Calumet Inc (CLMT) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP first-quarter 2024 results conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please also note today's event is being recorded.

大家早安，歡迎參加 Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP 2024 年第一季業績電話會議。（操作員說明）也請注意今天的活動正在錄製中。

At this time, I'd like to turn the floor over to John Kompa, Investor Relations for Calumet. Sir, please go ahead.

現在，我想請 Calumet 投資者關係部門的 John Kompa 發言。先生，請繼續。

Good morning. Thank you, Jamie, and thank you for joining us today for our first-quarter 2024 earnings call. With me on today's call are Todd Borgmann, CEO; David Lunin, CFO; Bruce Fleming, EVP of Montana Renewables & Corporate Development; and Scott Obermeier, EVP Specialties.

早安.謝謝傑米，也謝謝您今天參加我們的 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。與我一起參加今天電話會議的是執行長 Todd Borgmann；大衛‧魯寧，財務長； Bruce Fleming，蒙大拿州再生能源與企業發展執行副總裁；和 Scott Obermeier，專業執行副總裁。

You may now download the slides that accompany the remarks made on today's conference call, which can be accessed in the Investor Relations section of our website at calumet.com. Also, a webcast replay of this call will be available on our site within a few hours.

您現在可以下載今天電話會議上發言的幻燈片，這些幻燈片可以在我們網站 calumet.com 的投資者關係部分存取。此外，幾個小時內我們的網站上將提供本次電話會議的網路廣播重播。

Turning to the presentation, on slide 2 and 3, you can find our cautionary statements and tax disclosures. I'd like to remind everyone that during this call, we may provide various forward-looking statements. Please refer to the partnership's press release that was issued this morning as well as our latest filings with the SEC for a list of factors that may affect our actual results and cause them to differ from our expectations.

前往簡報，在投影片 2 和 3 上，您可以找到我們的警示聲明和稅務揭露。我想提醒大家，在這次電話會議中，我們可能會提供各種前瞻性陳述。請參閱今天早上發布的合作夥伴新聞稿以及我們向 SEC 提交的最新文件，以了解可能影響我們的實際結果並導致其與我們的預期不同的因素清單。

With that, I'll now pass the call to Todd.

現在，我將把電話轉給托德。

Thanks, John, and welcome to Calumet's first-quarter 2024 earnings call. We have a number of items to discuss today as we enter what we expect to be a spring and summer full of strategic, value-creating catalysts here at Calumet.

謝謝約翰，歡迎參加 Calumet 的 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。今天，當我們進入 Calumet 預計將充滿策略性、價值創造催化劑的春季和夏季時，我們有許多事項需要討論。

Let's turn to slide 4, and I'll start with an update on our C-Corp conversion. In short, the conversion remains on track, and we're optimistic that we'll complete the process in the next 60 days. This process has moved quickly, and I'm thankful to the general partner, Conflicts Committee, employees, attorneys, and everyone else involved for a thorough negotiation and efficient process to date.

讓我們轉向投影片 4，我將從 C 型企業轉換的最新情況開始。簡而言之，轉換仍在正常進行，我們樂觀地認為我們將在未來 60 天內完成這個過程。這個過程進展很快，我感謝普通合夥人、衝突委員會、員工、律師和其他參與人員迄今為止所進行的徹底的談判和高效的過程。

During the first quarter, we announced the completion of the conversion agreement. We filed the S-4 with the SEC. And upon final feedback, we'll distribute the proxy and schedule an investor vote. We continue to be optimistic about the opportunity this conversion provides for Calumet and our unitholders.

第一季度，我們宣布完成轉換協議。我們向 SEC 提交了 S-4。根據最終回饋，我們將分發代理商並安排投資者投票。我們繼續對此次轉換為 Calumet 和我們的單位持有者提供的機會持樂觀態度。

Our current shareholder base is comprised of our general partner, insiders, a small group of loyal and significant deep value investors, and a broad set of retail investors. It's a good, stable investor base, but it lacks large institutional investors and passive index funds.

我們目前的股東基礎由我們的普通合夥人、內部人士、一小群忠誠且重要的深度價值投資者以及廣泛的散戶投資者組成。它有良好、穩定的投資者基礎，但缺乏大型機構投資者和被動指數基金。

Passive investment strategies now make up over 50% of the public equity market, yet they own almost zero Calumet as most indices can't hold an LP by charter. From a pure technical trading lens, this conversion is arguably one of the most important strategic steps the company has ever taken.

被動投資策略目前佔公共股票市場的 50% 以上，但它們擁有的 Calumet 幾乎為零，因為大多數指數無法透過特許持有 LP。從純粹的技術交易角度來看，這種轉變可以說是該公司有史以來採取的最重要的策略步驟之一。

Since we initially announced the conversion, we've seen an increase in our average daily trading volume of a little over 20%. But trading volumes are still quite illiquid compared to most publicly traded companies, and this conversion is a major milestone in removing that burden.

自從我們最初宣布轉換以來，我們發現平均每日交易量增加了 20% 多一點。但與大多數上市公司相比，交易量仍然相當缺乏流動性，而這種轉換是消除這一負擔的一個重要里程碑。

For example, Calumet C-Corp peers typically have 20% to 30% of their shares outstanding held by passive indices. And again, we have almost none. The ability to add significant demand to the investor pool is exciting in itself, but we think it's compounded with the fact that Calumet presents a compelling opportunity for larger active institutional investors.

例如，Calumet C-Corp 同業通常有 20% 至 30% 的已發行股票由被動指數持有。再說一次，我們幾乎沒有。為投資者群體增加大量需求的能力本身就令人興奮，但我們認為，Calumet 為規模更大的活躍機構投資者提供了一個引人注目的機會，這一事實更加複雜。

We've been on the road talking to this group since our announcement. And like I mentioned with passive indices, our MLP status put most of this group practically off limits. Of course, this all changes post conversion.

自從我們宣布這一消息以來，我們一直在路上與這個群體進行交談。正如我在被動指數中提到的那樣，我們的 MLP 地位實際上使該群體中的大多數人無法進入。當然，這一切都會在轉換後改變。

The next near-term priority is taking the last step in demonstrating the competitively advantaged position in Montana Renewables. With the construction behind us, our start-up year in the rear view, and all expensive feed processed, we believe financial demonstration of the top-tier position that Montana Renewables holds is the next step in capturing the value of MRL for our unitholders.

下一個近期優先事項是採取最後一步來展示蒙大拿州再生能源的競爭優勢。隨著建設工作的完成，我們的啟動年已成為過去，以及所有昂貴的飼料加工，我們相信蒙大拿州可再生能源公司所擁有的頂級地位的財務證明是為我們的單位持有人獲取MRL價值的下一步。

Third, we're deep into the DOE loan process, which we hope will unlock our MAX SAF expansion soon. And last, we continue to demonstrate the uniqueness and wide moat that exists in our specialties business. I'll hit on each of these items further, but let's first move to results on slide 5.

第三，我們正在深入了解能源部的貸款流程，我們希望這很快就會解鎖我們的 MAX SAF 擴張。最後，我們繼續展示我們專業業務中存在的獨特性和寬闊的護城河。我將進一步討論其中的每一項，但我們首先來看幻燈片 5 上的結果。

In the first quarter, we generated $21.6 million of adjusted EBITDA. We had previously communicated that the quarter was marked by a rate ramp-up and inventory drawdown at Montana Renewables and a successful turnaround at Shreveport, both of which impacted results within our expectations.

第一季度，我們產生了 2,160 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA。我們先前曾表示，本季蒙大拿再生能源公司的費率上升和庫存下降，以及什里夫波特的成功扭虧為盈，這兩者都對我們預期的結果產生了影響。

The one negative expectations was the magnitude of the seasonal weakness experienced in the Northern Rockies, as both gasoline and asphalt realizations were lower than normal. Every year, the Montana retail asphalt rack closed for the winter, and our asphalt sales mix shifts to 100% wholesale.

一個負面預期是北落基山脈季節性疲軟的嚴重程度，因為汽油和瀝青的實現量均低於正常水平。每年，蒙大拿州的零售瀝青架都會在冬季關閉，我們的瀝青銷售組合將轉變為 100% 批發。

This past winter, that occurred as normal, but a huge increase in WCS costs created a major price lag. As we sit here today, we're seeing retail asphalt sales start to pick back up as the paving season, supported by our polymer-modified asphalt plant, will be full steam ahead in June like normal.

去年冬天，這種情況正常發生，但 WCS 成本的大幅增加造成了價格的大幅延遲。當我們今天坐在這裡時，我們看到零售瀝青銷售開始回升，因為在我們的聚合物改性瀝青工廠的支持下，鋪路季節將像往常一樣在 6 月全速前進。

Let's turn to slide 6 and talk Montana Renewables. In past calls, we've talked about the significant milestones MRL has accomplished as it turns from an idea into a leading SaaS and renewable diesel business in a few short years. The next milestone is demonstrating a clean financial quarter.

