Commercial Metals Co (CMC) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello. Welcome, everyone, to the fiscal 2026 first quarter 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.

你好。歡迎各位參加 CMC 2026 財年第一季財報電話會議。今天與我一起參加電話會議的有 CMC 總裁兼執行長 Peter Matt，以及資深副總裁兼財務長 Paul Lawrence。

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)

今天的所有資料，包括新聞稿和本次電話會議的補充幻燈片，都可以在 CMC 的投資者關係網站上找到。今天的通話將會被錄音。（操作說明）

I would like to remind all participants that on today's discussion that will contain 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 and precast concrete products, the expected capabilities, benefits, costs and time line for construction of new facilities, the expected benefits of recent acquisitions, 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.

我想提醒各位與會者，今天的討論將包含前瞻性陳述，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、成品鋼材和預製混凝土產品的需求、新設施建設的預期能力、效益、成本和時間表、近期收購的預期效益、公司運營、公司戰略增長計劃及其預期效益、法律訴訟、公司未來業績、財務陳述和業務資本等方面的經營資本。

These statements reflect the company's beliefs based on current conditions but are subject to risks and uncertainties. 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.

這些聲明反映了公司基於當前情況的看法，但存在風險和不確定性。本公司發布的獲利報告、最新的 10-K 表格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聲明中預測的結果存在重大差異的因素的更多資​​訊。

Except as required by law, CMC does not assume any obligation to update, amend or clarify these statements. Some numbers presented will be non-GAAP financial measures, and reconciliations for such numbers can be found in the company's earnings release, supplemental slide presentation or on the company's website. Unless stated otherwise, all references made to year or quarter end are references to the company's fiscal year or fiscal quarter.

除法律另有規定外，CMC不承擔更新、修改或澄清這些聲明的任何義務。文中呈現的部分數據為非GAAP財務指標，有關這些數據的調節表可在公司的獲利報告、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或財務季度末。

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

現在，我將把電話交給彼得，由他來致開幕詞和介紹各位嘉賓。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining CMC's first quarter earnings conference call. I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year. CMC had an exceptional start to our fiscal year as we built on the strategic foundation laid in fiscal 2025, continuing to meaningfully and sustainably enhance our financial profile.

各位早安，感謝各位參加CMC第一季財報電話會議。希望你們每個人都度過了一個美好的假期，並擁有一個快樂的新年。CMC 在本財年開局非常出色，我們在 2025 財年奠定的策略基礎上繼續努力，持續有效地提升我們的財務狀況。

The first quarter was one of the best in our company's history, serving as validation that our ambitious strategy is bearing fruit. Strategic actions taken over the last 12 to 18 months, including the launch of TAG, organizational realignment in critical areas and the onboarding of key talent and resources to support growth areas are directly driving bottom line improvement.

第一季是我們公司歷史上業績最好的季度之一，證明我們雄心勃勃的策略正在取得成效。過去 12 到 18 個月採取的策略行動，包括推出 TAG、對關鍵領域進行組織調整以及引進關鍵人才和資源以支持成長領域，正在直接推動利潤成長。

We are confident there is much more to come, particularly with the addition of CMC's large-scale precast platform. Our strategic focus remains on transforming CMC into an even stronger organization with higher, more stable margins, earnings, cash flows, and returns on capital.

我們相信未來會有更多發展，特別是隨著 CMC 大型預製平台的加入。我們的策略重點仍然是將 CMC 轉型為更強大的組織，實現更高、更穩定的利潤率、收益、現金流和資本回報率。

Now let's jump into the first quarter results. For the quarter, CMC reported net earnings of $177.3 million or $1.58 per diluted share. Excluding certain charges, which Paul will take you through in more detail, adjusted earnings were $206.2 million or $1.84 per diluted share. Our consolidated core EBITDA of $316.9 million grew by over 50% from a year ago and nearly 9% sequentially, reaching its highest level in two years.

現在讓我們來看看第一季的業績。CMC公司本季淨利為1.773億美元，即每股攤薄收益1.58美元。除去某些費用（保羅將為您詳細講解），調整後的收益為 2.062 億美元，即每股攤薄收益 1.84 美元。我們的綜合核心 EBITDA 為 3.169 億美元，比去年同期成長超過 50%，季增近 9%，達到兩年來的最高水準。

Our core EBITDA margin of 14.9% likewise expanded both year-over-year and compared to the prior quarter. As outlined on slide 5, this occurred against a good market backdrop with stable demand, limited imports, rising long steel metal margins and attractive project opportunities within certain construction segments.

我們的核心 EBITDA 利潤率達到 14.9%，年比和季比均有所成長。如投影片 5 所述，這種情況發生在良好的市場背景下，需求穩定，進口有限，鋼材利潤率上升，某些建築領域內有有吸引力的專案機會。

Though CMC certainly benefited from these constructive conditions, our results were meaningfully enhanced by solid execution that allowed us to capitalize on the opportunities we are seeing across our North American footprint.

儘管 CMC 確實受益於這些建設性條件，但我們所取得的成果很大程度上得益於紮實的執行力，這使我們能夠抓住我們在北美各地看到的機會。

Let's review some highlights, starting with our North America Steel Group. CMC's mill network had a strong operational performance, which was critical to supporting customers in a relatively tight domestic supply environment and maintaining high levels of customer service.

讓我們回顧一下一些亮點，首先從我們的北美鋼鐵集團開始。CMC 的工廠網路營運表現強勁，這對於在相對緊張的國內供應環境下支援客戶和維持高水準的客戶服務至關重要。

TAG initiative efforts, including the scrap optimization initiatives launched in fiscal 2025 contributed nicely to metal margin expansion. With the program now rolled out across all domestic mills, we are using less scrap per tonne of steel produced and utilizing lower-cost scrap blends, increasing the metal margin on each tonne.

TAG 的各項舉措，包括 2025 財年啟動的廢料優化計劃，對金屬利潤率的提升起到了很好的促進作用。該計劃現已在所有國內鋼廠推廣，我們每生產一噸鋼材所用的廢鋼更少，並且利用了成本更低的廢鋼混合物，從而提高了每噸鋼材的金屬利潤。

Last quarter, I discussed new commercial rigor in the way CMC approaches opportunities within its downstream fabrication business. The positive impact of this change is only just beginning to be reflected in our financial results, but we are seeing it more significantly benefit our average price in backlog, which represents the work that will be shipped in future quarters.

上個季度，我討論了CMC在下游製造業務中尋求機會時所展現出的新的商業嚴謹性。這項變更帶來的正面影響才剛開始反映在我們的財務業績中，但我們看到它對我們的積壓訂單平均價格產生了更顯著的正面影響，這代表了未來幾季將要交付的工作。

Encouragingly, despite enhanced selectivity in the projects we accept, the volume in CMC's downstream backlog increased modestly year-over-year and sequentially. We believe this is at least in part related to CMC's ability to leverage its unique and comprehensive portfolio of capabilities to win projects, particularly those that require specialized reinforcing solutions for large-scale resource deployment.

令人鼓舞的是，儘管我們對所接受的項目進行了更嚴格的篩選，但 CMC 的下游積壓訂單量同比和環比均略有增長。我們認為這至少部分與 CMC 能夠利用其獨特而全面的能力組合來贏得專案有關，特別是那些需要為大規模資源部署提供專門加固解決方案的專案。

A recent example has been the success we have had in the LNG space, which requires highly specialized cryogenic steel, the reliability of a large fabrication and logistics network and expertise in project management, all of which we provide.

最近的一個例子是我們成功進入液化天然氣領域，該領域需要高度專業化的低溫鋼材、可靠的大型製造和物流網路以及專案管理方面的專業知識，而所有這些都是我們能夠提供的。

Strong execution helped our Construction Solutions business, formerly known as our Emerging Businesses Group, achieved a record first quarter adjusted EBITDA. Similar to our North America Steel Group, underlying market conditions were supportive, but our efforts to capitalize on these drove results to new heights.

強而有力的執行力幫助我們的建築解決方案業務（以前稱為我們的新興業務集團）實現了創紀錄的第一季調整後 EBITDA。與我們的北美鋼鐵集團類似，基本市場環境有利，但我們利用這些有利環境的努力將業績推向了新的高度。

At Tensar specifically, we are seeing several important commercial and operational initiatives gain traction. Our team has moved to deepen relationships with key customers, improving our visibility into their upcoming product demand. We have also positioned ourselves to better address market demand across a full spectrum of Geogrid solutions.

具體到Tensar公司，我們看到幾項重要的商業和營運措施正在取得進展。我們的團隊已著手加深與重要客戶的關係，從而提高我們對他們未來產品需求的了解。我們也已做好準備，以更好地滿足市場對全方位土工格柵解決方案的需求。

Our highest value products are experiencing strong demand from mega projects such as LNG investments. but we are also capturing more opportunities in mid- and lower-tier portions of the market. Operationally, the Tensar team is doing an exceptional job managing costs and increasing production reliability, ensuring that we have the product available where and when needed at a cost that optimizes margins.

我們的高價值產品正受到液化天然氣投資等大型專案的強勁需求，但我們也正在中低階市場領域抓住更多機會。在營運方面，Tensar 團隊在成本控制和提高生產可靠性方面做得非常出色，確保我們能夠在需要的時候以最優的成本獲得產品。

Our CMC Construction Services business achieved strong results during the quarter with revenue growth outpacing the broader market due to several impactful initiatives to acquire new customers, gain share of wallet through more proactive outreach and standardize pricing and service levels across the footprint. This is just a sampling of the initiatives that we are undertaking to drive our business from good to great. Our success reflects the strategic efforts of CMC's leaders to push their businesses to new levels of performance.

本季度，我們的 CMC 建築服務業務取得了強勁的業績，收入成長超過了整體市場，這得益於我們採取的幾項卓有成效的舉措，包括獲取新客戶、透過更積極主動的拓展來增加客戶份額以及在整個業務範圍內標準化定價和服務水平。這只是我們為推動業務從優秀走向卓越而採取的部分舉措。我們的成功體現了 CMC 領導層為推動公司業務邁向新的績效水準所做的策略努力。

I mentioned earlier that we capitalized on a supportive environment in the quarter. Let me provide a bit more color on what we saw. In North America, we experienced healthy, stable underlying demand for our major products. This, in combination with a well-balanced supply landscape, supported volumes and margins during the quarter. Shipments of finished steel were virtually unchanged year-over-year and down less than 1 percentage point from fiscal Q4 compared to a more typical 4% to 5% seasonal sequential decline.

