Cabot Corp (CBT) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Cabot's third quarter 2024 earnings conference call.(operator instructions) Please note that today's conference is being recorded.

再會。謝謝你的支持。歡迎參加卡博特 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。

I will now hand the conference over to your speaker host Steve Delahunt, Vice President, Treasure and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在將會議交給演講主持人、財務和投資者關係副總裁史蒂夫·德拉亨特 (Steve Delahunt)。請繼續。

Thanks, Olivia, and good morning. I'd like to welcome you to the Cabot Corporation earnings teleconference. With me today are Sean Keohane, CEO and President; and Erica McLaughlin, Executive Vice President and CFO.

謝謝，奧利維亞，早安。歡迎您參加卡博特公司的收益電話會議。今天與我在一起的有執行長兼總裁 Sean Keohane；以及執行副總裁兼財務長 Erica McLaughlin。

Last night, we released results for our third quarter of fiscal year 2024, copies of which are posted in the Investor Relations section of our website. The slide deck that accompanies this call is also available on the Investor Relations portion of our website and will be available in conjunction with the replay of the call.

昨晚，我們發布了 2024 財年第三季的業績，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網站的投資者關係部分獲取，並將與電話會議重播一起提供。

During this conference call, we will make forward-looking statements about our expected future operational and financial performance. Each forward-looking statements 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 in the press release we issued last night in our 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023, in subsequent filings we make with the SEC, all of which are available on the company's website.

在本次電話會議期間，我們將就我們預期的未來營運和財務表現做出前瞻性聲明。每項前瞻性陳述都存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與此類陳述中的預測有重大差異。有關這些因素的更多資​​訊出現在我們昨晚在截至2023 年9 月30 日的財年10-K 中發布的新聞稿中，以及我們向SEC 提交的後續文件中，所有這些都可以在公司網站上找到。

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 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.

為了提高我們經營績效的透明度，我們參考了某些涉及對 GAAP 結果進行調整的非 GAAP 財務指標。本次電話會議中引用的任何非公認會計原則財務指標均與我們昨晚發布的收益報告末尾的表格中最直接可比較的公認會計原則財務指標進行了調整，該表格可在我們網站的投資者部分找到。

I will now turn the call over to Sean, who will discuss the third quarter highlights, followed by our progress in the area of sustainability in the company's recent cash flow performance. Eric, who will review the third quarter financial highlights and the business segment results. Following this, Sean will provide a strategic summary and closing comments and open the floor to questions. Sean?

我現在將電話轉給肖恩，他將討論第三季度的亮點，然後討論我們在公司近期現金流表現的可持續發展領域取得的進展。艾瑞克（Eric）將回顧第三季的財務亮點和業務部門的表現。隨後，肖恩將提供策略總結和結束語，並開始提問。肖恩？

Thank you, Steve. And good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our call today. I'm very pleased with our performance in the third quarter as adjusted earnings per share was up 35% to $1.92 compared to the same period in fiscal 2023. This level of performance reflects the continued strength of the Reinforcement Materials segment and a recovery to more normalized volume levels in the Performance Chemicals Segment after the destocking that took place last year.

謝謝你，史蒂夫。早安，女士們先生們，歡迎今天致電我們。我對我們第三季的業績感到非常滿意，因為與 2023 財年同期相比，調整後每股收益增長了 35%，達到 1.92 美元。去庫存後，高性能化學品部門的銷售量恢復正常。

EBIT in Reinforcement Materials grew 3% year-over-year to $136 million, marking the second best quarter in history. This result was achieved despite some weather related events in Mexico and Brazil that impacted volumes in the quarter and a less favorable regional mix.

增強材料業務的息稅前利潤年增 3%，達到 1.36 億美元，創下史上第二好的季度業績。儘管墨西哥和巴西發生了一些與天氣相關的事件，影響了本季的銷量，而且區域組合也不太有利，但仍取得了這一成果。

In the Performance Chemicals segment, EBIT increased 72% year -over-year, driven by strong volume growth and a return to a more normalized product mix. It is encouraging to see that demand in strategic high-value applications such as automotive and semiconductors, rebounded to more normalized levels and reconnected to underlying demand after a very prolonged destocking cycle.

在高性能化學品領域，由於銷售強勁成長和產品組合回歸更加正常化，息稅前利潤較去年同期成長 72%。令人鼓舞的是，汽車和半導體等策略性高價值應用的需求在經歷了很長的去庫存週期後反彈至更正常化的水平，並重新與潛在需求掛鉤。

Furthermore, our products targeted to strategic infrastructure applications continue to build momentum. Cash flow generation remained strong in Q3 with operating cash flow of $207 million. We returned $73 million of cash to shareholders in the third quarter of 2024, through a combination of share repurchases and dividends, consistent with our balanced approach to capital allocation.

此外，我們針對戰略基礎設施應用的產品持續保持強勁勢頭。第三季現金流量維持強勁，營運現金流量為 2.07 億美元。我們透過股票回購和股利結合的方式，在 2024 年第三季向股東返還了 7,300 萬美元現金，這與我們平衡的資本配置方法是一致的。

And finally, we are proud to have earned the top rating of platinum from excavators for the fourth consecutive year, reflecting our continued leadership in sustainability. At Cabot, sustainability is embedded in all that we do, beginning with our purpose of creating materials that improve daily life and enable a more sustainable future.

