Compass Minerals International Inc (CMP) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. My name is Abby, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Compass Minerals Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Today's conference is being recorded (Operator Instructions) And I will now turn the conference over to Brent Collins, Vice President of Investor Relations. Mr. Collins, you may begin.

女士們、先生們，早安。我叫艾比，今天我將擔任你們的會議操作員。此時此刻，我歡迎大家參加 Compass Minerals 第四季和 2023 財年財報電話會議。今天的會議正在錄製（操作員說明），我現在將會議交給投資者關係副總裁布倫特柯林斯 (Brent Collins)。柯林斯先生，您可以開始了。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and welcome to the Compass Minerals Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Today, we will discuss our recent results as well as our outlook for 2024. We'll begin with prepared remarks from our President and CEO, Kevin Crutchfield; and our CFO, Lorin Crenshaw. Joining in for the question-and-answer portion of the call will be Jamie Standen, our Chief Commercial Officer and Chris Yandell, our Head of Lithium. George Schuller, our Chief Operating Officer, is away today.

謝謝你，接線生。早安，歡迎參加 Compass Minerals 第四季和 2023 財年財報電話會議。今天，我們將討論我們最近的業績以及我們對 2024 年的展望。我們將首先由我們的總裁兼首席執行官 Kevin Crutchfield 準備好講話；以及我們的財務長洛林·克倫肖 (Lorin Crenshaw)。我們的首席商務官 Jamie Standen 和我們的鋰業務主管 Chris Yandell 將參加電話會議的問答部分。我們的營運長喬治舒勒 (George Schuller) 今天不在。

Before we get started, I will remind everyone that the remarks we make today reflect financial and operational outlook as of today's date, November 17, 2023. These outlooks entail assumptions and expectations that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially. A discussion of these risks can be found in our SEC filings located online at investors.compassminerals.com.

在開始之前，我要提醒大家，我們今天發表的言論反映了截至今天（2023 年11 月17 日）的財務和營運前景。這些前景包含假設和預期，其中涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致公司的實際結果有所不同重大。有關這些風險的討論可以在我們的 SEC 文件中找到，該文件位於 Investors.compassminerals.com 上。

Our remarks today also include certain non-GAAP financial measures. You can find reconciliations of these items in our earnings release or in our presentation, both of which are also available online. The results in our earnings release issued last night and presented during this call reflect only the continuing operations of the business, other than amounts pertaining to the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows or unless noted otherwise.

我們今天的言論也包括某些非公認會計準則財務指標。您可以在我們的收益發布或簡報中找到這些項目的調節表，兩者都可以在線上取得。我們昨晚發布並在本次電話會議期間公佈的收益報告中的結果僅反映了該業務的持續運營，而不包括與簡明合併現金流量表相關的金額或除非另有說明。

I'll now turn the call over to Kevin.

我現在將電話轉給凱文。

Thank you, Brent. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on our call today. Over the course of fiscal 2023, we advanced the ball on a number of important strategic fronts. Unfortunately, the positive strides we've made across several areas this year have been wholly overshadowed by sustained uncertainty surrounding our lithium project in Utah, which has weighed heavily on our share price. I'll come back to our strategic achievements in just a moment, but I first want to provide some commentary on our operations in Utah and on our lithium project specifically.

謝謝你，布倫特。大家早安，感謝您今天加入我們的電話會議。 2023 財年，我們在許多重要策略領域取得了進展。不幸的是，我們今年在多個領域取得的積極進展完全被猶他州鋰項目的持續不確定性所掩蓋，這對我們的股價造成了沉重壓力。我稍後會回到我們的策略成就，但我首先想對我們在猶他州的業務以及具體的鋰專案提供一些評論。

As a reminder, we've been operating in the state of Utah for more than half a century, currently providing approximately 370 local jobs at our Ogden facility. We've been an engaged corporate citizen in the community for decades. Our planned lithium project would build upon the successful sulfate of potash, sodium chloride and magnesium chloride businesses that currently operate on the lake and would not require any additional brine draw from the Great Salt Lake.