我之前提到過，我們充分利用了本季有利的商業環境。讓我再詳細描述一下我們看到的情況。在北美，我們的主要產品擁有健康、穩定的潛在需求。這一點，再加上供需平衡良好，支撐了本季的銷售和利潤率。成品鋼材出貨量與去年同期相比幾乎沒有變化，與第四財季相比下降不到 1 個百分點，而通常情況下，季節性環比下降幅度為 4% 至 5%。

Consistent with our guidance, metal margins increased sequentially as we were able to capitalize on the summer price announcement. Downstream bid volumes, our best gauge of the construction pipeline remained healthy and were consistent with recent quarters with continued strength across key market segments, including public works, data centers, institutional buildings and energy projects.

與我們的預期一致，由於我們能夠利用夏季價格公告，金屬利潤率較上季成長。下游投標量（我們衡量建築專案儲備的最佳指標）保持健康，與最近幾季的情況一致，主要市場領域（包括公共工程、資料中心、機構建築和能源專案）持續強勁。

We continue to see substantial pent-up demand, particularly within non-residential markets, a view supported by historic strength in the Dodge Momentum Index, or DMI, as well as recent conversations with many of our largest customers who are increasingly bullish as they experience a large inflow of project inquiries related to energy generation, reshoring, advanced manufacturing and LNG infrastructure.

我們持續看到大量被壓抑的需求，尤其是在非住宅市場，這一觀點得到了道奇動量指數（DMI）的歷史性強勁表現的支持，以及我們最近與許多最大客戶的對話，這些客戶越來越樂觀，因為他們收到了大量與能源生產、回流、先進製造和液化天然氣基礎設施相關的項目諮詢。

The DMI leads construction activity by 12 to 18 months and increased by approximately 50% on a year-over-year basis in November. with the Commercial segment growing by 57% and institutional by 37%. Even excluding data centers, a hot bet of growth in North America, commercial showed solid expansion, rising 36% from a year ago.

DMI 引領建築活動 12 至 18 個月，11 月年增約 50%，其中商業領域成長 57%，機構領域成長 37%。即使不計入北美成長熱門的資料中心，商業領域也呈現穩健擴張，比一年前成長了 36%。

We remain confident that emerging structural drivers, including investment in US infrastructure, reshoring industrial capacity, growth in energy generation and transmission, the build-out of AI infrastructure as well as addressing a US housing shortage will support construction activity over the long term.

我們仍然相信，包括對美國基礎設施的投資、工業產能回流、能源生產和輸送的成長、人工智慧基礎設施的建設以及解決美國住房短缺等在內的新興結構性驅動因素，將在長期內支持建築活動。

As noted on slide 10 of the earnings presentation, nearly $3 trillion of corporate investments were announced across related areas in calendar 2025. Commencement of even a handful of these related mega projects could provide a meaningful demand catalyst for CMC in the quarters ahead.

如收益報告第 10 頁所述，2025 年將在相關領域宣布近 3 兆美元的企業投資。即使只有少數相關的巨型項目啟動，也可能在未來幾季為CMC帶來顯著的需求成長。

Before I move on to our other segments, I would like to briefly update you on the status of the rebar trade case filed with the International Trade Commission, or ITC, back in June, alleging exporters located in Algeria, Bulgaria, Egypt and Vietnam are guilty of dumping material into the US market.

在進入其他環節之前，我想簡要地向大家介紹今年 6 月向國際貿易委員會 (ITC) 提交的鋼筋貿易案件的最新進展。該案指控位於阿爾及利亞、保加利亞、埃及和越南的出口商向美國市場傾銷鋼筋。

In December, the Department of Commerce provided a preliminary ruling against Algeria, finding that producers based in that country are guilty of dumping and subjected them to the maximum duty sought by the domestic rebar industry, which is 127%.

12 月，美國商務部對阿爾及利亞作出初步裁決，認定該國生產商犯有傾銷罪，並對其徵收國內鋼筋行業所要求的最高關稅，即 127%。

While this margin rate could change once the Department of Commerce finalizes its investigation on Algeria in March, we are encouraged by the preliminary results and applaud the Department's Defense Affair trade. Preliminary rulings are expected in March for antidumping duty investigations covering Egypt, Vietnam, and Bulgaria.

雖然一旦商務部在 3 月完成對阿爾及利亞的調查，這一利潤率可能會發生變化，但我們對初步結果感到鼓舞，並讚揚商務部國防事務貿易。預計3月將對涉及埃及、越南和保加利亞的反傾銷稅調查作出初步裁決。

Turning to our Construction Solutions Group. Current conditions are similar to those just described with steady activity across most construction segments punctuated by a few hot areas like data centers and large energy projects.

接下來請介紹我們的建築解決方案團隊。目前的情況與剛才描述的情況類似，大多數建築領域都保持著穩定的活動，只有少數熱點領域，如資料中心和大型能源項目，出現異常活躍。

Our commercial teams continue to see encouraging signals regarding future activity, including healthy quoting levels and improved velocity of quote conversion to backlog. In addition to these broad indicators of potential demand, we are seeing an increase in attractive individual opportunities that require specialized reinforcement solutions, particularly among bridge and energy projects.

我們的銷售團隊持續看到有關未來業務活動的令人鼓舞的信號，包括健康的報價水平和報價轉化為積壓訂單速度的提高。除了這些反映潛在需求的廣泛指標外，我們還看到越來越多的有吸引力的個人機會需要專門的加固解決方案，尤其是在橋樑和能源項目中。

Conditions for our Europe Steel Group softened modestly from the fourth quarter. Demand remained resilient on solid Polish economic growth, providing an outlet for healthy shipping volumes, but average price and margin levels were negatively impacted by the import flows.

歐洲鋼鐵集團的經營狀況較第四季略有改善。波蘭經濟穩健成長帶動需求維持韌性，為健康的航運量提供了出口管道，但進口流量對平均價格和利潤率產生了負面影響。

A portion of the price pressure experienced during the quarter may have been related to buyers of foreign material seeking to import product ahead of the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism or CBAM taking effect on January 1, 2026.

本季經歷的部分價格壓力可能與外國材料買家試圖在歐盟碳邊境調節機制（CBAM）於 2026 年 1 月 1 日生效前進口產品有關。

We view this as a temporary overhang and expect prices in our primary markets to benefit from the launch of CBAM, which should increase the cost of some imports, particularly those that have historically been most aggressively priced.

我們認為這只是暫時的滯後，預計隨著CBAM的推出，我們主要市場的價格將受益，這將增加一些進口商品的成本，特別是那些歷史上定價最具競爭力的進口商品。

The green shoots we have noted in recent earnings calls continue to mature with more emerging. Recent market developments include signals of a coming recovery in residential construction activity driven by declining mortgage interest rates and a need for new housing stock.

我們在最近的財報電話會議中看到的積極跡象正在不斷成熟，並且湧現出更多跡象。近期市場發展跡象表明，受抵押貸款利率下降和對新住房需求的推動，住宅建設活動即將復甦。

We are also more optimistic about the prospect of CBAM benefiting long steel pricing. With greater clarity regarding the terms and implementation now available, our team in Poland believes the program could increase the cost of some imported long products by at least $50 per tonne and help support overall market price levels.

我們也對CBAM有利於長材價格的前景持更樂觀的態度。隨著條款和實施細則的進一步明確，我們在波蘭的團隊認為，該計劃可能會使某些進口長材產品的成本每噸增加至少 50 美元，並有助於支撐整體市場價格水準。

Wrapping up my comments on the quarter, let me dive more deeply into TAG. This is our enterprise-wide operational and commercial excellence program aiming to drive a permanent step change improvement to our margins, earnings, cash flows, and ROIC. Fiscal 2026 will be a pivotal year as execution further permeates the organization and as the expected level of EBITDA benefit increases meaningfully.

總結一下本季的情況，接下來讓我更深入地探討TAG。這是我們旨在推動企業範圍內的營運和商業卓越計劃，以永久提高我們的利潤率、收益、現金流量和投資回報率。2026 財年將是關鍵的一年，因為執行力將進一步滲透到組織內部，預期 EBITDA 收益水準也將顯著提高。

During fiscal 2025, TAG initiatives were primarily focused on domestic mill operations and logistics. This year, we are focused on operational initiatives in every line of business across each segment and are increasing our emphasis on key commercial opportunities. We are also targeting meaningful efficiencies in our SG&A expenses while maintaining our high level of performance.

在 2025 財年，TAG 的各項措施主要集中在國內工廠營運和物流方面。今年，我們將重點放在各個業務線、各個細分市場的營運舉措，並加強對關鍵商業機會的重視。我們也努力提高銷售、管理及行政費用的效率，同時維持高水準的業績。

We are pleased with the execution on new initiatives so far in fiscal 2026 and have maintained solid momentum on programs launched in fiscal 2025, including the scrap optimization, mill yield, alloy usage and logistics benefits that delivered approximately $50 million of EBITDA last fiscal year.

我們對 2026 財年迄今各項新舉措的執行情況感到滿意，並保持了 2025 財年啟動的各項計劃的強勁勢頭，包括廢料優化、軋機產量、合金利用率和物流效益，這些舉措在上個財年帶來了約 5000 萬美元的 EBITDA。

Looking at fiscal 2026 and beyond, commercial excellence is a major opportunity where we see significant upside potential through achieving better margins and fuller value realization for CMC's industry-leading capabilities and service levels. For the mills, this comes in a variety of forms, including enforcing grade and size extras, applying appropriate premiums to pricing on special orders and addressing areas of margin leakage such as delayed price implementation and freight recovery.

展望 2026 財年及以後，商業卓越是一個重要的機遇，我們看到透過提高利潤率和更充分地實現 CMC 行業領先的能力和服務水平的價值，可以帶來巨大的成長潛力。對於軋棉廠而言，這體現在多種形式上，包括強制執行等級和尺寸附加費、對特殊訂單定價施加適當的溢價，以及解決利潤流失領域，例如價格實施延遲和運費回收。

It will also mean more definitive segmentation of our customer base with clear value propositions to the different customer segments and related commercial terms to ensure that all accounts generate acceptable margins.

這也意味著我們將對客戶群進行更明確的細分，為不同的客戶群提供清晰的價值主張和相關的商業條款，以確保所有帳戶都能產生可接受的利潤率。

Through our downstream fabrication business, we are pursuing enhancements to our margin structure through increased price discipline, a willingness to decline work that does not reach a suitable profit threshold and improve terms and enforcement mechanisms in contracts. At the heart of our efforts is the ability to leverage CMC's unique capabilities and scale to achieve better margin outcomes on complex jobs that only a few fabricators can perform.

