasing 1.5 million shares as we believe our current share price undervalues our long-term growth potential.

如各事業部門細節所示，早期的成本效益已在改善利潤率。這些作為也正在為未來的獲利成長奠定基礎。在資本配置方面，我們持續採取平衡策略，回購 150 萬股股票，因我們認為目前股價低估了我們的長期成長潛力。

Please turn to slide 6. Now I'll summarize the performance of the individual segments. Life Sciences showed strong volume momentum and demand recovery due to the effect of execution and stabilization of customer inventories, reinforcing our renewed pharma growth outlook. Personal Care core additives were resilient while navigating softer European demand and specific customer challenges.

請翻到第 6 頁投影片。接下來我將摘要各個事業部門的表現。生命科學（Life Sciences）因執行到位以及客戶庫存趨於穩定而呈現強勁的出貨量動能與需求復甦，進一步強化我們對製藥成長前景的重新看好。個人護理（Personal Care）核心添加劑在面對歐洲需求轉弱及特定客戶挑戰時仍展現韌性。

Specialty Additives experienced anticipated volume declines in China and competitive intensity remained high in export markets, such as the Middle East, Africa and India. However, strong execution in other markets partially compensated for these headwinds.

特用添加劑（Specialty Additives）在中國出貨量如預期下滑，且出口市場（如中東、非洲與印度）的競爭強度仍然偏高。不過，我們在其他市場的強勁執行部分抵銷了這些逆風。

Intermediates margins were below expectation due to the persistent pricing pressures and reduced production amid the challenging demand environment. Importantly, our portfolio optimization is now complete, marked by the sale of our Avoca business and the full identification of our $30 million cost reduction plan in the second quarter.

中間體（Intermediates）利潤率低於預期，原因在於持續的定價壓力，以及在艱困需求環境下產量下降。重要的是，我們的投資組合優化現已完成，包含出售 Avoca 業務，並於第二季完整確認 3,000 萬美元的成本削減計畫。

We're successfully delivering on cost savings, exceeding our full year target. With early benefits evident on strong Life Science and Personal Care EBITDA margins despite headwinds. It is the first time we've had both business units above 30% margins at the same time.

我們正成功落實成本節省，並已超越全年目標。儘管面臨逆風，生命科學與個人護理的 EBITDA 利潤率強勁，早期效益已清楚可見。這是我們首次同時看到兩個事業單位的利潤率都高於 30%。

Our key focus now is on accelerating the $60 million manufacturing optimization given the market uncertainties with increased financial impact through the second half of fiscal year '25 and into fiscal year '26.

我們目前的重點是，在市場不確定性之下加速推進 6,000 萬美元的製造優化，並在 2025 會計年度下半年及 2026 會計年度帶來更大的財務影響。

In summary, while we're effectively managing the second half quarter headwinds, increasing economic uncertainty and anticipated softer consumer demand are prompting an adjustment to our fiscal year '25 outlook, which we'll discuss later. In response to these evolving conditions, the completion of our portfolio optimization and our cost savings and productivity initiatives are more critical than ever.

總結而言，雖然我們正有效管理第二季下半段的逆風，但經濟不確定性升高以及預期消費需求轉弱，促使我們調整 2025 會計年度展望，稍後將進一步說明。面對這些持續演變的情勢，完成投資組合優化以及推動成本節省與生產力提升計畫，比以往任何時候都更為關鍵。

Our strategic priorities, as outlined at our Strategy Day continue to guide us. We believe our ability to adopt and execute with discipline and prudence will be key to navigating the near term and creating long-term value.

我們在策略日（Strategy Day）所提出的策略優先事項，仍持續引導我們前進。我們相信，以紀律與審慎的方式採取行動並落實執行，將是我們度過短期波動並創造長期價值的關鍵。

Now I'd like to turn over the call to Kevin to provide more detailed review of our second quarter financial performance. Kevin?

接下來我想把電話交給 Kevin，請他更詳細回顧我們第二季的財務表現。Kevin？

Thank you, Guillermo, and good morning, everyone. Please turn to slide 8. Q2 sales were $479 million, down 17%, including a $67 million impact from portfolio optimization. Excluding this, sales declined 5% year-over-year. Our year-over-year organic sales volume declined by 2% as gains in Intermediates and stable Life Sciences volumes were outweighed by decreases in Personal Care and Specialty Additives.

謝謝你，Guillermo，各位早安。請翻到第 8 頁投影片。第二季銷售額為 4.79 億美元，年減 17%，其中包含投資組合優化帶來的 6,700 萬美元影響。若排除此影響，銷售額年減 5%。年對年有機銷售量下滑 2%；中間體的成長與生命科學銷量持平，仍不敵個人護理與特用添加劑的下滑。

Overall, our pricing decreased by 2% compared to last year. This was primarily driven by lower carryover pricing actions in Life Sciences and Specialty Additives along with price declines in Intermediates. Foreign currency also negatively impacted sales by 1%.

整體而言，我們的定價較去年下降 2%。主要原因為生命科學與特用添加劑較低的遞延定價措施（carryover pricing actions），以及中間體的價格下跌。外匯也對銷售額造成 1% 的負面影響。

Q2 adjusted EBITDA was $108 million, down 14% year-over-year mainly due to a $13 million impact from portfolio optimization and lower organic sales, partially offset by decreased SARD and production costs. Raw materials were generally stable year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin increased 60 basis points to 22.5% in the quarter. Life Sciences, Personal Care and Specialty Additives all improved year-over-year adjusted EBITDA margin by greater than 200 basis points.

第二季經調整 EBITDA 為 1.08 億美元，年減 14%，主要因投資組合優化帶來 1,300 萬美元影響以及有機銷售下滑；部分被 SARD 與生產成本下降所抵銷。原物料成本年對年整體大致持平。本季經調整 EBITDA 利潤率提升 60 個基點至 22.5%。生命科學、個人護理與特用添加劑的年對年經調整 EBITDA 利潤率皆提升超過 200 個基點。

Excluding portfolio optimization, adjusted EBITDA was down 4% due to the factors mentioned earlier. Adjusted EPS, excluding acquisition amortization, was $0.99 per share, down 22% from the prior year. Reflecting typical Q2 earnings seasonality, ongoing free cash flow was negative $6 million.

若排除投資組合優化影響，經調整 EBITDA 下降 4%，原因如前所述。經調整 EPS（排除併購攤銷）為每股 0.99 美元，較去年下降 22%。反映第二季獲利的季節性特徵，持續性自由現金流為負 600 萬美元。

To conclude my remarks, I want to underscore a point we've discussed previously. With a strong financial foundation of over $700 million in liquidity and a manageable 2.8 times net leverage, Ashland is well positioned to navigate the current environment and strategically invest in our key priorities.

在結束我的發言前，我想再次強調我們先前討論過的一點。憑藉超過 7 億美元的流動性以及可控的 2.8 倍淨槓桿，Ashland 具備穩健的財務基礎，足以因應當前環境，並策略性投資於我們的關鍵優先事項。

Now let's hear directly from our general managers for a detailed review of each operating segment's results. Alessandra, let's start with Life Sciences.

現在讓我們直接聽取各事業部總經理的說明，詳細回顧各營運部門的業績表現。Alessandra，我們先從生命科學開始。

Thank you, Kevin. Good morning, everyone. Please turn to slide 9 for Life Sciences. Overall, Life Sciences sales declined 23% year-over-year to $172 million. The decline was primarily driven by our portfolio optimization initiatives including the divestiture of our nutraceutical business line and exit from low-margin nutrition products, which reduced sales by approximately $42 million or 19%.

謝謝你，Kevin。各位早安。請翻到第 9 頁投影片，生命科學部分。整體而言，生命科學銷售額年減 23% 至 1.72 億美元。下滑主要來自我們的產品組合優化措施，包括出售營養保健品（nutraceutical）業務線，以及退出低毛利營養產品，使銷售額約減少 4,200 萬美元（約 19%）。

These actions improve our long-term profitability and focus, but impact year-over-year comparisons in fiscal year 2025. Overall, organic sales declined 4% year-over-year mainly due to pharma carryover pricing from fiscal year '24, generally as expected.

這些行動提升我們的長期獲利能力與聚焦方向，但會影響 2025 會計年度的年對年比較。整體而言，有機銷售額年減 4%，主要由 2024 會計年度延續的製藥定價因素所致，整體符合預期。

Positively, organic sales volume met expectations and was flat year-over-year supported by improving sequential pharma demand. This demand improvement was across most regions and technologies as destocking from the previous quarter is stabilized and our share gain initiatives gained traction. In line with our strategic growth initiatives, we have inaugurated our new public coatings plant in Brazil early in April.

正面的是，有機銷售量符合預期，年對年持平，並受惠於製藥需求逐季改善。隨著前一季去庫存趨於穩定，以及我們的市占提升措施開始見效，需求改善涵蓋多數地區與技術領域。配合我們的策略性成長計畫，我們已於 4 月初在巴西啟用新的公共塗料工廠。

This facility enhances our technical support capabilities for customers from formulation to industrial scale, driving innovation and organic growth in this key region. I look forward to sharing our progress as we scale these operations. Our nutrition business saw a positive inflection this quarter, driven by share gains, mainly in Latin America with strong commercial execution.

該設施強化我們從配方到工業化量產的客戶技術支援能力，推動此關鍵區域的創新與有機成長。隨著我們擴大這些營運規模，我期待與各位分享進展。本季我們的營養業務出現正向拐點，主要受惠於市占提升，尤其在拉丁美洲，商業執行表現強勁。

Turning to profitability. Overall, adjusted EBITDA decreased by 15% year-over-year to $56 million. Excluding an $8 million impact from portfolio optimization, EBITDA was down $2 million or 3%. This decrease was primarily due to carryover pricing partially mitigated by lower production costs from our restructuring efforts.

接著談獲利能力。整體而言，調整後 EBITDA 年減 15% 至 5,600 萬美元。若排除產品組合優化帶來的 800 萬美元影響，EBITDA 下降 200 萬美元（約 3%）。此降幅主要來自延續性的定價因素，部分被我們重整措施帶來的較低生產成本所抵銷。

Our adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 290 basis points year-over-year to 32.6%, marking one of the business unit's strongest margin quarters on record. We anticipate sustaining a strong margin profile in the low 30s for the remainder of the year.

我們的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率年增 290 個基點至 32.6%，創下該事業單位歷來最強的利潤率季度之一。我們預期今年剩餘期間可維持在 30% 出頭的強勁利潤率水準。

Please turn to slide 10 for Intermediates. As Guillermo noted, the second quarter presented challenges for our Intermediates business. Sales were $37 million, a decrease from $40 million in the same period last year. This comprised $10 million in captive video sales with stable volumes and $27 million in merchant sales, while merchant revenue remained consistent year-over-year with higher volumes offsetting lower pricing.

請翻到第 10 頁投影片，中間體（Intermediates）部分。如 Guillermo 所提到，第二季對我們的中間體業務而言充滿挑戰。銷售額為 3,700 萬美元，較去年同期的 4,000 萬美元下降。其中包含 1,000 萬美元的自用（captive）視訊銷售，銷量穩定；以及 2,700 萬美元的對外（merchant）銷售。對外營收年對年持平，因較高銷量抵銷了較低價格。

The overall sales decline was primarily driven by captive market-based pricing. Turning to profitability. Intermediates generated $2 million in adjusted EBITDA, representing a 5.4% adjusted EBITDA margin. This compares to $12 million in the prior year. Lower pricing and our actions to reduce production and inventory for better demand alignment, significantly pressured margins this quarter. Our March price increase aims to improve profitability in these challenging market conditions.

整體銷售下滑主要由自用市場的市場化定價所致。接著談獲利能力。中間體產生 200 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 5.4%。相較之下，去年同期為 1,200 萬美元。較低的價格，以及我們為了更貼近需求而採取降低產量與庫存的行動，於本季對利潤率造成顯著壓力。我們於 3 月的漲價措施旨在於這些艱困的市場環境下改善獲利能力。

Now I will turn the call over to Jim to discuss the performance of Personal Care. Jim?