最後，我們很自豪連續第四年獲得挖土機白金最高評級，這反映了我們在永續發展方面的持續領先地位。在卡博特，永續發展融入我們所做的一切之中，首先我們的目標是創造能夠改善日常生活並實現更永續的未來的材料。

Our customers continue to seek more sustainable and circular solutions, and they want to align with suppliers that report goals and progress in a transparent way. To this end, in June, we published our 2024 sustainability report, highlighting our recent performance and advancements toward our 2025 sustainability goals, as well as our vision for enabling a more sustainable world.

我們的客戶不斷尋求更永續和循環的解決方案，他們希望與以透明方式報告目標和進度的供應商保持一致。為此，我們在 6 月發布了 2024 年永續發展報告，重點介紹了我們最近的績效和實現 2025 年永續發展目標的進展，以及我們打造更永續世界的願景。

We continue to make significant progress in advancing our sustainability agenda and have achieved nine of our 2025 sustainability goals ahead of schedule. Among these achievements is our target to export 200% of the energy that we import. This accomplishment exemplifies our commitment to circularity by utilizing waste energy in our manufacturing process to produce co-generation power, which is CO2-free.

我們在推動永續發展議程方面繼續取得重大進展，並提前實現了 2025 年永續發展目標中的九項。這些成就之一是我們的目標是出口 200% 的進口能源。這項成就體現了我們對循環利用的承諾，即在製造過程中利用廢能來生產不含二氧化碳的熱電聯產電力。

Cabot has long been a leader in sustainability and has been recognized by numerous external parties for our performance. Fiscal year 2024 marks another significant year of progress in our sustainability journey as evidenced by our Platinum rating from EcoVadis.

卡博特長期以來一直是永續發展領域的領導者，我們的表現得到了許多外部各方的認可。 2024 財年標誌著我們在永續發展之旅中又取得了重要進展，EcoVadis 的白金評級證明了這一點。

EcoVadis is one of the world's leading sustainability ratings platforms and one that many of our customers rely upon to evaluate their supply chains. Their platinum rating acknowledges Cabot's environmental, social and governance efforts in places us among the top 1% of companies assessed by EcoVadis.

EcoVadis 是全球領先的永續發展評級平台之一，我們的許多客戶都依賴該平台來評估其供應鏈。他們的白金評級認可了卡博特在環境、社會和治理方面所做的努力，使我們躋身 EcoVadis 評估的前 1% 的公司之列。

In the third quarter, we also announced that we attained operation clean sweep certification in Europe at our two masterbatche and compounding facilities in Belgium. We are one of the first black masterbatche manufacturers in Europe to earn this third party certification.

第三季度，我們也宣布我們位於比利時的兩個母粒和混煉工廠在歐洲獲得了營運清潔認證。我們是歐洲首批獲得此第三方認證的黑色母粒製造商之一。

Since 2019, Cabot has pledged its support for Operation Clean Sweep, having launched comprehensive plans to implement these protocols at our operations. Achieving certification at these facilities is a continuation of these efforts and further testament to our commitment to responsible management practices that reduce plastic waste in the environment.

自 2019 年以來，卡博特承諾支持「一網打盡」行動，並啟動了全面計劃，在我們的營運中實施這些協議。在這些設施中獲得認證是這些努力的延續，並進一步證明了我們致力於減少環境中塑膠廢物的負責任的管理實踐。

Finally, we also continue to progress our revolve sustainable solutions portfolio with the launch of our new REPLASBLAK universal circular black masterbatches powered by EVOLVE Sustainable Solutions. This launch introduced two new products, which are the industry's first ever universal circular black masterbatches with international sustainability and carbon certification or ISCC plus certified content. These solutions offer customers, an ISCC PLUS certified single masterbatche for use in a wide range of automotive applications for coloring polyolefins and many engineering plastics.

最後，我們還推出了由 EVOLVE 永續解決方案提供支援的新型 REPLASBLAK 通用圓形黑色母粒，繼續推進我們的 revolve 永續解決方案組合。此次發布推出了兩款新產品，它們是業界首款具有國際永續發展和碳認證或 ISCC plus 認證內容的通用圓形黑色母粒。這些解決方案為客戶提供了 ISCC PLUS 認證的單一母粒，可用於各種汽車應用中的聚烯烴和許多工程塑膠的著色。

Generating strong levels of discretionary free cash flow has been a strategic objective for this management team dating back to 2016. The Cabot portfolio exhibits strong cash flow characteristics, and we bring a disciplined approach to execution to ensure robust cash flow levels. Over time through disciplined execution of our strategy, we have increased our level of discretionary free cash flow from an average of $244 million per year, from 2016 through 2019 to a level of approximately $370 million per year, from 2021 through 2023.

自2016 年以來，產生強勁的可自由支配的自由現金流一直是該管理團隊的戰略目標。水平。隨著時間的推移，透過嚴格執行我們的策略，我們的可自由支配自由現金流水準從 2016 年至 2019 年的平均每年 2.44 億美元增加到 2021 年至 2023 年的每年約 3.7 億美元。

In fiscal year 2024, we are on track to deliver a new higher level of discretionary free cash flow and to achieve our 2021 Investor Day target to generate cumulative discretionary free cash flow of greater than $1 billion between fiscal year 2022 and 2024.

