Commercial Metals Co (CMC) 2015 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello and welcome everyone to today's Commercial Metals Company second-quarter FY15 earnings call. Today's call is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎大家參加今天的商業金屬公司 2015 財年第二季財報電話會議。今天的通話正在錄音。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

I would like to remind all participants that during the course of this conference call the Company will make statements that provide information other than historical information and will include expectations regarding economic conditions, future legislations, the Company's future operations, the Company's future results of operations, and capital spending. These statements are considered forward-looking and may involve speculation, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from these expectations.

我想提醒所有與會者，在本次電話會議期間，公司將發表聲明，提供歷史信息以外的信息，並將包括對經濟狀況、未來立法、公司未來運營、公司未來運營業績的預期，和資本支出。這些陳述被認為是前瞻性的，可能涉及猜測，並受到風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與這些預期有重大差異。

These statements reflect the Company's beliefs based on current conditions but are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including those that are described in the Risk Factors section of the Company's latest 10-K. Although these statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions, CMC offers no assurance that events or facts will happen as expected. All statements are made only as of this date. Except as required by law, CMC does not assume any obligation to update these statements in connection with future events, new information, or otherwise.

這些陳述反映了公司基於當前情況的信念，但受到某些風險和不確定性的影響，包括公司最新 10-K 的風險因素部分中描述的風險和不確定性。儘管這些陳述是基於管理層當前的預期和假設，但 CMC 不保證事件或事實將按預期發生。所有聲明僅截至當日作出。除法律要求外，CMC 不承擔因未來事件、新資訊或其他原因更新這些聲明的任何義務。

Some numbers presented will be non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations can be found in the Company's earnings release or on the Company's website.

所提供的一些數據將是非公認會計準則財務指標，並且可以在公司的收益報告或公司網站上找到調節表。

And now, for opening remarks and introductions, I would turn the call over to the Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Metals Company, Mr. Joe Alvarado. Mr. Alvarado, please go ahead.

現在，我將向商業金屬公司董事會主席、總裁兼執行長 Joe Alvarado 先生致開幕詞和介紹。阿爾瓦拉多先生，請繼續。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us to review CMC's results for the second quarter of FY15. I will begin with highlights from the second quarter. Barbara will then provide further financial details. And I will conclude our prepared remarks with comments on our outlook for the third quarter of FY15, after which we will open the call to questions.

大家，早安。感謝您與我們一起回顧 CMC 2015 財年第二季的業績。我將從第二季的亮點開始。芭芭拉隨後將提供進一步的財務細節。我將透過對 2015 財年第三季前景的評論來結束我們準備好的發言，之後我們將開始提問。

As described in our earnings release this morning, we reported net sales of $1.4 billion for the second quarter of FY15 compared to $1.6 billion for the second quarter of FY14. Earnings from continuing operations for our second quarter of FY15 were $61.7 million or $0.52 per diluted share, an increase of $0.41 per diluted share when compared to the same quarter in the prior fiscal year.

正如我們今天早上發布的財報中所述，我們報告 2015 財年第二季的淨銷售額為 14 億美元，而 2014 財年第二季的淨銷售額為 16 億美元。2015 財年第二季的持續經營收益為 6,170 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.52 美元，與上一財年同季相比，稀釋後每股收益增加 0.41 美元。

Also noted in our earnings release this morning, the Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.12 per share for stockholders of record on April 9, 2015. The dividend will be paid on April 23, 2015.

今天早上的收益報告中還提到，董事會宣佈於 2015 年 4 月 9 日向登記在冊的股東派發每股 0.12 美元的股息。股利將於2015年4月23日支付。

I will now review current trends and conditions in the markets in which we operate. Historically, our fiscal second quarter is slower as holidays and winter weather limit construction activity in the United States, Poland and Northern Europe. As indicated in our last earnings call we took advantage of the seasonal slowdown to conduct routine maintenance and equipment enhancements during our fiscal second quarter in preparation for stronger market activity in our fiscal second half.

我現在將回顧我們經營所在市場的當前趨勢和狀況。從歷史上看，由於假期和冬季天氣限制了美國、波蘭和北歐的建築活動，我們第二財季的成長速度較慢。正如我們在上次財報電話會議中所指出的，我們利用季節性經濟放緩的機會，在第二財季進行了日常維護和設備增強，為下半年更強勁的市場活動做好了準備。

We remain optimistic as the US economy continued its steady growth cycle through our fiscal second quarter, as job growth extended its upward trend with an increase of approximately 860,000 jobs during our fiscal second quarter. In addition, many of the key economic indicators important to our business continued to show improvement over the year.

我們保持樂觀，因為美國經濟在第二財季繼續保持穩定成長週期，就業成長延續了上升趨勢，在第二財季增加了約 86 萬個就業機會。此外，許多對我們業務重要的關鍵經濟指標在這一年中繼續呈現改善。

Construction starts were up year-over-year, which was led by non-building construction starts improving approximately 96% year over year. Furthermore, non-residential construction starts improved by approximately 58% year over year.

建築開工量較去年同期成長，其中非建築建築開工量較去年同期成長約 96%。此外，非住宅建築開工量較去年同期成長約 58%。

For our fiscal second quarter, average monthly ferrous scrap prices, as reported by the AMM, declined approximately 25% compared to the same period in FY14. However, finished steel pricing did not experience the same declines, which resulted in expanded average metal margins for our Americas Mills segment for our fiscal second quarter when compared to the same period of our prior fiscal year.

根據 AMM 的報告，我們第二財季的黑色金屬廢鋼平均月價與 2014 財年同期相比下降了約 25%。然而，成品鋼材價格並未出現同樣的下降，這導致我們第二財季美洲鋼廠部門的平均金屬利潤率與上一財年同期相比有所擴大。

The strong US dollar makes the US market an attractive outlet for foreign produced steel. Imports of reinforcing bar from Turkey increased approximately 77% during our fiscal second quarter compared to the same period of the prior year. These imports are particularly acute in the Gulf states and at the Port of Houston.

美元走強使美國市場成為外國鋼鐵生產的一個有吸引力的出口市場。我們第二財季從土耳其進口的鋼筋與去年同期相比增加了約 77%。這些進口在海灣國家和休士頓港尤其嚴重。

The backlog for our Americas Fabrication segment remained strong at February 28, 2015, with a modest increase of approximately 23,000 tons year over year, which is consistent with improving non-residential construction spending. For an update on the highway transportation bill we are optimistic that lawyers will pass a long-term bill to fund the highway trust fund.

截至 2015 年 2 月 28 日，美洲製造部門的積壓訂單仍然強勁，同比小幅增長約 23,000 噸，這與非住宅建築支出的改善一致。對於高速公路運輸法案的最新情況，我們樂觀地認為律師將透過長期法案為高速公路信託基金提供資金。

Temporary funding measures are set to expire in May 2015. A long-term bill would positively affect steel consumption as well as improve the aging and deteriorating transportation infrastructure in the United States.

臨時資助措施將於 2015 年 5 月到期。長期法案將對鋼鐵消費產生積極影響，並改善美國老化和惡化的交通基礎設施。

Continuing with comments regarding our international markets, overall the Polish economy continued to strengthen during our FY15 second quarter. In particular, the manufacturing sector saw strong growth in February.

繼續評論我們的國際市場，總體而言，波蘭經濟在 2015 財年第二季繼續走強。尤其是2月份製造業成長強勁。

The backlog for our Polish operations is healthy as of the end of February with an improvement of approximately 16,000 tons over the prior-year end of February period. Similar to the US, the strong Polish economy has attracted imports from neighboring countries which negatively impacted margins for our International Mill operations.

截至 2 月底，我們波蘭業務的積壓狀況良好，比去年 2 月底增加了約 16,000 噸。與美國類似，強勁的波蘭經濟吸引了來自鄰國的進口，這對我們國際工廠業務的利潤率產生了負面影響。

Currently, energy markets have been adjusting to depressed oil prices by dramatically lowering rig counts. We expect this to have some effect on our International Marketing and Distribution segment which trades a variety of products used for energy applications. We anticipate lower volumes for these products as well as margin pressure.

目前，能源市場一直在透過大幅減少鑽機數量來適應低迷的油價。我們預計這將對我們的國際行銷和分銷部門產生一些影響，該部門交易用於能源應用的各種產品。我們預期這些產品的銷售量將會下降，利潤率也會面臨壓力。

As previously reported, our Australian steel distribution business is currently held for sale. During our fiscal second quarter we continued to seek a buyer for this business and we hope to provide a more fulsome update in the second half of FY15.

正如先前報導的，我們的澳洲鋼鐵分銷業務目前正在出售。在第二財季，我們繼續為這項業務尋找買家，我們希望在 2015 財年下半年提供更全面的更新。

With that overview I will now turn the discussion over to Barbara Smith, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Barbara?

有了上述概述，我現在將討論轉交給高級副總裁兼財務長芭芭拉史密斯 (Barbara Smith)。芭芭拉？

Thank you, Joe. And good morning, everyone. As Joe mentioned, for the second quarter of FY15, we reported earnings from continuing operations of $61.7 million or $0.52 per diluted share, which compares to earnings from continuing operations of $13.3 million or $0.11 per diluted share for the second quarter of the prior year. Results from continuing operations for this year's second quarter included after-tax LIFO income of $47.1 million or $0.40 per diluted share.

