Commercial Metals Co (CMC) 2022 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome, everyone, to the Third Quarter Fiscal 2022 Earnings Call for Commercial Metals Company. Today's materials, including the press release and supplemental slides that accompany this call, can be found on CMC's Investor Relations website. Today's call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

大家好，歡迎大家參加商業金屬公司 2022 財年第三季度財報電話會議。今天的材料，包括此次電話會議隨附的新聞稿和補充幻燈片，可在 CMC 的投資者關係網站上找到。今天的電話正在錄音。 （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, effects of legislation, U.S. steel import levels, U.S. construction activity, demand for finished steel products, the expected capabilities and benefits of new facilities, the company's future operations, the time line for execution of the company's growth plan, the company's future results of operations, financial measures and capital spending.

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，提供除歷史信息以外的信息，並將包括對經濟狀況、立法影響、美國鋼鐵進口水平、美國建築活動、需求的預期對於成品鋼，新設施的預期能力和收益，公司未來的運營，公司增長計劃的執行時間表，公司未來的經營業績，財務措施和資本支出。

These and other similar statements are considered forward-looking and may involve certain assumptions and speculation and are subject to risks and uncertainties that would cause actual results to differ materially from these expectations. 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 and Forward-Looking Statements sections of the company's latest filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's latest annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Although these statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs, CMC offers no assurance that these expectations or beliefs will prove to be correct, and actual results may vary materially.

這些和其他類似的陳述被認為是前瞻性的，可能涉及某些假設和推測，並受到可能導致實際結果與這些預期產生重大差異的風險和不確定性的影響。這些陳述反映了公司基於當前狀況的信念，但受到某些風險和不確定性的影響，包括公司向證券交易委員會提交的最新文件的風險因素和前瞻性陳述部分中描述的風險和不確定性，包括公司最新的表格 10-K 的年度報告和隨後的表格 10-Q 的季度報告。儘管這些陳述是基於管理層當前的期望和信念，但 CMC 不保證這些期望或信念將被證明是正確的，並且實際結果可能存在重大差異。

All statements are made only as of this date. Except as required by law, CMC does not assume any obligation to update, amend or clarify these statements in connection with future events, changes in assumptions, the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events new information or circumstances or otherwise.

所有聲明僅在此日期作出。除法律要求外，CMC 不承擔任何義務更新、修改或澄清與未來事件、假設變化、預期或意外事件的發生、新信息或情況或其他相關的這些陳述。

Some numbers presented will be non-GAAP financial measures, and reconciliations for such numbers can be found in the company's earnings release, supplemental slide presentation or on the company's website. Unless stated otherwise, all references made to year or quarter end are references to the company's fiscal year or fiscal quarter.

提供的一些數字將是非 GAAP 財務指標，這些數字的對賬可以在公司的收益發布、補充幻燈片演示或公司網站上找到。除非另有說明，所有提及年末或季度末的內容均指公司的財政年度或財政季度。

And now for opening remarks and introductions, I will turn the call over to the Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Metals Company, Ms. Barbara Smith.

現在開始致辭和介紹，我將把電話轉給 Commercial Metals Company 的董事會主席、總裁兼首席執行官 Barbara Smith 女士。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining CMC's third quarter earnings conference call. Before we begin, I'd like to congratulate CMC's employees on another remarkable quarter of performance. Your dedication, creativity and customer focus are what makes results like this possible. And on behalf of the entire CMC leadership team, we're extremely proud and grateful for all your efforts.

大家早上好，感謝您參加 CMC 的第三季度收益電話會議。在開始之前，我要祝賀 CMC 的員工又取得了非凡的季度業績。您的奉獻精神、創造力和以客戶為中心是使這樣的結果成為可能的原因。並代表整個 CMC 領導團隊，我們對你們的所有努力感到非常自豪和感激。

I'd also like to welcome our approximately 650 new CMC employees at Tensar. You have certainly joined at an exciting time for our company, and I'm confident that your contributions, along with those of your talented colleagues, will make CMC's future even brighter.

我還要歡迎我們在坦薩的大約 650 名 CMC 新員工。您肯定是在一個激動人心的時刻加入我們公司的，我相信您的貢獻以及您才華橫溢的同事的貢獻將使 CMC 的未來更加光明。

I will start today's call with brief highlights from the quarter as well as a discussion of CMC's markets and how we are positioned. I'll also share some early observations following the closing of the Tensar acquisition before turning to commentary on market trends we see developing in Europe.

我將從本季度的簡短亮點開始今天的電話會議，並討論 CMC 的市場以及我們的定位。在對我們看到的歐洲市場發展趨勢發表評論之前，我還將分享一些在坦薩收購完成後的早期觀察。

Paul Lawrence will cover the quarter's financial information in more detail, and I will then conclude our outlook for the fourth fiscal quarter and beyond, after which we will open the call to questions.

Paul Lawrence 將更詳細地介紹該季度的財務信息，然後我將總結我們對第四財季及以後的展望，之後我們將公開提問。

Before starting my prepared remarks, I would like to direct listeners to the supplemental slides that accompany this call. The presentation can be found on CMC's Investor Relations website. For our fiscal third quarter 2022, net earnings were $312.4 million or $2.54 per diluted share on net sales of $2.5 billion. Excluding the impact of nonoperational items that Paul will discuss, adjusted earnings were $320.2 million or $2.61 per diluted share, the best in our company's history.

在開始我準備好的發言之前，我想引導聽眾觀看本次電話會議隨附的補充幻燈片。該演示文稿可在 CMC 的投資者關係網站上找到。對於我們 2022 財年第三季度，淨收入為 3.124 億美元，或每股攤薄收益 2.54 美元，淨銷售額為 25 億美元。排除保羅將討論的非運營項目的影響，調整後的收益為 3.202 億美元或每股攤薄收益 2.61 美元，這是我們公司歷史上最好的。

CMC generated core EBITDA of $483.9 million, an increase of 110% from a year ago, and nearly 50% above the previous record, which was achieved in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. With this quarter's exceptional performance, CMC's 12 month -- trailing 12-month core EBITDA totaled roughly $1.4 billion, and our trailing 12-month return on invested capital was in excess of 24%.

CMC 產生的核心 EBITDA 為 4.839 億美元，比一年前增長 110%，比 2022 財年第一季度創下的先前記錄高出近 50%。憑藉本季度的出色表現，CMC 的 12 個月 - 落後12 個月的核心 EBITDA 總計約 14 億美元，我們過去 12 個月的投資資本回報率超過 24%。

During the last 13 quarters, a time period that includes the global pandemic and widespread supply chain and labor force challenges, CMC has generated annualized return on invested capital well above 10%. Our past and current strategic actions have clearly created consistent and substantial value for our shareholders, and we are poised to continue doing so.

在過去 13 個季度（包括全球大流行以及廣泛的供應鍊和勞動力挑戰在內的時間段內），CMC 的年化投資資本回報率遠高於 10%。我們過去和當前的戰略行動顯然為我們的股東創造了一致且可觀的價值，我們準備繼續這樣做。

I would like to now turn to CMC's market environment with a particular focus on the United States. Looking at our business, we see no signs of a slowdown. Demand in the third quarter was strong across each of our product lines in major geographies. The key indicators that lead rebar consumption by 9 to 12 months remain not only positive but robust. These indicators include both external and internal metrics that have a history of reliability in our indices we often reference in our forward-looking comments.