謹此提醒，我們在猶他州運營已超過半個世紀，目前我們的奧格登工廠為當地提供了約 370 個工作機會。幾十年來，我們一直是社區中積極參與的企業公民。我們計劃的鋰項目將建立在目前在湖上運營的成功的硫酸鉀、氯化鈉和氯化鎂業務的基礎上，不需要從大鹽湖抽取任何額外的鹽水。

The current process draws mineral-rich lake water or brine from the Great Salt Lake into a series of solar evaporation ponds, which the brine moves through over a 2- to 3-year evaporation cycle. As the water content of the brine evaporates and the mineral concentration increases, some of those minerals naturally precipitate out of the brine and are deposited on the pond floors. These deposits provide the minerals necessary for processing into SOP, sodium chloride and magnesium chloride. Those 3 products make up our core Ogden business today.

目前的製程將富含礦物質的湖水或大鹽湖的鹽水抽入一系列太陽能蒸發池，鹽水在其中經過 2 至 3 年的蒸發週期。隨著鹽水中的水分蒸發和礦物質濃度增加，其中一些礦物質自然從鹽水中沉澱並沉積在池塘底部。這些礦藏提供了加工成 SOP、氯化鈉和氯化鎂所需的礦物質。這 3 種產品構成了我們今天的奧格登核心業務。

Our lithium development would simply entail extracting a fourth mineral salt out of the brine that we're already processing. Our project would add over 100 incremental local high-paying jobs and drive substantial additional royalty and tax receipts to the local economy. In our view, that's a win-win situation, and we continue to patiently educate all relevant parties and decision-makers on the positive attributes of this project.

我們的鋰開發只需從我們已經處理的鹽水中提取第四種礦物鹽。我們的計畫將為當地增加 100 多個高薪就業崗位，並為當地經濟帶來大量額外的特許權使用費和稅收收入。我們認為，這是一個雙贏的局面，我們將繼續耐心地向所有相關方和決策者宣傳該專案的正面屬性。

Utah House Bill 513 was enacted to establish a regulatory framework for how lithium would be developed as well as introduce some updated rules on management of the Great Salt Lake. We're acutely aware of the recent concerns and sensitivities related to the Great Salt Lake, maintaining the health and sustainability of the lake is a shared goal for all stakeholders in the community. We are no different. And in fact, we've worked hard to be part of the solutions to maintaining and improving the health of the lake for the long term.

猶他州眾議院第 513 號法案的頒布旨在建立鋰開發的監管框架，並引入一些有關大鹽湖管理的最新規則。我們敏銳地意識到最近與大鹽湖有關的擔憂和敏感性，保持大鹽湖的健康和永續性是社區所有利益相關者的共同目標。我們沒有什麼不同。事實上，我們一直在努力成為長期維持和改善湖泊健康的解決方案的一部分。

Several weeks ago, we announced our intention to suspend indefinitely any further investment in our lithium project in Utah until we achieve regulatory clarity with the state. We did not make this decision lightly. A critical linchpin to making investments on the order of magnitude, we're considering here and have now paused, is regulatory certainty. Without such certainty it's essentially impossible to have confidence in the projected returns on invested capital over the next 30 years.

幾週前，我們宣布打算無限期暫停對猶他州鋰項目的任何進一步投資，直到我們與該州達成監管明確。我們並不是輕易做出這個決定的。我們在這裡考慮但現在暫停了，進行大規模投資的關鍵關鍵是監管的確定性。如果沒有這種確定性，基本上就不可能對未來 30 年的投資資本預期報酬充滿信心。

Therefore, to move forward prudently, we must have confidence that the regulatory environment will include a set of rules that are reasonable now and will be stable and predictable over the coming decades. The March passage of House Bill 513 and particularly the subsequent rule-making process, have introduced uncertainty around the regulatory environment we'll be operating in as well as the timing of how our development could proceed.

