Calumet Inc (CLMT) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Calumet Inc's second-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 Inc 的 2024 年第二季業績電話會議。 （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。

Thanks Edmond. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for our second quarter 2024 earnings call. With me on today's call are Todd Borgmann, CEO; David Lunin, EVP and Chief Financial Officer; Bruce Fleming, EVP of Montana Renewables and Corporate Development; and Scott Obermeier, EVP of Specialties.

謝謝埃德蒙。大家早安。感謝您今天參加我們的 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。與我一起參加今天電話會議的是執行長 Todd Borgmann； David Lunin，執行副總裁兼財務長； Bruce Fleming，蒙大拿州再生能源與企業發展執行副總裁；和斯科特·奧伯邁爾（Scott Obermeier），專業執行副總裁。

You may now download the slides that accompany remarks made on today's conference call. These can be accessed on 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.

現在您可以下載今天電話會議上發言的幻燈片。您可以在我們網站 calumet.com 的投資者關係部分存取這些內容。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, you can find our cautionary statements. I'd like to remind everyone that during the call we may provide various forward-looking statements. Please refer to our 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.

前往投影片 2 上的簡報，您可以找到我們的警告聲明。我想提醒大家，在通話過程中我們可能會提供各種前瞻性聲明。請參閱我們今天早上發布的新聞稿以及我們向 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.

這樣，我現在將把電話轉給托德。

Thank you, John and welcome to the first earnings call of our new Calumet, Inc. Since our last call, 99% of our voting unitholders elected to convert Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. to a C-Corporation. And on July 10th, Calumet, Inc. commenced trading on the NASDAQ. Thank you to all of our former unitholders and current shareholders for your support. And one last thanks to the former General Partner in Conflicts Committee for a thorough and thoughtful process.

謝謝約翰，歡迎參加我們新成立的Calumet, Inc. 的第一次財報電話會議。 。 7 月 10 日，Calumet, Inc. 開始在納斯達克上市交易。感謝我們所有前單位持有人和現任股東的支持。最後感謝前衝突委員會普通合夥人制定了徹底且深思熟慮的流程。

Now, to the second quarter. Let's turn to Slide 3. Calumet generated $66.8 million of adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter. Before we dive into the numbers, I'd like to touch on Calumet's overall strategy and the substantial progress our team has made since our last discussion.

現在，到第二季。讓我們轉向幻燈片 3。在我們深入研究這些數字之前，我想談談 Calumet 的整體策略以及自上次討論以來我們團隊的實質進展。

The most important element of our strategy is safe and reliable operations. In the second quarter, we achieved the highest company-wide production levels that have been seen since we brought down our former Montana plant a few years ago to begin the renewables conversion.

我們戰略中最重要的要素是安全可靠的營運。第二季度，我們實現了自幾年前關閉前蒙大拿工廠開始再生能源轉換以來全公司最高的生產水準。

Specifically, the Montana Renewables team achieved record throughput in SAF production and our Specialties business saw the highest quarterly sales volumes in over five years. Pivoting to our broader strategy, we have three primary objectives, all of which were executed against this past quarter.

具體而言，蒙大拿州再生能源團隊在 SAF 生產中實現了創紀錄的吞吐量，而我們的特種業務則實現了五年多來最高的季度銷售。圍繞著我們更廣泛的策略，我們有三個主要目標，所有這些目標都是在上個季度執行的。

Let's turn to the next slide. First, we continue to demonstrate the uniqueness of our Specialties business. Commodity markets were not helpful in the second quarter, but this business continues to prove that its market optionality, product flexibility, and advantage integration allow it to succeed in any environment.

讓我們轉到下一張投影片。首先，我們繼續展示我們特種業務的獨特性。大宗商品市場在第二季並沒有起到什麼作用，但該業務繼續證明其市場選擇性、產品靈活性和優勢整合使其能夠在任何環境下取得成功。

Our commercial organization and customer commitment continue to be a core differentiator and we saw that in Q2 as record Specialty production volumes were placed into the right markets.

我們的商業組織和客戶承諾仍然是核心差異化因素，我們在第二季度看到，創紀錄的特種產品產量被投入了正確的市場。

Providing a world-class customer experience matters here, and I know Scott, who's on the call with me, would love to answer any questions about how we maximize the customer experience and the tremendous feedback that we receive from our customers.

提供世界一流的客戶體驗在這裡很重要，我知道與我通話的斯科特很樂意回答有關我們如何最大化客戶體驗以及我們從客戶那裡收到的大量反饋的任何問題。

A little over a year ago, we began the process of carefully studying the connection points between our Performance Brands and SPS segments. And where it made sense, we more closely began integrating them through our commercial excellence engine. In the second quarter, we saw a 30% growth in volumes in Performance Brands, much of which is in the industrial markets where we can leverage our system most effectively.

一年多前，我們開始仔細研究我們的性能品牌和 SPS 細分市場之間的連接點。在有意義的地方，我們開始透過我們的商業卓越引擎更緊密地整合它們。第二季度，我們看到績效品牌的銷售量成長了 30%，其中大部分位於工業市場，我們可以最有效地利用我們的系統。

Let's flip to Slide 5. Our second strategic objective is to execute operationally at Montana Renewables and demonstrate through our geographic advantaged feedstock and customer access and focus on sustainable aviation fuel that we have built a best-in-class renewables business.

讓我們翻到幻燈片5。建立了一流的再生能源業務。

In the second quarter, we achieved operational records across the board. We ran at planned production levels. Our pre-treater allowed us to choose from a full slate of feeds. We produced roughly 7 million gallons of SAF, and we continue to see our costs becoming more efficient as reliability and utilization increase. For the second quarter, the team delivered significant operating unit cost reductions and we're well on track to achieve our cost objective of $0.70 per gallon by the end of this year.

第二季度，我們全面實現了營運記錄。我們按照計劃的生產水準運作。我們的預處理器允許我們從全套飼料中進行選擇。我們生產了大約 700 萬加侖的 SAF，隨著可靠性和利用率的提高，我們的成本不斷變得更有效率。第二季度，該團隊大幅降低了營運單位成本，我們預計在今年年底前實現每加侖 0.70 美元的成本目標。

Last, commercial flexibility remains a key advantage and roughly 40% of our product is SAF, are finding its way into Canada. As we demonstrate steady state operations, Montana Renewables contributed over $7 million of adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter despite the trough margin conditions that the renewable industry faces.

最後，商業靈活性仍然是關鍵優勢，我們大約 40% 的產品是 SAF，正在進入加拿大。正如我們所展示的穩態營運情況，蒙大拿州再生能源公司在第二季度貢獻了超過 700 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA，儘管再生能源產業面臨著利潤率低谷的狀況。

Let me take a minute to address today's trough industry margin conditions. Many others have recently weighed in on the expected timing of renewable diesel margin recovery and we too are optimistic that our industry has multiple positive catalysts ahead, some of which are occurring already.

讓我花一點時間談談當今產業利潤率低潮的狀況。許多其他人最近對再生柴油利潤率復甦的預期時間進行了權衡，我們也樂觀地認為我們的行業未來有多種積極的催化劑，其中一些已經出現。

On the supply side, these include declining ag commodities prices, incremental biodiesel capacity closure, reduction of imports, RD capacity cannibalized into SAF, and even renewable diesel capacity reversed back to crude oil service.

在供應方面，這些因素包括農業大宗商品價格下跌、生質柴油產能逐步關閉、進口減少、研發產能被蠶食至SAF，甚至再生柴油產能又轉回原油服務。

On the demand side, notable catalysts include CARB LCFS acceleration, additional LCFS geographies opting in, growing state and global mandates and incentives, legislative response on behalf of the ag sector, and the EPA increasing its non-ethanol RVO. From a timing perspective, the change to the producer's tax credit at year-end is expected to reduce imports as they become disadvantaged by $1 per gallon. Today, these imports are flowing at roughly 1 billion gallons annually.

在需求方面，值得注意的催化劑包括 CARB LCFS 加速、更多 LCFS 地區選擇加入、不斷增長的州和全球指令和激勵措施、代表農業部門的立法響應以及 EPA 增加其非乙醇 RVO。從時間角度來看，年底生產商稅收抵免的變化預計將減少進口，因為它們將每加侖損失 1 美元。如今，這些進口量每年約為 10 億加侖。

And we know bipartisan support and we remain optimistic that the EPA will correct the RVO rather than forcing additional capacity to close and delay the energy transition.