我現在想談談 CMC 的市場環境，特別關注美國。縱觀我們的業務，我們沒有看到放緩的跡象。第三季度我們在主要地區的每個產品線的需求都很強勁。將螺紋鋼消費量提前 9 至 12 個月的關鍵指標不僅保持積極而且強勁。這些指標包括外部和內部指標，這些指標在我們的指標中具有可靠性歷史，我們經常在前瞻性評論中引用這些指標。

First, I would like to discuss several of the key external indicators we track. The Architectural Billing Index has been in expansionary territory for over a year, signaling future growth in private nonresidential spending. The most recent reading of 56.5 is noteworthy as the ABI has rarely breached the 55 level in the 13 years since the global financial crisis. Additionally, ratings for the Southern and Western regions, 2 geographies where CMC has a core presence are particularly strong.

首先，我想討論我們跟踪的幾個關鍵外部指標。一年多來，建築賬單指數一直處於擴張區域，預示著私人非住宅支出的未來增長。值得注意的是，最近的讀數為 56.5，因為自全球金融危機以來的 13 年中，ABI 很少突破 55 的水平。此外，CMC 擁有核心業務的南部和西部地區 2 個地區的評級尤其強勁。

The Dodge Momentum Index, another measure of nonresidential projects entering the planning phase hit a 14-year high in May. Both the commercial and institutional components of the index increased meaningfully on a year-over-year basis, driven by offices, hotels, education and health care. Offices and hotels are 2 market sectors that may -- that many had assumed would take years to recover if ever, but both are now making a comeback.

進入規劃階段的另一項衡量非住宅項目的道奇動量指數在 5 月創下 14 年新高。在寫字樓、酒店、教育和醫療保健的推動下，該指數的商業和機構成分均同比顯著增加。寫字樓和酒店是兩個可能出現的市場領域——許多人認為如果有的話，這兩個領域可能需要數年時間才能恢復，但現在兩者都在捲土重來。

CMC's own internal view mirrors the picture provided by the external measures. Our downstream bidding activity reached a new record high during the third quarter, driven by a broad basket of project types in both the public and private sectors. So to sum up our near-term view, while we certainly don't discount the economic concerns making headlines, the best indicators of future construction activity continue to point toward expansion ahead.

CMC 自己的內部視圖反映了外部措施提供的情況。在公共和私營部門廣泛的一攬子項目類型的推動下，我們的下游招標活動在第三季度創下歷史新高。因此，總結我們的近期觀點，雖然我們當然不會忽視成為頭條新聞的經濟問題，但未來建築活動的最佳指標繼續指向未來的擴張。

Beyond the near term, we believe there are several structural trends underway that will bolster domestic construction activity. The first is a federal infrastructure package signed in November of last year. At full run rate, this plan is expected to increase federal funding for core rebar consuming projects such as highways, bridges and related structures by 65% compared to the FAST Act that it replaced. We estimate the impact will be 1.5 million tons of incremental annual rebar demand within a domestic market of roughly 9 million tons, representing an approximately 17% increase in consumption.

在短期之外，我們認為有幾個結構性趨勢正在形成，將提振國內建築活動。第一個是去年 11 月簽署的聯邦基礎設施一攬子計劃。與它所取代的 FAST 法案相比，該計劃預計將使高速公路、橋樑和相關結構等核心鋼筋消耗項目的聯邦資金增加 65%。我們估計，在大約 900 萬噸的國內市場中，每年螺紋鋼需求將增加 150 萬噸，相當於消費量增加約 17%。

Spending is expected to ramp up over a period of 5 years and assuming typical time frames for project approvals, bidding and awarding we should begin to see the impact on construction activity in early calendar 2023. This timing matches very well with the anticipated start-up of CMC's Arizona 2 micro mill next year. This plant will have a capacity of roughly 500,000 tons and the ability to flex production between rebar and merchant products.

預計支出將在 5 年內增加，假設項目批准、招標和授予的典型時間框架，我們應該在 2023 年初開始看到對建築活動的影響。這個時間與預期的啟動非常吻合明年 CMC 的 Arizona 2 微型磨機。該工廠將擁有大約 500,000 噸的產能，並能夠在螺紋鋼和商品產品之間靈活生產。

The second structural trend to note is the expected follow-on local infrastructure and nonresidential investment to support the recent rapid growth in newly formed residential communities. This activity generally lags residential spending by 12 to 24 months and includes projects such as roads, wastewater treatment, water supplies, schools and shopping centers.

需要注意的第二個結構性趨勢是預期的後續地方基礎設施和非住宅投資，以支持近期新建住宅社區的快速增長。這項活動通常比住宅支出滯後 12 到 24 個月，包括道路、廢水處理、供水、學校和購物中心等項目。

Over the last 2.5 years, the north to south population migration that is already occurring has significantly accelerated. Of the 5 states that have experienced the greatest net in migration, CMC operates the rebar mill in 4 of them. The fifth state, Georgia, is next door to 2 CMC mills. So the pace of year-over-year growth in new single-family housing starts have slowed, starts in the South are still more than 30% above the level seen in the first halves of 2019 and 2020.

在過去的 2.5 年中，已經發生的南北人口遷移顯著加速。在移民淨額最大的 5 個州中，CMC 在其中 4 個州經營螺紋鋼廠。第五個州喬治亞州毗鄰 2 家 CMC 工廠。因此，新單戶住宅開工的同比增長速度已經放緩，南方的開工仍比 2019 年和 2020 年上半年的水平高出 30% 以上。

The third structural trend is the reshoring of critical industries. We have previously mentioned the massive scale and pace of construction of new semiconductor facilities. There are 5 such projects now underway in the U.S., 4 are in core CMC states, 2 each in Arizona and Texas. Those plants are the highest profile examples of reshoring. However, given the ongoing supply chain disruption seen in everything from basic materials like fertilizer and chemicals to manufactured products, it's reasonable to expect other industries to invest heavily in domestic capacity.

第三個結構性趨勢是關鍵行業的回流。我們之前提到了新半導體設施建設的大規模和步伐。美國目前有 5 個此類項目正在進行中，其中 4 個位於 CMC 核心州，亞利桑那州和德克薩斯州各 2 個。這些植物是回流最引人注目的例子。然而，鑑於從化肥和化學品等基礎材料到製成品等各個領域的供應鏈持續中斷，預計其他行業對國內產能進行大量投資是合理的。

We have all learned over the last 3 years that global supply chains are more fragile than previously believed and the loss of a few critical inputs can have a significant cascading effect throughout the economy.

在過去 3 年中，我們都了解到，全球供應鏈比以前認為的要脆弱，一些關鍵投入的損失可能會對整個經濟產生重大的連鎖反應。

I have just discussed several reasons to anticipate continued strength in construction activity, and CMC is poised to capitalize on these trends. As I mentioned, we expect to start up our new Arizona 2 state-of-the-art micro mill in early calendar 2023 that will feature world-class operations, operational footprint and product quality. Along with AZ 2, the addition of Tensar increases CMC's exposure to infrastructure through both existing and new markets, and Tensar's already significant customer value proposition can create even greater value under the current labor, materials and trucking availability constraints.

我剛剛討論了預測建築活動持續強勁的幾個原因，而 CMC 已準備好利用這些趨勢。正如我所提到的，我們預計將在 2023 年初啟動我們新的亞利桑那 2 號最先進的微型磨機，這將具有世界一流的運營、運營足跡和產品質量。隨著 AZ 2 的加入，Tensar 的加入增加了 CMC 通過現有市場和新市場在基礎設施方面的曝光率，並且在當前勞動力、材料和卡車運輸可用性的限制下，Tensar 已經很重要的客戶價值主張可以創造更大的價值。

Of course, we know from experience that markets can shift quickly and the future does not always turn out as expected. If our markets do shift, CMC's business model is designed to weather the inevitable market cycles. To reinforce that point, our downstream backlog is sitting at record levels on both a volume and price basis, providing a strong base load of highly profitable work into the future.

