Atkore Inc (ATKR) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Rob, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Atkore's fourth-quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. Thank you.

早安.我叫羅布，今天我將擔任你們的會議接線生。在此，我謹代表 Atkore 公司歡迎各位參加 2025 財年第四季財報電話會議。（操作說明）提醒各位，本次會議正在錄音。謝謝。

I would now like to turn the conference over to your host, Matt Kline, Vice President of Treasury and Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

現在我謹將會議交給主持人，財務與投資人關係副總裁馬特‧克萊恩。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. I'm joined today by Bill Waltz, President and CEO; John Deitzer, Chief Financial Officer; and John Pregenzer, Chief Operating Officer and President of Electrical. We will take questions at the conclusion of the call. I would like to remind everyone that during this call, we may make projections or forward-looking statements regarding future events or financial performance of the company. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties such that actual results may differ materially.

謝謝大家，大家早安。今天與我一同出席的有：總裁兼執行長比爾‧沃爾茲；財務長約翰‧迪澤；以及營運長兼電氣總裁約翰‧普雷根澤。通話結束後我們將回答問題。我想提醒大家，在本次電話會議中，我們可能會對公司的未來事件或財務表現做出預測或前瞻性陳述。此類聲明涉及風險和不確定性，因此實際結果可能與聲明有重大差異。

Please refer to our SEC filings and today's press releases, which identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking statements. In addition, any reference in our discussion today to EBITDA means adjusted EBITDA. And any reference to EPS or adjusted EPS means adjusted diluted earnings per share. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted diluted earnings per share are non-GAAP measures. Reconciliations of non-GAAP measures and a presentation of the most comparable GAAP measures are available in the appendix to today's presentation.

請參閱我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件和今天的新聞稿，其中列出了可能導致實際結果與我們的預測或前瞻性聲明中包含的結果有重大差異的重要因素。此外，我們今天討論中提到的 EBITDA 均指調整後的 EBITDA。凡提及EPS或調整後EPS，均指調整後的稀釋每股盈餘。調整後 EBITDA 和調整後稀釋每股盈餘均為非 GAAP 指標。本次簡報的附錄中提供了非GAAP指標的調節表以及最可比較的GAAP指標的列示。

With that, I'll turn it over to Bill.

這樣，我就把麥克風交給比爾了。

Thanks, Matt, and good morning, everyone. Starting on slide 3. Today, we will provide an update on strategic actions, discuss our fiscal 2025 fourth quarter, our full year financial results and our outlook for fiscal 2026. We will share our perspective on the end markets we serve and our long-term strategic focus.

謝謝馬特，大家早安。從第3張投影片開始。今天，我們將介紹策略行動的最新進展，討論我們 2025 財年第四季、全年財務業績以及 2026 財年的展望。我們將分享我們對所服務終端市場的看法以及我們的長期策略重點。

Turning to slide 4. Before we discuss our results, I want to highlight the announcement we made this morning related to the strategic actions we are pursuing with the goal of maximizing shareholder value. Back in September, we announced that the Board of Directors and the executive leadership team were evaluating a broad range of alternatives to enhance focus on Atkore's core electrical infrastructure portfolio. These alternatives included a potential sale of our HDPE business and the decision to close three manufacturing facilities.

翻到第4張投影片。在討論我們的業績之前，我想重點介紹我們今天早上發布的公告，該公告與我們為實現股東價值最大化而正在採取的策略行動有關。早在九月份，我們就宣布董事會和執行領導團隊正在評估各種方案，以加強對 Atkore 核心電力基礎設施組合的關注。這些替代方案包括可能出售我們的 HDPE 業務以及決定關閉三家製造工廠。

The Board has now decided to expand the scope of the strategic alternatives to include a potential sale or merger of the whole company. As a result of the Board's decision, I have agreed to stay at Atkore as CEO through at least the conclusion of this strategic review.

董事會現已決定擴大策略選擇範圍，將整個公司的潛在出售或合併納入其中。根據董事會的決定，我同意繼續留在 Atkore 擔任首席執行官，至少到本次策略評估結束為止。

To date, Atkore has identified and is executing upon a series of actions that we believe will improve the long-term financial returns of the company. The process of selling our HDPE business is ongoing, and we have identified two other modest non-core assets that we anticipate being able to successfully divest in late Q1 2026 or early in the second quarter. In addition, we plan to cease manufacturing operations at the three manufacturing facilities previously announced in the second quarter of fiscal 2026.

迄今為止，Atkore 已確定並正在執行一系列我們認為將改善公司長期財務回報的措施。出售 HDPE 業務的過程正在進行中，我們已經確定了另外兩項規模較小的非核心資產，我們預計能夠在 2026 年第一季末或第二季初成功剝離。此外，我們計劃在 2026 財年第二季停止先前宣布的三家製造工廠的生產營運。

By delivering on these actions and the planned divestitures, we expect to improve our financial profile of the company and return to year-over-year growth in adjusted EBITDA in FY27. Expanding our strategic alternatives also allows us to consider multiple scenarios, with the intention of creating shareholder value while positioning Atkore to succeed for the years to come.

透過落實這些措施和計劃中的資產剝離，我們期望改善公司的財務狀況，並在 2027 財年恢復調整後 EBITDA 的同比增長。拓展我們的策略選擇也使我們能夠考慮多種方案，旨在創造股東價值，同時為 Atkore 在未來幾年取得成功奠定基礎。

Turning to our results on slide 6. Organic volume was up 1.4% in the fourth quarter with contributions from both segments. Notably, we saw double-digit growth in our plastic pipe, conduit and fittings product category. This includes our PVC, fiberglass and HDPE products, which all delivered double-digit volume growth in the quarter. Overall, our net sales of $752 million in the quarter exceeded the outlook that we presented in August.

接下來看一下投影片 6 上的結果。第四季有機銷量成長1.4%，兩個業務部門均有所貢獻。值得注意的是，我們的塑膠管道、導管和配件產品類別實現了兩位數的成長。這包括我們的PVC、玻璃纖維和HDPE產品，這些產品在本季度均實現了兩位數的銷售成長。總體而言，本季我們的淨銷售額為 7.52 億美元，超過了我們在 8 月提出的預期。

Our adjusted EBITDA of $71 million in the quarter includes approximately $6 million of onetime inventory adjustments related to one of the sites that has been previously announced for closure as part of our planned strategic actions. This inventory adjustment impacted our Safety and Infrastructure segment. Our results also included approximately $5 million of additional non-routine items related to advisory and legal expenses. Excluding the impact of the inventory adjustment and the non-routine items in the quarter, our adjusted EBITDA would have been $82 million and within our expectations set forth in August.

本季調整後的 EBITDA 為 7,100 萬美元，其中包括約 600 萬美元的一次性庫存調整，該調整與先前宣布關閉的其中一個站點有關，這是我們計劃的戰略行動的一部分。此次庫存調整對我們的安全和基礎設施部門產生了影響。我們的統計結果還包括約 500 萬美元的其他與諮詢和法律費用相關的非常規項目。如果排除本季庫存調整和非經常性項目的影響，我們調整後的 EBITDA 將達到 8,200 萬美元，符合我們在 8 月提出的預期。

Reflecting on the totality of the year, volume was up approximately 1%. This marks three consecutive years of organic volume growth for our company. As we've explained in the past, the breadth of our portfolio prevents overexposure to specific end markets. This is particularly important in years where certain end markets may be growing at a slower rate or even contracting. Our cash flow generation has been and continues to be a strength of our business.

回顧全年，銷量成長約 1%。這標誌著我公司連續第三年實現有機銷售成長。正如我們過去所解釋的，我們投資組合的廣泛性避免了對特定終端市場的過度投資。在某些終端市場成長速度放緩甚至萎縮的年份，這一點尤其重要。我們的現金流產生能力一直是並將繼續是我們業務的優勢。

This year, we returned $144 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividend payments. We also preserve financial flexibility by refinancing our existing asset-based lending agreement as well as our senior secured term loan, which moves out our maturity dates beyond fiscal 2030. Looking ahead, our focus remains on creating shareholder value, which we believe will be accomplished with an emphasis on our core electrical infrastructure portfolio.

今年，我們透過股票回購和分紅向股東返還了 1.44 億美元。我們還透過對現有資產抵押貸款協議以及優先擔保定期貸款進行再融資來保持財務靈活性，這將使我們的到期日推遲到 2030 財年以後。展望未來，我們的重點仍然是創造股東價值，我們相信，透過重點發展我們的核心電力基礎設施組合，就能實現這一目標。

We anticipate generating strong cash flows, which provide us with optionality on how to best deploy capital and create shareholder value. We are encouraged by the growth projected across several construction end markets in FY 2026, including data centers, health care, power utilities and education, while remaining focused on Atkore's ability to participate in long-term trends related to the adoption of renewable energy, grid hardening, digitization and the increasing demand for electricity.