讓我們轉到幻燈片 6 來談談蒙大拿州可再生能源。在過去的電話會議中，我們討論了 MRL 在短短幾年內從一個想法轉變為領先的 SaaS 和可再生柴油業務所取得的重要里程碑。下一個里程碑是展示一個乾淨的財務季度。

As we talk today, we've been operating for five months since the December restart. Each month has improved sequentially as we've ramped up rates, increased our production, reduced our feedstock carbon intensity, and worked through the old expensive feed.

正如我們今天所說，自 12 月重啟以來，我們已經運營了五個月。隨著我們提高生產力、增加產量、降低原料碳強度並淘汰舊的昂貴原料，每個月的情況都在持續改善。

Our primary advantage point for Montana Renewables is our access to a host of feeds and ability to utilize our leading pre-treatment technology to switch quickly to whatever market opportunities exist, which simply was not an option when our tanks are full.

我們對蒙大拿州再生能源公司的主要優勢是我們可以獲得大量的原料，並且能夠利用我們領先的預處理技術快速轉向任何存在的市場機會，而當我們的儲罐已滿時，這根本不是一個選擇。

We expect industry feedstocks to price at CI parity over time, at least in the clearing house on the Gulf Coast. But as we have often discussed, the various speed classes, including tallow, corn oil, and vegetable oil, rotate among themselves; and we can take advantage of that.

我們預計，隨著時間的推移，行業原料的定價將達到 CI 平價，至少在墨西哥灣沿岸的清算。但正如我們經常討論的那樣，不同的速度等級，包括牛脂、玉米油和植物油，會相互輪換；我們可以利用這一點。

This optimization value is driven by a short, local supply chain that has started to help again in March as demonstrated by moving back into the black financially. And it's now unconstrained as we have cleared the backlog of inventory built in the second half of last year.

這種優化價值是由較短的本地供應鏈驅動的，該供應鏈在三月再次開始提供幫助，財務上的盈利就證明了這一點。現在我們已經清理了去年下半年積壓的庫存，因此不受限制。

Of course, the current question outstanding for all participants in our space is the market environment, which we track using the index for renewable diesel margins made from soybean oil. This index has become the standard industry benchmark in RD.

當然，目前我們領域所有參與者面臨的突出問題是市場環境，我們使用大豆油製成的再生柴油利潤率指數來追蹤市場環境。該指數已成為研發領域的標準產業基準。

A couple of weeks ago, we hosted an Analyst Day in Great Falls, and industry outlook was a primary topic of the conversation. In fact, the slides and script from that event are on our website for anyone who would like to go deeper.

幾週前，我們在大瀑布城舉辦了分析師日活動，產業前景是談話的主要話題。事實上，活動的幻燈片和腳本位於我們的網站上，供任何想要深入了解的人使用。

Staying on slide 6 and looking at the right-hand chart, we show the renewable diesel industry capacity as a supply stack based on total net costs. And we overlay the normal index margin across the top.

繼續看第 6 張投影片並查看右側圖表，我們將再生柴油產業的產能顯示為基於總淨成本的供應堆疊。我們將正常的索引邊距覆蓋在頂部。

This top-line margin is the regime that's governed the industry margins historically, at least until September of last year. In this normal regime, renewable diesel players expect to see a fairly steady index margin, around $2 a gallon. We've talked about this in the past, so I won't go too deeply into it here. But the premise is that the incremental competitor sets the market price.

這個頂線利潤率是歷史上控制產業利潤率的製度，至少直到去年九月為止。在這種正常情況下，再生柴油生產商預計指數利潤率相當穩定，約為每加侖 2 美元。我們過去已經討論過這個問題，所以我在這裡不再深入討論。但前提是增量競爭對手決定市場價格。

We specifically think that the incremental player is a group of small-scale biodiesel plants that run soybean oil, and this group typically requires an index margin of about $2 per gallon to be cash flow positive. However, for the last few quarters, industry has observed a lower index margin of around $one per gallon. Although we expect that to be a temporary condition, it is already doing lasting damage to farmers, biodiesel, and even some renewable diesel producers.

我們特別認為增量參與者是一群生產豆油的小型生物柴油工廠，該群體通常需要每加侖約 2 美元的指數利潤才能實現正現金流。然而，在過去幾個季度中，該行業觀察到指數利潤較低，約為每加侖 1 美元。儘管我們預計這只是暫時的情況，但它已經對農民、生質柴油甚至一些再生柴油生產商造成了持久的損害。

How did this happen? Historically, EPA has set the RVO to incentivize all forms of renewable energy and raised it annually to capture any increase in renewable supply. In that normal regime, all elements of the margin equation, the LCFS, car diesel, the BTC, [ran], and the price of soybean oil must interact in a way that incentivizes the incremental player to produce or else the mandated renewable volumes will not be achieved.

這是怎麼發生的？從歷史上看，EPA 設定 RVO 來激勵所有形式的可再生能源，並每年提高 RVO 以捕獲再生能源供應的任何成長。在正常情況下，邊際方程式的所有要素、LCFS、汽車柴油、BTC、[ran]和豆油價格必須以一種激勵增量參與者生產的方式相互作用，否則規定的可再生能源產量將達不到。

In contrast to this, EPA has set the 2023 to 2025 RVO at a level that's substantially below the industry's production capacity. For example, the industry's capacity is well above 6 billion gallons per year, but the EPA RVO was set at an implied level of 4.5 billion gallons. This challenges all biomass-based diesel producers, and we are seeing both biodiesel and renewable diesel producers being forced to close and reduce rates.

與此相反，EPA 將 2023 年至 2025 年 RVO 設定在遠低於產業產能的水平。例如，該產業的產能遠高於每年 60 億加侖，但 EPA RVO 的隱含水準設定為 45 億加侖。這對所有基於生物質的柴油生產商提出了挑戰，我們看到生物柴油和再生柴油生產商被迫關閉並降低價格。

Many have said that the level was set this way because it was difficult to predict the reliability of startups in this new industry, and questions existed about the ability to source feedstock. With most of the large startups either now up or coming up this year and the feedstock situation clarified, we think that it's logical to revert to the now proven and normal methodology of including all production capacity in the RVO.

許多人表示，之所以設定這樣的水平，是因為很難預測這個新產業新創企業的可靠性，並且有原料採購能力的問題。由於大多數大型新創公司要么現在成立，要么今年即將成立，而且原料情況也已明確，我們認為恢復到目前經過驗證的正常方法（將所有產能納入 RVO）是合乎邏輯的。

After all, the original statutory demand for renewable fuels was to have reached 35 billion gallons per year by 2022, and the country has fallen well short of that plan as we're just over halfway there. In fact, closure and rate reduction announcements made so far this year have the industry moving backwards, not forwards.

畢竟，最初對再生燃料的法定需求是到 2022 年每年達到 350 億加侖，而該國遠低於該計劃，因為我們只完成了一半。事實上，今年迄今發布的關閉和降息公告使該行業倒退，而不是前進。

We need every drop of renewable fuels production capacity available plus a lot more to ultimately achieve our objectives. In short, the EPA should increase the RVO.

我們需要利用每一滴可用的再生燃料產能以及更多的產能來最終實現我們的目標。簡而言之，EPA 應該提高 RVO。

Regardless of index margin, competitive advantage depends on total cost structure. The index marginal lift or lower all boats. The competitive advantage in this space is driven by access to a pre-treater; advantaged logistics costs; economies of scale; a flexible feed slate; product deal, specifically SAP; and access to the right end markets.

無論指數利潤如何，競爭優勢取決於總成本結構。該指數邊際提升或降低所有船隻。該領域的競爭優勢取決於預處理器的使用；優勢的物流成本；規模經濟；靈活的提要板；產品交易，特別是 SAP；並進入正確的終端市場。

On the P&L, these items all met together to represent everything between the industry's soybean index margin and EBITDA. In other words, the breakeven levels in the soybean index is a function of a company's operating costs, SGA, logistics costs, and relative yield and CI differences to the soybean index.

在損益表上，這些項目一起代表了產業大豆指數利潤率和 EBITDA 之間的一切。換句話說，大豆指數的損益平衡水準是公司營運成本、SGA、物流成本以及與大豆指數的相對產量和 CI 差異的函數。

Right now, we believe this breakeven EBITDA level is about $0.85 a gallon for Montana Renewables, which we think is best in class. Ultimately, we think our cost will be closer to $0.65 a gallon as we continue to gain efficiencies, which is the gist of our original guidance of $one.35 a gallon of adjusted EBITDA in a normal regime of a $2 per gallon index margin. As I mentioned earlier, we do expect this normal regime to return, but that will require the RVO to be adjusted to incentivize the energy transition as it has historically.

目前，我們認為蒙大拿州再生能源公司的盈虧平衡 EBITDA 水平約為每加侖 0.85 美元，我們認為這是同類中最好的。最終，我們認為，隨著我們繼續提高效率，我們的成本將接近每加侖0.65 美元，這是我們最初指導的要點，即在每加侖指數利潤2 美元的正常情況下，調整後EBITDA 為每加侖1.35美元。正如我之前提到的，我們確實預期這種正常狀態會回歸，但這將需要對 RVO 進行調整，以激勵能源轉型，就像歷史上一樣。

The next catalyst for Calumet -- we'll stay in the MRL category -- is our MAX SAF expansion. Of course, this has been directly tied to the DOE loan process which is in the late stages and continues to progress well. We're going to refrain from sharing too much more on this project until we get to the finish line with DOE, but we're incredibly excited about it.

