Ashland Inc. (ASH) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Ashland's first-quarter 2026 earnings conference call and webcast. (Operator Instructions)

您好，感謝各位耐心等候。歡迎收聽 Ashland 2026 年第一季財報電話會議與網路直播。(接線員指示)

I would now like to hand the conference over to Sandy Klugman, Director of Investor Relations. You may begin.

現在我想將會議交給投資人關係總監 Sandy Klugman。您可以開始了。

Thank you. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Ashland's first-quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings conference call and webcast. My name is Sandy Klugman, and I'm Ashland's Director of Investor Relations.

謝謝。各位好。歡迎收聽 Ashland 2026 會計年度第一季財報電話會議與網路直播。我叫 Sandy Klugman，擔任 Ashland 投資人關係總監。

Joining me on the call today are Guillermo Novo, Chair and CEO; William Whitaker, CFO; as well as our business unit leaders: Alessandra Faccin, Life Sciences and Intermediates; Jim Minicucci, Personal Care; and Dago Caceres, Specialty Additives.

今天與我一同參與電話會議的有董事長暨執行長 Guillermo Novo；財務長 William Whitaker；以及我們的事業單位主管：生命科學與中間體的 Alessandra Faccin、個人護理的 Jim Minicucci，以及特用添加劑的 Dago Caceres。

Please note that we will be referencing slides during today's call. We encourage you to follow along with the webcast materials available at ashland.com under Investor Relations.

請注意，我們將在今天的電話會議中引用投影片。我們鼓勵您使用 ashland.com「投資人關係」頁面上的網路直播資料同步觀看。

As a reminder, today's presentation contains forward-looking statements regarding our fiscal 2026 outlook and other matters, as detailed on slide 2 and in our Form 10-Q. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause future results to differ materially from today's projections. We believe any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, but there's no assurance these expectations will be achieved.

提醒各位，今天的簡報包含關於我們 2026 會計年度展望及其他事項的前瞻性陳述，詳見投影片第 2 頁及我們的 Form 10-Q。這些陳述受風險與不確定性影響，可能導致未來結果與今日預測有重大差異。我們相信這些陳述係基於合理假設，但無法保證一定能達成。

We will also reference certain adjusted financial metrics, both actual and projected, which are non-GAAP measures. We present these adjusted figures to provide additional insight into our ongoing business performance. GAAP reconciliations are available on our website and in the appendix of these slides.

我們也會引用若干經調整的財務指標（包含實際與預估），其為非 GAAP 指標。我們提供這些調整後數據，以便對我們持續的營運表現提供額外洞見。GAAP 對帳表可於我們網站及本投影片附錄中取得。

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

接下來我把電話交給 Guillermo，請他發表開場致詞。

Thanks, Sandy, and welcome to everyone joining us. For today, I'm happy to join this call from Shanghai, China.

謝謝你，Sandy，也歡迎各位與會者。今天我很高興從中國上海加入這通電話會議。

I begin with our first-quarter highlights and how we were advancing our strategic priorities. Later in the call, I'll return to share some of the latest innovation developments, where we continue to see tremendous momentum and opportunities for differentiation. William will review our financial results, operational execution, and outlook. And our business unit leaders will provide additional insight into performance across their segments and markets.

我先從第一季重點以及我們如何推進策略優先事項談起。稍後我會再回到電話會議，分享最新的創新進展；我們持續看到強勁動能與差異化機會。William 將回顧我們的財務結果、營運執行與展望。而各事業單位主管將就其部門與市場的表現提供更多洞見。

Please turn to slide 5. Let's begin with a review of the key business drivers for the first quarter. We delivered solid results while navigating ongoing demand softness in coatings and constructions, supported by strong execution and disciplined cost actions.

請翻到投影片第 5 頁。我們先回顧第一季的關鍵業務驅動因素。在塗料與建築領域需求持續疲弱的情況下，我們憑藉強勁執行力與嚴謹的成本措施，仍交出穩健成果。

Life Science delivered healthy growth, supported by resilient pharma demand and momentum across our innovate and globalize pillars. Injectables, tablet coatings, and high-value cellulosic excipients all contributed to year-over-year growth. Innovation continued to strengthen performance with contribution from low-nitrite cellulosics, high-purity excipients, and several new product introductions.

生命科學實現健康成長，受惠於具韌性的製藥需求，以及我們「創新」與「全球化」兩大支柱的動能。注射劑、錠劑包衣與高價值纖維素賦形劑皆對年增成長有所貢獻。創新持續強化表現，低亞硝酸鹽纖維素、高純度賦形劑以及多項新產品上市均帶來貢獻。

Personal Care delivered stable performance, with underlying demand broadly steady. Biofunctional actives grew double digits, and microbial protection continued to gain share as our globalized initiatives supported high-value applications. Softer volumes in core hair and skin care primarily reflected unplanned and isolated customer plant outages.

個人護理表現穩定，基礎需求整體維持平穩。生物功能性活性成分呈雙位數成長，而在全球化計畫支持高價值應用的帶動下，微生物防護產品持續提升市占。核心髮品與護膚品的出貨量較疲弱，主要反映客戶工廠非計畫性且個別的停工事件。

Specialty Additives continued to face muted demand, with coatings and construction driving most of the year-over-year decline. Coatings weakness was most pronounced in China and select export markets, while construction softness reflected broader market conditions. Despite lower volumes, cost actions and HEC network benefits drove meaningful margin expansion.

特用添加劑仍面臨低迷需求，其中塗料與建築是年減的主要原因。塗料疲弱在中國及部分出口市場最為明顯，而建築疲弱則反映更廣泛的市場狀況。儘管出貨量下降，成本措施與 HEC 網路效益仍帶動顯著的毛利率擴張。

Intermediates market conditions were modestly softer, reflecting trough-like dynamics across BDO and its derivatives, which pressured captive BDO transfer pricing. The merchant business was stable, with steady volume and modest pricing pressure resulting in flat sales.

中間體市場狀況略為轉弱，反映 BDO 及其衍生品呈現接近谷底的動態，對內部 BDO 轉移訂價造成壓力。外銷（merchant）業務維持穩定，出貨量平穩且價格略有壓力，使銷售額持平。

Operationally, the team continued to manage through the equipment replacement in Calvert City while delivering solid free cash flow. Although this issue impacted costs and pressured margins across the VP&D chain, customer supply remained uninterrupted.

在營運方面，團隊在 Calvert City 進行設備更換期間持續妥善管理，同時交出穩健的自由現金流。雖然此問題推升成本並對 VP&D 供應鏈的利潤率造成壓力，但對客戶供應未造成中斷。

The impact we expected to be contained within the first quarter will now extend into the second quarter, as commissioning of the new unit revealed additional equipment issues that are delaying the startup. We anticipate completing the necessary fixes and bringing the unit online later in the quarter. Although outside Q1, recent weather-related events also have impacted our operations in the mid-Atlantic.

原先預期可控制在第一季內的影響，現在將延伸至第二季，因為新機組試車（commissioning）時發現額外設備問題，導致開車延後。我們預期在本季稍晚完成必要修復並讓機組上線。此外，雖然不在第一季期間，近期與天候相關的事件也影響了我們在大西洋中部地區的營運。

Customer supply remain uninterrupted, but we expect incremental costs, which William will address later in the call, as part of our outlook for the year. While we saw month-to-month variability, we exited the quarter on a stronger footing, with December improving versus November and the momentum continuing in January. Taken together, these results reflect steady execution and continued progress across our strategic priorities.

客戶供應仍未中斷，但我們預期將產生額外成本；William 稍後會在年度展望中說明。儘管月與月之間有所波動，我們在季末以更強的態勢收官，12 月較 11 月改善，且動能延續至 1 月。綜合而言，這些結果反映穩健執行力，以及我們在策略優先事項上的持續進展。

Now, I'll turn the call over to William to walk through the first-quarter financial performance in more detail. William?

接下來我把電話交給 William，請他更詳細說明第一季財務表現。William？

Thank you, Guillermo.

謝謝你，Guillermo。

Please turn to slide 6. Our first-quarter performance reflects increasing consistency of our operating model. Across the portfolio, the team executed well, advanced our initiatives, and managed through operational impacts while maintaining solid cost discipline. The portfolio and manufacturing optimization actions we took last year are supporting margins through improved mix, lower costs, and a more efficient footprint.

請翻到投影片第 6 頁。我們第一季的表現反映出營運模式的一致性正在提升。在整體產品組合中，團隊執行良好、推進各項計畫，並在維持嚴謹成本紀律的同時，妥善管理營運影響。我們去年採取的產品組合與製造優化措施，透過更佳的產品組合、更低成本與更有效率的產能布局，正在支撐利潤率。

Avoca was included in our Q1 results last year, but as we move into Q2, we fully lapped our portfolio actions, providing us with a clear performance baseline going forward. We've also strengthened our working capital performance and delivered strong operating cash flow a focus area for the team. Altogether, the quarter reflects a strengthening foundation with early signs of improving momentum, indicating that a growth inflection is building as fiscal 2026 unfolds.

去年第一季的業績包含 Avoca，但進入第二季後，我們已完全跨越（fully lapped）產品組合調整的比較基期，讓未來的表現基準更為清晰。我們也強化了營運資金表現，並交出強勁的營運現金流，這是團隊的重點工作之一。整體而言，本季反映基礎正在強化，並出現動能改善的早期跡象，顯示隨著 2026 會計年度展開，成長拐點正在形成。

Please turn to slide 7. First, the consistency of our consumer-facing businesses, now roughly 85% of our portfolio, continues to provide meaningful stability and resilience. Second, our innovation and globalize initiatives are gaining strong traction with sustained momentum in our highest-value applications. Third, last year's structural actions are fully embedded, improving margin durability and positioning us for stronger leverage as demand recovers. And finally, even in segments experiencing more challenging conditions, our teams remain disciplined and focused on core fundamentals, ensuring we stay well positioned as industry conditions evolve.

請翻到投影片第 7 頁。第一，我們面向消費者的業務目前約占產品組合的 85%，其一致性持續提供顯著的穩定性與韌性。第二，我們的「創新」與「全球化」計畫在最高價值應用上持續保持動能，並獲得強勁牽引力。第三，去年採取的結構性措施已全面內嵌，提升利潤率的耐久性，並在需求復甦時讓我們具備更強的槓桿效益。最後，即使在面臨較具挑戰的部門，我們的團隊仍保持紀律、聚焦核心基本面，確保在產業環境演變之際仍能維持良好定位。

Overall, the quarter reflects resilient performance as our streamlined portfolio, strengthened cost structure, and disciplined execution continue to support our long-term strategy. With innovation accelerating, globalize expanding, and productivity initiatives progressing, we are well positioned to build momentum throughout the year.

整體而言，本季反映出具韌性的表現；我們精簡後的產品組合、強化的成本結構與嚴謹的執行力，持續支撐我們的長期策略。隨著創新加速、全球化擴展以及生產力計畫推進，我們已具備良好條件在全年持續累積動能。

And now on to the financial details, please turn to slide 9. Sales for the quarter were $386 million, down 5% versus last year. The previously announced Avoca divestiture accounted for roughly $10 million, or about 2% of the decline. Excluding this portfolio action, sales were down 3%, reflecting a mixed demand environment.

接下來進入財務細節，請翻到投影片第 9 頁。本季銷售額為 3.86 億美元，較去年下降 5%。先前已公告的 Avoca 出售案約占 1,000 萬美元，約占降幅的 2%。排除這項產品組合調整後，銷售額下降 3%，反映需求環境好壞參半。

Life Sciences continued to grow, supported by steady demand and ongoing innovation momentum. Personal Care remained stable overall and would have grown low-single digits, excluding the on-plan customer outages. Specialty Additives softened, reflecting broader demand conditions and ongoing competitive intensity. Pricing declined 2%, generally across segments, primarily reflecting carryover adjustments from the prior year. FX contributed a favorable $9 million or 2%, to sales versus prior year.

生命科學持續成長，受惠於穩健需求與持續的創新動能。個人護理整體維持穩定；若排除計畫內客戶停供的影響，本可呈現低個位數成長。特用添加劑走弱，反映更廣泛的需求環境以及持續的競爭強度。價格下滑2%，大致遍及各事業部門，主要反映前一年度調整的遞延影響。相較前一年，匯率對銷售額帶來有利的900萬美元（或2%）貢獻。

And moving on to profitability, adjusted EBITDA was $58 million, down 5% year over year, including a $1 million impact from the Avoca divestiture. Excluding that action, adjusted EBITDA declined 3%, reflecting lower volumes and modest pricing pressure, partially offset by favorable mix, lower SARD, and FX benefits.

接著看獲利表現，調整後EBITDA為5,800萬美元，年減5%，其中包含Avoca剝離帶來的100萬美元影響。若排除該項行動，調整後EBITDA下降3%，反映銷量較低與溫和的價格壓力，部分被有利的產品組合、較低的SARD以及匯率效益所抵銷。

Importantly, the quarter included the anticipated $10 million adjusted EBITDA impact from the Calvert City outage. As Guillermo noted, we had expected the full effect to be recognized in the first quarter, but some impact will now carry into the second quarter, which we'll address in our guidance.