謝謝你，喬。大家早安。正如Joe 所提到的，2015 財年第二季度，我們報告的持續經營收益為6,170 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益0.52 美元，而去年第二季度持續營運收益為1,330 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益0.11 美元。今年第二季的持續經營業績包括稅後 LIFO 收入 4,710 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.40 美元。

The increased LIFO income is largely due to the dramatic decline in scrap pricing. This compares with after-tax LIFO expense from continuing operations of $12.3 million or $0.10 per diluted share for last year's second quarter.

後進先出收入的增加主要是由於廢鋼價格的大幅下降。相比之下，去年第二季持續營運產生的稅後後進先出費用為 1,230 萬美元，即稀釋後每股 0.10 美元。

Turning to our results by segment, our Americas Recycling segment recorded adjusted operating loss of $172,000 for the second quarter of FY15, compared to adjusted operating loss of $863,000 for the second quarter of FY14. During the second quarter of FY15, average ferrous selling prices declined by $90 per short ton, while average non-ferrous selling prices declined by $458 per short ton.

轉向我們按部門劃分的業績，我們的美洲回收部門 2015 財年第二季調整後營運虧損為 172,000 美元，而 2014 財年第二季調整後營運虧損為 863,000 美元。2015 財年第二季度，黑色金屬平均售價下降了每短噸 90 美元，有色金屬平均售價下降了每短噸 458 美元。

These reductions compressed average ferrous and non-ferrous metal margins by 20% and 2%, respectively, compared to the same period in the prior fiscal year. Partially offsetting the margin compression were a $1.7 million gain on sale of assets and a $7.7 million favorable change in pretax LIFO during the second quarter of FY15 when compared to the same period in FY14.

與上一財年同期相比，這些削減使黑色金屬和有色金屬的平均利潤率分別壓縮了 20% 和 2%。與 2014 財年同期相比，2015 財年第二季資產出售收益為 170 萬美元，稅前後進先出法帶來 770 萬美元的有利變化，部分抵銷了利潤率壓縮的影響。

Our Americas Mills segment recorded adjusted operating profit of $98.5 million for the second quarter of FY15 compared to adjusted operating profit of $44.1 million for the same period in the prior fiscal year. As Joe previously discussed, scrap pricing fell at a greater rate than transactional pricing out of our mills, which led to a 17% increase in average metal margins compared to the same period in the prior fiscal year.

我們的美洲工廠部門 2015 財年第二季調整後營業利潤為 9,850 萬美元，而上一財年同期調整後營業利潤為 4,410 萬美元。正如 Joe 先前所討論的，廢鋼價格的下跌幅度高於我們鋼廠的交易價格，這導致平均金屬利潤率與上一財年同期相比增加了 17%。

Furthermore, in the second quarter of FY15, this segment benefited from a 3% shift in product mix from lower-margin billets to higher-margin finished products, including rebar and merchants compared to the second quarter of the prior fiscal year. A $50.7 million favorable change in pretax LIFO also contributed to the improvement in adjusted operating profit compared to the second quarter of FY14.

此外，與上一財年第二季度相比，2015 財年第二季度，該部門受益於產品組合從利潤率較低的方坯轉向利潤率較高的成品（包括螺紋鋼和商品鋼）的3% 轉變。與 2014 財年第二季相比，稅前 LIFO 的 5,070 萬美元有利變化也有助於調整後營業利潤的改善。

Our Americas Fabrication segment recorded adjusted operating profit of $11.8 million for the second quarter of FY15 compared to adjusted operating loss of $5.3 million for the second quarter of FY14. The favorable results were primarily due to expanded average rebar metal margins of 5%, as our average rebar selling prices grew at a faster rate than input pricing from this segment compared to the same period in the prior fiscal year. Additionally, for the second quarter of FY15 the segment recorded a favorable change in pretax LIFO of $22.1 million compared to the same period in FY14.

我們的美洲製造部門 2015 財年第二季調整後營業利潤為 1,180 萬美元，而 2014 財年第二季調整後營業虧損為 530 萬美元。良好的業績主要是由於平均螺紋鋼金屬利潤率擴大了 5%，因為與上一財年同期相比，我們的平均螺紋鋼銷售價格增長速度快於該部門的投入價格增長速度。此外，2015 財年第二季度，與 2014 財年同期相比，該部門的稅前 LIFO 出現了 2,210 萬美元的有利變化。

Our International Mills segment recorded adjusted operating profit of $819,000 for the second quarter of FY15 compared to adjusted operating profit of $8.3 million for the same period in the prior fiscal year. The decrease in adjusted operating profit for the second quarter of FY15 was due to a 19% decrease in average metal margins on flat volumes compared to the same period in the prior fiscal year.

我們的國際磨坊部門 2015 財年第二季調整後營業利潤為 819,000 美元，而上一財年同期調整後營業利潤為 830 萬美元。2015 財年第二季調整後營業利潤下降的原因是，與上一財年同期相比，銷量持平的平均金屬利潤率下降了 19%。

The metal margin compression for the three months ended February 28, 2015 was the result of continued pressure on the top line as a result of elevated imports into Poland. The average selling price for the segment declined $147 per short ton, while the average cost for ferrous scrap consumed fell only $99 per short ton compared to the same period of FY14.

截至 2015 年 2 月 28 日止三個月的金屬利潤率壓縮是由於波蘭進口量增加給營收帶來持續壓力的結果。與 2014 財年同期相比，該部門的平均售價每短噸下降了 147 美元，而消耗的黑色廢鋼的平均成本僅每短噸下降了 99 美元。

Our International Marketing and Distribution segment recorded adjusted operating profit of $15.7 million for the second quarter of FY15 compared to adjusted operating profit of $4.5 million for the same period in the prior fiscal year. The improvement in adjusted operating profit for the second quarter of FY15 was attributed to an increase in volumes which more than offset average margin compression. In addition, the segment reported a favorable change in pretax LIFO of $11.1 million compared to the same period in FY14.

我們的國際行銷和分銷部門 2015 財年第二季調整後營業利潤為 1,570 萬美元，而上一財年同期調整後營業利潤為 450 萬美元。2015 財年第二季調整後營業利潤的改善歸因於銷售量的成長，遠遠抵銷了平均利潤率的壓縮。此外，與 2014 財年同期相比，該部門的稅前 LIFO 發生了 1,110 萬美元的有利變化。

Turning to our balance sheet and liquidity, as of February 28, 2015, cash and short-term investments totaled $313 million and total liquidity remained at nearly $1 billion. We continue to maintain sufficient unused credit lines.

談到我們的資產負債表和流動性，截至2015年2月28日，現金和短期投資總額為3.13億美元，流動性總額維持在近10億美元。我們持續保持充足的未使用信貸額度。

During the second quarter of FY15 we actively participated in our share repurchase program that was approved in October 2014 by purchasing approximately 2.2 million share of our common stock for $30.2 million. Today total purchases are approximately $39.6 million.

在 2015 財年第二季度，我們積極參與了 2014 年 10 月批准的股票回購計劃，以 3,020 萬美元購買了約 220 萬股普通股。目前總採購額約 3,960 萬美元。

Capital expenditures were $27 million for the second quarter of FY15 compared to $22.1 million in the prior-year second quarter. We estimate that our capital spending for FY15 will be in the range of $150 million.

2015 財年第二季的資本支出為 2,700 萬美元，而去年同期第二季的資本支出為 2,210 萬美元。我們預計 2015 財年的資本支出將在 1.5 億美元左右。

Thank you very much. I'll now turn it back over to Joe for the outlook.

非常感謝。我現在將其轉回給喬以了解前景。

Thank you, Barbara. Our third fiscal quarter is at the start of the spring construction season, and we are carrying healthy backlogs entering the second half of our fiscal year. With adjustments in scrap and steel pricing, we expect margins to improve for our Americas Fabrication segment during the second half of our FY14.

謝謝你，芭芭拉。我們的第三財季正值春季施工季節開始，進入財年下半年我們的積壓情況良好。隨著廢鋼和鋼材價格的調整，我們預計 2014 財年下半年美洲製造部門的利潤率將會有所改善。

We believe that elevated levels of imports in the US supported by a strong dollar and excess global supply will remain our top challenges. In addition, depressed energy markets have resulted in lower demand for certain raw materials and fuel-related products in our International Marketing and Distribution segment. In Poland demand in [buttons] remains quite good, but competitive pressures, mainly imports, will continue to constrain margins in the near term.

我們認為，美元強勢和全球供應過剩支撐下的美國進口水準上升仍將是我們面臨的首要挑戰。此外，能源市場低迷導致我們的國際行銷和分銷部門對某些原材料和燃料相關產品的需求下降。波蘭對[紐扣]的需求仍然相當不錯，但競爭壓力（主要是進口）將在短期內繼續限制利潤率。

Thank you for your attention. At this time we will now open the call to questions.

感謝您的關注。現在我們將開始提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Our first question comes from Luke Folta of Jefferies.

我們的第一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Luke Folta。

Good morning, Joe, Barbara. My first question, when you look at pretty much every business -- well, most of the businesses -- this quarter, it seemed to be characterized by, just given the big fall-off in pricing that we've seen, by margin pressure on a FIFO basis, largely I think associated with just a flow through of pricing and inventory effects, offset in part by -- or more than offset by -- a big amount of LIFO income associated with those moves. As we move into the May quarter, should we be thinking about this as perhaps meaningfully improved FIFO margin performance but perhaps lesser LIFO income? Is that how you generally expect the shape of recycling, Americas Mills, and Fabrication to act?