Calumet 的下一個催化劑——我們將留在 MRL 類別——是我們的 MAX SAF 擴張。當然，這與能源部貸款流程直接相關，該流程已進入後期階段，且進展順利。在我們與能源部達成最終目標之前，我們不會就這個項目分享太多內容，但我們對此感到非常興奮。

SAF is a tremendous opportunity for the world, for our industry. It's the only proven way to materially reduce emissions in the heart of the airline sector. And it's an area that is brand new and creates meaningful upside.

SAF 對世界和我們的行業來說都是一個巨大的機會。這是在航空業核心領域大幅減少排放的唯一行之有效的方法。這是一個全新的領域，可以創造有意義的優勢。

Just recently, the UK issued a SAF mandate starting in 2026 and growing from there. Japan, Singapore, and India who have also issued mandates are in late stages. In the United States, grand SAF challenge calls for 3 billion gallons by 2030 and 35 billion gallons by 2050.

就在最近，英國發布了從 2026 年開始並不斷擴大的 SAF 授權。日本、新加坡和印度也已發布授權，但已處於後期階段。在美國，SAF 的宏偉挑戰要求到 2030 年消耗 30 億加侖，到 2050 年消耗 350 億加侖。

Not only is this a new world of opportunity for SAF, but a SAF supply also impacts the renewable diesel balances and margin outlook. To illustrate that, simply reference the RD supply stack chart mentioned earlier, add another 3 billion gallons to the existing RBL implied demand, and you'll see that if the grants SAF challenge is met by conversion of renewable diesel plant, which is the only demonstrated proven option, we're once again, in the scenario where demand, including all existing biodiesel, can't be met by current supply.

這不僅對 SAF 來說是一個充滿機會的新世界，而且 SAF 的供應也會影響再生柴油平衡和利潤前景。為了說明這一點，只需參考前面提到的RD 供應堆疊圖表，在現有RBL 隱含需求的基礎上再添加30 億加侖，您就會看到，如果透過轉換再生柴油廠（這是唯一的解決方案）來滿足SAF 撥款的挑戰，儘管已經證明了可行的選擇，但我們再次面臨當前供應無法滿足需求（包括所有現有生物柴油）的情況。

Needless to say, not only is SAF a tremendous advantage for us right now, it's also an opportunity that will transform the underlying fundamentals of renewable diesel in a positive way as industry volumes grow. Let's transition back to specialties for a minute, and then I'll hand the call to David.

不用說，SAF 目前不僅對我們來說是一個巨大的優勢，而且也是一個機會，隨著行業產量的增長，它將以積極的方式改變可再生柴油的基本面。讓我們回到專業領域一分鐘，然後我將把電話轉給大衛。

At our recent Analyst Day, we opened with more info on specialties that we provided in some time. And the feedback was that while we've all been focused on a new Montana Renewables, we haven't spent as much time talking about the rock-solid specialties business we have at Calumet and the growth that the team has delivered over the past few years.

在最近的分析師日上，我們首先提供了我們一段時間以來提供的更多專業資訊。反饋是，雖然我們都專注於新的蒙大拿州可再生能源公司，但我們沒有花太多時間談論我們在 Calumet 擁有的堅如磐石的專業業務以及該團隊在過去幾年中所實現的增長年。

We've mentioned before that our specialty business has seen five straight years of margin growth, which is a major accomplishment. This has been a combination of a data-driven approach to commercial excellence and asset base and market reach that's incredibly agile, a culture of innovation, and a differentiated appreciation and service of customers.

我們之前提到過，我們的專業業務已經連續五年獲利成長，這是一項重大成就。這結合了數據驅動的商業卓越方法、極其敏捷的資產基礎和市場覆蓋範圍、創新文化以及差異化的客戶欣賞和服務。

It's these things that allow us to both weather storms that we saw during COVID and capture the upside of the extremely strong markets we've seen over the past couple of years, the current markets in between these two extremes. Back during peak margin times, we highlighted that the increase in specialty margins from a historic $40 per barrel range was about half market and half a function of our commercial focus.

正是這些東西讓我們既能經得起新冠疫情期間的風暴，又能抓住過去幾年我們所看到的極其強勁的市場的上行空間，即當前市場介於這兩個極端之間。回到利潤高峰時期，我們強調，專業利潤從每桶 40 美元的歷史水準成長，大約一半是市場因素，一半是我們商業重點的函數。

I think, especially, margins have bounced between $60 and $70 a barrel over the past few quarters. We're seeing that in a more mid-cycle environment, this expectation was appropriate.

我認為，過去幾個季度利潤率尤其在每桶 60 美元至 70 美元之間反彈。我們發現，在較中期的環境中，這種預期是適當的。

The other thing we've mentioned in the past is the investment in reliability. We've made meaningful progress over the past couple of years and still have room to go as we recently entered the third year of the plan. In the first quarter, we saw an example that we expect to see more of as we continue to fortify our operations.

我們過去提到的另一件事是對可靠性的投資。我們在過去幾年中取得了有意義的進展，並且在最近進入該計劃的第三年時仍有空間。在第一季度，我們看到了一個例子，隨著我們繼續加強我們的業務，我們預計會看到更多這樣的例子。

Two of the past three years, we've had winter storms that have paralyzed not only our Louisiana facilities, but a lot of Gulf Coast infrastructure. This past winter, we had a similar event. And while we experienced a few days of downtime, lessons learned and improvements made allowed the plant to restart in days as opposed to having events that would impact us much further.

過去三年中有兩年，我們遭遇了冬季風暴，不僅使我們路易斯安那州的設施癱瘓，而且使墨西哥灣沿岸的許多基礎設施癱瘓。去年冬天，我們也發生過類似的事件。雖然我們經歷了幾天的停機，但所學到的經驗教訓和所做的改進使工廠在幾天內重新啟動，而不是發生對我們產生進一步影響的事件。

With that, I'll turn the call over to David.

這樣，我就把電話轉給大衛。

Thanks, Todd. Turning to slide 7, our SPS business generated $41.8 million of adjusted EBITDA during the quarter. As mentioned, we successfully completed our planned turnaround in Shreveport on-time and on budget, and we've seen a string of successful turnarounds here, which continues to give us confidence in our ability to execute on our capital plan.

謝謝，托德。轉向幻燈片 7，我們的 SPS 業務在本季產生了 4,180 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA。如前所述，我們在什里夫波特按時、按預算成功地完成了計劃中的周轉，並且我們在這裡看到了一系列成功的周轉，這繼續讓我們對執行資本計劃的能力充滿信心。

The turnaround took us offline for approximately seven days. And while, back in the beginning of the year, we didn't expect to see much of an impact to the financials from this, we went into the turnaround with a little lower inventory than originally planned. So it did cost us between 200,000 and 300,000 barrels of sales.

這次轉變使我們離線了大約 7 天。雖然在今年年初，我們預計這不會對財務產生太大影響，但我們進入扭虧為盈時庫存略低於原計劃。因此，我們確實損失了 20 萬到 30 萬桶的銷售量。

On the commercial side, our team continues to deliver. We saw our crude price increase $8 per barrel during the quarter. The related lag is the majority of the decrease we saw in specialties material margin for the quarter. Price increases have now been passed through. The crude price increase also impacted asphalt margin in addition to a seasonally weak winter.

在商業方面，我們的團隊繼續交付。我們看到本季原油價格每桶上漲 8 美元。相關滯後是我們在本季看到的特種材料利潤率下降的主要原因。目前，漲價已經通過。除了冬季季節性疲軟之外，原油價格上漲也影響了瀝青利潤率。

Moving to slide 8. Our performance brands segment generated $13.4 million of adjusted EBITDA for the quarter. In this segment, we drove year-over-year volume growth of approximately 13%, reflecting excellent execution by our commercial team.

轉到投影片 8。我們的績效品牌部門本季調整後 EBITDA 為 1,340 萬美元。在這一領域，我們的銷量年增了約 13%，這反映出我們商業團隊的出色執行力。

Our first-quarter 2023 adjusted EBITDA also increased by approximately 17.5% or $2 million year-over-year when considering that the prior period reflected a $5 million insurance benefit. With the business on solid footing today, we remain focused on continuing to grow our core industrial business lines, particularly in mining, power, and marine applications.

考慮到上一期反映了 500 萬美元的保險福利，我們 2023 年第一季調整後的 EBITDA 也同比增長了約 17.5%，即 200 萬美元。如今，業務基礎穩固，我們仍然專注於繼續發展我們的核心工業業務線，特別是在採礦、電力和船舶應用領域。

We also continue to remain excited at the opportunities we see as we view the specialties business as one whole business as opposed to two individual segments. Both STS and performance brands have benefited from leveraging the ingrained commercial options that exist in these businesses.

