Commercial Metals Co (CMC) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome everyone to the Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2022 Earnings Call for Commercial Metals Company.

您好，歡迎大家參加商業金屬公司 2022 財年第四季度財報電話會議。

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. After the company's remarks, we will have a question-and-answer session, and we'll have a few instructions at that time.

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。公司發言結束後，我們會有一個問答環節，到時候我們會有一些說明。

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 timeline 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，公司未來的運營結果，財務措施和資本支出。

This and other similar statements are considered forward-looking and may involve certain assumptions and speculation and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could 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.

本聲明和其他類似聲明被視為前瞻性聲明，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存在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情況的信念，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，包括公司的10-K 表格的最新年度報告和 10-Q 表格的後續季度報告。

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

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。所有聲明僅在此日期作出。預期——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、預期或未預期事件的發生、新信息或情況或其他有關的這些陳述。

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. Please go ahead.

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。請繼續。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining CMC's Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call.

大家早上好，感謝您參加 CMC 的第四季度收益電話會議。

As reported in the press release, it was an outstanding quarter, and I'd like to thank CMC's roughly 12,000 employees for their continued hard work and focused efforts on behalf of our customers and stakeholders. You make these results possible. I would also like to thank our customers for their continued trust and partnership with CMC.

正如新聞稿中所報導的，這是一個出色的季度，我要感謝 CMC 的大約 12,000 名員工代表我們的客戶和利益相關者繼續辛勤工作和集中努力。你使這些結果成為可能。我還要感謝我們的客戶一直以來對 CMC 的信任和合作。

I will start today's call with a few highlights on CMC's historic performance in fiscal 2022, then discuss our fourth quarter results before providing an update on the current market environment. Paul Lawrence will cover the quarter's financial information in more detail, and I will then conclude with our outlook for the fiscal first quarter, after which we will open the call to questions.

我將在今天的電話會議開始時重點介紹 CMC 在 2022 財年的歷史業績，然後討論我們的第四季度業績，然後再提供有關當前市場環境的最新信息。 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一財季的展望，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. On behalf of CMC's entire team, I'm pleased to report that fiscal 2022 marked the best financial performance in our company's 107-year history. CMC generated its highest ever full year net earnings as well as EBITDA. At the segment level, both North America and Europe reported record results.

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。我代表 CMC 的整個團隊很高興地報告，2022 財年是我們公司 107 年曆史上最好的財務業績。 CMC 創造了有史以來最高的全年淨收益和 EBITDA。在細分市場層面，北美和歐洲均報告了創紀錄的業績。

This strong performance translated into an annual return on invested capital of 25.5%, up over 10 percentage points from the very healthy level achieved the prior year. During each of the last 14 quarters, a period that includes the global pandemic, widespread supply chain dislocations, labor force challenges and a war in Ukraine, CMC has generated annualized ROIC well above 10%. This indicator alone is a confirmation of the strength of our strategy, the consistency of our execution, which is delivering superior value to our shareholders.

這種強勁的表現轉化為 25.5% 的年度投資資本回報率，比上一年的非常健康的水平高出 10 個百分點以上。在過去 14 個季度中，包括全球大流行、廣泛的供應鏈錯位、勞動力挑戰和烏克蘭戰爭在內的每個季度，CMC 的年化投資回報率都遠高於 10%。僅這一指標就證實了我們戰略的實力，我們執行的一致性，為我們的股東帶來了卓越的價值。

Overall, our fiscal 2022 results clearly demonstrate the impact of the thoughtful and decisive strategic actions we've taken over the last several years as well as our team's ability to execute within the strong market conditions present throughout 2022, not to mention the flexibility in our operating model to respond to unforeseen changes and macro events. Our achievements extend beyond CMC's financial record.

總體而言，我們 2022 財年的業績清楚地表明了我們在過去幾年中採取的深思熟慮和果斷的戰略行動的影響，以及我們團隊在整個 2022 年強勁的市場條件下執行的能力，更不用說我們的靈活性了運營模式以應對不可預見的變化和宏觀事件。我們的成就超越了 CMC 的財務記錄。

During fiscal 2022, we continued to deliver on our strategic growth plan, evolve our capital allocation framework and advance our sustainability efforts. All of the actions taken by CMC in fiscal 2022, I am extremely proud of the way of our Polish team responded to the needs of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war in their home country. We have discussed this before, but it's worth repeating. CMC employees opened their homes to refugees. They volunteered at the border on their own time, and they helped transport Ukrainians across the border to safety. CMC's local management opened up company facilities to refugees and provided them with basic necessities. These selfless acts of kindness provided hundreds of people in need of food, shelter, comfort and security, speaking to the character of our people and the culture of our company.

在 2022 財年，我們繼續實施我們的戰略增長計劃，改進我們的資本分配框架並推進我們的可持續發展努力。 CMC 在 2022 財年採取的所有行動，我為我們的波蘭團隊響應逃離本國戰爭的烏克蘭難民的需求的方式感到非常自豪。我們之前已經討論過這個問題，但值得重複。 CMC 員工向難民開放家園。他們在自己的時間在邊境做志願者，並幫助將烏克蘭人運送到安全的邊境。 CMC 的當地管理層向難民開放了公司設施，並為他們提供了基本必需品。這些無私的善舉為數百人提供了食物、住所、舒適和安全的需求，體現了我們員工的性格和公司的文化。

I will add that our team in Poland did all this while navigating a volatile business environment and avoiding disruptions related to the war, the ongoing European energy crisis and supply chain challenges.

我要補充的是，我們在波蘭的團隊在應對動蕩的商業環境並避免與戰爭、持續的歐洲能源危機和供應鏈挑戰相關的干擾的同時做到了這一切。

On the strategic front, CMC took several actions that we expect will provide significant benefits in the years ahead and form the path of meaningful growth for our company. The acquisition of Tensar Corporation, which we completed in April, provides us with a significant new growth platform and enhances our ability to provide valuable solutions to construction customers across a wide variety of end-use applications. Tensar was already on a strong growth trajectory as a leader in innovative geosynthetic and geotechnical construction solutions. In combination with CMC we expect to accelerate Tensar's growth by leveraging CMC's strong commercial relationships and opening new doors for Tensar to demonstrate the value of their unique construction solutions expertise.

在戰略方面，CMC 採取了幾項行動，我們預計這些行動將在未來幾年帶來顯著收益，並為我們公司形成有意義的增長之路。我們於 4 月完成的對坦薩公司的收購為我們提供了一個重要的新增長平台，並增強了我們為各種最終用途應用的建築客戶提供有價值的解決方案的能力。作為創新土工合成材料和岩土工程建築解決方案的領導者，坦薩已經走上了強勁的增長軌道。與 CMC 相結合，我們希望通過利用 CMC 強大的商業關係並為坦薩打開新的大門來展示其獨特的建築解決方案專業知識的價值，從而加速坦薩的增長。

Another major strategic growth initiative is CMC's Arizona 2 project, which remains on track for a spring 2023 start-up. This new manufacturing site will once again be the first micro mill in the world capable of producing both rebar and merchant bar, while also pioneering the Q1 power systems capability of directly connecting to renewable energy sources while also providing additional production efficiencies. Arizona 2's commissioning looks to be well timed to support the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which should begin to increase public infrastructure construction activity next year. We intend to focus initially on ramping up rebar production with the commissioning of merchant products to follow soon after.

