Axalta Coating Systems Ltd (AXTA) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to Axalta's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Today's call is being recorded and the replay will be available through November 8. Those listening after today's call should please note that the information provided in the recording will not be updated and therefore may not longer be current.

女士們先生們，謝謝你們的支持。歡迎參加艾仕得 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）今天的通話正在錄音，重播將持續到 11 月 8 日。今天通話後收聽的人請注意，錄音中提供的資訊不會更新，因此可能不再是最新資訊。

I will now turn the call over to Chris Evans. Please go ahead.

我現在將把電話轉給克里斯·埃文斯。請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning. This is Chris Evans, VP of Investor Relations. We appreciate your continued interest in Axalta, and welcome you to our Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results Conference Call.

謝謝你，早安。我是投資者關係副總裁克里斯·埃文斯。我們感謝您對艾仕得的持續關注，並歡迎您參加我們的 2023 年第三季財務業績電話會議。

Joining me today are Chris Villavarayan, CEO and President; and Carl Anderson, CFO. We released our quarterly financial results this morning and posted a slide presentation to the Investor Relations section of our website at axalta.com, which we will be referencing during this call.

今天加入我的是執行長兼總裁 Chris Villavarayan；和財務長卡爾·安德森。今天早上，我們發布了季度財務業績，並在 axalta.com 網站的投資者關係部分發布了幻燈片演示，我們將在本次電話會議中參考該幻燈片。

Our prepared remarks, the slide presentation and our discussion today may contain forward-looking statements reflecting the company's current view of future events and their potential effect on Axalta's operating and financial performance. These statements involve uncertainties and risks and actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Please note that the company is under no obligation to provide updates to these forward-looking statements.

我們準備好的演講、幻燈片簡報和今天的討論可能包含前瞻性陳述，反映了公司當前對未來事件及其對艾仕得營運和財務表現的潛在影響的看法。這些陳述涉及不確定性和風險，實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述有重大差異。請注意，該公司沒有義務提供這些前瞻性陳述的更新。

Our remarks and the slide presentation also contain various non-GAAP financial measures. In the appendix of the slide presentation, we've included reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. For additional information regarding forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures, please refer to our filings with the SEC.

我們的評論和投影片簡報也包含各種非公認會計準則財務指標。在投影片簡報的附錄中，我們將這些非 GAAP 財務指標與最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標進行了調整。有關前瞻性陳述和非 GAAP 財務指標的更多信息，請參閱我們向 SEC 提交的文件。

I will now turn the call over to Chris.

我現在將把電話轉給克里斯。

Thank you, Chris. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. I'm pleased to report on a great third quarter. I want to thank the entire global team for their tremendous efforts in delivering an exceptional result. I'm proud that Axalta is back on track with the momentum we began earlier this year.

謝謝你，克里斯。大家早安，歡迎參加我們的 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。我很高興地報告第三季的出色表現。我要感謝整個全球團隊為取得卓越成果所付出的巨大努力。我很自豪艾仕得帶著今年早些時候開始的勢頭重回正軌。

Both commercially and operationally, we have made many notable accomplishments this quarter that I will highlight for you. I'm particularly pleased that the North American ERP implementation issues we experienced last quarter are now resolved and production volumes at our Refinish facility in Virginia are ahead of pre-implementation rates.

無論是在商業上還是在營運上，我們本季都取得了許多顯著的成就，我將向您重點介紹這些成就。我特別高興的是，我們上季度遇到的北美 ERP 實施問題現在已得到解決，並且我們位於弗吉尼亞州的修補漆工廠的產量超過了實施前的水平。

Q3 net sales increased by 6% year-over-year to $1.3 billion, a new company record. The top line improvement was led by a solid quarter from Mobility Coatings, which delivered double-digit organic net sales growth. Price-mix increased by 6% year-over-year with strong contributions from every end market. This was a great outcome for the team. We will maintain our pricing discipline going forward as we face pressure from higher labor costs and strive to recover margins to pre-pandemic level.

第三季淨銷售額年增 6%，達到 13 億美元，創下公司新紀錄。營收的改善得益於行動塗料業務強勁的季度業績，該業務實現了兩位數的有機淨銷售額成長。價格組合年增 6%，每個終端市場都做出了強勁貢獻。這對團隊來說是一個很好的結果。面對勞動成本上升的壓力，我們將繼續維持定價紀律，並努力將利潤率恢復到疫情前的水平。

Adjusted EBIT of $188 million and adjusted EBITDA of $261 million increased by 27% and 24%, respectively, year-over-year, and both were near record levels. Mobility Coatings drove the majority of the improvement in earnings, and the segment is now at a quarterly run rate consistent with 2019 levels. The team has done a great job prioritizing margin recovery while also building an attractive book of business wins in high-growth areas.

調整後 EBIT 為 1.88 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 2.61 億美元，年比分別成長 27% 和 24%，均接近歷史最高水準。移動塗料推動了盈利的大部分增長，該部門目前的季度運行率與 2019 年的水平一致。該團隊在優先考慮利潤恢復方面做得非常出色，同時也在高成長領域建立了有吸引力的業務勝利記錄。

Company adjusted EBIT margins improved by 240 basis points year-over-year to 14.3%. This improvement largely stems from raw material deflation, cost discipline and continued pricing effort. Sustained margin improvement remains a key priority for us going forward and will remain an important target heading into 2024.

公司調整後息稅前利潤率年增 240 個基點，達到 14.3%。這種改善主要源自於原料通貨緊縮、成本控制和持續的定價努力。持續提高利潤率仍然是我們未來的首要任務，仍將是進入 2024 年的重要目標。

Free cash flow increased by $131 million year-over-year to $182 million. This positive trend is a direct result of our ongoing focus to reduce working capital. We believe that we are well positioned to deliver approximately $400 million of free cash flow for the full year 2023.

自由現金流年增 1.31 億美元，達到 1.82 億美元。這一正面趨勢是我們持續關注減少營運資本的直接結果。我們相信，我們有能力在 2023 年全年提供約 4 億美元的自由現金流。

Given this degree of earnings and cash flow growth, our balance sheet has now strengthened considerably. Axalta's net leverage ratio continues to improve and is significantly lower than Q3 of last year. Given our strong commercial and operational performance, we have increased our full year financial guidance. This updated forecast puts us on pace to deliver record adjusted EBITDA in 2023.

鑑於這種程度的獲利和現金流成長，我們的資產負債表現在已大大增強。艾仕得淨槓桿率持續改善，明顯低於去年第三季。鑑於我們強勁的商業和營運業績，我們提高了全年財務指引。這項更新的預測使我們有望在 2023 年實現創紀錄的調整後 EBITDA。

The pieces are coming together at Axalta. But before giving you more color on the quarter, I want to briefly discuss leadership updates on Axalta's Board of Directors. Steve Chapman, who has been a Director since 2020, has chosen not to seek reelection. We extend our gratitude to Steve for his significant contributions to Axalta. His wealth of experience, specifically his global operational insight, has played a pivotal role navigating our journey through the pandemic and post pandemic dynamics over the last several years.

艾仕得將這些碎片整合在一起。但在向您介紹本季度的更多資訊之前，我想簡要討論一下艾仕得董事會領導層的最新動態。自 2020 年起擔任董事的史蒂夫·查普曼 (Steve Chapman) 選擇不再尋求連任。我們對史蒂夫對艾仕得的重大貢獻表示感謝。他豐富的經驗，特別是他的全球營運洞察力，在過去幾年的疫情和疫情後動態中為我們的旅程發揮了關鍵作用。

Also, we're delighted to welcome Mary Zappone to our Board effective October 25. Mary will serve on the Audit and the Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability Committees. Mary is currently the CEO of Sundyne, a leader in design and manufacturer of mission-critical pumps and compressors for the chemical, industrial and energy markets, a position she has held since 2021. Mary brings a wealth of experience to our team with more than 2 decades in senior leadership positions including CEO of Brace Industrial Group and Service Champ. She has a proven record in industries directly relevant to Axalta. I'm confident that she will make a meaningful contribution to our Board.

此外，我們很高興歡迎 Mary Zappone 加入我們的董事會，自 10 月 25 日起生效。Mary 將在審計委員會以及環境、健康、安全和永續發展委員會任職。 Mary 目前是Sundyne 的首席執行官，該公司是化學、工業和能源市場關鍵任務泵和壓縮機設計和製造的領導者，她自2021 年起擔任該職位。Mary 為我們的團隊帶來了豐富的經驗，包括20 年來擔任高階領導職務，包括 Brace Industrial Group 和 Service Champ 的執行長。她在與艾仕得直接相關的行業中擁有良好的記錄。我相信她將為我們的董事會做出有意義的貢獻。

Let's now go to Slide 5 with the highlights of several notable accomplishments this quarter. In October, we acquired André Koch, a long-term refinish distribution partner. This acquisition is immediately accretive and aligns neatly with our strategy to diversify and expand our Refinish offerings. It also increases our presence in Switzerland, an attractive region for us. We're excited to welcome the André Koch team to Axalta.

現在讓我們轉到投影片 5，重點介紹本季的幾項顯著成就。 10 月，我們收購了長期修補漆分銷合作夥伴 André Koch。此次收購立即產生增值作用，並且與我們多元化和擴展修補漆產品的策略完全一致。它也增加了我們在瑞士的影響力，瑞士是一個對我們有吸引力的地區。我們很高興歡迎 André Koch 團隊來到艾仕得。

Next, we were recently named the exclusive supplier for BMW Group's private paint label in 15 European countries plus South Africa. This agreement includes BMW's network of 730 franchise dealership repair shops and adds to the existing supplier agreements with BMW Group in other regions. We're thrilled with this expanded relationship. It speaks to the strength of our deep customer relationships and the Refinish team's dedication to the highest standards of quality, efficiency and sustainability.

