Cabot Corp (CBT) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to Cabot's Fourth Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised today's conference may be recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to your speaker host, Steve Delahunt, Vice President, Treasurer and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

女士們，先生們，感謝你們的支持，歡迎來到卡博特 2022 年第四季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，今天的會議可能會被錄製。我現在想將會議轉交給您的演講主持人，財務主管和投資者關係副總裁 Steve Delahunt。請繼續。

Good morning. I would like to welcome you to the Cabot Corporation's earnings teleconference.

早上好。歡迎大家參加卡博特公司的收益電話會議。

With me today are Sean Keohane, CEO and President; and Erica McLaughlin, Senior Vice President and CFO.

今天和我在一起的是首席執行官兼總裁 Sean Keohane；高級副總裁兼首席財務官 Erica McLaughlin。

Last night, we released results for our fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022, copies of which are posted in the Investor Relations section of our website. Slide deck that accompanies this call is also available on our website and will be available in conjunction with the replay of the call.

昨晚，我們發布了 2022 財年第四季度的業績，其副本發佈在我們網站的投資者關係部分。本次電話會議附帶的幻燈片也可在我們的網站上找到，並將與電話會議的重播一起提供。

During this conference call, we will make forward-looking statements about our expected, future, operational and financial performance. Each forward-looking statement is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such statements. Additional information regarding these factors appears under the heading Forward-looking Statements in the press release we issued last night and in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, and in subsequent filings we made with the SEC, all of which are also available on the company's website.

在本次電話會議中，我們將對我們的預期、未來、運營和財務業績做出前瞻性陳述。每份前瞻性陳述都存在風險和不確定性，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與此類陳述中預測的結果存在重大差異。有關這些因素的更多信息出現在我們昨晚發布的新聞稿和我們截至 2021 年 9 月 30 日的財政年度 10-K 表格年度報告以及我們隨後向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中的前瞻性聲明標題下, 所有這些也都可以在公司的網站上找到。

In order to provide greater transparency regarding our operating performance, we refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures that involve adjustments to GAAP results. Any non-GAAP financial measures presented should not be considered to be an alternative to financial measures required by GAAP. Any non-GAAP financial measures referenced on this call are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure in a table at the end of our earnings release issued last night and available in the Investors section of our website.

為了提高我們經營業績的透明度，我們參考了某些涉及對 GAAP 結果進行調整的非 GAAP 財務指標。不應將提出的任何非 GAAP 財務措施視為 GAAP 要求的財務措施的替代方案。本次電話會議中引用的任何非 GAAP 財務指標都與我們昨晚發布的收益報告末尾的表格中最直接可比的 GAAP 財務指標相一致，可在我們網站的投資者部分獲得。

Also, as we typically do each year, I would like to remind you that over the next several weeks, in connection with the vesting of restricted stock awards issued under our long-term incentive equity program, officers of the company will be selling shares to pay tax and other obligations related to their rewards.

此外，正如我們通常每年所做的那樣，我想提醒您，在接下來的幾週內，關於根據我們的長期激勵股權計劃發行的限制性股票獎勵的歸屬，公司的管理人員將出售股票給支付與獎勵相關的稅款和其他義務。

I will now turn the call over to Sean, who will discuss the full year highlights. Erica will review the fourth quarter results, business segment and corporate financial details. Following this, Sean will provide some closing comments and open the floor to questions. Sean?

我現在將電話轉給肖恩，他將討論全年的亮點。 Erica 將審查第四季度業績、業務部門和公司財務細節。在此之後，Sean 將提供一些結束語並開始提問。肖恩？

Thank you, Steve, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our call today.

謝謝史蒂夫，女士們先生們早上好，歡迎來到我們今天的電話。

Fiscal year 2022 was an exceptional year for Cabot. We delivered record financial performance, achieved breakout growth in battery materials, advanced a range of strategic initiatives, including the divestiture of Purification Solutions and further our leadership in ESG performance. All of this was accomplished despite a turbulent macroeconomic and geopolitical environment. I am immensely proud of the Cabot team for the resilience and adaptability they demonstrated throughout the year, and for their focus on execution and support of our customers. By successfully navigating this dynamic environment, we are entering fiscal year 2023 in a strong position.

2022 財年對卡博特來說是不平凡的一年。我們實現了創紀錄的財務業績，在電池材料領域實現了突破性增長，推進了一系列戰略舉措，包括剝離 Purification Solutions，並進一步鞏固了我們在 ESG 績效方面的領導地位。所有這一切都是在動蕩的宏觀經濟和地緣政治環境下完成的。我為卡博特團隊在這一年中表現出的韌性和適應性，以及他們對客戶執行和支持的專注感到無比自豪。通過成功駕馭這種充滿活力的環境，我們將以強勢地位進入 2023 財年。

At the beginning of fiscal year 2022, we introduced our Creating for Tomorrow strategy, which charts a new phase of growth and breakout value creation by leveraging our strengths to lead in performance and sustainability. Our focus is on driving advantage growth, delivering innovative chemistry to enable a better future, and relentlessly pursuing continuous improvement in everything that we do. In fiscal year 2022, we made tremendous progress in executing our strategy and achieving our long-term goals. I would like to spend a little time now recapping the accomplishments of the year.

在 2022 財年伊始，我們推出了“為明天創造”戰略，該戰略描繪了一個新的增長階段和突破性的價值創造，利用我們的優勢在績效和可持續性方面處於領先地位。我們的重點是推動優勢增長，提供創新化學以實現更美好的未來，並堅持不懈地追求持續改進我們所做的一切。在 2022 財年，我們在執行戰略和實現長期目標方面取得了巨大進展。現在我想花點時間回顧一下這一年的成就。

The Cabot operating model is built on the foundations of commercial and operational excellence, and our strengths in these disciplines drove outstanding results in fiscal year 2022. We delivered records for adjusted earnings per share of $6.28, total segment EBIT of $642 million and discretionary free cash flow of $395 million.

卡博特的運營模式建立在卓越的商業和運營基礎之上，我們在這些領域的優勢推動了 2022 財年的出色業績。我們實現了 6.28 美元的調整後每股收益、6.42 億美元的總分部息稅前利潤和可自由支配的自由現金。 3.95億美元的流量。

In our business segments, Reinforcement Materials' EBIT increased 24% year-over-year to a record high of $408 million. This level of performance reflects the resilient nature of the replacement tire end market and the structural improvements to this business over the last several years.

在我們的業務領域，增強材料的息稅前利潤同比增長 24%，達到 4.08 億美元的歷史新高。這一業績水平反映了替換輪胎端市場的彈性特性以及該業務在過去幾年中的結構性改進。

Performance Chemicals' EBIT increased 11% year-over-year, and we continue to generate strong momentum in battery materials, which increased EBITDA by 81% year-over-year.

Performance Chemicals 的 EBIT 同比增長 11%，我們在電池材料方面繼續保持強勁勢頭，EBITDA 同比增長 81%。

Battery Materials is becoming a more material part of the portfolio, and we continue to expect significant growth in the years ahead.

電池材料正在成為產品組合中更重要的一部分，我們繼續預計未來幾年會出現顯著增長。

Overall, we had a very successful 2022 in terms of financial performance. Adjusted earnings per share growth is running ahead of our 2021 Investor Day targets and has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 17% since 2019. At the same time, the quality of our returns remains very strong with adjusted return on invested capital of 20% in fiscal year 2022.

總體而言，我們在 2022 年的財務業績方面非常成功。調整後的每股收益增長超過了我們 2021 年投資者日的目標，並且自 2019 年以來以 17% 的複合年增長率增長。與此同時，我們的回報質量仍然非常強勁，調整後的投資資本回報率為 20 2022 財年的百分比。

The foundation of our strategy starts with growth. We want to accelerate our growth by continuing to win in our core markets and increasing our share in applications with tremendous growth tailwinds. We are strategically focused on Battery Materials and the opportunity to capitalize on the explosive growth that comes with the transition to electric vehicles. To support this strategy, we are executing a range of growth investments. These include commencing operations at our Xuzhou, China plant, that supports capacity growth in both Battery Materials and Specialty Carbons.