另一個重要的戰略增長計劃是 CMC 的 Arizona 2 項目，該項目仍有望在 2023 年春季啟動。這個新的生產基地將再次成為世界上第一家能夠同時生產螺紋鋼和商用棒材的微型軋機，同時還率先實現了 Q1 電力系統直接連接可再生能源的能力，同時還提供了額外的生產效率。亞利桑那 2 號的投產似乎適時支持基礎設施投資和就業法案，該法案應該會在明年開始增加公共基礎設施建設活動。我們打算最初專注於提高螺紋鋼產量，隨後不久將調試商業產品。

Currently, we expect to produce a mix of approximately 2/3 rebar and 1/3 merchant bar on a run rate annual basis. But the beauty of Arizona 2 is the flexibility to seamlessly change that mix based on market demand.

目前，我們預計每年將生產約 2/3 的螺紋鋼和 1/3 的普通鋼筋。但是，Arizona 2 的美妙之處在於可以根據市場需求無縫更改組合的靈活性。

An important part of building for the future is CMC's intent to construct a fourth micro mill to be located in the Eastern U.S. We view this as a major strategic step towards strengthening our position in this key market, enhancing our ability to optimize production and logistics across our network of mills, and improving customer service capabilities. We will work through the final site selection process. While we work through the final site selection process, we remain committed to the project and confident in its financial and strategic merits. We look forward to sharing more details once a site selection is finalized.

未來建設的一個重要部分是 CMC 打算在美國東部建造第四家微型工廠。我們認為這是加強我們在這個關鍵市場的地位、提高我們優化生產和物流能力的重要戰略步驟。我們的工廠網絡，並提高客戶服務能力。我們將完成最終的選址過程。在完成最終選址過程的同時，我們仍然致力於該項目，並對其財務和戰略優勢充滿信心。我們期待在最終確定選址後分享更多詳細信息。

To give you a sense of the scale of these 3 strategic initiatives I just outlined, we expect the combined effect will be to increase CMC through-the-cycle EBITDA by more than $200 million, not including future commercial synergies related to the Tensar acquisition.

為了讓您了解我剛剛概述的這 3 項戰略舉措的規模，我們預計綜合效應將使 CMC 全週期 EBITDA 增加超過 2 億美元，不包括與坦薩收購相關的未來商業協同效應。

During last year's fourth quarter earnings call, we indicated that CMC was evolving its capital allocation framework to enhance distributions to shareholders. The intent was to continue emphasizing value accretive growth while increasing cash returns to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. In light of the strategic actions just outlined and a 300% increase to cash distributions, we are certainly making good progress on both goals. During the fourth quarter alone, CMC repurchased approximately $106 million of common stock equal to approximately 3 million shares. Our financial strength provides us with the ability to continue executing against our current program, and we intend to do so.

在去年第四季度的財報電話會議上，我們表示 CMC 正在改進其資本分配框架，以加強對股東的分配。其目的是繼續強調價值增值增長，同時以股息和股票回購的形式增加股東的現金回報。鑑於剛剛概述的戰略行動和 300% 的現金分配增加，我們肯定在這兩個目標上都取得了良好進展。僅在第四季度，CMC 就回購了約 1.06 億美元的普通股，相當於約 300 萬股。我們的財務實力為我們提供了繼續執行當前計劃的能力，我們打算這樣做。

In addition to share buybacks, we are also utilizing CMC's dividend policy to return more cash to shareholders. This week, our Board of Directors approved a $0.02 increase to CMC's quarterly dividend. This represents a 14% increase to July's level and a 33% increase to the amount paid in July of last year.

除了股票回購，我們還利用 CMC 的股息政策向股東返還更多現金。本週，我們的董事會批准將 CMC 的季度股息增加 0.02 美元。這比 7 月份的水平增加了 14%，比去年 7 月支付的金額增加了 33%。

Before I turn to our fourth quarter results, I would also like to take a moment to emphasize the advancement of CMC's sustainability efforts. Since our inception as a single recycling location over 100 years ago, environmental stewardship has been central to our purpose and culture. We continued that legacy in fiscal 2022 with the launch of our RebarZero line of carbon-neutral long steel products. By combining CMC Steel, which already has among the lowest Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions in the industry, with renewable energy credits and high-quality carbon offsets, we are now able to provide customers with solutions that are net 0 from the mill gate to the job site. RebarZero neutralizes Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions at both our mills and fabrication shops and ensures our environmentally focused customers can remain at the leading edge of sustainable construction.

在談到我們的第四季度業績之前，我還想花點時間強調 CMC 在可持續發展方面的努力。自 100 多年前我們作為一個單一的回收地點成立以來，環境管理一直是我們的目標和文化的核心。我們在 2022 財年延續了這一傳統，推出了碳中性長鋼產品 RebarZero 系列。通過將 CMC Steel（已經在行業中的範圍 1 和 2 溫室氣體排放量中最低）與可再生能源信用和高質量的碳補償相結合，我們現在能夠為客戶提供從工廠門開始的淨 0 解決方案到工作現場。 RebarZero 在我們的工廠和製造車間中和了範圍 1、2 和 3 的排放，並確保我們以環保為重點的客戶能夠保持在可持續建築的前沿。

Reporting on CMC's sustainability programs and providing meaningful disclosures on a timely basis remains a high priority for our company. To that end, we will be issuing our enhanced annual sustainability report in December.

報告 CMC 的可持續發展計劃並及時提供有意義的披露仍然是我們公司的重中之重。為此，我們將在 12 月發布增強版年度可持續發展報告。

Turning now to our fourth quarter '22 performance. CMC generated net earnings of $288.6 million or $2.40 per diluted share on net sales of $2.4 billion. Excluding the impact of nonoperational items that Paul will discuss, adjusted earnings were $294.9 million or $2.45 per diluted share, the second best quarterly result in our company's history.

現在轉向我們 22 年第四季度的表現。 CMC 產生了 2.886 億美元的淨收益，即每股攤薄收益 2.40 美元，淨銷售額為 24 億美元。排除 Paul 將討論的非運營項目的影響，調整後的收益為 2.949 億美元或每股攤薄收益 2.45 美元，這是我們公司歷史上第二好的季度業績。

CMC generated core EBITDA of $419 million, an increase of 64% from a year ago. With this quarter's strong performance CMC achieved an annualized return on invested capital of 24%. Our past and current strategic actions have clearly created consistent and substantial value for shareholders, and we are poised to continue doing so.

CMC 的核心 EBITDA 為 4.19 億美元，同比增長 64%。憑藉本季度的強勁表現，CMC 實現了 24% 的年化投資回報率。我們過去和當前的戰略行動顯然為股東創造了一致且可觀的價值，我們準備繼續這樣做。

I would now like to turn to CMC's market environment, starting with North America. We are well aware of the recessionary concerns that are growing in the investment community and being reported in the financial press, and we are monitoring these conditions closely. However, looking at our business, we see no meaningful signs of a slowdown. Demand in the fourth quarter was strong across our product lines in major geographies, with the exception of some inventory destocking that resulted from customers carrying higher inventory than historical norms, in order to manage ongoing supply chain constraints.

我現在想談談 CMC 的市場環境，從北美開始。我們非常了解投資界日益增長的經濟衰退擔憂，並在金融媒體上進行了報導，我們正在密切關注這些情況。然而，從我們的業務來看，我們沒有看到任何有意義的放緩跡象。第四季度我們在主要地區的產品線的需求強勁，除了一些庫存去庫存是由於客戶的庫存高於歷史標準，以管理持續的供應鏈限制。

The key indicators that lead rebar consumption by 9 to 12 months remains strong. These indicators include both external and internal metrics that have been historically reliable in our indices we often reference in our market commentary.