其次，我們最近被任命為寶馬集團自有油漆品牌在 15 個歐洲國家和南非的獨家供應商。該協議包括寶馬的 730 家特許經銷商維修店網絡，並補充了與寶馬集團在其他地區的現有供應商協議。我們對這種擴大的關係感到非常興奮。它體現了我們深厚的客戶關係的力量以及修補漆團隊對品質、效率和可持續性最高標準的奉獻精神。

Innovation is critical to the health of our business long term. This is why I'm excited about our new partnership with Xaar to introduce Axalta's NextJet, an advanced paint application tool that allows for precise paint placement. This emerging technology enables in-line customization of color schemes, including two-toning and striping. NextJet is being tested with customers today, and we plan to bring it to limited commercial use in 2024. This is an excellent example of how we are working with our customers to understand their requirements and developing technology to meet those needs.

創新對於我們業務的長期健康發展至關重要。這就是為什麼我對我們與賽爾的新合作夥伴關係感到興奮，以推出艾仕得的 NextJet，這是一種先進的油漆應用工具，可以實現精確的油漆放置。這項新興技術可以實現配色方案的線上定制，包括雙色調和條紋。 NextJet 今天正在接受客戶測試，我們計劃在 2024 年將其投入有限的商業用途。這是一個很好的例子，說明我們如何與客戶合作，了解他們的需求並開發技術來滿足這些需求。

Lastly, I want to highlight the official opening of our new Mobility Coatings manufacturing facility in Jilin, China. This site produces waterborne and solventborne coatings for the automotive OEM space. Adding local capacity enables Axalta to meet the growing demands for the China market, where we have continued to expand our position and see sustained long-term growth.

最後，我想強調我們位於中國吉林的新移動塗料製造工廠的正式開幕。該工廠為汽車 OEM 領域生產水性和溶劑型塗料。增加本地產能使艾仕得能夠滿足中國市場不斷增長的需求，我們在中國市場的地位不斷擴大，並實現了持續的長期成長。

Let's move to Slide 6. My main focus since joining Axalta has been to drive improved efficiency and performance across the portfolio. Our financial performance is beginning to reflect the operational initiatives underway that are driving these improvements across the enterprise, including managing price. We have instituted a more rigorous pricing approach, which is helping margins return to target levels across all end markets. Pockets of opportunity are being pursued as well, and we will remain disciplined given the inflationary pressures in labor and select raw materials.

讓我們轉到投影片 6。自從加入艾仕得以來，我的主要關注點是推動整個產品組合的效率和績效的提升。我們的財務表現開始反映出正在進行的營運舉措，這些舉措正在推動整個企業的這些改進，包括管理價格。我們制定了更嚴格的定價方法，這有助於所有終端市場的利潤率恢復到目標水準。我們也在尋求一些機會，考慮到勞動力和精選原材料的通膨壓力，我們將保持紀律。

Next, we have been focused on cost optimization. We have initially prioritized this opportunity in procurement, given the costs we have incurred in the past 2 years and the favorable buying environment. In the last 9 months, we have bid out more than 2/3 of our total $2.5 billion of spend and have driven substantial savings. This is a direct result of our consulting initiative we put in place earlier this year.

接下來，我們一直在關注成本優化。考慮到過去兩年的成本和有利的採購環境，我們最初在採購中優先考慮了這個機會。在過去 9 個月中，我們已經投標了 25 億美元總支出的 2/3 以上，並節省了大量資金。這是我們今年稍早實施的諮詢計劃的直接結果。

We have invested in our manufacturing capabilities. As I said earlier, our North American operations have made great strides following our ERP implementation. Production volumes at our Virginia plant are ahead of pre-implementation rates, and we're making good progress at reducing the backlog.

我們投資於我們的製造能力。正如我之前所說，我們的北美業務在實施 ERP 後取得了長足的進步。我們維吉尼亞工廠的產量超過了實施前的水平，並且我們在減少積壓方面取得了良好進展。

And finally, we have improved inventory levels to drive better free cash flow. We have reduced inventory by approximately $80 million year-to-date. This is yet another consulting initiative that we have seen great return on investment.

最後，我們提高了庫存水平，以推動更好的自由現金流。今年迄今為止，我們已減少了約 8,000 萬美元的庫存。這是我們看到了另一項巨大投資回報的諮詢舉措。

I'm pleased with our progress, but this will be an ongoing effort with more actions underway. I look forward to sharing our strategic plan for the company at our Capital Markets Day early next year. I could not be more excited for what the future has in store for Axalta and all our stakeholders.

我對我們的進展感到滿意，但這將是一項持續的努力，更多行動正在進行中。我期待在明年初的資本市場日分享我們公司的策略計畫。我對艾仕得和我們所有利害關係人的未來感到非常興奮。

I will now turn the call over to Carl for a review of our financial performance.

我現在將把電話轉給卡爾，要求他審查我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Chris, and good morning, everyone. I am thrilled to have joined Axalta at this opportune moment as we set out to transform the company and unlock our full potential. There is incredible talent at Axalta, and I look forward to working with the entire team to drive value for our stakeholders.

謝謝你，克里斯，大家早安。我很高興能在這個合適的時機加入艾仕得，因為我們正在著手改造公司並釋放我們的全部潛力。艾仕得擁有令人難以置信的人才，我期待與整個團隊合作，為我們的利害關係人創造價值。

Let's turn to Slide 7. In the third quarter, net sales increased 6% year-over-year to $1.3 billion, with positive sales contributions from both segments and strong price-mix improvement in every end market. Volumes were 3% lower as growth in Mobility Coatings was offset by declines in Performance Coatings. Adjusted EBIT improved to $188 million from $148 million in the prior year period, a 27% increase. Adjusted EBIT margin improved by 240 basis points to 14.3%, led by a significant step-up in price-cost recovery. All end markets are now price-cost positive on a cumulative basis from 2021.

讓我們轉向幻燈片7。第三季度，淨銷售額年增6%，達到13 億美元，這兩個細分市場都做出了積極的銷售貢獻，並且每個終端市場的價格組合都有了強勁的改善。由於行動塗料的成長被高性能塗料的下降所抵消，銷量下降了 3%。調整後息稅前利潤從去年同期的 1.48 億美元增至 1.88 億美元，成長 27%。由於價格成本回收率大幅提升，調整後息稅前利潤率提高了 240 個基點，達到 14.3%。從 2021 年開始，所有終端市場的累計價格成本效益均呈現正值。

Raw material deflation was a benefit for the second consecutive quarter as a consequence of a few factors. First, as Chris mentioned, our teams have done a great job negotiating with suppliers. They have driven significant savings and improved contract terms to help solidify these benefits. Second, softening demand in adjacent markets alongside improved global arbitrage has moved supply-demand balances in favor of Axalta across many of our input categories. On a regional basis, we have seen considerable relief across much of Asia Pacific and expect these markets to be balanced going forward. Trends in EMEA and North America are expected to remain favorable into the fourth quarter.

由於多種因素的影響，原材料通貨緊縮連續第二季受益。首先，正如克里斯所提到的，我們的團隊在與供應商的談判中做得很好。他們節省了大量資金並改善了合​​約條款，以幫助鞏固這些優勢。其次，鄰近市場的需求疲軟以及全球套利的改善使得我們許多投入品類別的供需平衡有利於艾仕得。從區域來看，我們看到亞太地區大部分地區都出現了相當大的緩解，並預計這些市場未來將保持平衡。歐洲、中東和非洲和北美的趨勢預計將在第四季度保持有利。

In addition, pricing discipline remains critical as labor inflation persists globally and was again a significant headwind this quarter, offsetting a portion of the raws relief. In the quarter, we also continued to incur costs associated with our productivity investments and ERP implementation, which totaled $15 million in the period. We expect these costs to start trending down in the fourth quarter and will be mostly behind us as we cross into 2024.

此外，由於全球勞動力通膨持續存在，定價紀律仍然至關重要，並且在本季度再次成為重大阻力，抵消了部分原材料的緩解。本季度，我們也持續產生與生產力投資和 ERP 實施相關的成本，期間總計 1,500 萬美元。我們預計這些成本將在第四季度開始下降，並在進入 2024 年時基本消失。

Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 15% year-over-year to $0.45 despite an approximate $0.08 headwind from the net change in interest expense and tax rate. Free cash flow in the quarter totaled $182 million compared to $51 million in the third quarter 2022, an increase of 257%. Targeted working capital improvements were the primary driver of this result.

儘管利息費用和稅率的淨變化帶來了約 0.08 美元的阻力，但調整後的稀釋每股收益仍同比增長 15% 至 0.45 美元。該季度自由現金流總計 1.82 億美元，較 2022 年第三季的 5,100 萬美元成長 257%。有針對性的營運資本改善是這項結果的主要驅動力。

Moving to Slide 8. Performance Coatings third quarter net sales were $856 million, a 2% improvement year-over-year.

轉向幻燈片 8。高性能塗料第三季淨銷售額為 8.56 億美元，年增 2%。

Refinish organic net sales improved by low single digits year-over-year. This was driven by strong price-mix growth as well as from modest mix enrichment given the near-term deprioritization of low-margin product categories, such as thinners, this quarter. Volumes in our core premium and mainstream customer segments were above expectations, led by strength in EMEA. However, declines in the economy customer segment and noncore areas led to lower reported volumes year-over-year in Refinish.

修補漆有機淨銷售額較去年同期實現低個位數成長。這是由於強勁的價格組合增長以及由於本季度稀釋劑等低利潤產品類別近期被取消優先考慮而導致的適度豐富的組合。在歐洲、中東和非洲地區的強勁帶動下，我們的核心高端和主流客戶群的銷售量超出了預期。然而，經濟客戶群和非核心領域的下滑導致修補漆報告銷售量較去年同期下降。

We continue to see a favorable backdrop for our industry-leading products and services. This is exemplified by the BMW win mentioned earlier, as well as ongoing market share opportunities in mainstream economy segments and adjacent markets. We remain on pace for record Refinish earnings again in 2023.