我們戰略的基礎始於增長。我們希望通過繼續贏得我們的核心市場並在巨大的增長順風下增加我們在應用程序中的份額來加速我們的增長。我們的戰略重點是電池材料和利用向電動汽車過渡帶來的爆炸性增長的機會。為支持這一戰略，我們正在進行一系列增長投資。其中包括我們在中國徐州的工廠開始運營，該工廠支持電池材料和特種碳材料的產能增長。

In addition, we acquired a new facility in Tianjin, China, to support the growth of conductive carbons for Battery Materials and the first phase of upgrades is scheduled to come online in fiscal year 2024. We also completed the first phase of a carbon nanotube dispersion capacity expansion at our Zhuhai China facility, which added 25% to the capacity in fiscal year 2022. We expect to complete the next phase by the end of calendar year 2023.

此外，我們在中國天津收購了一家新工廠，以支持電池材料導電碳的增長，第一階段升級計劃於 2024 財年上線。我們還完成了碳納米管分散體的第一階段我們中國珠海工廠的產能擴張，使 2022 財年的產能增加了 25%。我們預計下一階段將在 2023 年年底完成。

During fiscal year 2022, we also began Phase 1 of a plan to double capacity at our inkjet manufacturing facility, which is set to commission in mid-2023, with the remaining capacity addition expected to be completed by 2025. This capacity will enable our inkjet product line to meet the growing demand of digital printing in commercial and packaging applications. We are excited about the high growth potential of Battery Materials and inkjet for packaging and are confident in our strong operating cash flow to fund these expansions.

在 2022 財年，我們還開始了噴墨製造工廠產能翻倍計劃的第一階段，該工廠將於 2023 年年中投產，剩餘的產能增加預計將在 2025 年完成。這一產能將使我們的噴墨產品系列，以滿足商業和包裝應用中數字印刷日益增長的需求。我們對電池材料和噴墨包裝的高增長潛力感到興奮，並對我們強大的運營現金流為這些擴張提供資金充滿信心。

Now turning to ESG. Cabot has long been a leader in sustainability and been recognized by external parties for excellence. Fiscal year 2022 represented another year of important progress in our sustainability journey. We were again recognized by Newsweek as one of America's Most Responsible Companies and by Investor's Business Daily as one of the 100 Best ESG Companies, placing in the top 3 in the chemicals category. We also earned the top rating of Platinum from EcoVadis for the third consecutive year, which places us in the top 1% of the basic chemical space.

現在轉向 ESG。長期以來，卡博特一直是可持續發展領域的領導者，並因其卓越表現而受到外部各方的認可。 2022 財年是我們可持續發展之旅取得重要進展的又一年。我們再次被《新聞周刊》評為美國最負責任的公司之一，並被《投資者商業日報》評為 100 家最佳 ESG 公司之一，在化學品類別中名列前三。我們還連續第三年獲得 EcoVadis 的最高鉑金評級，這使我們在基礎化學領域中排名前 1%。

The world needs innovative chemistry to address many of the most challenging climate goals and Cabot's materials are playing a critical role in applications ranging from lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles to performance additives that enable lightweighting of cars and novel E2C solutions, which again earned a place on European Rubber Journal's list of top 10 elastomers for sustainability.

世界需要創新化學來解決許多最具挑戰性的氣候目標，卡博特的材料在從電動汽車鋰離子電池到實現汽車輕量化的性能添加劑和新型 E2C 解決方案等應用中發揮著關鍵作用，這再次贏得了名列歐洲橡膠雜誌的 10 大可持續發展彈性體名單。

While supporting our customers' sustainability goals is central to our creating for tomorrow strategy, we also strive to reduce the impact on our own manufacturing footprint. To this end, in 2022, we announced our ambition to achieve net emissions globally by 2050. This aspiration requires a long-term strategic view of our business and a multifaceted technical approach. Our 2021 sustainability report further highlights our plans and progress in these areas.

雖然支持客戶的可持續發展目標是我們創造明天戰略的核心，但我們也努力減少對我們自己的製造足蹟的影響。為此，我們在 2022 年宣布了到 2050 年在全球範圍內實現淨排放的目標。實現這一目標需要對我們的業務具有長期戰略眼光，並採用多方面的技術方法。我們的 2021 年可持續發展報告進一步強調了我們在這些領域的計劃和進展。

As a company, we believe that long-term success requires sustainability to be integrated into strategy. Our progress in fiscal year 2022 clearly demonstrates our commitment to sustainability leadership, and we intend to build on this success moving forward.

作為一家公司，我們相信長期的成功需要將可持續性融入戰略。我們在 2022 財年取得的進展清楚地表明了我們對可持續發展領導地位的承諾，我們打算在這一成功的基礎上繼續前進。

I will now move on to an update on Battery Materials. Battery Materials results continue to outpace the market. In fiscal 2022, volumes grew 58%, revenue increased 74% to $132 million and EBITDA grew 81% in the year to $29 million. We continue to build Commercial momentum and are seeing strong demand for our conductive carbon additives from the world's largest battery manufacturers. We have built a deep technical understanding of this application and are recognized by customers for our broad product offering in the space of conductive carbon additives.

我現在將繼續更新電池材料。電池材料業績繼續跑贏市場。在 2022 財年，銷量增長 58%，收入增長 74% 至 1.32 億美元，EBITDA 增長 81% 至 2900 萬美元。我們繼續建立商業勢頭，並看到世界上最大的電池製造商對我們的導電碳添加劑的強勁需求。我們對這一應用建立了深刻的技術理解，並因我們在導電碳添加劑領域提供的廣泛產品而受到客戶的認可。

Cabot offers the broadest range of conductive carbon additives including conductive carbons, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanostructures and blends of these materials to optimize performance.

卡博特提供最廣泛的導電碳添加劑，包括導電碳、碳納米管、碳納米結構和這些材料的混合物，以優化性能。

In addition to our strong product offering, Cabot's value proposition is supported by our unmatched global network of manufacturing plants, regional research and development labs and commercial and technical experts that can support customers in all major regions where battery production is rapidly growing. We are currently selling to 6 of the top 8 global manufacturers of batteries, which represents approximately 90% of the market and have active development programs with all of the top 8 players.

除了我們強大的產品供應外，卡博特的價值主張還得到我們無與倫比的全球製造工廠網絡、區域研發實驗室以及商業和技術專家的支持，這些專家可以為電池生產快速增長的所有主要地區的客戶提供支持。我們目前向全球 8 大電池製造商中的 6 家銷售產品，約佔市場的 90%，並且與前 8 大廠商都有積極的開發計劃。

The growth of Battery Materials is underpinned by strategic capacity additions, which are critical to meet our customers' volume ramp-up requirements. As discussed earlier, we're on track to meet our goal of tripling Battery Materials capacity by 2024.

電池材料的增長得到了戰略性產能增加的支持，這對於滿足客戶的產量增長要求至關重要。如前所述，我們有望實現到 2024 年將電池材料產能增加兩倍的目標。

Looking ahead to 2023, we expect commercial momentum to continue as sales to current customers are forecasted to grow, and we were recently qualified in 2 new platforms with top EV lithium-ion battery manufacturers with sales ramping in 2023. We are also in final stages of qualification with several automotive OEMs that are building battery capacity. The automotive OEMs will be critical for the long-term growth of Battery Materials. And I am pleased to announce that Cabot has signed a multiyear agreement with an American multinational automotive company and has received the first order to supply conductive carbons for EV batteries.