透過我們的下游製造業務，我們正在透過加強價格紀律、拒絕未達到適當利潤門檻的工作以及改進合約條款和執行機制來改善我們的利潤結構。我們努力的核心在於利用 CMC 的獨特能力和規模，在只有少數製造商能夠完成的複雜工作中取得更好的利潤結果。

Based on progress we are making across operational, commercial and SG&A initiatives, I am confident that we will reach or exceed our ambitious goal of exiting fiscal 2026 with an annualized run rate EBITDA benefit of $150 million.

根據我們在營運、商業和銷售、一般及行政費用方面的進展，我相信我們將達到或超過我們雄心勃勃的目標，即在 2026 財年結束時實現 1.5 億美元的年化 EBITDA 收益。

In December, subsequent to the end of the first quarter, CMC closed on the acquisitions of CP&P and Foley Products, and we are now operating one of the largest precast concrete businesses in the United States. This platform is transformational for us, broadening CMC's commercial portfolio in a way that increases our value proposition to customers, meaningfully enhancing our financial profile and extending our growth runway.

12 月，在第一季結束後，CMC 完成了對 CP&P 和 Foley Products 的收購，我們現在經營著美國最大的預製混凝土業務之一。這個平台對我們來說具有變革性意義，它拓寬了 CMC 的商業組合，從而提高了我們對客戶的價值主張，顯著提升了我們的財務狀況，並延長了我們的成長空間。

Based on our initial observations over the last few weeks of owning these businesses, I am even more confident regarding their potential to strengthen CMC and create meaningful value for shareholders. Both CP&P and Foley are excellent cultural fits for our company and have talented teams in place at every level of their organizations, including very strong leadership groups that will remain in place and are fully aligned in executing CMC's strategic vision and delivering meaningful synergies.

根據我們過去幾週持有這些企業的初步觀察，我對它們增強 CMC 實力並為股東創造有意義價值的潛力更有信心。CP&P 和 Foley 都非常符合我們公司的文化，並且在各個層級都擁有優秀的團隊，包括非常強大的領導團隊，這些團隊將繼續留任，並完全致力於執行 CMC 的策略願景，實現有意義的協同效應。

Discussions with precast leadership regarding the business outlook for fiscal 2026 have been positive. Backlogs are at good levels, featuring solid volumes and attractive average pricing, which should support healthy shipment levels as we enter the spring construction season. The outlook for underlying demand is positive for our core Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern geographies, bolstered by the expected growth in data centers, manufacturing facilities and stormwater management systems.

與預製構件產業領導階層就 2026 財年業務前景的討論進展順利。目前積壓訂單量充足，平均價格也相當可觀，這將有助於我們在進入春季施工旺季時保持健康的出貨量。受資料中心、製造設施和雨水管理系統預期成長的推動，我們核心的中大西洋和東南部地區的潛在需求前景樂觀。

We look forward to providing further details on our second quarter earnings call, which will include financial results for our precast business within CMC's Construction Solutions segment. Having mentioned our Construction Solutions Group a few times, I would like to highlight the reasons for renaming the segment.

我們期待在第二季財報電話會議上提供更多細節，其中包括CMC建築解決方案部門預製業務的財務表現。我已經多次提到我們的建築解決方案集團，我想重點說明我們重新命名該部門的原因。

First, we believe that the title Construction Solutions better reflects the business composition of the segment as more than 95% of the EBITDA will be derived from providing high-margin solutions to the construction market. Additionally, the new name more closely aligns with the strategic priorities of CMC, in particular, the aim to profitably grow our role in early-stage construction and build a commercial portfolio that makes us the preferred partner by our customers.

首先，我們認為「建築解決方案」這個名稱更能反映該業務板塊的業務組成，因為超過 95% 的 EBITDA 將來自為建築市場提供高利潤解決方案。此外，新名稱與 CMC 的策略重點更加契合，特別是旨在盈利地擴大我們在早期建設領域的作用，並建立一個商業組合，使我們成為客戶的首選合作夥伴。

Before turning the call over to Paul, I would like to recognize the efforts of our world-class employees. We have asked a lot of the team as we execute our ambitious vision for the future, and I am truly inspired by all that they have accomplished so far. Their efforts have been instrumental in laying the groundwork for years of success ahead, and I look forward to maintaining that momentum. With that, I'll turn the call over to Paul

在將電話交給保羅之前，我想對我們世界一流員工的努力表示感謝。在實現我們雄心勃勃的未來願景的過程中，我們對團隊提出了很高的要求，他們迄今為止的成就真的讓我深受鼓舞。他們的努力為未來多年的成功奠定了基礎，我期待保持這種勢頭。好了，現在我把電話交給保羅。

Thank you, Peter, and good morning and Happy New Year to everyone on the call. As noted earlier, we reported fiscal first quarter 2026 net earnings of $177.3 million or $1.58 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $175.7 million and a net loss per diluted share of $1.54 in the prior year period.

謝謝你，彼得，也祝所有參加電話會議的朋友們早安，新年快樂。如前所述，我們公佈了 2026 財年第一季淨利潤為 1.773 億美元，即每股攤薄收益 1.58 美元，而去年同期淨虧損為 1.757 億美元，每股攤薄虧損為 1.54 美元。

During the quarter, we incurred approximately $36.7 million in pretax expenses with $24.9 million related to the acquisitions of CP&P and Foley, $3.7 million for interest on the judgment amount associated with the previously disclosed litigation as well as an $8.1 million unrealized loss on undesignated commodity hedges.

本季度，我們產生了約 3,670 萬美元的稅前支出，其中 2,490 萬美元與收購 CP&P 和 Foley 有關，370 萬美元為先前披露的訴訟判決金額的利息，以及 810 萬美元的未指定商品避險未實現損失。

Excluding these expenses, which amounted to $28.9 million on an after-tax basis, adjusted earnings for the quarter totaled $206.2 million or $1.84 per diluted share compared to $86.9 million and $0.76 per diluted share, respectively, in the prior year period.

扣除這些稅後支出（2,890萬美元）後，該季度調整後收益總計2.062億美元，即每股攤薄收益1.84美元，而去年同期分別為8690萬美元和每股攤薄收益0.76美元。

As a reminder, the prior year period included an adjustment for an estimated net after-tax charge of $265 million to reflect an adverse litigation verdict accrual. During the first quarter of fiscal 2026, CMC generated consolidated core EBITDA of $316.9 million, representing a 52% increase from $208.7 million in the prior year period.

提醒一下，上一年期間已調整了預計淨稅後費用 2.65 億美元，以反映不利訴訟判決的提列。2026 財年第一季度，CMC 的合併核心 EBITDA 為 3.169 億美元，比去年同期的 2.087 億美元成長了 52%。

CMC's North American Steel Group generated adjusted EBITDA of $293.9 million for the quarter, equal to $257 per tonne of finished steel shipped. Segment adjusted EBITDA increased 58% compared to the prior year period, driven primarily by higher margin over scrap costs on steel products, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 17.7% compared to 12.3% in the prior year period.

CMC北美鋼鐵集團本季調整後EBITDA為2.939億美元，相當於每噸成品鋼材出貨257美元。分部調整後的 EBITDA 比上年同期成長 58%，主要得益於鋼鐵產品廢鋼成本利潤率的提高，使得 EBITDA 利潤率從去年同期的 12.3% 成長至 17.7%。

Financial results also benefited from continued improved operational performance at Arizona 2 as well as contributions from our TAG efforts. As Peter mentioned, we are driving continued gains from TAG initiatives launched during fiscal '25 and have more recently rolled out commercial initiatives to improve margin capture.

財務表現也受益於 Arizona 2 營運績效的持續改善以及我們 TAG 工作的貢獻。正如 Peter 所提到的，我們正在推動 2025 財年期間推出的 TAG 計劃取得持續收益，並且最近推出了商業計劃以提高利潤率。

The Construction Solutions Group first quarter net sales of $198.3 million grew by 17% on a year-over-year basis. Adjusted EBITDA of $39.6 million significantly increased by 75% year-over-year, driven by strong results from Tensar and CMC Construction Services as well as some improvement at CMC Impact Metals from the depressed levels of a year ago.

建築解決方案集團第一季淨銷售額為 1.983 億美元，較去年同期成長 17%。經調整的 EBITDA 為 3,960 萬美元，較去年同期成長 75%，這主要得益於 Tensar 和 CMC Construction Services 的強勁業績，以及 CMC Impact Metals 從一年前的低迷水準有所改善。

Tensar achieved its best first quarter financial performance under CMC ownership, benefiting from solid project demand, the positive impact of the sales initiatives mentioned by Peter and strong cost management efforts. CMC Construction Services likewise profited from self-help measures that drove EBITDA improvement on both a year-over-year and sequential basis.

在 CMC 的領導下，Tensar 取得了有史以來最好的第一季財務業績，這得益於穩健的項目需求、Peter 提到的銷售舉措的積極影響以及強有力的成本管理措施。CMC建築服務公司同樣受益於自助措施，這些措施推動了EBITDA年比和季比成長。

Contributions from our Performance Reinforcing Steel division remained historically strong but declined modestly from recent elevated levels. Construction Solutions Group adjusted EBITDA margin of 20% improved by 6.6 percentage points compared to the prior year period. Our Europe Steel Group reported adjusted EBITDA of $10.9 million for the first quarter of 2026, down from $25.8 million in the prior year period.

我們的高性能鋼筋部門的貢獻依然保持了歷史高位，但較近期的高點略有下降。建築解決方案集團調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 20%，比去年同期提高了 6.6 個百分點。我們的歐洲鋼鐵集團公佈，2026 年第一季調整後 EBITDA 為 1,090 萬美元，低於去年同期的 2,580 萬美元。

The decline was driven by a lower CO2 credit, which amounted to $15.6 million during the first quarter of 2026 compared to $44.1 million received during the year ago period. The reduction in the CO2 credit was the result of the credit generated for calendar 2024 being separated into two tranches, one of which was received during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, while the remaining amount was received in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.

下降的原因是二氧化碳排放額度降低，2026 年第一季的二氧化碳排放額度為 1,560 萬美元，去年同期為 4,410 萬美元。二氧化碳信用額度的減少是由於 2024 年日曆年產生的信用額度被分成兩批發放，其中一批在 2025 財年第四季度收到，而剩餘部分在 2026 財年第一季收到。

By comparison, results for last year's first quarter reflected the entirety of the 2023 annual CO2 credit. Excluding the impact of energy cost rebates, adjusted EBITDA improved on a year-over-year basis on stronger shipping volumes and higher metal margins.

