Commercial Metals Co (CMC) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome, everyone, to the fiscal 2025 Second Quarter Earnings Call for CMC. Joining me today on today's call are Peter Matt, CMC's President and Chief Executive Officer; and Mr. Paul Lawrence, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Today's materials, including the press release and supplemental slides that accompany this call can be found on CMC's Investor Relations website. Today's call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions)

大家好，歡迎參加 CMC 2025 財年第二季財報電話會議。今天參加電話會議的還有 CMC 總裁兼執行長 Peter Matt；以及資深副總裁兼財務長保羅勞倫斯先生。今天的資料，包括新聞稿和本次電話會議的補充幻燈片，可在 CMC 的投資者關係網站上找到。今天的通話正在錄音。（操作員指令）

I would like to remind all participants that today's discussion contains forward-looking statements, including with respect to economic conditions, effects of legislation and trade actions, US steel import levels, construction activity, demand for finished steel products, the expected capabilities, benefits and time line for construction of new facilities, the company's operations, the company's strategic growth plan and its anticipated benefits, legal proceedings, the company's future results of operations, financial measures and capital spending. These statements reflect the company's beliefs based on current conditions, but are subject to risks and uncertainties.

我想提醒所有參與者，今天的討論包含前瞻性陳述，包括有關經濟狀況、立法和貿易行動的影響、美國鋼鐵進口水平、建築活動、成品鋼需求、預期能力、新設施建設的收益和時間表、公司的運營、公司的戰略增長計劃及其預期收益、法律訴訟、公司未來的經營業績、財務指標和資本支出。這些聲明反映了公司基於當前情況的信念，但受風險和不確定性的影響。

The company's earnings release, most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission contain additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, CMC does not assume any obligation to update, amend or clarify these statements.

該公司的收益報告、最新的 10-K 表年度報告以及向美國證券交易委員會提交的其他文件包含有關可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中預測的結果存在重大差異的因素的更多資​​訊。除法律要求外，CMC 不承擔更新、修改或澄清這些聲明的任何義務。

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 and fiscal quarter.

所呈現的一些數字將是非 GAAP 財務指標，這些數字的對帳可以在公司的收益報告、補充幻燈片簡報或公司網站上找到。除非另有說明，否則所有提及的年末或季末均指本公司的財政年度和財務季度。

And now for opening remarks and introductions, I would like to turn the call over to Peter. Please begin, sir.

現在，我想將開場白和介紹交給彼得。先生，請開始。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining CMC's Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. I will start this morning's discussion with an overview of CMC's second quarter results. I will then provide commentary on current market conditions and share a brief update on CMC's strategic efforts. Paul will cover the second quarter's financial information in more detail, and I will conclude our outlook for the third fiscal quarter of 2025. We will then open the call for questions. As a reminder, 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.

大家早安，感謝大家參加 CMC 第二季財報電話會議。我將從 CMC 第二季業績概述開始今天上午的討論。然後，我將對當前的市場狀況發表評論，並簡要介紹 CMC 的策略努力。保羅將更詳細地介紹第二季的財務信息，我將總結我們對 2025 財年第三季的展望。然後我們將開始提問。提醒一下，有關本季度的更多資訊已在本次電話會議的補充幻燈片中提供，可在 CMC 的投資者關係網站上找到。

Before discussing CMC's financial performance, I would like to highlight our team's outstanding safety performance. You have heard me mention many times that our highest priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of our people. We want everyone to leave their shift in the same condition in which they arrived. The first half of fiscal 2025 marks a new milestone on our journey toward that goal. We achieved a record low incident rate that was consistent with world-class performance.

在討論 CMC 的財務表現之前，我想先強調我們團隊出色的安全表現。你們已經聽過我多次提到，我們的首要任務是確保人民的安全和福祉。我們希望每個人下班時的狀態和上班時一樣。2025財年上半年是我們實現這一目標的一個新的里程碑。我們實現了與世界一流表現相符的最低事故發生率。

Additionally, and even more impressively, the number of OSHA recordable events was the lowest since the second half of fiscal 2018, when the company had nearly 4,500 fewer employees. I would like to congratulate the CMC team on this great accomplishment, and challenge you to keep pushing towards the ultimate goal of zero harm.

此外，更令人印象深刻的是，OSHA 記錄事件的數量是自 2018 財年下半年以來最低的，當時公司員工減少了近 4,500 人。我要祝賀 CMC 團隊取得這項偉大成就，並要求你們繼續努力，朝著零傷害的最終目標邁進。

CMC reported net earnings for the second quarter of $25.5 million, or $0.22 per diluted share on net sales of $1.8 billion. The result included $3.9 million of after-tax charges, which Paul will take you through in more detail. Excluding these items, adjusted earnings were $29.3 million or $0.26 per diluted share.

CMC 公佈第二季淨利為 2,550 萬美元，即每股收益 0.22 美元，淨銷售額為 18 億美元。結果包括 390 萬美元的稅後費用，保羅將向您詳細介紹。除這些項目外，調整後收益為 2,930 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.26 美元。

Though down from recent earnings levels, I am proud of the CMC team's performance during the second quarter. Each of our segments was able to drive financial benefits to the bottom line by executing on targeted cost optimization and margin enhancement opportunities.

儘管與最近的盈利水平相比有所下降，但我對 CMC 團隊在第二季度的表現感到自豪。我們的各個部門都能夠透過有針對性的成本優化和利潤提高機會來為企業帶來財務利益。

These efforts were in addition to CMC's strategic, operational and commercial excellence initiatives, or TAG, and we're aimed at pulling all levers of value within our reach to increase the degree of control over our financial performance within an uncertain economic environment.

這些努力是對 CMC 的策略、營運和商業卓越計劃（TAG）的補充，我們的目標是利用我們所能利用的所有價值槓桿來提高我們在不確定的經濟環境中對財務績效的控製程度。

I couldn't be more pleased with how our business is across our organization responded to the challenge by identifying and executing on available opportunities, generating real benefits and setting the company up for even greater success as market conditions improve.

我對我們的業務在整個組織內如何應對挑戰感到非常滿意，我們識別並抓住現有機會，創造真正的利益，並隨著市場條件的改善為公司取得更大的成功做好準備。

Results in our North American Steel Group during the second quarter continued to be impacted by economic uncertainty, which has been an overhang on steel pricing and slowed the pace of new construction project awards. As I will discuss in a moment, we saw several bright spots emerged during the latter part of the second quarter, which we believe signal a near-term inflection in profitability.

我們北美鋼鐵集團第二季的業績繼續受到經濟不確定性的影響，這導致鋼鐵價格上漲並減緩了新建築項目授予的步伐。正如我稍後將要討論的那樣，我們看到第二季後半段出現了幾個亮點，我們認為這預示著盈利能力在短期內將出現拐點。

Our Europe Steel Group achieved a breakeven performance, marking an improvement on both a sequential and a year-over-year basis when energy cost rebates are excluded. Excellent cost management continues to be a meaningful benefit to financial results. We also experienced modestly improved market conditions during the quarter as import flows moderated from recent elevated levels.

我們的歐洲鋼鐵集團實現了損益平衡，如果排除能源成本回扣，無論是環比還是同比都有所改善。出色的成本管理持續為財務表現帶來顯著的好處。由於進口量從近期的高點回落，本季我們的市場狀況也略有改善。

Profitability for CMC's emerging businesses group also increased sequentially and compared to the year ago period. Our performance reinforcing Steel division was a standout during the quarter, driven by strong demand for its proprietary corrosion-resistant solutions, but all divisions within the segment performed well and have project pipelines to support a strong second half of the year.

CMC新興業務集團的獲利能力與去年同期相比也實現了環比成長。由於對其專有耐腐蝕解決方案的強勁需求，我們的鋼筋部門在本季度表現突出，但該部門內的所有部門都表現良好，並擁有項目儲備以支持下半年的強勁表現。

Turning now to CMC's markets in North America. The construction and industrial activity that drive consumption of our products was resilient during the quarter, which resulted in year-over-year growth of finished product shipments.