在 2024 財年，我們預計將實現更高水準的可自由支配自由現金流，並實現 2021 年投資者日目標，即在 2022 年至 2024 財年期間累計可自由支配自由現金流超過 10 億美元。

This level of cash generation supports our balanced capital allocation framework, which has remained consistent. We will prioritize high confidence, high return growth investments where we feel we have a right to win and that we believe will grow the long-term earnings of the company.

這種水準的現金產生支持了我們的平衡資本配置框架，該框架一直保持一致。我們將優先考慮高信心、高回報的成長投資，我們認為我們有權利獲勝，我們相信這將增加公司的長期收益。

These investments would include organic growth projects as well as potential bolt-on acquisitions that support our strategy. We expect to maintain an industry competitive and growing dividend, and we continue to expect to opportunistically repurchase shares.

這些投資將包括有機成長項目以及支持我們策略的潛在補充收購。我們期望保持行業競爭力和不斷增長的股息，並且我們繼續期望機會性地回購股票。

We believe we can do all of this while maintaining our investment grade credit rating. The strength of our cash flow generation and disciplined capital allocation are fundamental to the strong Cabot investment thesis and a priority for this management team.

我們相信我們可以在保持投資等級信用評級的同時做到這一切。我們強大的現金流量產生能力和嚴格的資本配置是卡博特強而有力的投資理念的基礎，也是該管理團隊的首要任務。

I will now turn the call over to Erica to discuss the financial and performance results for the quarter in more detail. Erica.

我現在將把電話轉給埃麗卡，更詳細地討論本季的財務和業績結果。艾麗卡。

Thanks, John. I will start with discussing results for the company and then review the segment results.

謝謝，約翰。我將從討論公司的表現開始，然後審查分部績效。

We reported adjusted EPS of $1.92 in the third quarter of fiscal 2024, up 35% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2023, with growth coming from both the Reinforcement Materials and Performance Chemicals segments. Cash flow from operations was strong at $207 million in the quarter, which included a working capital decrease of $43 million. Discretionary free cash flow was $128 million in the third quarter.

我們報告 2024 財年第三季調整後每股收益為 1.92 美元，比 2023 財年第三季成長 35%，成長來自增強材料和高性能化學品領域。本季營運現金流強勁，達 2.07 億美元，其中營運資本減少 4,300 萬美元。第三季可自由支配的自由現金流為 1.28 億美元。

We ended the quarter with a cash balance of $197 million, and our liquidity position remains strong at approximately $1.4 billion. Capital expenditures for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 were $52 million, and we expect $220 million to $240 million of capital spending for the fiscal year.

本季末，我們的現金餘額為 1.97 億美元，流動性狀況依然強勁，約 14 億美元。 2024財年第三季的資本支出為5,200萬美元，我們預期本財年的資本支出為2.2億至2.4億美元。

Additional uses of cash during the second quarter were $24 million for dividends and $49 million for share repurchases. Our debt balance was $1.1 billion and our net debt to EBITDA was 1.2 times. The year-to-date, operating tax rate was 28%, and we expect the fiscal year rate to be in between the range of 27% to 28%.

第二季額外使用的現金包括 2,400 萬美元用於股利和 4,900 萬美元用於股票回購。我們的債務餘額為 11 億美元，淨債務與 EBITDA 的比為 1.2 倍。年初至今，營業稅率為 28%，我們預計本財年稅率將在 27% 至 28% 之間。

Now, moving to Reinforcement Materials. During the third quarter, EBIT for Reinforcement Materials was $136 million, which was an increase of $4 million as compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase was driven by higher pricing and improved product mix in our 2024 calendar year customer agreements and higher volumes, partially offset by less favorable geographic mix and higher costs.

現在，轉向增強材料。第三季度，增強材料業務的息稅前利潤為1.36億美元，比上年同期增加400萬美元。這一增長是由於我們 2024 年客戶協議中的定價上漲和產品組合改善以及銷售增加所推動的，但部分被不太有利的地理組合和成本上升所抵消。

Globally volumes were up 4% in the third quarter as compared to the same period of the prior year due to 9% growth in Asia Pacific and Europe, partially offset by a 4% decline in volumes in the Americas.

由於亞太地區和歐洲成長 9%，第三季全球銷量較上年同期成長 4%，部分被美洲銷量下降 4% 所抵銷。

Volumes in the Americas were negatively impacted by weather related events from a drought in Mexico impacting the area where our plant operates and flooding in Brazil, which impacted many of our customers. While these events are behind us, we expect there will be some lingering impacts into our fourth quarter as customers take a bit of time to turn to their normal purchasing patterns.

美洲的銷售量受到天氣相關事件的負面影響，墨西哥的乾旱影響了我們工廠運作的地區，而巴西的洪水則影響了我們的許多客戶。雖然這些事件已經過去，但我們預計第四季度將會產生一些揮之不去的影響，因為客戶需要一些時間才能轉向正常的購買模式。

Looking to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, we expect a modest sequential improvement in Reinforcement Materials EBIT due to less of an impact from the weather events in the Americas, partially offset by seasonally lower volumes in Europe.