相較之下，去年第一季的業績反映了 2023 年全年二氧化碳排放額度的全部金額。剔除能源成本返還的影響，由於船舶運輸量增加和金屬利潤率提高，調整後的 EBITDA 年成長。

Shipments grew by approximately 16% from the first fiscal quarter of 2025 as a result of continued Polish economic expansion and reduced import flows from Germany. Metal margins expanded by $37 per tonne, largely driven by the same factors.

由於波蘭經濟持續擴張以及來自德國的進口流量減少，2025 年第一財季的出貨量增加了約 16%。金屬利潤率每噸增加了 37 美元，主要受相同因素驅動。

During the quarter, our Polish mill underwent an annual maintenance outage, which incurred approximately $10 million of costs. Team did an excellent job starting up efficiently following the planned downtime and similar to recent quarters, continues to effectively manage costs across the organization.

本季度，我們的波蘭工廠進行了年度維護停產，造成了約 1000 萬美元的成本。團隊在計劃停機後高效啟動，表現出色，並且與最近幾季一樣，繼續有效地控制整個組織的成本。

I will now discuss CMC's balance sheet and liquidity position as outlined on slide 13 of the supplemental presentation. As of November 30, cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash totaled $3 billion. This amount included approximately $2 billion in proceeds raised through a senior note offering in November, most of which was earmarked to fund the company's purchase of Foley products.

接下來，我將討論補充簡報第 13 頁中概述的 CMC 的資產負債表和流動性狀況。截至11月30日，現金、現金等價物及受限現金總額為30億美元。該金額包括 11 月透過高級票據發行籌集的約 20 億美元資金，其中大部分被指定用於為公司收購 Foley 產品提供資金。

In December, we closed both the CP&P and Foley acquisitions and payments of approximately $2.5 billion were made. The table on the left-hand side of slide 13 provides an illustrative view of CMC's cash balance, net debt and net debt to EBITDA, assuming both transactions had closed on November 30.

12 月，我們完成了對 CP&P 和 Foley 的收購，並支付了約 25 億美元。第 13 頁左側的表格以圖示方式展示了 CMC 的現金餘額、淨債務和淨債務與 EBITDA 的比率，假設兩筆交易均已於 11 月 30 日完成。

As you can see, net leverage stands at approximately 2.5 times using combined adjusted EBITDA for legacy CMC and our newly acquired Precast business. This is lower than the 2.7 times pro forma figure shared at the time of the Foley acquisition with the reduction resulting from the increased EBITDA generation of our business.

如您所見，使用原有 CMC 和我們新收購的預製件業務的合併調整 EBITDA，淨槓桿率約為 2.5 倍。這低於收購 Foley 時公佈的 2.7 倍備考數字，減少的原因是我們的業務 EBITDA 產量增加。

We continue to be confident in our ability to return to our net leverage target of below 2 times within 18 months and will prioritize delevering in the quarters ahead. This effort will be aided by strong cash flow generation from the precast platform itself, the wind down of capital expenditures for the construction of Steel West Virginia and the significant cash tax savings generated by the 48C program and the one Big beautiful bill.

我們仍然有信心在 18 個月內恢復到淨槓桿率低於 2 倍的目標，並將在未來幾季優先考慮去槓桿化。這項努力將得到預製平臺本身強勁的現金流產生、西維吉尼亞鋼鐵廠建設資本支出的逐步減少以及 48C 計劃和一項重大稅收法案帶來的巨額現金稅收節省的幫助。

Additionally, we have reduced our share repurchases during this period of leverage reduction to amounts approximating our annual share issuance under our compensation programs. Subsequent to quarter end, CMC increased the capacity of our revolving credit facility from $600 million to $1 billion this will ensure a strong liquidity position to support the execution of strategic goals going forward.

此外，在降低槓桿率的這段時間裡，我們減少了股票回購，使其金額接近我們根據薪酬計劃每年發行的股票數量。季度末之後，CMC 將我們的循環信貸額度從 6 億美元增加到 10 億美元，這將確保強大的流動性，以支持未來戰略目標的執行。

Using the same adjustments to our November 30 balance sheet to give effect to the precast acquisitions and also giving effect to the upsized revolver, estimated available liquidity would have been slightly over $1.7 billion.

使用與 11 月 30 日資產負債表相同的調整，以反映預製件收購和擴大循環信貸額度的影響，估計可用流動資金將略高於 17 億美元。

CMC's effective tax rate was 3.1% in the first quarter. Looking ahead, we anticipate a full year effective tax rate between 5% and 10% for fiscal 2026. As a result of several factors, including our 48C tax credit, bonus depreciation on our West Virginia mill investment as well as accelerated depreciation on the assets of the acquisitions of Foley and CP&P, we do not anticipate paying any significant US federal cash taxes in fiscal 2026 or for much of fiscal 2027.

CMC的第一季實際稅率為3.1%。展望未來，我們預計 2026 財年全年實際稅率將在 5% 至 10% 之間。由於多種因素，包括我們的 48C 稅收抵免、我們在西維吉尼亞州工廠投資的額外折舊以及對 Foley 和 CP&P 收購資產的加速折舊，我們預計在 2026 財年或 2027 財年的大部分時間裡，不會繳納任何重大的美國聯邦現金稅。

Turning to CMC's fiscal 2026 capital spending outlook. We anticipate spending approximately $625 million in total. Of this amount, approximately $300 million is associated with completing the construction of our Steel West Virginia micro mill as well as a handful of high-return growth investments within our Construction Solutions Group and approximately $25 million in our newly acquired precast businesses. This concludes my remarks, and I'll turn it back to Peter for additional comments on CMC's financial outlook.

接下來，我們來看看CMC 2026財年的資本支出展望。我們預計總共將花費約 6.25 億美元。其中約 3 億美元用於完成我們在西維吉尼亞州的鋼鐵微型鋼廠的建設，以及在我們建築解決方案集團內的一些高回報成長投資，約 2,500 萬美元用於我們新收購的預製件業務。我的演講到此結束，接下來請彼得對CMC的財務前景發表更多評論。

Thank you, Paul. Turning to our outlook. We expect consolidated core EBITDA in the second quarter of fiscal 2026 to decline modestly from first quarter levels due to a normal level of slowdown within our key markets. This will be partially offset by the addition of CMC's recently acquired precast businesses. The company will recognize several acquisition-related expenses during the second quarter, including transaction fees, debt issuance costs and customary purchase accounting adjustments, each of which will be excluded from core EBITDA.

謝謝你，保羅。展望未來。我們預計，由於主要市場出現正常程度的放緩，2026 財年第二季合併核心 EBITDA 將比第一季略有下降。CMC近期收購的預製件業務將部分抵銷此影響。本公司將在第二季確認幾項與收購相關的費用，包括交易費、債務發行成本和慣常的購買會計調整，這些費用均不計入核心 EBITDA。

Segment adjusted EBITDA for our North America Steel Group is anticipated to be lower sequentially due to normal seasonal volume trends and the impact of planned maintenance outages, while steel product metal margin is expected to remain relatively stable.

由於正常的季節性銷售趨勢和計劃內維護停機的影響，預計北美鋼鐵集團的經調整 EBITDA 將環比下降，而鋼鐵產品金屬利潤率預計將保持相對穩定。

Financial results for the Construction Solutions Group should improve compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2026 with the contribution of the Precast business more than offsetting seasonal weakness across the segment's other divisions. Europe Steel Group adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately breakeven with margin growth potential later in fiscal 2026 when the carbon border adjustment mechanism takes full effect.

與 2026 財年第一季相比，建築解決方案集團的財務業績應該會有所改善，預製件業務的貢獻將足以抵消該部門其他業務的季節性疲軟。歐洲鋼鐵集團調整後的 EBITDA 預計將在 2026 財年稍後實現盈虧平衡，並具有利潤成長潛力，屆時碳邊境調節機制將全面生效。

The first quarter marked an excellent start to fiscal 2026, and CMC is well positioned to deliver strong results for the remainder of the year. Solid market dynamics, benefits of our TAG program and effective operational execution are generating momentum in CMC's existing businesses, which will be supplemented by $165 million to $175 million of EBITDA contributions from approximately 8.5 months of ownership of the precast businesses in fiscal 2026.

2026 財年第一季開局良好，CMC 已做好充分準備，將在今年剩餘時間內取得強勁的業績。穩健的市場動態、TAG計畫的益處以及有效的營運執行正在為CMC的現有業務帶來動力，而到2026財年，預製件業務約8.5個月的持有期將帶來1.65億美元至1.75億美元的EBITDA貢獻。

Looking out longer term, I am confident that CMC will continue to create value for our shareholders as we remain focused on executing against our strategic initiatives, which we expect to deliver meaningful and sustained enhancements to our margins, earnings, cash flow generation and return on capital.

展望未來，我相信，隨著我們繼續專注於執行策略舉措，CMC 將繼續為股東創造價值，我們預計這些舉措將顯著且持續地提高我們的利潤率、收益、現金流量和資本回報率。

I would like to conclude by thanking 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. Thank you. And at this time, we will open the call for questions.

最後，我要感謝我們的客戶對CMC的信任和信心，以及我們所有員工在過去一個季度裡取得的非常穩健的安全和營運表現。謝謝。現在，我們將開放提問環節。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Sathish Kasinathan, Bank of America.

薩蒂什‧卡西納坦 (Sathish Kasinathan)，美國銀行。

Congrats on the strong quarter and as well as the closing of CP&P and Foley acquisitions based on what you have seen in the past three to five weeks since the closing of these acquisitions, can you maybe talk about some of the positive or negative surprises you have seen so far? And do you see any potential for acceleration of the three-year timeline to realize the announced $30 million to $40 million in synergies?

恭喜貴公司本季業績強勁，並成功完成了對 CP&P 和 Foley 的收購。根據您在過去三到五週內（自這些收購完成以來）所觀察到的情況，您能否談談到目前為止您看到的一些積極或消極的意外情況？您認為是否有可能加快實現已宣布的 3000 萬至 4000 萬美元協同效應的三年時間表？

Yes. Thanks, Sathish. Great question. Again, with the preface that this is early days in our ownership of this business, I would say that we have been really very pleasantly surprised with everything that we've seen. And I wouldn't say there's anything that's really come up that we weren't expecting on the negative side. And I'd say there are a number of things that are on the positive side that we've seen. And let me just give you a little story from one of my trips.

是的。謝謝你，薩蒂什。問得好。再次聲明，我們接手這家公司還處於初期階段，但我想說，我們對目前所看到的一切都感到非常驚訝。而且，我倒不覺得有什麼出乎我們意料的負面狀況發生了。我認為我們已經看到了一些積極的方面。讓我告訴你我一次旅行中的一個小故事。

I went to a CP&P off-site, and it was a gathering of probably 100 folks from CP&P and then a couple of product experts from CMC. And two remarks I'd make that were, I think, super gratifying as the kind of new owner of the business. First is in the room, you could have been in a room with CMC folks. The cultural affinity is outstanding. And that was super helpful to see because I think it's going to make our integration efforts go well.