早安，喬，芭芭拉。我的第一個問題，當你觀察本季幾乎所有業務——嗯，大多數業務——時，它的特點似乎是，考慮到我們所看到的定價大幅下滑，利潤​​率壓力在先進先出的基礎上，我認為很大程度上與定價和庫存效應的流動有關，部分抵消——或者超過抵消——與這些變動相關的大量後進先出收入。當我們進入五月季度時，我們是否應該將其視為可能有意義地改善先進先出利潤表現，但也許會減少後進先出收入？您通常期望回收、美洲工廠和製造業的表現是這樣的嗎？

Certainly, Luke, I think the Recycling segment should improve because they're going to cycle through the higher-cost inventory. And the Mills, it's tough to say at this point because the pricing action for April and beyond has not taken place yet. But if margins hold in the range that they're at right now, given we're moving into the stronger part of the year, we should see improvement there.

當然，盧克，我認為回收部門應該會有所改善，因為他們將循環利用成本較高的庫存。至於米爾斯，目前還很難說，因為四月及以後的定價行動尚未採取。但如果利潤率保持在目前的範圍內，考慮到我們即將進入今年的強勁時期，我們應該會看到那裡的改善。

And then Fabs should benefit from raw material pricing that's been coming down for the last period of time. Between the seasonal improvements, we do expect to see better results across most of the segments, with the exception to M&D.

然後晶圓廠應該會從過去一段時間下降的原料價格中受益。在季節性改進之間，我們確實希望在大多數細分市場中看到更好的結果，但 M&D 除外。

And LIFO is going to continue if scrap prices stay at the level that we're at today. And all indications are that scrap is going to stay in this range.

如果廢鋼價格維持在今天的水平，後進先出法將繼續下去。所有跡像都表明廢鋼將保持在這個範圍內。

Okay. And then, more structurally, since we've had this big reset in pricing on both scrap and steel, curious to understand how that impacts the businesses going forward. In Fab, the situation has been that the pricing that some of your competitors were buying on an import basis was less than what your internal transfer pricing would be, which had given them a bit of an advantage and had constrained margins in your fab business. I would think now with prices having come down quite a bit, we're not quite at parity with import but that spread has come down quite a bit. So I would think that from a competitive perspective and from a profitability perspective Fabrication should be much better positioned structurally going forward.

好的。然後，從更結構性的角度來看，由於我們對廢鋼和鋼材的定價進行了大幅調整，我們很想了解這將如何影響未來的業務。在晶圓廠，情況是，您的一些競爭對手在進口基礎上購買的定價低於您的內部轉讓定價，這給了他們一些優勢，並限制了您晶圓廠業務的利潤率。我認為現在價格已經下降了很多，我們與進口的價格還不太平，但價差已經下降了很多。因此，我認為從競爭的角度和獲利的角度來看，製造在未來的結構上應該處於更好的位置。

That's right, Luke. If you think about it in the context of the timing of when contracts are set versus when shipments are realized, and the raw material supply for the fabrication and the declining rebar environment, with fixed prices on the fab, there should be better margins. There is the offset of future business that is somewhat determined by the pricing that goes on in this quarter and reflects some of the pressure that's being realized in the Fab business by imported rebar from Turkey in particular.

沒錯，路克。如果你考慮到合約簽訂的時間與出貨的時間、製造的原料供應和不斷下降的螺紋鋼環境，以及工廠固定的價格，應該會有更好的利潤。未來業務的抵消在一定程度上是由本季度的定價決定的，反映了工廠業務所面臨的一些壓力，特別是來自土耳其的進口螺紋鋼。

Okay. But those prices are a bit better now than they had been, I would think, right? So there's some amount of pressure?

好的。但我認為現在的價格比以前好一點，對嗎？那麼有一定的壓力嗎？

The spreads or the fab spreads?

價差還是晶圓廠價差？

I would think that domestic pricing is a bit lower relative to imports than it had been, say, over the last couple quarters.

我認為國內定價相對於進口定價略低於過去幾季的水準。

Yes, that's fair.

是的，這很公平。

Okay. And then just same question on Recycling. Scrap prices have moved lower. And if we assume the same, it's a structural move, and things persist at this level, not expecting anything magnificent out of Recycling but do you think that -- have feedstock prices fallen to a similar amount to where you think you can at least hover around the breakeven point for the foreseeable future in Recycling?

好的。然後是關於回收的同樣問題。廢鋼價格有所走低。如果我們假設相同，那麼這是一個結構性舉措，而且情況會持續在這個水平，不會指望回收會帶來任何宏偉的結果，但你認為原料價格是否已跌至你認為至少可以徘徊的水平在可預見的未來，回收業是否能達到收支平衡？

Projecting what's going to happen in the recycling business is always iffy, Luke. As Barbara said we expect things to be where they are. We're working on the cost side because activity levels are less. Flows have been impacted, positively and negatively, depending on what day in the week you talk to people in the recycling business.

盧克，預測回收業將會發生什麼總是不確定的。正如芭芭拉所說，我們希望事情能保持原樣。我們正在考慮成本方面的工作，因為活動水平較低。流量受到了積極和消極的影響，這取決於您在一周中的哪一天與回收行業的人員交談。

I think there's an adjustment to whatever the new normal might be. And after a precipitous decline, there's some resistance on both the supply side as well as some trepidation on holding inventory and taking positions.

我認為無論新常態是什麼，都會有所調整。而在經歷了大幅下跌之後，供給端都出現了一定的阻力，庫存和建倉也出現了一些忐忑。

Our posture is to turn the inventory and not to speculate, to go with the market. But when the market falls as quickly as it has there's always some residual impact. And so, with some stabilization as well as some improvement in our costs, I would expect that we'll continue to work towards breakeven or positive results, which that's always our objective, is to be in the black.

我們的姿態是去庫存，不炒，隨市場走。但當市場下跌得如此之快時，總是會有一些殘餘影響。因此，隨著我們的成本有所穩定和改善，我預計我們將繼續努力實現損益平衡或正面的結果，這始終是我們的目標，即實現盈利。

Our next question comes from Brian Yu of Citi.

我們的下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Brian Yu。

Great. Thanks Barbara, Joe, and congrats on a good quarter. First off, I was looking at your inventories and it looked like it had grown a bit even though your shipments are down. And I was wondering if this might somehow be related just to the drop in volumes and sharp downturn in scrap, and maybe some of the mills or yards were caught holding a bit more inventory than what they wanted. And should we expect that to get worked down as the year progresses?

偉大的。謝謝芭芭拉、喬，並恭喜季度業績良好。首先，我查看了你們的庫存，儘管你們的出貨量下降了，但庫存似乎有所增長。我想知道這是否可能與產量下降和廢鋼急劇下降有關，也許一些工廠或船廠的庫存比他們想要的多一些。隨著時間的推移，我們是否應該期望這種情況會得到緩解？

Brian, the inventory build was spread across the various businesses. And we always build a little bit on the millage outside in preparation for the busy construction season.

布萊恩，庫存建設分佈在各個業務部門。我們總是在外面建造一點里程，為繁忙的施工季節做準備。

There were some shipments impacted this past quarter by weather. We had even some pretty difficult weather in the Dallas area and we were hit hard out in the East. And, so, some fab shipments were delayed due to weather, and those will clear through in the next quarter. So, that resulted in a little bit higher inventory.

上個季度的一些發貨受到天氣的影響。我們在達拉斯地區甚至遇到了一些相當困難的天氣，而我們在東部地區也受到了嚴重打擊。因此，一些晶圓廠的發貨因天氣原因而延遲，這些將在下個季度完成。因此，這導致庫存略高。

And then the balance related to what Joe talked about in terms of the adjustment in the energy sector where rigs are coming down and shipments are just slowing as the supply chain adjusts. So, we do expect to move through a good portion of that inventory but I would say on the M&D side it's just scheduling out further than we would have originally anticipated.

然後，這種平衡與喬所說的能源產業的調整有關，隨著供應鏈的調整，鑽井平台正在減少，出貨量也正在放緩。因此，我們確實預計會消耗掉大部分庫存，但我想說的是，在 M&D 方面，它只是安排了比我們最初預期的更遠的時間。

Okay. Second question on Poland. You guys mentioned import pressures. I was wondering, would you characterize this import pressure as being just related to the weak demand and how low global utilization rates are or is there something else behind it? It seems like, the last time you had import pressures it was related to some of that circumvention by some of your competitors. Was this essentially a clean, if you will, import pressure or is there something else going on?

好的。關於波蘭的第二個問題。你們提到了進口壓力。我想知道，您是否認為這種進口壓力只是與需求疲軟以及全球利用率有多低有關，還是背後有其他原因？看起來，上次你們面臨進口壓力時，這與你們的一些競爭對手的一些規避行為有關。如果你願意的話，這本質上是一種乾淨的進口壓力還是有其他原因？

Whenever we talk about import pressure, calling it clean is difficult.

每當我們談論進口壓力時，很難說它是乾淨的。

An oxymoron.

一個矛盾的說法。

Yes, because we're always a little bit suspicious of what's going on when imports increase dramatically, particularly in what's already a very competitive market. Some of what we're seeing, Brian, is dislocation, partly as a result of the economy, partly as a result of what's going on in the Ukraine, and partly as a result of some new capacity coming on in Belarus. So all of those factors contribute to operating rates that are higher than they maybe should be in some of the neighboring countries and countries that focus almost exclusively on exports. The Belarus mill is targeting 75% of its product to be exported, and that's pretty substantial in what's already a very competitive market.