接下來我把電話交給 Jim，請他說明個人護理（Personal Care）的表現。Jim？

Thank you, Alessandra. Good morning, everyone. Personal Care sales decreased by 14% year-over-year to $146 million. It's important to understand that this decline is largely a result of our portfolio optimization initiatives. This included the divestiture of the Avoca business line, which occurred in Q2 and the exit of low-margin products.

謝謝你，Alessandra。各位早安。個人護理銷售額年減 14% 至 1.46 億美元。重要的是要理解，這一下滑很大程度是我們產品組合優化措施的結果。其中包括於第二季完成 Avoca 業務線的出售，以及退出低毛利產品。

These actions reduced sales by approximately $15 million or 9%. With the portfolio actions now complete, our Personal Care business is more focused in centered around core additives, microbial protection and biofunctional actives. This increased focus is positioning us to deliver improved profitability and margins, as highlighted in the current quarter results.

這些行動使銷售額約減少 1,500 萬美元（約 9%）。隨著產品組合調整現已完成，我們的個人護理業務更聚焦於核心添加劑、微生物防護與生物功能性活性成分。這種更高的聚焦正協助我們提升獲利能力與利潤率，正如本季結果所呈現。

Looking at the underlying performance. Organic sales declined 5% year-over-year, mainly due to continued weakness in Europe and customer-specific dynamics. Our core additives portfolio demonstrated resilience and growth in both hair and skin care.

就基本面表現來看。有機銷售額年減 5%，主要因歐洲持續疲弱以及特定客戶的動態因素。我們的核心添加劑產品組合展現韌性，並在護髮與護膚兩個領域皆有成長。

This was more than offset by weaker performance in biofunctional actives, oral care and microbial protection. Oral care sales in the quarter were unfavorably impacted by a key customer order timing. We expect this to normalize through the balance of the year. Biofunctional actives delivered high single-digit sequential growth.

但上述成長被生物功能性活性成分、口腔護理與微生物防護較弱的表現所抵銷。本季口腔護理銷售受到一位關鍵客戶下單時點影響而不利。我們預期這將在今年其餘期間恢復正常。生物功能性活性成分實現逐季高個位數成長。

However, performance in the quarter continued to be impacted by customer specific weakness in our base business. Customer development projects are advancing with a robust pipeline of new projects and several customer launches planned for later this year. Our China facility is ramping well as we increase our local supply.

然而，本季表現仍受到我們基礎業務中某些客戶特定疲弱的影響。客戶開發專案持續推進，新專案管線強勁，且今年稍晚規劃有多項客戶產品上市。隨著我們提升在地供應，中國廠區的產能爬坡進展良好。

Microbial protection continues to advance globalization efforts with a strong commercial pipeline and customer qualification is progressing well at our new production facility in Brazil. While demand in the EMEA region remained soft, consistent with Q1, we saw encouraging low to mid-single-digit growth in the rest of the world.

微生物防護持續推進全球化布局，商業管線強勁，且巴西新生產設施的客戶認證進展順利。儘管 EMEA 地區需求仍偏弱，與第一季一致，但我們在世界其他地區看到令人鼓舞的低至中個位數成長。

Turning to profitability. Adjusted EBITDA declined by 2% year-over-year to $44 million. Excluding the impact from portfolio optimization actions, adjusted EBITDA increased 5% year-over-year. Personal Care delivered a record adjusted EBITDA margin of 30.1%, an increase of 350 basis points year-over-year. This margin trajectory highlights the health of the business, impact of our optimization efforts and positions us well for continued execution on our strategy.

接著談獲利能力。調整後 EBITDA 年減 2% 至 4,400 萬美元。若排除產品組合優化行動的影響，調整後 EBITDA 年增 5%。個人護理創下 30.1% 的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率新高，年增 350 個基點。此利潤率走勢凸顯業務的健康程度、我們優化措施的成效，並使我們能夠持續良好執行策略。

Now I'll hand it over to Dago to review the results of Specialty Additives. Dago?

接下來我把時間交給 Dago，請他回顧特用添加劑（Specialty Additives）的業績。Dago？

Thank you, Jim. Please turn to slide 12. Let's discuss the performance of our Specialty Additives segment, which presented a mixed picture in Q2. While the second quarter presented a weaker-than-expected seasonal lift in some key markets. Performance Specialties continue to be a bright spot, delivering solid volume growth across diversified industrial markets.

謝謝你，Jim。請翻到第 12 頁投影片。我們來討論特用添加劑部門的表現，第二季呈現喜憂參半。雖然第二季在部分關鍵市場的季節性回升弱於預期。但 Performance Specialties 仍是亮點，在多元化的工業市場中帶來穩健的銷量成長。

However, overall sales volumes decreased by 12% year-over-year, primarily due to our planned portfolio optimization, which streamlined construction offerings towards higher-margin products. Turning to organic performance. Sales volumes decreased by 6%, entirely driven by continued soft demand and some share losses in China, the Middle East, Africa and India.

然而，整體銷售量年減 12%，主要因我們規劃中的產品組合優化，將建築相關產品精簡並轉向更高毛利產品。就有機表現而言。銷售量下降 6%，完全由需求持續疲弱，以及在中國、中東、非洲與印度的部分市占流失所致。

As we mentioned earlier, low demand and overcapacity in China [coatings] is negatively impacting both volume and pricing, intensifying competition within China and regional export markets. We were able to partially offset this impact with a strong execution and a volume recovery in North America and European coats.

如我們先前提到，中國[塗料]需求低迷與產能過剩，正同時對銷量與價格造成負面影響，並加劇中國境內及區域出口市場的競爭。我們透過強勁的執行力，以及北美與歐洲塗料市場的銷量回升，得以部分抵銷此影響。

Pricing declined by 2% and primarily reflecting carryover effects from prior year pricing actions, particularly in the same challenging coatings markets. Overall, Specialty Additives sales fell by 15% to $134 million with organic sales down 9%.

價格下降 2%，主要反映前一年定價行動的延續效應，尤其是在同樣艱困的塗料市場。整體而言，特用添加劑銷售額下滑 15% 至 1.34 億美元，有機銷售額下降 9%。

Turning now to profitability. Our adjusted EBITDA declined by 4% year-over-year to $26 million. However, looking at the underlying performance, excluding the planned portfolio optimization, we actually delivered a 3% increase.

接著談獲利能力。我們的調整後 EBITDA 年減 4% 至 2,600 萬美元。不過，若看基本面表現，排除規劃中的產品組合優化影響後，我們實際上達成 3% 的成長。

Increased production volumes achieved through improved planned operating pace compared to last year and cost efficiencies were the primary drivers of this improvement more than offsetting lower pricing. Consequently, adjusted EBITDA margins improved by 220 basis points year-over-year to 19.4%.

透過相較去年改善的計畫性營運節奏所帶動的產量提升，以及成本效率，是本次改善的主要驅動因素，且其效益足以抵銷較低的定價影響。因此，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率年增 220 個基點至 19.4%。

I will now turn the call back to Guillermo. Guillermo?

我現在把電話交回給 Guillermo。Guillermo？

Thanks, Dago, and please turn to slide 14. Now let's turn to our Execute -- strategic priorities. Where we remain focused on enhancing financial performance through controllable factors, independent of macroeconomic environment. The recent finalization of the Avoca divestitures completes our strategic portfolio realignment, enabling a sharper focus on profitable growth.

謝謝，Dago，請翻到第 14 頁投影片。現在讓我們來看「執行（Execute）」—策略優先事項。我們仍專注於透過可控因素提升財務表現，不受總體經濟環境影響。近期完成 Avoca 資產剝離，完成了我們的策略性投資組合重新調整，使我們能更聚焦於獲利性成長。

Our top priority is achieving the $90 million cost savings target, and we're making significant progress on both key components. Starting with a $30 million restructuring. Our restructuring efforts are complete and delivered ahead of schedule. We've identified $30 million in opportunities and plan to realize $18 million in savings this fiscal year.

我們的首要任務是達成 9,000 萬美元的成本節省目標，且在兩個關鍵組成部分都取得顯著進展。首先是 3,000 萬美元的重整。我們的重整工作已完成，且提前達成。我們已辨識出 3,000 萬美元的機會，並計畫在本會計年度實現 1,800 萬美元的節省。

The remainder will carry over into fiscal year '26, and these actions have offset the EBITDA impact of our nutraceuticals, CMC and MC exits.

其餘部分將延續至 2026 會計年度，而這些行動已抵銷我們退出營養保健品、CMC 與 MC 業務對 EBITDA 的影響。

Second, regarding our $60 million manufacturing optimization. The primary focus is strengthening our HEC and VP&D businesses with significant operational planning and execution completed this quarter. We are supplementing these efforts with small plan consolidation as well.

第二，關於我們 6,000 萬美元的製造優化。主要重點是強化我們的 HEC 與 VP&D 業務，本季已完成大量營運規劃與執行。我們也以小型工廠整併來補強這些工作。

Our initial commitment centers on the consolidation of manufacturing activities. We're also aggressively identifying process productivity improvements that could generate further savings beyond our initial targets. We anticipate $6 million in savings this year from VP&D consolidation. Note that the recognition of savings from productivity improvements has a timing element due to the initial capitalization in inventory.

我們最初的承諾聚焦於製造活動的整併。我們也積極辨識流程生產力改善，這些改善可望帶來超出原先目標的額外節省。我們預期今年可自 VP&D 整併取得 600 萬美元的節省。請注意，由於初期會資本化至存貨，生產力改善所帶來的節省認列在時間上具有延遲性。

We will provide further updates on these important areas as we progress. Overall, we are on track to exceed our fiscal '25 target, demonstrating strong momentum towards our $90 million target as we move into fiscal year '26. Please turn to slide 15.

隨著推進，我們將就這些重要領域提供進一步更新。整體而言，我們有望超越 2025 會計年度目標，並在邁入 2026 會計年度之際，展現朝 9,000 萬美元目標前進的強勁動能。請翻到第 15 頁投影片。

At Strategy Day, we set ambitious $100 million incremental revenue targets for both globalized and Innovate initiatives by fiscal '27. We've strategically completed most of our planned investments in key assets and talent. This has led to positive customer development market penetration and production scale-up activities in China and Brazil.

在策略日（Strategy Day）上，我們為「全球化（Globalized）」與「創新（Innovate）」兩項倡議設定了到 2027 會計年度各增加 1 億美元營收的宏大目標。我們已策略性地完成大部分對關鍵資產與人才的既定投資。這帶動了在中國與巴西的正向客戶開發、市場滲透與產能擴張活動。

This will position us well for significant growth. Our year-to-date globalized performance has been impacted by near-term headwinds in our personal care base business, driven by softer European demand and customer-specific weakness.

這將使我們具備實現顯著成長的良好條件。我們年初至今的全球化表現受到個人護理基礎業務短期逆風影響，主要來自歐洲需求走弱以及特定客戶的疲弱。

Our conviction on our strategy remains strong, supported by the proven long-term success and leading position of our high-value markets. In addition, we've -- we're actively driving operational improvements to further enhance already attractive margins in these business lines. For example, gross profit margins increased 500 basis points year-over-year despite revenue declines.

我們對策略的信心依然強勁，並由我們高價值市場長期成功與領先地位所支撐。此外，我們也正積極推動營運改善，以進一步提升這些業務線原本就具吸引力的利潤率。例如，儘管營收下滑，毛利率仍年增 500 個基點。

Let's shift to innovation, our most significant long-term growth driver. I'll be brief as we have our dedicated Innovation Day later this month. Our financial goal is $100 million of incremental sales by fiscal year '27, primarily leveraging our core technology innovations.

接著談創新，這是我們最重要的長期成長驅動力。我會簡要說明，因為我們本月稍晚將舉辦專屬的創新日（Innovation Day）。我們的財務目標是在 2027 會計年度前新增 1 億美元銷售額，主要藉由我們的核心技術創新來實現。

We had strong launches this year, including expanding our cellulosic pharma and biofunctionals portfolio contributing to our year-to-date results. We're on track with $5 million in incremental sales year-to-date. However, this near-term progress is just the beginning. The real potential lies in scaling our new technology platforms for substantial future growth.

