Commercial Metals Co (CMC) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome, everyone, to the third quarter fiscal 2024 earnings call for CMC. Joining me on today's call are Peter Matt, CMC's, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Paul Lawrence, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

大家好，歡迎大家參加 CMC 2024 財年第三季財報電話會議。參加今天電話會議的還有 CMC 總裁兼執行長 Peter Matt；保羅勞倫斯（Paul Lawrence），資深副總裁兼財務長。

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 will have a few instructions at that time.

今天的資料，包括本次電話會議附帶的新聞稿和補充幻燈片，可以在 CMC 的投資者關係網站上找到。今天的電話正在錄音，公司講話之後，我們會有一個問答環節，到時候我們會有一些指示。

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, US. steel, import levels, construction activity, demand for finished steel products, the expected capabilities, benefits and timelines for construction of new facilities, the company's operations, the company's strategic 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，該公司將發表聲明，提供歷史資訊以外的信息，並將包括對美國經濟狀況、立法影響的預期。鋼材、進口水準、建築活動、成品鋼材需求、新設施建設的預期能力、效益和時間表、公司營運、公司策略成長計畫、公司未來營運績效、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 could cause actual results to differ materially from these expectations.

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猜測，並受到可能導致實際結果與這些預期有重大差異的風險和不確定性的影響。

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 section of the company's latest filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's latest annual report on Form 10-K.

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，包括公司向美國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 10-K 表格年度報告。

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 of 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.

儘管這些陳述是基於管理層目前的期望和信念。 CMC 不保證這些期望或信念將被證明是正確的，實際結果可能會存在重大差異。所有聲明僅截至當前日期，除非法律要求，CMC 不承擔任何更新、修改或澄清與未來事件、假設變化、預期或意外事件發生有關的這些聲明的義務，新資訊或情況或其他。

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, all references made to year or quarter end are references to the company's fiscal year or fiscal quarter.

提供的一些數據將是非公認會計原則財務指標，這些數據的調節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，所有對年末或季末的引用均指本公司的財政年度或財務季度。

And now for opening remarks and introductions, I will turn the call over to Peter.

現在，我將把電話轉給彼得進行開場白和介紹。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to CMC's third quarter earnings conference call, I would like to start off by thanking our 13,000 employees for delivering another quarter of strong operational and financial performance.

謝謝大家，大家早上好，歡迎參加 CMC 第三季度收益電話會議，首先我要感謝我們的 13,000 名員工，感謝他們在另一個季度實現了強勁的運營和財務業績。

I am proud to announce that CMC has been named to the 2024, 2025 list of Best Companies to Work for by US News & World Report. Thank you to our dedicated employees for placing us among the best of the best. While I am proud of these results, I am even prouder that we have continued to improve our exceptional safety track record with reportable incidents well below the broader domestic steel industry.

我很自豪地宣布，CMC 已被美國新聞與世界報道評為 2024 年和 2025 年最佳工作公司名單。感謝我們敬業的員工讓我們躋身最優秀的行列。雖然我對這些結果感到自豪，但更令我自豪的是，我們不斷改善我們卓越的安全記錄，可報告事故遠低於更廣泛的國內鋼鐵業。

So that and I would like to take a moment to recognize the outstanding improvements made at recently acquired facilities within our emerging businesses group. They have been eager adopters of CMC's industry-leading safety culture and practices, which has resulted in higher employee satisfaction.

因此，我想花一點時間來認可我們新興業務集團最近收購的設施所取得的傑出改進。他們一直熱衷於採用 CMC 業界領先的安全文化和實踐，從而提高了員工滿意度。

Lower turnover and fewer industry are injuries at CMC. It all begins with safety, and we won't be satisfied until we reach our goal of zero incidents, ensuring everyone leaves their ship in the same condition they arrived.

較低的人員流動率和較少的行業對 CMC 造成了傷害。一切都從安全開始，只有達到零事故的目標，確保每個人在離船時都保持與到達時相同的狀態，我們才會滿意。

This morning. I will provide an overview of CMC's third quarter financial and operating performance, after which I will discuss our view of the current and future market environment before offering a brief update on key growth projects. Paul will cover the quarter's financial results in greater detail, and I will conclude with our outlook for the fourth fiscal quarter and beyond. We will then open the call to questions.

今天早上。我將概述 CMC 第三季的財務和營運業績，然後討論我們對當前和未來市場環境的看法，然後簡要介紹關鍵成長項目的最新情況。保羅將更詳細地介紹本季的財務業績，最後我將介紹我們對第四財季及以後的展望。然後我們將開始提問。

Additional information regarding the quarter is provided in the supplemental slides that accompany this call, which can be found on CMC's Investor Relations website.

有關本季度的更多資訊在本次電話會議隨附的補充幻燈片中提供，這些幻燈片可以在 CMC 的投資者關係網站上找到。

As we reported in our press release this morning, the third quarter of fiscal 2024 was another period of strong financial performance. CMC generated core EBITDA, core EBITDA margin and net earnings per diluted share, well above historic averages.

正如我們今天早上在新聞稿中報導的那樣，2024 財年第三季是另一個財務業績強勁的時期。 CMC 產生的核心 EBITDA、核心 EBITDA 利潤率和稀釋後每股淨利潤均遠高於歷史平均值。

We continue to believe that our margin and earnings are normalizing at levels sustainably above pre-pandemic levels. This view is based on significant changes that have occurred in CMC's business and our industry over the last several years. The first change to mention is industry consolidation in which CMC played a central role with its acquisition of rebar assets from Gerdau.

我們仍然相信，我們的利潤率和收益正在正常化，持續高於疫情前的水平。這一觀點是基於過去幾年 CMC 業務和我們的行業發生的重大變化。首先要提到的變化是產業整合，CMC 透過收購 Gerdau 的螺紋鋼資產在其中發揮了核心作用。

From a CMC perspective, this transaction created a much larger company and market leader with increased scale, improved operating flexibility and an enhanced value generating asset base.

從 CMC 的角度來看，這筆交易創造了一家更大的公司和市場領導者，其規模擴大了，營運靈活性提高了，資產基礎也增強了。

The second change is an improved trade environment that recognizes the importance of the basic industries. It play a vital role in our national economy and provides mechanisms to level the playing field with unfairly traded imports.

第二個變化是貿易環境的改善，基礎產業的重要性得到認可。它在我們的國家經濟中發揮著至關重要的作用，並提供了與不公平貿易進口產品建立公平競爭環境的機制。

Third change is once-in-a-generation structural demand trends that are reshaping our economy and can be expected to propel construction activity for years to come, providing more visible and longer duration demand drivers for our business.

第三個變化是千載難逢的結構性需求趨勢，它正在重塑我們的經濟，預計將推動未來幾年的建築活動，為我們的業務提供更明顯、更持久的需求驅動力。

In summary, this improved business environment should provide a favorable backdrop for our company to continue generating significant value for our shareholders. We believe there is much more to come. As mentioned on our previous earnings call, CMC is developing a compelling strategy to drive the next phase of value accretive growth.

總而言之，這種改善的商業環境將為我們公司繼續為股東創造巨大價值提供有利的背景。我們相信還會有更多的事情發生。正如我們在先前的財報電話會議上所提到的，CMC 正在製定一項引人注目的策略，以推動下一階段的價值增值成長。

Our aim is threefold first, achieving sustainably higher, less volatile through the cycle margins that are fortified by our operational and commercial excellence initiatives. Second, execute on attractive organic growth opportunities, and third, in a disciplined manner, pursue inorganic growth opportunities that broaden CMC's commercial portfolio improve our customer value proposition and meaningfully extend our growth runway. We are extremely excited about the journey CMC is embarking on and equally excited excited to share our vision with you in the near future.

我們的目標有三：第一，透過我們的卓越營運和商業計劃強化的周期利潤，實現可持續的更高、更小的波動。其次，抓住有吸引力的有機成長機會，第三，以嚴格的方式尋求無機成長機會，以擴大 CMC 的商業投資組合，提高我們的客戶價值主張，並有意義地擴展我們的成長跑道。我們對 CMC 正在踏上的旅程感到非常興奮，同樣也很高興能在不久的將來與您分享我們的願景。

Returning to our third quarter results, CMC's reported net earnings of $119.4 million, or $1.02 per diluted shares on net sales of $2.1 billion. We generated consolidated core EBITDA for the quarter of $256.1 million, producing a core EBITDA margin of 12.3% in a trailing EBITDA return on invested capital of 11.3%.

回到我們的第三季業績，CMC 公佈的淨利潤為 1.194 億美元，即每股攤薄收益 1.02 美元，淨銷售額為 21 億美元。我們本季的綜合核心 EBITDA 為 2.561 億美元，核心 EBITDA 利潤率為 12.3%，追蹤 EBITDA 投資資本回報率為 11.3%。

Results in our North America Steel Group benefited from good underlying market fundamentals that yielded modest sequential margin expansion for steel products, healthy shipment levels of finished steel products and stability in our downstream backlog volumes.

