塞拉尼斯 (CE) 2005 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for your patience and welcome to the first quarter 2005 Celanese Corporation earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions). As a reminder, today's conference is being recorded for replay purposes. I would now like to turn the conference over to your host for today's presentation, Mr. Mark Oberle, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please proceed, sir.

女士們，先生們，大家好！感謝您的耐心等待，歡迎參加塞拉尼斯公司2005年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）。提醒一下，今天的會議正在錄音，以便重播。現在，我想將今天的演講交給主持人，投資者關係副總裁馬克·奧伯爾先生。先生，請繼續。

Thank you and welcome, everyone, to the Celanese Corporation first quarter 2005 financial results conference call on Tuesday May 10, 2005. My name is Mark Oberle, Vice President of Investor Relations. On the call today are David Weidman, Chief Executive Officer, and Corky Nelson, Chief Financial Officer. The Celanese Corporation press release was distributed via Business Wire this morning and is also posted on our website, Celanese.com.

感謝各位，歡迎大家參加2005年5月10日星期二舉行的塞拉尼斯公司2005年第一季財務業績電話會議。我是投資者關係副總裁Mark Oberle。今天參加電話會議的還有執行長David Weidman和財務長Corky Nelson。塞拉尼斯公司的新聞稿已於今天上午透過Business Wire發布，並已在我們的網站Celanese.com上發布。

During this call management may make forward-looking statements concerning, for example, Celanese Corporation's future objectives and results, which will be made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in economic, business, competitive, market, political and regulatory factors.

在本次電話會議中，管理階層可能會做出前瞻性陳述，例如有關塞拉尼斯公司未來目標和績效的陳述，這些陳述將根據《1995年私人證券訴訟改革法》的安全港條款做出。這些陳述是基於管理階層目前的預期，並受不確定性和情況變化的影響。由於經濟、商業、競爭、市場、政治和監管因素的變化，實際結果可能與這些預期有重大差異。

More detailed information about these factors are contained in this morning's earnings release and in Celanese Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Celanese Corporation undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements. Celanese Corporation's first quarter 2005 earnings release references the performance measures net debt, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net earnings and adjusted basic earnings per share as non-U.S. GAAP measures.

有關這些因素的更多詳細信息，請參閱今天上午的收益報告以及塞拉尼斯公司提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中。塞拉尼斯公司不承擔公開更新或修改任何前瞻性聲明的義務。塞拉尼斯公司2005年第一季財報中所引用的業績指標包括淨負債、調整後息稅折舊攤銷前利潤 (EBITDA)、調整後淨收益和調整後基本每股收益，均為非美國公認會計準則 (GAAP) 指標。

The most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP in our financial statements for net debt is total debt. For adjusted EBITDA, it is net earnings. For adjusted net earnings, it is net earnings or loss. For adjusted basic earnings per share, it is income available to common shareholders. For a reconciliation of our non-U.S. GAAP measures to U.S. GAAP figures, please see the Company's schedules to our earnings release and on our website.

在我們的財務報表中，根據美國公認會計準則 (GAAP) 呈現的淨債務最直接可比較的財務指標是總債務。對於調整後的息稅折舊攤提前利潤 (EBITDA)，此指標是淨收益。對於調整後的淨收益，此指標是淨收益或虧損。對於調整後每股基本收益，此指標是普通股股東可獲得的收益。如需查看我們非美國公認會計準則 (non-US GAAP) 指標與美國公認會計準則 (US GAAP) 資料的對照表，請參閱本公司財報附表及我們的網站。

This morning, David Weidman will review the performance of the Company and its businesses and Corky Nelson will provide an overview of the financials. Now I would like to turn the call over to David Weidman.

今天上午，David Weidman 將回顧公司及其業務的業績，Corky Nelson 將概述財務狀況。現在，我想將電話交給 David Weidman。

Thanks very much. And to everyone, welcome to our first quarter earnings conference call. We are extremely excited about the terrific performance that we will be reporting on today, and we're delighted to be raising our EPS guidance for the year. This morning I would like to begin by briefly covering three significant accomplishments made during the first quarter, and then go on to review the spectacular results from our businesses. Corky will then provide more financial details and discuss our second-quarter and full year outlook.

非常感謝！歡迎各位參加我們第一季財報電話會議。我們對今天即將報告的出色業績感到非常興奮，也很高興能夠上調今年的每股收益預期。今天上午，我想先簡單介紹第一季取得的三項重要成就，然後回顧我們各項業務的優異表現。之後，科基將提供更多財務細節，並討論我們對第二季和全年的展望。

Now on to the accomplishments. First Celanese had a terrific quarter with strong earnings performance and a substantially improved cash position. Our sales rose 21%, operating profit rose over 200%, spectacular results coming mainly on higher pricing and margins, driven by robust demand and high industry utilization. Our adjusted basic EPS came in at $0.87 per share, exceeding our guidance of $0.73 to $0.76 per share. And our adjusted EBITDA increased 61% to $334 million.

現在來看看業績。首先，塞拉尼斯本季表現出色，獲利表現強勁，現金狀況大幅改善。我們的銷售額成長了21%，營業利潤成長了200%以上，這主要得益於價格上漲和利潤率的提升，這得益於強勁的需求和行業高利用率。我們的調整後基本每股盈餘為每股0.87美元，超過了我們先前預期的每股0.73美元至0.76美元。我們的調整後息稅折舊攤提前利潤（EBITDA）成長了61%，達到3.34億美元。

We are delighted as well that sales and profitability increased in all of our businesses versus the same period last year. And this performance acceleration came from both improved market conditions and from the success of a number of growth in productivity projects in which our 10,000 Celanese associates were actively involved.

我們同樣欣喜的是，所有業務的銷售額和獲利能力均較去年同期成長。業績的提升既得益於市場環境的改善，也得益於我們1萬名塞拉尼斯員工積極參與的一系列生產力提升計畫的成功。

Second, in the quarter we bolstered our strong acetyls chain with a successful acquisition of the Vinamul emulsion business. A key element of our successful growth strategy is continued downstream expansion of our integrated acetyls chain. The Vinamul acquisition added over $60 million to our sales in the quarter, and integration is on track. We expect that Vinamul will not only enhance our profitability, but also help us moderate the cyclicality of our chemical business.

第二，本季度，我們成功收購了Vinamul乳液業務，增強了我們強大的乙醯基產品鏈。我們成功成長策略的關鍵要素是持續拓展我們一體化乙醯基產品鏈的下游業務。 Vinamul的收購為本季我們的銷售額增加了6,000多萬美元，目前整合工作正在按計劃進行。我們預期Vinamul不僅能提升我們的獲利能力，還能幫助我們緩和化工業務的周期性。

Third, several new leaders have joined our senior management team in the past few months. I believe that one of the strengths of Celanese is the good complementary mix of leaders we have. We draw upon experienced executives from within Celanese as well as leaders who bring to our Company a wealth of talents developed in other organizations. These new leaders who just joined us well help us steer our strategies for investments in China, investor relations, corporate governance and human resources.

第三，過去幾個月，幾位新領導加入了我們的高階管理團隊。我認為塞拉尼斯的優勢之一在於我們擁有互補的領導團隊。我們既吸收了塞拉尼斯內部經驗豐富的主管，也吸收了在其他公司培養的優秀人才，為公司帶來了寶貴的人才。這些新加入的領導者將幫助我們更好地掌控在華投資、投資者關係、公司治理和人力資源方面的策略。

Now I would like to move on and cover some highlights from the performances of our business. If you turn to page with Chemical Products, our Chemical Products business had another sterling quarter. As expected, robust demand continued building from the strong fourth quarter 2004 momentum. Pricing increased considerably as industry capacity utilization ranged above 90% for most products. In this environment, we were able to more than offset higher raw material costs and expand margins substantially.