今年我們有多項強勁上市（launch），包括擴充我們的纖維素藥用（cellulosic pharma）與生物功能性（biofunctionals）產品組合，並對年初至今的成果有所貢獻。我們年初至今新增銷售額 500 萬美元，進度符合預期。然而，這些短期進展只是開始。真正的潛力在於擴大我們新技術平台的規模，以帶動未來可觀成長。

As you'll hear in detail at Innovation Day, we're consistently identifying and developing revolutionary business cases across these platforms, which support a much larger long-term growth vision. Please turn to slide 16. Now let's address tariffs. We are not immune to the global trade and economic pressures, and Ashland is proactively navigating this evolving landscape.

如同您將在創新日聽到的詳細內容，我們持續在這些平台上辨識並開發具革命性的商業案例，支撐更宏大的長期成長願景。請翻到第 16 頁投影片。現在讓我們談關稅。我們並非不受全球貿易與經濟壓力影響，Ashland 正主動因應這個持續演變的局勢。

Despite our ongoing uncertainty, our experienced leadership team has a proven track record of navigating similar challenges. Our strategy focus focuses on what we can control. an approach that has proven effective over the past five years through events like COVID and supply chain disruptions as well as other macro headwinds.

儘管不確定性仍在，我們經驗豐富的領導團隊在應對類似挑戰方面有良好實績。我們的策略重點聚焦於我們能掌控的事項；這種做法在過去五年面對 COVID、供應鏈中斷以及其他總體逆風等事件時，已證明行之有效。

With that context, our direct exposure to US or China raw material tariffs is limited due to the minimal cross-border trade and our localized sourcing. Recurrent duty structures persist. We currently estimate the EBITDA impact for Ashland in the second half of fiscal year 2025 to be in the $3 million to $5 million range. We are actively implementing mitigation actions and anticipate only a modest increase in our annualized basis thereafter, if nothing changes.

在此背景下，由於跨境貿易量很小且採購在地化，我們對美國或中國原物料關稅的直接曝險有限。既有的關稅結構仍持續存在。我們目前估計 Ashland 在 2025 會計年度下半年對 EBITDA 的影響約為 300 萬至 500 萬美元。我們正積極採取緩解措施，若情勢不變，其後對我們年化基礎的影響預期僅會小幅增加。

Next, the vast majority of our US sales are domestically sourced. For the small portion, we import from Europe, we largely benefit from Annex II exemptions. We are closely monitoring the recent initiatives initiated Section 232 investigation to understand any potential future implications.

接著，我們在美國的銷售絕大多數為國內採購。對於少部分自歐洲進口的產品，我們大多受惠於附件 II（Annex II）豁免。我們正密切關注近期啟動的第 232 條款（Section 232）調查，以了解未來可能的影響。

For context, if Annex II exemptions were not in place, our estimated annual tariff exposure would be $4 million to $6 million, with $1 million impacting fiscal year 2025. Most of our China sales are produced outside of the US. However, approximately [$70 million] are US-produced.

作為背景說明，若沒有附件 II 豁免，我們估計年度關稅曝險將為 400 萬至 600 萬美元，其中 100 萬美元將影響 2025 會計年度。我們在中國的大部分銷售是在美國以外生產。然而，約有 [7,000 萬美元] 為美國生產。

These US produced China sales generate roughly company average gross profit margins and mostly fall within potential tariff scope. Although this continues to evolve with exemptions, our primary exposure here is in the Life Science and Personal Care segments.

這些美國生產、銷往中國的銷售，其毛利率大致與公司平均相當，且多數落在潛在關稅範圍內。儘管豁免情況仍在變動，我們在此的主要曝險集中於生命科學（Life Science）與個人護理（Personal Care）部門。

We have a tariff response plan in place to offset a significant portion of this business at risk. It's also worth noting that approximately one-third of our gross profit comes from products where we are the sole supplier. Given our roughly 90 days of finished goods inventory in China, we anticipate any potential impact on fiscal year '25 to be weighted towards the fourth quarter.

我們已制定關稅因應計畫，以抵銷相當大部分面臨風險的業務。另外值得注意的是，我們約三分之一的毛利來自我們為唯一供應商的產品。鑑於我們在中國約有 90 天的成品庫存，我們預期 2025 會計年度的任何潛在影響將較偏向第四季。

We've analyzed the current and potential tariffs and develop tariff response plans. Our global footprint and diversified portfolio are key advantages here. We're actively optimizing our supply chain, including production and shipping, collaborating with partners and making pricing adjustments where possible.

我們已分析目前及潛在的關稅，並制定關稅因應方案。我們的全球布局與多元化產品組合在此是關鍵優勢。我們正積極優化供應鏈，包括生產與運輸，並與合作夥伴協作，在可行之處進行價格調整。

While tariffs present challenges, we also see potential share gain opportunities. Our goal is to minimize the impact on all stakeholders as we monitor and react to changes and global trade policy. The outlook, which I'll cover shortly, reflects our current estimate of the tariffs impact for this fiscal year based on the information we have today.

雖然關稅帶來挑戰，我們也看到潛在的市占提升機會。我們的目標是在監測並因應變化與全球貿易政策的同時，將對所有利害關係人的影響降至最低。我稍後將說明的展望，反映我們根據目前掌握資訊對本會計年度關稅影響的最新估計。

Please turn to slide 17. Now let's turn to our financial outlook for the fiscal year 2025. As highlighted in yesterday's press release, we are adjusting our full year outlook. This shift is becoming increasingly apparent across several key areas.

請翻到第 17 頁投影片。現在讓我們來看 2025 會計年度的財務展望。如同昨日新聞稿所強調，我們正在調整全年展望。這項轉變在數個關鍵領域愈發明顯。

First, we are observing meaningful reduction in consumer sentiment. The growing global macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties are clearly impacting consumer confidence. This decline in consumer confidence is leading to softer demand from parts of our Ashland customer base, especially in the coatings segment. Our outlook reflects this lower sentiment, but does not include recessionary conditions.

首先，我們觀察到消費者情緒出現明顯下滑。全球總體經濟與地緣政治不確定性升高，正明顯影響消費者信心。消費者信心下降，導致 Ashland 部分客戶群需求轉弱，尤其是在塗料（coatings）領域。我們的展望已反映這種較低的信心，但未納入衰退情境。

Second, while European markets have stabilized, the anticipated moderate recovery has not yet materialized. Demand in this region remains subdued. Third, the Intermediates market continues to present challenges. The persistent supply/demand imbalance is putting pressure on the segment. And while we have implemented price adjustments to improve second half performance, overall pricing is expected to be below previous expectations.

第二，雖然歐洲市場已趨於穩定，但預期中的溫和復甦尚未出現。該地區需求仍然疲弱。第三，中間體市場仍持續帶來挑戰。供需失衡的持續存在正對該業務板塊造成壓力。此外，儘管我們已實施價格調整以改善下半年表現，但整體定價預期將低於先前預估。

As a result, Ashland now anticipate flattish organic sales volume growth for the full fiscal year. This adjustment reflects our expectation of a positive inflection in organic sales volume in the second half led by Life Science. We anticipate that year-over-year pricing headwinds will lessen in the second half as we move past prior pricing actions.

因此，Ashland 現在預期本財年全年有機銷售量成長將大致持平。此一調整反映我們的預期：在生命科學帶動下，下半年有機銷售量將出現正向拐點。我們預期，隨著我們逐步走過先前的定價措施，下半年同比的定價逆風將會減弱。

Overall, we currently anticipate raw materials to remain stable compared to the previous year, excluding the noted tariff impact. We've included the expected direct financial impact of current tariffs in our outlook, which are generally offset by FX gains from a weaker dollar.

整體而言，排除前述關稅影響，我們目前預期原物料成本相較去年將維持穩定。我們已將現行關稅預期帶來的直接財務影響納入展望中，而該影響通常會被美元走弱所帶來的匯兌收益所抵銷。

In response to the weaker demand environment, our focus is intensifying on errors within our control. We are accelerating restructuring and productivity gains to enhance our business mix and improve profitability through the rest of the fiscal year, anticipating roughly $13 million in cost savings realization in the second half.

為因應較疲弱的需求環境，我們正加大力度聚焦於我們可控範圍內的事項。我們正加速推動重整與生產力提升，以優化我們的業務組合並在本財年剩餘期間提升獲利能力，並預期下半年可實現約 1,300 萬美元的成本節省。

Excluding Intermediates, we anticipate strong second half margin reflecting these actions. Based on these factors and the risks and opportunities you see outlined on the right side of the slide, we are now projecting full year sales in the range of $1.825 billion to $1.9 billion and adjusted EBITDA in the range of $400 million to $420 million.

排除中間體業務，我們預期下半年毛利率將強勁，反映上述行動的成效。基於這些因素，以及您在投影片右側所看到的風險與機會，我們目前預估全年銷售額將落在 18.25 億至 19.0 億美元區間，調整後 EBITDA 將落在 4.00 億至 4.20 億美元區間。

Please turn to slide 18. We remain steadfast in our long-term strategy and core priorities, which we believe will drive sustainable value. You can count on our relentless commitment to improving results and optimizing our strategy in this evolving global trade environment.

請翻到第 18 頁投影片。我們仍堅定執行長期策略與核心優先事項，我們相信這將帶來可持續的價值。在不斷演變的全球貿易環境中，您可以信賴我們將持續不懈地致力於改善成果並優化策略。

Please turn to slide 19. We continue to believe that innovation is a critical driver to our future success. On that note, as we mentioned in our last call, we're excited to showcase how our technology platforms have evolved and expanded at our upcoming Innovation Day. Join us on Thursday, May 29, at 9:00 A.M. Eastern Time at our Bridgewater facility.

請翻到第 19 頁投影片。我們仍然相信，創新是推動未來成功的關鍵動力。基於此，正如我們在上次電話會議中提到的，我們很期待在即將到來的創新日（Innovation Day）展示我們的技術平台如何演進並擴展。歡迎於 5 月 29 日（週四）美東時間上午 9:00 於我們位於 Bridgewater 的設施與我們一同參與。

We'll use the focused innovation time to delve into specific examples to bring our technology portfolio to life. We have opportunities -- you'll have opportunities to hear from a broad set of our leaders, including a moderated Q&A session. For those attending in person, you will -- we will also offer a valuable lab tour to experience the real-world application of our innovations across our various business units.

我們將利用這段聚焦創新的時間，深入探討具體案例，讓我們的技術產品組合更具體呈現。我們也將提供機會——您將有機會聽取我們多位領導團隊成員的分享，並包含一場由主持人引導的問答環節。對於親自到場的與會者，您將——我們也將提供一場有價值的實驗室導覽，體驗我們創新在各業務單位中的實際應用。

Please turn to slide 21. In closing, I want to focus on the key messages as we look ahead. As we discussed today, we are adjusting our outlook for fiscal year '25 to reflect the increasing macroeconomic uncertainty and softening consumer demand we're observing globally.

請翻到第 21 頁投影片。最後，我想在展望未來時聚焦幾項關鍵訊息。如同我們今天所討論的，我們正在調整 2025 財年的展望，以反映我們在全球觀察到的總體經濟不確定性上升與消費需求轉弱。

It's a critical factor shaping our near-term expectations. Ashland is leveraging several fundamental strengths. Our completed portfolio optimization provides a more focused and agile business better positioned for long-term profitable growth.

這是形塑我們短期預期的一項關鍵因素。Ashland 正在運用多項基本優勢。我們已完成的產品組合優化，使我們成為更聚焦、更敏捷的企業，並更有利於實現長期的獲利成長。

We're accelerating our cost savings and productivity initiatives, which are essential to enhancing our profitability and mitigating the impact of the current environment. The early benefits are evident in our margin performance and trajectory. We operate in resilient consumer staple markets, providing a degree of stability even amidst broader economic fluctuations.

我們正加速推動成本節省與生產力提升計畫，這對提升獲利能力並緩解當前環境的影響至關重要。早期效益已在我們的利潤率表現與走勢中顯現。我們所處的是具韌性的民生必需品市場，即使在更廣泛的經濟波動中也能提供一定程度的穩定性。

Our healthy financial position with strong liquidity and a manageable debt level offers the flexibility needed to navigate uncertainty and pursue strategic opportunities. And finally, we have a diverse set of advancing growth catalysts, which unlock transformative opportunities for us.