展望 2023 年，我們預計商業勢頭將繼續，因為對現有客戶的銷售額預計將增長，我們最近獲得了與頂級 EV 鋰離子電池製造商合作的 2 個新平台的資格，2023 年銷量將大幅增長。我們也處於最後階段與幾家正在建設電池容量的汽車原始設備製造商進行資格認證。汽車原始設備製造商對於電池材料的長期增長至關重要。我很高興地宣布，卡博特已與一家美國跨國汽車公司簽署了一項多年協議，並已收到第一份為電動汽車電池供應導電碳的訂單。

Based on our current outlook, we expect EBITDA for fiscal year 2023 to be in the range of $45 million to $50 million. The midpoint of this range equates to a 64% EBITDA growth year-over-year.

根據我們目前的展望，我們預計 2023 財年的 EBITDA 將在 4500 萬至 5000 萬美元之間。該範圍的中點相當於 EBITDA 同比增長 64%。

I'll now turn the call over to Erica to discuss the financial results of the quarter in more detail. Erica?

我現在將電話轉給埃里卡，更詳細地討論本季度的財務業績。艾麗卡？

Thanks, Sean. I will start with discussing the fourth quarter.

謝謝，肖恩。我將從討論第四季度開始。

I'm pleased to report strong fourth quarter results with adjusted EPS of $1.55. This performance was 40% above the same quarter last year, facing significant currency and inflationary headwinds plus pockets of softening regional demand within our Performance Chemicals segment. Both segments delivered earnings growth year-over-year, led by the Reinforcement Materials segment, which was up 63% in the quarter.

我很高興地報告第四季度業績強勁，調整後每股收益為 1.55 美元。這一業績比去年同期高出 40%，面臨著重大的貨幣和通脹逆風，以及我們的高性能化學品部門的區域需求疲軟。這兩個部門的收益都實現了同比增長，其中增強材料部門領漲，該部門本季度增長了 63%。

We also continued the momentum in Battery Materials with a record fourth quarter and ended the year with EBITDA of $29 million as this business starts to become a material contributor to Cabot's results.

我們還在第四季度繼續保持電池材料的發展勢頭，並以 2900 萬美元的 EBITDA 結束了這一年，因為該業務開始成為卡博特業績的重要貢獻者。

Cash flow from operations was strong at $105 million in the quarter, and liquidity remained solid at $1.1 billion.

本季度運營現金流強勁，達到 1.05 億美元，流動性保持穩定，為 11 億美元。

As we look at our full fiscal year results for the company, we delivered adjusted EPS of $6.28, which is a 25% growth year-over-year. Drivers of growth in segment EBIT include volumes both higher in both Reinforcement Materials and Performance Chemicals, as well as significant margin expansion, driven by our exceptional price and mix management in the face of rising costs and inflation. The higher volumes and higher margins more than offset headwinds related to the strengthening of the U.S. dollar and lower EBIT from the divestiture of our Purification Solutions business.

當我們查看公司的完整財年業績時，我們交付了 6.28 美元的調整後每股收益，同比增長 25%。部門息稅前利潤增長的驅動因素包括增強材料和高性能化學品的銷量增加，以及利潤率的顯著增長，這得益於我們在面對成本上升和通貨膨脹的情況下出色的價格和組合管理。更高的銷量和更高的利潤率足以抵消與美元走強和剝離我們的淨化解決方案業務導致的息稅前利潤下降相關的不利因素。

Moving to Reinforcement Materials. During the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2022, EBIT for Reinforcement Materials increased by $42 million and $79 million, respectively, as compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase was principally driven by improved unit margins from higher pricing and mix in our 2022 calendar year customer agreements and higher volumes. Higher volumes are driven by strong demand in all regions.

轉向增強材料。 2022 財年第四季度和全年，增強材料的息稅前利潤分別比上年同期增長 4200 萬美元和 7900 萬美元。增長的主要原因是我們 2022 日曆年客戶協議中更高的定價和組合以及更高的銷量提高了單位利潤率。所有地區的強勁需求推動了銷量的增長。

Year-over-year results were also impacted by higher utilities and the negative impact from a stronger U.S. dollar. The impact of the stronger U.S. dollar was unfavorable by $6 million year-over-year in the fourth quarter and $16 million year-over-year in the fiscal year.

同比結果也受到公用事業費用上漲和美元走強的負面影響。美元走強的影響在第四季度和本財年同比分別減少了 600 萬美元和 1600 萬美元。

Looking to the first quarter of fiscal 2023, we expect a sequential decrease in EBIT due to lower energy prices impacting our energy center revenue, lower volumes from normal year-end seasonality and downtime at a North American plant that will impact both volume and fixed costs. The impact of these factors is roughly equal for a total of about $15 million to $20 million sequentially. We expect that year-over-year EBIT results in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 will be higher than the first quarter of fiscal 2022.

展望 2023 財年第一季度，我們預計 EBIT 將連續下降，原因是能源價格下降影響我們的能源中心收入、正常年底季節性的產量下降以及北美工廠的停機將影響產量和固定成本.這些因素的影響大致相等，總計約為 1500 萬至 2000 萬美元。我們預計 2023 財年第一季度的同比息稅前利潤將高於 2022 財年第一季度。

Now turning to Performance Chemicals. EBIT increased by $4 million in the fourth fiscal quarter and $23 million for the full year as compared to the same period in fiscal 2021. The increases in both periods were driven by higher unit margins as a result of improved pricing and product mix in our Specialty Carbons and fumed metal oxides product line and higher volumes in Battery Materials.

現在轉向高性能化學品。與 2021 財年同期相比，第四財季的息稅前利潤增加了 400 萬美元，全年增加了 2300 萬美元。這兩個時期的增長都是由於我們專業領域的定價和產品組合改善導致單位利潤率提高所致碳和氣相法金屬氧化物產品線和電池材料的更高產量。

Volumes grew 67% in products sold to battery material applications in the fourth quarter as compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, as we continue to see customer wins and demand growth driven by EV demand. These benefits were partially offset by increased costs associated with higher maintenance and utility costs, and the unfavorable impact of foreign currency movements.

與 2021 年第四季度相比，第四季度銷售給電池材料應用的產品銷量增長了 67%，因為我們繼續看到電動汽車需求推動的客戶贏得和需求增長。這些好處部分被與更高的維護和公用事業成本相關的成本增加以及外匯變動的不利影響所抵消。

The translation impact of the stronger U.S. dollar was unfavorable by $3 million year-over-year in the fourth quarter and $7 million year-over-year in the fiscal year.

美元走強帶來的不利影響在第四季度同比減少 300 萬美元，在本財年同比減少 700 萬美元。

Year-over-year volumes in the fourth fiscal quarter increased by 3% in Performance Additives and by 5% in Formulated Solutions.

第四財季的性能添加劑銷量同比增長 3%，配方解決方案銷量增長 5%。

Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2023, we expect a sequential volume decline of approximately $10 million to $15 million as the economic slowdown in Europe and customer destocking is expected to unfavorably impact demand in this segment. We expect the year-over-year EBIT results in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 will be lower than the first quarter of fiscal 2022, given demand softness and inventory destocking and our intention to also reduce inventory levels.

展望 2023 財年第一季度，我們預計銷量將連續下降約 1000 萬至 1500 萬美元，原因是歐洲經濟放緩和客戶去庫存預計將對該領域的需求產生不利影響。鑑於需求疲軟和庫存去庫存以及我們也打算降低庫存水平，我們預計 2023 財年第一季度的同比息稅前利潤將低於 2022 財年第一季度。

I will now turn to corporate items. We ended the quarter with a cash balance of $206 million, and our liquidity position remained strong at approximately $1.1 billion. During the fourth quarter, cash flows from operating activities were $105 million, which included a working capital increase of $41 million. Capital expenditures for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 were $90 million.

我現在將轉向公司項目。本季度結束時，我們的現金餘額為 2.06 億美元，我們的流動資金狀況保持強勁，約為 11 億美元。第四季度，經營活動產生的現金流量為 1.05 億美元，其中包括 4100 萬美元的營運資本增加。 2021 財年第四季度的資本支出為 9000 萬美元。

Additional uses of cash during the fourth quarter were $21 million for dividends and $5 million for share repurchases.

