AZZ Inc (AZZ) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the AZZ third quarter fiscal 2025 conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加 AZZ 2025 財年第三季電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，此事件正在被記錄。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Sandy Martin of Three Part Advisors. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議交給 Three Part Advisors 的 Sandy Martin。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and thank you for joining us today to review AZZ's financial results for the fiscal 2025 third quarter which ended November 30, 2024.

謝謝您，接線生。早安，感謝您今天加入我們，共同回顧 AZZ 截至 2024 年 11 月 30 日的 2025 財年第三季的財務表現。

Joining the call today are Tom Ferguson, President and Chief Executive Officer; Jason Crawford, Chief Financial Officer; and David Nark, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Communications, and Investor Relations Officer. After today's prepared remarks, we will open the call for questions. Please note the live webcast for today's call can be found at www.azz.com/investor-events.

今天參加電話會議的有總裁兼執行長湯姆‧弗格森 (Tom Ferguson)； Jason Crawford，財務長；以及行銷、傳播和投資者關係資深副總裁 David Nark。在今天的準備好的發言結束後，我們將開始提問。請注意，今天電話會議的現場網路直播可以在 www.azz.com/investor-events 上找到。

Before we begin, I want to remind everyone that our discussion today will include forward-looking statements made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. By their nature, forward-looking statements are uncertain and outside of the company's control.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒大家，我們今天的討論將包括根據 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法》的安全港條款做出的前瞻性陳述。就其性質而言，前瞻性陳述具有不確定性，且不受公司控制。

Except for actual results, our comments containing forward-looking statements may involve risks and uncertainties. Some of which are detailed from time to time in documents filed by AZZ with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the annual report on form 10-K for the fiscal year.

除實際結果外，我們包含前瞻性陳述的評論可能涉及風險和不確定性。其中一些內容在 AZZ 不時向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中詳細說明，包括財政年度的 10-K 表格年度報告。

These statements are not guarantees of future performance. Therefore, undue reliance should not be placed upon them. Actual results could differ materially from these expectations.

這些聲明並不能保證未來的表現。因此，不應過度依賴它們。實際結果可能與這些預期有重大差異。

In addition, today's call will discuss non-GAAP financial measures. Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered supplemental to and not a substitute for GAAP measures. We refer to the reconciliation from GAAP to non-GAAP measures in today's earnings press release.

此外，今天的電話會議將討論非公認會計準則財務指標。非公認會計準則 (non-GAAP) 財務指標應被視為公認會計準則 (GAAP) 指標的補充，而不是替代。我們在今天的收益新聞稿中參考了從 GAAP 到非 GAAP 指標的調整。

I would now like to turn the call over to Tom Ferguson.

現在我想將電話轉給湯姆·弗格森。

Good morning. Thank you for joining us, and happy new year to you all. Today, I will discuss AZZ's third quarter and cover our outlook for the rest of the year. Jason Crawford will review our financial results, and David Nark will provide an industry update on sales to our end markets. Then, we'll open up the call for questions.

早安.感謝您的加入，祝大家新年快樂。今天，我將討論 AZZ 的第三季並介紹我們對今年剩餘時間的展望。傑森·克勞福德 (Jason Crawford) 將審查我們的財務結果，而大衛·納克 (David Nark) 將提供有關我們終端市場銷售的行業最新情況。然後，我們將開始提問。

The third quarter's results exceeded our expectations versus how we were feeling as we had entered the quarter. I give our teams tremendous credit for their focus, discipline, and great execution in both segments. We are pleased with both segment teams' ability to sustain margins while generating solid sales growth.

與我們進入本季時的感受相比，第三季的業績超出了我們的預期。我對我們的團隊在兩個領域的專注、紀律和出色執行表示高度讚賞。我們對兩個部門團隊在實現穩健銷售成長的同時維持利潤率的能力感到滿意。

Fiscal 2025 sales through the first nine months have been driven mainly by construction projects related to highways, new bridge construction, and infrastructure renovations throughout the US. In addition, spending on data centers, reshoring and manufacturing, clean energy initiatives, and power transitions accelerated in calendar 2024, resulting in positive impacts for our business.

2025 財年前 9 個月的銷售主要受到美國各地高速公路、新橋建設和基礎設施改造相關的建設項目的推動。此外，2024 年資料中心、回流和製造、清潔能源計畫和電力轉換方面的支出將加速，對我們的業務產生積極影響。

Our consolidated third-quarter sales of $404 million increased by 5.8% versus the prior year's quarter, and this was all organic growth. The metal coating segment increased overall sales by 3.3%, but grew galvanizing at 5.2% when compared to the prior year's third quarter; while the pre-coat metal segment retails by 7.6%.

我們第三季的綜合銷售額為 4.04 億美元，比去年同期成長 5.8%，而且這都是有機成長。金屬塗層部門整體銷售額成長了3.3%，但與去年同期相比，鍍鋅部門的銷售額成長了5.2%；預塗金屬部分的零售額成長了 7.6%。

Sales momentum in the third quarter was almost entirely based on volume, with higher tonnage processed in both fabricated steel and coil coating. Metal coatings delivered EBITDA margin of 31.5%, again exceeding the prior year and our targeted range of 25% to 30% primarily due to higher volume and improved zinc productivity.

第三季的銷售動能幾乎完全基於銷量，鋼材加工量和捲材塗層加工量的增加。金屬塗料的 EBITDA 利潤率為 31.5%，再次超過了去年同期和我們 25% 至 30% 的目標範圍，這主要歸功於產量增加和鋅生產率提高。

Pre-coat metals' EBITDA margin of 19.1% also exceeded the prior year and demonstrated strength primarily due to higher volume, more profitable mix of business, and improved operational performance. In addition, strong EBITDA resulted in cash flow from operations of $186 million for the first nine months of the fiscal year, which allowed us to make substantial debt repayments of $80 million.

預塗金屬的 EBITDA 利潤率為 19.1%，也超過了上年，這主要得益於銷售增加、業務組合利潤更高以及營運績效改善。此外，強勁的 EBITDA 使得本財年前九個月的經營現金流達到 1.86 億美元，這使我們能夠償還 8,000 萬美元的大量債務。

Jason will discuss this in more detail, but the strong free cash flow this year allowed us to further deleverage our balance sheet while investing in operations for the future. We continue to hold lee market positions in our galvanized metal coatings and coil coating and pre-coat segments.

傑森將更詳細地討論這一點，但今年強勁的自由現金流使我們能夠進一步降低資產負債表的槓桿率，同時投資於未來的營運。我們在鍍鋅金屬塗料、捲材塗料和預塗塗料領域繼續保持領先市場地位。

As a specialized metal coatings provider, our strong and enduring competitive moat gives us an advantage through trusted, repeated customer relationships; economies of scale; and innovative customer-centric technology solutions. Our reputation for reliability and excellence in customer service further enhances our value proposition.

作為專業的金屬塗料供應商，我們強大而持久的競爭優勢透過值得信賴的、重複的客戶關係為我們帶來了優勢；規模經濟；以及以客戶為中心的創新技術解決方案。我們在可靠性和客戶服務方面的卓越聲譽進一步提升了我們的價值主張。

We are committed to both organic growth and strategic bolt-on acquisitions to maintain and grow our leadership positions. Importantly, we do not own the steel process through our facilities, so we avoid exposure to commodity price risk associated with it. Operating as a highly profitable [towing] model, we will continue to strengthen our significant economic moat in metal coatings and pre-coat metals.

我們致力於有機成長和策略性附加收購，以維持和發展我們的領導地位。重要的是，我們並沒有透過自己的設施擁有鋼鐵生產工藝，因此我們避免了與之相關的商品價格風險。作為一種高利潤的[拖曳]模式，我們將繼續加強我們在金屬塗層和預塗金屬方面的重要經濟護城河。

We plan to continue investing in AZZ proprietary customer facing technologies that are utilized at all of our facilities. Our innovative technology platforms provide paperless real-time access and improved service transparency, positioning our company as a highly differentiated metal coatings provider and strategic partner to customers throughout North America.

我們計劃繼續投資於我們所有設施中使用的 AZZ 專有面向客戶的技術。我們的創新技術平台提供無紙化即時存取和提高的服務透明度，使我們的公司定位為高度差異化的金屬塗料供應商和北美客戶的策略合作夥伴。

Jason will discuss our disciplined approach to capital deployment in a moment. But first, I want to underscore that we continue to pay down debt and return capital to shareholders by consistently paying quarterly cash dividends. As noted previously, we expect to reduce our debt by over $100 million for the fiscal year ending in February.

傑森稍後將討論我們對資本部署的嚴謹方法。但首先，我想強調的是，我們將繼續透過持續支付季度現金股利來償還債務並向股東返還資本。如前所述，我們預計在二月結束的財政年度減少 1 億多美元的債務。

As I mentioned earlier, for the first nine months of our fiscal year, our growth has been 100% organic compared to the prior year. We continue to work the M&A pipeline by carefully evaluating potential acquisition targets to add inorganic growth in each segment. We remain patient while considering the best timing target valuations and AZZ's optimal leverage.