現在，我想繼續介紹我們業務表現的一些亮點。如果您翻到「化工產品」頁面，我們化工產品業務又迎來了一個出色的季度。正如預期，強勁的需求延續了2004年第四季的強勁勢頭。由於大多數產品的產業產能利用率超過90%，價格大幅上漲。在這種環境下，我們不僅抵銷了原物料成本上漲的影響，也大幅提升了利潤率。

Now in this current quarter, we continue to see conditions similar to those in the first quarter. And as a consequence, we expect second quarter results to be in about the same range as the first quarter. As we mention on our last call with you, we are still taking a cautious view that the announced acetyls capacity expansions will come on-stream in the second half of 2005 as announced. When this new capacity does come on-stream, the current tight supply/demand situation could temporarily ease. And as this occurs, we anticipate that our strong integrated chain of acetyl products will help insulate us from the impact.

本季度，我們繼續看到與第一季類似的情況。因此，我們預計第二季的業績將與第一季大致持平。正如我們在上次電話會議中提到的，我們仍然謹慎地認為，已宣布的乙醯基產能擴張項目能否按計劃在2005年下半年投產。當這些新產能投產後，當前的供需緊張局面可能會暫時緩解。屆時，我們預計強大的乙醯基產品一體化鏈將幫助我們免受衝擊。

Additionally, we also expect to benefit from the savings derived from our methanol sourcing contracts in the second half of this year. Now given these factors, we believe our chemicals business will continue to produce strong results in the second half of this year, although likely at lower levels than those in the first and second quarters.

此外，我們預計今年下半年也將受惠於甲醇採購合約帶來的成本節省。有鑑於這些因素，我們相信化學品業務將在今年下半年繼續保持強勁業績，儘管成長可能低於第一季和第二季。

Let's move on to Ticona. Our Ticona engineered plastics business had a very good quarter, improving profitability over last year considering the difficult environment, which was characterized by weaker end markets and escalating input costs. Volumes grew despite lower automotive builds in both Europe and the U.S. We believe that this strong accomplishment underscores the strength of our global business footprint, and the success of our strategy of focusing on penetrating markets with new applications.

讓我們來看看泰科納。我們的泰科納工程塑膠業務本季表現非常出色，儘管市場環境艱難，終端市場疲軟，投入成本不斷攀升，但獲利能力較去年同期有所提升。儘管歐洲和美國汽車產量均有所下降，但銷量仍保持成長。我們相信，這一強勁業績凸顯了我們全球業務佈局的實力，以及我們專注於開拓新應用市場的策略的成功。

Productivity as well increased as a result of our programs over the past year which reduced sales, admin and manufacturing costs. And we are pleased that overall pricing stabilized. Though it was flat year-over-year, pricing increased 5% sequentially, a result somewhat understated by product mix impacts.

由於我們過去一年實施的各項計劃降低了銷售、管理和製造成本，生產力也得到了提升。我們很高興看到整體價格趨於穩定。儘管價格同比持平，但環比上漲了5%，但由於產品組合的影響，這一結果被低估了。

Now going forward, we expect further success in implementing price increases to somewhat counter escalating raw material and energy costs for Ticona, and anticipate modest volume growth until there is an automotive resurgence. We will remain focused on our successful strategy of increasing the penetration in all markets by providing innovative solutions to our customers.

展望未來，我們預計提價措施將進一步成功，在一定程度上抵消泰科納不斷上漲的原材料和能源成本，並預計在汽車市場復甦之前，銷量將保持溫和增長。我們將繼續專注於我們成功的策略，透過為客戶提供創新解決方案來提昇在所有市場的滲透率。

As another bit of good news, you might remember us mentioning at the end of last year and early into the first quarter, Ticona's Asian equity investments had experienced a pause in sales growth particularly in China. As of April and now into May, sales in this region have picked up substantially. We remind you that our Ticona investments, our joint ventures, had considerable value to Celanese, providing us with a substantial strategic position in Asia and an equal global footprint and leverage in technology developments.

另一個好消息是，您可能還記得我們提到過，去年年底和第一季初，泰科納在亞洲的股權投資經歷了銷售成長的停滯，尤其是在中國。截至4月和5月，該地區的銷售額已大幅回升。我們提醒您，我們對泰科納的投資，以及我們的合資企業，對塞拉尼斯來說具有相當大的價值，使我們在亞洲擁有了重要的戰略地位，並在技術開發方面擁有了同等的全球影響力和影響力。

Now let's move to acetate and Performance Products. Our acetate products business, a business we remind you that is in a process of undergoing a major remodeling, had strong results for the quarter. The two elements in this remodeling are number one, a major capacity expansion through its cost investments in China, and number two, consolidation of our North American manufacturing assets. We're happy to report that we are somewhat ahead of schedule on both fronts. We expect strong performance from acetate to continue this year as we evolve the business model. And then we further anticipate sustainable earnings increases in the 2006/2007 timeframe after various steps of the remodeling program are completed.

現在我們來談談醋酸鹽和性能產品業務。我們的醋酸鹽產品業務（我們提醒您，該業務正在進行重大重組）在本季度取得了強勁的業績。此次重組包含兩個面向：第一，透過在中國的成本投資實現產能大幅擴張；第二，整合我們在北美的製造資產。我們很高興地報告，我們在這兩方面都略微提前了進度。隨著業務模式的改進，我們預期醋酸鹽業務今年將保持強勁成長。此外，我們預計，在重組計畫的各個階段完成後，2006/2007年期間的獲利將持續成長。

In Performance Products, our Nutrinova food ingredients business had a very good quarter. We are delighted with the results of the strategy of planned pricing declines coupled with volume growth that our team put in place several years ago in anticipation of the expiration of the major production patents. Demand was strong for our Sunett sweetener as a result of this strategy, the growth in the entire sweetener sector, and the success of our strategy of blending Sunett with other sweeteners. Pricing declines resulted from sales to large volume customers.

在高性能產品領域，我們的 Nutrinova 食品配料業務本季表現非常出色。我們團隊幾年前就已製定了計劃降價並增加銷量的策略，以應對主要生產專利即將到期的預期，我們對這一策略的成效感到非常滿意。由於這項策略、整個甜味劑行業的成長以及我們將 Sunett 與其他甜味劑混合的策略的成功，我們的 Sunett 甜味劑需求強勁。價格下降是由於面向大批量客戶的銷售。

Now looking forward, based on the very strong results we have this quarter we are pleased to be upping our guidance for the full-year. We now expect full-year 2005 adjusted basic EPS to be between $1.79 and $1.87 per share, increase from the previous guidance we offered in March of $1.61 to $1.77 per share. With that, now let me turn it over to Corky to review the financial details and discuss our outlook.

展望未來，基於本季強勁的業績，我們很高興上調了全年業績預期。我們目前預計2005年全年調整後基本每股盈餘將在1.79美元至1.87美元之間，高於我們3月份給出的每股1.61美元至1.77美元的預期。現在，請Corky回顧財務細節並討論我們的前景。

Thank you Dave. We are pleased with our performance this quarter. Our results reflect the strength of our businesses and a superb execution of our business strategies on the part of all of our associates. If you will turn first to the first slide for those that are following on the Web site, I will go over some key financials.

謝謝戴夫。我們對本季的業績感到滿意。我們的業績反映了我們業務的強勁表現，以及全體員工對業務策略的出色執行。如果您正在網站上關注我們，請先翻到第一張投影片，我將介紹一些關鍵的財務數據。

We delivered sales of a little over 1.5 billion in the first quarter this year, an increase of 21% from the same period last year, mainly due to higher pricing, volume growth, additional sales from our acquisition of Vinamul Emulsions business, and favorable currency effects. Although we reported a net loss of $10 million or $0.08 per share, our underlying performance was quite robust.