現在來談談 CMC 在北美的市場。推動我們產品消費的建築和工業活動在本季度表現出色，導致成品出貨量年增。

Similar to the last two quarters, uncertainty continued to negatively impact the pace of new project awards for private construction. Project owners remain concerned about the future trend in interest rates and are now weighing in the effect of tariffs and other governmental policies on the economy. Though new work is slow to award, the pipeline of potential projects continues to grow, resulting in what we view as a significant amount of pent-up demand.

與前兩個季度類似，不確定性繼續對私人建築新項目授予的速度產生負面影響。專案業主仍然擔心未來的利率趨勢，目前正在權衡關稅和其他政府政策對經濟的影響。儘管新工作授予速度較慢，但潛在項目的數量仍在不斷增加，因此我們認為存在大量被壓抑的需求。

We see evidence of this increase in pent-up demand in our downstream bid volumes as well as the Dodge Momentum Index, which now sits at an all-time high and has registered growth in planning across a number of market segments. We also hear about it in our conversations with customers who remain optimistic regarding the year ahead.

我們從下游投標量以及道奇動量指數中看到了這種被壓抑需求增加的證據，道奇動量指數目前處於歷史最高水平，並且在多個細分市場的規劃中都出現了增長。我們在與對來年保持樂觀的客戶的交談中也聽說了這一點。

There are a handful of notable exceptions to the trend of slower awards that are worth mentioning. First is highway and infrastructure, where activity is increasing nicely, and we expect to see additional large projects entering the market during the spring and summer months.

在獎項頒發速度放緩的趨勢中，有少數值得一提的顯著例外。首先是高速公路和基礎設施，這些領域的活動正在穩步增長，我們預計在春季和夏季將有更多大型項目進入市場。

Next, unsurprisingly, is the data center segment, which is currently very strong and can be expected to continue growing rapidly for the foreseeable future. This view is solidified by recent announcements by leading technology companies to invest over $1 trillion in digital infrastructure in the coming years.

接下來，毫不奇怪，是資料中心領域，該領域目前非常強勁，並且預計在可預見的未來將繼續快速成長。領先的科技公司最近宣布未來幾年將在數位基礎設施上投資超過 1 兆美元，這鞏固了這一觀點。

Additionally, investment in LNG capacity is ramping up under the new administration, and we have seen some major projects announced while others are currently nearing construction. This type of work is not only a solid demand generator for our traditional rebar products, but also presents attractive opportunities for our higher value-added solutions such as cryogenic steel and Geogrid.

此外，新政府上台後，對液化天然氣產能的投資正在加大，我們已經看到一些重大項目宣布，而其他項目目前已接近開工。這類工作不僅為我們傳統的鋼筋產品帶來了穩定的需求，也為我們更高附加價值的解決方案（如低溫鋼和土工格柵）帶來了誘人的機會。

As noted in our press release this morning, several encouraging developments emerged within our North American markets during the latter part of the second quarter. These included improved scrap market conditions and an inflection in long steel price levels, the combination of which we believe indicates that we have reached a floor in steel product metal margins and should see expansion heading into the third and fourth quarters.

正如我們今天早上的新聞稿中所述，第二季後半段，我們的北美市場出現了一些令人鼓舞的發展。這些因素包括廢鋼市場狀況的改善和長材價格水準的拐點，我們認為，這些因素的結合表明，鋼鐵產品金屬利潤率已觸底，第三季和第四季應該會出現擴大。

Higher mill pricing has carried over into our downstream operations, where average price levels on project bids and awards have risen proportionately. Lastly, we experienced the second highest volume of new project awards since late fiscal 2022, leading to a healthy sequential increase in downstream backlog.

工廠定價的提高已經延續到我們的下游業務，專案投標和授標的平均價格水準也相應上漲。最後，我們獲得了自 2022 財年末以來第二高的新項目授予量，從而導致下游積壓訂單量連續健康增長。

The rebound in awards does not necessarily signal that the slowing effect of uncertainty is dissipating. However, we believe it does show that there is a meaningful number of projects that owners are eager to construct despite the present challenges.

獎項的反彈並不一定表示不確定性的放緩效應正在消退。然而，我們相信，這確實表明，儘管面臨當前挑戰，仍有大量專案業主渴望建造。

Before leaving our North American market discussion, I would like to zoom out a bit and talk about -- excuse me, I'd like to zoom out a little bit from talk of uncertainty and take a broader view of the landscape. The last five years have brought tremendous economic, geopolitical and technological change.

在結束我們對北美市場的討論之前，我想先稍微放寬一下話題，談談——抱歉，我想先從不確定性的話題中抽身，從更廣闊的視角來看待情況。過去五年發生了巨大的經濟、地緣政治和技術變化。

Governments and businesses have responded by undertaking massive investment programs to realign supply chains, rebuild infrastructure, increase energy production and transmission and upgrade computing capabilities. The common thread running through all of these developments is construction. As the pace of change accelerates, it is construction that makes this adaptation possible. This dynamism gives me a high degree of confidence in the future of CMC's markets.

政府和企業已採取大規模投資計畫來重新調整供應鏈、重建基礎設施、增加能源生產和傳輸並升級運算能力。貫穿所有這些發展的共同點是建設。隨著變化步伐的加快，建築業使得這種適應成為可能。這種活力讓我對 CMC 的市場未來充滿信心。

We likely won't be able to predict the next trend, but I'm confident that it will require construction solutions offered by our company. That's why I think it's important to keep a sense of perspective and look beyond the temporary slowness.

我們可能無法預測下一個趨勢，但我相信它將需要我們公司提供的建築解決方案。這就是為什麼我認為保持洞察力並超越暫時的緩慢是很重要的。

Shifting gears to our European segment, conditions improved moderately compared to the recent periods, largely as a function of reduced import flows and long steel products from Germany. Better balance in the market provided space for our team to maintain shipment levels on a sequential basis despite seasonally weaker demand. We also experienced so modest relief on metal margins and were able to increase pricing by $25 per ton from the low reached in December of 2024.

將目光轉向我們的歐洲部門，與最近時期相比，情況有所改善，這主要是由於來自德國的進口量和長鋼產品減少。儘管季節性需求較弱，但市場更好的平衡為我們的團隊提供了空間，使他們能夠按順序維持出貨量水準。我們的金屬利潤率也略有下降，並能夠將價格從 2024 年 12 月的低點提高到每噸 25 美元。

Consumption remains in line with historical levels, but should grow in light of momentum within the residential market and increased funding for large infrastructure and energy projects. As noted on Slide 11 of the supplemental presentation, numerous green shoots have emerged that could meaningfully impact Polish and Central European steel markets in the quarters and years ahead.

消費量仍與歷史水準保持一致，但鑑於住宅市場的勢頭以及大型基礎設施和能源項目的資金增加，消費量應該會增長。正如補充報告第 11 張幻燈片中所述，許多復甦跡像已經出現，可能會在未來幾季和幾年對波蘭和中歐鋼鐵市場產生重大影響。

Perhaps the most notable recent development is the German proposal to lift its budget constraints to modernize its military and invest $500 billion in infrastructure. Such an action could substantially increase the country's steel demand and redirect material currently flowing into the Polish market.

或許最近最引人注目的進展是德國提議取消預算限制，以實現軍隊現代化，並投資 5,000 億美元用於基礎建設。此舉可能大幅增加該國的鋼鐵需求，並重新引導目前流入波蘭市場的鋼鐵。

Many other nations within the EU are also suggesting that significant incremental investment needs to be made in defense capabilities, which will include construction activities and should stimulate demand for long steel products.

歐盟內許多其他國家也建議對國防能力進行大量增量投資，其中包括建設活動，這將刺激對長鋼產品的需求。

In addition, an end to the conflict in Ukraine would boost general business sentiment across the continent and could lead to a sizable rebuilding effort. Inside Poland, many large infrastructure projects of a national scale are nearing construction phase and should help support rebar consumption over a multiyear period.

此外，烏克蘭衝突的結束將提振整個非洲大陸的整體商業信心，並可能帶來大規模的重建工作。在波蘭，許多國家級大型基礎設施項目即將進入建設階段，這將有助於支撐未來多年的螺紋鋼消費。

Lastly, on the supply side, there is increased discussion within the European Union regarding creating and protecting an attractive environment for capital to be invested in industrial activities. Taken together, these demand and supply developments could substantially improve what has been a very challenging industry landscape. It is too early to be definitive about any of these outcomes, but we are starting from a low base, and I think we can be cautiously optimistic.

