Avient Corp (AVNT) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Avient Corporation's webcast to discuss the company's first quarter 2026 results. My name is Michelle, and I'll be your operator for today. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded for replay purposes.

各位女士、先生，早安，歡迎收看 Avient Corporation 的網路直播，一同討論公司 2026 年第一季業績。我是 Michelle，今天將擔任您的會議接線員。（接線員指示）提醒您，本次電話會議將錄音以供重播。

I would now like to turn the call over to Joe Di Salvo, Vice President, Treasurer and Investor Relations. Please proceed.

現在我想把電話交給副總裁、財務主管兼投資人關係負責人 Joe Di Salvo。請開始。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone, to joining us on the call today. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that statements made during this webcast may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements will give current expectations or forecasts of future events and are not guarantees of future performance.

謝謝，各位早安，感謝大家今天加入本次電話會議。在開始之前，我想提醒各位，本次網路直播中所作之陳述，可能構成《1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法》所定義的前瞻性陳述。前瞻性陳述反映對未來事件的當前預期或預測，並不保證未來表現。

They're based on management's expectations and involve a number of business risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. We encourage you to review our most recent reports, including our 10-K or any applicable amendments, for a complete discussion of these factors and other risks that may affect our future results.

這些陳述係基於管理層的預期，並涉及多項商業風險與不確定性，其中任何一項都可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述所明示或暗示者存在重大差異。我們鼓勵您查閱我們最新的報告（包括 10-K 或任何適用的修訂），以完整了解這些因素以及其他可能影響我們未來業績的風險。

During the discussion today, the company will use both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the presentation posted on the Investor Relations section of the Avient website, where the company describes the non-GAAP measures and provides a reconciliation for historical non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

在今天的討論中，公司將同時使用 GAAP 與非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。請參閱 Avient 官網投資人關係專區所發布的簡報，其中公司說明非 GAAP 指標，並提供歷史非 GAAP 財務指標與其最直接可比之 GAAP 財務指標的調節表。

A replay of this call will be available on our website. Information to access the replay is listed in today's press release, which is available at avient.com in the Investor Relations section of the website. Joining me today is our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Ashish Khandpur; and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Jamie Beggs.

本次電話會議的重播將於我們網站提供。重播的存取資訊列於今日新聞稿中，新聞稿可於 avient.com 網站的投資人關係專區取得。今天與我一同出席的有：董事長、總裁兼執行長 Ashish Khandpur 博士；以及資深副總裁兼財務長 Jamie Beggs。

I will now hand the call over to Ashish to begin.

現在我將把電話交給 Ashish 開始。

Thank you, Joe, and good morning, everyone. Before I get into my business-related comments, I want to highlight the recent CFO leadership change we announced last week. Jamie Beggs has decided to leave Avient effective June 1 to pursue an opportunity outside of the company. I would like to extend my thanks to Jamie for her 6 years of contributions and service to Avient and wish her the best in her new role. I am also very pleased to have Joe Di Salvo take on the CFO role, who many of you know very well.

謝謝你，Joe，各位早安。在我開始談業務相關評論之前，我想先強調我們上週宣布的近期財務長領導層變動。Jamie Beggs 已決定於 6 月 1 日起離開 Avient，以追求公司外部的機會。我在此感謝 Jamie 過去 6 年對 Avient 的貢獻與服務，並祝福她在新職務上一切順利。我也非常高興由 Joe Di Salvo 接任財務長一職，相信在座許多人都非常熟悉他。

I have had the chance to work closely with Joe for about 2.5 years now and have established a strong and trusting relationship with him. Joe brings with him 25 years of financial experience, including nearly 15 years at Avient. He has established strong relationships within the company and with the investment community. His deep financial experience and consistent delivery of results make him well suited to lead our financial organization. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Joe to deliver value to all our stakeholders.

我有機會在過去約 2.5 年與 Joe 密切合作，並與他建立了穩固且互信的關係。Joe 擁有 25 年的財務經驗，其中近 15 年在 Avient 任職。他在公司內部以及投資社群中都建立了良好關係。他深厚的財務專業與一貫交付成果的表現，使他非常適合領導我們的財務組織。我期待持續與 Joe 緊密合作，為所有利害關係人創造價值。

Coming to the quarterly results now. In the first quarter, our teams delivered $0.83 of adjusted EPS, modestly ahead of our expectations, demonstrating disciplined execution in a complex operating environment. Our focus on cash and debt reduction in 2025 also contributed favorably to our first quarter EPS growth.

接著談本季業績。第一季，我們的團隊交出調整後每股盈餘（adjusted EPS）0.83 美元，略高於我們的預期，展現出在複雜營運環境中的紀律執行力。我們在 2025 年對現金與降債的聚焦，也對第一季 EPS 成長帶來正面貢獻。

Sales were generally in line with expectations and market demand was a continuation of Q4, especially in Color, Additives and Inks, the larger of our two business segments. Demand remained subdued in January and February with a notable pickup in March as customers accelerated purchasing to mitigate potential supply disruptions and inflation pressures related to the conflict in the Middle East.

銷售額整體大致符合預期，市場需求延續第四季走勢，尤其是在我們兩大事業部中規模較大的 Color、Additives and Inks。1 月與 2 月需求仍偏疲弱，但 3 月明顯回升，因客戶為降低中東衝突可能引發的供應中斷與通膨壓力而加速採購。

Importantly, our continued focus on productivity and cost control more than offset wage inflation and incentive resets, expanding adjusted EBITDA margins by 20 basis points.

重要的是，我們持續聚焦生產力提升與成本控管，足以抵銷薪資通膨與獎酬重設的影響，使調整後 EBITDA 利潤率擴張 20 個基點。

One of the highlights of Q1 was that we started seeing some strength in our biggest end market of packaging, which contributes about 23% of our company revenues. Packaging finished up low single digits against strong comparisons of around 7% growth that we experienced in Q1 2025. We will talk more about packaging later in this presentation when we discuss our end markets in further detail.

第一季的亮點之一，是我們開始在最大終端市場—包裝—看到一些走強跡象；包裝約占公司營收的 23%。在第一季 2025 年約 7% 成長的高基期比較下，包裝業務本季仍呈低個位數成長。我們稍後在本簡報更深入討論終端市場時，將再談包裝市場。

Geopolitical events in the Middle East have increased volatility in market conditions and customer purchasing behavior as customers work to secure supply and manage inflation. I have personally visited many of our customers in Asia and EMEA, where the immediate supply chain disruptions are most pronounced.

中東地緣政治事件提高了市場狀況與客戶採購行為的波動性，客戶正努力確保供應並管理通膨。我本人已拜訪亞洲與 EMEA 的許多客戶，這些地區的即時供應鏈中斷最為明顯。

I can confidently say that our teams are doing an outstanding job to manage the situation proactively and are staying focused on and close to our customers. We are leveraging our global supply chain and material science capabilities to secure raw materials, qualify alternatives where we can and have been implementing price actions where needed, to offset inflation.

我可以有信心地說，我們的團隊在主動管理情勢方面表現非常出色，並持續聚焦且貼近客戶。我們正運用全球供應鏈與材料科學能力來確保原料供應、在可行處認證替代方案，並在需要時採取價格措施以抵銷通膨。

This approach is consistent with our proven playbook, which enabled us to remain net price positive during the post-pandemic disruptions of 2021, 2022 and again, during the tariff-driven volatility in 2025. In fact, we remain net price positive in each and every quarter during these volatile and uncertain periods and expect the same to be the case this year as we confront another extended period of elevated uncertainty. For the second quarter, we have secured supply for the vast majority of our raw materials.

此作法與我們經驗證的應對手冊一致，該手冊使我們在 2021、2022 年疫情後的供應中斷期間，以及 2025 年關稅驅動的波動期間，仍能維持淨價格為正。事實上，在這些波動且不確定的期間，我們每一季都維持淨價格為正；面對今年另一段不確定性偏高的延長期間，我們也預期將同樣如此。就第二季而言，我們已為絕大多數原料確保供應。

While availability remains constrained for select items, our teams are actively working with suppliers and seeking alternatives to minimize any impact, which we expect to be immaterial for Q2. We also expect organic sales growth in both business segments and margin expansion for the total company in second quarter, while we continue to invest in the growth vectors in alignment with our strategy. Overall, our teams are well prepared to handle the changing business conditions with agility and staying focused on customers. Execution over the last nine quarters has been exceptional, and I believe our people are our competitive advantage in these turbulent times.