展望 2024 財年第四季度，由於美洲天氣事件的影響較小，我們預計加固材料息稅前利潤將略有改善，部分被歐洲季節性銷售下降所抵消。

Now turning to Performance Chemicals, EBIT increased by $23 million in the third fiscal quarter of 2024 as compared to the same period in fiscal 2023. The increase was driven by 9% higher volumes and a more favorable product mix.

現在轉向高性能化學品，與 2023 財年同期相比，2024 年第三財季的息稅前利潤增加了 2,300 萬美元。

During the quarter, we saw volumes reconnect to underlying demand drivers as compared to the destocking impact we experienced last year, and we had a more favorable product mix due to improved sales in automotive infrastructure and semiconductor applications.

在本季度，與去年經歷的去庫存影響相比，我們看到銷量重新與潛在需求驅動因素相關聯，並且由於汽車基礎設施和半導體應用的銷售改善，我們擁有更有利的產品組合。

As we look ahead to the fourth quarter, we expect strong year-over-year EBIT growth driven by higher volumes and a more favorable product mix compared to the prior year destocking effect. Sequentially, we expect EBIT in the segment will be lower due to normal seasonality impacts.

展望第四季度，我們預計，與上年的去庫存效應相比，銷量增加和產品組合更有利，息稅前利潤將實現強勁的同比增長。因此，由於正常的季節性影響，我們預計該領域的息稅前利潤將較低。

I will now turn the call back over to Sean to discuss the fiscal year outlook.

我現在將把電話轉回給肖恩，討論財政年度前景。

Thanks, Erica. I'm extremely pleased with another quarter of strong operating results in what was a challenging environment. Based on third quarter performance and our outlook for the fourth quarter, we are raising our expected full year outlook of adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $7 to $7.10. This is an increase from our previous guidance of $6.65 to $6.85 and is up $0.30 at the midpoint.

謝謝，艾麗卡。我對在充滿挑戰的環境下又一個季度的強勁營運業績感到非常滿意。根據第三季的業績和我們對第四季度的展望，我們將調整後每股收益的全年預期上調至 7 美元至 7.10 美元。這比我們之前的指導值 6.65 美元增加到 6.85 美元，中間值上漲了 0.30 美元。

This reflects our strong commercial and operational execution and the value of the strategic choices we have made in recent years. To strong results in the Reinforcement Materials segment are expected to continue, with EBIT growing year-over-year from higher pricing and better product mix in our 2024 customer agreements and higher anticipated volumes.

這反映了我們強大的商業和營運執行力以及我們近年來做出的策略選擇的價值。預計增強材料領域將繼續取得強勁業績，由於 2024 年客戶協議中更高的定價和更好的產品組合以及更高的預期銷量，息稅前利潤將逐年增長。

In Performance Chemicals, we expect the year-over-year growth to continue from higher volumes and a more favorable product mix. The outlook for cash flow remains strong, which is sufficient to fund our growth investments and return a robust level of cash to shareholders. I believe we are executing well against our Creating for Tomorrow strategy and the long-term targets that we communicated at Investor Day in 2021.

在高性能化學品方面，我們預計銷售的增加和更有利的產品組合將繼續實現同比增長。現金流前景依然強勁，足以為我們的成長投資提供資金，並向股東返還強勁的現金水準。我相信，我們正在很好地執行我們的「創造明天」策略以及我們在 2021 年投資者日傳達的長期目標。

The increase in our outlook for adjusted earnings per share in fiscal 2024, would place us at or above the high-end of the targeted range of 8% to 12% adjusted EPS compounded annual growth rate from fiscal year 2021. Also, we remain on track to deliver our target of more than $1 billion of cumulative discretionary free cash flow over the last three years.

我們對 2024 財年調整後每股收益的預期上調，將使我們達到或高於 2021 財年調整後每股收益複合年增長率 8% 至 12% 目標範圍的高端。三年累計可自由支配現金流超過10 億美元的目標。

I am proud of the Cabot team and the way they have navigated the turbulent period to support our customers and deliver strong results for our shareholders. We are excited about the momentum we have built, and we plan to share more with you at our Investor Day, which we will host in Boston on December fourth. At that Investor Day, we plan to discuss our strategy, key growth initiatives, sustainability leadership, and the next set of long-term financial targets. Hopefully, we can see you all there in person.

我為卡博特團隊以及他們在動盪時期支持我們的客戶並為我們的股東帶來強勁業績的方式感到自豪。我們對我們所建立的勢頭感到興奮，並計劃在 12 月 4 日在波士頓舉辦的投資者日上與您分享更多資訊。在投資者日，我們計劃討論我們的策略、關鍵成長舉措、永續發展領導力以及下一組長期財務目標。希望我們能親自在那裡見到你們。

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

非常感謝您今天加入我們，我現在將把電話轉回我們的問答環節。

(operator instruction) John Roberts, Mizuho.

（操作員指令）約翰·羅伯茨，瑞穗。

Thank you and congrats on a nice quarter. How far along are you on your rubber black contract discussions for next year?