重要的是，本季包含預期中的Calvert City停工對調整後EBITDA造成的1,000萬美元影響。如Guillermo所提，我們原先預期其完整影響會在第一季認列，但目前部分影響將延續至第二季，我們會在財測指引中說明。

Raw material costs remain generally stable to favorable, and we continue to benefit from our cost actions across the portfolio. Adjusted EBITDA margins held steady at 15%, with over 250 basis points of compression stemming from the Calvert City outage.

原物料成本整體仍維持穩定至有利，我們也持續受惠於全產品組合的成本行動。調整後EBITDA利潤率維持在15%，其中超過250個基點的壓縮源自Calvert City停工。

Adjusted operating income grew 27% versus prior year, reflecting the stability of the underlying business, as well as reduced depreciation and amortization from our optimization actions. Adjusted EPS, excluding intangible amortization, was $0.26, down 7% from the prior year, reflecting lower income.

調整後營業利益較前一年成長27%，反映基礎業務的穩定性，以及我們最佳化行動帶來的折舊與攤銷下降。調整後EPS（不含無形資產攤銷）為0.26美元，較前一年下降7%，反映獲利較低。

We delivered a strong quarter of cash generation, with $125 million of cash provided by operating activities and $26 million of ongoing free cash flow, which excludes the previously disclosed tax refund. Lower working capital and CapEx drove healthy free cash flow conversion of nearly 50% in our seasonally low quarter.

我們本季現金創造表現強勁，營業活動提供現金1.25億美元，持續性自由現金流為2,600萬美元（不含先前揭露的退稅款）。較低的營運資金與資本支出（CapEx）推動健康的自由現金流轉換率，在季節性偏淡的季度接近50%。

We ended the quarter with total liquidity of approximately $900 million, a strong position as we move into the balance of the fiscal year. Net debt was $1.1 billion, and our net leverage remained solid at 2.7 times, providing flexibility to invest in strategic priorities while maintaining disciplined capital allocation.

本季結束時，我們的總流動性約為9億美元，為進入本會計年度剩餘期間提供強勁的財務位置。淨負債為11億美元，淨槓桿維持穩健在2.7倍，讓我們在維持嚴謹資本配置的同時，仍具備投資策略優先事項的彈性。

Now, let's turn it to our business unit leaders for a closer look at segment performance. Alessandra, over to you.

接下來，請各事業單位主管更深入說明各部門表現。Alessandra，交給你。

Thank you, William. Good morning, everyone.

謝謝你，William。各位早安。

Please turn to slide 10 for Life Sciences. Life Sciences sales were $139 million, up 4% from the prior year, driven by resilient pharma demand and continuous strength across our innovate and globalize pillars. Pharma delivered low-single-digit year-over-year growth, making its third consecutive quarter of volume gains. Demand remained strong for our high-value cellulosic excipients, supported by broad customer engagement across regions.

請翻到第10頁，生命科學。生命科學銷售額為1.39億美元，較前一年成長4%，主要由具韌性的製藥需求，以及我們「創新」與「全球化」兩大支柱的持續強勁表現所帶動。製藥業務年增低個位數，連續第三季實現銷量成長。我們高價值的纖維素賦形劑需求依然強勁，並獲得各區域廣泛的客戶互動支持。

Injectables delivered another quarter of strong above-market growth with continued pipeline expansion and accelerating uptake of recently launched products, reinforcing our confidence in sustainable growth within this high-margin segment. Tablet coatings delivered double-digit year-over-year growth across all regions, with particularly strong momentum in Asia-Pacific.

注射劑業務再度交出強勁、優於市場的成長，管線持續擴張，且近期上市產品的採用加速，進一步強化我們對此高毛利部門可持續成長的信心。錠劑包衣在所有地區皆呈現年增雙位數成長，其中亞太地區動能尤為強勁。

In nutrition, recent wins and ongoing commercial activity continue to support improving traction as we move through fiscal 2026. Pricing was slightly lower year over year, in line with expectations and largely reflecting carryover impacts from prior-year adjustments, but remained stable sequentially. Foreign exchange provided a $3 million benefit to sales.

在營養領域，近期的勝出案與持續的商務活動，將在我們邁向2026會計年度的過程中持續支持動能改善。價格較去年同期略低，符合預期，主要反映前一年調整的遞延影響，但與前一季相比保持穩定。匯率對銷售額帶來300萬美元的正面貢獻。

Turning to innovation, we continue to advance Ashland's leadership in pharmaceutical ingredients. We saw meaningful contributions from our low-nitrite offering, including the recently launched Plasdone low nitrite and Benecel low-nitrite range. In injectables, we launched our new high-purity Vialose sucrose stabilizer for biologics in October. Early customer engagement has been encouraging, with positive technical feedback and a growing commercial pipeline.

在創新方面，我們持續推進Ashland在藥用成分領域的領導地位。我們的低亞硝酸鹽（low-nitrite）產品帶來顯著貢獻，包括近期上市的Plasdone低亞硝酸鹽產品，以及Benecel低亞硝酸鹽系列。在注射劑方面，我們於10月推出新的高純度Vialose蔗糖穩定劑，用於生物製劑。早期客戶互動令人鼓舞，技術回饋正面，商業管線也在擴大。

In addition, multiple new injectable launches are planned for fiscal 2026, each supported by strong pre-launch customer engagement and rising market pool. These advancements reinforce our commitment to delivering high-quality solutions that meet evolving customer needs.

此外，2026會計年度規劃推出多項新的注射劑產品，每一項皆有強勁的上市前客戶互動與持續擴大的市場機會池作為支撐。這些進展強化我們致力於提供高品質解決方案，以滿足客戶不斷演進需求的承諾。

Turning to profitability. Adjusted EBITDA was $31 million, up 11% year over year. Margins expanded to 22.3%, a 140-basis-point improvement, including a $4 million impact from the Calvert City outage during the quarter. The year-over-year increase was driven by favorable mix, resilient pharma demand, and lower SARD, as restructuring benefits continue to flow through, partially offset by modest pricing pressure.

接著看獲利表現。調整後EBITDA為3,100萬美元，年增11%。利潤率擴大至22.3%，提升140個基點，其中包含本季Calvert City停工帶來的400萬美元影響。年增主要由有利的產品組合、具韌性的製藥需求以及較低的SARD所帶動；重整效益持續反映在財務表現中，部分被溫和的價格壓力所抵銷。

Foreign exchange provided an additional $2 million benefit to EBITDA. Life Sciences continues to demonstrate strong operational discipline, resilient end market demand, and consistent progress across both our innovate and globalize agendas.

匯率另為EBITDA帶來200萬美元的正面貢獻。生命科學持續展現強勁的營運紀律、具韌性的終端市場需求，並在「創新」與「全球化」兩項議程上穩健推進。

Please turn to slide 11 for Intermediates. Intermediates performance remains a challenge, consistent with what we expected entering the fiscal year. Sales were $31 million, down 6% versus last year. Merchant sales were $22 million, with steady volumes and modest pricing pressure resulting in flat year-over-year performance. Captive BDO sales declined to $9 million, driven by both lower volumes and lower transfer prices. Foreign exchange had a negligible impact on sales.

請翻到第11頁，中間體。中間體的表現仍具挑戰，與我們在本會計年度開始時的預期一致。銷售額為3,100萬美元，較去年下降6%。對外銷售（merchant sales）為2,200萬美元，銷量穩定但有溫和的價格壓力，使年比表現持平。自用BDO銷售下降至900萬美元，主要由較低銷量與較低移轉價格共同驅動。匯率對銷售額影響可忽略。

Turning to profitability. Adjusted EBITDA was $1 million, down from $6 million in the prior year, with margins declining to 3.2% from 18.2%. Margins compressed due to lower pricing, reduced operating leverage, and roughly $2 million of early quarter upstream production impacts from the Calvert City outage. The team remains focused on disciplined commercial execution, cost control, and navigating a market environment that is expected to remain challenged until broader industrial activity improves.

接著看獲利表現。調整後EBITDA為100萬美元，低於前一年的600萬美元，利潤率由18.2%降至3.2%。利潤率下滑係因價格較低、營運槓桿下降，以及約200萬美元在季度初因Calvert City停工造成的上游生產影響。團隊仍專注於嚴謹的商務執行、成本控管，並因應預期在整體工業活動改善前仍將持續承壓的市場環境。

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

接下來我將把電話會議交給Jim，說明個人護理。Jim？

Thank you, Alessandra. I'll now highlight our Personal Care results. Please turn to slide 12 for Personal Care.

謝謝你，Alessandra。我接著重點說明個人護理的結果。請翻到第12頁，個人護理。

Personal Care delivered resilient results, underscoring the stability of the portfolio, despite mixed market conditions. Sales were $123 million, down 8% year over year, almost entirely due to the Avoca divestiture, which reduced sales by approximately 7%. With the Avoca divestiture now lapped, we have a clean baseline going forward into Q2.

個人護理交出具韌性的表現，儘管市場狀況好壞不一，仍凸顯產品組合的穩定性。銷售額為1.23億美元，年減8%，幾乎完全是因Avoca剝離所致；該剝離使銷售額約減少7%。隨著Avoca剝離的比較基期已過，進入第二季後我們將有更乾淨的基準。

Organic sales declined 1%, reflecting a broadly stable demand environment. Biofunctional actives continued to perform well and delivered another quarter of double-digit growth versus prior year quarter.

有機銷售下降1%，反映整體需求環境大致穩定。生物功能性活性成分持續表現良好，再度繳出相較去年同期的雙位數成長。

Customer expansions and project pipeline conversions are accelerating. Collapeptyl, our 2025 hero product launch, is gaining broad-based market adoption. Collapeptyl mimics 20 collagen sequences in our skin, providing immediate flash hydration and corrects the appearance of both expression and deep wrinkles in the skin.

客戶擴產與專案管線的轉換正在加速。Collapeptyl作為我們2025年的主打新品上市，正獲得廣泛的市場採用。Collapeptyl可模擬皮膚中20段膠原蛋白序列，提供即時的瞬效保濕，並改善皮膚表情紋與深層皺紋的外觀。

Microbial protection delivered year-over-year volume growth above market, driven by share gains across most regions and customer wins. With a competitive and regional footprint, microbial protection is well positioned to continue executing on a robust opportunity pipeline.

微生物防護業務在多數地區市占提升與客戶贏單帶動下，年對年出貨量成長優於市場。憑藉具競爭力且區域化的布局，微生物防護具備良好條件，可持續推進強勁的機會管線並落實執行。

Within care ingredients, performance varied by region and segment. In general, most regions performed well, with notable strength in the EMEA region and China. Care ingredients experienced several unplanned customer plant outages in the quarter and softer demand in North America.

在護理成分方面，各地區與各細分市場表現不一。整體而言，多數地區表現良好，其中以EMEA地區與中國表現尤為強勁。本季護理成分遭遇數起客戶工廠非計畫性停工，且北美需求轉弱。

Foreign exchange contributed approximately $3 million of favorability to segment sales. For Personal Care, innovation and commercial execution remain a strength, with continued momentum in our globalized platforms and sustained demand for higher-value differentiated applications.

外匯對該事業部銷售額帶來約300萬美元的有利貢獻。就個人護理而言，創新與商業執行仍是優勢，我們全球化平台動能延續，且對高價值差異化應用的需求持續穩健。

Turning to profitability. Adjusted EBITDA was $26 million, compared to $30 million in the prior year. This includes a $1 million EBITDA impact from the Avoca divestiture. Excluding that portfolio action, EBITDA was modestly lowered, driven by the more than $4 million Calvert City impact in the demand trends noted earlier, partially offset by mix and cost discipline. EBITDA margins remained healthy at 21.1%, demonstrating the strength of the portfolio and the benefit of ongoing commercial and productivity efforts.

接著談獲利能力。調整後EBITDA為2,600萬美元，較去年同期的3,000萬美元下降。其中包含Avoca剝離帶來的100萬美元EBITDA影響。若排除該項投資組合動作，EBITDA小幅下滑，主因為先前提及需求趨勢下Calvert City影響超過400萬美元，部分由產品組合與成本紀律所抵銷。EBITDA利潤率維持健康水準21.1%，展現投資組合的韌性，以及持續商業與生產力提升措施所帶來的效益。

Personal Care continues to deliver strong performance in our globalized platforms, resilient margins, and meaningful traction in our innovation pipeline.

個人護理在我們的全球化平台上持續交出強勁表現，利潤率具韌性，且在創新管線上取得實質進展。

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的業績。Dago？

Thank you, Jim.

謝謝你，Jim。

Please turn to slide 13. Specialty Additives continued to operate in a muted demand environment during the first quarter. Sales were $102 million, down 11% year over year. Coatings and construction accounted for the vast majority of the year-over-year shortfall.

請翻到第13頁投影片。特用添加劑在第一季仍處於需求偏弱的環境中運作。銷售額為1.02億美元，年對年下降11%。塗料與建築領域占了年對年缺口的絕大部分。

In coatings, the decline was led by China, where weak demands and structural overcapacity continued to weigh on results. Additional softness came from export markets in the Middle East, Africa, and India, where competitive intensity remained elevated. North America continued to show muted demand in the coatings market. Outside these regions, coatings demand was relatively stable, with outperformance in Europe and Latin America.