我們繼續看到我們行業領先的產品和服務的有利背景。前面提到的寶馬的勝利以及主流經濟領域和鄰近市場持續的市場份額機會就證明了這一點。我們仍有望在 2023 年再次創下修補漆獲利紀錄。

Industrial organic net sales were down year-over-year as better price-mix was more than offset by softer volumes as challenges persisted in construction-related sectors. We see signs of stabilization, but certain areas, like our building products business, are still facing customer destocking headwinds. In the meantime, the teams are doing a great job managing costs and increasing profitability despite volume decline.

工業有機淨銷售額較去年同期下降，因為價格組合的改善被建築相關產業持續面臨挑戰的銷售疲軟所抵消。我們看到了穩定的跡象，但某些領域，例如我們的建築產品業務，仍然面臨客戶去庫存的阻力。同時，儘管銷量下降，但團隊在管理成本和提高獲利能力方面表現出色。

Performance Coatings third quarter adjusted EBIT was $135 million versus $122 million in the same period last year. Both end markets contributed to improved segment earnings as better price-cost dynamics more than offset lower volumes, higher labor and cost allocations associated with enterprise productivity project.

高性能塗料第三季調整後息稅前利潤為 1.35 億美元，去年同期為 1.22 億美元。兩個終端市場都為改善部門獲利做出了貢獻，因為更好的價格成本動態足以抵消與企業生產力項目相關的銷售下降、勞動力和成本分配增加。

Let's move to Mobility Coatings results on Slide 9. As Chris told you, this was a solid quarter for Mobility. Third quarter net sales increased by 13% year-over-year to $453 million, driven by a balance of better volumes and price-mix. Light vehicle organic net sales increased by 12%. Volumes were very strong in the quarter, led by above-market mid-teens percentage growth in China. In North America, organic sales were up 12%, as we had a very limited impact in the quarter from the UAW strike. Price/mix improved by 7% year-over-year, inclusive of a modest mix benefit. The performance was supported by resilient auto builds and continued execution of a multiyear customer strategy to align with the fastest-growing OEM.

讓我們來看看幻燈片 9 上的移動塗料結果。正如克里斯告訴您的那樣，對於移動來說，這是一個穩定的季度。在銷量和價格組合改善的平衡推動下，第三季淨銷售額年增 13% 至 4.53 億美元。輕型汽車有機淨銷量成長 12%。本季的銷售量非常強勁，其中中國市場的百分比成長率高於市場水準。在北美，有機銷售額成長了 12%，因為 UAW 罷工對本季的影響非常有限。價格/組合年增了 7%，其中包括適度的組合效益。這一業績得益於彈性汽車製造以及持續執行多年客戶策略以與成長最快的 OEM 保持一致的支持。

Our growth in China was noteworthy and should be further enabled by investments we are making in the region. We are closely monitoring the UAW strike in North America, and our fourth quarter guidance reflects a modest impact. But it is important to recognize the diversity of our regional and global sales mix, which in 2023, has increasingly been driven by growth in other regions.

我們在中國的成長值得關注，並且應該透過我們在該地區的投資進一步推動。我們正在密切關注北美 UAW 罷工，我們的第四季度指引反映出影響不大。但重要的是要認識到我們的區域和全球銷售組合的多樣性，到 2023 年，這種多樣性將越來越多地受到其他地區成長的推動。

Commercial Vehicle organic net sales increased by 10% versus the prior year period. The year-over-year improvement was driven by strong price-mix in North America and a mid-single-digit improvement in volume.

商用車有機淨銷量較上年同期成長 10%。同比成長是由北美強勁的價格組合和銷量中個位數的成長所推動的。

Mobility Coatings adjusted EBIT improved to $40 million from $4 million a year ago, driven by higher selling prices and lower variable input costs. This is a significant improvement and represents a run rate consistent with pre-pandemic 2019 levels. Adjusted EBIT margin also increased by 790 basis points to 8.8%.

由於銷售價格上漲和變動投入成本降低，Mobility Coatings 調整後息稅前利潤從一年前的 400 萬美元增加到 4,000 萬美元。這是一項重大改進，運行率與 2019 年大流行前的水平一致。調整後息稅前利潤率也增加了 790 個基點，達到 8.8%。

Turning to Slide 10. We ended the quarter with $1.1 billion in total liquidity, inclusive of a cash balance of $606 million. Note that the acquisition of André Koch mentioned earlier by Chris occurred after the third quarter close, and as a result, the closing date cash outlay of approximately $108 million will be reflected in our fourth quarter cash balances.

轉向投影片 10。本季結束時，我們的流動資金總額為 11 億美元，其中現金餘額為 6.06 億美元。請注意，克里斯之前提到的對 André Koch 的收購發生在第三季結束後，因此，截止日期約 1.08 億美元的現金支出將反映在我們第四季的現金餘額中。

Our total net leverage ratio is now 3.2x reflecting an improvement from 3.6x last quarter and almost a full turn from a year ago. Additionally, we still expect to finish the year at a 3x leverage ratio, inclusive of the impact from the acquisition. Continuing to strengthen our balance sheet is among our highest priorities. We are targeting a net leverage ratio of 2 to 2.5x and a gross leverage ratio of 2.5 to 3x from a combination of natural deleveraging and continued cash generation.

我們的總淨槓桿率目前為 3.2 倍，較上季的 3.6 倍有所改善，與一年前相比幾乎翻了一番。此外，我們仍預期今年的槓桿率將達到 3 倍，其中包括收購的影響。繼續加強我們的資產負債表是我們的首要任務之一。我們的目標是透過自然去槓桿和持續現金生成相結合，實現淨槓桿率 2 至 2.5 倍，總槓桿率 2.5 至 3 倍。

This quarter, we also repurchased $50 million worth of Axalta shares. We see strong value in our equity today and we'll remain opportunistic as we prioritize capital deployment to drive shareholder value return. This prioritization includes the need for incremental CapEx to support operational objectives. Going forward, we will accelerate internal investments with a modest step-up from a recent annual CapEx ranges as ERP-related spending begins to wind down. We are focused on improving return on invested capital across all areas of investment.

本季度，我們也回購了價值 5,000 萬美元的艾仕得股票。我們今天看到我們的股權具有強大的價值，我們將繼續保持機會主義，優先考慮資本部署以推動股東價值回報。這種優先順序包括需要增量資本支出來支援營運目標。展望未來，隨著 ERP 相關支出開始減少，我們將加速內部投資，並在最近的年度資本支出範圍內適度增加。我們致力於提高所有投資領域的投資資本報酬率。

I will now turn the call back over to Chris for an update to our fourth quarter and 2023 financial guidance.

我現在將把電話轉回給 Chris，詢問我們第四季和 2023 年財務指引的最新情況。

Thanks, Carl. In Q4, we expect net sales to be up year-over-year with an improvement in both segments. We project volume growth to be muted in Q4 due to the growth in Mobility Coatings with a slight decline in Performance Coatings. We expect global mobility sales to remain strong with the exception of the forecasted impact from the UAW strike. Refinish sales are expected to remain stable with a slight sequential decline in fourth quarter driven by typical seasonal cyclicality.

謝謝，卡爾。第四季度，我們預計淨銷售額將年增，兩個細分市場都有所改善。我們預計，由於行動塗料的成長和高性能塗料的小幅下降，第四季銷售成長將放緩。我們預計，除了 UAW 罷工的預期影響外，全球行動出行銷售仍將保持強勁。修補漆銷售預計將保持穩定，但受典型季節性週期性的影響，第四季將略有環比下降。

On the cost side, we anticipate that raw material deflation and significant cost initiatives will drive a high single-digit benefit in the fourth quarter, partially offset by higher labor expense. Margins are expected to be greatly improved year-over-year. However, we expect a typical seasonal mix headwind quarter-over-quarter, which is likely to drive a modest margin headwind from Q3 to Q4.

在成本方面，我們預期原物料通貨緊縮和重大成本措施將在第四季度帶來高個位數的收益，但部分被較高的勞動力支出所抵銷。預計利潤率將年比大幅提高。然而，我們預計季度環比會出現典型的季節性混合逆風，這可能會導致第三季至第四季的利潤率適度逆風。

Fourth quarter adjusted EBIT is now expected to be approximately $180 million or about $250 million in adjusted EBITDA. Full year adjusted EBIT and adjusted EBITDA are projected to be approximately $670 million and $950 million, respectively. We're pleased with the trajectory of our earnings into year-end. At these levels, our full year guidance implies 17% year-over-year growth and a potential record adjusted EBITDA.

目前預計第四季度調整後 EBIT 約為 1.8 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 約為 2.5 億美元。全年調整後 EBIT 和調整後 EBITDA 預計分別約為 6.7 億美元和 9.5 億美元。我們對年底的獲利軌跡感到滿意。在這些水準上，我們的全年指引意味著年增 17%，調整後 EBITDA 可能創歷史新高。

As we look ahead to 2024, we see opportunity for yet another year of solid growth and margin expansion. We expect a supportive environment in our resilient Refinish end market, and we expect to outpace robust demand in Light Vehicle which together should offset potentially lower volumes in Industrial and Heavy Truck market. We also see the potential for a weighted benefit in the first half of the year from lower raw material costs slightly offset by select RMI-linked contracts.

展望 2024 年，我們看到了另一個實現穩健成長和利潤擴張的機會。我們預計，我們的修補漆終端市場將有一個支持性的環境，並且我們預計將超過輕型車輛的強勁需求，這將抵消工業和重型卡車市場潛在的銷售下降。我們也認為，今年上半年原物料成本下降可能帶來加權收益，但部分與 RMI 相關的合約略有抵銷。

We are committed to transforming Axalta. The actions that we're implementing are already showing results, and this is just the beginning of a strategy that we are confident will bring the positive change we want for the company.