我們健康的財務狀況、充足的流動性以及可控的負債水準，提供了在不確定性中前行並把握策略機會所需的彈性。最後，我們擁有多元且持續推進的成長催化劑，為我們開啟具變革性的機會。

Looking ahead, our commitment remains firm. We're taking a proactive approach to managing tariff impacts to strategic adjustments in our supply chain and pricing. We will maintain a disciplined capital allocation strategy, balancing investments for future growth with return being valued to our shareholders.

展望未來，我們的承諾依然堅定。我們將採取主動方式管理關稅影響，包括對供應鏈與定價進行策略性調整。我們將維持嚴謹的資本配置策略，在投資未來成長與為股東創造回報之間取得平衡。

Above all, we are confident that our long-term strategy and core priorities will continue to be the foundation of sustainable value creation. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to the entire Ashland team for their dedication, their resilience and their commitment to navigating these dynamic market conditions.

最重要的是，我們有信心，長期策略與核心優先事項將持續成為創造可持續價值的基礎。我也要向整個 Ashland 團隊致上誠摯的感謝，感謝大家的投入、韌性，以及在這些多變市場條件下持續前行的承諾。

Operator, let's go to Q&A.

接線員，我們進入問答環節。

(Operator instructions)

（接線員指示）

Laurence Alexander, Jefferies.

Laurence Alexander，Jefferies。

Hey, good morning. This is Kevin Estok on for Laurence. Yes. So my first question is just about order volatility. I'm just wondering if -- how much has it increased over the last couple of quarters. And maybe have you -- I guess, what have customers said that they need to see in return to more stable order patterns?

嗨，早安。我是 Kevin Estok，代 Laurence 發言。是的。我第一個問題是關於訂單波動。我想了解——過去幾個季度它增加了多少。另外也想請教——我想，客戶有說他們需要看到什麼，才會回到更穩定的下單模式嗎？

Okay, thank you for the question. I think overall, we've seen a reduced -- I mean, the Q4 -- Q3, Q4 last year where we saw a lot of the changes, the dynamics in China in VP&D, some of the bigger competitors come back in. That's where we had most of the volatility. As we look at the last two quarters, things have been stable in line with what happened.

好的，謝謝你的提問。我認為整體來看，我們看到的是波動降低——我的意思是，去年 Q3、Q4 我們看到很多變化，包括中國在 VP&D 的動態，以及一些較大的競爭對手重新回到市場。那段期間是我們波動最大的時候。回頭看最近兩個季度，情況一直相對穩定，與當時發生的狀況一致。

If you look at volumes, volumes are actually picking up as we're going. Pricing is coming in line with what we put in our full year guidance for China for some of these markets that were impacted. So there's no surprises there. I don't think there's as much volatility right now. It's really more about the sentiment in certain markets that are getting impacted.

如果你看銷量，隨著時間推進，銷量其實正在回升。在中國，對於部分受影響的市場，定價也正逐步符合我們在全年指引中所設定的水準。因此那裡沒有意外。我認為目前波動沒有那麼大。更多是某些受到影響市場的情緒問題。

As an example, in coatings, we're actually not surprised on the downside in China and some of the export markets. We're managing through them, but they're coming in line or slightly even better than what we had expected. The softness is more coming from US, Europe, where it's just been a bit more muted, especially starting March on, and we're seeing it still in April.

例如在塗料方面，對於中國以及部分出口市場的下行，我們其實並不意外。我們正在加以因應，而結果與我們預期一致，甚至略好於預期。疲弱更多來自美國、歐洲，那裡的表現只是更為平淡，尤其從 3 月開始，我們在 4 月仍看到同樣情況。

The paint season is a little bit softer. Our paint season ends at the beginning of September. So if it doesn't start picking up, that's the bigger adjustment that we're doing. I'd also say in intermediates, although we're talking about the pricing not improving, it's not changing either. It's stable. The issues we had more of an expectation of improvement.

油漆旺季稍微偏弱。我們的油漆旺季在 9 月初結束。因此如果需求沒有開始回升，這就是我們正在做出較大調整的部分。我也想說，在中間體方面，雖然我們談到定價沒有改善，但它也沒有惡化。它是穩定的。我們遇到的問題在於，我們原本更期待它會有所改善。

So what we're toning down is more the expectation the outlook expectation of improvement, given the environment we're seeing, I think it's better to be a little bit more conservative on those two aspects.

因此我們下修的，更多是對改善的預期、也就是展望中對改善的期待；鑑於我們所看到的環境，我認為在這兩個面向上採取更保守的態度會更好。

Got it. Okay. And just on the $70 million of US produced China sales, I guess, how much -- I mean, it was still pretty early on. But I guess, just wondering how much of the risk do you think you could actually mitigate by the fourth quarter? I mean, like, could you maybe quantify that?

了解。好的。另外關於 7,000 萬美元的美國生產、銷往中國的銷售額，我想——我的意思是，現在還很早。但我想請教，到第四季你們認為實際上可以緩解多少風險？也就是說，你能否量化一下？

Great question. We're getting a lot on those kinds of details. So we have inventory in China, the biggest businesses that we export from the US would be our VP&D, our Klucel business, some Personal Care additives and a few specialty coatings materials. But I would say Klucel, it's a unique product.

好問題。我們收到很多關於這類細節的提問。我們在中國有庫存；而我們從美國出口的最大業務包括 VP&D、我們的 Klucel 業務、一些個人護理添加劑以及少數特殊塗料材料。但我會說 Klucel 是一個獨特的產品。

There's not a lot of capacity in the world. So I think those things we can mitigate. We're working with our customers. So the short term, we're covered. In the long term, that's not a quick solution, but we can work with customers. It's not easy for them to reformulate some of these products. So it's really more about our partnership with customers on how we manage through those challenges.

全球的產能並不多。所以我認為這些事情我們可以加以緩解。我們正在與客戶合作。因此短期來看，我們是有覆蓋的。長期來看，這不是一個快速的解決方案，但我們可以與客戶一起合作。對他們而言，要重新配方其中一些產品並不容易。所以這更多是關於我們與客戶的夥伴關係，以及我們如何一起管理並度過這些挑戰。

And again, we're seeing some of the exceptions that even China is now putting in, it has already impacted some of our pharma products and all that. So we're going to monitor that a little bit. I think VP&D is probably the one that's most exposed. It's probably the bigger part in the sales, a smaller part, the margins in China are much lower. So that's one that is going to be more difficult for us to mitigate.

再者，我們也看到一些例外情況，甚至中國現在也開始加入（相關措施），這已經影響到我們部分藥品產品等。所以我們會稍微監測一下。我認為 VP&D 可能是曝險最大的一項。它在銷售中占比可能較大；但在中國的利潤率要低得多。因此這一項對我們而言會更難以緩解。

And the other ones, we can move things around. For example, in coatings, we have several plants. So we can't do it immediately, but we can shift production scale up. That's part of the network optimization. So I would say in about -- over half, we have options. The VP&D, it's less than half, but it's the biggest one, and that's the one that's a little bit more difficult, but the margins are a lot [less].

其他項目我們可以做一些調整。例如在塗料方面，我們有好幾座工廠。所以我們無法立刻做到，但我們可以轉移產能、把產量拉升。這也是網路最佳化的一部分。所以我會說大約——超過一半的項目，我們有選項。VP&D 不到一半，但它是最大的一項，也是比較難處理的一項，不過利潤率要低得多[較低]。

On the opposite side, I do want to highlight is it's easier for us to look at the downside because we have all the data of what we're selling and [ or going ] the upside scenario, finding the offsetting, others are not going to be able to export to other regions as things are going to get dislocated. That's the part that we really have not captured totally.

相反地，我也想強調：我們比較容易去看下行情境，因為我們掌握所有銷售數據；而在上行情境方面，尋找可抵銷的機會——當情勢錯位、其他公司無法出口到其他地區時——這部分我們其實還沒有完全捕捉到。

We're going region by region, trying to understand, okay, what other exports are going to get impacted and where are there opportunities to regain share. So that's more work in progress. But I don't think the direct impact, we can mitigate a lot of it. There is going to be some. I think the biggest issue since we're in pharma, we're in personal care.

我們正按地區逐一推進，試著了解：哪些其他出口會受到影響，以及在哪些地方有機會重新奪回市占。所以這部分仍在進行中。但我不認為直接影響會很大，我們可以緩解其中很大一部分。仍然會有一些影響。我認為最大的問題在於我們身處醫藥、個人護理等領域。

And even in coatings. These are additives you can't change unless you already have an option approved. It's not that easy to switch around. So I think we want to make sure we're a long-term supplier with our customers. We're going to work with them in managing this challenge.

甚至在塗料也是如此。這些添加劑除非你已經有核准的替代方案，否則你無法更換。要切換並不容易。所以我認為我們希望確保能成為客戶的長期供應商。我們會與他們一起管理這項挑戰。

All right, thank you very much.

好的，非常感謝。

John McNulty, BMO Capital Markets.

BMO 資本市場的 John McNulty。

Hi, good morning. This is Bhavesh Lodaya for John. On the first question, first of all, thanks for all the detail around some of the tariff impacts, especially around the US and China. Now we also have the 90-day delayed reciprocal tariffs that will impact other regions, maybe Europe, Canada, Mexico. Could you touch on how your supply chains work in those regions? And if you have any early estimate of potential sales exposure if those tariffs were to come in place?

嗨，早安。我是代替 John 的 Bhavesh Lodaya。第一個問題，首先感謝你們就關稅影響提供了很多細節，特別是美國與中國相關的部分。現在我們也有延後 90 天的對等關稅，可能會影響其他地區，例如歐洲、加拿大、墨西哥。你能談談你們在這些地區的供應鏈如何運作嗎？以及如果這些關稅真的實施，你們是否有任何初步估計的潛在銷售曝險？

If you look outside of China, I would focus right now, that's the biggest one. There's not a lot of impact. Most of our raw materials were sourced in-region. So not a lot of impact on the raw material side. We export a lot from obviously the US and VP&D would be one that's the US.

如果看中國以外的地區，我現在仍會把焦點放在中國，因為那是最大的一塊。其他地方的影響不大。我們大多數原料都是在區域內採購。所以在原料端影響不大。我們確實從美國出口不少，而 VP&D 會是其中一項（從美國出口的）。

But a lot of the cellulosics, we have options between Europe and naturally in China, we're starting to export from China in some areas. So it's not as big of an impact for us in Latin America, Mexico, Canada. It's a smaller issue at this point in time. And a lot of things are exempt right now in the US.

但在纖維素類產品方面，我們在歐洲與當然在中國之間都有選項；而且我們在某些領域也開始從中國出口。所以對我們而言，在拉丁美洲、墨西哥、加拿大的影響沒有那麼大。就目前而言，這是一個較小的議題。而且目前在美國有很多項目是豁免的。

If you look at -- and the important part right now is monitoring Europe. I think we don't expect anything significant at this point in time. But that is a big manufacturing location for some of our products. And that's one of the things that we'll be monitoring.

如果你看——目前重要的是監測歐洲。我認為在此時此刻我們不預期會有任何重大影響。但歐洲是我們部分產品的重要製造基地。這也是我們會持續監測的事情之一。

We also tend to keep a lot of finished goods inventory in Europe which would push out any tariff impact for frankly, quite a while. And we've been doing that intentionally for a bit now.

我們也傾向在歐洲保有相當多的成品庫存，這坦白說會把任何關稅影響往後推遲相當一段時間。而我們刻意這麼做也有一段時間了。

Got it. And then maybe a question on Specialty Additives. Have you seen any slowing of the China competitive pressure in that segment? And maybe if you could give us an update around -- are we done with the capacity adds in that platform, or have you reached equilibrium in terms of supply-demand? Thank you.

了解。接著可能問一個關於 Specialty Additives（特種添加劑） 的問題。你們是否看到該業務中來自中國的競爭壓力有任何放緩？另外也請你們更新一下——在該平台的產能擴增是否已經結束，或是在供需方面已達到均衡？謝謝。

Let me give a quick comment and I'll ask Dago. He's been traveling through a lot of to China and a lot of the regions, so he can give a little bit more color. But if we look at the big issues impacting right now, one is the whole dynamic. The number one issue is China slowing down and China overcapacity, what it's doing to export markets. So it's the market in China and the competitive intensity around the world.