在塗料方面，下滑主要由中國所帶動，當地需求疲弱與結構性產能過剩持續拖累表現。中東、非洲與印度等出口市場亦出現額外疲弱，競爭強度仍然偏高。北美塗料市場需求仍然低迷。除上述地區外，塗料需求相對穩定，歐洲與拉丁美洲表現優於預期。

Construction volumes were also lower, reflecting soft conditions across the non-structural repair and remodel market, our primary area of exposure. Across other industrial end markets, including energy and performance specialties, demand remained muted but generally stable.

建築出貨量亦較低，反映非結構性修繕與翻新市場（我們主要曝險領域）景氣偏弱。在其他工業終端市場（包括能源與高性能特用領域），需求仍偏弱但整體大致穩定。

Pricing was modestly lower year over year, while foreign exchange contributed approximately $2 million to sales. Importantly, the team continues to execute on operational efficiency initiatives and capture benefits from prior manufacturing optimization actions, including the HEC consolidation, which improved our cost structure and mitigated the impact of lower volumes.

價格年對年小幅下滑，而外匯對銷售額貢獻約200萬美元。重要的是，團隊持續推動營運效率提升計畫，並承接先前製造優化行動的效益（包括HEC整併），改善成本結構並緩解出貨量下滑的影響。

Adjusted EBITDA was $15 million, up 15% from the prior year. EBITDA margin improved to 14.7%, a 340-basis-point expansion supported by efficiencies from the consolidated HEC network. The team remains sharply focused on cost discipline and commercial excellence, while continuing to advance innovation that helps our customers deliver differentiated solutions in a challenging market.

調整後EBITDA為1,500萬美元，較去年同期成長15%。EBITDA利潤率提升至14.7%，擴張340個基點，主要受惠於整併後HEC網路帶來的效率提升。團隊仍高度聚焦成本紀律與商業卓越，同時持續推進創新，協助客戶在充滿挑戰的市場中提供差異化解決方案。

Underscoring the strength of our innovation pipeline, we deliver approximately $5 million in sales from recent product launches this quarter. Looking ahead, Specialty Additives is well positioned to benefit from an eventual coatings recovery, supported by disciplined cost management, a more efficient manufacturing network, and ongoing innovation progress.

為凸顯我們創新管線的強勁，本季我們由近期產品上市帶來約500萬美元的銷售額。展望未來，特用添加劑在塗料市場最終復甦時具備良好受益條件，並由嚴謹的成本管理、更高效率的製造網路，以及持續的創新進展所支撐。

With that, I'll hand it back to William. William?

接著我把時間交回給William。William？

Thanks, Dago.

謝謝，Dago。

Please turn to slide 15. As we move through the first quarter, I want to highlight the progress we're making across our Execute pillar and how our operational transformation continues to support the business. Overall, our total cost savings target of approximately $30 million for fiscal 2026 remains on track. Specifically, our restructuring plan is completed and will be ratably recognized throughout the first half of the fiscal year.

請翻到第15頁投影片。在第一季進行期間，我想強調我們在「執行（Execute）」支柱上的進展，以及營運轉型如何持續支撐業務。整體而言，我們在2026會計年度約3,000萬美元的總成本節省目標仍按計畫推進。具體而言，我們的重整計畫已完成，並將在本會計年度上半年按比例認列。

We continue to make progress on our network optimization targets. VP&D optimization and small plant consolidation efforts also remain on schedule, with benefits weighted towards the second half. As we talked about last quarter, we are addressing higher-than-expected unit costs at the consolidated HEC site as we scale operations. Following the Parlin closure and network volume rebalancing, we are delivering productivity improvements and stabilizing operations while strengthening the global HEC network.

我們在網路優化目標上持續取得進展。VP&D優化與小型工廠整併工作亦按進度進行，效益將偏向下半年顯現。如同上季所提，我們正因應整併後HEC據點在擴大營運規模時出現的單位成本高於預期問題。在Parlin關閉與網路量能重新平衡後，我們正交付生產力改善並穩定營運，同時強化全球HEC網路。

Our total savings target of $50 million to $55 million remains intact, with upside to $60 million as China demand improves. Across the network, we're seeing potential for additional productivity improvements and capacity optimizations. This work is ongoing, but the trajectory remains positive.

我們5,000萬至5,500萬美元的總節省目標仍維持不變，且隨著中國需求改善，有上行至6,000萬美元的空間。在整體網路中，我們看到進一步提升生產力與產能優化的潛力。此項工作仍在進行中，但整體走勢依然正向。

Our priorities within Execute remain clear: deliver structural cost improvements, simplify the network, and enhance systems and processes, which include sales and operations planning, standard costing, and forecasting, all of which strengthen planning, accountability, and ultimately performance. I want to recognize our operations team for managing through isolated challenges this quarter. I will speak to these dynamics further in the outlook.

我們在「執行（Execute）」中的優先事項仍然明確：實現結構性成本改善、簡化網路，以及強化系統與流程（包括銷售與營運規劃、標準成本與預測），以提升規劃能力、責任歸屬，並最終改善績效。我也要肯定我們的營運團隊在本季面對零星挑戰時的應對。我會在展望部分進一步說明這些動態。

Please turn to slide 16. I'd now like to provide an update on our Globalize and Innovate platforms. As we move through fiscal '26, I'm encouraged by the early year momentum we've seen across both pillars.

請翻到第16頁投影片。接下來我想更新我們「全球化（Globalize）」與「創新（Innovate）」平台的進展。隨著我們進入2026會計年度，我對兩大支柱在年初所展現的動能感到鼓舞。

On Globalize, we're seeing solid traction supported by increased customer engagement. focused commercial initiatives, and early benefits from our recent investments. Year to date, we've delivered $3 million of incremental Globalize sales towards our $20 million goal for the year, with notable contributions across the portfolio. In aggregate, the Globalize business lines grew 8% versus last year.

在「全球化（Globalize）」方面，在客戶互動增加、聚焦的商業推進計畫，以及近期投資的初步效益支撐下，我們看到良好進展。年初至今，我們已實現300萬美元的「全球化」增量銷售，朝全年2,000萬美元目標邁進，且投資組合各業務皆有顯著貢獻。整體而言，「全球化」相關業務線較去年成長8%。

On the Innovate side, momentum was even stronger. We delivered $6 million of incremental innovation sales towards our $15 million goal for the year. This reflects the continued strength of our innovation pipeline, particularly in pharma cellulosics, as well as recent commercial introductions across multiple segments. Guillermo will speak to this in more detail shortly, but the team continues to advance a broad and healthy launch pipeline.

在「創新（Innovate）」方面，動能更為強勁。我們已實現600萬美元的創新增量銷售，朝全年1,500萬美元目標邁進。這反映我們創新管線持續強勁，特別是在製藥用纖維素領域，以及多個事業部近期的商業化導入。Guillermo稍後會更詳細說明，但團隊持續推進廣泛且健康的上市管線。

The early performance across Globalize and Innovate highlights the strengths of these levers and the strategic advantage they bring to our portfolio. While still early in the year, we remain on track to deliver our fiscal 2026 $35 million revenue commitment from Globalize and Innovate.

「全球化」與「創新」在年初的表現，凸顯這些槓桿的優勢，以及其為我們投資組合帶來的策略性優勢。雖然年度仍在初期，我們仍按計畫在2026會計年度由「全球化」與「創新」貢獻3,500萬美元的營收承諾。

Please turn to slide 17. I will now walk through our updated fiscal '26 outlook, which reflects a prudent view of market conditions and continued confidence in our ability to execute. For fiscal 2026, we are narrowing our adjusted EBITDA range to $400 million to $420 million. All other elements of our guidance remain unchanged.

請翻到第17頁投影片。我現在將說明更新後的2026會計年度展望，該展望反映我們對市場狀況的審慎看法，以及對自身執行能力的持續信心。就2026會計年度而言，我們將調整後EBITDA區間收斂至4.00億至4.20億美元。指引的其他要素維持不變。

Let me briefly summarize the assumptions underlying this outlook. Life Sciences and Personal Care remain resilient, supported by stable end markets and momentum across our Globalize and Innovative platforms. Specialty Additives and Intermediates remain mixed, with a coatings recovery expected to be gradual and regionally uneven until broader housing and industrial activity improves. We're seeing healthy demand patterns and consumer-oriented categories to start the second quarter. Raw materials are expected to be stable to favorable overall, and supply chains remain reliable.

我簡要總結此展望背後的假設。生命科學與個人護理仍具韌性，受惠於終端市場穩定，以及「全球化」與「創新」平台的動能。特用添加劑與中間體表現仍分化，預期塗料復甦將是漸進且具區域不均，直到更廣泛的住宅與工業活動改善。我們看到第二季初期的需求型態健康，且以消費者導向的品類表現良好。原物料整體預期持平至有利，供應鏈仍維持可靠。

Similar to prior years, we expect a second-half-weighted performance. We continue to expect Innovate and Globalize to drive growth above underlying markets, and our total cost savings target of $30 million remains on track to support margin improvement through the year.

與往年類似，我們預期績效將偏重於下半年。我們仍預期 Innovate 與 Globalize 將帶動高於基礎市場的成長，而我們 3,000 萬美元的總成本節省目標仍按計畫推進，以支持全年利潤率改善。

As Guillermo discussed, repairs to the Calvert City unit are taking longer than anticipated. What we had initially expected to be contained to the first quarter will now extend into the second. In recent weeks, we also experienced brief outages at multiple sites due to adverse weather. While the operations team managed safely without customer disruption, these events resulted in incremental costs and downtime. Our revised outlook reflects approximately $11 million of temporary impacts from the Calvert City startup delay and recent weather-related disruptions, all isolated to the second quarter.

如 Guillermo 所述，Calvert City 裝置的維修時間比預期更長。我們原先預期可控制在第一季的影響，現在將延續到第二季。近幾週，我們也因惡劣天候在多個據點出現短暫停機。雖然營運團隊在確保安全的情況下處理，且未影響客戶供應，但這些事件造成額外成本與停機時間。我們修訂後的展望反映了約 1,100 萬美元的暫時性影響，來自 Calvert City 啟動延遲及近期天候相關干擾，且全部集中在第二季。

The volume-related impacts, which are roughly two-thirds of the overall total, are fully recoverable, but the timing of absorption recovery is more challenging. VP&D cannot begin recovering absorption until the unit is back at normal operating rates, which will not occur until late Q2. This means recovery can only begin in Q3, with partial flow-through in income statement into Q4. For HEC, recovery depends on the seasonal demand lift. Visibility into April through September demand typically firms in March, which creates uncertainty about when and how much recovery can be prudently initiated.

與產量相關的影響約占整體的三分之二，完全可回收，但吸收回收的時點更具挑戰。VP&D 必須等裝置恢復至正常運轉速率後才能開始回收吸收，這要到第二季末才會發生。這表示回收只能從第三季開始，並在第四季於損益表中部分反映。對 HEC 而言，回收取決於季節性需求的拉升。對 4 月至 9 月需求的能見度通常在 3 月才會明朗，這使得何時以及能在多大程度上審慎啟動回收存在不確定性。

Given these timing constraints and the current visibility on seasonal demand, we believe it is prudent to remain more cautious at the top end of the guide. We will continue to manage production, inventory, and free cash flow with discipline while ensuring uninterrupted customer supply. Overall, our fiscal 2026 guidance reflects balanced planning, disciplined execution, and visibility into the drivers of long-term value creation, even as we manage temporary operational challenges.

鑑於這些時點限制以及目前對季節性需求的能見度，我們認為在指引區間上緣保持更審慎是明智之舉。我們將持續以紀律管理生產、庫存與自由現金流，同時確保客戶供應不中斷。整體而言，我們的 2026 財年指引反映了均衡規劃、紀律執行，以及對長期價值創造驅動因素的能見度，即使我們正管理暫時性的營運挑戰。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Guillermo to discuss our technology platforms and leadership priorities. Guillermo?

接下來，我把電話交給 Guillermo，請他說明我們的技術平台與領導優先事項。Guillermo？

Thank you, William.

謝謝你，William。

Please turn to slide 18. Innovation remains one of the most powerful drivers of long-term value creation at Ashland. And the momentum we're seeing this early in fiscal 2026 is both exciting and strategically important. This slide highlights just a few of the breakthrough platforms that are reshaping our pipeline and opening new opportunities across multiple end markets. These are not isolated projects. They're scalable technology platforms built on science, customer collaboration, and disciplined execution, each with potential to fuel long-term growth.

請翻到第 18 頁投影片。創新仍是 Ashland 長期價值創造最強大的驅動因素之一。而我們在 2026 財年初期看到的動能既令人振奮，也具有重要的策略意義。本頁投影片重點呈現了幾個正在重塑我們研發管線、並在多個終端市場開啟新機會的突破性平台。這些並非孤立的專案。它們是可擴展的技術平台，建立在科學、客戶協作與紀律執行之上，每一項都有潛力推動長期成長。

Since the 2025 Innovation Day, our teams have delivered meaningful progress across multiple platforms. Our TVO technologies continue to advance through early commercial adoption, supported by regulatory filings across all key regions and multiple customer qualification cycles.