最後，在供給方面，歐盟內部正在越來越多地討論如何創造和保護一個有利於資本投資工業活動的環境。綜合起來，這些需求和供應的發展可能會大大改善原本就非常具有挑戰性的產業格局。現在對任何結果下定論都為時過早，但我們的起點較低，我認為我們可以謹慎樂觀。

Next, I would like to provide an update on a few of CMC's strategic initiatives. As we discussed in the past, CMC is taking steps to achieve its ambitious vision to drive the next phase of value accretive growth. As outlined on Slide 10, our aim with this strategy is threefold.

接下來，我想介紹一些 CMC 的策略舉措。正如我們過去討論的那樣，CMC 正在採取措施實現其雄心勃勃的願景，推動下一階段的價值增值成長。正如投影片 10 中所概述的那樣，我們實施這項策略的目標有三個面向。

First, to achieve sustainably higher, less volatile through the cycle margins and returns that are fortified by our operational and commercial excellence initiatives; second, to execute on attractive organic growth opportunities; and third, in a disciplined manner, pursue inorganic growth opportunities that broaden CMC's commercial portfolio of early-stage construction products, improve our customer value proposition and meaningfully extend our growth runway.

首先，透過我們的營運和商業卓越計劃鞏固其利潤率和回報週期，實現持續更高且波動性更小的利潤率和回報；第二，抓住有吸引力的有機增長機會；第三，以嚴謹的方式尋求無機增長機會，拓寬 CMC 的早期建築產品商業組合，改善我們的客戶價值主張，並有意義地延長我們的增長跑道。

Earlier this fiscal year, we introduced Transform, Advance and Grow, or TAG, our enterprise-wide operational and commercial excellence programs, with the goal of generating a permanent improvement in our margin profile. This program is unlike any other ever launched at CMC due to the breadth and the depth of its reach as well as its visibility and accountability structures built to support it.

本財年早些時候，我們推出了轉型、進步和成長（TAG）計劃，即企業範圍的營運和商業卓越計劃，目標是永久改善我們的利潤率。該計劃不同於 CMC 曾經推出的任何其他計劃，因為它的影響範圍廣、深度強，而且有專門為支持該計劃而建立的可見性和問責結構。

Every line of business in every support function -- and every support function, excuse me, has been involved in identifying and quantifying opportunities that now include over 150 different initiatives. Currently, CMC is executing over 25 first wave initiatives with very strong early results.

每個支援功能中的每個業務線 - 對不起，每個支援功能，都參與識別和量化機會，現在這些機會包括 150 多個不同的舉措。目前，CMC 正在執行超過 25 項首波舉措，並取得了非常強勁的早期成果。

Last quarter, we provided some color regarding 2 specific initiatives aimed at reducing alloy consumption and improving melt shop yields, with a combined sustainable annual benefit of $10 million to $15 million. These programs continue to perform well and are expected to become permanent improvements to our cost structure.

上個季度，我們介紹了兩項具體舉措，旨在減少合金消耗、提高熔煉車間產量，總計可持續年收益為 1,000 萬至 1,500 萬美元。這些項目持續表現良好，並有望成為我們成本結構的永久性改善。

This quarter, I would like to highlight our efforts to enhance CMC's logistical capabilities. This initiative is expected to drive between $5 million and $10 million in annual benefits by optimizing delivery routes, improving asset utilization, increasing the use of rail versus truck and more effectively capturing backhaul opportunities. Progress to date has been encouraging. And just like our alloy and melt shop initiatives we expect our logistics efforts to translate into sustainable financial benefits.

本季度，我想強調我們為提升 CMC 物流能力所做的努力。透過優化運輸路線、提高資產利用率、增加鐵路運輸而非卡車運輸的使用以及更有效地抓住回程機會，這一舉措預計每年將帶來 500 萬至 1000 萬美元的收益。迄今的進展令人鼓舞。正如我們的合金和熔化車間計劃一樣，我們希望我們的物流努力能夠轉化為可持續的財務效益。

Beyond the initiatives mentioned, several other major operational and commercial work streams are underway.

除了上述措施外，還有其他幾項主要的營運和商業工作正在進行中。

Overall, our performance to date as well as the focused determination of the teams from across the organization give me confidence that CMC's TAG related efforts will provide approximately $25 million of benefit over the remainder of fiscal 2025, in addition to the $15 million that we have already achieved in the year. And the really exciting part is that there's a lot more to come in the years ahead.

總體而言，我們迄今為止的表現以及整個組織團隊的專注決心使我相信，CMC 的 TAG 相關努力將在 2025 財年剩餘時間內帶來約 2500 萬美元的收益，這還不包括我們今年已經實現的 1500 萬美元收益。真正令人興奮的是，未來幾年還會有更多事情發生。

We continued to make progress at our Arizona 2 micro mill, which included producing an increased volume of merchant bar products during the quarter. Looking ahead, we expect to achieve meaningful advancements in production volumes during the third and fourth quarters with growth in both rebar and merchant bar output.

我們在亞利桑那州的 2 號微型工廠繼續取得進展，其中包括本季增加了商用棒材產品的產量。展望未來，我們預計第三季和第四季產量將實現有意義的提升，螺紋鋼和普通鋼筋產量都將成長。

Meanwhile, progress at CMC's Steel West Virginia site remains on track, and we are currently on target for commissioning -- for a commissioning process to begin in the late part of 2025. Beyond the -- our mill projects, we are also making investments to meet customer demand and strengthen our core offerings by growing our capabilities in more specialized solutions.

與此同時，CMC 位於西維吉尼亞鋼鐵廠的工程進展仍在按計劃進行，目前我們正按計劃進行調試——調試過程將於 2025 年底開始。除了我們的工廠專案之外，我們還在進行投資以滿足客戶需求，並透過提升我們在更專業解決方案方面的能力來增強我們的核心產品。

These undertakings include the expansion of CMC's [post-tension] cable production in our North America Steel Group and adding a second Galvabar coating line and increasing Geogrid manufacturing capability in our emerging businesses group.

這些工作包括擴大我們北美鋼鐵集團的 CMC [後張拉] 電纜生產，增加第二條 Galvabar 塗層生產線，並提高我們新興業務集團的土工格柵製造能力。

These investments and others like them require significantly less capital than our traditional steel business, but generate high returns on capital and strong cash flows. We are making good progress on these projects and expect each of them to be placed into service over the next 18 months.

這些投資以及其他類似投資所需的資本比我們的傳統鋼鐵業務少得多，但卻能產生高資本回報和強勁的現金流。這些項目正在順利推進，預計每個項目都將在未來 18 個月內投入使用。

On the inorganic front, we remain interested in entering attractive adjacencies to our business where we believe we have a clear right to play and opportunity to offer immediate value given CMC's current customer knowledge, marketing -- market position and operational capabilities.

在無機方面，我們仍然有興趣進入與我們的業務有吸引力的相鄰領域，我們相信，鑑於 CMC 目前的客戶知識、行銷——市場地位和營運能力，我們有明確的權利參與其中，並有機會提供即時的價值。

We are targeting segments of the $150 billion early-stage construction market that touch the types of projects we are already servicing and feature higher, more stable margins. We anticipate these adjacent markets will also benefit from the megatrends that are expected to drive construction activity for years to come.

我們的目標是價值 1500 億美元的早期建築市場，這些市場涉及我們已經服務的項目類型，並且利潤率更高、更穩定。我們預計這些相鄰的市場也將受益於未來幾年有望推動建築活動的大趨勢。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Paul.

說完這些，我會把電話轉給保羅。

Thank you, Peter, and good morning to everyone on the call. As earlier, we reported fiscal second quarter 2025 net earnings of $25.5 million or $0.22 per diluted share compared to net earnings of -- sorry, of $85.8 million and net earnings per diluted share of $0.73 in the prior year period. Excluding estimated net after-tax charges of approximately $3.9 million, adjusted earnings for the quarter totaled $29.3 million or $0.26 per diluted share compared to $85.9 million and $0.73 per diluted share, respectively, in the prior year period. (inaudible) incurred during the quarter were primarily related to interest expense on our judgment amount associated with the previously disclosed Pacific Steel Group litigation verdict reached in November.