我們致力於改造艾仕得。我們正在實施的行動已經初見成效，這只是策略的開始，我們有信心為公司帶來我們想要的正面改變。

This concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, please open the lines for Q&A.

我們準備好的演講到此結束。接線員，請開通問答線。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from John McNulty with BMO Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 John McNulty。

So I guess the first one would just be on pricing. You've had some really strong pricing, it's continued to flow through. If anything, in some areas, it looks like it's even gotten better. I guess, how -- can you speak to the pricing environment going forward and how we should think about it? Excluding the pieces that are on index. I think that -- look, that's an automatic pass-through with a little bit of a lag type thing. But when you think about the rest of the business, I guess, how should we be thinking about the pricing dynamic as we go into 4Q and into the, say, the first half of '24?

所以我想第一個就是定價。你已經獲得了一些非常強勁的定價，而且它還在繼續流通。如果有什麼不同的話，那就是在某些領域，情況看起來甚至變得更好了。我想，您能談談未來的定價環境以及我們應該如何考慮它嗎？不包括索引中的部分。我認為——看，這是一個帶有一點滯後類型的自動傳遞。但是，當您考慮其餘業務時，我想，當我們進入第四季度並進入 24 年上半年時，我們應該如何考慮定價動態？

Yes. Thanks, John. I think if you look at the last year, certainly, the team has done an exceptional job at pricing across all 3 segments.

是的。謝謝，約翰。我認為，如果你看看去年，你會發現該團隊在所有 3 個細分市場的定價方面都做得非常出色。

And as I think about Q4 as well as preparing for 2024, again, in our Mobility business, 40% of it, to your point, is on RMI. But that said, if you look at Axalta as a whole, index -- RMI indexing represents about 10%. So as you think about the rest of the basket, we certainly have the opportunity to price. And as I see where labor is going, as well as, let's call it, some select raw materials as well as freight, there will be the need to continue pricing. So I do believe that we will continue low single-digit pricing going into '24 as our base.

當我考慮第四季度以及為 2024 年做準備時，在我們的行動業務中，就您的觀點而言，其中 40% 是在 RMI 上。但話雖如此，如果你把艾仕得作為一個整體來看，指數——RMI 指數約佔 10%。因此，當您考慮籃子的其餘部分時，我們當然有機會定價。當我看到勞動力的去向，以及一些精選的原料和貨運時，我們將需要繼續定價。因此，我確實相信我們將繼續以 24 年為基礎的低個位數定價。

Got it. And then just as a follow-up, your gross margins snapped back nicely. I mean, you're kind of back to some really strong levels in 3Q. I guess when you think about the cost dynamic and raws at least looking like they're going to continue to come up a little bit lower, pricing, it sounds like you may still have some price opportunity ahead.

知道了。隨後，您的毛利率迅速回升。我的意思是，第三季你又回到了一些非常強勁的水平。我想當你考慮到成本動態和原材料時，至少看起來它們會繼續走低一點，定價，聽起來你可能仍然有一些價格機會。

I guess can you speak to how you're thinking about the gross margin trajectory? And can you get to the 2018, 2019 kind of levels, where it was 34% or so or better? Can you get there without volumes? Can you get there with the help of some of the cost cuts that you're doing and the productivity initiatives? Or do you need the volume really to get you there?

我想您能談談您對毛利率軌跡的看法嗎？你能達到 2018 年、2019 年的水平，即 34% 左右或更好嗎？你能在沒有捲的情況下到達那裡嗎？您能否藉助您正在進行的一些成本削減和生產力計劃來實現這一目標？或者你真的需要音量才能達到目的嗎？

Well, I think it's a question of time. We've certainly seen significant improvement this quarter, and I do believe that there is more structural enhancements that are already underway and that there are more to come.

嗯，我認為這是一個時間問題。本季我們確實看到了顯著的改善，而且我確實相信更多的結構性增強已經在進行中，並且還會有更多的增強。

And we certainly are benefiting from the reversal of, let's call it, some cyclical factors of 9 quarters of hyperinflation that's obviously shifted to some deflation. But as I said in my prepared remarks, if you look at it, we are seeing deflation, but we certainly also did some structural initiatives. We put $2.5 billion of our purchasing spend under bidding. And so we have seen, I would say, single-digit benefits in material performance. And I do believe that will continue into '24.

我們當然受益於九季惡性通貨膨脹的一些週期性因素的逆轉，這些因素顯然已經轉變為某種通貨緊縮。但正如我在準備好的發言中所說，如果你仔細觀察，我們會看到通貨緊縮，但我們當然也採取了一些結構性舉措。我們將 25 億美元的採購支出用於招標。因此，我想說，我們已經看到了材料性能的個位數優勢。我確實相信這種情況將持續到 24 年。

So I would say, let's call it, where we're performing in the last 2 quarters as the base. And I do see that there's more opportunity. And I'll probably turn it over to Carl to put some more comments on this one.

所以我想說，我們以過去兩個季度的表現為基礎。我確實看到還有更多機會。我可能會把它交給卡爾來對此發表更多評論。

Yes, John, just to add to Chris' commentary. As I look at our plans next year, especially on capital expenditures, we think there's opportunity to drive more productivity in our network and in our plants as well that will actually help accelerate our -- increase margin profiles as we move forward.

是的，約翰，只是為了補充克里斯的評論。當我審視明年的計劃時，特別是在資本支出方面，我們認為有機會提高我們的網路和工廠的生產力，這實際上將有助於加速我們的發展——提高利潤率。

Our next question comes from Aleksey Yefremov with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 KeyBanc Capital Markets 的 Aleksey Yefremov。

Your acquisition in Switzerland, I believe it's not the first one for European distribution for the company. Could you discuss, how does owning distribution there fit in your strategy? Why is it necessary in Europe and not perhaps in North America or other regions?

你們在瑞士的收購，我相信這不是該公司第一次在歐洲分銷。您能否討論一下，在那裡擁有分銷業務如何適合您的策略？為什麼在歐洲有必要，在北美或其他地區則不然？

Great question. André -- I think we're just absolutely thrilled to announce André Koch. It's an exceptional story for us in many senses. One is, in Switzerland, certainly accretive. It's a strong margin profile for the business. And the business comes in at, let's call it, Refinish margins, it's $50 million. And in terms of investing in the business, over the last 2 quarters, I've always talked about investing into our strong Refinish business.

很好的問題。安德烈——我認為我們非常高興宣布安德烈·科赫。從很多意義上來說，這對我們來說都是一個非凡的故事。其中之一，在瑞士，肯定是增值的。該業務的利潤率很高。我們稱之為修補漆業務的利潤率為 5,000 萬美元。在商業投資方面，在過去的兩個季度中，我一直在談論投資我們強大的修補漆業務。

And last quarter, we talked about the Irus Mix. This quarter, distribution gets us closer to our customers. And in our sense, in terms of essentially getting us to the ability to get closer to over 500 customers is an ability that I think we can probably do more easily in Europe, just with the distribution dynamics. So that's certainly one of the main reasons we played here.

上個季度，我們討論了 Irus Mix。本季，分銷讓我們更貼近客戶。從我們的角度來看，就本質上讓我們能夠接近 500 多個客戶而言，我認為我們在歐洲可能更容易做到這一點，只需利用分銷動態。所以這肯定是我們在這裡比賽的主要原因之一。

Another reason is André Koch has a system called [Repair Net] that pulls together the investor -- sorry, the insurance providers, the body shops as well as Axalta as a coatings provider. And we believe this network is something we can expand through Europe and really play on growing in the European market, which is extremely accretive from a margin profile for us over time.

另一個原因是安德烈·科赫（André Koch）有一個名為“維修網”的系統，該系統將投資者聚集在一起——對不起，是保險公司、車身修理廠以及作為塗料供應商的艾仕得。我們相信，這個網絡是我們可以在整個歐洲擴展的網絡，並真正在歐洲市場的成長中發揮作用，隨著時間的推移，這對我們的利潤狀況來說是非常有利的。

And just to clarify on this. Was this distributor unique to -- were they just distributing Axalta paint, or were there other suppliers who may fall off after the deal?

只是為了澄清這一點。該經銷商是否獨特——他們只是分銷艾仕得塗料，還是有其他供應商可能在交易後退出？

Yes. There are other suppliers that are also in the -- in the profile. They've distributed Axalta for 2 decades, but they do also cover other paints. That provides us an opportunity to obviously grow here.

是的。還有其他供應商也在簡介中。他們已經分銷艾仕得二十年了，但他們也銷售其他塗料。這為我們提供了在這裡明顯成長的機會。

Our next question comes from Ghansham Panjabi with Baird.

我們的下一個問題來自 Ghansham Panjabi 和 Baird。

This is actually Matt Krueger sitting in for Ghansham. Just to kick things off, we've talked a lot about some of the investments that have been made and some of the groundwork you've laid in 2023 to allow the company to add additional earnings power in future years. Can you detail some of those projects? Specifically, maybe talk about some of the cash outlays that you've made and then also the specific returns that you expect on these types of investments. Both into '24 and then on a multiyear basis would be great.

這實際上是馬特·克魯格（Matt Krueger）代替甘沙姆（Ghansham）。首先，我們討論了許多已經進行的投資以及你們在 2023 年奠定的一些基礎，以便讓公司在未來幾年增加額外的獲利能力。能詳細介紹其中一些項目嗎？具體來說，也許可以談談您已經支付的一些現金支出，以及您對此類投資的預期具體回報。兩者都進入 24 年，然後在多年的基礎上會很棒。

Sure. Absolutely, Matt. So I'm going to kick it off with the investments and the 3 projects that we kicked off, and I'll let Carl walk you through the spend and how we see that going forward into '24.