我們知道兩黨的支持，我們仍然樂觀地認為 EPA 將糾正 RVO，而不是強迫額外的產能關閉和推遲能源轉型。

It's hard to predict exactly how these will play out in the very near-term, especially during an election season. But Montana Renewables continues to differentiate itself, focus on competitive advantage, generate positive EBITDA even during the trough. And when these changes take hold, we'll be positioned to capture the upside.

很難準確預測這些在短期內將如何發揮作用，尤其是在選舉季節。但蒙大拿州再生能源公司繼續脫穎而出，專注於競爭優勢，即使在低谷時期也能產生正的 EBITDA。當這些變化發生時，我們將能夠抓住機會。

Looking ahead, SAF continues to be a focal point and an advantage for Montana Renewables. Our SAF production continues to increase. We produced nearly 7 million gallons in the second quarter and MRL currently has 30 million gallons per year of contracted SAF sales.

展望未來，SAF 仍然是蒙大拿州再生能源公司的焦點和優勢。我們的 SAF 產量持續增加。我們第二季生產了近 700 萬加侖，MRL 目前每年的 SAF 合約銷售量為 3000 萬加侖。

We look forward to the next steps of SAF for Montana Renewables, which will be the MaxSAF expansion as a culmination of the DOE process. Given the advanced nature of this process and the magnitude of it to Calumet's strategy to launch MaxSAF and replace expensive project financings at Mountain Renewables, we're going to limit our comments on the DOE process today.

我們期待蒙大拿州再生能源公司 SAF 的下一步行動，這將是 MaxSAF 的擴張，作為能源部流程的頂峰。考慮到這一流程的先進性及其對 Calumet 推出 MaxSAF 並取代 Mountain Renewables 昂貴的專案融資策略的重要性，我們今天將限制對 DOE 流程的評論。

The DOE has been an extremely thoughtful and professional group to work with throughout and we're excited to get started on the next steps of building on Montana Renewables' first mover advantage and fortifying our country's vision as a global SAF leader.

美國能源部是一個非常深思熟慮和專業的團隊，我們很高興能夠開始下一步的工作，以鞏固蒙大拿州再生能源公司的先發優勢，並鞏固我們國家作為全球 SAF 領導者的願景。

Turning to Slide 6. We see the third leg of our corporate strategy is progressing a host of corporate initiatives targeted at driving shareholder value. The first item on this list is the successful execution of our corporate conversion in the second quarter.

轉向投影片 6。 我們看到我們公司策略的第三步是推進一系列旨在提高股東價值的公司措施。此列表中的第一項是我們在第二季度成功執行的公司轉換。

We're excited about the future of the C-Corp, the benefit of passive indices adding Calumet and institutional investors being able to invest in the company at this paramount time as we complete our transformation. The first significant passive index adds come in September as the S&P and CRSP indices rebalance and this process should replicate itself over the coming year.

我們對 C 型企業的未來感到興奮，對加入 Calumet 的被動指數的好處以及機構投資者能夠在我們完成轉型的關鍵時刻投資於該公司感到興奮。隨著 S&P 和 CRSP 指數重新平衡，第一個重要的被動指數增加出現在 9 月份，這個過程應該會在來年重複。

Further, we received news of our most recent successful step in the small refinery exemption litigation, in which the Washington, D.C. District Court deemed the EPA's denial of the SRE as arbitrary and capricious. As a small business critical to the communities in which we exist, who produces fuels to the byproduct to lower the total cost of goods on our Specialty Products we make on purpose, we're pleased to see the courts continue to protect the intent of the Clean Air Act and the small refinery exemption.

此外，我們還收到了關於我們最近在小型煉油廠豁免訴訟中取得成功的消息，在該訴訟中，華盛頓特區地方法院認為 EPA 對 SRE 的拒絕是武斷且反复無常的。作為一家對我們所在社區至關重要的小型企業，我們生產副產品燃料以降低我們特意生產的特殊產品的總成本，我們很高興看到法院繼續保護我們的意圖清潔空氣法和小型煉油廠豁免。

With that, I'll turn the call to David to take us through the quarterly financials. David?

接下來，我將打電話給大衛，讓他帶我們了解季度財務狀況。大衛？

Thanks Todd. Now, I'll review our segment results. Across our Specialty businesses, which comprise of both Specialty Products & Solutions and Performance Brands, we achieved the highest production volume in the last five years.

謝謝托德。現在，我將回顧我們的細分結果。在我們的專業業務（包括專業產品和解決方案以及高性能品牌）中，我們實現了過去五年的最高產量。

Operations were strong during the quarter as we benefited from reliability and the progress we've made over the past few years fortifying our operations. That said, we continue to see additional opportunities.

本季的營運表現強勁，因為我們受益於可靠性以及過去幾年在加強營運方面取得的進展。也就是說，我們繼續看到更多機會。

And the Specialty Products segment generated $65.8 million of adjusted EBITDA during the quarter, an increase of approximately 8% compared to the prior year period. Quarterly results were driven by strong volumes across products and the application diversity of our products, strong customer relationships, and our integrated network.

特種產品部門本季調整後 EBITDA 為 6,580 萬美元，比去年同期成長約 8%。季度業績的推動因素包括產品的強勁銷售、產品的應用多樣性、強大的客戶關係以及我們的整合網路。

Strong sales volume and financial results were offset by a weakened commodity environment, where we saw $7 a barrel decline in the Gulf crack 2,1,1 crack spread over the year. The resilience of our performance underscores the Specialties business ability to succeed across all commodity cycles.

強勁的銷售和財務業績被疲軟的大宗商品環境所抵消，我們看到海灣裂縫 2、1、1 裂縫價差在一年中每桶下降了 7 美元。我們業績的彈性凸顯了特種業務在所有商品週期中取得成功的能力。

In the chart on the bottom right, I'd like to highlight our specialty products margin that has been resilient in the $60 to $70 per barrel for the last few quarters despite declines in fuels and asphalt margins. This success in Specialty Products has been driven by continued execution of commercial excellence programs and the realization of progress made over the last few years.

在右下角的圖表中，我想強調一下我們的特種產品利潤率，儘管燃料和瀝青利潤率下降，但在過去幾個季度中，我們的特種產品利潤率一直保持在每桶60 至70 美元的水平。特種產品的成功得益於商業卓越計劃的持續執行和過去幾年取得的進展。

Delivering product capabilities for our customers, top-notch service, and delivering products to its highest margin area are all part of the strategy that's been playing out in our results.

為我們的客戶提供產品功能、一流的服務以及將產品交付到利潤率最高的領域，這些都是我們業績中所體現的策略的一部分。

Despite strong production results, we know there's more opportunity available in reliability. In early July, our power supply was cut as the remnants of Hurricane Beryl knocked out local power and a portion of July was spent with our Shreveport site operating at reduced rates. Today, Shreveport is back operating at full rates and we continue advancing progress on improving reliability.

儘管生產成果強勁，但我們知道在可靠性方面還有更多機會。 7 月初，由於貝麗爾颶風的餘波摧毀了當地電力，我們的電力供應被切斷，7 月的一部分時間我們的什里夫波特站點的運行速度降低了。今天，什里夫波特已恢復全速運營，我們將繼續在提高可靠性方面取得進展。

Moving to the Performance Brands segment, where we drove year-over-year volume growth of 30%, again, reflecting strong execution by our commercial team as well as operational reliability. These operating results allowed the segment to deliver its highest volume quarter since the first quarter of 2019, reflecting strong demand across all our brands.

轉向績效品牌領域，我們的銷售量再次年增 30%，這反映出我們商業團隊的強大執行力以及營運可靠性。這些經營業績使該部門實現了自 2019 年第一季以來最高的季度銷量，反映出我們所有品牌的強勁需求。

We were able to successfully leverage the integration of our Northwest Louisiana network of upstream manufacturing sites and our performance brand, CalPak facility. We used the integration to drive volumes to in-demand products as well as improve margins, while delivering materials to high value-add brands such as Bel-Ray and our private label industrial business, both of which have remained resilient.

我們能夠成功地利用路易斯安那州西北部上游製造基地網路和我們的高性能品牌 CalPak 工廠的整合。我們利用整合來提高需求產品的產量並提高利潤率，同時向 Bel-Ray 等高附加價值品牌和我們的自有品牌工業業務提供材料，這兩個品牌都保持了彈性。

Second quarter 2024, adjusted EBITDA increased 16% to $14.1 million or up nearly $2 million year-over-year. In addition to the volume growth in the quarter, Performance Brands continued to gain momentum and delivering strong margin results. In particular, our high-value brand, Royal Purple, continues to deliver reliable growth every year, while maintaining and building on its exceptional margin profile.