我參加了 CP&P 的一個場外活動，大概有 100 位 CP&P 的員工參加，還有幾位 CMC 的產品專家。身為這家企業的新老闆，我有兩點想說，我覺得這兩點會讓人非常欣慰。首先，你可能當時和 CMC 的人在同一個房間。文化親近度非常出色。看到這一點真的很有幫助，因為我認為這將有助於我們順利完成整合工作。

Second was I noted that we brought a couple of CMC product experts, and there was a tremendous amount of discussion around kind of different opportunities that we and CP&P have together and a lot of excitement around that. So that was also super encouraging because it kind of validates the part of our investment thesis.

其次，我注意到我們請來了幾位 CMC 產品專家，大家就我們和 CP&P 共同擁有的各種機會進行了大量討論，對此大家都很興奮。所以這也非常令人鼓舞，因為它在某種程度上驗證了我們投資理念的一部分。

In terms of the synergies, we are -- I would say the work we've done so far leads us to believe that we're very confident that we can get the synergies. What I would say is that it's early to speculate on the timing, and I wouldn't want to accelerate what we've said in the past. But we're very confident that the synergies are there, if not more.

就綜效而言，我認為我們目前所做的工作讓我們相信，我們非常有信心能夠獲得協同效應。我想說的是，現在猜測具體時間還為時過早，我也不想加速我們過去說過的話。但我們非常有信心，即使沒有產生綜效，也至少會產生更多綜效。

Okay. Maybe my second question is on the North American metal margins, which are currently at three-year highs. Can you maybe talk about how you see this margin sustain or improve in the coming quarters given the context that we expect some new supply to come into the market?

好的。我的第二個問題可能與北美金屬利潤率有關，目前北美金屬利潤率處於三年來的最高水準。鑑於我們預期未來幾季會有一些新的供應進入市場，您能否談談您認為這一利潤率將如何維持或提高？

Yes. Maybe I'll start on this going backwards and commenting on the new supply. So there's been a lot of talk about the new supply. And yes, there is new supply coming into the market. I think we've been consistent in saying that we're not overly concerned by the new supply.

是的。或許我應該從倒敘開始，先評論一下新的供應情況。所以大家都在熱議新的供應問題。是的，市場上會有新的供應品進入市場。我認為我們一直都堅持認為，我們並不太擔心新增供應。

And that's particularly true in the current context where you've got much lower imports than we've had in previous years. So based on the level of demand as it is today, we feel comfortable that the marketplace can absorb the new supply as it comes in. And if demand gets stronger, which we believe it will, then I think it's fair to say that there's going to be plenty of demand to absorb any new supply that comes into the market. So we feel good about that.

在目前進口量遠低於往年水準的情況下，這一點尤其如此。因此，根據目前的需求水平，我們認為市場能夠消化不斷湧入的新供應。如果需求變得更強（我們相信會如此），那麼我認為可以肯定地說，市場將有足夠的需求來消化任何進入市場的新增供應。所以我們對此感到很滿意。

Getting to your question on margins. So in Q2, we would expect mill margins, so our steel product margins to be flattish. And that is taking into account the fact that we do expect to realize all of the November 30 price increase.

現在來談談你關於頁邊距的問題。因此，在第二季度，我們預計鋼廠利潤率將保持平穩，因此我們的鋼鐵產品利潤率也將保持穩定。而且這還是在考慮到我們預計11月30日將實現全部漲價的情況下。

And -- but we also have seasonally stronger scrap in this period, and that will offset some of that. And in our downstream, we could see -- I think we think it's going to be flat to -- could be slightly down given the kind of the raw material pass-through to the fabrication business.

而且——但是，這段時間我們也會面臨季節性的較強廢料，這將抵銷部分損失。而在我們的下游領域，我們可以看到——我認為我們認為它會保持平穩——考慮到原材料流向製造業務的方式，可能會略有下降。

But as we go forward, I think the shape of the margins is really going to depend on a couple of factors. One is obviously the supply or demand that emerges in the marketplace. And the second is really our TAG initiative. And I think this is an important point to make on TAG because TAG is all about growing margins in a sustainable way across our business.

但展望未來，我認為利潤率的走勢將取決於幾個因素。顯而易見，其一是市場中出現的供需關係。第二個實際上是我們的 TAG 計劃。我認為這一點對 TAG 來說非常重要，因為 TAG 的核心在於以可持續的方式提高我們整個業務的利潤率。

And what -- and we expect that some of that TAG contribution is going to come in the form of benefiting metal margins as we go forward. So we're very excited about that. And I think as we go into the back half, there's been a merchant price increase of $50 a tonne. We should see a little bit of that in the second quarter, but really, most of it is going to be in the back two quarters and any other pricing actions will really set us up for a strong back half of 2026.

而且—我們預計，TAG的部分貢獻將在未來以提高金屬利潤率的形式體現出來。我們對此感到非常興奮。我認為，隨著下半年的到來，商品價格每噸上漲了 50 美元。我們應該會在第二季度看到一些這樣的變化，但實際上，大部分變化將發生在後兩個季度，任何其他定價措施都將真正為我們2026年下半年的強勁成長奠定基礎。

Katja Jancic, BMO Capital Markets.

Katja Jancic，BMO資本市場。

Happy new year to everyone. Maybe staying on the more near-term, so you expect seasonally volumes to be impacted by seasonality. But can you talk a little bit about what that actually means? Because it seems that so far, we haven't really seen a material impact from seasonality?

祝大家新年快樂。或許應該著眼於近期，預計季節性因素會對銷售產生影響。但您能稍微談談這究竟代表什麼嗎？因為到目前為止，我們似乎還沒有真正看到季節性因素產生實質影響？

Yes. It's a great point. We did have stronger volumes than we honestly than we expected in the first quarter. But going into the second quarter, we are expecting kind of typical seasonality. And remember, in the second quarter, we've got the winter conditions, construction slows down.

是的。這是一個很好的觀點。第一季我們的銷量確實比我們預期的要好。但進入第二季度，我們預計會出現典型的季節性波動。記住，第二季是冬季，施工進度會放緩。

And typically, there's been a going Q1 to Q2, there's a 5% to 10% decline. And we'd expect to be in that range. But I will acknowledge that the volumes have been stronger heretofore.

通常情況下，第一季到第二季會出現 5% 到 10% 的下降。我們預計會在這個範圍內。但我必須承認，先前的交易量一直更高。

And then maybe on the West Virginia mill, can you update us what the plan -- the ramp-up plan there is?

那麼，關於西維吉尼亞州的工廠，您能否向我們介紹那裡的計畫——也就是產能提升計畫？

Yes. We're super excited about that. Were you start one of these projects, and it seems like a long way off and now kind of were within six months of the start-up. So we've actually started some of the cold commissioning already. The hot commissioning, which is the official start-up, as Paul noted, likely to begin or will begin in June of this year.

是的。我們對此感到非常興奮。當你啟動這些專案之一時，感覺好像還有很長一段時間，而現在距離啟動只剩下不到六個月的時間了。所以，我們其實已經開始了一些冷調試工作。正如保羅所指出的，正式啟動的熱調試很可能或將會在今年六月開始。

And we feel really good about it. And just to comment on West Virginia, given the market conditions, we couldn't be bringing that on at a better time. But the other thing, I think, that really bears note is the fact that we are bringing this project in on budget. And I have to say hats off to the whole West Virginia team for the incredible capital discipline that they've shown in this project.

我們對此感到非常滿意。至於西維吉尼亞州，就目前的市場狀況而言，我們現在推出這個項目再適合不過了。但我認為，真正值得注意的另一點是，我們是在預算範圍內完成這個專案的。我必須向整個西維吉尼亞團隊致敬，他們在這個計畫中展現了令人難以置信的資金管理能力。

These are big dollar expenditures. You know, we're spending over $600 million on this project. And there's a lot of examples of projects that are kind of over budget. And thanks to the discipline that everyone has shown, we've managed to bring it in. And ultimately, that helps us from an ROIC perspective, which you know is a critical objective for us to improve.

這些都是大筆支出。你知道嗎，我們在這個專案上投入了超過 6 億美元。有很多項目都存在預算超支的情況。多虧了大家的自律，我們得以把它帶回來。最終，從投資報酬率的角度來看，這對我們有幫助，您也知道，這是我們亟需改進的關鍵目標。

Got you. The only thing I would add to Peter's comments is just recall from a start-up perspective, this is a rebar only mill, different from Arizona 2. And so typically, based on our other rebar only mills and the fact that this is not near the degree of new technology being introduced as with AZ 2. We would expect to ramp the operation up over the following 12 months once we meet that hot commissioning start-up.

抓到你了。我唯一想補充的是，從創業的角度來看，這是一家只生產鋼筋的工廠，與 Arizona 2 不同。因此，通常情況下，根據我們其他僅生產鋼筋的工廠以及 AZ 2 所引入的新技術程度遠不及此。我們預計，一旦滿足了熱啟動調試的要求，將在接下來的 12 個月內逐步擴大營運規模。

Tristan Gresser, BNP Paribas.

Tristan Gresser，法國巴黎銀行。

Yes. The first one is on the old division. If you can talk a little bit about the outlook for fiscal Q2. Also more specifically, what kind of seasonality usually do you see on the precast business? Is it fair to assume a normalized EBITDA quarterly run rate for precast and had a bit of -- I mean, because Tensar has been pretty strong as well. So I would assume maybe a bit stronger on that division, but yes, I would love to have your thoughts on that.

是的。第一個是在舊部門。能否談談第二財季的展望？更具體地說，預製件行業通常會呈現什麼樣的季節性？假設預製件的季度 EBITDA 正常化運作率為 - 嗎？我的意思是，因為 Tensar 的表現也相當強大。所以我認為在這個劃分上可能會更強一些，不過，我很想聽聽你的看法。

Yes. So thank you for the question, Tristan. So EBG, typically, there is -- as we've said before, there is absolutely seasonality in that business. As we noted in the prepared remarks, a substantial portion of that, most -- the lion's share of that is going into construction markets. So seasonality is definitely a factor in our Q2 is the weakest period.