北美鋼鐵集團的業績受惠於良好的市場基本面，使鋼鐵產品的利潤率連續適度增長、成品鋼鐵產品的健康出貨水準以及下游積壓訂單量的穩定。

Our Europe Steel Group continued a trend of improving financial performance nearing breakeven on an adjusted EBITDA basis. CMC's team in Poland should be commended for the excellent job. They have done managing all elements of the business under their control. They are cost leaders in the European industry and have reached new heights of resourcefulness and flexibility while managing through this challenging environment.

我們的歐洲鋼鐵集團持續保持財務績效改善的趨勢，在調整後的 EBITDA 基礎上接近損益兩平。 CMC駐波蘭團隊的出色工作值得讚揚。他們已經完成了對自己控制下的所有業務要素的管理。他們是歐洲產業的成本領導者，在應對這個充滿挑戰的環境的同時，在足智多謀和靈活性方面達到了新的高度。

CMC's emerging businesses group generated strong results during the quarter and its adjusted EBITDA margin returned to a level we believe to be more representative of the segment's potential.

CMC 的新興業務集團在本季度取得了強勁的業績，其調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率回到了我們認為更能代表該部門潛力的水平。

Now turning to CMC's markets. In North America, construction activity remains healthy and as I mentioned, fundamentals are broadly supportive. We experienced a typical seasonable uplift in rebar demand as we moved into the spring and summer construction season and regional markets appear to be in good balance from an inventory and import perspective.

現在轉向 CMC 的市場。在北美，建築活動仍然健康，正如我所提到的，基本面廣泛支持。隨著進入春季和夏季建築季節，我們經歷了螺紋鋼需求的典型季節性增長，從庫存和進口角度來看，區域市場似乎處於良好平衡。

This environment has provided the backdrop for stable to modestly improving steel product margins at well above historic levels. We continue to see a good pipeline of future construction projects coming to the market as measured by bidding activity within our downstream operations.

這種環境為鋼鐵產品利潤率穩定至小幅改善提供了遠高於歷史水準的背景。從我們下游業務的投標活動來看，我們繼續看到大量未來建設項目進入市場。

This view is mirrored by key external forward-looking indicators, such as the Dodge Momentum Index, which remains 40% above pre-pandemic levels. Within this environment, we have been able to maintain seasonably seasonally appropriate levels of new contract bookings and a stable downstream backlog. We are also starting to see signs of increased infrastructure activity across several of our geographic areas.

這一觀點也反映在關鍵的外部前瞻性指標上，例如道奇動量指數，該指數仍比疫情前的水平高出 40%。在這種環境下，我們能夠維持季節性適當的新合約預訂水準和穩定的下游積壓。我們也開始看到我們幾個地理區域基礎設施活動增加的跡象。

As shown on Slide 9 of the supplemental presentation, highway construction is the largest and most usage intensive market for rebar. So, it is very encouraging to see growing demand during the quarter. Shipment volumes of fabricated rebar and mill direct material increased on both a sequential and year-over-year basis. Projects that were awarded over the last two years are entering the construction phase and beginning to consume steel.

如補充簡報的投影片 9 所示，高速公路建設是螺紋鋼最大且使用最密集的市場。因此，看到本季需求不斷增長是非常令人鼓舞的。預製螺紋鋼和工廠直接材料的出貨量環比和年比均增加。過去兩年中標的項目正在進入建設階段並開始消耗鋼材。

Additionally, there continues to be a solid pipeline of work entering the market for bidding. Texas in particular has seen an uptick in activity with the level of highway lettings this spring reaching multi-decade high based on our current visibility and conversations with customers.

此外，仍有大量工作進入市場進行投標。尤其是德州的活動增加，根據我們目前的知名度和與客戶的對話，今年春季的高速公路租賃水準達到了數十年來的最高水準。

We expect momentum in highway construction to build in the coming quarters and years leading forecasters anticipate similar trends. The Portland Cement Association expects cement consumption for highways and streets to grow approximately 4% in calendar year 2024 and approximately 5% in 2025. Dodge analytics expects new highway construction starts to increase by 29% on an inflation-adjusted basis in 2024 following little change in either 2022 or 2023.

我們預計高速公路建設的勢頭將在未來幾季和幾年內形成，領先的預測者預計也會出現類似的趨勢。波特蘭水泥協會預計，到2024 年，高速公路和街道的水泥消耗量將成長約4%，到2025 年將成長約5%。調整後，新高速公路建設將在2024 年開始成長29% 2022 年或 2023 年。

Beyond highways, we are seeing good year-over-year growth in demand for public works institutional buildings and data centers, construction activity and rebar consumption at manufacturing projects remain well above historic levels. That said, shipments have leveled off recently as we wait for the next round of construction to commence at several semiconductor plants.

除了高速公路之外，我們還看到公共工程機構建築和資料中心的需求同比增長良好，製造項目的建築活動和鋼筋消耗仍然遠高於歷史水準。儘管如此，隨著我們等待幾家半導體工廠的下一輪建設開始，出貨量最近已趨於穩定。

We believe this test this trend is transitory, given the recent CHIPS Act funding allocations and public commitments by sponsors to expand facilities while structural forces are driving activity within infrastructure, reshoring, data centers and energy projects.

我們認為，考慮到最近的 CHIPS 法案資金分配和贊助商擴大設施的公開承諾，同時結構性力量正在推動基礎設施、回流、資料中心和能源項目內的活動，我們認為這一趨勢是暫時的。

The market for interest rate sensitive construction such as warehousing, office and multifamily residential, remain softer, an inflection in interest rates could provide some support, particularly within the residential sector, where a significant shortage of housing units exists.

倉儲、辦公和多戶住宅等對利率敏感的建築市場仍然疲軟，利率的變化可能會提供一些支持，特別是在住房單元嚴重短缺的住宅領域。

But before affordability has restricted construction activity, several third-party estimates indicate the US is facing a housing shortage of 1.5 to 3 million units, which need to be addressed at some point in the future with each new unit consuming 1 to 1.5 tons of rebar. We believe efforts to close the housing supply gap would meaningfully increase consumption based on each of the structural trends I just mentioned.

但在負擔能力限制建築活動之前，一些第三方估計表明，美國正面臨 150 至 300 萬套住房短缺，需要在未來某個時候解決這個問題，每套新住房消耗 1 至 1.5 噸螺紋鋼。我們相信，根據我剛才提到的每一個結構性趨勢，縮小住房供應缺口的努力將有意義地增加消費。

We continue to believe that we are entering a once-in-a-generation investment cycle that will power construction activity for years to come. These opportunities should extend well beyond our traditional steel value chain and reach into CMC's other key solutions of solution offerings like geo grid, geo peer anchoring systems and high-performance reinforcing steel.

我們仍然相信，我們正在進入一個千載難逢的投資週期，這將為未來幾年的建築活動提供動力。這些機會應該遠遠超出我們傳統的鋼鐵價值鏈，並延伸到 CMC 的其他關鍵解決方案，例如土工網格、土工錨固系統和高性能鋼筋。

In fact, we are seeing signs of this recurring across our emerging businesses group footprints. Interest has been good from large manufacturing projects, including semiconductor facilities and major electric vehicle plants. Activity is also increasing in solar, where the inflation Reduction Act is driving investment in large scale installations across several regions of the US CMC's geo grid solutions are used to provide access road that aid initial construction as well as ongoing maintenance in the future.

事實上，我們在新興業務集團的足跡中看到了這種反覆出現的跡象。大型製造項目（包括半導體設施和大型電動車工廠）引起了濃厚的興趣。太陽能領域的活動也在增加，通貨膨脹減少法案正在推動美國多個地區大規模安裝的投資，CMC 的地理網格解決方案用於提供通道，以幫助初始建設以及未來的持續維護。

Construction of these solar fields can be expected to also benefit demand for our anchoring systems as new electrical transmission lines and substations are required to connect them to the energy grid, large projects are emerging and infrastructure, particularly for port construction and rehabilitation, which benefits hence our business as well as its performance, reinforcing steel offerings of high strength and corrosion resistant products.

預計這些太陽能發電場的建設也將有利於我們錨定係統的需求，因為需要新的輸電線路和變電站將其連接到電網，大型項目正在興起，基礎設施，特別是港口建設和修復，將因此受益我們的業務及其性能、高強度和耐腐蝕產品的鋼筋產品。

Turning to the Europe Steel Group, the market environment was similar to last quarter, which marked an meaningful improvement from late fiscal 2023 and the first quarter of 2024 consumption of long steel products have stabilized but remains well below historic levels. Polish steel makers are demonstrating good discipline through significant supply reductions that have facilitated a rebalancing of the market.