我先簡短評論一下，然後我請 Dago 來回答。他最近跑了很多趟中國以及其他地區，所以他可以提供更多細節。但如果我們看目前正在影響的重大議題，其中之一是整個動態。第一大議題是中國放緩以及中國產能過剩，對出口市場造成的影響。所以這同時是中國市場本身，以及全球的競爭強度。

I would say that's actually the biggest challenge, and we got the big hit for us really was last year in Q3 and Q4 that we talked about. The other two are the tariffs, which I think are moving around, we don't really have a full plan, and we just need to manage it.

我會說這其實是最大的挑戰；而我們受到的最大衝擊，確實是在去年我們談到的第三季與第四季。另外兩個是關稅，我認為它們仍在變動中，我們也還沒有完整的計畫，只能去管理它。

And then the last one is, what's going to happen longer term recessionary impact and all that, which we have not really factored in. And I want to be clear on that. The reduction that we're doing is more driven on softness in specific markets.

最後一個是：長期來看，衰退性的影響會如何發展等等，而我們其實還沒有把這部分納入考量。我想把這點說清楚。我們正在做的下修，更多是由特定市場的疲弱所驅動。

And I'll talk a little bit about that later. But specifically to SA, you want to talk a little bit about what you're seeing on the competitive intensity now?

我稍後會再多談一點。但就 SA 而言，你要不要談談你現在看到的競爭強度狀況？

Yeah. So thank you for the question. So yes, just for context, over the last few months, I've been traveling to the regions. I was in China, I was in Mexico not too long ago, Europe and it just came back from a trip to Middle East, Africa and India, just a couple of days ago. And I would summarize it as follows.

好的。謝謝你的問題。是的，先提供一些背景：過去幾個月我一直在各地出差。我去過中國、不久前也去了墨西哥、歐洲，幾天前剛從中東、非洲和印度的行程回來。我會這樣總結。

So when you look at China, I would say China is stable at the bottom. So I don't see the volumes in China, quite frankly, declining more. And I don't see the prices in China despite of additional less or more supply. I don't see that changing at all. So that's China, stable at the bottom.

所以當你看中國時，我會說中國在底部已經趨於穩定。坦白說，我不認為中國的銷量還會進一步下滑。而且我也不認為中國的價格會因為供給增加或減少而有所變化。我看不出這會有任何改變。所以這就是中國：在底部穩定。

If you look at Europe, I would say Europe is flattish. There is a bit of a concern, of course, in the market on how the market is performing, [especially the property] sector. So it's flattish. And from the pricing standpoint, and this is important, it's very clear that they value quality, service, reliability, innovation, sustainability, a big focus. So yes, we do see some price pressure. That’s just normal when the market is soft, but I would say it's very much within the normal.

如果你看歐洲，我會說歐洲大致持平。當然，市場對市場表現有一些擔憂，尤其是[房地產]部門。所以是持平的。從定價角度來看，而且這點很重要，很明顯他們重視品質、服務、可靠性、創新、永續性，且非常聚焦。所以是的，我們確實看到一些價格壓力。當市場疲軟時這很正常，但我會說這仍然非常在正常範圍內。

The United States is a bit more -- I would say the key word here is uncertainty, right? It's how we will characterize that. Having said that, again, we have a very strong position in the US. I would say that our prices here are also pretty stable.

美國則比較——我會說關鍵字是「不確定性」，對吧？我們會用這樣來形容。話雖如此，我們在美國仍然有非常強的地位。我會說我們在這裡的價格也相當穩定。

The other regions, so now I'm talking Middle East, Africa, India, Southeast Asia. Those regions are -- so most of them are growing from the volume standpoint. So India, for instance is a really good example of that. They're taking a breather this year, but then they are expected to resume the growth trajectory. Now from the pricing standpoint, we do expect the pricing pressure to continue, but we're pretty good at managing this, right?

其他地區，也就是我現在指的是中東、非洲、印度、東南亞。這些地區——其中大多數從銷量角度來看都在成長。例如印度就是一個很好的例子。他們今年稍作喘息，但預期之後會恢復成長軌跡。就定價而言，我們預期價格壓力會持續，但我們很擅長管理這件事，對吧？

It's really about balancing volume and price, and we do that. I mean we do value pricing. We do this on a regular basis to maximize our profitability.

這真的就是在銷量與價格之間取得平衡，而我們確實在做。我的意思是，我們重視定價。我們會定期這麼做，以最大化我們的獲利能力。

One comment, and I think your point on more capacity, less capacity, 2 points that I would make just context in the longer term, not just for us, but I think for other -- this applies to the industry overall. One, there's excess capacity now. So a little bit like the tariff situation of keep increasing, as China said, I'm not going to increase it more because it doesn't make it different.

補充一點，我想你提到更多產能、較少產能，我想提出兩點，作為較長期的背景脈絡，不只是對我們，也對其他——我認為這適用於整個產業。第一，現在有過剩產能。所以有點像關稅情況一直加碼一樣，正如中國所說，我不會再提高了，因為那不會帶來不同。

After a certain point, excess is excess. So I think we need to look at is more capacity really going to come. There's excess. That's the biggest issue right now that we have to work through. I think the other side, and I've heard it, Dago and the other business leaders have also been traveling hearing from customers. If there's more excess in one country, it's going to destabilize the entire supply chain for everybody.

到了一定程度，過剩就是過剩。所以我認為我們需要看的是，是否真的還會有更多產能進來。已經是過剩了。這是我們現在必須設法解決的最大問題。我認為另一面，而且我也聽到，Dago 和其他業務領導也一直在出差、聽取客戶意見。如果某個國家的過剩更嚴重，將會使整個供應鏈對所有人都失去穩定。

They've seen it when we exited our CMC business. Just recently, two -- some of the other producers in Europe announced that they're shutting down like we did our MC construction. Our customers are concerned with this because if excess capacity means all the production moves to China and destabilizes, there are big consequences to them.

他們在我們退出 CMC 業務時就看到了這點。就在最近，歐洲另外兩家——一些其他生產商宣布他們也像我們關閉 MC 建築業務那樣關停。我們的客戶對此感到擔憂，因為如果過剩產能意味著所有生產都轉移到中國並造成失衡，對他們會有很大的後果。

So they do want to work with us. They are looking at all these. There is a balanced view in all markets. We are one of the few western producers right now of scale in VP&D. Most of the production is Europe. Intermediates, we're one of the few western producers, everything else is in China. We can go down the line all of these things. So our customers want to work with us. They want to balance supply chain. We need to deal with just the pressures of pricing and volume because they're also getting pressure.

所以他們確實希望與我們合作。他們正在審視所有這些因素。各個市場都有一種較為平衡的觀點。我們是目前少數具規模的西方 VP&D 生產商之一。大部分生產在歐洲。在中間體方面，我們也是少數西方生產商之一，其他幾乎都在中國。我們可以把這些一項項列下去。所以我們的客戶希望與我們合作。他們希望平衡供應鏈。我們需要應對價格與銷量的壓力，因為他們也同樣承受壓力。

Our customers are getting pressure. They're getting -- they need to balance out their needs, and it's for a transition. What encourages me is that there has been stability now for almost two, three quarters from the bottom. And I think that is the positive outlook, at least from our side.

我們的客戶正在承受壓力。他們也在承受——他們需要平衡自身需求，而這是一個過渡期。讓我感到鼓舞的是，從底部開始，現在已經有將近兩到三個季度的穩定。我認為這至少從我們的角度來看，是正面的展望。

Really appreciate the color there. Thank you so much.

非常感謝你提供的這些細節。非常謝謝。

Jeff Zekauskas, JPMorgan.

Jeff Zekauskas，摩根大通。

Thanks very much. Your cash flow from operations for the six months was negative $20 million. What are your cash flow expectations for the year now or free cash flow expectations for the year?

非常感謝。你們上半年營運活動現金流為負 2,000 萬美元。你們現在對全年現金流或全年自由現金流的預期是什麼？

Jeff, it's going to come down to a couple of items. Obviously, where we land from an EBITDA perspective is going to be important for the overall quantum of the number. I think the other driver is going to be working capital. As we look at the working capital picture, we've been intentionally building some inventory in parts of the world in anticipation of the tariff situation, which we think is just the right thing to do. And also, we've talked a lot about optimizing certain product lines such as HEC and VP&D.

Jeff，這將取決於幾個項目。顯然，從 EBITDA 的角度我們最終落在哪裡，對整體金額的規模會很重要。我認為另一個驅動因素會是營運資金。就營運資金的情況來看，我們一直在世界某些地區有意地建立一些庫存，以因應關稅情勢，我們認為這是正確的做法。另外，我們也談了很多關於優化某些產品線，例如 HEC 和 VP&D。

And there's some intentional inventory build associated with that as well. And so I think those things in combination are likely to weigh on the overall free cash flow situation. But the other piece is FX. While FX will generally help us from an EBITDA perspective, just because of where our inventories are in the world, a weaker dollar tends to play into that as well.

而這也伴隨著一些有意的庫存增加。因此我認為這些因素合在一起，可能會對整體自由現金流狀況造成壓力。但另一個部分是外匯（FX）。雖然外匯通常會在 EBITDA 角度對我們有利，但由於我們的庫存在全球的分布，美元走弱也往往會反映在這方面。

And finally, the restructuring piece of the equation that we've been doing well will also play into it. So it's going to come down to really how those things play out, and it's -- I think it's going to evolve over the course of the fiscal year, that would be our expectation. I mean there's just as much uncertainty around the free cash flow piece of the equation as there is the earnings piece, depending on what happens from a tariff perspective, et cetera.

最後，我們一直在做且進展良好的重整（restructuring）也會影響其中。所以最終會取決於這些因素如何發展；我認為在本財年過程中會逐步演變，這是我們的預期。我的意思是，自由現金流這一部分的不確定性，和盈餘那一部分一樣多，取決於關稅等方面會發生什麼。

So if you come in within your EBITDA guidance, is your -- I don't know, your free cash flow, $150 million. I mean, like assuming you hit your guidance, what should your cash flow or free cash flow be?

所以如果你們落在 EBITDA 指引範圍內，你們的——我不知道，你們的自由現金流是 1.5 億美元嗎？我的意思是，假設你們達成指引，你們的現金流或自由現金流應該是多少？

It will depend on how inventory and FX plays out over the course of the year. $150 million to $200 million is probably a reasonable expectation based on where we are today. And I will caution that where we are today is in the land of uncertainty. So that will continue to change and evolve as policies change and evolve and this whole tariff situation plays out.

這將取決於今年庫存與外匯如何發展。以我們今天的狀況來看，1.5 億到 2 億美元可能是合理的預期。但我要提醒的是，我們今天所處的環境充滿不確定性。因此，隨著政策變化與演進，以及整個關稅情勢的發展，這個數字也會持續改變與演變。

In terms of your Intermediates business, did you get any pricing increase in March or April? And what are the prospects for that business going forward?

就你們的中間體業務而言，你們在 3 月或 4 月有任何提價嗎？而該業務未來的前景如何？

Good question. Alessandra, do you want to comment a little bit on the outlook for pricing in Intermediates?

好問題。Alessandra，你想就中間體的定價展望稍微評論一下嗎？

So as Guillermo mentioned, the prices have been stable sequentially flat from the end of the fiscal year 2024 until March. So we are taking actions. We took -- we announced a price increase in March. And -- but overall prices are lower than expectations, as Guillermo mentioned.

如 Guillermo 所提到，價格從 2024 財年結束到 3 月為止，按季來看一直維持穩定、持平。所以我們正在採取行動。我們在 3 月採取——我們宣布了提價。但是整體而言，正如 Guillermo 所說，價格低於預期。

But definitely, there was a price increase announced in the month of March. Also looking at Intermediates, the plan -- just to comment from a margin standpoint. The plants are running okay. We have reduced production in the second quarter to address inventory and aligning our production to demand.