謝謝並祝賀您度過了一個愉快的季度。你們明年的橡膠黑合約談判進展到什麼程度了？

Well, as you know, John, we don't talk about contract negotiations while they are ongoing. But I would say the time line would play out pretty consistent with the historical pattern, which is to begin in sort of late summer for most customers and progress through the fall period. So I think the normal timing cycle is what we'd expect this year.

嗯，約翰，你知道，我們不會在合約談判正在進行時談論合約談判。但我想說，時間軸將與歷史模式非常一致，即對大多數客戶來說，從夏末開始，一直到秋季。所以我認為正常的時間週期是我們今年所期望的。

And then there are a lot of cross currents in China that's there. You have a material science business there. What's your read on what's going on with the Chinese economy?

中國也存在著很多逆流。您在那裡開展材料科學業務。您對中國經濟的發展有何看法？

Yeah. So I would say, as you said, lots of cross currents and lots of global interplay here between China and rest of the world. But if I look at China, I would say the economy appears to have stabilized, albeit at a lower level of growth than historical. And we are seeing some pretty robust demand in some of our key end markets, including tires, driven by replacement tire exports.

是的。所以我想說，正如你所說，中國和世界其他地區之間存在著許多分歧和全球相互作用。但如果我看看中國，我會說經濟似乎穩定下來，儘管成長水準低於歷史水準。我們看到，在替換輪胎出口的推動下，我們的一些主要終端市場（包括輪胎）的需求相當強勁。

But also auto OE and electronics are pretty pretty strong, right now. But again, the growth rate, I think has pulled back a bit. Certainly we've seen the recent GDP numbers there down a bit and down from where their target. So I think it's sort of a slower economic environment overall, And I think one that remains a little bit choppy. PMI bumps over 50 than it dips below. And so there's a bit of this back and forth, I would say.

但目前汽車原廠設備和電子產品也相當強勁。但我認為成長率又有回落。當然，我們已經看到最近的 GDP 數字比他們的目標有所下降。因此，我認為總體上經濟環境放緩，而且仍然有點波動。 PMI 升至 50 以上，而不是跌至 50 以下。我想說，這中間有一些來回的過程。

So overall, we remain cautious on the outlook for the China economy. Because I think the housing market which is a big part of the GDP there remains sluggish and FDI is very, very low. And so I think this sort of reflects weak investment confidence.

因此整體而言，我們對中國經濟前景保持謹慎態度。因為我認為佔GDP很大一部分的房地產市場仍然低迷，外國直接投資非常非常低。所以我認為這反映出投資信心疲軟。

Now counterbalancing that, I would say, the government is trying to stimulate consumer confidence, but other than in services and travel and leisure things like that, there doesn't seem to be much sustained momentum across durable goods.

現在，我想說，政府正在努力刺激消費者信心，但除了服務、旅遊和休閒等領域之外，耐久財似乎沒有太多持續的動力。

So that's a bit of what we see, now our position there remains strong. We've been an operator there in China since the 1980s with great local management teams and strong customer partnerships. So we'll continue to actively manage this really dynamic situation. But that's a bit, John, of what we're seeing on the ground there in China right now.

這就是我們所看到的一些情況，現在我們在那裡的地位仍然穩固。自 20 世紀 80 年代以來，我們一直是中國的營運商，擁有優秀的本地管理團隊和強大的客戶合作夥伴關係。因此，我們將繼續積極應對這種動態變化的情況。但這只是我們現在在中國所看到的一點，約翰。

All right, thank you.

好的，謝謝。

David Begleiter, Deutsche Bank.

大衛‧貝格萊特，德意志銀行。

Thank you. Good morning. Sean, what did the Altamira force majeure cost you guys in Q3?

謝謝。早安. Sean，阿爾塔米拉不可抗力事件讓你們在第三季損失了什麼？

So the Altamira, we had two weather events, John, -- I mean, David, that impacted us in the quarter, one, Altamira and then flooding in the southern part of Brazil that impacted not so much our production, but our customers and therefore our demand. And the impacts of these events were in the order of about $5 million in the quarter.

因此，阿爾塔米拉，我們遇到了兩次天氣事件，約翰，我的意思是，大衛，這對本季度的我們產生了影響，其中一個是阿爾塔米拉，然後是巴西南部的洪水，這對我們的生產影響不大，但對我們的客戶和因此我們的要求。這些事件對本季的影響約為 500 萬美元。

Very good. And July 1, there was the ban began on Russian imports of carbon black into Europe. Have you seen any material change in that it buying behavior or other activities post July 1?

非常好。 7月1日，俄羅斯開始禁止向歐洲進口炭黑。您是否發現 7 月 1 日之後的購買行為或其他活動有任何重大變化？

Yeah. So maybe just a quick recap on the overall sanctions. So certainly, prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, carbon black volumes into the EU 27 were pretty significant, somewhere around 550,000 tonnes per year. And then after the invasion commenced, those volumes started to decline as many customers for reputational reasons moved away and by the time sanctions were announced, actually that that run rate was sort of cut in half.