是的。謝謝你的提問，特里斯坦。所以，EBG 通常來說——正如我們之前所說——這個行業絕對存在季節性。正如我們在準備好的演講稿中所提到的，其中很大一部分，或者說絕大部分，都流向了建築市場。因此，季節性因素無疑是導致我們第二季業績最弱的原因之一。

And I should note that Tensar in particular, with ground stabilization is kind of the most seasonal as we look at that business from year-to-year. So I think you can expect normal Q2 seasonality in that. Precast, so in our precast business, we think that will largely follow the seasonality that we have in our business overall.

我應該指出，特別是 Tensar 的地面穩定技術，其季節性影響最為顯著，因為我們每年都會觀察這項業務。所以我認為第二季會出現正常的季節性波動。預製件業務方面，我們認為其季節性變化將與我們整體業務的季節性變化基本一致。

And what I mean by that is our steel business overall. Typically, you've got -- in the winter months, you've got a reduction in the amount of activity that you see, and we expect that to be the case, too. So this is maybe not part of your question, but I'll go to it directly to say we expect in the second quarter, the precast business to contribute about $30 million of EBITDA, roughly speaking, which will seem lighter, and that goes entirely to seasonality.

我的意思是，這指的是我們整個鋼鐵事業。通常情況下，在冬季，活動量會減少，我們預計今年也會如此。這可能與您的問題無關，但我還是直接說一下：我們預計第二季預製件業務將貢獻約 3000 萬美元的 EBITDA，粗略估計，這看起來會比較低，但這完全是季節性因素造成的。

And as Paul noted in his comments, the backlogs that we're seeing are very strong. They're stronger than last year. And so we feel very good about the prospects for that business going into our ownership in '26.

正如保羅在評論中指出的那樣，我們看到的積壓情況非常嚴重。他們比去年更強了。因此，我們對該企業在 2026 年歸我們所有後的前景感到非常樂觀。

All right. No, that's very clear. And going back to your prepared remarks on scrap sorting, how much of a benefit it's been? And can you give us some numbers in what you've been doing? And how has it changed today versus what you used to do in the past in terms of using less scrap and varying the quality of the scrap? Any color there would also be great.

好的。不，這一點很清楚。回到您之前關於廢料分類的發言，它帶來了多大的好處？您能否提供一些關於您所做工作的具體數據？與過去相比，如今在減少廢料使用和改變廢料品質方面發生了哪些變化？任何顏色都可以。

Yes. We -- I mean, we -- I'll start and then Paul can jump in with any additional comments. But I guess what I'd start by first saying is that in the past, we talked about the scrap optimization being, I think it was a $5 million to $10 million opportunity. And that has grown substantially. And I think the key point is that we started out in a couple of mills and now we're pushing it to other mills. So we're getting the benefit across our broader footprint.

是的。我們──我是說，我們──我先開始，然後保羅可以補充任何意見。但我首先要說的是，過去我們討論過廢料優化，我認為這是一個價值 500 萬到 1000 萬美元的機會。而且這一數字已經大幅成長。我認為關鍵在於，我們最初只在幾家工廠開展這項業務，現在我們正在將其推廣到其他工廠。因此，我們在更廣泛的範圍內都受益了。

And there are two points, as you said. One is in the quality of the scrap. We've done a tremendous amount of work in the quality of the scrap and we've identified places where, for example, we're using a lot more shred than we need to use. So we can cut back on the shred and that obviously kind of reduces scrap costs and so forth.

正如你所說，有兩點。一是廢料的品質。我們在提高廢料品質方面做了大量工作，並且已經發現一些地方，例如，我們使用的碎料比實際需要的要多得多。這樣我們就可以減少碎屑的使用，這顯然可以降低廢料成本等等。

We've also done a tremendous amount of work on yield. And that has helped us a lot in terms of obviously using less scrap to produce the tonnes that -- and sell the tonnes that we want to produce and sell. Paul, anything?

我們在提高產量方面也做了大量工作。這顯然對我們幫助很大，讓我們能夠用更少的廢料生產出我們想要生產和銷售的噸數產品。保羅，有什麼事嗎？

The only thing I would add, Tristan, is, as we've noted, what we achieved last year was approximately $50 million from TAG. And I would say those two initiatives, just given the dollars involved that Peter outlined, probably we're near half of the realization that we had last year.

特里斯坦，我唯一要補充的是，正如我們所指出的，我們去年從TAG獲得了大約5000萬美元的收入。就彼得概述的這兩項舉措所涉及的資金而言，我認為我們可能只實現了去年一半左右的目標。

And as Peter said, those were piloting the initiatives in a few locations and growing throughout both '25 and '26 and incremental number of mills to get it across the entire platform. And so we are very excited about the opportunity of those initiatives to continue to contribute well to our business.

正如彼得所說，這些舉措在幾個地方進行了試點，並在 2025 年和 2026 年不斷發展壯大，逐步增加工廠數量，最終覆蓋整個平台。因此，我們非常高興這些措施能夠繼續為我們的業務做出良好貢獻。

One thing that's maybe worthy of an additional comment vis-a-vis TAG is, and this goes for a lot of our TAG initiatives. What we found is that on something like scrap optimization, it started out in one mill. And then you start to see these real benefits in the mill. And of course, every mill manager wants to run their mills as well as they possibly can. So there's been this kind of compounding effect as more of the mills take it on and bring it into full bloom.

關於 TAG，或許值得補充說明一點，這也適用於我們許多的 TAG 計畫。我們發現，像廢料優化這樣的事情，最初都是從工廠開始的。然後你就會開始在工廠裡看到這些實際的好處。當然，每個工廠經理都希望盡可能地把工廠經營好。因此，隨著越來越多的工廠採用這種技術並將其全面發展，就產生了這種疊加效應。

So -- and that's, I think, a characteristic of the TAG program in general. And one of the things that we're super excited about. We see new initiatives coming in and sizable new initiatives coming in. And we got to build the charters and plans around these different initiatives, but you can see how this can be really a game changer.

所以——我認為這是 TAG 專案的一般特點。而其中一件讓我們感到非常興奮的事情就是…我們看到一些新的舉措正在推出，而且其中一些規模相當大。我們需要圍繞這些不同的舉措制定章程和計劃，但你可以看出這真的可以改變遊戲規則。

And as we've talked about in the past, again, the goal is long-term sustainable margin improvement over what we would be otherwise, right? So if X was our historical margin, we want to be at X plus Y. And we're working internally on some tools to help you all define that. But we believe that there is through TAG the opportunity to make our business durably better. And I think that will be a really important contributor to value.

正如我們過去討論過的，我們的目標是實現長期可持續的利潤率提升，高於我們原本的水平，對吧？所以，如果 X 是我們的歷史利潤率，我們希望達到 X 加 Y。我們內部正在開發一些工具，以幫助大家更好地定義這一點。但我們相信，透過 TAG，我們有機會讓我們的業務持續變得更好。我認為這將對價值產生非常重要的影響。

Alex Hacking, Citi.

Alex Hacking，花旗銀行。

Happy new year, everyone. I guess, first question, you mentioned increased commercial selectivity in rebar fab and part of that was about reducing risk. Has counterparty risk been rising? And is there a reason why?

祝大家新年快樂。我想，第一個問題，您提到了鋼筋製造中商業選擇性的提高，其中一部分原因是為了降低風險。交易對手風險是否一直在上升？原因何在？

Why reduce -- let me just make sure I understand your question, why we're addressing that point?

為什麼要減少——讓我確認一下我是否理解了你的問題，我們為什麼要討論這一點？

Sorry, the question was has counterparty risk been rising and why is counter party risk been rising if it has been rising?

抱歉，我的問題是交易對手風險是否一直在上升，如果一直在上升，為什麼交易對手風險會上升？

Yes, I wouldn't say it's been rising. I would say this is a risk that we have taken historically that we are looking to reduce in the portfolio. And where it manifests itself is, Alex, is in our fabrication business and some of the contracts will be asked to do longer-term jobs. And a lot of times, those longer-term jobs can be at a fixed price. And of course, our raw material inputs can change.

是的，我不會說它一直在上漲。我認為這是我們過去一直承擔的風險，而我們正在努力降低投資組合中的風險。具體來說，Alex 在我們公司的製造部門工作，有些合約需要長期執行。很多時候，這些長期工作的價格是固定的。當然，我們的原料投入也會改變。

So you can get out two years or three years, and there have been some instances with this company in the past, and I'm sure others where you get -- you can get upside down on a project. And what we're trying to do is to reduce that risk by making sure either through proper escalators, proper indexing that we are being compensated for that risk so that, again, it goes back to the ROIC point that in any environment, we are generating a good return on the capital that we put in, which is substantial in a business like this.

所以你可以退出兩年或三年，而且這家公司過去也發生過一些這樣的情況，我相信其他公司也發生過，你可能會在一個專案上虧損。我們正在努力降低這種風險，透過適當的遞增機制、適當的指數化來確保我們能夠獲得相應的風險補償，這樣，再次回到投資回報率（ROIC）這一點，即在任何環境下，我們都能從投入的資本中獲得良好的回報，而這對於像這樣的業務來說是相當可觀的。

And I just to reiterate and make sure it's clear, counterparty risk, we have historically never had an experience of significant counterparty risk and nor do we see that really going forward with the structure of how the construction contracts are written. This is all about reducing the risk, as Peter said, around margin preservation and ensuring we're getting a good margin on the job.

我再次重申，確保大家明白，交易對手風險，我們歷史上從未遇到過重大的交易對手風險，而且根據建築合約的編寫結構，我們也不認為未來會出現這種情況。正如彼得所說，這一切都是為了降低風險，保住利潤空間，確保我們能從工作中獲得良好的利潤。

I get it. I guess I misinterpreted. And then on our, as you mentioned, the importers have been getting ahead of CBAM. How -- I mean do you have any idea like how long it could -- how many quarters it could take for prices in Europe to stop benefiting from CBAM?

我得到它。我猜是我誤會了。而且，正如您所提到的，進口商已經搶在CBAM前面了。我的意思是，您有沒有想過，歐洲的物價需要多久才能不再受益於CBAM？大概需要多少季度？

Yes. So again, it took effect January 1. And our read on the situation is for certain importers, the average impact on them could be .EUR50 a tonne. And for many of them, it could be higher initially because they have to be qualified to get to the .EUR50 a tonne. And before they're qualified, there's a default rate that's even higher.

是的。所以，這項規定再次於1月1日生效。我們對情勢的判斷是，對於某些進口商而言，平均受到的影響可能是每噸 50 歐元。而且對他們中的許多人來說，最初的收入可能會更高，因為他們必須具備相應的資格才能獲得這份工作。每噸 50 歐元。而在他們獲得資格之前，違約率甚至更高。

So this is going to play out over the course of calendar 2026. I think it's fair to say you've probably noted in the import numbers that there was a large -- there was a kind of a large pre-buyer of incremental tonnes coming into Europe that probably -- before CBAM, excuse me, that will probably delay the impact of the CBAM credit that we should be getting.