但可以確定的是，我們在3月份宣布了漲價。另外再看中間體（Intermediates），從毛利角度來評論一下，我們的計畫是——工廠運轉狀況還可以。我們已在第二季降低產量，以處理庫存並使生產與需求對齊。

And on the cost side, we are taking productivity improvement actions in our continuous process of VP&D, and we expect to see the reduced unit cost. And -- but keep in mind, some of those actions, on the cost reduction side, will be capitalized in the second half of the year.

在成本端，我們在VP&D的持續流程中採取生產力改善行動，預期會看到單位成本下降。不過——請記住，其中一些成本降低措施會在下半年資本化。

So we won't see that -- some of this, we won't see until 2026. But we're taking actions from a productivity improvement and also pricing.

所以我們不會看到——其中一部分要到2026年才會顯現。但我們正從生產力提升以及定價兩方面採取行動。

Jeff, I would also add -- announced -- the other players in North America and our focus is much more regionally focused in US and to a lesser degree, Europe. Other players have also moved. So it's really just now how that process goes. I think the bigger issue is not just the pricing is that the demand, a lot of -- we're not -- our big markets are NMP, that's for semiconductors for batteries for active ingredients.

Jeff，我也想補充——已宣布——北美的其他業者，而我們的重點更偏向區域性，主要聚焦美國，歐洲則相對次之。其他業者也已採取行動。所以現在真正要看的是這個過程會如何發展。我認為更大的問題不只是價格，而是需求；我們的主要市場是NMP，這是用於半導體、電池以及活性成分。

That's where we're seeing a lot of the Asia pressure coming in. But in the other was like [BD], we don't sell a lot on the margin, it's impacting us. But for other people, it's -- this is really a raw material for urethanes for other segments that have not improved. Until the demand and the integrated players get a little bit more stability, I think that's going to be the challenge.

這也是我們看到來自亞洲壓力大量湧入的地方。但在其他像是[BD]這類，我們在毛利上賣得不多，雖然有影響到我們。但對其他人而言——這其實是用於聚氨酯及其他尚未改善之終端領域的原料。在需求與一體化業者的狀況更穩定之前，我認為這會是挑戰。

I guess lastly, again for Kevin. Your inventories year-over-year were pretty flat. And I think your sales maybe were down in the high teens. So should a normalized inventory level be, I don't know, closer to [$450 million, $425 million].

我想最後再問一次Kevin。你們的庫存年對年幾乎持平。但我想你們的銷售可能下滑了十幾個百分點（high teens）。那麼正常化的庫存水位是否應該是——我不知道——更接近[4.5億美元、4.25億美元]？

For Intermediates or --

是針對中間體（Intermediates）還是——

Your overall inventories, I went back to the -- so your inventories in the quarter, I think we're [$542 million]. And in the year ago period, they were [$550 million], but your sales were down --

你們整體庫存。我回頭看了——所以你們本季的庫存，我想是[5.42億美元]。而一年前同期是[5.5億美元]，但你們的銷售下滑了——

[$555 million], a year ago.

一年前是[5.55億美元]。

Yeah. So in other words, what -- and you say you've built inventories, where is that inventory number going?

對。所以換句話說——你們說你們建立了庫存，那這個庫存數字會走向哪裡？

So we would expect inventory to be relatively flat for the remainder of the year. And again, the caveat is going to be tariffs, et cetera. But that would be our expectation. There's probably $15 million of FX in that inventory number right now given where rates are today versus where they were a year ago, primarily euro. We have a lot of inventory in Europe that's denominated in euros.

我們預期今年剩餘期間庫存會相對持平。當然，前提會是關稅等等因素。但這是我們的預期。以目前的匯率相較一年前的水準來看，這個庫存數字裡大概有1,500萬美元的匯率影響（FX），主要是歐元。我們在歐洲有大量以歐元計價的庫存。

And so that's a chunk of it. Again, we've intentionally been placing some inventory in parts of the world in anticipation of tariffs. So depending on how that plays out, we'll see those inventory numbers likely come down.

所以那是一部分。另外，我們也刻意在世界某些地區配置一些庫存，以因應可能的關稅。因此視情況發展，我們可能會看到庫存數字下降。

And around the optimization work that we've been doing, we have also been intentionally increasing some inventory in key product lines. And so that, too, will work itself down over the course of time. But if you think about it from just where the core currencies are today, et cetera, assuming we have stability around that. I don't think your inventory number is far off in terms of what it should ultimately be. But it's going to take a little time to get there.

此外，圍繞我們正在進行的最佳化工作，我們也刻意在關鍵產品線提高了一些庫存。這部分也會隨著時間逐步消化下降。但如果你從核心貨幣目前的位置等角度來看，假設這方面維持穩定，我不認為你們的庫存數字偏離最終應有水位太多。只是需要一些時間才能到達。

I would say, as we work through, number one, tariffs, number two, the optimization work that's ongoing.

我會說，當我們逐步處理：第一，關稅；第二，持續進行中的最佳化工作。

And Jeff, I think to those 2 points, where is the inventory. China, we put some inventory clearly in advance. So that's one. But I think we'll be a little bit clear on the optimization side, obviously, this impacts plans, people, things that were moving around and that we haven't been able or cannot start giving lower level of details. But be aware, as we change our network optimization.

Jeff，我想就這兩點來說，庫存在哪裡？中國方面，我們確實提前放了一些庫存。這是一點。但我想在最佳化方面我們會更清楚；顯然這會影響計畫、人員、以及正在調整中的事項，而我們尚未能或無法開始提供更細節的層級。但請注意，當我們改變我們的網路最佳化配置時。

A customer needs time to requalify -- change of sourcing of products and all that. So we need to build inventory of product from one, the location, the current location so that if later on, they're going to move to another product, they have a transition time. So part of that is all on the optimization. These are big changes that we're doing.

客戶需要時間重新認證——更換產品來源等等。因此我們需要從某一個地點、也就是目前的地點先建立產品庫存，這樣之後若要轉移到另一個產品/來源時，客戶有一段過渡期。所以其中一部分完全是出於最佳化。我們正在做的是很大的變革。

Just to give you some color, in VP&D, that we've made already, and it's already implemented. Our Intermediates chain, if you look at BDO to the BLO, to the -- our Intermediates that go into VP&D. We had two plants that were running at lower utilization rates for a while those units. We now shut down one unit. We put everything out in the other unit.

再給你一些背景，在VP&D方面，我們已經做了、而且也已經落地執行。我們的中間體供應鏈，如果你看從BDO到BLO，再到——我們進入VP&D的中間體。我們有兩座工廠的那些裝置一段時間以來都在較低的稼動率下運行。我們現在關停了一個裝置。我們把所有產量都轉到另一個裝置。

We're getting much better cost unit cost. We're getting a higher loading, so we're going to have less variability in terms of our absorption, our overall loading of the site. So it's some big changes like that. These are what we call more network optimization, but that dislocates a little bit of the inventory for a period of time. But most of those things are taking place and the inventory has been built.

我們取得了更好的成本、也就是更低的單位成本。我們的負載更高，因此在吸收（absorption）方面、以及基地整體負載方面的波動會更小。所以這類都是很大的變革。我們稱之為更多的網路最佳化，但在一段時間內會讓庫存有些移轉與錯位。不過大多數事情都正在發生，而且庫存也已經建立起來。

So I would expect those things to come down over the next few quarters as the new sources come in, and we stabilize the supply with the new network.

因此我預期，隨著新來源導入、以及我們用新的網路穩定供應，這些狀況會在接下來幾季逐步下降。

Yeah, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

Thanks, Jeff.

謝謝你，Jeff。

David Begleiter, Deutsche Bank.

David Begleiter，德意志銀行（Deutsche Bank）。

Thank you. Gimo, and Kevin, in Personal Care, margins expanded, I presume, based on the low-margin exits. They're now roughly 30%. Is that a good number for the back half of the year in terms of EBITDA margins for Personal Care?

謝謝。Gimo和Kevin，在個人護理（Personal Care）方面，利潤率擴張，我推測是因為退出了低毛利業務。目前大約是30%。就今年下半年而言，這是否是個人護理EBITDA利潤率的一個合理水準？

Well, let me comment and I'll ask Jim to comment. But yes, as we had said with the network optimization, we're getting out of a lot of low-margin business, that's going to give us a nice boost. But as we do -- I think if you look at all the things we're doing, the network optimization, productivity, which we haven't even factored in, as we do this optimization, we're signing a lot all those will continue to drive margin improvement.

我先評論一下，然後我會請Jim補充。不過是的，正如我們在網路最佳化中所說，我們正在退出許多低毛利業務，這會帶來不錯的提升。但當我們——我想如果你看我們正在做的所有事情：網路最佳化、生產力（我們甚至還沒把它納入），當我們做這些最佳化時，我們也簽了很多——這些都會持續推動毛利改善。

And obviously, the mix as we do the globalization of those areas, those are positive mix. I will say the actives, for example, is a high-margin stuff. The high-end cosmetics have been down, so that was a little bit negative to us, margins would have been even better if that segment had been a little bit stronger. So it's playing out as we said. But Jim, can you give a little bit of color on what you're seeing?

而且很明顯，當我們推動這些領域的全球化時，產品組合（mix）也會是正向的。我會說，例如活性成分（actives）是高毛利的產品。高端彩妝一直偏弱，所以對我們略為不利；如果那個細分市場強一些，利潤率本來會更好。所以整體發展符合我們先前所說。但Jim，你能否補充一些你所看到的情況？

Sure. Thanks, David, for the question. So I think for us, delivering 30% margin this quarter, I think it's a milestone really for the business, something we're very excited about. As we talked about when the business was in the mid-20s, we said, Hey, we see upside to the margin. We're now seeing that upside, and we feel that this is a very attractive and profitable business. For us, it's really about driving robust growth while maintaining profitability.

當然。David，謝謝你的提問。所以我認為，對我們而言，本季達成30%的利潤率，我覺得這確實是業務上的一個里程碑，是我們非常振奮的一件事。正如我們在利潤率還在20%中段時所談到的，我們說，嘿，我們看到利潤率還有上行空間。我們現在正看到那個上行空間，而且我們認為這是一項非常有吸引力且獲利能力很強的業務。對我們來說，重點在於在維持獲利能力的同時，推動強勁成長。

We've seen the upside roughly 100 basis points from the Avoca exit. As we've discussed on the call, we're taking actions on the cost side through optimization, that's improving our cost position, we've also been taking action in some of our globalized businesses, microbial protection primarily as we're improving our raw material cost position and in-sourcing.

我們看到因退出Avoca而帶來大約100個基點的上行。如同我們在電話會議中討論的，我們正透過最佳化在成本端採取行動，這正在改善我們的成本結構；我們也在部分全球化業務上採取行動，主要是在微生物防護方面，因為我們正在改善原物料成本結構並推動內製。

And then as we continue to drive growth in both biofunctional actives and micro-lot protection, they'll have a favorable contribution to our overall margin.

此外，隨著我們持續推動生物功能性活性成分與微量批次防護兩方面的成長，它們將對我們整體利潤率帶來有利的貢獻。

Okay, so sorry, to be clear, this is sustainable in the back half of the year, 30%.

好的，抱歉，為了確認清楚，這在今年下半年是可持續的，30%。

Yeah, I think we see us -- the Personal Care business continue to perform in this range of high 20% to 30%.

是的，我認為我們看到個人護理業務將持續在高20%到30%的區間表現。

Perfect. And Kevin, just for you, in the EBITDA guidance in the back half of the year, how would you expect the cadence of the earnings to fall out between Q3 and Q4? Thank you.

太好了。另外，Kevin，就今年下半年EBITDA指引而言，你預期Q3與Q4之間的獲利節奏會如何分布？謝謝。

Thanks, Dave. Based on what we're seeing right now, we expect to see Q4 to be better than Q3. That's a smidge counterintuitive. Based on how our earnings tend to flow. But part of that will have to do with restructuring that's going to roll through.

謝謝，Dave。根據我們目前看到的情況，我們預期Q4會比Q3更好。這有點反直覺。就我們獲利通常的走勢而言。但其中一部分將與重整（restructuring）費用的認列節奏有關，這會逐步反映出來。

That's going to be a tailwind for us. and we will see more of that in Q4 than we'll see in Q3. And so that's part of the driver. Only about $13 million of restructuring in the second half of the year. So that will be a bit more heavily weighted to Q4.