是的，因為當進口急劇增加時，我們總是有點懷疑會發生什麼，特別是在競爭已經非常激烈的市場上。布萊恩，我們看到的一些情況是混亂的，部分是由於經濟，部分是由於烏克蘭正在發生的事情，部分是由於白俄羅斯的一些新產能。因此，所有這些因素都導致一些鄰國和幾乎完全專注於出口的國家的開工率高於應有水準。白俄羅斯工廠的目標是 75% 的產品用於出口，這對於競爭已經非常激烈的市場來說是相當可觀的。

Our next question comes from Timna Tanners of Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

我們的下一個問題來自美銀美林的 Timna Tanners。

Hi, good morning, guys. So, wow, it's been a wild ride if you think about the February quarter. You guys had scrap prices fall sharply in February. It went up a little bit before then. And if you look at the licensing data, imports of rebar look like they're set to rise a little bit into the future.

嗨，早上好，夥計們。所以，哇，如果你想想二月這個季度，這真是一次瘋狂的旅程。二月廢鋼價格大幅下跌。在此之前，它上漲了一點。如果你看一下許可數據，螺紋鋼的進口量看起來未來會略有增加。

So, I was just wondering, in light of those phenomenon, but also the clear seasonal recovery that you highlighted, how sustainable is the results that you just gave in terms of margins. And I know that Luke asked this but I wasn't clear on your answer for LIFO versus FIFO margins. How do we think about the sequential move? Do scrap prices now catch up to where -- did scrap drop and steel drop now mimic each other, or how should we think about that going forward?

因此，我只是想知道，鑑於這些現象，以及您強調的明顯的季節性復甦，您剛剛給出的利潤率結果的可持續性如何。我知道盧克問過這個問題，但我不清楚你對 LIFO 與 FIFO 利潤的回答。我們如何看待順序移動？廢鋼價格現在是否趕上了廢鋼價格下跌和鋼鐵價格下跌是否相互模仿的水平，或者我們應該如何看待未來的情況？

Timna, you asked a lot of questions in one.

提姆納，你一次問了很多問題。

Okay, so I'll just ask one and you can answer all of them.

好吧，我只問一個，你可以全部回答。

It was one but you put a lot into it. From the perspective of what we see as being sustainable, clearly there's more volume expected in what's seasonally our strongest period of time, the second half of the year. And comparatively speaking, our backlog today looks a little bit better than it did a year ago.

這是一個，但你投入了很多。從我們認為可持續的角度來看，顯然，在季節性最強的時期（今年下半年）預計會有更多的交易量。相對而言，我們今天的積壓看起來比一年前好一些。

We're not seeing some of the expected decline in demand in construction markets that's been reported widely as a result of decline in energy prices, despite being a Sun Belt oriented Company. There's other activities in the Texas market, in particular, that are helping to sustain construction demand. Having said that we're fairly confident that the volumes will be there and are sustainable through the second half. That's not a guarantee but we feel really good about that.

儘管我們是一家以陽光地帶為導向的公司，但我們並沒有看到建築市場需求出現預期下降的情況，而這種情況已被廣泛報道，這是由於能源價格下跌造成的。尤其是德州市場的其他活動有助於維持建築需求。話雖如此，我們相當有信心銷售量將保持不變並可持續到下半年。這並不能保證，但我們對此感覺非常好。

In terms of margin, the margin will reflect whatever pricing is in the second-half pricing of rebar vis-a-vis the cost of scrap. And our scrap has fallen and we anticipate should stabilize some. I said that we're adjusting to a new reality and so there can be some further adjustments in scrap pricing, which would impact margins. And ultimately the selling price is set by the market.

就利潤率而言，利潤率將反映下半年螺紋鋼定價相對於廢鋼成本的情況。我們的廢品率已經下降，我們預計應該會穩定一些。我說過，我們正在適應新的現實，因此廢鋼定價可能會進一步調整，這將影響利潤率。最終售價由市場決定。

There are import pressures and we respond to those import pressures where we need to. But where it's unacceptable or geographically undesirable or projects that we can't add more value than just price value, then we don't match those prices. We don't look to match them. We think we offer much greater service to our customers in something as basis only price.

存在進口壓力，我們會在需要時應對這些進口壓力。但是，如果這是不可接受的或地理位置上不受歡迎的，或者我們無法增加比價格價值更多的價值，那麼我們就不會匹配這些價格。我們不希望與他們相匹配。我們認為，我們以基本價格為客戶提供更好的服務。

Back to the FIFO/LIFO margins. Maybe you could rephrase that? I'm just trying to understand, make sure we're answering the question properly.

回到 FIFO/LIFO 邊距。也許你可以重新表達一下？我只是想理解，確保我們正確回答問題。

Sure. And as you know, there's a difference, and it can be confusing. But what I'm trying to understand is you said that you had a sharp drop in scrap in the quarter, and the selling price, the finished selling prices, didn't move as quickly. Is that phenomenon sustainable into the second quarter where scrap stays low and selling prices stay high?

當然。如您所知，這是有區別的，而且可能會令人困惑。但我想了解的是，您說本季廢鋼急劇下降，而銷售價格、成品銷售價格的變動卻沒有那麼快。這種現象能否持續到第二季​​度，即廢鋼保持低位且售價維持高位？

Yes, so in general, Timna, we would expect FIFO margins and FIFO income to improve quarter over quarter. I think, as you know, it's a little early. Price action hasn't been taken, certainly for April. And we didn't see margin compression.

是的，所以總的來說，Timna，我們預計 FIFO 利潤率和 FIFO 收入將逐季度改善。我想，正如你所知，現在還為時過早。價格行動尚未採取，尤其是四月。我們沒有看到利潤率壓縮。

Margins were able to expand because scrap fell more than finished goods prices. But Joe explained carefully that we have to respond to the market. And at this point, we would certainly encourage holding on to those metal margins.

由於廢鋼價格的跌幅超過了製成品價格的跌幅，利潤率得以擴大。但喬仔細地解釋說，我們必須對市場做出反應。在這一點上，我們當然會鼓勵保留這些金屬利潤。

But they may adjust a little bit further. It's hard to say. But they're still at very healthy levels. And with increased volume throughout the second half of the year that certainly would support hanging on to the existing metal margins.

但他們可能會進一步調整。很難說。但它們仍處於非常健康的水平。隨著下半年成交量的增加，這肯定會支持維持現有的金屬利潤。

Our next question comes from Evan Kurtz of Morgan Stanley.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的埃文·庫爾茨。

Hi good morning, Joe and Barbara. Maybe just a follow-up on that one, a little bit more. I've actually been pretty surprised that rebar prices have held in so well after the February scrap move. How much rebar in this market have scrap surcharges tied into it? I thought there was a decent percentage where scrap went down one month, and next month the surcharge was lower, unless you did some sort of a base price offset. That didn't seem to happen in March so I was just curious what's going on there.

嗨，早安，喬和芭芭拉。也許只是那個的後續，多一點。實際上，我非常驚訝螺紋鋼價格在二月廢鋼價格變動後一直保持如此良好的狀態。這個市場上有多少螺紋鋼與廢鋼附加費掛鉤？我認為一個月廢品率下降的比例相當大，下個月附加費較低，除非您進行某種基本價格抵銷。三月似乎沒有發生這種情況，所以我只是好奇那裡發生了什麼。

Evan, I'm not sure what you're asking about surcharges.

埃文，我不確定你問的附加費是什麼。

Is there rebar that has surcharge pricing or is that mostly just reserved for beams and that sort of thing?

是否有螺紋鋼有附加費，或者主要是為橫樑之類的東西保留的？

I think the surcharge mechanism has largely fallen away as it relates to rebar pricing. Prices are adjusted based on changes in raw material pricing but it's not necessarily through a surcharge mechanism like you would have seen in the past.

我認為，由於與螺紋鋼定價相關，附加費機制已基本消失。價格根據原物料價格的變化進行調整，但不一定像過去那樣透過附加費機制進行調整。

Okay, great. And then maybe just one more on the OCTG business since you deal with that in your M&D segment. What are you seeing there as far as how much inventory you hold on the OCTG side?

好的，太好了。然後也許只是關於 OCTG 業務的一個，因為您在 M&D 部門處理這項業務。您對 OCTG 方面持有多少庫存有何看法？

And just maybe some commentary on the inventory on supply chain at this point. Obviously demand is down by about 50% but I'm sure everybody's probably trying to destock material. Where do you see that? How far into that destock are we? And when do you think that apparent demand and underlying demand in OCTG could begin to line up again?

也許只是對目前供應鏈庫存的一些評論。顯然需求下降了約 50%，但我確信每個人可能都在嘗試減少材料庫存。你在哪裡看到的？我們距離去庫存還有多遠？您認為油井管的表觀需求和潛在需求何時會再次開始保持一致？

OCTG is one of the many products that we import and is a value-add product. Lead times on product that's imported are naturally long, so when we order material for our second quarter it was as early as our first quarter just given normal delivery.

OCTG是我們進口的眾多產品之一，是一種加值產品。進口產品的交貨時間自然很長，因此當我們為第二季訂購材料時，早在第一季就正常交貨時。

We didn't anticipate in the first quarter the dramatic decline in the rig count. The rig count has fallen exceptionally since just January. It started in December. Some of the early figures is there was a decline of over 30% in about a two-week period from January -- or a four-week period from January to February.

我們沒有預料到第一季鑽機數量會急劇下降。自一月份以來，鑽機數量就出現了異常下降。事情從十二月開始。一些早期數據顯示，從 1 月開始的大約兩週內，或從 1 月到 2 月的四個星期內，下降了 30% 以上。

whenever the rig count drops, everyone gets stuck with inventory. Hence, domestic producers have been cutting back turns and shutting down operations. And there's almost a ton for ton decline in consumption correlated with each of these rigs.