第四季度額外使用的現金為 2100 萬美元用於股息和 500 萬美元用於股票回購。

During fiscal 2022, we generated a record $395 million of discretionary free cash flow, while working capital increased by $431 million. Working capital increase was largely driven by the impact of higher raw material costs. Capital expenditures for fiscal 2022 were $211 million, which included both our targeted growth investments and spend related to U.S. EPA compliance projects. We expect capital expenditures in fiscal 2023 to be between $300 million and $350 million. This estimate includes U.S. EPA-related compliance spend on our third and final plant and increased spending on growth projects related to high-confidence, high-return areas of the portfolio.

在 2022 財年，我們產生了創紀錄的 3.95 億美元的可支配自由現金流，而營運資金增加了 4.31 億美元。營運資金增加主要受原材料成本上升的影響。 2022 財年的資本支出為 2.11 億美元，其中包括我們的目標增長投資和與美國 EPA 合規項目相關的支出。我們預計 2023 財年的資本支出將在 3 億美元至 3.5 億美元之間。這一估計包括我們第三個也是最後一個工廠與美國 EPA 相關的合規支出，以及與投資組合的高信心、高回報領域相關的增長項目的增加支出。

The growth-related capital includes projects Sean discussed earlier in the presentation for additional capacity in Battery Materials and inkjet.

與增長相關的資本包括 Sean 早些時候在演講中討論的電池材料和噴墨的額外產能項目。

Additional uses of cash during the fiscal year included $84 million for dividends and $53 million for share repurchases.

本財年額外使用的現金包括 8400 萬美元的股息和 5300 萬美元的股票回購。

The operating tax rate for fiscal year 2022 was 26% and we anticipate our operating tax rate for fiscal 2023 to be in the range of 26% to 28%.

2022 財年的營業稅率為 26%，我們預計 2023 財年的營業稅率將在 26% 至 28% 之間。

I'll now turn the call back to Sean to discuss our outlook. Sean?

我現在將電話轉回肖恩，討論我們的前景。肖恩？

Thanks, Erica. Moving to our 2023 outlook. Clearly, we are entering the year with some uncertainty on how the global economy will perform. The energy crisis in Europe is impacting consumer demand and the competitiveness of regional manufacturers. In China, growth has slowed as COVID management policies remain a constraint to economic recovery. And in the United States, it remains unclear what the impact will be with the Fed's actions.

謝謝，艾麗卡。轉向我們的 2023 年展望。顯然，我們在進入新的一年時對全球經濟的表現存在一些不確定性。歐洲的能源危機正在影響消費者需求和區域製造商的競爭力。在中國，由於 COVID 管理政策仍然是經濟復甦的製約因素，增長已經放緩。而在美國，目前尚不清楚美聯儲的行動會產生什麼影響。

While these macro factors are affecting all companies, we feel good about the resilience of our portfolio and the strength of our balance sheet and overall financial position.

儘管這些宏觀因素正在影響所有公司，但我們對投資組合的彈性以及資產負債表和整體財務狀況的實力感到滿意。

In terms of the assumptions that underpin our outlook, we expect volumes in Battery Materials to grow above market again in fiscal year 2023, with momentum building as we progress through the year.

就支撐我們前景的假設而言，我們預計電池材料的銷量將在 2023 財年再次超過市場，隨著我們在這一年的進展，勢頭將增強。

In Reinforcement Materials, we expect volumes to remain in line with market as replacement tire demand is expected to remain resilient and auto OE demand is forecasted to improve.

在增強材料方面，我們預計銷量將與市場保持一致，因為更換輪胎的需求預計將保持彈性，並且汽車 OE 需求預計將有所改善。

In Performance Chemicals, excluding Battery Materials and inkjet, volumes are expected to be impacted by customer destocking and economic softness in Europe and China, predominantly in the first half of the year, with volumes returning to a more normalized level in the second half of the fiscal year.

在高性能化學品方面，不包括電池材料和噴墨，預計銷量將受到歐洲和中國客戶去庫存和經濟疲軟的影響，主要是在今年上半年，下半年銷量將恢復到更正常的水平財政年度。

As we look at our margin expectations, we achieved strong pricing gains in our calendar year 2023 Reinforcement Materials customer agreements, driving an expected bottom line improvement in EBIT of approximately $20 million per quarter starting in Q2.

當我們審視我們的利潤率預期時，我們在 2023 日曆年的增強材料客戶協議中實現了強勁的定價收益，推動從第二季度開始的每季度息稅前利潤的預期底線改善約 2000 萬美元。

In Performance Chemicals, we anticipate stable unit margins as we expect to continue to offset higher raw material costs and inflation with price increases.

在高性能化學品方面，我們預計單位利潤率將保持穩定，因為我們預計將繼續通過價格上漲來抵消較高的原材料成本和通貨膨脹。

As with many multinational companies, we face headwinds from a stronger U.S. dollar. Based on current foreign exchange rates, we anticipate this to be a headwind of approximately $30 million year-over-year, split roughly equally between the 2 segments. In addition to foreign exchange, rising interest rates also are expected to be a headwind of roughly $20 million as compared to fiscal year 2022. The total of the impacts from foreign exchange and higher interest rates is expected to be a headwind to fiscal 2023 results of approximately $0.65 on an EPS basis.

與許多跨國公司一樣，我們面臨著美元走強的不利因素。根據當前的匯率，我們預計這將是一個同比約 3000 萬美元的不利因素，大致平均分配給這兩個部分。除外匯外，與 2022 財年相比，利率上升預計也將帶來約 2000 萬美元的不利影響。外彙和利率上升的總影響預計將成為 2023 財年業績的不利因素每股收益約為 0.65 美元。

Based on these assumptions, we expect adjusted EPS in fiscal year 2023 to be in the range of $6.25 to $6.75, which is up 4% at the midpoint and up 14%, excluding FX and interest headwinds. As we think about the quarterly shape of earnings, the first quarter results are expected to be down year-over-year and accelerate as we move through the year with the expectation that the second half of the fiscal year will deliver higher year-over-year adjusted EPS.

基於這些假設，我們預計 2023 財年調整後的每股收益將在 6.25 美元至 6.75 美元之間，中間值增長 4%，不包括外彙和利率不利因素，增長 14%。當我們考慮季度收益形狀時，預計第一季度業績將同比下降，並隨著今年的推移而加速增長，預計本財年下半年將實現更高的同比增長年度調整後每股收益。

While the near-term macroeconomic uncertainties present a challenge to be managed, our team is focused on long-term growth and realizing the breakout value potential of our portfolio. During Investor Day last December, we launched our Create for Tomorrow strategy, which seeks to leverage our strengths and exposure to compelling macro tailwinds to drive strong growth of earnings and cash flow through 2024. Delivering on our commitments is paramount for this management team. And looking back to Investor Day last year, we are very proud of the progress that we've made so far. Let me first recap the goals and the financial framework that we outlined at Investor Day 2021.

雖然近期宏觀經濟的不確定性帶來了應對挑戰，但我們的團隊專注於長期增長並實現我們投資組合的突破性價值潛力。在去年 12 月的投資者日，我們推出了“為明天創造”戰略，該戰略旨在利用我們的優勢和對令人信服的宏觀順風的敞口，推動到 2024 年的收益和現金流的強勁增長。兌現我們的承諾對這個管理團隊來說至關重要。回顧去年的投資者日，我們為迄今為止取得的進展感到非常自豪。讓我首先回顧一下我們在 2021 年投資者日概述的目標和財務框架。

We expect strong business performance to translate into adjusted earnings per share growth of 8% to 12% compounded annually through 2024. Over the same period, we expect to generate strong discretionary free cash flow in excess of $1 billion, which will be deployed to fund growth projects and high-value applications, including Battery Materials and inkjet, for packaging as well as to return capital to shareholders.