是的。所以也許只是快速回顧一下整體制裁。因此，可以肯定的是，在俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭之前，進入歐盟 27 國的炭黑數量相當可觀，約為每年 55 萬噸。入侵開始後，隨著許多客戶出於聲譽原因離開，這些數量開始下降，而到製裁宣佈時，實際上運行率已經減少了一半。

Now, Russian sanctions, as you just pointed out, went into full effect on July 1. And so carbon black can can no longer be imported into the EU 27. I would add that additionally, sanctions have been imposed on Belarus to take effect on August 2. There is a Russian producer that has a plant in Belarus, and so those will now be covered under under sanctions. And again, carbon black, no longer be imported into the EU 27 from from there either.

現在，正如您剛才指出的那樣，俄羅斯的製裁已於7 月1 日全面生效。 。同樣，炭黑也不再從那裡進口到歐盟 27 國。

So this impact has created a shortage of carbon black in the region. And I think it's driving a strong demand from customers to secure local supply and long-term supply, which we would expect this to continue. So I don't see any change in behavior there because this has been a you of a well telegraphed dynamic, and so customers have been preparing for this.

所以這種影響造成了該地區炭黑的短缺。我認為這推動了客戶對確保本地供應和長期供應的強勁需求，我們預計這種情況將持續下去。因此，我沒有看到那裡的行為有任何變化，因為這是一個充滿動態的動態，因此客戶一直在為此做好準備。

I think I may have misspoke on the Belarus timing, David, I meant to say October 2, is the effective date of when that goes in. But anyway, that's sort of the big picture of what's happening. And again, because it's been something that's been underway for quite some time. We see a continuation of the the desire to secure materials locally.

我想我可能在白俄羅斯的時間安排上說錯了，大衛，我的意思是 10 月 2 日是生效日期。再說一遍，因為這件事已經進行了相當長一段時間了。我們看到了在當地獲取材料的願望的延續。

I would say, it's probably enhanced even further by continued uncertainties, geopolitical uncertainties and how those can impact transportation and imports and the like. So continuation, I would say.

我想說，持續的不確定性、地緣政治不確定性以及這些不確定性如何影響運輸和進口等因素可能會進一步加劇這種情況。所以我想說的是，繼續。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Josh Spector, UBS

喬許‧斯佩克特，瑞銀

Yeah. Hi, good morning. And I guess first, congrats on a really solid quarter here.

是的。嗨，早安。我想首先，要恭喜這個季度的表現非常強勁。

I wanted to ask on performance, just a pretty surprising inflection, at least the strength of it. So I'm curious if you give more color on some of the moving pieces there. And just considering how the last year has been relative to two, three years ago. I guess, what's the level of or earnings that you're willing to underwrite there at this point? Is it $50 million plus, like the base level past destocking, or is there anything temporary or anything else you'd call out near term?

我想問一下性能，只是一個非常令人驚訝的變化，至少是它的強度。所以我很好奇你是否能給一些移動的部分更多的色彩。考慮一下去年與兩三年前的情況。我想，目前您願意承保的水平或收益是多少？是否超過 5000 萬美元，就像去庫存後的基本水平一樣，或者是否有任何臨時的或近期您會提出的其他要求？

Sure. Yeah, thank you. Thanks, Josh. Well, we certainly we're very pleased to see the strength in Performance Chemicals. And I would say the drivers are really two main factors. One, of course, volume growth was strong, and so the operating leverage that comes from that is material.

當然。是的，謝謝。謝謝，喬許。嗯，我們當然非常高興看到高性能化學品的實力。我想說，驅動因素其實是兩個主要因素。當然，銷售成長強勁，因此由此產生的營運槓桿非常重要。

But I think most importantly, what I would say, the normalization of our product mix, which has been a significant drag for this business over the last four to six quarters, that has now normalized. And we would view that as sort of volumes having reconnected to underlying demand there.

但我認為最重要的是，我想說的是，我們產品組合的正常化，在過去的四到六個季度中一直對該業務造成重大拖累，但現在已經正常化了。我們將其視為與那裡的潛在需求重新建立聯繫的交易量。

And so I'll give a couple of examples. Certainly, the automotive sector is a very important one for this segment where products typically in this sector are specified in, and end up carrying a good strong margins. And while you've seen some growth and relative strength in auto production, a lot of our products because the value chains are longer really suffered from prolonged destocking.

我將舉幾個例子。當然，汽車行業對於這一領域來說是一個非常重要的領域，該領域的產品通常被指定為特定產品，並最終獲得了很高的利潤率。雖然你已經看到汽車生產的一些成長和相對實力，但我們的許多產品，因為價值鏈更長，確實遭受了長期去庫存的影響。

And even though the auto builds numbers were looking pretty good, we weren't seeing it yet in our demand as the lengthy value chain sort of worked out it's inventory that has now reconnected and so seeing that strong mix was certainly a big driver. And again, we think it's reconnected. So that's positive.

儘管汽車製造數量看起來相當不錯，但我們還沒有在我們的需求中看到它，因為漫長的價值鏈在某種程度上解決了它的庫存現在已經重新連接的問題，因此看到強大的組合肯定是一個很大的驅動力。我們再次認為它已重新連接。所以這是積極的。

I would say another key factor in the mix was semiconductors. So the CMP application, where we sell fumed silica, last year was a very, very weak quarter across that whole chain. And again, I think now inventories have worked their way out and we're seeing a reconnection there. And so good strong margins in that application.