今年第一季度，我們的銷售額略高於15億美元，年增21%，這主要得益於價格上漲、銷售成長、收購Vinamul Emulsions業務帶來的額外銷售額，以及有利的匯率因素。儘管我們報告淨虧損1000萬美元，即每股虧損0.08美元，但我們的基本業績表現相當強勁。

Included in these losses were special items that we outlined for you in our March 23 guidance press release. These items included $102 million of expense in refinancing high yield debt, a $10 million payment to our sponsor for monitoring services and $35 million in fees to terminate these services. The cancellation fees are included in our $35 million special charges.

這些損失中包含了我們在3月23日的指引新聞稿中向您概述的特殊項目。這些項目包括1.02億美元的高收益債券再融資費用、支付給保薦人的1000萬美元監控服務費用以及3500萬美元的終止這些服務費用。取消費用已包含在我們3500萬美元的特殊費用中。

After deducting the 150 million of these unusual items, our adjusted basic EPS was $0.87 per share, which is above our guidance of $0.73 to $0.76 per share. Adjusted EBITDA, another measurement of our underlying performance, rose 61% to 334 million in the quarter, compared to 208 million in the prior year, again reflecting the strength in our underlying business. The Celanese team is quite proud of these outstanding achievements.

在扣除1.5億美元這些非常規項目後，我們的調整後基本每股收益為0.87美元，高於我們每股0.73美元至0.76美元的預期。調整後EBITDA（衡量我們基本業績的另一個指標）在本季成長61%，達到3.34億美元，而去年同期為2.08億美元，這再次反映了我們基本業務的強勁表現。塞拉尼斯團隊對這些傑出的成就感到非常自豪。

Operating profit increased about 143 million. This was largely due to higher pricing, mainly in our Chemical Products segment which benefited from strong demand and high industry utilization. We also benefited from productivity improvements and lower depreciation resulting from purchase accounting adjustments and an impairment we took last year. Even as we enjoy a very robust part of the cycle, we remain focused on improving the fundamental drivers of our business.

營業利潤成長約1.43億歐元。這主要得益於價格上漲，尤其是在化學產品業務領域，該業務受益於強勁的需求和較高的行業利用率。此外，我們也受惠於生產效率的提高以及採購會計調整和去年提列的減損帶來的折舊減少。即使在經濟週期中我們正處於非常強勁的時期，我們仍然專注於提升業務的根本驅動力。

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by 24 million to 161 million. Included in SG&A was a $10 million sponsor monitoring, a $10 million in higher amortization expense resulting from purchase accounting, and additional SG&A from the Vinamul acquisition. SG&A to sales was 10.7%, down from the 11.1% in the first quarter of 2004.

銷售、一般及行政費用增加2,400萬美元，達1.61億美元。銷售、一般及行政費用中包括1000萬美元的贊助商監控費用、因收購會計而產生的1000萬美元更高攤銷費用，以及收購Vinamul帶來的額外銷售、一般及行政費用。銷售、一般及行政費用佔銷售額的比率為10.7%，低於2004年第一季的11.1%。

We also had higher costs in the quarter associated with the work we're doing in complying with Sarbanes-Oxley, and we were very successful in offsetting these costs with improvement in productivity. If you exclude the sponsoring/monitoring fee, which has been terminated going forward, SG&A to sales improved to 10% of sales. Our objective over the next three to four years is to reduce to that of around 7.5% by controlling our spending and becoming more efficient.

本季度，我們為遵守《薩班斯-奧克斯利法案》而進行的工作也帶來了較高的成本，但我們透過提高生產力成功地抵消了這些成本。若不計已取消的贊助/監控費用，銷售、一般及行政費用佔銷售額的比例將提高到10%。我們的目標是在未來三到四年內，透過控制支出和提高效率，將這一比例降至7.5%左右。

Next let's turn to some key modeling assumptions. Special charges were higher than we guided in the first quarter, as we decided to classify the fee to terminate the sponsoring/monitoring services as a special charge because it is outside the normal course of our operations. As a result, our full-year guidance for special charges are higher, in the $65 to $85 million range, to reflect the inclusion of this item.

接下來，我們來看看一些關鍵的模型假設。第一季的特殊費用高於我們的預期，因為我們決定將終止贊助/監控服務的費用歸類為特殊費用，因為這超出了我們正常的營運範圍。因此，我們全年的特殊費用預期有所上調，在6500萬美元至8500萬美元之間，以反映該項目的納入。

Interest expense was unusually high this quarter, as we paid $74 million in premiums and wrote off 28 million in accelerated amortization for the redemption of the 709 million in high yield debt. Excluding these refinancing costs and expenses, interest expense was about 74 million, which is in line with our new guidance of annualized interest expense of 290 to 300 million. The related cash interest expense would be between 210 and 220 million. This takes into consideration all of the non-cash interest associated with the senior discount notes. Also I should point out that our effective tax rate for the quarter is 35% based on an annualized forecast of profit before tax.

本季利息支出異常高，因為我們支付了7,400萬美元的保費，並沖銷了2,800萬美元的加速攤銷，以贖回7.09億美元的高收益債務。扣除這些再融資成本和費用後，利息支出約為7,400萬美元，符合我們新的年度利息支出2.9億至3億美元的指引。相關的現金利息支出將在2.1億至2.2億美元之間。這已將與優先折扣票據相關的所有非現金利息考慮在內。另外，我要指出的是，根據稅前利潤的年度化預測，我們本季的有效稅率為35%。

Next I would like to turn to other activities segment. We are often asked, how do you model our activities in this segment? In the first quarter, we had an unusual high loss from continuing operations before tax and minority interest of 253 million. This figure included 102 million of refinancing expense and the $45 million of sponsoring/monitoring fees and related cancellation fees. The remaining 100 million or so includes our ongoing interest expense of a little over 70 million. The remaining 30 million is largely the corporate administrative expenses. And you should think about a number somewhere in the middle -- in the mid 30s for the operating line in this area on an ongoing -- on a quarter basis.

接下來我想談談其他業務部門。我們常被問到，你們是如何規劃這個部門的業務的？第一季度，我們的持續經營業務稅前及少數股東權益虧損異常高，高達2.53億美元。這個數字包括1.02億美元的再融資費用以及4,500萬美元的贊助/監督費用和相關的取消費用。剩下的1億美元左右包括我們持續的利息支出，略高於7000萬美元。剩下的3000萬美元主要是公司管理費用。你應該考慮一個介於兩者之間的數字——對於該領域持續營運的季度而言，這個數字應該在35%左右。

Next let's turn to equity and cost section or slides. Now I would like to review the performance of our continued robust equity and cost investments. As we have said over -- during the last call, our equity and cost investments are an integral part of our ongoing operations and extend our reach into Asia.

接下來我們來看股權和成本部分。現在，我想回顧一下我們持續強勁的股權和成本投資的表現。正如我們在上次電話會議上所說，我們的股權和成本投資是我們持續營運的重要組成部分，並將我們的業務擴展到亞洲。

In the quarter we received about 50 million in dividends from our investments, which is more than double the amount we received last year. The dividends largely reflect strong performance in 2004 of our Ticona and Chemical Products affiliates. About one-third of these 50 million is attributed to a timing of payments. Keep in mind, we do not anticipate receiving 50 million each quarter going forward. In the year, we expect dividends will be in the range of $90 to $100 million.

本季度，我們從投資中獲得約5,000萬美元的股息，比去年同期成長了一倍多。這些股利主要反映了我們泰科納和化學產品子公司2004年的強勁業績。其中約三分之一的股息來自付款時間。請注意，我們預計未來每季不會都收到5000萬美元的股息。我們預計全年股息將在9,000萬至1億美元之間。

Next I would like to turn to our cash and debt position. We ended the quarter with total debt of a little over 3.4 billion. Cash and cash equivalents of over 1.7 billion this quarter were temporarily high since they included 804 million dividends we paid to the holders of the Series B common stock on April 7. Included in the cash was also $120 million we received in two transactions. One was the early contractual settlement of receivables from a prior divestiture, and the second from insurance recoveries relating to plumbing cases.

