Cabot Corp (CBT) 2022 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the fourth quarter -- I'm sorry. Good day, and welcome to the first quarter 2022 Cabot Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call is being recorded.

美好的一天，歡迎來到第四季度——對不起。美好的一天，歡迎參加 2022 年第一季度卡博特收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）作為提醒，此通話正在錄音中。

I would now like to turn the call over to Steven Delahunt, Vice President, Investor Relations. You may begin.

我現在想將電話轉給投資者關係副總裁 Steven Delahunt。你可以開始了。

Thanks, Michelle, and good morning. I would like to welcome you to the Cabot Corporation earnings teleconference. With me today are Sean Keohane, CEO and President; and Erica McLaughlin, Senior Vice President and CFO. Last night, we released results for our first quarter fiscal year 2022, 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.

謝謝，米歇爾，早上好。歡迎您參加卡博特公司財報電話會議。今天和我在一起的是首席執行官兼總裁 Sean Keohane；和高級副總裁兼首席財務官 Erica McLaughlin。昨晚，我們發布了 2022 財年第一季度的業績，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網站的投資者關係部分獲得，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 in the press release we issued last night and in our 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021 and in subsequent filings we made with the SEC, all of which are available on the company's website.

在本次電話會議期間，我們將對我們預期的未來運營和財務業績做出前瞻性陳述。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截至 2021 年 9 月 30 日的財政年度的 10-K 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 is 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調整 GAAP 結果的非 GAAP 財務措施。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發布結束時表格中最直接可比的公認會計原則財務指標進行了核對，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 first quarter highlights, provide an update on our strategy and then discuss our progress in the areas of battery materials and ESG. Erica will review the company and business segment results, along with some corporate financial details. Following this, Sean will provide closing comments and open the floor to questions. Sean?

我現在將把電話轉給肖恩，他將討論第一季度的亮點，提供我們戰略的最新信息，然後討論我們在電池材料和 ESG 領域的進展。 Erica 將審查公司和業務部門的業績，以及一些公司財務細節。在此之後，肖恩將提供結束評論並開始提問。肖恩?

Thank you, Steve. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our call today. I'm very pleased with results in the first quarter as we delivered adjusted earnings per share of $1.29, which is up 9% compared to the same quarter last year. Performance across our businesses was strong, and I'm very proud of our execution discipline across all facets of the company. Additionally, our discretionary free cash flow during the quarter was robust and has supported the repurchase of shares and an increase to the dividend of 6%. Our team executed exceptionally well in the quarter, and this made the difference in successfully navigating a dynamic macro environment.

謝謝你，史蒂夫。女士們，先生們，早上好，歡迎今天來電。我對第一季度的業績感到非常滿意，因為我們的調整後每股收益為 1.29 美元，與去年同期相比增長了 9%。我們的業務表現強勁，我為公司各個方面的執行紀律感到非常自豪。此外，我們在本季度的可自由支配現金流強勁，支持回購股票並將股息提高 6%。我們的團隊在本季度表現異常出色，這在成功駕馭動態宏觀環境方面發揮了重要作用。

The quarter was marked by strong progress against our key strategic objectives and I would like to highlight a few noteworthy accomplishments. We recently concluded our calendar year 2022 Reinforcement Materials customer agreements and are very pleased with the outcomes having achieved substantial price increases in all regions. As we shared during Investor Day, the market environment remains supportive and Cabot's value proposition of supplier liability, quality and global reach continues to resonate with customers. This is especially true in this period where supply chains are stressed and customers are increasingly looking to derisk their operations through regionalization of the supply base. This plays very well to our strength as a company as we can support our global customers with local supply in all regions. During the quarter, we also continued to build momentum in battery materials, and we advanced a number of ESG priorities.

本季度我們的主要戰略目標取得了巨大進展，我想強調一些值得注意的成就。我們最近完成了我們的 2022 日曆年增強材料客戶協議，並對所有地區的價格大幅上漲感到非常滿意。正如我們在投資者日期間所分享的，市場環境依然有利，卡博特關於供應商責任、質量和全球影響力的價值主張繼續引起客戶的共鳴。在這個供應鏈受到壓力且客戶越來越希望通過供應基地區域化來降低其運營風險的時期尤其如此。這對我們作為一家公司的實力發揮了很好的作用，因為我們可以通過所有地區的本地供應來支持我們的全球客戶。本季度，我們還在電池材料方面繼續發力，並推進了多項 ESG 優先事項。

I will elaborate on both of these fronts, but before I do, I think it's important to connect our priorities to our strategy. During our recent Investor Day, we launched our new Creating for Tomorrow strategy. This strategy is inspired by our purpose to create materials that improve daily life and enable a more sustainable future. As we execute our strategy, we will leverage our strengths to lead in performance and sustainability today and into the future, and we will deliver on this strategy by advancing 3 key pillars: driving advantaged growth, delivering innovative chemistry to enable a better future and relentlessly pursuing continuous improvement in everything that we do.

我將詳細闡述這兩個方面，但在此之前，我認為將我們的優先事項與我們的戰略聯繫起來很重要。在我們最近的投資者日期間，我們推出了新的為明天創造戰略。這一戰略的靈感來自我們的目標，即創造能夠改善日常生活並實現更可持續未來的材料。在執行我們的戰略時，我們將利用我們的優勢在今天和未來引領績效和可持續發展，我們將通過推進 3 個關鍵支柱來實現這一戰略：推動優勢增長、提供創新化學以實現更美好的未來和不懈努力追求我們所做的一切的持續改進。

By pursuing our Creating For Tomorrow strategy, we will grow, transform and reshape the valuation potential of the company. Our strategic outlook is underpinned by an expectation of a supportive market environment and the clear connection of our products to compelling macro trends. As a result, our targets call for strong growth of adjusted earnings per share and robust discretionary free cash flow to fund growth and return capital to shareholders.

通過推行為明天創造戰略，我們將成長、轉變和重塑公司的估值潛力。我們的戰略前景基於對支持性市場環境的預期以及我們的產品與引人注目的宏觀趨勢的明確聯繫。因此，我們的目標要求調整後的每股收益強勁增長和強勁的可自由支配現金流為增長提供資金並向股東返還資本。

Of our many compelling growth options, we are particularly excited about the momentum we are building in battery materials. And so I'd like to transition now to give you an update on our progress in this critical growth vector. As one of our key growth vectors along with Inkjet and E2C, Battery Materials is a key part of our Creating for Tomorrow strategy and is expected to be a major driver of our growth in reshaping the valuation of the company. The market size for conductive carbon additives and lithium-ion batteries is expected to be approximately $2 billion by 2025, with 30%-plus growth expected through 2030.