我們預計將產生強勁的現金流，這將使我們在如何最好地部署資本和創造股東價值方面擁有更多選擇。我們對 2026 財年多個建築終端市場（包括資料中心、醫療保健、電力公用事業和教育）的預期成長感到鼓舞，同時我們將繼續關注 Atkore 參與與採用再生能源、電網加固、數位化和不斷增長的電力需求相關的長期趨勢的能力。

I'd like to take a moment to recognize Atkore's talented teams for their efforts and dedication to our company. Thank you. Now I'll turn the call over to John Deitzer to talk through the results from the fourth quarter and full year in more detail.

我想藉此機會表揚 Atkore 的優秀團隊，感謝他們為公司付出的努力和奉獻。謝謝。現在我將把電話交給約翰·迪澤爾，讓他更詳細地談談第四季和全年的業績。

Thank you, Bill, and good morning, everyone. Turning to slide 7 and our consolidated results. In fiscal 2025, we stayed focused on executing our strategy, while also exploring additional ways to strengthen our company for the future. The year was not without its challenges, but we are working to meet these challenges by announcing and completing certain actions in the fiscal year, while pursuing additional opportunities to strengthen our financial profile for the future. Net sales in the fourth quarter were $752 million, and our adjusted EPS was $0.69.

謝謝你，比爾，大家早安。接下來請看第 7 張投影片，了解我們的綜合結果。在 2025 財年，我們繼續專注於執行我們的策略，同時探索更多方法來增強公司的未來實力。這一年並非一帆風順，但我們正在努力應對這些挑戰，在本財年內宣布並完成某些行動，同時尋求更多機會來增強我們未來的財務狀況。第四季淨銷售額為 7.52 億美元，調整後每股收益為 0.69 美元。

Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $71 million. We generated a net loss of $54 million in the fourth quarter. Within our quarterly net loss was a $19 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge related to our mechanical tube business as well as the $67 million impairment charge related to certain HDPE assets. The goodwill impairment related to our mechanical tube business reflects forward-looking cash flows, which now assume lower volumes. The mechanical tube products are made in one of the three facilities that was previously announced to close as well as another facility that shares capacity with steel conduit.

第四季調整後 EBITDA 為 7,100 萬美元。第四季我們淨虧損5400萬美元。本季淨虧損中包含與機械管材業務相關的 1,900 萬美元非現金商譽減損支出，以及與某些 HDPE 資產相關的 6,700 萬美元減損支出。與我們的機械管材業務相關的商譽減損反映了前瞻性現金流，而現在這些現金流假設銷售下降。機械管材產品是在先前宣布關閉的三家工廠之一以及另一家與鋼導管共享產能的工廠生產的。

By shifting our focus and priority towards electrical products, we plan to use the available capacity in favor of a higher concentration for our electrical infrastructure portfolio of products. The impairment charge related to our HDPE assets was triggered by the announcement of our intention to explore the sale of our HDPE business at the end of the fourth quarter. The impairment reflects an adjustment of the net assets relative to the forward-looking cash flows across various scenarios. For the full year, net sales were $2.9 billion, and our adjusted EPS was $6.05. Adjusted EBITDA for the full year was $386 million.

透過將我們的重心和優先事項轉移到電氣產品上，我們計劃利用現有產能，提高我們電氣基礎設施產品組合的集中度。與我們 HDPE 資產相關的減損費用是由於我們在第四季度末宣布有意考慮出售 HDPE 業務而引發的。此減損反映了淨資產相對於各種情境下的預期現金流的調整。全年淨銷售額為 29 億美元，調整後每股收益為 6.05 美元。全年調整後 EBITDA 為 3.86 億美元。

Turning to our consolidated bridges on slide 8. In fiscal 2025, net sales increased $22 million due to volume growth, contributing incremental adjusted EBITDA of $10 million. Our average selling prices decreased by $382 million. Bill mentioned that our fourth quarter results included select onetime inventory adjustments and additional non-routine items totaling approximately $11 million. Excluding the impact of those items, our adjusted EBITDA would have been $82 million in the quarter and $397 million for the full year.

接下來請看投影片 8 的合併橋樑。2025 財年，由於銷售成長，淨銷售額增加了 2,200 萬美元，增加了 1,000 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA。我們的平均售價下降了3.82億美元。比爾提到，我們第四季的業績包括部分一次性庫存調整和其他非常規項目，總計約 1,100 萬美元。剔除這些項目的影響，我們本季的調整後 EBITDA 為 8,200 萬美元，全年為 3.97 億美元。

Moving to Slide 9. As Bill mentioned, we are proud to highlight that Atkore has achieved 3 consecutive years of organic volume growth. We grew volume 3.5% in fiscal '24 after growing volume 3.2% in fiscal '23, exemplifying the strength and resilience of our portfolio even in times of fluctuating end market conditions. As we look forward, construction end markets are expected to grow, and we anticipate our volume growth in fiscal 2026 to be mid-single digits.

切換到第9張投影片。正如比爾所提到的，我們很自豪地宣布，Atkore 已連續 3 年實現有機銷售成長。繼 2023 財年銷量成長 3.2% 之後，2024 財年銷量又成長了 3.5%，這充分體現了我們產品組合的實力和韌性，即使在終端市場條件波動的情況下也是如此。展望未來，建築終端市場預計將會成長，我們預期 2026 財年的銷售成長將達到中等個位數。

In FY25, our metal framing, cable management and construction services products grew low single digits due to increased support for mega projects, including data centers. In FY25, we grew our PVC business, which included high single-digit growth in PVC conduit and especially strong double-digit growth from our fiberglass conduit products, which are increasingly being used for data center projects and included in our plastic pipe conduit and fittings product category.

2025 財年，由於對包括資料中心在內的大型專案的支援力度加大，我們的金屬框架、電纜管理和建築服務產品實現了個位數低成長。在 2025 財年，我們的 PVC 業務實現了成長，其中 PVC 導管實現了高個位數成長，而我們的玻璃纖維導管產品則實現了兩位數的強勁增長，這些產品越來越多地用於數據中心項目，並被納入我們的塑膠管道導管和配件產品類別中。

Turning to slide 10 and our segment results in the fourth quarter. Net sales in our Electrical segment were $519 million, with $7 million contributed by organic volume growth, offset by continued pricing normalization in our PVC products. Our steel conduit products saw sequential price increases for the third consecutive quarter.

接下來請看第 10 張投影片，了解我們第四季的分部業績。我們的電氣業務部門淨銷售額為 5.19 億美元，其中 700 萬美元來自有機銷售成長，但被 PVC 產品價格持續正常化所抵銷。我們的鋼製導管產品價格連續第三季上漲。

Shifting over to our S&I segment. Net sales increased 4% during the quarter compared to the prior year. Our S&I segment EBITDA dollars and margin were both meaningfully higher than the prior year, in large part due to better cost management and productivity improvements. As Bill mentioned, we recorded an inventory adjustment in our S&I segment of approximately $6 million at one of the facilities that has been previously announced for facility closure.

接下來轉到我們的S&I板塊。本季淨銷售額比上年同期成長4%。我們的S&I部門EBITDA金額和利潤率均比上年顯著提高，這主要歸功於成本管理的改善和生產效率的提高。正如比爾所提到的，我們在S&I部門對先前宣布關閉的一家工廠的庫存進行了約600萬美元的調整。

Turning now to our outlook on page 11. We anticipate a mid-single-digit volume growth in FY26, driven by expected growth in all five of our product areas. For the first quarter of FY26, we are expecting net sales in the range of $645 million to $655 million and adjusted EBITDA between $55 million and $65 million. We expect adjusted EPS to be in the range of $0.55 and $0.75. For the full year, we expect FY26 net sales in the range of $3.0 billion to $3.1 billion and adjusted EBITDA between $340 million and $360 million. Adjusted EPS is expected to be in the range of $5.05 and $5.55.

現在請翻到第 11 頁，看看我們的展望。我們預計 2026 財年銷售量將實現中等個位數成長，這主要得益於我們所有五個產品領域的預期成長。預計 2026 財年第一季淨銷售額在 6.45 億美元至 6.55 億美元之間，調整後 EBITDA 在 5,500 萬美元至 6,500 萬美元之間。我們預計調整後每股收益將在 0.55 美元至 0.75 美元之間。對於全年，我們預計 2026 財年淨銷售額將在 30 億美元至 31 億美元之間，調整後 EBITDA 將在 3.4 億美元至 3.6 億美元之間。調整後每股收益預計在 5.05 美元至 5.55 美元之間。

As we have discussed in the past, our business experiences short lead times and limited visibility to end customer demand. To shift more focus to the medium to long term, we have made the decision not to provide a quarterly outlook starting in calendar year 2026 with our fiscal first quarter earnings call. However, we will continue to refine our full year outlook during each quarterly call as we progress throughout the fiscal year. We expect the first quarter of fiscal '26 to be the softest quarter of the year, and for performance to ramp as the year continues. At this time, we expect the back half of the year to be higher than the first half of fiscal '26 on an adjusted EBITDA basis.