這會成為我們的順風因素，而且我們在Q4看到的會比Q3更多。因此這是其中一個驅動因素。下半年重整相關金額大約只有1,300萬美元。因此權重會稍微更偏向Q4。

So that's a big driver. And just generally how we see demand flowing, et cetera, we just expect Q4 to be a bit stronger than Q3 this year.

所以這是一個很大的驅動因素。另外，就我們對需求走勢等的整體判斷而言，我們就是預期今年Q4會比Q3稍微更強一些。

Perfect, thank you.

太好了，謝謝。

Josh Spector, UBS.

UBS的Josh Spector。

Yeah, hi, good morning. I wanted to ask on two things, and I'll just ask them together. First, on the personal care side, I just want to understand, I mean, what you're seeing and what your mark-to-market here is weaker demand. I just want to confirm that you're not seeing destocking. We talked about oral timing be moving from one quarter to the next perhaps.

是的，嗨，早安。我想問兩件事，我就一起問。第一，在個人護理方面，我想了解你們看到的情況，以及你們目前對較弱需求的即時評估（mark-to-market）是什麼。我想確認你們沒有看到去庫存（destocking）。我們談過口腔護理的時點可能會從一個季度移到下一個季度。

But really, what I'm getting at is, are customers talking about reducing inventories to weaker demand. Is that the recession scenario and when we're seeing that. And the other question is just around the comment around some of the coatings additives. I think you talked about share loss within parts of Asia. Is that new? Or is that within some of the plan to begin with?

但我真正想問的是，客戶是否在談因需求轉弱而降低庫存。那是否就是衰退情境，以及我們何時會看到。另一個問題是關於你們對某些塗料添加劑的評論。我想你們提到在亞洲部分地區有市占流失。那是新的嗎？還是本來就已包含在既定計畫之中？

So let me -- the short answer, and then you can comment on Europe specifically. One, we didn't -- there's no share loss in incremental to what we were saying in last year. I mean it played out the Asia, the export markets. As Dago indicated, the intensity continues. So we need to continue to manage through it, and it's really a volume price game that we're doing and that's sort of in line with expectations.

我先給一個簡短回答，然後你可以特別評論一下歐洲。第一，我們沒有——沒有比去年我們所說的更多的市占流失。我的意思是，它在亞洲、出口市場那邊就是那樣發展。如Dago所指出的，競爭強度仍在持續。所以我們需要持續管理因應，而我們在做的其實是一個量與價的博弈，這大致符合預期。

The bigger move has been around North America and Europe and it's market demand. If we're wrong, demand will be higher. But at this point in time, we just are trying to read what we're seeing in what our customers are saying and an actual pickup of the paint season. But in terms of the other one, I would say the one business that has a little bit more chunkiness is oral care. It does come with big orders.

更大的變化是在北美和歐洲，屬於市場需求。如果我們判斷錯了，需求就會更高。但就目前而言，我們只是試著解讀我們所看到的、客戶所說的，以及油漆旺季實際回溫的情況。至於另一點，我會說有一個業務的波動性（chunkiness）稍微更大，就是口腔護理。它確實會伴隨大額訂單。

So that's the one that every once in a while you hear us say it's a timing issue shifting from one because it comes in big orders. So that one, it's not -- unless it falls at the end of the year. It's not an annual issue. It's a quarterly issue. Do you want to comment on Europe specifically, what you're seeing?

所以那個業務就是你們偶爾會聽到我們說是時點問題、從一個季度移到另一個季度，因為它是以大額訂單進來的。因此那個並不是——除非它落在年底。它不是年度性的問題。它是季度性的問題。你想特別談談歐洲你看到的情況嗎？

I think, Josh, as Guillermo mentioned, I think it's important. I mean, this is not broad-based. In North America, we saw resilient robust demand in Asia as well. Our focus on local and regional customers continues to prove well.

Josh，我想如Guillermo提到的，我覺得這點很重要。我的意思是，這不是全面性的。在北美，我們看到需求具韌性且強勁，在亞洲也是如此。我們對本地與區域客戶的聚焦持續證明是有效的。

So when you bridge for the quarter, as mentioned, oral care is a timing. The order size there tends to be bigger and there can be shifts quarter-to-quarter. Within biofunctional actives, that was more customer specific. For Europe, we had cited that in Q1 that we saw softer demand coming out of the summer in Q1 in Europe specifically, which is linked to both just the macro-economic situation in Europe, as well as the linkage of the European customers to Asia and China in demand. And we've seen that continue in Q2, as we had talked about in the last call and something that we're monitoring.

所以當你做本季的橋接（bridge）時，如前所述，口腔護理是時點問題。那裡的訂單規模往往較大，季度之間可能會有移動。在生物功能性活性成分方面，那更偏向特定客戶因素。至於歐洲，我們在Q1就提到，歐洲在Q1特別是從夏季之後走出來時，我們看到需求較疲弱，這與歐洲的總體經濟情勢有關，也與歐洲客戶在需求上與亞洲及中國的連動有關。而我們在Q2也看到這種情況持續，正如我們在上次電話會議中談到的，這也是我們正在監測的事項。

So this is not a destocking phenomenon. I would say it's really kind of boxed into just softness that we're seeing in Europe in some segments.

所以這不是去庫存現象。我會說，它其實是被限制在我們在歐洲某些細分領域看到的需求疲弱。

Michael Sison, Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo的Michael Sison。

Hey, good morning. At the last Innovation Day, you all talked about getting to a pretty good EBITDA range by, I guess, in a couple of years, around $600 million. Yeah, you're going to be around $400 million or so this year. How do you -- do you still think that's a doable range? Is it -- I mean, does that need to come down? Or will it just take more time given how things have set up this year in the macro?

嗨，早安。在上一次創新日（Innovation Day），你們談到在我想是兩年左右，EBITDA可以達到一個相當不錯的區間，大約6億美元。是的，今年你們大概會在4億美元左右。你們怎麼看——你們仍然認為那是可達成的區間嗎？是否——我的意思是，那需要下修嗎？或者只是因為今年宏觀環境的情況，會需要更多時間？

What we look at is three buckets. And I think in today's world, you got to separate them because especially when you look year-over-year, your compounded growth rates can change a lot. I think we look at our base business, most of what we're doing right now, reducing our outlook is base business, and it's really based on not losing share. It's the same customers, it's a feeling of things are slowing down or not slowing down based to our customers. It's our best read.

我們把它分成三個部分來看。我認為在當今的環境下，你必須把它們區分開來，因為特別是當你看年對年時，你的複合成長率可能會變化很大。我想我們看的是我們的基礎業務，也就是我們現在大部分在做的事情；我們下調展望主要是基礎業務的因素，而且基本上是基於沒有流失市占。是同樣的客戶，只是根據客戶端的情況，感覺事情是在放緩或沒有放緩。這是我們能做出的最佳判讀。

If we're wrong and it's better, it will be better. So I would separate that. If you look at the globalization, it's got two buckets in it. We have the base because we're trying to grow the total business that one, specifically in personal care, we have the Europe and the specific customer issue that when they do better, we're going to do better with them.

如果我們判斷錯了、而情況其實更好，那就會更好。所以我會把這兩者分開看。如果你看全球化，它其實包含兩個面向。我們有基本盤，因為我們正試圖擴大整體業務；其中一塊特別是在個人護理方面，我們在歐洲有特定客戶的議題——當他們表現更好時，我們也會跟著更好。

So we're -- we have to manage through that, but that does change our outlook and as you look at your formulas and your modeling for the future. And then you have the new stuff in globalized. We've just built by functional plant in China. In Brazil, we just built several production facilities for tablet coatings for -- all that is new. That should be -- it could be a better environment, but it should be positive in a negative environment, too, because it's about gaining share, positioning ourselves. And all these investments have been very well received.

所以我們——必須在這之中管理推進，但這確實會改變我們的展望，也會影響你在看未來的配方與建模時的假設。接著你還有全球化中的新項目。我們剛在中國建了一座生物功能性工廠。在巴西，我們剛新建了幾個用於錠劑包衣的生產設施——這些都是新的。這應該——環境可能會更好，但即使在不利環境下也應該是正面的，因為這關乎提升市占、讓我們站穩位置。而且這些投資都獲得非常好的回饋。

And number -- when we say globalized, our globalized strategy is really regionalizing and that's playing pretty well at this point in time where the whole world is regionalizing. So I think that those are going to be good. And on the innovation, all I would say, come to the May meeting to see what we're doing. I do think that, that's really where the upside is. And what we want to show is, look, the -- reinforce the message of we have, it's not about a technology or one opportunity that we're betting everything on.

另外——當我們說全球化時，我們的全球化策略其實是「區域化」，而在當下全世界都在區域化的時點，這個策略運作得相當不錯。所以我認為這些都會是好的。至於創新，我只能說，歡迎來參加五月的會議看看我們在做什麼。我確實認為，那才是真正的上行空間所在。而我們想展示的是：你看——強化我們的訊息：我們不是把所有賭注都押在某一項技術或某一個機會上。

It's a portfolio many different technologies. Some are going to work better than we think. Some are not going to work as well, we think. But within those portfolios, look at how many markets when we presented last time, we had a platform and two applications. Now we have that technology in eight or nine applications in different markets.

而是一個涵蓋許多不同技術的組合。有些會比我們想像的更成功。有些則不會像我們想的那麼好。但在這些組合之中，看看有多少市場——上次我們簡報時，我們有一個平台和兩個應用。現在我們把那項技術用在八到九個不同市場的應用上。

It's really taking life, and that's really -- the next, now that we finished our portfolio optimization, the next -- a few -- 5 years, 10 years are going to be three things: near term managed through the challenges like we did with COVID, all that. We're going to have a few -- a year or two of a lot of challenges. We're going to manage through that; two, is just to execute on our globalized and execute on our innovate. And that's it. We do that, and I think that's where we think that we can get the growth.

它真的開始成形、開始有生命力；而接下來——現在我們完成了投資組合優化，接下來的——幾年——5年、10年會有三件事：第一，短期內像我們在COVID期間那樣，管理並度過各種挑戰等等。我們會有——一到兩年充滿挑戰。我們會把它管理過去；第二，就是執行我們的全球化策略並執行我們的創新。就這樣。我們做到這些，我認為那就是我們認為可以取得成長的地方。

The biggest part of the noise is not the strategic long-term side it's really the near-term market dynamics, and that's where we're trying to be as transparent as possible.

雜音最大的部分並不是長期策略面，而是真正的短期市場動態；在這方面我們正盡可能保持透明。

Great. Thank you.

很好。謝謝。

John Roberts, Mizuho.

John Roberts，瑞穗（Mizuho）。

I'll just ask one here. When Trump comes out with this new pharma tariffs in one to two weeks, do you think that will cause any of your customers to take any actions that might affect Ashland?

我這邊問一個問題。當川普在一到兩週內推出新的藥品關稅時，你認為這會不會促使你們的客戶採取一些行動，進而影響Ashland？

Well, I'll let Alessandra, she have been talking to some of our customers. Some are moving investments into different regions. So I think there's going to be a positive impact there. I think the issue right now it's going to be country by country, who sets what tariffs on what products. And it's pretty messy right now because there's not -- eight products are in the list and two aren't, why?

嗯，我先讓Alessandra回答，她一直在和我們的一些客戶溝通。有些客戶正在把投資移到不同地區。所以我認為那裡會有正面影響。我認為目前的問題會是逐國而定：誰對哪些產品設定什麼關稅。而且現在相當混亂，因為——清單上有八個產品、但有兩個不在，為什麼？

And that's the type of things that we're working on. But you want to talk a little bit more of what our customers are thinking about in terms of --

這類事情就是我們正在處理的。不過你要不要再多談一點，我們的客戶在這方面的想法是什麼——--

I mean, yeah, we have seen some customers announcing bringing manufacturing to the US. But there's a lot of scenario planning. This is what I hear from our customers. They're doing scenario planning.