在我們眾多引人注目的增長選擇中，我們對我們在電池材料方面建立的勢頭感到特別興奮。因此，我現在想過渡，向您介紹我們在這一關鍵增長領域的進展情況。作為我們與 Inkjet 和 E2C 一起的主要增長載體之一，電池材料是我們為明天創造戰略的關鍵部分，預計將成為我們重塑公司估值增長的主要驅動力。到 2025 年，導電碳添加劑和鋰離子電池的市場規模預計約為 20 億美元，預計到 2030 年將增長 30% 以上。

Cabot is very well positioned given the breadth of our Conductive Carbon Additive portfolio, our global footprint of assets and our strong local commercial and technical support. The Cabot value proposition is resonating strongly with leading customers, as evidenced by our success in selling to 6 of the top 8 battery producers, which represent approximately 90% of the market.

鑑於我們廣泛的導電碳添加劑產品組合、我們在全球的資產足跡以及我們強大的本地商業和技術支持，卡博特處於非常有利的位置。卡博特的價值主張在主要客戶中產生了強烈的共鳴，我們成功地向 8 大電池生產商中的 6 家銷售產品就證明了這一點，這些生產商約佔市場的 90%。

During the first quarter, volumes increased 58% year-over-year, and we were recently qualified in a new EV platform with a top 5 battery manufacturer with sales expected to start in fiscal Q3. Given the strong demand outlook, we advanced important capacity projects in the quarter, including the announced acquisition of a plant in Tianjin, China. We expect to close this deal in the second quarter of this year when we will start our upgrade and conversion of equipment to produce battery material products.

在第一季度，銷量同比增長 58%，我們最近獲得了新的電動汽車平台的資格，該平台擁有前 5 大電池製造商，預計將於第三財季開始銷售。鑑於強勁的需求前景，我們在本季度推進了重要的產能項目，包括宣布收購中國天津的一家工廠。我們預計將在今年第二季度完成這筆交易，屆時我們將開始升級和轉換設備以生產電池材料產品。

Also, we are on schedule to start up our new specialty carbons plant in Xuzhou, China, which is expected to free up additional battery material capacity in other parts of our network. Given this strong momentum, we expect our fiscal year 2022 full year EBITDA to be in the range of $25 million to $35 million. The lithium-ion battery application holds great promise for Cabot, and we are both capable and determined to realize its full potential.

此外，我們正按計劃在中國徐州啟動新的特種碳素工廠，預計這將釋放我們網絡其他部分的額外電池材料產能。鑑於這種強勁勢頭，我們預計 2022 財年全年 EBITDA 將在 2500 萬美元至 3500 萬美元之間。鋰離子電池應用為卡博特帶來了巨大的希望，我們有能力也有決心實現其全部潛力。

Sustainability is integrated into everything we do with Cabot, and we advanced a number of important ESG priorities in the quarter. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact, while supporting our customers with innovative materials to help them achieve their sustainability goals. We recently announced that we are joining other leading companies to align our sustainability agenda with the Paris Climate Agreement to achieve net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

可持續性融入了我們與卡博特所做的一切，我們在本季度推進了一些重要的 ESG 優先事項。我們致力於減少對環境的影響，同時為客戶提供創新材料以幫助他們實現可持續發展目標。我們最近宣布，我們將與其他領先公司一道，將我們的可持續發展議程與《巴黎氣候協定》保持一致，到 2050 年實現二氧化碳淨零排放。

For many years, we have focused on reducing our environmental impact and our net 0 ambition is a natural progression in our sustainability journey. Aligned with this ambition, we recently completed an assessment according to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure, or TCFD, and published our risk and opportunity matrix. This matrix is posted on our website.

多年來，我們一直專注於減少對環境的影響，我們的淨 0 目標是我們可持續發展之旅的自然進展。為了實現這一目標，我們最近根據氣候相關財務信息披露工作組 (TCFD) 完成了一項評估，並發布了我們的風險和機會矩陣。該矩陣發佈在我們的網站上。

Our continued leadership in ESG was also further recognized with 2 notable achievements. First, we were recognized by Newsweek as one of America's most responsible companies. This is the third consecutive year that we have been included on Newsweek's list and we are very proud of this recognition. And second, we were named by Investor's Business Daily as one of their 100 best ESG companies in 2021.

我們在 ESG 方面的持續領先地位也得到了進一步認可，並取得了兩項顯著成就。首先，我們被《新聞周刊》評為美國最負責任的公司之一。這是我們連續第三年被列入《新聞周刊》的名單，我們為這一認可感到非常自豪。其次，我們被《投資者商業日報》評為 2021 年 100 家最佳 ESG 公司之一。

Bringing the power of innovative chemistry to solve our customers' sustainability challenges and reduce our impact is what motivates us and is essential to our purpose. I look forward to updating you on further developments as we progress on our journey. I'll now turn the call over to Erica to discuss the financial results of the quarter in more detail. Erica?

運用創新化學的力量來解決客戶的可持續發展挑戰並減少我們的影響是我們的動力，也是我們實現目標的關鍵。隨著我們在旅途中取得進展，我期待著向您通報進一步的發展。我現在將電話轉給 Erica，以更詳細地討論本季度的財務業績。艾麗卡？

Thanks, John. I'll start with discussing results for the company and then review the segment results. We reported another strong quarter with adjusted EPS first quarter of $1.29, up 9% compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2021 and up 16% sequentially with better-than-expected results in both the Reinforcement Materials and Performance Chemicals segments. Discretionary free cash flow in the quarter was $72 million driven by strong EBITDA, and we ended the quarter with $179 million of cash. CapEx in the quarter was $30 million, and we expect full year CapEx to be in the range of $250 million to $275 million. This is an increase from our range last quarter, largely due to higher growth investments expected for Battery Materials in relation to the acquisition and conversion of the new plant in Tianjin, China.