正如我們之前討論過的，我們的業務面臨著交貨週期短、對最終客戶需求缺乏了解等問題。為了將更多精力放在中長期發展上，我們決定從 2026 年第一財季的財報電話會議開始，不再提供季度展望。但是，隨著財年的推進，我們將在每個季度電話會議上繼續完善我們的全年展望。我們預計 2026 財年第一季將是全年業績最疲軟的季度，之後業績將隨著時間的推移而逐步提升。目前，我們預期 2026 財年下半年的調整後 EBITDA 將高於上半年。

Next, slide 12 summarizes our solid financial profile. Our cash flow generation has always been a strength, which helps support a healthy balance sheet. Our liquidity provides the foundation that enables us to execute key strategic opportunities, while returning capital to shareholders.

接下來，第 12 張投影片總結了我們穩健的財務狀況。我們的現金流量產生能力一直是我們的優勢，這有助於維持健康的資產負債表。我們的流動性為我們提供了執行關鍵策略機會的基礎，同時也能為股東帶來資本回報。

With that, I'll turn it to John Pregenzer to give an update on our end markets and our long-term strategic focus.

接下來，我將把發言權交給約翰·普雷根澤，讓他介紹一下我們的終端市場和長期戰略重點的最新情況。

Thanks, John. Turning to slide 14. The breadth of our product portfolio is a differentiator for Atkore. Atkore's products broadly serve construction activities, making their way to each of the relevant end markets. Demand for electricity continues to increase.

謝謝你，約翰。翻到第14張投影片。Atkore 的產品組合豐富多樣，這是我們的一大優勢。Atkore 的產品廣泛服務於建築活動，並銷往各個相關的終端市場。電力需求持續成長。

The need for power centers around the expansion of data centers to support AI. We are now in what some are calling the data era, with reshoring efforts and demand for data centers to help power the expansion of AI, contributing to an expected 2.6% compound annual growth rate for electricity consumption through 2035. Electrification is required in most areas of construction. Our products provide comprehensive solutions to deploy, isolate and protect critical electrical infrastructure, emphasizing that Atkore really is all around you.

電力需求主要集中在資料中心的擴張上，以支援人工智慧的發展。我們現在正處於一些人所稱的資料時代，資料中心回流的努力和對資料中心的需求，將有助於推動人工智慧的擴展，預計到 2035 年，電力消耗的複合年增長率將達到 2.6%。大多數建築領域都需要電氣化。我們的產品提供全面的解決方案，用於部署、隔離和保護關鍵的電力基礎設施，強調 Atkore 真正無所不在。

The demand outlook for FY26 reflects strength in most end markets. It's important to understand both expected growth rates as well as the relative size of the market. While data centers continue to draw most of the attention within the construction community, that end market, in total, is still smaller than several other end markets. Nonetheless, data center construction is growing significantly, and we participate in that growth.

2026財年的需求前景反映了大多數終端市場的強勁表現。了解預期成長率以及市場的相對規模都非常重要。雖然資料中心仍然是建築界關注的焦點，但總體而言，該終端市場仍然小於其他幾個終端市場。儘管如此，資料中心建設正在顯著成長，我們也參與其中。

Renewable energy is expected to increase from approximately 20% of the power generation mix today to 28% by 2035, and solar continues to be the quickest path to online production available to the market, a key advantage for meeting the expected increase in US energy demand.

預計到 2035 年，再生能源在發電結構中的比例將從目前的約 20% 增加到 28%，而太陽能仍然是市場上實現併網發電的最快途徑，這是滿足美國預期能源需求成長的關鍵優勢。

Finally, turning to slide 15. Today and into the future, we are focused on prioritizing our portfolio of domestically manufactured electrical infrastructure products and delivering on the strategic actions that we believe will maximize shareholder value. We remain committed to maintaining a strong balance sheet and financial profile that enables us to return capital to shareholders, while making modest capital investments that support operational excellence aligned to the Atkore business system.

最後，請看第15張投影片。現在以及未來，我們將專注於優先發展國內製造的電力基礎設施產品組合，並落實我們認為能夠最大限度提升股東價值的戰略舉措。我們始終致力於維持強勁的資產負債表和財務狀況，以便能夠向股東返還資本，同時進行適度的資本投資，以支持與 Atkore 業務體系一致的卓越營運。

Our positioning in key electrical end markets gives us confidence in our ability to grow volume over the mid- to long term, while our diverse portfolio enables us to maintain resilient, while navigating headwinds in certain end markets. We, as a management team, have conviction on our teams and are focused on delivering to our plan. We recognize our recent performance challenges, and we are determined more than ever to drive improved results that create greater value for our shareholders, employees and stakeholders. With that, we'll turn it over to the operator to open the line for questions.

我們在關鍵電氣終端市場的地位使我們有信心在中長期內實現銷售成長，而我們多元化的產品組合使我們能夠在應對某些終端市場的逆風時保持韌性。作為管理團隊，我們對我們的團隊充滿信心，並專注於實現我們的計劃。我們認識到近期業績面臨的挑戰，並且比以往任何時候都更加堅定地致力於取得更好的業績，為我們的股東、員工和利害關係人創造更大的價值。接下來，我們將把電話交給接線員，讓他開通線路接受提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Justin Clare, ROTH Capital Partners.

Justin Clare，ROTH Capital Partners。

Hi, good morning. Thanks for the time here. I wanted to start out with the guidance. So for fiscal '26, you're calling -- or you see mid-single-digit volume growth. I think the midpoint of the revenue guide implies 7% year-over-year growth. So that would suggest you could see some pricing benefit through the year? So wondering if you could just comment on is that expectation -- the expectation and whether -- or what is driving that potential price improvement?

您好，早安。感謝您抽出時間。我想先從指導開始。所以對於 2026 財年，你要嘛打電話──要嘛看到個位數的銷售成長。我認為營收預期中位數意味著年增7%。所以這是否意味著您今年可能會看到一些價格上的好處？所以我想請您評論一下，這種預期——預期本身以及是否如此——或者說，是什麼因素推動了潛在的價格上漲？

Yeah, Justin, you're aligned there. I mean, as I think we said in some of the prepared remarks, we've seen sequential price increases in our steel conduit business. There are some other businesses where we've had pricing growth as well that impacts the sales line, but it's really that price versus cost dynamic too. We do anticipate continuing to have price versus cost headwinds.

是的，賈斯汀，你在這點上立場一致。我的意思是，正如我們在事先準備好的演講稿中提到的那樣，我們的鋼製導管業務價格已經連續上漲。在其他一些業務中，我們也出現了價格上漲的情況，這影響了銷售額，但這實際上也是價格與成本動態關係造成的。我們預計價格與成本之間的不利因素將持續存在。

But when we're looking at where some of the underlying raw material commodity inputs are, where they were versus historically, we are seeing some ASP and sales growth as well, but there is sometimes some price versus cost compression there, too. So that's some of the dynamics. But there would be some embedded benefit -- or increase, I should say, at the ASP line with some of those raw material inputs at an elevated level this year versus last year, meaning, '26 versus '25.

但當我們觀察一些基礎原物料商品投入的現況與歷史水準相比時，我們發現平均售價和銷售量都有所成長，但有時也會出現價格與成本之間的壓縮。以上就是一些動態因素。但與去年相比，今年的某些原材料投入水平較高，這意味著 2026 年與 2025 年相比，平均售價 (ASP) 將有一些內在的好處——或者應該說是成長。

Got it. Okay. And then just also on the guidance. When I look at your Q1 guidance and then the full year, for Q1, the implied EBITDA margin, I think, is about 11%, and then closer to 12% for the full year. What is -- or what do you expect to drive the margin improvement through the year? How much visibility do you have there? And is it really the pricing dynamic that's driving that?

知道了。好的。還有一點就是指導意見。當我查看你們的第一季業績指引以及全年業績指引時，我認為第一季的隱含 EBITDA 利潤率約為 11%，而全年則接近 12%。是什麼因素——或者說，您預計哪些因素將推動今年的利潤率提升？你在那裡的可見度如何？真的是價格因素在驅動這現象嗎？

Yeah. It's a great question. So we are seeing a little bit of softness here in the first quarter as we sequentially move down here from the fourth quarter. We do have a positive expectation as we ramp throughout the year, meaning we do have line of sight to a lot of the construction services and the mega projects in Q2 to Q4. So that's positive as we see throughout the year.