轉向歐洲鋼鐵集團，市場環境與上季度相似，這標誌著自2023財年末以來出現了有意義的改善，2024年第一季長材產品的消費量已趨於穩定，但仍遠低於歷史水平。波蘭鋼鐵製造商透過大幅減少供應來展示良好的紀律，從而促進了市場的再平衡。

Some of the benefit of beneficial impact of lower domestic production has been offset by increased imports from nearby countries as steelmakers seek alternatives to weak coal markets. Absent this dynamic we believe the Polish long steel market could be further along in its recovery as it stands today. The current supply demand balance even with increased imports, has provided a backdrop for greater stability in steel pricing and metal margins.

由於鋼鐵製造商尋求替代疲軟的煤炭市場，國內產量下降帶來的一些有利影響已被周邊國家進口增加所抵消。如果沒有這種動力，我們相信波蘭長材市場可能會像今天這樣進一步復甦。即使進口增加，當前的供需平衡也為鋼鐵價格和金屬利潤的更大穩定性提供了背景。

We are seeing increasing are encouraging signs of a macroeconomic inflection in Poland. Inflation has cooled significantly and is now back to more normalized levels. The rate of GDP growth is expected to reach nearly 3% in 2024 with both residential construction and government-sponsored investment on the rise, we are cautiously optimistic that the emerging macro improvement will provide an environment for our Europe Steel Group to continue moving closer to breakeven during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.

我們看到波蘭宏觀經濟出現越來越多令人鼓舞的跡象。通貨膨脹已顯著降溫，現已恢復至更正常化的水平。隨著住宅建設和政府投資的增加，預計 2024 年 GDP 成長率將達到近 3%，我們謹慎樂觀地認為，新興的宏觀經濟改善將為我們歐洲鋼鐵集團繼續向目標邁進 2024 財年第第四季實現收支平衡。

Now I would like to provide a brief update on the progress we've made during the quarter on key strategic projects at our new Arizona micro mill. We focused our efforts during the quarter on commissioning merchant bar quality product or MBQ. As noted in our last earnings call, this action was intended to address pockets of excess rebar inventory that develops following the historic levels of rainfall in California during the second quarter, this surplus has been largely eliminated through a combination of better seasonal consumption and our market leadership in executing the temporary supply adjustments as a result of the third quarter emphasis on MBQ.

現在，我想簡要介紹一下我們在本季度在亞利桑那州新微型工廠的關鍵戰略項目上取得的進展。本季我們的重點是調試商業酒吧優質產品或 MBQ。正如我們在上次財報電話會議中所指出的，這一行動旨在解決第二季度加州降雨量達到歷史水平後出現的螺紋鋼庫存過剩問題，透過更好的季節性消費和我們的市場相結合，這種過剩已在很大程度上消除了。

The 82 team has now successfully produce key product sizes in four of the six product families that the plant is designed to make. It also accelerated our ability to begin supplying the western US with a suite of offerings that will eventually include nearly 200 different SKUs given improved inventory levels across the rebar supply chain and progress made in commissioning MBQ, we anticipate moving back to a more standard production schedule with a greater mix of rebar during the fourth quarter.

82 團隊現已成功生產該工廠設計生產的六個產品系列中的四個的關鍵產品尺寸。它還加快了我們開始向美國西部供應一系列產品的能力，鑑於整個螺紋鋼供應鏈的庫存水平有所改善，並且在調試MBQ 方面取得了進展，我們預計將恢復到更標準的生產計劃，這些產品最終將包括近200 個不同的SKU第四季度螺紋鋼產量增加。

Our current view is that the plant should achieve EBITDA breakeven on a monthly basis in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 or early in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 work at CMC's steel, West Virginia site is progressing well, and we are on plan for startup in late calendar 2025. Foundations are nearly complete, and we have begun receiving equipment deliveries.

我們目前的觀點是，該工廠應在 2024 財年第四季度或 2025 財年第一季初實現每月 EBITDA 盈虧平衡。工作已接近完成，我們已開始接收設備交付。

We remain very excited about these key organic growth projects, which we expect when fully operational will lower cost to serve our markets, expand our product reach and unlock meaningful internal synergies within our operational network.

我們對這些關鍵的有機成長項目仍然感到非常興奮，我們預計這些專案全面運作後將降低服務我們市場的成本，擴大我們的產品範圍，並在我們的營運網路中釋放有意義的內部協同效應。

With that, I will turn the discussion over to Paul to provide more detail on our financial results.

這樣，我將把討論轉交給保羅，以提供有關我們財務表現的更多詳細資訊。

Thank you, Peter, and good morning to everyone on the call. As noted earlier, we reported fiscal third quarter 2024 net earnings of $119.4 million, or $1.02 per diluted share compared to prior year levels of $234 million and $1.98, respectively. You will have noticed from our press release this morning that we are no longer adding back Arizona to commissioning costs to either adjusted earnings or core EBITDA.

謝謝你，彼得，祝所有參加電話會議的人早安。如前所述，我們報告的 2024 財年第三季淨利為 1.194 億美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.02 美元，而去年同期水準分別為 2.34 億美元和 1.98 美元。您將從我們今天早上的新聞稿中註意到，我們不再將亞利桑那州的調試成本添加到調整後的收益或核心 EBITDA 中。

This decision was made in light of heightened scrutiny around non-GAAP measures, particularly those involving operational start-up costs. Though these adjustments will no longer be reflected in CMC's non-GAAP measures, we plan to provide quantification of start-up costs as we view them as temporary in nature and not representative of our long-term earnings capability.

這項決定是鑑於對非公認會計準則措施（特別是涉及營運啟動成本的措施）的嚴格審查而做出的。儘管這些調整將不再反映在 CMC 的非公認會計原則措施中，但我們計劃提供啟動成本的量化，因為我們認為它們本質上是暫時的，並不代表我們的長期盈利能力。

For the third quarter, CMC incurred mill operational commissioning costs of $17.2 million on an after-tax basis on a pretax basis and excluding depreciation, mill, operational commissioning costs were $11.8 million. Consolidated core EBITDA was $256.1 million for the third quarter of 2024, representing a decline from the $384.5 million generated during the prior year period, but still at historically strong results.

第三季度，CMC 產生的工廠營運調試成本為 1,720 萬美元（稅後稅前），不包括折舊，工廠營運調試成本為 1,180 萬美元。 2024 年第三季合併核心 EBITDA 為 2.561 億美元，較上年同期的 3.845 億美元有所下降，但仍處於歷史強勁水平。

Slide12 of the supplemental presentation illustrates the year-to-year changes in CMC's quarterly financial performance. Profitability at our North American Steel Group and Europe, steel groups were negatively impacted by lower margins over scrap, while benefiting from improved controllable cost performance.

補充簡報的投影片 12 展示了 CMC 季度財務表現的年比變化。我們的北美鋼鐵集團和歐洲鋼鐵集團的獲利能力受到廢鋼利潤率下降的負面影響，同時受益於可控成本績效的改善。

Adjusted EBITDA was unchanged. In CMC's Emerging Business Group. Our consolidated core EBITDA margin of 12.3% remained above average historical levels and compares to 16.4% a year ago, CMC's North American Steel Group generated adjusted EBITDA of $246.3 million for the quarter, equal to $217 per ton of finished steel shipped segment adjusted EBITDA decreased on a year-over-year basis, driven primarily by lower margin over scrap costs on steel and downstream products.

調整後 EBITDA 未變動。隸屬 CMC 新興業務集團。我們的綜合核心EBITDA 利潤率為12.3%，仍高於平均歷史水平，與一年前的16.4% 相比，CMC 北美鋼鐵集團本季調整後EBITDA 為2.463 億美元，相當於每噸成品鋼材運輸部門調整後EBITDA 減少217 美元與去年同期相比，主要是由於鋼鐵和下游產品的廢鋼成本利潤率較低。

This pressure was partially offset by improved controllable costs on a per ton basis, the adjusted EBITDA margin for the North American steel group was 14.7% compared to 20.2% in the prior year period. We protect ourselves against price volatility, exposure in the key nonferrous metals that we process at our recycling facilities as a result of the historic run-up of copper prices that occurred during the quarter. We incurred an approximate $6 million charge during the quarter related to our open positions.

這一壓力被每噸可控成本的改善部分抵消，北美鋼鐵集團調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 14.7%，而去年同期為 20.2%。我們保護自己免受價格波動的影響，以及由於本季度銅價出現歷史性上漲而導致我們在回收設施中加工的主要有色金屬的風險。本季我們因未平倉部位產生了約 600 萬美元的費用。

As indicated earlier, rebar demand was healthy during the quarter, and we experienced a normal seasonal uptick in volumes. Finished steel shipments increased by 12.3% on a sequential basis, with similar performance across all geographies. Shipment volumes declined modestly on a year-over-year basis and steel product metal margins increased marginally during this quarter and continues to demonstrate stability throughout fiscal 2024.

如前所述，本季螺紋鋼需求健康，我們經歷了正常的季節性銷售成長。成品鋼材出貨量較上月成長 12.3%，所有地區的表現相似。本季出貨量年減，鋼鐵產品金屬利潤率小幅成長，並在 2024 財年持續穩定。

Turning to Slide 14 of the supplemental deck our Europe Steel Group reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of $4.2 million for the third quarter of 2020. For this compares to a loss of $8.6 million in the prior quarter and marks the trend of continued improvement from the levels of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 and the first quarter of fiscal 2024, during which time quarterly losses averaged $30 million.