當然，我們從經驗中知道，市場可以迅速轉變，未來並不總是如預期的那樣發展。如果我們的市場確實發生了變化，CMC 的商業模式旨在經受住不可避免的市場週期。為了加強這一點，我們的下游訂單在數量和價格上都處於創紀錄的水平，為未來的高利潤工作提供了強大的基礎。

We have invested nearly $900 million in working capital over the last 2 years, which would be harvested as cash in a softer environment. CMC also operates a world-class network of facilities across which we can optimize production, product mix, logistics and customer service to meet virtually any demand scenario.

在過去的 2 年中，我們在營運資金上投入了近 9 億美元，這些資金將在較軟的環境中作為現金收穫。 CMC 還運營著世界一流的設施網絡，我們可以通過該網絡優化生產、產品組合、物流和客戶服務，以滿足幾乎任何需求場景。

Turning now to a quick update on CMC's acquisition of Tensar, please reference the presentation available on CMC's Investor Relations website for more information and a detailed description of the business. As we stated in this morning's press release, CMC's leadership is even more confident in the strategic rationale for the transaction after the first 5 weeks of having the Tensar team on board. What we have learned thus far confirms our expectations regarding both organizations' shared customer solutions-driven culture, value creation through innovation and expertise in stabilization applications.

現在轉向關於 CMC 收購坦薩的快速更新，請參考 CMC 投資者關係網站上的演示文稿，以獲取更多信息和業務的詳細描述。正如我們在今天上午的新聞稿中所說，在坦薩團隊加入的前 5 週後，CMC 的領導層對交易的戰略理由更有信心。到目前為止，我們所了解到的情況證實了我們對兩家組織共同的以客戶解決方案為導向的文化、通過創新創造價值以及在穩定應用方面的專業知識的期望。

Our interactions and work today have heightened our expectation that significant commercial synergies can be achieved and that CMC can build out a truly unique portfolio of solutions for both existing and new customers. We are still too early in the planning phase to share specifics, but I would say this, any acquisition diligence process requires making certain assumptions about gray areas. Five weeks in, we can confidently share that our assumptions appear conservative and that the Tensar team is proving to be an excellent addition to CMC's portfolio of construction solution.

我們今天的互動和工作提高了我們的期望，即可以實現顯著的商業協同效應，並且 CMC 可以為現有和新客戶構建真正獨特的解決方案組合。我們在計劃階段分享細節還為時過早，但我想說的是，任何收購盡職調查過程都需要對灰色區域做出某些假設。五週後，我們可以自信地分享我們的假設似乎是保守的，坦薩團隊被證明是 CMC 施工解決方案組合的一個極好的補充。

While on the topic of strategic growth investments, I will offer a brief note on CMC's announced fourth micro mill to be located in the Eastern U.S. Currently, we are working through site selection and making progress toward a final choice of location. We remain fully committed to the strategically attractive project and look forward to providing a more complete update once the final decision is made.

在談到戰略增長投資的主題時，我將簡要介紹 CMC 宣布的第四家微型工廠將位於美國東部。目前，我們正在通過選址工作，並朝著最終選址的方向前進。我們仍然完全致力於這個具有戰略吸引力的項目，並期待在做出最終決定後提供更完整的更新。

I would like to now provide some color on developments in Europe. At the time of CMC's last earnings call in March, the war in Ukraine had already driven roughly 1.4 million refugees into Poland. Given continuing hostilities and ongoing devastation, that number has unfortunately grown to over 3.5 million, which is equal to nearly 10% of the Polish population. No government can possibly be prepared to house, feed and care for such a massive and sudden migration of people. Much of the burden has fallen to the Polish citizens, who have responded with remarkable compassion and empathy.

我現在想就歐洲的發展提供一些色彩。在 3 月 CMC 上次召開財報電話會議時，烏克蘭戰爭已經將大約 140 萬難民驅趕到波蘭。鑑於持續的敵對行動和持續的破壞，不幸的是，這個數字已經增長到超過 350 萬，相當於波蘭人口的近 10%。任何政府都不可能準備好為如此大規模和突然的人口遷移提供住房、食物和照顧。大部分負擔落在了波蘭公民身上，他們以非凡的同情心和同理心回應。

I'm extremely proud of the efforts of CMC's team in Poland to assist those in need. Leadership continues to work with well-known humanitarian aid groups that specialize in helping victims of armed conflicts and natural disasters and has also made CMC accommodations available to refugees. Many employees have taken refugees into their homes, providing them a shelter food, comfort and safety. The response to this tragedy is inspiring, and we sincerely thank our employees in CMC Poland.

我為 CMC 在波蘭的團隊為幫助有需要的人所做的努力感到非常自豪。領導層繼續與專門幫助武裝衝突和自然災害受害者的知名人道主義援助團體合作，並為難民提供 CMC 住宿。許多員工將難民帶回家，為他們提供庇護食物、舒適和安全。對這場悲劇的反應是鼓舞人心的，我們衷心感謝我們在 CMC 波蘭的員工。

In the midst of this crisis, our team in Poland has continued their exceptional performance. CMC's Europe segment generated record adjusted EBITDA during the third quarter on strong volumes and margins. It's worth sharing several emerging secular trends that may have a lasting impact on the Eastern European steel market.

在這場危機中，我們在波蘭的團隊繼續他們的出色表現。 CMC 的歐洲部門在第三季度憑藉強勁的銷量和利潤率創造了創紀錄的調整後 EBITDA。值得分享幾個可能對東歐鋼鐵市場產生持久影響的新興長期趨勢。

The first is the trade sanctions placed on Russia and Belarus, which are only beginning to be felt during the third quarter. These 2 countries generally account for over 1/4 of the long product imports into the European Union and over half of the direct arrivals into Poland. The absence of these volumes will likely tighten the supply conditions meaningfully in Eastern Europe.

首先是對俄羅斯和白俄羅斯的貿易制裁，這在第三季度才開始顯現。這兩個國家通常佔歐盟長材進口量的 1/4 以上和波蘭直接進口量的一半以上。缺乏這些數量可能會顯著收緊東歐的供應狀況。

The logical alternative for imported material to Europe is Turkey. However, logistics directly to Poland and its neighbors are challenging. This could result in little or no impact backfill for the Russian and Belarusian material blocked from the market, allowing CMC the opportunity to fulfill this demand.

歐洲進口材料的合理選擇是土耳其。然而，直接到波蘭及其鄰國的物流具有挑戰性。這可能會導致對市場上被封鎖的俄羅斯和白俄羅斯材料的回填影響很小或沒有影響，從而使 CMC 有機會滿足這一需求。

The other noteworthy secular trend is the ongoing energy shortage in Europe, which the war in Ukraine has only exacerbated. CMC is experiencing higher energy costs than in past periods but to a far less significant extent than many competing producers. CMC's leadership in Poland has expertly navigated the situation by having in place physical and financial hedges prior to the start of the conflict, which have defrayed much of the cost impact.

另一個值得注意的長期趨勢是歐洲持續的能源短缺，而烏克蘭的戰爭只會加劇這種短缺。 CMC 正在經歷比過去更高的能源成本，但遠低於許多競爭生產商。 CMC 在波蘭的領導層通過在衝突開始之前實施實物和財務對沖來熟練地駕馭局勢，從而抵消了大部分成本影響。

Electricity and natural gas costs per ton were up 28% on a year-over-year basis compared with an average spot price increase of over 200% in Germany, Spain and France. The recent addition of CMC's Europe's third rolling line has positioned us to more fully capitalize on these trends.

每噸電力和天然氣成本同比上漲 28%，而德國、西班牙和法國的平均現貨價格漲幅超過 200%。最近 CMC 歐洲第三條軋製線的加入使我們能夠更充分地利用這些趨勢。

Over the last 4 quarters, volumes of finished products shipped have exceeded the mill's 10-year average by 35%. With the third rolling line operating, we are better leveraging our melt shop benefiting from a higher value product mix and able to act with more commercial and operational agility.

