塞拉尼斯 (CE) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Greetings. Welcome to the Celanese Q2 2026 earnings call and webcast. (Operator Instructions)

大家好。歡迎收聽 Celanese 2026 年第二季（Q2）財報電話會議與網路直播。(接線員指示)

Please note that this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to Bill Cunningham. Thank you, Bill. You may begin.

請注意，本次會議將被錄音。現在我將把會議交給 Bill Cunningham。謝謝你，Bill。你可以開始了。

Thanks, Daryl. Welcome to the Celanese Corporation second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. My name is Bill Cunningham, Vice President of Investor Relations. With me on the call today are Scott Richardson, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Chuck Kyrish, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，Daryl。歡迎參加 Celanese Corporation 2026 年第二季財報電話會議。我叫 Bill Cunningham，投資人關係副總裁。今天與我一同參與電話會議的有：總裁暨執行長 Scott Richardson，以及財務長 Chuck Kyrish。

Celanese distributed its second-quarter earnings release via BusinessWire and posted prepared comments as well as a presentation on our investor relations website yesterday afternoon.

Celanese 已透過 BusinessWire 發布第二季財報新聞稿，並於昨天下午在我們的投資人關係網站上張貼預先準備的評論以及簡報。

As a reminder, we'll discuss non-GAAP financial measures today. You can find definitions of these measures as well as reconciliations to the comparable GAAP measures on our website. Today's presentation will also include forward-looking statements. Please review the cautionary language regarding forward-looking statements, which can be found at the end of both the press release and the prepared comments. Form 8-K reports containing all these materials have also been submitted to the SEC.

提醒各位，我們今天將討論非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。你可以在我們網站上找到這些指標的定義，以及與可比 GAAP 指標之間的調節表。今天的簡報也將包含前瞻性陳述。請查閱有關前瞻性陳述的警示性語言，該內容可在新聞稿與預先準備評論的末尾找到。包含所有這些資料的 Form 8-K 報告也已提交給 SEC。

With that, Daryl, let's please go ahead and open it up for questions.

那麼，Daryl，請讓我們開始開放提問。

(Operator Instructions) Patrick Cunningham, Citi.

(接線員指示) Citi 的 Patrick Cunningham。

I was hoping you could talk through the normalization of some of the supply-related opportunities in the Acetyl Chain. Perhaps it's a bit more pronounced than we expected. How would you characterize the operating environment, Western Hemisphere versus Eastern Hemisphere? We've also started to see some upward movement in Asia spreads in recent weeks. What is driving that, and is any of that contemplated in expectations for the balance of the year?

我想請你談談醋酸鏈（Acetyl Chain）中一些與供應相關機會的正常化過程。也許這個情況比我們預期更明顯一些。你會如何描述營運環境：西半球相較於東半球？我們也開始看到近幾週亞洲價差有些上行。這是由什麼驅動的？而這些因素是否已納入你們對今年剩餘期間的預期？

Thanks for the question, Patrick. I think our team showed a really strong resiliency and flexibility in the quarter, and I think it was evidenced by the opportunities we had that the global production and supply chain network that we have here at Celanese, really in both businesses, gave us some benefits in the quarter.

謝謝你的問題，Patrick。我認為我們團隊在本季展現了非常強的韌性與彈性，而這也反映在我們所掌握的機會上：Celanese 的全球生產與供應鏈網路，實際上在兩大業務上都讓我們在本季獲得了一些效益。

In Acetyl Chain specifically, the team took actions as we got to the end of Q1, the early part of Q2, to ensure that we're going to be able to provide our customers with a reliability of supply. I think we certainly did that up and down the value chain, particularly in parts of the world that were more acutely impacted by the supply chain crisis, like Europe. Team did a good job of that.

就醋酸鏈而言，團隊在第一季末、第二季初採取了行動，以確保我們能為客戶提供可靠的供應。我認為我們確實在整個價值鏈上下游都做到了，特別是在受供應鏈危機影響更為嚴重的地區，例如歐洲。團隊在這方面做得很好。

We called out an expectation of moderation in the second half of the year, and that was contemplated in our $6 guide back when we did our call in May. I think as we look at things today, I wouldn't say that moderation has been any more acute than what we expected. I think what we have seen happen is just some changes a little bit in the environment, and we ended up getting a little bit more benefit in the second quarter than we had originally guided to. Some of that was a slight amount of EM pre-buying that we called out.

我們曾指出下半年預期會趨於溫和，而這在我們 5 月電話會議時提出的每股 6 美元指引中已經納入考量。以目前來看，我不會說這種溫和化比我們預期更為明顯。我認為我們看到的是環境出現了一些小幅變化，結果使得我們在第二季獲得的效益略高於原先指引。其中一部分來自我們提到的少量 EM 預先採購（pre-buying）。

Q3 may be a little lower than we had originally guided to, really driven by the fact that we've been able to accelerate the plant closure in Lanaken and pull forward a little bit the EM closures as well, which is driving more of an inventory absorption hit in the second half than originally anticipated. In addition, because Ibn Sina didn't operate in the second quarter for much of the quarter, our equity earnings is going to be about $10 million lower than we had originally anticipated this year, which is all pretty much hitting in the third quarter. That's really that dynamic of Q2 to Q3. From an expectation perspective, the moderation that we had anticipated is about as expected.

第三季可能會比我們原先指引略低，主要原因是我們得以加速關閉 Lanaken 工廠，並且也把部分 EM 關閉時程提前，這使得下半年庫存吸收（inventory absorption）的衝擊比原先預期更大。此外，由於 Ibn Sina 在第二季大部分時間未運轉，我們今年的權益法收益將比原先預期少約 1,000 萬美元，而這幾乎都會反映在第三季。這就是第二季到第三季之間的動態。就預期而言，我們先前預估的溫和化幅度大致符合預期。

Understood. Very helpful context. Just on the EM grow and fortify strategy, you've been calling out data centers, medical electronics. Maybe it would be helpful to get some context on the base levels of revenue here of this potential growth platform. How do you plan to grow and protect market share in these high-value applications, and what sort of long-term growth rates do you expect there?

了解。這些背景非常有幫助。再就 EM 的「成長與強化（grow and fortify）」策略而言，你們一直提到資料中心、醫療電子等。也許能提供一些背景，說明這個潛在成長平台目前的基礎營收規模。你們計畫如何在這些高價值應用中成長並保護市占？以及你們對那裡的長期成長率有何預期？

I think our overarching objective in the Engineered Materials business is to ensure that we're aligning what we believe is the unique capabilities and products that we have with a deep understanding of key end markets and having segment strategies that go deep. The macro end uses that we go into, when you look at them at a very high level, don't have maybe a lot of growth.

我認為我們在工程材料（Engineered Materials）業務的整體目標，是確保把我們相信具備獨特性的能力與產品，與對關鍵終端市場的深入理解相結合，並制定能深入到位的事業群策略。從非常高的層級來看，我們所切入的宏觀終端用途，可能不會有很高的成長。

When you really dig in and get to some of the sub-segment areas, there are really great pockets of opportunities there. We've been reorienting our team in terms of a focus standpoint now for more than a year to ensure that we can really penetrate these sub-segment areas.

但當你真正深入到一些次分項領域時，確實存在非常好的機會利基。我們已經重新調整團隊的聚焦方向超過一年，以確保我們能真正滲透這些次分項領域。

When you look at electronics, for example, today that's about 10% of the revenue of the Engineered Materials business, but actually makes up about 10% to 15% of the contribution margin that we make in the business. Medical is less than 10% of the revenue, but about 20% of the contribution margin that we make.

以電子領域為例，目前約占工程材料業務營收的 10%，但實際上約占我們在該業務所創造貢獻毛利（contribution margin）的 10% 到 15%。醫療領域的營收占比不到 10%，但約占我們貢獻毛利的 20%。

These two segments are not just foundational today for us, but with the amount of growth that we're seeing and the work that we're doing to be aligned around the right customers and to be able to penetrate what we think is going to be differentiated opportunities that we're going to be able to really have good long-term sustainable business and growth. We think that sets up really nicely for the future.