我們也繼續對所看到的機會感到興奮，因為我們將特種產品業務視為一個整體業務，而不是兩個單獨的細分市場。STS 和性能品牌都受益於利用這些業務中存在的根深蒂固的商業選擇。

Turning to slide 9. Our Montana business, we recorded a loss of $14.5 million of adjusted EBITDA for the quarter. We've talked about the old expensive feed and how full inventory tanks block the ability to optimize speeds for some time now, so I won't rehash that here. Progressing through the old feed during the quarter, along with making sequential month-over-month improvements in essentially every facet of the operation, allowed us to close the quarter with positive adjusted EBITDA in March at MRL.

轉到投影片 9。我們的蒙大拿州業務本季調整後 EBITDA 虧損 1,450 萬美元。我們已經討論過舊的昂貴的飼料以及滿庫存罐如何阻礙優化速度的能力一段時間了，所以我不會在這裡重複。本季度透過舊的提要取得進展，加上營運的各個方面逐月連續改進，使我們能夠在 3 月份以 MRL 的調整後 EBITDA 為正值結束本季度。

And halfway through the second quarter, operations are holding strong. It's no surprise that industry index margins isn't helping any of us in RD at the moment, but we do continue to expect a clean quarter in Q2 and are focused on continuing to demonstrate the competitive advantages we have in this business.

第二季已過半，營運維持強勁。毫不奇怪，行業指數利潤率目前對研發領域的任何人都沒有幫助，但我們仍然預計第二季度將是一個乾淨的季度，並專注於繼續展示我們在該業務中的競爭優勢。

While we do that, we'll wait for industry margins to recover. We continue to believe that industry margins should improve as higher cost producers shut down or cut back break, the new LCFS levels solidify, and ultimately, the industry starts to gain information on new RVO levels to take into account the new production that's been added to the industry. As these steps occur, we expect industry margins to regain fundamental support levels and ultimately rise to the historical approximately $2 a gallon level that we've seen persist steadily for years.

在我們這樣做的同時，我們將等待行業利潤率恢復。我們仍然認為，隨著成本較高的生產商關閉或減少斷裂，新的LCFS 水平得到鞏固，並且最終行業開始獲得有關新RVO 水平的信息，以考慮到已添加的新產量，行業利潤率應該會有所改善。隨著這些步驟的發生，我們預計行業利潤率將重新獲得基本支撐水平，並最終升至每加侖約 2 美元的歷史水平，我們已經看到這一水平多年來一直穩定存在。

Turning to our CMR business. The first quarter started out with an extremely soft local gasoline and asphalt market in Montana. In fact, while we don't break out Montana Renewables and CMR businesses just yet, I can say that of the approximately $14.5 million of negative EBITDA in Montana and Renewables segment, the vast majority of the loss came from the legacy CMR business in Q1.

轉向我們的 CMR 業務。第一季開始，蒙大拿州當地汽油和瀝青市場極度疲軟。事實上，雖然我們還沒有細分蒙大拿州再生能源和CMR 業務，但我可以說，蒙大拿州和再生能源部門約1,450 萬美元的負EBITDA 中，絕大多數損失來自第一季度的傳統CMR 業務。

Historically, Montana's asphalt plant is the most seasonal of our assets as it's highly dependent on wholesale asphalt and local gas demand. While we typically expect around breakeven results in Q1 that then historically improve as we gear up for the local paving season and spring and then accelerates in the summer, the first quarter was tougher than normal.

從歷史上看，蒙大拿州的瀝青廠是我們資產中季節性最強的，因為它高度依賴批發瀝青和當地天然氣需求。雖然我們通常預計第一季的損益平衡結果會隨著我們為當地鋪路季節和春季做好準備並在夏季加速而歷史性地改善，但第一季的情況比正常情況更艱難。

While wholesale asphalt margins are always less than retail, Q1 impact was exacerbated by a rapid run-up in WCS prices, which further compressed margins. Production was also reduced due to a minor maintenance issue and results were negatively impacted by a $4-million utility surcharge that stemmed from a number of negative 30 degree days and lower in January.

雖然批發瀝青的利潤始終低於零售，但 WCS 價格的快速上漲加劇了第一季的影響，進一步壓縮了利潤。由於輕微的維護問題，產量也有所減少，並且由於 1 月份多次出現 30 度及以下的負溫天氣，導致 400 萬美元的公用事業附加費對業績產生了負面影響。

In closing, let's move to slide 10. We've highlighted a number of key catalysts in what we expect to be a transformative year for Calumet that are intended to support our strategy of maximizing value for unitholders.

最後，讓我們轉到投影片 10。我們強調了 Calumet 變革的一年中的一些關鍵催化劑，旨在支持我們為單位持有者實現價值最大化的策略。

First, our C-Corp conversion remains on track to close mid-year. As we've said before, we believe our story is an interesting one for all investors, and we're excited to prove the ability for a broader set to be able to invest in the Calumet story. Plus, this conversion allows index inclusion, which will help support broader demand for our equity.

首先，我們的 C 型企業轉型仍有望在年中完成。正如我們之前所說，我們相信我們的故事對所有投資者來說都是一個有趣的故事，我們很高興證明更廣泛的投資者有能力投資 Calumet 的故事。此外，這種轉換允許納入指數，這將有助於支持對我們股票的更廣泛需求。

We are extremely focused on also demonstrating the competitive advantage of our Montana Renewables business, driven by our superior logistics advantage and location. Again, we saw consistent improvements throughout the quarter across all relevant metrics, production, sales, cost, staff, and continue to make improvements into Q2. As Todd stated, our work continues on securing a DOE loan which supports the final investment decision on our MAX SAF expansion project. Discussions are active and advancing.

在我們優越的物流優勢和地理位置的推動下，我們非常注重展示蒙大拿州再生能源業務的競爭優勢。我們再次看到整個季度所有相關指標、生產、銷售、成本、員工的持續改進，並在第二季繼續改進。正如 Todd 所說，我們將繼續努力獲得 DOE 貸款，以支持 MAX SAF 擴建專案的最終投資決策。討論十分活躍且不斷推進。

Finally, we remain committed to reducing our debt levels, and we repaid $50 million of our 2025 notes earlier in April. We believe we have a number of levers to continue to delever over time, including test generation of our proven specialties business, the potential monetization of MRL -- portion of MRL, or upside potential from MRL''s anticipated cash generation.

最後，我們仍然致力於降低債務水平，並在 4 月初償還了 2025 年票據的 5,000 萬美元。我們相信，隨著時間的推移，我們有許多槓桿可以繼續去槓桿化，包括我們經過驗證的特種業務的測試生成、MRL 的潛在貨幣化（MRL 的一部分）或 MRL 預期現金生成的上行潛力。

Operator, that concludes our prepared remarks. We'd now like to open the line for questions. If you can remind the callers of those instructions, thank you.

接線員，我們準備好的發言到此結束。我們現在想開通提問熱線。如果您可以提醒來電者這些說明，謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we will now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions) Roger Read, Wells Fargo.

女士們、先生們，現在我們開始問答環節。（操作員說明）Roger Read，富國銀行。

Yeah. Thank you. Good morning, and good to talk to you all again. I guess I'd like to dig in just a little deeper.

是的。謝謝。早安，很高興能再次與大家交談。我想我想再深入一點。

Todd, you mentioned five months. Now, you've been running MRL well and getting through the disadvantaged feedstock. Can you just give us a little more detail on maybe that process of disadvantaged to advantaged feedstock and then just a quick little synopsis of how the hydrogen unit's working since that was part of the challenge that lead to the shutdown last fall?

托德，你提到了五個月。現在，您已經很好地運行了 MRL，並克服了劣勢原料的問題。您能否給我們更多關於從劣勢原料到優勢原料的過程的更多細節，然後簡要介紹一下氫氣裝置的工作原理，因為這是導致去年秋天關閉的挑戰的一部分？

Yeah. you bet, Roger. And thanks for the question and calling in again. I'll start, and then we'll jump to Bruce.

是的。你敢打賭，羅傑。感謝您的提問並再次致電。我先開始，然後我們就轉向布魯斯。

I think the primary advantage on just working through the old feedstock is two-fold. One, obviously, it was more expensive. We've seen prices drop rapidly over the last six months since the RVO was set. The RINs have led the price down, and we've seen the feedstocks follow. So having tank full of just inventory bought at previous times and contracts that were rolled from those environments was a major headwind for us, and we're glad to have that behind us.

我認為僅處理舊原料的主要優勢有兩個。第一，顯然它更貴。自 RVO 設定以來的過去六個月裡，我們看到價格迅速下跌。RIN 導致價格下跌，我們看到原料也跟著下跌。因此，對我們來說，充滿以前購買的庫存和從這些環境中滾動的合約是一個主要的阻力，我們很高興把它拋在身後。

I think the second impact is our primary advantage -- or one of our front advantages in Montana Renewables is to be able to switch very rapidly and take advantage of more discounted feeds, lower CICs, you name it, feeds with higher SAF yields. And had we had that ability to switch in the fourth quarter and the first quarter, results would have been dramatically different than what we saw.