當然。當然，馬特。因此，我將從投資和我們啟動的 3 個項目開始，我將讓 Carl 向您介紹支出以及我們如何看待 24 年的支出。

So the 3 projects we kicked off, first one was on the ERP implementation, which obviously, from my prepared remarks, it's certainly progressing well and we're certainly seeing efficiency gains that have helped us reduce the backlog in Refinish, which is one of the primary drivers to our performance as I look at Q3.

因此，我們啟動的3 個項目，第一個是ERP 實施，顯然，從我準備好的發言來看，它確實進展順利，我們當然看到效率的提高，幫助我們減少了修補漆的積壓，這是其中之一當我看到第三季時，我們業績的主要驅動因素。

The second one was on the purchasing initiative. And here, again, we put out a significant portion of our material spend to bid. And here, we're seeing single-digit improvement on top of what I would call is mid-single-digit improvement in deflation, which puts us at high single-digit performance in our material performance for the year, which is one of the primary drivers for how I see Q3 and Q4 coming out. And obviously, we should see that tailwind feeding into '24.

第二個是關於採購主動性。在這裡，我們再次投入了很大一部分材料支出來投標。在這裡，我們看到除了我所說的通貨緊縮中個位數改善之外，我們還看到了個位數改善，這使我們今年的材料性能達到了高個位數表現，這是我如何看待第三季和第四季的主要驅動因素。顯然，我們應該看到這種順風進入 24 年。

And on top of that, the last initiative that we kicked off was focused on inventory. As I looked coming in, one of the things that we wanted to work on was reducing the inventory buildup that we had seen over the last 2 quarters coming out of the pandemic. And here, we had an initiative focused on taking down close to $100 million of inventory. And to date, we have seen $90 million of improvement here. So certainly a significant driver that's helping us with our free cash flow targets.

最重要的是，我們啟動的最後一項措施的重點是庫存。據我了解，我們想要做的事情之一是減少過去兩個季度因疫情而造成的庫存累積。在這裡，我們發起了一項旨在減少近 1 億美元庫存的措施。迄今為止，我們已在這方面取得了 9,000 萬美元的改進。因此，這無疑是幫助我們實現自由現金流目標的重要驅動力。

Now I'll turn it over to Carl to give you specifics on the numbers.

現在我將把它交給卡爾，讓他向您提供有關數字的具體資訊。

Yes, Matt, just to add to it. So if you look at through 9 months of this year, in total, we had spent about $34 million as far as related consulting as well as S/4 implementation costs. And as we look forward in the fourth quarter, we see that stepping down pretty much kind of by half as you kind of compare it to the third quarter. And as we get into 2024, most of that will be completely behind us going forward.

是的，馬特，只是補充一下。因此，如果你看看今年的 9 個月，我們總共花費了大約 3,400 萬美元的相關諮詢以及 S/4 實施成本。當我們展望第四季時，與第三季相比，我們發現這一數字幾乎減少了一半。當我們進入 2024 年時，其中大部分都將完全成為過去。

So as Chris said, it was very strategic. It really allowed the company to have -- add more horsepower and velocity as it relates to a lot of these activities. So we are setting ourselves up for 2024 as we go forward.

正如克里斯所說，這是非常具有戰略意義的。它確實使公司能夠增加更多的馬力和速度，因為它與許多此類活動有關。因此，我們正在為 2024 年的前進做好準備。

Got it. That's helpful. And just to follow up on profitability. Obviously, the improvement in Mobility was very impressive. Should we expect to see double-digit EBIT margins for that business into 4Q or something close to it? And what level of profitability should we expect on a run rate into '24? Can we hold the levels that we're at currently? Or is there something unique that that's going on that we wouldn't expect to recur?

知道了。這很有幫助。只是為了跟進獲利能力。顯然，機動性的提升是非常可觀的。我們是否應該預期看到該業務第四季的息稅前利潤率達到兩位數或接近兩位數？我們預計 24 世紀的獲利水準應該是多少？我們能保持目前的水平嗎？或者是否有一些我們不希望再次發生的獨特事件正在發生？

No. No, I think, Matt, you characterized it well. The team has done a really, really strong job this year as far as on pricing as well as on overall kind of cost discipline for that business. Obviously, the fourth quarter will be a little bit impacted just based off here in North America with the UAW strike, which appears to be moving in a direction to kind of be behind. But again, there will definitely be a smaller impact as we think about what happened in the month of October for us.

不，不，我認為，馬特，你描述得很好。就定價以及該業務的整體成本紀律而言，該團隊今年做得非常非常出色。顯然，第四季將受到北美聯合汽車工人工會罷工的影響，罷工似乎朝著落後的方向發展。但同樣，當我們考慮 10 月發生的事情時，影響肯定會更小。

But as we go forward, that is -- that Mobility margin profile, we do expect to continue to be able to grow that, especially as we get into 2024.

但隨著我們向前邁進，我們確實希望行動性利潤率能夠繼續成長，特別是進入 2024 年時。

Our next question comes from Patrick Cunningham with Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Patrick Cunningham。

Just given the magnitude of the guidance raise, can you maybe quantify or rank-order the biggest changes in expectations from the previous release, whether it be backlog normalization, price-cost or other factors? And is there any additional conservatism baked into the 4Q outlook?

考慮到指導上調的幅度，您是否可以量化或排序與先前版本相比預期的最大變化，無論是積壓正常化、價格成本還是其他因素？第四季前景中是否還有其他保守主義因素？

So certainly an exceptional quarter, I would say. Whether it's all regions and all the 3 segments, we're hitting on all cylinders. But maybe to break it down for you.

我想說，這無疑是一個特別的季度。無論是所有地區還是所有 3 個細分市場，我們都會全力以赴。但也許是為你分解它。

First, the improvement in our ERP efficiency really enabled Refinish to reduce the sales backlog. And then obviously, the material performance, whether it's the tailwind from the material deflation as well as the structural initiatives that we had from our consulting initiative on material. And when you put those together, as well as the OE production, which was well ahead of third quarter projections, and this was globally.

首先，我們ERP效率的提升確實讓Refinish減少了銷售積壓。顯然，材料性能，無論是材料通貨緊縮的順風車，還是我們從材料諮詢計劃中獲得的結構性舉措。當你把這些以及原廠產量放在一起時，這遠遠超出了第三季的預測，而且這是全球範圍內的。

And we had an extremely strong quarter in China. And as I look at Q4, that sentiment and that strength exists in Mobility. And to the earlier questions, we have seen a 300 basis points jump in Mobility year-over-year, over 200 basis point jump quarter-over-quarter. So great performance there.

我們在中國的季度表現非常強勁。當我觀察第四季時，這種情緒和力量存在於行動領域。對於先前的問題，我們看到流動性較去年同期成長 300 個基點，較上季成長超過 200 個基點。那裡的表演非常出色。

All that said, you put, let's call it, the pricing initiatives we have been driving as well as the cost initiatives. As to Carls' remarks, we've had just all 4 end markets be price-cost positive for the first time in 9 quarters since 2021.

綜上所述，我們一直在推動的定價措施以及成本措施。至於卡爾斯的言論，自 2021 年以來的 9 個季度以來，我們首次看到所有 4 個終端市場的價格成本正值。

Got it. And then just on the BMW Group partnership, it looks very promising. But can you help us understand the timing of getting penetration into those body shops and then maybe the volume and earnings potential from that partnership?

知道了。就寶馬集團的合作而言，它看起來非常有前途。但您能否幫助我們了解進入這些車身修理廠的時機，以及該合作關係的銷售和獲利潛力？

Yes. It's certainly going to be some time in '24. So we have to convert these shops in our -- as we see it every quarter next year, we're going to work on converting more and more of those shops. It's certainly a true testament to the group.

是的。這肯定是24年的某個時候。因此，我們必須在明年每季對這些商店進行改造，我們將致力於改造越來越多的商店。這無疑是對團隊的真實證明。

This year, as I look at it, we're on path to win 2,000 net body shops. If I look at the last 3 years, the team has done an exceptional job winning 10,000 body shops. So this 730 is a great step right off the get-go and how we're set up for 2024.

今年，據我觀察，我們有望贏得 2,000 家網路車身修理店。回顧過去 3 年，團隊表現出色，贏得了 10,000 家車身維修店的青睞。因此，這款 730 是我們為 2024 年做好準備的一開始就邁出的重要一步。

Our next question comes from Joshua Spector with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的約書亞·斯佩克特。

This is [Luke Spin] on for Josh. So I just wanted to get back to Refinish, if we could. So could you please kind of comment on the base volume growth there for us by region? And just to sort of highlight as well, what was the impact of the low-margin exits in the quarter? And kind of how much of that is like left to go now as we sort of roll into 2024?

這是喬許的[盧克·斯賓]。所以，如果可以的話，我只想回到修補漆。那麼您能否對我們按地區劃分的基本銷售成長發表評論？也要強調一下，本季低利潤退出的影響是什麼？當我們進入 2024 年時，其中還有多少是可以實現的？

So if I look at it quarter-over-quarter, let's call it -- what we're seeing is, I would call it, a 5% decline in volumes. And a lot of this obviously related to what we went through with our Refinish market. But if I look from this quarter into next quarter, we are essentially flat. And going into next year, I would say from a volume basis, we expect that to remain flat.

因此，如果我按季度來看，我們可以稱之為——我們看到的是，我稱之為，銷量下降了 5%。其中許多顯然與我們的修補漆市場經驗有關。但如果我從本季到下季來看，我們基本上持平。進入明年，我想說，從銷售來看，我們預計銷售量將保持穩定。

Just explaining the dynamic quarter-over-quarter, Q2 to Q3. Again, primarily driven from our S/4 implementation. We made a large step-up. But still, there's more opportunity, obviously, with us burning more of the backlog as I think about Q4 and prepping us for next year.