因此，為了審慎前行，我們必須相信監管環境將包括一套目前合理且在未來幾十年穩定且可預測的規則。 3 月眾議院第 513 號法案的通過，特別是隨後的規則制定過程，為我們將要運營的監管環境以及我們的開發進度帶來了不確定性。

Since the inception of House Bill 513, Compass Minerals has actively engaged with the state of Utah and a collaborative attempt to ensure the provisions of the legislation are implemented in a way that will not slow or halt the progress the company has made to date regarding its pursuit of developing a sustainable lithium salt resource to service the burgeoning North American advanced battery market.

自眾議院第 513 號法案出台以來，Compass Minerals 一直積極與猶他州合作，努力確保該立法條款的實施不會減緩或停止該公司迄今為止在其業務方面所取得的進展。追求開發可持續的鋰鹽資源，以服務蓬勃發展的北美先進電池市場。

Despite the active and ongoing best efforts by all parties, we concluded that it's in the best interest of our shareholders to suspend further investment in our lithium project beyond certain already committed items associated with the early stages of construction of the commercial scale DLE demonstration unit that we've talked about in the past.

儘管各方積極持續盡最大努力，但我們得出的結論是，除了與商業規模DLE 示範裝置建設早期階段相關的某些已承諾項目之外，暫停對我們的鋰項目的進一步投資符合我們股東的最佳利益。我們過去曾討論過。

I want to share some additional thoughts about how we're thinking about the project. First, to be perfectly clear, we'll not move forward with the project at any cost. We'll continue to refine our engineering estimates on Phase 1 and will incorporate the proposed financial terms from the state when we receive them, then we'll have a better view of the economics of the project. We'll only proceed if we're convinced that the long-term returns justify the investment.

我想分享一些關於我們如何考慮該項目的額外想法。首先，需要明確的是，我們不會不惜一切代價推進該專案。我們將繼續完善第一階段的工程估算，並在收到州政府提出的財務條款後將其納入其中，這樣我們就能更好地了解該項目的經濟效益。只有當我們確信長期回報證明投資合理時，我們才會繼續進行。

Second, if we do advanced lithium, we'll do so in a manner that is financially prudent. As projected capital for the lithium program has increased, questions about how we'll fund the program have taken on greater importance. Clearly, bringing a partner in at the asset level will help answer at least part of that question by reducing our share of the capital cost. We still have some work to do on this, but the one thing I want to stress today is that we're firmly committed to not using common equity to fund our share of any future lithium development. We believe there are numerous other viable sources of funds at considerably lower cost of capital and do not dilute the ownership of existing shareholders.

其次，如果我們生產先進的鋰，我們將以財務上審慎的方式進行。隨著鋰專案預計資本的增加，有關我們如何為該專案提供資金的問題變得更加重要。顯然，在資產層面引入合作夥伴將有助於透過減少我們的資本成本份額來至少回答部分問題。我們在這方面還有一些工作要做，但我今天想強調的一件事是，我們堅定地致力於不使用普通股來為我們未來任何鋰開發的份額提供資金。我們相信還有許多其他可行的資金來源，資本成本相當低，不會稀釋現有股東的所有權。

Third, whereas previously, we were on a path toward commencing operations in the fiscal 2025 time frame, we have to acknowledge that our time line today is different than when we started this project. I'm hopeful that we will be able to chart a path forward with the state of Utah that will allow this resource to be responsibly developed for the great benefit of all stakeholders, including the state in a timely manner.