這兩個領域不僅是我們目前的基礎支柱；同時，隨著我們看到的成長動能，以及我們為了對準正確客戶所做的工作，並進一步滲透我們認為具差異化的機會，我們將能建立良好、長期且可持續的業務與成長。我們認為這為未來奠定了非常好的基礎。

Ghansham Panjabi, Baird.

Baird 的 Ghansham Panjabi。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Going back to the AC segment. Obviously, it's been a very volatile year, Scott, as you zoom out, how have things changed relative to the pre-war baseline as you think about the various product lines and geographies you have exposure towards? Just trying to disaggregate some of the complexity on a day-to-day basis versus from a high level standpoint, what's actually been happening.

謝謝。各位早安。回到 AC 事業群。顯然今年波動非常大，Scott，從更宏觀的角度來看，當你思考你們所涉足的各產品線與各地區時，相較於戰前的基準狀態，情況有哪些改變？我只是想把日常層面的複雜性拆解開來；從高層角度看，實際上發生了什麼？

Yeah. Thanks, Ghansham. We've said for a long time that the majority of our profitability in the Acetyl Chain occurs in the Western Hemisphere. This is not new. When we look back over the last 15 years, that kind of +80% profitability being generated by the West has played out for, call it, 12 of the last 15 years. This is not a new environment that we're in.

是的。謝謝你，Ghansham。我們長期以來一直表示，醋酸鏈業務的大部分獲利來自西半球。這並不新鮮。回顧過去 15 年，西半球貢獻約 80% 以上獲利的情況，在過去 15 年中大約有 12 年都是如此。我們所處的環境並不是新的。

We did see margins in Asia move up in the 2021 through 2023 timeframe. Outside of that, this has been the environment we've been dealing with for a long period of time. The team has really been pivoting the operating model in a way, with more and more of our tons being sold in the form of downstream derivatives because we have more differentiation there.

我們確實看到亞洲的利潤率在2021年至2023年期間上升。除此之外，這一直是我們長期以來所面對的環境。團隊確實在某種程度上調整營運模式，讓我們越來越多的噸數以更下游的衍生產品形式銷售，因為在那裡我們有更高的差異化。

We're able to create some more unique innovation opportunities, and to be able to drive through and be able to keep the profitability where it has been, even where the macro backdrop isn't strong. We have this ability to flex up where needed and with the capacity that we have, in the Western world, and be able to flex that like we did in the second quarter.

我們能創造更多獨特的創新機會，並且能夠推動落地，即使在宏觀背景不強的情況下，也能把獲利能力維持在目前的水準。我們具備在需要時向上彈性調整的能力，憑藉我們在西方世界的產能，也能像第二季那樣進行彈性拉升。

Just goes back to that coiled spring analogy that I used last quarter. When we have the ability to flex that up, we will, and we see the benefits that come from that. The profitability increase that we saw from Asia, from call it the end of February through to where we are today, was very much short-lived. Really by the middle part of Q2, we were back to pre-war margins.

這又回到我上季使用的「壓縮彈簧」比喻。當我們有能力把它拉升時，我們就會這麼做，而且我們也看到了由此帶來的效益。我們在亞洲看到的獲利提升，從大約二月底到今天，其實非常短暫。實際上到第二季中段，我們就回到了戰前的利潤率水準。

We are not back to those pre-war levels from a margin standpoint, in the Western world. We expect the markets to remain relatively constructive here through the balance of the year, albeit, supply chains have found a way to normalize to some extent. While product may not be flowing out of the Middle East, it is flowing from other places. That does create some more compression in the margins, but they still are at higher levels in that business.

但在西方世界，就利潤率而言，我們尚未回到那些戰前水準。我們預期市場在今年剩餘時間仍將相對具建設性，儘管供應鏈在某種程度上已找到方法趨於正常化。雖然產品可能沒有從中東流出，但會從其他地方流出。這確實會對利潤率造成更多擠壓，但該業務的利潤率仍處於較高水準。

The team continues to do everything it can to contract business where we were able to get additional business because of our reliability of supply. We're really partnering with customers to be able to get business under contract for next year and beyond.

團隊持續盡其所能，在我們因供應可靠而能取得額外業務的地方，把業務以合約方式鎖定下來。我們正與客戶密切合作，力求把明年及更長期的業務納入合約。

Maybe a question for Chuck on free cash flow and the $700 million to $800 million guidance for 2026. How have the moving parts there, working capital, et cetera, changed relative to your view three months ago, as it relates to that guidance?

也許這題要請Chuck回答，關於自由現金流以及你們對2026年7億至8億美元的指引。相較於三個月前你對該指引的看法，相關變動因素（營運資金等）有什麼變化？

Yeah. Thanks, Ghansham. Not a lot has changed. We're very confident in the free cash flow range that we've put out there. In the second quarter, $140 million of free cash is actually pretty good considering the amount of working capital we've built up in the quarter, almost $200 million use of cash in the quarter.

是的。謝謝你，Ghansham。變化不大。我們對所提出的自由現金流區間非常有信心。第二季自由現金流1.4億美元其實相當不錯，考量到本季我們增加了不少營運資金，單季幾乎使用了2億美元的現金。

Understandable, it's basically accounts receivable. We sit today at year-to-date, a use of cash of almost $300 million working capital. That will normalize over the second half, Ghansham, we're seeing that now, right? I think we've talked about earnings increase of this year benefiting free cash flow both in this year and next year, and that's still the right assumption. Right now, I'd probably say working capital for the year, Ghansham, is somewhere between neutral, meaning zero, to slightly positive. Not a lot changed.

這可以理解，主要就是應收帳款。截至目前，我們年初至今營運資金使用的現金接近3億美元。Ghansham，這在下半年會正常化，我們現在已經看到這個趨勢，對吧？我想我們談過，今年獲利增加會在今年與明年同時帶動自由現金流，這個假設仍然正確。就目前來看，我大概會說今年的營運資金，Ghansham，介於中性（也就是零）到略為正向之間。沒有太大改變。

I feel really good about the free cash flow range. I'd also point out, though, that as we look ahead, I would consider this $700 million to $800 million of free cash flow as our sort of baseline sustainable level. As we look into next year, we are not done on our working capital reduction efforts. Particularly looking to take more structural inventory out of Engineered Materials.

我對這個自由現金流區間感覺非常好。不過我也要指出，往前看，我會把這7億到8億美元的自由現金流視為我們某種「基準」的可持續水準。展望明年，我們的營運資金降低工作還沒有結束。特別是希望在工程材料（Engineered Materials）中，結構性地再降低更多庫存。

We do expect cash costs of restructuring activities, which is adjusted out of our EBITDA. Those will continue to decline a bit next year. Again, we do expect some of the benefit of 2026 to hit 2027. Confident in the free cash range of this year, I would really consider that sort of our baseline sustainable level over the next few years.

我們確實預期會有重組活動的現金成本，而這部分在我們的EBITDA中已被調整剔除。這些成本明年還會再小幅下降。同樣地，我們確實預期2026年的部分效益會延伸到2027年。對今年的自由現金流區間很有信心；我會把它視為未來幾年的基準可持續水準。

Jeff Zekauskas, J.P. Morgan.

Jeff Zekauskas，摩根大通（J.P. Morgan）。

Your Acetyl Chain volumes were flat year-over-year in the quarter. Why didn't they grow? I would expect that in the June quarter, you had capacity available, you were low cost. There are competitor outages. Why wasn't volume better?

你們本季乙醯鏈（Acetyl Chain）銷量年增持平。為什麼沒有成長？我原本預期在6月季度，你們有可用產能、成本也低。競爭對手也有停產。為什麼銷量沒有更好？

Jeff, I think a lot of it's mix. We've continued to see some destock in the acetate tow part of the value chain. That volume was lower on a year-over-year basis, which was kind of offsetting the gains that we saw in the vinyls chain. We definitely did, to your point, see higher volumes there, but you're seeing a level of offset from the acetate tow segment.