我認為第二個影響是我們的主要優勢——或者說我們在蒙大拿可再生能源公司的前沿優勢之一是能夠非常快速地轉換並利用更多折扣的飼料、更低的CIC，以及具有更高SAF 產量的飼料。如果我們有能力在第四季和第一季進行切換，結果將會與我們看到的截然不同。

And we saw some of that start to open back up in March. If you were to look at our feed runs, the [feeds light], what you'd see is we primarily had to run vegetable oil purchase last year throughout the winter just because that's what we had contracted and that's what we had in our tanks. And as we work through that, we had some flexibility to add more tallow to the mix and the likes. So happy to have that behind us, and we have that full ability available to us going forward into Q2.

我們看到其中一些在三月開始重新開放。如果你看看我們的飼料運行，[飼料燈]，你會看到我們去年整個冬天主要必須購買植物油，因為這是我們簽訂的合同，也是我們坦克里的東西。當我們解決這個問題時，我們有一定的靈活性，可以在混合物等中添加更多的牛脂。很高興我們已經擺脫了這一點，並且我們擁有進入第二季度的全部能力。

As far as the hydrogen plant, it's been running well. We started back up in December. Obviously, not everything is perfect. We're still pretty early in the operation.

就氫工廠而言，它運作良好。我們從十二月開始恢復。顯然，並非一切都是完美的。我們的行動還處於早期階段。

But all being said, we've improved every single month. And if you saw some of the press release and the investor deck we put out this morning, in April, we're at full run rates. We're in essentially 12,000 barrels a day, very happy with our SAF fields progressing, and like I said, have that ability to switch feeds and maintain our advantage. So all in all, pretty happy with where we've been and where we sit at the current time.

但話雖如此，我們每個月都在進步。如果您看到了我們今天早上（四月）發布的一些新聞稿和投資者資料，您會發現我們正處於滿載運行狀態。我們基本上每天生產 12,000 桶，對我們 SAF 油田的進展非常滿意，而且就像我說的，我們有能力切換原料並保持我們的優勢。總而言之，我們對我們去過的地方以及目前所處的位置感到非常滿意。

I don't know. Bruce?

我不知道。布魯斯？

I think that was pretty thorough. I'll just add, the mechanical availability of the site has been great. The fact that we had an unplanned reduction to half rate last August, which is, of course, behind us. But that backed up to about 650,000 barrels of incoming feed pointed at us by rail during that period. So we had to spend down the rail cars per day rate and then you had to unwind that and spin it back up. Those are not instantaneous moves like they are with pipeline networks.

我認為這已經相當徹底了。我只想補充一點，網站的機械可用性非常好。事實上，去年八月我們計劃外將利率降至一半，當然，這已經成為過去。但這支持了在此期間透過鐵路向我們輸送的約 65 萬桶飼料。因此，我們必須降低每日火車車廂的費用，然後你必須將其放鬆並恢復原狀。這些並不是像管道網路那樣的瞬時動作。

Okay. Appreciate that. The other question I have, in recognizing the start-up issues with MRL, the seasonal factors, what's the expectation we should have for cash flow generation, bringing down probably working capital, as we look here at the summer months? Just thinking of the broader cash flow and free cash flow expectations.

好的。很欣賞這一點。我的另一個問題是，在認識到 MRL 的啟動問題、季節性因素時，我們對現金流產生的期望是什麼，當我們觀察夏季時，可能會降低營運資本？只需考慮更廣泛的現金流和自由現金流預期。

Roger, it's Bruce again. I would say, first of all, it's positive. You are recognizing that we built inventory, which cost us cash last year. AND then I basically just said we're pulling it, which is correct. I think we're going to hit a normalized level, though, or have hit a normalized level with the completion of pushing the old feed out. That's the old feed quality, the old feed price, and the old feed volumes, right? So I don't think looking forward, we're planning to have working capital moving.

羅傑，又是布魯斯。我想說，首先，這是正面的。您認識到我們建立了庫存，去年這花了我們現金。然後我基本上只是說我們正在拉它，這是正確的。不過，我認為我們將達到正常化水平，或隨著舊飼料的推出完成而達到正常化水平。這就是舊的飼料品質、舊的飼料價格和舊的飼料量，對吧？所以我認為展望未來，我們不打算轉移營運資金。

Yeah, no. I appreciate that I guess I was even meaning more for the broader corporation.

是的，不。我很感激，我想我對更廣泛的公司來說意義更大。

Okay. Apologies. I gave you the MRL answer. I'll give David the highlight.

好的。抱歉。我給了你 MRL 答案。我會重點介紹大衛。

Maybe I'll just pile on here. I think the same is true for the whole organization, right? Most of the working capital build-out that was absorbed in Q1 was in Montana Renewables. It was a function of the old feed, higher-than-normal inventory levels, more expensive than we're seeing in the current market. And we had to pay for those feedstocks as they came in. So that's normalized.

也許我會在這裡堆砌。我想整個組織也是如此，對吧？第一季吸收的大部分營運資金都被蒙大拿州再生能源公司吸收。這是舊飼料、高於正常庫存水準、比我們在當前市場上看到的更昂貴的結果。我們必須在這些原料進來時支付費用。所以這是正常化的。

We also see rates increase pretty dramatically. And as rates increase sequentially, as we talked about, you have to replace those feedstocks. And you're buying more ahead and all of that. So like Bruce said, I think we'll see a little bit of a working capital swing. We had too much on the balance sheet in Q1. We'll see a little bit of that come back in Q2, and we think reached a normalized level going forward after that.

我們也看到利率大幅上漲。正如我們所討論的，隨著價格的連續增加，你必須更換這些原料。而且你會提前買更多東西等等。正如布魯斯所說，我認為我們會看到營運資金出現一些波動。第一季我們的資產負債表上有太多的東西。我們將在第二季度看到一些回升，我們認為此後將達到正常化水平。

Sounds great. Thanks, guys.

聽起來很棒。謝謝，夥計們。

Thanks, Roger.

謝謝，羅傑。

Saumya Jain, UBS.

Saumya Jain，瑞銀。

Hey. Good morning, everyone. I guess, are you seeing leverage associated with Montana in 2Q '24 and for the year in general? And how are you progressing on the debt reduction front?

嘿。大家早安。我想，您是否看到了蒙大拿州在 2024 年第二季度以及全年的槓桿率？您在債務削減方面進度如何？

Hey, Saumya. It's Bruce. I heard most of that. You were asking about Montana leverage and debt reduction. I'm going to let David and Todd tackle the corporate-level debt positioning.

嘿，索米亞。是布魯斯。我聽到了大部分。您問的是蒙大拿州的槓桿和債務削減。我將讓大衛和托德解決公司層面的債務定位問題。

Within the unrestricted subsidiary, the leverage is really going to be a function of the market margin. And Todd discussed how that is artificially low due to some PPA actions, and we're expecting that to normalize.

在不受限制的子公司中，槓桿實際上是市場利潤的函數。托德討論了由於某些 PPA 行動而人為地降低了這一水平，我們預計這種情況會正常化。

There's a lot of speculation in the industry about how fast it normalizes. And I don't think we have a better crystal ball than others, but we expect all of this is cleared out by the end of this year in terms of reversion to a normal market condition for renewables.

業界對它正常化的速度有許多猜測。我認為我們沒有比其他人更好的水晶球，但我們預計所有這一切都將在今年年底前消除，以恢復再生能源的正常市場狀況。

And then for fossil, on the specialty asphalt side, 2Q and 3Q are, normally most of the cash flow contribution for the year. This is a much more strongly seasonal market than US averages. So we're expecting that the sum of all of those things is a little uncertain as to timing, but it's certainly normalized by late fall.

然後對於化石燃料，在特種瀝青方面，第二季和第三季通常是全年現金流貢獻的大部分。這是一個比美國平均更強烈的季節性市場。因此，我們預期所有這些事情的總和在時間上有點不確定，但到深秋肯定會正常化。

Yeah. Saumya, if I can -- so you asked, I think, about leverage and indebtedness at MRL specifically. I don't think that there's any plan to add debt there, and any kind of change to that capital structure will be coincidence with a deal you will own. And so I wouldn't expect anything there. I can't give guidance to anything that we may be doing as those kind of conversations are ongoing.

是的。Saumya，如果可以的話，我認為您具體詢問了 MRL 的槓桿和債務問題。我不認為有任何增加債務的計劃，而且資本結構的任何變化都將與您將擁有的交易同時發生。所以我不會期待那裡有什麼。我無法為我們可能正在做的任何事情提供指導，因為此類對話正在進行中。

So be patient with us there, but no expectation to take on incremental debt there unless it's related to a DOE loan or MAX SAF expansion. And then at the broader level, Calumet focused on deleveraging. And so any cash from operations will be used to pay down debt at the parent. And that's how we think about the deleveraging strategy for the consolidated group.

因此，請對我們保持耐心，但不要指望在那裡承擔增量債務，除非它與能源部貸款或 MAX SAF 擴張有關。然後在更廣泛的層面上，卡魯梅特關注去槓桿化。因此，來自營運的任何現金都將用於償還母公司的債務。這就是我們對合併後集團的去槓桿化策略的看法。

As well as monetization from Montana Renewables when the time is right.