雖然部分品項的供應仍然吃緊，我們的團隊正積極與供應商合作並尋找替代方案，以將任何影響降至最低；我們預期對第二季的影響不具重大性。我們也預期第二季兩大事業部皆將實現有機銷售成長，且公司整體利潤率將擴張，同時我們將持續依策略投資於成長向量。整體而言，我們的團隊已充分準備，以敏捷方式因應變動的商業環境並持續以客戶為中心。過去九個季度的執行表現極為出色，我相信在這段動盪時期，我們的人才是我們的競爭優勢。

While first half performance is tracking modestly ahead of our expectations, uncertainty around the second half remains elevated. As a result, we are currently not changing our full year guidance. We are prepared for a range of outcomes and are making decisions to proactively manage the business with what we can influence. Accordingly, we will continue to execute our productivity initiatives as well as control spending and headcount, adjusting on an ongoing basis as the business conditions warrant. Turning to our end market trends.

雖然上半年表現的進度略優於我們的預期，但對下半年的不確定性仍然偏高。因此，我們目前不調整全年財測指引。我們已為各種可能結果做好準備，並就我們可影響的面向，主動做出決策以管理業務。因此，我們將持續推動生產力計畫，同時控管支出與人力編制，並依商業情勢需要持續調整。接下來談我們的終端市場趨勢。

Packaging, our largest end market, continues to demonstrate resilience, supported by new share gains, especially in food and beverage applications and also by new product innovations. This includes brand-new growth driven by non-PFAS Polymer Processing Aids used in personal health and beauty applications, and low-outgassing and anti-static materials used in films and tapes for electronics packaging applications.

包裝作為我們最大的終端市場，持續展現韌性，受惠於新增市占（特別是在食品與飲料應用）以及新產品創新。其中包括：用於個人健康與美容應用的非 PFAS 聚合物加工助劑（Polymer Processing Aids）所帶動的全新成長，以及用於電子產品包裝應用之薄膜與膠帶的低逸氣與抗靜電材料。

As a result, we expect mid- to high single-digit growth in packaging in the second quarter, led by EMEA, our largest packaging market, where we also have favorable comparisons versus the second quarter of 2025. Consumer sales declined in the first quarter. In the second quarter, we expect a return to low single-digit growth, primarily driven by favorable comparisons following the demand slowdown that began in the second quarter of 2025.

因此，我們預期第二季包裝業務將有中到高個位數成長，主要由 EMEA 帶動；EMEA 是我們最大的包裝市場，且相較 2025 年第二季亦有較有利的比較基期。消費品銷售在第一季下滑；第二季我們預期將回到低個位數成長，主要受惠於 2025 年第二季開始的需求放緩所形成的有利比較基期。

Healthcare growth was low single digit in the first quarter, reflecting tough double-digit growth comparisons from Q1 2025 and also some customer inventory rebalancing in the drug delivery space. Importantly, this market has delivered consistent growth over the past 9 quarters with double-digit growth in each of the 2 years, 2024 and 2025. As we lap strong growth in the first half of 2025, we expect second quarter growth to be similar to the first quarter. Defense sales were flat in the first quarter caused by lumpiness and timing of orders delivery in this business. For Q2, we expect defense sales to grow sequentially over Q1 and also year-over-year versus a very strong Q2 2025, where defense had grown almost 20%.

醫療保健在第一季呈低個位數成長，反映 2025 年第一季雙位數成長的高基期比較，以及藥物輸送領域部分客戶的庫存再平衡。重要的是，該市場在過去九個季度持續成長，並在 2024 與 2025 兩年皆達成每年雙位數成長。隨著我們逐步消化 2025 年上半年的強勁成長基期，我們預期第二季成長將與第一季相近。國防業務第一季銷售持平，主因該業務訂單交付時點不均與時程因素。第二季方面，我們預期國防銷售將較第一季呈現季增，且相較於非常強勁的 2025 年第二季亦將年增；當時國防業務成長接近 20%。

We see continued demand momentum in this business with healthy project pipelines and deep customer engagements in the United States and Europe. Building and Construction was another bright spot, where sales grew each of the three months of the first quarter and finished up mid-single digits. The growth in the quarter was primarily driven by share gains in the commercial and data center infrastructure build applications. We expect the trend to continue in the second quarter. Demand in industrial, transportation and energy market continues to be slow, with sales declining mid-single digits or so in each of these end markets in Q1.

我們看到該業務需求動能持續，專案管線健康，且在美國與歐洲與客戶的合作互動深入。建築與施工也是另一個亮點，第一季三個月的銷售皆成長，最終以中個位數成長作收。本季成長主要由商用建築與資料中心基礎設施建置應用的市占提升所帶動。我們預期第二季此趨勢將延續。工業、運輸與能源市場的需求仍然疲弱，第一季這些終端市場的銷售各自約下滑中個位數。

This trend is expected to continue into Q2, but with magnitude of decline being more modest. We have been highlighting our innovations in these calls on a fairly regular basis now to provide a flavor of how our strategic pillar of innovation is taking shape in the company and building momentum for sales growth and margin expansion. Even as we manage market volatility and deliver on our business performance each quarter, our strategy of prioritizing growth vectors tied to secular trends continues to create opportunities for innovation and new business creation at scale.

預期此趨勢將延續至第二季，但下滑幅度會較為溫和。我們近來在這些電話會議中相當定期地強調我們的創新，讓大家了解公司「創新」這一策略支柱如何逐步成形，並為銷售成長與毛利率擴張累積動能。即使我們管理市場波動並在每一季交付營運表現，我們優先聚焦於與長期結構性趨勢相關的成長向量之策略，仍持續在規模化層面創造創新與新業務開發的機會。

Today, I will highlight how our teams are solving problems in the electronics and high-performance computing space, which is one of our prioritized growth vectors. As AI and high-performance computing applications grow and pervade several industries, the demand for advanced semiconductors and efficient data centers continues to increase.

今天，我將重點說明我們的團隊如何在電子與高效能運算領域解決問題，這也是我們優先的成長向量之一。隨著 AI 與高效能運算應用成長並滲透多個產業，對先進半導體與高效率資料中心的需求持續增加。

We are supporting the AI and high-performance computing infrastructure build-out across three critical areas, bringing our technologies to industry leaders in this space. First, Avient's unique material solutions offer excellent microenvironment control in semiconductor fabs and are used in wafer handling applications such as front opening universal pods and carrier tapes for transporting bare die and package chips. Our materials are designed to specifications of our customers while meeting stringent requirements of outgassing, electrostatic dissipation and ultra-clean processing.

我們正從三個關鍵領域支援 AI 與高效能運算基礎設施的建置，將我們的技術帶給此領域的產業領導者。第一，Avient 獨特的材料解決方案可在半導體晶圓廠提供優異的微環境控制，並用於晶圓搬運應用，例如前開式通用載具（FOUP）以及用於運輸裸晶與封裝晶片的載帶（carrier tapes）。我們的材料依客戶規格設計，同時滿足嚴格的逸氣（outgassing）、靜電耗散與超潔淨製程要求。

Second, in data center servers, increased demand in processing power requires connectors and other components to operate at higher temperatures and be packed into a smaller footprint, a challenge that is hard to address with traditional polymers. Our custom design solutions for advanced connectors and optical fiber components offer very high signal fidelity in order to maximize data throughput in AI server interconnects.

第二，在資料中心伺服器方面，處理效能需求提升，要求連接器與其他元件能在更高溫下運作，並以更小的占用空間進行更高密度的配置；這是傳統聚合物難以解決的挑戰。我們為先進連接器與光纖元件提供客製化設計解決方案，具備極高的訊號保真度，以最大化 AI 伺服器互連中的資料吞吐量。

Third, every data center needs thousands of miles of cabling, both for managing signal and power. With increasing power and density requirements, operators require cable solutions to be compact, quickly dissipate heat in high-density racks for safe operation and meet stringent fire codes. Our materials offer thin wall insulation that meet and exceed these needs as well as enable high-speed manufacturing of cables.

第三，每座資料中心都需要數千英里的纜線，用於訊號與電力管理。隨著功率與密度需求提高，營運商需要纜線解決方案具備更緊湊的尺寸、能在高密度機櫃中快速散熱以確保安全運作，並符合嚴格的防火法規。我們的材料提供薄壁絕緣，可滿足並超越上述需求，同時也能支援纜線的高速製造。

Our electronics and high-performance computing solutions have been growing rapidly over the last couple of years, and we expect this momentum to continue in 2026 and beyond. This growth vector is expected to finish greater than $40 million in sales this year, adding about $10 million in sales just in 2026 itself and doubling in sales in the last three years.

過去幾年，我們的電子與高效能運算解決方案快速成長，我們預期此動能將延續至 2026 年及以後。預期今年此成長向量的銷售額將超過 4,000 萬美元，僅在 2026 年就將新增約 1,000 萬美元銷售，並在過去三年內實現銷售翻倍。

Our teams continue to build and work on expanding the pipeline of projects and customers in this space. I will now hand the call over to Jamie to add some additional color on our first quarter results and 2026 financial guidance.