Jeff，我認為很大一部分是產品組合的因素。我們在價值鏈中的醋酸纖維絲束（acetate tow）環節仍持續看到去庫存。該部分銷量年比年較低，某種程度上抵消了我們在乙烯基（vinyls）鏈看到的增長。如你所說，我們那邊的確看到更高的銷量，但你也看到醋酸纖維絲束板塊帶來一定程度的抵消。

Q2 last year, we did see some level of seasonal improvement from Q1 into Q2 in kind of the emulsion side of things as well. From a comp basis, it was already a slightly higher quarter, Q2 to Q2, but those are the dynamics that are playing out there.

去年第二季，我們也確實看到從第一季到第二季，在乳液（emulsion）端出現某種程度的季節性改善。從比較基期來看，第二季本來就是略高的一季（Q2對Q2），但這些就是目前正在發生的動態。

In Engineered Materials, exclusive of the divestiture, if you had to describe your volumes to the auto sector and all of your volumes to the non-auto sector, what would those growth rates be in the quarter?

在工程材料（Engineered Materials）方面，撇除資產剝離的影響，如果要你描述本季你們對汽車產業的銷量，以及對非汽車產業的全部銷量，各自的成長率會是多少？

Auto kind of moves with builds for the most part, Jeff. On a year-over-year basis, we saw builds down year-over-year, Q2 to Q2. You saw an impact there of a few percentage points, which kind of is offset by the volumes we've seen in other places and some of our penetration into some of the growth areas of automotive, like we called out, like electric drive units. I think, when you kind of look at the macro side, auto down year over year. Because volumes, when you exclude the divestiture, were pretty much flattish year over year. Those are kind of everything non-auto was up, and then auto kind of moving with builds.

Jeff，汽車端大多數情況下是跟著整車產量（builds）走。以年比年來看，我們看到整車產量下滑，Q2對Q2是年減。你會看到那裡有幾個百分點的影響，但這部分又被我們在其他領域看到的銷量，以及我們在汽車成長領域的滲透所抵消——就像我們提到的，例如電驅動單元（electric drive units）。我想從宏觀面來看，汽車年比年是下滑的。因為若排除資產剝離，我們的總銷量年比年基本持平。所以大致上就是：非汽車都在成長，而汽車則隨整車產量變動。

David Begleiter, Deutsche Bank.

David Begleiter，德意志銀行（Deutsche Bank）。

Good morning. Scott, on EM, you've announced a few price increases. Where do you stand on price costs in Q2, and where do you think it'll be in the back half of the year on price cost in EM?

早安。Scott，關於EM（工程材料），你們宣布了幾次漲價。你們在第二季的價格/成本（price-cost）目前處於什麼狀態？以及你認為今年下半年EM的價格/成本會如何？

David, I said on the last call that one of the most important things that we were going to have to get ahead of was the rising raw material costs in engineered materials. The team worked tirelessly to do that through the quarter. We exited Q2, I think, on a really strong level from a price perspective that sets us up.

David，我在上次電話會議提到，我們必須優先處理的一個最重要事項，就是工程材料原物料成本上升。團隊在整個季度不懈努力來做到這點。我們在第二季結束時，我認為在價格面達到非常強的水準，為我們後續做好了準備。

You saw kind of that margin expansion that we were able to get because of pricing that we largely got in the second half of Q2. That positions us to be able to offset a chunk of that raw flow-through that we're now seeing here in the third quarter. I think we said this was going to be a second-half impact from raw materials, and that's definitely what we're seeing with raws. Raws have been a little bit volatile here.

你看到我們因為定價（主要是在第二季下半年取得）而得以實現某種程度的毛利率擴張。這使我們能夠抵銷我們現在在第三季所看到的部分原物料成本傳導影響。我想我們曾說過，原物料會在下半年帶來影響，而這確實就是我們在原料端所看到的情況。原料在這段時間有些波動。

We saw them come down, some raws went back up a little bit. We'll kind of see how this flows through into the fourth quarter, but we're definitely going to see some of that compression relative to Q2 happen in the third quarter as expected.

我們看到它們下滑，部分原料又小幅回升。我們會觀察這會如何傳導到第四季，但如預期，我們第三季肯定會看到相較第二季的某些壓縮。

Great. Just on your Q3 guide, what gets you to the top of the range and what gets you to the lower end of the range? Thank you.

很好。就你們第三季指引而言，什麼因素會讓結果落在區間上緣，什麼因素會讓結果落在區間下緣？謝謝。

David, we've got thousands of million-dollar things that flow through our P&L every single quarter. There's a lot of different elements that can get you to the top or bottom end. Let me talk about kind of where our priorities are, because I think that kind of answers the question. I think, one, it is this, what I just answered. It really is kind of maintaining and being able to hold pricing to be able to offset as much of these raw material inflation that we're going to see in the Engineered Materials business.

David，我們每一季都有成千上萬個百萬美元等級的事項會流經我們的損益表（P&L）。有很多不同的要素會讓你落在上緣或下緣。我先談談我們的優先事項，因為我認為這基本上就回答了你的問題。第一，就是我剛剛回答的那點。關鍵在於維持並守住定價，以便在工程材料（Engineered Materials）業務中抵銷我們將看到的原物料通膨的相當一部分。

Continuing to be able to provide a reliability of supply to our customers in the Western world, really in both businesses, as supply chains have a level of volatility still that are out there, and being able to move a little bit more volume, but also kind of maintain a higher level of margins than we had when we started 2026.

第二，持續為西方世界的客戶提供供應可靠性——其實在兩個業務都是如此——因為供應鏈仍存在一定程度的波動；同時也要能夠多推動一些出貨量，但也要維持比我們在2026年初時更高的毛利率水準。

I think the third area is continuing to focus on the productivity of the business, really across both of our segments here, and tenaciously working the cost side of that equation. The growth piece is really now we're on a multi-quarter trajectory of being able to drive mix improvement in the Engineered Materials business. We fully expect that that will continue here. I would say kind of those first three priorities are certainly critical to be able to come in at the higher end of the range.

第三個面向是持續聚焦於業務的生產力提升，這點在我們兩個事業部門都適用，並且堅持不懈地在成本端下功夫。成長的部分，現在我們正處於一個跨多季的軌跡，能夠在工程材料業務中推動產品組合（mix）改善。我們完全預期這會在接下來持續。我會說，前面這三個優先事項對於能夠落在指引區間上緣，當然是關鍵。

Kevin McCarthy, Vertical Research Partners.

Kevin McCarthy，Vertical Research Partners。

Yes, thank you very much, and good morning. Scott, I think you indicated there was still some destocking pressure in the second quarter in the Acetate Tow business. Can you discuss the outlook for the back half there in terms of sales and earnings and the impact of the upcoming closure of Lanaken?

是的，非常感謝，早安。Scott，我想你提到醋酸纖維絲束（Acetate Tow）業務在第二季仍有一些去庫存壓力。你能談談下半年在銷售與獲利方面的展望，以及即將關閉Lanaken對此的影響嗎？

I think the tow business saw some stabilization certainly ahead of the planned Lanaken closure. We saw what I would call a moderation of that destocking in the second quarter. The order patterns certainly are beginning to normalize a bit versus where they were last year. We do expect some level of destocking based upon conversations with customers to continue to occur here in the back half of the year.

我認為絲束業務在既定的Lanaken關閉計畫之前確實出現了一些穩定跡象。我們看到第二季去庫存的情況有所緩和。相較於去年，訂單型態確實開始有些回歸正常。根據我們與客戶的對話，我們預期今年下半年仍會持續出現一定程度的去庫存。

Certainly that pace of change that we've seen in the business has slowed considerably in tow. We feel good about where that goes as we work our way into 2027 because of the cost actions that we're taking. We expect to have the plant closed here in the quarter, which is faster than we had originally anticipated. That is going to drive an inventory absorption hit at a higher level in the second half of the year.

當然，我們在絲束業務中看到的變化速度已明顯放緩。由於我們正在採取的成本措施，當我們邁向2027年時，我們對其走勢感到樂觀。我們預期本季就會把工廠關閉，速度比我們原先預期更快。這將使下半年在存貨吸收（inventory absorption）方面承受更高程度的衝擊。

We felt like that was the right answer because it's going to give us a cleaner 2027, and those costs will certainly get some cost benefit in the fourth quarter. Those costs will certainly be much better in 2027 than they were in 2026.