每當鑽機數量下降時，每個人都會陷入庫存困境。因此，國內生產商一直在減少週轉並關閉業務。與這些鑽機相關的消耗量幾乎逐噸下降。

So everyone has inventory that will take a little bit longer to consume. But I will tell you that, you noted that the rig count, while it's declined, production levels have remained high, and that's because some of the more efficient units are the rigs that are running today. I would expect that if we had a normal cycle of three months, or I'll call it 90 to 120 days, on an inventory stock target, that that's probably doubled right now because rigs are running about half of what we anticipated.

所以每個人都有庫存，需要更長的時間來消耗。但我要告訴你的是，你注意到鑽機數量雖然有所下降，但生產水平仍然很高，這是因為一些效率更高的裝置是今天正在運行的鑽機。我預計，如果我們的正常週期為三個月，或者我稱之為 90 到 120 天，那麼庫存目標現在可能會增加一倍，因為鑽機的運行量約為我們預期的一半。

So, we won't get into specific numbers of inventory but thinking it in those terms is probably the same way that everyone is seeing it. It's hard for the consumption not to halve when the consumer is halved in terms of production rates.

因此，我們不會討論特定的庫存數量，但從這些角度思考它可能與每個人的看法相同。當消費者的生產力減半時，消費就很難不減半。

Our next question comes from Michael Gambardella of JPMorgan.

我們的下一個問題來自摩根大通的邁克爾·甘巴德拉（Michael Gambardella）。

Good morning, Joe and Barbara, how are you? Two questions. First one, could you give us a status report on the Arizona micromill, where you are in terms of production profitability? And how does that profitability on a per ton or margin basis compare to some of your other rebar mills?

早安，喬和芭芭拉，你們好嗎？兩個問題。首先，您能給我們一份亞利桑那州微型工廠的現況報告嗎？您的生產獲利能力如何？與您的其他一些螺紋鋼廠相比，每噸或利潤率的盈利能力如何？

The Arizona mill, we've talked about this in the past, Mike, we're really pleased with the progress that we've made in that mill, getting it up and running and increasing the productive capability really through the resources of Commercial Metals Company, the people that make it happen every day. So we're really proud of that. We're well above nameplate capacity and have had to go back for increased permits.

亞利桑那工廠，我們過去討論過這個問題，麥克，我們對該工廠取得的進展感到非常滿意，透過商業金屬的資源，使其啟動並運行並提高了生產能力公司，就是每天讓這一切發生的人。所以我們對此感到非常自豪。我們遠遠超出了銘牌上的容量，因此不得不返回以增加許可證。

We view it as efficient a mill as we have in our system, if not more efficient because of the lack of reheat. Probably the biggest challenges -- we don't necessarily have the cheapest energy prices in Arizona but from our perspective we view that project as being a huge success. We're pleased with the progress that we've made in increasing the productive capability of it. And view ourselves to be a very competitive supplier to our own fab business on the West Coast where construction markets remain strong and where backlogs are also very good.

我們認為它與我們系統中的工廠一樣高效，甚至因為無需再加熱而更有效率。也許是最大的挑戰——我們不一定擁有亞利桑那州最便宜的能源價格，但從我們的角度來看，我們認為該項目取得了巨大的成功。我們對在提高其生產能力方面取得的進展感到高興。我們認為自己是西海岸晶圓廠業務非常有競爭力的供應商，西海岸的建築市場依然強勁，積壓訂單也非常多。

And Mike we don't (inaudible) mill to mill but suffice it to say, consistent with Joe's remarks, that we've seen consistent improved profitability out of the Arizona mill through time since we started up that mill.

麥克，我們不會（聽不清楚）逐個工廠，但足以說，與喬的言論一致，自從我們啟動該工廠以來，我們已經看到亞利桑那工廠的盈利能力持續提高。

And any plans for a second micromill?

還有第二個微型工廠的計畫嗎？

Mike, we look at the market all the time. Constructing a mill and adding capacity is always a difficult decision. There are markets that are underserved, for example on the East Coast. Construction activity has picked up dramatically. We can't ship to the East Coast very effectively, certainly as a fabricator because there's plenty of capacity up there. But that's a market that's picked up noticeably from a construction perspective.

麥克，我們一直在關注市場。建造工廠並增加產能始終是一個艱難的決定。有些市場服務不足，例如東海岸。建築活動急劇增加。我們無法非常有效地運送到東海岸，當然作為製造商，因為那裡有足夠的產能。但從建築角度來看，這個市場正在顯著回升。

The Gulf area and Florida, also very strong,. But we see really significant imports there, so there's a bit of a supply imbalance on what's coming into the Gulf Coast region because of imports. But certainly construction activity is really strong. Any decision on expanding capability has to be concurrent with the market demand for it and the ability to be competitive even against imports.

海灣地區和佛羅裡達州也很強，。但我們看到那裡的進口量確實很大，因此，由於進口，墨西哥灣沿岸地區的供應存在一些不平衡。但可以肯定的是，建築活動確實很強勁。任何關於擴大產能的決定都必須與市場需求以及甚至與進口產品競爭的能力一致。

Our next question comes from Brent Thielman of D.A. Davidson.

我們的下一個問題來自 D.A. 的 Brent Thielman。戴維森。

Yes, good morning. Joe, is there anything we can look toward or forward to in Poland that might help alleviate some of the competitive pressures you're seeing?

是的，早安。喬，我們在波蘭有什麼可以期待或期待的事情可以幫助減輕您所看到的一些競爭壓力嗎？

That's a really good question. We also have the added disadvantage of the Polish zloty having depreciated in relationship to the US dollar. As we look at the Polish market, there are any number of influences. And we work hard with federal authorities on all aspects of our costs.

這是一個非常好的問題。我們還有一個額外的缺點，就是波蘭茲羅提相對於美元貶值。當我們觀察波蘭市場時，會發現有許多影響因素。我們在成本的各個方面與聯邦當局努力合作。

Some of our issues relate to foreign exchange. Some of it relates to competitive pressures. Some of it relates to higher energy costs in Poland. And we try to attack all of those.

我們的一些問題與外匯有關。其中一些與競爭壓力有關。其中一些與波蘭較高的能源成本有關。我們試圖攻擊所有這些。

One of the things that we've embarked upon over the last few years is to improve our cost competitiveness. We've built a new furnace. That furnace is operating as expected, and we're a one-furnace operation in Poland where we used to be two. So, there's manpower as well as huge energy savings associated with that.

過去幾年我們開始做的事情之一就是提高我們的成本競爭力。我們建了一座新熔爐。熔爐正在按預期運行，我們在波蘭只有一台熔爐，而以前我們只有兩台熔爐。因此，不僅可以節省人力，還可以節省大量能源。

We have approved a new caster for Poland and are in the early stages of finishing the configuration design associated with the equipment. That caster won't go in until next year in our fiscal third quarter, so it's a long way off. But those are the things that we do to combat. It's attention to detail and working on continuously reducing costs.

我們已批准為波蘭提供一種新的腳輪，並且正處於完成與設備相關的配置設計的早期階段。該解說員要到明年第三財季才會投入使用，所以還有很長的路要走。但這些正是我們要對抗的。它注重細節並致力於不斷降低成本。

We can't impact the market in term of supply, though we're very active in Poland, as we are in the United States in combating imported products that are either dumped or subsidized. And we suspect that some of that happens from time to time, as was the case with the VAT fraud a year ago.

儘管我們在波蘭非常積極，但我們無法在供應方面影響市場，就像我們在美國打擊傾銷或補貼的進口產品一樣。我們懷疑其中一些情況時有發生，就像一年前的增值稅詐欺案一樣。

And at the same time the Polish situation is also influenced by supply. We have competitors in the Polish market that are a little bit more aggressive because of evolving financial issues. Some stabilization of their financial condition would probably help improve some of the market discipline.

同時波蘭的情況也受到供應的影響。由於不斷變化的財務問題，我們在波蘭市場的競爭對手更加激進。他們的財務狀況的一定程度的穩定可能有助於改善市場紀律。

Okay, thank you. And then the composition of fabrication backlog, are there any regions where you're seeing significant increases or decreases, or is it pretty much steady improvement throughout?

好的謝謝。然後，製造積壓的組成，是否有任何區域出現顯著的增加或減少，或整個過程中是否有穩定的改善？

From a fab perspective we've seen steady markets in Texas for a long time. And our backlog reflects that, and still good strength. And that's not to say that there's a lot of speculative stuff going on. It's really design-and-build sort of projects. So, that hasn't changed.

從晶圓廠的角度來看，我們看到德州的市場長期以來一直保持穩定。我們的積壓訂單反映了這一點，並且仍然具有良好的實力。這並不是說有很多推測性的事情正在發生。這實際上是一種設計和建造的項目。所以，這並沒有改變。

California is another area where I mentioned that we've had a strong market for a long period of time. So, too, with Florida. The Beltway has been good and regions in between.

加州是我提到的另一個地區，我們在很長一段時間內擁有強勁的市場。佛羅裡達州也是如此。環城公路和介於兩者之間的地區都很好。

More recently where we've seen an uptick in demand and activity, and why I mentioned the North East, is New York in particular is just a lot of construction activity, not only for a non-res but also for infrastructure. That's a more difficult market for us to compete in because of freight costs. But we do ship some product there but I think others are enjoying more the benefit of increased demand in the New York market.