謝謝你，彼得，祝電話裡的每個人早安。與之前一樣，我們報告的 2025 財年第二季淨收益為 2,550 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.22 美元，而去年同期的淨收益為 8,580 萬美元，每股攤薄收益為 0.73 美元。不包括預計約 390 萬美元的稅後淨費用，本季調整後收益總計 2,930 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.26 美元，而去年同期調整後收益總計 8,590 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.73 美元。 （聽不清楚）本季發生的利息費用主要與我們 11 月披露的太平洋鋼鐵集團訴訟判決相關的判決金額的利息費用有關。

Consolidated core EBITDA was $131 million for the second quarter of 2025, representing a decline from the $212.1 million generated during the prior year period. Slide 13 of the supplemental presentation illustrates the year-to-year changes in CMC's quarterly financial performance.

2025 年第二季的綜合核心 EBITDA 為 1.31 億美元，較去年同期的 2.121 億美元有所下降。補充簡報的第 13 張投影片展示了 CMC 季度財務表現的逐年變化。

Profitability of our North American Steel Group was negatively impacted by lower margins over scrap while EBITDA at both our Europe Steel Group and Emerging Business Group increased compared to the second quarter of fiscal '24.

我們北美鋼鐵集團的獲利能力受到廢料利潤率較低的負面影響，而我們歐洲鋼鐵集團和新興業務集團的 EBITDA 與 24 財年第二季相比均有所增加。

Consolidated core EBITDA margins of 7.5% compared to 11.5% in the prior year period.

合併核心 EBITDA 利潤率為 7.5%，去年同期為 11.5%。

CMC's North American Steel Group generated adjusted EBITDA of $128.8 million for the quarter, equal to $123 per ton of finished steel shipped. Segment adjusted EBITDA decreased 42% compared to the prior year period, driven primarily by lower margin over scrap costs on both steel and downstream products.

CMC 的北美鋼鐵集團本季的調整後 EBITDA 為 1.288 億美元，相當於每噸成品鋼材運輸成本 123 美元。分部調整後 EBITDA 與去年同期相比下降了 42%，主要原因是鋼鐵和下游產品的廢料成本利潤率下降。

We believe this represents a trough level of EBITDA and expect earnings to rise as we enter 2025 construction season and as a result of the -- of increased volume, realizing price increases that have been announced and continued focus on our costs.

我們認為，這代表 EBITDA 的低谷，預計隨著進入 2025 年建築季節，收益將會上升，這是由於產量增加、實現已宣布的價格上漲以及繼續關注成本。

Controllable cost per ton of finished steel was largely unchanged on a year-over-year basis, with cost management efforts offsetting the impact of weather-related operational disruptions and approximately $8 million of unrealized losses on copper hedging positions due to the volatility in this commodity over the past months.

每噸成品鋼的可控成本與去年同期相比基本上沒有變化，成本管理工作抵消了天氣相關營運中斷的影響，以及過去幾個月由於該商品波動而導致的銅對沖頭寸約 800 萬美元的未實現損失。

The adjusted EBITDA margin in the North American Steel Group of 9.3% compares to 15% in the second quarter of 2024. As Peter indicated, demand for long steel products was resilient during the quarter as demonstrated by our finished steel shipments increasing by 3.3% compared to a year ago.

北美鋼鐵集團調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 9.3%，而 2024 年第二季為 15%。正如彼得所指出的，本季長鋼產品的需求表現強勁，我們的成品鋼出貨量與去年同期相比成長了 3.3%。

Turning to Slide 15 of the supplemental deck. Our Europe Steel Group reported adjusted EBITDA of $0.8 million for the second quarter of 2025 compared to a loss of $8.6 million in the prior year period. The improvement was driven by ongoing cost management efforts as well as a $4 million rebate for natural gas costs and increased shipment volumes.

翻到補充投影片的第 15 張。我們的歐洲鋼鐵集團報告稱，2025 年第二季的調整後 EBITDA 為 80 萬美元，而去年同期的虧損為 860 萬美元。這項改善得益於持續的成本管理努力以及 400 萬美元的天然氣成本回扣和增加的出貨量。

Similar to recent quarters, the team in Poland continued to drive efficiency gains throughout the operations with success in nearly every major cost category, including energy, consumable usage, maintenance, labor and overhead. These efforts have allowed the Europe Steel Group to remain roughly cash flow breakeven within a challenging market backdrop. Most of these improvements are permanent in nature and set us up well to capitalize on market recovery.

與最近幾季類似，波蘭團隊繼續推動整個營運過程的效率提升，並在幾乎所有主要成本類別中取得了成功，包括能源、消耗品使用、維護、勞動力和管理費用。這些努力使得歐洲鋼鐵集團在充滿挑戰的市場背景下仍保持了大致的現金流量收支平衡。大多數改進都是永久性的，為我們利用市場復甦奠定了基礎。

As Peter mentioned, we also saw a pullback in the level of long steel imports into Poland that provided CMC the opportunity to achieve strong shipping volumes within a seasonally weaker second quarter and to modestly increase metal margins on a sequential basis.

正如彼得所提到的，我們也看到波蘭長鋼進口量有所回落，這為 CMC 提供了機會，使其能夠在季節性較弱的第二季度實現強勁的出貨量，並環比小幅提高金屬利潤率。

Emerging Business Group second quarter net sales of $158.9 million was an increase of 1.8% on a year-over-year basis, while adjusted EBITDA of $23.5 million increased by 31%. The improvement was largely driven by strong demand for our proprietary products within the Performance Reinforcing Steel division.

新興業務集團第二季淨銷售額為 1.589 億美元，年增 1.8%，調整後 EBITDA 為 2,350 萬美元，成長 31%。這一成長主要得益於高性能鋼筋部門對我們專有產品的強勁需求。

This business has had success in penetrating several major infrastructure projects requiring enhanced lifespan strength -- lifespan, strength and corrosion-resistant characteristics. Financial performance of CMC's Tensar and Construction Services divisions were a little changed from a year ago, but it's worth noting that Tensar saw good recovery from sequential Q1 results.

該業務已成功打入多個需要增強壽命強度（壽命、強度和耐腐蝕特性）的大型基礎設施項目。CMC 的坦薩和建築服務部門的財務表現與一年前相比變化不大，但值得注意的是坦薩的業績較第一季的連續業績有良好的復甦。

Indications of future market conditions remained encouraging with pipeline measures such as Project Quotes and new planning activity at healthy levels. Earnings at CMC's Impact Metals division continued to be impacted negatively by weaker truck and trailer demand, though we are seeing signs that conditions are beginning to stabilize in this market.

未來市場狀況的跡象依然令人鼓舞，專案報價和新規劃活動等通路措施均處於健康水準。儘管我們看到跡象表明該市場的情況開始穩定，但 CMC Impact Metals 部門的收益繼續受到卡車和拖車需求疲軟的負面影響。

A higher mix of sales of our performance reinforcing steel within the EBG total sales as well as the continued adoption of TenSar's latest Geogrid solutions led to a 330-basis-point improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin compared to the second quarter of 2024.

由於我們的高性能鋼筋銷售佔 EBG 總銷售額的比例更高，以及繼續採用 TenSar 的最新土工格柵解決方案，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率與 2024 年第二季度相比提高了 330 個基點。

Moving to the balance sheet. As of February 28, cash and cash equivalents totaled $758.4 million. In addition, we had approximately $815 million of availability under credit and accounts receivable facilities, bringing total liquidity to just under $1.6 billion.

轉到資產負債表。截至 2 月 28 日，現金及現金等價物總額為 7.584 億美元。此外，我們擁有約 8.15 億美元的信貸和應收帳款可用資金，使總流動資金達到略低於 16 億美元。

During the quarter, we generated $32.4 million of cash from operating activities, which included a $67.5 million usage of cash for working capital, principally driven by the scrap cost increase, which occurred during the quarter.

在本季度，我們從經營活動產生了 3,240 萬美元的現金，其中包括 6,750 萬美元的營運資金現金，這主要由於本季度廢料成本增加。

Capital expenditures of $86.3 million were largely driven by construction activity related to our Steel West Virginia micro mill project. In addition, we received $25 million in cash incentives during the quarter related to the Steel West Virginia project. And in total, we anticipate receiving approximately $75 million of upfront incentives related to this project.