我們認為這是正確的做法，因為它會讓2027年更乾淨（更好比較），而且這些成本在第四季確實會帶來一些成本效益。這些成本在2027年肯定會比2026年好得多。

Very good. As I look at the balance sheet, it strikes me that you've done a nice job of deleveraging pretty consistently over the last five quarters or so. My sense is that you are still evaluating additional opportunities for divestitures, Scott, would welcome any updated thoughts that you might have on that topic, as well as your joint ventures and how you're looking at those strategically. Thanks.

很好。我看資產負債表，感覺你們在過去大約五個季度相當持續地把槓桿降下來，做得不錯。我的理解是你仍在評估更多的資產處分機會，Scott，也希望你能更新一下你對這個主題的看法，以及你們的合資企業（joint ventures）——你們在策略上如何看待它們。謝謝。

We are committed to the billion-dollar target of divestitures by the end of 2027, Kevin. That hasn't wavered. We are about halfway there after the Micromax transaction we announced last year and closed earlier this year. We're working a portfolio of items of various sizes, to be honest with you, some smaller, some a little bit larger.

Kevin，我們承諾在2027年底前達成10億美元的資產處分目標。這點沒有改變。在我們去年宣布、並於今年稍早完成交割的Micromax交易之後，我們大約已完成一半。坦白說，我們正在推進一個由不同規模項目組成的組合，有些較小，有些稍大。

We believe a combination of those will get us that additional $500 million, and we're still very confident about announcing at least one deal by the end of this year. That's been very consistent for us, and we feel good about how those projects are proceeding.

我們相信這些項目的組合將能讓我們再達成額外的5億美元，而且我們仍非常有信心在今年底前至少宣布一筆交易。這一直是我們相當一致的說法，我們也對這些專案的進展感到滿意。

Frank Mitsch, Fermium Research.

Frank Mitsch，Fermium Research。

Thank you. I want to come back to the third quarter guidance, $135 to $175. We're roughly 40% through the quarter. How much visibility do you have on your order books for the balance of this quarter?

謝謝。我想回到第三季指引，135到175（百萬美元）。本季大約已經過了40%。對於本季剩餘期間的訂單簿，你們有多少能見度？

I think each business is different, Frank. Acetyls continues to be a couple of weeks of where you can build that confidence on where the order books is. That hasn't changed. It's been pretty consistent for the last several years. In the Engineered Materials business, we have pretty good visibility three, four weeks out. That can also change a bit. I think that's pretty consistent.

Frank，我認為各個業務不太一樣。醋酐/醋酸類（Acetyls）業務通常只能看到未來幾週，並在那個範圍內建立對訂單簿的信心。這點沒有改變。過去幾年一直都相當一致。在工程材料業務方面，我們對未來三到四週有相當不錯的能見度。當然也可能會有些變動。我認為這也相當一致。

We have a pretty decent idea how things will finish out through August. September is really important for us. In September, the last month of every quarter tends to be the strongest quarter, particularly in the Engineered Materials business. The team's certainly prepared coming out of what is typically a slower part of the year in August with vacations in Europe as well as in Asia. Is ramping up for a really strong September.

我們對8月結束前的情況有相當不錯的掌握。9月對我們非常重要。在9月，也就是每一季的最後一個月，通常會是該季最強的月份，尤其是在工程材料業務。團隊也已做好準備，因為8月通常是一年中較慢的時段，歐洲與亞洲都有假期。目前正為一個非常強勁的9月加速準備。

We'll have a lot better idea here in the next two, three weeks, but that's kind of where things stand right now.

接下來兩到三週我們會有更清楚的判斷，但目前大致就是這樣的狀況。

All right. Understood. Can you speak to the total company turnaround expenses that you faced in the second quarter, and your expectations for the third quarter and fourth quarter for that matter?

好的。了解。你能談談公司整體在第二季所面臨的轉型（turnaround）費用總額，以及你們對第三季與第四季（就此而言）的預期嗎？

Frank, really the biggest turnaround expense in the quarter was engineered materials, right? We talked about $15 million. That obviously will not reoccur. We do have some other smaller turnarounds, but that's the biggest one to sort of highlight.

Frank，說真的，本季最大的檢修費用是工程材料（EM），對吧？我們談到約1,500萬美元。那顯然不會再發生。我們確實還有一些其他較小的檢修，但那是最需要特別點出的。

If you think about that, as part of that was some pretty big moves in inventory absorption quarter-over-quarter. EM, if you think about Q1 to Q2, they had to offset about $65 million of total absorption plus turnaround, and still more than offset that obviously by driving margin expansion. I would focus on that POM turnaround, $15 million or so, plus some other small ones.

如果你從這個角度來看，其中一部分是庫存吸收在季度間出現了相當大的變動。EM，如果你看Q1到Q2，他們必須抵銷約6,500萬美元的總吸收加上檢修影響，但顯然仍透過推動毛利率擴張而不僅抵銷了這些影響。我會聚焦在那次POM檢修，約1,500萬美元左右，再加上一些其他小項。

All right. The balance of the year looks relatively clean in terms of turnaround expenses.

好的。就檢修費用而言，今年剩餘期間看起來相對乾淨。

Vincent Andrews, Morgan Stanley.

Vincent Andrews，摩根士丹利。

Thank you, and good morning. I'm wondering if you could just give us an update on Frankfurt and what your plans are for the asset. It sounds like it'll probably run for the rest of the year at least, just given the ongoing dislocations. Is it part of your broader strategy to sort of maintain some of the share that you've gained this year from a reliability perspective, or what's your overall thought process with that, and I suppose the rest of the footprint?

謝謝，早安。我想請你更新一下法蘭克福（Frankfurt）的情況，以及你們對該資產的規劃。聽起來考量到持續的供需錯配，它至少可能會運轉到今年底。這是否屬於你們更廣泛策略的一部分，也就是從可靠性角度維持今年所取得的一些市占，或你們對此的整體思考是什麼？以及我想也包括其餘產能佈局？

Yeah, I think the agility that the team showed in Q2 was really strong. The response on Frankfurt, that plant had been down for more than six months. We had to go through and put equipment back into service there. The team was able to get it back up and operating in about five weeks from the time at which we said go.

是的，我認為團隊在Q2展現的敏捷性非常強。關於法蘭克福，那座工廠已停工超過六個月。我們必須逐一把設備重新投入運轉。從我們下達啟動指令起，團隊大約在五週內就讓它恢復並開始運作。

The agility and speed at which they were able to, once we made that decision, get the plant back up and operating, and then move the supply chain around to make sure we had raw materials was a pretty Herculean effort, and I am certainly proud of the group of how they responded. Now as we look forward, Frankfurt will operate depending on where demand is at.

他們在我們做出決定後，以那樣的敏捷度與速度讓工廠恢復運轉，並且調整供應鏈以確保原料到位，真的是非常艱鉅的努力；我也確實為這個團隊的應對感到自豪。接下來往前看，法蘭克福是否運轉將取決於需求所在。

We will match our supply needs, and where the demand is on whether or not Frankfurt operates for the balance of the year or not. We haven't made that decision, because I think a lot depends upon where demand is at and where industry supply ends up landing here in the third and the fourth quarter. That's what we're weighing right now, Vincent. That's no different than past decisions. Frankfurt as well as the Singapore unit are assets that we have been block operating now for several years based upon where our needs are.

我們會依照供應需求來匹配，並視需求狀況決定法蘭克福在今年剩餘期間是否運轉。我們尚未做出決定，因為我認為很大程度取決於需求走向，以及第三、第四季產業供給最終落點。這就是我們目前正在權衡的，Vincent。這與過去的決策並無不同。法蘭克福以及新加坡廠都是我們多年來依照需求採取區塊式（block）運轉的資產。

Okay. Thank you. As a follow-up, you outlined all these sort of, I think it was 20 subsegments within EM that you think you can push further into and that are attractive for a variety of different reasons. Are there any in particular that you feel like you're under-shared in, where you feel like now that you maybe take a more aggressive tact, you'll see sort of a quicker success in, or is it all about the same?