在過去的四個季度中，成品出貨量已超過工廠 10 年平均水平 35%。隨著第三條軋製線的運營，我們可以更好地利用我們的熔煉車間，受益於更高價值的產品組合，並能夠以更高的商業和運營敏捷性行事。

Finally, as stated in our press release, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.14 per share of CMC common stock for stockholders of record on June 29, 2022. The dividend will be paid on July 13, 2022. And this represents CMC's 231st consecutive quarterly dividend with the amount paid per share increasing 17% from quarter 3 of fiscal 2021.

最後，如我們的新聞稿中所述，我們的董事會於 2022 年 6 月 29 日宣布向登記在冊的股東派發每股 CMC 普通股 0.14 美元的季度現金股息。股息將於 2022 年 7 月 13 日支付。這代表CMC 連續第 231 個季度派發股息，每股支付的金額比 2021 財年第三季度增長 17%。

With that as an overview, I will now turn the discussion over to Paul Lawrence, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, to provide some more comments on the results for the quarter.

作為概述，我現在將討論轉交給高級副總裁兼首席財務官保羅勞倫斯，就本季度的結果提供更多評論。

Thank you, Barbara, and good morning to everyone on the call this morning. As Barbara noted, we reported fiscal third quarter 2022 net earnings of $312.4 million or $2.54 per diluted share compared to prior year levels of $130.4 million or $1.07, respectively. Results this quarter include net after-tax charges of $7.8 million, the majority of which relates to CMC's acquisition of Tensar. These costs were in the form of acquisition expenses and purchase accounting adjustments related to inventory write-ups. The quarter also included a small asset impairment charge taken in North America. Excluding the impact of these items, adjusted earnings were $320.2 million or $2.61 per diluted share. Core EBITDA was $483.9 million for the third quarter of 2022, more than double the $230.5 million generated during the prior year period.

謝謝你，芭芭拉，今天早上打電話給大家早上好。正如芭芭拉所指出的，我們報告的 2022 財年第三季度淨收益為 3.124 億美元或每股攤薄收益 2.54 美元，而去年同期的水平分別為 1.304 億美元或 1.07 美元。本季度的業績包括 780 萬美元的稅後淨費用，其中大部分與 CMC 收購坦薩有關。這些成本的形式是購置費用和與庫存增記相關的採購會計調整。本季度還包括在北美收取的小額資產減值費用。排除這些項目的影響，調整後的收益為 3.202 億美元或每股攤薄收益 2.61 美元。 2022 年第三季度的核心 EBITDA 為 4.839 億美元，是去年同期產生的 2.305 億美元的兩倍多。

Slide 11 of the supplemental presentation illustrates the strength of CMC's quarterly results. Both our North American and Europe segments contributed significantly to year-over-year earnings growth, while core EBITDA per ton of finished steel reached a record level of $293.

補充演示文稿的幻燈片 11 說明了 CMC 季度業績的實力。我們的北美和歐洲部門都對同比收益增長做出了重大貢獻，而每噸成品鋼的核心 EBITDA 達到了創紀錄的 293 美元。

Now I will review our results by segment for the third quarter of fiscal '22. CMC's North American segment generated adjusted EBITDA of $379.4 million for the quarter equal to $332 per ton of finished steel shipped. Segment adjusted EBITDA improved 83% on a year-over-year basis, driven by significantly increased margins on each of our steel products, downstream and raw material product groups over their underlying scrap costs.

現在，我將按部分審查我們在 22 財年第三季度的業績。 CMC 北美分部本季度調整後的 EBITDA 為 3.794 億美元，相當於每噸成品鋼出貨 332 美元。分部調整後的 EBITDA 同比增長 83%，這是由於我們每個鋼鐵產品、下游和原材料產品組的利潤率顯著高於其基本廢品成本。

Partially offsetting this benefit were higher controllable costs on a per ton of finished steel due primarily to the increased unit pricing for freight, energy and alloys. The pace of unit price increases for these items moderated in the third quarter. And as a result, when combined with the impact of the fixed cost leverage, CMC was able to hold controllable cost per ton flat from the prior quarter.

由於運費、能源和合金的單價上漲，部分抵消了這一優勢的是每噸成品鋼的可控成本較高。這些項目的單價上漲速度在第三季度有所放緩。因此，結合固定成本槓桿的影響，CMC 能夠將可控的每噸成本與上一季度持平。

Selling prices for steel products from our mills increased by $316 per ton on a year-over-year basis, and $69 per ton sequentially. Margin over scrap on steel products increased $213 per ton from a year ago and $33 per ton sequentially. Average selling price of downstream products increased by $281 per ton from the prior year, reaching a new record of $1,244. This increase was 2.7x the rate of change in the underlying scrap costs, leading to significant expansion and profitability on volumes processed and shipped through CMC's vertically integrated value chain.

我們鋼廠的鋼材銷售價格同比上漲 316 美元/噸，環比上漲 69 美元/噸。鋼鐵產品的廢鋼利潤率比一年前增加了 213 美元/噸，環比增加了 33 美元/噸。下游產品平均售價較上年每噸上漲 281 美元，創下 1,244 美元的新紀錄。這一增長是基礎廢料成本變化率的 2.7 倍，導致通過 CMC 垂直整合的價值鏈處理和運輸的數量顯著擴張和盈利。

During our fourth quarter earnings call in October, I indicated that CMC's downstream backlog was expected to reprice higher throughout fiscal 2022 as new higher priced work replaces older, lower priced work. We are seeing this scenario play out as demonstrated by the $230 per ton increase in downstream average selling price from CMC's fourth quarter of 2021 to the third quarter of 2022. We continue to expect further upward movement in CMC's average backlog price, particularly in light of strong market demand and bid volumes that we are experiencing within our downstream business.

在 10 月份的第四季度財報電話會議上，我表示 CMC 的下游積壓訂單預計將在整個 2022 財年重新定價，因為新的更高價格的工作取代了舊的、價格更低的工作。從 CMC 的 2021 年第四季度到 2022 年第三季度，下游平均售價每噸上漲 230 美元就證明了這種情況正在發生。我們繼續預計 CMC 的平均積壓價格將進一步上漲，特別是考慮到我們在下游業務中遇到的強勁市場需求和投標量。

Shipments of finished product in the third quarter were largely unchanged from a year ago and followed a typical seasonal pattern compared to the second quarter. End market demand for our mill products remains robust, which we are seeing in both order rates and broader industry data we track. Downstream product shipments decreased by roughly 2% from the prior year period despite a mid-teening percentage increase in the backlog volumes. Progress on construction sites in certain geographies has been impacted due to the constrained supply of labor and materials. We expect this situation to dissipate heading into the autumn months. And as a reminder, projects in the CMC's downstream backlog are contractually committed and, for the most part, fully financed. We believe current constraints are likely to extend the construction cycle rather than pose a threat to the ultimate shipping volumes.

第三季度成品出貨量與一年前基本持平，與第二季度相比呈現典型的季節性模式。終端市場對我們工廠產品的需求依然強勁，我們在訂單率和我們追踪的更廣泛行業數據中都看到了這一點。下游產品出貨量較上年同期下降約 2%，儘管積壓量增加了 10%。由於勞動力和材料供應受限，某些地區的建築工地進度受到影響。我們預計這種情況會在秋季結束。提醒一下，CMC 下游積壓項目中的項目是合同承諾的，並且在大多數情況下是完全融資的。我們認為，目前的限制可能會延長建設週期，而不是對最終的運輸量構成威脅。

Turning to Slide 13 of the supplemental deck. Our Europe segment generated an impressive adjusted EBITDA of $121 million for the third quarter of 2022 compared to adjusted EBITDA of $50 million in the prior year quarter. The improvement was driven by expanded margins over scrap and a significant increase in shipment volumes. Higher costs for energy and mill consumables partially offset these positive factors. However, on a sequential quarter basis, controllable costs per ton were largely unchanged, which is a remarkable accomplishment given the inflationary environment we are currently experiencing.