將螺紋鋼消費量提前 9 至 12 個月的關鍵指標依然強勁。這些指標包括在我們的指數中歷來可靠的外部和內部指標，我們經常在市場評論中引用這些指標。

Let me review several of the key external indicators we monitor. The Architectural Billings Index has been in expansionary territory for over a year, signaling future growth in private nonresidential spending. Additionally, readings have been consistently positive for each of the project types tracked, commercial and industrial, institutional and residential. Strength in residential is being driven by increased activity in multifamily developments. In August, multifamily housing starts reached the highest monthly level in 37 years.

讓我回顧一下我們監控的幾個關鍵外部指標。建築比林斯指數一年多來一直處於擴張區域，預示著私人非住宅支出的未來增長。此外，所跟踪的每種項目類型（商業和工業、機構和住宅）的讀數一直是積極的。多戶住宅開發活動的增加推動了住宅的實力。 8月份，多戶住宅開工達到37年來的最高月度水平。

The Dodge Momentum Index, another measure of nonresidential projects entering the planning phase, hit a 14-year high in September. The reading was published just last week and highlighted strong growth in both the commercial and institutional components of the index. Data centers, education, health care and recreation were reported as areas of particular strength. CMC's own internal view mirrors the picture provided by these external sources. Our downstream bidding activity remained at historically high levels during the fourth quarter driven by a broad basket of project types in both the public and private sectors.

道奇動量指數是衡量進入規劃階段的非住宅項目的另一個指標，在 9 月創下 14 年新高。該讀數於上周剛剛發布，突顯了該指數的商業和機構成分的強勁增長。據報導，數據中心、教育、醫療保健和娛樂是特別強的領域。 CMC 自己的內部視圖反映了這些外部資源提供的圖片。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四季度保持在歷史高位。

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 towards strong go-forward demand. Beyond the near-term, we believe there are structural trends underway that will bolster domestic construction activity. The first is a federal infrastructure package signed into law last November. 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 roughly 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.

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強勁的前進需求。在短期之外，我們認為正在出現的結構性趨勢將提振國內建築活動。第一個是去年 11 月簽署成為法律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，在約 900 萬噸的國內市場中，每年螺紋鋼需求將增加約 150 萬噸，相當於消費量增加約 17%。

Spending is expected to ramp up over 5 years and assuming typical timeframes for project approval, bidding and awarding, we should begin to see the impact on construction activity in calendar 2023. Supporting this view, third-party data that tracks projects in predesign and design phases indicates a large volume of work is now moving through the pipeline. These projects should translate into healthy future flow of CMC bidding bookings to backlog activity in the coming quarters.

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，我們應該開始看到 2023 日曆對建築活動的影響。支持這一觀點，跟踪預設計和設計項目的第三方數據階段表明大量工作正在通過管道進行。這些項目應轉化為未來幾個季度 CMC 招標預訂的健康流動，以積壓活動。

Another meaningful structural trend is the reshoring of critical industries. We have previously mentioned the massive scale and pace of construction of new semiconductor facilities. Since our last earnings call in June, there have been at least 3 new major announcements, including $100 billion multiphase development in Upstate New York, a [$15 billion] memory chip plant in Idaho, and a $5 billion silicon wafer plant in Texas. CMC is well situated geographically to participate in each of these projects.

另一個有意義的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。自我們 6 月份的上次財報電話會議以來，至少有 3 項新的重大公告，包括紐約州北部的 1000 億美元多階段開發、愛達荷州 [150 億美元] 的內存芯片工廠和德克薩斯州的 50 億美元矽晶圓工廠。 CMC 地理位置優越，可以參與其中的每一個項目。

These recent announcements are in addition to 5 large projects that are already underway in the U.S. CMC will participate in all of these projects with 2 each in Arizona and Texas and 1 in Ohio. These plants are massive consumers of rebar given the precision needed on the work floor, which necessitates rigidity and foundations and building structure. Each plant announced or under construction, is planned in multiple phases, meaning that its consumption of rebar will carry well into the future.

這些最近的公告是對已在美國進行的 5 個大型項目的補充。CMC 將參與所有這些項目，其中 2 個在亞利桑那州和德克薩斯州，1 個在俄亥俄州。考慮到工作地板所需的精度，這些工廠是鋼筋的大量消費者，這需要剛性、地基和建築結構。每個宣布或在建的工廠都計劃分多個階段進行，這意味著其螺紋鋼消費將持續到未來。

Semiconductor chip and wafer plants are the highest profile examples of reshoring, but other industries are also experiencing increased activity or project planning. These would include LNG facilities for the export of natural gas as well as the automotive supply chain with a particular focus on electric vehicles and battery production. The last 3 years have exposed the vulnerabilities of concentrated global supply chains, structured to operate under stable conditions and cooperative political regimes. Pandemic, geopolitical events have reminded us of the need for a more distributed set of sourcing options, ensuring reliability and flexibility in securing critical materials and equipment. Eventually, we expect reshoring to extend well beyond the areas we just discussed.

半導體芯片和晶圓廠是回流最引人注目的例子，但其他行業的活動或項目規劃也在增加。這些將包括用於天然氣出口的液化天然氣設施以及汽車供應鏈，特別關注電動汽車和電池生產。過去 3 年暴露了集中的全球供應鏈的脆弱性，這些供應鏈的結構是在穩定的條件和合作的政治體制下運作。大流行、地緣政治事件提醒我們需要一套更加分散的採購選項，以確保在保護關鍵材料和設備方面的可靠性和靈活性。最終，我們預計回流將遠遠超出我們剛剛討論的領域。

Turning to merchant bar. Underlying demand conditions in end-use OEM markets are generally stable. The industry did experience a short-term destocking during July and August, which can be seen in our reported volume figures. The destocking was triggered by the expectation for the first downward price adjustment for merchant bar in over 2 years. That looks to have run its course as service centers appear to be purchasing in line with real demand levels.

轉向商家吧。最終用途 OEM 市場的潛在需求狀況總體穩定。該行業在 7 月和 8 月確實經歷了短期去庫存，這可以從我們報告的數量數據中看出。去庫存是由於預期商家酒吧兩年多來首次下調價格而引發的。隨著服務中心的採購似乎與實際需求水平一致，這種情況似乎已經結束。

Based on conversations with OEMs and September's service center order rates, we anticipate merchant bar volumes to be strong in the first quarter.

根據與 OEM 的對話和 9 月份服務中心的訂單率，我們預計第一季度的酒吧銷量將強勁。

As you might expect, market conditions in Europe are more challenging. Overall construction activity continued to grow on a year-over-year basis during the fourth quarter. However, residential activity, which has been strong for more than a year, began to show signs of slowing during the quarter due to the impact of rising mortgage interest rates. In addition, as a result of the ongoing energy crisis, industrial activity in Central Europe is now contracting. This has impacted demand for merchant bar and some wire rod products. Turnaround in this activity likely depends on the success of the European Union's efforts to lower energy prices from their current historically high levels.