是的。這是一個很好的問題。因此，我們看到第一季略顯疲軟，這與我們從第四季開始的趨勢形成鮮明對比。隨著我們全年逐步擴大規模，我們抱持著正面的預期，這意味著我們對第二季到第四季的許多建築服務和大型專案都有了​​清晰的了解。所以，正如我們全年所看到的，這是積極的方面。

We're also seeing real strength coming through. I think in John Pregenzer's comments, he talked about the growth in solar. And we do anticipate that in 2026 as opposed to 2025, which has had a lot of volatility in the year with that industry and some -- what was going to happen with or without some of the subsidies associated with the Inflation Reduction Act. So we see some positive elements here contributing. Bill, I'm not sure if you wanted to add anything?

我們也看到了真正的實力正在顯現。我認為約翰·普雷根澤的評論中談到了太陽能的發展。我們預計 2026 年的情況會比 2025 年好，因為 2025 年該行業波動很大，而且——無論是否實施與《通貨膨脹削減法案》相關的一些補貼，情況都會有所不同。所以我們看到這裡面有一些正面因素在起作用。比爾，我不知道你是否還有什麼要補充的？

No, I think that's it. I mean that the cost actions we're taking to help with the margin and so forth that, again, I think even in my prepared remarks and what we sent out September 29 or whatever, that second half this year, as we do get the three facilities closed and continue to drive extra productivity off a really strong 2025 productivity, that I do think things are lined up, especially as we go into the second half of the year here.

不，我想就是這樣了。我的意思是，我們正在採取成本控制措施來提高利潤率等等，而且，我認為即使在我準備好的發言稿和我們9月29日發出的文件中，今年下半年，隨著我們關閉三個工廠並繼續從2025年強勁的生產力目標中推動額外的生產力，我認為一切都在按計劃進行，尤其是在我們進入今年下半年之際。

Okay. I appreciate it. I'll pass it on.

好的。謝謝。我會轉達的。

David Tarantino, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

David Tarantino，KeyBanc Capital Markets。

Hey, good morning, everyone. Maybe could we start with the strategic review and maybe just kind of walk us through kind of the range of outcomes we could expect? And maybe what's the magnitude of the three divestments you outlined? And how should we be thinking about a suitable situation where you would consider a sale or a merger?

嘿，大家早安。或許我們可以先進行策略評估，然後請您帶我們來了解我們可能預期出現的各種結果？那麼，您所概述的三項撤資計畫的規模究竟有多大呢？那麼，在什麼情況下你會考慮出售或合併呢？

Okay. Well, obviously, it's early on. I'll start and then either -- especially John Deitzer, I guess, here, if there's any of your add-ons, but it's early on. But there has -- since we made our announcements, we're still pursuing HDPE. I don't think we can get any more specific, but there's obviously interest there that us with our banks and so forth are working through.

好的。顯然，現在還為時過早。我先開始，然後——特別是約翰·迪澤，我想，如果你有任何補充，但現在還早。但是，自從我們發佈公告以來，我們仍在繼續推進高密度聚乙烯（HDPE）專案。我認為我們不能透露更多細節了，但顯然我們與銀行等機構正在就此進行磋商，這方面確實存在一些問題。

So that continues to move forward just like the other actions that we kind of discussed even here with Justin. And then from there, since that time -- well, let me back up. The Board always looks at what's the best outcome for our shareholders. So as part of our discussions. But since we did our announcement at late September, there has been some interesting inbound calls.

所以這件事會繼續推進，就像我們之前和賈斯汀討論過的其他行動一樣。然後從那以後——好吧，讓我從頭說起。董事會始終以股東利益為先。所以，作為我們討論的一部分。但自從我們在九月下旬發佈公告以來，我們接到了一些很有趣的來電。

So again, it's early on in the process, but the Board reflected and it's -- I'd say, a good time, but to make sure we're pursuing what is best for our shareholders. So we'll keep, obviously, investors and everybody else informed as we kick off the process here.

所以，現在還處於早期階段，但董事會經過思考，我認為現在是時候確保我們追求對股東最有利的事情了。所以，我們當然會及時向投資者和其他所有人通報這一進程的進展。

So -- and then from outcomes, obviously, it can be the full range from -- as we said in announcements, and I think I covered this morning, from selling the whole co to the other end is the Board decides that the best thing is to continue to run it as is. But right now, we're focused on the strategic alternatives, and we'll see how that plays out over the next several months.

所以——然後從結果來看，顯然，結果可能涵蓋所有情況——正如我們在公告中所說，而且我認為我今天早上也談到了，從出售整個公司到董事會決定最好的做法是繼續按原樣運營。但目前，我們專注於戰略選擇，我們將看看未來幾個月情況會如何發展。

Okay. Great. That's helpful color. And maybe could you give us some color on the cost savings initiatives? What should we be thinking around the magnitude of the savings? And maybe should we be thinking about this as a first step that you feel that there are more opportunities to take more meaningful cost actions within the core business? Any color there would be helpful.

好的。偉大的。這是個很有幫助的顏色。可否詳細介紹一下成本節約措施？我們該如何看待節省的金額？或許我們應該把這看作是第一步，即您認為在核心業務中還有更多機會採取更有意義的成本控制措施？任何顏色都會有所幫助。

Yeah, David. So obviously, the three plants, we started the process of shutting those down. The teams are well organized. We're still in the early stages, but expect all production to cease by the end of Q2. And I think on an annualized basis, we would expect to see about $10 million to $12 million in cost reductions across the fiscal year.

是的，大衛。所以很顯然，我們已經開始關閉這三家工廠。各隊組織有序。我們目前仍處於早期階段，但預計所有生產將在第二季末停止。我認為，以年度計算，我們預計本財年將節省約 1,000 萬至 1,200 萬美元的成本。

I think, David, just to add on to that. I think these are just key contributors that we anticipate 2027 to be up versus 2026. And so I think that's really the balance here of where some of these actions are plus some other things we're starting to line up.

大衛，我想補充一點。我認為這些只是我們預計 2027 年將比 2026 年成長的關鍵因素。所以我認為這才是這裡真正的平衡點，包括這些行動的現狀以及我們正在著手安排的其他一些事情。

And maybe just a follow up on that comment within that assumption, should we be thinking about kind of the items you outlined today getting you there? Or should we expect some more down the line?

或許可以針對您剛才的評論做一個後續討論，在這個假設的框架下，我們是否應該考慮一下您今天概述的那些幫助您實現目標的因素？或者我們應該期待未來會有更多？

I think with the -- without any additional items, just the fact that these actions, HDPE, and then the growth initiatives that are underway that we kind of alluded to that, whether it's solar, where -- I forget if we have POs, but verbal commitments from customers to be ramping up here early in the calendar year to the global mega projects that are expanding into -- with some well-known customers from one region of the continent to a second region on the continent here, that we see enough pathways right now without additional things to get there. But again, that doesn't rule out. We'll continue to do other actions.

我認為，即使沒有其他項目，僅憑這些行動、HDPE，以及我們之前提到的正在進行的增長計劃，無論是太陽能（我忘了我們是否有採購訂單，但客戶口頭承諾在今年年初就加大投入），還是正在擴展到全球的大型項目（一些知名客戶已將業務從非洲大陸的一個地區擴展到另一個地區），我們現在就看到了足夠的途徑來實現目標，無需其他措施。但話說回來，這並不能排除這種可能性。我們將繼續採取其他行動。

So again, I don't want to be giving a specific guide, David, for next fiscal year, but we're optimistic both for this year and definitely as we get into 2027.

所以，大衛，我不想為下一個財政年度給出具體的指導，但我們對今年以及進入 2027 年都持樂觀態度。

That's helpful. Thank you.

那很有幫助。謝謝。

Andy Kaplowitz, Citigroup.

安迪‧卡普洛維茨，花旗集團。

Hey. Good morning, everyone. Bill and John, I just wanted to focus on last quarter, I think you told us about the $50 million headwind for '26. So as you sort of rolled out your guide, like is that still what the amount is? And maybe you can update us on imports in general, like what have you seen from the steel conduit side and the PVC side, steel was getting better, PVC maybe a little more slowly. So what have you seen there?