謝謝，約翰。我將從討論公司的結果開始，然後查看細分結果。我們報告了另一個強勁的季度，第一季度調整後每股收益為 1.29 美元，與 2021 財年第一季度相比增長 9%，環比增長 16%，增強材料和高性能化學品部門的業績均好於預期。在強勁的 EBITDA 推動下，本季度可自由支配的自由現金流為 7200 萬美元，我們在本季度結束時擁有 1.79 億美元的現金。本季度的資本支出為 3000 萬美元，我們預計全年資本支出將在 2.5 億美元至 2.75 億美元之間。這比我們上一季度的範圍有所增加，主要是由於電池材料與中國天津新工廠的收購和轉換相關的預期投資增長較高。

The balance sheet remains strong with total liquidity of $1.2 billion and net debt-to-EBITDA of 1.8x as of December 31. Our operating tax rate was 27% for the quarter, and we anticipate the fiscal year rate will be between 27% and 28%. Now moving to Reinforcement Materials. During the first quarter, EBIT for Reinforcement Materials decreased by $3 million as compared to same period in the prior year. The decrease was principally due to higher cost associated with utilities and maintenance, largely offset by higher volumes and margins. Globally, volumes were up 4% in the first quarter as compared to the same period of the prior year due to 13% growth in Asia, flat volumes in the Americas and a 10% decrease in Europe.

資產負債表依然強勁，截至 12 月 31 日，總流動性為 12 億美元，淨債務與 EBITDA 之比為 1.8 倍。我們本季度的營業稅率為 27%，我們預計財政年度稅率將在 27% 和28%。現在轉向增強材料。第一季度，增強材料的息稅前利潤與去年同期相比減少了 300 萬美元。下降的主要原因是與公用事業和維護相關的成本增加，但在很大程度上被更高的銷量和利潤率所抵消。在全球範圍內，由於亞洲增長 13%，美洲持平，歐洲下降 10%，第一季度銷量同比增長 4%。

Higher volumes in Asia were driven by strong demand for replacement and off-the-road tires. Higher margins were driven by the benefit of higher energy prices on our energy center and yield investments.

亞洲銷量的增長是由對替換輪胎和越野輪胎的強勁需求推動的。更高的利潤率是由於能源價格上漲對我們的能源中心和產量投資的好處。

Looking to the second quarter of fiscal 2022, we expect the reinforcement materials EBIT to improve due to the outcome of our calendar year 2022 customer agreement. We expect volumes will remain solid with sequential improvement expected in Europe and the Americas and the normal seasonal pattern in China related to the Lunar New Year.

展望 2022 財年第二季度，由於我們 2022 日曆年客戶協議的結果，我們預計加固材料的息稅前利潤將有所改善。我們預計銷量將保持穩健，預計歐洲和美洲的連續改善以及中國與農曆新年相關的正常季節性模式。

Now turning to Performance Chemicals. EBIT decreased by $2 million in the first fiscal quarter as compared to the same period in fiscal 2021, primarily due to lower volumes. Year-over-year volumes in the first fiscal quarter decreased by 3% in Performance Additives, due to plant downtime of a fence-line partner in our fumed metal oxides product line and 20% in formulated solutions due to the continued plant outage at our Belgium specialty compound site. While overall segment volume declined, we delivered impressive volume growth of 58%, as Sean noted, in products sold to Battery Materials applications as we continue to see growth driven by higher EV demand.

現在轉向高性能化學品。與 2021 財年同期相比，第一財季息稅前利潤減少了 200 萬美元，主要是由於銷量下降。由於我們的氣相金屬氧化物產品線的圍欄合作夥伴的工廠停工，第一財季性能添加劑的銷量同比下降了 3%，由於我們的工廠持續停產，配方解決方案的銷量下降了 20%比利時專業複合場地。正如肖恩指出的那樣，雖然整體細分市場銷量下降，但我們在銷售給電池材料應用的產品中實現了令人印象深刻的 58% 的銷量增長，因為我們繼續看到電動汽車需求增加推動了增長。

Partially offsetting [this] impact, we delivered higher unit margins from favorable product mix in both our specialty carbons and fumed metal oxide product lines and strong pricing in our fumed metal oxides product line.

部分抵消了[這種]影響，我們通過我們的特種碳和氣相金屬氧化物產品線的有利產品組合以及我們的氣相金屬氧化物產品線的強勁定價提供了更高的單位利潤率。

Looking ahead to the second quarter of fiscal 2022, we expect a step up in sequential volume as our specialty compounds and fumed metal oxide plants come back online, and as we achieve continued momentum in our Battery Materials and Inkjet growth sectors. We expect to continue to successfully implement price increases to offset rising input and operating costs across the segment.

展望 2022 財年第二季度，我們預計隨著我們的特種化合物和氣相金屬氧化物工廠重新上線，以及我們在電池材料和噴墨增長領域實現持續增長勢頭，我們的銷量將連續增加。我們預計將繼續成功實施提價，以抵消整個部門不斷上升的投入和運營成本。

Moving to the next slide. As we talked about at Investor Day in December, we are making capital allocation decisions that align with and support our Creating for Tomorrow strategy. The capital investments and the acquisition announced this quarter are to support our growth agenda. In addition to these growth investments, we are also focused on providing an attractive return of cash to shareholders.

轉到下一張幻燈片。正如我們在 12 月的投資者日所談到的，我們正在製定符合併支持我們為明天創造戰略的資本分配決策。本季度宣布的資本投資和收購是為了支持我們的增長議程。除了這些增長投資外，我們還專注於為股東提供有吸引力的現金回報。

During the quarter, we increased our dividend 6% and returned $40 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. We are able to make these growth investments and return cash to shareholders while maintaining a healthy balance sheet with $1.2 billion in liquidity and net debt-to-EBITDA of 1.8x. We were able to do it all, while retaining an investment-grade credit rate. I will now turn the call back over to Sean.

在本季度，我們將股息提高了 6%，並通過股息和股票回購向股東返還了 4000 萬美元。我們能夠進行這些增長投資並向股東返還現金，同時保持健康的資產負債表，擁有 12 億美元的流動性和 1.8 倍的淨債務與 EBITDA 之比。我們能夠做到這一切，同時保持投資級信貸利率。我現在將電話轉回給肖恩。

Thank you, Erica. I'll close out my prepared comments today by talking about our outlook for the remainder of the year. We are very pleased with the momentum coming out of the first quarter, and we feel very good about how the rest of the year is shaping up. Based on our first quarter results and the outlook across our businesses, we are raising our guidance for adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $5.50 to $5.90 for the fiscal year.

謝謝你，艾麗卡。我將通過談論我們對今年剩餘時間的展望來結束我今天準備好的評論。我們對第一季度的勢頭感到非常滿意，我們對今年剩餘時間的發展感到非常滿意。根據我們第一季度的業績和我們業務的前景，我們將本財年調整後每股收益的指引提高到 5.50 美元至 5.90 美元之間。

We expect demand to remain strong due to the resilience of the replacement tire market and our diversified application portfolio in Performance Chemicals. As I mentioned earlier, we are very pleased with the outcome of our calendar year 2022 Reinforcement Materials customer agreements and expect to see a corresponding step-up in earnings starting in the second quarter. We are also seeing strength across our Performance Chemicals segment with strong volumes, robust margins and product mix and disciplined pricing execution.