我們預計，到 2024 年，強勁的業務表現將轉化為調整後的每股收益每年復合增長 8% 至 12%。同期，我們預計將產生超過 10 億美元的可支配自由現金流，這些資金將用於資助增長項目和高價值應用，包括電池材料和噴墨，用於包裝以及向股東返還資本。

So far through fiscal year 2022, we are executing very well. Adjusted earnings per share grew 25% year-over-year, and we generated $395 million of discretionary free cash flow in fiscal 2022, putting us in a strong position to achieve our 3-year target of greater than $1 billion.

到目前為止，到 2022 財年，我們執行得非常好。調整後每股收益同比增長 25%，我們在 2022 財年產生了 3.95 億美元的可支配自由現金流，使我們有能力實現超過 10 億美元的 3 年目標。

These results in the year were achieved while making significant investments to support sustained earnings growth in the future. While the macro environment has weakened since Investor Day 1 year ago, we remain confident in the resilience and strength of our portfolio and in achieving the 2024 Investor Day targets.

在取得這些成果的同時，我們還進行了大量投資以支持未來持續的盈利增長。儘管宏觀環境自 1 年前投資者日以來有所減弱，但我們對我們投資組合的韌性和實力以及實現 2024 年投資者日目標充滿信心。

Overall, I'm very pleased with our performance in 2022 and the track we are on to deliver breakout value creation.

總的來說，我對我們在 2022 年的表現以及我們實現突破性價值創造的軌道感到非常滿意。

Thank you very much for joining the call today, and I will now turn it back over for a Q&A session.

非常感謝您今天加入電話會議，我現在將把它轉回去進行問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question coming from the line of David Begleiter with Deutsche Bank.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自德意志銀行的 David Begleiter。

This is Anthony Mercandetti on for David. Can you guys touch on how the '23 tire customer agreements ended up wrapping up? And maybe how much higher pricing will you achieve on your '23 customer agreements?

這是大衛的安東尼梅爾坎德蒂。你們能談談 23 年的輪胎客戶協議是如何結束的嗎？也許您會根據 23 年的客戶協議獲得多高的定價？

Anthony, so a few comments about the tire customer agreements. First of all, I'd say, overall, we're very pleased with the outcome. We achieved price and product mix improvements that we anticipate will produce $35 million per quarter in increased prices. Now this will be netted down a bit by about $15 million to a net of $20 million due to the impact of foreign currency translation that Erica talked about, higher inflation on our cost base, and then lower energy center revenue as gas and electricity prices have come off their peaks in 2022.

安東尼，關於輪胎客戶協議的一些評論。首先，我想說，總的來說，我們對結果非常滿意。我們實現了價格和產品組合的改進，我們預計每季度將產生 3500 萬美元的價格上漲。現在，由於 Erica 談到的外幣換算的影響、我們成本基礎上更高的通貨膨脹，以及天然氣和電力價格上漲導致能源中心收入下降，現在這將減少約 1500 萬美元至淨額 2000 萬美元在 2022 年達到頂峰。

So again, the net benefit expected to be approximately $20 million per quarter. And just a reminder, these are calendar year agreements, so they will step up in our fiscal Q2. And at this point, we have reached agreement with substantially all of our major customers. And as I've commented on in earlier calls, this is definitely earlier than in a typical year. And I think it reflects the desire of our customers to secure supply in a tight market.

同樣，預計每季度的淨收益約為 2000 萬美元。提醒一下，這些是日曆年協議，因此它們將在我們的第二財季加強。在這一點上，我們已經與幾乎所有主要客戶達成協議。正如我在之前的電話會議中所評論的那樣，這肯定比往年要早。我認為這反映了我們的客戶希望在緊張的市場中確保供應。

I think supply security, especially given the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the growing desire for more local or regional supply, I think was the primary motivation for most of our customers this year. And we found many of them were looking for additional volumes from Cabot due to us being a partner of choice. We've built a long record of consistency and reliability. And I think customers were interested in securing agreements with us.

我認為供應安全，特別是考慮到俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭，以及對更多本地或區域供應的日益增長的需求，我認為是我們大多數客戶今年的主要動機。我們發現，由於我們是首選合作夥伴，他們中的許多人都在尋找 Cabot 的額外產品。我們建立了長期的一致性和可靠性記錄。而且我認為客戶有興趣與我們達成協議。

So overall, I would say the outcome of the negotiations with customers has been a very good one for Cabot and for our customers. Our customers have been able to secure reliable sourcing from us in a very uncertain and supply-constrained environment. And we have improved the pricing and the product mix in these contracts. So I think overall, it's a very good outcome. So really, really pleased with it.

所以總的來說，我想說與客戶談判的結果對卡博特和我們的客戶來說都是非常好的。我們的客戶能夠在非常不確定和供應受限的環境中從我們這裡獲得可靠的採購。我們改進了這些合同中的定價和產品組合。所以我認為總的來說，這是一個非常好的結果。真的，真的很高興。

And our next question is coming from the line of Joshua Spector with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團的 Joshua Spector。

This is James Cannon on for Josh. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the volumes you're seeing in specialty blacks and fumed silicas and what we should be thinking about as we look into the next quarter?

這是喬什的詹姆斯坎農。我想知道您是否可以談談您在特種炭黑和氣相二氧化矽中看到的數量，以及我們在展望下一個季度時應該考慮什麼？

Sure, James. So maybe a few comments about Performance Chemicals. But before I do that, I'll, just for completeness, touch on reinforcement as well. So we're definitely expecting that reinforcement volumes will be moving in line with market. And generally, this market is quite resilient because of the replacement -- the high replacement tire nature of this business.

當然，詹姆斯。所以也許有一些關於 Performance Chemicals 的評論。但在我這樣做之前，為了完整起見，我也會談談強化。因此，我們絕對預計增援量將與市場同步。總的來說，由於更換輪胎，這個市場非常有彈性——這項業務的輪胎更換率很高。

But in Performance Chemicals, a few things. First and foremost, I'll try to break it out into some categories that are relevant for you. I think in terms of batteries and inkjet, the high-growth vectors in the company, we're definitely expecting volume growth in 2023. Now moving outside of those high-growth vectors, I think there is a good amount of uncertainty out there in our Specialty Carbons and FMO end markets. And I think this is -- given the longer value chains in this segment and the fact that we are seeing some demand softness and some destocking, particularly in this quarter, so that's impacting carbons and few metal oxides.

但在 Performance Chemicals 中，有幾件事。首先，我會嘗試將其分為與您相關的一些類別。我認為就公司的高增長載體電池和噴墨而言，我們肯定預計 2023 年銷量會增長。現在拋開這些高增長載體，我認為存在很大的不確定性我們的特種碳和 FMO 終端市場。我認為這是——鑑於這一領域的價值鏈較長，以及我們看到一些需求疲軟和一些去庫存的事實，特別是在本季度，所以這會影響碳和少量金屬氧化物。

And so our view, as we sit here today and think about the year, is we'll see a weakness and some fairly pronounced destocking in our fiscal Q1, which is the December quarter, and then some modest improvement as we transition into Q2 with then a return to a more normalized volume level in the back half of the year. So that's the shape that we expect to see. And again, I think that shape is fairly consistent with what other chemical players that participate in these sort of plastics and polymer chains like carbons and FMO does. I think that's fairly consistent with what people are expecting. But that's our best view at this point, James, and how -- in terms of how the year will evolve.

因此，當我們今天坐在這裡思考這一年時，我們的觀點是，我們將在我們的第一財季（即 12 月季度）看到疲軟和一些相當明顯的去庫存，然後隨著我們過渡到第二季度而出現一些適度改善然後在今年下半年恢復到更正常的交易量水平。這就是我們期望看到的形狀。再一次，我認為這種形狀與其他參與此類塑料和聚合物鏈（如碳和 FMO）的化學參與者的形狀相當一致。我認為這與人們的預期相當一致。但這是我們目前最好的觀點，詹姆斯，以及如何 - 就今年將如何演變而言。

Great. And if I could just follow up with that. If you're assuming kind of a return to normal in the back half, would you say Performance EBIT could be up on a year-over-year basis in full year?