轉向補充幻燈片的幻燈片14，我們的歐洲鋼鐵集團報告稱，2020 年第三季調整後EBITDA 虧損為420 萬美元。趨勢2023 財年第四季和 2024 財年第一季的季度虧損平均為 3,000 萬美元。

Excluding the impact of energy rebates, sequential improvement was driven by higher margin over scrap costs, increased shipment volumes and lower controllable costs per ton. Controllable cost performance improved both sequentially and in and on a year-over-year basis as a result of lower energy pricing and operational measures taken across the footprint.

排除能源回扣的影響，環比改善是由於廢鋼成本利潤率提高、出貨量增加以及每噸可控成本降低所推動的。由於能源價格下降和整個地區採取的營運措施，可控成本績效連續、年比均有所改善。

As Peter mentioned, there have been some encouraging signs that the Polish market is past the bottom, but the national economy is in a recovery mode. Emerging Business Group third quarter net sales of $188.6 million and adjusted EBITDA of $38.2 million were unchanged compared to the prior year period. On a sequential basis, net sales increased by 20.9%.

正如彼得所提到的，有一些令人鼓舞的跡象表明波蘭市場已經觸底，但國民經濟正處於復甦模式。新興業務集團第三季​​淨銷售額為 1.886 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 3,820 萬美元，與去年同期相比持平。淨銷售額季增 20.9%。

While adjusted EBITDA improved by 113%, marking a strong rebound from the second quarter levels that were depressed due to the challenging weather activity benefited from improved seasonal demand and the start-up of several European and Middle East projects as well as strong product specific demand for our proprietary performance, reinforcing steel, healthy pipeline of new projects and good success in new contract awards provide for a strong order book as we exited the quarter.

調整後的EBITDA 提高了113%，較第二季度的水平強勁反彈，第二季度因惡劣的天氣活動而受到抑制，這得益於季節性需求的改善、多個歐洲和中東項目的啟動以及強勁的產品特定需求由於我們專有的性能、鋼筋、健康的新項目管道以及新合約授予的良好成功，為我們在本季度結束時提供了強勁的訂單。

Adjusted EBITDA margin for the Emerging Business Group was 20.3% was flat compared to a year ago period, but a significant recovery from our second quarter margin benefited from a richer mix of CMC's latest and higher geo grid solution as well as our proprietary reinforcing deals.

新興業務集團的調整後EBITDA 利潤率為20.3%，與去年同期持平，但第二季度利潤率的顯著回升得益於CMC 最新、更高的地理網格解決方案以及我們專有的強化交易的更豐富組合。

Moving to the balance sheet. As of May 31, cash and cash equivalents totaled $698.3 million. In addition, we had approximately $794 million of availability under our credit and accounts receivable facilities, bringing total liquidity to under just under $1.5 billion during the quarter, we generated $197.9 million of cash from operating activities, which included a modest release of cash from working capital expenditures of $82 million were driven by construction activity, principally related to our Steel West Virginia Micro mill project.

轉向資產負債表。截至 5 月 31 日，現金及現金等價物總額為 6.983 億美元。此外，我們的信貸和應收帳款設施下有約7.94 億美元的可用資金，使本季度的流動性總額略低於15 億美元，我們從經營活動中產生了1.979 億美元的現金，其中包括從工作中釋放的適度現金8200 萬美元的資本支出是由建築活動推動的，主要與我們的 Steel West Virginia 微型鋼廠項目有關。

CMC's net leverage metrics remain attractive and have improved significantly over the last several fiscal years. As can be seen on slide 19, our net debt to EBITDA ratio now sits at just 0.5 times, while net debt to capitalization is only 9%. 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.

CMC 的淨槓桿指標仍然具有吸引力，並且在過去幾個財政年度中顯著改善。如投影片 19 所示，我們的淨債務與 EBITDA 比率目前僅為 0.5 倍，而淨債務與資本總額比率僅為 9%。我們相信，我們穩健的資產負債表和整體財務實力使我們能夠靈活地為策略性有機成長項目提供資金並尋求機會性併購，同時繼續向股東返還現金。

CMC's effective tax rate was 25.5% in the third quarter. The year-to-date figure for three quarters stands at 24%, and we anticipate the effective full year tax rate of being between 24% and 25%.

CMC第三季的有效稅率為25.5%。今年迄今三個季度的稅率為 24%，我們預計全年有效稅率在 24% 至 25% 之間。

Turning to CMC's fiscal 2024 capital spending outlook, we are reducing our guidance to a range of between $400 million and $425 million. This is down meaningfully from the outlook we previously shared of $550 million to $600 million.

談到 CMC 2024 財年資本支出前景，我們將指引下調至 4 億至 4.25 億美元之間。這與我們先前預測的 5.5 億至 6 億美元相比大幅下降。

The reason for this adjustment is the timing of specific payments related to equipment purchases for steel, West Virginia, which will slip from late fiscal 2024 into early fiscal 2025. This development only reflects recognition of payments and is not expected to impact the construction timeline or the startup for CMC's newest Micromill.

此次調整的原因是與西維吉尼亞州鋼鐵設備採購相關的具體付款時間，將從 2024 財年末推遲到 2025 財年初。的Micromill 的新創公司。

As outlined on previous calls, CMC targets a prudent and balanced approach to capital allocation, our first priority. It is value accretive growth that furthers our strategic strategy and strengthens our business. Second is providing our shareholders with an attractive level of cash distributions in the form of both dividends and share repurchases. To this end, CMC has returned approximately $186 million to our shareholders through the first three quarters of fiscal 2024 equal to 49% of our net earnings.

如同先前電話會議所述，CMC 的目標是採取審慎、平衡的資本配置方式，這是我們的首要任務。正是價值增值成長推動了我們的策略策略並增強了我們的業務。其次是以股利和股票回購的形式為我們的股東提供具有吸引力的現金分配水準。為此，CMC 在 2024 財年前三個季度向股東返還了約 1.86 億美元，相當於我們淨利潤的 49%。

Looking at the third quarter, CMC repurchased approximately 931,000 shares at an average price of $55.64 per share. As of May 31, we had $458.6 million available for repurchase under our current authorization with this. That concludes my remarks, and I'll turn it back to Peter for additional comments on CMC's outlook.

從第三季來看，CMC以每股55.64美元的平均價格回購了約931,000股股票。截至 5 月 31 日，根據我們目前的授權，我們有 4.586 億美元可用於回購。我的發言到此結束，我將把它轉回給 Peter，以徵求更多關於 CMC 前景的評論。

Thank you, Paul. We expect consolidated financial results in our fiscal fourth quarter to be consistent with third quarter levels. Finished steel shipments within the North America Steel Group are anticipated to be flat on a sequential basis, while adjusted EBITDA margin should remain relatively stable adjusted EBITDA for our Europe Steel Group is likely to continue the trend of quarter-to-quarter improvement despite market conditions that are expected to remain challenging.

謝謝你，保羅。我們預期第四財季的綜合財務業績將與第三季的水準保持一致。北美鋼鐵集團的成品鋼材出貨量預計將環比持平，而調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率應保持相對穩定。具有挑戰性。

Fiscal read our financial results for the emerging businesses group should improve modestly, driven by steady underlying market fundamentals and a healthy order book. The spring and summer construction season is off to a good start and we are seeing encouraging signs of increased infrastructure activity driving demand.

財報顯示，在穩定的市場基本面和健康的訂單簿的推動下，新興企業集團的財務業績應該會小幅改善。春季和夏季建築季節已經有了一個良好的開端，我們看到基礎設施活動增加推動需求的令人鼓舞的跡象。

We expect this momentum to build over the coming quarters, contributing to an already healthy backdrop in North America, which is being propelled by positive long-term structural trends in manufacturing, reshoring energy transition and energy security related projects.

我們預計這一勢頭將在未來幾季持續增強，為北美業已健康的環境做出貢獻，而製造業、能源轉型和能源安全相關項目的積極長期結構性趨勢正在推動北美市場健康發展。

Additionally, an inflection in interest rates has the potential to unlock pent-up demand in several construction sectors, including residential markets where a significant shortage of housing units exist in Europe. The Polish macro-economic environment is showing signs of improvement, lower inflation and higher rates of economic growth should begin to bolster sentiment in the country and provide greater confidence to build and invest.

此外，利率的變化有可能釋放多個建築業被壓抑的需求，包括歐洲住房嚴重短缺的住宅市場。波蘭宏觀經濟環境顯示出改善的跡象，較低的通膨和較高的經濟成長率應開始提振該國的情緒，並為建設和投資提供更大的信心。

We are proud of CMC's financial results and the strong industry that we have helped to create. We are excited about our potential to reach new heights in the future as we execute our key strategic priorities and deliver significant value for our shareholders, powerful structural trends in North America should drive construction activity for years to come, and CMC is well positioned to benefit.