第三，雖然之前我們計劃在 2025 財年的時間範圍內開始運營，但我們必須承認，我們今天的時間表與啟動該專案時的時間安排不同。我希望我們能夠與猶他州一起制定一條前進的道路，以便負責任地開發這一資源，以便及時為包括該州在內的所有利益相關者帶來巨大利益。

But we have to believe that we know the rules of the game and are standing on solid ground before we can credibly talk about timing again, and we aren't there yet. I'll comment now on the progress we made on our 2023 strategic objectives. Lorin will then review our financial performance for the year, and we'll discuss our outlook for 2024. We talked about it a lot this year, but restoration of the profitability of the salt business to historic levels was an important goal for the company in fiscal '23. Year-over-year, Full year adjusted EBITDA per ton for salt increased by approximately 40% to $20.38 compared to $14.59 last fiscal year. Salt's adjusted EBITDA margin percentage also increased over the same period, up to nearly 23% from 18% a year ago. This improvement was driven by better pricing, as we saw increases of 12% and 6% in price for highway deicing and C&I, respectively, year-over-year.

但我們必須相信，在我們能夠再次可信地談論時機之前，我們了解遊戲規則並且立場堅定，但我們還沒有做到這一點。我現在將評論我們在 2023 年策略目標方面取得的進展。然後Lorin將回顧我們今年的財務業績，我們將討論我們對2024年的展望。今年我們談論了很多，但將鹽業務的盈利能力恢復到歷史水平是公司2024年的一個重要目標。財務'23。與去年同期相比，每噸鹽的全年調整後 EBITDA 成長約 40%，達到 20.38 美元，而上一財年為 14.59 美元。 Salt的調整後EBITDA利潤率同期也有所成長，從一年前的18%上升至近23%。這一改善是由更好的定價推動的，高速公路除冰和工商業的價格同比分別上漲了 12% 和 6%。

We did a great job getting back to the basics and focusing on winning markets that we can effectively and profitably service. I'm also happy to note that despite the recent bidding season occurring on the heels of a winter that within the North American markets that we served had only 80% of the average number of snow days. Our base plan for 2024 shows us continuing to improve salt profitability on both an EBITDA per ton and EBITDA margin basis.

我們在回歸基礎並專注於贏得我們能夠有效且有利可圖地服務的市場方面做得非常出色。我還很高興地註意到，儘管最近的投標季節是在冬季之後發生的，但我們服務的北美市場的降雪天數僅為平均降雪天數的 80%。我們 2024 年的基本計劃表明，我們將繼續提高鹽的每噸 EBITDA 和 EBITDA 利潤率的盈利能力。

Fiscal '23 was also an exciting year for our emerging Fire Retardant business. After a rigorous multiyear process, 2 core fortress products were added to the U.S. Forest Service qualified product list in December of 2022. This opened the door to allow governmental agencies to purchase Fortress fire retardant products, which were the first new products to enter the market in nearly 2 decades.

對於我們新興的阻燃業務來說，23 財年也是令人興奮的一年。經過多年嚴格的流程，2022年12月，Fortress的兩款核心產品被添加到美國林業局合格產品清單中，這為政府機構購買Fortress阻燃產品打開了大門，這是首批進入市場的新產品在近2年的時間裡。

Fortress was awarded its first contract in May, and we consolidated our ownership of the company shortly thereafter. In June 23, we achieved another milestone when we dropped our first commercial product. The feedback that we've received on the efficacy of the products and the operational performance of the team has been excellent. We're currently in the process of finalizing our contract with the U.S. Forest Service for 2024. We're off to a good start with Fortress, and we're excited about the high-margin counter seasonal growth potential that this business can provide for the company.

Fortress 在五月獲得了第一份合同，不久後我們就鞏固了對該公司的所有權。 6 月 23 日，我們推出了第一個商業產品，實現了另一個里程碑。我們收到的關於產品功效和團隊營運績效的回饋非常好。目前，我們正在敲定與美國林務局 2024 年的合約。我們與 Fortress 的合作有了一個良好的開端，我們對該業務能夠提供的高利潤反季節性成長潛力感到興奮公司。

We also improved the balance sheet and financial standing of the company during the fiscal year, which was another of our strategic goals. Early in the fiscal year in October, we successfully closed on a strategic equity partnership with Koch Minerals & Trading to help fund Phase 1 of our lithium project and to pay down debt.