最近，我們看到需求和活動增加，為什麼我提到東北部，尤其是紐約，那裡有大量的建築活動，不僅針對非資源，而且針對基礎設施。由於貨運成本的原因，我們在這個市場上競爭更加困難。但我們確實在那裡運送了一些產品，但我認為其他人正在享受紐約市場需求增加的好處。

Our next question comes from Phil Gibbs of KeyBanc Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 KeyBanc Capital Markets 的 Phil Gibbs。

Good morning Joe and Barbara. I had a question on the line down in the Australian distribution assets -- just twofold -- whether those inventories are still on the balance sheet. And to the extent that it can't be sold is there any potential for even a modest writedown on those assets? Just trying to understand the status of where that exists right now.

早安，喬和芭芭拉。我有一個關於澳洲分銷資產的問題——只有兩倍——這些庫存是否仍在資產負債表上。如果無法出售，是否有可能對這些資產進行適度的減記？只是想了解現在存在的狀態。

Yes, thanks, Phil. The sale process is progressing well. Things slowed down in the December/January time frame as you could well appreciate because of holidays and then that's the summer season in Australia, so a lot of holidays. But the process is moving forward.

是的，謝謝，菲爾。銷售過程進展順利。在十二月/一月的時間範圍內，事情變慢了，因為你很可能會因為假期而感到高興，然後那是澳大利亞的夏季，所以有很多假期。但這一進程正在向前推進。

There is interest level. I can't get into specifics at this point in time but we're still anticipating selling as a going concern. At the same time, we have to continuously evaluate the carrying value and just evaluate if we need to make adjustments there. But for now we're optimistic we can recover the book value.

有興趣程度。我目前無法透露具體細節，但我們仍然預計將作為持續經營的企業出售。同時，我們要不斷評估帳面價值，評估是否需要調整。但目前我們對恢復帳面價值持樂觀態度。

Okay, terrific. And then just, broadly speaking, on capital allocation priorities maybe over the next year or two or three, do you have some things in mind from a hierarchy standpoint as to what you want to do? I think you're in good shape from a debt perspective so no real pressing need to delever. Just trying to understand in that hierarchy what you're thinking about.

好吧，太棒了。然後，從廣義上講，關於未來一兩年或三年的資本配置優先事項，您是否從層次結構的角度考慮了您想要做什麼？我認為從債務角度來看，你們的狀況良好，因此沒有真正迫切需要去槓桿化。只是想在這個層次結構中理解你在想什麼。

Okay. Clearly, we've been focused on high return, quick pay back, organic growth opportunities. Mike asked the question about the micromill. It's a great platform. It's something that we've been looking at for a period of time and we will continue to look at things like that.

好的。顯然，我們一直專注於高回報、快速回報、有機成長的機會。麥克問了有關微型磨坊的問題。這是一個很棒的平台。我們已經關注這個問題一段時間了，我們將繼續關注類似的事情。

We have, I'll call it, an interesting and significant list of really good organic growth type projects. And then we've been very active on the share buyback program. We still have nice room to continue to execute on that buyback program. We have consistently held our dividend and I think that remains.

我們有，我稱之為，一個有趣且重要的清單，列出了真正優秀的有機成長類型項目。然後我們一直非常積極地實施股票回購計畫。我們仍然有很大的空間來繼續執行該回購計劃。我們一直持有股息，我認為這仍然存在。

Our capital spending, which is also linked to organic growth, has been going up the last couple of years. And, so, we do think that we have good ability to support higher levels of CapEx. So, those would be the priorities. We always look for interesting acquisitions but they're less plentiful. And be sure that we'll be quite disciplined when it comes to looking at any type of M&A.

我們的資本支出也與有機成長相關，過去幾年一直在成長。因此，我們確實認為我們有能力支持更高水準的資本支出。因此，這些將是優先事項。我們一直在尋找有趣的收購，但數量較少。確保我們在審視任何類型的併購時都會非常自律。

Our next question comes from Andrew Lane of Morningstar.

我們的下一個問題來自晨星公司的安德魯·萊恩。

Hi, good morning. Congratulations on a very solid quarter. I appreciate your commentary about overarching construction-related steel demand. But would you be able to provide some additional texture as to the types of major construction projects that you're seeing in the Sun Belt commercial institutional residential, et cetera?

早安.恭喜本季業績非常穩健。我感謝您對建築相關鋼鐵需求的整體評論。但是，您能否提供一些額外的信息，說明您在陽光地帶商業機構住宅等領域看到的主要建設項目的類型？

I can't give you exact figures on that but it's really a broad base. We use the example of North Texas, in many instances, to illustrate the point that there's office construction, there's mixed use construction. Even just outside my window I can see four or five cranes.

我無法給你確切的數字，但這確實是一個廣泛的基礎。在許多情況下，我們使用北德克薩斯州的例子來說明有辦公大樓、有混合用途建築的觀點。即使就在我的窗外，我也能看到四、五隻起重機。

There's also office complexes. For example, the Cowboys are building a huge office complex, Toyota, State Farm, none of which have anything to do with energy so that makes the construction market in North Texas really pretty vibrant.

還有辦公大樓。例如，牛仔隊正在建造一個巨大的辦公大樓，豐田，州立農場，這些都與能源無關，因此使得北德克薩斯州的建築市場非常活躍。

And while Houston still is very energy dependent, there's a very high usage rate of office space in Houston. And much of what we're seeing in the way of demand and in our backlog reflects the need for expansion of some office space because of those high utilization rates.

儘管休士頓仍然非常依賴能源，但休士頓的辦公空間使用率非常高。我們在需求和積壓訂單中看到的大部分情況都反映了由於高利用率而需要擴大一些辦公空間。

What's changed more than anything else is there is less expectation of any speculative build. And there was some of that that had started up over the last year and a half in Houston. But wherever there's construction like that, that which I had described in North Texas, the example of Toyota, there's 4,000 families are coming in, and schools expand, hospitals expand, infrastructure expands whether it's water treatment plants or other infrastructure. So, it's really a very broad base.

最大的變化是對任何投機性建設的期望降低了。其中一些是過去一年半在休士頓啟動的。但只要有這樣的建設，就像我在北德克薩斯州描述的那樣，以豐田為例，就會有4,000 個家庭進來，學校擴建，醫院擴建，基礎設施擴建，無論是水處理廠還是其他基礎設施。所以，這確實是一個非常廣泛的基礎。

Obviously, none of it starts until unemployment figures go down, and that's been happening over time on a broader base in the country. Secondly is, once those unemployment rates go down, there's more money that's flowing in the economy. And certainly the energy prices, which have declined, are also creating some velocity of money movement that ultimately will benefit the economy.

顯然，直到失業率下降，這一切才開始，而且隨著時間的推移，這種情況在該國更廣泛的基礎上發生。其次，一旦失業率下降，就會有更多的資金流入經濟。當然，能源價格的下降也創造了一定的貨幣流動速度，最終將有利於經濟。

And, lastly, this is all without any significant improvement in infrastructure build. Both sides of the aisle agree that there's a need for infrastructure. They are unanimous and resounding that we're going to do something, but neither side has answered yet how it's going to be funded. The good news is that there is an end date for that. It's May.

最後，這一切都沒有對基礎建設做出任何重大改進。兩黨都同意需要基礎設施。他們一致明確地表示我們將做一些事情，但雙方都沒有回答如何籌集資金。好消息是這有一個結束日期。現在是五月。

So whatever deals have to be made will have to be made in order to extend beyond that. I think we would all be disappointed if there wasn't some measure taken to address the infrastructure because those of us who travel and use bridges and are concerned about the safety of those bridges and highways, all recognize they continue to fall into disrepair. And some of the airports -- as examples, in the New York area as compared to foreign airports pale in comparison and almost look like third-world airports.

因此，無論必須達成什麼協議，都必須達成以超越這一目標。我認為，如果不採取一些措施來解決基礎設施問題，我們都會感到失望，因為我們這些旅行和使用橋樑並擔心這些橋樑和高速公路安全的人都認識到它們仍然年久失修。以紐約地區的一些機場為例，與外國機場相比，相形見絀，幾乎看起來像是第三世界機場。

That's really quite helpful, thanks. And on a related note, quickly, have you seen a noticeable down tick in construction projects in major oil and gas producing regions?

這真的很有幫助，謝謝。與此相關的是，您是否看到主要石油和天然氣產區的建設項目明顯下降？

That would be Houston and that's why I commented specifically on Houston. Certainly the E&P side of the house has taken dramatic and swift action. For example, with rigs being idle not only is OCTG impacted but I'm sure some structural and play impact.

那就是休斯頓，這就是為什麼我專門評論休斯頓。當然，勘探與生產方面已經採取了引人注目且迅速的行動。例如，鑽孔機閒置不僅會影響 OCTG，而且我確信還會對結構和作業產生影響。

The good news is that, as prices adjust and go up as they did today about 6% per barrel, a lot of those rigs can be put into action pretty swiftly. And the crews that are needed to man them are available, whereas in 2004 time period, it took a long time to crew up and to train people because so much of the workforce had moved to other industries and/or moved out of the business.

好消息是，隨著價格調整並像今天一樣上漲每桶約 6%，許多鑽井平台可以很快投入使用。並且配備了所需的人員，而在 2004 年期間，由於大量勞動力已轉移到其他行業和/或離開該行業，因此需要很長時間來配備和培訓人員。

So, while there's always a potential that Houston could get even sicker than what's projected by E&P, so far the signs are positive. And there continues to be significant growth of the population into Texas, because of a friendly working environment and a favorable tax environment. I think the figure is over 1,000 people a week are moving into Texas still, and that doesn't count the births in Texas. So, that portends well for growth and demand in the future above and beyond just the energy sector.