了解。謝謝。追問一下，你提到在EM裡大概有20個子分項，你認為可以進一步推進，而且基於多種不同原因都很有吸引力。其中是否有任何特別的領域，你覺得你們目前市占偏低、現在若採取更積極的策略，可能會更快看到成果？還是其實都差不多？

Vincent, you've known us for a long time, one of the mantras we talk a lot here at Celanese is we can always do more. I think, technology and innovation is happening, is moving so rapidly right now that I think it's really irrelevant what our current share and penetration is, because that opportunity set as we go forward is changing so fast.

Vincent，你認識我們很久了；我們在Celanese常講的一句話是：我們永遠可以做得更多。我認為，技術與創新現在發展得非常快，以至於我們目前的市占與滲透率其實不那麼重要，因為往前看，那個機會集合變化得太快了。

I'll use data centers and servers and data centers as an example here. We've been supplying connectors and other materials into servers for a long period of time. When you break down an AI data center server, it's very different. The chip that's used in each of these servers is extremely expensive.

我用資料中心與伺服器作為例子。我們長期以來一直在伺服器中供應連接器與其他材料。但當你拆解AI資料中心的伺服器時，它非常不同。每台伺服器使用的晶片極其昂貴。

As they build these things, protecting that chip to ensure that you have protection from signal loss, that you maintain the speed that's required, that you can maintain thermal management through that system, it creates three times the amount of opportunity for our materials in terms of connectors. It creates opportunities around the thermal management system, wire and cable applications.

在建造這些設備時，為了保護晶片、確保避免訊號損失、維持所需速度，並在系統中維持熱管理能力，這使得我們材料在連接器方面的機會增加到三倍。同時也在熱管理系統、電線與電纜應用上創造機會。

So it's the multiplying effect of being able to leverage with some of our key customers, where we've historically gone, as they're innovating, it just presents new ground for us to be able to penetrate with our materials. So that's the mindset that we're really driving now with our commercial teams. We had our commercial team leaders into Dallas last month, I got an opportunity to spend with them.

因此，當我們能與一些關鍵客戶合作、在我們過去已切入的領域上加以槓桿運用時，隨著他們持續創新，就會為我們帶來新的領域，讓我們能以材料進一步滲透。這就是我們現在真正推動商務團隊的思維模式。上個月我們把商務團隊領導人召集到達拉斯，我也有機會與他們相處交流。

The energy that was there and the accountability that they're driving with their teams around the commitments they're making to really penetrate and drive growth for us is really exciting. It really is a value play, you've seen that come through in terms of the mix enrichment that has been happening now for about a year in the business. We think we can multiply this as we go forward.

現場的能量，以及他們對團隊所推動的責任承擔、圍繞他們所做出的承諾來真正提升滲透並推動我們成長，令人非常振奮。這確實是一個價值策略；你也看到這一年來業務組合優化（mix enrichment）的成果逐步顯現。我們認為往前看可以把這種效果倍增。

Hassan Ahmed, Alembic Global.

Hassan Ahmed，Alembic Global。

Morning, Scott. Scott, you guys mentioned, obviously the lag effect of raw material costs impacting H2. Could you sort of expand on the lag effect of pricing benefits as well? I guess asked a different way, obviously you guys were pretty aggressive with price hikes through the course of Q2, and I would imagine some contracts are a little longer duration.

早安，Scott。Scott，你們提到原料成本對下半年（H2）的影響存在明顯的遞延效應。你能否也延伸談談定價效益的遞延效應？換個方式問，你們在Q2期間顯然相當積極地調漲價格，而我想有些合約期限會比較長。

As those contracts reset, I would expect some benefit coming from there. Maybe, what percentage of your EM contracts are longer duration? What percentage of your AC contracts are longer duration? Any sense around that would be great.

當這些合約重新定價時，我預期會帶來一些效益。你們EM合約中有多少比例是較長期間的？你們AC合約中有多少比例是較長期間的？如果能提供一些概念會很有幫助。

Yeah, the acetyl business is a business that moves in real time, Hassan, for the most part. You don't have significant lag effects. Yeah, we saw kind of the peak of raw materials flowing through the Acetyls business really in the first half of Q2.

是的，Hassan，醋酸（Acetyl）業務大多數情況下是即時變動的業務。你不會看到顯著的遞延效應。我們看到原料成本的高點流入醋酸業務，主要是在Q2上半段。

A lot of that lag effect has, I would say, already occurred in the Acetyls business. EM, because the raws tend to sit in inventory longer, we didn't really see much of that flow-through in Q2, and it's really coming through now in the third quarter. I would say the majority of that price, I talked about last quarter, the importance of exiting Q2 at that peak price level, and I feel like we did that.

我會說，醋酸業務中那種遞延效應大多已經發生了。EM方面，因為原料通常在庫存中停留更久，我們在Q2其實沒有看到太多傳導，而現在在第三季才真正反映出來。我會說，關於價格的部分——我上季談到在Q2結束時以高點價格水準出場的重要性——我覺得我們做到了。

That's not to say we won't have some lingering effect of a positive price here in the quarter; I would say the majority of it, I think, we've achieved. We'll continue to push there. A lot of it depends upon where scarcity occurs and where we see opportunities and where we're really well positioned.

這並不是說本季不會還有一些正向價格的尾端效應；但我會說其中大部分，我認為我們已經達成了。我們會持續推進。很多取決於稀缺性出現在哪裡、我們看到機會在哪裡，以及我們在哪些地方具備非常好的定位。

We talk a lot about our global footprint in acetyls, but our engineered materials footprint is extremely geographically diverse as well. Because of our strategy of moving to where compounding is such a critical part of that business and buying more of our polymers versus making with some of the changes we've made in our footprint actions over the last couple of years, that just creates more flexibility and nimbleness for us to be able to be a reliable supplier to our customers in the EM business as well. We'll continue to look for opportunities on price, but I would say a lot of that I think we achieved coming out of Q2.

我們經常談到我們在醋酸酯（acetyls）業務的全球布局，但我們在工程材料（EM）的布局在地理上同樣極為多元。由於我們的策略是把產能移往「配混（compounding）」在該業務中至關重要的地區，並且基於過去幾年在布局調整上的一些變革，我們更多採購聚合物（polymers）而非自行製造，這讓我們更具彈性與敏捷性，能在EM業務中也成為客戶可靠的供應商。我們會持續尋找價格方面的機會，但我會說其中很大一部分，我認為我們在第二季結束時已經達成了。

Very helpful. As a follow-up, I mean, you guys talked about the restructuring and nylon optimization being around a $50 million annualized benefit, then the Lanaken side of things, another $20 million to $25 million. From a P&L impact perspective, when should we start seeing that benefit? I mean, will we see an element of that benefit in the back half of this year? How does 2027 look with regard to capturing that?

非常有幫助。追問一下，你們提到重組與尼龍優化約有每年年化5,000萬美元的效益，另外Lanaken那邊還有2,000萬到2,500萬美元。從損益表（P&L）影響的角度來看，我們何時會開始看到這些效益？也就是說，今年下半年會看到其中一部分效益嗎？就捕捉這些效益而言，2027年會是什麼樣的情況？

Yeah. Thanks, Hassan. Look, I think the EM footprint actions, think about $30 million to $35 million, then Lanaken $20 million to $25 million. We'll probably get a third or so of the Lanaken cost savings this year and roughly half of the nylon restructuring this year. We'll get the rest of that next year. It really sets us up for lower cost structure in the future, and certainly great for our cash flow.

是的。謝謝你，Hassan。我想，EM布局行動可視為約3,000萬到3,500萬美元，然後Lanaken是2,000萬到2,500萬美元。今年我們大概能取得Lanaken成本節省的約三分之一，以及尼龍重組效益的大約一半。其餘部分會在明年取得。這確實讓我們未來的成本結構更低，對我們的現金流當然也非常有利。

Matthew DeYoe, Bank of America.

Matthew DeYoe，美國銀行（Bank of America）。

Morning, everyone. On EM growth rates, clearly a fair amount of the discussion, at least on some of the GLP-1 pens. You put out a $500 million TAM, and I appreciate some of this TAM commentary is, how do we think about the ebb and flow there with the pill, the GLP-1 pill kind of coming in? Is that kind of expected in this $500 million range?