接下來我想談談我們的現金和債務狀況。本季末，我們的總債務略高於34億美元。本季現金和現金等價物超過17億美元，暫時處於高位，因為其中包括我們於4月7日向B系列普通股股東支付的8.04億美元股息。現金中還包括我們透過兩筆交易獲得的1.2億美元。一筆是先前資產剝離應收帳款的提前合約結算，另一筆是與管道案件相關的保險追償。

If you exclude the 804 million from dividends and approximately 450 million set aside for the ongoing tender offer of Celanese AG shares, we still had available cash of around or about $500 million, actually a bit more than our expectations at the beginning of the year, due to do strong operating performance and cost improvements achieved in the first quarter.

如果排除 8.04 億美元的股息和為正在進行的塞拉尼斯股份公司股票要約收購而預留的約 4.5 億美元，我們仍然擁有約 5 億美元的可用現金，實際上比我們年初的預期要多一點，這要歸功於第一季強勁的營運業績和成本改進。

Our long-term goal, moving to the next slide, is to return the Company to investment-grade rating. Even with the debt levels we currently have, we continue to improve our cash position of the Company to cover operating requirements in our interest expense, and still are in a position to grow the business. As you will see from this slide, we do not have any major debt repayment until 2011, and thereafter until 2014. With this capital structure, we are confident that we can meet these objectives.

我們的長期目標是，請看下一張投影片，讓公司恢復投資等級評級。即使我們目前的債務水平較高，我們仍在持續改善公司的現金狀況，以滿足利息支出的營運需求，並且仍然有能力實現業務成長。正如您在這張投影片中看到的，我們在2011年之前沒有任何重大債務償還，之後直到2014年都沒有。憑藉這種資本結構，我們有信心實現這些目標。

Before I move next to the outlook section, I would like to review with you two key areas of our strategy -- the restructuring of the acetate business and opportunities in our purchasing area for improving our cost position.

在進入展望部分之前，我想與大家一起回顧我們策略的兩個關鍵領域——醋酸鹽業務的重組以及我們採購領域改善成本狀況的機會。

Dave briefly talked about the remodeling that we are right in the middle of in our acetate business. We have started to see real impact from this effort, as we are right on track with where we planned to be. We are exiting our non-strategic filament business. We're consolidating five plants to three. And we're reducing our work force by about 40%. At the same time, we are growing our business in China and producing good quality results in the process.

戴夫簡要介紹了我們目前正在進行的醋酸纖維業務重組。我們已經開始看到這項措施的真正成效，因為我們正朝著既定目標前進。我們正在退出非策略性的長絲業務。我們正在將五家工廠合併為三家。我們的員工人數將減少約40%。同時，我們正在拓展中國業務，並在此過程中取得了高品質的成果。

We are extremely excited about the future prospects of this business, and can clearly see the value that we're creating in this new business model. In addition, we are examining ways that we can produce savings through our purchasing, from everything from pallets, Dave's favorite thing (ph), to the raw materials and in capital expenditures. We're targeting about $100 million of potential savings for this effort. We do not expect to see the full effect of these initiatives until the next 8 to 10 to 12 quarters.

我們對這項業務的未來前景充滿期待，並清楚地看到了我們在這個新商業模式中創造的價值。此外，我們正在探索如何透過採購環節實現成本節約，涵蓋從托盤（戴夫最喜歡的東西，ph）到原材料以及資本支出等各個方面。我們的目標是透過這項措施節省約1億美元。我們預計這些舉措的全面效果將在未來8到10到12季顯現。

Finally, what is our view on the remaining year? Based on the favorable first quarter results, as Dave mentioned we're increasing our full-year adjusted EPS to a range of $1.79 to $1.87, above the previous guidance of $1.61 to $1.77. We expect our basic EPS to be in the range of $0.55 to $0.75, an increase of the previous guidance of $0.35 to $0.63 that we provided in March.

最後，我們對今年剩餘時間的預期是什麼？基於第一季的良好業績，正如戴夫所提到的，我們將全年調整後每股收益上調至1.79美元至1.87美元，高於先前1.61美元至1.77美元的預期。我們預計基本每股盈餘將在0.55美元至0.75美元之間，高於我們3月份給出的0.35美元至0.63美元的預期。

Looking forward to the second quarter, we are expecting adjusted basic EPS between $0.36 and $0.41. Our basic EPS should be in the range of $0.30 to $0.35, a significant increase over the first quarter, primarily due to the absence of the 102 million of refinancing expense on lower special charges.

展望第二季度，我們預期調整後基本每股盈餘在0.36美元至0.41美元之間。我們的基本每股盈餘應在0.30美元至0.35美元之間，較第一季大幅成長，主要原因是沒有扣除1.02億美元的再融資費用，也沒有降低特殊費用。

We expect the overall business model to remain strong, but we are taking cautious view, as Dave mentioned, in our guidance concerning the new acetyl capacity expected to come on in the second half of 2005. If we --if capacity expansion experiences any potential unforeseen delays, our results should be higher. As for adjusted EBITDA, we expect adjusted EBITDA for the full year to be about 20% to 25% better than 2004's results of 801 million, based on the actual results in the first quarter and our overall focus or forecast for the base business. For the second quarter we expect adjusted EBITDA to be between 25% and 30% better than second quarter's -- 2004 results of 187 million.

我們預期整體業務模式將保持強勁，但正如戴夫所提到的，我們對預計於2005年下半年投產的新乙醯基產能的預期持謹慎態度。如果產能擴張遭遇任何潛在的不可預見的延誤，我們的業績應該會更高。至於調整後的EBITDA，根據第一季的實際業績以及我們對基礎業務的整體關注或預測，我們預計全年調整後的EBITDA將比2004年的8.01億美元成長約20%至25%。對於第二季度，我們預計調整後的EBITDA將比2004年第二季的1.87億美元成長25%至30%。

In conclusion, our Company-specific programs are on track. We continue to make excellent progress in the construction of our acetic acid plant in China. Our restructure of (indiscernible) acetate business is going quite well, and we continue to improve the fundamentals of the businesses through focused investments and the relentless pursuit of cost improvements.

總而言之，我們公司的具體專案進展順利。我們在中國醋酸工廠的建設持續取得良好進展。我們對（音訊不清晰）醋酸業務的重組進展順利，我們透過專注於投資和持續的成本優化，持續改善業務基本面。

With that, let me turn it back to Mark to open up the session for questions.

說完這些，讓我把話題轉回給馬克，開始提問環節。

Thanks Corky. And Bill, if we can poll for questions, we would like to ask that everyone have one question and one follow on to give everyone a chance to get their questions asked and answered.

謝謝 Corky。 Bill，如果我們可以進行問卷調查，我們希望每個人都能提出一個問題，並跟進一個問題，這樣每個人都有機會提出問題並得到解答。

(Operator Instructions). Kunal Banerjee, Morgan Stanley.

（操作員指令）。 Kunal Banerjee，摩根士丹利。

Good morning. Just a couple of questions here. First on your acetyls chain performance, could you give us some color on the acetic acid versus them, versus your downstream? And I read somewhere about the acetic acid actually being stronger than VAM, which surprised me little bit because the PTA situation in China is pretty weak right now. And so I would be expecting weaker demand from the PTA segment for acid. If you could just comment on that. And related to that, the SOPO (ph) start up which seems to be on again/off-again, if you could just give us an update on that.