2024 年第二季度，調整後 EBITDA 成長 16%，達到 1,410 萬美元，較去年同期成長近 200 萬美元。除了本季銷售成長之外，績效品牌繼續保持強勁勢頭並實現強勁的利潤率結果。特別是，我們的高價值品牌 Royal Purple 每年都繼續實現可靠的成長，同時保持和發展其卓越的利潤狀況。

Going forward, we expect these trends to continue as we remain focused on growing our high-performance products as well as our core integrated industrial business lines, particularly focusing on mining, power, and marine end market applications.

展望未來，我們預計這些趨勢將持續下去，因為我們將繼續專注於發展我們的高性能產品以及我們的核心綜合工業業務線，特別是採礦、電力和船舶終端市場應用。

Moving to Montana. The second quarter for our Montana asphalt business was slower than normal due to a combination of commodity headwinds and a little later start to the heavy paving season than normal. We expect improving sequential results in the third quarter due to wider WCS and WTI diff, stronger Rocky Mountains fuel market, and incremental retail asphalt volume.

搬到蒙大拿州。由於大宗商品不利因素以及重型鋪路季節的開始時間比正常情況稍晚，我們蒙大拿州瀝青業務的第二季度比正常情況要慢。我們預計，由於 WCS 和 WTI 差異擴大、落基山脈燃料市場走強以及零售瀝青量增加，第三季業績將有所改善。

I'd also note that the retail asphalt rack opened mid-quarter and despite broader fuel cracks remaining much lower than they have been in the past couple of years, we are seeing the normal seasonal local market premiums reappear in the Rockies as we get into the summer months.

我還想指出的是，零售瀝青架在季度中期開放，儘管更廣泛的燃料裂縫仍然比過去幾年低得多，但當我們進入落基山脈時，我們看到正常的季節性當地市場溢價再次出現夏季。

On the Renewable side of Montana, we are pleased to report the business generated $6.1 million of adjusted EBITDA, representing Calumet's 86% ownership or $7.1 million of adjusted EBITDA on a 100% consolidated basis. Through improved operations, we were able to drive financial results despite trough conditions for industry index margins during the period.

在蒙大拿州的再生能源方面，我們很高興地報告該業務產生了610 萬美元的調整後EBITDA，相當於Calumet 86% 的所有權，或者在100% 合併的基礎上產生了710 萬美元的調整後EBITDA。儘管在此期間行業指數利潤率處於低谷，但透過改善運營，我們仍能夠推動財務表現。

As Todd mentioned, the second quarter represented a clean quarter of operations. As a result of our team's focus on driving steady-state execution, we are seeing this in our performance. We successfully delivered on our operating plan, processing 12,000 barrels a day of renewable feedstock, including 1,700 barrels per day of sustainable aviation fuel.

正如托德所提到的，第二季度是營運乾淨的季度。由於我們團隊專注於推動穩態執行，我們在我們的績效中看到了這一點。我們成功實現了營運計劃，每天加工 12,000 桶可再生原料，其中包括每天 1,700 桶可持續航空燃料。

In closing, we've highlighted the key catalysts aligned with our near-term strategies intended to generate shareholder value: First, we are pleased to complete our C-Corp conversion in July. Despite the recent share price volatility, we believe shareholders will ultimately be rewarded as we introduce a broader institutional investor base that can now own the stock in addition to the technical demand anticipated from index additions.

最後，我們強調了與我們旨在創造股東價值的近期策略一致的關鍵催化劑：首先，我們很高興在 7 月完成了 C 型企業的轉型。儘管最近股價波動，但我們相信股東最終將獲得回報，因為我們引入了更廣泛的機構投資者基礎，除了指數增加預期的技術需求之外，他們現在可以擁有該股票。

Second, we believe the second quarter was a critical milestone in demonstrating the competitive advantage of our Montana Renewables business, driven by our superior logistics advantage and location. With a clean operating quarter, the site is producing on plan and solidly profitable, while we wait for more favorable market conditions to return that support a normal index margin level. We look forward to completing the DOE loan, which supports the final investment decision on our MaxSAF expansion project.

其次，我們認為，在我們優越的物流優勢和地理位置的推動下，第二季是展示蒙大拿州再生能源業務競爭優勢的一個重要里程碑。由於營運季度乾淨，該工廠正在按計劃生產並實現穩定盈利，同時我們等待更有利的市場條件回歸以支持正常的指數利潤率水平。我們期待完成能源部貸款，這將支持我們 MaxSAF 擴建項目的最終投資決策。

I'd also note, we remain committed to reducing our debt levels as evidenced by the $50 million reduction in our 2025 notes during the quarter. As we said before, we believe we have a number of actionable levers to achieve this in the near-term, which we're excited to shed more light on in the not-too-distant future. Further, cash generation for the quarter was strong. We delivered $66 million of cash flow from operations, highlighting the capabilities of our two advantaged businesses.

我還想指出的是，我們仍然致力於降低債務水平，本季 2025 年票據減少了 5,000 萬美元就證明了這一點。正如我們之前所說，我們相信我們有許多可行的手段可以在短期內實現這一目標，我們很高興能在不久的將來提供更多資訊。此外，本季的現金產生強勁。我們交付了 6,600 萬美元的營運現金流，凸顯了我們兩大優勢業務的能力。

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.

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。

We will now begin the question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions)

我們現在開始問答環節。 （操作員說明）

Roger Read, Wells Fargo.

羅傑·里德，富國銀行。

Thank you. Good morning. And let me say congrats on getting over to a C-Corp and on the quarter's performance here. I guess I'd like to start off maybe something not even operational, but the whole deal with the SRE and the EPA being told to go back and look at this from sort of a, maybe let's call it, high, mid, low case of the $200 million-plus kind of RFS obligations on the balance sheet. What's the right way for us to think about how an SRE for you could work out?

謝謝。早安.我要祝賀您成為 C 型企業並祝賀本季度的表現。我想我想從一些甚至無法操作的事情開始，但是與 SRE 和 EPA 的整個交易被告知要回去看這個，也許我們可以稱之為高、中、低情況資產負債表上超過2 億美元的RFS義務。我們思考如何為您提供 SRE 的正確方法是什麼？

Hey Roger, it's Bruce. I'll let David take the balance sheet question if he wants to build on this. But I think the first part of it was a little bit of interest in the legal impact. Look, the Clean Air Act provides small refinery exemptions in the law. That's not subject to agency interpretation. The agency wanted to interpret it and the courts told them not to. So, I think this is cut and dried.

嘿羅傑，我是布魯斯。如果大衛想以此為基礎，我會讓他回答資產負債表問題。但我認為第一部分是對法律影響有點興趣。看，《清潔空氣法》在法律中規定了小型煉油廠的豁免。這不受機構解釋的約束。該機構想要解釋它，但法院告訴他們不要這樣做。所以，我認為這已經被切割和乾燥了。

The impact on the balance sheet is, we've backed up all the way to 2018 in terms of our accounting, and that's all sitting there. So, given any assumption on future RINs prices, that balance sheet number moves around a lot. And in my opinion, we're not helping our shareholders understand our real position. So, we're going to be examining that.

對資產負債表的影響是，我們在會計方面一直支持到 2018 年，而這一切都在那裡。因此，考慮到對未來 RIN 價格的任何假設，資產負債表數字會發生很大變化。在我看來，我們並沒有幫助我們的股東了解我們的真實立場。所以，我們將對此進行研究。

Yes. Thanks, Roger, for the question. We're always thoughtful about how we account for things. So, we have provided clarity to shareholders. I think as the legal process continues to move forward, we'll evaluate how -- with our auditors at Grant Thornton, how we represent the balance sheet. And we'll make changes as appropriate as the legal process plays out.

是的。謝謝羅傑的提問。我們總是深思熟慮如何解釋事物。因此，我們向股東提供了明確的訊息。我認為，隨著法律程序的持續推進，我們將與致同會計師事務所的審計師一起評估我們如何表示資產負債表。我們將根據法律程序進行適當的更改。

Okay. Thank you. We'll just keep our eye on that. And then just to make sure I understood your comments on kind of Q2 being a weak asphalt market, Q3 looking better. I mean we know that you build asphalt in the winter, you sell it in the summer. Was it, I guess, just a weather issue? And so as you look at Q3, you've seen the catch-up here? Or is there anything else we need to really be paying attention to in terms of seasonal factors?