由於替換輪胎市場的彈性和我們在高性能化學品領域的多元化應用組合，我們預計需求將保持強勁。正如我之前提到的，我們對 2022 日曆年增強材料客戶協議的結果感到非常滿意，並期望從第二季度開始看到相應的收益增長。我們還看到了我們的高性能化學品部門的實力，包括強勁的銷量、強勁的利潤率和產品組合以及嚴格的定價執行。

The second quarter results are expected to improve on a sequential and year-over-year basis, with adjusted EPS increasing as we move through the year.

預計第二季度業績將連續和同比有所改善，調整後的每股收益隨著我們全年的發展而增加。

This profile is expected as we continue to build momentum in Battery Materials and as demand increases in Inkjet for packaging applications. Additionally, our new specialty carbons plant is expected to come online in the second half of fiscal 2022.

隨著我們繼續在電池材料方面發展勢頭以及隨著噴墨對包裝應用的需求增加，這種情況是可以預期的。此外，我們新的特種碳工廠預計將於 2022 財年下半年投產。

Overall, I'm very excited about where we are as a company and where we are going. The long-term fundamentals of our businesses are strong, our end markets remain robust and we continue to execute at a high level.

總的來說，我對我們公司所處的位置以及我們的發展方向感到非常興奮。我們業務的長期基本面強勁，我們的終端市場保持強勁，我們繼續保持高水平的執行力。

Looking ahead, we believe we have a winning formula: a talented team, an excellent portfolio of businesses set for growth and a strong balance sheet, all of which position us to deliver on our strategic objectives and continue to grow and lead in our industry.

展望未來，我們相信我們有一個成功的秘訣：一支才華橫溢的團隊、為增長而準備的優秀業務組合和強大的資產負債表，所有這些都使我們能夠實現我們的戰略目標，並繼續發展並在我們的行業中處於領先地位。

Thank you very much for joining us today. And I will now turn the call back over for a question-and-answer session.

非常感謝您今天加入我們。我現在將把電話轉回來進行問答環節。

Our first question comes from David Begleiter with Deutsche Bank.

我們的第一個問題來自德意志銀行的 David Begleiter。

This is David Huang here for Dave. I guess, first, can you quantify the benefit from higher unit margins? Did you get higher energy prices?

這是戴夫的大衛黃。我想，首先，你能量化更高單位利潤率帶來的好處嗎？你得到更高的能源價格了嗎？

And I guess what's the new oil price assumption that you baked in your new guidance? And is there kind of sensitivity you can provide on oil prices in your energy center and your investment earnings?

我猜你在新指導中提出的新油價假設是什麼？您是否可以對能源中心的油價和投資收益提供某種敏感性？

Sure. Let me turn it over to Erica to try to provide a little color on that question.

當然。讓我把它交給 Erica，試著為這個問題提供一點色彩。

Sure. So in terms of Reinforcement Materials, I think you were asking about higher margins and the classification. The increase in margins was $5 million year-over-year in the quarter. And as we do each quarter, when we forecast, we used the forward curve of oil, so we would have used the latest forward curve just recently in terms of what the oil price impact would be for the remaining of the year.

當然。因此，就增強材料而言，我認為您是在詢問更高的利潤率和分類。本季度利潤率同比增長 500 萬美元。正如我們每個季度所做的那樣，當我們預測時，我們使用了石油的遠期曲線，所以我們會使用最近的最新遠期曲線來衡量今年剩餘時間的油價影響。

And then just on demand. Can you talk about your visibility for demand? Also, I guess for your end markets, where are you seeing any restocking happening? And are you seeing any destocking at your auto OEM customers?

然後按需提供。你能談談你對需求的可見性嗎？另外，我想對於您的終端市場，您在哪裡看到任何補貨？您是否看到您的汽車 OEM 客戶有任何去庫存化的情況？

So the demand profile remains pretty robust. So across Reinforcement Materials, given the resilience of the replacement tire market as well as some real strength in the OTR off-the-road market, that is definitely providing good demand support in the business in somewhere in the 75% to 80% of the tire market is replacement, and that tends to be more resilient, more stable, more durable.

因此，需求狀況仍然相當強勁。因此，在增強材料領域，鑑於替換輪胎市場的彈性以及 OTR 越野市場的一些真正實力，這無疑為 75% 至 80% 的業務提供了良好的需求支持。輪胎市場是更新換代的，它往往更有彈性、更穩定、更耐用。

In Performance Chemicals, it's a more diverse portfolio of applications. But there's real strength across these applications due to a combination of factors. Infrastructure-related applications continue to grow very nicely and emerging applications like batteries, given the growth in EVs continues to be quite strong.

在高性能化學品中，它是一個更加多樣化的應用組合。但是由於多種因素的結合，這些應用程序具有真正的優勢。鑑於電動汽車的增長仍然相當強勁，與基礎設施相關的應用程序和電池等新興應用程序繼續保持良好增長。

In terms of restocking, I think, in general, inventory levels remain pretty tight across most value chains. So we're not really seeing any level of restocking. In fact, I would say that probably inventory levels for most customers in the various value chains we serve are thinner than they would like them to be. So that's sort of a general comment, but -- on a restocking point.

在補貨方面，我認為，總的來說，大多數價值鏈的庫存水平仍然相當緊張。因此，我們並沒有真正看到任何程度的補貨。事實上，我想說的是，對於我們服務的各種價值鏈中的大多數客戶來說，庫存水平可能比他們希望的要少。所以這是一個一般性的評論，但是 - 在補貨點上。

Our next question comes from Mike Leithead with Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Mike Leithead。

First question for Sean. I was hoping you could flesh out a bit more what's driving the higher EPS outlook. Obviously, first quarter was ahead, but it looks like the remaining 3 quarters are now expected to be incrementally better than you thought a few months ago. So I was hoping you could just unpack a bit more what's driving that better outlook?

肖恩的第一個問題。我希望你能更詳細地說明推動更高每股收益前景的因素。顯然，第一季度領先，但看起來剩下的 3 個季度現在預計會比幾個月前的預期要好得多。所以我希望你能多解開一點，是什麼推動了更好的前景？

Yes. So demand remains quite robust, Mike. But overall, it's really strong execution on pricing. And so let me try to give you a bit of color there. So in Reinforcement Materials, we realized better than expected outcomes for the 2022 entire customer agreements. And so that definitely contributed to the raise and outlook for that business.