早安.我有幾個問題。首先，關於你們乙醯基鏈的表現，能否介紹一下醋酸與醋酸以及你們下游產品的表現？我之前看到過，醋酸的市場表現其實比VAM強，這讓我有點驚訝，因為目前中國的PTA市場相當疲軟。因此，我預期PTA領域對醋酸的需求也會下降。請您對此發表評論。另外，與此相關的是，SOPO（pH）裝置的開工似乎時斷時續，請您介紹一下最新情況。

I would be delighted to respond to that. In the first quarter, acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomer and our downstream derivatives -- the esters, polyols, they had very, very strong quarters and margin expansion. If I were to put flavor on it or color around it, it would be more regional than product-specific.

我很樂意回答這個問題。第一季度，醋酸、醋酸乙烯酯單體以及我們的下游衍生物——酯類、多元醇——的季度業績非常強勁，利潤率也大幅提升。如果要我具體描述一下​​的話，我會覺得這更多的是區域性因素，而不是特定產品。

Asia demand was quite strong across the board. Margin expansion was quite strong. And as you are aware, in North America a lot of our products are on formula base. So we have strong demand there, but not the margin expansion we saw in Asia. Europe tended to be somewhat in the middle of it.

亞洲市場需求整體強勁，利潤率成長也相當強勁。如你所知，在北美，我們的許多產品都是配方奶粉。因此，我們在那裡的需求強勁，但利潤率成長不如亞洲。歐洲市場的需求則是中間水準。

If we look, however, at the second quarter, we're seeing a modestly different dynamic in the second quarter. Acid demand continues to be strong in Asia. We came out at (ph) Golden Week last week and saw an immediate uptick in orders. And I'm very excited about that very robust demand in both acetic acid and in vinyl acetate monomer. One note here is that in spite of the new capacity announcements, we have not seen substantial pre-marketing of these volumes, and market demand remains very robust and very strong.

然而，如果我們看一下第二季度，就會發現情況略有不同。亞洲對酸的需求持續強勁。上週正值黃金周，訂單量迅速上升。我對醋酸和醋酸乙烯酯單體的強烈需求感到非常興奮。需要注意的是，儘管宣布了新的產能，但我們尚未看到這些產品的大量預售，市場需求仍然非常強勁。

SOPO continues to go up and down. It does have some effect on the market because of the uncertainty associated with that production capacity. That tends to be Asia, more specifically Chinese-directed, and it is having a favorable effect upon pricing.

SOPO的股價持續波動。由於產能存在不確定性，這確實對市場產生了一些影響。這些產能通常集中在亞洲，更具體地說是中國市場，這對定價產生了正面的影響。

Just a follow-up -- no weakness on the PTA side of your acid demand out of either Singapore or whatever acid you are supplying into the Asian Basin there?

只是想問一下——無論是新加坡還是你們供應到亞洲盆地的任何酸，對 PTA 酸的需求都沒有疲軟嗎？

No, we've not seen it. We read about it as you read about it, but so far we have not seen any weakness in demand from that or anything else.

不，我們沒有看到。我們也看過類似的報道，但到目前為止，我們還沒有看到任何需求因此或其他因素而減弱。

Gregg Goodnight, UBS.

瑞銀的格雷格·古德奈特（Gregg Goodnight）。

Good morning. The acetic acid startups in China, could you give us a brief rundown? There was a Yangtze River, the BP, and you had already mentioned the SOPO. But there is also an expansion in Iran. So could you give us a brief update on where these startups are?

早安.能簡單介紹一下中國的醋酸新創公司嗎？包括長江化工、BP，您之前也提到SOPO。此外，伊朗也有一家醋酸新創企業正在擴張。能簡單介紹一下這些新創企業的最新情況嗎？

Well, we can give you a high-level overview of it from our perspective. Our view, frankly, in our business and in he our forecasting is that we're going to assume that these plants will start up when they are announced to start up. We have been told that is somewhat of a cautious view on when acetyl capacity would come on. That is the view we take. We think it is prudent, because we want to have our business is focused on those things that are controllable and not the uncontrollables out there.

嗯，我們可以從我們的角度給您一個高層次的概述。坦白說，就我們的業務和預測而言，我們假設這些工廠會在宣布投產時就投產。我們被告知，對於乙醯基產能何時投產，這多少有些謹慎。我們就是這麼認為的。我們認為這是謹慎的做法，因為我們希望將業務重點放在可控的領域，而不是不可控的領域。

Obviously if the current announcements and the expected timelines slip for whatever reason and do not come about, there is going to be a change and an improvement in our forecast results. So on that basis, I would have to say that we are assuming these are all going to come on as announced. Our information is somewhat speculative.

顯然，如果當前的公告和預期時間表因任何原因推遲而未能實現，我們的預測結果將會改變並改善。因此，基於此，我不得不說，我們假設所有公告都會按預期進行。我們的資訊在某種程度上是推測性的。

I guess the next one -- BP in July is the next critical one or -- and you're assuming that will come on as planned?

我猜下一個——7 月的 BP 是下一個關鍵的——你認為它會按計劃進行嗎？

Yes, that is our assumption.

是的，這是我們的假設。

Question -- your diluted share count, what should we be using for that now in the first quarter and then going forward?

問題—您的稀釋股份數量，我們現在應該在第一季以及之後使用多少？

Again, in that area we would suggest that, again, you can make the calculation yourself. But the preferred conversion is about 12 million shares and options that are outstanding are about 11.3 million.

再次強調，我們建議您自行計算。優先轉換量約1200萬股，未行使的選擇權約為1130萬股。

Nancy Traub, CSFB.

南希‧特勞布 (Nancy Traub)，瑞士信貸第一波士頓銀行 (CSFB)。

Good morning. It looks like your guidance for the second quarter is down quite a bit from the first, your adjusted EBITDA. And I wondered what were the key factors there?

早安.看起來您對第二季的業績預期，也就是調整後的EBITDA，比第一季下降了不少。我想知道其中的關鍵因素是什麼？

Let me give you a quick walk from the adjusted basic EBITDA of about $0.87 that we achieved in the first quarter to the $0.38, which is about in the midrange of the $0.36 to $0.31 that we talked about in our second quarter guidance. Of those changes, there is about two or three items that were noted. They are about -- $0.33 of that was tax related. $0.08 came from a dividend that would not reoccur in the second half, and some timing of some acetate deliveries. And there is about $0.08 related to other items. And about two-thirds of the decrease in adjusted basic EPS effectively its tax-related between quarters at the adjusted basic EPS levels. The other third relates to the business-related issues.

我來簡單介紹一下我們第一季調整後基本EBITDA約為0.87美元，而第二季度調整後基本EBITDA約為0.38美元，這大約處於我們在第二季度指引中提到的0.36美元到0.31美元的中間區間。在這些變化中，大約有兩到三項需要注意。其中約0.33美元與稅收有關，0.08美元來自下半年不會再次發放的股息，以及一些醋酸鹽交付時間的影響，還有約0.08美元與其他項目有關。在調整後基本每股盈餘的下降中，約三分之二實際上與季度間調整後基本每股盈餘水準的稅收有關，其餘三分之一與業務相關問題有關。

Did you have that on a table here?

你有把它放在這張桌子上嗎？

No it is not, but we can certainly walk you through that on a sidebar and get additional information out on that.

不是，但我們當然可以在側邊欄上引導您完成該過程，並獲得有關該過程的更多資訊。

Kevin McCarthy, Banc of America Securities.

凱文·麥卡錫，美國銀行證券公司。

Good morning Dave. You previously announced some price increases, I believe $0.05 for the acetic for April 1st and $0.04 for VAM. Could you comment on how much of those proposed increases you were able to realize, if any?