嘿。各位早安。比爾和約翰，我只想重點談談上個季度，我想你們已經跟我們說過 2026 年將面臨 5000 萬美元的不利因素。所以，當你推出你的指南時，金額還是那個金額嗎？或許您可以向我們介紹進口方面的情況，例如您從鋼導管和PVC導管方面看到了什麼，鋼導管的情況有所好轉，PVC導管的情況可能進展得慢一些。你在那裡看到了什麼？

Yeah, Andy, I'll start with some of the outlook expectations and commentary, and then I'll turn it to Bill and John here to give some more specifics around what's happening in some of the markets that you're talking about.

是的，安迪，我先談談一些前景預期和評論，然後請比爾和約翰就你提到的某些市場正在發生的事情給出更具體的說明。

I would say we definitely have continued price versus cost headwinds going in '26 versus '25. We talked about that. And in the third quarter call back in August, we said kind of $50 million of unmitigated headwinds. So we had expected some volume and some productivity benefits to mitigate some of that. And so -- and our outlook this year is still within kind of $340 million to $360 million. So we're right around that $350 million midpoint. So kind of triangulates versus where we said in August.

我認為，與 2025 年相比，2026 年我們肯定會繼續面臨價格與成本的不利因素。我們談過這件事。在 8 月的第三季電話會議上，我們提到了大約 5000 萬美元的不可逆轉的不利因素。因此，我們預期銷售量和生產力方面的一些提升可以緩解部分問題。因此——我們今年的預期仍然在 3.4 億美元至 3.6 億美元之間。所以我們現在差不多在3.5億美元的中點附近。所以這與我們8月所說的情況形成了一種三角關係。

That being said, I think we are seeing additional improvements we're taking. So as I think about the year, the price versus cost dynamic is really going to impact the first quarter the most. And then as we go through the year, the price versus cost dynamic will probably ease.

也就是說，我認為我們正在採取一些額外的改進措施。所以，展望今年，價格與成本的動態變化將對第一季產生最大的影響。隨著時間推移，價格與成本之間的動態關係可能會有所緩和。

Also as we think about the year, there's going to be a real quarterly ramp in EBITDA, meaning kind of -- we've laid out the first quarter here. So the first and second quarter, definitely the expectation is year-over-year unfavorable. And then we'll continue -- the second half collectively will -- we anticipate to be up year-over-year. So that's kind of how we expect the year to ramp.

此外，展望今年，EBITDA 將會出現真正的季度成長，這意味著——我們已經在這裡列出了第一季的情況。因此，第一季和第二季的預期肯定不如去年同期。然後我們將繼續——下半年整體而言——我們預計將實現同比增長。所以，我們預期今年的成長趨勢大致是如此。

I'll turn it to Bill here or John to give some comments on the steel conduit market and PVC.

接下來請比爾或約翰對鋼導管市場和PVC發表一些看法。

Yeah, Andy. So steel conduit is relatively strong on the import side, which obviously influences a lot of what we're doing. We have seen a slight reduction in import volume this year. So it's down about 2% over last year, but that's -- it's positive in regards to the many years of double-digit growth.

是的，安迪。因此，鋼製導管在進口方面相對較強，這顯然對我們的許多工作都產生了影響。今年進口量略為下降。所以比去年下降了約 2%，但考慮到多年來兩位數的增長，這仍然是一個積極的信號。

So looking at the impact of tariffs in regards to what's happening, probably not as strong as we would have expected. And so spending some time in ensuring that tariff policy is being effectively enforced and working with some different groups there because we would have expected to see slightly stronger year-over-year reductions in steel conduit imports. But the market is fairly good. PVC has been strong. I think it's been influenced by data centers.

因此，從關稅對當前情勢的影響來看，可能沒有我們預期的那麼強烈。因此，我們花了一些時間確保關稅政策得到有效執行，並與一些不同的團體合作，因為我們原本預計鋼導管進口量會比前一年略有下降。但市場行情相當不錯。PVC材質很結實。我認為這受到了數據中心的影響。

There's a strong demand for large diameter PVC conduit in that space, which will drive the volume numbers or overdrive the volume numbers for that product line. So we've seen good growth there and expect that to continue.

該領域對大直徑PVC導管的需求強勁，這將推動該產品線的銷售成長，甚至使其銷售大幅成長。所以我們看到這方面發展良好，並預計這種勢頭會繼續下去。

Yeah. And then I'll just add to John's comment both on 2 things. So to go -- obviously, we're still working -- the administration is still working on how we can enforce tariffs better. But if you look, Andy, and for the rest of the investors, both of these product categories were growing even round numbers here over the last couple of years, but 20% a year. And to John Pregenzer's point, steel is now for the year, down 2% with imports.

是的。然後，我只想在約翰的評論基礎上補充兩點。所以，很顯然，我們仍在努力——政府仍在努力研究如何更好地執行關稅。但如果你仔細觀察，安迪，以及其他投資者，你會發現，這兩個產品類別在過去幾年裡都實現了整數增長，而且每年增長 20%。正如約翰·普雷根澤所指出的，今年鋼鐵價格因進口而下降了 2%。

So it's going from growing to flat to slightly down. So more to come, hopefully, to make it even stronger for US companies and blue-collar workers in the US, but that has been semi-effective. PVC, where to John's point, we're growing, we called out in our prepared remarks, strong double-digit around numbers. PVC from recollection, I think, was up 6% for the year.

所以它從上升到平穩，再到略微下降。希望未來能有更多措施出台，進一步加強對美國公司和美國藍領階級的保護，但目前為止已經取得了一定的成效。正如約翰所說，PVC（人均消費支出）正在成長，我們在事先準備好的演講稿中也提到了這一點，數字穩定成長，達到了兩位數。我記得，PVC（人均消費稅）今年上漲了6%。

So imports are still coming in. But even there, not what I perceive the market is and also not nearly as much as previous year. So it's there, but it's -- the tariffs have had a good effect, and we're hoping to make an even greater effect going forward.

所以進口商品仍在源源不絕地流入。但即便如此，也並非我所認為的市場現狀，而且遠不及去年同期。所以關稅確實存在，而且──關稅已經產生了良好的效果，我們希望未來能產生更大的效果。

Helpful. And then, look, I can understand John P's comments about data center markets maybe not being the biggest. But at the same time, we've seen, as you guys know, massive orders across the industrial space over the last couple of quarters. So like when you think about your business, like I know you've talked about construction services in the past. Maybe they're on the comp, and it takes a while. But why shouldn't we see a bigger impact on '26 or maybe we will, from data centers because, again, there is a massive amount of money there, as you guys know.

很有幫助。而且，我也能理解約翰·P關於資料中心市場可能不是最大的評論。但同時，正如你們所知，在過去的幾個季度裡，工業領域出現了大量的訂單。就像你在思考你的業務時，我知道你過去曾談到過建築服務。也許他們正在使用電腦，需要一些時間。但是，為什麼我們不應該在 2026 年看到資料中心產生更大的影響，或者我們可能會看到，因為正如你們所知，那裡有巨額資金。

Yeah. So no dispute on the massive growth, they're massive. I'm making my own number, Andy, it depends on how big you like, 15% or something. So definitely strong double-digit growth for anybody making any products.

是的。所以，它們的成長規模龐大，這點毋庸置疑。安迪，我自己訂個數字，這取決於你喜歡多大，15%之類的。所以對於任何生產產品的公司來說，這絕對都是強勁的兩位數成長。

I do think as we get in kind one of the answer I gave to an earlier question, that we are going to see -- obviously, our fair share within the products we have relative to the market. We covered that one John Pregenzer's charts. But I also do see our global construction business that's focused on this growing this year at also a very strong, call it, double-digit rate. Now it's -- again, it's how much of our company is that compared to PVC in the chart that John Pregenzer and residential that's still anemic.

我認為，正如我之前對一個問題的回答一樣，我們將會看到——顯然，在我們擁有的產品中，我們將在市場上獲得應有的份額。我們之前介紹過約翰·普雷根澤的那張圖表。但我確實看到，我們專注於此的全球建築業務今年也將以非常強勁的兩位數速度成長。現在的問題是——再說一遍，我們公司有多少業務與圖表中的 PVC 相比，John Pregenzer 和住宅業務仍然處於疲軟狀態。

But I think, Andy, that's why, again, numbers here, I don't want to get ahead of myself, but from our [340 to 360] guide, our volume guide, are there pathways to potentially be stronger here? Yes. So we're going to see how things play out. So I'm still optimistic here as we go forward.

但我認為，安迪，這就是為什麼，再說一遍，這裡的數字，我不想操之過急，但從我們的[340到360]指南，我們的銷量指南來看，是否有可能變得更強？是的。所以，我們拭目以待。所以，我對未來的發展仍然保持樂觀。

Yeah. Andy, I think that the product lines that line up with data centers in our portfolio, we see them growing in those type of rates. When you say data centers are up 20% or whatever the numbers are, we're seeing that in certain parts of the portfolio. I think when the global mega projects that we have lined up and we've already started to get orders from and letters of intent from start to kick in the second half of the year, then that will have more influence on our overall growth rates that I think John Deitzer alluded to in regards to the overall revenue growth we'll see in the back end of the year.