我們也在本財年改善了公司的資產負債表和財務狀況，這是我們的另一個策略目標。在 10 月的財年初期，我們成功地與 Koch Minerals & Trading 建立了策略性股權合作夥伴關係，以幫助為我們的鋰專案第一階段提供資金並償還債務。

We also improved our debt maturity profile in May with a successful refinancing that pushed our nearest maturity out to 2027. As a result of our focused execution on this goal, year-over-year, we saw an improvement in our available liquidity and a decline in our net debt outstanding and a lengthening of our debt maturities.

5 月份，我們也透過成功的再融資改善了債務到期狀況，將最近的到期期限推遲到了2027 年。由於我們專注於實現這一目標，與去年同期相比，我們的可用流動性有所改善，流動性下降我們的未償淨債務和債務期限的延長。

The last strategic goal that I'll touch on today relates to safety and our efforts to build a culture of zero harm. I say this, almost every earnings call due to its importance. We make safety a top priority because it's the right thing to do for our people, and it's the right thing to do for our business. Safety is often a leading indicator of operational performance. And if you can't do the basics of keeping yourself and your colleagues safe, how can you possibly operate reliably and efficiently.

我今天要談的最後一個策略目標涉及安全以及我們為建立零傷害文化所做的努力。我幾乎在每次財報電話會議上都會這麼說，因為它很重要。我們將安全放在首位，因為這對我們的員工來說是正確的事情，對我們的業務也是正確的事情。安全通常是營運績效的領先指標。如果您不能做好保證自己和同事安全的基本工作，您怎麼可能可靠、有效率地運作。

Our employees have clearly embraced the culture we're building here around zero harm, and it shows in our results. Specifically, our total recordable injury rate dropped approximately 8% to 1.17 and our lost time injury rate declined from 0.93 from a 1.02 or 9% in the comparable year ago period. Those are outstanding numbers, particularly in the complex operating environment that we have here at Compass Minerals.

我們的員工顯然已經接受了我們在這裡建立的零傷害文化，這也反映在我們的表現上。具體而言，我們的總可記錄工傷率下降了約 8% 至 1.17，誤工工傷率從去年同期的 1.02 或 9% 從 0.93 下降。這些數字非常出色，尤其是在 Compass Minerals 複雜的營運環境中。

I want to extend my thanks to all the employees across the company for their commitment to safety and contribution to these outstanding results. As I reflect on the year, it's disappointing to know that the solid steps forward we made across our business were drowned out by noise and uncertainty that arose in Utah around our planned lithium project. We're determined to resolve those questions as soon as possible, and we remain engaged with Utah leaders on that front. Compass Minerals has unique high-quality assets that have tremendous value. I'm confident that the intrinsic value of the company will be recognized with continued strong execution.

我要感謝公司所有員工對安全的承諾以及對這些出色成果的貢獻。當我回顧這一年時，我很失望地發現，我們在整個業務中取得的堅實進展被猶他州圍繞我們計劃的鋰項目而出現的噪音和不確定性所淹沒。我們決心盡快解決這些問題，並在這方面繼續與猶他州領導人保持接觸。 Compass Minerals 擁有獨特的優質資產，具有巨大的價值。我相信，透過持續強勁的執行力，公司的內在價值將得到認可。

So with that, I'll now turn the call over to Lorin.

因此，我現在將把電話轉給洛林。

Thanks, Kevin. I'll begin my remarks by discussing our fiscal '23 performance before providing perspective around our outlook for fiscal '24.

謝謝，凱文。我將先討論我們 23 財年的業績，然後再對 24 財年的前景進行展望。

Starting at the consolidated level. fourth quarter results primarily reflect weaker Plant Nutrition sales, offset by improved profitability in the Salt business year-over-year. Consolidated revenue declined 6% year-over-year to $233.6 million. Consolidated operating earnings declined to $3.9 million, while adjusted EBITDA was slightly lower year-over-year at $33 million. Net loss for the quarter narrowed to $2.5 million from a net loss of $5.5 million year-over-year.