是的。所以需求仍然相當強勁，邁克。但總的來說，它在定價方面的執行力非常強。所以讓我試著給你一點顏色。因此，在增強材料方面，我們在 2022 年的整個客戶協議中實現了好於預期的結果。因此，這無疑促成了該業務的增長和前景。

And then in Performance Chemicals, while input factors are rising pretty much everywhere and the chemical industry is having to address that like everyone else. Our efforts to recover those rising input costs through pricing actions has been -- it's been very successful and the execution of our teams has exceeded our previous outlook.

然後在高性能化學品領域，雖然輸入因素幾乎無處不在，化學工業必須像其他人一樣解決這個問題。我們通過定價行動來恢復這些不斷上升的投入成本的努力非常成功，我們團隊的執行力超出了我們之前的預期。

You'll remember in Performance Chemicals, it tends to be more spot oriented rather than contractual. And so sometimes in a period of rising inputs, we may be chasing it a little bit, but the team has really done a fantastic job in executing really well. And so that strength and timeliness of pricing action is contributing.

您會記得，在高性能化學品中，它往往更注重現場而不是合同。因此，有時在投入增加的時期，我們可能會稍微追逐它，但團隊在執行方面確實做得非常出色。因此，定價行動的力度和及時性正在發揮作用。

And then finally, I'd say, continued confidence in how the businesses are performing in terms of our growth vectors, in particular, Battery Materials. But across a number of the growth areas that we spent some time on during Investor Day. So continued confidence building in those is also a factor here. So those would be the primary drivers, Mike.

最後，我想說的是，繼續對業務在我們的增長向量方面的表現充滿信心，特別是電池材料。但是在我們在投資者日期間花了一些時間研究的許多增長領域。因此，在這些方面繼續建立信心也是一個因素。所以這些將是主要驅動力，邁克。

Great. That's super helpful.

偉大的。這非常有幫助。

And then second question for Erica. Maybe 2 quick things on cash flow this quarter. First, working capital was $143 million use of cash. So is that a function of higher oil? Or is there something else lumpy in there?

然後是 Erica 的第二個問題。本季度可能有兩件關於現金流的快速事情。首先，營運資金是 1.43 億美元的現金使用。那麼這是高油的功能嗎？還是裡面有別的東西？

And second, I think if I look at the press release, the change in other assets line was a $36 million use of operating cash and other financing line was a $27 million use of cash. So is there any lumpy items in there that you flag as well?

其次，我認為如果我查看新聞稿，其他資產線的變化是使用了 3600 萬美元的運營現金，而其他融資線的變化是使用了 2700 萬美元的現金。那麼裡面有沒有你也標記的塊狀物品？

Sure. So the first question, which is the working capital, it is mainly the higher oil prices. So the increase you can see is driven by higher inventory and receivable balances. The inventory balance is largely driven by the oil flow through within those balances and some planned inventory build heading into Q2.

當然。所以第一個問題，即營運資金，主要是油價上漲。因此，您可以看到的增長是由較高的庫存和應收賬款餘額推動的。庫存餘額主要是由這些餘額中的石油流量驅動的，以及一些計劃庫存進入第二季度。

The higher receivables is driven by the higher sales price, largely from the pricing we've passed on to recover the higher input cost. So I would not say there's anything unusual in the working capital. The view going forward obviously depends on oil prices. We assume that the global feedstock prices remain in line with current levels, and we would expect to level off of the use of cash for working capital.

較高的應收賬款是由較高的銷售價格推動的，主要來自我們為收回較高投入成本而傳遞的定價。所以我不會說營運資金有什麼不尋常的地方。未來的看法顯然取決於油價。我們假設全球原料價格與當前水平保持一致，我們預計將現金用於營運資金的情況趨於平穩。

We will see higher receivables balances at the higher pricing and the Reinforcement Materials contract flows through in Q2. But then the oil impact should start to moderate, assuming we have flattish oil going forward. And then in terms of the cash flow in terms of those other operating items, I'd say the only I'd say notable items flowing through there are impacts from as we're restoring our plant in Belgium.

我們將看到更高定價的更高應收賬款餘額和增強材料合同在第二季度流動。但隨後石油影響應該開始緩和，假設我們未來的石油持平。然後就其他經營項目的現金流而言，我想說的唯一值得注意的項目是我們正在恢復比利時工廠時的影響。

There are impacts in there in terms of repairing the site and then the insurance proceeds that come through that are -- should pretty much offset that over time. But it is a bit lumpy in terms of what we received in a given quarter from what we're spending versus what insurance is coming back.

在修復場地方面存在影響，然後通過這些產生的保險收益 - 隨著時間的推移幾乎應該抵消這種影響。但就我們在特定季度收到的支出與保險的回報而言，這有點不穩定。

Our next question comes from Josh Spector with UBS.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞銀的 Josh Spector。

Congrats on a really strong quarter and outlook. Just want to ask broadly on China. Given you guys have a leading position there, there's definitely increased focus around what's going on in China demand and COVID impacts, et cetera. Curious if you could share what you saw in the quarter? And how Cabot's operations and your customers' operations ran? And if you have any thoughts about, if China shifts their COVID policy management to kind of -- from a tight control to perhaps more of managing an endemic-type situation, does that provide -- create any risk to your outlook at all?

祝賀一個非常強勁的季度和前景。只是想廣泛地問一下中國。鑑於你們在那里處於領先地位，肯定會越來越多地關注中國需求和 COVID 影響等方面的情況。想知道您是否可以分享您在本季度看到的情況？卡博特的運營和您客戶的運營是如何運作的？如果你有任何想法，如果中國將他們的 COVID 政策管理轉變為——從嚴格控製到可能更多地管理流行型的情況，這是否會給你的前景帶來任何風險？

And I'd say generally, your comments seem to be kind of business as usual. So just making sure that we're thinking about that right.

我會說一般來說，您的評論似乎是一種照常營業。所以只要確保我們正在考慮這個問題是正確的。

Yes, sure. So thanks, Josh, for the comments and the question. We're certainly very pleased with the performance and the outlook. So first, in terms of China, what we saw in the quarter was quite strong performance. And so in Reinforcement Materials across Asia-Pac, volumes were up strongly and our -- and China is a big piece of that.

是的，當然。所以謝謝喬希的評論和問題。我們當然對性能和前景感到非常滿意。首先，就中國而言，我們在本季度看到的表現相當強勁。因此，在整個亞太地區的增強材料中，銷量強勁增長，而我們——中國是其中的重要組成部分。

Our performance in China continued to go quite well in the quarter. So as we elaborated during the recent Investor Day, we really consider ourselves a great operator in China. And I think that continued to show through in the quarter where plants ran well. And while the situation is, at times, dynamic, we're well able to manage that.