自 2025 年創新日以來，我們的團隊在多個平台上取得了實質進展。我們的 TVO 技術持續推進至早期商業採用階段，並由所有主要地區的法規申報以及多輪客戶資格認證流程所支持。

In Ag, our TVO for seed coatings, Agrimer Eco-Coat, received US EPA FIFRA approval in 2025 and is also REACH approved. Its performance and sustainability profile have been validated by multiple customer trials, with more trials ongoing. Customers are in the process of filing their own regulatory approvals for their formulated products in different regions. We're also making great progress in the development of a TVO for oil dispersions in Ag formulations. This product would already have regulatory approval, the same as our Agrimer Eco-Coat.

在農業（Ag）領域，我們用於種子包衣的 TVO 產品 Agrimer Eco-Coat 已於 2025 年取得美國 EPA FIFRA 核准，並同時通過 REACH 核准。其性能與永續性特徵已透過多項客戶試驗獲得驗證，且仍有更多試驗進行中。客戶正就其配方產品在不同地區申請各自的法規核准。我們也在開發用於農業配方中油分散體的 TVO 方面取得重大進展。該產品將可直接沿用與 Agrimer Eco-Coat 相同的法規核准。

In Personal Care, we launched Lubrihance, a TVO-based product for hair conditioning, with great customer feedback for customer approvals and many other testing and formulations. Development of our TVO for hairspray and styling is maturing well, nearing generation 1 launch, with encouraging customer evaluations underway. Our TVO technology for silicone alternatives have passed preliminary testing with key customers and now is in advanced evaluations.

在個人護理（Personal Care）方面，我們推出了 Lubrihance，這是一款以 TVO 為基礎、用於護髮調理的產品，並獲得客戶對核准流程以及多項測試與配方開發的良好回饋。我們用於髮膠與造型的 TVO 產品開發進展成熟，接近第一代（generation 1）上市，且客戶評估正以令人鼓舞的結果進行中。我們作為矽（silicone）替代方案的 TVO 技術已通過與關鍵客戶的初步測試，目前進入進階評估階段。

In coatings, we continue to make progress on developing TVO technology for TiO2 efficiency and for UV curing. Based on current performance profiles, all customers are showing strong interest in these technologies. Most other new TVO development projects continue to advance and are demonstrating strong performance and value for our customers.

在塗料（coatings）方面，我們持續推進用於提升 TiO2 效率以及 UV 固化的 TVO 技術開發。依據目前的性能特徵，所有客戶都對這些技術展現高度興趣。其他多項新的 TVO 開發專案也持續推進，並展現對客戶而言強勁的性能與價值。

Our super wetting agent platforms which offer PFAS-free and silicone-free sustainability advantages, achieved another successful launch in industrial and specialty coatings. Our coatings team recently launched a new version of our wetter, Easy-Wet 310, which has broader geographic regulatory approvals and is accelerating commercialization. We've had successful customer trials and feedback on our new super wetter for Ag, validating performance benefits with no phytotoxicity relative to the current commercial wetters. We expect to receive US EPA FIFRA feedback this April.

我們的超潤濕劑（super wetting agent）平台具備不含 PFAS 且不含矽的永續優勢，並在工業與特殊塗料領域再次成功上市。我們的塗料團隊近期推出了潤濕劑新版本 Easy-Wet 310，具備更廣泛的地理區域法規核准，並正加速商業化。我們針對農業（Ag）推出的新型超潤濕劑已完成成功的客戶試驗並獲得回饋，驗證其相較於現行商用潤濕劑具備性能優勢，且無植物毒性（phytotoxicity）。我們預期將於今年 4 月收到美國 EPA FIFRA 的回饋。

In Personal Care, we're expanding this technology into hair care and home care applications. In hair, we are currently targeting textured hair, where early beta testing feedback has been very positive. In home care, we're advancing the super wetter technology for auto dishwash applications.

在個人護理方面，我們正將此技術擴展至護髮與家用清潔（home care）應用。在護髮領域，我們目前鎖定捲曲／紋理髮（textured hair），早期 beta 測試回饋非常正面。在家用清潔方面，我們正推進超潤濕劑技術於自動洗碗機（auto dishwash）應用。

In bioresorbable polymers, momentum is building in aesthetic medicine, especially next-generation dermal fillers, with fiscal year 2025 launches and recent customer audits supporting a strong multi-year outlook. We also continue to scale a strong pipeline with preclinical milestone sales for both generic and new drug development programs.

在可生物吸收聚合物（bioresorbable polymers）方面，醫美領域的動能正在增強，特別是下一代真皮填充劑（dermal fillers）；2025 財年的上市以及近期客戶稽核支持了強勁的多年期展望。我們也持續擴大強勁的研發管線，透過臨床前里程碑銷售（preclinical milestone sales）同時支持學名藥與新藥開發計畫。

We're also excited about the interest and performance feedback we've received in Personal Care for our new modified starch for rheology control and skin leave-on applications, and we will be launching this product this year. In addition, we're expanding our starch technology into hairstyling applications.

我們也對在個人護理領域收到的興趣與性能回饋感到振奮，這來自我們新的改質澱粉（modified starch），可用於流變控制（rheology control）與肌膚免沖洗（leave-on）應用；我們將於今年推出此產品。此外，我們也正將澱粉技術擴展至髮型造型（hairstyling）應用。

These platforms are strategically important, each representing a scalable and high-value opportunity that strengthens our ability to compete and win in differentiated markets. They reflect the combined strength of our science, our global reach, and our ability to commercialize meaningful new technologies. Together, they reinforce why innovation remains a key driver of our long-term growth.

這些平台具有重要策略意義，每一項都代表可擴展且高價值的機會，強化我們在差異化市場中競爭並勝出的能力。它們反映了我們科學實力、全球佈局，以及將具意義的新技術商業化的能力之綜合優勢。整體而言，它們再次印證創新仍是我們長期成長的關鍵驅動因素。

Lastly, although not part of our new technology platforms, our coatings team is launching a number of new multifunctional HEC products this year that can provide unique cost and performance benefits to our customers, including better cost in use and improved performance.

最後，雖然不屬於我們的新技術平台之一，我們的塗料團隊今年將推出多款新的多功能 HEC 產品，可為客戶帶來獨特的成本與性能效益，包括更佳的使用成本（cost in use）與提升的性能。

Please turn to slide 19. As we look ahead, I'd like to outline the leadership priorities guiding our execution. While markets are mixed as anticipated, we enter the year with momentum on several fronts. The business has become significantly more focused, resilient, and better positioned to drive high-value growth. Our cost actions are already supporting margin performance with additional P&L benefits expected as the year progresses. Our innovation platforms and globalized investments continue to gain traction.

請翻到第 19 頁投影片。展望未來，我想概述指引我們執行的領導優先事項。雖然市場如預期般呈現分化，我們在多個面向帶著動能進入新年度。公司已變得更聚焦、更具韌性，且更有利於推動高價值成長。我們的成本行動已在支撐利潤率表現，並預期隨著年度推進將帶來更多損益表（P&L）效益。我們的創新平台與全球化投資持續獲得進展。

Our priorities for the fiscal 2026 are clear: deliver on safety, profitable growth, free cash flow, and RONA; advance our manufacturing optimization and inventory performance: accelerate innovation, scale our globalized platforms, and foster a productivity-focused culture; strengthen our systems and process, including leveraging AI to enhance productivity; prioritize talent development, leadership stability, and organizational strength; and maintain transparent communications and consistent execution in our engagement with our investors.

我們 2026 財年的優先事項很明確：在安全、獲利成長、自由現金流與 RONA 上達成目標；推進製造最佳化與庫存績效；加速創新、擴大我們的全球化平台，並培養以生產力為核心的文化；強化我們的系統與流程，包括運用 AI 提升生產力；優先投入人才發展、領導穩定性與組織實力；並在與投資人的互動中維持透明溝通與一致執行。

Fiscal 2026 is about converting our transformation into sustained performance. With a more focused and resilient portfolio, disciplined capital allocation, and clear strategic roadmap, Ashland is well positioned to deliver durable value creation for all stakeholders. And despite temporary operational and weather challenges, our strategy, strong execution, and commercial momentum give us confidence in delivering our fiscal 2026 commitments.

2026 財年重點在於將我們的轉型轉化為可持續的績效。憑藉更聚焦且更具韌性的產品組合、紀律的資本配置，以及清晰的策略路線圖，Ashland 已具備良好條件，為所有利害關係人創造持久價值。即便面臨暫時性的營運與天候挑戰，我們的策略、強勁的執行力與商業動能，讓我們對達成 2026 財年承諾充滿信心。

Thank you to the entire Ashland team for your commitment and execution, and thank you for joining our call today.

感謝整個 Ashland 團隊的投入與執行力，也感謝各位今天加入我們的電話會議。

Operator, please open the line for Q&A.

接線員，請開放問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Josh Spector, UBS.

(接線員指示) Josh Spector，瑞銀（UBS）。

Yeah, hi. Good morning. I had two questions. First, just specifically on Personal Care, can you talk about the comments around the customer outage impacting demand? Is that an ongoing issue? Is that resolved? Do we catch up from that?

是的，您好。早安。我有兩個問題。第一，針對個人護理（Personal Care），能否談談你們提到客戶停機（outage）對需求造成影響的評論？這是持續性的問題嗎？已經解決了嗎？我們是否能把因此流失的量補回來？

And then second, I mean, Guillermo, in some of your prepared remarks and the release last night, you talked about some optimism, I think, on some of the demand you were seeing building in your second quarter here. Just wondering if you could give more color there, if that's adding to any visibility or if it's still pretty limited. Thanks.

第二，Guillermo，在你部分的事先準備發言以及昨晚的新聞稿中，你提到對第二季需求逐步建立抱持一些樂觀。想請你再多補充一些細節：這是否提高了能見度，還是能見度仍然相當有限？謝謝。

Okay. Let me do a quick comment on the demand, and then on the PC outage, Jim, I'll ask you to give some comments.

好的。我先快速評論一下需求，然後關於個人護理（PC）的停機，Jim，我請你補充一些看法。

So we did star.–If you look at Q1, we started a quarter strong in November, and I think like other companies, November was a bit softer. And we did see the pickup really in December and January as also, as William commented, continued to grow. And then it's pretty broad-based in terms of Life Science and Personal Care.

所以我們確實看到——如果你看第一季，我們在 11 月開季表現強勁，而我想和其他公司一樣，11 月稍微偏弱一些。我們確實在 12 月與 1 月看到回升，同時也如 William 所評論的，持續成長。而且就生命科學與個人護理而言，回升是相當廣泛的。

I would say in coatings, it's in line with our expectations. I'm not over-reading the coatings side because it's still low in the seasonality. The season really starts to pick up in March, and really, April to September is when we see the bigger volume. So it's a bit early, but it's been stable, and I would say no big surprises.

我會說在塗料（coatings）方面，符合我們的預期。我不會過度解讀塗料端，因為目前仍處於季節性淡季。旺季通常在 3 月開始回溫，而真正 4 月到 9 月我們會看到更大的出貨量。所以現在還有點早，但表現一直很穩定，我會說沒有太大的意外。

So overall right now, we're not trying to over-read. There's nothing really to change our outlook so we're pretty confident. And I think over the next two months, we should start picking up. Our order book for February still remains strong, too so we'll see how that evolves. Obviously, we have now in China, Chinese New Year and all that, it'll be a weaker Februarybut into March, it should pick up.

因此整體而言，我們目前不打算過度解讀。沒有任何事情需要改變我們的展望，所以我們相當有信心。我想接下來兩個月應該會開始回升。我們 2 月的訂單簿仍然很強勁，所以我們會觀察後續發展。當然，中國現在有農曆新年等因素，2 月會比較弱一些，但進入 3 月應該會回升。

And then on the PC side, I mean, there are outages. We just had our own outages on things, and so they're temporary and recoverable. But Jim, do you want to comment on the outages?

至於個人護理（PC）方面，我的意思是，確實會有停機。我們自己也曾在某些項目上遇到停機，所以這些都是暫時性的、也可以補回來。不過 Jim，你要不要就停機情況補充說明？

Thanks, Guillermo. Thanks, Josh. Thanks for the question.

謝謝你，Guillermo。謝謝你，Josh。謝謝你的提問。

So as William had mentioned, excluding those customer outages, the business would have been up low-single digits. Specifically in North America, there were several customers that had unplanned outages. The outages were on the customer side, so it was not related to our inability to supply or anything driven from our side. And through conversations with customers, we understand that it was not demand-driven either.

如 William 提到的，若排除那些客戶停機事件，該業務本來會呈現低個位數成長。具體來說，在北美有幾位客戶發生非計畫性停機。停機發生在客戶端，因此與我們無法供貨或任何由我們端造成的因素無關。而且透過與客戶的對話，我們了解這也不是由需求疲弱所驅動。

The outages all occurred in Q1. Some of them were multi-week, with a couple of them extending over a month, almost two months in one case. They all are back online. They all came back online before we closed Q1and we do expect to recover most of it in Q2 and through the balance of the year. So we are starting to recover some of that in Q2and by the end of the fiscal year, we do expect to recover most of that impact.