正如我之前提到的，在我們的財年前九個月，與前一年相比，我們的成長是 100％ 有機的。我們將繼續進行併購工作，仔細評估潛在的收購目標，以增加每個部門的無機成長。我們在考慮最佳時機目標估值和 AZZ 的最佳槓桿時保持耐心。

Finally, in pursuit of our high ROI capital allocation strategy, we have invested in a durable secular trend supporting the beverage industry's plastic to aluminum conversions. We are finalizing construction milestones of our new aluminum coatings facility in Washington and Missouri.

最後，為了追求高投資報酬率的資本配置策略，我們投資了支持飲料產業塑膠轉化為鋁的持久長期趨勢。我們正在完成位於華盛頓和密蘇裡州的新鋁塗層工廠的建設里程碑。

We are currently doing equipment certifications and testing and expect to ramp up the new facility during the first quarter which begins in March 2025. We're excited about our spring launch of this new facility, particularly as this new facility also demonstrates AZZ's commitment to support a greener future for generations to come.

我們目前正在進行設備認證和測試，預計在 2025 年 3 月開始的第一季內擴大新工廠的產能。我們對春季啟動這個新設施感到非常興奮，特別是因為這個新設施也體現了 AZZ 對支持子孫後代更綠色未來的承諾。

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

說完這些，我就把麥克風交給傑森。

Thank you, Tom, and good morning. For the third quarter, we reported sales of $403.7 million, an increase of 5.8% over the prior year's quarter. By segment, our metal coating sales increased 3.3%, within which galvanized increased by 5.2% and our pre-coat metal segment increased 7.6%.

謝謝你，湯姆，早安。第三季度，我們的銷售額為 4.037 億美元，比去年同期成長 5.8%。按部門劃分，我們的金屬塗料銷售額成長了 3.3%，其中鍍鋅塗層成長了 5.2%，預塗金屬部門成長了 7.6%。

The third quarter's gross profit was $97.8 million or 24.2% of sales, an increase of 110 basis points from 23.1% of sales in the prior year quarter. Gross margins improved in both segments supported by higher sales and volumes and improved zinc productivity in the metal coating segment, and higher sales and improved operational performance in the pre-coat metal segment.

第三季的毛利為 9,780 萬美元，佔銷售額的 24.2%，比去年同期的 23.1% 增加了 110 個基點。得益於金屬塗層部門銷售額及銷量增加、鋅生產率提高，以及預塗金屬部門銷售額增加及營運業績改善，兩個部門的毛利率均有所提高。

In the third quarter, selling, general, and administrative expenses were $39.2 million or 9.7% of sales compared to $35.3 million or 9.3% of sales in the prior year quarter. The SG&A increase in the quarter was due to one-off employee retirement costs, severance expenses, and legal accruals for cases that were settled during the third quarter.

第三季度，銷售、一般及行政費用為 3,920 萬美元，佔銷售額的 9.7%，而去年同期為 3,530 萬美元，佔銷售額的 9.3%。本季度銷售、一般及行政費用的增加是由於一次性員工退休費用、遣散費以及第三季度解決的案件的法律應計費用。

Operational income improved to $58.5 million or 14.5% of sales compared to $52.8 million or 13.8% of sales in the last year's third quarter. Interest expense for the third quarter was $19.2 million compared to $25.9 million in the prior year. The decrease is due to consistently paying down debt and a lower weighted average interest rates from various debt repricings and recent Fed interest rate reductions.

營業收入從去年同期的 5,280 萬美元（佔銷售額的 13.8%）增至 5,850 萬美元（佔銷售額的 14.5%）。第三季的利息支出為 1,920 萬美元，去年同期的利息支出為 2,590 萬美元。下降的原因是持續償還債務、各種債務重新定價和聯準會近期降息導致的加權平均利率下降。

Equity and earnings of unconsolidated subsidiaries for the third quarter was $7.2 million compared to $8.7 million for the same quarter last year. These equity and earnings are from a 40% minority ownership interest in the AVAIL JV.

第三季非合併子公司的權益和收益為 720 萬美元，去年同期為 870 萬美元。這些股權和收益來自 AVAIL JV 的 40% 少數股權。

Current quarter income tax expense was $12.1 million, reflecting an effective tax rate of 26.5% compared to 24.6% in the prior year quarter. The increase in the effective rate was primarily attributable to higher non-deductible items related to meals and entertainment and lower impact from our R&D tax credits.

本季所得稅費用為 1,210 萬美元，有效稅率為 26.5%，去年同期為 24.6%。實際稅率的上升主要歸因於與餐飲和娛樂相關的不可扣除項目的增加以及研發稅收抵免的影響降低。

Reported net income from the third quarter was $33.6 million compared to $26.9 million for the prior year quarter. On an adjusted basis, Q3 adjusted net income was $41.9 million compared to $34.8 million, an increase of 20.5% from the prior year.

第三季淨收入為 3,360 萬美元，去年同期為 2,690 萬美元。經調整後，第三季調整後淨收入為 4,190 萬美元，較上年同期的 3,480 萬美元成長 20.5%。

Third-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $90.7 million or 22.5% of sales which compares favorably to $86.4 million or 22.6% of sales in the prior year. Turning to our financial position and balance sheet.

第三季調整後 EBITDA 為 9,070 萬美元，佔銷售額的 22.5%，較去年同期的 8,640 萬美元或占銷售額的 22.6% 有所成長。談談我們的財務狀況和資產負債表。

As Tom mentioned, we generated significant cash flows from operations of $185.6 million, exceeding last year's $180.9 million. After funding the first nine months of the company's capital expenditures of $85.9 million, our year-to-date free cash flow was $99.7 million.

正如湯姆所提到的，我們從經營活動中產生了 1.856 億美元的大量現金流，超過了去年的 1.809 億美元。在為公司前九個月的 8,590 萬美元資本支出提供資金後，我們年初至今的自由現金流為 9,970 萬美元。

Year-to-date capital expenditures include spend of $46.8 million our new coil coating facility in Washington, Missouri, with most of the remaining spend of this project of approximately $11.2 million expected to be completed during the fourth quarter.

年初至今的資本支出包括位於密蘇裡州華盛頓的新卷材塗層工廠的 4,680 萬美元支出，該項目剩餘支出約 1,120 萬美元，預計將在第四季度完成。

As Tom noted, we have a disciplined capital allocation strategy that consists of investing in the business for growth, paying down debt, returning cash to our shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, and evaluating potential bolt-on acquisitions.

正如湯姆所說，我們有一個嚴謹的資本配置策略，包括投資業務成長、償還債務、透過股利和股票回購向股東返還現金，以及評估潛在的額外收購。

During the third quarter which ended November 30, we reduced debt by $35 million and expect total debt repayments to exceed $100 million for the full year. Our current trailing 12-month debt to adjusted EBITDA is 2.6 times, which compares favorably to a leverage of 3.1 times in the third quarter of last year.

在截至 11 月 30 日的第三季度，我們減少了 3,500 萬美元的債務，預計全年總債務償還額將超過 1 億美元。我們目前過去 12 個月的債務與調整後 EBITDA 的比率為 2.6 倍，與去年第三季的 3.1 倍槓桿率相比表現良好。

Recall that in late September, we repriced our term loan B down to SOFR plus 2.5%. And with the Fed reductions in the quarter and another reduction announced in December, we expect these moves to benefit our bottom line in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year.

回想一下，9 月底，我們將定期貸款 B 的定價下調至 SOFR 加 2.5%。隨著聯準會本季的降息以及12月宣布的另一次降息，我們預計這些舉措將有利於我們本財年第四季的獲利。

Our current interest rate swap agreement fixes our variable rate debt for a notional portion through September 30, 2025, and we do not have any debt maturities until 2027. Finally, we paid cash dividends of $5.1 million to common shareholders in the third quarter.

我們目前的利率互換協議將我們的浮動利率債務的名義部分固定在 2025 年 9 月 30 日之前，我們在 2027 年之前都沒有任何債務到期。最後，我們在第三季向普通股股東支付了510萬美元的現金股利。

This year, we have strengthened the balance sheet through multiple levels, with investments in organic growth, reductions in debt and working capital, and improvements to our capital structure with the full redemption of the company's series A preferred stock by using the proceeds from the secondary equity offering that was completed in May of this year.

今年，我們從多個層面加強了資產負債表，投資於有機成長，減少債務和營運資本，並利用今年5月完成的二次股票發行所得全部贖回公司A系列優先股，改善我們的資本結構。

With that, I'd like to turn the call over to David Nark.

說到這裡，我想把電話轉給大衛·納克 (David Nark)。

Thank you, Jason. Good morning, everyone. The sales momentum for the third quarter trended positive in nearly all of our reported end markets compared to the same quarter in the previous year. Sales within construction, industrial, and electrical utility grew over the prior year.

謝謝你，傑森。大家早安。與去年同期相比，我們報告的幾乎所有終端市場第三季的銷售動能都呈現正面趨勢。建築、工業和電力領域的銷售額比上年有所成長。

And we saw strength in small but growing categories, such as containers, HVAC, and recreation, over the same quarter a year ago. We attribute this organic growth to a continuation of market share gains and signs that we are in early innings of a multi-year transformative period for infrastructure spending, with transmission and distribution as well as renewables growing versus the prior year's same quarter.