我們的團隊持續建置並致力於擴大此領域的專案與客戶管線。接下來我將把電話交給 Jamie，請他就第一季業績與 2026 年財務指引補充更多說明。

Thank you, Ashish, and good morning, everyone. I'll start with the first quarter performance of our Color, Additives and Inks segment. Continued strength in health care and stable packaging demand was more than offset by subdued demand in consumer, transportation and industrial end markets, which led to a 3% decline in organic sales during the quarter. EBITDA margins improved 40 basis points as pricing and productivity initiatives more than offset the impact of wage inflation and lower organic sales. Specialty Engineered Materials organic sales were flat as share gains in commercial building and construction applications primarily offset lower sales in consumer, transportation and industrial end markets.

謝謝你，Ashish，各位早安。我先從我們「色彩、添加劑與油墨」事業部第一季表現談起。醫療保健的持續強勁以及包裝需求穩定，仍不足以抵銷消費、運輸與工業終端市場需求疲弱的影響，導致本季有機銷售下滑 3%。在定價與生產力提升措施的帶動下，EBITDA 利潤率提升 40 個基點，足以抵銷薪資通膨與有機銷售下滑的影響。特種工程材料的有機銷售持平，商用建築與施工應用的市占提升，主要抵銷了消費、運輸與工業終端市場較低的銷售。

Healthcare was impacted by inventory rebalancing related to supply chain movements as well as lapping strong double-digit growth in Q1 of the prior year. Defense sales were flat due to timing of customer orders and following several quarters of high single-digit to low double-digit growth. EBITDA margins declined 40 basis points, primarily due to unfavorable mix in the quarter, while productivity initiatives offset the impact of wage inflation. Both businesses demonstrated strong execution to deliver the first quarter results while proactively addressing anticipated changes in raw material cost, supply availability and pricing. Moving to the regions.

醫療保健受到與供應鏈變動相關的庫存再平衡影響，同時也面臨去年第一季強勁的雙位數成長基期。國防銷售持平，原因在於客戶下單時點，以及此前數季高個位數至低雙位數成長後的正常化。EBITDA 利潤率下滑 40 個基點，主要由於本季產品組合不利；生產力提升措施則抵銷了薪資通膨的影響。兩項業務皆展現強勁執行力以交付第一季成果，同時也主動因應預期的原物料成本、供應可得性與定價變化。接著談各區域表現。

Overall demand trends were generally consistent with the year-over-year fourth quarter comparisons with a few distinct call-outs. US/Canada sales benefited from positive growth in building and construction share gains as well as stable demand in consumer and packaging end markets. This was more than offset by timing of defense orders, primarily associated with the delay of spending from recent government shutdowns and slow transportation demand related to domestic automotive production. Overall sales declined 3% for the region during the quarter. EMEA organic sales were down 2% year-over-year, primarily due to consumer, industrial and transportation sales.

整體需求趨勢大致與第四季的年對年比較一致，但有幾點值得特別說明。美國/加拿大的銷售受惠於建築與施工市占提升帶來的正向成長，以及消費與包裝終端市場需求穩定；但這些利多被國防訂單時點所抵銷，主要與近期政府關門導致支出延後，以及與國內汽車產量相關的運輸需求疲弱有關。該區域本季整體銷售下滑 3%。EMEA 的有機銷售年減 2%，主要因消費、工業與運輸銷售下滑所致。

Transportation was impacted by lower light vehicle production and demand for high-performance fibers used in marine applications. These declines more than offset strong growth in defense sales and momentum in the health care for the region. Asia grew 2%, driven by strength in packaging and telecommunications. In addition, secular growth in electronics and high-performance computing as well as functional additives continues to unlock new opportunities for our materials portfolio. This has helped offset weak consumer demand, particularly in textile applications.

運輸業務受到輕型車產量下降，以及用於海事應用的高性能纖維需求降低的影響。上述下滑幅度超過了國防銷售的強勁成長，以及該區域醫療保健的動能。亞洲成長 2%，由包裝與電信的強勁表現帶動。此外，電子與高效能運算以及功能性添加劑的長期結構性成長，持續為我們的材料產品組合解鎖新機會，並有助於抵銷疲弱的消費需求，尤其是在紡織應用方面。

Latin America sales declined 6%, lapping 17% growth in the first quarter last year. Business in the region primarily serves consumer and packaging end markets where consumers remain cautious amid macro uncertainty. As Ashish mentioned, our current performance expectations for the first half of the year are trending slightly better than expected. With that said, the outlook for the second half is less certain. Therefore, we are maintaining our full year guidance of adjusted EBITDA of $555 million to $585 million, which reflects 2% to 7% growth over the prior year.

拉丁美洲銷售下滑 6%，主要因去年第一季 17% 成長的高基期。該區域業務主要服務消費與包裝終端市場，在宏觀不確定性下，消費者仍保持謹慎。如 Ashish 所提，我們對上半年目前的績效預期略優於原先預估。儘管如此，下半年展望較不明朗。因此，我們維持全年指引不變：調整後 EBITDA 為 5.55 億至 5.85 億美元，較去年成長 2% 至 7%。

Adjusted EPS of $2.93 to $3.17, which reflects 4% to 12% growth over the prior year. This range includes our second quarter adjusted EPS outlook of $0.89. Despite expected supply chain constraints and inflationary pressures in the second quarter, our teams have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to navigate volatility through disciplined execution. By staying closely aligned with customers, actively managing raw material sourcing and pricing and maintaining a strong focus on productivity, we remain well positioned to offset inflation and grow earnings in 2026. We also expect to generate more than $200 million of free cash flow this year, strengthening an already solid balance sheet and increasing our financial flexibility.

調整後 EPS 為 2.93 至 3.17 美元，較去年成長 4% 至 12%。此區間包含我們對第二季調整後 EPS 0.89 美元的展望。儘管第二季預期將面臨供應鏈限制與通膨壓力，我們的團隊已多次證明能以紀律性的執行力穿越波動。透過與客戶保持緊密對齊、積極管理原物料採購與定價，並持續高度聚焦生產力，我們仍具備良好條件在 2026 年抵銷通膨並提升獲利。我們也預期今年將產生超過 2 億美元的自由現金流，進一步強化原本就穩健的資產負債表並提升財務彈性。

I'll now turn it back over to Ashish for some concluding comments.

接下來我把電話交回 Ashish，請他做一些結語。

Thank you, Jamie. Before opening it up for questions, I would like to acknowledge the hard work done by the Avient team during the quarter and thank our people for their disciplined execution and strong focus on serving our customers with passion and agility. I'm extremely proud and fortunate to be part of such a great team. With that, we will now open the line for Q&A.

謝謝你，Jamie。在開放提問之前，我想肯定 Avient 團隊在本季所付出的努力，並感謝同仁以紀律性的執行力，以及以熱忱與敏捷服務客戶的高度專注。我非常自豪也很幸運能成為這樣優秀團隊的一員。接下來我們將開放 Q&A。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Frank Mitsch, Fermium Research LLC.

Frank Mitsch，Fermium Research LLC。

Thank you so much, and let me offer a double congrats to both Jamie and Joe. Ashish and I obviously wish you the best, and obviously, we'll be staying in close touch. Ashish, I wanted to delve into the raws versus price a little bit more. And I appreciate your comments with respect to net positive price in each quarter as we progress through the year. What are you actually seeing in terms of raw material inflation?

非常感謝，也請讓我向 Jamie 和 Joe 兩位致上雙重祝賀。Ashish 和我顯然都祝福你們一切順利，當然我們也會保持密切聯繫。Ashish，我想更深入談談原物料與價格之間的關係。我也很感謝你提到，隨著今年進程推進，每一季都會有淨正向的價格貢獻。就原物料通膨而言，你們實際上看到的是什麼情況？

I understand that 2Q is somewhat muted because you've already got it in stock. But if you could give us some more color as to what you're seeing on the raw side and what your expectations are on the price side?Thank you.

我理解第二季可能相對溫和，因為你們已經有庫存。但如果你能再多提供一些你們在原物料端所觀察到的情況，以及你們對價格端的預期，將不勝感激。謝謝。

Yeah, Frank, basically, if you look at our raw materials and put them in two different buckets, one is hydrocarbons, that's where we are seeing most of our price increases. Overall ranges vary from 20% to 60% with TPE is more in the 20% to 30% range and polyethylene, polypropylenes in the -- or 20% to 60% range depending on the region you are in. So that's on the hydrocarbon side. And the second bucket is basically our specialty materials and minerals like Performance Additives and things like TiO2, for example.

是的，Frank，基本上，如果你看我們的原物料並把它們分成兩個不同的類別，一個是碳氫化合物，這也是我們看到大多數價格上漲的地方。整體區間大約在 20% 到 60% 之間，其中 TPE 較多落在 20% 到 30% 的區間，而聚乙烯、聚丙烯則在——或 20% 到 60% 的區間，取決於你所在的地區。所以這是碳氫化合物這一側。第二個類別基本上是我們的特種材料與礦物，例如 Performance Additives（性能添加劑）以及像 TiO2 這類的產品。

And there, the increase is more in the high single digit kind of a range. Basically, that's where we are seeing the price year-over-year increases. Then on energy, we are hedged for 2026 more or less. So not -- it's a small component anyway from -- less than 2% of our company sales. So not much impact in 2026.