偉大的。如果我能跟進的話。如果你假設下半年會恢復正常，你會說全年的業績息稅前利潤可能會同比增長嗎？

So we're expecting Performance on a full year basis will be flat to down, again, on a full year basis with a weaker first half and a stronger second half. But I would say the second half results would expect to be up on a year-over-year basis. So it's more a question of the shape. And again, our fiscal year picks up this December quarter, which, of course, most chemical companies are expecting to be the weakest. But to get to your question, I think the answer would be yes, that would be our expectation.

因此，我們預計全年業績將再次持平或下降，上半年表現較弱，下半年表現強勁。但我會說下半年的業績預計會同比增長。所以更多的是形狀的問題。再一次，我們的財政年度在這個 12 月的季度有所回升，當然，大多數化工公司預計這將是最疲軟的。但是對於你的問題，我認為答案是肯定的，這是我們的期望。

And our next question coming from the line up Jeff Zekauskas with JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的 Jeff Zekauskas。

Is there any price pressure in Specialty Carbon Blacks?

特種炭黑是否存在價格壓力？

Prices and margins are holding up pretty well here, Jeff. So I think it's more of a near-term demand challenge as destocking occurs. And then as we take inventories down, then we have sort of the underutilization issue that we have to work through. But overall, pricing and unit margins -- unit variable margins are holding up pretty well. And where you might normally see some pressure might be on the lower end of Specialty Carbons, and I think there is a floor to that given where Rubber Black's unit margins are and the ability to trade across if that opportunity is better. So that's sort of how we think about it.

傑夫，這裡的價格和利潤率都保持得很好。因此，我認為隨著去庫存的發生，這更像是一個近期的需求挑戰。然後當我們減少庫存時，我們就會遇到一些我們必須解決的未充分利用的問題。但總的來說，定價和單位利潤率——單位可變利潤率保持得很好。你通常會看到一些壓力可能在特種碳的低端，我認為考慮到 Rubber Black 的單位利潤率以及如果機會更好的話可以進行交易的能力，這是有底線的。這就是我們的想法。

In Reinforcement Materials, why is it that you're not expecting a destock by the tire companies? And that usually in economically weak periods, demand in the reinforcement markets is pretty sharply negative. And can you talk about current demand trends and reinforcement in China and maybe prices in China as well?

在增強材料方面，您為什麼不期望輪胎公司去庫存？而且通常在經濟疲軟時期，強化市場的需求非常嚴重。您能否談談中國當前的需求趨勢和強化以及中國的價格？

Yes. So I guess a couple of things on reinforcement. As you know, Jeff, I think over the long term, what you typically find is that the demand is pretty resilient through economic cycles and because of the high replacement tire market and the link to miles driven. And so typically, you don't see significant impacts. And I think the other thing that's playing out right now is that the OE part of the market actually has some momentum up. So I think this is because there's still quite a bit of pent-up demand in the OE channel, because of chip shortages and supply chain issues and the like over the last year or two.

是的。所以我猜想有幾件事是關於加固的。正如你所知，傑夫，我認為從長遠來看，你通常會發現需求在整個經濟周期中具有相當大的彈性，而且由於更換輪胎市場高以及與行駛里程的聯繫。所以通常情況下，您看不到重大影響。而且我認為現在正在發生的另一件事是市場的 OE 部分實際上有一些上升勢頭。所以我認為這是因為在過去一兩年中，由於芯片短缺和供應鏈問題等原因，OE 渠道仍有相當多的被壓抑的需求。

And so IHS is forecasting that OE will be up. So I think there are some factors that are a little bit different, while the macroeconomic environment in the near term is certainly a bit weaker, OE is more supportive and the replacement tire market is quite resilient. And I think customers too have not built as much inventory in this space as maybe it would be typical just because of supply challenges over the last year or so. And so I think that along with sort of what we're seeing and hearing from our customers would say that we expect the demand in this business to remain pretty resilient.

因此 IHS 預測 OE 將會上升。所以我認為有一些因素有點不同，而近期的宏觀經濟環境肯定有點疲軟，OE 更具支持性，替換輪胎市場相當有彈性。而且我認為客戶也沒有在這個領域建立盡可能多的庫存，因為過去一年左右的供應挑戰可能是典型的。因此，我認為，連同我們從客戶那裡看到和聽到的一些信息，我們預計該業務的需求將保持相當有彈性。

Jeff, you had another question on it?

傑夫，你還有其他問題嗎？

Can you comment on China?

你能評論一下中國嗎？

Yes, sure. So China definitely is experiencing a bit of a weaker macroeconomic environment, for sure. Our volumes in China are holding up pretty well as well as unit margins here. I think that's principally because coal tar prices are still very, very high relative to global fuel oil prices. And so I think the -- there's an upward sort of bias on pricing, because of that that's holding unit margins in a pretty good spot.

是的，當然。因此，中國肯定正在經歷一些微弱的宏觀經濟環境，這是肯定的。我們在中國的銷量和單位利潤率都保持得很好。我認為這主要是因為煤焦油價格相對於全球燃料油價格仍然非常非常高。所以我認為 - 定價存在向上偏差，因為這將單位利潤率保持在一個很好的位置。

But China overall is definitely a bit weaker right now. And we would expect that, that would, that would improve as we move through the fiscal year and as they take some policy actions to try to rebalance a bit their COVID management versus economic growth. But overall, China is pretty steady for us.

但中國現在整體上肯定是弱了一點。我們預計，隨著本財年的推進，以及他們採取一些政策行動，試圖重新平衡他們的 COVID 管理與經濟增長，情況會有所改善。但總的來說，中國對我們來說相當穩定。

Maybe lastly for Erica. I think the working capital used this year was about $430 million. Maybe last year, it was $220 million. What's the working capital change look like for fiscal 2023? And is there anything you can do to generate more cash?

也許最後是為了埃里卡。我認為今年使用的營運資金約為 4.3 億美元。也許去年是 2.2 億美元。 2023 財年的營運資金變化情況如何？你能做些什麼來產生更多的現金嗎？

Sure. So I think the main driver of the last 2 years, Jeff, has been the rising cost of inputs. And so that, as you know, translates into higher inventory values as well as in the pricing as we pass through the cost. Plus, of course, we've had additional price increases going through to expand margin. So those have been the major drivers. As we look at 2023, the view is that these input costs are moderating and as the forward curve would tell you, they would be going down as we move through the year. In which case, then you would see working capital change direction potentially, depending on the level of increase in source of cash come out of that as it declines. If it remained flat, again, then the only working capital you would need would be growth-related working capital.

當然。因此，傑夫，我認為過去兩年的主要驅動力是投入成本的上升。因此，正如您所知，轉化為更高的庫存價值以及我們通過成本的定價。另外，當然，我們已經通過額外的價格上漲來擴大利潤率。所以這些是主要的驅動因素。當我們展望 2023 年時，人們認為這些投入成本正在放緩，正如遠期曲線會告訴你的那樣，隨著我們度過這一年，它們將會下降。在這種情況下，您會看到營運資本可能會改變方向，這取決於現金來源的增加水平隨著它的下降而產生。如果它再次保持平穩，那麼您唯一需要的營運資金就是與增長相關的營運資金。

So our expectation is we would not see such a large use of cash from working capital, and that the operating cash flow then would be quite a bit stronger than what we've seen over the last year for 2023.

因此，我們的預期是，我們不會看到如此大量的營運資金現金使用，到 2023 年，運營現金流將比我們去年看到的要強得多。

Jeff, and the only other thing I might add to that. An important part of our overall negotiations this year with our tire customers was also to address payment terms and terms around inventory. And I think we made really good progress there. So to your point about what additional levers do we have, we are making good progress on those. So as Erica said, if feedstock based on the forward curve moderates, then that would be an inflow of cash from working capital and then our efforts on payment terms will help as well, but very much depends if that forward curve plays out.