早上好，戴夫。您之前宣布了一些價格上調，我記得4月1日醋酸價格上調了0.05美元，VAM價格上調了0.04美元。您能否透露一下，這些提議的漲幅最終實現了多少？

Kevin, I will comment broadly. We have enough somewhere between 5% and 15% on various products in the chain. And as we looked at the announcements we have had, this is the middle of May and we've had some success in getting them up. Again, varies by region somewhat; Asia is a little bit stronger than it is in Europe or North America. But overall, I would say that we will see price increase going from -- on a sequential basis Q1 to Q2.

凱文，我會大致評論一下。我們供應鏈中各種產品的漲幅在5%到15%之間。我們查看了已經發布的公告，現在是五月中旬，我們已經取得了一些成功。同樣，不同地區的情況略有不同；亞洲的漲幅略高於歐洲或北美。但總體而言，我認為從第一季到第二季度，價格將持續上漲。

And Corky, a clarification if I may on the various charges that you took, the 150 million aggregate amount, is that a pre-tax number? And if that is correct, what would the associated after-tax number be with those charges?

Corky，請問您提出的各項費用，總計1.5億美元，是稅前數字嗎？如果正確，那麼這些費用對應的稅後數字是多少？

That is a pre-tax number. And again, it is difficult to look at what the after-tax effect -- (indiscernible) some of those items are not deductible depending on the tax jurisdiction they are in. That gets into the earlier question that was asked about the walk from 80 from the first quarter to the second quarter. Again, I will need to get back with you on that in a little bit more detail on how walk you through that.

這是稅前數字。同樣，很難看出稅後影響——（音訊不清晰）其中一些項目根據其所在的稅收管轄區而無法抵扣。這就涉及到之前提到的關於從第一季到第二季從80%成長的問題。同樣，我需要稍後再更詳細地解釋一下這個問題。

Okay. But conceptually, you are accruing at a 35% tax rate in the first quarter. Would that a good rate to use for the year as well?

好的。但從概念上講，您第一季的累計稅率是35%。那麼，全年都適用這個稅率合適嗎？

Yes. That has been our guidance for full year is about 35%.

是的。我們對全年的預期是35%左右。

Michael Judd, Greenwich Consultants.

邁克爾·賈德，格林威治顧問公司。

Good morning. A question about the engineering plastics business. Given the slowdown for certain companies in the North American auto market, can you just comment about how much business do you do with let's say Japanese versus domestic producers in the U.S.? And just in general, a little bit more detail about that business in terms of the underlying volume drivers --.

早安.關於工程塑膠業務的問題。鑑於北美汽車市場某些公司業務放緩，您能否談談您與日本和美國本土生產商的業務往來情況？以及整體而言，能否從潛在銷售驅動因素的角度，更詳細地介紹一下該業務。

We do about half of Ticona overall in both Europe, Asia and North America goes to the automotive space. And I would underscore here that our strategy is continued penetration, putting more pounds on every car that is produced. North America, we have a very balanced mix of induced (ph) customers. Our products end up on a fairly balanced base to the transplants, the former big three. And we go into a variety of (indiscernible) applications.

泰科納在歐洲、亞洲和北美的市佔率約有一半用於汽車領域。我想強調的是，我們的策略是持續滲透，對每輛新生產的汽車都投入更多精力。在北美，我們的誘導客戶（ph）結構非常平衡。我們的產品最終與來自其他國家（即之前的三大汽車製造商）的市場基礎相當均衡。我們的應用領域也十分廣泛（音訊不清晰）。

Now we think it is substantial that even though automotive production in Europe was down somewhere between 4% and 5%, about the same in North America, that our volume grew 2% in the quarter. Given the headwinds there, that validates in our minds the business model we have is adding innovation, new applications and penetrating automotive and the other markets that we're in.

現在，我們認為，儘管歐洲汽車產量下降了4%到5%，北美也下降了差不多，但我們本季的銷售量卻成長了2%，這對我們來說意義重大。考慮到歐洲市場面臨的不利因素，這在我們看來驗證了我們現有的商業模式：不斷創新、開發新應用，並滲透汽車市場以及我們涉足的其他市場。

Terrific, thank you very much.

太棒了，非常感謝。

Tuan Pham, Banc of America Securities.

Tuan Pham，美國銀行證券公司。

Just a quick question, do you have a targeted debt reduction figure in mind, say by the end of this year or next?

我只是問一個簡單的問題，您是否有一個目標債務削減數字，例如在今年年底或明年年底？

We do not have anything scheduled or planned out. Obviously, as we've talked about before, the three or four major areas we're focusing on is generating free cash flow to give us the capacity to continue to reinvest and keep our assets in a cutting state, and competitive and safe. In addition we have to look at potential bolt-on opportunities that works in and supports the growth of the business and debt restructuring. But our long-term objective is in a move towards investment-grade. And we will be looking at debt reduction on a going forward basis here the balance of the year.

我們沒有任何計劃或安排。當然，正如我們之前提到的，我們目前重點關注的三到四個領域是創造自由現金流，以便我們能夠繼續進行再投資，並保持資產處於良好狀態、競爭力和安全。此外，我們還必須尋找潛在的補充性機會，這些機會能夠促進並支持業務成長和債務重組。但我們的長期目標是邁向投資等級。我們將在今年餘下時間持續關注債務削減。

So it sounds like you're looking at it primarily not on an absolute basis, but more of a leverage basis?

所以聽起來你主要不是從絕對角度來看這個問題，而是從槓桿角度來看這個問題？

That is right. We've not given any guidance at this time on our planned reduction of debt. But it is one of the three or four high priorities in the Company, to deleverage the Company going forward.

是的。目前我們還沒有就債務削減計劃給出任何指引。但降低公司未來的槓桿率是公司三到四項首要任務之一。

Just quickly, it seems as though there is a lot of growth coming out of your Asian JVs. Is 30 there any plan or anything to maybe eventually consolidate the entities, especially since that seems pretty low there?

我想簡單說一下，你們的亞洲合資企業似乎成長迅猛。請問你們有什麼計畫或措施最終整合這些實體嗎？尤其是在亞洲地區，這些實體的成長率似乎很低。

We're continuing from a tax and operating point of view to look at a consolidating some of the acetate businesses in China. But as it relates to the other businesses where we have different joint venture partners and affiliate relationships, it is difficult to do that consolidation. But I also should point out, given our long experience in China, our acetic acid project and initiative is a 100% owned initiative, and we're doing that going forward.

我們正從稅務和營運的角度繼續考慮整合中國部分醋酸業務。但由於這涉及到我們擁有不同合資夥伴和關聯企業的其他業務，因此很難進行整合。但我還應該指出，鑑於我們在中國長期的經驗，我們的醋酸項目和計劃是100%自主擁有的，我們將繼續推進這一計劃。

Michael Baum, Deutsche Bank.

德意志銀行的麥可·鮑姆。

I just wondered whether or not you had any update on developments with respect to the Acetex acquisition?

我只是想知道您是否有關於 Acetex 收購的最新進展？

No we do not. Michael, we do not have an update on that. We are -- it is in regulatory review. We're optimistic. We believe there is a compelling case for it. But we do not have an update at this time.

不，我們沒有。邁克爾，我們目前沒有這方面的最新消息。我們正在接受監管審查。我們對此持樂觀態度。我們相信這有充分的理由。但目前我們還沒有最新消息。

(Operator Instructions). Nancy Traub, CSFB.

（操作員指令）。 Nancy Traub，CSFB。

Hi. I know David mentioned earlier that there was robust demand for chemicals. But if you look at your charts, table 2 has the volumes down 1%. Can you walk us through that?

您好。我知道David之前提到過化學品需求強勁。但如果您看一下圖表，表2顯示化學品需求下降了1%。能具體解釋一下嗎？

Sure, I would be delighted to. There is a couple of businesses that we exited in the last year, the acrylates business that we sold to Dow Chemical. We had a few weeks in 2004 that we comped against. In addition to that, there was a formaldehyde business in Canada that was not a profit-maker. We exited that business -- a lot of tons, but not a lot of profit.