與去年同期相比，我們發現貨櫃、暖通空調和娛樂等規模雖小但不斷增長的類別表現強勁。我們將這種有機成長歸因於市場份額的持續成長，以及我們正處於基礎設施支出多年轉型期初期的跡象，其中輸配電以及再生能源與去年同期相比均有所增長。

As we have communicated all year, we remain optimistic about public and private sector spending. Looking ahead, we believe infrastructure outlays will be elevated for years to come. The reshoring of manufacturing and energy transitions, investments in AI, and the requirements for affordable housing will spur the need for more data centers, housing, and medical facilities to support the growing population.

正如我們全年所傳達的那樣，我們對公共和私營部門的支出仍然保持樂觀。展望未來，我們相信未來幾年基礎建設支出將會增加。製造業和能源轉型的回流、對人工智慧的投資以及對經濟適用住房的需求將刺激對更多資料中心、住房和醫療設施的需求，以支持不斷增長的人口。

These investments are based on connecting larger sprawling communities which creates an ongoing necessity for further spending in our nation's infrastructure networks, particularly bridge and highway, as well as electrical T&D. In addition, we know that pre-painted aluminum and steel will play an essential role in many projects as well as a conversion from plastics to aluminum in the food and beverage industries, which we believe is a critical long-tail secular trend.

這些投資是為了連接更大的龐大社區，這需要我們持續增加對國家基礎設施網路（特別是橋樑和高速公路）以及電力傳輸和配送的投入。此外，我們知道預塗鋁和鋼將在許多項目中發揮重要作用，以及在食品和飲料行業從塑膠到鋁的轉變，我們認為這是一個關鍵的長期趨勢。

With that, I'd now like to turn it back over to Tom.

說完這些，我現在想把發言權交還給湯姆。

Thanks, David. We remain bullish about our near, medium, and long term business prospects. Although I am incredibly pleased with the team's progress and accomplishments this year, we are also deeply involved in planning and setting new milestones for fiscal year 2026.

謝謝，大衛。我們對我們的近期、中期和長期業務前景仍然充滿信心。雖然我對團隊今年的進步和成就感到非常高興，但我們也深入參與了 2026 財年的規劃和設定新的里程碑。

As Jason and David shared, business momentum continued through the year's first nine months. We expect the fourth quarter to be similar to last year's Q4, which is typically slower as construction is impacted in the winter months.

正如 Jason 和 David 所說，今年前九個月的業務發展勢頭持續良好。我們預計第四季度的情況將與去年第四季類似，由於冬季建築業受到影響，因此通常發展較為緩慢。

Concerning our annual guidance, we have narrowed our sales range to $1.55 billion to $1.6 billion and kept the midpoint unchanged. We also narrowed and raised our midpoint for EBITDA and EPS expectations to reflect the strength in our first nine month period, with lower interest costs for the balance of this fiscal year.

關於我們的年度指導，我們已將銷售範圍縮小至 15.5 億美元至 16 億美元，並保持中間值不變。我們也縮小並提高了 EBITDA 和 EPS 預期的中位數，以反映我們前九個月的強勁表現，以及本財年餘額的利息成本降低。

We narrowed our adjusted EBITDA range to $340 million to $360 million and increased adjusted EPS guidance to $5 to $5.30. Our overall guidance assumptions have not changed which excludes any federal regulatory changes that may emerge.

我們將調整後的 EBITDA 範圍縮小至 3.4 億美元至 3.6 億美元，並將調整後的 EPS 預期上調至 5 美元至 5.30 美元。我們的總體指導假設沒有改變，不包括可能出現的任何聯邦監管變化。

Finally, capital expenditures for the current fiscal year are expected to remain unchanged at $100 million to $120 million. And embedded in this total is the new plant's final CapEx.

最後，本財年的資本支出預計維持不變，為1億至1.2億美元。這個總額包含了新工廠的最終資本支出。

The equity and earnings from our minority interest in the AVAIL joint venture continues to be within the $15 millionj to $18 million range. And debt paydowns are expected to exceed $100 million. We continue to focus on paying down debt while actively evaluating potential acquisitions with a growing pipeline.

我們在 AVAIL 合資企業中的少數股權和收益繼續在 1500 萬美元至 1800 萬美元的範圍內。預計債務償還金額將超過 1 億美元。我們將繼續專注於償還債務，同時積極評估不斷增長的潛在收購機會。

We remain enthusiastic about business prospects and are confident we will finish fiscal year 2025 well. In a few weeks, we plan to provide fiscal year 2026 guidance for the fiscal year that begins March 1. I want to thank our hardworking and talented team for executing AZZ's vision of unwavering customer service and growth and working on continuous improvements every single day.

我們對業務前景依然充滿熱情，並有信心順利完成 2025 財年。幾週後，我們計劃為 3 月 1 日開始的 2026 財年提供指導。我要感謝我們勤奮而有才華的團隊，他們實現了 AZZ 的願景，即堅定不移地提供客戶服務和發展，並每天致力於持續改進。

We are highly focused on creating long-term value through leadership, execution of our strategy, and sustainable solutions. We plan to continue scaling our business through organic and inorganic growth, generating significant cash flow and leveraging our differentiated value proposition to customers.

我們高度專注於透過領導力、策略執行和永續解決方案創造長期價值。我們計劃透過有機和無機成長繼續擴大業務規模，產生大量現金流並向客戶提供差異化的價值主張。

With that, operator, I would like to open up the call for questions.

接線員，現在我想開始提問。

We will now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) Matthew Krueger, Baird.

我們現在開始問答環節。（操作員指示）馬修·克魯格，貝爾德。

Great. Good morning, everyone. Thanks a lot for taking my questions. Just to kick things off, maybe could you talk a bit about what you're seeing from a big picture perspective as it relates to end market demand. If you could comment on maybe what you're seeing from a market growth perspective versus what AZZ is generating from a growth angle, that would be terrific, too. I'll pause there.

偉大的。大家早安。非常感謝您回答我的問題。首先，您能否從宏觀角度談談您對終端市場需求的看法。如果您能評論一下從市場成長角度看到的情況以及 AZZ 從成長角度產生的情況，那就太好了。我就在這裡暫停一下。

Yeah, a couple of things, and then I'll let David opine as well. But I think we've seen the markets choppy. So fortunately, we serve a real diverse set of markets in both segments.

是的，有幾件事，然後我也讓大衛發表意見。但我認為我們已經看到市場波動。因此幸運的是，我們服務於兩個領域的真正多樣化市場。

But I think we benefited from our emphasis on providing outstanding customer service, focus on innovation. So taking some market share, getting customers to convert to prepaint, getting customers to convert to hot dip galvanizing from whatever they're using.

但我認為，我們因注重提供卓越的客戶服務和注重創新而受益。因此，要佔領一些市場份額，讓客戶轉而使用預塗漆，讓客戶從他們正在使用的任何材料轉而使用熱浸鍍鋅。

So I feel like we're -- we've been able to perform, particularly in the third quarter ahead of the markets. But generally, the markets are okay. I think there's some hesitation. We've seen projects pending, what's going to happen with tariffs, steel availability, things like that.

所以我覺得我們——我們能夠表現出色，特別是在第三季領先市場。但整體來說，市場還不錯。我覺得有些猶豫。我們已經了解了待決項目、關稅將如何變化、鋼鐵供應等情況。

I don't believe those are significant hurdles going forward as we get into 2025 but I do think it's created a little bit of choppiness in decision-making on some projects. And that's generally across markets. And David may want to add on some specifics.

我認為，當我們進入 2025 年時，這些並不是未來發展的重大障礙，但我確實認為這會為一些專案的決策帶來一些不穩定。這通常是跨市場的。大衛可能想補充一些具體內容。

Yeah. Thanks, Tom. Matt, what I would just add is as you look at our reportable end markets, as I mentioned on the call, nearly RV end market was up over the same quarter prior year.

是的。謝謝，湯姆。馬特，我想補充的是，當你查看我們可報告的終端市場時，正如我在電話中提到的，幾乎 RV 終端市場比去年同期有所增長。

We continue to see some real bright spots in markets like construction, industrial and utilities, particularly transmission and distribution, where we know there's literally thousands of miles of new projects that have been announced and awarded and have yet to come out of the ground.

我們繼續看到建築、工業和公用事業等市場的一些真正的亮點，特別是輸配電市場，我們知道有數千英里的新項目已經宣布和授予，但尚未動工。

So I think that tracks pretty well when you take a look at some of the information related from -- and release from the US Census Bureau, and you look at US construction spending and particularly either nonbuilding or building, there are some bright spots in there in areas like infrastructure, around water as well as things like data centers, public safety and manufacturing spend.

因此，我認為，當你查看來自美國人口普查局的一些相關資訊和發佈時，你會發現情況相當不錯，你看看美國的建築支出，特別是非建築或建築支出，你會發現在基礎設施、水資源等領域有一些亮點，以及數據中心、公共安全和製造業支出等方面。

So I would agree with Tom, we feel like we definitely grew faster than the market in Q3, and we're optimistically looking forward to Q4 and the year ahead.

所以我同意湯姆的觀點，我們覺得我們在第三季的成長速度肯定快於市場，我們對第四季和未來一年充滿樂觀。

Great. That's super helpful. And then the third quarter was a nice sequential acceleration from the second quarter.