我們在中國的表現在本季度繼續表現良好。因此，正如我們在最近的投資者日中所闡述的那樣，我們確實認為自己是中國優秀的運營商。我認為這在植物運行良好的季度繼續表現出來。雖然情況有時是動態的，但我們能夠很好地管理它。

Now as we go forward here, our expectation is for a fairly stable economic environment in China through the balance of 2022. I think the government there has recently adopted some new policies related to this power shortage issue that was well discussed in the early fall autumn period. They're now allowing electricity prices to float up, which has been stimulating power producers to produce more energy.

現在我們在這裡前進，我們的預期是到 2022 年餘下，中國的經濟環境相當穩定。我認為那裡的政府最近採取了一些與電力短缺問題相關的新政策，這些政策在初秋秋天得到了很好的討論時期。他們現在允許電價上漲，這一直在刺激電力生產商生產更多能源。

So there were some issues related to policies there that I think have improved the situation, and so we don't expect any material disruption going forward. And the government is also in an effort to balance economic growth along with their other priorities has been looking to stimulate the economy in certain ways, reducing interest rates and accelerating some spending and infrastructure in some of these areas that are helpful. So I think they're sort of keenly focused on trying to balance this.

因此，我認為那裡存在一些與政策相關的問題，這些問題已經改善了這種情況，因此我們預計未來不會出現任何重大破壞。政府也在努力平衡經濟增長以及其他優先事項，一直在尋求以某些方式刺激經濟，降低利率並加快其中一些有用領域的支出和基礎設施建設。所以我認為他們有點專注於試圖平衡這一點。

Now on the COVID front, they've definitely managed in terms of at least reported cases to a much lower level than anywhere else in the world and have had this Zero COVID policy. I think ultimately, sustaining that policy will probably prove to be challenging.

現在在 COVID 方面，他們在至少報告的病例方面確實做到了比世界其他任何地方都低得多的水平，並且制定了零 COVID 政策。我認為最終，維持該政策可能會被證明具有挑戰性。

But on balance, I actually consider it to be a positive as it relates to our businesses because when there are COVID-outbreaks that tend to take fairly draconian actions which can cause disruptions. And I think if it over time, transitions to more of management -- managing COVID approach, then there probably will be a little more stability and that will, on balance be, I think, a good thing. So I -- that's how I see it, but I think that they probably will have to make a transition at some point here from what has been a very tight COVID policy.

但總的來說，我實際上認為它是積極的，因為它與我們的業務有關，因為當發生 COVID 爆發時，往往會採取相當嚴厲的行動，從而造成破壞。而且我認為，如果隨著時間的推移，過渡到更多的管理——管理 COVID 方法，那麼可能會有更多的穩定性，總的來說，我認為這將是一件好事。所以我 - 這就是我的看法，但我認為他們可能不得不在某個時候從非常嚴格的 COVID 政策過渡。

And I appreciate those thoughts. And just quickly on performance volumes. I mean you're talking about a lot of things kind of flowing through perhaps later this year. And obviously, I think you got past some of the plant shutdowns. Curious just how high volumes could be year-over-year in the second half in performance?

我很欣賞這些想法。並且在性能上很快。我的意思是你在談論很多事情可能會在今年晚些時候發生。很明顯，我認為你已經度過了一些工廠停工期。好奇下半年的業績同比會有多高？

Yes. So we definitely have been impacted in the first quarter with some plant-related impacts. We're pleased that -- this quarter, the Belgian master batch plant will be coming back online. So that's positive and some of the impacts from our FMO fence-line partners disruptions should work themselves out here as well. So I think we'll see a more normal volume profile as we move forward. I think the best way to think about first of all, it's a diverse portfolio across performance chemicals of applications. But on balance, these grow at somewhere 1.5 to 2x GDP, with, of course, differences by application. And so I think that's still the best way to think about it. So pretty solid growth.

是的。因此，我們肯定在第一季度受到了一些與工廠相關的影響。我們很高興——本季度，比利時色母粒工廠將重新上線。所以這是積極的，我們的 FMO 圍欄合作夥伴中斷的一些影響也應該在這裡發揮作用。所以我認為隨著我們的前進，我們會看到一個更正常的成交量分佈。我認為首先考慮的最佳方式是跨應用性能化學品的多樣化產品組合。但總的來說，這些增長大約是 GDP 的 1.5 到 2 倍，當然，應用不同。所以我認為這仍然是考慮它的最佳方式。如此穩健的增長。

Now there are some areas where we are outperforming and expect to continue to outperform and go well above those numbers. The best example there of course, there, our efforts in batteries where we're expecting to grow at a very high rate, above the market growth rate for that business.

現在，我們在某些領域表現出色，並有望繼續表現出色並遠高於這些數字。最好的例子當然是我們在電池方面的努力，我們預計電池將以非常高的速度增長，高於該業務的市場增長率。

So we feel pretty good about the volume outlook in this business. And as we bring on some new capacity later in the year, particularly around specialty carbon, that will continue to support the volume growth both for our sort of legacy specialty carbons applications, but also we'll have some capacity support for batteries.

因此，我們對該業務的銷量前景感到非常滿意。隨著我們在今年晚些時候增加一些新產能，特別是在特種碳方面，這將繼續支持我們傳統特種碳應用的數量增長，而且我們還將為電池提供一些產能支持。

Our next question comes from Laurence Alexander with Jefferies.

我們的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Laurence Alexander。

It's Dan Rizzo on for Laurence. So I think you mentioned that the battery market is going to grow 30% a year starting in 2025 and that you, I think, just said you're going to outpace that. I was wondering what kind of capacity expansions are going to be to kind of keep up with that growth, not necessarily over the next 2 years, but say, over the next, I don't know, 8 to 10 years?

這是勞倫斯的丹·里佐。所以我認為你提到電池市場將從 2025 年開始每年增長 30%，而我認為你剛剛說你將超過這個速度。我想知道要進行什麼樣的產能擴張才能跟上這種增長，不一定是在未來 2 年，而是說，在接下來的 8 到 10 年，我不知道？

Yes.

是的。

Yes, so the market, just to recap, Dan. So the market for lithium-ion batteries is growing at 30%-ish, 30-plus percent based on a number of reported market studies. So that's something that's happening right now, and we project that to go for -- out through the end of the decade through 2030.