所以這件事將在2026年全年逐步發生。我認為可以公平地說，您可能已經從進口數據中註意到，有大量的——可以說是大量的預購者，大量增量噸位的貨物進入歐洲，這可能——在CBAM之前，抱歉，這可能會延遲我們應該獲得的CBAM信貸的影響。

But I do believe in the -- by the time we get to the -- we'll get a little bit of it in our second quarter and in our third and fourth quarters, we should see a substantial portion. And certainly, over the course of the year, the calendar year, it should roll in. The other thing to note is that in addition to the CBAM there is also this safeguard mechanism that was renegotiated by the EU.

但我相信，到那時——我們會在第二季度獲得一些成果，在第三和第四季度，我們應該會看到相當一部分成果。當然，在這一年，也就是整個自然年裡，它應該會陸續到來。另一點要注意的是，除了 CBAM 之外，還有歐盟重新談判制定的這項保障機制。

And the safeguard mechanism, remember, that's effectively a quota system. And in the revised safeguards, the quotas are reduced by 50% and the tariffs for being above the quotas are increased by 50%. That should come into effect in the middle of the year, and that should be only additive to the situation in Europe.

記住，保障機制其實是一種配額制度。在修訂後的保障措施中，配額減少了 50%，超過配額的關稅提高了 50%。這項措施應該會在年中生效，而且只會對歐洲的局勢起到錦上添花的作用。

And just to frame it a little bit for you, if you think about our production capability in Poland and you think about the $45 million of CO2 credits we get, that's about a ton above our breakeven operational performance today.

為了讓你們更能理解，想想我們在波蘭的生產能力，再想想我們獲得的 4,500 萬美元二氧化碳排放額度，這比我們目前的損益兩平營運績效高出約一噸。

And then add .EUR50 to that, all of a sudden, you start to get to numbers where we are running at levels at or above our through-the-cycle performance. So again, this is not something that's going to happen overnight. But in addition to all the other catalysts in Poland, I think it's reason for some real optimism.

然後添加從 0.50 歐元到那個水平，突然之間，我們的股價就開始達到或超過我們整個週期的平均水平。所以再次強調，這不是一朝一夕就能實現的事。但除了波蘭的其他所有催化因素之外，我認為這確實是一個令人樂觀的理由。

Timna Tanners, Wells Fargo.

蒂姆娜·坦納斯，富國銀行。

I wanted to tailor my questions to trade. So you talked about the CBAM implications helping pricing. But I think another aspect of CBAM is that it helps domestic producers in Europe perhaps take some market share. So curious about what volume impact you might see there? And then I have a follow-up on the US trade side.

我想把我的問題聚焦在貿易方面。所以你談到了 CBAM 對定價的影響。但我認為CBAM的另一個面向是，它或許可以幫助歐洲的國內生產商獲得一些市場份額。我很想知道這可能會對交易量產生什麼影響？接下來，我還要跟進一下美國貿易方面的狀況。

I think that it's a fair point that you're making, and I think there are some volume opportunities. We have been running at, I would say, a relatively good rate of production recently. So I think there is some volume opportunity for us, but I wouldn't say it's huge at this point.

我認為你提出的觀點很有道理，而且我認為這裡存在一些銷售成長的機會。我認為，我們最近的生產速度一直保持得相當不錯。所以我認為我們有一定的銷售成長機會，但目前來看，這個機會還不大。

Okay. Great. Second question. On the US side, I know you mentioned, of course, Algeria, Bulgaria, Egypt, Vietnam. But if you look at the latest trade data, actually imports are coming again from Turkey and from what I think Portugal and Spain.

好的。偉大的。第二個問題。我知道你當然提到了美國方面的阿爾及利亞、保加利亞、埃及和越南。但如果你查看最新的貿易數據，實際上進口又來自土耳其，我認為還有葡萄牙和西班牙。

So just any thoughts on the Turkish side and also maybe Portugal and Spain keep more production domestic and that falls off. But it does seem like the other countries, the four you mentioned, are already shrunk in terms of importance, probably because of the filing of the case even before any decision.

所以，大家對土耳其方面有什麼看法？還有，葡萄牙和西班牙可能也會更多地進行國內生產，導致國內生產減少。但你提到的四個國家的重要性似乎已經下降了，這可能是因為在做任何決定之前就提起了訴訟。

Yes. No, it's a great point. We've definitely seen some pullback in the imports from those countries. And I'll just remind you and others that those countries in 2005, the trade case countries imported about 500,000 tons of steel into the US. So if there was an outcome that's anything like what we have on the Algeria case on a preliminary ruling, I think that's going to be really helpful in terms of keeping those imports out of the country.

是的。沒錯，你說得很有道理。我們已經明顯看到來自這些國家的進口減少。我還要提醒各位，在 2005 年，這些貿易案件涉及的國家向美國進口了約 50 萬噸鋼鐵。因此，如果最終結果與阿爾及利亞案的初步裁決類似，我認為這對於阻止這些進口商品進入該國將非常有幫助。

And remember, on those trade cases, these are five-year terms before the sunset review. So it's quite a durable point. I think to your question on Turkey, we have noticed that Turkey has increased their shipments. We'll have to watch that.

請記住，在這些貿易案件中，這些條款的有效期為五年，之後將進行日落審查。所以這是一個相當站得住腳的觀點。關於您提出的土耳其問題，我們注意到土耳其的貨運量增加。我們得密切注意這件事。

Again, in the context of overall imports today, we're not overly concerned about that. But again, we'll be watching that carefully to see -- to make sure that to make sure that what they're importing, they're importing of a fair trader.

再說一遍，就目前整體進口情況而言，我們並不太擔心這一點。但是，我們會密切關注，確保他們進口的商品來自公平貿易商。

Bill Peterson, JPMorgan.

比爾彼得森，摩根大通。

Yes. Thanks, everyone. Happy New Year, and thanks for all the color on the call thus far. I wanted to ask about AI, how the ramp has progressed -- how the ramp progressed during the prior quarter and what utilization you're running at? And then how should we think about operations and utilization ahead?

是的。謝謝大家。新年快樂，感謝大家迄今在電話會議上的精彩發言。我想問一下人工智慧方面的問題，例如產能爬坡進展如何——上一季的爬坡進展如何，目前的使用率是多少？那麼，我們該如何考慮未來的營運和利用呢？

Yes. AZ 2, we've said in the past that this has been a challenging one, and my comments will cover that a little bit. But I think it's -- the important point is we reached profitability on EBITDA in the fourth quarter, and we were nicely profitable in the first quarter two, and we expect to be nicely profitable throughout the year there.

是的。AZ 2，我們之前說過，這是一個具有挑戰性的州，我的評論也會稍微談到這一點。但我認為——重點是我們在第四季度實現了 EBITDA 盈利，第一季和第二季盈利狀況良好，我們預計全年都能保持良好的盈利狀況。

In terms of utilization rates, we exited last year at about 60%. We expect to demonstrate full run rate during our fiscal year 2026. But we don't expect to be at full run rate in 2026. And that is because we still have a number of merchant specs that we've got to perfect, and that's going to take some time, and it will force us to run at kind of suboptimal utilization.

就利用率而言，我們去年結束時約為 60%。我們預計在 2026 財年實現全面營運。但我們預計到 2026 年將無法達到滿載運轉。這是因為我們還有許多商家規範需要完善，這需要一些時間，這將迫使我們以某種次優的使用率運作。

But we feel good about where we are. There's still some challenges there to be clear. But the team has done an incredible job. And this is where I think the CMC team really shines because we have drawn people and expertise from all across our network to help us with this operation. And remember, the challenge is this isn't your grandfather's steel mill, so to speak, right? This is a very innovative steel mill. It will be a workhorse in our portfolio, but there's a lot of new technology to make work.

但我們對現狀感到滿意。需要明確的是，那裡仍然存在一些挑戰。但團隊的工作做得非常好。我認為CMC團隊真正脫穎而出的地方就在於此，因為我們從整個網路中抽調了人員和專業知識來幫助我們完成這項行動。記住，挑戰在於，這不是你祖父那一代的鋼鐵廠，對吧？這是一家非常創新的鋼鐵廠。它將成為我們產品組合中的主力軍，但要讓它發揮作用，還有很多新技術需要應用。

And the other challenge that we've had there, Bill, is just with the kind of the people not from the vantage point of the people are good, the people are great, but it takes some training to learn this. And so we've done a lot of work around training, and I think that's enhancing our reliability substantially, and it will continue to do so as we go through the year. So hopefully, that helps you.

比爾，我們遇到的另一個挑戰是，從某個角度來看，這些人很好，都很棒，但要學會這一點需要一些訓練。因此，我們在培訓方面做了很多工作，我認為這大大提高了我們的可靠性，而且隨著我們今年的工作進展，這種可靠性還會繼續提高。希望這對你有幫助。

Yes, it does. And then my second question, can you speak a bit more to the pricing profile of your downstream backlog and whether new order entry continues to be priced higher than what's in the backlog? And I guess, to what extent is the commercial discipline ag initiatives you spoke of earlier playing a role?

是的，確實如此。我的第二個問題是，您能否更詳細地談談下游積壓訂單的定價情況，以及新訂單的定價是否仍然高於積壓訂單中的訂單？那麼，您之前提到的商業紀律農業措施在多大程度上發揮了作用呢？

Yes, absolutely. So we do continue to see prices improve in our downstream. So we're -- we have been really for the last couple of quarters, putting new orders into the backlog at higher prices. So that continues, and we feel good about that progression. And actually kind of starting out the year, we've had a couple of new orders that have come in, in a really nice place.

是的，絕對的。因此，我們看到下游產品的價格持續改善。所以，在過去的幾個季度裡，我們一直在以更高的價格將新訂單放入積壓訂單中。所以這種情況仍在繼續，我們對這項進展感到滿意。事實上，今年年初，我們接到了幾筆新訂單，地點都非常好。

So I think we feel good about that. And again, demand has -- in that business remains very solid. And so there's a lot of project activity and a lot on the drawing board. So we're optimistic about where things go there.

所以我覺得我們對此感到很滿意。而且，該產業的需求依然非常強勁。因此，目前有許多項目正在進行中，也有很多計劃正在籌備中。所以我們對那裡的發展前景持樂觀態度。

Carlos De Alba, Morgan Stanley.

卡洛斯·德阿爾巴，摩根士丹利。

Happy new year, everyone. So maybe just add in to the discussion on the new commercial approach in the fabrication business. How much of your business is already in this indexed format where you are able to maybe better protect your margins?