傑夫，還有我可能要補充的唯一一件事。我們今年與輪胎客戶進行的全面談判的一個重要部分也是解決付款條款和庫存條款。我認為我們在那裡取得了非常好的進展。因此，對於您關於我們有哪些額外槓桿的觀點，我們在這些方面取得了良好進展。正如 Erica 所說，如果基於遠期曲線的原料放緩，那麼這將是營運資金的現金流入，然後我們在付款條件方面的努力也會有所幫助，但這在很大程度上取決於遠期曲線是否發揮作用。

(Operator Instructions) And our next question coming from the line of Laurence Alexander with Jefferies.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Laurence Alexander。

Given the price increases in reinforcement blacks, can you characterize where you are relative to reinvestment levels?

考慮到強化炭黑的價格上漲，你能描述你相對於再投資水平的位置嗎？

Sure. Laurence, so we are in a really strong position here, where despite the rising investments to support sustainability for our customers, the pricing levels that the team has been able to realize put our business in a strong place in terms of returns. So we're in a very strong position with respect to returns on invested capital in this business and clearly at a reinvestment level in the business.

當然。勞倫斯，所以我們在這方面處於非常有利的地位，儘管為支持我們客戶的可持續發展而進行的投資不斷增加，但團隊能夠實現的定價水平使我們的業務在回報方面處於有利地位。因此，我們在該業務的投資資本回報率方面處於非常有利的地位，並且顯然處於該業務的再投資水平。

Speaking of decarbonization, can you give an update on your thoughts around how methane pyrolysis could affect the carbon black industry's supply-demand balance? And any thoughts on how you could use some of the coproducts from that as feedstock for your capacity?

談到脫碳，您能否就甲烷熱解如何影響炭黑行業的供需平衡給出最新的想法？關於如何將其中的一些副產品用作產能的原料有什麼想法嗎？

Yes, sure. So looking at new technologies and always being aware of threats around substitutes is something that we look at, both from an offensive and defensive play here. And we've been studying this one actively for quite some time. And I think there are clearly some product performance challenges as we understand it in terms of getting the product to perform in an application in the tire industry, in particular. That I think if it develops, will certainly take some time and there's a massive scale mismatch here. That means that the furnace black route to making carbon black for tires is far and away the best way.

是的，當然。因此，我們關注新技術並始終意識到替代品周圍的威脅，無論是從進攻還是防守的角度來看。我們已經積極研究了很長一段時間。而且我認為，就讓產品在輪胎行業的應用程序中執行而言，我們理解顯然存在一些產品性能挑戰。我認為如果它發展起來，肯定需要一些時間，而且這裡存在大規模的不匹配。這意味著製造輪胎炭黑的爐法碳黑無疑是最好的方法。

And ultimately, I believe, the most sustainable way because I think in the future, things like carbon capture on a furnace black plant will probably be the most economic way to meet quality and scale requirements for customers here. But that's something that will play out over a very long period of time. The tire industry is pretty sensitive to changes in inputs in terms of performance and safety.

最終，我相信，最可持續的方式，因為我認為在未來，像爐黑工廠的碳捕獲這樣的事情可能是滿足這裡客戶質量和規模要求的最經濟的方式。但這是會在很長一段時間內發揮作用的事情。輪胎行業對性能和安全性投入的變化非常敏感。

And so I think that's a quite long term.

所以我認為這是一個相當長的期限。

I think the other thing as we assess the hydrogen markets, I think in the long run, what you're going to see is that most of the hydrogen investment is going to the water electrolysis route and because of its environmental friendly nature. So as hydrogen grows, we see most of it going that way, where there isn't actually a carbon byproduct.

我認為，在我們評估氫市場時，我認為從長遠來看，你會看到的另一件事是，大部分氫投資將用於水電解路線，因為它對環境友好。因此，隨著氫氣的增長，我們看到大部分氫氣以這種方式發展，實際上並沒有碳副產品。

But if there are some carbon outputs from such a process, then we would look to evaluate that as a potential input, particularly for markets like our Specialty compounds business where we look to develop sustainability options for our plastics customers. And we'll use recycled polymer and may look at other carbon byproducts from this route as a potential source for developing a sustainable product.

但是，如果這種過程產生一些碳輸出，那麼我們會將其評估為一種潛在的輸入，特別是對於我們的特種化合物業務這樣的市場，我們希望在這些市場為我們的塑料客戶開發可持續發展的選擇。我們將使用回收聚合物，並可能將這條路線的其他碳副產品視為開發可持續產品的潛在來源。

And then I just had to ask, given you mentioned that carbon sequestration might be a long ways off. Do you think you could be doing at least 1 such project before 2030, given the incentives in the U.S.?

然後我不得不問，鑑於你提到碳封存可能還有很長的路要走。考慮到美國的激勵措施，您認為您可以在 2030 年之前至少開展 1 個這樣的項目嗎？

Yes. So certainly, carbon capture is something that I would say is still in demonstration phase with certain industries, but it is one that we think will likely feature prominently in the long wavelength of decarbonization for the chemical industry. I think some of the chemical peers have been fairly public about this, Dow and some others, I think, about the role there.

是的。因此，當然，我想說的是，碳捕獲仍處於某些行業的示範階段，但我們認為它可能會在化學工業的長期脫碳過程中佔據突出地位。我認為一些化學同行已經相當公開了這一點，陶氏和其他一些人，我認為，關於那裡的角色。

So it is something that if you think about delivering a decarbonized product for a tire customer, the tire industry needs, I don't know, 15 million tons of carbon black a year in all parts of the world. And so to build scale in an alternative process is a really, really difficult thing to do and the most, probably likely an economic way to decarbonize the furnace route would be through some sort of a carbon capture unit.

因此，如果您考慮為輪胎客戶提供脫碳產品，我不知道輪胎行業每年在世界各地需要 1500 萬噸炭黑。因此，在替代工藝中擴大規模是一件非常非常困難的事情，而且最有可能使熔爐路線脫碳的經濟方式是通過某種碳捕獲裝置。

Now that would require collaboration with a range of industry players in order to do that. And it's certainly something that we will be evaluating as we progress towards 2030 to try to think about a demonstration type of a unit and to try to see if we can take advantage of incentives that would be out there to do such a thing.

現在，這需要與一系列行業參與者合作才能做到這一點。隨著我們邁向 2030 年，我們肯定會評估這一點，以嘗試考慮一種示範類型的裝置，並嘗試看看我們是否可以利用現有的激勵措施來做這樣的事情。

Our next question coming from the line of Chris Kapsch with Loop Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 Chris Kapsch 與 Loop Capital 的合作。

So I have a follow-up on the Reinforcement Materials business and the outcome of the annual supply agreements that you talked about. So in your formal remarks, you mentioned good pricing outcome but stable volumes, I think the term was. And so that's juxtaposed against the European market that seems extremely motivated to secure additional sources of carbon black supply as they phase out their dependence on Russian suppliers. So curious if you're simply sold out in that region?

因此，我對增強材料業務以及您談到的年度供應協議的結果進行了跟進。因此，在您的正式發言中，您提到了良好的定價結果但數量穩定，我認為這個詞是。因此，這與歐洲市場並列，歐洲市場似乎非常有動力確保額外的炭黑供應來源，因為他們逐步擺脫了對俄羅斯供應商的依賴。很好奇你是否只是在那個地區賣光了？

And I'm asking because in a response to another question on specialties, you mentioned the ability of carbon black producers to, I think you said, trade across some segments. I think you're implying the deployment of reactors that are currently devoted to Specialty products could be used for producing reinforcement grades of Carbon Black. So just wondering if you elected not to make this trade or if this is a potential source of upside for the volumes that are spelled out in the annual contracts as you see them today.