我想說其中的另一個關鍵因素是半導體。因此，我們銷售氣相二氧化矽的 CMP 應用去年是整個產業鏈中非常非常疲軟的一個季度。再說一次，我認為現在庫存已經解決了，我們正在看到那裡的重新連接。該應用程式的利潤率非常高。

And then finally, we've been underwriting a lot of new product growth in areas around infrastructure. So wire and cable, think about this, as you know, connecting offshore wind farms, things like this. Our products are used in applications like that. And those continue to do well and carry good, strong margins. So it's really a mix return to normal. I would say is was a really big driver along with the headline volume numbers.

最後，我們一直在基礎設施領域承保大量新產品的成長。所以電線和電纜，想一想，如你所知，連接離岸風電場，諸如此類。我們的產品用於此類應用。這些業務繼續表現良好，並擁有良好、強勁的利潤率。所以這確實是一個混合回歸正常的過程。我想說的是，與標題銷量數字一樣，這是一個非常大的驅動力。

Now in terms of how do we think about moving forward? I think if we remain in around these volume levels, we would expect the quarterly EBIT would be in the range of $45 million to $55 million per quarter, depending on the quarter. And specific quarters, can be impacted by seasonal demand, product mix and then the timing of when we do maintenance on our assets.

現在我們如何考慮前進？我認為，如果我們保持在這些數量水平左右，我們預計季度息稅前利潤將在每季 4500 萬美元至 5500 萬美元之間，具體取決於季度。特定季度可能會受到季節性需求、產品組合以及我們對資產進行維護的時間的影響。

That can have a significant impact here because the asset base is a little more concentrated than in Reinforcement Materials where we have a lot more plants. And so one or two plants down for maintenance, it kind of gets diluted in Reinforcement a little bit more so and Performance Chemicals can be a little more pronounced.

這可能會產生重大影響，因為資產基礎比我們擁有更多工廠的加固材料更集中。因此，一兩個工廠需要停機維護，增強材料的稀釋程度會更高一些，而高性能化學品的稀釋程度可能會更明顯一些。

So these things can drive some quarterly variation. But I think as we sit here now, our best view would be sort of in and around that range of $45 million to $55 million per quarter, depending on some of those specific factors.

因此，這些因素可能會導致一些季度變化。但我認為，當我們現在坐在這裡時，我們最好的看法是每季 4500 萬美元到 5500 萬美元左右，具體取決於其中一些具體因素。

Thanks. That's really comprehensive. I guess one quick follow-up there is just so when you think about the fumed silica and maybe to build a construction market, I assume that hasn't improved much. I guess if you can comment there if anything's changed and kind of how much is that still an overhang versus some of the numbers you just gave for the segments?

謝謝。真是太全面了。我想一個快速的後續行動就是這樣，當你想到氣相二氧化矽並可能建立一個建築市場時，我認為情況並沒有太大改善。我想您是否可以在那裡發表評論，如果有任何變化，以及與您剛剛為細分市場提供的一些數字相比，這仍然是多少懸而未決的問題？

Yeah. So certainly, the building and construction market is an important end market for silicones and therefore, for a sizable portion of our fumed silica business. And I would say, we have not yet seen signs of any bounce there. I would say it is stable, is probably the best way to characterize it, but whether that's in China or outside of China and in the West and not really seeing any significant bounce there.

是的。因此，毫無疑問，建築市場是有機矽的重要終端市場，因此對於我們氣相二氧化矽業務的很大一部分來說也是如此。我想說的是，我們還沒有看到任何反彈的跡象。我想說它是穩定的，可能是描述它的最好方式，但無論是在中國還是在中國以外和西方，並沒有真正看到任何顯著的反彈。

I think likely if we're beginning to head into a rate cut cycle, then that could be a catalyst for some improvement in the housing and construction sector. But I think it would be some trickle from that would probably be needed to see it move out of its sort of what I would call kind of stable position right now. So more runway there, I would say as that end market gradually recovers.

我認為，如果我們開始進入降息週期，那麼這可能會成為住房和建築業改善的催化劑。但我認為，可能需要從中學到一些教訓，才能看到它擺脫我現在所說的穩定地位。我想說，隨著終端市場逐漸復甦，那裡有更多的跑道。

Thanks Sean.

謝謝肖恩。

Jeff Zekauskas, JP Morgan.

傑夫‧澤考斯卡斯，摩根大通。

Thanks very much. When you look at Russian and Belarusian carbon black production, has it changed very much? That is, are they making same amounts that they used to make? They're just not shipping it to Europe or has there production actually?

非常感謝。當你觀察俄羅斯和白俄羅斯的炭黑生產時，變化很大嗎？也就是說，他們的收入與以前相同嗎？他們只是不把它運到歐洲或實際上已經生產了？

Yeah. Hi, Jeff. So I mean, difficult to see with a great level of precision. I don't believe that there have been any material expansions there. So I think, what you're dealing with is the structural capacity that existed pre invasion of Ukraine remaining, and it's just moving around differently because of the impact. So that's our best view of that, Jeff.

是的。嗨，傑夫。所以我的意思是，很難以很高的精度看到。我不相信那裡有任何實質的擴張。所以我認為，你正在處理的是入侵烏克蘭之前存在的結構能力，它只是因為影響而以不同的方式移動。這就是我們對此的最佳看法，傑夫。

Okay. One of the other carbon black companies spoke of consumers trading down to or buying lower quality tires, more exports coming in from the offshore areas as something that was leading to lower end different tire production in the United States. Is that something that you believe or are you don't?