而在那一塊，漲幅更多是在高個位數的區間。基本上，這就是我們看到的同比價格上漲。至於能源方面，我們對 2026 年或多或少已做了避險。所以——反正它本來就是個小項目——占我們公司銷售額不到 2%。因此在 2026 年影響不大。

But even in 2027, since it's a small number, it will not matter a whole lot. We can take care of that through our price increases if needed. And then the other part is freight, where we are seeing almost close to 20% kind of increases. So that's what we are seeing from an inflation perspective. And then obviously, as I said, our teams have moved pretty aggressively in Q1 itself.

但即使到 2027 年，由於金額很小，也不會有太大影響。如有需要，我們可以透過調價來處理。另一部分是運輸費，我們看到幾乎接近 20% 的漲幅。這就是我們從通膨角度所看到的情況。然後很明顯，如我所說，我們的團隊在第一季就已經相當積極地採取行動。

Giving price increases are -- is not our preferred way of doing things. We first try to see if we can work with our customers and secure RMs from other places or qualify new materials. But if that doesn't work, then we are -- we have to move with the price increases. And the teams have moved fast. And as I mentioned in my commentary, we expect every quarter to be net price benefit based on how we have moved.

調漲價格——並不是我們偏好的做法。我們首先會嘗試看看能否與客戶合作，從其他地方取得原物料，或認證新的材料。但如果行不通，那麼我們——就必須採取調價。而團隊行動很快。正如我在評論中提到的，基於我們採取的作法，我們預期每一季都會帶來淨價格效益。

So we try to stay ahead of inflation. So overall, I think for total, at a company level, if you think about for raw materials, we expect price to be in the mid-single digits averaged over our entire raw material basket. So that gives you some flavor of what we are looking at.

所以我們努力走在通膨之前。整體而言，我認為以公司層級來看，如果你把原物料放在一起考量，我們預期價格在我們整體原物料組合的平均漲幅會落在中個位數。這可以讓你大致了解我們的看法。

Terrific. That's very helpful. And Jamie, one last one for old time sakes. Obviously, you indicated positive free cash flow for 2026. Working capital was a significant use here in the first quarter.

太好了。這非常有幫助。Jamie，最後一個問題，算是老朋友的情誼。很明顯，你提到 2026 年會有正的自由現金流。第一季營運資金是相當大的資金使用項目。

How do you think about working capital as we progress through the year?

你如何看待我們在今年接下來的時間裡，營運資金的走勢？

Yes. From an overall perspective, we typically range between 13% and 14% of the working capital as a percentage of sales. And so as you do your modeling, that's what I would assume from an organic perspective. Q1 typically is a pretty big draw. That's just normal seasonality based on sales increases from a sequential basis Q4 to Q1.

是的。從整體角度來看，我們通常營運資金占銷售額的比例落在 13% 到 14% 之間。因此你在建模時，從有機成長的角度，我會假設就是這個水準。第一季通常會有相當大的資金占用，這只是正常的季節性，因為銷售額在序列上從第四季到第一季會增加。

So no significant changes in our normal full year run rate on that. Just Q1 is more seasonal -- yes, seasonal.

所以在我們正常的全年運行水準上沒有重大變化。只是第一季比較季節性——是的，季節性。

Thank you so much.

非常感謝。

Michael Sison, Wells Fargo.

Michael Sison，Wells Fargo。

Hey, good morning, guys. Good start to the year and congrats to Jamie and Joe as well. I guess the first question, in terms of the positive sales -- organic sales growth you see in 2Q, how much of that is coming from volume? And it feels like volumes were down in the first quarter. You talked about a lot of end markets doing pretty well here in terms of share gains and stuff. So just kind of want to get a feel for that as we head into 2Q and the second half?

嘿，各位早安。今年開局不錯，也恭喜 Jamie 和 Joe。我想第一個問題是，關於你們在第二季看到的正向銷售——有機銷售成長，其中有多少是來自銷量？而且感覺第一季銷量是下滑的。你們談到很多終端市場在市占提升等方面表現不錯。所以只是想了解一下，當我們進入第二季以及下半年時，這方面的情況如何？

Yes, Mike, volumes were down about 2% in Q1, and I think we expect similar kind of range for Q2 as well. Most of the organic growth will be driven by price in Q2. So -- but overall, for the -- overall for the quarter, we will see basically a positive organic local currency growth, for the first half, I mean, and obviously, for second quarter, as we mentioned in our commentary. Second half, of course, we are expecting much higher volume growth as well. And that's largely because of the comp effect, that last year, second half was down 2% versus first half, which was up 1% or so.

是的，Mike，第一季銷量大約下滑 2%，我想我們也預期第二季會是類似的區間。第二季的大部分有機成長將由價格所驅動。所以——但整體來看，對於——整體而言，我們在上半年（我是說上半年）將基本上看到正向的有機本地貨幣成長，當然第二季也是如此，正如我們在評論中提到的。至於下半年，當然我們也預期銷量成長會高得多。這主要是因為比較基期效應：去年下半年下滑 2%，而上半年大約成長 1% 左右。

So we have some comp tailwinds in the second half, but also we are seeing some markets getting real positive demand, as I highlighted, packaging specifically and parts of consumer also coming back in certain areas of the world. So there is some uncertainty in second half. But overall, we feel like some of our markets are getting back in traction. And our teams are winning share and also our -- some of our new product innovation is kicking in, which is going to help us in the second half of the year as well.

所以我們在下半年有一些比較基期的順風，但同時我們也看到一些市場出現真正正向的需求，如我所強調的，特別是包裝，以及部分消費品在世界某些地區也開始回升。因此下半年仍有一些不確定性。但整體而言，我們覺得部分市場正在恢復動能。我們的團隊正在贏得市占，而且我們——一些新產品創新也開始發揮作用，這也將在今年下半年幫助我們。

Got it. And then in the prior set of inflation, maybe a little bit prior before your time, during Winter Storm Uri, Avient was able to sort of stay ahead of raw material inflation as well. Why do you think that's the case then? Maybe Jamie has a bit more perspective on that. But then going forward, the -- most folks feel it's difficult to do that.

了解。然後關於先前那一波通膨，可能是在你上任之前一點，在 Winter Storm Uri 期間，Avient 也能在原物料通膨之前保持領先。你認為當時為什麼會是那樣？也許 Jamie 對此更有一些觀點。但往後——大多數人覺得要做到這點很困難。

So what is it within the organization of the business that allows you to be able to do that, particularly in this time of pretty steep inflation?

那麼，在組織或業務內部，是什麼讓你們能做到這一點，特別是在這次相當陡峭的通膨環境下？

Maybe I can take a quick stab at it and then if Jamie wants to add based on the history. I think the point is that what we try to do is differentiate ourselves from commodity resin manufacturers and chemical players. And that is where we differentiate with respect to taking pricing and staying ahead. So the customers are willing to pay for the service we provide, the speed with which we work with them to qualify new materials and solve their problems as well as our business model of serving them across the globe, but with a very local service and local touch model.

也許我先簡短回答一下，然後如果 Jamie 想基於過往經驗補充。我認為重點在於，我們努力讓自己與大宗樹脂製造商和化工業者有所區隔。而我們在定價與保持領先方面的差異化也就在這裡。因此，客戶願意為我們提供的服務付費，包括我們與他們合作以認證新材料、解決問題的速度，以及我們的商業模式：在全球服務他們，但同時提供非常在地的服務與在地化的接觸模式。

I think all those things work in our benefit. And so we see that pricing for us is more value-driven because we create value for the customer and not just commodity pricing driven. I think that's my answer, but maybe Jamie can add it.

我認為這些因素都對我們有利。因此我們的定價更偏向價值驅動，因為我們為客戶創造價值，而不只是由大宗商品定價所驅動。我想這就是我的回答，但也許 Jamie 可以補充。

No, I think that's excellent. And the other piece of it is less than 5% of our agreements are indexed. So we have the ability on a PO-by-PO basis to actually manage pricing as needed. And so that also allows us to be ahead of the game, and that's what we've seen back in '21 and '22. We're always able to stay ahead of that raw material inflation despite that also being a very volatile increase, pretty fast.

不，我覺得這說得非常好。另一個因素是，我們的協議中只有不到 5% 是採用指數連動。因此我們能夠在每一張 PO（採購訂單）層級，視需要實際管理定價。這也讓我們能夠走在前面，這也是我們在 2021 年和 2022 年所看到的情況。即使當時原物料通膨也非常波動、上漲很快，我們仍然總能保持領先。

So the team has been doing a great job executing that very familiar playbook. I think in Q2, like Ashish mentioned, you'll see some positive price there, hopefully to stay ahead of where we're at with the inflation.