以及蒙大拿州再生能源公司在時機成熟時的貨幣化。

Got it. Thank you.

知道了。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Gregg Brody, Bank of America.

格雷格·布羅迪，美國銀行。

Good morning, guys. 'm just going to ask, I don't know what you can say because you said you can't say too much. But the expansion project, is there much you can tell us there about the potential size? I think you also talked about, at some point, breaking out results for MRL. Is that something we should expect next quarter?

早安，夥計們。我只是想問，我不知道你能說什麼，因為你說你不能說太多。但是對於擴建項目，您能告訴我們多少關於潛在規模的資訊嗎？我想您在某個時候也談到了 MRL 的突破結果。這是我們下個季度應該期待的事情嗎？

Hey, Gregg. It's Bruce. I'll start. And then in terms of breaking out the results, I'll pass that question.

嘿，格雷格。是布魯斯。我開始吧。然後在公佈結果方面，我將通過這個問題。

But on the MAX SAF, we've used an external placeholder of 18,000 barrels a day for a number of years now. We're very comfortable with that being at the floor or low end of what's going to be delivered. So I think we don't probably need to re-guide that this morning, but super comfortable with that 18,000 that's been out there for a while.

但在 MAX SAF 上，我們多年來一直使用每天 18,000 桶的外部佔位符。我們對處於將要交付的內容的底層或低端感到非常滿意。所以我認為今天早上我們可能不需要重新引導，但對已經存在了一段時間的 18,000 個感到非常滿意。

Yeah. And I think the expectation continues to be that we'll split out Montana Renewables going forward. David mentioned in the prepared remarks a little bit about the EBITDA split in the segment. Obviously, can't give specific numbers, but the vast majority of loss in Q1 was from the legacy Montana asphalt business during the winter, which we expect to return. And Montana Renewables should be split out separately in Q2.

是的。我認為人們仍然期望我們未來將拆分蒙大拿州再生能源公司。大衛在準備好的評論中提到了該部門的 EBITDA 分割。顯然，無法給出具體數字，但第一季的絕大多數虧損來自冬季遺留的蒙大拿州瀝青業務，我們預計該業務將恢復。蒙大拿州再生能源應在第二季單獨拆分。

Got it. And then I know no one got to ask the RIN's question yet, so I'll come in with it. I know there was a reasonable -- some good news out of the Fifth Circuit. Can you just update us what happened there and what's next?

知道了。然後我知道還沒有人問 RIN 的問題，所以我會提出這個問題。我知道第五巡迴法院傳來了一些合理的好消息。您能否向我們介紹一下那裡發生了什麼以及接下來會發生什麼？

Bruce again. I will start this off and then see if anybody wants to fill in. So the whole industry is still working through the EPA's total reversal, of course, on their administration of this. Those actions begin in the federal district courts. Some of them have been consolidated into the DC circuit, but not all.

又是布魯斯。我將從這個開始，然後看看是否有人願意填寫。因此，整個產業仍在努力實現美國環保署的徹底逆轉，當然，他們對此的管理。這些行動從聯邦地區法院開始。其中一些已合併到直流電路中，但不是全部。

And so in the Fifth Circuit, which is where our Shreveport operation lies, the current rule is that EPA's reversal was not proper. It was contrary to law, it was contrary to the administrative record, and they remanded it back to the EPA for a deal offer. So we're basically waiting to hear from the EPA how they would like to proceed.

因此，在第五巡迴法院，也就是我們什里夫波特業務所在地，現行規則是 EPA 的逆轉是不恰當的。這違反了法律，也違反了行政記錄，因此他們將其退回美國環保署以尋求交易要約。因此，我們基本上正在等待美國環保署的消息，他們希望如何進行。

The Montana business is in the DC circuit. It's one of the consolidated cases. Those oral arguments have been held, and we will all be awaiting a court determination. Our view is it's likely similar to the Fifth Circuit for the same reasons, but that would be speculating. And the lawyers tell us that that's second half most likely when we get the published decision on the DC circuit. Does that help?

蒙大拿州的業務屬於直流電路。這是合併案件之一。這些口頭辯論已經舉行，我們都將等待法院的裁決。我們的觀點是，出於同樣的原因，它可能與第五巡迴法院相似，但這只是猜測。律師告訴我們，當我們得到關於直流電路的公開決定時，這很可能是下半年。這樣有幫助嗎？

Yes. And then just the Montana decision then would go back to the EPA again if it went in your favor. Is that correct?

是的。然後，如果蒙大拿州的決定對你有利的話，就會再次回到美國環保署。這是正確的嗎？

Yeah. And again, this is not just Calumet. There's a lot of companies in the same boat. It was actually in the 11th circuit involving some others and so on. So I think the stage is reasonably set for a statesman-like gentle guidance that pulls the parties all back together. And I do note that Senator Tester and Senator [Young] introduced a bill to clean some of this up about a month ago.

是的。再說一次，這不僅僅是卡魯梅特。有很多公司處於同一條船上。實際上是在第11巡迴賽，涉及其他一些人等等。因此，我認為政治家般的溫和指導已經為各方重新團結起來提供了合理的舞台。我確實注意到，參議員泰斯特和參議員[楊]在大約一個月前提出了一項法案來清理其中的一些問題。

Great. And then just shifting gears to debt questions. Just could you -- I know you repaid the inventory facility this quarter, the intermediary facility. Did that improve your borrowing days? Where does that stand as of today?

偉大的。然後就轉向債務問題。你能不能——我知道你本季償還了庫存貸款，中間貸款。這是否改善了您的借貸天數？截至今天，情況如何？

And then just on the debt side, I've heard the answer to how you're going to address the 25s. But could you just remind us what the flexibility is to use cash from MRL to help you pay down debt there to the extent there is flexibility to do that?

然後就債務方面而言，我聽到了關於如何解決 25 歲問題的答案。但您能否提醒我們，在有彈性的情況下，使用 MRL 的現金來幫助您償還債務的彈性是什麼？

Yeah. So if you go back to last year, we actually had three inventory financing facilities, one at MRL, one at CMR, and one at Shreveport. Just for completeness, the one at CMR, we added that inventory to the ABL. And then we refinanced -- this is last year -- the Montana facility.

是的。因此，如果你回到去年，我們實際上擁有三個庫存融資設施，一個在 MRL，一個在 CMR，一個在什里夫波特。為了完整性，我們將 CMR 的庫存加入 ABL 中。然後我們為蒙大拿州的工廠進行了再融資——這是去年的事。

And then the one that we refinanced that closed in mid-January was at our Shreveport facility. It works very similar to the prior one. I'd say it probably improved our liquidity marginally. So it wasn't kind of huge. But on the margin, it was kind of a better facility for us.

然後，我們在一月中旬關閉的再融資工廠是在我們的什里夫波特工廠。它的工作原理與前一個非常相似。我想說這可能會略微改善我們的流動性。所以它並不是很大。但從某種程度上來說，這對我們來說是一個更好的設施。

And then the second question, yeah, there is some ability for cash to come back to the parent. It is pretty clearly articulated, whether it be dividends, on how we share that with our existing partner.

然後是第二個問題，是的，現金有一定的能力回饋給母公司。無論是股息，還是我們如何與現有合作夥伴分享股息，這一點都非常明確。

Got it. And just to clarify on the borrowing base. What is the borrowing base today as of -- what was it as of quarter end? Just trying to figure out what your liquidity is on that.

知道了。只是為了澄清借款基礎。截至季末，今天的借款基礎是多少？只是想弄清楚你的流動性是多少。

Yeah. So liquidity finished the quarter at about $212 million. The borrowing base was $564 million, but the total facility size is about $650 million. So it's well north of $200 million of available liquidity.

是的。因此，本季末的流動性約為 2.12 億美元。借款基礎為 5.64 億美元，但貸款總額約為 6.5 億美元。因此，可用流動資金遠遠超過 2 億美元。

Great. Thanks for the time, guys.

偉大的。謝謝你們抽出時間。

Jason Gabelman, Cowen.

賈森·加貝爾曼，考恩。

Yeah, hey. Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. I want to first ask on the monetization process of MRL. I think in the past, you've discussed it being a 2024 event. But just given some of your commentary on the near-term outlook for the renewable diesel margin environment, do you still see it being a 2024 event or do you see a better opportunity to maybe generate more proceeds if you push the monetization out a bit?

是的，嘿。早安.感謝您回答我的問題。我想先問一下MRL的貨幣化流程。我想您過去曾討論過這是 2024 年的活動。但鑑於您對再生柴油利潤率環境的近期前景的一些評論，您是否仍然認為這是 2024 年的事件，或者如果您稍微推遲貨幣化，您是否認為有更好的機會產生更多收益？

Hey, Jason. It's Todd. Thanks for the question. I'll start, and let's see if Bruce adds on.

嘿，傑森。是托德。謝謝你的提問。我先開始，看看布魯斯是否會補充。

We view it as an opportunity. We've been very clear that we want to monetize a portion of Montana Renewables. It's a piece of our overall deleveraging strategy for the organization. So that remains front and center. At the same time, there's no super urgency to go do something in the near term if the market is not supportive.