各位早安。關於EM的成長率，顯然討論不少，至少在某些GLP-1注射筆（pens）上。你們提出了5億美元的TAM（可服務市場總規模），我也理解這些TAM的評論之一是：隨著GLP-1口服藥（pill）逐步進入市場，我們該如何看待其中的起伏變化？這是否已經反映在這個5億美元的區間之內？

In autos, Scott, you used to outgrow auto builds pretty consistently, and I know things have changed a bit, with the mix and where the volumes are coming from. But can you take a step back and give us an idea of maybe why the D-cell in autos is now more transferable, or why you're not outgrowing as much as you used to, and if there's a path to getting back to IHS plus growth rates, what is it?

在汽車領域，Scott，你們過去通常能持續跑贏汽車整車產量（auto builds）的成長，我知道情況有些改變，包含產品組合以及量的來源。但你能否退一步，給我們一些看法：為什麼汽車領域的D-cell現在更具可轉移性，或為什麼你們不像以前那樣能跑贏？

Yeah, thanks for the question, Matt. We've talked now for a while about our focus in engineered materials really being about value over volume. I think, with more polymer capacity coming on in China, our ability to be able to keep up with the pace of growth of standard grade materials, particularly in China, is going to be challenged. We're less focused on the volumetric piece, particularly in automotive.

好的，謝謝你的問題，Matt。我們談了一段時間，我們在工程材料的重點其實是「價值優先於量」。我認為，隨著中國新增更多聚合物產能，我們要跟上標準等級材料（standard grade materials）的成長速度，特別是在中國，將會面臨挑戰。我們對「量」的部分關注較少，尤其是在汽車領域。

We're more focused on share gains, penetration, and really getting the volume and value in some of the non-auto spaces. I think when we look at the value that we're getting and the mix enrichment, even specifically in the automotive segment, we feel really good about the penetration and the wins that we're seeing there. That, we think, is much more important.

我們更關注市占提升、滲透率，以及在一些非汽車領域真正取得量與價值。我想當我們看我們所取得的價值與組合升級（mix enrichment），即便是在汽車細分市場中，我們對於滲透率以及我們看到的得標/導入（wins）感到非常有信心。我們認為那才更重要。

We have now, for the last year and a half, been taking very corresponding actions around our plant footprint to ensure that we've got the right match-up of the capacity needs with where we think the business is going forward. I'm less worried about are we outgrowing auto or not. The key is our revenue really outpacing, and so far, it certainly is.

在過去一年半，我們也同步採取了相當一致的工廠布局行動，以確保產能需求與我們對未來業務走向的判斷能夠匹配。我比較不擔心我們是否跑贏汽車市場。關鍵在於我們的營收是否真正跑得更快，而到目前為止，確實是如此。

When you look at drug delivery, we're really excited about the trends that we're seeing in drug delivery, and it's bigger than just GLP-1. When you think about patient monitoring and at-home health self-administering that we're starting to see, there is a real growing trend around injectables, but also continuous glucose monitoring continuing to be an important area of growth. I think you're going to continue to see changes.

談到藥物遞送（drug delivery），我們對所看到的趨勢非常興奮，而且不只是GLP-1。當你想到病患監測（patient monitoring）以及居家健康自我給藥（at-home health self-administering）開始出現的趨勢，注射劑（injectables）確實在成長；同時，連續血糖監測（continuous glucose monitoring）也仍是重要的成長領域。我認為你會持續看到變化。

The growth rates that we called out and the size of markets does contemplate, based upon discussions with our customers, kind of GLP-1 pills and what that means going forward. I think we've got a pretty conservative view there, to be very honest, Matt, and we're going to continue to work. There will be other therapies and treatments that are going to be rolling out here over the next several years, that will be administered at home through injectables beyond GLP-1, and we're excited about the opportunities there also.

我們所提到的成長率與市場規模，確實已根據與客戶的討論，納入對GLP-1口服藥以及其未來影響的考量。坦白說，Matt，我認為我們在這方面的看法相當保守，我們也會持續努力。未來幾年還會有其他療法與治療陸續推出，除了GLP-1之外，也會透過居家注射方式給藥，我們對那裡的機會同樣感到興奮。

Abigail Eberts, Wells Fargo.

Abigail Eberts，富國銀行（Wells Fargo）。

Hi there. Thanks for taking my question. Looking at your closure in South Korea for EM and then Lanaken and AC, are there other potential candidates for rationalization on your horizon?

你好。謝謝讓我提問。從你們在南韓關閉EM據點，以及Lanaken與AC的調整來看，未來是否還有其他可能的合理化（rationalization）候選項目？

Abigail, I repeat what I said earlier, there's always more that can be done. We've talked about three priority actions for us as a company. Increasing the free cash flow of the corporation and aggressively de-leveraging the balance sheet, intensifying our cost improvements, and driving productivity every day. Then driving top-line growth in these sub-segment and pockets of our end markets that are growing and have uniquely higher growth rates and matching that with our own capabilities.

Abigail，我重申我先前說的：永遠都有更多可以做的。我們談過公司三項優先行動。提升公司的自由現金流（free cash flow），並積極去槓桿（de-leveraging）資產負債表；加強成本改善；以及每天推動生產力提升。再來是推動營收成長，聚焦在終端市場中那些正在成長、且具有獨特較高成長率的子細分與利基領域，並讓這些成長與我們自身能力相匹配。

That second bucket doesn't ever go away. We've done a lot of the bigger footprint actions, but there's still more that we'll look at, and a lot of depends upon how markets develop, how our position changes, and where we can be successful with our whole value chain. Continuing to strengthen our specialty compounding leadership that we have on a global basis is really the key priority.

第二個面向永遠不會消失。我們已經做了許多較大型的布局行動，但仍有更多我們會評估，而這很大程度取決於市場如何發展、我們的定位如何改變，以及我們如何在整個價值鏈上取得成功。持續強化我們在全球的特種配混（specialty compounding）領導地位，確實是關鍵優先事項。

Where we get our polymers is going to tweak and change and making sure we're as efficient with that compounding network as possible. There are additional opportunities. I would say they're probably smaller in nature as we go forward. They're probably more in the $5 million to $10 million per site range.

我們取得聚合物的來源會有所微調與變化，而確保我們的配混網絡盡可能高效率是很重要的。還有其他機會。我會說，隨著我們往前走，這些機會可能規模較小。每個據點大概會落在500萬到1,000萬美元的區間。

As we work those, we'll certainly talk more and more about it. There are a lot more additional cost improvement things that we're working. We're finding ways at which to be more efficient right now with our supply chain, for example. Now that we've kind of made the footprint actions, we're positioning for growth in a different way.

當我們推進這些工作時，我們當然會越來越多地對外說明。我們也在推動更多額外的成本改善事項。例如，我們正在找方法讓供應鏈更有效率。現在我們已經大致完成布局行動，我們正以不同方式為成長做定位。

You have to then reset your supply chain, and we think we can pull costs out over the next several years, not just from an inventory reduction standpoint that Chuck talked about, but also kind of hard costs from our cost to serve and still provide the reliability supply to our customers that they expect. I think it may morph away from plant footprint changes to other kind of efficiency improvements that we have across the network going forward.

接著你必須重新調整你的供應鏈，而我們認為在未來幾年可以把成本降下來，不僅是 Chuck 談到的庫存降低角度，還包括我們在服務成本（cost to serve）上的一些硬性成本，同時仍能為客戶提供他們所期待的可靠供應。我認為，未來這可能會從工廠版圖變動，逐步轉向我們在整個網路中其他類型的效率改善。

Laurence Alexander, Jefferies.

Laurence Alexander，Jefferies。

Good morning. When you look at your full year estimate, what do you think is kind of the embedded net impact of all of the costs around the divestitures, the inventory adjustments, kind of the net working capital swings and absorption that you've had to go through the downtime? Just when we're thinking about what the actual comparable base is for 2027, is it really six or is it a significant difference from that in one direction or the other?