正如您所料，歐洲的市場條件更具挑戰性。第四季度整體建築活動繼續同比增長。然而，由於抵押貸款利率上升的影響，一年多來一直強勁的住宅活動在本季度開始出現放緩跡象。此外，由於持續的能源危機，中歐的工業活動現在正在收縮。這影響了對商品棒材和一些線材產品的需求。這一活動的好轉可能取決於歐盟將能源價格從目前的歷史高位降低的努力是否成功。

General destocking among end users and intermediaries negatively impacted volumes for most products during the fourth quarter. This reflected the unwinding of the panic buying that took place in March and April and a portion in May following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine as well as the uncertainty surrounding newly announced trade sanctions. Results of the destocking was reflected in CMC shipments in the early part of the fourth quarter. Encouragingly, volumes rebounded nicely, and we anticipate that this improved pace will carry into our first quarter.

最終用戶和中間商的普遍去庫存對第四季度大多數產品的銷量產生了負面影響。這反映了烏克蘭戰爭爆發後 3 月和 4 月以及 5 月的部分恐慌性購買的平息，以及圍繞新宣布的貿易制裁的不確定性。去庫存的結果反映在第四季度初的 CMC 出貨量中。令人鼓舞的是，銷量反彈良好，我們預計這種改善的步伐將持續到我們的第一季度。

As illustrated on Slide 9 in the supplemental presentation, the energy crisis, combined with trade sanctions, has impacted historical trade flows in the region, which has benefited Poland on a relative basis. Poland's net rebar import position has declined significantly compared to a year ago, looking at trade flows with countries both inside and outside the European Union. Poland's trade with EU countries has benefited from a relatively advantageous energy cost position, whereas the average spot price for electricity was up over 280% on a year-over-year basis across Germany, France and Italy -- it was up a more modest 98% in Poland.

如補充演示文稿中的幻燈片 9 所示，能源危機與貿易制裁相結合，影響了該地區的歷史貿易流動，這在相對基礎上使波蘭受益。從與歐盟內外國家的貿易流量來看，波蘭的螺紋鋼淨進口頭寸與一年前相比顯著下降。波蘭與歐盟國家的貿易受益於相對有利的能源成本地位，而德國、法國和意大利的平均現貨電力價格同比上漲超過 280%——上漲幅度較為溫和，為 98 % 在波蘭。

With regards to rebar trade within countries outside the EU, little foreign material has entered the Polish market to offset the loss of Russian and Belarusian rebar. Imports have increased significantly into the broader EU, but this material has gone to countries that are more logistically accessible and are experiencing higher energy costs.

關於歐盟以外國家的螺紋鋼貿易，幾乎沒有外國材料進入波蘭市場以抵消俄羅斯和白俄羅斯螺紋鋼的損失。對更廣泛的歐盟的進口量顯著增加，但這種材料流向了物流更方便且能源成本更高的國家。

One last note on Europe. The tendency might be to view our fourth quarter performance as a large reduction from the historical heights of the third quarter. The third quarter was extraordinarily unusual and unlikely to be repeated. From a humanitarian perspective, I certainly hope it is never repeated.

關於歐洲的最後一點。趨勢可能是將我們的第四季度業績視為比第三季度的歷史高點大幅下降。第三季度異常不同尋常，不太可能重演。從人道主義的角度來看，我當然希望它永遠不會重演。

Looking at the fourth quarter in a broader historical context, however, reveals it was an excellent result, with adjusted EBITDA at 3x the average rate of the past 10 fiscal years. This becomes even more impressive when you consider the difficulties being faced across the EU steel industry. Such a strong financial performance in an uncertain environment, is 1 of the many reasons we are confident in CMC Europe's competitive position.

然而，從更廣泛的歷史背景來看，第四季度是一個出色的結果，調整後的 EBITDA 是過去 10 個財年平均水平的 3 倍。當您考慮到整個歐盟鋼鐵行業面臨的困難時，這變得更加令人印象深刻。在不確定的環境中如此強勁的財務表現，是我們對 CMC Europe 的競爭地位充滿信心的眾多原因之一。

Finally, as stated in our press release, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16 per share of CMC common stock for stockholders of record on October 27, 2022. The dividend will be paid on November 10, 2022. This represents CMC's 232nd consecutive quarterly dividend with an annual -- with an amount paid per share increasing 14% from quarter 3 of fiscal 2022 and represents, as I said earlier, a meaningful increase in our return of capital to shareholders.

最後，如我們的新聞稿中所述，我們的董事會於 2022 年 10 月 27 日宣布向登記在冊的股東派發每股 CMC 普通股 0.16 美元的季度現金股息。股息將於 2022 年 11 月 10 日支付。這代表了 CMC 的連續第 232 個季度派息，年度派息——與 2022 財年第三季度相比，每股支付的金額增加了 14%，正如我之前所說，這意味著我們對股東的資本回報顯著增加。

With that 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.

有了這個概述，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 today.

謝謝你，芭芭拉，今天電話中的每個人早上好。

As Barbara noted, we reported fiscal fourth quarter 2022 net earnings of $288.6 million or $2.40 per diluted share compared to prior year levels of $152.3 million and $1.24, respectively. Results this quarter include a net after-tax charge of $6.3 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 includes a small asset impairment charge taken in North America. Excluding the impact of these items, adjusted earnings were $294.9 million or $2.45 per diluted share. Core EBITDA was $419 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, representing a sharp increase from the $255.9 million generated during the prior year period.

正如芭芭拉所指出的，我們報告了 2022 財年第四季度的淨收益為 2.886 億美元或稀釋後每股收益 2.40 美元，而去年的水平分別為 1.523 億美元和 1.24 美元。本季度的業績包括 630 萬美元的稅後淨費用，其中大部分與 CMC 對坦薩的收購有關。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 2.949 億美元或每股攤薄收益 2.45 美元。 2022 年第四季度的核心 EBITDA 為 4.19 億美元，比去年同期的 2.559 億美元大幅增加。

Slide 11 of the supplemental presentation illustrates the strength of CMC's quarterly results. Our North America segment drove the significant year-over-year earnings growth, while Europe held steady at a strong level. Core EBITDA per ton of finished steel reached its second highest rate ever coming in at $269 per ton compared to $155 per ton a year ago.

補充演示文稿的幻燈片 11 說明了 CMC 季度業績的實力。我們的北美部門推動了顯著的同比收益增長，而歐洲則保持強勁水平。每噸成品鋼材的核心 EBITDA 達到有史以來的第二高，為每噸 269 美元，而一年前為每噸 155 美元。

Reviewing our results by segment for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, CMC's North American segment generated adjusted EBITDA of $370.5 million for the quarter, equal to $327 per ton of finished steel shipped. Segment adjusted EBITDA improved 75% on a year-over-year basis, driven by significantly increased margins on steel and downstream products over their underlying scrap costs. Partially offsetting this benefit were higher controllable costs on a per ton of finished steel basis due primarily to increases in unit pricing for alloys, energy and freight.

回顧我們在 2022 財年第四季度按部門劃分的業績，CMC 的北美部門在本季度產生了 3.705 億美元的調整後 EBITDA，相當於每噸成品鋼出貨 327 美元。部門調整後的 EBITDA 同比增長 75%，原因是鋼鐵和下游產品的利潤率顯著高於其基本廢品成本。每噸成品鋼的可控成本較高，部分抵消了這一好處，這主要是由於合金、能源和貨運的單位價格上漲。

Selling prices for steel products from our mills increased by $204 per ton on a year-over-year basis and were essentially flat from the prior quarter. Margin over scrap on steel products increased $251 per ton from a year ago. In comparison to our third quarter, metal margin increased $79 per ton in the fourth quarter due to reduced scrap costs. However, not all of this benefit was realized in the quarter as we were selling material produced with higher scrap costs from the prior quarter.