是的。安迪，我認為我們產品組合中與資料中心相關的產品線，我們看到它們的成長率就是如此。當你說資料中心成長了 20% 或其他數字時，我們在投資組合的某些部分看到了這種情況。我認為，當我們已經安排好並開始收到訂單和意向書的全球大型項目在下半年開始啟動時，這將對我們的整體增長率產生更大的影響，正如約翰·迪澤所暗示的那樣，我們將在年底看到整體收入增長。

Appreciate that.

謝謝。

Chris Moore, CJS Securities.

克里斯摩爾，CJS證券。

Good morning, sorry. The three plants that are closing, just trying to understand a little bit better, what's being produced there? Is there -- will there be any learning curve when those products are shifted to other facilities?

早上好，不好意思。即將關閉的這三家工廠，我只是想更了解一下，它們都生產些什麼？當這些產品轉移到其他工廠時，是否有學習曲線？

Yeah, I'll start. So we have a -- we've discussed all -- I mean I'll give more color. But yes, it's all public. I just want to say something wasn't, Chris. But we have our Phoenix operation that makes things like metal pipes and so forth, that metal conduit and also for our safety and infrastructure.

好的，我先來。所以我們已經討論過所有的事情了——我的意思是，我會補充更多細節。是的，這一切都是公開的。我只想說，克里斯，有些事情不對勁。但我們在鳳凰城有一家工廠，生產金屬管道等等，金屬導管，這些也用於我們的安全和基礎設施。

So we will be moving that production back to plants here, for example, in Harvey, Illinois, Hobart, stuff like that. So we have that capability. Most of the capacity from lines, I think we'll be moving one production line out to do this, but most of the capacity is already here. So -- and then -- so I don't think there's going to be a lot of trying to move machines and so forth. For my 40-year career, I've done that before, and there could be challenges here. It's just ramping up.

因此，我們將把生產轉移回本地的工廠，例如伊利諾伊州的哈維、霍巴特等地。所以我們具備這種能力。我認為我們會把一條生產線搬出去，但大部分產能已經在這裡了。所以——然後——所以我認為不會有很多搬運機器之類的事情發生。在我40年的職業生涯中，我以前也做過類似的事情，但這次可能會遇到一些挑戰。這只是個開始。

Now some of it are also back to pruning, focusing on electrical products and keeping that market, which we think has the best growth to the small charge we took in the quarter is we are going to narrow some of the scope, which I think quite frankly, is exciting purely from one of the things we're going to drive a lot harder is the 80/20 principle and truly focus on our key products with key customers and so forth. So I think there's a double win there.

現在，部分業務也回歸到精簡階段，專注於電子產品，並保留我們認為成長最快的市場。本季我們承擔的小額費用意味著我們將縮小一些業務範圍，坦白說，我認為這令人興奮，因為我們將更加努力地貫徹 80/20 原則，真正專注於我們的核心產品和核心客戶等等。所以我認為這算是雙贏。

Then the next facility is a PVC facility in Fort Mill. And that, again, we don't have to move with our lean production and everything else. We don't have to move any of the production line. So again, we have to ramp up other locations, but I think the risk is mitigated purely from the standpoint of investments, productivity, we have that, and we can get rid of the cost and infrastructure without moving machinery.

下一個工廠是位於福特米爾的PVC工廠。而且，我們不必為了精益生產和其他所有事情而搬遷。我們不需要移動生產線上的任何設備。所以，我們又得在其他地點加大投入，但我認為，從投資和生產力的角度來看，風險是可以降低的，我們擁有這些優勢，而且我們可以在不轉移機器的情況下消除成本和基礎設施。

Final facility is we have an operation in Chino, which is around Los Angeles that makes cable products, and we're moving that back into of our facilities here on the kind of the East Coast. So again, we have the capacity there.

最後，我們在洛杉磯附近的奇諾市有一家生產電纜產品的工廠，我們將把這項業務遷回我們位於東海岸的工廠。所以，我們在這方面有能力。

So obviously, I think it's the right thing to do, where we'll continue to work, driving productivity. As I mentioned already, we had one of our strongest years last year in productivity. And as we continue to drive lean and so forth. And I think as John already mentioned, he's driving with monthly formal calls, but obviously following up with teams, and they have a lot of rigor and structure. So I think it's a great thing to do for our customers and quite -- and our shareholders here.

所以很明顯，我認為這是正確的做法，我們將繼續努力，提高生產力。正如我之前提到的，去年我們的生產力達到了歷史最高水平之一。我們將繼續推進精益化等等。正如約翰已經提到的那樣，他每月都會召開正式電話會議，但顯然也會跟進團隊的工作，而且他們的工作非常嚴謹，結構也很完整。所以我認為這對我們的客戶、公司以及我們的股東來說都是一件非常好的事情。

So hopefully, I gave you everything you were looking for.

希望我提供的所有內容都符合您的要求。

No, very helpful. Maybe just a follow-up. HDPE, obviously, that is one of the areas in the strategic -- sounds like you're in discussions. I'm just trying to understand, not specific numbers, but the potential value to be gained from Atkore here, what's the bull case scenario for HDPE for someone outside of Atkore?

不，非常有幫助。或許只是個後續問題。HDPE顯然是戰略領域之一——聽起來你們正在討論這個問題。我只是想了解，不是具體的數字，而是 Atkore 能帶來的潛在價值，對於 Atkore 以外的人來說，HDPE 的多頭前景如何？

Yeah. So I'll give a high level, but I won't give numbers. John Deitzer, if you want to provide, but I don't think we want to get that specific. So I think in this scenario, the good news for anybody in this market is volumes are coming back. We called out in our prepared remarks that how we're seeing double digits.

是的。所以我會給出大致的概括，但不給具體數字。John Deitzer，如果你想提供資訊的話，但我認為我們不需要談得那麼具體。所以我認為，在這種情況下，對於這個市場中的任何人來說，好消息是交易量正在恢復。我們在事先準備好的演講稿中指出，我們看到的是兩位數的增幅。

And I think that's consistent with anybody else that I'm aware of are public corporations, fiber companies and so forth. So the markets are growing, and we are getting our fair share, if not more. And they do anything for us, but then I'll get for the -- whoever if they were to make the acquisition of people is to go -- one of the things we needed to get to was filling up the factory.

我認為這與我所了解的其他任何上市公司、光纖公司等等的做法都是一致的。所以市場正在成長，我們也獲得了應有的份額，甚至更多。他們為我們做了任何事，但之後我會為——無論誰來收購人員——我們需要完成的事情之一就是填滿工廠。

It's hard to run a factory efficiently when you're not running long runs, you don't want changeovers, you don't have a full absorption. So I think we even have, over time, a pathway to get there. I say, get there, but continue to increase year-over-year productivity and profits and so forth there.

如果生產週期不長，不需要頻繁換線，也無法完全吸收損耗，那麼工廠就很難有效率地運作。所以我認為，隨著時間的推移，我們甚至有一條通往目標的途徑。我的意思是，先達到目標，然後繼續逐年提高生產力、利潤等等。

But from the standpoint of is it strategic for us as we look forward announcing all these other things. Obviously, at least some people think that it's better in their hands to be run than ours. And we're exploring that, and we'll see where it goes over the next couple of months here.

但從戰略角度來看，考慮到我們即將宣布所有這些其他事項，這對我們來說是否具有戰略意義？顯然，至少有些人認為由他們來管理比由我們管理更好。我們正在探索這個問題，接下來幾個月我們會看看結果如何。

Fair enough. I'll leave it there. Thank you, guys.

很公平。我就說到這兒吧。謝謝大家。

Deane Dray, RBC Capital Markets.

迪恩德雷，加拿大皇家銀行資本市場。

Good morning, everyone. Is there any explicit intention now to run the business more for cash? It looks like you've -- you're pulled back a bit on CapEx. Would you consider suspending the dividend here? Your balance sheet is in great shape, but just the idea of running the business more for cash at this stage.

各位早安。現在是否有明確的計劃，讓公司更常以現金方式經營？看來你們在資本支出方面有所縮減。您會考慮暫停派發股息嗎？你的資產負債表狀況良好，但在這個階段，僅以現金為主的經營方式是不可取的。

So Deane, let me do it this way. Have a good -- we'll have a good discussion on and have a good discussion with the Board. But as of now, no, we're running -- and I'm going to make it clear, like one of the calls this morning is our employees and so forth. We're running this business that I'm proud of, and I see to all the other questions how this is -- even you get to the second -- and I'll get back to cash in a second.