我們為 CMC 的財務表現和我們幫助創建的強大行業感到自豪。我們對未來達到新高度的潛力感到興奮，因為我們執行我們的關鍵策略優先事項並為股東創造巨大價值，北美強大的結構性趨勢將推動未來幾年的建築活動，而CMC 已做好充分準備從中受益。

I would like to thank our customers for their trust and confidence in CMC and all of our employees, we're delivering yet another quarter of very solid performance.

我要感謝我們的客戶對 CMC 和我們所有員工的信任和信心，我們又一個季度取得了非常穩健的業績。

Thank you, sir. At this time, we will now open the call to questions to ask a question, (Operator Instructions).

謝謝你，先生。這時候，我們現在就打開提問問題環節，（操作員說明）。

And today's first question comes from Citi's customer cancellation with Bank of America. Please go ahead.

今天的第一個問題來自花旗銀行與美國銀行的客戶取消。請繼續。

Yeah, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. So, my first question is on the North American downstream product pricing, which has been relatively resilient over the past few quarters based on your order backlog and then the new bids that are being placed right now. Can you talk about the pricing and margin outlook through the end of the year and maybe into next year?

是的，早安。感謝您回答我的問題。因此，我的第一個問題是關於北美下游產品的定價，根據你們的積壓訂單以及現在提出的新出價，該定價在過去幾個季度中相對具有彈性。您能談談今年年底甚至明年的定價和利潤前景嗎？

Yeah, we expect margins to stay relatively stable over that and over the coming quarter and into next year, we have I remember that in the in the downstream business, you're looking at pricing that was put in place a couple of months ago or on average nine months ago, right? So there is likely to be a downward trend in the pricing, but we expect the margin should should be able to hold relatively stable.

是的，我們預計利潤率將在接下來的季度和明年保持相對穩定，我記得在下游業務中，您正在考慮幾個月前製定的定價或平均九個月前，對嗎？因此定價可能會出現下降趨勢，但我們預期利潤率應該能夠保持相對穩定。

Okay, thank you. And then on my second question is on CapEx are with Saudi spending related to the West Virginia mill now pushed into 2025. So how should we think about the total CapEx for next year?

好的謝謝。我的第二個問題是關於資本支出，沙烏地阿拉伯與西維吉尼亞工廠相關的支出現已推遲到 2025 年。

Yeah, it tastes. Good morning, um, you know, obviously our CapEx expense expenditures next year will be far greater than the guidance that we provided for this year. We're in the midst of our planning for 2025 at this stage, but as a as an initial guidance, we're thinking that the increase will likely be to around $600 million to $650 million for 2025.

是的，有味道。早安，嗯，你知道，顯然我們明年的資本支出支出將遠大於我們今年提供的指導。現階段我們正在製定 2025 年的規劃，但作為初步指導，我們認為 2025 年的增幅可能會達到 6 億至 6.5 億美元左右。

And does it I mean, does it imply that there should be some CapEx left for 2026 also?

我的意思是，這是否意味著 2026 年還應該有一些資本支出？

For fiscal 2026 as we finish off the mill and expecting to end and start commissioning late calendar 2025Yes, there will be some smaller CapEx related to West Virginia in the fiscal '26 as well.

對於 2026 財年，當我們完成工廠建設並預計在 2025 年晚些時候結束並開始調試時，是的，26 財年與西維吉尼亞州相關的資本支出也將有所減少。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Thank you, Daisy.

謝謝你，黛西。

Thank you. And our next question comes from Timna Beth Tanners with BNP Paribas.

謝謝。我們的下一個問題來自法國巴黎銀行的 Timna Beth Tanners。

Yeah, hi. Thank you for taking my questions. The first one is on the market situation in the US. You mentioned a healthy start of the construction season, but pricing indicators we look at don't necessarily indicate that usually we see scrap prices move higher price hikes on long products and this time around we didn't get any of that. So, was there anything different with this construction season that is ongoing and why does it appear weaker than usual? Thank you.

是的，嗨。感謝您回答我的問題。第一個是美國的市場狀況。您提到了建築季節的良好開局，但我們關注的定價指標並不一定表明，通常我們會看到廢鋼價格上漲，長材產品價格上漲，而這次我們沒有得到任何結果。那麼，這個正在進行的施工季節有什麼不同嗎？謝謝。

Well, I think when we look at the levels of bidding in the marketplace, they remain very strong. When we look at the levels of bookings, they look very good to on a historic basis, I mean, yes, down year over year, but down 3% and again, against a very strong backdrop so on.

嗯，我認為當我們觀察市場的競價水平時，它們仍然非常強勁。當我們查看預訂水平時，從歷史角度來看，它們看起來非常好，我的意思是，是的，同比下降，但在非常強勁的背景下，一次又一次下降了 3%。

So, we feel very good about where demand is overall on and if you look at margins, what's happened is that while you've seen some erosion of pricing on a sales price perspective, you've also seen some erosion on the scrap side as well.

因此，我們對總體需求情況感到非常滿意，如果你看一下利潤率，你會發現，雖然你看到銷售價格方面的定價有所下降，但你也看到了廢鋼方面的一些下降，因為出色地。

So, our margins have been able to stay relatively stable when we look at scrap and it seems like that's maybe what you're kind of pointing to. There are a couple of factors here that I think are important. One is it looking forward, it feels like scrap is getting close to a bottom. And I would say that because we're starting to see, but there are kind of lighter flows into our yards, which is typically an indication that the of the people with the scrap are less interested in selling it.

因此，當我們考慮廢品時，我們的利潤率一直能夠保持相對穩定，這似乎可能是您所指的。我認為這裡有幾個因素很重要。一是展望未來，感覺廢料正在接近底部。我之所以這麼說，是因為我們已經開始看到，但有一些較輕的貨物流入我們的船廠，這通常表明擁有廢料的人對出售它不太感興趣。

Secondly, what we're seeing is a lot of the outages that we had in the beginning part of the year are now behind us. So demand is resuming.

其次，我們看到今年年初發生的許多停電現在已經過去了。因此需求正在恢復。

And the third thing I'd say is that there's a kind of on the margin, a stronger global bid for scrap. So, we have every reason to believe that you should see scrap stabilize to potentially get a little bit stronger here and then it might resume the trend that you're used to seeing. But I think the overall point is that in response to your question is that margins have been nicely stable through this period. And I would reinforce the point we made in the script, which is that well above historic levels.

我要說的第三件事是，全球對廢鋼的競購力度有所加強。因此，我們有充分的理由相信，您應該會看到廢鋼穩定下來，可能會稍微走強，然後可能會恢復您習慣看到的趨勢。但我認為總體而言，對於你的問題的答案是，在此期間，利潤率一直非常穩定。我想強調我們在劇本中提出的觀點，遠高於歷史水準。

Right. That's a that's very helpful. And my second question is on the guidance. And so you guide for stable EBITDA. But if Europe improves a bit from the EBG. business is up slightly and you have stable margin volume development in North America. Why shouldn't we see some modest improvement quarter on quarter and going back to North America, if we get lower start-up costs with ours in the two. And I think in the past quarter, you're also flagging some lag impact from low scrap prices that should also help. So just trying to square that.

正確的。這非常有幫助。我的第二個問題是關於指導。因此，您可以指導穩定的 EBITDA。但如果歐洲的 EBG 有所改善。業務略有成長，北美的利潤量發展穩定。如果我們在這兩個地區的啟動成本較低，為什麼我們不能看到季度與季度之間的一些適度改善並回到北美？我認為在過去的季度中，您也指出了低廢鋼價格帶來的一些滯後影響，這也應該有所幫助。所以只是想解決這個問題。

Yeah, well, look, I mean, it's possible that there's a level of conservatism in this, but I think there's also some risks that we're trying to factor in. And maybe I'll since you started with Europe. Let me just start with Europe. And so, you know that the market conditions there have been very difficult and our team there has done an incredible job of kind of keeping costs low.

是的，好吧，我的意思是，這可能存在一定程度的保守主義，但我認為我們也試圖考慮一些風險。讓我先從歐洲開始。因此，您知道那裡的市場狀況非常困難，而我們的團隊在保持低成本方面做了令人難以置信的工作。

But the importance that the Polish team is seeing from Germany are really making it difficult to break through. And so, you know, kind of as we say or as we target getting to breakeven, that's not an easy exercise on an operational basis. We think we can do it, but it's not going to be easy in EBG., we just posted a I think, a very nice quarter there, and we're confident about what we can do in the fourth quarter.

但波蘭隊看到德國隊的重要性，確實很難突破。因此，您知道，正如我們所說或我們的目標是實現收支平衡，這在營運基礎上並不是一件容易的事。我們認為我們可以做到這一點，但這在 EBG 中並不容易。

But again, no further areas outside of the US affecting any of our business-like tents are there is some risk in that, right? And we've seen that through the course of our fiscal 2024. So, we're being a little bit cautious in that regard. I think in North America, there are, as we've said, you've got these interest rate segments that are quite sensitive right now and are definitely weaker than what we'd like to see.