轉到補充甲板的幻燈片 13。我們的歐洲部門在 2022 年第三季度產生了令人印象深刻的 1.21 億美元的調整後 EBITDA，而去年同期調整後的 EBITDA 為 5000 萬美元。這種改善是由於廢料利潤率的擴大和出貨量的顯著增加。能源和工廠消耗品的更高成本部分抵消了這些積極因素。然而，在連續季度的基礎上，每噸可控成本基本沒有變化，考慮到我們目前正在經歷的通脹環境，這是一個了不起的成就。

Margins over scrap increased $149 per ton on a year-over-year basis, reaching $437 per ton. Robust market conditions provided a backdrop to achieve a $303 per ton increase in average selling price with solid year-to-year trends across each product we sell.

廢鋼利潤率同比增長 149 美元/噸，達到 437 美元/噸。強勁的市場條件為我們銷售的每種產品的平均銷售價格實現了每噸 303 美元的增長提供了背景，並且每年都有穩定的趨勢。

Europe volumes increased 18% compared to the prior year as a result of favorable market fundamentals and CMC's strong competitive position. The supply side and energy cost factors that Barbara discussed have created commercial opportunities in our primary markets while the addition of the third rolling line has allowed us to more fully respond to these circumstances.

由於有利的市場基本面和 CMC 強大的競爭地位，歐洲的銷量與去年相比增長了 18%。 Barbara 討論的供應方和能源成本因素為我們的主要市場創造了商業機會，而第三條軋製線的增加使我們能夠更充分地應對這些情況。

Shipments of each of our major mill products: rebar, merchant bar and wire rod were up 20% or more from the prior year period. In addition to incremental production, the third rolling line has enhanced our margin mix and improved our ability to leverage fixed costs.

我們每種主要軋鋼產品的出貨量：螺紋鋼、商品棒材和線材比去年同期增長 20% 或更多。除了增加產量外，第三條軋製線還增強了我們的利潤組合併提高了我們利用固定成本的能力。

Demand conditions within Central Europe remain supportive. The Polish construction market continues to grow, driven by solid expansion in residential spending. In addition, the EU COVID recovery funds should provide a tailwind to Polish construction activity towards the end of the calendar year.

中歐的需求狀況仍然有利。在住宅支出穩健擴張的推動下，波蘭建築市場繼續增長。此外，歐盟 COVID 恢復基金應該會在年底前為波蘭的建築活動提供動力。

Hence, our generated EBITDA of $4.9 million during the first 5 weeks as a CMC company, excluding a $2.2 million adjustment related to purchase accounting effect on inventory, EBITDA amounted to $7.1 million on net sales of $28 million. EBITDA margin of 25.2% was consistent with the trailing 5-year average of the business. As noted in this morning's press release, Tensar performance will be included within CMC's existing segments, but we intend to provide ongoing visibility into the business results and developments.

因此，我們作為 CMC 公司的前 5 週產生的 EBITDA 為 490 萬美元，不包括與採購會計對庫存影響相關的 220 萬美元調整，淨銷售額為 2800 萬美元，EBITDA 為 710 萬美元。 25.2% 的 EBITDA 利潤率與該業務過去 5 年的平均水平一致。正如今天上午的新聞稿所述，坦薩的業績將包含在 CMC 的現有部門中，但我們打算提供對業務成果和發展的持續可見性。

Of the $7.1 million in EBITDA, excluding purchase accounting adjustments, $5.4 million was included within CMC's North American segment, while the remaining $1.7 million was reported within the Europe segment. Based on the preliminary allocation of purchase price, we expect to incur annual depreciation and amortization of intangibles related to the acquisition of $10n million and $20 million respectively.

在 710 萬美元的 EBITDA 中，不包括採購會計調整，540 萬美元包含在 CMC 的北美部門，而其餘 170 萬美元則屬於歐洲部門。根據購買價格的初步分配，我們預計將分別產生與收購 1000 萬美元和 2000 萬美元相關的無形資產的年度折舊和攤銷。

Turning to the balance sheet, liquidity and capital allocation. As of May 31, 2022, cash and cash equivalents totaled $410.3 million. CMC also had $126.3 million of restricted cash, which is primarily earmarked for the funding of Arizona 2 and was raised through the offering of the 25-year tax-exempt bonds.

轉向資產負債表、流動性和資本配置。截至 2022 年 5 月 31 日，現金及現金等價物總額為 4.103 億美元。 CMC 還擁有 1.263 億美元的受限現金，主要用於資助 Arizona 2，並通過發行 25 年免稅債券籌集。

In addition to cash and equivalents, we had approximately $623 million of availability under our credit and accounts receivable programs bringing total liquidity to slightly over $1 billion. CMC's $330 million 2023 notes have moved into current on the balance sheet. We are currently evaluating refinancing alternatives that are consistent with our commitment to maintaining a healthy balance sheet, financial flexibility and a strong liquidity position as well as utilizing cash to lower CMC's overall leverage.

除了現金和等價物外，我們的信貸和應收賬款計劃下的可用資金約為 6.23 億美元，使總流動性略高於 10 億美元。 CMC 的 3.3 億美元 2023 年票據已在資產負債表上轉入當期。我們目前正在評估符合我們保持健康資產負債表、財務靈活性和強大流動性狀況以及利用現金降低 CMC 整體槓桿率的承諾的再融資方案。

During the quarter, we generated $187 million of cash from operating activities despite $212 million increase in working capital. The rise in working capital was driven by the significant increase in average selling price across CMC's legacy businesses. Our leverage metrics remain attractive and we have improved significantly over the past several fiscal years.

在本季度，儘管營運資金增加了 2.12 億美元，但我們從經營活動中產生了 1.87 億美元的現金。營運資金的增加是由 CMC 傳統業務的平均售價大幅上漲推動的。我們的槓桿指標仍然具有吸引力，並且在過去幾個財政年度中我們取得了顯著改善。

As can be seen on Slide 17, our net debt-to-EBITDA ratio now sits at just 0.7x even after the purchase of Tensar. We believe our robust balance sheet and overall financial strength provide us flexibility to finance our strategic organic growth projects and pursue opportunistic M&A while continuing to return cash to shareholders. CMC's effective tax rate was 22.9% in the third quarter, and we expect the forecast for the full year tax rate to be between 23% and 24%.

從幻燈片 17 中可以看出，即使在收購坦薩之後，我們的淨債務與 EBITDA 比率現在也僅為 0.7 倍。我們相信，我們穩健的資產負債表和整體財務實力為我們提供了為戰略性有機增長項目融資和尋求機會性併購的靈活性，同時繼續向股東返還現金。 CMC 三季度有效稅率為 22.9%，我們預計全年稅率在 23% 至 24% 之間。

Turning to CMC's fiscal 2022 capital spending outlook, we expect to invest between $475 million to $500 million in total this year, roughly half of which can be attributable to Arizona 2. Looking ahead to fiscal 2023, we anticipate our capital investment will be relatively consistent with the level of 2022 with a large portion continuing to be attributable to strategic growth projects. Barbara noted, our announced fourth micro mill project remains in the site selection phase. As a reminder, we assess projects like this using a view of through-the-cycle cash flow expectations. So while site selection has taken longer than anticipated, we remain very encouraged by the strategic merits of this project.