所以團隊一直在很好地執行那套非常熟悉的作戰手冊。我想在第二季，如 Ashish 所提到的，你會看到一些正向的價格貢獻，希望能夠保持領先於我們目前面對的通膨。

Ghansham Panjabi, Baird.

Ghansham Panjabi，Baird。

Yeah. Hi, guys. Good morning. First off, congrats to Jamie and Joe as well. I wish you both the very best in your new roles from our team. I guess going back to the volume assumptions for 2026, you give us a view on the first half. There's a lot of distortions as it relates to prebuying, et cetera, and comparisons from a year ago, et cetera. So how are you thinking about the full year from a volumetric standpoint?

是的。嗨，各位早安。首先也恭喜 Jamie 和 Joe。我代表我們團隊祝福你們在新職務上一切順利。我想回到 2026 年的銷量假設，你們給了我們上半年的看法。由於預先採購等因素，以及與去年同期比較等，存在很多扭曲。所以你們如何從銷量角度看待全年？

I know you seem very confident on pricing, but is there any element of macroeconomic deterioration that you're factoring in as it relates to your guidance?

我知道你們對定價看起來非常有信心，但在你們的指引中，是否有把任何宏觀經濟惡化的因素納入考量，特別是與你們的展望相關？

Yeah, Ghansham. So from a total year perspective, when we started the year, of course, we had price/mix as close to neutral and -- or maybe slightly positive and then mostly growth driven by volume. And I think that story has flipped now based on what has happened recently. And so we are expecting slightly positive volume for the total year and more low single-digit kind of increase driven by price and mix. So I think that's our midpoint assumption in our guidance on the sales.

是的，Ghansham。從全年角度來看，當我們年初開始時，當然我們的 price/mix（價格/組合）大致接近持平——或可能略為正向——而成長主要由銷量帶動。但我認為基於最近發生的情況，這個故事現在已經翻轉。因此我們預期全年總體銷量會略為正向，而由價格與組合帶動的增幅會是低個位數。我想這就是我們在銷售指引中所採用的中點假設。

So overall, still positive volume for the year, but maybe less than 1% and price/mix low single digits for total organic sales to be in that low single digit to mid-single digit range.

所以整體而言，今年的銷量仍為正成長，但可能不到 1%；而價格/組合對總有機銷售的貢獻為低個位數，使得總有機銷售落在低個位數到中個位數的區間。

Okay. And then in terms of the comments on packaging, and it sounds like you're a little bit more optimistic as it relates to the trend line, especially 2Q onwards, as you highlighted, do you actually sense any sort of underlying improvement in that end market? Or is it just a function of your net wins and so on and so forth that's driving that optimism? Thank you.

好的。那麼關於包裝方面的評論，聽起來你對趨勢線稍微更樂觀一些，尤其是如你所強調的從第二季開始。你是否真的感受到該終端市場有任何潛在改善？還是這只是你們淨新增勝出案（net wins）等等因素所帶來的樂觀？謝謝。

Yes, As I tried to highlight in the end market dynamics, packaging is -- part of it is we are seeing some demand coming back. Europe, especially, we know we are getting some demand back, which is our biggest market. Also, US has been pretty resilient in Q4 and then now again in Q1.

是的。正如我試著在終端市場動態中強調的，包裝方面——其中一部分是我們確實看到一些需求回來了。尤其是歐洲，我們知道需求正在回升，而那是我們最大的市場。另外，美國在第四季表現相當有韌性，現在在第一季也同樣如此。

So packaging was up for us in Asia, plus 8% and US plus 1% or so this quarter. So -- and Europe is turning around. We could see it turn around. And -- so I think overall, packaging is looking quite good.

所以本季我們在亞洲的包裝業務成長了 8%，美國約成長 1%。而歐洲正在回溫，我們看得到它在轉好。因此我認為整體來看，包裝的表現相當不錯。

But apart from the demand part, we are also seeing our teams really going and getting share. And we highlighted some of that. And especially in Asia, we are winning share with local beverage makers. There's a big trend around sugar-free tea and other beverages that is taking place in China with respect to healthy eating habits. And our teams have -- are beginning to grab a lot of share in that market, both from color perspective, but also cap liners and things from the SCM model.

但除了需求面之外，我們也看到團隊確實在積極爭取市占，我們也提到了一些例子。特別是在亞洲，我們在本地飲料製造商那邊贏得市占。中國在健康飲食習慣方面正出現無糖茶與其他飲料的重大趨勢。我們的團隊——正開始在那個市場抓到大量市占，既包括色彩（color）方面，也包括瓶蓋墊片（cap liners）以及 SCM 模式下的相關產品。

So we are gaining share in those kinds of things. And then new product innovation. We talked about non-PFAS Polymer Processing Ads (sic - Aids) used in health and beauty applications. And that is also something that is creating brand-new growth. So apart from the market demand, we are gaining share.

所以我們在這些領域正在提升市占。再來是新產品創新。我們談到用於健康與美容應用的非 PFAS 聚合物加工助劑（sic - Aids）。這也正在創造全新的成長。因此除了市場需求之外，我們也在提升市占。

There's a share gain perspective. There is a perspective from new products. And then on top of that, pricing is going in. So most of the sources of growth vectors are kicking in, in packaging at the same time. And obviously, we haven't done much M&A.

有市占提升的面向，也有新產品的面向；此外，定價也在推進。因此在包裝領域，多個成長向量同時發力。而且很明顯，我們並沒有做太多併購（M&A）。

So that's not a growth vector for us right now. But you get my point that we are kicking packaging on all those different fronts.

所以那目前不是我們的成長向量。但你明白我的意思：我們正從多個不同面向推動包裝業務。

Okay fantastic thank you, Ashish.

好的，太棒了，謝謝你，Ashish。

Laurence Alexander, Jefferies.

Laurence Alexander，Jefferies。

Hey, guys. It's Dan Rizzo on for Laurence. Just to get back for the pricing thing for a second. Two things. One, when you raise prices and because of the value add and because of your differentiated products, do you generally keep the prices? Or is there sometimes concessions when things like this end?

嗨，各位。我是代 Laurence 的 Dan Rizzo。回到定價這件事再問一下兩點。第一，當你們因為附加價值與差異化產品而提高價格時，你們通常能維持這些價格嗎？還是有時候在這類情況結束後會做出讓步？

So generally, we have shown that we can -- if you go back to 2021, 2022 time, we were able to stay ahead of the inflation curve by giving prices much faster and then keeping the price higher when the RM inflation comes down. And I think our teams have proven on both sides of that, that they can manage that part pretty well.

一般來說，我們已經證明我們可以——如果你回顧 2021、2022 年，我們能夠透過更快地調價來跑在通膨曲線之前，並且在原物料（RM）通膨回落時仍維持較高的價格。我認為我們的團隊在這兩個階段都證明了，他們能把這部分管理得相當好。

Obviously, there are things case by case and with customers and regions which are very specific. So if you look at what happened in March when the war started, especially in Europe, for example, the price disruption was very high and things were changing daily, on a daily basis. And in those cases, we had to pass on certain surcharges to our customers, and then we reconcile with some of those customers as things become more clear and things stabilize.

當然，也有一些情況需要視個案、客戶與地區而定，會非常具體。比如你看三月戰爭爆發時，尤其在歐洲，價格擾動非常大，事情每天都在變動、以日為單位變化。在那些情況下，我們必須把某些附加費（surcharges）轉嫁給客戶；之後隨著情況更明朗、趨於穩定，我們再與部分客戶進行結算與調整。

So most of the times, it's price increases. But in things when it was moving so fast, we didn't want to be behind the inflation curve. So we agreed with our customers to pass on the surcharges and come back to it later in case the prices didn't stick. And that's, again, very specific case of when the volatility is very high. We have to -- we don't have enough time to collect data on the price impact and you have to move. So, overall, I would say our teams do a pretty good job of staying with the price and keeping it longer.

所以大多數時候是直接漲價。但在變動非常快速的情況下，我們不希望落後於通膨曲線，因此與客戶同意先轉嫁附加費，並在之後若價格無法維持時再回頭處理。這同樣是波動極高時的特定案例。我們必須——因為沒有足夠時間蒐集價格影響的數據，你就得採取行動。整體而言，我會說我們的團隊在維持價格、並把價格維持更久方面做得相當不錯。

Thanks, that's helpful. And then just one follow-up on that. Back in 2021, '22 and just other surges in pricing, did you lose any volumes because you rose prices? Did people, I don't know, just trade down to less differentiated products? Is that a phenomenon that happens from time to time?