8,630 萬美元的資本支出主要來自我們西維吉尼亞鋼鐵微型工廠計畫相關的建設活動。此外，本季我們還獲得了與西維吉尼亞鋼鐵項目相關的 2,500 萬美元現金獎勵。總的來說，我們預計將收到與該項目相關的約 7500 萬美元的前期獎勵。

Our leverage metrics remain attractive and have improved significantly over the past several years. As can be seen on Slide 20, for the second quarter of 2025, our net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio now sits at 1 times, while the debt to capitalization is only 18% -- 8%.

我們的槓桿指標依然具有吸引力，並且在過去幾年中已顯著改善。從投影片 20 可以看出，2025 年第二季度，我們的淨負債與調整後 EBITDA 比率現在為 1 倍，而負債與資本化比率僅為 18% - 8%。

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. As we have stated in the past, we value the financial flexibility that our strong balance sheet provides us as well as the support it offers to execute the strategic growth plan that Peter outlined.

我們相信，強勁的資產負債表和整體財務實力為我們提供了靈活性，可以為我們的策略性有機成長項目提供資金，並進行機會性併購，同時繼續向股東返還現金。正如我們過去所說，我們重視強勁的資產負債表為我們提供的財務靈活性以及它為執行彼得概述的戰略增長計劃提供的支持。

As we implement this ambitious plan, we will target a through-the-cycle net leverage ratio at or below 2 times adjusted EBITDA.

在實施這項雄心勃勃的計畫時，我們將把整個週期的淨槓桿目標設定為調整後 EBITDA 的 2 倍或以下。

Turning to CMC's fiscal 2025 capital spending outlook, we now expect to invest between $550 million and $600 million in total. This is down from previous guidance of between $630 million and $680 million, with the reduction related to the timing of certain expenditures at CMC's West Virginia project. I would note that this adjustment does not affect the anticipated start date for commissioning of the new mill.

談到 CMC 的 2025 財年資本支出前景，我們現在預計總投資在 5.5 億美元至 6 億美元之間。該金額低於先前預期的 6.3 億至 6.8 億美元，減少的原因與 CMC 西維吉尼亞州項目某些支出的時間安排有關。我想指出的是，這項調整不會影響新廠預計的投產日期。

As outlined in past earnings call, CMC targets a prudent and balanced approach to capital allocation. Our first priority is value accretive growth that furthers our strategy and strengthens our business. Coming in a (inaudible) second is providing our shareholders with an attractive level of distributions in the form of both dividends and share repurchases.

如同過去的收益電話會議中所概述的，CMC 的目標是採取審慎、均衡的資本配置方式。我們的首要任務是實現價值增值成長，以進一步推進我們的策略並增強我們的業務。其次（聽不清楚）我們將以股息和股票回購的形式為我們的股東提供有吸引力的分配。

To this end, CMC returned approximately $68 million to our shareholders during the second quarter. CMC repurchased approximately 907,000 shares at an average price of $52.96 per share. As of February 28, we had approximately $305.3 million available for repurchases under the current authorization.

為此，CMC在第二季向股東返還了約6,800萬美元。CMC 以每股 52.96 美元的平均價格回購了約 907,000 股。截至 2 月 28 日，根據目前授權，我們有約 3.053 億美元可供回購。

This concludes my remarks, and I'll turn it back to Peter for comments on our outlook.

我的發言到此結束，我將把發言時間交回給彼得，請他對我們的展望發表評論。

Thank you, Paul. We expect consolidated financial results in our third quarter of fiscal 2025 to rebound from the second quarter level. Finished steel shipments within the North America Steel Group are anticipated to follow normal seasonal trends as we enter the spring and summer construction season.

謝謝你，保羅。我們預計 2025 財年第三季的綜合財務業績將較第二季的水準反彈。隨著進入春夏建築季節，北美鋼鐵集團的成品鋼出貨量預計將遵循正常的季節性趨勢。

While our adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to increase sequentially on higher margins over scrap on steel products, adjusted EBITDA for our Europe Steel Group should remain near breakeven as we enter the seasonally strong period of the year and continue to benefit from extensive cost management efforts. Financial results for the Emerging Businesses Group are anticipated to improve to levels modestly above the prior year period.

雖然我們的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率預計將因鋼鐵產品廢料利潤率上升而環比增長，但隨著我們進入一年中的季節性強勁期並繼續受益於廣泛的成本管理努力，我們歐洲鋼鐵集團的調整後 EBITDA 應該保持接近盈虧平衡。新興業務集團的財務業績預計將略高於去年同期的水平。

We are encouraged by recent developments across the various markets in which we participate. Margin and demand trends appear to be improving, which should position us for the upcoming spring and summer construction season. Additionally, conversations with customers continue to indicate optimism about the coming quarters.

我們參與的各個市場的最新發展令我們感到鼓舞。利潤率和需求趨勢似乎正在改善，這將為我們即將到來的春季和夏季建築旺季做好準備。此外，與客戶的對話繼續表明對未來幾季的樂觀態度。

Before we open the call for questions, I want to reiterate how excited we are about our potential to reach new heights in the future as we execute our key strategic priorities and deliver higher returns and significant value for our shareholders. As we move past near-term uncertainty, CMC is well positioned to benefit from the powerful structural trends in North America that should drive strong construction activity for years to come.

在我們開始提問之前，我想重申一下，我們對未來達到新高度的潛力感到非常興奮，因為我們正在執行我們的關鍵策略重點，並為股東帶來更高的回報和重大價值。隨著我們擺脫近期的不確定性，CMC 將有望受益於北美強大的結構性趨勢，這將在未來幾年推動強勁的建築活動。

I would like to thank our customers for their trust and confidence in CMC and all of our employees for delivering yet another quarter of very solid safety and operational performance. Operator?

我要感謝客戶對 CMC 的信任和信心，也感謝我們全體員工在本季又取得了非常穩健的安全和營運績效。操作員？

We will now begin the question and answer session.

我們現在開始問答環節。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Sathish Kasinathan, Bank of America.

美國銀行的 Sathish Kasinathan。

Yes, hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. My first question is on the US rebar market. You mentioned that you expect improved metal margins in the North American segment. Yet if you see the recent trend in rebar prices, it doesn't fully offset the increase in scrap costs that we have seen in the past three months. And then over the weekend, we saw one of your peers raising prices for merchant and beams and not for rebar. So can you provide some color on what you're seeing on the pricing side and whether you see further room for rebar price hikes in the near future? Thank you.

是的，你好，早安。感謝您回答我的問題。我的第一個問題是關於美國螺紋鋼市場的。您提到預計北美市場的金屬利潤率會提高。然而，如果你觀察螺紋鋼價格的近期趨勢，你會發現它並不能完全抵消過去三個月廢鋼成本的上漲。然後在週末，我們看到你們的一位同行提高了鋼材和橫樑的價格，但沒有提高鋼筋的價格。那麼能否介紹一下價格方面的情況，以及您是否認為近期螺紋鋼價格還有上漲的空間？謝謝。

Yes. Thank you, Sathish, for the question. So we are seeing price increases across -- I would say, across our entire portfolio. Starting with rebar, on the rebar side, we have -- in some markets, we've gotten all of the increases. And in some markets, we've not gotten all of the increases yet, but we expect to get them as we book the future orders here. So on the rebar side, we feel very good about where things are. And I would say that, in our order book, we have continued to keep pricing above movements in scrap. So -- and the other thing I would say is that on -- vis-a-vis our Q2, we don't have much of the benefit of the price increases in there.

是的。感謝 Sathish 提出這個問題。所以，我想說，我們看到整個投資組合的價格都在上漲。從螺紋鋼開始，在螺紋鋼方面，在某些市場，我們已經獲得了全部的成長。在某些市場，我們尚未獲得全部的成長，但我們預計在預訂未來訂單時將獲得成長。因此，就鋼筋方面而言，我們對現狀感到非常滿意。我想說的是，在我們的訂單中，我們一直保持價格高於廢料的變動。所以 — — 我想說的另一件事是 — — 相對於我們的第二季度，我們並沒有從價格上漲中獲得太多好處。

I know you didn't ask specifically about merchants, but I'll comment on merchant and wire rod quickly. On merchant bar, we have gotten both of those price increases, and we are very confident that they will stick. And in wire rod, similarly, we are confident that, that will stick. And we believe in a market of strengthening demand that there should be room for further price increases as we move into the heart of the construction season. So we're very optimistic about where we stand on pricing.