偉大的。這非常有幫助。第三季較第二季而言出現了良好的連續加速。

Were there any unique benefits to third quarter growth rate that we should think about from a weather perspective, any demand pushed into the third quarter? Or were there any other one-off factors that we should consider as we model out to the fourth quarter this year and sequentially into 2026?

從天氣角度來看，第三季的成長率是否存在一些獨特的優勢，是否有任何需求被推入第三季？或者，在我們對今年第四季以及 2026 年進行建模時，是否還應該考慮其他一次性因素？

Yes. Actually that, there's two sides to this. So we had talked about how our galvanizing grew faster than the overall metal coatings. And part of the impact on that coming out of the hurricane, we've got a powder coating facility in (inaudible) that was really negatively impacted.

是的。其實，這件事有兩面性。因此，我們討論了我們的鍍鋅如何比整體金屬塗層成長得更快。颶風造成的部分影響是，我們位於（聽不清楚）的粉末塗料設施受到了嚴重的負面影響。

So our Surface Technologies portion of the business, which isn't large, but it can move the needle a little bit in the quarter, as you saw by the 3.3% overall growth versus 5.2% for galvanizing. So there's where the hurricane had a negative impact.

因此，我們的表面技術業務部分雖然規模不大，但可以在本季度帶來一些推動作用，正如您所看到的，整體增長率為 3.3%，而鍍鋅增長率為 5.2%。颶風確實產生了負面影響。

I think had a little bit of a positive impact on the galvanizing side just up in South Carolina. We didn't see significant benefit out of that. I think there's still as you can read and see on the news in the media, there's still a lot of -- it's going through a lot of turmoil in Western North Carolina.

我認為這對南卡羅來納州的鍍鋅行業產生了一些積極影響。我們並未看到其中的顯著益處。我認為，正如您在媒體新聞中看到的那樣，北卡羅來納州西部仍處於動盪之中。

So I don't feel we benefited that much from hurricane at all other, like I mentioned, in the two sites. And then generally, that was about -- and of course, now we're in the winter storms, but that's what we expect in the fourth quarter. So impacts on construction.

因此，我覺得我們並沒有從颶風中獲益太多，就像我提到的那樣，在兩個地方。總的來說，那是——當然，現在我們正處於冬季風暴中，但這是我們對第四季的預期。所以對施工有影響。

So for Q3, yes, not much one-off. It was basically good blocking and tackling, take care customers, converting opportunities and outservicing our competitors.

所以對於第三季來說，是的，沒有太多的一次性影響。這基本上是一種良好的阻擋和解決方式，照顧客戶，轉換機會，並超越我們的競爭對手。

Great. That's helpful. And then just lastly for me. I know you're going to be issuing formal guidance in a couple of weeks here. But as we model out to the next year, are there any high-level variances that we should start to think about for FY26 versus FY25 across the business?

偉大的。這很有幫助。對我來說這是最後一個了。我知道你將在幾週後發布正式指導。但是，當我們為下一年建模時，我們是否應該開始考慮 26 財年與 25 財年在整個業務中存在的高層次差異？

Anything like volume interest expense, the Missouri plant opening, what contribution that could have? Just big picture thoughts like that versus getting into specific guidance would be helpful.

諸如體積利息費用、密蘇裡工廠的開幕等，這些能有什麼貢獻？與具體的指導相比，像這樣的宏觀思考會有所幫助。

Yes. I'll mention a couple of things, and Jason can talk about interest rates and some of the things we may continue to do on the debt front. But we do look to get an acquisition or two done, hopefully over the next few months and get back into that routine where we're bolting things on as part of our normal course of expansion in certain geographies and places and growing the business through those (inaudible) and then hopefully improving their margins to our fleet level.

是的。我會提到幾件事，傑森可以談談利率以及我們在債務方面可能繼續做的一些事情。但我們確實希望完成一兩次收購，希望在接下來的幾個月內，我們能回到原來的狀態，即把一些事情作為我們在某些​​地區和地方正常擴張的一部分，並通過這些事情來發展業務（聽不清），然後希望將它們的利潤率提高到我們的機隊水平。

So we're excited about that. We've gotten off the acquisition trail to pay down debt, but we feel very good about our leverage as we're trending down towards 2 times, which I think is a level that once we get to that, we -- all options are back on the table in terms of potentially increasing dividends, stock buybacks and of course, acquisitions.

我們對此感到很興奮。我們已經停止了透過收購來償還債務的做法，但我們對我們的槓桿率感到非常滿意，因為我們的槓桿率正朝著 2 倍的方向下降，我認為，一旦我們達到這個水平，我們——所有的選擇都會重新擺到桌面上，例如可能增加股息、股票回購，當然還有收購。

So but in terms of other things, volumes, we see post the Trump administration taken over I think that settles things down in terms of what actions are going to be taken for tariffs. And we don't see tariffs having a big impact on us as we get into the year. There's a mixed bag on the pre-coat side and on the galvanizing side or metal coatings side, it's a nonfactor as long as steel is available for projects.

所以，但就其他方面、數量而言，我們看到川普政府上台後，我認為在採取何種關稅行動方面，事情已經塵埃落定。我們認為，進入今年以來，關稅不會對我們產生重大影響。預塗和鍍鋅或金屬塗層方面的情況各有不同，只要項目有鋼材可用，這並不重要。

And Jason, you might want to add anything in for interest and what you're doing on the financing front.

傑森，你可能想添加一些關於利息的內容以及你在融資方面所做的事情。

Yes. I mean, certainly, from an interest point of view, I think we've made the majority of our moves this fiscal year. So really, what you'll see next year is just the annualization impact of that. I don't see any major step functions. Obviously, what happens out there in the external world from a Fed point of view will impact us.

是的。我的意思是，當然從利益的角度來看，我認為我們在本財年已經採取了大部分措施。所以實際上，您明年將看到的只是其年化影響。我沒有看到任何主要的步驟功能。顯然，從聯準會的角度來看，外在世界發生的事情將對我們產生影響。

But we have our underlying swap that nullifies that through probably the first two quarters, and then we'll look at extending that. So really not any step functions as you think about our cash flow then.

但我們有基礎掉期，可能會在前兩季抵銷這個影響，然後我們會考慮延長這個期限。因此，當您考慮我們的現金流時，實際上並沒有任何步驟起作用。

Certainly, in the last two years, we've heavily invested in the new facility in Washington, and we'll see that dropping off and get back to a more normalized CapEx point of view. So that's only through as we start to think about next year, that I would say that having any impact.

當然，在過去的兩年裡，我們對華盛頓的新工廠投入了大量資金，我們將看到這項投資下降並回到更正常化的資本支出角度。所以，只有當我們開始考慮明年時，我才會說這會產生影響。

And I'd come back on the new facility start-up. We'll give some more color on that when we give guidance. But as you would expect, it's a big facility.

我將會回來啟動新設施。當我們給予指導時，我們會對此進行更詳細的說明。但正如你所料，這是一個很大的設施。

And while everything is on schedule and things are testing out well and working well with the partner on getting test samples and certifications moving, it will be a slow ramp-up in the first half of the year and then full production as we get into the back half of the year and you start to get it to closer to the full run rate effect.

雖然一切都按計劃進行，而且測試進展順利，與合作夥伴在獲取測試樣品和認證方面合作順利，但今年上半年將會緩慢加速，進入下半年後將全面投入生產，並開始接近滿負荷運行率的效果。

So most of the effect for the new facility, you really expect to come later in fiscal 2026. But like I said, we'll give more color on that here in a couple of weeks.

因此，您確實預計新工廠的大部分影響將在 2026 財年稍後顯現。但就像我說的，我們將在幾週後對此進行更詳細的說明。

Okay, great. That's very helpful. Thank you.

好的，太好了。這非常有幫助。謝謝。

John Franzreb, Sidoti & Company.

約翰‧弗朗茨雷布 (John Franzreb)，Sidoti & Company。

Good morning, everyone, and thanks for taking the questions. I'd like to start with metal coatings business. In the queue, you mentioned there was a modest increase in average selling prices.

大家早安，感謝你們回答問題。我想開始從事金屬塗料業務。在隊列中，您提到平均銷售價格略有上漲。

But the margin profile remains really impressive throughout fiscal 2025 when compared to '24 and '23. Can you just recap what's fundamentally different this year than the prior two years? And maybe should we think about resetting the guardrails of the margin profile for the segment?

但與 24 年和 23 年相比，2025 財年的利潤率仍然非常令人印象深刻。您能否回顧今年與前兩年有哪些根本的不同？也許我們應該考慮重新設定該細分市場的利潤率護欄？

Yes. We are considering resetting those, and we'll talk about that next year's guidance as we get our plans approved next week by the Board, hopefully. So I think this is just back to the fundamental blocking and tackling and adjacent opportunities. We've got scale, we've got capabilities, tremendous discipline around customer service and quality. Zinc efficiencies and productivity as we talk about that.