謝謝，這很有幫助。再追問一點：回到 2021、2022 年以及其他定價大幅上升的時期，你們因為漲價而流失過任何銷量嗎？有沒有出現客戶改買較不差異化、較低階產品的情況？這種現象是否偶爾會發生？

Yes, I don't have the history there. But obviously, part of the things that the team has been doing is to improve profitability and do portfolio as part of our strategy. And so we are not afraid to price more aggressively in cases where it doesn't make -- the portfolio is very commoditized and doesn't make sense for us to serve in cases. So it's part of our portfolio decisions and those volumes we can forego without any -- it's a no-regrets decision for us. But typically, as I said earlier, because of the value that we create for our customers, it is not an issue for us and the customers are happy to work with us.

是的，我手上沒有那段歷史的細節。但很明顯，團隊一直在做的其中一部分，是提升獲利能力並進行產品組合（portfolio）調整，作為我們策略的一部分。因此在某些情況下，如果產品組合非常商品化、而且我們服務它並不合理，我們不害怕更積極地定價。這是我們產品組合決策的一部分，那些銷量我們可以放棄，而且——對我們而言是無悔（no-regrets）的決定。但通常如我先前所說，因為我們為客戶創造的價值，這對我們不是問題，客戶也樂於與我們合作。

This is not a onetime thing. Our customers know that this is another one of those cases where times are tough. And if you stick with them, you work with them, solve their problems, they trust you. And then they -- even if they have to pay you a little bit extra price -- because they know that next time there is a crisis, we will be still there to help them out. And this is a trust that we have built with our customers over the years, and that's an important part.

這不是一次性的事情。我們的客戶知道，這只是又一個艱難時期的案例；如果你與他們站在一起、與他們合作、解決他們的問題，他們就會信任你。然後——即使他們必須多付你一點價格——因為他們知道下一次危機來臨時，我們仍會在那裡幫助他們。這是我們多年來與客戶建立的信任，也是非常重要的一部分。

That is not just a mathematical equation.

這不只是數學方程式而已。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

David Begleiter, Deutsche Bank.

David Begleiter，德意志銀行（Deutsche Bank）。

Good morning. This is Emily Fusco on for Dave Begleiter and congrats to both Jamie and Joe. Just curious back on to raising prices kind of at what point does this inflation flow through to the consumer and maybe start to impact demand? Are you seeing anything there or anything towards the back half? Thank you.

早安。我是代 Dave Begleiter 的 Emily Fusco，也恭喜 Jamie 和 Joe。想再回到漲價這件事：大概在什麼時點，這些通膨會傳導到消費者端，並可能開始影響需求？你們有看到任何跡象嗎？或是在下半年會看到什麼？謝謝。

So it's a really interesting question. Pretty much all economists are probably working on that part. So I'm going to be very speculative, which -- I think that prices are probably flowing through to the consumer. Yesterday, Whirlpool announced their earnings, and you saw that the consumer is hurting right now and staying away from big ticket items like appliances. And -- so inflation is really hitting on bigger ticket items.

這是個非常有意思的問題。幾乎所有經濟學家可能都在研究這一塊。所以我接下來會非常推測性地說——我認為價格大概正在傳導到消費者端。昨天 Whirlpool 公布財報，你也看到消費者現在正承受壓力，並且避開像家電這類高單價商品。因此——通膨確實正在衝擊較高單價的品項。

We hear a lot about gas prices as well, similar story. So at some point, if it doesn't -- if this thing doesn't get resolved, of course, it's going to flow through. It's already flowing through in my mind. And so I think second half is where -- if you ask us from our business perspective, the two biggest question marks in my mind are the consumer business and the industrial business. And both of them are dependent on oil prices, but also the general inflation that is happening.

我們也常聽到汽油價格的討論，情況類似。所以在某個時間點，如果——如果這件事沒有被解決，當然會傳導到終端。以我看，它其實已經在傳導了。因此我認為下半年——如果從我們業務角度來看，我心中最大的兩個不確定因素是消費者業務與工業業務。而這兩者都取決於油價，也取決於正在發生的整體通膨。

And that's the variability really in our range. If we hit the low end of the range or our midpoint of the range or the high end, depends on those two businesses, consumer and industrial. And that's the reason -- Your question is an excellent one, Emily. Only time will tell how much consumer hurts over time because of this inflationary.

而這就是我們區間指引中的變動性所在：我們會落在區間低端、中點或高端，取決於這兩個業務——消費者與工業。這也是原因——Emily，你的問題非常好。消費者會因為這種通膨在時間推移下受傷到什麼程度，只能交由時間來驗證。

Mike Harrison, Seaport Research Partners.

Mike Harrison，Seaport Research Partners。

Hi, good morning, and let me add my congratulations to Joe and Jamie. Ashish, we appreciate the slide that you provided that shows a little more color on your exposure in electronics and high-performance computing. It seems like you're kind of in the early stages of tapping into that. And just hoping that you could give us some more detail on how you see your competitive advantage and how you win in that space? And as you look out over the next two to three years, what are the -- what do you think the biggest product lines or applications are going to be just based on where they are today and where the growth rates are trending?

嗨，早安，也讓我加入對 Joe 和 Jamie 的恭喜。Ashish，我們很感謝你提供的那張投影片，讓我們更清楚看到你們在電子與高效能運算領域的曝險。看起來你們還在切入的早期階段。想請你再多分享一些細節：你們如何看待自身的競爭優勢，以及你們如何在那個領域取勝？另外，展望未來兩到三年，基於目前各產品線/應用的現況以及成長率趨勢，你認為最大的產品線或應用會是哪些？

Yeah, so, Mike, you're right. It's a new focus area -- newer focus area for us. As we've said, the teams were playing and dabbling in that area a couple of years ago or before that. But it was not a concentrated focus with respect to secular trends and going after that.

是的，所以，Mike，你說得對。這是一個新的重點領域——對我們而言是較新的重點領域。正如我們所說，團隊在幾年前或更早就已經在那個領域嘗試、涉獵。但當時並沒有針對長期結構性趨勢並積極切入而形成集中的重點。

And it's an area, obviously, that has been moving very fast and digital in general is something that is continuing to become more and more part of our life. And so we focused really on that area. We put a specific team around that. And then we want to tap into this whole digital thing across the value chain, so all the way from semiconductor manufacturing to packaging of chips to making servers to getting into the data center and in between electrification, too, which is part of our advanced composites program for electrification. So we have actually thought it through, and we are playing across the value chain through our different growth vectors, and they all kind of come together and address this whole thing.

而且很明顯，這個領域發展非常快，而整體數位化也正持續成為我們生活中越來越重要的一部分。因此我們確實把重點放在這個領域。我們為此成立了一個專門團隊。接著我們希望在整個價值鏈上把握這股數位化趨勢，從半導體製造一路到晶片封裝、伺服器製造、進入資料中心，以及其間的電氣化——這也是我們先進複合材料電氣化方案的一部分。所以我們其實已經把它想得很透徹，並透過不同的成長向量在整個價值鏈上布局；它們彼此匯聚，共同因應這整個趨勢。

With respect to competitive advantage, I would say that in electronics world, speed and solving the customer problem are your fastest advantage versus technology necessarily. And I used to run the business at -- electronics business at 3M, and we also brought Dave Schneider, who used to run in his previous role electronics business for the same reason because we wanted to go deeper in this area and build this business faster.

就競爭優勢而言，我會說在電子產業中，相較於單純的技術，速度以及解決客戶問題的能力，往往是你最直接、最快的優勢。我以前在3M負責電子事業；我們也把Dave Schneider找來——他在上一個職務同樣負責電子事業——原因也是一樣，因為我們希望在這個領域更深入，並更快把這個事業做大。

And so both -- we are not married to any particular materials. We don't make materials in that space, but we can choose from any material that is available and design an appropriate solution for our customers with high speed, and that is our competitive advantage. If you ask me, we have been filing more and more patents, as I have highlighted before.

因此，我們兩者——我們並不綁定於任何特定材料。我們在那個領域並不生產材料，但我們可以從市面上任何可取得的材料中做選擇，並以高速度為客戶設計合適的解決方案，這就是我們的競爭優勢。如果你問我，我們一直在申請越來越多的專利，正如我之前強調過的。

So as we develop more expertise and depth in that area, we will become more differentiated as well. But part of it is to just finding out, getting deeper into the area, start intersecting the road maps of our customers' products and understanding what is required to win there is where -- in this initial phase is where we have spent our time. And you can see the business growth has come pretty well. I think I answered pretty much all your questions, what other areas.

所以，隨著我們在該領域累積更多專業與深度，我們也會變得更具差異化。但其中一部分工作就是去探索、深入這個領域，開始把我們客戶產品的路線圖交叉對照，並理解要在那裡勝出需要什麼——在這個初期階段，我們的時間主要花在這些事情上。而你也可以看到，業務成長表現相當不錯。我想我大致回答了你所有問題，還有其他面向嗎？

I think you could think about it, wafer packaging -- wafer transportation, carrier tapes for chip packaging, high-speed connectors for interconnect on board, backplane in servers as well as if you look -- fast forward that electromagnetic shielding materials, powerhousing, flame retardants, though all those parts of the portfolio can still go in there as well as wire and cable business, which is our traditional core business, that is -- as we highlighted, is -- has an opportunity to grow here because the data center capacity is expected to triple in the next five years or so.