好的。謝謝。我們會密切關注這一點。然後只是為了確保我理解您對第二季瀝青市場疲軟的評論，第三季看起來更好。我的意思是我們知道你在冬天建造瀝青，你在夏天出售它。我想這只是天氣問題嗎？當您查看第三季時，您是否已經看到了追趕的情況？或者在季節性因素方面還有什麼我們需要真正注意的嗎？

Hey Roger, Bruce again. I don't think we meant to signal it was a weak market at all. Let me clarify that. We operate the Great Falls asphalt business in two channels, a wholesale channel and a retail one. The wholesale channel runs year-round. The retail, which is important, but seasonal, begins when the weather allows the paving jobs to start and it ends when the weather shuts down the paving jobs.

嘿羅傑，又是布魯斯。我認為我們根本不想表明這是一個疲軟的市場。讓我澄清一下。我們透過兩種管道經營 Great Falls 瀝青業務：批發通路和零售通路。批發通路全年營運。零售業很重要，但具有季節性，當天氣允許鋪路工作開始時零售就開始，當天氣停止鋪路工作時零售結束。

So, whether that's four, five or six months in a given year and exactly when it starts and stops is the weather-dependent part. But we don't see weakness. Our pricing, our retail margins above crude and, in particular, our polymer-modified asphalt margins above ordinary retail are all typical. So, we're signaling that, opening of those local paving jobs began mid-quarter this time.

因此，無論一年中的四個月、五個月或六個月，以及它的確切開始和結束時間，都取決於天氣。但我們並沒有看到弱點。我們的定價、高於原油的零售利潤，特別是高於一般零售的聚合物改質瀝青利潤都是典型的。因此，我們表示，這次當地的鋪路工作已於季度中期開始開放。

Okay. Thank you. I didn't mean to misinterpret. That was just kind of the way it came across to me. I'll hand it back. Thanks.

好的。謝謝。我無意誤解。這就是我的感受。我會把它還給你。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Saumya Jain, UBS

Saumya Jain，瑞銀

Hey congrats, guys. I guess quickly I just want to clarify, is the old high-priced inventory still playing out in RD earnings? And then also separately, how are you guys seeing RIN prices and refining cracks playing out this quarter?

嘿，恭喜你們，夥計們。我想很快我只想澄清一下，舊的高價庫存是否仍在研發收益中發揮作用？另外，你們如何看待本季 RIN 價格和煉油裂縫的表現？

Hey Saumya, its Todd. I'll start and then hand it over to Bruce. Yes, the old high-price inventory that we had talked about last year is worked through the system. Of course, there's always a little bit of price lag in this business. That can be positive, that can be negative, because there's a couple of weeks of supply chain movements between when you buy a feedstock and when you receive it. So, that's kind of always there.

嘿 Saumya，我是托德。我先開始，然後把它交給布魯斯。是的，我們去年談到的舊高價庫存是透過系統來處理的。當然，這項業務總是存在一點價格延遲。這可能是正面的，也可能是負面的，因為從購買原料到收到原料之間有幾週的供應鏈變動。所以，這種情況總是存在的。

But we don't think that's a major contributor to this quarter. And kind of the old high-priced inventory that we had talked about historically that built up in the second half of last year is absolutely all ran through the system, and just drilled with the team to have an efficient of a quarter as we did.

但我們認為這不是本季的主要貢獻者。我們歷史上討論過的去年下半年建立的舊高價庫存絕對是透過系統運作的，只是與團隊一起演練，以達到像我們一樣的四分之一的效率。

We've been waiting for this quarter for a bit now and obviously got set back a little bit last year. But we feel like the plan is really operating on all cylinders now, doing what it's designed to do. And going forward, should be a pretty straightforward system and hopefully, we're done talking about that old high-priced feed.

我們等待這個季度已經有一段時間了，顯然去年有所挫折。但我們覺得該計劃現在確實正在全速運轉，正在按照其設計目的進行。展望未來，應該是一個非常簡單的系統，希望我們已經結束了對舊的高價飼料的討論。

Saumya, it's Bruce. In terms of where RINs are headed, that's going to be unusually volatile through the end of the year. We've got a major change coming up, where the importers of particularly bio-based diesel products are going to lose a blender's tax credit that they currently enjoy.

索米婭，是布魯斯。就 RIN 的發展方向而言，到今年年底，情況將異常波動。我們即將迎來一項重大變革，特別是生物基柴油產品的進口商將失去他們目前享有的攪拌機稅收抵免。

How much of that offshore volume hits and when, is going to introduce market volatility. That knocks on to the RINs price because basically that's a major volume portion of the balance. So, our forecast is an awful lot of volatility, and then somewhere around year end, going into 2025, a much more predictable market.

離岸交易量的多寡以及何時會帶來市場波動。這會影響 RIN 的價格，因為基本上這是餘額的主要數量部分。因此，我們的預測是波動性非常大，然後在年底左右，進入 2025 年，市場將變得更加可預測。

Got it. Thank you.

知道了。謝謝。

Neil Mehta, Goldman Sachs.

尼爾梅塔，高盛。

Yes, good morning Todd and team. Just I'd love your perspective of where we are in the renewable diesel cycle? In your comments, you indicated we kind of troughed in June or May and, June was sequentially better. Has that improvement sustained into Q3? And how do you see us moving from here as we look out and try to figure out the path to mid-cycle profitability of this business?

是的，托德和團隊早安。我想聽聽您對我們在再生柴油循環中所處位置的看法？在您的評論中，您表示我們在 6 月或 5 月陷入了低谷，並且 6 月的情況逐漸好轉。這種改善是否持續到第三季？當我們展望並試圖找出該業務的中期盈利之路時，您如何看待我們的下一步？

As we look out and tried to figure out the path to mid-cycle profitability at this business and Alberto.

當我們觀察並試圖找出該業務和阿爾貝托實現中期盈利的途徑時。

Hey Neil, Bruce. So, I think that's a two-parter. The timing part is uncertain but near-term, right? So, we've got real changes year-end. We've got a whole bunch of response in the market. Todd went through 10 points on either the supply or the demand side where people are reacting to the current environment. How material and how fast those reactions are is the answer to the next six months.

嘿尼爾，布魯斯。所以，我認為這是一個兩個部分。時間部分是不確定的，但是近期的，對嗎？所以，我們在年底發生了真正的改變。我們在市場上得到了很多回應。托德從供給或需求方面分析了人們對當前環境的反應的 10 個要點。這些反應的實質程度和速度是未來六個月的答案。

But if I pop-up above the color -- let's be clear. The push for renewables, the statutory push under the law, is, by and large, supporting a domestic pharma industry and the mispositioning has damaged that. It's going to be corrected.

但如果我彈出顏色上方——讓我們說清楚。對再生能源的推動，即法律下的法定推動，總體上是支持國內製藥業的，但錯誤的定位損害了這一點。它將被糾正。

The market participants will correct it through their actions. And we see a lot of push, bipartisan push on the Hill to correct it there. So, it's difficult to anticipate what form that takes, when, but we feel like it's all quite near-term.

市場參與者將透過自己的行動予以修正。我們看到國會兩黨都在大力推動糾正這個問題。因此，很難預測它會採取什麼形式、何時發生，但我們覺得這一切都是近期發生的。

When the large quantity of biodiesel imports drives up at year end, that's going to be a step change. You've got people switching from renewables back to crude, which is kind of stunning. You've got a bunch of renewable diesel being diverted over to SAF with projects that are in the hands of very credible operators.

當年底生物柴油進口量大量增加時，這將是一個階梯變化。人們從再生能源轉向原油，這有點令人震驚。大量再生柴油被轉移到 SAF，專案由非常可靠的營運商負責。

And so we're counting on those projects in our balance at Diamond Green and P66. All of that is clustered around year end. So, short-term volatility and uncertainty and then a much more appropriate market structure.

因此，我們指望 Diamond Green 和 P66 的平衡項目。所有這些都集中在年底前後。因此，短期波動和不確定性以及更合適的市場結構。

Yeah. And Neil, I'll just pile on a bit. I think it's interesting to watch how the market is reacting to the current environment. And I think in a normal time without so many of the potential catalysts that Bruce mentioned looming in the near future, you'd have seen a lot faster shutdown. We've talked before about how the current RVO supports roughly 4.5 billion gallons of biomass-based diesel.