從綜合層面開始。第四季業績主要反映植物營養銷售疲軟，但被鹽業務獲利能力較去年同期提高所抵銷。綜合營收年減 6% 至 2.336 億美元。合併營業利潤下降至 390 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 年比略有下降，為 3,300 萬美元。該季度淨虧損從年比淨虧損 550 萬美元收窄至 250 萬美元。

For the full year, a below average highway deicing season and the impact of adverse weather conditions in California on the Plant Nutrition business negatively impacted the company's revenue. However, the Salt business demonstrated improved profitability that allow for gains in consolidated operating earnings and adjusted EBITDA year-over-year. Consolidated revenue was 3% lower at just over $1.2 billion. Consolidated operating earnings was $79.1 million, up $36.2 million year-over-year and adjusted EBITDA of $200.8 million rose $12.3 million year-over-year.

全年來看，高速公路除冰季節低於平均水平以及加州惡劣天氣條件對植物營養業務的影響對公司的收入產生了負面影響。然而，鹽業務的獲利能力有所提高，使得綜合營運收益和調整後的 EBITDA 比去年同期成長。綜合收入下降 3%，略高於 12 億美元。合併營業利潤為 7,910 萬美元，年增 3,620 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 2.008 億美元，年增 1,230 萬美元。

Net income from continuing operations was $15.5 million versus a net loss of $37.3 million in the prior year. Our full year effective income tax rate came in at 53%, which is influenced by the fact that throughout the year, we booked valuation allowances on U.S. deferred tax assets. Excluding the impact of valuation allowances, our full year effective income tax rate was roughly 22%, which is below the range we guided to last quarter. The rate came in below our expectation, primarily due to lower estimated income associated with Fortress earnings slipping into the first quarter and the refinement of certain foreign tax estimates.

持續經營業務的淨利潤為 1,550 萬美元，而前一年的淨虧損為 3,730 萬美元。我們全年的有效所得稅率為 53%，這是由於我們全年對美國遞延稅資產計入了估價備抵。排除估值備抵的影響，我們全年有效所得稅率約為 22%，低於我們上季指引的範圍。該稅率低於我們的預期，主要是由於與 Fortress 第一季盈利相關的預計收入下降以及某些外國稅收估算的細化。

Moving to the Salt business. On a quarterly basis, segment revenue was essentially flat year-over-year at $186.7 million, resulting from a 9% increase in price offset by a 9% decrease in total sales volumes, which declined for both the highway deicing and C&I Salt businesses. Highway deicing price rose 11% year-over-year, while C&I price increased 8%, reflecting continued pricing power across both product lines.

轉向鹽業。按季度計算，該部門營收與去年同期基本持平，為 1.867 億美元，原因是價格上漲 9%，但總銷量下降 9%，而總銷量下降，其中公路除冰和工商業鹽業務均出現下滑。公路除冰價格年增 11%，而工商業價格上漲 8%，反映出兩個產品線持續的定價能力。

Quarterly distribution costs per ton decreased 8% year-over-year due to favorable freight rates within the C&I business, while all-in product cost per ton increased 4% year-over-year, driven by the impact of unplanned downtime. Operating earnings increased 91% to $28.8 million while adjusted EBITDA improved 29% to $44.4 million year-over-year.

由於工商業業務的運費有利，每噸季度分銷成本同比下降 8%，而受計劃外停機影響，每噸產品總成本同比增長 4%。營業利潤年增 91% 至 2,880 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 年增 29% 至 4,440 萬美元。

For the full year, Salt segment revenue was flat year-over-year at approximately $1 billion. below average highway deicing season in our served markets in North America was the leading cause of a 10% decrease in total sales volumes, with highway deicing volumes down 11% and C&I volumes down 6%. Higher highway deicing and C&I salt pricing led to an increase in overall Salt segment pricing of 11% year-over-year. The decline in volumes and increase in price were consistent with the value over volume strategy that we pursued in 2023 and was the driver of this business's improved profitability.