談到 CMC 的 2022 財年資本支出前景，我們預計今年的總投資將在 4.75 億美元至 5 億美元之間，其中大約一半可歸因於亞利桑那 2。展望 2023 財年，我們預計我們的資本投資將相對穩定與 2022 年的水平相比，很大一部分繼續歸因於戰略增長項目。 Barbara 指出，我們宣布的第四個微型磨機項目仍處於選址階段。提醒一下，我們使用整個週期現金流預期的觀點來評估這樣的項目。因此，雖然選址花費的時間比預期的要長，但我們仍然對該項目的戰略優勢感到非常鼓舞。

Lastly, CMC purchased roughly 1 million shares during the fiscal third quarter at an average price of $38.34 per share. Transactions since the initiation of the buyback program have amounted to roughly $55.6 million, leaving a little over $294 million under the authorization that we announced in October. We plan to maintain the pace of repurchases in the fourth quarter, consistent with what we have accomplished to date.

最後，CMC 在第三財季以每股 38.34 美元的平均價格購買了大約 100 萬股股票。自回購計劃啟動以來的交易總額約為 5560 萬美元，在我們 10 月宣布的授權下剩餘的 2.94 億美元多一點。我們計劃在第四季度保持回購步伐，與我們迄今為止所取得的成就一致。

This concludes my remarks, and I'll turn it back to Barbara for the financial outlook.

我的發言到此結束，我將把它轉回到芭芭拉的財務前景。

Thank you, Paul. We expect strong financial results in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022. Demand for CMC's major product lines is anticipated to remain robust across our key geographies. In North America, shipments should be underpinned by record levels of construction backlog volumes. While in Europe, we anticipate tight market supply to continue providing CMC with opportunities for share gain. Margins in both North America and Europe should remain near third quarter levels.

謝謝你，保羅。我們預計 2022 財年第四季度的財務業績將強勁。預計 CMC 主要產品線的需求在我們的主要地區將保持強勁。在北美，出貨量應以創紀錄的建築積壓量為基礎。在歐洲，我們預計市場供應緊張將繼續為 CMC 提供獲得份額的機會。北美和歐洲的利潤率應保持在第三季度水平附近。

Looking a little further ahead, we expect the market factors I previously discussed to continue to support business activity. CMC's pipeline of new downstream work is very strong, pointing to healthy demand into our fiscal '23. In North America, the impact of increased federal infrastructure funding should begin to manifest in the second half of fiscal 2023, and reshoring projects currently underway will benefit much of our mill and downstream network.

展望未來，我們預計我之前討論的市場因素將繼續支持商業活動。 CMC 的新下游工作管道非常強勁，表明我們 23 財年的需求健康。在北美，聯邦基礎設施資金增加的影響應在 2023 財年下半年開始顯現，目前正在進行的回流項目將使我們的工廠和下游網絡的大部分受益。

Our view of future demand in Europe is a bit more difficult to predict, but supply dynamics should remain favorable, benefiting both our volumes and margins as highlighted in my earlier market outlook comments.

我們對歐洲未來需求的看法有點難以預測，但供應動態應該會保持有利，這對我們的銷量和利潤率都有好處，正如我在之前的市場展望評論中所強調的那樣。

Once again, I'd like to thank all the CMC employees for delivering yet another quarter of outstanding performance.

我要再次感謝所有 CMC 員工，他們又創造了一個季度的出色表現。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Emily Chieng of Goldman Sachs.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自高盛的 Emily Chieng。

Barbara and Paul, thank you for the update today. My first question is just around the power price environment in Europe. Thank you for some of the detail in the presentation back there. But could you remind us how those contracts are structured? How long those extend until and if there is any spot power exposure there at all?

芭芭拉和保羅，謝謝你們今天的更新。我的第一個問題是關於歐洲的電價環境。感謝您在後面的演示文稿中提供的一些細節。但是你能提醒我們這些合同是如何構成的嗎？這些會持續多長時間，如果那裡有任何現貨電力暴露？

Sure, Emily. Our team in Poland has done a phenomenal. Job of managing energy. And the key point to note is, obviously, these were put into place well before all of the volatility that we have recently seen.

當然，艾米麗。我們在波蘭的團隊做得非常出色。管理能源的工作。需要注意的關鍵點是，顯然，這些都是在我們最近看到的所有波動之前實施的。

The Polish arrangement for electricity include a 10-year financial hedge that's in place that is now being in place probably for 1.5 years. So it has a very long runway associated. In addition to that strip, that 25% strip, there's another strip of more of a physical arrangement with the provider, which provides some longer term, but it's probably in the 2-year rotating repricing environment that does around another 1/4 of their energy needs.

波蘭的電力安排包括一項為期 10 年的金融對沖，該對沖現在可能已實施 1.5 年。所以它有一條很長的跑道。除了那個 25% 的條帶之外，還有另一個條帶更多與供應商的物理安排，這提供了一些更長的期限，但它可能是在 2 年輪換定價環境中，它們的另外 1/4能源需求。

The rest has been subject to spot and I would say that in relation to other countries in Europe, the volatility of energy pricing has been significantly less. So as Barbara mentioned, the impact to us in our overall energy costs, including natural gas, has been around 28% on a year-over-year basis. And I think these instruments that we have in place will continue to ensure that competitively, we are at an advantage against other European producers.

其餘的都是現貨，我想說的是，與歐洲其他國家相比，能源定價的波動性要小得多。正如芭芭拉所說，我們的整體能源成本（包括天然氣）對我們的影響同比增長了 28% 左右。而且我認為我們現有的這些工具將繼續確保我們在競爭中處於與其他歐洲生產商相比的優勢。

Great. That's very helpful. And my second question I wanted to ask was just around I think your order book there, I think, Paul, you made a comment earlier around perhaps if you were to see some demand weakness on the downstream that you might not necessarily see as large of an impact to shipment levels there. But maybe talk through the strength of your order book, how many months ahead do you have that visibility? And do you think that there is enough of a cushion there in terms of pent-up demand that shipments will not, in fact, be as impacted as in a very down [backlog] scenario?

偉大的。這很有幫助。我想問的第二個問題是，我想你的訂單在那裡，我想，保羅，你早些時候發表了評論，也許如果你看到下游的一些需求疲軟，你可能不一定會看到那麼大對那裡的出貨量產生影響。但是，也許通過您的訂單簿的實力來談談，您提前幾個月有這種知名度？您是否認為在被壓抑的需求方面有足夠的緩衝，實際上出貨量不會像在非常低的 [積壓] 情況下那樣受到影響？

Yes. Let me take a crack, Emily, and we can -- Paul can add anything that I might omit here. But our downstream backlog, as we indicated, is at the highest level that we've seen in 13 years. And I would say through the cycle, backlog normally is about a 6-month backlog contained in that could be shorter-term projects and then some that are much longer-term projects.

是的。 Emily，讓我試一試，我們可以—— Paul 可以添加任何我可能在此省略的內容。但正如我們所指出的，我們的下游訂單處於 13 年來的最高水平。我想說的是，在整個週期中，積壓通常是大約 6 個月的積壓，其中可能是短期項目，然後是一些更長期的項目。

But in this case, the backlog is well above that cycle average. So it gives us a lot of confidence moving into 2023 in terms of the demand scenario for our business. And I would add that we continue to see very, very strong bidding levels. So that's where the backlog stands today, but there are still lots of projects across a broad spectrum of geography and types of projects that continue to come to the market.

但在這種情況下，積壓工作遠高於該週期平均值。因此，就我們業務的需求情況而言，它讓我們對進入 2023 年充滿信心。我還要補充一點，我們繼續看到非常非常強勁的出價水平。這就是今天積壓的地方，但是仍然有許多跨越廣泛地域和項目類型的項目繼續進入市場。

Yes. And that's what I would add to that, Emily, is if you look at construction, it's a very diverse makeup in terms of where construction activity takes place, whether it be infrastructure on the public side, nonresidential, obviously, has ebbs and flows, and we see the onshoring activities really picking up steam. We see the community build-out, as Barbara mentioned, in addition to residential construction activity.