只是解釋第二季到第三季的季度環比動態。同樣，主要是由我們的 S/4 實施所驅動的。我們邁出了一大步。但顯然，當我們考慮第四季並為明年做好準備時，我們會燃燒更多的積壓訂單，因此顯然還有更多的機會。

But Q3 to Q4, we expect volumes to be overall flat and heading into next year to be flat. If you were to break that region by region, I would say Europe and North America, somewhat stable. And then South America -- sorry, China continuing to be soft on the Refinish side.

但第三季到第四季，我們預期銷量將整體持平，進入明年也將持平。如果你要按地區劃分，我會說歐洲和北美，比較穩定。然後是南美洲——抱歉，中國在修補漆方面仍然表現軟弱。

Great. And then I just sort of wanted to talk about kind of the onetime bridge items going into next year. So just in terms of where we stand now with like what you know. So you highlighted the sort of $35 million in the consultant spending that's not going to sort of occur. But then we have the other factors, like the low-margin product exits, change in the availability contract pricing. Just anything else sort of that you'd like to highlight for us that's known at this time, if you could kind of walk us through that, please?

偉大的。然後我只是想談談明年的一次性過渡計畫。就我們現在的情況而言，就像你所知道的那樣。因此，您強調了 3500 萬美元的顧問支出是不會發生的。但我們還有其他因素，例如低利潤產品的退出、可用性合約定價的變化。您想向我們強調的其他目前已知的信息，請您向我們介紹一下，好嗎？

Yes. I think just to add what Chris said earlier in some of his comments. As you think about the bridge into 2024, we do expect a little bit more pricing as especially we think about what we can do in Refinish as well as in some of the other verticals as well for us. And we think also the COGS, at least on a year-over-year basis, will continue to trend favorably, especially at least through the first half of 2024. So those would be the primary areas of the bridge that will help walk you to where we think '24 will end up.

是的。我想補充一下克里斯之前在他的一些評論中所說的話。當你考慮到 2024 年的過渡時，我們確實預計價格會更高一些，因為我們特別考慮到我們可以在修補漆以及其他一些垂直領域為我們做些什麼。我們也認為，至少在同比基礎上，銷貨成本將繼續呈有利趨勢，尤其是至少到 2024 年上半年。因此，這些將是橋樑的主要領域，將幫助您了解我們認為'24將會結束。

Our next question comes from Kevin McCarthy with Vertical Research Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自垂直研究合作夥伴的凱文·麥卡錫。

Chris, it sounds like you've made a lot of progress with regard to your purchasing initiatives. Can you provide a little bit more color on the raw material cost outlook heading into 2024, and perhaps where you're seeing the most deflation or the most stickiness in your input costs?

克里斯，聽起來您在採購計劃方面取得了很大進展。您能否對 2024 年的原材料成本前景提供更多信息，也許您會看到通縮最嚴重或投入成本粘性最大的地方？

Sure, love to. So I think I would say, as we look at Q4 and also into '24, I would call it mid-single-digit opportunity on material. This is still going to provide us a tailwind. Now in terms of -- there is one -- a few outlying factors. We are monitoring oil and we -- but at this point, we're certainly not seeing any impact on our downstream market. But oil does play a key factor in solvents as well as if we think about freight. But again, no pressure that we are seeing at this time. But epoxies, isocyanates and resins are all trending favorably. So as I think about '24, we still -- from our planning standpoint, where I would say we see mid-single-digit opportunity in material performance.

當然，喜歡。所以我想我會說，當我們審視第四季度以及 24 年時，我將其稱為材料上的中個位數機會。這仍然會帶給我們順風。現在就一些外圍因素而言。我們正在監控石油，但目前我們肯定沒有看到對下游市場有任何影響。但石油確實在溶劑以及貨運方面發揮關鍵因素。但同樣，我們目前沒有看到壓力。但環氧樹脂、異氰酸酯和樹脂的趨勢都不錯。因此，當我想到 24 年時，從我們的規劃角度來看，我們仍然會說我們在材料性能方面看到了中個位數的機會。

Okay. And then -- would you comment, Chris, on your outlook for auto builds? I think Axalta used to provide some fairly specific numerical guidance. I didn't see that, unless I missed it. But maybe you can kind of talk through what you're thinking about for the fourth quarter as well as 2024 as it relates to production backdrop?

好的。然後——克里斯，你能評論一下你對汽車製造的展望嗎？我認為艾仕得曾經提供過一些相當具體的數字指導。我沒看到，除非我錯過了。但也許您可以談談您對第四季以及 2024 年與生產背景相關的想法？

So fourth quarter, obviously, going around the world. Europe seems to be stable and growing. China is just going to gangbusters if I look at Q3 and also as we look at our forecast for Q4.

顯然，第四季將環遊世界。歐洲似乎穩定且不斷成長。如果我看看第三季以及我們對第四季的預測，中國將會表現強勁。

The team has just done a stellar job also on top of our wins. If we look back a year ago, we talked about $200 million of new wins running through the P&L at the back end of '24, and we're certainly seeing our share of not only growth, but also the market rebounding in China. So far, as I look at Q3 and Q4, I would say, globally, the markets seem to be trending the right way.

除了我們的勝利之外，該團隊還剛剛完成了出色的工作。如果我們回顧一年前，我們談到 24 年底損益表中新增了 2 億美元的勝利，我們當然不僅看到了我們的份額增長，而且看到了中國市場的反彈。到目前為止，當我看到第三季和第四季時，我想說，在全球範圍內，市場的趨勢似乎是正確的。

Specific to North America, obviously, the step down in -- with the UAW strike. We certainly saw -- we saw a minimal impact from the strike in Q3. As you can see from our performance. In Q4, I would say we're guiding to 1% of our revenue being impacted possibly from the strike. But if that gets resolved here, based on where the discussions are going, that we do see some level of opportunity there in our guide as well.

具體到北美，顯然，隨著 UAW 的罷工，下台。我們當然看到了——我們看到第三季罷工的影響很小。正如您從我們的表現中看到的那樣。在第四季度，我想說，我們預計 1% 的收入可能會受到罷工的影響。但如果這個問題在這裡得到解決，根據討論的進展情況，我們確實也會在我們的指南中看到一定程度的機會。

Now looking at '24, all indications, to your point, are that markets are going to start building up. So builds -- for the global builds, we see that going up to [89 million]. So certainly, a positive trend there heading back to the numbers we saw, let's call it, pre-pandemic.

現在看看 24 年，所有跡象表明，按照您的觀點，市場將開始建立。因此，對於全球構建，我們看到該數字將高達 [8900 萬]。當然，積極的趨勢又回到了我們看到的數字，我們稱之為大流行前。

The one outlier is on the Commercial Vehicle side. On the Commercial Vehicle side, I would say ACT has markets going down to 275,000 builds. Obviously, we're running at well north of 300,000, right now at 325,000. So there's a bit of a risk there. But that said, I think the team is doing well with winning new business and also driving price and cost actions, that we should see overall margin continuing to improve into '24.

一個異常值是在商用車方面。在商用車方面，我想說 ACT 的市場銷售量已降至 275,000 輛。顯然，我們的人數遠高於 300,000，目前為 325,000。所以這裡存在一點風險。但話雖如此，我認為團隊在贏得新業務以及推動價格和成本行動方面做得很好，我們應該會看到整體利潤率在 24 年繼續改善。

Our next question comes from Stephen Byrne with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的史蒂芬·伯恩。

Thanks. I wanted to drill in a little bit on Refinish. Your low single-digit organic sales in the third quarter seems a little modest, given you have these pricing initiatives; you have the MSO partner, keeps acquiring; you got your automated mixing technology. Would you expect organic sales in Refinish to post higher gains in 2024, perhaps bolstered by these recent acquisitions with the André Koch and the BMW Group which are all in 2024?

謝謝。我想深入了解修補漆。考慮到您有這些定價舉措，您第三季的低個位數有機銷售額似乎有點溫和；你有MSO合作夥伴，不斷收購；您獲得了自動混合技術。您是否預計修補漆的有機銷售額將在 2024 年實現更高的成長，或許是受到安德烈·科赫 (André Koch) 和寶馬集團 (BMW Group) 最近在 2024 年進行的收購的推動？

Yes. Let me address it in 2 ways. I think first, let me address it from a volume standpoint. And I think going back to the questions we had last quarter and also this quarter. One of the primary drivers from a volume perspective, you would notice that we've been taking a bit of a step back. But that's primarily because we have been focused on driving the margin.

是的。讓我用兩種方式來解決這個問題。我想先讓我從數量的角度來解決這個問題。我想回到我們上季和本季提出的問題。從銷售的角度來看，這是主要驅動因素之一，您會注意到我們已經後退了一步。但這主要是因為我們一直專注於提高利潤率。

And what we have done is, whether it's in thinners or in certain businesses in South America, our architectural business in South America, we decided to, let's call it, made a decision to exit these to ensure that we were driving the margin and ensuring that we had the capacity for higher-margin products. So that was a decision we made because the focus was, again, to make sure that we maintained and grew margins.

我們所做的是，無論是稀釋劑還是南美洲的某些業務，我們在南美洲的建築業務，我們決定，讓我們稱之為，決定退出這些業務，以確保我們推動利潤並確保我們有能力生產更高利潤的產品。所以這是我們所做的決定，因為重點再次是確保我們維持和增加利潤。

In terms of, let's call it, sales. To your point, yes, we do see opportunity as we continue to win, that we will continue to drive growth into '24 as well, especially with the acquisition we just announced. And on top of that, the team has done a great job continuing to win net sales, and that will be the growth trajectory as I look at '24 as well.

就銷售而言，我們稱之為銷售。就你的觀點而言，是的，隨著我們繼續獲勝，我們確實看到了機會，我們也將繼續推動 24 年的成長，特別是透過我們剛剛宣布的收購。最重要的是，團隊在繼續贏得淨銷售額方面做得非常出色，這也將是我展望 24 年的成長軌跡。

But I would say, ex thinners and ex, let's call it, the decision we made in South America, our volumes have been somewhat flat. So it's not like we're going down. And if anything else, there's only opportunity from a growth standpoint, both from the acquisition as well as the net sales wins for '24.