我們鋼廠的鋼材銷售價格同比上漲 204 美元/噸，與上一季度基本持平。鋼鐵產品的廢鋼利潤率比一年前增加了每噸 251 美元。與我們的第三季度相比，由於廢鋼成本降低，第四季度金屬利潤率每噸增加了 79 美元。然而，由於我們銷售的是上一季度廢料成本較高的材料，因此並非所有這些好處都在本季度實現。

The average selling price of downstream products increased by $334 per ton from the prior year, reaching a new record of $1,348. The spread of our downstream average selling price above our cost of scrap at the mill also reached a new record of $876 per ton. This is a good measure of the total margin available to CMC through our integrated production network. This trend should continue into fiscal 2023 as our backlog continues to reprice higher.

下游產品平均售價較上年每噸上漲 334 美元，創下 1,348 美元的新紀錄。我們的下游平均售價高於我們在工廠的廢鋼成本的價差也達到了每噸 876 美元的新紀錄。這是衡量 CMC 通過我們的綜合生產網絡可獲得的總利潤的一個很好的衡量標準。隨著我們的積壓訂單繼續重新定價，這種趨勢應該會持續到 2023 財年。

Shipments of finished product in the fourth quarter were down modestly from a year ago and followed a typical seasonal pattern compared to the third quarter. End market demand for our mill products remained robust. However, as Barbara mentioned, shipments were impacted during the quarter by destocking in the merchant bar supply chain, which now appears to have abated. Additionally, progress on construction sites in certain geographies continue to be slower than normal due to constrained supply of labor and materials. We expect this situation to dissipate heading into the winter months.

與去年同期相比，第四季度成品出貨量略有下降，與第三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。然而，正如芭芭拉所說，本季度的出貨量受到了酒吧供應鏈去庫存的影響，現在這種情況似乎已經減弱。此外，由於勞動力和材料供應受限，某些地區的建築工地進度繼續慢於正常水平。我們預計這種情況會在冬季消失。

CMC's downstream shipments increased by roughly 4% from the prior year period, driven by the growth in our construction backlog, which more than offset the impact of the slower job site performance just mentioned.

CMC 的下游出貨量較上年同期增長約 4%，這是由於我們的建築積壓增長，這足以抵消剛才提到的工地表現放緩的影響。

Turning to Slide 13 of the supplemental deck. Our Europe segment generated adjusted EBITDA of $64.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to adjusted EBITDA of $67.7 million in the prior year quarter. Margins over scrap increased $138 per ton on a year-over-year basis, reaching $453 per ton. This was the result of $125 per ton increase in average selling price and a $12 per ton reduction in the cost of scrap utilized. This margin benefit was offset by higher costs for energy and alloys, and the negative P&L impact of selling higher cost inventory into a falling price environment, as well as the weakening Polish Zloty relative to the U.S. dollar.

轉到補充甲板的幻燈片 13。我們的歐洲部門在 2022 年第四季度產生了 6410 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA，而去年同期為 6770 萬美元。廢鋼利潤率同比增長 138 美元/噸，達到 453 美元/噸。這是因為平均售價每噸增加 125 美元，而廢鋼使用成本每噸減少 12 美元。這一利潤優勢被能源和合金成本的上升、在價格下跌的環境中出售成本較高的庫存帶來的負面損益影響以及波蘭茲羅提相對於美元走弱所抵消。

CMC's energy hedge position once again paid significant dividends as actual costs were well below the levels that would have been paid had we purchased solely on a spot basis. Europe volumes decreased 7% compared to the prior year as a result of supply chain destocking that Barbara outlined previously. Demand conditions within Central Europe were mixed. The Polish construction market continued to grow, while industrial production has entered a contractionary phase as a result of the ongoing energy crisis. We believe CMC is well-positioned for this current period of volatility in Europe. We are a low-cost leader with operational flexibility to adjust and serve a changing market condition.

CMC 的能源對沖頭寸再次獲得了可觀的紅利，因為實際成本遠低於我們僅以現貨為基礎購買的水平。由於 Barbara 之前概述的供應鏈去庫存，歐洲的銷量與去年相比下降了 7%。中歐的需求狀況喜憂參半。波蘭建築市場繼續增長，而由於持續的能源危機，工業生產已進入收縮階段。我們認為 CMC 在當前歐洲動盪時期處於有利地位。我們是低成本的領導者，具有運營靈活性，可以調整和服務於不斷變化的市場條件。

Tensar generated EBITDA of $10.2 million during the fourth quarter. Excluding the $6.5 million adjustment related to purchase accounting effect on inventory, amounted to $16.7 million on net sales of $74.1 million, yielding an EBITDA margin of 22.5%. As a reminder, Tensar performance will be included within CMC's existing segments, but we intend to provide visibility into business results and developments. Of the $16.7 million in EBITDA, excluding purchase accounting adjustments, $13.8 million was included within CMC's North American segment, while the remaining $2.9 million was reported within the Europe segment. It should be noted that at this time, we do not expect any further purchase accounting adjustments related to this acquisition.

坦薩第四季度的 EBITDA 為 1020 萬美元。不包括與採購會計對庫存影響相關的 650 萬美元調整，淨銷售額為 7410 萬美元，為 1670 萬美元，EBITDA 利潤率為 22.5%。提醒一下，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可見性。在 1670 萬美元的 EBITDA 中，不包括採購會計調整，1380 萬美元包含在 CMC 的北美分部，而其餘 290 萬美元則在歐洲分部。需要注意的是，目前我們預計不會有任何與此次收購相關的進一步採購會計調整。

Moving to the balance sheet. As of August 31, 2022, cash and cash equivalents totaled $672.6 million. In addition to cash and equivalents, we had approximately $647 million of availability under our credit and accounts receivable facilities, bringing total liquidity to slightly over $1.3 billion. CMC's $330 million of 2023 notes have moved into current maturities on our balance sheet. These notes do not have any early call provision and 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 gross leverage.

轉移到資產負債表。截至 2022 年 8 月 31 日，現金和現金等價物總額為 6.726 億美元。除了現金和等價物外，我們的信貸和應收賬款設施下的可用資金約為 6.47 億美元，使總流動性略高於 13 億美元。 CMC 3.3 億美元的 2023 年票據已進入我們資產負債表上的當前到期日。這些票據沒有任何提前贖回條款，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頭寸以及利用現金降低 CMC 整體總槓桿的承諾的再融資方案。

During the quarter, we generated $458.6 million of cash from operating activities, which included approximately a $90 million release of working capital, principally driven from the lower scrap costs. For the year, CMC generated $700 million of cash from operations despite investing $573.2 million in working capital. Our free cash flow in fiscal 2022 amounted to $250 million, defined as our $700 million in cash from operations less $450 million of capital expenditures. That does not -- that figure does not include the $315 million harvested from asset sales to support our overall strategic vision.

在本季度，我們從運營活動中產生了 4.586 億美元的現金，其中包括大約 9000 萬美元的營運資金釋放，主要是由於廢料成本的降低。儘管在營運資金上投資了 5.732 億美元，但 CMC 全年從運營中產生了 7 億美元的現金。我們在 2022 財年的自由現金流為 2.5 億美元，定義為我們 7 億美元的運營現金減去 4.5 億美元的資本支出。這不——這個數字不包括從資產出售中獲得的 3.15 億美元，以支持我們的整體戰略願景。

Our leverage metrics remain attractive and have improved significantly over the last several fiscal years. As can be seen on Slide 17, our net debt-to-EBITDA ratio now sits at just 0.5x, even after the purchase of Tensar. We believe our robust balance sheet and overall financial strength provide us the flexibility to finance our strategic organic growth projects and pursue opportunistic M&A while continuing to return cash to shareholders.