是的。這就是我要補充的一點，艾米麗，如果你看一下建築，就建築活動的發生地點而言，這是一個非常多樣化的構成，無論是公共方面的基礎設施，非住宅，顯然有潮起潮落，我們看到外包活動確實在加速發展。正如芭芭拉所說，除了住宅建設活動外，我們還看到了社區的擴建。

And so you look at our flexibility of serving all of those various markets within the construction industry, I think we're very well protected by the outlook for each of those areas that Barbara outlined in the prepared remarks.

因此，您看看我們為建築行業內所有這些不同市場提供服務的靈活性，我認為芭芭拉在準備好的評論中概述的每個領域的前景都很好地保護了我們。

And that's absent significant sign of -- or it's absent really the effect of the new infrastructure spending bill, which we would anticipate seeing coming in this coming fiscal year.

這沒有明顯的跡象——或者說沒有真正的新基礎設施支出法案的影響，我們預計新的基礎設施支出法案會在下一個財政年度出現。

Our next question today comes from David Gagliano of BMO Capital Markets.

我們今天的下一個問題來自 BMO Capital Markets 的 David Gagliano。

I did want to ask about this dichotomy between the strong results and the optimistic outlook versus the broader headwinds that seem to be fairly significant, aside from the general concerns about demand, (inaudible) inflation, rising interest rates.

除了對需求、（聽不清的）通脹和利率上升的普遍擔憂之外，我確實想問一下強勁的結果和樂觀的前景與似乎相當重要的更廣泛的不利因素之間的這種二分法。

A few weeks ago, the Portland Cement Association, they cut their cement consumption forecast for 2023 from plus 2.5% to minus 0.8%. The reason I flagged that it's because the PCA is another source that CMC has cited in the past is a really solid proxy for demand for CMC's business. So my question is, is that PCA forecast for negative year over year demand in 2023? Is that a reasonable proxy for your business as you look beyond what you see now? Because I do think that PCA also factors in the positive offsetting variables that you've noted in the prepared remarks. And if it's not a reasonable forecast, if you can just touch on your view why it's different now versus when things were going positively.

幾週前，波特蘭水泥協會將 2023 年的水泥消費預測從正 2.5% 下調至負 0.8%。我標記它的原因是因為 PCA 是 CMC 過去引用的另一個來源，它是 CMC 業務需求的一個非常可靠的代理。所以我的問題是，PCA 預測 2023 年同比需求是否為負？當您超越您現在所看到的範圍時，這是否是您業務的合理代理？因為我確實認為 PCA 還考慮了您在準備好的評論中提到的正抵消變量。如果這不是一個合理的預測，如果你能談談你的看法，為什麼現在和事情進展順利時會有所不同。

Yes. Thank you, David, I appreciate your question and certainly appreciate that there's a lot of moving parts out there, and folks are trying to digest it all. What I would say is there has been a severe cement shortage recently that I think probably factors into to some of what you're seeing there. And that's why we really -- we like Portland Cement.

是的。謝謝你，大衛，我很欣賞你的問題，當然也很欣賞那裡有很多活動的部分，人們正在努力消化這一切。我想說的是，最近出現了嚴重的水泥短缺，我認為這可能是你在那裡看到的一些因素。這就是我們真正喜歡波特蘭水泥的原因。

We track that like we do many of the other indicators that we spoke of, but we track a wide range of indicators because you can see anomalies in one indicator from time to time. And so we remain quite bullish. We also remain quite nimble to adjust to any market conditions that we may be presented with.

我們跟踪這一點，就像我們提到的許多其他指標一樣，但我們跟踪的指標範圍很廣，因為您會不時在一個指標中看到異常情況。所以我們仍然相當看好。我們也非常靈活地適應我們可能遇到的任何市場條件。

But there's been a significant shortage. I think that's going to resolve itself. But we've seen that on our own projects, and it's a fact -- a number of factors and outages and unexpected outages and so forth. And I think that will get resolved in the coming months and quarters.

但嚴重短缺。我認為這會自行解決。但是我們已經在我們自己的項目中看到了這一點，這是一個事實——許多因素、中斷和意外中斷等等。我認為這將在未來幾個月和幾個季度得到解決。

Okay. That's helpful. So your view is that the Portland Cement demand forecast is actually a supply constraint-driven negative headwind for cement specifically. And then just in terms of the combination of the duration of the backlogs for most of your business, if you could just, in general, give us a sense if there is a demand slowdown. As of today, when would that actually start to flow through CMC's results at this point given the backlog that you have?

好的。這很有幫助。因此，您的觀點是，波特蘭水泥需求預測實際上是水泥供應受限驅動的負面逆風。然後就您的大部分業務的積壓持續時間而言，如果您可以總體上給我們一個需求是否放緩的感覺。到今天為止，考慮到您的積壓工作，CMC 的結果何時會真正開始體現出來？

Yes, David, before I move to that, I just want to also back to the Portland Cement point you to some recent market comments from Vulcan and Martin Marietta, which are good indicators, and they're pretty bullish in their market outlook. So you might want to take a look at that. Our business model is really designed to weather cycles, I believe, better than other companies or other sectors of the economy. And the reason why is because we carry that backlog. And the backlog is prefunded. And in periods of changes in economic conditions, that provides a very strong baseload of work to keep our operations running at nice utilization rates.

是的，大衛，在我開始之前，我只想回到波特蘭水泥，向您指出 Vulcan 和 Martin Marietta 最近的一些市場評論，這些都是很好的指標，他們對市場前景非常看好。所以你可能想看看那個。我相信，我們的商業模式確實比其他公司或其他經濟部門更好地經受住了周期。原因是因為我們有積壓的工作。並且積壓是預先資助的。在經濟條件發生變化的時期，這提供了非常強大的工作基礎，以保持我們的運營以良好的利用率運行。

Having said that, we also have a very flexible cost structure and a very flexible product mix and a wide network of operations and we can flex very quickly to any set of market conditions. But at the end of the day, if one part of the construction sector starts to slow, generally, there are other parts of the construction sector that can and will offset that.

話雖如此，我們還擁有非常靈活的成本結構、非常靈活的產品組合和廣泛的運營網絡，我們可以非常迅速地適應任何市場條件。但歸根結底，如果建築行業的一部分開始放緩，一般來說，建築行業的其他部分可以並且將會抵消這一影響。

And I say that to point again to the infrastructure, which we haven't seen the increased spending levels. We have said for a long period of time that we expect to see that. And many other companies are making similar projections that the infrastructure is going to begin to come to fruition in fiscal 2023.

我這麼說是為了再次指出基礎設施，我們還沒有看到支出水平的增加。我們已經說過很長一段時間了，我們希望看到這一點。許多其他公司也在做出類似的預測，即基礎設施將在 2023 財年開始開花結果。

And so again, our business model is designed to weather bumps in the road and shocks. And there are many parts of the residential, nonresidential infrastructure that we see good demand ahead back to the nonres that follows the housing formation. And if you go back in time in other periods. Areas of the country where there has been a strong residential component as ebbs and flows in the economy occur, that nonresidential build-out, it has to come to support those communities.

同樣，我們的商業模式旨在抵御道路上的顛簸和衝擊。住宅、非住宅基礎設施的許多部分，我們認為在住房形成之後的非住宅基礎設施中存在良好的需求。如果你在其他時期回到過去。隨著經濟的起起落落，該國的住宅組成部分很強的地區，非住宅建設，它必須來支持這些社區。

And we're seeing that occur just as it always does, there's a lag 12 to 18 months following a strong residential build-out. And I think you know the areas of the country that have seen rising population and strong residential build-out. And I point to an announcement yesterday where Caterpillar is moving their headquarters location into the heart of where we are in Irving, Texas.