是的。尼爾，我就多說一點。我認為觀察市場對當前環境的反應很有趣。我認為，在正常情況下，如果沒有布魯斯提到的在不久的將來出現的那麼多潛在催化劑，你會看到更快的關閉速度。我們之前討論過目前的 RVO 如何支援約 45 億加侖的生物質柴油。

And I think a big part of the reason that you haven't seen as much capacity shut down as you normally might expect is the general optimism around not only the quantum of catalysts that exists out there, but just the magnitude of them, particularly with the RVO rebalance in front of us, the PTC coming in at the end of the year. So, I just had that comment.

我認為，你沒有看到像你通常預期的那樣多的產能關閉的一個重要原因是，人們普遍樂觀，不僅是對現有催化劑的數量，而且是對它們的規模，特別是在RVO 重新平衡就在我們面前，PTC 將在今年年底推出。所以，我剛剛發表了這樣的評論。

And then Todd and Bruce, the $1.20 you saw in June, do you have a mark-to-market on where the industry indicator is right now?

Todd 和 Bruce，你們在 6 月看到的 1.20 美元，你們對行業指標現在的位置有按市值計價嗎？

It's range bound. We've seen it, that's a high spot recently. We've seen it sitting more like $0.95 to $1.10, while all of this clearing activity sets up to rebalance.

它是有範圍限制的。我們已經看到了，這是最近的一個高點。我們看到它的價格更像是 0.95 美元到 1.10 美元，而所有這些清算活動都是為了重新平衡。

Great. And then that's the follow-up, that gives us a good sense of where margins are and hopefully troughing. Talk about the cost side of the equation. You've talked about trying to drive this to $0.70 or below to sustain that positive EBITDA in the tougher condition. So, what are the steps that you're taking beyond just volume improvement? And what's the progress that you're seeing?

偉大的。這就是後續行動，這讓我們很好地了解了利潤率的情況，並有望觸及谷底。談談等式的成本方面。您曾談到嘗試將其推至 0.70 美元或更低，以在更困難的情況下維持正的 EBITDA。那麼，除了提高銷售額之外，您還採取了哪些措施？您看到的進展是什麼？

Sure, I'll start that. It's Bruce again. One of the fascinating parts about entering into a new margin add activity in the field is the learning curve that the team can run up. There is a ton of discrete activity, discrete project activity. These are all small and tactical. They lead to, for example, higher utilization, higher stream factor. They lead to driving out particular incremental costs.

當然，我會開始的。又是布魯斯。進入該領域新的利潤增加活動的令人著迷的部分之一是團隊可以運行的學習曲線。有大量離散的活動、離散的專案活動。這些都是小而戰術性的。例如，它們可以帶來更高的利用率、更高的流係數。它們可以消除特定的增量成本。

One of the largest ones that I'll point to is we, by design, are temporarily clearing some of our produced renewable water offsite. If that sounds funny, I'm going to say it again. The feedstock has so much oxygen which we turn into water in our hydro trading that we have a renewable water yield, and that's got to go somewhere.

我要指出的最大的問題之一是，根據設計，我們暫時將一些生產的可再生水異地清理。如果這聽起來很有趣，我會再說一次。原料中含有大量氧氣，我們在水力交易中將其轉化為水，從而獲得可再生水產量，而這些氧氣必須流向某個地方。

Since it's an industrial product, it's subject to a lot of regulation. The long-term game there is to have a local water treatment facility, but that's actually linked to our MaxSAF expansion. So, we're waiting to get that design in. And while we're waiting, we've got fairly expensive logistics cost outbound. So, that's a longer term, but a more impactive example.

由於它是工業產品，因此受到許多監管。那裡的長期目標是建立一個當地的水處理設施，但這實際上與我們的 MaxSAF 擴建有關。因此，我們正在等待該設計的實施。所以，這是一個更長的期限，但也是一個更有影響力的例子。

Here's a tactical one, just to give you a little more color. We have a pre-treater that can take any feedstock from anywhere in the world, and it's got a lot of flexibility and it's got a lot of redundancy. But due to a tactical design mistake by the EPC contractor, we had to shut it down once a week to switch an exchanger bank, which is crazy.

這是一個戰術性的，只是為了給你更多的色彩。我們有一個預處理器，可以從世界任何地方獲得任何原料，它具有很大的靈活性，並且有很多冗餘。但由於 EPC 承包商的戰術設計錯誤，我們不得不每週關閉一次以切換交換器銀行，這太瘋狂了。

And that cost us all of $500,000 to fix once we figured it out. That added seven utilization points to the pre-treater throughput. That's a large, longer range and a small tactical in-hand accomplishment. The team has got 78 elements on their worksheet in various stages of completion. So, we're pretty optimistic that we're going to drive those costs back down to the range Todd gave you by later this year.

一旦我們弄清楚了這個問題，我們就花了 50 萬美元來解決這個問題。這使得預處理器的吞吐量增加了七個利用率點。這是一個大的、更遠的射程和一個小的戰術成就。該團隊的工作表上有 78 個處於不同完成階段的元素。因此，我們非常樂觀地認為，我們將在今年稍後將這些成本降低到托德給您的範圍。

That's great color. Thank you so much Bruce.

那顏色真棒。非常感謝布魯斯。

Amit Dayal, H.C. Wainwright.

阿米特·達亞爾 (Amit Dayal)，H.C.溫賴特。

Hey, good morning guys. Thank you for taking the question. So, with respect to the Specialty Products and preferred -- sorry, Performance Brands, you have previously mentioned that you've not been able to focus resources on this as much given the RD and SAF expansion going on. How is that going to change going forward where you can extract sort of better margins and growth from these segments?

嘿，早上好，夥計們。感謝您提出問題。因此，關於特種產品和首選產品——抱歉，性能品牌，您之前曾提到，鑑於 RD 和 SAF 的擴張正在進行，您無法將資源集中在這方面。未來這種情況將如何改變，您可以從這些細分市場中獲得更好的利潤和成長？

Hey Amit, it's Todd. Let me kind of replay, restate your question and see if we got it. You were breaking up a tad bit coming in. I think you're asking, hey, as we now exit the kind of the Montana Renewables construction period and commissioning period and transition into more just normal way of business, how are we going to start featuring the Specialty business more?

嘿阿米特，我是托德。讓我重播一下，重申你的問題，看看我們是否明白了。你進來的時候有點崩潰。業務？

And I just want to be real clear that the Specialties business has always been a critical focus of ours. It's been improved dramatically over the last five years. And maybe in a second, Scott can give a little more color on that. But when you look at the increase of material margin, the progress that we're making on reliability and throughput, it's pretty substantial really.

我只是想明確表示，特種業務一直是我們的重點。在過去的五年裡，它得到了顯著的改善。也許稍後，斯科特可以對此提供更多的資訊。但當你看到材料利潤的增加、我們在可靠性和吞吐量方面的進步時，你會發現這確實是相當可觀的。

Now, we haven't talked about it as much over the last couple of years as we'd probably like, simply because just the magnitude of Montana Renewables during a pretty critical time with construction, commissioning, et cetera, was just such a big deal. But the Specialty business is a core business, always has been, always will be. And it's something that we've done a heck of a lot to improve over the last few years. So, I don't know. Scott, what would you add?

現在，在過去的幾年裡，我們並沒有像我們希望的那樣談論它，只是因為蒙大拿州可再生能源公司在建設、調試等非常關鍵的時期的規模是如此之大交易。但特種業務是一項核心業務，過去如此，未來也永遠如此。在過去的幾年裡，我們做了許多改進。所以，我不知道。史考特，你會補充什麼？

Yes, I would just add on, we've made tremendous improvement in the Specialties business starting with the Specialty Products & Solutions segment. As Todd alluded to, we've had five years in a row of growth and we've done that through really all business cycles.

是的，我想補充一點，從特種產品和解決方案部門開始，我們在特種業務方面取得了巨大的進步。正如托德所提到的，我們已經連續五年實現了成長，而且我們在所有商業週期中都做到了這一點。

We then made the decision at the start of 2023 to incorporate the Performance Brands segment into a more broader-based specialties approach as we think commercial excellence, where we can further integrate to unlock value, et cetera.