祝大家新年快樂。所以，或許可以把它加入到關於製造業新商業模式的討論中。您的業務中有多少已經採用這種索引格式，從而能夠更好地保護您的利潤率？

And how do you see that evolving in the coming quarters is still not a big percentage of the overall business?

您認為在接下來的幾個季度裡，這種情況會如何發展？目前來看，它在整體業務中所佔的比例仍然不大。

Yes. It's not a big percentage today. and the openness to it among the customers can vary, right? So there are some DOTs, for example, that are more inclined to it than others. So we're working from a relatively low base on that, but we do see the opportunity to increase it and to open the dialogue with customers on indexation.

是的。如今這個比例並不高，而且顧客對此的接受程度也可能有所不同，對吧？例如，有些 DOT 比其他 DOT 更容易發生這種情況。所以，我們目前的基礎比較低，但我們確實看到了提高基礎的機會，並有機會與客戶就索引問題展開對話。

And indexation is just one of the strategies, right? The other obvious strategy there is just proper escalation. And when you talk about commercial excellence, one of the things that we've been, I think, showing -- the team has done an amazing job on being more disciplined about this is in making sure that, number one, we have proper escalators in place. And then number two, that we're actually enforcing those escalators as we go through kind of go through the period.

指數化只是其中一種策略，對吧？另一個顯而易見的策略就是採取適當的升級措施。談到商業卓越性，我認為我們一直在展現的一點是——團隊在這方面做得非常出色，更加自律，確保首先我們擁有適當的晉升機制。第二點是，我們實際上正在執行這些扶梯，就像我們經歷這段時期一樣。

So this is a journey. But the way we think about it internally is that over time, it doesn't make sense for companies like CMC to take this type of risk in the way that we've been taking it. And over time, we will work towards reducing that. And that will again contribute to higher margins through the cycle, higher returns, more consistent returns, all the things that we're pointing towards.

所以這是一段旅程。但我們內部認為，從長遠來看，像 CMC 這樣的公司繼續以我們一直以來的方式承擔這種風險是沒有意義的。隨著時間的推移，我們將努力減少這種情況。這將再次促進週期內更高的利潤率、更高的回報、更穩定的回報，以及我們所期望的一切。

And Carlos, I'd just add what we've spoken of is really around protecting the risk from a duration perspective. There's also recognizing the value that CMC brings from a reliability perspective. And I think that is also critical in terms of our capabilities and ensuring we get value for the service we bring.

卡洛斯，我還要補充一點，我們剛才討論的其實是從持續時間的角度來保護風險。此外，也要認識到 CMC 從可靠性角度帶來的價值。我認為這對我們的能力以及確保我們提供的服務獲得價值也至關重要。

There's a tremendous amount of risk to a construction project that comes with all the subcontractors. Having a reliable partner as CMC is drives a higher value recognition. And we got to make sure we capture that.

建築工程涉及眾多分包商，存在著巨大的風險。擁有可靠的CMC合作夥伴能夠提升價值認可。我們必須確保把這一點記錄下來。

That makes sense. And then what is the EBITDA margin that your $160 million to $170 million EBITDA guidance for CSG represent? And would you say that this guidance -- this EBITDA guidance is somewhat conservative given that you're just starting to take over those assets?

這很有道理。那麼，您給出的 CSG 1.6 億美元至 1.7 億美元的 EBITDA 預期對應的 EBITDA 利潤率是多少？鑑於你們才剛開始接管這些資產，你們認為這份 EBITDA 預期是否有些保守？

Yes. I mean, Paul, you can comment on the margin, but the -- I would say, look, it's early days, right? And we're doing a lot of work on integration. As I said at the very beginning, we feel kind of good about what we've seen, but there's some adjustment that has to happen as you bring a new company into our company.

是的。我的意思是，保羅，你可以對細節發表評論，但——我想說，現在還為時過早，對吧？我們正在進行大量整合工作。正如我一開始所說，我們對目前的情況感到比較滿意，但是當一家新公司加入我們公司時，肯定需要進行一些調整。

And so maybe we're being a little bit conservative, but I think it's appropriate to be cautious. And again, our goal with all of you and with all of our investors is to be in a situation where we are under promising and over delivering. And that's what we're shooting to do here.

所以，我們或許有點保守，但我認為謹慎是適當的。再次重申，我們對各位以及所有投資人的目標是，做到少承諾，多兌現。這就是我們在這裡努力的目標。

And as far as the margins are concerned, it will be made up of the two buckets. Our existing business typically is in the high teens, so call that 18% to 20% margin. We would expect that to remain there. And the precast business combination of the two entities to be in the 30% to 35% range from a margin perspective. So no change. Obviously, it's just a different mix going forward than what we've had historically.

至於利潤率，它將由這兩個部分組成。我們現有的業務利潤率通常在 10% 到 20% 之間，所以姑且稱之為 18% 到 20% 的利潤率吧。我們預計這種情況會一直持續下去。從利潤率的角度來看，兩家實體的預製構件業務合併後的利潤率將在 30% 到 35% 之間。所以沒有變化。顯然，未來的組合將與我們過去所擁有的組合有所不同。

Great. Yes, I missed the spoke a period the $165 million to $175 million EBITDA guidance is not for CSG. It's not the precast.

偉大的。是的，我錯過了那段時間，1.65 億美元至 1.75 億美元的 EBITDA 指引不適用於 CSG。不是預製件。

Mike Harris, Goldman Sachs.

麥克哈里斯，高盛集團。

Just one quick question on my part. When I look at the TAG program, I think last quarter, the expectation for the expected run rate annualized EBITDA benefit at the end of '26 was greater than 150. And now you're saying 150. So does that change just a function of timing? Or did you adjust your initiative list or just being conservative.

我還有一個問題。當我審視 TAG 專案時，我認為上個季度，預計到 2026 年底的預期年化 EBITDA 收益將超過 150。現在你說的是 150。那麼，這種變化是否僅僅取決於時間？或者，你們調整了倡議清單，還是只是採取了保守的做法？

No, I think -- I don't think it was greater than 150. I think we have moved towards 150 as we've gotten more clarity on the opportunities in TAG. And by the way, as we've said in many other forums, this is just the beginning, right? So it's not like 150 is the end. As we get more fidelity around this that we will share more.

不，我認為——我不認為它大於 150。我認為，隨著我們對 TAG 的機會有了更清晰的認識，我們已經朝著 150 的目標邁進了一步。順便說一句，正如我們在其他許多論壇上所說，這只是個開始，對吧？所以150並不是終點。隨著我們對這方面的了解越來越深入，我們會分享更多。

What we're really doing in TAG is we're trying to build durable margin improvement. So rather than throw lots of programs in that we haven't fully vetted or we haven't done the work to make sure that they deliver and they deliver on a sustainable way we're proceeding a little bit more slowly, but I think the outcome will be something that's more lasting.

我們在TAG所做的，實際上是努力實現可持續的利潤率提升。因此，與其貿然推出許多我們尚未充分審查或尚未做好充分準備以確保其有效且可持續地發揮作用的項目，我們不如放慢速度，但我認為最終的結果會更加持久。

Phil Gibbs, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Phil Gibbs，KeyBanc Capital Markets。

Sorry if this question was asked earlier, but what is the typical seasonality of the North American business from a volume standpoint relative to Q1?

如果之前有人問過這個問題，我先道個歉。但從銷售角度來看，北美業務相對於第一季的典型季節性是怎麼樣的？

Typically, Phil, it's in the 5% to 10% range that we would expect. Obviously, that is very much weather dependent. And we've seen some inclement weather in the West Coast, certainly Nationally, it's been pretty good so far, but we were only in the early innings of the winter. So typical is 5% to 10%, and that's what we're guiding towards.

菲爾，通常情況下，這個比例在我們預期的 5% 到 10% 之間。顯然，這很大程度上取決於天氣。西海岸出現了一些惡劣天氣，當然，全國範圍內目前情況還不錯，但我們才剛剛進入冬季初期。所以通常的比例是 5% 到 10%，這也是我們努力的方向。

And in terms of integrating just baseline depreciation, I'm assuming you're going to have some write-ups associated with the precast deals. I think your baseline for D&A was like $70 million or $75 million in Q1. So what should we be anticipating for Q2?

至於整合基準折舊，我假設你們會有一些與預製件交易相關的書面報告。我認為你們第一季的折舊和攤提基準值大概是 7,000 萬美元或 7,500 萬美元。那麼，我們對第二季應該抱持什麼樣的預期呢？

Yes, it's a great question, Phil. And as we have owned these businesses just for a short period of time and the complexity of some of the purchase accounting, we're not in a place from a D&A perspective, well, really an amortization perspective to provide guidance. There's a lot of intangibles associated with the businesses, and they all have different valuation approaches and durations.

是的，菲爾，這是一個很好的問題。由於我們擁有這些企業的時間很短，而且一些收購會計處理也比較複雜，因此從折舊和攤銷的角度來看，我們目前還無法提供指導，或者說，從攤銷的角度來看，我們無法提供指導。這些企業有許多無形資產，它們的估值方法和期限各不相同。

And so what we know is cash flow. The cash flow of these businesses will be certainly very attractive, as we outlined at the acquisition. We were able to achieve the financing at very attractive rates in November and excited about the conclusion of the financing. But as far as the accounting, we are not yet in a position to really provide much outline in terms of what the amortization will be.

所以，我們所了解的是現金流。正如我們在收購時所概述的那樣，這些企業的現金流肯定會非常有吸引力。我們在11月以非常優惠的利率獲得了融資，並對融資的完成感到非常興奮。但就會計處理而言，我們目前還無法就攤銷的具體情況提供太多概述。

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

目前看來，似乎沒有其他問題了。馬特先生，現在我把電話交還給您。

Thank you, Nick. At CMC, we remain confident that our best days are ahead the combination of structural demand trends, operational and commercial excellence initiatives to strengthen our through-the-cycle performance and value-accretive growth opportunities create an exciting future for our company. Thank you for joining us on today's conference call. We look forward to speaking with many of you during our investor calls in the coming days and weeks. Thank you.

謝謝你，尼克。在 CMC，我們仍然堅信我們最好的日子還在後頭——結構性需求趨勢、營運和商業卓越舉措相結合，將加強我們貫穿整個週期的業績，以及增值成長機會，為我們公司創造了令人興奮的未來。感謝您參加今天的電話會議。我們期待在接下來的幾天和幾週內，在投資者電話會議上與各位交流。謝謝。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議已經結束。感謝各位參加今天的報告會。您現在可以斷開連線了。