我們看到這種情況像往常一樣發生，在強勁的住宅建設之後會有 12 到 18 個月的滯後。我想你知道該國人口增長和住宅建設強勁的地區。我指的是昨天的一個公告，卡特彼勒將把他們的總部搬到我們在德克薩斯州歐文市的中心地帶。

So there continues to be a lot of that kind of change that's occurring. And again, the supply chain rebalancing is a topic that we've been talking about for a while. Just the projects that are well publicized are massive. They are multiple years. They are massive consumers of the structural steel that we produce and they're in the heart of where we're located. So we still remain very optimistic from a demand perspective.

因此，繼續有很多這樣的變化正在發生。再一次，供應鏈再平衡是我們一直在談論的話題。只是廣為人知的項目是巨大的。他們是多年。他們是我們生產的結構鋼的大量消費者，他們位於我們所在地的中心。因此，從需求的角度來看，我們仍然非常樂觀。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question today comes from Seth Rosenfeld of BNP Paribas.

（操作員說明）我們今天的下一個問題來自法國巴黎銀行的 Seth Rosenfeld。

I have a couple of questions that looks for imports into the U.S. Also, the market remains very tight, good pricing, but we have seen U.S. imports increased very sharply in recent months, obviously incentivize those high [regional] spreads. What impact is that having on the market at present? Historically, if we find import is high, I would assume it would have been much more problematic. But part of the issue simply that you're seeing higher costs in foreign market than Turkey and Europe, making a bit less painful from a pricing perspective? I'll start there, please.

我有幾個關於進口到美國的問題。此外，市場仍然非常緊張，價格合理，但我們看到最近幾個月美國進口量急劇增加，顯然刺激了那些高 [區域] 價差。這對目前的市場有什麼影響？從歷史上看，如果我們發現進口量很高，我會認為問題會更大。但問題的一部分僅僅是你看到國外市場的成本高於土耳其和歐洲，從定價的角度來看，這讓痛苦少了一點？請從這裡開始。

Yes. Thank you, Seth. Hope you're doing well. As you know, imports is something that we constantly monitor, and there has been some recent increase for certain product lines. Again, I think it reinforces the points we've been making around the strong demand environment here in the U.S.

是的。謝謝你，賽斯。希望你做得很好。如您所知，進口是我們不斷監控的東西，某些產品線最近有所增加。同樣，我認為它強化了我們圍繞美國強勁的需求環境提出的觀點。

What I would say is that there's still some structural factors that make it less attractive for buyers to make big commitments in this area. Logistics is the #1 thing I would point to in terms of inconsistent and very, very high cost logistics. So right now, we have seen some. We have -- we monitor that carefully, but we don't see a big structural shift at this point in time.

我想說的是，仍有一些結構性因素使買家在該領域做出重大承諾的吸引力降低。就不一致和非常、非常高成本的物流而言，物流是我要指出的第一件事。所以現在，我們已經看到了一些。我們已經 - 我們仔細監控了這一點，但我們目前沒有看到重大的結構性轉變。

Okay. And the second question, please, on the growth side. In recent months, your team has spoken publicly about an interest in potentially expanding capacity within European long products. Obviously, the geopolitical situation has changed dramatically over the last few months. But how do you think about your interest in European growth? Any potential time line of that? And what would make you want to pull the trigger despite a challenging macro backdrop?

好的。第二個問題，請在增長方面。最近幾個月，您的團隊公開表示有興趣擴大歐洲長材產品的產能。顯然，地緣政治局勢在過去幾個月中發生了巨大變化。但是您如何看待您對歐洲增長的興趣？任何潛在的時間線？在充滿挑戰的宏觀背景下，是什麼讓你想要扣動扳機？

Yes, Seth, we take a very long time horizon to evaluate anything that we're doing, whether it's organic growth or inorganic growth. And certainly, you have to factor in the current environment and how long you think that that's going to persist. But when we make these decisions, we take a very, very long view, and we also take a very conservative view in terms of the financial metrics that we use to model those types of investments.

是的，賽斯，我們需要很長時間來評估我們正在做的任何事情，無論是有機增長還是無機增長。當然，您必須考慮當前環境以及您認為這種情況會持續多久。但是，當我們做出這些決定時，我們會採取非常非常長遠的觀點，並且對於我們用來為這些類型的投資建模的財務指標，我們也會採取非常保守的觀點。

And so I think our track record has been one of great discipline and actually yielding very good results. If you look at the investments, incremental investments that we've made on the growth side, they have yielded margins that are well above our long-term average margin.

所以我認為我們的記錄是一項偉大的紀律，實際上產生了非常好的結果。如果你看看我們在增長方面所做的投資、增量投資，它們產生的利潤率遠高於我們的長期平均利潤率。

So I guess, I'm not prepared to talk about anything specific, but we do look at things all the time because there's a long lead time to execute on particularly organic type projects. We have an outstanding balance sheet, a very strong balance sheet, and we remain very nimble. And if we were to move into a more difficult economic situation, that might present attractive opportunities for us to examine. And with our strong balance sheet, we certainly want to be in a position to take a look at that. But we always value them and think about them over a very long horizon.

所以我想，我不准備談論任何具體的事情，但我們確實一直在關注事情，因為執行特別有機類型的項目需要很長的準備時間。我們擁有出色的資產負債表，非常強大的資產負債表，而且我們仍然非常靈活。如果我們要進入更困難的經濟形勢，那可能會為我們提供有吸引力的機會來審視。憑藉我們強大的資產負債表，我們當然希望能夠看到這一點。但我們總是重視它們，並從很長的角度考慮它們。

Our next call today comes from Phil Gibbs of KeyBanc Capital Markets.

我們今天的下一個電話來自 KeyBanc Capital Markets 的 Phil Gibbs。

On the fiscal '23 initial guidance for CapEx of, I think, in the range of nearly $500 million. What's your assumption in that for your new proposed Northeast U.S. mill? And have you begun ordering the equipment for that given the lead times necessary for a lot of the plans on the books here?

我認為，在 23 財年資本支出的初步指導範圍內，接近 5 億美元。您對新提議的美國東北部工廠有何假設？考慮到這裡書中許多計劃所需的交貨時間，您是否已經開始為此訂購設備？

Yes, Phil. The -- as we look at the sort of the construction process associated with a new facility, the permitting process is generally one in which it's a year to 15 months or so. And so we have not got any significant amounts in the guidance that we provided for '23 with respect to that project just simply because outside some initial down payment it would not be a significant amount of outlay that we would expect to do during that permitting process.

是的，菲爾。 - 當我們查看與新設施相關的建設過程時，許可過程通常是一年到 15 個月左右的過程。因此，我們在 23 年就該項目提供的指導中沒有得到任何大筆金額，這僅僅是因為除了一些初始首付之外，我們希望在該許可過程中進行的支出不會很大.

As it relates to your second half of the question, we've had a lot of discussions with equipment suppliers and we're confident and they have assured us that they have the capacity to take care of our needs when the time comes.

由於它與您問題的後半部分有關，我們已經與設備供應商進行了很多討論，我們有信心，他們向我們保證，他們有能力在時機成熟時滿足我們的需求。

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

此時，似乎沒有進一步的問題。史密斯女士，我現在把電話轉給你。

Thank you, everyone, for joining us on today's conference call. We look forward to speaking with many of you during our investor calls in the coming days and weeks. Thank you so much.

謝謝大家加入我們今天的電話會議。我們期待在未來幾天和幾週的投資者電話會議上與你們中的許多人交談。太感謝了。

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。您現在可以斷開連接。