迪恩，那我就這麼做吧。祝我們一切順利——我們將與董事會進行一次良好的討論。但就目前而言，不，我們正在運作——我要明確指出，例如今天早上接到的電話之一就是關於我們的員工等等。我們正在經營這家令我引以為傲的企業，至於其他問題，我也會一一解答——即使你問到了第二點——我馬上就回來處理現金。

But as we -- implicit in our guide, if you walk through numbers, the second half of the year will be up year-over-year in profits and so forth and where we drive that into next fiscal year that we already kind of alluded to in the growth initiatives. So -- and I'll tie it back to cash. But no, we're running this business like we would without any change.

但正如我們在指南中隱含的那樣，如果你仔細分析一下數據，你會發現下半年利潤將同比增長等等，而我們將把這種增長勢頭延續到下一個財政年度，這在我們已經在增長計劃中有所提及。所以——我會把它和現金連結起來。不，我們照常經營這家公司，沒有任何改變。

Now to your point. So therefore, no, we have no discussion in the Board meeting on suspending dividends. Two, to go what we've always said, at least in my mind, is with the CapEx, we made a bunch of investments on all these things like solar and even behind the scenes, the ERP systems. But a lot of those things are coming to fruition now. So we just don't need the amount of CapEx, and we're getting back more to historical trends.

現在回到你剛才說的重點。因此，董事會會議上不會討論暫停派發股利的問題。第二，正如我們一直以來所說的那樣，至少在我看來，在資本支出方面，我們對太陽能等所有這些東西都進行了大量投資，甚至在幕後，還有企業資源計劃 (ERP) 系統。但現在很多事情都正在成為現實。所以我們不再需要那麼多的資本支出，我們正在回歸歷史趨勢。

So -- and that's where I do think to the prepared remarks and in the charts with very comfortable, great performance on cash that we're comfortable that we'll continue to deliver strong cash flows here. So -- but no, it's not because of exploring strategic alternatives, just the right thing to do for the company and our investors.

所以——我認為，根據準備好的演講稿和圖表來看，現金流表現非常出色，我們有信心繼續提供強勁的現金流。所以——但並非因為在探索策略選擇，而是因為這對公司和我們的投資人來說是正確的做法。

You mentioned the Board a couple of times, and I know you're limited in what you can say here, but can you just give us a sense of the activist engagement at this stage, the additions to the Board, how aligned are you? Is there a cooperative tone here? And just kind of -- if you just walk us through whatever you can, would be appreciated.

您曾多次提到董事會，我知道您在這裡能說的有限，但您能否簡要介紹一下現階段的積極參與情況、董事會的新增成員以及您的立場是否一致？這裡是否有合作的氛圍？如果您能盡可能詳細地給我們講解一下，我們將不勝感激。

I'm glad you're asking for that. This is probably the biggest softball question of the questions asked. No, totally cooperative. I don't know. I won't mention their names or it's in the press like Adam and so forth.

很高興你問到這個問題。這可能是所有問題中最容易回答的問題了。不，完全配合。我不知道。我不會提及他們的名字，否則就會像亞當等人一樣被媒體曝光。

But I'm not suggesting anybody calls, but you would find out that it's -- we're aligned. We -- back to my prepared remarks, and I think the beginning question is as we look through, the Board's always looking to do what's best for the corporation and stakeholders, its investors and so forth. So as inbound calls came in, it made sense to formally do this. And also for us, I think it's the best thing to do, after a robust discussion, to formally announce it versus -- I'm sure you're aware of other companies have sold, but you don't know until they announce it versus let's cast a wide net. So whether it's a PE firm strategic, whatever is there.

但我並不是建議任何人打電話，但你會發現——我們的想法是一致的。回到我準備好的發言，我認為首先要問的問題是，縱觀歷史，董事會始終致力於為公司及其利害關係人、投資者等做出最佳決策。因此，隨著來電量的增加，正式進行這項工作就顯得有意義了。而且對我們來說，我認為經過一番深入討論後，正式宣佈出售是最好的做法，而不是——我相信你們也知道其他公司已經出售了，但直到他們宣布之前你們都不知道，而不是像我們這樣廣撒網。所以無論是私募股權公司策略投資，還是其他任何投資。

So from that standpoint, dealing with Adam, Andy, the [Renick] team, they're -- we've been aligned since day one. And we also believe in the Board refreshment and so forth that we are planning to do just as some of our Board members now are within a couple of years of retirement. So bringing on Frank to the Board that our whole [Atkore] team has met with, I've met with, our Chairman has met with. I'm excited that Frank's willing to join. So we'll have immersion with him and jump into strategic reviews here and we're totally good.

所以從這個角度來看，與 Adam、Andy 和 [Renick] 團隊打交道，我們從一開始就目標一致。我們也相信董事會的更新換代，我們正計劃這樣做，因為我們的一些董事會成員將在幾年內退休。所以，我們邀請 Frank 加入董事會，我們整個 [Atkore] 團隊都與他見過面，我也見過他，我們的董事長也見過他。我很高興弗蘭克願意加入。所以我們會和他一起進行沉浸式學習，然後直接進入策略審查，一切都會順利的。

It's the right thing to do.

這是應該做的。

Appreciate it. Thank you.

謝謝。謝謝。

Chris Dankert, Loop Capital Markets.

Chris Dankert，Loop 資本市場。

Sorry about that. Thanks for the question, guys. I guess on the back half weighted nature of the guide, forgive me if I missed it, but I mean, there's some seasonality dynamic there. Can you just kind of walk us through the other components as we think about why the back half is stronger than the first half and kind of how that could change potentially?

抱歉。謝謝大家的提問。我猜想，指南後半部分的內容比較側重，如果我錯過了什麼，請原諒，但我的意思是，這其中存在一些季節性因素。您能否帶我們了解其他組成部分，以便我們思考為什麼後半部分比前半部分更強，以及這種情況可能會如何變化？

Yeah. I'll start and then kind of let the rest of the team jump in here on what I missed. In the first quarter, too, one item is -- we'll end on December 26. And so we have a little bit of a short week at the start of the fiscal first quarter and a short week at the end here. And so that's a little bit of the compression dynamic in the first quarter that we're seeing.

是的。我先來，然後讓團隊其他成員來補充我遺漏的部分。第一季也有一項內容——我們將於 12 月 26 日結束。因此，在第一財季開始的一周和結束的一周，我們都面臨著工作時間較短的情況。所以，這就是我們在第一季看到的壓縮動態的一部分。

I think it's 10% less shipping days in the first quarter versus the fourth quarter, right? So that's -- you're seeing that. And then we always have a normal seasonality decline of a couple of percent from Q4 into Q1. So that's the dynamic there.

我認為第一季的出貨天數比第四季減少了 10%，對嗎？所以，你現在看到的就是這個。然後，從第四季到第一季度，我們總是會經歷幾個百分點的正常季節性下降。這就是其中的動態。

And as we look forward, though, the rest of the year, we do see strength coming back from a lot of the investments that we've made. And we have invested heavily in this business, and that's also why we're seeing some of the investments come down as we had talked, they would come down.

不過，展望未來，在今年餘下的時間裡，我們確實看到了我們所做的許多投資所帶來的回報。我們在這個行業中投入了大量資金，這也是為什麼我們看到一些投資像我們之前談到的那樣減少了。

But some of those investments we're seeing come through or expect to come through this year would be the solar investments. That industry is really looking poised to have a strong recovery in calendar 2026. And so that will be -- you'll see that come through in the Q2 to Q4. We do have some better line of sight on some of these larger mega projects that we've talked about, and they are chunky.

但我們看到今年將會落實或預計落實的一些投資，就是太陽能投資。該行業看起來很有可能在 2026 年迎來強勁復甦。所以，你會在第二季到第四季看到這一點。我們對之前討論過的一些大型超級專案有了更清晰的了解，這些專案規模龐大。

When they come, they come in kind of chunks, but they're not as consistent as everyday stock and flow orders. And so we have better line of sight to some of those. And I think John P. had mentioned that we have some letters of intent and things like that with some big customers. So we're excited about that.

它們來的時候是成批來的，但不如日常的庫存和流量訂單那麼穩定。因此，我們對其中一些目標有了更好的視線。我想約翰·P.曾提到過，我們和一些大客戶簽訂了一些意向書之類的文件。我們對此感到很興奮。

And then the initiatives, whether it's on the PVC water side, et cetera, we have made some investments, and we're expecting those to come through. We have that equipment in place. So it's a combination of those factors of -- as we look forward into the back end of the year, that second half in totality, but really the fourth quarter here as we look should be up. We anticipate it to be up year-over-year.