我們認為這是一個機會。我們非常清楚，我們希望將蒙大拿州再生能源的一部分貨幣化。這是我們組織整體去槓桿化策略的一部分。所以這仍然是最重要的。同時，如果市場不支持，短期內也沒有超級迫切的行動。

So what we want to do is balance the risk reward there, if you will. And if industry margins remain as low as they are and there's questions around the space in the eyes of investors and we're not getting proper value for the asset, then you're right. It would be silly to go out and transact in that environment.

因此，如果您願意的話，我們想要做的是平衡那裡的風險回報。如果行業利潤率仍然很低，而投資者對該領域有疑問，並且我們沒有獲得該資產的適當價值，那麼你是對的。在那種環境下出去交易是愚蠢的。

That being said, I think with a clean second quarter, we can prove the competitive advantage of Montana Renewables, differentiate ourselves in the space, start to see a little bit of index margin return. And as investors get more confident in not only renewable diesel, but ultimately, our first-mover position in SAF, you could see someone reach out and want to move sooner than that and not necessarily have to see the perfect industry margin for some amount of time.

話雖這麼說，我認為透過乾淨的第二季度，我們可以證明蒙大拿州再生能源公司的競爭優勢，在該領域脫穎而出，開始看到一點指數利潤率回報。隨著投資者不僅對再生柴油更有信心，而且最終對我們在SAF 的先行者地位更有信心，你可能會看到有人伸出援手並希望更快採取行動，但不一定要看到一定數量的完美行業利潤率。

So we'll remain opportunistic on that. We're super focused on reducing debt. So we don't want to be overly greedy, but at the same time, we're focused, ultimately, on shareholder value. So we love that balance.

因此，我們將對此保持機會主義態度。我們非常專注於減少債務。因此，我們不想過於貪婪，但同時，我們最終關注的是股東價值。所以我們喜歡這種平衡。

Great. Thanks for that color. And then the treasury recently released guidance around [40B], the SAF lenders tax credit through 2025. Just wondering how that impacts your ability could generate value under that SAF credit. I know there were some unique carve-outs for vegetable-oil-based feedstocks, and you run a decent amount of canola oil at the site.

偉大的。謝謝那個顏色。然後，財政部最近發布了有關 [40B] 的指導意見，即 SAF 貸方稅收抵免直至 2025 年。只是想知道這會如何影響您的能力，從而在 SAF 信用下產生價值。我知道對於以植物油為基礎的原料有一些獨特的限制，並且您在現場運行了大量的菜籽油。

All of our SAF is produced from tallow.

我們所有的 SAF 均由牛脂生產。

Okay. And under the MAX SAF case, would that also be true?

好的。在 MAX SAF 案例中，這也是真的嗎？

We can. The best way to think of the MAX SAF is a yield flexibility project. I want to make sure that our investors all understand. This is not some giant bifurcated decision where we either have diesel or SAF. We're going to be just like the petroleum refiner. We're going to be able to toggle between those two distillate products smoothly, flexibly; and we're going to follow the markets.

我們可以。考慮 MAX SAF 的最佳方式是產量彈性專案。我想確保我們的投資者都理解。這並不是什麼重大的分歧決定，我們要么使用柴油，要么使用 SAF。我們將像煉油廠一樣。我們將能夠在這兩種餾分油產品之間平穩、靈活地切換；我們將跟隨市場。

Okay. But just to be clear, is your understanding for 40B that canola wouldn't generate much value if it was used to produce SAF under the guidance from treasury?

好的。但需要澄清的是，您對 40B 的理解是，如果在財政部的指導下將油菜籽用於生產 SAF，它不會產生太多價值嗎？

Jason, yeah. And I don't want to be cute here, but you're making an assumption on where we sold the SAF. I wouldn't make that assumption.

傑森，是的。我不想在這裡賣萌，但你正在假設我們在哪裡出售 SAF。我不會做出這樣的假設。

The world has just set a SAF target in the very near term. Just between Singapore, UK, and the EU, they have called 383 million gallons a year of SAF, which doesn't exist. So the way the trade flow's rearranged is a speculative endeavor.

世界剛剛設定了近期的 SAF 目標。僅在新加坡、英國和歐盟之間，他們每年就調用了 3.83 億加侖的 SAF，但這個數字並不存在。因此，貿易流的重新安排方式是一種投機行為。

The interest that we've got is very, very tactical. We share our border with Canada. That's Canadian canola we're talking about. In the summer, we've seen 50% of our production turn around and go back north. And the economics of that are going to have to overcome alternate dispositions.

我們的興趣非常非常具有戰術性。我們與加拿大接壤。這就是我們所說的加拿大油菜籽。夏季，我們 50% 的產量轉向北方。從經濟角度來看，這種做法必須克服替代性配置。

Now if the world calls for more mandated volume blending than SAF barrels exist, there's an implication for price in that. So we think that there's just going to be huge disconnects. We think there's going to be a lot of volatility in the emerging SAF market. We think there's some evidence governments are competing with each other to be the ones that get it.

現在，如果世界要求比 SAF 桶更多的強制混合量，那麼就會對價格產生影響。所以我們認為將會出現巨大的脫節。我們認為新興的 SAF 市場將會出現很大的波動。我們認為，有一些證據表明，各國政府正在相互競爭，以求獲得這一目標。

And then closer to home, a state mandate like the Illinois -- sorry, mandate is the wrong word. A state incentive like the Illinois SAF lender tax credit, that's $1.50 a gallon if you're an Illinois taxpayer and you can access it, which we are, through other operations. So there's going to be a lot of duck feet paddling under the surface on this for some time to come.

言歸正傳，像伊利諾州這樣的州強制令——抱歉，「強制令」這個詞用得不對。伊利諾伊州 SAF 貸方稅收抵免等國家激勵措施，如果您是伊利諾伊州納稅人，則每加侖 1.50 美元，並且您可以透過其他業務獲得它（我們也是如此）。因此，在未來一段時間內，將會有許多鴨腳在水面下劃動。

Got it. Understood. Thanks for that color. If I could just squeeze a third quick one in on the DOE loan process. I know you're limited in what you can say, but are you still providing information to the DOE at this point around the project or is it kind of fully in their hands in terms to make a determination?

知道了。明白了。謝謝那個顏色。如果我能在能源部貸款流程中快速擠出第三筆就好了。我知道您能說的內容有限，但目前您是否仍在向能源部提供有關該項目的信息，或者是否完全掌握在他們的手中來做出決定？

We moved into underwriting several months back. I'm reasonably confident we announced that. And that process is substantially advanced. I think I'm going to leave it there.

幾個月前我們開始承保。我有理由相信我們已經宣布了這一點。這個過程已經大大推進了。我想我會把它留在那裡。

Okay, great. Thanks for all the answers.

好的，太好了。感謝所有的答案。

Neil Mehta, Goldman Sachs.

尼爾梅塔，高盛。

Yeah. Good morning, Todd and team. I really like that slide you showed on the cost curve for renewable diesel and biodiesel. And at current pricing, a lot of stuff is off that stack. So I just love your perspective of -- do you think we see industry rationalization here to help bring the market into balance if we don't get a firming up of LCFS and RINs? And we saw some evidence of that this week, but any perspective on that would be great.

是的。早上好，托德和團隊。我真的很喜歡您展示的可再生柴油和生物柴油成本曲線的幻燈片。按照目前的定價，很多東西都沒有了。所以我很喜歡你的觀點——如果我們不鞏固 LCFS 和 RIN，你認為我們會看到產業合理化來幫助市場平衡嗎？本週我們看到了一些證據，但任何對此的看法都會很棒。

Sure. I'll start. A couple of things to keep in mind. So first of all, we're already seeing industry rationalization. We've had four biodiesel plant closures in the last six months. We've now amazingly got renewable diesel producers switching back to fossil. These are not sustainable and a couple of things are going to happen.

當然。我開始吧。有幾點要記住。首先，我們已經看到產業合理化。過去六個月裡，我們關閉了四家生質柴油工廠。令人驚訝的是，我們現在已經讓再生柴油生產商重新轉向化石能源。這些都是不可持續的，並且將會發生一些事情。

So we'll have more closures. We'll have the EPA reset the RVO. And we're going to have crop prices continue to collapse. If you pull a history of a marker like the soybean oil priced off the Chicago board, that's fallen 50% in the last 18 months.

所以我們將會有更多的關閉。我們會讓 EPA 重置 RVO。農作物價格將持續暴跌。如果你回顧一下像芝加哥交易所豆油這樣的標的物的歷史記錄，你會發現它在過去 18 個月裡下跌了 50%。

These are going to draw a regulatory response somewhere. So the speculation is just who moves and when and how fast. But right now, to be clear, the EPA has set up a commission where the entire existing North American industry has to run something like 65% of utilization. That is absolutely going to sort out the players according to this cost stack.