因此，儘管休士頓的病情總有可能比 E&P 預測的更嚴重，但到目前為止，跡像是積極的。由於友善的工作環境和有利的稅收環境，德州的人口持續大幅成長。我認為每週仍有超過 1,000 人搬入德州，這還不包括德州的出生人數。因此，這預示著未來能源產業以外的成長和需求。

Our next question comes from John Tumazos of John Tumazos Independent Research.

我們的下一個問題來自約翰·圖馬佐斯獨立研究中心的約翰·圖馬佐斯。

Thank you for taking my question. Could you give us an update on the scrap market, particularly in the US versus Japan, China, the Black Sea Basin? Are US scrap prices now adjusted to match world levels? Are they higher or lower?

感謝您回答我的問題。您能否向我們介紹廢鋼市場的最新情況，特別是美國與日本、中國、黑海盆地的廢鋼市場狀況？美國廢鋼價格現在是否已調整以符合世界水準？它們是更高還是更低？

And, secondly, is there so much distress in the US scrap business that there's attractive acquisition opportunities? It's a long far cry from when OmniSource and David Joseph and Metal Management and all those companies went for billions and billions.

其次，美國廢鋼產業是否存在如此嚴重的困境，以至於存在有吸引力的收購機會？這與 OmniSource、David Joseph 和 Metal Management 以及所有這些公司斥資數十億美元的時候相比已經相去甚遠。

Let me address the global scrap pricing phenomenon, first. We see the markets as being pretty efficient on a global basis. And sometimes can move somewhat separately or with different timing, John, as you know very well. And there's also strong correlation with iron ore pricing over time that probably still hasn't been fully realized.

首先讓我談談全球廢鋼定價現象。我們認為市場在全球範圍內相當有效。有時可以單獨行動或在不同的時間行動，約翰，正如你所知道的。隨著時間的推移，與鐵礦石定價也存在著強烈的相關性，但這種相關性可能尚未完全實現。

But given efficient markets between the availability of iron ore and alternative methods of manufacturing versus scrap, certainly what's happened is exports have slowed significantly. That's partly due to demand, that's partly due to iron ore, and that's partly due to a strong US dollar. We see efficiency and I think that's why there is such a dramatic decline in scrap prices last month.

但考慮到鐵礦石的供應和替代製造方法與廢鋼之間的有效市場，肯定會發生出口大幅放緩的情況。這部分是由於需求，部分是由於鐵礦石，部分是由於美元走強。我們看到了效率，我認為這就是上個月廢鋼價格大幅下跌的原因。

We see the markets as being very efficient. And I can't say with any absolute certainty that the adjustments have concluded but we see some stabilization in the near term.

我們認為市場非常有效。我不能絕對肯定地說調整已經結束，但我們看到短期內會出現一些穩定。

With regards to the availability of assets, our strategy has been, and I should have said, we don't export -- or we export very little, is maybe a better way, say, of ferrous. Some of the more significant portion of our non-ferrous gets exported. But we don't have the same exposure to export that many of our competitors have.

關於資產的可用性，我們的策略是，我應該說，我們不出口——或者我們出口很少，也許是更好的方式，例如黑色金屬。我們的有色金屬中有很大一部分用於出口。但我們的出口業務與許多競爭對手不同。

But certainly there's a readjustment that's going on. When Barbara talked about M&A, we would always prudently look at M&A opportunities. And our strategy in our scrap collection is not to be a retailer but to reinforce our scrap supply and secure that scrap supply.

但可以肯定的是，調整正在進行中。當芭芭拉談到併購時，我們總是會謹慎地看待併購機會。我們在廢料收集方面的策略不是成為零售商，而是加強我們的廢料供應並確保廢料供應。

We made a decision last year to acquire assets in the San Antonio area where we felt we were vulnerable. That was the Newell acquisition. It helped solidify our position in scrap collection capabilities.

去年，我們決定收購聖安東尼奧地區的資產，我們認為那裡很脆弱。這就是紐厄爾收購案。它有助於鞏固我們在廢料收集能力方面的地位。

Anywhere that there's a weakness we certainly would be interested in that. We would not be interested assets that are far afield from many of our manufacturing capability and would put us only into the retail business.

任何有弱點的地方我們肯定都會感興趣。我們不會對那些遠離我們許多製造能力的資產感興趣，並且只會讓我們進入零售業務。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Our next question comes from Nathan Littlewood of Credit Suisse.

我們的下一個問題來自瑞士信貸銀行的內森·利特伍德。

Good morning, guys. Thank you very much for the opportunity and congrats again. I just had a question about scrap mix. Given the products that you sell in your steel manufacturing business, most of the scrap that you intake is going to be autos. But I'm wondering whether either the recent fall in absolute scrap prices and/or perhaps all of the activity that we're seeing in auto sales at the moment, are either of those factors having much of an impact on the intake volumes into your recycling business? And, if so, are there any read-throughs or implications to the product mix of your Mills business?

早上好傢伙。非常感謝您給我這個機會並再次祝賀。我只是有一個關於廢料混合的問題。鑑於您在鋼鐵製造業務中銷售的產品，您攝入的大部分廢料將是汽車。但我想知道最近絕對廢鋼價格的下降和/或我們目前在汽車銷售中看到的所有活動是否對您的進口量產生很大影響。回收業務？如果是這樣，對您的 Mills 業務的產品組合是否有任何解讀或影響？

Let me take that, Nathan. I thought you were going to ask me if we were going to use DRI or something, but you didn't ask me that because we really don't need it.

讓我接受，內森。我以為你會問我要不要使用 DRI 之類的東西，但你沒有問我，因為我們真的不需要它。

From a qualitative perspective, we have plenty of supply of scrap of what we need and what we're looking for. And that's why I emphasize our desire to be aligned in our scrap collection with our processing capabilities, because for us scrap is very much about a very important and basic cost of our manufacturing. And having the right supply and the right mix of scrap is really important to us.

從定性的角度來看，我們有足夠的廢料供應來滿足我們需要和正在尋找的東西。這就是為什麼我強調我們希望廢料收集與我們的加工能力保持一致，因為對我們來說，廢料是我們製造的一個非常重要和基本的成本。擁有正確的供應和正確的廢料組合對我們來說非常重要。

We have not seen anything dramatic in the way of intake. In fact, I would suggest that in this kind of environment, where prices are down and there's an adjustment going on, flows are more likely to slow rather than accelerate. And as the market settles, wherever it settles, whether it's up or down from where we are today, some normalcy will improve the flow. The increased production in automotive manufacturing could have the residual impact down the road in more cars being scrapped but we haven't seen any significant shift.

我們沒有看到任何引人注目的攝入方式。事實上，我認為在這種價格下跌且正在進行調整的環境下，資金流動更有可能放緩而不是加速。隨著市場穩定下來，無論它在哪裡穩定下來，無論是比今天的水平上漲還是下跌，一些常態都會改善流動。汽車製造業產量的增加可能會對未來更多汽車報廢產生殘餘影響，但我們還沒有看到任何重大變化。

Okay, great. Thanks, Joe. Do I have time for a follow-up?

好的，太好了。謝謝，喬。我有時間跟進嗎？

Yes, you get two.

是的，你得到兩個。

Excellent. The other question is slightly higher level, just thinking about the relationship between ferrous scrap prices and iron ore prices globally. When you look at the supply side of iron ore you've got some big suppliers there who are targeting an oligopoly, you've got a third and fourth quartile that's proving to be very price inelastic. So, it doesn't really look like there's any relief for the iron ore price on the horizon.

出色的。另一個問題是稍微高一點的問題，只需考慮全球黑色廢鋼價格與鐵礦石價格的關係。當你觀察鐵礦石的供應面時，你會發現一些大型供應商的目標是寡占，第三和第四個四分位數被證明價格非常缺乏彈性。因此，鐵礦石價格看起來並沒有任何緩解的跡象。

Meanwhile, on scrap, you've got a much more price elastic supply base. And there's an argument to be made that we could be in for a prolonged decoupling of the relationship between scrap prices and iron ore prices. And if you believe that's true then you might also believe that there is a motivation for world steel production to switch a little bit more towards blast furnaces. Just wondering if you had any thoughts on that subject, if you have any insights. Are you perhaps seeing inquiries for more blast furnace customers than what you normally would on the global scale?

同時，就廢鋼而言，您擁有價格彈性更大的供應基礎。有人認為，廢鋼價格和鐵礦石價格之間的關係可能​​會長期脫鉤。如果您相信這是真的，那麼您可能也會相信世界鋼鐵生產有動力更多地轉向高爐。只是想知道您對這個主題是否有任何想法，是否有任何見解。您是否可能看到比全球範圍內通常更多的高爐客戶的詢問？

Let me rephrase it. I want to be precise. In Europe, with our Polish mill, there is a propensity for the blast furnace base for it to become a little bit more active in some long products where they have capability. We certainly have a competitor in the Czech Republic, not too far away from the Silesian region in Poland where we operate, that operates a blast furnace and makes long products. But margins on the product are not so great that freight can be easily absorbed, so there are offsets to everything here.