是的。我們正在考慮重新設定這些內容，並希望我們的計劃能在下週獲得董事會批准後，討論明年的指導方針。所以我認為這只是回到根本的阻擋、解決和相鄰的機會。我們擁有規模，擁有能力，並且在客戶服務和品質方面有著嚴格的紀律。正如我們所討論的，鋅的效率和生產力。

We -- we've done some things using both our digital galvanizing system, but also we're able to test different alloy combinations and things like that and working with some partners that we believe differentiates us in the marketplace and allows us to maintain those zinc productivities at better than industry standards.

我們—我們已經使用我們的數位鍍鋅系統做了一些事情，而且我們能夠測試不同的合金組合等，並且與一些合作夥伴合作，我們相信這使我們在市場上脫穎而出，並使我們能夠將鋅的生產效率保持在高於行業標準的水平。

So we now believe that's sustainable and what you're witnessing is that as we ramp these things up, it's not like we flip the switch in all 41 sites and start doing all of the positive things in all 41. So I think what's going on now is just in the vast majority sites.

因此，我們現在相信這是可持續的，而且你們看到的是，隨著我們逐步推進這些事情，我們並不是在所有 41 個站點都按下開關，然後開始在所有 41 個站點做所有積極的事情。所以我認為現在發生的情況只是在絕大多數網站上發生。

They're running the playbook every day. And so we're just benefiting overall given our scale across the vast majority of the business units and plants versus only having a part of that impact, say, last year at this time.

他們每天都在按照劇本行事。因此，考慮到我們涵蓋絕大多數業務部門和工廠的規模，我們總體上受益，而去年同期只受到部分影響。

So I think it's sustainable. And we've been, I'll say, on one hand, [Fortnet], but also it's a very dedicated effort on the team to keep people motivated, focused on the right things, train and develop leaders and have a good solid bet. So I think that's what makes it sustainable and I think we're getting close to that peak.

所以我認為它是可持續的。我要說的是，一方面我們一直致力於 [Fortnet]，另一方面團隊也非常致力於努力保持員工的積極性，專注於正確的事情，培訓和發展領導者，並做出堅實的賭注。所以我認為這就是永續發展的原因，而且我認為我們正在接近那個頂峰。

Good to hear. And regarding the JV income, I noticed this year mirror last year where Q2 was weak and Q3 was strong. Is there some seasonality in that business? And I know you get a look see of what the order book looks like in the year ahead. Does everything looked pretty sustainable on a go-forward basis?

很高興聽到。關於合資收入，我注意到今年與去年類似，第二季疲軟，第三季強勁。該業務有季節性嗎？我知道您會知道來年的訂單情況是怎麼樣的。從未來來看，一切看起來都相當可持續嗎？

Yes. I think you nailed it. They always had some seasonality because of that WSI, the Welding Solutions portion of the business. That's really only busy two seasons during the turnarounds. But the electrical, they've got a very, very good backlog.

是的。我認為你成功了。由於 WSI（焊接解決方案部分）的業務，它們總是具有一些季節性。在轉型期間，其實只有兩個賽季比較忙碌。但是在電氣方面，他們有非常非常好的積壓訂單。

And of course, I always tell people to look at how [Powell] is doing to understand how AVAIL's electrical business is doing. So they've got really, really strong backlogs going into this year. They're on a calendar reporting year. So they've finished their year and I can say they finished it well.

當然，我總是告訴人們看看鮑威爾的表現，就能了解 AVAIL 的電氣業務表現如何。所以他們今年的積壓訂單量非常非常大。他們正按照日曆年進行報告。他們已經結束了這一年，我可以說他們結束得很好。

So -- and their backlogs are strong on that electrical piece, and we are encouraging our partner that we think that they've gotten a lot of value out of this business. And a good time to look at potentially transacting it over the next 12, 15 months, whatever.

所以 - 他們在電氣方面的積壓訂單很多，我們鼓勵我們的合作夥伴，我們認為他們從這項業務中獲得了很多價值。這是一個考慮未來 12 到 15 個月內進行交易的好時機。

So because we think while there's some long-term positive trends, they've also done a nice job using their (inaudible), former [McKinsey] consulting techniques to drive the margins and improve processes. So we think it's -- the business is in really good shape going into 2025. And while we like it and we like the performance, we also think that they reached a good performance level to look at potentially transacting some of that.

因此，因為我們認為，雖然存在一些長期的積極趨勢，但他們也很好地利用了他們的（聽不清楚）、前[麥肯錫]諮詢技術來推動利潤率並改進流程。因此我們認為，到 2025 年，業務狀況將會非常好。雖然我們喜歡它並且我們喜歡它的表現，但我們也認為他們達到了良好的表現水平，可以考慮進行其中的一些交易。

Got it. And I guess one last question. Where do you stand in combine where you stand on fulfilling the balance of the plant in Washington besides the primary customer? How does that look?

知道了。我想還有最後一個問題。除了主要客戶之外，您在聯合工廠中處於什麼位置，能夠滿足華盛頓工廠的平衡需求嗎？看起來怎麼樣？

That looks really good. I think we've been chasing some opportunities to -- that would fill the balance of that. And keeping in mind, this is a brand-new plant that marries up to the existing St. Louis container plant that has two lines already. So this is -- we've got opportunities.

看起來確實很好。我認為我們一直在尋找一些機會來填補這一空白。請記住，這是一個全新的工廠，將與現有的聖路易斯貨櫃工廠（已有兩條生產線）結合。所以這就是——我們有機會。

We've got, I hate to call it backlog because we don't really have backlog, but we've definitely got opportunities and the customer that we're partnered with is focused on helping us get the line certified, getting it ramped up in the first quarter, getting it to nominal production levels as quickly as possible but also bringing in other kinds of business and moving that between the St. Louis and the Washington facilities as we optimize capacity, so to speak.

我們有，我不想稱之為積壓，因為我們實際上沒有積壓，但我們肯定有機會，我們合作的客戶專注於幫助我們獲得生產線認證，在第一季度提高產量，盡快達到名義生產水平，同時也引入其他類型的業務，並在我們優化產能的同時，將其在聖路易斯和華盛頓的工廠之間轉移。

And so we feel real good about that. And it's a big facility, complex facility. So there's always the potential for start-up issues, but boy, the team has been so focused and so disciplined in the last few months and hitting their milestones and working with the suppliers to get things ramped up.

因此我們對此感到非常高興。這是一個大型、複雜的設施。因此，總是存在著啟動問題的可能性，但是在過去的幾個月裡，團隊一直非常專注和自律，實現了他們的里程碑，並與供應商合作，推動了事情的發展。

I won't say without a hitch because there's always things that go on. But I've started up a lot of factories in my career, and this one is going very well right now. So we're really excited as we enter the year.

我不會毫無障礙地說，因為總是有事情發生。但我在我的職業生涯中已經開辦了很多工廠，而這家工廠目前經營得非常順利。因此，我們對新的一年感到非常興奮。

That's great to hear. And congratulations on another good quarter.

我很高興聽到這個消息。恭喜您又一個季度取得良好業績。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Mark Reichman, Noble Capital Markets.

馬克‧雷克曼 (Mark Reichman)，Noble Capital Markets。

Thank you. You already hit on some of the drivers for the strong performance in each segment during the quarter. But what would you consider normalized growth rates for each segment ex new builds and acquisitions?

謝謝。您已經了解了本季各部門表現強勁的一些驅動因素。但是您認為每個細分市場的標準化成長率（不包括新建和收購）是多少？

Yes, I think we've always talked about ourselves as a GDP level growth business that balancing, protecting margins with growth is something that I think both teams are very disciplined about. So you look at basically underlying GDP growth and then as we can drive conversions, drive new applications, drive opportunities, then we can exceed that a little bit.

是的，我認為我們一直將自己視為 GDP 水準成長的企業，在平衡、保護利潤率和成長方面，我認為兩個團隊都非常自律。因此，你基本上可以看一下潛在的 GDP 成長，然後當我們能夠推動轉換、推動新應用、推動機會時，我們就可以稍微超越這一點。

And then the bolt-on acquisitions just hopefully continue to give us new opportunities to drive synergies and drive our playbook through. So -- but generally, yes, we're a GDP business. We follow that because we follow construction activity, so when construction activities is good.

然後，希望這些附加收購能繼續為我們提供新的機會來推動協同效應並推動我們的劇本。所以 — — 但總的來說，是的，我們是一家 GDP 企業。我們遵循這一點，因為我們遵循施工活動，因此當施工活動是好的。

I will say that right now, and David talks about this a lot, for the next few years, we should be able to exceed that because a lot of the infrastructure spend that has to occur, whether it's transmission, distribution, whether it's the green energy build-out, whether it's pipelines and things like that, those are all chip plants reshoring.

我現在就說，大衛也經常談論這個，在接下來的幾年裡，我們應該能夠超越這個目標，因為很多基礎設施支出，無論是輸電、配電，還是綠色能源建設，無論是管道還是諸如此類的東西，都是晶片工廠回流。

So I do think over the next three, four, five years, we should be able to exceed that GDP level growth nicely because of these prevailing tailwinds that we have. So we're in a really good spot in terms of timing.

因此我確實認為，在未來三、四、五年內，憑藉我們現有的這些順風，我們應該能夠順利超過 GDP 水準的成長。所以從時機上來說我們處在一個非常好的位置。

Is there any difference between the two segments and the way that you think about, one, exceeding GDP growth and whatnot? Or I mean, in terms of they're not going to be growing at the same rate. Just (inaudible).