好的。其他炭黑公司之一表示，消費者降價購買或購買品質較低的輪胎，更多來自離岸地區的出口導緻美國低端不同輪胎的生產。這是你相信還是不相信的事？

Well, I do think there is some evidence in the tire industry of trade down effect. And we have seen historically two dynamics that can emerge when you have economic -- sort of macro economic stress. One is when the economic environment is very weak, then you have seen periods where consumers will stretch the replacement cycle a little bit longer than they probably should.

嗯，我確實認為輪胎行業存在貿易下降效應的一些證據。從歷史上看，我們已經看到，當經濟出現宏觀經濟壓力時，可能會出現兩種動態。一是當經濟環境非常疲軟時，你會看到消費者會比他們可能應該延長更換週期的時間更長。

I think in the case we're in right now, while GDP in the US, for example, remains fairly robust, the high level of inflation that we're working our way out of and higher interest rates, I think, probably are, I think there's some evidence of that that it's stressing the consumer, particularly in the sort of lower end of the income scales, and causing some trade-down effect.

我認為在我們現在所處的情況下，雖然美國的國內生產總值仍然相當強勁，但我認為我們正在努力擺脫高通膨水平和更高的利率，我認為有一些證據表明，它給消費者帶來了壓力，尤其是收入水平較低的消費者，並造成了一些降價效應。

So I think that there is definitely some evidence of that. And the combination of sort of stretching this replacement cycle and seeing some trade down effect is something that has happened before. Historically, it's worked itself out. And I think we'd expect the same here, especially as inflation is subsiding and we appear to be entering a rate cut cycle which should begin to ease some of those some of those pressures.

所以我認為肯定有一些證據證明這一點。延長更換週期和看到一些降價效應的組合是以前發生過的事情。從歷史上看，它已經解決了。我認為我們預計也會出現同樣的情況，特別是在通貨膨脹正在消退並且我們似乎正在進入降息週期的情況下，這應該會開始緩解其中一些壓力。

I guess lastly, are there any possible tariffs that might be put on tires that come from China or other offshore areas that might affect you, that you're aware of?

我想最後，您知道，是否有可能對來自中國或其他離岸地區的輪胎徵收可能影響您的關稅？

Well, around the world today in the west, there there are tariffs that are in place. For example, there are fairly significant tariffs today in the US on Chinese tires. So the result of that is that most of the imports into the US are coming from the ASEAN countries and most of the Chinese exports of tires are flowing into Europe, for example.

嗯，今天在西方世界各地，都有關稅。例如，目前美國對中國輪胎徵收相當高的關稅。因此，結果是，美國的大部分進口產品來自東協國家，而中國出口的大部分輪胎則流入歐洲等。

So tariffs do create a movement and sometimes some supply chain distortions, as you'd expect. But there are there are tariffs in place today in US and in Europe and in South America that impact tire flows.

因此，正如你所預料的那樣，關稅確實會造成一場運動，有時會造成一些供應鏈扭曲。但目前美國、歐洲和南美徵收的關稅影響了輪胎流量。

Now, the elevated level of imports that we have seen is something that will will likely create some back pressure in the form of more antidumping duties and pursuit of tariffs. We certainly could expect that to happen and to be to be implemented in some way.

現在，我們所看到的進口水平上升可能會以徵收更多反傾銷稅和徵收關稅的形式產生一些反壓力。我們當然可以預期這種情況會發生並以某種方式實施。

So I think the combination of the the inflation coming down and rates reducing, easing things for the consumer, a bit, and I think some tendencies around protectionism, the combination of those, I think, it's reasonable to think would kind of move a move the tire imports back to kind of a more normalized level.

因此，我認為通膨下降和利率降低相結合，稍微緩解了消費者的負擔，而且我認為圍繞保護主義的一些傾向，我認為，這些因素的結合，有理由認為會採取某種行動輪胎進口回到更正常的水平。

Great Thank you.

非常感謝。

Thank you. And I'm showing no further questions in the Q&A queue at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Mr. Sean Keohane for any closing remarks.

謝謝。目前我在問答隊列中沒有顯示任何其他問題。現在，我將把電話轉回給 Sean Keohane 先生，讓他發表結束語。

Great. Well, thank you. Thank you all for joining today and for your continued support of Cabot. And I would just remind you again that we intend to host an Investor Day on December 4, of this year and look forward at that point to providing a fulsome wrap-up of our last set of Investor Day goals and targets from 2021 and setting out our path forward in terms of strategy and our next set of long-term goals. So hopefully you can you can all join us there in person here in Boston.

偉大的。嗯，謝謝。感謝大家今天的加入以及對卡博特的持續支持。我想再次提醒您，我們打算在今年 12 月 4 日舉辦投資者日，並期待屆時對我們從 2021 年開始的最後一組投資者日目標和具體目標進行全面總結，並製定我們在戰略和下一組長期目標方面的前進道路。所以希望你們都可以親自到波士頓參加我們的活動。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. And you may now diconnect

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。現在您可以斷開連接