然後，我們在 2023 年初做出決定，將績效品牌細分市場納入更廣泛的專業方法中，因為我們認為商業卓越，我們可以進一步整合以釋放價值等。

So, it's been extremely successful, and we're looking forward to the future as we continue to work on our balance sheet and invest in the Specialties business organically and inorganically.

因此，它非常成功，我們對未來充滿期待，因為我們將繼續致力於我們的資產負債表並有機和無機地投資特種業務。

And I'll add one more thing, Amit. We have kind of a centralized group of folks in operations excellence and in commercial excellence. And as we stood up Montana Renewables, obviously, that's been a major, major drain on just shared resources.

我還要補充一件事，阿米特。我們有一個集中的團隊，致力於卓越營運和卓越商業。當我們建立蒙大拿州再生能源公司時，顯然，這對共享資源造成了巨大的消耗。

So, when you look at a lot of the finance resources in Indianapolis, they're focused on analyzing Montana Renewables and the spend over the last couple of years and learning a new space. Same thing for our operations excellence folks, who've been out on site helping this new business get stood up and making sure we, as an organization, really understand the nuances and the differences.

因此，當你查看印第安納波利斯的大量財務資源時，他們專注於分析蒙大拿州再生能源和過去幾年的支出並學習新的空間。對於我們的卓越營運人員也是如此，他們一直在現場幫助這項新業務站穩腳跟，並確保我們作為一個組織真正了解細微差別和差異。

So, I do think that now that Montana Renewables is fully up and running, standing alone, doing quite well, we will see the benefit. We're going to be transitioning some of those shared resources back towards Shreveport to help us accelerate some of the reliability initiatives that we talked about on the call today and have over the couple of years. So, I'll just add that.

所以，我確實認為，現在蒙大拿州再生能源公司已經完全啟動並運行，獨立運作，做得很好，我們將看到好處。我們將把其中一些共享資源轉移回什里夫波特，以幫助我們加快我們在今天的電話會議上討論的以及過去幾年的一些可靠性計劃。所以，我就補充一下。

Well, appreciate that color guys. With Montana Renewables now sort of running in a more stable fashion, how should we think about the monetization? That was in play earlier, sort of came off the table a little bit. Timeline for something like that? Or any new plans around the monetization effort? Any color on that would be helpful.

好吧，欣賞那個顏色的傢伙。隨著蒙大拿州再生能源公司現在以更穩定的方式運行，我們應該如何考慮貨幣化？這是早些時候發生的事情，有點脫離了桌面。類似事情的時間表？或者圍繞貨幣化工作有什麼新計畫嗎？任何顏色都會有幫助。

Hey Amit, it's Bruce. Our strategic positioning intention remains the same. We think that the business is very attractive. We think that the expansion project and particularly the pivot to MaxSAF is compelling, and we would like to find a strategic partner of some sort that would enable that journey, add additional value.

嘿阿米特，我是布魯斯。我們的戰略定位意圖沒有改變。我們認為這項業務非常有吸引力。我們認為擴張項目，特別是轉向 MaxSAF 是引人注目的，我們希望找到某種策略合作夥伴來實現這一旅程，增加額外價值。

And that is a three-directional strategy. So, prong number one is cleaning up the balance sheet. We've been talking to the DOE about that. And prong number two and three are two sides of the coin. We can either bring on an operating strategic, and that could be vertical or horizontal integration, or we can IPO the equity. So, those choices remain available to us.

這是一個三向戰略。因此，第一要務是清理資產負債表。我們一直在與能源部討論此事。第二和第三爪是硬幣的兩面。我們可以實施營運策略，這可以是縱向或橫向整合，或者我們可以進行股權首次公開募股。因此，我們仍然可以選擇這些選擇。

We're not seeking a particular outcome on a particular time frame as much as we're seeking the right complementary arrangement, a partner who's aligned with us, who thinks strategically about the world the way we do to add some kind of value and who offers a fair proposition for a combination. Those are always ongoing.

我們不是在特定的時間框架內尋求特定的結果，而是尋求正確的互補安排，一個與我們結盟的合作夥伴，他像我們一樣對世界進行戰略性思考，以增加某種價值，並且誰是我們的合作夥伴。這些總是持續進行的。

If I put on my corporate development hat for a second, we get inbounds around this business all the time. We entertain the ones that are appropriate to be entertained. And we will, post cleaning up of the capital structure, have a pretty compelling platform.

如果我暫時戴上我的企業發展帽子，我們總是會在這項業務上遇到障礙。我們招待那些適合招待的人。在清理資本結構後，我們將擁有一個非常引人注目的平台。

Thank you, Bruce. Always a good color from you. Appreciate it guys. That's all I have.

謝謝你，布魯斯。永遠是你的好顏色。很欣賞你們。這就是我所擁有的一切。

Thanks Amit.

謝謝阿米特。

Gregg Brody, Bank of America.

格雷格·布羅迪，美國銀行。

Good morning guys and thanks for the update on everything. Just wanted to follow-up on -- you made some comments about specialty being down for July or being at reduced operating rates. Can you just clarify if potential volume impacts there are expected to be material this quarter?

早上好，夥計們，感謝您更新一切。只是想跟進——您對 7 月份特種業務下降或開工率下降發表了一些評論。您能否澄清一下本季的潛在數量影響是否會產生重大影響？

And then this quarter was above the mid-cycle margin. I'm just curious what your expectations are given the volatility in crude? How we should think about that for the third quarter and potentially after?

然後本季的利潤率高於週期中期。我只是好奇考慮到原油的波動，您的預期是什麼？我們應該如何考慮第三季以及之後的情況？

Yeah, thanks. Hey Gregg, it's Todd. I'll start, and let's see if Scott piles on. I think David's comments on kind of the July downtime, we were down for a couple of weeks, lost about 500,000 barrels or so, with the remnants of Beryl kind of knocked out local power supply. So, I think that's probably what you're referencing during the call.

是的，謝謝。嘿格雷格，我是托德。我先開始，看看史考特是否能繼續說下去。我認為 David 對 7 月停機的評論，我們停機了幾週，損失了大約 50 萬桶左右，Beryl 的殘餘物破壞了當地的電力供應。所以，我認為這可能是您在通話期間所引用的內容。

Back up and running now, like David said. It was a great quarter in the second quarter not to have any sort of reliability, downtime, anything like that. We continued to rebuild the infrastructure and tried to add redundancy where we can. And we continue to see the need to do that particularly around the intersections with third-party utilities. So, that's something that's kind of in the line of sight going forward.

現在就備份並運行，就像大衛說的那樣。第二季度是一個很棒的季度，沒有任何可靠性、停機時間等類似情況。我們繼續重建基礎設施，並盡量增加冗餘。我們仍然認為有必要這樣做，特別是在與第三方公用事業的交叉點周圍。所以，這就是我們未來的視線中的事情。

But I think on the Specialty side, mid-cycle probably is about right. When you look at our Specialty margins, you see that where we're at right now is well above historic levels, not quite as high as the last couple of years. And I think we've been pretty clear with that. But Scott and the team have really done a nice job of increasing what the returns that we would expect in, what we'll call, kind of a mid-cycle environment.

但我認為在專業方面，中期可能是正確的。當您查看我們的專業利潤率時，您會發現我們現在的水平遠高於歷史水平，但不像過去幾年那麼高。我認為我們已經非常清楚這一點了。但斯科特和他的團隊在提高我們所期望的回報方面確實做得很好，我們稱之為中期環境。

So, Scott, over to you.

那麼，史考特，交給你了。

Yeah, I'll just throw out there, Gregg, it feels about like we're in mid-cycle. I think more of the headwind we're seeing is probably a little bit more on the supply side overall across our portfolio, more so than the demand.

是的，我就扔在那裡，格雷格，感覺就像我們正處於週期中期。我認為我們看到的更多阻力可能更多來自於我們整個投資組合的供應方面，而不是需求方面。

The demand has maybe been a touch choppy, but all in all, pretty resilient. We've worked hard to grow our Specialty customer portfolio, if you will, on our brands. So, yes, we feel we're about mid-cycle. And that's sort of how we're thinking about Q3 and going forward.

需求可能有點波動，但總而言之，相當有彈性。如果你願意的話，我們一直在努力擴大我們品牌的專業客戶群。所以，是的，我們覺得我們正處於週期中期。這就是我們對第三季和未來的思考。

Great. And you made some comments on the call that I'm going to say that I'm going to say them back to you and ask you what else you could say, because I think you said there were some limitations what you could say right now. So, you said you look forward to the DOE loan in advance nature of the process. And you also mentioned you would potentially use this to refinance expensive level debt.