這些停機都發生在第一季。其中一些持續了數週，有幾個延續超過一個月，其中一個案例接近兩個月。目前它們都已恢復運轉。它們都在我們結束第一季之前恢復上線，我們預期在第二季以及今年剩餘期間可回補其中大部分。因此我們在第二季已開始回補部分影響，並且在本財年結束前，我們預期可回補大部分的影響。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Michael Sison, Wells Fargo.

Michael Sison，富國銀行（Wells Fargo）。

Hey. Good morning. For Personal Care, should we see volume start to turn the corner here in the second or third quarters? Because I think Avoca is done in terms of the outlook, do we start to see positive volume growth?

嗨。早安。就個人護理而言，我們是否會在第二或第三季看到出貨量開始轉好？因為我認為 Avoca 在展望上已經結束了，那我們是否會開始看到正向的出貨量成長？

Yeah. So Avoca is done, as Jim said, so that from the comps are going to be cleaner. If we see just the macro on the consumer side, it's behaving resilient overall. Most of our customers are indicating that it's flattened in the single digit so from a volume perspective, we expect to continue to see that as the year progresses so no big surprise there, Mike.

是的。如 Jim 所說，Avoca 已經結束，因此同比基期會更乾淨。如果只看消費端的總體環境，整體表現仍具韌性。我們多數客戶都表示需求已在個位數範圍內趨於持平，因此從出貨量角度，我們預期隨著年度推進會持續看到這樣的走勢，所以沒有太大的意外，Mike。

Great. And then maybe just revisiting kind of the longer-term outlook, how do you think about rebuilding EBITDA to higher levels from here?

很好。另外再回到較長期的展望，你們如何看待從目前水準把 EBITDA 重建到更高水準？

So I think if you look at our strategy -- Execute, Globalize, Innovate -- Execute is about productivity. We've got a lot of projects going through. We're already seeing the benefits. You see it with all the impacts on markets and competitive dynamics. Over the last year, our margins continue to hold up. And I think that's a reflection of a lot of the productivity action.

我想如果你看我們的策略——執行（Execute）、全球化（Globalize）、創新（Innovate）——其中「執行」是關於生產力提升。我們有很多專案正在推進。我們已經開始看到效益。即使在市場與競爭動態的各種影響之下，過去一年我們的利潤率仍持續維持住。我認為這反映了許多生產力行動的成果。

So we're already doing that. Obviously, as volumes pick up, we'll have a lot more leverage in terms of our absorption and most of our key clients so volume pickup, obviously, will be very helpful. For now, we continue to remain focused on driving that productivity. Most of the projects are going very well.

所以我們已經在做這件事。當然，隨著出貨量回升，在產能吸收（absorption）方面我們會有更大的槓桿效益，而且我們多數關鍵客戶也是如此，因此出貨量回升顯然會非常有幫助。就目前而言，我們仍專注於推動生產力提升。大多數專案進展都非常順利。

I think the one plant that we're putting a lot of effort on because of all the network trends is the HEC network optimization is our Hopewell plant. They're very busy. There's a lot of activity there. When we closed Parlin, they brought a lot of products. We've had a little bit of cost issues there, so that one we're going to continue to focus. And obviously, the storm, that was one of those plants that was hardest hit so some of those initiatives have been stalled a little bit just as a result of the storm. But we're focused, we have a clear agenda, and we're going to continue to drive that.

我認為有一座工廠我們投入很多心力，因為受到整體網路（network）趨勢影響，那就是 HEC 網路最佳化中的 Hopewell 工廠。他們非常忙碌。那裡有很多活動在進行。當我們關閉 Parlin 時，他們承接了很多產品。我們在那裡遇到一些成本問題，所以我們會持續聚焦在那一座。而且顯然，風暴使那座工廠成為受創最嚴重的工廠之一，因此部分措施因風暴影響而稍有延宕。但我們仍然聚焦，有清楚的議程，並會持續推動。

The rest is going to be the Globalize, Innovate, all those are higher-margin areas. And the more we can grow, the more we can extend our margins and our EBITDA. And equally, I would say in Life Science, a lot of the cellulosic growth that we're seeing in our core businesses are all higher-margin businesses.

其餘部分將是「全球化、創新」；這些都是高毛利領域。我們成長得越多，就越能擴大利潤率與 EBITDA。同樣地，我也會說在生命科學方面，我們在核心業務中看到的許多纖維素（cellulosic）成長，都是高毛利業務。

Got it. Thank you.

了解。謝謝。

And Mike, just to add -- it's William -- I think the other key piece, too, to keep in mind is we have the $90 million program outstanding. That's the combination of the restructuring and the manufacturing optimization. We got $25 million of that in fiscal '25. We've committed to another $30 million in fiscal '26. That leaves another $35 million yet to play out. So that's the other component on top of what Guillermo referenced on the productivity side. I just wanted to make sure you had those leveraged as well.

Mike，我再補充一下——我是 William——我想另一個關鍵點也要記得：我們還有一項 9,000 萬美元的計畫尚在推進中。那是重整（restructuring）與製造最佳化（manufacturing optimization）的組合。我們在 2025 財年已實現其中 2,500 萬美元。我們承諾在 2026 財年再實現 3,000 萬美元。這樣還剩下 3,500 萬美元有待逐步落地。所以，除了 Guillermo 提到的生產力面向之外，這也是另一個組成部分。我只是想確保你也把這些槓桿因素納入考量。

Got it. Thank you.

了解。謝謝。

John Roberts, Mizuho.

John Roberts，瑞穗（Mizuho）。

Thank you. On the China coatings demand, is there a line of sight to the bottom so that you'll begin at least comping flat year over year at some point?

謝謝。關於中國塗料需求，你們是否已經看得到觸底的跡象，讓你們在某個時間點至少能做到年對年持平（comping flat）？

Yeah. So let me get some comments, and thenDago, if you could comment. I'm here right now in China. I would say a lot of the impact of the down market started last year, and it's already happened, most of the impact with our customers. I don't expect that this is going to improve that quickly. We see a lot of actions by the government to stimulate, to re-energize the property market, but the reality is it's going to take a while.

是的。我先講幾點看法，然後Dago，如果你方便也請補充。我現在就在中國。我會說，下行市場的影響很多是從去年開始的，而且對我們客戶而言，大部分影響其實已經發生了。我不預期這會很快改善。我們看到政府採取很多刺激措施、試圖讓房地產市場重新活絡，但現實是這需要一段時間。

I think the issue for here is going to be expect muted demand for a while. With the overcapacity, we're going to continue to see deflationary pressures across the board. Most of that has already happened. We've been hit hard on our business here in China, so we're bottoming out. There's a limit to how much. You can't lose past, but when you've lost a business, you can't lose more.

我認為這裡的問題是，需求可能會低迷一段時間。在產能過剩的情況下，我們將持續看到全面性的通縮壓力。其中大部分其實已經發生了。我們在中國的業務受到很大衝擊，所以正在觸底。下滑幅度也有其極限。你不可能一直失去；但當你已經失去一筆業務後，也不可能再失去更多。

So I think what I'm excited now is as a team, we've rebalanced the network so that we're not getting impacted with empty capacity in our plants. We're using this very cost-effective plant for us. We're using it for exports now around the world and especially in the Middle East and Africa. It's well positioned.

所以我現在感到振奮的是，作為一個團隊，我們已重新平衡供應網路，讓我們不會因為工廠閒置產能而受到影響。我們正在使用這座對我們而言成本非常具競爭力的工廠。我們現在把它用於全球出口，特別是中東與非洲。定位很好。

And today, just talking to our teams, they've really done a fantastic job in just looking at our portfolio, using this time to get our plant costs in order, but also expanding our product line both into more cost-effective, different performance the cost parameters so that we can compete on the low end, and also some higher-performance products that we can provide both lower cost and use, but higher performance. So we're expanding our ability to go back into the market in a more constructive way than just price gains as we move forward.

而且今天和團隊交流時，他們確實做得非常出色：檢視我們的產品組合，利用這段時間把工廠成本梳理到位，同時也擴充產品線，推出更具成本效益、不同性能/成本參數的產品，讓我們能在低端市場競爭；也推出一些更高性能的產品，能同時提供更低成本與更高性能。因此，隨著我們往前走，我們正在擴大以更具建設性的方式重返市場的能力，而不只是依靠漲價。

But Dago, do you want to comment on the comps and some of the other things your team is doing?

不過Dago，你要不要就年對年比較（comps）以及你們團隊正在做的一些其他事情補充一下？

Yeah. Sure, Guillermo. And I think you're spot on. So I mean, the China comps are expected to ease in the second half, following the second quarter so we already took the hit versus the last year comps. So we'll be expecting to lap after the next quarter so that's number one.

好的。當然，Guillermo。我認為你說得非常到位。中國的年對年比較預期會在下半年趨緩，因為在第二季之後，我們相對去年同期的衝擊已經反映了。所以再過一季之後，我們就會進入「跨過基期」（lap）的階段，這是第一點。

The other point that I would like to emphasize is what is it that we're making to resolve the situation. What is it that we're working on? There's three points that I want to emphasize. One is commercial discipline, the other one is productivity, and the third one is innovation. So on commercial discipline, which has a lot of focus on volume price management to ensure that we do what's right for the business. And there is also a lot of focus on customer intimacy, just staying very close to customers so that we can deploy our innovation.

第二點我想強調的是，我們正在做什麼來解決這個情況？我們在推動什麼？我想強調三點。第一是商業紀律，第二是生產力，第三是創新。所以在商業紀律方面，我們非常聚焦於量價管理，確保我們做出對業務正確的決策。同時也非常重視客戶貼近度，與客戶保持非常緊密的連結，這樣我們才能部署我們的創新。

Productivity, the good news is that Nanjing is a really excellent plant that we have. It's a very strong asset, and they do have very clear productivity improvement targets that we're going after, so I'm very excited about that as well.

在生產力方面，好消息是我們在南京的工廠非常優秀。這是一項非常強的資產，而且他們有非常明確的生產力提升目標，我們正在全力推進，所以我也非常期待。

But probably the best one is really on innovation. We're moving fast. We're moving with urgency. We expect some of the results that we're doing on the innovation on our core products to materialize actually in 2026, which will really help us with the situation. And the intent here is to protect our core portfolio and then basically kind of produce, create products that are that are made for the China market so very excited about what we are doing here.

但可能最重要的其實是創新。我們動作很快。我們以緊迫感在推進。我們預期在核心產品上的創新成果，實際上會在2026年開始顯現，這將對我們的處境有很大幫助。我們的意圖是保護核心產品組合，並基本上開發、打造為中國市場量身打造的產品，所以我們對正在做的事情感到非常振奮。

And last point, I just want to reinforce what Guillermo was saying is this is a really good plant. This is a plant that I would say I would call it a global asset, absolutely. Initial intent was to produce in China for China, but this plant can produce for any other parts of the world so what we're doing is rebalancing. There is opportunities outside of China, for sure, that we're going after with a lot of focus.

最後一點，我想再次強調Guillermo剛才說的：這是一座非常好的工廠。我會說這絕對是一項全球資產。最初的意圖是在中國生產、供應中國，但這座工廠也可以為世界其他地區生產；因此我們正在做的是重新平衡。中國以外確實有機會，我們正以高度聚焦去爭取。

And then secondly, where are you facing the most risks and uncertainty around global trade issues?

第二個問題，在全球貿易議題方面，你們在哪些地方面臨最大的風險與不確定性？

Yeah. I think that the area that we're looking at more is what's Europe going to do. I think there's a lot of push right now for our industry in terms of some of the cost competitiveness, the plan consolidations. So there's a lot of dialogue going on there, but there's no clear decisions on what they're going to do.

是的。我認為我們更關注的區域是歐洲會怎麼做。目前在我們這個產業，關於成本競爭力、產能/工廠整併等方面有很大的推動力。因此有很多討論正在進行，但他們要怎麼做還沒有明確決定。

But I would say that's probably the area of focus for us at this point in time. We don't have anything that I would say specific, but we know that this is probably one of the areas of the higher pressure in terms of the regional interests to take some action.

但我會說，就目前而言，這大概是我們的重點關注領域。我們沒有任何我會稱之為具體的事項，但我們知道，從區域利益的角度來看，這可能是壓力較大、可能採取行動的領域之一。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Chris Parkinson, Wolfe Research.

Chris Parkinson，Wolfe Research。

Great. Thank you so much. Just turning back to Life Sciences, I want to break down the growth algo here now that you're passing multiple years of a little bit of choppiness. When you take a step back, how are you thinking about -- you didn't mention VP&D in the PowerPoint, so I'm kind of curious on what effect, if any, that had on the price mix in the quarter.