但我想說，前稀釋劑和前，我們在南美洲做出的決定，我們的產量有些持平。所以我們不會下降。如果有什麼不同的話，那就是從成長的角度來看，無論是收購還是 24 年淨銷售額的成長，都存在著機會。

And then perhaps in Mobility, what would you attribute the new business wins that you're talking about? Is this a technology game for you to have better technology that benefits your customer? And how significant is this new technology, this two-tone technology, what is it? NextJet. How significant of an opportunity is that in your view?

然後，也許在行動領域，您將您所談論的新業務勝利歸因於什麼？這是一場技術遊戲，讓您擁有更好的技術來讓您的客戶受益嗎？而這個新技術有多大的意義，這個雙音技術，它是什麼？下一個噴射機。您認為這是多麼重要的機會？

Well, let me break it up into 2 things. I think the -- if I go back a year ago and talk about the wins that the Mobility team has done, I would say here, it's a pure focus around service and the relationships that the Mobility team has built with the customers. And it's not specific to a region, it's globally. The wins are in North America, the wins are in China, significant wins in China and also in Europe. And this has been 2 -- I credit this to 2 things. Certainly technology, but also purely the service and the relationships that the team has done an incredible job building.

好吧，讓我把它分成兩件事。我認為，如果我回到一年前並談論行動團隊所取得的勝利，我會說，這純粹是圍繞服務以及行動團隊與客戶建立的關係。而且它不是特定於某個地區的，而是全球的。勝利在北美，勝利在中國，重大勝利在中國和歐洲。這已經是 2 了——我把這歸功於兩件事。當然是技術，但也純粹是服務和團隊在建立方面所做的令人難以置信的工作。

Now in terms of the Xaar relationship or the NextJet announcement we made today. Here, it is technology. And if you think about a Mustang or where you have a different color roof, a two-tone roof with the rest of the car, what we do with this technology is provide the opportunity for our customers to not pull them out of the body shop or the paint line and take them to a separate process to paint the roof separate from the rest of the vehicle.

現在就 Xaar 關係或我們今天發布的 NextJet 公告而言。在這裡，它是技術。如果您想到一輛野馬，或者您有不同顏色的車頂，即與汽車其餘部分的雙色調車頂，我們利用這項技術所做的就是為我們的客戶提供機會，讓他們不必將他們拉出車身修理廠或油漆生產線，並將它們帶到一個單獨的過程中，將車頂與車輛的其他部分分開進行油漆。

We have -- we provide the ability for our OE partners to essentially run it through the paint shop and apply these both applications at the same time. That provides enormous opportunity and gets away from an off-line process, which we believe will drive enormous levels of productivity in cars that need two-tone painting. And these are custom cars, these are very expensive cars. So I think this is an opportunity that we believe will provide a lot of value for our customers going forward.

我們為我們的 OE 合作夥伴提供了在塗裝車間中運行並同時應用這兩種應用程式的能力。這提供了巨大的機會，並且擺脫了離線流程，我們相信這將極大地提高需要雙色調噴漆的汽車的生產率。這些都是定制汽車，非常昂貴的汽車。所以我認為這是一個機會，我們相信它將為我們的客戶提供很多價值。

Our next question comes from Michael Sison with Wells Fargo.

我們的下一個問題來自富國銀行的麥可·西森。

This is Abigail on for Mike. So I believe this was already touched on a bit, but some of your peers have noticed in the Refinish space share gains, and I think mostly in the last quarter. Do you have a response to that? Have you -- I mean, have you been experiencing any share loss?

這是麥克的阿比蓋爾。所以我相信這已經被觸及了一點，但你們的一些同行已經注意到修補漆領域份額的成長，我認為主要是在上個季度。中方對此有何回應？我的意思是，你有沒有經歷過任何股票損失？

And then twofold, thinking back to your Refinish Day last December, you mentioned Europe as being a key new market for growth for you. How has that changed in the last year given macroeconomic trends in the region?

回想去年 12 月的修補日，您提到歐洲是您成長的一個重要新市場。鑑於該地區的宏觀經濟趨勢，去年情況有何變化？

So I think great question. Thanks for the question, Abigail. We certainly win many and we also lose some customers. And -- but what I can say is we're on track this year for 2,000 net body shop wins. So overall, I would say we continue to win. And looking back at the last 3 years, this team has done an exceptional job with 10,000 net body shops.

所以我認為這是一個很好的問題。謝謝你的提問，阿比蓋爾。我們當然贏得了許多客戶，但也失去了一些客戶。而且 - 但我可以說的是，今年我們預計將獲得 2,000 家淨車身維修店勝利。總的來說，我想說我們會繼續獲勝。回顧過去 3 年，該團隊在 10,000 家網路車身維修店中取得了出色的成績。

And I think the broader perspective of measuring this year-over-year is in -- if I look at the Refinish team and joining this company, the best thing you can talk about is the fact that, in '21, the Refinish team had record sales. In '22, the Refinish team has record sales. And in '23, at the rates they're going, they're going to hit record sales in '23. So an exceptional team. And talking about the BMW win this early in the year sets up beautifully as I think about '24 with 730 new body shops just starting out the year. So I would say the team is well positioned to continue to grow.

我認為衡量這一年同比情況的更廣泛的視角是——如果我看看修補漆團隊並加入這家公司，你可以談論的最好的事情是，在 21 年，修補漆團隊銷售記錄。 22 年，Refish 團隊創下了銷售記錄。在 23 年，以他們目前的速度，他們將在 23 年創下銷售記錄。這是一支出色的團隊。在今年年初談論 BMW 的勝利是很美好的，因為我想到 24 年剛開始的 730 個新車身修理廠。所以我想說，這個團隊已經做好了繼續成長的準備。

And it all aligns with the strategy that Troy and the team kicked off a year ago at Refinish Day, it was actually my first day in Axalta and I actually hadn't even been in the role. And I -- to your point, we talked about the growth in Europe. And the best part is, today, we announced 2 things. One is the BMW announcement, which mostly impacts our growth in Europe; and the second one is the acquisition of André Koch, which again shows our focus and our attention to Europe and the growth there.

這一切都符合特洛伊和團隊一年前在修補日啟動的策略，這實際上是我在艾仕得的第一天，實際上我甚至沒有擔任過這個角色。我——就你的觀點而言，我們討論了歐洲的成長。最棒的是，今天我們宣布了兩件事。一是寶馬的公告，主要影響我們在歐洲的成長；第二個是收購安德烈·科赫（André Koch），這再次表明了我們對歐洲及其成長的關注和關注。

So net-net, across both of these, I think the Refinish team is absolutely positioned to grow in '24 in Europe and are actually taking the right steps a quarter ahead.

因此，淨淨，在這兩個方面，我認為修補漆團隊絕對有能力在 24 年歐洲實現成長，並且實際上正在提前一個季度採取正確的步驟。

Our next question comes from Vincent Andrews with Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的文森特安德魯斯。

This is Steve Haynes on for Vincent. I just wanted to maybe ask a quick question on the M&A pipeline and kind of how you're thinking about that going forward. And on the flip side of that, maybe you've kind of walked away from some business in Refinish, but are there other areas of the portfolio that you'd think about pruning? And just any kind of additional thoughts on that would be great.

我是文森的史蒂夫·海恩斯。我只是想問一個關於併購管道的簡單問題，以及您如何看待未來的發展。另一方面，也許您已經放棄了修補漆中的某些業務，但是您是否會考慮修剪投資組合中的其他領域？如果對此有任何額外的想法那就太好了。

Yes. This is Carl. So yes, just on the M&A pipeline, obviously, Chris talked a lot, what we just accomplished here with André Koch here in October. But as we look forward here, at least in the near term from a capital allocation perspective, we are really focused on our net leverage ratio.

是的。這是卡爾.所以，是的，就併購管道而言，克里斯顯然談了很多，我們十月剛剛與安德烈·科赫在這裡完成的事情。但當我們展望未來時，至少在短期內從資本配置的角度來看，我們真正關注的是我們的淨槓桿率。

As you saw in the slide deck, we have an opportunity where we set new targets, especially on net debt leverage to 2x to 2.5x. The company has done a really great job in delevering this year. And we think that we have a lot more that we can do, and potentially even achieve maybe the top end of our objective as we finish out 2024 on a net leverage ratio.

正如您在幻燈片中看到的那樣，我們有機會設定新目標，特別是淨債務槓桿率達到 2 倍至 2.5 倍。該公司今年在去槓桿方面做得非常出色。我們認為，我們還有很多事情要做，甚至有可能在 2024 年淨槓桿率結束時實現我們目標的上限。

But having said that, as we look at the overall pipeline and M&A, we will continue to evaluate those opportunities. But at this point, I think the primary focus will be a little bit more inward looking as we continue to delever and also reinvest back in the business.

但話雖如此，當我們審視整體管道和併購時，我們將繼續評估這些機會。但在這一點上，我認為隨著我們繼續去槓桿化並對業務進行再投資，主要關注點將更加內向。

Our next question comes from Mike Harrison with Seaport Research Partners.

我們的下一個問題來自海港研究合作夥伴的麥克哈里森。

Congrats on a nice quarter. You noted the opening of the Jilin manufacturing facility in China. Can you give a little bit more detail on how that's going to help you grow in the Mobility business there in China? Maybe what additional capabilities does that facility provide for you?