這兩個部分之間有什麼區別嗎？或者我的意思是，它們不會以相同的速度成長。只是（聽不清楚）。

Great question. Metal coatings is more focused on infrastructure overall. So as that spend occurs, then they will be the beneficiaries of that more so over the next few years. I think on the pre-coat side, it's the overall construction activity, which is 75% of their demand.

好問題。金屬塗層整體上更加重視基礎設施。因此，當這些支出發生時，他們將在未來幾年內成為更多的受益者。我認為在預塗方面，這是整體建築活動，佔其需求的 75％。

So you look back to -- that's going to follow residential, commercial, industrial, construction, some of which is related to infrastructure, some of which is more related to the general economy. So that's how you can differentiate the two.

所以你回顧一下——這將遵循住宅、商業、工業、建築，其中一些與基礎設施有關，有些與整個經濟更相關。這就是區分兩者的方法。

Okay. And then just a second question. Just with respect to publicly funded projects. Could you elaborate a little bit on the fiscal policy dynamics at the federal state or local levels and how they impact your business? And are there any cross trends between the three?

好的。還有第二個問題。僅就公共資助項目而言。您能否詳細說明聯邦、州或地方各級的財政政策動態以及它們對您的業務有何影響？三者之間是否有交叉趨勢？

I think generally, I'll let David add on to this. But generally, when it comes to public projects, so you're looking at bridges, highways, roads, things like that, that water projects, it's a longer process just for approvals going through the environmental impact studies, and that's whether it's local, state, federal.

我認為總體來說，我會讓大衛補充這一點。但一般來說，當涉及公共項目時，例如橋樑、高速公路、道路等，水利項目，無論是地方、州或聯邦的項目，獲得批准的過程都會更長。

I think the biggest thing we run into and what usually slows public projects up, is the cross requirements between the three, any one of which can slow a project up while it goes through an additional level of review.

我認為我們遇到的最大問題以及通常會減慢公共項目進度的原因是三者之間的交叉要求，其中任何一個要求都可能減慢項目的進度，同時需要經過額外的審查。

So if there was anything the new administration could do to streamline permitting and that process review on these public projects, particularly that have federal funds attached to them, obviously, that would help a lot because these things just get hung up for a long time before you actually call it shovel ready, so to speak. But David, if you want to add to that?

因此，如果新政府可以採取任何措施簡化這些公共項目的許可和流程審查，特別是那些附帶聯邦資金的項目，顯然，這將有很大幫助，因為這些事情在你真正稱之為「準備就緒」之前會被擱置很長時間。但大衛，你想補充一點嗎？

I would only add, Tom, that as you think about some of the spending that's been out there for several years now with [IIJH, Chipset] and IRA that certainly has primed the pump for a lot of these projects that ultimately some of them fall within the public sector.

我只想補充一點，湯姆，想想這些年來在 [IIJH、Chipset] 和 IRA 方面的一些支出，這些支出無疑為許多項目提供了資金支持，而其中一些項目最終將屬於公共部門。

But I think whether it's public sector or private sector, we feel, again, really good about the opportunities ahead from both of those segments as a result of that spending. And again, as Tom said, hopefully, the new administration free things up a bit so that permitting and planning gets streamlined and these things can come to ground quicker.

但我認為，無論是公部門還是私部門，我們都對這些支出為這兩個領域帶來的未來機會感到非常樂觀。正如湯姆所說，希望新政府能放寬一些限制，簡化許可和規劃流程，讓這些事情更快付諸實行。

That's very helpful. Thank you very much. Thank you.

這非常有幫助。非常感謝。謝謝。

Adam Thalhimer, Thompson Davis.

亞當塔希默、湯普森戴維斯。

Hey. Good morning, guys. Congrats on the Q3 beat.

嘿。大家早安。恭喜您取得第三季的勝利。

Thanks, Adam.

謝謝，亞當。

I guess the question I've got in most this morning is on the revenue guidance. And I was curious, were you trying to imply that there's a potential for a revenue decline year over year in one of the segments? And if so, where could that occur?

我想我今天早上最多人問的問題是關於收入預期。我很好奇，您是否想暗示某個部門的收入有可能較去年同期下降？如果會的話，會在哪裡發生？

I mentioned the choppiness that as you -- some of these projects are dependent on both the cost of the capital, but also tariffs could impact supply cost of steel. So you now have some projects, the escalator clauses are being negotiated.

我提到了波動性，正如您所說——其中一些項目既取決於資本成本，關稅也可能影響鋼鐵的供應成本。所以現在你有一些項目，正在就自動調整條款進行談判。

And that just sometimes slows things up. It doesn't make the project go away, so to speak, but it can delay it. And so what our concern as we just looked at the fourth quarter was if that continues as it seems like it is. And then it just has a slowing effect on the revenue in the quarter.

而這有時會減慢進程。可以這麼說，它並不會讓專案消失，但可以推遲專案。因此，當我們回顧第四季時，我們擔心的是這種情況是否會持續下去。這會對本季的收入產生放緩的影響。

For us, that's not necessarily a terrible thing because we adjust shifts, we adjust our variable cost structure. So it doesn't affect our profitability is as much as it affects our top line. So that's the only concern. It's not that the market activity is not there. It's just that the timing of when does it move forward?

對我們來說，這不一定是壞事，因為我們調整了班次，調整了我們的變動成本結構。因此，它對我們的獲利能力的影響不大，但對我們的收入的影響卻很大。所以這是唯一值得擔心的事。這並不是說市場沒有活躍。只是，具體什麼時候推進呢？

And does it fall within us getting to paint metal and ship it and galvanized steel and ship it. So that's all that's related to.

我們是否可以對金屬進行塗漆並運輸，以及對鍍鋅鋼進行運輸？這就是所有相關的內容。

Okay. And then just a quick one on the Washington plant. What's the -- I know there was a portion of the plant that was contracted to the anchor customer. What's the process for filling up the rest of the capacity. Like when that plant starts up, you start with the anchor customer and then later in the year fill in extra capacity. How does that work?

好的。然後我們再簡單談談華盛頓工廠。我知道有一部分工廠是與主要客戶承包的。填補剩餘產能的流程是怎麼樣的？例如，當工廠啟動時，你先從主要客戶開始，然後在今年稍後填補額外的產能。這是如何運作的？

Yes. Actually, we've -- and I mentioned the St. Louis plant already having demand on it. It's an operating container facility just with two smaller lines. So our ability to move business between those two plants and provide demand for the new plant, we've got that capability.

是的。實際上，我們—我提到聖路易斯工廠已經對此有需求。這是一家正在運作的貨櫃設施，只有兩條較小的運輸線。因此，我們有能力在這兩家工廠之間轉移業務並為新工廠提供需求。

And of course, the current St. Louis facility services, both the partner which, by the way, is try arrows. But so it services the partner, but it also has other customers that is services. So our ability to ramp up that other 25%, I think it's more going to be around our caution of working with the partner where we've made the commitment.

當然，目前的聖路易斯設施服務，順便說一下，都是合作夥伴，都是嘗試箭頭。但它不僅為合作夥伴提供服務，而且還為其他客戶提供服務。因此，我認為，我們能否提高另外 25% 的產能，更多的取決於我們與做出承諾的合作夥伴合作時的謹慎程度。

We want to make sure we take care of them and they're the ones committed to helping us get it certified and everything lined out. So in the early phase, we'll be a little cautious to not get too far out over our skis in terms of our ability to produce. And then as the year wears on, we'll start to bring in other customers to fill demand opportunity or demand things. So I think that's how we -- how I'm looking at it at this point.

我們希望確保我們能照顧好他們，他們致力於幫助我們獲得認證並安排好一切事宜。因此，在早期階段，我們會更加謹慎，不要在生產能力方面超出預期。隨著時間的推移，我們將開始引入其他客戶來滿足需求機會或需求。所以我認為這就是我們—我目前的看法。

Got it. Okay. Thanks, guys. Talk to you soon.

知道了。好的。謝謝大家。很快再和你聊。

Daniel Rizzo, Jefferies.

傑富瑞的丹尼爾·里佐 (Daniel Rizzo)。

Good morning. Thank you for taking my question. I was just wondering. So you talked a lot about investor spend and how important that is. I was wondering how much of a tailwind it could be if there is cyclical recovery in private spending on things like commercial construction, what that's meant to you guys in the past and what do you expect going forward?

早安.感謝您回答我的問題。我只是想知道。所以你談了很多關於投資者支出以及它的重要性。我想知道，如果商業建築等領域的私人支出出現週期性復甦，這將帶來多大的順風，這對你們過去意味著什麼，你們對未來有何期待？

Yes, that's been a significant. If we got a recovery in that sector that -- yes, we go from 65%utilization up to 80% utilization, those kinds of things. It can have a very positive impact on us. So we'd love to see it, we'd love to see it sustainable. And it tends to be -- those tend to be really good kinds of projects for us.

是的，這很重要。如果該領域得到復甦，我們的利用率將從 65% 上升到 80%，諸如此類。它會對我們產生非常正面的影響。所以我們很樂意看到它，我們也很樂意看到它可持續發展。而且這往往是──這些往往對我們來說都是非常好的項目。

So where our capability is our ability to -- this is more on the pre-coat side, to provide different color combinations to basically give them to fill more specific needs versus more general needs, I think is a real positive. I don't know if Jason and David wants to add to that.