我們的槓桿指標仍然具有吸引力，並且在過去幾個財年中得到了顯著改善。從幻燈片 17 中可以看出，我們的淨債務與 EBITDA 比率現在僅為 0.5 倍，即使在購買了坦薩之後也是如此。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's effective tax rate in the quarter was 14.8%, driven by the timing of recognition of research and development and foreign tax credits. Looking ahead to fiscal 2023, we currently expect our full year effective tax rate to be between 22% and 25%, with our cash tax rate to be slightly lower at approximately 20%.

CMC 在本季度的有效稅率為 14.8%，主要受研發和外國稅收抵免確認時間的推動。展望 2023 財年，我們目前預計全年有效稅率將在 22% 至 25% 之間，我們的現金稅率將略低，約為 20%。

Turning to CMC's fiscal 2023 capital spending outlook. We expect to invest $450 million to $500 million in total, roughly 1/3 of which can be attributable to Arizona 2. As Barbara noted, our announced fourth micro mill project remains in the site selection phase. As a reminder, we assess projects like this viewing the through-the-cycle cash flow generation of projects. So while the site selection has taken longer than anticipated, we remain very encouraged by the strategic merits of this project.

轉向 CMC 的 2023 財年資本支出前景。我們預計總共投資 4.5 億至 5 億美元，其中大約 1/3 可歸因於亞利桑那 2。正如 Barbara 所指出的，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，我們評估這樣的項目，查看項目的整個週期現金流產生。因此，雖然選址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 3 million shares during the fiscal fourth quarter at an average price of $35.48 per share. Transactions since the initiation of the buyback program have amounted to roughly $161.9 million, leaving $188.1 million remaining under the program.

最後，CMC 在第四財季以每股 35.48 美元的平均價格購買了大約 300 萬股股票。自回購計劃啟動以來的交易總額約為 1.619 億美元，該計劃下剩餘 1.881 億美元。

And this concludes my remarks, so I'll turn it back to Barbara for comments on our outlook.

我的發言到此結束，所以我將把它轉回給芭芭拉，請她對我們的前景發表評論。

Thank you, Paul. We are entering fiscal 2023 in a strong position with the downstream backlog and bidding activity at historically high levels, giving us confidence in the near-term outlook for volumes. Additionally, we look forward to the start-up of our newest micro mill, Arizona 2, in the spring of next calendar year, which will greatly enhance CMC's ability to capitalize on the strength we see in construction markets.

謝謝你，保羅。我們進入 2023 財年時處於強勢地位，下游積壓和投標活動處於歷史高位，這讓我們對近期的銷量前景充滿信心。此外，我們期待我們最新的微型磨機亞利桑那 2 號在明年春季啟動，這將大大增強 CMC 充分利用我們在建築市場中看到的優勢的能力。

We anticipate another strong financial performance in the first fiscal quarter. We expect good demand for our products to continue in North America, while conditions in Europe are more uncertain. However, as I discussed earlier, CMC's operations in Poland are very well-positioned to compete given their cost leadership position and operational flexibility. Margins over scrap in both North America and Europe are likely to compress slightly from the fourth quarter levels in order to remain competitive with raw material price changes and increased long steel supply.

我們預計第一財季的財務表現將再次強勁。我們預計北美對我們產品的良好需求將繼續，而歐洲的情況則更加不確定。然而，正如我之前所討論的，鑑於 CMC 在波蘭的成本領先地位和運營靈活性，它們在競爭中處於有利地位。北美和歐洲的廢鋼利潤率可能會從第四季度的水平略微壓縮，以便在原材料價格變化和長材供應增加的情況下保持競爭力。

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

我要再次感謝 CMC 的所有員工，感謝他們又一個季度和一年的出色表現。

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

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自高盛的 Emily Chieng。

Thank you for the update this morning. My first question is just around the North American construction markets and what you're seeing here. Could you perhaps provide some color as to how many months [you'll] order book length is now sitting at and how we should be triangulating the comment around customer destocking activity starting to ease and the expansion of backlog levels? Is that implication that we should be seeing shipments in the next couple of quarters trend higher?

感謝您今天早上的更新。我的第一個問題是關於北美建築市場以及您在這裡看到的情況。您能否提供一些顏色，說明 [您將] 訂單長度現在處於多少個月，以及我們應該如何對圍繞客戶去庫存活動開始緩解和積壓水平擴大的評論進行三角測量？這是否意味著我們應該看到未來幾個季度的出貨量呈上升趨勢？

Thank you, Emily. Our backlog extends well into 2023. And so we're sitting in an excellent condition and with a lot of confidence in terms of the comment I made around a really solid first quarter in fiscal 2023. Whenever there is a raw material price change, particularly a downward trend in raw materials, you will tend to see customers go through a bit of destocking. They don't want to be saddled with high-priced inventory. So they'll adjust their order rate temporarily and work through the inventory that they have on hand. And clearly, we know there have been any number of supply chain disruptions over the last 3 years, starting with the pandemic and global macro issues and the war in Ukraine, I think the supply chain issues, while they'll continue to persist to some degree, certainly, the initial shock is behind us, and I think that's another reason why customers were adjusting inventory levels.

謝謝你，艾米麗。我們的積壓工作一直延續到 2023 年。因此，我們處於良好的狀態，並且對我在 2023 財年第一季度非常穩健的評論方面充滿信心。每當原材料價格發生變化時，尤其是原材料呈下降趨勢，您將傾向於看到客戶進行一些去庫存化。他們不想背負高價庫存。所以他們會臨時調整他們的訂單率並處理他們手頭的庫存。很明顯，我們知道在過去 3 年中發生了許多供應鏈中斷，從大流行和全球宏觀問題以及烏克蘭戰爭開始，我認為供應鏈問題，雖然它們將繼續持續到某些當然，最初的衝擊已經過去，我認為這是客戶調整庫存水平的另一個原因。

But based on what we're seeing here early in the quarter, that gives us confidence to say that, that destocking effort is behind us. And so the market fundamentals are going to kick in. And so we would expect a really solid first quarter. You always have seasonality that approaches around the holidays and weather, but otherwise, we see a strong rebound in our shipments.

但根據我們在本季度初看到的情況，這讓我們有信心說，去庫存的努力已經過去了。因此市場基本面將開始發揮作用。因此我們預計第一季度將非常穩健。在假期和天氣前後，您總是會遇到季節性問題，但除此之外，我們的出貨量會出現強勁反彈。

Great. I appreciate the color. Barbara, a follow-up question, if I may, just around the controllable costs. And I think you flagged some pressures along the freight alloying and energy cost side of the equation there. But perhaps if you could talk to a direction of travel for each of those 3 components, both in the U.S. and Europe, that would be helpful.

偉大的。我很欣賞這種顏色。芭芭拉，一個後續問題，如果可以的話，就在可控成本附近。而且我認為你在等式的貨運合金和能源成本方面提出了一些壓力。但是，如果您可以在美國和歐洲討論這三個組成部分中的每一個的行進方向，那可能會有所幫助。

Sure. If we look, Emily at the U.S., I think the -- we had a combination in the energy market of an extremely hot summer as well as the global challenges with natural gas and other energy costs. And so if we look at our cost profile in the U.S. market, certainly, energy was the leading area of inflation. But also as we cited increases in consumables and alloys and freight, I think where we're at today is really we can see our go-forward controllable costs being somewhat in line with what we experienced in the fourth quarter with relatively minor puts and takes in the components of the overall cost structure, but see that as being the environment in which we'll operate in 2023.