早安。當你看你們的全年預估時，你認為在剝離（divestitures）相關的各項成本、庫存調整、淨營運資金的波動與吸收（absorption），以及你們因停機所必須承受的影響之間，內含的淨影響大概是多少？也就是說，當我們在思考 2027 年實際可比的基期時，真的就是 6（的水準）嗎？還是相較之下在某個方向上有顯著差異？

Yeah. Laurence, let me hit some of the business, some of the things that we're going to see this year. If you recall, EM entered this year with the need to offset a variety of headwinds. $45 million of absorption hit from reducing inventory as part of our nylon optimization. $35 million of adjusted EBIT loss from the Micromax divestiture, which was very good for our deleveraging. About $10 million of equity earnings decline really related to the temporary disruptions at Ibn Sina.

是的。Laurence，我先談一些業務面、以及我們今年會看到的一些事項。如果你還記得，EM 在今年一開始就需要抵銷各種逆風：作為我們尼龍最佳化一部分而降低庫存，帶來 4,500 萬美元的吸收衝擊；Micromax 剝離造成 3,500 萬美元的調整後 EBIT 損失，但這對我們去槓桿非常有利。另外大約 1,000 萬美元的權益法收益下滑，主要與 Ibn Sina 的暫時性中斷有關。

Despite that, we do expect EM to grow adjusted EBIT at double-digit rates, think closer to 15% than 10%. Really nice job of them offsetting that. In AC, obviously, we've talked about the team pivoting and capturing value from the supply disruptions as the most reliable supplier to drive our Western Hemisphere profitability. They did also have an incremental $20 million of absorption that'll hit them in the second half. Really great work from the team to drive significant earnings growth on top of that.

儘管如此，我們仍預期 EM 的調整後 EBIT 會以兩位數成長，想像更接近 15% 而不是 10%。他們在抵銷這些影響方面做得非常好。在 AC 方面，顯然我們已談過團隊轉向策略，並以最可靠供應商的角色，從供應中斷中捕捉價值，以推動我們在西半球的獲利。他們在下半年也會承受額外 2,000 萬美元的吸收影響。團隊在此基礎上仍能推動顯著的獲利成長，表現非常出色。

As I mentioned, I think the working capital, we entered the year with a $100 million target of inventory reduction in engineering materials. That's underway. It's being kind of masked right now by some of the increase in raw material prices that you see flowing through inventory. We think that we'll have a strong year of free cash flow.

如我提到的，關於營運資金，我們在年初為工程材料訂下 1 億美元的庫存降低目標。這項工作正在進行中。目前某種程度上被你看到的原物料價格上漲、流入庫存所掩蓋。我們認為今年自由現金流會很強勁。

We'll capture some of that benefit this year and some next year. We enter next year also with, we've laid out the cost reductions on a slide in our presentation. $80 million to $100 million of cost reductions as we go into next year, which will kind of help us offset any change in the business conditions.I hope that helps with some of the big pieces of how we think about 2026 and going forward.

其中一部分效益我們今年會取得，另一部分會在明年。我們進入明年時，也已在簡報的投影片中列出成本削減：在進入明年之際將有 8,000 萬到 1 億美元的成本降低，這將有助於我們抵銷任何商業環境的變化。希望這能幫助你理解我們如何看待 2026 年以及往後的一些主要構成。

John Roberts, Mizuho.

John Roberts，Mizuho。

Hi, this is Saurabh on behalf of John Roberts of Mizuho on behalf of John Roberts. The first question I have is, do you see the Ibn Sina joint venture gradually ramping as the Strait closure continues, or is it most flatlined until there's significant reopening?

嗨，我是 Saurabh，代表 Mizuho 的 John Roberts。我的第一個問題是，隨著海峽關閉持續，你們是否看到 Ibn Sina 合資企業會逐步爬坡回升，還是要等到有顯著重新開放之前都大致持平？

Yeah. The plant is running again. There are sales now happening in the third quarter, so that will yield a higher level of dividend expected into Q4. That, we definitely see a ramping up happening already. Obviously, there is a lot of volatility still in that part of the world, and so we'll have to continue to monitor it. We do expect to see kind of a lift back up in Q4 versus what we have rolling through in the third quarter.

是的。工廠已經重新運轉。第三季現在已有銷售發生，因此預期在第四季會帶來較高水準的股利。我們確實看到爬坡回升已經在發生。當然，世界那個區域仍有很大的波動性，所以我們必須持續監控。相較於第三季目前的狀況，我們預期第四季會有某種程度的回升。

Got it. I think the second question I have is just the technology roadmap on data centers continuously evolving. In terms of your content, how are you in conversations with your customers in the journey?

了解。我第二個問題是，資料中心的技術路線圖持續演進。就你們的含量（content）而言，你們在這段旅程中如何與客戶對話？

We have sales that are happening, it's not just conversations with customers. It's real hardcore, intimate development work that's happening because our customers are trying to innovate. The speed at which the changes are happening and the speed at which the chips are changing is pretty dynamic, it requires us to stay ahead. We're doing new product development in some of our key polymers as well to stay ahead of that we can meet the needs of our customers and what the requirements are.

我們確實有銷售正在發生，不只是與客戶對話而已。這是非常扎實、非常深入的共同開發工作，因為我們的客戶正在嘗試創新。變化發生的速度、晶片更迭的速度都相當動態，這要求我們必須保持領先。我們也在一些關鍵聚合物上進行新產品開發，以保持領先，確保能滿足客戶需求與相關規格要求。

The technical requirements here are hard. They're tough. That is giving us opportunities to be able to bring a much wider solution set to kind of these servers that are supplying into these data centers, thinking broader about data centers in general and thinking about the cooling systems that are going into them.

這裡的技術要求很高。非常具挑戰性。這也給了我們機會，能為這些供應到資料中心的伺服器帶來更廣泛的解決方案組合，並更廣泛地思考資料中心整體，以及其中所採用的冷卻系統。

I think it's just creating a very different discussion with our heritage customers in the electronics end use spaces, also with some new customers that we haven't historically called on. I think we've got, as we said, 30 different subsegments. There's a number of them that are really specifically focused on kind of this data center build-out because it is really driving strong returns from our customers, we're able to be able to leverage that into wins that are already happening.

我認為這正在讓我們與既有的電子終端應用領域傳統客戶，展開非常不同的討論；同時也包括一些我們過去並未經常接觸的新客戶。如我們所說，我們有 30 個不同的次分項。其中有不少是特別聚焦在這波資料中心建置上，因為這確實為我們的客戶帶來強勁回報；我們也能把這股動能轉化為已經正在發生的贏單。

Josh Spector, UBS.

Josh Spector，UBS。

Yeah. Hi, good morning. I wanted to ask about some of the corporate cost lines, and I guess I'll apologize in advance since I think these questions have rubbed you the wrong way in the past when I've asked about them. When I look at SG&A and I look at the other activities lines, both of them are up about $30 million in the first half year-over-year. I'm sure some of that's timing and some other moving factors, but I'm curious how you'd expect that to trend into second half. Is there any giveback? Does that come down? I guess, how does this square with some of the functional cost savings you guys are laying out in your slides?

是的。嗨，早安。我想問一些公司層級成本科目的問題；我先道歉，因為我想這些問題過去我問的時候，可能讓你們有點不太舒服。當我看 SG&A 以及其他活動（other activities）這兩條線，上半年兩者年增都大約 3,000 萬美元。我確定其中一部分是時點因素以及其他變動因素，但我好奇你們預期下半年會如何走勢。會有回吐嗎？會下降嗎？我想問的是，這與你們在投影片中提出的一些職能性成本節省，如何相互對應？

Yeah, Josh, let me talk about other activities because that is definitely running higher in 2026 than it has recently. The primary reason for that is an adjustment that we made to our compensation expense accruals, which was really due to the timing of the change of business conditions and the timing of the increased earnings forecast during the year. I would say compensation expense is higher than average this year. It was lower than average last year, which also helps explain the year-over-year change.

是的，Josh，我先談 other activities，因為 2026 年這一項確實比近年來跑得更高。主要原因是我們對薪酬費用的應計（accruals）做了調整，這主要是因為商業環境變化的時點，以及年度內獲利預測上修的時點所致。我會說今年的薪酬費用高於平均。去年則低於平均，這也有助於解釋年對年的變化。

Going forward in other activities, I would think about that as roughly $75 million a quarter after 2026. Recognizing there's a number of things in there that can cause some variability, I think the $75 million a quarter after 2026 is a good place to start.