我想你可以這樣看：晶圓封裝——晶圓運輸、晶片封裝用載帶（carrier tapes）、用於板上互連的高速連接器、伺服器背板（backplane），以及如果你再往前看——電磁屏蔽材料、電源外殼、阻燃材料等，這些產品組合的各個部分也都可以切入；另外還有我們傳統核心的電線電纜業務——正如我們強調的——也有機會在這裡成長，因為預期未來五年左右資料中心容量將增加到三倍。

So I think there is a lot of opportunity here for our teams. I think that what we wanted to highlight today was that, a, we have started thinking about these markets at scale. And we are not product -- we are not thinking things from a product perspective, but we are seeing where the markets are going and how can we become a bigger part of the market as a full Avient and also create $30 million, $40 million, $50 million of opportunities in this space. And this is not the only one, by the way. If you look at what we have been doing in defense, we have added $60 million over the last two years.

所以我認為這裡對我們團隊而言有很多機會。我想我們今天想強調的是：第一，我們已開始以規模化的角度思考這些市場。第二，我們不是——我們不是從產品角度思考，而是看市場將往哪裡走，以及我們如何以完整的Avient身分成為市場更大的一部分，並在這個領域創造3,000萬、4,000萬、5,000萬美元的機會。順帶一提，這也不是唯一的例子。如果你看我們在國防領域的作為，過去兩年我們新增了6,000萬美元。

In health care, we have added $40 million over the last two years. So this is not new. It's just that we have been talking about it, but it's beginning to come together and now I've become more comfortable to put it in a summary form for you guys.

在醫療保健方面，過去兩年我們新增了4,000萬美元。所以這並不新，只是我們一直在談，但現在開始逐步成形，而我也更有把握把它用摘要的形式呈現給各位。

No, that's very helpful. And then just in terms of the productivity improvements and the cost discipline, it was good to see margin up even though your volumes were down a little bit, and you mentioned that incentive comp is also higher. Can you just talk a little bit about where you see costs and productivity going from here, I think specifically on SG&A, maybe give us a sense of how much higher SG&A costs could end up this year? And I understand you're trying to manage it, but how much flexibility do you feel like you have in terms of the cost front? Thank you.

不，這非常有幫助。接著就生產力提升與成本紀律而言，即使你們的銷量略有下降，仍看到毛利率上升，這點很好；你也提到激勵性薪酬更高。你能否談談你們接下來對成本與生產力走勢的看法？我想特別是針對SG&A（銷售、一般及行政費用），能否讓我們了解今年SG&A成本可能會增加到什麼程度？我理解你們正試圖管理它，但在成本面你覺得自己有多大的彈性？謝謝。

So there's -- maybe, Mike, just as a reminder, we do have around $20 million of productivity that's carried over from the prior year, which definitely helped within the quarter. But we're always looking at productivity. It's a muscle that Avient has. And as we look forward and depending on where the environment, the macro grows, we do have some additional levers to potentially look at further cost reductions. As a reminder, we kind of think about cost reductions in four primary buckets.

所以——也許，Mike，提醒一下，我們確實有大約2,000萬美元的生產力改善是從前一年延續過來的，這在本季確實有幫助。但我們一直在尋找生產力提升；這是Avient具備的一種「肌肉」。展望未來，並視宏觀環境的走向而定，我們確實還有一些額外槓桿，可能用來進一步降低成本。提醒一下，我們大致把降本分成四個主要類別來看。

One, we always are looking at our sourcing capabilities and ability to combine raw materials and so on. Another area would be our footprint optimization. We're always taking a look at how do we best serve our customers and what footprint we need to be able to do that. We also have really nice manufacturing programs with productivity and LSS type programs. And then lastly, and which has been an important piece is the SG&A factors that you're sort of bringing up here.

第一，我們一直在檢視採購能力，以及整合原物料等的能力。第二個領域是據點（footprint）最佳化。我們一直在看如何以最佳方式服務客戶，以及為此需要什麼樣的據點配置。第三，我們有相當不錯的製造計畫，包含生產力與LSS（精實六標準差）類型的專案。最後一項——也是你在這裡提到的重要部分——就是SG&A相關因素。

We have done a lot of streamlining over the past two years with Ashish onboarding, with taking structure out, and that primarily is to serve our customer more seamlessly across the board. And we always have the ability to take a look harder at that as we progress through 2026. So I would expect that productivity will still become a major factor in terms of how we manage our profitability going forward, one, because it's a muscle, and two, I do think there's some other opportunities. But with that, Joe or Ashish, anything else?

過去兩年，隨著Ashish到任、我們精簡組織、去除層級，我們做了大量的流程與架構瘦身；其主要目的，是讓我們能更無縫地在各方面服務客戶。隨著我們進入2026年，我們也一直有能力更深入地檢視這一塊。因此我預期，生產力仍將是我們未來管理獲利能力的一個主要因素：第一，因為這是我們的「肌肉」；第二，我確實認為還有一些其他機會。不過就這點，Joe或Ashish，還有要補充的嗎？

Yes, I mean I can add. I mean, I think this whole area of digital opens up a lot of capability for us to take out more cost and more structure out of the company. Obviously, that's something that we have been doing in the last 2 years and we'll continue to do, as Jamie mentioned. And so I think last year, we drove $40 million of productivity.

是的，我可以補充。我認為整個數位化領域為我們提供了很多能力，讓我們能進一步降低成本、並從公司中移除更多結構性成本。顯然，正如Jamie提到的，這是我們過去兩年一直在做、也會持續做的事情。所以我想去年我們推動了4,000萬美元的生產力提升。

This year, there was some carryover from that. And in addition to that, we'll drive enough to offset wage inflation, which is close to $30 million. And we also have a plan B in case we need to pull the trigger and things get a little worse on the market side, then we move to plan B and drive even more productivity.

今年有一部分是從那裡延續過來的。除此之外，我們還會推動足夠的生產力提升，以抵銷接近3,000萬美元的薪資通膨。我們也有B計畫：如果市場端情況變得更糟、我們需要扣下扳機，就會啟動B計畫，推動更多的生產力提升。

All right, thanks very much.

好的，非常感謝。

Vincent Andrews, Morgan Stanley.

Morgan Stanley的Vincent Andrews。

Hey, congrats to Joe and Jamie. This is Turner on for Vincent. So it would be great to get more color on the packaging end market. Can you break down the drivers of the mid-single-digit to high single-digit growth expectations you mentioned for the second quarter between volume and price and perhaps speak to some of the underlying growth of the market or what you're seeing from share gains?

嗨，恭喜Joe和Jamie。我是Turner，代Vincent提問。希望能更深入了解包裝終端市場。你能否拆解一下你提到第二季中個位數中段到高個位數成長預期的驅動因素，在量與價之間各占多少？也請談談一些市場的內生成長，或你們從市占提升中看到的情況。

Yeah, I mean, I can take a stab at it. I will not break it down for volume on this thing, but I can tell you that it's both volume and price driven, as I mentioned in a previous question. So we are seeing market demand, which is creating the volume. Packaging has been a robust market for us.

是的，我可以先試著回答。我不會在這裡把量的部分做細分，但我可以告訴你，正如我在前一個問題中提到的，這是由量與價共同驅動的。我們看到市場需求正在回升，進而帶動出貨量。包裝對我們而言一直是個強勁的市場。

Even last year, it grew 1%, and I think if you look at it in Q1, it grew a very strong comp of 7% versus last year quarter 1, 2025. So I think it has been a very resilient and robust market for us. And where we are seeing -- we are seeing in Europe, for sure, demand come back. US we have won share, especially in caps and closure part of the business. And in Europe, we are -- there is -- the beverage season is coming back.

即使在去年，它也成長了1%；而我認為如果你看第一季，相較於去年2025年第一季，它在第一季成長了非常強勁的7%。所以我認為這一直是個非常有韌性、也很強勁的市場。我們看到——在歐洲，確實看到需求回來了。在美國，我們贏得了市占，特別是在瓶蓋與封口（caps and closure）這一塊業務。而在歐洲，我們——飲料旺季正在回來。

We are winning share there as well. And then I mentioned Asia earlier with respect to our teams winning share with the food trend that is going on there with respect to healthy eating, and we are winning the share there. There is also a PCR support -- postconsumer recycling program that is in Asia taking a big momentum, especially in health and beauty space.