很好。非常感謝。回到生命科學（Life Sciences），在經歷了好幾年有些起伏之後，我想把目前的成長算法（growth algo）拆解一下。退一步看，你們怎麼看待——你們在簡報裡沒有提到VP&D，所以我有點好奇，這對本季的價格/組合（price mix）是否有任何影響？

And then, it seems like you're actually gaining pretty decent momentum in tablets and cellulosics so when we look at this for '26 and then kind of into '27, is this finally getting back to just a low -- kind of like a low-single-digit volume growth rate, perhaps a little bit more constructive price mix, getting margins back up to the prior year's levels? Like how should we be parsing that out? Thank you.

另外，看起來你們在錠劑（tablets）與纖維素類（cellulosics）其實正取得不錯的動能；所以當我們看2026年、再延伸到2027年時，這是否終於回到低個位數的量成長率，價格/組合可能更具建設性，毛利率回到前幾年的水準？我們應該如何解讀？謝謝。

Let me -- quick comment, and then I'll pass it to Alessandra so she can give more detailed color on the business. But I would say just specifically on the VP&D, the Life Science business has been fine. That's where we had the issue a while back, and you know the story of one big competitor coming back in and all that, was the biggest issue for us. That has stabilized.

我先簡短回應一下，然後我會交給Alessandra，讓她就業務提供更詳細的說明。但我會說，特別就VP&D而言，生命科學業務一直都還不錯。那是我們一段時間前出現問題的地方，你也知道那個故事：一個大型競爭對手回歸等等，對我們影響最大。那已經穩定下來了。

So the VP&D, I would say, volumes are stable, pricing are stable. That's not the biggest growth driver at this point in time. We wanted to stabilize it, and I think we're seeing that across the world. That's one of the issues of really driving productivity, making sure that we're going to be competitive and any price that we gave in the past that we're trying to recover through productivity, asset utilization, all those kinds of things. But the team, the broader strategy continues to progress and it never really stopped in terms of the cellulosics or some of these other areas.

所以就VP&D來說，我會說量是穩定的、價格也穩定。在目前這個時間點，它不是最大的成長驅動因素。我們希望先把它穩住，我認為我們在全球各地都看到了這點。其中一個重點就是推動生產力，確保我們具備競爭力；過去我們在價格上做出的讓步，我們正嘗試透過生產力、資產利用率等各種方式把它補回來。但團隊與更廣泛的策略在纖維素類或其他一些領域的推進一直在持續，並沒有真正停下來。

But Ale, if you could comment on that and on VP&D as you see things, that would be great.

不過，Ale，如果你能就此以及你對 VP&D 的看法做些評論，那就太好了。

Yeah, sure. So looking ahead, looking at the next few quarters, we expect to continue to deliver on the healthy growth. So two aspects looking at the resilient pharma demand, roughly low-single digit, and then we are seeing the momentum across our both Innovate and Globalize pillars, and that represents around 200 basis points above market on the growth that we are projecting.

好的，當然可以。展望未來、看接下來幾個季度，我們預期將持續交出健康的成長。因此有兩個面向：一是具韌性的製藥需求，大約是低個位數成長；二是我們在 Innovate 與 Globalize 兩大支柱上都看到動能，而這代表我們所預估的成長率將比市場高出約 200 個基點。

As Guillermo mentioned, VP&D is expected to be stable. We've just concluded the contract negotiations in Europe, and they were mostly aligned with our expectations of share and with modest price pressure on certain portfolios. But net-net, they were in line with our expectations, so we remained very much focused in positioning our Globalize, Innovate growth strategies and the shared gain opportunities.

如 Guillermo 所提到，VP&D 預期將維持穩定。我們剛完成歐洲的合約談判，結果大多符合我們對市占的預期，且在某些產品組合上承受溫和的價格壓力。但整體而言仍與我們的預期一致，因此我們仍高度聚焦於 Globalize、Innovate 的成長策略定位，以及共享增益的機會。

When you're looking at injectables, we deliver an outstanding first quarter, double-digit growth versus prior year. We are seeing a strong uptake on new products. Guillermo was talking about this on innovation on his prepared remarks. We're seeing the pipeline expansion and also a very effective regional business development model that we have put in place, which is positioning us to continue to see sustainable above-market growth in the coming quarters.

就注射劑而言，我們第一季表現非常出色，較去年同期呈現雙位數成長。我們看到新產品的採用率強勁提升。Guillermo 在事先準備的發言中談到創新。我們看到產品線（pipeline）擴張，以及我們建立的非常有效的區域性業務開發模式，這些都讓我們在接下來幾個季度有條件持續實現高於市場的可持續成長。

On tablet coatings specifically, we also saw double-digit growth year over year in the first quarter. The pipeline has expanded significantly, and our production efforts were a focus in the last few quarters, and you're seeing that. We're seeing a good momentum from a productivity improvement in Wilmington, and also the new sites in Brazil and China supporting our growth for the fiscal year 2026. And we have a new plant that we announced before in India that is coming up in fiscal 2027. So Guillermo was just in India a few days ago, also visiting the new site, which is coming up in fiscal 2027.

就錠劑包衣（tablet coatings）而言，我們第一季也看到年對年雙位數成長。產品線已顯著擴大，而我們在過去幾個季度將生產投入作為重點，你們現在也看到了成果。我們看到 Wilmington 的生產力提升帶來良好動能，同時巴西與中國的新據點也在支援我們 2026 會計年度的成長。此外，我們先前宣布在印度的新工廠將於 2027 會計年度投產。Guillermo 幾天前也剛到印度，並參訪了將於 2027 會計年度投產的新據點。

So overall, a lot of discipline from a commercial standpoint on price volume management and the focus in positioning our globalize and Innovate growth strategies. And we are confident on the growth we're projecting over the next couple of quarters.

因此整體而言，我們在商業面對價格與量的管理上非常自律，並專注於 Globalize 與 Innovate 成長策略的定位。我們對未來幾個季度所預估的成長充滿信心。

Thank you. And just as a real quick follow-up and kind of triangulating some of the things you said to Josh's question. In Personal Care, it seems like there's a lot of moving parts. It seems like you're seeing a decent recovery in the biofunctional, the bioactives in addition to some new products and NPI momentum.

謝謝。再快速追問一下，並把你剛才提到的一些內容與 Josh 的問題做個交叉印證。在個人護理（Personal Care）方面，看起來有很多變動因素。看起來你們除了有一些新產品與 NPI 動能之外，也看到生物機能（biofunctional）與生物活性（bioactives）有不錯的復甦。

Is that a functionality of stronger demand in places like Asia, stabilization in Europe? Is it too early to say? I'm trying to get to the growth rates, ex the issues you saw in hair care, but it seems pretty constructive so I'd be kind of curious on how you're thinking about that as we progress through fiscal year '26. Thank you.

這是因為像亞洲等地需求更強、歐洲趨於穩定所致嗎？還是說現在下結論還太早？我想了解的是，扣除你們在護髮（hair care）看到的問題後的成長率；但整體看起來相當正向，所以我也很好奇，隨著我們進入 26 會計年度的進程，你們如何看待這件事。謝謝。

Let me make a quick comment. And Jim, if you can talk about the specific regions and biofunctionals and all the areas.

我先快速補充一下。然後 Jim，如果你能談談特定區域、生物機能以及各個領域的情況。

But just to make one thing clear, if you look at our core Personal Care business, that's the established business that we've had for a long time. It's pretty stable. The ups and downs are more driven by customer demand, and there's not big shared shifts. The growth is coming from the new things: our globalize, both biofunctionals and microbial protection.

不過先把一件事說清楚：如果你看我們個人護理的核心業務，那是我們經營很久的既有業務。它相當穩定。起伏更多是由客戶需求驅動，並沒有大的市占轉移。成長主要來自新事物：我們的 Globalize，包括生物機能與微生物防護（microbial protection）。

And in the core, it's all these new technologies that we're working on that, frankly, Personal Care was the first business, really, in which we were developing the TVOs and all these products so there is a level of stability. A lot of these -- it's up and down. It's the same customers that have been buying some of these products for a long time, and there is a lot of stability there.

而在核心業務中，成長來自我們正在投入的這些新技術；坦白說，個人護理其實是第一個業務領域，我們真正開始開發 TVOs 以及所有這些產品，因此具備一定程度的穩定性。很多這些——會有上上下下。但買這些產品很久的仍是同一批客戶，因此那裡有很高的穩定性。

But Jim, if you want to comment a little bit more color.

不過 Jim，如果你想再補充一些更具體的說明。

Sure. Thanks, Guillermo. Hey, Chris.

當然。謝謝你，Guillermo。嗨，Chris。

So I think we've really been working to make the Personal Care story as simple as possible, just given all the different pieces and parts of the portfolio. And I think when you look at Q1, we're very happy with Q1. As you mentioned, biofunctional performed extremely well. We have stabilization in our base, which we had talked about in the prior quarter. That base continues to be stable, and we're seeing even some growth there.

我想我們一直在努力把個人護理的故事盡可能簡化，畢竟產品組合裡有很多不同的拼圖與組件。而且我認為看第一季（Q1），我們對 Q1 非常滿意。如你所提到，生物機能表現非常好。我們的基礎盤（base）已趨於穩定，這點我們在上一季就談過。這個基礎盤持續穩定，甚至我們也看到一些成長。

We're more excited by all the work the team has done to expand the biofunctional portfolio. We've gained a lot of new customers, especially in Europe and in China, and we're getting our new product launches into those customers. As I mentioned, Collapeptyl, I don't want to say a miracle product, but it's something that within three minutes, you already start to feel that hydration. Within a couple hours, you already start to get real glowing in your skin. And the team's done a great job launching products and we feel biofunctional is really moving in the right direction going forward.

我們更興奮的是團隊為擴展生物機能產品組合所做的所有工作。我們新增了很多新客戶，特別是在歐洲與中國，並且正把我們的新產品上市推進到這些客戶。如我提到的 Collapeptyl，我不想說它是奇蹟產品，但它確實是那種在三分鐘內你就開始感覺到保濕。在幾個小時內，你就會開始看到皮膚真正的光澤感。團隊在產品上市方面做得非常出色，我們也認為生物機能未來確實正朝正確方向前進。

Microbial protection, it's all about continuing to grow there, convert opportunities, and we've seen really nice growth across all the regions. And then, as Guillermo mentioned in our care ingredients business, we have the customer outages specifically in Q1. Aside from that, there's always perhaps some noise as you go into the end of the year. But generally, it's very stable. The team's done a really nice job converting opportunities, especially in skin.

微生物防護方面，重點就是持續成長、把機會轉化為成果，而我們看到各區域都有相當不錯的成長。另外，如 Guillermo 在我們的護理成分（care ingredients）業務中提到的，我們在第一季（Q1）特別遇到客戶停機（outages）。除此之外，接近年底時總是可能會有一些雜訊。但整體而言非常穩定。團隊在轉化機會方面做得很好，尤其是在皮膚（skin）領域。

You will see, as we go through the balance of the year, oral care will be, I would say, more smooth this year for us over the next three quarters. Sometimes, it tends to be a bit more concentrated in a couple of quarters. It will be smoother through Q2 to Q4. But overall, I would say Q1, really, it was the customer outages in North America demand that we're continuing to monitor, as I said, a bit of a mixed environment there.

你會看到，隨著我們走完今年剩餘期間，口腔護理（oral care）在接下來三個季度對我們而言會更平順。有時它的表現會比較集中在某幾個季度。今年從 Q2 到 Q4 會更平均、更平順。但整體來說，我會說 Q1 主要是北美需求端的客戶停機情況，我們仍在持續監測；如我所說，那裡的環境有些混合。

Helpful color. Thank you.

這些補充很有幫助。謝謝。

Mike Harrison, Seaport Research Partners.

Mike Harrison，Seaport Research Partners。

Hi. Good morning. I was wondering, Alessandra, in Life Sciences, you mentioned low-nitrite cellulosics. Can you help us understand what differentiates those from typical cellulosics and why that's important?

嗨。早安。我想請教一下，Alessandra，在生命科學（Life Sciences）方面，你提到低亞硝酸鹽（low-nitrite）纖維素。你能幫我們理解這與典型纖維素有何不同，以及為什麼這很重要嗎？

Alessandra, if you could comment just on the ones that we've already launched and the ones that we continue to launch, and not just cellulosics, but the whole theme of high purity that you guys are working on.

Alessandra，如果你能評論一下我們已經推出的產品，以及我們持續推出的產品；而且不只是纖維素，也包括你們正在推動的「高純度」這整個主題。

Yeah. So we launched the new low-nitrite grade for both Plasdone, which is VP&D, and Benecel, non-cellulosics. So this brings an enhancement of product quality, basically from nitrosamine on the pharma industry versus their regulatory requirements. And it is the pharma companies overall, across the board, not just large pharmas, but generics, all pharma companies are very much focused on that, on bringing the low-nitrite grade for excipients to help with the nitrosamine levels on their formulation. So that has been a good success for us with the launch on the low nitrite, and we see that more and more in our portfolio expanding into with low-nitrite grades, not just on cellulosics, to your question, but also on VP&D and other areas.