當然，我很樂意。去年我們退出了幾個業務，例如丙烯酸酯業務，我們把它賣給了陶氏化學。 2004年，我們有幾個星期的業績與陶氏競爭。此外，我們在加拿大還有甲醛業務，但利潤不高。我們退出了那家業務——產量很大，但利潤不高。

When you factor those out we still only showed a modest volume growth. Now that underscores that Celanese has been in a sold out position or near sold out position for a period of time. And we are bumping capacities right now and have the opportunity to move our products to the highest profit area.

即使剔除這些因素，我們的銷售成長仍然很小。這凸顯了塞拉尼斯一段時間以來一直處於售罄或接近售罄的狀態。我們目前正在提高產能，有機會將產品轉移到利潤最高的領域。

One of the strengths of the business, Nancy, as you know, is that we have a lot of optionality in this business. We can sell acetic acid at market, we can upgrade it to VAM. We can take VAM and upgrade that into an emulsion acquisition or PVOH. We can take acid and put it into esters. We can move it regionally. So this is a delightful time for us, because we this ability to take the scarce resource and move it to the position that gets the highest profitability.

南希，如你所知，這項業務的優勢之一在於我們擁有豐富的選擇權。我們可以在市場上銷售醋酸，也可以將其升級為醋酸乙烯酯 (VAM)。我們可以將醋酸乙烯酯 (VAM) 升級為乳液或聚乙烯醇 (PVOH)。我們可以將醋酸轉化為酯類。我們可以進行區域性運輸。所以，這對我們來說是一個令人欣喜的時機，因為我們有能力將稀缺資源轉移到能夠獲得最高利潤的地方。

And the other number, does that also include Vinamul?

另一個數字也包括 Vinamul 嗎？

Yes, that is right. We will be breaking that out for the first year.

是的，沒錯。第一年我們會打破這個紀錄。

Laurence Alexander, Deutsche Bank.

勞倫斯‧亞歷山大，德意志銀行。

Good morning. Can you discuss briefly for your non-chemical segments, so for acetate and Ticona in particular how you see the seasonality breaking down over Q3 and Q4 compared to Q1 and Q2?

早安.您能否簡要談談非化學領域的業務，尤其是醋酸鹽和泰科納，您認為第三季和第四季與第一季和第二季相比，季節性如何？

Yes. Let me take Ticona first. Ticona is a seasonality from a volume standpoint. Demand normally is stronger in the first half of the year than the second half of the year. Now there is -- that is a normal year, and we are frankly not predicting at this time what the seasonality would be. But if you're modeling overall, you tend to see a normal a higher first half of the year than second half of the year. The fourth quarter it is the weakest as customers have inventory control, and that tends to be the weakest quarter.

是的。我先說說泰科納。從產量來看，泰科納的業績受季節性影響。通常情況下，上半年的需求比下半年強勁。現在——這是正常的年份，坦白說，我們目前無法預測季節性會如何。但如果從整體進行建模，你會發現上半年的業績通常比下半年高。第四季是業績最疲軟的季度，因為客戶控制庫存，而這往往是最疲軟的季度。

Acetate does not have a pattern that is a seasonal pattern. It is fairly lumpy, and that lumpiness is attributed largely to shipments to China. They tend to take a lot of product. At one point in time, there was a substantial amount of China shipment in the first quarter this year, which is one of the reasons that the volume is up on a year-over-year basis.

醋酸鹽的供應沒有明顯的季節性規律。它的價格波動很大，這主要歸因於對中國的出口。中國通常需要大量的醋酸鹽。今年第一季度，中國出口量一度很大，這也是其出口量年增的原因之一。

Kevin McCarthy, Banc of America Securities.

凱文·麥卡錫，美國銀行證券公司。

Good morning. I was wondering if you could comment on whether or not you have any maintenance turnaround activities planned in your acetyl product lines for the balance of the year?

早安.請問您能否透露一下，今年餘下時間裡，貴公司是否計劃對乙醯基產品線進行維護檢修？

Generally, we do not comment on that type of granularity in these calls. We take maintenance turnaround in all of our business -- Ticona, acetyl, all of the chains. And only when they are is significant from an earnings standpoint would we comment on it. Beyond that, I would say that if you asked in the marketplace, what we are telling them -- the markets and our customers, there are outages that would -- in Asia for us in the second half of the year. All of that has been factored into the guidance that we have given.

一般來說，我們不會對這類預測中的細節發表評論。我們所有業務——泰科納、乙醯基以及所有產業鏈——都考慮了維護週轉。只有當這些週轉對獲利有重大影響時，我們才會發表評論。除此之外，我想說，如果你在市場上問我們，我們會告訴他們──市場和我們的客戶，下半年亞洲可能會出現供應中斷。所有這些都已納入我們給予的業績指引中。

Okay that is helpful. And then would you update us, please, on your divestiture activity with regard to COC and fuel cells?

好的，這很有幫助。那麼，您能否向我們介紹貴公司在COC和燃料電池方面的資產剝離活動？

Very good. We're close to closing the fuel cells, and we're very actively involved in COC in looking at and studying that opportunity. As we announced, that is a non-strategic focus going forward. And we are studying all options and alternatives, including shutting the business down. But at this point in time, we have not made any decisions.

非常好。我們即將關閉燃料電池業務，並且我們正積極參與COC，尋找和研究這一機會。正如我們所宣布的那樣，這將是我們未來的非戰略重點。我們正在研究所有方案和替代方案，包括關閉該業務。但目前我們還沒有做出任何決定。

Finally, I noticed with several of your businesses you noted unfavorable currency effect. What with the contribution be to the top line and to earnings per share from FX this quarter?

最後，我注意到你們的幾家公司都提到了不利的匯率影響。那麼，本季外匯對營收和每股盈餘的貢獻如何呢？

Let me get back with you on that here later in the call. I will quickly pull that out. It is not significant or material.

稍後電話會議中我會再跟您討論這個問題。我會很快把這個問題提出來。它並不重要，也不重要。

Wendy Nickerson, Musinich. (ph)

溫蒂·尼克森（Wendy Nickerson），音樂家。 （音譯）

Can you comment on your plans for your cash balance related to the minority interest or acquisitions or otherwise?

您能否評論一下與少數股權或收購或其他相關的現金餘額計劃？

Can you repeat the question? You were not quite picked up.

你能重複一遍問題嗎？你沒聽清楚。

Could you comment on your plans for your cash balance related to either minority interest, acquisitions or otherwise?

您能否評論一下與少數股權、收購或其他方面相關的現金餘額計劃？

We think it is prudent to set aside the amount of cash that is involved with the extended offer to repurchase those shares. And we will continue to keep that earmarked for that initiative on an ongoing basis. So that $450 million amount is there, and we will use that and have that earmarked for that initiative going forward. Does that answer the question?

我們認為，謹慎的做法是預留與延長回購要約相關的現金。我們將繼續持續撥出這筆資金用於該計劃。所以，4.5億美元的資金已經到位，我們將用這筆資金繼續用於該計畫。這回答了你的問題嗎？

I guess I was looking -- (inaudible) I'm sorry. It looks like your cash balance after you -- it is still over 900 million, is that right, after you pay out the dividend in April. So what is the difference or what plans for the -- (multiple speakers)

我想我當時在看——（聽不清楚）抱歉。看起來，在你們4月派發股息之後，你們的現金餘額仍然超過9億美元，對嗎？那麼，這其中有什麼區別，或者說，你們有什麼計劃──（多位發言者）

After you take our net cash position after reducing the dividend, setting aside the $450 million or so of earmarked -- set-aside for the repurchase of the CAG shares, there is about 450 to 500 million in cash outstanding. And again we will continue, as we discussed before, looking at all options and alternatives relating to deleveraging the Company, to addressing any dividend activities in going forward for the common shareholders, as well as looking at maintenance CapEx and focus on keeping our assets at a safe state going forward. And again, emphasizing -- continue to look at bolt-on acquisition growth opportunities.