往後在 other activities 方面，我會把 2026 年之後的水準視為每季大約 7,500 萬美元。考量其中有不少事項會造成一定的波動性，我認為以 2026 年之後每季 7,500 萬美元作為起點，是個不錯的基準。

Maybe that's then related. Is that the same thing that's impacting SG&A then? We'd expect that to go up, and then that's the right pace into next year?

也許那就有關聯。那麼，影響到 SG&A 的也是同一件事嗎？我們預期那會上升，而這就是進入明年的正確節奏嗎？

Yeah. That's a lot of it.

是的。很大一部分是這個原因。

Daryl, we'll make the next question our last one, please.

Daryl，我們把下一個問題作為最後一題，麻煩了。

Arun Viswanathan, RBC Capital Markets.

Arun Viswanathan，RBC 資本市場。

Thanks for taking my question. Hope you guys are well. Maybe I can ask the medium-term earnings question slightly differently. I think when you went into Q2, you were thinking about $3 for the back half of 2026. It seems like maybe there was a slight outperformance in Q2 at that $245, but you're still kind of targeting $6 for the year. Chuck, you ran through some of the puts and takes on a one-time front.

謝謝讓我提問。希望各位都一切順利。也許我可以用稍微不同的方式來問中期獲利的問題。我想在你們進入第二季時，你們原本在思考 2026 年下半年約 3 美元。看起來第二季在 2.45 美元左右可能略有超預期，但你們仍然大致以全年 6 美元為目標。Chuck，你也談到了一些一次性因素的增減影響。

Also as you look into Q2, obviously there's normalization on methanol and some other drivers. When you put all that together, it seems like 2027 could maybe be in a similar range of $6. Do you see the one-time add backs and maybe some of the other cost reductions more than offsetting the methanol and other kind of price upside that you saw this year?

另外，當你們看第二季時，顯然甲醇以及其他驅動因素正在正常化。把這些都放在一起看，似乎 2027 年可能也會落在接近 6 美元的區間。你們是否認為一次性加回項目以及其他一些成本削減，會超過並抵銷今年看到的甲醇及其他價格上行帶來的影響？

Yeah, Arun, I think the objective is we've taken action for $80 million to $100 million of cost reductions for next year, right? The objective is to offset any changes in further moderation in business conditions for next year. We've got a lot to do. We'll know a little bit more later in the year.

是的，Arun，我想目標是我們已經採取行動，為明年帶來 8,000 萬到 1 億美元的成本削減，對吧？目標是抵銷明年商業環境進一步趨於溫和所帶來的任何變化。我們還有很多要做。我們會在今年稍晚知道得更清楚一些。

With these actions we've taken, $80 million to $100 million, we'll continue to look for more and continue also to drive growth in engineering materials, right? We haven't talked about 2027 yet, but certainly we're taking actions to drive that as high as we can going forward.

透過我們已採取的這些 8,000 萬到 1 億美元行動，我們會繼續尋找更多機會，也會持續推動工程材料的成長，對吧？我們還沒有談到 2027 年，但可以確定的是，我們正在採取行動，讓未來能把它推到越高越好。

Just on that note, as a follow-up, would you be aggressively taking actions to accomplish even more aggressive deleveraging if business conditions continue to moderate? Is the objective to be below or three times eventually or how does that kind of relate to the deleveraging plan? Thanks.

順著這點追問一下，如果商業環境持續趨於溫和，你們會不會更積極採取行動，以達成更積極的去槓桿？目標最終是低於或達到 3 倍嗎？或者這與去槓桿計畫之間是如何連結的？謝謝。

Yeah, Arun, let me start and I'll turn it over to Chuck to talk about long-term deleveraging. The three priorities I talked about earlier are going to continue to be our focus areas. Increase cash flow. Drive as much cash flow as we possibly can. I think what we've proven out over the last year as well as so far this year, and what

好的，Arun，我先回答，然後我會把問題交給 Chuck 談長期去槓桿。我先前提到的三個優先事項將會繼續是我們的重點領域。提高現金流。盡可能推動更多現金流。我認為我們在過去一年以及今年迄今所證明的，還有……

Chuck talked about on kind of a baseline that we're going to build off of $700 million to $800 million of cash flow going forward, we feel like our ability to generate cash here at Celanese is strong, and we can build on that and grow it. That's going to come from continuing to drive aggressive cost reduction activities, productivity every single day.

Chuck 談到的、作為我們未來建立基礎的每年 7 億到 8 億美元現金流，我們認為 Celanese 的現金創造能力很強，而且我們可以在此基礎上再提升並成長。這將來自於持續推動積極的成本削減活動，以及每天的生產力提升。

The last is really kind of adding this top-line growth piece and the focus really around the value opportunities in engineered materials. We haven't talked on the call really about the opportunities in acetyls, but in our emulsions and redispersible powders business there are some applications, albeit small, but they're starting to really grow where we have unique chemistry advantages in areas like tile adhesive, in insulation systems, some of the evolving waterproofing technologies that we're seeing.

最後一項其實是加入營收成長這一塊，重點真正放在工程材料的價值機會上。我們在電話會議上其實沒有談到乙醯基（acetyls）的機會，但在我們的乳液與可再分散粉末業務中，有一些應用雖然規模不大，但正開始快速成長；我們在磁磚黏著劑、保溫系統，以及我們看到的一些正在演進的防水技術等領域，具備獨特的化學優勢。

The chemistries that we have are providing unique solutions to our customers there, and we're spending a lot of time and effort on really trying to expand these and make sure that we're well-positioned to really help drive some of that growth going forward that's going to be unique to Celanese. I think what that does is it yields more and more cash every single year to deleverage the balance sheet and give us more flexibility going forward.

我們的化學技術正在為客戶提供獨特的解決方案；我們也投入大量時間與精力，真正嘗試擴大這些機會，並確保我們處於有利位置，能在未來推動一些對 Celanese 而言獨特的成長。我認為這樣做的結果是，每一年都能產生越來越多的現金，用於降低資產負債表槓桿，並在未來提供更大的彈性。

Yeah. That's right. The aggressive actions are what Scott's talked about, driving free cash flow, executing smart divestitures. I would point you to what we've laid out in terms of our net debt. We're going to finish this year around $10 billion. Next year, feel really good about finishing it at $9 billion, right? Making very good progress. The other side of the equation is EBITDA.

是的。沒錯。積極的行動就是 Scott 所談到的：推動自由現金流、執行明智的資產剝離。我會請你參考我們對淨負債所做的規劃。我們今年將在約 100 億美元左右結束。明年，我們對於在 90 億美元結束感覺非常好，對吧？進展非常不錯。等式的另一邊是 EBITDA。

If we can drive EBITDA growth, that will even speed that further. We still think about the long-term leverage for this balance sheet around 3 times net debt to EBITDA. We're going to cross 5 times this year, and the next threshold we're shooting for is to get to 4 times, right? As we drive to that long-term leverage target, that's our focus area, and driving our own free cash flow and executing these smart divestitures.

如果我們能推動 EBITDA 成長，去槓桿的速度會更快。我們仍然把這張資產負債表的長期槓桿水準，視為淨負債對 EBITDA 約 3 倍左右。我們今年會跨過 5 倍，而我們下一個要達成的門檻是到 4 倍，對吧？在我們朝長期槓桿目標邁進的過程中，這就是我們的重點：推動自身的自由現金流，並執行這些明智的資產剝離。

Well, thank you. We'd like to thank everyone for listening in today. As always, we're available after the call for any follow-up questions. Daryl, please go ahead and close out the call.

好的，謝謝。我們也要感謝各位今天收聽。一如往常，會後我們也會提供時間，回答任何後續問題。Daryl，請你來結束本次電話會議。

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much. This does conclude today's teleconference. We appreciate your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Enjoy the rest of your day.

各位女士、先生，非常感謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與。此刻您可以掛斷電話線。祝各位今天剩下的時間愉快。