這些將在某處引起監管反應。所以猜測只是誰移動、何時移動、移動速度有多快。但目前需要明確的是，美國環保署 (EPA) 已成立了一個委員會，要求整個北美現有工業的利用率必須達到 65% 左右。這絕對是要根據這個成本堆疊來對玩家進行排序。

I think what I'd add to that Neil is, to Bruce's point, we're well below where the fundamentals would show on the supply stack. So we haven't seen shutdowns happen as quickly as we would need to balance out the curve.

我想我要補充的是，根據布魯斯的觀點，尼爾的觀點是，我們遠低於供應鏈上基本面所顯示的水平。因此，我們還沒有看到關閉的速度達到我們平衡曲線所需的速度。

If you look at 4.5 billion gallons, you would say, hey, that should be set. Are that volumes met by large biodiesel? And the current index margin is much lower than it needs to generate cash by that group.

如果您看到 45 億加侖，您會說，嘿，應該設定這個值。大型生質柴油能夠滿足這個數量嗎？目前的指數利潤率遠低於該集團產生現金所需的水平。

One thing that we've heard quite a bit about is how hedging plays into this. When you think about a crop cycle and hedges that are going summer to summer, we have a little bit of probably irrationality and day-to-day decision making, which, as that rolls off, that group of people will have to make different economic decisions. And to Bruce's point on crop prices or an equal opposite reaction in any of the other margin elements would be needed or else we wouldn't see continued production there.

我們經常聽到的一件事是對沖如何發揮作用。當你考慮到從夏天到夏天的作物週期和對沖時，我們可能會有點不理性和日常決策，隨著時間的推移，這群人將不得不做出不同的經濟決策決定。對於布魯斯關於農作物價格的觀點，或任何其他利潤要素的同等相反的反應都是必要的，否則我們就不會看到那裡的持續生產。

Thank you. And Todd, I appreciate the comments at the beginning about the importance of the C-Corp conversion. Certainly agree with that view. Can you just share some investor perspectives on -- do you think that as you're going around and talking to folks, there's the potential for more engagement as you convert to C-Corp? And then remind us again, what are the gating items to get there? And is mid-2024 still the best stick to follow here?

謝謝。托德，我很欣賞一開始關於 C 型企業轉型重要性的評論。當然同意這個觀點。您能否分享一些投資者的觀點——您是否認為，當您四處走動並與人們交談時，當您轉為 C 型企業時，是否有可能獲得更多參與？然後再提醒我們，要到達那裡需要哪些門禁物品？2024 年中期仍然是最好的選擇嗎？

Yeah, you bet. So yes, mid-2024 is still the time line. We've checked a lot of boxes along the process. It's been a very efficient process.

是的，你打賭。所以，是的，2024 年中期仍然是時間線。在此過程中我們檢查了很多方框。這是一個非常有效的過程。

We filed the S-4. So we'll get the final amendment out. We'll schedule a unitholder vote. And those are really the major two steps left to getting this done, which is what gives us confidence that it's in the near term.

我們提交了 S-4。所以我們將提出最終修正案。我們將安排單位持有人投票。這些實際上是完成這項工作剩下的兩個主要步驟，這讓我們相信它會在短期內完成。

As far as investor perspective, they've been quite positive and also eye-opening as to the restriction of the MLP. If we go back, we've known for some time that MLPs were out of favor and that at some point in time, this decision would be ahead of the general partner and the conflicts committee, et cetera.

就投資者的觀點而言，他們對 MLP 的限制持相當正面的態度，也令人大開眼界。如果我們回顧過去，我們早就知道 MLP 不受歡迎，並且在某個時間點，這個決定將先於普通合夥人和衝突委員會等。

I think what we probably didn't appreciate was just the amount of investors that are simply unable to invest in MLPs due to charter. So a lot of the institutions that we've talked to have said, we really like the Calumet story, have been following it generally. I know that it's a catalyst-driven story and also know that our supportive of the two long-term fundamental businesses and the growth trajectories. But we really haven't been able to invest in it.

我認為我們可能沒有意識到的是，由於章程的原因，有大量投資者根本無法投資 MLP。因此，我們交談過的許多機構都表示，我們真的很喜歡卡魯梅特的故事，並且一直在普遍關注它。我知道這是一個催化劑驅動的故事，也知道我們對兩項長期基本業務和成長軌跡的支持。但我們確實沒能投資它。

So I think they're off doing work and getting deeper into the name now. And there's not a magic bullet that happens on conversion day where all of a sudden, our trading liquidity quintuples or something. But we certainly do expect a combination of new institutional investors who otherwise couldn't have invested in us before, but would like to, coming into the name and the help that we'll get from just the passive indexes adding us.

所以我認為他們現在已經開始工作並深入研究這個名字了。在轉換日，我們的交易流動性不會突然增加五倍之類的靈丹妙藥。但我們當然確實期待新的機構投資者的組合，他們以前無法投資我們，但願意加入進來，並且我們將從被動指數中獲得的幫助加入我們。

And those things have become quite big. 50% of the general equity market has held under passive strategies right now, which is just an astonishing amount of money, investment dollars, that Calumet doesn't have access to.

這些事情已經變得相當大了。目前，50% 的普通股票市場都採用被動策略，這是 Calumet 無法獲得的數量驚人的投資資金。

Thanks, Todd.

謝謝，托德。

Amit Dayal, H.C. Wainwright.

阿米特·達亞爾 (Amit Dayal)，H.C.溫賴特。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. With respect to the pressure on the index margins right now guys, how should we think about your utilization strategy for MRL for the near term, at least?

謝謝。大家早安。考慮到目前指數利潤率面臨的壓力，夥計們，我們至少應該如何考慮近期的 MRL 利用策略？

Amit, it's Bruce. I'll simply point out that if we're the low-cost producer, we're going to run full.

阿米特，我是布魯斯。我只想指出，如果我們是低成本生產商，我們就會滿載運作。

Okay. Understood. That's what I was hoping to hear. And then with respect to 2Q performance, do you see MRL continuing to be a little bit of a drag on EBITDA levels? Or do you think you should see a little bit more support from MRL in the near term at least?

好的。明白了。這就是我希望聽到的。那麼就第二季的表現而言，您是否認為 MRL 繼續對 EBITDA 水平產生一定的拖累？或者您認為至少在短期內您應該看到 MRL 提供更多支援？

We think that it's going to continue to stay in the positive, right? What we saw in Q1 -- and we highlighted this through positive EBITDA in March was we saw continued strain in February and January from the old feed build-out, and that started to change in March and continued into April. So we're certainly continuing to expect positive EBITDA contribution from Montana Renewables.

我們認為它將繼續保持積極的狀態，對嗎？我們在第一季看到的情況——我們透過3 月的正EBITDA 強調了這一點，我們看到2 月和1 月的舊飼料產量持續緊張，這種情況從3 月開始發生變化，並持續到4 月份。因此，我們肯定會繼續期望蒙大拿州再生能源公司對 EBITDA 做出積極的貢獻。

Like we put out at the Analyst Day in reference to the supply stack, the quantum of that EBITDA is going to be a function of how the broader index margin improves. We think that our EBITDA is largely going to be about $0.85 a gallon below the soybean index margin in the near term, and that's going to continue to improve over-time.

正如我們在分析師日提到供應鏈時所指出的那樣，EBITDA 的數量將取決於更廣泛的指數利潤率的改善。我們認為，短期內我們的 EBITDA 基本上將比大豆指數利潤低約每加侖 0.85 美元，隨著時間的推移，這一情況將繼續改善。

So if we see an index margin stay where it is right now, we're certainly in positive EBITDA territory. And as it improves throughout the summer, our EBITDA will go with it. And like Bruce said, the most critical point is we're at the right place on the stack. So given that the market is lower than fundamentals should suggest that it will, the market is going to rationalize, which is what markets do. And ultimately, the amount of EBITDA that we're generating from that will continue to increase.

因此，如果我們看到指數利潤率保持在目前的水平，那麼我們肯定處於正 EBITDA 區域。隨著整個夏季的改善，我們的 EBITDA 也將隨之改善。正如布魯斯所說，最關鍵的一點是我們處於堆疊的正確位置。因此，鑑於市場低於基本面所暗示的水平，市場將會理性化，而這就是市場所做的。最終，我們從中產生的 EBITDA 金額將繼續增加。

Understood. Yeah, that's all I have for now. I'll take my other questions offline, guys. Thank you so much.

明白了。是的，這就是我現在所擁有的。夥計們，我會離線回答我的其他問題。太感謝了。

And ladies and gentlemen, with that, we'll be concluding today's question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to John Kompa, Investor Relations for Calumet for any closing remarks.

女士們、先生們，我們今天的問答環節就到此結束。我想請 Calumet 投資者關係部的 John Kompa 發表結束語。

Thanks, Jamie. And on behalf of the Calumet management team, I'd like to thank everyone for their time this morning and your continued interest in this company. Have a great weekend. Thank you again very much.

謝謝，傑米。我謹代表 Calumet 管理團隊感謝大家今天早上抽出寶貴的時間以及大家對這家公司的持續關注。週末愉快。再次非常感謝您。

And ladies and gentlemen, with that, we'll conclude today's conference call. We thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.

女士們、先生們，我們今天的電話會議就到此結束。我們感謝您參加今天的演講。現在您可以斷開線路。