是的。因此，我們為 Plasdone（屬於 VP&D）以及 Benecel（非纖維素類）都推出了新的低亞硝酸鹽等級。這基本上提升了產品品質，主要是針對製藥產業在亞硝胺方面及其法規要求。而且是整個製藥公司群體全面關注這件事，不只是大型藥廠，包含學名藥在內，所有藥廠都非常聚焦於推出低亞硝酸鹽等級的賦形劑，以協助降低其配方中的亞硝胺含量。因此，低亞硝酸鹽產品的推出對我們而言相當成功；我們也看到我們的產品組合正愈來愈多地擴展到低亞硝酸鹽等級，不僅是纖維素類（回應你的問題），也包括 VP&D 與其他領域。

All right. That's very helpful. And then I was also -- within the Specialty Additives business, was hoping for a little bit more detail on the $5 million of contribution that you're expecting from innovation. Is that mostly the super-wetting agent that you referred to on slide 18 or maybe what product lines or technologies are really starting to show commercial traction within Specialty Additives? Thank you.

好的。這非常有幫助。另外，我也想在 Specialty Additives（特用添加劑）業務裡，請你多談一點你們預期由創新帶來的 500 萬美元貢獻。這主要是你在第 18 頁投影片提到的超潤濕劑嗎？或者說，在 Specialty Additives 裡，哪些產品線或技術正開始展現商業動能？謝謝。

Yeah, thanks for the question so I would say it's across the board. So when you look at our strategy for Specialty Additives, there is a heavy focus, of course, on protecting our rheology modifier participation, and we have new products that are going in there.

好的，謝謝你的問題。我會說這是全面性的。當你看我們對 Specialty Additives 的策略時，當然會高度聚焦在保護我們在流變改質劑上的參與度，而我們也有新產品正在導入。

But then there is a big effort right now to go beyond this additive into other additives. So you have deformers, you have wetting agents, you have pH neutralizers, et cetera. And the team has been very focused on expanding our portfolio because it really solidifies the participation that we have with customers. It gives us higher access and also enables us to go after other parts of our customers' portfolio.

但目前也有很大的努力，是要從這項添加劑延伸到其他添加劑。因此你會看到消泡劑、潤濕劑、pH 中和劑等等。團隊一直非常專注於擴充我們的產品組合，因為這能真正鞏固我們與客戶之間的合作參與度。這讓我們有更高的切入度，也使我們能夠去爭取客戶產品組合中的其他部分。

For instance, we're very strong in architectural coatings. We know our customers also have participation in industrial coatings. This is really a great opportunity to branch out and to really solidify our position there.

例如，我們在建築塗料方面非常強。我們也知道客戶同時也參與工業塗料。這確實是一個很好的機會，讓我們能夠向外延伸並真正鞏固我們在那裡的地位。

So when you look at the sales and what we're working on for this year, because we have very good targets, very strong targets for innovation, really the focus is going to be on, number one, solidifying our position in and differentiating in rheology modification, both synthetic and cellulosic; number two, continue to expand our additives. So you're going to see a lot of that and super-wetting ages are included there.

所以當你看今年我們在銷售與推進的工作時，因為我們對創新有非常好的目標、非常強的目標，重點會放在：第一，鞏固我們在流變改質上的地位並做出差異化，涵蓋合成與纖維素兩類；第二，持續擴展我們的添加劑。因此你會看到很多這方面的進展，而超潤濕劑也包含在其中。

But then strategically and longer term, very much excited about the progress we're making with our platform technologies. In particular, TVO and TiO2 spacer, et cetera, where we do expect to see some good traction this year.

但從策略面與更長期來看，我們對平台技術的進展感到非常振奮。特別是 TVO 與 TiO2 spacer 等等，我們確實預期今年會看到不錯的市場牽引力。

And Mike, I wanted to highlight it. In my comments, I talked a little bit on the regulatory, if you notice, on a lot of these innovations, not just the innovation and the customer, but the regulatory side. When you bring in new products to market in today's world, you have to deal with all the approvals for selling these products in Ag and reach in Europe. And I think the coatings team and the Specialty Additives team have done a wonderful job.

另外，Mike，我也想特別強調一下。在我的評論中，我稍微談到法規面；如果你注意到，很多這些創新不只是創新本身與客戶端，還有法規端。在當今環境把新產品推向市場時，你必須處理所有核准事項，包含在農業領域以及歐洲的 REACH 等法規下銷售這些產品所需的批准。我認為塗料團隊與 Specialty Additives 團隊做得非常出色。

The Easy-Wet 310, we've launched Easy-Wet 300. It's working well, but given its profile, we have certain requirements in terms of the regulatory needs so they were able to go in, modify it enough so that no performance was changed. But it now allows us to accelerate the commercialization because it meets much more of the regulatory requirements around the world.

Easy-Wet 310，我們已經推出了 Easy-Wet 300。它運作得很好，但基於其特性，我們在法規需求方面有一些特定要求，因此他們能夠進行調整與修改，且不改變任何性能表現。但現在它讓我們能加速商業化，因為它在全球範圍內符合更多法規要求。

So strategizing as we develop these products and making sure that we're within certain areas to accelerate commercialization within regulatory is really important, and the team's done a very good job there so that launch will really help us get traction on commercialization.

因此，在我們開發這些產品時進行策略規劃，並確保我們落在某些範圍內、以便在法規框架下加速商業化，這點非常重要；團隊在這方面做得很好，所以這次上市將真正幫助我們在商業化上取得牽引力。

All right. Thanks very much.

好的。非常感謝。

John McNulty, BMO.

John McNulty，BMO。

Bhavesh Lodaya Good morning. This is Bhavesh for John. Just one question for me. So recently, we saw that an oral dose GLP-1 drug was approved by the FDA. Can you speak to whether your Life Sciences platform has exposure to this line of the oral dose medication? And if yes, help us think about the potential for demand pull for this one. Thank you.

Bhavesh Lodaya，早安。我是 Bhavesh，代替 John 發問。我只有一個問題。最近我們看到一款口服劑量的 GLP-1 藥物獲得 FDA 核准。你能談談你們的生命科學平台是否有涉入這條口服劑型藥物的產品線嗎？如果有，請協助我們理解這可能帶來的需求拉動潛力。謝謝。

Alessandra, you want to comment on that?

Alessandra，你要回應一下嗎？

Yeah, sure. So thinking about looking at GLP-1, so both the oral GLP-1 and oral biologics present a significant opportunity for Ashland. And our VP&D portfolio is especially relevant to this space, as it is our tablet coatings. When you think about the high volume, high throughput needed for the types of demand that we're talking about, so our high solids coatings, Aquarius Genesis, is also especially relevant for that.

好的，當然。談到 GLP-1，無論是口服 GLP-1 或口服生物製劑，對 Ashland 來說都是一個重大的機會。而我們的 VP&D 產品組合在這個領域特別相關，我們的錠劑包衣也是如此。當你考量我們所談到的那種需求所需的高產量、高吞吐量時，我們的高固含包衣 Aquarius Genesis 也特別適用。

So currently, we have multiple active projects with some of the biggest pharma players in this space. In addition, we are doubling down on innovation in this area as we have identified a pipeline with over 80 emerging opportunities. And one of those innovations is our sodium caprate, which is a formation enhancer that we target to launch over the summer. We already have received multiple customer samples requests and are working with several customers on that upcoming launch for this summer.

目前，我們與該領域一些最大的製藥業者有多個進行中的專案。此外，我們也在此領域加倍投入創新，因為我們已辨識出一條包含 80 多個新興機會的研發管線。其中一項創新是我們的辛酸鈉（sodium caprate），這是一種吸收增強劑，我們目標在夏季推出。我們已收到多個客戶的樣品需求，並正與多家客戶合作，為今年夏季即將到來的上市做準備。

So in summary, yes, GLP-1 formulations and the overall oral biologics represent a significant opportunity for Ashland. And our VP&D portfolio is of particular interest and as well our new innovation programs.

總結來說，是的，GLP-1 配方以及整體口服生物製劑對 Ashland 代表一個重大的機會。而我們的 VP&D 產品組合特別受到關注，同時我們新的創新計畫也是如此。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Karl van den Berg, Deutsche Bank.

Karl van den Berg，德意志銀行。

Hi. This is Dave Begleiter. Guillermo, you mentioned improving momentum in January. Can you talk about and you do have some easy comps in Q2 across all three segments. So what does that mean for volume growth in those segments year over year?

嗨。我是 Dave Begleiter。Guillermo，你提到 1 月動能改善。你能談談嗎？而且你們在第二季於三個事業部都有一些較容易的比較基期。那麼，這對這些事業部的年對年銷量成長意味著什麼？

As we said, it'll be in line with what we had been forecasting so Personal Care and Life Science, it's in the low-single digits. And anything over that, we need to grow through some of the innovation. But the order book is in line with our forecasts or our updated forecasts on what we're doing so no big surprise there.

如同我們所說，會與我們先前的預測一致；因此在個人護理與生命科學方面，會是低個位數成長。而若要高於那個水準，我們就需要透過部分創新來帶動成長。但訂單簿與我們的預測、或我們更新後的預測一致，所以沒有什麼太大的意外。

Same thing -- in SA, we're seeing the same thing. All the orders are coming in line. It's going to be still a challenge versus prior year because of China and some of the dynamics there. But if we're in North America, Europe actually did very well for us.

在 SA 也是一樣——我們看到同樣的情況。所有訂單都按預期進來。相較去年仍會有挑戰，因為中國以及那裡的一些動態因素。但如果看北美，歐洲其實對我們表現得非常好。

But I'd just be cautious. In SA, I'm not going to really be positive or negative until we start getting closer to the bigger season. These months don't mean as much in terms of what the full year is going to come out. But for us, it's reassuring that January and the order book for February remain strong.

但我會保持審慎。在 SA 方面，在我們更接近旺季之前，我不會真的偏正面或偏負面。這幾個月份對全年最終結果的指標性沒那麼大。但對我們而言，1 月以及 2 月的訂單簿仍然強勁，這讓人感到安心。

Got it. And in terms of the first-half outages, how much of that $20 million plus do you get back in the second half of the year?

了解。那麼就上半年停工的部分而言，那超過2,000萬美元的金額中，有多少會在下半年回補回來？

So we were going to start working on the first part this quarter, but obviously, that's getting delayed. Most of the issues were in the VP&D side in the Q1. Now, that's why we're being a little bit more cautious. In theory, all of it is recoverable. The issue is when we want to recover it.

所以我們原本打算在本季開始處理第一部分，但很明顯地，這正在延後。大多數問題是在第一季的VP&D端。也正因如此，我們現在會稍微更謹慎一些。理論上，全部都是可以回收的。問題在於我們想在什麼時點把它回收回來。

So in VP&D, as William said, if we start at the end of the and again, we're working, just to be clear, to get it done as quickly as possible. We're expecting by the second half of the quarter, every week counts in terms of being able to improve our performanceso we've given ourselves some room there in terms of the timing of when the unit will come on stream.

所以在VP&D方面，如William所說，如果我們在月底開始——再說一次，為了說清楚，我們正在努力盡快完成。我們預期在本季下半段，每一週都很關鍵，因為都會影響我們能否改善績效；因此在機組何時能上線的時程上，我們也給自己留了一些緩衝空間。

But in our current forecast, it would be at the end of this quarter, which means we, as William said, need to get most of that in the third quarter to impact this year. If not, if we do it in the fourth quarter, we'll recover it, but it'll flow into next year. So VP&D is an issue of getting the plant started, and then we can start getting the recovery of the absorption part.

但在我們目前的預測中，會是在本季末，這表示如William所說，我們需要在第三季把大部分回補回來，才能影響今年的表現。如果不是、如果我們在第四季才做，我們也會回補，但就會流入明年。所以VP&D的關鍵在於把工廠啟動起來，接著我們就能開始回收吸收（absorption）那一部分。

There are other costs, especially around the storm, that our costs, energy costs that went up and other repair costs with the freeze. I mean, not huge items, but items that have added up that are going to be more of a headwind. I think as William said, two-thirds was absorption, one-third was cost.

還有其他成本，特別是風暴相關的——我們的成本、能源成本上升，以及冰凍造成的其他修復成本。我的意思是，不是很大的單項，但累積起來的項目，會形成比較多的逆風。我想如William所說，三分之二是吸收（absorption），三分之一是成本。

ATC is a choice. I think there, I'll be honest, I'm being very conservative until we start seeing the season. We can always produce more whenever we want. I think if this is a time of being prudent, like we've done in other years, I'm very open of the balance sheet is something we need to look at, not just the P&L. We're not here just to hit one quarter results. This is a long term. We want to do the right thing for the long term for the company. I think having a solid balance sheet, cash is king in a lot of these times of uncertainty, so we're going to be a little bit more prudent.

ATC是一個選擇。我想在那裡，坦白說，在我們開始看到旺季之前，我會非常保守。我們想要的時候，隨時都可以多生產。我認為如果現在是需要審慎的時刻，就像我們其他年度做過的一樣，我非常願意把資產負債表納入考量，而不只是損益表。我們不是只為了達成單一季度的結果而在這裡。這是一個長期的事情。我們希望為公司長期做正確的事。我認為擁有穩健的資產負債表很重要，在這種不確定的時期，現金為王，所以我們會更審慎一些。

Again, if the season starts in March, that's probably when we would start making that decision. That means, again, that third quarter would be the critical quarter to rebuild that joint.