偉大的。你在電話中發表了一些評論，我會說我會把這些評論回覆給你，並問你還能說什麼，因為我認為你說過你現在可以說的有一些限制。所以，你說你期待能源部提前貸款的過程。您還提到您可能會用它來為昂貴的債務再融資。

I'm curious what you can say about that? And just one other comment. You said you planned on shedding light on your commitment to reduce debt in the not-so-distant future. What else could you tell us about that as well to help us understand how you're thinking about reducing your debt?

我很好奇你對此有何評論？還有另一條評論。您說您計劃在不久的將來闡明減少債務的承諾。您還能告訴我們什麼，幫助我們了解您如何考慮減少債務？

Yes. No, good question. Got to be careful about getting too deep into the details of the DOE loan as, obviously, we're just at a sensitive phase there and don't want to cross any boundaries. But I think Bruce said in a prior question, and I'll just reiterate, the purpose of the loan is to launch MaxSAF and to clean up the balance sheet.

是的。不，好問題。必須小心不要過於深入地了解能源部貸款的細節，因為顯然我們正處於敏感階段，不想跨越任何界限。但我認為 Bruce 在之前的問題中說過，貸款的目的是啟動 MaxSAF 並清理資產負債表，我只是重申。

So, right now, when you look at Montana Renewables' balance sheet, it has all sorts of expensive project financing from various providers, Calumet is certainly one of those providers. Calumet certainly expects to get repaid on that in the near future.

因此，現在，當你查看蒙大拿州再生能源公司的資產負債表時，你會發現它擁有來自不同提供者的各種昂貴的專案融資，Calumet 無疑是其中之一。卡魯梅特當然希望在不久的將來能得到回報。

But now is not the time to get too far into that. And exactly what that means for the broader plan. We want to see this process play out. And what I can tell you is we have an executable plan that provides both short-term deleveraging at Calumet and removes the 2025.

但現在還不是深入探討這個問題的時候。這對於更廣泛的計劃到底意味著什麼。我們希望看到這個過程順利進行。我可以告訴你的是，我們有一個可執行的計劃，既提供 Calumet 的短期去槓桿化，又取消 2025 年的去槓桿化。

So, there's some moving pieces in there. So, we want to be careful not to get too far out over our skis. But when we talked about shedding more light on that in the near future, we do expect it will be the near future that we'll be able to talk about that plan more publicly. But I just want to make sure that you understand that there is one and that we're excited about it, and it continues to progress well.

所以，裡面有一些移動的部分。因此，我們要小心，不要超出滑雪板太遠。但當我們談到在不久的將來進一步闡明這一點時，我們確實預計在不久的將來我們將能夠更公開地談論該計劃。但我只是想確保您了解這一點，並且我們對此感到興奮，並且它繼續取得良好進展。

And I'm curious if you can define near future in terms of a timeline?

我很好奇你是否可以用時間線來定義不久的將來？

Hey Gregg, it's Bruce. Just to continue and then pivot from the last point. We are, if this is helpful, talking about the MRL balance sheet as a stand-alone entity because that's a separately incorporated joint venture.

嘿格雷格，我是布魯斯。只是繼續，然後從最後一點開始。如果這有幫助的話，我們將 MRL 資產負債表作為一個獨立的實體進行討論，因為它是一家單獨成立的合資企業。

And then we're talking about the parent balance sheet. Obviously, one is partially consolidating up at our 86% share. So, if we keep those separately in mind, the DOE activity is all around MRL.

然後我們談談母公司的資產負債表。顯然，我們的 86% 份額正在部分鞏固。因此，如果我們分別考慮這些因素，能源部的活動都是圍繞著最大殘留限量進行的。

And in terms of the timing, that is the Department of Energy's remit. We have an agreement with them that if we make any remarks, we're going to let them see those remarks in advance. So, I'm just going to leave it at that.

就時間安排而言，這是能源部的職權範圍。我們和他們有一個協議，如果我們發表任何言論，我們會讓他們提前看到這些言論。所以，我就這樣吧。

I'll leave it there. And then I'll just transition to, as you know, my favorite topic. Congrats on the RINs ruling. I know that was great news. I'm just curious what you can talk about for next steps there.

我會把它留在那裡。然後我將轉向，如你所知，我最喜歡的話題。恭喜 RIN 做出裁決。我知道這是個好消息。我只是好奇你接下來可以談什麼。

And then maybe just if you incorporate into that whether the court's decision to overturn the Chevron doctrine has any impact on small refinery exemptions, sort of EPA's ability to make decisions? Just any thoughts you can help us with that thing through there?

然後，如果您考慮法院推翻雪佛龍原則的決定是否會對小型煉油廠豁免產生任何影響，那麼環保署的決策能力會如何？您有什麼想法可以幫助我們解決這件事嗎？

Yeah, let me take the second part. And David may have some thoughts around the implications for accounting. And then the third piece was what are the implications for our business operation, I think, if I heard the question.

是的，讓我來看第二部。大衛可能對會計的影響有一些想法。第三部分是，我想，如果我聽到這個問題，會對我們的業務運作產生什麼影響。

So, in backwards order, we don't think Chevron has got anything to do with this territory. The small refinery exemption is in the law in the Clean Air Act. That was never a feature of the law that was subject to agency interpretation. It was crystal clear how it worked. It worked very well year-over-year for quite a long time, and it broke down more recently. But the courts have said, it was working fine. Go back to that. That's what remand means.

因此，按照倒序排列，我們認為雪佛龍與這片領土沒有任何關係。小型煉油廠豁免包含在《清潔空氣法》中。這從來都不是法律中需要機構解釋的一個特徵。它是如何運作的一目了然。在相當長的時間內，它每年都運作得很好，但最近卻出現了故障。但法院表示，它運作良好。回到那個。這就是還押的意思。

So, the Fifth Circuit in the case of our Shreveport asset and the DC Circuit in the case of most of the rest of the industry cases, which were all consolidated in there, have said to the EPA, go back and do it over, and get it right. So, we'll see how that plays out and what form it takes. With respect to the implications for our business, we pretty conservatively charge ourselves in the current period income statement as if we were incurring these expenses. So, that's a conservative position.

因此，第五巡迴法院（就我們的什里夫波特資產而言）和華盛頓特區巡迴法院（就大多數其他行業案件而言）（這些案件都在那裡合併）已經對環保局說，回去重做一遍，然後把它做好。那麼，我們將看看它如何發揮作用以及它採取什麼形式。就對我們業務的影響而言，我們在本期損益表中相當保守地記入自己的費用，就好像我們承擔了這些費用一樣。所以，這是一個保守的立場。

But the reality is we've qualified on the merits for the small refinery exemption historically. So, that's something for our new auditor to think about. And I'll just see if David wants to talk about the balance sheet or any of our accounting thinking.

但現實是，我們歷史上已經符合小型煉油廠豁免的資格。所以，這是我們的新審計員需要考慮的事情。我想看看大衛是否想談談資產負債表或我們的會計想法。

No detail to get into. As the cases evolve, we'll evaluate how we account for RINs on the balance sheet and income statement as we go forward. But no current change. And we'll just have to work with our auditors to figure out the best way to reflect our operations and our financial reporting.

沒有詳細介紹。隨著情況的發展，我們將評估如何在資產負債表和損益表中會計 RIN。但目前沒有變化。我們只需與審計師合作找出反映我們營運和財務報告的最佳方式。

The RINs case has been remanded back to the EPA, at least the DC Circuit case. Have you given you any indications what's next from the EPA?

RIN 案件已發回 EPA，至少是 DC 電路案件。您是否向您透露了 EPA 下一步的行動？

That starts the clock. We have not had any kind of a signal from the EPA what they're going to do and the clock is running. So, we'll receive their response shortly or they will have some alternate thinking in mind.

時鐘開始計時。我們還沒有收到環保署的任何訊號，表明他們將做什麼，而且時間已經到了。因此，我們很快就會收到他們的回复，或者他們會有一些替代想法。

We remain interested in a conversation that leads to a reasonable outcome for all the parties. We understand that the national interest is pushing renewables into the pool. We want to be part of that. But the way we really want to be part of that is to get MRL up to speed and contributing.