因此，我們的能力在於我們的能力 - 這更多的是在預塗方面，提供不同的顏色組合，基本上可以滿足更具體的需求而不是更普遍的需求，我認為這是真正的積極因素。我不知道 Jason 和 David 是否想補充這一點。

Yes. I think the only thing I would add is some of those sectors that have been down really all year like warehouse, commercial and office spending areas. If those were to rebound, that certainly can provide a nice tailwind for us.

是的。我想我唯一想補充的是一些全年都處於低迷狀態的行業，例如倉庫、商業和辦公支出領域。如果這些能夠反彈，無疑可以為我們提供良好的順風。

And we'd see it pretty quickly. That's the other nice part those checks tend to move fairly fast.

我們很快就會看到它。另一個好處是這些檢查往往進展得相當快。

Meaning they think it's open. I mean, as little as a quarter? Or does it take like six months? Or how should we think about it?

意思是他們認為它是開放的。我的意思是只有四分之一？或者說需要六個月左右？或者說我們該如何去思考這個問題？

Yes, I'd call it one to two quarters versus some of the public stuff that can take one to two years.

是的，我認為只需要一到兩個季度，而一些公共事務可能需要一到兩年的時間。

And then just on your capital allocation strategy. So I know debt reduction remains a focus. Certainly speaking, I mean, have share buybacks been a big thing? Or do you just do it to offset dilution? Something that --

然後只是討論你的資本配置策略。因此我知道減少債務仍然是一個重點。當然，我的意思是，股票回購是一件大事嗎？或者你這樣做只是為了抵消稀釋？某件事--

(inaudible) or a portion of the dilution. And we would look at that as we look at our share price valuation, and look at the benefit of continuing to reduce debt. We're also going to balance it versus or any acquisitions potentially actionable within the next quarter. And then we taking a look at our dividend as well because we haven't touch dividend.

（聽不清楚）或稀釋的一部分。我們會在審視股價估值時考慮這一點，並考慮繼續減少債務的好處。我們還將對其進行權衡，或考慮下個季度內可能採取的任何收購行動。然後我們也來看看我們的股息，因為我們還沒有觸及股息。

I lost you guys. I don't know if you can hear me, but thank you.

我失去你們了。我不知道你是否聽得到我說話，不過還是謝謝你。

Okay. Thanks.

好的。謝謝。

Operator. Can you still hear us?

操作員。你還能聽到我們嗎？

Yeah, I hear you.

是的，我明白了。

Okay, good.

好的，很好。

Jon Braatz, Kansas City Capital.

堪薩斯城資本公司的喬恩‧布拉茲 (Jon Braatz)。

Good morning, everyone. Tom, and maybe, David, you can chime in and a follow-on with the previous question. But when you look at your end markets, how much of your business -- how much I mean your customer base is more sensitive to interest rates and interest rate movements.

大家早安。湯姆，也許還有戴維，你們可以加入討論並繼續上一個問題。但是當你看看你的終端市場時，你的業務——我的意思是你的客戶群——對利率和利率變動的敏感度有多大。

Obviously, we've seen interest rates move up a little bit. How much might be -- how much of your business might be affected by -- by rates continuing to go up. Any thoughts?

顯然，我們看到利率略有上升。利率持續上漲會對您的業務造成多大影響？有什麼想法嗎？

I don't think it's that much. I think most of these projects are not viability sensitive to 25 bps or so, I think the long-term trend as long as interest rates as you look at the forward curve and it's -- as long as it's going to be trending down, then I think that projects move forward now and particularly when it comes to infrastructure and things like that.

我認為沒有那麼多。我認為這些項目中的大多數對 25 個基點左右的利率變化並不敏感，我認為只要利率處於長期趨勢中，只要它呈下降趨勢，那麼我認為項目就會向前推進，特別是涉及基礎設施和類似的東西。

What I do think it does is they start to look at it can change the rate of return and does that move it out a little bit and does it just delay and cause them to have another review cycle before they approve it. So I see an effect in timing, and that's why we were a little bit more uncertain about the revenue for the fourth quarter just because these things that we thought might have been moving forward, might just push into the first quarter as they try to get the interest rates tied down and they try to get their funding at whatever price point they're trying to get it fixed at.

我確實認為，他們開始研究它是否可以改變回報率，這是否會使其稍微偏離目標，是否只是延遲並導致他們在批准之前再經歷一個審核週期。因此，我看到了時間的影響，這就是為什麼我們對第四季度的收入有些不確定，因為我們認為可能已經向前推進的這些事情可能會推遲到第一季度，因為他們試圖將利率控制住，並試圖以他們試圖固定的任何價格點獲得資金。

I think the tariffs probably create a little bit more uncertainty because that have a bigger cost impact on a project. If steel costs moved up 10%, 15%, that can have a significant impact on a project as well as steel availability, not that there's a likelihood of that in the longer term, but in the short term, it can move it around.

我認為關稅可能會帶來更多的不確定性，因為它對專案的成本影響更大。如果鋼材成本上漲 10% 或 15%，這將對專案以及鋼材供應產生重大影響，雖然從長期來看這種情況不太可能發生，但從短期來看，可能會產生影響。

So I think those are the kinds of things that are causing some -- I've been calling it choppiness, but it's chopping in the decision-making on moving projects forward. So I think interest has a minor effect. I think as the tariffs get buttoned down and they see what happens with that and the reaction to it, that, that starts to give everybody more confidence that you don't have to have these significant price escalators in to account for it.

所以我認為這些都是造成一些問題的原因——我一直稱之為不穩定，但它正在阻礙專案推進的決策。所以我認為興趣的影響很小。我認為，隨著關稅得到落實，他們看到了隨之而來的結果和反應，這會讓每個人都更有信心，不需要將這些大幅的價格上漲因素考慮進去。

Okay. Okay. Secondly, when you think -- when you look forward into 2026 and you look at the zinc cost environment, any pluses or minuses as we head into fiscal 2026 on the zinc front?

好的。好的。其次，當您展望 2026 年並觀察鋅成本環境時，當我們進入 2026 財年時，鋅方面有哪些優點或缺點？

Yes. I mean zinc LME has continued to trend up. And so that -- as you know, that has effect on the cost in our kettles six to eight months out. We tend to adjust, we talk about value pricing and everything like that. But obviously, when zinc costs because it's single largest component of cost on galvanizing.

是的。我的意思是倫敦金屬交易所的鋅價格持續呈現上漲趨勢。所以 — — 如您所知，這會對我們六到八個月後水壺的成本產生影響。我們傾向於調整，我們談論價值定價和諸如此類的一切。但顯然，鋅的成本很高，因為它是鍍鋅成本中最大的單一組成部分。

When that trends up, the competitors tend to trend up their prices as well. So yes, it's a factor. Obviously, we can calculate that and do every month as we see the only prices move and factor that into what our cost is going to be in our kettles six, eight months out.

當這種趨勢上升時，競爭對手的價格也趨於上升。是的，這是一個因素。顯然，我們可以計算這一點，並且每個月都這樣做，因為我們只看到價格變動，並將其考慮到六個月、八個月後我們的水壺成本。

But that also gives us time to adjust our value proposition and adjust price expectations. So we're not viewing it as a when it's moving up like this, which is relatively slowly, call it, almost steady.

但這也給了我們時間來調整我們的價值主張和價格預期。因此，我們並不認為它的上升趨勢是這樣的，它是相對緩慢地上升，可以說是幾乎穩定地上升。

This is actually a good thing. When it really starts to balance, that's when you get into surcharges and all sorts of things that just create a lot of uncertainty. So right now, this is not -- we don't view this as a terrible thing. It's a good thing.

這其實是件好事。當它真正開始平衡時，就會產生附加費以及各種產生許多不確定性的事情。所以現在，這並不是──我們不認為這是一件可怕的事。這是一件好事。

Okay. One last question. One of the first things Trump is going to do is he's going to try and the moratorium or the pause on LNG permits. And I don't know how successful he's going to be. There's probably going to be some court challenges.

好的。最後一個問題。川普要做的第一件事之一就是嘗試暫停或暫停液化天然氣許可證的發放。我不知道他會取得多大的成功。可能會有一些法庭挑戰。

But singularly, can the LNG renewal rebirth, if you want to call it, does that have a positive impact on your galvanizing?

但從單一角度來看，如果您願意稱之為液化天然氣復興，那麼這是否會對您的激勵產生積極影響？

It's your (inaudible) because when you -- especially when we look through the Southeast, a lot of galvanizing capacity came online with the expectation that was going to occur. Some of that capacity has gone away. Some of it has been acquired, some of it has been closed.

這是你的（聽不清楚），因為當你——特別是當我們看向東南部時，大量的鍍鋅產能上線，並且人們期待著這種情況會發生。部分產能已經消失。其中一些已被收購，一些已關閉。

But there -- you look through the where those terminals would go in, we've got galvanizing sites pretty much in the backyard of each one of them. So yes, that would be a nice positive. And and would help the overall market, particularly through that Southeast Texas quarter.