我知道您沒有具體詢問商人，但我會快速評論一下商人和線材。在商家酒吧，我們已經實現了這兩次價格上漲，並且我們非常有信心它們會持續下去。同樣，對於線材，我們有信心，其將會堅持下去。我們相信，隨著市場需求不斷增強，隨著進入建築旺季，價格還有進一步上漲的空間。因此，我們對我們的定價立場非常樂觀。

Sathish, I'll just add, in terms of the scrap cost increase in comparison to some of the indexes with the investment that we have in our vertical chain, what we see generally in our scrap cost increase is going to be directionally, but not normally to the same level of the index increase. So that's what we see coming this time is that we'll benefit from our overall investment in recycling operations and mitigate some of what you see in the index.

薩蒂什，我只想補充一點，就廢料成本的增加而言，與我們在垂直鏈中的投資的一些指數相比，我們通常看到的廢料成本增加將是方向性的，但通常不會達到指數增加的同一水平。因此，我們這次看到的是，我們將受益於對回收業務的整體投資，並減輕您在指數中看到的一些影響。

Yes. Maybe one follow-up on the Arizona 2 mill. So can you talk about the financial performance in Q2? Are you close to breakeven? And with higher volumes in Q3, should we expect the mill to turn EBITDA positive?

是的。也許是對亞利桑那州 2 號工廠的後續行動。那麼您能談談第二季的財務表現嗎？您接近損益平衡了嗎？並且隨著第三季產量的增加，我們是否可以預期工廠的 EBITDA 將轉為正值？

Yes. So we did not break even in the second quarter. And in fact, we had a challenging second quarter, not only as it our weakest quarter seasonally, as you know, but we two had transformer outages, and we continue to have a few of the startup issues nagging us. So we did not achieve breakeven in the second quarter.

是的。所以我們在第二季度沒有達到收支平衡。事實上，我們經歷了一個充滿挑戰的第二季度，正如你所知，這不僅是因為我們季度以來最疲軟的一個季度，而且我們的兩個變壓器都出現了停電，而且我們繼續面臨一些啟動問題。所以我們在第二季度沒有達到收支平衡。

As we move to Q3, we are going to work really hard to get to that level, but I think it's probably more realistic that we cross that threshold in Q4. And obviously, moving into -- or into 2026, we would be -- we'd expect to be continuously profitable.

隨著我們進入第三季度，我們將非常努力地達到這一水平，但我認為在第四季度跨越這一門檻可能更為現實。顯然，進入 2026 年，我們預計將持續獲利。

Okay, thank you. I'll jump back in.

好的，謝謝。我會跳回去。

Timna Tanners, Wolfe Research.

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

Hey, good morning. I wanted to just follow up on the last question to see if we could get a little bit more granularity around North American margins. So the change quarter-over-quarter in EBITDA per ton in of about $93.5, is that recoupable in the next quarter? I know there's moving parts and it sounds like on the steel side, maybe, but on the -- maybe you can give a little more color about how to think about any lags in the downstream and how that might -- how to think about the trajectory in the next several quarters of recouping some of that lost margin? Thank you.

嘿，早安。我想跟進最後一個問題，看看我們是否能夠更詳細地了解北美的利潤率。那麼每噸 EBITDA 的季度環比變化約為 93.5 美元，可以在下個季度收回嗎？我知道其中存在一些活動部件，聽起來可能在鋼鐵方面，但在——也許您可以更詳細地說明如何考慮下游的任何滯後，以及如何——如何考慮未來幾個季度收回部分損失的利潤的軌跡？謝謝。

Yes. If we look at -- Timna, if we look at the EBITDA per ton on the US business, on a quarter-over-quarter basis, we do see a recovery of much of that in the the coming quarter. And I think it comes from a number of different sources. Obviously, as we've talked about, we do expect metal margins to improve.

是的。如果我們看一下——Timna，如果我們看一下美國業務每噸的 EBITDA，按季度環比計算，我們確實看到未來一個季度會出現很大程度的復甦。我認為它來自許多不同的來源。顯然，正如我們所討論的，我們確實預計金屬利潤率會提高。

We talked about the copper mark-to-market charge that we had in the quarter that we would expect to not occur again. Obviously, it depends on where copper prices go during the course of the quarter, but that is not certainly something that we forecast in our expectations.

我們討論了本季產生的銅市價費用，預計這種費用不會再發生。顯然，這取決於本季銅價的走勢，但這並不是我們預期中預測到的。

And then a couple of other areas of significant improvement that we expect are on the cost side. Not only is the second quarter higher on the cost side for -- in relation to fixed costs and the seasonal shutdowns that occur in our second quarter, but also the higher costs related to some of the harsh weather that we saw driving gas and electricity prices a little bit higher as well as scheduled outages that we had in the quarter.

我們預計其他幾個會顯著改善的領域是成本方面。第二季度的成本方面不僅較高（與固定成本和第二季度發生的季節性停工有關），而且與惡劣天氣相關的成本也較高，我們看到惡劣天氣導致天然氣和電力價格略有上漲，以及本季度的計劃性停電。

So all in, from an EBITDA per ton basis, we certainly see recovering sort of where we were from Q1 into Q2 and seeing that bounce back in Q3.

因此，總體而言，從每噸 EBITDA 來看，我們確實看到從第一季到第二季的恢復，並在第三季反彈。

Helpful. Thank you. And then for a follow-up, if I could. On the positive side, your volumes were considerably better than we expected, growing like 9% year-over-year in rebar North America and merchants were up 4%. And merchants went up despite seasonality, rebar went down less than normal quarter over quarter. So do you think you brought forward some demand? Or can you help us understand is that just greater production from some of your expansions? What drove that better than at least we expected volumes?

很有幫助。謝謝。如果可以的話，我會進行後續跟進。從積極的一面來看，你們的銷量比我們預期的要好得多，北美螺紋鋼銷量同比增長了 9%，貿易商銷量增長了 4%。儘管受到季節性因素影響，但商人價格仍在上漲，螺紋鋼價格較上季下降幅度低於正常水準。那麼您認為您提出了一些要求嗎？或者您能否幫助我們理解，這只是部分擴張帶來的產量增加？是什麼推動了其銷量至少比我們預期的更好？

There's probably some pull forward of demand in that number. But in general, we feel really good about where things are. I mean if we look at our bidding -- I'm talking on the rebar side, if we look at the bidding activity, that remains very strong. You saw our booking numbers and they continue to be strong as we move into March. So we feel really good about where we are on that front.

該數字可能表示需求有所提前。但整體來說，我們對現狀感到很滿意。我的意思是，如果我們看一下我們的投標 - 我說的是螺紋鋼方面，如果我們看一下投標活動，它仍然非常強勁。您看到了我們的預訂數字，進入三月，數字持續強勁。因此，我們對我們在這方面的現狀感到非常滿意。

If we look at the merchant side, we see good demand for our products. And I think there's -- in general, there's a level of optimism about the economy that is going to help pull some of that product through the service centers. So we feel good about where that is and think it's sustainable.

如果我們從商家的角度來看，我們會發現我們的產品需求旺盛。而且我認為，總體而言，人們對經濟抱持一定樂觀態度，這將有助於透過服務中心銷售部分產品。因此，我們對目前的狀況感到滿意並認為這是可持續的。

Thanks again.

再次感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Mike Harris, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的麥克·哈里斯。

Yes, thank you. Good morning. Just a quick question around the North American rebar market. If you could -- how would you describe the current supply-demand balance? And how do you see utilization rates trending over the next year or so, if you could?