同樣地，如果旺季在三月開始，那大概就是我們會開始做那個決策的時點。這也意味著，第三季將是重建那個接頭（joint）的關鍵季度。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Laurence Alexander, Jefferies.

Laurence Alexander，Jefferies。

Hi. This is Dan Rizzo on for Laurence. Thanks for taking my question. You mentioned injectable launches and some of the new products, but just in general, I was wondering how long it takes a new product to ramp up to mid-cycle and then to peak sales just the timeframe.

嗨。我是Dan Rizzo，代替Laurence發問。謝謝讓我提問。你提到注射劑的上市以及一些新產品，但更一般地說，我想了解一個新產品從導入到爬升至中期水準（mid-cycle），再到達到銷售高峰（peak sales），通常需要多久的時間框架？

It really varies by product line but like we've said before, we're talking about everything we're doing. We want to show, we want to be very transparent but in reality, when these approvals come, they take time.

這真的會因產品線而異，但就像我們之前說過的，我們談的是我們正在做的所有事情。我們希望展現、希望非常透明，但實際上，這些核准下來之後，仍然需要時間。

If you go into the example, I would use a Personal Care, if customer X approves and it's a big brand, they have in next -- 2027, I'm going to reformulate, they approve now, but they launch in 2027 or 2026. They have dates on which they're doing so our issue is make sure that we get the approvals, get everything ready before those launch dates. So we have roadmaps of when all these big brands are doing reformulation, we're working with our customers, and it's very important to hit those dates.

如果用一個例子，我會以個人護理（Personal Care）為例：如果客戶X核准，而且是大品牌，他們可能在——例如2027年——要進行配方重整（reformulate）；他們現在核准，但會在2027或2026才上市。他們有既定的時程，所以我們的工作是確保在那些上市日期之前取得核准、把所有事情準備好。因此我們有各大品牌進行配方重整的路線圖，我們與客戶合作，而準時達成那些日期非常重要。

Coatings is a little bit different. They can move a little bit more quickly, but again, they do a lot more testing. They like it, they want it, but then some testing so everybody has their norms on how they work through.

塗料（Coatings）則有點不同。他們可以快一些，但同樣地，他們會做更多測試。他們喜歡、也想要，但接著還要做一些測試；每家公司都有各自的慣例與流程。

I would say that pharma is really partnering with them across their entire development cycle. So when they're ready to launch, you will go with them. But that's dependin - if it's a generic, it could be three to five years. If it's a new drug, you're in a longer pipeline.

我會說製藥（pharma）基本上是與他們在整個開發週期中合作。所以當他們準備上市時，你會跟著他們一起走。但這取決於——如果是學名藥（generic），可能是三到五年。如果是新藥，你就會在更長的研發管線裡。

But that's what the importance of having strong pipelines, and what we've been doing last few years is build the pipeline. And that's what I'm excited about, that the technologies have now advanced, that they are in pipelines, we're getting validation so it's really now going into our customers thinking we like these technologies. When are we going to commercialize? Are we going to commercialize this year, next year so it's a very different conversation as we move forward.

這也就是為什麼擁有強健的產品管線很重要；而我們過去幾年一直在做的，就是建立管線。這也是我感到興奮的地方：技術現在已經進步到能進入管線，我們正在取得驗證，因此現在真的進入到客戶的思考——我們喜歡這些技術。我們什麼時候要商業化？今年要商業化、還是明年？所以隨著我們往前走，對話會非常不同。

Great. Thank you very much.

很好。非常感謝。

Eric Boyes, Evercore.

Eric Boyes，Evercore。

Thank you, and good morning. First, could you please provide an update on the contract price renewals that I think recently occurred around year-end and how might -- when those renewals go into effect impact kind of price by segment and fiscal 2Q and for the balance of the year? Thanks.

謝謝，早安。首先，能否請你更新一下我認為最近在年底前後完成的合約價格續約情況？以及——這些續約何時生效，可能會如何影響各事業部的價格、財政年度第二季（2Q）以及今年剩餘期間的表現？謝謝。

I think most of them, as Alessandra said, I think are mostly completed. We're in final form in pharma, it's mostly in Europe, and that's pretty advanced so I think we're mostly done on there. I think, you know, the only ones and Dago you can comment, in some regions, we have some now that are ongoing, Middle East, Africa, India, that are going now in the March, April timeframe butt of the other ones are already done.

我想大多數如Alessandra所說，基本上都已完成。我們在製藥方面已進入最後定稿，主要在歐洲，而且進展相當成熟，所以我想那邊大致完成了。我想，你知道，唯一還有一些——Dago你可以補充——在某些地區，我們目前仍在進行中，例如中東、非洲、印度，會落在三、四月的時間框架，但其他的都已經完成了。

But Dago, any other contracts?

不過Dago，還有其他合約嗎？

No. I mean, in the case of coatings, some of the large contracts, I would say North America and Europe, they just follow the calendar year, so those contracts are done, and I guess the results are as expected. Other areas in Asia, actually, the contracts were finalized in October. That's actually their cycle October to October.

沒有。我的意思是，就塗料而言，一些大型合約，我會說北美和歐洲都是跟著曆年走，所以那些合約都已完成，而我想結果也如預期。亞洲其他地區其實是在十月就定案了。那邊的週期是十月到十月。

We're only missing areas in Middle East, Africa, and India where we have a couple of strategic customers, and that will be April. So their contracts are finalized, very valid, starting in early April. So that's the only one that is remaining. We're negotiating as we speak, and we expect to finalize some of those contracts pretty soon.

我們只剩下中東、非洲和印度的部分，那裡有幾個策略性客戶，會在四月完成。所以他們的合約會在四月初開始生效，且有效。因此那是唯一還剩下的。我們正在談判中，並預期很快就能敲定其中一些合約。

Okay, great. And then as a follow-up, are any further asset sales, maybe in Additives or Intermediates, under consideration, either now or previously? And if not, and I suspect not, could you remind on why that may not make strategic sense? Thank you.

好的，很好。接著追問，是否正在考慮進一步出售資產——可能在添加劑（Additives）或中間體（Intermediates）——不論是現在或先前？如果沒有（我猜應該沒有），能否請你提醒一下，為什麼那在策略上可能不合理？謝謝。

So we've done a lot of the changes already. In terms of selling the parts of the business that we didn't see fit, and most of them were standalone parts, we've consolidated some of the product lines that we didn't like that we couldn't sell, and we have the asset that we can repurpose that was more of our CMC asset in the US and MC asset in in Europe, and I think the timing of that was very good. We shut down a plant and consolidated so all those actions are done.

所以我們已經完成了許多變革。就出售我們認為不適合的業務部分而言，其中大多數是獨立的部分；對於一些我們不喜歡、也無法出售的產品線，我們已經進行了整併；此外，我們也擁有可重新用途的資產——在美國較偏向我們的 CMC 資產、在歐洲則是 MC 資產——我認為那個時點非常好。我們關閉了一座工廠並進行整併，因此這些行動都已完成。

We're going to do some more optimization. It's more around the productivity where it would be more units within a plant that we're streamlining so that we can, instead of having a lot of equipment and not having them utilize, really focus and invest on the ones that are higher end that can give us the best cost, but that wouldn't involve a scale.

我們還會再做一些最佳化。主要是圍繞生產力，也就是在單一工廠內精簡更多單元，讓我們能夠——與其擁有很多設備卻未充分利用——真正聚焦並投資於那些更高階、能帶來最佳成本效益的設備，但這不會涉及擴大規模。

The rest of the business is integrated. It's the same plants that supply across multiple areas. Frankly speaking, just from my past experience with other companies, and all this artificially cutting up things, haven't worked out that well so for us, we like the portfolio we have. It is integrated. We feel that between the high-quality pharma, Personal Care, and architectural coatings it is being impacted, but it's tended historically to be more consumer oriented. We see that stability in North America and Europe.

其餘業務是整合式的。同一批工廠可供應多個領域。坦白說，依我過去在其他公司的經驗，這種人為地把事情切割開來，效果並不理想；因此對我們而言，我們喜歡目前的投資組合。它是整合的。我們認為高品質製藥、個人護理與建築塗料都受到影響，但歷史上它往往更偏向消費者導向。我們在北美與歐洲看到這種穩定性。

I would say what's happening in Asia is a little bit different than norm. We like those. We think focusing on Additives, low cost in use, high value in use, can allow us the differentiation and we can leverage the scale across the asset so we think that integration is critical, and we don't think there's value in artificially.

我會說，亞洲正在發生的情況與常態有些不同。我們喜歡那樣的狀況。我們認為聚焦於添加劑（Additives）、使用成本低、使用價值高，能讓我們形成差異化；而且我們可以在資產之間槓桿化規模，因此我們認為整合至關重要，也不認為人為地（切割）有其價值。

Steven Haynes, Morgan Stanley.

Steven Haynes，摩根士丹利。

Hey. Good morning, and thanks for squeezing me in here. Just wanted to ask on your Execute slide, you've got the $30 million, I think, of restructuring, and then there's the additional productivity that currently says still TBD. I've been hopping between calls, so apologies if I missed this but have you kind of outlined the timeline and maybe had to think about like what that uplift could look like relative to the cost savings that you've already kind of disclosed and quantified for us all? Thank you.

嗨。早安，謝謝你把我安排進來。我想問一下你們的 Execute 投影片：你們有 3,000 萬美元（我想是）的重組費用，然後還有額外的生產力提升，目前仍標示 TBD（待定）。我一直在不同電話會議間切換，如果我漏聽了先說聲抱歉；但你們是否已大致說明時間表，並且思考過相較於你們已經揭露並量化的成本節省，這個提升幅度可能會是什麼樣子？謝謝。

So we're working through that. We've done a lot of network optimization as we looked at, for example, in our acetylenic chain between the two plants in Texas City, Calvert City. We had units that overcapacity - they've been in overcapacity for a long time. We've consolidated, shut them down, put all our volume on the more productive units, so that's driving our costs and productivity.

我們正在推進這件事。我們已做了大量的網路最佳化；例如在我們的炔烴鏈（acetylenic chain）方面，涵蓋德州城（Texas City）與卡爾弗特城（Calvert City）兩座工廠。我們有一些單元產能過剩——而且已經過剩很長一段時間。我們已經整併並關停，把所有產量集中到生產力更高的單元上，因此這正在推動我們的成本與生產力改善。

As we looked at across other production units, what we're finding is that there is an opportunity to continue to drive; so again, if we have a simple example, core reactors and they're underutilized, can we concentrate on one or two, put our volumes there, invest in those reactors to get more throughputs, reduce cycle times, those kinds of things we're doing.

當我們檢視其他生產單元時，我們發現仍有機會持續推動；再舉個簡單例子，如果核心反應器（core reactors）利用率不足，我們能否集中在一到兩座，把產量放到那裡，並投資這些反應器以提高吞吐量、縮短週期時間等——這些就是我們正在做的事。

So some of them, we're already doing, we're planning out how much we can get. Others would create the productivity, but the benefit will come as volumes pick up. So the issue is productivity, you can't wait to have the volume to do it. You do it, and as the volume comes, you're just going to be able to leverage it, but it allows us to reduce costs as we do some of these changes.

其中一些我們已經在做，也正在規劃我們能取得多少成效。另一些會帶來生產力，但效益會在產量回升時才會顯現。所以問題在於生產力：你不能等到有產量才去做。你先做，等產量上來時就能加以槓桿化；同時，這也讓我們在進行這些變更時能降低成本。

So that's the part that we're trying to calculate. And obviously, the storm and all that, right now our engineers and everybody have been a little bit distracted over the last few weeks, but we continue to work and throughout the year we will be defining that. And our view is going to be continue to do what we're doing now, be very transparent as to the goals that we want to commit to, tell you what we're going to do, and then we'll be held accountable to deliver on those targets.

所以這部分我們正在試算。而且顯然，風暴以及相關狀況使得我們的工程師和所有人過去幾週有些分心，但我們仍持續推進，並會在今年內把它定義清楚。我們的看法是：持續做我們現在正在做的事，對我們希望承諾的目標保持高度透明，告訴各位我們要做什麼，然後我們也會被要求對達成這些目標負責。

Understood. Thank you.

了解。謝謝。

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 Novo for closing remarks.

謝謝。各位女士先生，我這邊顯示佇列中已無其他提問。現在我想把電話會議交回給 Guillermo Novo 作結語。

Well, thank you, everyone, for participating in the call. We really appreciate it.

好的，謝謝各位參與本次電話會議。我們非常感謝。

We're very excited that the portfolio is, in difficult times, performing as we expected. We will continue to drive our strategy. We believe that that's going to be the best way to generate significant value creation and the optionality for us to really drive our strategy of profitable growth.

我們非常振奮，因為在艱難時期，這個投資組合的表現如同我們預期。我們將持續推動我們的策略。我們相信這將是創造顯著價值、並為我們提供選擇性（optionalities），以真正推動我們獲利成長策略的最佳方式。

So we look forward to seeing all of you in the near future and having more discussions on Ashland. Thank you for your interest.

因此，我們期待在不久的將來與各位再見面，並就 Ashland 進行更多討論。感謝各位的關注。

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。