然後，無論是PVC水處理方面，還是其他方面，我們都進行了一些投資，我們期待這些投資能取得成效。我們已經配備了相關設備。所以，這是多種因素共同作用的結果——展望下半年，尤其是第四季度，我們預計會有所成長。我們預計它將比去年同期成長。

Yeah. I'm just going to add color to that to go just like John Deitzer mentioned where either orders, letter of intent with global mega projects, same thing. I think some of the orders in versus verbal commitment from solar customers, a significant ramp-up here starting in the first quarter of the calendar. And for the public, there's a couple of public solar companies. If you read their earnings, they're both bullish in that case and then other private ones as they look forward into next year. So again, the solar market should be growing. We've had verbal, if not, purchase orders there.

是的。我只是想補充一些細節，就像約翰·迪澤爾提到的那樣，無論是訂單、意向書還是全球大型項目，都是一樣的。我認為，從第一季開始，太陽能客戶的訂單量將大幅成長，這與他們的口頭承諾有所不同。對於公眾而言，還有幾家上市的太陽能公司可供選擇。如果你閱讀他們的財報，你會發現他們對明年的前景以及其他私人投資都很樂觀。所以，太陽能市場應該會繼續成長。我們已經口頭約定了，即便沒有正式的採購訂單。

And then there's some organic things like the regional service centers as we continue, again, with John Pregenzer and other leaders guide on just how we make it more efficient with the (inaudible) pulling even 80/20, like what are the real critical products that we have to drive and continue to perform even better there, that that's a winning proposition with one order, one delivery, one invoice that I think we're going to see a good maximization as we get into next year. So not that it hasn't worked yet, but even better. So I think it's a coal cross-section there that makes us excited, Chris.

然後還有一些有機的東西，比如區域服務中心，我們繼續，再次在約翰·普雷根澤和其他領導的指導下，探討如何提高效率，甚至達到 80/20 的比例，比如哪些是我們必須推動並繼續做得更好的真正關鍵的產品，這是一個制勝的方案，一次訂單，一次交付，一張發票，我認為我們明年將看到很好的最大化。所以，不是說它還沒奏效，而是效果更好了。所以我覺得，克里斯，正是煤炭的橫斷面讓我們感到興奮。

No, that's extremely helpful. Thanks for the color there, guys. I guess as a follow-up, I mean, John, you mentioned the water investments there. I guess we've been talking about that in the past and then frankly, raised a couple of eyebrows. I guess, any comments you can give in terms of number of locations that have been changed over to water PVC from electrical capacity expected contribution? Anything at all you can kind of give us to put arms around that piece of the business?

不，這非常有幫助。謝謝你們提供的色彩，夥伴們。我想接著說，約翰，你剛才提到了那裡的水利投資。我想我們之前也討論過這個問題，坦白說，當時引起了一些人的質疑。我想請問，您能否就已從電力容量預期貢獻轉向水力PVC的地點數量提供一些評論？您能否提供一些信息，幫助我們更好地了解這部分業務？

Yeah. So let me handle this one because I do think, and I own it, like everything else, our communication on this. So we have around -- well, if we reduce the factory here, but like eight facilities, geographically dispersed. As we continue to drive productivity, we are getting more throughput in our lines. And these are simple things like less scrap -- I won't get too geeky here, but single minute exchange of die, the turnover time that we have extra capacity here across our facilities.

是的。所以讓我來處理這件事，因為我確實認為，而且我也承認，就像其他所有事情一樣，我們在這件事上的溝通有問題。所以我們現在大約有——嗯，如果我們減少這裡的工廠，大概有八個工廠，地理位置分散。隨著我們不斷提高生產效率，我們的生產線產量也不斷增加。這些都是一些簡單的事情，例如減少廢料——我不會在這裡講太多技術細節，但是一分鐘內完成模具更換，週轉時間縮短，我們各個工廠都有額外的產能。

We buy -- and I'll hit in your specific question. We buy resin effectively. We -- in several of our facilities, we're already in these markets. So we're not looking at all to cut down on our electrical growth. Actually, we see electrical conduit for all the things we mentioned, from data centers to grid hardening continue to grow, just like we called out, they grew double digit here in Q4 to continue to grow well. So like electrical conduit is our main focus.

我們收購－我會回答你的具體問題。我們有效率地採購樹脂。我們——在我們的幾個工廠裡，我們已經進入了這些市場。所以我們完全沒有考慮到減少電力成長。事實上，我們看到我們提到的所有用途的電力管道，從數據中心到電網加固，都在持續增長，正如我們指出的那樣，它們在第四季度實現了兩位數的增長，並將繼續保持良好的增長勢頭。所以，電線管道是我們的主要關注點。

On the same hand, just as an edge-out strategy. Let's invest in making one or two additional products -- I could say, C900 because that's the product, but like let's make this one other product that we have the capacity on to further absorb the line, the overhead. It's a good profitable product here. So we've made those type of investments in the factory, but it's not like a new factory. It takes nothing away from our primary focus on electrical, and we are seeing growth here. Now in those new products like C900, I'm seeing good solid double-digit growth in those type of things.

另一方面，這就像是一種邊緣策略。讓我們投資生產一到兩種額外的產品——我可以說 C900，因為這就是產品，但讓我們生產另一種我們有產能的產品，以進一步吸收生產線的成本和管理成本。這是一款利潤豐厚的產品。所以我們已經對工廠進行了這類投資，但它不是新工廠。這絲毫不會影響我們對電氣業務的主要關注，而且我們在這個領域也看到了成長。現在，像 C900 這樣的新產品，我看到這類產品實現了兩位數的穩健成長。

So again, I think from an investor standpoint, where we're focused on electrical is absolutely all -- I say I'm doing Atkore's how we utilize an edge-out strategy for something that should add some organic growth to the corporation's additional profits and so forth. And that's it. But it is, to John Deitzer's point, with that ramp-up, we see strong enough growth that is going to help us drive the second half of the year.

所以，我認為從投資者的角度來看，我們專注於電氣領域，這完全是——我說我正在做 Atkore 的工作，我們如何利用邊緣化策略來為公司增加一些有機成長，從而帶來額外的利潤等等。就這樣。但正如約翰·迪澤爾所說，隨著產能的提升，我們看到了足夠強勁的成長，這將有助於我們推動下半年的發展。

Yeah. I think to Bill's point, I think we're happy to see the growth in PVC conduit that we've had here in the last couple of quarters. I mean it's been really positive to see the penetration we've had growing that product line, while we expand some capabilities in a handful of our PVC plants that we're already doing. Non-electrical or water products in the past, they can do some additional product lines and have some additional capacity, but we really feel that we're on the back end of that investment, and then we'll start to see the commercial benefits as we execute that plan going forward. But again, the primary activity in all of our plants is PVC conduit.

是的。我同意比爾的觀點，我們很高興看到過去幾季PVC導管銷量的成長。我的意思是，看到我們透過拓展產品線所取得的市場滲透率，以及我們在一些 PVC 工廠擴大產能，這真的令人欣慰。過去，他們生產非電氣或水產品，現在可以生產一些額外的產品線，並擁有一些額外的產能，但我們真的覺得我們已經處於這項投資的後期階段，隨著我們繼續執行該計劃，我們將開始看到商業效益。但再次強調，我們所有工廠的主要生產活動都是PVC導管。

Thanks so much, guys.

非常感謝各位。

And this concludes the question-and-answer session. I will now turn the call back over to Bill Waltz for some closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。現在我將把電話轉回給比爾‧沃爾茲，請他作總結發言。

Before we conclude, let me summarize our key takeaways from today's discussion. First, Atkore has a solid financial profile, differentiated product portfolio and placement in key electrical end markets, projecting growth into the next decade. Second, Atkore continues to evolve and drive towards excellence. Our announcement to explore strategic alternatives is intended to chart the best path forward. Finally, our decisions now and in the future will be made with a steadfast commitment to creating and maximizing shareholder value over the long term.

在結束之前，讓我總結一下今天要討論的主要內容。首先，Atkore 擁有穩健的財務狀況、差異化的產品組合以及在關鍵電氣終端市場的佈局，預計未來十年將保持成長。其次，Atkore不斷發展並追求卓越。我們宣布將探索各種戰略選擇，旨在找到最佳的前進道路。最後，我們現在和將來所做的所有決定，都將堅定不移地致力於在長期內創造和最大化股東價值。

With that, thank you for your support and interest in our company, and we look forward to speaking with you during our next quarterly call. This concludes the call for today.

在此，感謝您對我們公司的支持和關注，我們期待在下次季度電話會議上與您交流。今天的通話到此結束。

This concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線了。