我的意思是，是的，我們確實看到有些客戶宣布把製造帶回美國。但目前有很多情境規劃。這是我從客戶那裡聽到的。他們正在做情境規劃。

But it's still -- when I was traveling in India, in Brazil in the last couple of months, and they are -- there's still a large advantage of having those manufacturing in those markets. So it's -- at this point, it's scenario planning but there have been a few actions. We have seen the recent announcements of customers with new manufacturing in the US. But I would say it's a lot of scenario planning and still there is advantage in having their manufacturing in other parts of the world.

但仍然——過去幾個月我在印度、在巴西出差時，他們——在那些市場設廠製造仍然有很大的優勢。所以——就目前而言，主要是情境規劃，但也已經有一些行動。我們看到近期有客戶宣布在美國新增製造。但我會說，現在多半是大量的情境規劃，而且在世界其他地區保有製造仍然有其優勢。

I would say, John, in talking to customers as we travel around the world, I mean, not just pharma, all over, there is a big concern from everybody. This whole customers watching the drama in US, China, what's happening and then seen as China tries to find new markets, the implications to them. Not -- I mean they can -- the first wave is they can buy cheaper and that's where we're getting the pressure.

John，我會說，當我們在全球各地與客戶交流時——不只是製藥，各行各業——大家都有很大的擔憂。所有客戶都在關注美中之間的這場「戲碼」在發生什麼，以及當中國試圖尋找新市場時，對他們的影響。不——我的意思是，他們——第一波是可以買到更便宜的東西，而這就是我們目前承受壓力的地方。

The second wave is why sell you a cheaper raw material when I can just export the finished product. I think there's going to be a lot of things in multiple markets where other countries are also going to start saying, reacting and saying we cannot absorb the whole export thing.

第二波是：既然我可以出口成品，為什麼還要賣你更便宜的原料？我認為在多個市場會發生很多事情，其他國家也會開始表態、做出反應，說我們無法吸收全部的出口衝擊。

We're building plants. Customers are wanting us to be close to them in Brazil and India that we're also doing the same thing. So I think there's going to have to be a little bit of stabilization on this and the customers are also looking after their manufacturing interest in their core countries.

我們正在建廠。客戶希望我們在巴西和印度靠近他們，我們也在做同樣的事。所以我認為這件事需要一些穩定下來的時間，而客戶也在照顧他們在核心國家的製造利益。

Right. Thank you.

了解。謝謝。

Mike Harrison, Seaport Research Partners.

Mike Harrison，Seaport Research Partners。

Hi, good morning. Jim, you've mentioned a few times these customer-specific issues in the biofunctionals business. Can you give us a little bit more color on exactly what's going on? And I guess, do you expect these issues to continue into next quarter or for coming quarters? Thank you.

嗨，早安。Jim，你提過幾次生物功能性（biofunctionals）業務中一些特定客戶的問題。你能不能更具體地說明一下到底發生了什麼？另外，我想問，這些問題你預期會延續到下一季或接下來幾季嗎？謝謝。

Hey, Mike, thanks for the question. So if you think about our biofunctional actives business, this segment, it mainly goes into skin care. And it really targets the high-end luxury part, the prestige part of skin care, and it's also exposed to travel retail. So hopefully, that gives you a sense of where the products are used in the market segment.

嗨，Mike，謝謝你的問題。如果你看我們的生物功能性活性成分（biofunctional actives）業務，這個部門主要用在護膚。它主要鎖定護膚中高端奢華、精品（prestige）的那一塊，同時也曝險於旅遊零售通路。所以希望這能讓你了解這些產品在市場區隔中的使用情境。

And so we have seen some softness in that segment, specifically in the luxury segment in the travel segment as we look through the balance. So I think that's the first part because there's that piece and then there is the rest of the business.

因此我們確實看到該區隔有些疲軟，特別是奢侈品區隔與旅遊通路區隔，在我們看今年剩餘期間時也是如此。所以我認為這是第一部分，因為有那一塊，然後還有其餘的業務。

The rest of the business is still performing well, and it's really a couple of customer-specific items happening win to travel retail. As we look through the balance of the year, we're obviously talking -- we're meeting very frequently with these customers, understanding their outlook as things try to stabilize. We are seeing some stabilization in that sector, specifically around travel. But it's something that we're monitoring.

其餘的業務表現仍然良好，而真正的情況是有幾個特定客戶的事項，發生在旅遊零售這一塊。在看今年剩餘期間時，我們當然——非常頻繁地與這些客戶會面，了解他們在情勢試圖穩定下來時的展望。我們確實看到該領域出現一些穩定跡象，特別是在旅遊相關方面。但這仍是我們正在監控的事項。

And right now, as we look through the balance of the year, we're not forecasting a major recovery over the next couple of quarters in that part of the business.

而且就目前而言，當我們檢視今年剩餘期間時，我們並未預測該業務板塊在接下來幾個季度會出現顯著復甦。

All right, thank you for that. Go ahead.

好的，謝謝你說明。請繼續。

Hopefully, that provides the color that you're looking for.

希望這能提供你想要的補充說明。

Yeah. That's helpful. And then my other question is on the globalized opportunity here. You guys opened new facilities, but you saw a sales decline associated with this globalized effort, can you just help me understand how to think about that? And I guess, is the $20 million target still attainable given kind of where you stand today?

是的。這很有幫助。那我另一個問題是關於這裡的全球化機會。你們開設了新設施，但你們看到與這項全球化努力相關的銷售下滑，你能幫我理解該如何看待這件事嗎？另外，我想問，以你們目前的狀況來看，2,000萬美元的目標仍然可達成嗎？

So Mike, and this is what I had mentioned just a few questions ago. You got to look at the globalized. We're just keeping it simple for businesses, total sales and how they're growing, and we want to grow at X percent a year. That's sort of the goal. But there's really two buckets, the core business that you have today and the new business.

所以，Mike，這也是我在前面幾個問題提到的。你得從全球化的角度來看。我們對各業務的看法很簡單：總銷售額以及其成長情況，我們希望每年以X%的速度成長。這算是目標。但實際上可分成兩個部分：你今天既有的核心業務，以及新業務。

The new business is growing fine. We're making the investments ramping up, engaging customers, that's not the issue. It's exactly what Jim said. The core business came down when it recovers, you're going to have a -- just like you had a down here, it will have a pop in the future. It's hard for us to say exactly when that's going to happen, but we still have -- in the three-year plan, as long as the new stuff is going well, we'll monitor and hopefully, some of these things are going to recover that just -- those are strong brands.

新業務成長得很好。我們正在加大投資、加速爬坡、與客戶互動，這不是問題所在。正如Jim所說。核心業務下滑了；當它復甦時——就像你之前看到的下滑一樣——未來也會出現反彈。我們很難精確判斷那會在何時發生，但在三年計畫中，只要新業務進展順利，我們就會持續監控並希望其中一些項目能夠復甦——那些都是強勢品牌。

They're very, very have been very successful over the years. Right now, they're having their challenges and hopefully we'll overcome it, and we'll benefit from their performance.

多年來它們一直非常、非常成功。目前它們面臨一些挑戰，希望我們能克服，並從它們的表現中受益。

Okay, but I guess if we stripped out the decline in the core business, what does the new business contribution look like relative to that $20 million target, I think, would be helpful for the investors on the line.

好的，但我想如果把核心業務的下滑剔除，新業務的貢獻相對於那個2,000萬美元目標看起來如何，我認為這會對線上的投資人更有幫助。

We'll make that point. And it does vary by business, it's four of them. I would say injectables, a lot of new stock coming in. So it's much more new oriented and it's doing very well. the tablet coatings, it's a mix.

我們會把這點說清楚。而且各業務之間確實不同，總共有四個。我會說注射劑方面，有很多新產品導入。所以更偏向新業務，而且表現非常好。至於錠劑包衣，則是混合型。

Today, a lot of the foundation is the core, but all these investments that we're making in Brazil just [inaugurated] now. All these things are starting to really pick up. It's been sort of the front load investment. That will be more on the growth side of this.

目前很多基礎仍來自核心業務，但我們在巴西所做的這些投資現在才剛[落成]。這些事情都開始真正加速起來。之前算是前期投入較多。接下來會更體現在成長面。

And I think even in Personal Care, there is a difference in material microbial protection already has a pretty diversified portfolio between the original base and the new things that we're developing and biofunctionals that a lot of these new investments really allow us to collaborate and innovate and produce locally for our customers, and that's really been the last few quarters that we're bringing that on stream. But we'll be more clear on that aspect as we move forward.

我認為即使在個人護理方面也有差異：材料的微生物防護本來就在原有基礎與我們正在開發的新產品之間，擁有相當多元的產品組合；而在生物功能性產品方面，許多新投資確實讓我們能與客戶協作與創新，並在當地為客戶進行本地化生產，而這正是最近幾個季度我們逐步導入上線的。不過，隨著我們往前推進，我們會在這方面說得更清楚。

All right. Thanks very much.

好的。非常感謝。

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm showing no further questions in the queue. I would now like to turn the call back over to Guillermo for closing remarks.

謝謝。各位女士、先生，目前我看到提問佇列中沒有其他問題。現在我想把電話交回Guillermo作結語。

Okay, Well, thank you, everyone, for your questions. As I hope you heard, the simple message is the business has stabilized from some of the impacts that we had last year of reset in our coatings and VP&D business. With that stability, we're gaining volumes again, pricing are stabilizing. We're gaining momentum in returning our business to the profitability, one, that we want, and that's driven by self-help actions that we're driving both on the cost, but more importantly, on the productivity side, that will start to generate more. It's having an impact now, it will have an even greater impact as we flow into '26 and '27.

好的，謝謝各位的提問。如各位所聽到的，我們要傳達的簡單訊息是：業務已從去年我們在包衣與VP&D業務重置所帶來的一些影響中趨於穩定。在這樣的穩定之下，我們的出貨量再次回升，價格也趨於穩定。我們正累積動能，讓業務回到我們想要的獲利水準；這主要由我們推動的自助式改善行動所驅動，涵蓋成本面，但更重要的是生產力面，將開始帶來更多成效。目前已經產生影響，進入'26與'27後影響會更大。

And I -- just to be clear on the adjustments that we made for this outlook. There are really three drivers. They're mostly market reading the market as best we can. One is a reduction in the expectations of the paint season demand in North America and Europe that we had a little bit -- it's still going to grow.

另外——為了清楚說明我們對這次展望所做的調整——主要有三個驅動因素。它們大多是我們盡可能依據市場訊號所做的判讀。第一，是我們下調了先前對北美與歐洲油漆季需求的預期，我們原本稍微——它仍會成長。

It is just not going to grow as much as we thought. We're softening it based on the data that we're hearing and the communication from customers. Two is the intermediates pricing. We are pushing to get higher pricing, but we want to make sure that we're realistic given the complexity of the current environment. And third is the one that Jim talked about, the specific segments within businesses, the luxury brands or the specific areas.

只是成長幅度不會像我們原先想的那麼大。我們根據所掌握的數據，以及客戶的溝通回饋，將預期調得更保守。第二，是中間體的定價。我們正努力爭取更高的價格，但也希望在目前環境的複雜性下，確保預期務實。第三，就是Jim提到的，在各業務中的特定細分領域，例如奢侈品牌或特定區域。

Those are the big drivers. Everything else is moving as planned. The upside potentials that we have to this guidance is really driven by four things. One, do we read the market wrong and things improve, that we do not control. Pricing management is the biggest issue that the teams are working and that's working very, very well.

以上是主要驅動因素。其他一切都按計畫推進。至於本次指引的上行潛力，主要由四件事驅動。第一，我們是否對市場判讀有誤、情況反而改善——這不是我們能控制的。價格管理是團隊正在處理的最大議題，而且進展非常、非常好。

And then the rest is about self-help, driving our cost reductions and our productivity, positioning our improvements on the things that we can control, and I think that will pay off well for us. So thank you for your time and look forward to talking to you in the coming weeks.

其餘則是關於自助式改善：推動成本降低與生產力提升，把改善聚焦在我們能控制的事項上，我認為這將為我們帶來良好回報。謝謝各位撥冗參與，也期待在接下來幾週與各位再交流。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

各位女士、先生，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與。您現在可以掛線。