我們在那裡也正在贏得市占。然後我先前提到亞洲，談到我們的團隊在那裡因應健康飲食的食品趨勢而贏得市占，我們在那裡也正在提升市占。此外，亞洲也有一項 PCR 支援——消費後回收（postconsumer recycling）計畫正在快速推進，特別是在健康與美容領域。

And that's another part that we have been winning significant amount of share. So apart from market demand, which we are seeing pick up as -- because of seasonality, but also otherwise, robust markets like US there is also -- by the way, there is a little bit of tailwind we are getting with this FIFA World Cup where the promotions are going on and there is promotions being done in Asia and -- as well as in Latin America that we are seeing promotional activity that -- in the packaging space that we are part of.

而這也是我們贏得大量市占的另一個部分。所以，除了市場需求——我們看到因季節性因素而回升，但也不僅如此，像美國這樣的強勁市場之外——順帶一提，我們也受到一點順風助益：FIFA 世界盃帶動促銷活動，亞洲以及拉丁美洲都在做促銷，我們也看到我們所參與的包裝領域出現相關的促銷活動。

So I think all those things are creating volume for us, but also I mentioned share gains as well as pricing that we have been giving because of the inflation that we are seeing. So I hope that helps you put a picture together. Packaging is pretty robust for us. We tried to highlight that in our prepared comments. It's getting -- so that's where it gives us confidence of mid-single digits to high single digits.

所以我認為，所有這些因素都在為我們帶來量的成長；同時我也提到，我們有市占提升，以及因我們所看到的通膨而進行的定價調整。希望這能幫助你把整體圖像拼起來。對我們而言，包裝業務相當強勁。我們在事先準備的發言中也試著強調這點。這也正是讓我們對中個位數到高個位數成長更有信心的原因。

Also, the comps in Q2 are -- packaging was flat last year for us in Q2. And so I think the comps are more benign versus Q1. So that will help as well.

另外，第二季的比較基期是——我們去年第二季的包裝業務是持平。因此，相較第一季，第二季的比較基期更為溫和，這也會有所幫助。

Absolutely. I appreciate the thoughts there. Do you mind providing also more color around the low single-digit price mix assumption that you mentioned for the year? I'm wondering any thoughts about the cadence it ramps up as we go through the year and likewise, how it trends relative to what you expect from raw materials?

完全同意，也很感謝你的看法。你介意再多補充一些你提到的、全年低個位數的價格/組合（price mix）假設嗎？我想了解的是，隨著年度推進，它上升的節奏會是如何？同時，它相對於你對原物料的預期，趨勢會如何變化？

Hey, Turner, this is Joe. Yes, I think that's going to ramp with how the underlying input costs ramp up. So we started raising prices with the underlying cost going up in raw materials in April, and we'll see how the year plays out, but you'll see it ramp up over the next few months and depending how the back half plays with underlying cost and our price/mix would follow. So that's probably how you should think about it. All right, thank you.

嗨，Turner，我是 Joe。是的，我認為這會隨著底層投入成本的上升而逐步拉升。我們在四月開始，隨著原物料底層成本上升而調漲價格；接下來就看全年如何發展，但你會在未來幾個月看到它逐步走高，而後半年的走勢取決於底層成本的變化，我們的價格/組合也會跟著走。所以你大概可以這樣理解。好，謝謝。

Kristen Owen, Oppenheimer & Company.

Kristen Owen，Oppenheimer & Company。

Good morning. Let me be the last to express my congratulations then to Jamie and Joe, Jamie, in particular, I appreciate the last six years, the help you've provided. So then I just wanted to ask here about some of the comments about maybe some pull-through that you started to see in March. It sounds like you actually have some pretty good visibility here into Q2. How much of that down to organic volume assumption? Are you baking in anything for pull forward on demand or any sort of stocking just to ensure that customers have that availability?

早安。那我就最後一個來表達對 Jamie 和 Joe 的祝賀。尤其是 Jamie，我很感謝你過去六年所提供的協助。接著我想問一下，你們提到三月開始看到一些可能的拉動效應（pull-through）。聽起來你們對第二季其實有相當不錯的能見度。這當中有多少是來自有機量（organic volume）的假設？你們是否有把任何需求提前（pull forward）或任何形式的備貨（stocking）納入考量，以確保客戶能有足夠供應？

So Kristen, I mean, Q1, in March, probably we saw less than $5 million of pull-in because of customers trying to secure their supply chains. We mentioned defense orders moved out, and that was about the same amount for us more or less. So that kind of was a wash from an in and out perspective. Overall, I think Q2 we will see probably more impact of price increases and by pre buy-in. I think that is going to be more pronounced in Q2.

Kristen，就第一季而言，在三月，我們可能看到不到 500 萬美元的提前拉貨（pull-in），因為客戶想要確保他們的供應鏈。我們提到國防訂單往後遞延，金額對我們而言也差不多。因此，從流入與流出的角度來看，基本上相互抵銷。整體來說，我認為第二季我們可能會看到價格調漲影響更大，以及因預先採購（pre buy-in）所帶來的影響。我認為這在第二季會更為明顯。

We are monitoring very closely our customer order patterns to make sure that, try to answer what you just asked, how much is it true demand versus buying just to procure and keep the materials. And so I think at this point in time, there is going to -- it's hard to call out that how much of it is going to impact Q3. But there is going to be some amount at least, and that's why if you look at our guidance, we are not raising our range, although we are slightly better in first half because of that reason. We don't know how much of that is, and -- so we have put that in our model and modeled Q2 -- Q3 and Q4 to be a little bit more -- we gave it a haircut based on that we might be pulling in some into Q2.

我們正非常密切地監控客戶的下單模式，以便回答你剛才的問題：其中有多少是真實需求，多少只是為了採購並持有材料而購買。因此，就目前而言，很難明確指出這會在多大程度上影響第三季。但至少會有一定的影響；也正因如此，如果你看我們的指引，我們並沒有上調區間，雖然上半年因這個原因會略好一些。我們不知道具體幅度是多少，所以我們已把這點納入模型，並在建模第二季——第三季與第四季時做得更保守一些——我們基於可能把部分需求拉到第二季的情況，對後續季度做了折減（haircut）。

Okay. Great. And Ashish, even in the last question, you responded to some of the share gains that you're seeing in packaging. But just if we broaden that out, can you build on where you're seeing share gains? How much of that is some of the innovation coming through in terms of new business wins?

好的，很好。Ashish，另外即便在上一個問題中，你回應了你們在包裝業務看到的一些市占提升。但如果把範圍拉大，你能否進一步說明你們在哪些地方看到市占提升？其中有多少是來自創新帶動、例如新業務贏單（new business wins）？

And how much of that is just you guys have proven that you're a reliable, scaled global supplier and maybe that's helping you gain some share over maybe some of the mom-and-pops or more local suppliers?

又有多少是因為你們已證明自己是可靠、具規模的全球供應商，因此相較於一些小型業者（mom-and-pops）或更在地的供應商，可能更有助於你們取得市占？

Yeah consumer, the market demand is questionable. I think Q2 will be much better because of the comps. Consumer was down 8% last year. So consumer is probably -- whatever gains that we are going to see are going to be because of comps and as well as some of the share gains there.

是的，消費品這塊，市場需求是有疑慮的。我認為第二季會好很多，因為比較基期的關係。去年消費品下滑了 8%。所以消費品這邊——我們將看到的任何成長，可能都會來自比較基期，以及那裡的一些市占提升。

And packaging, I already went into a lot of details. I won't repeat that. Defense, another big market for us, a lot of innovation going on there, and we are differentiated. Our most -- the third-generation fiber, as we understand currently, is the best-in-class that is out there. And so we believe that's all innovation and share gains because of innovation.

至於包裝，我已經講了很多細節，就不重複了。國防是我們另一個大市場，那裡有很多創新正在發生，而我們具備差異化。我們的最新——第三代纖維，就我們目前的理解，是市面上同級最佳（best-in-class）。因此我們相信，這些都是由創新帶來的成果與市占提升。

Health care, we have been winning a lot over the last two years. As I mentioned, we've created $40 million of net new growth in health care. A lot of customer innovation, working closely with key accounts, but also taking share from the market because of our innovation.

醫療保健方面，我們在過去兩年贏得了很多。如我提到的，我們在醫療保健創造了 4,000 萬美元的淨新增成長（net new growth）。這包含大量的客戶創新、與關鍵客戶緊密合作，同時也因我們的創新而從市場中取得市占。

And then the last one I would just say is building and construction is another area where we have taken a lot of share, especially in Q1 itself in the United States, we've talked about, especially in our wire and cable business. we have shown the ability to win share in that market because of our right price value proposition as well as some innovation that is coming out of the pipeline.

最後我想說的是，建築與施工也是我們取得大量市占的另一個領域，尤其是在美國、甚至就在第一季本身——我們也談過——特別是在我們的電線與電纜業務。我們已展現出在該市場贏得市占的能力，原因在於我們合適的價格價值主張（price value proposition），以及研發管線中持續推出的一些創新。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Thank you. This concludes the question-and-answer session, and you may now disconnect. Everyone, have a great day.

謝謝。問答環節到此結束，您現在可以斷線。各位，祝您有美好的一天。