當然。如果我們看一下，艾米麗在美國，我認為 - 我們在極其炎熱的夏季的能源市場以及天然氣和其他能源成本的全球挑戰中得到了結合。因此，如果我們看看我們在美國市場的成本狀況，當然，能源是通脹的主要領域。但是，正如我們提到消耗品、合金和運費的增加一樣，我認為我們今天所處的位置確實是我們可以看到我們前進的可控成本與我們在第四季度經歷的情況有些一致，看跌期權相對較小在整體成本結構的組成部分中，但將其視為我們將在 2023 年運營的環境。

In Europe, it is strictly a story of energy costs. And as we outlined and specifically, I think Barbara mentioned Slide 9 of the supplemental slides, we're fortunate to operate in Poland despite the overall inflationary environment in energy, in Europe, Poland is much more advantageous in relation to other countries given its domestic source for much of its energy needs. And so combining the low cost -- lower cost of energy in Poland with the hedges that we have in place, which are at least a good portion of our hedges are of a long-term nature, position us well to really be competitively in a strong position in relation to competitors for a long time to come.

在歐洲，這完全是關於能源成本的故事。正如我們所概述的那樣，我認為芭芭拉特別提到了補充幻燈片的第 9 張幻燈片，儘管能源的整體通貨膨脹環境，我們很幸運在波蘭開展業務，在歐洲，鑑於其國內，波蘭相對於其他國家而言更具優勢其大部分能源需求的來源。因此，將波蘭的低成本——較低的能源成本與我們現有的對沖措施相結合，我們的對沖措施中至少有很大一部分是長期性質的，使我們能夠在一個真正具有競爭力的在很長一段時間內相對於競爭對手的強勢地位。

But in Europe, it is principally energy, the same alloy inflation that we're seeing, but it's relatively small in comparison to the energy.

但在歐洲，主要是能源，與我們看到的合金膨脹相同，但與能源相比，它相對較小。

And our next question is coming from Timna Tanners from Wolfe Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Timna Tanners。

Two things I wanted to explore a bit more with you. If you could characterize more of the import pressure you talked about in both markets. I know in the U.S., definitely a 25% tariff still has a pretty big impact on many countries with section 232. And it seems that Turkey is pretty hobbled with Europe also hobbled from energy prices. So I'm just wondering if you could talk a little bit more about how much pressure you're seeing and if that's pervasive in both markets.

有兩件事我想和你一起探索更多。如果您可以描述您在兩個市場中談到的更多進口壓力。我知道在美國，25% 的關稅肯定對許多有第 232 條的國家產生相當大的影響。而且似乎土耳其與歐洲也步履蹣跚，能源價格也步履蹣跚。所以我只是想知道你是否可以多談談你看到的壓力有多大，以及這在兩個市場中是否普遍存在。

Second question is you talked about housing in Europe, but I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about what you're seeing on the housing side in the U.S.

第二個問題是您談到了歐洲的住房問題，但我想知道您能否談談您在美國住房方面看到的情況。

Yes. Thank you, Timna. Yes, I don't think we want to overemphasize import pressure and all that data is very public, as you know. But they're year-on-year, if you look at '21 versus '22. There has been more foreign product available here in the U.S. market. And a good bit of that coming on the wire rod side. And there were a number of production issues that various competitors over this past year that made it necessary for some customers to avail themselves of those imports.

是的。謝謝你，蒂姆娜。是的，我認為我們不想過分強調進口壓力，所有這些數據都是非常公開的，正如你所知。但是，如果您查看 '21 與 '22，它們是同比增長的。美國市場上有更多的外國產品。在線材方面也有很多。在過去的一年中，各種競爭對手出現了許多生產問題，使得一些客戶有必要利用這些進口產品。

And so as you know, we've been around this industry for a long time. We just -- we deal with that on an ongoing basis. And as you point out, we're still in a really strong trade environment that deters the illegal and dumped sources of material coming from foreign and you rightly point out the struggles that are going on in Turkey, which is the primary offender as it relates to our products. So we monitor it all the time, and we respond accordingly. But again, we think we're still going to enjoy a good trade environment.

如您所知，我們已經在這個行業工作了很長時間。我們只是 - 我們會持續處理這個問題。正如你所指出的，我們仍然處於一個非常強大的貿易環境中，可以阻止來自外國的非法和傾銷材料來源，你正確地指出了土耳其正在進行的鬥爭，這是與之相關的主要罪犯到我們的產品。所以我們一直在監控它，並做出相應的反應。但同樣，我們認為我們仍將享受良好的貿易環境。

In terms of housing in the U.S., it's an interesting one because housing has been incredibly strong for a long period of time here. But now you have a rising interest rate environment and interest rates that folks haven't seen in quite a period of time, unlike myself, where my first mortgage rate was close to 12% (inaudible). I think we're seeing a shift potentially from single-family to multifamily and that is evident in some of the external data that we track. There is still the need for housing formation. And so if interest rates are a deterrent to single family, then you tend to see an increase in multifamily, which is actually a higher intensity of rebar and structural in the multifamily.

就美國的住房而言，這是一個有趣的問題，因為這裡的住房長期以來一直非常強勁。但是現在你有一個上升的利率環境和人們在相當長的一段時間內沒有看到的利率，不像我，我的第一抵押貸款利率接近 12%（聽不清）。我認為我們看到了從單戶到多戶的潛在轉變，這在我們跟踪的一些外部數據中很明顯。仍然需要建造房屋。因此，如果利率對單身家庭構成威懾，那麼您往往會看到多戶家庭的增加，這實際上是多戶家庭中鋼筋和結構強度更高的情況。

So we certainly think that overall, that is not going to have a meaningful impact to our business, because as I pointed out, we still have the infrastructure that is not even really kicking in at this point.

因此，我們當然認為總體而言，這不會對我們的業務產生有意義的影響，因為正如我所指出的，我們仍然擁有目前甚至還沒有真正發揮作用的基礎設施。

Okay. Great. And if I could sneak in 1 more, just to ask about the European first quarter, if you're expecting to see that $15 million carbon credit that you've seen those last several years again?

好的。偉大的。如果我可以再偷偷問一下，問一下歐洲第一季度的情況，你是否期望再次看到你在過去幾年中看到的 1500 萬美元的碳信用額？

We are, Timna. It's going to be -- the amount is yet to be determined and fully approved by the EU. That's expected to occur next week. But all indications are that the amount will be similar in Zloty that we've received over the last couple of years. Obviously, the translation back to dollars is reduced, but we do expect that the final approval of that program to take place next week.

我們是，蒂姆納。它將是 - 金額尚未確定並得到歐盟的完全批准。這預計將在下週發生。但所有跡像都表明，茲羅提的金額與我們在過去幾年中收到的金額相似。顯然，換算成美元的金額有所減少，但我們確實預計該計劃的最終批准將在下週進行。

Our next question is coming from Seth Rosenfeld from BNP Paribas.