扣除減少股利後的淨現金狀況，扣除約4.5億美元用於回購CAG股份的專款後，剩餘現金約4.5億至5億美元。正如我們之前討論過的，我們將繼續研究所有與公司去槓桿相關的方案和替代方案，以解決未來普通股股東的股息問題，並專注於維護性資本支出，並專注於確保我們資產在未來處於安全狀態。再次強調，我們將持續關注補充性收購的成長機會。

Is looking at dividends for your common shareholders one of the three or four key -- (multiple speakers).

為普通股股東分配股利是三大或四個關鍵因素之一嗎？ （多位發言者）。

Certainly. As we discussed on the roadshow in one of the recent registration statements, there is a commitment that we made which will be reviewed by the Board at the upcoming June 1st board meeting.

當然。正如我們在最近的註冊聲明路演中討論的那樣，我們做出了一項承諾，董事會將在即將於6月1日舉行的會議上進行審查。

(Operator Instructions). Kunal Banerjee, Morgan Stanley.

（操作員指令）。 Kunal Banerjee，摩根士丹利。

Thank you. Just thinking about the VAM increases in North America here. Most of your pricing is off of a formula, and with ethylene going down, should we think about a tempered VAM increase or would you still be expecting an increase if you're able to push your acetic acid prices up here?

謝謝。我只是在想北美VAM的漲價。你們的定價大多是按照公式計算的，而且隨著乙烯價格下跌，我們應該考慮緩和VAM的漲幅嗎？或者說，如果你們能提高醋酸價格，你們是否仍預期VAM會上漲？

It is a fairly balanced view when you go through and think about the raw material inputs to the formula. You certainly have ethylene that is weakening somewhat. The other inputs on the formulas are heading up. You have got fuel and some of the other things. I think the important thing, though, is that the margin is relatively steady, independent of pricing.

如果你仔細思考配方中的原料投入，你會發現這是一個相當平衡的觀點。乙烯的價格肯定有所下降。配方中的其他投入正在上升，包括燃料和其他一些原料。不過，我認為重要的是利潤率相對穩定，不受定價的影響。

And then just a quick question on oxos. I noticed you had some price increases out there for butinol, etc. That is a business that two years ago was on the ropes, prompting your restructuring in Europe. Is the North American market today stronger in oxos? Is it up above cash breakeven? And is there difference between North American fundamentals for oxos and European fundamentals? And would you look for oxos to start doing better with propylene also coming up in the second quarter?

然後我想問一個關於羰基合成的簡單問題。我注意到你們的丁炔醇等產品價格有上漲。兩年前，這個業務一度陷入困境，促使你們在歐洲進行了重組。目前北美的羰基合成市場表現強勁嗎？是否已經超過現金損益平衡點？北美的羰基合成基本面和歐洲的羰基合成基本面有什麼不同嗎？隨著丙烯價格在第二季上漲，您是否預期羰基合成市場會開始好轉？

That is a great question. Let me try to break the answer into three parts. We have a substantial amount of oxo that we use for internal use, in our acetate esters and also some acrylate esters. The easing of propylene should benefit us in the internal consumption that we have.

這個問題問得好。我試著把答案分成三個部分。我們有大量羰基合成物供內部使用，用於生產醋酸酯和一些丙烯酸酯。丙烯供應的減少應該會有利於我們內部的消耗。

Second, we have pieces of our business that are similar to what we have in North America, more formula-based contracts. So any market effect would be washed away because of the formulas that are in place.

其次，我們的部分業務與北美類似，更多是基於配方的合約。因此，任何市場效應都會被現有的配方所抵銷。

The third thing I'd talk about is the European restructuring. And we do have a joint venture in Europe with Degussa. It has about 400 to 500 million in revenue. That joint venture is benefiting from the stronger overall oxo market. It is an improving market. But those effect come through on a very diminished basis on our income statement.

我想談的第三件事是歐洲重整。我們確實與德固賽在歐洲有一家合資企業，其收入約為4億至5億歐元。這家合資企業受益於整體羰基合成市場走強。市場正在好轉。但這些影響在我們的損益表中體現得非常有限。

Lastly, Corky, just on that adjusted EBITDA walk on table 11 of your release, just questioning -- or just had clarification on the way you itemize the several items. First of all, the severance and other restructuring charges not included in special charges, I know that is a small number but what was the logic behind itemizing in that way? And then the unusual and nonrecurring items, again, small number -- but any color on what those may be?

最後，Corky，關於您發布的第11表調整後的EBITDA，我只是想問一下——或者說只是想澄清一下您是如何逐項列出這些項目的。首先，遣散費和其他重組費用不包括在特殊費用中，我知道這個數字很小，但您這樣逐項列出的邏輯是什麼？然後是那些不常見和非經常性項目，同樣，數量不多——您能具體解釋一下這些項目是什麼嗎？

No, again they're small items. And included in that special item a 38 was the -- the 35 of the sponsor cancellation fee.

不，這些都是小專案。特殊項目包含38%的贊助商取消費。

So there's only 3 million of other special charges, which means where does the acetate restructuring come in? Or is that not going to be a big charge?

那麼，其他特殊費用只有300萬美元，這意味著醋酸鹽重組的費用是從何而來？或者說，這筆費用不會很大？

A large part of that, as you may recall, came on the last quarter of last year. So that will minimally be carried over in this first quarter.

大家可能還記得，其中很大一部分是去年最後一個季度發生的。所以這部分收入至少會延續到今年第一季。

So the balance of the 30 to 50 if I am reading this right, if you take out the 35 of sponsor termination, you have another 30 to 50 to come. How should we be thinking of that and going through the next 3 quarters here?

所以，如果我沒看錯的話，30% 到 50% 的餘額，如果扣除贊助商終止合約的 35%，那麼還有 30% 到 50% 的餘額。我們該如何考慮這個問題，以及如何度過接下來的三個季度？

I would basically look at that evenly over the next 3 quarters.

我基本上會在接下來的三個季度中均勻地看待這個問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

One other item that I want to a follow-up on is the foreign exchange question. As I anticipated, it's a minimal effect on earnings. And in fact, the delta difference between the gains and losses do not vary more than $1.5 million or $2 million each. So on a net basis, it is very minimal. And with that, I will turn it back to Mark to conclude the call today.

我還想跟進外匯問題。正如我所預料的那樣，這對收益的影響微乎其微。事實上，收益和損失之間的差額不會超過150萬美元或200萬美元。所以，從淨值來看，影響非常小。好了，今天的電話會議就交給馬克結束吧。

Great. Can we confirm that we have no more questions at this time?

太好了。我們能確認一下現在沒有其他問題了嗎？

You're all set. I will turn the call back over to you.

一切就緒。我會把電話轉回給你。

Thank you very much. I would like to thank everyone for their participation and interest in Celanese. If you have any further questions, please feel free to give myself or Andrea Stein a call in the investor relations area and we will be more than happy to answer them for you. Thank you very much.

非常感謝！我要感謝大家對塞拉尼斯的參與和關注。如果您還有其他問題，歡迎隨時致電我或投資者關係部門的Andrea Stein，我們將非常樂意為您解答。非常感謝！

Thank you very much and thank you ladies and gentlemen for your participation in today's conference call. This concludes the presentation and you may now disconnect. Have a good day.

非常感謝各位女士先生們參加今天的電話會議。演示到此結束，您可以掛斷電話了。祝您有美好的一天。