我們仍然對為各方帶來合理結果的對話感興趣。我們知道國家利益正在將再生能源納入池中。我們希望成為其中的一部分。但我們真正想要參與其中的方式是讓 MRL 加快步伐並做出貢獻。

So, punishing small refineries who can't afford the capital cost to comply was a known problem, and that's why the law says that small refiners can have an exemption. We just need to stop treating the industry like it's some monolithic giant enterprise where everything is the same everywhere you look, because that's not true, and the courts have now said so.

因此，懲罰無力承擔合規資本成本的小型煉油廠是一個眾所周知的問題，這就是為什麼法律規定小型煉油廠可以獲得豁免。我們只需要停止將這個行業視為一個整體的巨型企業，無論你在哪裡看到一切都是一樣的，因為事實並非如此，法院現在也這麼說了。

So I appreciate the time guys. Thank you.

所以我很感激大家花時間。謝謝。

Jason Gabelman, TD. Cohen.

賈森·加貝爾曼，TD。科恩。

Yeah, morning. Thanks for taking my questions. I appreciate the slide you have with the potential inclusion into the several indices that you mentioned, and it seems like that could be a pretty big chunk of volume in your stock.

是的，早上。感謝您回答我的問題。我很欣賞你的幻燈片，它可能包含在你提到的幾個指數中，看起來這可能是你股票交易量的很大一部分。

Do you have any sense of if you would expect to capture all of that? Is there a right way to think about how much of that inclusion you could actually get in relation to the total amount of shares you show on the slide?

您是否知道自己是否希望捕捉到所有這些？是否有正確的方法來考慮您實際上可以獲得多少與幻燈片上顯示的股票總數相關的內容？

Yeah, this is David. Thanks for the question. So, here are some here that are more driven by rules that can be more predicted. And there's others, like the S&P 600, that has got -- goes to a committee once you're eligible. And so listen, I think we don't want to necessarily predict the expected number of shares from demand, but some of the stuff happening in September is probably more easier to expect than some of the stuff that goes to the committee, as I described. And this stuff gets kind of rebalanced over time.

是的，這是大衛。謝謝你的提問。因此，這裡有一些更多的是由更容易預測的規則所驅動的。還有其他一些公司，例如標準普爾 600 指數，一旦你符合資格，就會進入委員會。所以聽著，我認為我們不一定要根據需求來預測預期的股票數量，但正如我所描述的，九月發生的一些事情可能比提交給委員會的一些事情更容易預期。隨著時間的推移，這些東西會得到重新平衡。

But this is only part really of the incremental demand. Even more, I think, could come over time from institutional investors that haven't historically been in the stock. And so when you look at our register, there's a whole bunch of capital out there that's not invested in the business today that wants to be a part of kind of our two advantaged businesses and the upside from MRL.

但這只是增量需求的一部分。我認為，隨著時間的推移，歷史上從未參與過該股的機構投資者可能會帶來更多資金。因此，當您查看我們的登記冊時，會發現有一大堆資本沒有投資於今天的業務，而是希望成為我們兩項優勢業務和 MRL 優勢的一部分。

And so while we're excited about some of this anticipated demand from the index inclusion, we think there's probably even more to come over time from institutional investors and transitioning the register to -- what you'd see from more of our traditional C-Corp peers.

因此，雖然我們對指數納入帶來的一些預期需求感到興奮，但我們認為，隨著時間的推移，機構投資者可能會帶來更多需求，並將登記冊轉變為——你會從我們更多的傳統C 中看到的－公司同業。

Yeah, hey Jason, it's Todd. I'll add a bit. I think we've said historically that peers of ours typically have about 20% of their float kind of held by passive indices, and Calumet was basically zero and continues to be. But obviously, now that can change with the conversion behind us. So, I kind of just highlight, the numbers on the slide, to David's point, aren't meant to be a guarantee or a specific, hey, on this date, we will get exactly this many shares. It's directional.

是的，嘿傑森，我是托德。我補充一點。我認為我們歷史上曾說過，我們的同行通常有大約 20% 的流通量由被動指數持有，而 Calumet 基本上為零，並且仍然如此。但顯然，現在這種情況可能會隨著我們身後的轉換而改變。所以，我只是強調，幻燈片上的數字，就大衛的觀點而言，並不意味著保證或具體，嘿，在這個日期，我們將獲得這麼多股票。是有方向性的。

But when you add them up and then you kind of overlay it out with about 20% of our 80 million or so shares outstanding, you kind of get in a general ballpark. I think what's going to be interesting is just the rate of climb.

但當你把它們加起來，然後用我們 8000 萬股左右的流通股中的 20% 來疊加時，你就得到了一個大致的情況。我認為有趣的是爬升率。

We have a couple of re-balancings coming here in September. We're excited about that. We're excited to, one, see the impact to the volume, but also just learn a little bit more about how these processes work. And we're doing that every day. So, I think what we're going to see is kind of just a continued steady growth of passive ownership over the next year.

九月我們將進行幾次重新平衡。我們對此感到興奮。我們很高興看到，第一，看到對數量的影響，但也只是了解更多有關這些流程如何運作的資訊。我們每天都在這樣做。因此，我認為明年我們將看到被動所有權的持續穩定成長。

Thanks for that color. My follow-up is just on the MaxSAF project. And you still sound pretty confident about the DOE loan, which I appreciate. The project seems like it's quite compelling. And given the amount of time that it's taking to get the loan, I wonder if you've contemplated an option B to fund the project?

謝謝那個顏色。我的後續行動只是關於 MaxSAF 計畫。聽起來你對能源部的貸款仍然很有信心，我對此表示讚賞。這個項目看起來相當引人注目。考慮到獲得貸款所需的時間，我想知道您是否考慮過選擇 B 來為該專案提供資金？

Yes, hey Jason, it's Todd, I'll kick off. We don't plan on spending money, meaningful money on -- to progress MaxSAF until we get the DOE loan. Balance sheet simply won't allow for it. We would love to, don't get me wrong. A phenomenal project.

是的，嘿傑森，我是托德，我要開始了。在獲得能源部貸款之前，我們不打算花錢，有意義的錢來推進 MaxSAF。資產負債表根本不允許這樣做。我們很樂意，請不要誤會我的意思。一個非凡的項目。

When we see kind of the equity options open back up, that could be an option in the future, obviously. Bruce talked about partnerships earlier. And obviously, that would go into our thinking. But right now, that's kind of just out there. We're really focused on the primary path, which is kind of finishing up with DOE and starting on MaxSAF, down the way, we've been public about.

當我們看到某種股票選擇權重新開放時，顯然這可能是未來的選擇。布魯斯早些時候談到了合作夥伴關係。顯然，這將進入我們的思考。但現在，這種情況就在那裡。我們真正關注的是主要路徑，即以能源部結束並從 MaxSAF 開始，一路走來，我們已經公開了這一點。

But I do want to be clear that we're not spending meaningful amounts of money to progress MaxSAF. We're committed to delevering the business. That's our first priority. And quite frankly, the MaxSAF project gives us really a lot of ability to expedite that deleveraging or increase that deleveraging in the midterm. Montana Renewables is a lot more valuable and a lot more exciting to any partner with MaxSAF funded and progressing than it is standalone. And it's quite interesting on a standalone basis.

但我確實想澄清的是，我們並沒有花費大量資金來推進 MaxSAF。我們致力於業務去槓桿化。這是我們的首要任務。坦白說，MaxSAF 計畫確實給了我們很大的能力來加速去槓桿化或在中期加強去槓桿化。對於任何獲得 MaxSAF 資助並取得進展的合作夥伴來說，蒙大拿州再生能源公司比獨立專案更有價值、更令人興奮。單獨來看它非常有趣。

So, we think it kind of all goes together. We did a DOE. We started the project. That increases the value of the entity. We continued to talk about partnership. When the right time comes along, we do that. And that completes the ultimate deleveraging of Calumet, which we still expect to be around $800 million of debt at the parent.

所以，我們認為這一切都是相輔相成的。我們做了一個 DOE。我們開始了這個計畫。這增加了實體的價值。我們繼續談論合作夥伴關係。當合適的時機到來時，我們就會這樣做。這樣就完成了 Calumet 的最終去槓桿化，我們仍然預期母公司的債務約為 8 億美元。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to John Kompa for any closing.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉交給約翰康帕 (John Kompa) 負責結束。

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

偉大的。謝謝艾倫。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對公司的持續關注。週末愉快。再次非常感謝。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。