我們的下一個問題來自法國巴黎銀行的 Seth Rosenfeld。

Another question, please, on the European market. In your prepared remarks, you commented on destocking early in Q4, but perhaps a reversal of the amortization of the destocking pressure late in the quarter. Can you provide a bit more color on the scale of that downward pressure. And I guess to the degree of confidence that might have come to an end, your optimism would perhaps stand out with some other channel checks in Europe that are still seeing additional destocking pressure looking into the fourth calendar quarter. I'll start there, please.

請再問一個關於歐洲市場的問題。在你準備好的評論中，你評論了第四季度初的去庫存，但可能是在本季度末對去庫存壓力的攤銷進行了逆轉。您能否在向下壓力的範圍內提供更多顏色。而且我想，就可能已經結束的信心程度而言，您的樂觀情緒可能會在歐洲的其他一些渠道檢查中脫穎而出，這些檢查在第四季度仍面臨額外的去庫存壓力。請從這裡開始。

Yes, you're popping a lot, Seth. I'm not sure I captured everything. But I'll start, and Paul can continue if we reask your question. We think the destocking is behind us. Clearly, a lot depends upon just where does the economy in Europe go and everybody has their own view of that. I think we just try to emphasize that we have a strong position relative to other alternatives and we're very reliable. Our cost and operational flexibility is really a strategic advantage for us, but we think the destocking is largely behind us.

是的，賽斯，你經常出事。我不確定我捕捉到了一切。但我會開始，如果我們重新提出您的問題，Paul 可以繼續。我們認為去庫存已經過去了。顯然，很大程度上取決於歐洲經濟的走向，每個人對此都有自己的看法。我認為我們只是試圖強調我們相對於其他替代品具有強大的地位，而且我們非常可靠。我們的成本和運營靈活性對我們來說確實是一個戰略優勢，但我們認為去庫存在很大程度上已經過去了。

Yes. And Seth, I would just note that I think there's a big dichotomy between the long product area and the flat-rolled space. I think in flat rolled, it's continuing to destock, but on the long steel side in which, as you know, that's where we play, it's a different market. The underlying -- there is more strength and we certainly did see the volumes bounce back significantly as Barbara said.

是的。賽斯，我只想指出，我認為長產品區域和平軋空間之間存在很大的二分法。我認為在扁平材方面，它正在繼續去庫存，但在長材方面，如你所知，這就是我們所玩的地方，這是一個不同的市場。潛在的——有更多的力量，正如芭芭拉所說，我們確實看到交易量顯著反彈。

And a second question, please, in Europe. Earlier in the year, your team spoke publicly about some interest in perhaps expanding your capacity within Europe, either organically or inorganically. Obviously, the macro condition has changed a great deal since. And I'd love to hear your thoughts on the attractiveness of investing in Europe in the current environment.

請在歐洲提出第二個問題。今年早些時候，您的團隊公開表示有興趣擴大您在歐洲的產能，無論是有機的還是無機的。顯然，自那以後，宏觀狀況發生了很大變化。我很想听聽您對在當前環境下投資歐洲的吸引力的看法。

Yes. Seth, thank you. We're always evaluating organic, inorganic, every opportunity to look at growth. And I would just say that we take a very long-term view on growth, and we also have a very disciplined process for evaluating any of those types of things. And we never use peak of cycle kinds of market conditions in which to evaluate projects like that. And so there's nothing specific that we have to talk about that in this current moment, but we're always evaluating things with a very, very long-term view.

是的。賽斯，謝謝。我們一直在評估有機的、無機的、每一個關注增長的機會。我只想說，我們對增長持非常長遠的眼光，而且我們也有一個非常嚴格的流程來評估任何這些類型的事情。而且我們從不使用周期峰值類型的市場條件來評估這樣的項目。因此，目前沒有什麼具體的內容可以討論，但我們總是以非常、非常長遠的眼光來評估事情。

(Operator Instructions) And our next question is coming from Phil Gibbs from KeyBanc Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題來自 KeyBanc Capital Markets 的 Phil Gibbs。

First question is just on fabrication pricing. Nice step-up this quarter. I know the backlog pricing continued to move up over the last several months as rebar prices escalated and a lot of that tends to lag as we know. So how many quarters do we have looking ahead where pricing could actually continue to move up? Or have we leveled out here?

第一個問題只是關於製造定價。本季度取得了不錯的進步。我知道在過去幾個月裡，隨著螺紋鋼價格的上漲，積壓訂單價格繼續上漲，而我們知道，其中很多價格往往滯後。那麼，我們預計有多少個季度價格實際上會繼續上漲呢？還是我們在這里平息了？

Yes. Phil, I'll start and Barbara can add. If we look at our current activity that Barbara alluded to, it is strong in the fourth quarter. And really, we continue to see good levels on the downstream work. And as a result, really, the backlog is made up of what's in there and new stuff. So assuming the -- no significant degradation in the pricing of new work going in, we would expect over the next 2 quarters or so for the backlog pricing to continue to catch up with the current price levels.

是的。菲爾，我先開始，芭芭拉可以補充。如果我們看看芭芭拉提到的我們目前的活動，它在第四季度很強勁。實際上，我們繼續看到下游工作的良好水平。結果，實際上，積壓工作由那裡的內容和新內容組成。因此，假設新工作的定價沒有顯著下降，我們預計在接下來的兩個季度左右，積壓定價將繼續趕上當前的價格水平。

Okay. That's helpful. And I know you gave some color on CapEx for this year, $475 million or so at the midpoint. Is there anything baked in there for the new potential mill in the Northeast and whether it be permitting or due diligence? Or is that going to be something that phases into the out years?

好的。這很有幫助。我知道你在今年的資本支出上給出了一些顏色，中點約為 4.75 億美元。東北新的潛在工廠是否有任何準備，無論是許可還是盡職調查？或者這將成為逐步進入未來幾年的事情？

Yes. Phil, there'll be a little -- there's a little bit in there. I don't know the hard number off the top of my head. But as you can appreciate, the first step is to go through the permitting process, which can have some long duration to it. And -- but we will do -- we will begin the engineering phase and other things. And so the bulk of it would probably come in the following fiscal year.

是的。菲爾，會有一點——裡面有一點。我不知道我頭頂上的硬數字。但正如您所了解的，第一步是通過許可程序，這可能需要很長時間。而且 - 但我們會做 - 我們將開始工程階段和其他事情。因此，其中大部分可能會在下一個財政年度出現。

Okay. And then my last question is just on net working capital. Assuming that you have scrap stay around current levels, plus or minus, and you've got let's just say, broader pricing downstream and rebar stay around current levels, what do you expect net working capital to be a use or a source in fiscal '23?

好的。然後我的最後一個問題是關於淨營運資金。假設您的廢鋼保持在當前水平（正負）附近，並且您可以說下游更廣泛的定價和螺紋鋼保持在當前水平附近，您認為淨營運資金在財政中的用途或來源是什麼？ 23?

Yes, Phil, if we hold all those things relatively constant to where they are today, we would really see working capital being relatively flat from where we are for the year. We'll have our seasonality throughout the year. But for the full year view, give -- if we assume things are going to be pretty consistent, the level of working capital will also be consistent.

是的，菲爾，如果我們將所有這些事情保持在今天的水平，我們真的會看到營運資金與我們今年的水平相對持平。我們全年都會有季節性。但就全年而言，如果我們假設事情會非常一致，那麼營運資金水平也將保持一致。

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. 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. Have a great rest of your day. Thank you.

謝謝你。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。好好休息一天。謝謝你。

Thank you for joining us today. This concludes today's Commercial Metals Company conference call. You may now disconnect.

感謝您今天加入我們。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。