但同樣，美國以外的其他地區不會影響我們的任何商務帳篷，因此存在風險，對吧？我們在 2024 財年已經看到了這一點。我認為在北美，正如我們所說，這些利率部分目前非常敏感，而且肯定比我們希望看到的要弱。

And so that's another reason why we've got perhaps a little bit of conservatism in our estimate. We do believe that North America is going to stay up. Kind of the demand is going to stay good overall. But again, if you're talking about moving margins higher, I think there we're a little cautious about moving margins higher until we see that inflection in rates.

這就是我們的估計可能有點保守的另一個原因。我們確實相信北美將保持成長。整體需求將保持良好。但同樣，如果你談論的是提高利潤率，我認為我們對提高利潤率持謹慎態度，直到我們看到利率的變化。

All right. That's very clear. Thank you very much.

好的。這非常清楚。非常感謝。

Thank you, Tanners.

謝謝你，坦納斯。

Curt Woodworth with UBS.

瑞銀集團的科特·伍德沃斯。

Yeah, thanks and good morning, Peter and team.

是的，謝謝，早上好，彼得和團隊。

Hey, hi Curt.

嘿，嗨，柯特。

And so, you noted that the rebar market in terms of supply demand seems to be improving in the West and infrastructure kind of bidding and leading is picking up. So, it would seem to suggest that Arizona, number two, it has room to continue to increase production and being optimized. But then you're also kind of guiding to flat shipments quarter on quarter. So, is the way to think about it that maybe further optimization in Arizona as being maybe mitigated by regional weakness or some of the interest rate sensitive parts of the market that you discussed?

因此，您指出，西方螺紋鋼市場的供應需求似乎正在改善，基礎設施類型的招標和領先正在回升。因此，這似乎表明排名第二的亞利桑那州有繼續增加產量和優化的空間。但你也可以指引季度出貨量持平。那麼，是否可以考慮亞利桑那州的進一步優化，因為區域疲軟或您討論的市場中的一些利率敏感部分可能會有所緩解？

Yeah. I think there's some fairness to that. I mean, again, so we are in Arizona, we are we are expecting to be able to increase production as we put more rebar onto the mill. But you're right, we do have some of these segments that have some weakness. And so, we're being kind of a bit measured in what we think we can do there.

是的。我認為這有一定的公平性。我的意思是，再說一遍，我們在亞利桑那州，我們希望能夠透過向工廠投入更多螺紋鋼來提高產量。但你是對的，我們確實有一些細分市場存在一些弱點。因此，我們對我們認為可以在那裡做的事情進行了一些衡量。

But I think that's fair. Okay. And then I guess just with respect to capital allocation, given the balance sheet and the free cash flow profile, you have pretty significant bandwidth to continue to fund organic growth and inorganic growth So just can you kind of comment on maybe how the M&A pipeline is looking? And then just given some of the distress conditions in Europe, would Europe be an area where you would look to trying to grow?

但我認為這是公平的。好的。然後我想就資本配置而言，考慮到資產負債表和自由現金流狀況，你有相當大的頻寬來繼續為有機增長和無機增長提供資金，所以你能評論一下併購管道的情況嗎？ ？然後考慮到歐洲的一些困境，歐洲會成為您尋求成長的地區嗎？

Okay. Thanks, Curt, for the question. So, on organic growth, remember, we have some significant organic growth coming our way in the form of the Arizona ramp up, which we're still getting to EBITDA positive. That will be a significant contributor. And following shortly on from that, we've got West Virginia.

好的。謝謝柯特提出這個問題。因此，在有機成長方面，請記住，我們以亞利桑那州產能擴張的形式實現了一些顯著的有機成長，我們的 EBITDA 仍為正值。這將是一個重要的貢獻者。緊隨其後的是西維吉尼亞州。

And then beyond that, we've got a number of kind of, I'd say, much smaller from an order of magnitude, but organic projects across the portfolio that are either addressing kind of capacity needs to serve the demand in some of our kind of higher growth markets and think about tens, our geo grids and so forth or to address kind of costs opportunities that we have through de-bottlenecking are making our operations more efficient. So we have a nice pipeline of organic opportunities here.

除此之外，我想說，我們在整個投資組合中還有許多規模較小，但有機的項目，它們要么解決某種容量需求，以滿足我們某些領域的需求。市場，並考慮數十個、我們的地理網格等，或透過消除瓶頸來解決我們所擁有的某種成本機會，使我們的營運更有效率。所以我們這裡有很多有機機會。

The other thing I would say is that we're starting to get our arms around operational and commercial excellence in the company. We've done a lot of work around that, and that is going to provide a nice support to near term organic growth.

我要說的另一件事是，我們開始致力於公司的營運和商業卓越。我們已經圍繞這個問題做了很多工作，這將為近期的有機成長提供良好的支援。

So then moving to inorganic growth. We do see opportunities out there and we are working through precisely where we want to play. And what I'll say at this point is we won early stage construction solutions. We want products that come onto the construction site at the same time that we come on.

然後轉向無機增長。我們確實看到了機會，我們正在努力實現我們想要發揮的作用。我現在要說的是，我們贏得了早期施工解決方案。我們希望產品能夠與我們同時到達建築工地。

We won products that come ideally through the same channel and have attractive margins and ideally have a kind of an attractive penetration story like tents are such that while they may serve some cyclical markets, they have the ability to produce a less volatile result given the kind of penetration story that they can provide.

我們贏得的產品理想地透過相同的管道提供，具有有吸引力的利潤，並且理想地具有一種有吸引力的滲透故事，例如帳篷，雖然它們可能服務於一些週期性市場，但鑑於這種類型，它們有能力產生波動性較小的結果他們可以提供的滲透故事。

Now of what we're doing is we're looking at lots of businesses and trying to figure out where our sweet spot is and specifically where we have competitive advantage and where we have a right to win and where we as a company, bring the capabilities that are going to make us successful there and so the nice thing is that we have some time because we've got this organic growth that's in the pipeline already that should fuel some growth in EBITDA over the next up periods while we kind of get our arms around where we want to be specifically.

現在我們正在做的是，我們正在研究很多企業，並試圖找出我們的最​​佳點在哪裡，特別是我們在哪裡有競爭優勢，在哪裡我們有獲勝的權利，以及作為一家公司，我們可以在哪裡帶來使我們在那裡取得成功的能力，所以好的事情是我們有一些時間，因為我們已經在醞釀中實現有機增長，這應該會在接下來的一段時間內推動EBITDA 的一些增長，同時我們有點我們的手臂環繞著我們特別想去的地方。

And as we do that, we'll obviously share more color with you on what we're thinking about. But it's a we're really in the I'd say, the second stage where we're refining work on things that we've been looking at and trying to go to the next level of detail on the businesses themselves.

當我們這樣做時，我們顯然會與您分享更多我們正在思考的內容。但我想說的是，我們確實處於第二階段，我們正在完善我們一直在關注的事情的工作，並試圖在業務本身上達到更高的細節水平。

And I should just say on Europe. So, Europe is up. I mean, conditions in Europe are difficult, as we've said on the last several calls on. We wouldn't preclude growth in Europe on that given the kind of the situation that we're facing. But I think given the situation that we're facing, our growth in Europe would have to be very compelling now and we'd have to have a clear pathway to returns that are substantially in excess of our cost of capital because I think the risk profile of that market as we've seen over the last couple of years is more challenging.

我應該談談歐洲。所以，歐洲已經崛起了。我的意思是，正如我們在過去幾次電話會議中所說的那樣，歐洲的情況很困難。考慮到我們面臨的情況，我們不會排除歐洲的成長。但我認為，考慮到我們面臨的情況，我們在歐洲的成長現在必須非常引人注目，我們必須有一條明確的途徑來獲得遠遠超過我們資本成本的回報，因為我認為風險正如我們在過去幾年中看到的那樣，該市場的概況更具挑戰性。

Sorry for the long answer,

抱歉回答太長，

No, very helpful. Thank you.

不，非常有幫助。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions).

（操作員說明）。

Our next question comes from Katja Jancic, with BMO Capital Markets.

我們的下一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 Katja Jancic。

Hi. Maybe going back to Arizona 2. And looking to fiscal year '25, how should we think about the ramp-up there? Or how much do you think the mill could produce?

你好。也許回到亞利桑那州 2。還是你認為工廠能生產多少？

Good morning, Katja. Yes, we continue to make good progress with respect to the commissioning activities at Arizona 2 it. And certainly, there's a lot of complex technology that is involved and introduced in that facility that ultimately, we are very confident that it is puts us to really benefit from being a competitive advantage long term in terms of the that the nature of the production process there.