是的，謝謝。早安.我只想問一下有關北美鋼筋市場的問題。如果可以的話—您如何描述目前的供需平衡？如果可以的話，您認為未來一年左右的使用率趨勢如何？

Yes, absolutely. This is a picture we've been [watched] the last several quarters. And obviously, the second quarter is our weakest seasonally, and yet it was actually quite strong from a demand perspective. And so we would see the supply demand balance as really quite well balanced right now. And I think that's why you're seeing the opportunity to move prices and our confidence in our ability to move prices. So we know in the case of our mills, we are really -- with the exception of Arizona, where we're ramping it up, we are really fully utilized at this juncture.

是的，絕對是如此。這是我們過去幾季一直在關注的圖片。顯然，第二季度是我們季節性最弱的季度，但從需求角度來看，它實際上相當強勁。因此，我們現在可以看到供需平衡確實相當平衡。我認為這就是為什麼你們看到了改變價格的機會，以及我們對改變價格的能力的信心。因此，我們知道，就我們的工廠而言，除了亞利桑那州以外，我們確實已經充分利用了那裡的產能，而亞利桑那州正在加大產能。

Okay, thanks. And then just as a follow up, how would you describe the likelihood and the potential impact of a composite rebar disrupting the long steel industry, and I guess what factors do you see as most critical in determining its adoption?

好的，謝謝。然後作為後續問題，您如何描述複合鋼筋擾亂長鋼產業的可能性和潛在影響？您認為哪些因素對決定其採用最為關鍵？

Yes. This product has been around for a long time. And what we find is, in different forms, I should say, and what we believe is that it absolutely has an application in the market, but we don't see it as a material threat to our market position at this juncture. There are some limitations in its application and specifically the challenges of fabricating it and so forth that give it less applicability to the markets overall.

是的。該產品已經存在很長時間了。我們發現，雖然這種技術以不同的形式存在，但我們相信它在市場上絕對有應用，但我們並不認為它對我們的市場地位構成實質威脅。它在應用上存在一些局限性，特別是製造等方面的挑戰，導致它在整個市場上的適用性較低。

Okay. So more of a new application, not necessarily an opportunity for broader adoption is one way to look at that, I guess?

好的。因此，我認為，這更多的是一種新的應用程序，而不一定是一種更廣泛採用的機會，這是一種看待這個問題的方式？

I think that's right, Mike.

我認為那是對的，麥克。

All right, thanks a lot.

好的，非常感謝。

Yes, thank you.

是的，謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Andrew Jones, UBS.

瑞銀的安德魯瓊斯。

Just wanted to ask a couple of questions about like the sort of longer-term drivers here. I mean, clearly, the market has been worrying about the impact of trade policy on end demand kind of on a longer-term view. I mean, I know just some of your structural drivers, the infrastructure investment and so forth, doesn't look it's changed in the presentation, but is there elements of that you see big risk and on some of the nonfederal driven aspects to the demand spectrum? And where do you see the most risk? And do you have any sense on quantifying any of that?

只是想問幾個關於長期驅動因素的問題。我的意思是，顯然，市場一直在擔心貿易政策對長期終端需求的影響。我的意思是，我知道你們的一些結構性驅動因素、基礎設施投資等等，在演示中看起來並沒有改變，但你是否看到其中存在很大的風險，以及需求範圍內一些非聯邦驅動的方面？您認為最大的風險在哪裡？您知道如何量化這些嗎？

And also, I guess, also a longer term question. I mean, this PSG mill seems to have broken ground. That's obviously going to be coming on at some point after 1.5 million tons or so of new capacity this year. I mean how do you see that market playing out in the longer term because it seems like there's quite a few risks there?

而且我想，這也是一個長期問題。我的意思是，這座巴黎聖日爾曼工廠似乎已經破土動工。顯然，這一趨勢將在今年新增產能約 150 萬噸後出現。我的意思是，您認為該市場長期內會如何發展，因為那裡似乎存在相當多的風險？

Yes. I think just -- let me tackle your questions one at a time. So on trade policy, we continue to believe that even with some of these incremental projects that we're in for a period of very substantial demand. So let's just start with -- you called it out infrastructure. Infrastructure remain strong. We think that's going to remain strong. We don't see anything in the current dialogue that really disrupts that.

是的。我想只是——讓我一次解決一個問題。因此，在貿易政策方面，我們仍然相信，即使有一些增量項目，我們也將面臨一段需求非常旺盛的時期。那我們就從你所說的基礎設施開始吧。基礎設施依然強勁。我們認為這一勢頭仍將保持強勁。我們沒有發現當前對話中存在任何真正擾亂這一狀況的情況。

And then as to trade policy specifically, when we think about trends like reshoring, there's been some really significant investment announcements in the U.S. that are going to be leading to some substantial rebar demands. I'm thinking about Apple talking about investing $500 billion. I'm thinking about TMSC at $100 billion. Eli Lilly at $27 billion, Honda, they're talking about a big reshoring investment.

具體到貿易政策，當我們考慮回流等趨勢時，美國已經發布了一些非常重要的投資公告，這些公告將帶來大量的螺紋鋼需求。我正在考慮蘋果公司談論投資 5000 億美元。我對 TMSC 的估值是 1000 億美元。禮來公司 (Eli Lilly) 的投資額為 270 億美元，本田公司 (Honda) 也在談論大規模的回流投資。

So these, I think, are in part consequences maybe not directly, but certainly consequences of the trade policy. And I think they're going to lead to a strong backdrop of demand for us over the next couple of years on that side of the equation.

因此，我認為，這些在某種程度上可能不是直接的，但肯定是貿易政策造成的後果。我認為，在未來幾年裡，它們將為我們帶來強勁的需求。

If I move to your question about PSG, yes, it's an incremental supply in the Mojave region. So it's -- our story is really about growing demand. And as we look at it, we look at the combination of infrastructure, the nonresidential construction spend, the residential construction spend. And there, we believe that you're going to see, across those end markets, substantial demand.

如果我轉到你關於 PSG 的問題，是的，這是莫哈韋地區的增量供應。所以，我們的故事其實是關於不斷增長的需求。當我們觀察它時，我們會關注基礎設施、非住宅建築支出和住宅建築支出的組合。我們相信，你會看到，在這些終端市場，有著龐大的需求。

So yes, it's additional capacity, we think it's absorbable, and I think the point that's important to make on that project is that it's not going to be producing anything for several years at this point, right? So I think we're comfortable with that project coming to the market.

所以是的，這是額外的產能，我們認為它是可吸收的，而且我認為該項目重要的一點是，目前它在幾年內都不會生產任何東西，對嗎？因此我認為我們對該項目進入市場感到滿意。

That's helpful. And just on the cadence of the timing of some of the nearer-term capacity versus your expectations for the demand trajectory over the next year or so? I mean, with that capacity coming in and maybe there being a bit of a lag to some of this demand uplift, I mean, how do you see that playing out over the next few quarters? Do you think the market is going to tighten further? Or do you think it all loosen before it that kind of tightness reemerges? Like what's -- how do you see it playing out over the next 12 months?

這很有幫助。您是否認為近期部分產能的時間節奏與您對未來一年左右需求走勢的預期相比如何？我的意思是，隨著產能的增加，以及部分需求成長可能會有些滯後，您認為未來幾季會出現什麼情況？您認為市場將會進一步收緊嗎？或者您認為在那種緊張感再次出現之前，一切都會鬆動嗎？就像——您認為它在未來 12 個月內會如何發展？

I think if we look at the timing of the expected start-up, so first of all, the optimist capacity is already in the market and high bar is coming on a little bit later this year. So -- and Nucor has a facility coming on a little bit later this year. So those have to go through a start-up and these start-ups take some time.

我認為，如果我們看一下預期啟動的時間，首先，樂觀的產能已經存在於市場上，而高標準將在今年稍後到來。所以 — — Nucor 的一座工廠將在今年稍後投入使用。因此，這些都必須經過啟動，而這些啟動需要一些時間。

So we don't -- we're not really viewing incremental capacity as a '25 issue. And so therefore, I think we think we're going to experience some good strengthening over the course of 2025. And then as we go into '26, we expect a lot of these projects are going to start to be shovel ready and start to be demanding rebar. So the incremental demand should step up in '26, and that should help absorb the incremental capacity.

所以我們並不認為增量容量是一個‘25’問題。因此，我認為我們將在 2025 年經歷一些良好的加強。然後，隨著我們進入26年，我們預計許多此類項目將開始準備開工，並開始對鋼筋產生需求。因此，增量需求應該會在26年增加，這將有助於吸收增量產能。

So we're -- our baseline would be that we stay in a relatively balanced position, and therefore, that we can sustain these higher margins that we're talking about.