讓我重新表達一下。我想要準確一點。在歐洲，透過我們的波蘭工廠，高爐基地傾向於在一些有能力的長材產品方面變得更加活躍。我們在捷克共和國當然有一個競爭對手，距離我們經營所在的波蘭西里西亞地區不太遠，該公司經營高爐並生產長材。但產品的利潤並沒有那麼高，以至於運費很容易被吸收，所以這裡的所有東西都有抵消。

In North America, the more common production of all long products in North America -- and I'm trying to be careful and make sure I don't misstate -- but all long products, for the most part, in North America, if we exclude pipe from long products, is electric furnace based without an option to going blast furnace. And I can't think of any integrated producers with blast furnace capability that are in long products. So, there's some -- I'm not going to use inelasticity but there's an inability to switch, if you will, from one to the other, at least in North America.

在北美，所有長材產品在北美的生產更為普遍——我正在努力小心，確保我沒有誤報——但所有長材產品，在很大程度上，在北美，如果我們從長材產品中排除管道，該產品基於電爐，無法選擇高爐。我想不出有哪家綜合生產商擁有長材產品的高爐生產能力。所以，有一些——我不會利用無彈性，但如果你願意的話，你無法從一種方式轉換到另一種方式，至少在北美是這樣。

And then if one thinks about transportation costs on a global basis of making iron ore-based products and moving that product on global scale, then freight becomes a big factor. That's the whole concept of mini and micro mills are intended to serve close-in regional markets using scrap from within that range. And the further afield we go the more problematic that becomes. And somewhat true to the same degree for any blast furnace-based producer.

然後，如果考慮在全球範圍內生產鐵礦石產品並在全球範圍內運輸該產品的運輸成本，那麼運費就成為一個重要因素。這就是小型和微型工廠的整體概念，旨在使用該範圍內的廢鋼來服務鄰近的區域市場。我們走得越遠，問題就越多。對於任何基於高爐的生產商來說，在某種程度上也是如此。

I hope I answered your question and I'm not trying to mix the response here but it depends by geography. Certainly in Southeast Asia, there's a lot of switch between -- there could be a lot of switch between blast furnace and electric furnace. But in China for sure, the predominant manufacturing methodology is blast furnace. So, it's blast furnace to blast furnace.

我希望我回答了你的問題，我不想在這裡混淆答案，但這取決於地理位置。當然，在東南亞，高爐和電爐之間可能有許多轉換。但在中國，主要的製造方法肯定是高爐。所以，這是一個高爐到高爐的過程。

Our next question comes from Charles Bradford of Bradford Research.

我們的下一個問題來自布拉德福德研究中心的查爾斯·布拉德福德。

Hi, good morning. Question for you from the marketing side. Your marketing or international marketing has always been valuable as a source of information about what's happening around the world. What are they seeing as far as early signs of a recovery, for example, in Europe, maybe Southeast Asia and some of these other places that tend to get important on the margin once business starts to improve?

早安.從行銷方面向您提問。作為了解世界各地正在發生的事情的資訊來源，您的行銷或國際行銷一直很有價值。就復甦的早期跡象而言，他們看到了什麼，例如在歐洲，也許是東南亞以及其他一些地區，一旦業務開始改善，這些地區的利潤往往會變得非常重要？

Chuck, I wish I could tell you that we're seeing things developing that indicate a strong recovery somewhere in the world. What our intelligence tells us is that the US market is still the best market in the world for a host of different reasons, from logistics to financing, supply and availability, and willingness to take on risk. We don't see in our international trading business, particularly on the raw material side, any dramatic shift towards what I would call a significant global recovery.

查克，我希望我能告訴你，我們正在看到一些事情的發展，表明世界某個地方正在強勁復甦。我們的情報告訴我們，美國市場仍然是世界上最好的市場，原因有很多，從物流到融資、供應和可用性，以及承擔風險的意願。在我們的國際貿易業務中，特別是在原材料方面，我們沒有看到任何向我所說的全球重大復甦的重大轉變。

It's a market that's oversupplied in China. The European situation is still oversupplied and some uncertainty. The strength of the US dollar will allow some of the European competitors to be more aggressive as they have been. But in terms of a significant indicator of improved global demand as reflected in our order book on raw materials, we really don't see that.

中國是一個供過於求的市場。歐洲情勢仍是供給過剩，存在一定的不確定性。美元的走強將使一些歐洲競爭對手更加激進。但就我們的原料訂單中反映的全球需求改善的重要指標而言，我們確實沒有看到這一點。

I was just hoping for early signs. It's going to be a long time before we see recovery back to where we were a few years ago.

我只是希望有早期跡象。我們需要很長時間才能看到經濟恢復到幾年前的水平。

I would love to be able to tell you that happy days are on their way again. We focus on the markets where we can be competitive from a manufacturing perspective. And our operations in Poland and North America are as competitive, we believe, as any mills. We want to build on that strength for the long term and not relying on macroeconomic issues that we can't control.

我很想告訴你，幸福的日子又要來了。我們專注於從製造角度來看能夠具有競爭力的市場。我們相信，我們在波蘭和北美的業務與任何工廠一樣具有競爭力。我們希望長期鞏固這一優勢，而不是依賴我們無法控制的宏觀經濟問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Our next question comes from Sal Tharani of Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的薩爾·塔拉尼。

Good morning, Barbara and Joe. How are you? I'm sorry I came in late so I just want to make sure -- hopefully these questions haven't been asked. One thing we are seeing with the stronger dollar is there has been an import of scrap in the US increased. I was just wondering where you are in Texas, does it make sense? Have you participated in that? Or the scrap you use, does it really matter? And, second, has your trading business participated in any of that?

早上好，芭芭拉和喬。你好嗎？很抱歉我來晚了，所以我只是想確定一下——希望這些問題沒有被問到。隨著美元走強，我們看到的一件事是美國廢鋼進口量增加。我只是想知道你在德克薩斯州的哪裡，這有意義嗎？你參與過那件事嗎？或是你使用的廢料，真的很重要嗎？其次，您的貿易業務是否參與其中？

There have been reports of imported scrap, particularly on the East Coast, not so much in the Gulf. There's certainly an abundance of availability in North America of scrap. So, it's going to have to be aggressively priced scrap. And certainly with the strength of the dollar that may be the case. We have not participated in the import of any product either directly into the mills or by our trading group of scrap into North America.

有報告指出進口廢鋼，特別是在東海岸，但在海灣地區並不多。北美確實有大量廢鋼可供利用。因此，廢鋼的定價必須非常激進。當然，隨著美元的走強，情況可能會如此。我們沒有參與直接將任何產品進口到工廠或透過我們的廢料貿易集團進口到北美。

So saying the prices are not still, even with this dollar, good enough to actually import scrap where you are?

那麼，即使是這一美元，價格還沒有穩定下來，足以在你所在的地方實際進口廢鋼嗎？

Not so far.

不太遠。

Okay. The next thing is, you had in the past talked about acquisition appetite and I'm just wondering what are you seeing in that front? Is there something in which geography or which product you think is helpful, or you just think that where you are you're satisfied with your present business?

好的。接下來的事情是，您過去曾談到收購興趣，我只是想知道您在這方面看到了什麼？您認為哪些地理位置或哪些產品有幫助，或者您只是認為您對目前的業務感到滿意？

Yes, Sal, we did get a question on capital allocation earlier. As I described it, we're actively looking at interesting and high-return organic growth opportunities. And that would certainly be number one priority. You're aware of our share repurchase and we have plenty of room to continue to execute on that program. We've also remained committed to our dividend.

是的，薩爾，我們之前確實收到了有關資本分配的問題。正如我所描述的，我們正在積極尋找有趣且高回報的自然成長機會。這肯定是第一要務。您知道我們的股票回購，我們有足夠的空間繼續執行該計劃。我們也持續致力於派發股息。

We do monitor and look at all the assets that are available for acquisition. As you know, that's been a little bit light as of late. Our approach is to just be very patient and disciplined as it relates to acquisitions. But certainly, we study and look at that and if there was something that made good strategic sense and had all of the other elements associated with it, we would look at that.

我們確實監控和查看所有可供收購的資產。如你所知，最近情況有點輕鬆。我們的方法是在收購方面保持非常耐心和紀律。但當然，我們會研究並關注這一點，如果有一些東西具有良好的戰略意義並且具有與之相關的所有其他元素，我們就會關注它。

But for now, we're working on things that are within our control and we do have a good pipeline of organic options. We've done the Newell acquisition, which was very targeted, small, and it was protecting our supply to the Seguin mill. And we'll continue to look at things like that but there's nothing significant on the horizon in that arena.

但目前，我們正在致力於我們控制範圍內的事情，並且我們確實擁有良好的有機選擇管道。我們完成了對紐厄爾的收購，這是非常有針對性的小規模收購，它保護了我們對塞甘工廠的供應。我們將繼續關注類似的事情，但在這個領域沒有什麼重大的事情。

At this time there appears to be no further questions. Mr. Alvarado, I'll now turn the call back over to you.

此時似乎沒有其他問題了。阿爾瓦拉多先生，我現在將電話轉回給您。

Okay. Thank you, everyone, for joining us on today's conference call. We appreciate your interest and your questions. And we look forward to speaking and meeting with many of you during our investor visits in the coming weeks. So, thank you very much. Look forward to talking to you again soon. Thanks, bye-bye.

好的。感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。我們感謝您的興趣和問題。我們期待在未來幾週的投資者訪問期間與你們中的許多人進行交談和會面。所以，非常感謝。期待很快再次與您交談。謝謝，再見。

And this concludes today's Commercial Metals Company conference call. You may now disconnect.

今天的商業金屬公司電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。