早上好，卡佳。是的，我們在 Arizona 2 it 的調試活動方面繼續取得良好進展。當然，該工廠涉及並引入了許多複雜的技術，最終，我們非常有信心，它將使我們真正受益於長期的競爭優勢，因為生產過程的性質在那裡。

We anticipate that we will see good ramp-up of activity in the fourth quarter and then into next year, we're thinking roughly around 75% capacity utilization as an average for the year now starting a little bit below that and ending the year at a much higher rate.

我們預計，第四季和明年的活動將出現良好成長，我們認為今年的平均產能利用率約為 75% 左右，現在開始略低於該水平，年底為更高的比率。

But overall, we're thinking about a 75% utilization rate. And as a reminder, we anticipate long term that the mill will have a product mix of roughly 150,000 tons of merchant product and 350,000 tons of rebar.

但總體而言，我們正在考慮 75% 的利用率。提醒一下，我們預計從長遠來看，該鋼廠的產品結構將包括約 15 萬噸商業產品和 35 萬噸螺紋鋼。

And I think initially it's going to be more rebar focused, and then I guess as the year progresses, we could see more of the MBQ?

我認為最初會更加關注螺紋鋼，然後我想隨著時間的推移，我們可以看到更多的 MBQ？

I wouldn't say that it's a lot easier to produce the rebar since that is consistent. And so that that ramp up and commissioning has we've been very successful in achieving those levels near the commissioning and the slowdown Yeah, we'll continue to be on the merchant side.

我不會說生產鋼筋要容易得多，因為這是一致的。因此，我們已經非常成功地實現了調試和放緩附近的水平，是的，我們將繼續站在商家一邊。

Okay. And maybe one more on the CapEx side. Once the current project pipeline is completed, what would be a more normalized CapEx level?

好的。也許還有一個關於資本支出的問題。在目前專案管道完成後，更規範的資本支出水準是多少？

Yeah, Katja. We believe that our smaller project and maintenance CapEx bucket. So those two combined really being in that $250 million range will represent the ongoing of that level of spend.

是的，卡佳。我們相信我們較小的項目和維護資本支出桶。因此，這兩者加起來確實處於 2.5 億美元的範圍內，這將代表這一支出水準的持續。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Timna Tanners with Wolfe Research.

坦納斯 (Timna Tanners) 與沃爾夫研究公司 (Wolfe Research)。

Yeah, I think this is the first day of summer and wanted to ask about a little bit more to hone in on the comments around the Home Interest Rate Sensitive construction component. I mean, I think of most construction as being interest rate sensitive, but I suppose is that does that refer to non-government or shorter cycle projects?

是的，我認為這是夏季的第一天，我想詢問更多信息，以了解有關房屋利率敏感建設部分的評論。我的意思是，我認為大多數建設項目都對利率敏感，但我想這是否指的是非政府或較短週期的項目？

And if you could sort of give us an idea of your end markets or of your shipments, how much of that would be in that category of interest rate sensitive that could potentially benefit from rate cuts?

如果您能讓我們了解您的終端市場或出貨情況，其中有多少屬於可能從降息中受益的利率敏感類別？

Yeah, so what we've typically said is that about half of our portfolio have some exposure to interest rates and exposure in varying degrees on if we kind of parse it from there. The infrastructure we do not think is interest rate sensitive. And there the demand is really strong, and we've said it's going to continue to grow over the course of the next several years.

是的，所以我們通常說的是，我們的投資組合中約有一半有一定的利率風險敞口，並且如果我們從那裡進行解析的話，也會有不同程度的風險敞口。我們認為基礎設施對利率不敏感。那裡的需求非常強勁，我們已經說過它將在未來幾年內繼續成長。

And when we get to non-residential, which is the kind of next 35% in that stack that you know that we always talk about there are portions of that of that market that are interest rate sensitive and we would point to warehouses office buildings of kind of light commercial, some lodging. And I don't maybe that's a third of that, Nick, something that's a bit of a stab, but maybe that's the right number.

當我們談到非住宅市場時，即該堆疊中的下一個 35%，您知道我們總是談論該市場的一部分對利率敏感，我們會指出以下類型的倉庫辦公大樓一種輕型商業，一些住宿。我不認為這可能是其中的三分之一，尼克，有點刺痛，但也許這是正確的數字。

And then on the residential side, Tim, the again the residential side, we think have some kind of interest rate exposure and there where we're seeing it mostly right now, as we said in the prepared remarks, is on the multifamily side in and so again, if we see an inflection in rates, we do think that you would see some kind of response in terms of incremental demand.

然後在住宅方面，蒂姆，再次在住宅方面，我們認為存在某種利率風險，正如我們在準備好的評論中所說，我們現在看到的主要是在多戶家庭方面同樣，如果我們看到利率出現變化，我們確實認為您會看到需求增量方面的某種反應。

What's been interesting is that we're not seeing projects canceled. They're just, you know, kind of hanging around. So, and they're being bid and rebid and so forth. So, our contention is that we should see we should see some of them come back. And of course, you know, as we said also in the prepared remarks, you've got this some kind of a healthy backlog of housing demand that needs to be satisfied somehow. So I think that will kind of provide us more likelihood that that comes to market.

有趣的是我們沒有看到項目被取消。你知道，他們只是閒逛。因此，他們正在競標和重新競標等等。所以，我們的觀點是，我們應該看到他們中的一些人回來。當然，正如我們在準備好的發言中所說，住房需求存在某種健康的積壓，需要以某種方式滿足。所以我認為這將為我們提供更多進入市場的可能性。

Okay. That's helpful. Thanks. And then my second question is about your backlog. So, you talk about the volumes being healthy there, but I was trying to think about the margins in that backlog because depending on the timeframe of when they were contracted prices were higher and now, they're lower. Obviously, costs are lower. So just to think about how that backlog is looking in terms of the margin profile relative to other past or recent quarters?

好的。這很有幫助。謝謝。我的第二個問題是關於你們的積壓工作。所以，你說那裡的銷量是健康的，但我試著考慮積壓的利潤，因為根據合約價格較高的時間範圍，現在價格較低。顯然，成本更低。那麼，想一下相對於過去或最近幾季的利潤狀況，積壓訂單的情況如何？

Yeah, Timna, as far as the backlog profile, as in as you know, it really the fabrication business is a usually priced at a margin over and above where rebar pricing is. And as Peter said to an earlier question, on average, it's nine to 12 months in duration from a from an average perspective. So, one would expect that as rebar pricing has come down a little bit over the last well, really the first nine months of our fiscal year that that helps solidify some of the at the margin in the backlog.

是的，蒂姆納，就積壓情況而言，正如您所知，製造業務的定價通常高於螺紋鋼的定價。正如 Peter 在先前的問題中所說，從平均角度來看，平均持續時間為 9 到 12 個月。因此，人們預計，隨著螺紋鋼價格在上一口井（實際上是我們財年的前九個月）中略有下降，這有助於鞏固積壓中的一些邊際利潤。

However, the pricing environment or that margin over and above rebar has been impacted by the lower amount of work that is being contracted today versus, say, 18 to 24 months ago when there was a it more activity in the space. And so overall, I think we're very encouraged that we're well above historic levels in the in the backlog, but it is the margins have returned a little bit too to a more normalized level from where they were.

然而，與 18 至 24 個月前該領域活動較多的情況相比，目前承包的工作量減少，影響了定價環境或螺紋鋼利潤率。總的來說，我認為我們感到非常鼓舞，因為我們的積壓訂單遠高於歷史水平，但利潤率也從原來的水平恢復到了更正常的水平。

And when you said margins returned to more normalized levels that also above historical levels, but not from the highs like somewhere in between the two. I guess.

當你說利潤率回到了更正常的水平，也高於歷史水平，但不是從兩者之間的高點開始。我猜。

That's what I was trying to articulate you.

這就是我試圖向你表達的意思。

Got it. Okay. Just making sure I thank for the help.

知道了。好的。只是確保我感謝您的幫助。

Alex Hacking with Citigroup.

花旗集團的亞歷克斯駭客。

Yeah, morning, and thanks for the call from. I guess, on Arizona. I'm not sure how much you disclose on this, but as you think about Arizona ramping up moving to profitability, what is the sort of EBITDA per tonne uplift? What you get from shifting production, you know, from an older male that's outside the region to suit the new Arizona mill?

是的，早安，感謝您的來電。我猜，在亞利桑那州。我不確定您對此披露了多少，但當您考慮亞利桑那州加速實現盈利時，每噸 EBITDA 的提升是多少？你知道，為了適應亞利桑那州的新工廠，從該地區以外的年長男性轉移生產，你能得到什麼？

Yeah, Alex, you know, if we if we look back to sort of a historical view of our investment decision as we acquired the asset Gerdau assets at partially what they were servicing, they are and the western US. market from was from their California location. And the costs associated with doing business both from an environmental and energy perspective in California were substantial.