我問是因為在回答另一個關於專業的問題時，你提到了炭黑生產商的能力，我想你說過，在某些領域進行貿易。我認為您的意思是，目前專用於特殊產品的反應器的部署可用於生產增強等級的炭黑。所以只是想知道您是否選擇不進行此交易，或者這是否是您今天看到的年度合同中詳細說明的交易量的潛在上漲來源。

Yes. Chris, so I think a couple of things. First, our outlook, our expectation assumes that our Reinforcement business moves in line with the market. And I think if you look at LMC, which is the forecast that we rely on here for expected tire production. If you look at the fiscal year '23, so if you take their '23 forecast and fiscalize it for our fiscal year, it implies sort of flattish to maybe a little less than 1% production growth. So that's what's sort of serving as the base for the expectation that we said in their prepared remarks and why we see it moving in line with market.

是的。克里斯，所以我想了幾件事。首先，我們的展望，我們的預期假設我們的加固業務與市場同步。我想如果你看看 LMC，這是我們在這裡依賴的預期輪胎產量預測。如果你看一下 23 財年，那麼如果你採用他們的 23 財年預測並將其財政化，這意味著產量增長可能略低於 1%。因此，這就是我們在他們準備好的發言中所說的預期的基礎，以及我們認為它與市場保持一致的原因。

Now to your question on capacity and movements between Reinforcement and Specialty Carbons, that's definitely something that we will be dynamic and we'll look at as we progress through the year. Specifically to your question on Europe, as you might recall, the network has been very tight. Utilizations have been very high for some time now. So there was not any material additional capacity they are beyond supporting the base growth expectations for customers.

現在關於強化和特種碳之間的能力和運動的問題，這絕對是我們將動態的事情，我們將在今年的進展中進行研究。具體到你關於歐洲的問題，你可能還記得，網絡一直非常緊張。一段時間以來，利用率一直很高。因此，除了支持客戶的基本增長預期之外，他們沒有任何實質性的額外產能。

But if we are seeing weakness in the lower end of Specialty Carbons in the course of the year, then there is that opportunity to certainly to trade across, and we continue to get requests from customers for additional volumes in Reinforcement, because supply is tight and these uncertainties remain. So I would characterize it as an upside, but hopefully, that gives you a sense for sort of the base case and how we arrived there.

但是，如果我們在這一年中看到低端特種碳的疲軟，那麼肯定有機會進行交易，我們繼續收到客戶的要求，要求增加增強材料的數量，因為供應緊張且這些不確定因素依然存在。所以我會把它描述為一個好處，但希望這能讓你了解基本情況以及我們是如何到達那裡的。

Okay. And is there any way to quantify what that potential, just -- I don't know, [swing] capacity might represent if, in fact, specialties were, because of the macro, because of the economy in Europe specifically, how much of that swing capacity might represent in terms of potential to serve these European customers?

好的。有沒有辦法量化這種潛力，只是 - 我不知道，[擺動] 能力可能代表，事實上，由於宏觀，特別是由於歐洲經濟，專業有多少周轉能力可能代表服務這些歐洲客戶的潛力？

Difficult to quantify, Chris, because it first starts with what sort of demand do we see in Specialty Carbons and then it depends which reactors that's on and which of those would naturally fit better to serve and pivot to Reinforcement. So you sort of end up in this kind of very layered assumption analysis. And so it's difficult to give any kind of a rule of thumb.

克里斯，很難量化，因為它首先從我們在特種碳中看到什麼樣的需求開始，然後取決於正在使用的反應器以及其中哪些自然更適合服務並轉向強化。所以你最終會進入這種非常分層的假設分析。因此很難給出任何類型的經驗法則。

But I think what's important to understand is that we're very dynamic in our management here of the business. I think we've proven that over the last several years. And so as those opportunities emerge, then we will certainly move quickly to take advantage of them. So tough to give a rule of thumb here.

但我認為重要的是要了解我們在這裡的業務管理非常有活力。我認為我們在過去幾年中已經證明了這一點。因此，當這些機會出現時，我們肯定會迅速採取行動來利用它們。很難在這裡給出經驗法則。

Fair enough. And then 1 last one. So when we traveled recently, Sean, in meetings, you were talking about how some of the carbon black producers in China were shipping -- exporting to Europe because, reflecting just how, I don't know if desperate is the word, but how motivated customers there were to get additional sources. And it was at the time, just with the shipping rates and challenges of shipping light fluffy carbon black and given the high crude coal tar feedstock costs in China, which you mentioned in this call, it just seemed highly uneconomic.

很公平。然後是最後一個。所以當我們最近旅行時，肖恩，在會議上，你談到了中國的一些炭黑生產商如何運輸——出口到歐洲，因為，反映出如何，我不知道這個詞是否絕望，但如何積極的客戶在那裡獲得額外的來源。當時，僅考慮到運輸輕質蓬鬆炭黑的運費和挑戰，以及您在本次電話會議中提到的中國高原煤焦油原料成本，這似乎非常不經濟。

I'm curious if that -- how that dynamic has been playing out lately, and if that is at all influencing the regional market in China?

我很好奇，最近這種動態如何發揮作用，是否對中國的區域市場產生了影響？

Yes. So I think you've summarized it pretty well there, Chris. So the dynamic in Europe is very tight, given the Russia supply situation and customers placing a real emphasis on supply security. Now that has led to an increase in Chinese imports into Europe, but those are coming in at a pretty high prices. Because Chinese coal tar has not declined, even though global fuel oil has. And so there's a pretty significant, I would call it a kind of a negative orb right now between Chinese coal tar and U.S. Gulf Coast feedstock, which makes it not uneconomic to move the product into Europe, but it just means it's coming in at the highest price.

是的。所以我認為你已經很好地總結了它，克里斯。因此，考慮到俄羅斯的供應情況和客戶真正重視供應安全，歐洲的動態非常緊張。現在這導致中國對歐洲的進口增加，但這些產品的價格相當高。因為中國煤焦油沒有下降，儘管全球燃料油下降了。因此，現在中國煤焦油和美國墨西哥灣沿岸原料之間存在一個非常重要的問題，我稱之為負值，這使得將產品轉移到歐洲並非不划算，但這只是意味著它正在進入最高價。

So basically, you're moving in product that's at the right-hand side of the global supply curve, not the left-hand side. So it's, I think, a factor in the more supportive pricing environment. So I think you've got it well understood. And with respect to China, again, our business in China is holding up pretty well. Certainly, as some of this product moves out of China, that provides a little more support in China for pricing. And that's, I think, one of the reasons why despite a weak economic environment there, things are holding up fairly well for our business.

所以基本上，你正在轉移全球供應曲線右側而不是左側的產品。因此，我認為這是更具支持性的定價環境的一個因素。所以我認為你已經很好地理解了它。就中國而言，我們在中國的業務同樣表現良好。當然，隨著部分產品離開中國，這在中國為定價提供了更多支持。我認為，這就是為什麼儘管那裡的經濟環境疲軟，但我們的業務仍然表現良好的原因之一。

So it tends to be a modest supportive dynamic in China because the carbon black that does move out, has to be carbon black that is of the quality to support the global tire makers. And so those are typically the people we compete against in China. And so that would be a modest supportive dynamic in China.

因此，它在中國往往是一種適度的支持動力，因為確實轉移出去的炭黑必須是質量能夠支持全球輪胎製造商的炭黑。因此，這些通常是我們在中國與之競爭的人。因此，這在中國將是一種適度的支持動力。

Thank you. And I am showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call back over to Sean Keohane for any closing remarks.

謝謝你。我現在沒有進一步提問。我現在想將電話轉回 Sean Keohane 以聽取任何結束語。

Great. Well, thank you very much for joining the call today and for your continued support of Cabot, and we look forward to speaking again next quarter. Thank you.

偉大的。好吧，非常感謝您今天加入電話會議以及您對卡博特的持續支持，我們期待下個季度再次發言。謝謝你。

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude the conference for today. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect. Good day.

女士們，先生們，今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連接。再會。