恭喜您度過了一個美好的季度。您注意到中國吉林製造工廠的開幕。您能否更詳細地介紹一下這將如何幫助您在中國發展行動業務？也許該設施為您提供了哪些附加功能？

Certainly. Thanks for the question, Mike. And yes, as we think about China, China, the growth in China for us, if I think about that $200 million of net wins, that is skewed a little bit more towards China. And the best part of it, I was looking at some numbers last night, and our growth in -- not only is our -- are we growing faster than the market on the ICE side, but our growth on the EV side is 5% higher. And that is an important -- it's an incredible market for EV.

當然。謝謝你的提問，麥克。是的，當我們想到中國、中國、中國的成長時，如果我想到 2 億美元的淨收益，那就更傾向中國。最重要的是，我昨晚看了一些數字，我們的成長——不僅是我們的——我們的成長速度是否比 ICE 方面的市場更快，而且我們在電動車方面的成長是 5%更高。這很重要——對於電動車來說，這是一個令人難以置信的市場。

And as you look at that, we're certainly positioned for that growth. And so what -- the facility provides us the ability to make both waterborne and solventborne products. It's great in a sense that it protects -- it gives us capacity both on the Refinish side. And as the market starts to trend towards more waterborne products, it gives us extra capacity, which obviously gets us ready for the growth in the region.

當你看到這一點時，我們肯定已經為這種增長做好了準備。那麼又怎樣——該工廠使我們能夠生產水性和溶劑性產品。從某種意義上說，它很棒，它可以保護——它為我們提供了修補漆方面的能力。隨著市場開始轉向更多的水性產品，它為我們提供了額外的產能，這顯然讓我們為該地區的成長做好了準備。

So across the board, I would say, as I think about next year and where we're going, this facility certainly provides us the capability to continue to grow. We just had our official opening this last week. And again, just a great story as the production ramps up through '24.

因此，總的來說，當我想到明年以及我們的發展方向時，我想說，這個設施無疑為我們提供了繼續增長的能力。我們上週剛正式開業。再說一次，隨著 24 年製作的不斷推進，這是一個很棒的故事。

All right. And then also curious, it sounded like you're going accelerating some of your capital investments into next year. Can you walk through what some of the key projects might be that you're investing in?

好的。然後也很好奇，聽起來您將加速一些資本投資到明年。您能介紹一下您正在投資的一些關鍵項目嗎？

Yes. So as I referenced on the -- on my prepared remarks, capital expenditures, the one thing you'll see is our investment in S/4 and the ERP system will trend down as we get into 2024. But that will be replaced and probably even a little bit more just with overall really primary focused productivity investments in the network. And so we believe there's an opportunity for our facilities to get more efficient, and so we're going to be taking a closer look at where we can invest those dollars really just to drive overall productivity improvements across the entire global network.

是的。因此，正如我在我準備好的演講中提到的資本支出，您會看到的一件事是，隨著我們進入2024 年，我們對S/4 和ERP 系統的投資將呈下降趨勢。但它可能會被取代甚至更多只是在網路中整體上真正主要集中的生產力投資。因此，我們相信我們的設施有機會提高效率，因此我們將仔細研究可以將這些資金投資到哪裡，以推動整個全球網路的整體生產力提高。

Our next question comes from Mike Leithead with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的麥克萊特黑德。

Great. Chris, just one higher-level question for me. There's been a number of Board refreshments, say, the past few months in addition to yourself and Carl joining Axalta. Can you maybe just speak to what the new Board joiners bring to the table? Or any sort of specific attributes or qualities the Board is really looking to refresh or enhance going forward?

偉大的。克里斯，這對我來說只是一個更高層次的問題。除了您和卡爾加入艾仕得之外，過去幾個月還舉行了許多董事會茶點活動。您能否談談新的董事會成員帶來了什麼？或者董事會真正希望刷新或增強的任何特定屬性或品質？

Sure. I'd love to, Mike. I think just looking at the last two announcements, and starting with Kevin Stein, Kevin, obviously, a sitting CEO of TransDigm. And in terms -- we have a great Board that has walked this company through a lot of the pandemic. And looking forward, one of the things that we want to continue to drive is obviously value accretion. And as I look at the new Board members, what they bring is to -- one is sitting CEOs which will provide a base for me to also work with, and also the fact of the value creation story that both of them have done. TransDigm has gone through an amazing journey.

當然。我很樂意，麥克。我認為只要看一下最近的兩項公告，首先是凱文·斯坦 (Kevin Stein)，凱文顯然是 TransDigm 的現任首席執行官。就而言，我們有一個偉大的董事會，帶領這家公司度過了許多大流行。展望未來，我們想要繼續推動的事情之一顯然是價值增值。當我看到新的董事會成員時，他們帶來的是——其中一位是現任首席執行官，這將為我提供合作的基礎，以及他們兩人所做的價值創造故事的事實。 TransDigm 經歷了一段奇妙的旅程。

And as I look at Mary and what she brings in, it's certainly both on the private equity side as well as on public Boards, just done an incredible job in driving value. And this is just not only with what she's done at Sundyne -- or is doing with Sundyne, but also previously with Tyco, Exxon and Alcoa. And both of them also bring quite a bit of experience from the standpoint of chemical background. Kevin being a PhD in chemistry helps, and obviously Mary with a background in chemical engineering.

當我看到瑪麗和她帶來的東西時，無論是在私募股權方面還是在公共董事會上，她在推動價值方面都做了令人難以置信的工作。這不僅體現在她在 Sundyne 所做的事情上——或者正在與 Sundyne 所做的事情上，而且還包括她之前在 Tyco、Exxon 和 Alcoa 所做的事情。而且他們兩人在化學背景方面也帶來了相當多的經驗。凱文是化學博士，顯然瑪麗有化學工程背景，這很有幫助。

So certainly, they're right mix of -- for our Board. And certainly, as I look at the board structure that we have, certainly, we have an incredible talent that we have from all aspects, whether it's operational, finance. And I think this just round it off with folks that have also been -- that are currently sitting CEOs.

當然，對於我們的董事會來說，它們是正確的組合。當然，當我觀察我們的董事會結構時，我們確實在各個方面都擁有令人難以置信的人才，無論是營運方面還是財務方面。我認為這只是與那些曾經擔任過現任執行長的人一起完成的。

Great. I think if you can get your margins anywhere near where TransDigm's are, investors would be very, very happy.

偉大的。我認為，如果你的利潤率能夠接近 TransDigm 的水平，投資者會非常非常高興。

That's the goal. There you go. That's a fact.

這就是目標。就這樣吧。這是事實。

Our next question comes from Laurent Favre with BNP.

我們的下一個問題來自法國巴黎銀行的 Laurent Favre。

Chris, you've talked a couple of times about backlog. I was wondering if you could talk about the bottlenecks. Is that on the customer side, still? Or is it something on your side? And I guess, what can you do to solve those?

克里斯，您已經多次談到積壓的問題。我想知道你是否可以談談瓶頸。仍然是在客戶方面嗎？還是你這邊的事情？我想，你能做些什麼來解決這些問題？

Yes. So absolutely. So I would say the bottlenecks -- the one place that we have just the bottleneck is just on the Refinish business, and this is just with our facility in Virginia. We've done an exceptional job bringing down the backlog from Q2 to Q3.

是的。絕對是如此。所以我想說的是瓶頸——我們唯一遇到瓶頸的地方就是修補漆業務，而這就是我們在維吉尼亞州的工廠。我們做得非常出色，將積壓訂單從第二季減少到了第三季。

And as we noted this in our Q2 guide, we did say that we were being conservative and driving to -- if we reduce the guide, we would obviously see better performance with, and this has obviously tracked through as we see in Q3. There is more of the backlog that we can take out, and we will be focused to do that. And I believe we'll be back to normalized backlogs in the Refinish business in Q1 of next year. So we still have some backlogs through Q4, and it's just in our Refinish business. And just to answer the question, still, there is still opportunities to drive efficiencies with S/4.

正如我們在第二季度指南中指出的那樣，我們確實說過，我們是保守的，並且正在努力——如果我們減少指南，我們顯然會看到更好的表現，正如我們在第三季度看到的那樣，這顯然已經得到了跟踪。我們可以處理更多積壓的訂單，我們將專注於做到這一點。我相信明年第一季我們的修補漆業務積壓量將恢復正常。因此，到第四季我們仍然有一些積壓，這只是我們的修補漆業務。只是為了回答這個問題，仍然有機會透過 S/4 提高效率。

And all that said, as I look into '24, operationally, I do believe that there are more efficiencies that we can drive through the entire company. And this talks to the investments that Carl talked about in productivity investments that we're going to drive next year.

儘管如此，當我展望 24 世紀的營運時，我確實相信我們可以提高整個公司的效率。這涉及卡爾談到的我們明年將推動的生產力投資。

And if we combine the backlog, the comment on the ERP, the fact that this year wasn't great on volumes, the pruning on products. I mean, is it fair to assume that you should outperform meaningfully volumes compared to your assumption of a stable market for Refinish next year?

如果我們將積壓訂單、對 ERP 的評論、今年銷售不佳的事實以及產品的精簡結合起來。我的意思是，與您對明年修補漆市場穩定的假設相比，假設您的表現應該明顯優於銷量，這是否公平？

Yes. I think we'll provide a little bit more commentary as we think about 2024 coming up here in the next couple of months. But -- so right now, the focus is obviously to finish out the year strong and really position Axalta for 2024. But overall, I think what's in front of us, especially not only in Refinish, but in some of the other verticals as well, we continue to think there's additional upside as we get into '24 and beyond.

是的。我認為，當我們考慮未來幾個月即將到來的 2024 年時，我們將提供更多評論。但是，現在的重點顯然是要以強勁的表現結束這一年，並為艾仕得在2024 年真正定位。但總的來說，我認為我們面前的是什麼，尤其是不僅在修補漆方面，而且在其他一些垂直領域也是如此，我們仍然認為，進入 24 年及以後還會有額外的上漲空間。

This concludes today's conference call. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation, and have a great day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。此時您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與，祝您有美好的一天。