因此，我們的基準是保持相對平衡的地位，這樣我們就可以維持我們所說的更高的利潤率。

Okay, that's that's great. Thank you. I'll jump back in queue.

好的，那太好了。謝謝。我將重新回到隊列。

Thank you, Andrew.

謝謝你，安德魯。

Timna Tanners, Wolfe Research.

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

Hey guys, I didn't hear anyone ask about Europe, so I got back in the queue. I thought, a, can we find out if the $4 million net gas rebate was in your guidance? And b, how do you think about the timing of the benefit from this great big German stimulus? Is that what's -- is that more of a 2026 event as well? And also, for the tariffs, I assume that's also something that would benefit on a lag, the 15% or so cap they're trying to get to on imports. Any color there would be great.

嘿夥計們，我沒有聽到有人問到歐洲，所以我又回到了隊列中。我想，我們能否找出 400 萬美元的淨天然氣回扣是否在您的指導範圍內？b，您認為德國這次大規模刺激計畫的受益時機是如何的？這是否也是 2026 年的盛事？另外，對於關稅，我認為這也會對滯後有利，他們試圖將進口關稅上限設定為 15% 左右。任何顏色都很棒。

Yes, Timna, I'll start on the natural gas and the forecast, and Peter can add some color on the overall market. We did anticipate the natural gas refund. What we didn't necessarily anticipate was the unusual strength in terms of the demand in the Polish market and the metal margin expansion that we saw certainly later in the quarter. And so that's what drove us to the the overall [ black ] result for the month -- or for the quarter. And as we look forward, as we've said, we think that continuing the good demand backdrop in Poland, continuing with the metal margins at levels similar to where we are today should enable us to continue with a close to breakeven results in that market even without a gas credit in the third quarter for us.

是的，提姆娜，我將開始討論天然氣和預測，彼得可以對整體市場做一些介紹。我們確實預期到了天然氣退款。我們沒有預料到的是，波蘭市場的需求會異常強勁，而且我們在本季後期肯定會看到金屬利潤率擴大。這就是促使我們本月或本季實現整體獲利的原因。展望未來，正如我們所說的，我們認為，波蘭繼續保持良好的需求背景，繼續保持與今天相似的金屬利潤率，即使在第三季度沒有天然氣信貸，我們也能夠繼續在該市場實現接近盈虧平衡的業績。

And just jumping in on the broader situation in Europe, Timna, what we see is we see a new sense of urgency in Europe. And you mentioned Germany, but I think it's really across many countries [in] Germany. And so let's start with the European Commission on some of the trade restrictions that should help support kind of steel production and steel margins in the region. So whether it's the melt and port restrictions, some of the changes to CBAM, these type of things, I think, are going to be generally very helpful for our business in Poland.

提姆納，就歐洲的大局而言，我們看到歐洲出現了一種新的緊迫感。您提到了德國，但我認為這種現象實際上遍及德國的許多國家。因此，我們首先從歐盟委員會的角度討論一些有助於支持該地區鋼鐵生產和鋼鐵利潤的貿易限制。因此，無論是融化和港口限制，還是 CBAM 的一些變化，我認為這些事情總體上都會對我們在波蘭的業務非常有幫助。

And then if we get to Germany specifically, again, what's been interesting for me is to watch the pace at which this is all kind of move through the system. So I would expect that some of the kind of trade restrictions that we're talking about from the European Commission could benefit 2025, and then in all likelihood to get a program like the program in Germany ramped up on the infrastructure and the defense spending, that's probably more likely impacting '26, but it could have a strong impact on '26.

如果我們具體到德國，那麼對我來說有趣的是觀察這一切在系統中推進的速度。因此，我預計，我們正在談論的歐盟委員會採取的一些貿易限制措施可能會使2025年受益，然後很有可能實施類似德國在基礎設施和國防開支方面的計劃，這更有可能對2026年產生影響，但可能會對2026年產生重大影響。

And I think the other thing, too, that you didn't note, but I think is worth calling out is, in Poland, we're seeing some very significant kind of infrastructure and broader economic investments. We've talked a lot about recovery and resilience on prior calls, but there's an infrastructure bill in Poland that over the next couple of years that will impact bridges and airports and roads, and that will have substantial, substantial impact on the demand for rebar in that market.

我認為另一件事您沒有註意到，但我認為值得指出的是，在波蘭，我們看到一些非常重要的基礎設施和更廣泛的經濟投資。我們在先前的電話會議上已經談了很多關於復甦和彈性的問題，但波蘭有一項基礎設施法案，未來幾年將對橋樑、機場和道路產生影響，並將對該市場對鋼筋的需求產生重大影響。

And there's also a big nuclear project that's being talked about in Poland that will be a multiyear project with substantial demand. And of course, last but not least, to the extent that there's an end to the war in Ukraine, I think we can expect something from the rebuild there. So hard to say what exactly that will be at this point. But over -- I think the kind of overarching comment is, I think there are a number of green shoots that have emerged in Europe that we should be really optimistic about.

波蘭也在討論一個大型核子項目，這將是一個多年期項目，需求龐大。當然，最後但並非最不重要的一點是，只要烏克蘭戰爭結束，我認為我們可以期待那裡的重建。所以現在很難說具體會是什麼情況。但總體而言——我認為總體而言，歐洲已經出現了一些復甦跡象，我們應該對此保持樂觀。

Thanks again.

再次感謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Andrew Jones, UBS.

瑞銀的安德魯瓊斯。

So just a follow-up on the rebar question, the start of the call. Just curious about any differences between the market in the West versus the market in the East. And obviously, given your comments, it sounds like you're getting those price increases above scrap from what you're saying, obviously, the indices don't track well tenet imply that. What do you think is being missed by the indices? Are there some regional variation? Or is there some sort of lag? I mean, how do you explain that basically?

因此，只是對鋼筋問題進行跟進，通話開始。只是好奇西方市場和東方市場有什麼差別。顯然，根據您的評論，聽起來您所說的廢料價格上漲了，顯然，指數沒有很好地追蹤這一點。您認為這些指數遺漏了什麼？是否存在一些地區差異？或是否存在某種滯後現象？我的意思是，你基本上如何解釋這一點？

Yes. It's -- I mean there are always some regional variations in the rebar market. And I think it's no different from what you're seeing right now. It's just a fact of the market, and it has to do with where the demand is, where the projects are at the time. But again, across each of our markets, what we see is we see a number of kind of projects that are coming to the market and new projects that are being added to backlog and so forth. So we're confident that the demand is going to emerge and that's going to enable us to get price.

是的。我的意思是，鋼筋市場總是存在一些地區差異。我認為這與您現在看到的沒什麼不同。這只是市場的事實，與當時的需求和專案所在地有關。但是，在我們每個市場中，我們都會看到許多類型的項目進入市場，新項目被添加到積壓訂單中等等。因此，我們相信需求將會出現，這將使我們能夠獲得價格。

Okay, sure. Thanks.

好的，當然。謝謝。

At this time, there appears to be no further questions. Mr. Matt, I would now like to turn the call back over to you for any closing remarks.

目前，似乎沒有其他問題。馬特先生，現在我想把電話轉回給您，請您做最後發言。

Thank you very much. At CMC, we remain confident that our best days are ahead. The combination of the structural demand trends we have noted, operational and commercial excellence initiatives to strengthen our through-the-cycle performance and value-accretive growth opportunities create an exciting future for our company and one in which we can substantially grow our returns on our invested capital. We are committed to a balanced capital allocation strategy that includes investments in our company's future and a return of capital to our shareholders. Thank you for joining us on today's call. We look forward to speaking with many of you during our investor calls in the coming days and weeks.

非常感謝。在 CMC，我們堅信最好的日子就在前方。我們注意到的結構性需求趨勢、營運和商業卓越舉措相結合，旨在增強我們的全週期績效和價值增值成長機會，為我們公司創造了一個令人興奮的未來，並且我們可以大幅增加投資資本的回報。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向股東返還資本。感謝您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中與你們交談。

This concludes today's CMC conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的 CMC 電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。