但是——你看一下這些終端的位置，我們在每個終端的後院都有鍍鋅場地。是的，這將是一件好事。而且這將有助於整個市場，特別是東南德克薩斯州的市場。

But we'll see what happens.

但我們會看到會發生什麼。

We will see what happens, but we would view that as a positive.

我們將拭目以待，但我們認為這是一件正面的事。

All right. All right. Thank you very much.

好的。好的。非常感謝。

Thanks.

謝謝。

John Franzreb, Sidoti & Company.

約翰‧弗朗茨雷布 (John Franzreb)，Sidoti & Company。

Yes. Just some thoughts on M&A. You said you might start to reengage as it pull down leverage. I'm curious if that's limited to the galvanizing side? Or are there opportunities that you'd explore on the paint side of the business.

是的。只是關於併購的一些想法。您說過，隨著槓桿率下降，您可能會開始重新參與。我很好奇這是否僅限於鍍鋅方面？或者您是否願意探索油漆業務方面的商機。

And so can you just give us some examples?

那您能給我們舉幾個例子嗎？

Yes. I think, obviously, we're looking for the one-off bolt-ons for galvanizing. We look if any of the multisite deals came active again. We'd be right in the front of the line for those. Those are slam ducks that if we get them at a reasonable price, we run our playbook and bring them up to our fleet margins and everybody is happy if we almost view it as organic growth.

是的。我認為，顯然，我們正在尋找用於鍍鋅的一次性螺栓。我們看看是否有任何多站點交易再次活躍起來。我們會站在隊伍的最前面。這些都是穩操勝券的，如果我們以合理的價格獲得它們，我們就會按照我們的策略，將它們提升到我們的船隊利潤率，如果我們幾乎將其視為有機增長，那麼每個人都會很高興。

On the pre-coat side, they're going to tend to be bigger because you're -- well, you think about it we invested $125 million in a new line, which obviously that's on the high end of the high side of the scale. But still, you're looking at bigger -- even a one-off site is going to be fairly significant. There are some opportunities out there.

在預塗方面，它們將會變得更大，因為——嗯，你想想看，我們在一條新生產線上投資了 1.25 億美元，這顯然是規模高端中的高端。但是，你仍然需要著眼於更大的範圍——即使是一次性的站點也將具有相當大的意義。那裡還是有一些機會的。

We still view it as bolt-on for pre-coat just like we view it as bolt-on. So leverage the G&A infrastructure, run the playbook, improve operating performance, take care of customers. So same playbook as we're looking at it. But so yes, those are on our radar screen (inaudible). But there's not many of them.

我們仍然將其視為預先塗層的螺栓固定件，就像我們將其視為螺栓固定件一樣。因此，利用 G&A 基礎設施，運行劇本，提高營運績效，照顧客戶。所以和我們正在看的劇本是一樣的。但是是的，這些都在我們的關注範圍內（聽不清楚）。但這樣的人並不多。

Okay. Thank you for the clarity. I appreciate it. Congratulations again.

好的。感謝您的澄清。我很感激。再次恭喜。

Thanks.

謝謝。

Timna Tanners, Wolfe Research.

坦納斯（Timna Tanners），沃爾夫研究公司（Wolfe Research）。

Yeah. Hey, good morning. I wanted to just ask a little bit about the competitive landscape. So I know that you've been referring to some market share gains in recent quarters. Are there more opportunities for market share gains? Or has that competitor started to try to claw back any of that lost market share? Any update there, please?

是的。嘿，早安。我想問一下競爭格局。我知道您一直在提到最近幾個季度的市場份額增長。是否還有更多增加市場佔有率的機會？或者競爭對手已經開始嘗試奪回失去的市場份額？請問有任何更新嗎？

Yes, a couple of things. Great question. On the galvanizing side, it's the typical players out there that either are adding some capacity or buying up capacity that -- so you've got the Valmont and Hill & Smith, which in the US operates as BNS the multisite folks we talk about. There's a couple of kettles coming -- I mean it's not abnormal.

是的，有幾件事。好問題。從激勵方面來看，典型的參與者要么增加產能，要么購買產能 - 因此你就有了 Valmont 和 Hill & Smith，它們在美國以 BNS 的名義運營，也就是我們談論的多站點公司。有幾壺水來了——我的意思是這並不異常。

It's like every year, there's a kettle or two coming online, and we're seeing that continue which also is why we usually want to go be buying something to match that.

就像每年一樣，都會有一兩款水壺上市，我們看到這種情況不斷增加，這也是為什麼我們通常想去買一些與之相配的東西。

I think that's all in line with the expected demand growth and normal economic growth in the marketplace. For us, it's more around where does that kettle go in? Does it go in where we've already got several plants? Or does it go into the open space where we don't have much. So -- or is it for internal capacity that's being added.

我認為這一切都符合市場預期的需求成長和正常的經濟成長。對我們來說，更重要的是水壺放在哪裡？它會進入我們已經有幾家工廠的地方嗎？或者它是否進入了我們沒有太多的開放空間。那麼 — — 或是為了增加內部容量。

So not a lot of change there. Just like I said, I think two or three new kettles coming online this year, which is not abnormal.

因此，那裡沒有太多的變化。正如我所說的，我認為今年將有兩三個新水壺投入使用，這並不異常。

And on the pre-coat side, it's the SDIs and folks like that, that are adding a paint line to their mill capacity, I'd say it's relatively normal. There's a couple of lines coming on this year or expected to come online this year. It does not fundamentally change the supply/demand.

在預塗方面，SDI 和類似的公司正在為其工廠產能增加一條塗裝生產線，我認為這是相對正常的。今年將有幾條生產線投入營運或預計今年將投入營運。它不會從根本上改變供給/需求。

And for the most part, it's going -- these lines are being added where they're adding capacity themselves, so to paint their own capacity to a great extent. We're not seeing -- I don't -- on the pre-coat side, I don't think we're seeing anything on the independents coming in.

在大多數情況下，這些生產線都是在他們自己增加產能的地方增加的，因此在很大程度上提高了他們自己的產能。我們沒有看到 - 我沒有 - 在預塗層方面，我認為我們沒有看到任何關於獨立公司進入的消息。

So and if anything, we're seeing lines either slowing down or -- and then we're still out trying to get customers to de-vertically or unconvert I guess and let us paint instead of their running a 50-year-old line or 30-year line. So I think the market dynamics have shifted a whole lot, David, or Jason, if you want to add something to it, particularly on the pre-coat side.

因此，如果有任何情況的話，我們會看到生產線速度變慢了，或者——然後我們仍然在努力讓客戶降低垂直度或取消轉換，我想是讓我們畫畫，而不是讓他們運行 50 年或 30 年的生產線。因此，我認為市場動態已經發生了很大變化，David 或 Jason，如果您想添加一些內容，特別是在預塗層方面。

I don't think, again.

我再也不這麼認為了。

So with the additional paint lines, you mentioned at SDI and the additional other capacity or attempts to regain (inaudible), so do you think there'll be corresponding additional demand to balance that? Is that what you're saying?

因此，您提到的 SDI 增加了塗裝線，增加了其他產能或試圖重新獲得（聽不清楚），您認為是否會有相應的額外需求來平衡這一點？你是這個意思嗎？

Yes, that's how we're looking at it. And particularly, one of the impacts of the tariffs would be that if less painted steel is being imported, then that -- those paint lines are going to be necessary to paint the steel being manufactured here in countries. So that would just accelerate the use of that increased capacity.

是的，我們就是這樣看待它的。具體來說，關稅的影響之一是，如果進口的塗裝鋼材減少，那麼這些塗裝生產線對於在本國生產的鋼材進行塗裝就是必不可少的。這只會加速增加的容量的使用。

Helpful. And then as far as exports, like if exports were also restricted in line with the US MCA tariff structure, how would you think about that impact?

很有幫助。那麼就出口而言，如果出口也按照美國 MCA 關稅結構受到限制，您如何看待其影響？

I think as you look at the exports, if we're going to see more exports it's going to help our galvanizing side, but also on the pre-coat side, depending upon the type of product that's coming out and what it's intended end use is. We've got a lot of customers in certain key markets that are using prepainted steel today. So we view that positive.

我認為，從出口來看，如果我們看到更多的出口，這將有助於我們的鍍鋅業務，同時也有助於預塗業務，這取決於生產的產品類型及其預期的最終用途。目前，我們在某些​​主要市場擁有許多使用預塗鋼的客戶。因此我們認為這是積極的。

Okay, great. Thanks again. Have a great one.

好的，太好了。再次感謝。祝你過得愉快。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Tom Ferguson for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議交還給湯姆·弗格森，請他作最後發言。

All right. Thank you. Thank you, everybody, for joining us. And hopefully, you've -- you are now as excited as we are about our future for the balance of this year, going into next year, and we look forward to issuing our guidance for fiscal 2026 and talking to you after we finish out fiscal 2025 in a couple of months. So thank you for joining us, and we look forward to talking to you next time.

好的。謝謝。感謝大家加入我們。希望您 — — 您現在和我們一樣對今年餘下時間以及明年的未來感到興奮，我們期待著發布 2026 財年指引，並在幾個月後 2025 財年結束後與您交談。感謝您的參與，我們期待下次與您交談。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。