是的，所以市場，只是回顧一下，丹。因此，根據許多報告的市場研究，鋰離子電池市場正在以 30% 到 30% 以上的速度增長。所以這就是現在正在發生的事情，我們預計到這個十年結束到 2030 年。

Now as we had shared during our Investor Day, we have expectations to outpace that. And so over the next 3 years, we're expecting to grow this business at 50-plus percent and I think that's purely a function of the Cabot value proposition here in terms of the breadth of our Conductive Carbon Additive portfolio our global footprint of assets and the fact that we've got application technology labs and technical and commercial teams all over the world, this is really, I think, a real strength of Cabot, and I think that resonates with customers.

現在，正如我們在投資者日期間所分享的那樣，我們的預期會超過這一點。因此，在接下來的 3 年中，我們預計這項業務將以 50% 以上的速度增長，我認為這純粹是卡博特價值主張的一個功能，就我們的導電碳添加劑產品組合的廣度而言，我們的全球資產足跡事實上，我們在世界各地都有應用技術實驗室以及技術和商業團隊，我認為這確實是卡博特的真正優勢，我認為這會引起客戶的共鳴。

Now on the capacity front, sure, there will be capacity adds that are required here. A number of them have been underway over the last couple of years to meet the growth that we're already putting up in this business. And then there will be further as it will be required here as our plant in Xuzhou, China comes on for specialty carbons, that will unlock some capacity elsewhere in our network to support batteries. And then the Tianjin announcement that we just made, we will convert and upgrade that facility, we'll provide then further runway for these high-value conductive carbons.

現在在容量方面，當然，這裡需要增加容量。其中一些在過去幾年中一直在進行，以滿足我們已經在這項業務中實現的增長。隨著我們在中國徐州的工廠開始生產特種碳，這將釋放我們網絡中其他地方的一些產能，以支持電池，因此這裡將需要更多。然後我們剛剛發布的天津公告，我們將轉換和升級該設施，然後我們將為這些高價值導電碳提供進一步的跑道。

On carbon nanotube front, we also have capacity expansions underway there. So if you think about over the next 3 years, there's somewhere in the order of $100 million of CapEx that we'll be spending across the conductive carbon WACC and carbon nanotube footprint to build capacity, to keep fueling this growth here. So we've got a good line of sight on it. We're building great momentum, and we're putting the plans in place to continue to have the capacity to meet the needs of this market.

在碳納米管方面，我們也在進行產能擴張。因此，如果您考慮在接下來的 3 年中，我們將在導電碳 WACC 和碳納米管足跡上花費大約 1 億美元的資本支出來建設產能，以繼續推動這裡的增長。所以我們有一個很好的視線。我們正在建立良好的勢頭，我們正在製定計劃以繼續有能力滿足這個市場的需求。

Again, we're I think it holds great promise, and we're certainly determined in our efforts here.

再說一次，我認為它有很大的希望，而且我們當然決心在這裡努力。

Okay. And then I think you said that dual control in China is easing. But I was wondering, has it affected you guys or your customers that much at all? It doesn't seem like it's been a headwind as highlighted by others within the chemical world?

好的。然後我想你說中國的雙重管制正在放鬆。但我想知道，它對你們或你們的客戶有那麼大的影響嗎？這似乎不像化學界其他人強調的那樣是逆風？

Yes. So it hasn't had a material impact on us. And as I said, I think there were some actions taken by China, a few months ago that have eased some of the power shortages there.

是的。所以它對我們沒有實質性的影響。正如我所說，我認為中國在幾個月前採取了一些行動，緩解了那裡的一些電力短缺問題。

So I think that's good in the short term and China will, obviously, have to continue to balance how it supports economic growth and how it transitions to continue to reduce the environmental impact. But in terms of Cabot's operations, we've not had any material impact. We've been operating really well.

所以我認為這在短期內是好的，很明顯，中國必須繼續平衡它如何支持經濟增長和如何過渡以繼續減少對環境的影響。但就卡博特的運營而言，我們沒有產生任何實質性影響。我們一直運作良好。

I'm very pleased with that. And I think it -- again, it's a function of all of the things that was built over the years and why we're a great operator. There's certainly a lot of experience in our 30-plus years, really strong joint venture partners where together, we can manage through these things. And our -- the way we operate, run our plants, the level of environmental performance that we deliver, I think, is appreciated by the Chinese Regulatory Authorities. And so we're able to manage it but it's always a fairly dynamic situation in China, but again, it comes down to good management I think.

我對此非常滿意。而且我認為它 - 再次，它是多年來構建的所有事物的功能，以及為什麼我們是一個偉大的運營商。在我們 30 多年的時間裡，當然有很多經驗，非常強大的合資夥伴，我們可以一起管理這些事情。我認為，我們的運營方式、工廠運營方式以及我們提供的環境績效水平都受到中國監管機構的讚賞。所以我們能夠管理它，但它在中國始終是一個相當動態的情況，但我認為這又歸結為良好的管理。

Our next question comes from Chris Kapsch with Loop Capital.

我們的下一個問題來自 Loop Capital 的 Chris Kapsch。

So one question I had was in the context of your revised guidance. You characterized the better expected pricing realization from the contract negotiations are the key or maybe the key driver. Just wondering if there's any way you could quantify that benefit either in terms of carbon black prices on a year-over-year basis or perhaps in terms of gross profit metrics for the segment, all else equal?

所以我的一個問題是在你修訂後的指導的背景下。您認為合同談判中更好的預期定價實現是關鍵，或者可能是關鍵驅動因素。只是想知道是否有任何方法可以量化這種收益，無論是在炭黑價格的同比基礎上，還是在該細分市場的毛利潤指標方面，所有其他條件都相同？

Yes, sure. So Chris, just as a recap, I think a few things driving the upward revision of guidance. Certainly, the outcomes from the prior customer agreement, and I'll comment on that a bit more but also, I think, really strong execution on pricing and Performance Chemicals and really real timely pass-through there. And then third, the continued momentum in these growth vectors of Battery Materials, but also Inkjet. So those are really the 3 drivers.

是的，當然。所以克里斯，作為回顧，我認為有幾件事推動了指導的向上修訂。當然，之前的客戶協議的結果，我將對此發表更多評論，但我認為，在定價和高性能化學品方面的執行力非常強，並且在那裡真正及時傳遞。第三，電池材料和噴墨這些增長載體的持續動力。所以這些是真正的3個驅動程序。

On the agreements, the tire, customer agreements, we're definitely overall very pleased with the outcome. I think the supply chain situation impacting the world really placed a lot of value on Cabot as a reliable global supplier and so we're pleased with that. And resulted in some fairly substantial price increases, but also volumes that we expect to be in line with the regional demand.