是的，亞歷克斯，你知道，如果我們回顧一下我們投資決策的歷史觀點，因為我們以部分服務的價格收購了蓋爾道資產，那麼它們就是美國西部。市場來自他們的加利福尼亞州。從環境和能源的角度來看，在加州開展業務的相關成本是巨大的。

And so we decided to build the Arizona facility. And clearly, the a lot of the benefits of the business case were on the cost reduction that that ensued. And as we built the mill, we were certainly continuing to serve the market from our eastern and central facilities and incurring the freight costs in order to continue to see that market while we constructed the mill.

因此我們決定建造亞利桑那工廠。顯然，該業務案例的許多好處都在於隨之而來的成本降低。當我們建造工廠時，我們當然會繼續從我們的東部和中部設施為市場提供服務，並承擔運費，以便在我們建造工廠的同時繼續看到市場。

And so what we what we saw some of the benefit as we shuttered the California facility. But we will continue to see the benefit as we ramp up and avoid the freight costs of what we were providing to the to the West Coast. So, we continue to expect that there will be a margin pickup as we ramp up the Arizona facility and it should be in line with our traditional it margins that we produce on the on the rebar side.

因此，當我們關閉加州工廠時，我們看到了一些好處。但隨著我們加強並避免向西海岸提供的貨運成本，我們將繼續看到好處。因此，我們繼續預計，隨著我們擴大亞利桑那州工廠的產能，利潤率將會上升，這應該與我們在螺紋鋼方面生產的傳統利潤率保持一致。

Okay. Thanks, Paul. And then on the residential side, I take your point that longer term, the US, maybe short housing units. But if we look at the most recent data, it's not particularly encouraging, right? I think, but they are out today starts down 20% and permits kind of the lowest in several years. Are you seeing that kind of weakness in your residential order book or is it not as bad some of the headline data, which suggests actually, you know?

好的。謝謝，保羅。然後在住宅方面，我同意你的觀點，從長遠來看，美國可能會短缺住房單位。但如果我們看一下最新的數據，這並不是特別令人鼓舞，對吧？我想，但他們今天開始下跌 20%，許可證數量是幾年來的最低水準。您是否在住宅訂單中看到了這種疲軟，或者一些標題數據是否沒有那麼糟糕，這實際上表明，您知道？

And I guess maybe we can talk offline about what data you're looking at. But if you look at the Dodge starts estimates for of residential, they're showing kind of substantial upticks in kind of 2025 and beyond.

我想也許我們可以離線討論您正在查看的數據。但如果你看看道奇開始對住宅的估計，你會發現 2025 年及以後將大幅成長。

And I would say our order book is showing a kind of demand that stays at a healthy level and is, as we've said on several calls in the past, remains well above the kind of pre-pandemic levels. So, on So yes, there's some weakness in multi-family, but we feel that it's that residential is going to be a good place to be here.

我想說，我們的訂單顯示出保持在健康水平的需求，正如我們過去在幾次電話會議中所說的那樣，仍然遠高於疫情前的水平。所以，是的，多戶住宅存在一些弱點，但我們認為住宅將成為這裡的好地方。

Okay, thanks. I was just referring to the US Census Bureau data that was released today.

好的謝謝。我只是指今天發布的美國人口普查局數據。

Okay, but as well, they get a lot more than just multifamily com. And then just finally, yes, sorry, finally, on contents or I guess on emerging business segment. And I think when you acquired the business and subsequently, you know, this is expected to be a growth business when we but if I look at revenue and EBITDA, right, it's effectively the same as it was last year.

好吧，但同樣，他們得到的不僅僅是多戶住宅。最後，是的，抱歉，最後，關於內容，或者我想是關於新興業務領域。我認為，當你收購了該業務，隨後，你知道，這預計將是一項增長業務，但如果我看看收入和 EBITDA，對，它實際上與去年相同。

Is this still a business that we should be expecting should be growing. And I know there was some operating challenges that have created some constraints around growth and in prior quarters, but maybe you could just give us some more color there?

這仍然是一項我們應該期待成長的業務嗎？我知道存在一些營運挑戰，對成長和前幾季的成長造成了一些限制，但也許您可以給我們更多的資訊？

Yeah, absolutely. So, and what I would say is absolutely it's a business we expect to grow on a couple of things that I think are worth noting. One is that on the positive side, you have probably you're probably aware of the fact that we introduced a new geo grid. And one thing that's been interesting about that is that the kind of both the volumes and the margins on that introduction had been in excess of what we were expecting, right.

是的，絕對是。所以，我想說的是，這絕對是我們期望在一些我認為值得注意的事情上發展的業務。其一是，從積極的一面來看，您可能已經意識到我們引入了新的地理網格這一事實。有趣的一件事是，該介紹的數量和利潤都超出了我們的預期，對吧。

So, the product continues to have a kind of a very strong reason to be in a market that is, we believe, underpenetrated. I think we've said something like 15% and it has applications on every construction site. So it's not on every construction site, but it's got applications on every construction site. And we you're right to call out the fact that we've had some operating challenges.

因此，我們認為，該產品仍有充分的理由進入滲透率不足的市場。我認為我們已經說過 15% 左右，它適用於每個建築工地。因此，它並不是每個建築工地上都有應用，但它在每個建築工地上都有應用。我們確實遇到了一些營運挑戰，這一點是正確的。

And part of this is honestly, it's the fact that we bought the asset from private equity, the operating facility, that one of the operating facilities, it needed some catch-up maintenance. And so we've had to put some extra CapEx into it, and that's been kind of challenging to to catch up on that boat but we're on the way with that. We've got we've made all the changes we need to make, and we're kind of I think we're in a good position. There are on the right path there.

老實說，部分原因是我們從私募股權公司購買了資產，即營運設施，其中一個營運設施，它需要一些後續維護。因此，我們必須投入一些額外的資本支出，要趕上這艘船有點具有挑戰性，但我們正在努力做到這一點。我們已經做出了所有需要做出的改變，我認為我們處於有利的位置。那裡有正確的道路。

And we're actually investing in new capacity there to meet the demand side of the equation for geo grid. So I think things are positive there. I think the other factor that I want to call out is know this business is not only a North American business and the what we call the kind of Eastern Hemisphere. But it's really the rest of the world business, as you know, from looking at the kind of the economic conditions and most of the rest of the world have been very varied and in many instance, many instances quite weak. And so that has been a I don't want to say it's been a drag on growth, but it's certainly muted any growth that we have.

我們實際上正在那裡投資新的產能，以滿足地理網格等式的需求方。所以我認為事情是正面的。我想我想指出的另一個因素是知道這項業務不僅是北美業務，而且是我們所謂的東半球業務。但正如你所知，這實際上是世界其他地區的業務，從經濟狀況來看，世界其他地區的情況非常不同，而且在許多情況下，很多情況都相當薄弱。因此，我不想說這是對成長的拖累，但它肯定會抑制我們的任何成長。

And the last thing I'd say about EBG. generally. So, this is moving away from Tensor as that we put these businesses in this portfolio because we strongly believe they all have the potential to grow. But one of the things we're doing just like with our overall growth strategy is we're in the process of getting organized around that growth and that means and bringing the people together, bringing the of the investment together to enable that growth. So, you need to give us a little bit of time to kind of post that growth for you. But yes, we definitely think 10, our is a growth business. We're super excited about it long term, ARM and NEBG. generally.

關於 EBG，我要說的最後一件事。一般來說。因此，這正在遠離 Tensor，因為我們將這些業務納入這個投資組合，因為我們堅信它們都有成長潛力。但我們正在做的事情之一，就像我們的整體成長策略一樣，我們正在圍繞成長進行組織，這意味著將人們聚集在一起，將投資聚集在一起以實現成長。因此，您需要給我們一點時間來為您發布這種增長。但是，是的，我們絕對認為 10，我們是一家成長型企業。 ARM 和 NEBG，我們對它的長期發展感到非常興奮。一般來說。

Thanks, Peter. And best of luck with everything.

謝謝，彼得。祝一切順利。

Yeah, Thank you, Alex.

是的，謝謝你，亞歷克斯。

Thank you. This concludes your question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Matt for any closing remarks.

謝謝。您的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回給馬特先生做總結發言。

Thank you very much for joining the call today. As I have said on the on the call, we believe that we are in a unique situation where the combination of structural supply and demand trends that we have noted, operational and commercial excellence initiatives to strengthen our through the cycle performance and value accretive growth opportunities, create an exciting opportunity for our company in the future.

非常感謝您今天加入電話會議。正如我在電話會議上所說，我們相信我們處於一個獨特的情況，我們注意到的結構性供需趨勢、營運和商業卓越舉措相結合，可以增強我們的整個週期業績和價值增值增長機會，為我們公司的未來創造一個令人興奮的機會。

We're committed to a balanced capital allocation strategy that includes investments in our company's future and a return of capital to our shareholders. And I want to thank you all for joining us on today's call, and we look forward to speaking with many of you during the investor calls in the coming days and weeks. Thank you very much.

我們致力於平衡的資本配置策略，包括對公司未來的投資和對股東的資本回報。我要感謝大家參加今天的電話會議，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。非常感謝。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. We thank you all for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines and have a wonderful day.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝大家參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開線路並度過美好的一天。