關於協議、輪胎、客戶協議，我們總體上對結果非常滿意。我認為影響世界的供應鏈形勢確實非常重視卡博特作為可靠的全球供應商，因此我們對此感到高興。並導致了一些相當可觀的價格上漲，但我們預計的數量將與區域需求保持一致。

So again, overall, pretty strong results. Now the net impact of all of this, probably the best way to think about it is maybe somewhere in the order of $15 million per quarter, net of rising costs around the world.

所以，總的來說，結果非常好。現在，所有這一切的淨影響，可能是考慮它的最佳方式，可能是每季度大約 1500 萬美元，扣除全球不斷上漲的成本。

So these contract outcomes included factors like cost-based prices, but also factors to recover rising costs like higher natural gas costs or in certain parts of the world, if there is CO2 costs, we've been able to negotiate the recovery of those. So important to understand that point.

因此，這些合同結果包括基於成本的價格等因素，但也包括回收成本上升的因素，例如更高的天然氣成本，或者在世界某些地區，如果有二氧化碳成本，我們已經能夠就這些成本的回收進行談判。理解這一點非常重要。

But net of those rising costs, which we've recovered the net impact is somewhere in that $15 million per quarter range is probably the best way to think about it.

但是，扣除我們已經恢復的成本上升後，淨影響大約在每季度 1500 萬美元的範圍內，這可能是考慮它的最佳方式。

That's helpful. And then you alluded to the follow-up, but just the spike in gas and energy prices in Europe, were you simply able to mitigate that through DTAs or other actions? Or was there converse, I guess, any benefit from your energy center co-gen operation from what's going on over there?

這很有幫助。然後你提到了後續行動，但只是歐洲天然氣和能源價格的飆升，你是否能夠通過 DTA 或其他行動來緩解這種情況？或者，我猜，你的能源中心聯合發電運營是否從那裡發生的事情中受益？

Yes. So certainly, as energy prices are higher, then that benefits in terms of the energy center contributions for sure. And then as energy prices are higher than some of the technology and yield work that we do is more valuable. So that's been -- long been the case, and that's -- that is the case now. With respect to higher natural gas costs, certainly, they've shot up in Europe, but we've been able to largely offset that through a combination of DCA adjustment flow-throughs and on the more spot side of the business, whether it's in reinforcement or in specialty carbons through spot market action. So certainly a dynamic situation, but pleased with the way the team has been able to manage it.

是的。因此，當然，隨著能源價格的上漲，能源中心的貢獻肯定會從中受益。然後，由於能源價格高於某些技術，我們所做的產量工作更有價值。所以這一直是 - 長期以來一直是這樣，現在就是這樣。關於較高的天然氣成本，當然，它們在歐洲已經飆升，但我們已經能夠通過結合 DCA 調整流動和更多的業務現場來抵消這一點，無論是在通過現貨市場行動強化或特種碳。所以肯定是一個動態的情況，但對團隊能夠管理它的方式感到滿意。

Great. And if I could just sneak in one more. So in the Battery Materials business, you've talked about that market growing, and I get it 30%, 35% a year through the decade and you guys outperforming that. So how do you gauge that outperformance?

偉大的。如果我能再偷偷溜進去一個。因此，在電池材料業務中，您談到了該市場的增長，在這十年中，我得到了每年 30%、35% 的增長，而你們的表現則超過了這一點。那麼你如何衡量這種優異表現呢？

Is it on a -- are you -- do you have visibility on a customer-by-customer basis from the specifications where you get qualified that you're sort of getting an outsized benefit from relative to the market growth? Or any way to just comment on how you're validating that outperformance relative to the market?

是不是——你是——你是否能從你獲得資格的規格中逐個客戶地了解你是否從相對於市場增長中獲得了巨大的利益？或者以任何方式評論您如何驗證相對於市場的優異表現？

Yes. Thanks, Chris. So I think a couple of ways. So one is certainly our volume growth, and that's a backward-looking indicator that in the quarter, our volumes business grew at 58%. So certainly, that's well above the market growth and an indicator of our strong performance here. But again, that's a bit more of a backward-looking one.

是的。謝謝，克里斯。所以我想了幾個方法。所以一個肯定是我們的銷量增長，這是一個向後看的指標，在本季度，我們的銷量業務增長了 58%。所以當然，這遠高於市場增長，也是我們在這裡表現強勁的一個指標。但同樣，這有點向後看。

In terms of forward-looking, we do have pretty good visibility. So the market is fairly concentrated. I think I've commented in the past that the top 8 producers represent about 90% of the market. And that can move around a little bit. And certainly, there's a long tail after the top 8. But it's a fairly concentrated group of big battery producers. And so we certainly know how we're connected into various programs and how our qualification efforts are progressing. So that gives a certain measure of visibility.

在前瞻性方面，我們確實有很好的知名度。所以市場比較集中。我想我過去曾評論說，前 8 名生產商代表了大約 90% 的市場。這可以移動一點。當然，在前 8 名之後還有一條長尾。但它是一個相當集中的大型電池生產商群體。所以我們當然知道我們是如何與各種項目聯繫起來的，以及我們的資格認證工作是如何進行的。所以這給出了一定程度的可見性。

What is difficult to project is exactly who will win and at what rate. And so that's something that is always a little bit of a moving target. But our participation is pretty broad here. We're currently serving 6 of those top 8 with development programs with the others in process here. So the winners and -- the ultimate winners and losers, if I could state it that way, is somewhat less of an issue because we're able to participate broadly here.

難以預測的究竟是誰將獲勝以及以何種速度獲勝。所以這總是一個移動的目標。但我們在這裡的參與相當廣泛。我們目前正在為前 8 名中的 6 個提供發展計劃，其他人正在這裡。所以贏家和最終的贏家和輸家，如果我可以這樣說的話，這不是一個問題，因為我們能夠在這裡廣泛參與。

But hopefully, that gives you a little bit of color on how we try to look at things both from a backward-looking, are we achieving our objectives and then the forward look.

但希望這能讓您對我們如何嘗試從後視、我們是否實現目標以及前瞻來看待事物有所了解。

There are no further questions. I'd like to turn the call back over to Sean Keohane.

沒有進一步的問題。我想把電話轉回給 Sean Keohane。

Great. Thank you very much, Michelle, and thank you all for joining today, and we look forward to engaging with you again next quarter, and thank you for your support of Cabot. Have a great day.

偉大的。非常感謝 Michelle，感謝大家今天的加入，我們期待下個季度再次與您互動，感謝您對 Cabot 的支持。祝你有美好的一天。

This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a great day.

這確實結束了程序。您現在可以斷開連接。大家，有一個美好的一天。