全年鹽業營收與去年同期持平，約 10 億美元。我們所服務的北美市場的高速公路除冰季節低於平均水平是總銷量下降 10% 的主要原因，其中高速公路除冰量下降了 11%，工商業銷量下降了 6%。高速公路除冰和工商業用鹽價格上漲導致鹽業整體價格較去年同期上漲 11%。銷售下降和價格上漲與我們在 2023 年奉行的價值超過銷售的策略一致，也是該業務獲利能力提高的驅動力。

On a per ton basis, both distribution and all-in product costs saw modest increases year-over-year of 2% and 6%, respectively. The Salt segment generated $170.7 million in operating earnings and adjusted EBITDA of $230.7 million, up 47% and 26%, respectively, year-over-year.

以每噸計算，分銷成本和總產品成本分別較去年小幅增加 2% 和 6%。鹽業部門實現營業利潤 1.707 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 2.307 億美元，年比分別成長 47% 和 26%。

Importantly, the segment saw adjusted EBITDA margins improved by over 400 basis points year-over-year, and adjusted EBITDA per ton recovered to over $20 per ton, which, as Kevin mentioned, was an important strategic objective for us this year.

重要的是，該部門的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率同比提高了 400 多個基點，每噸調整後 EBITDA 恢復至每噸 20 美元以上，正如 Kevin 所提到的，這是我們今年的一個重要戰略目標。

Turning to our Plant Nutrition segment. Fourth quarter revenue totaled $35.3 million, down 39% year-over-year, driven by a combination of a 26% decrease in price and an 18% decline in sales volume. The decrease in price reflected the deterioration of global potassium fertilizer prices throughout the year. This influenced purchaser behavior as throughout the year, buyers didn't want to hold inventory and generally waited to buy product until needed. Distribution costs per ton increased by 6% year-over-year due to the timing of market demand and associated railcar storage fees, while all-in product cost per ton declined 2%.

轉向我們的植物營養部分。第四季營收總計 3,530 萬美元，年減 39%，原因是價格下降 26%，銷售量下降 18%。價格下跌反映了全年全球鉀肥價格的惡化。這影響了購買者的行為，因為全年購買者不想持有庫存，通常會等到需要時才購買產品。由於市場需求時機和相關鐵路車倉儲費，每噸分銷成本較去年同期增加 6%，而每噸總產品成本下降 2%。

The segment had an operating loss of $1.6 million for the quarter, down $14.2 million year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA declined $15.1 million to $6.7 million. As we've discussed throughout the year, highly unusual weather in California was the primary driver of the decrease in full year sales volumes year-over-year.

該部門本季營運虧損 160 萬美元，年減 1,420 萬美元。調整後 EBITDA 下降 1,510 萬美元至 670 萬美元。正如我們全年討論的那樣，加州極不尋常的天氣是全年銷量較去年同期下降的主要原因。

For the full year, the segment generated $172.1 million in revenue, down 23% year-over-year primarily due to a 23% decrease in sales volumes. Distribution costs per ton rose 6% year-over-year due to the impact of lower sales volumes on our fixed distribution costs, while all-in product cost per ton were up 15%. Operating earnings for the full year totaled $11.2 million and adjusted EBITDA totaled $45.5 million.

全年該部門收入為 1.721 億美元，年減 23%，主要是由於銷量下降 23%。由於銷售量下降對固定分銷成本的影響，每噸分銷成本較去年同期上漲 6%，而每噸總產品成本上漲 15%。全年營業利潤總計 1,120 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 總計 4,550 萬美元。

I would now like to provide a bit of color on Fortress' results for the year. Fortress had its first sales in 2023. So we recognized modest positive contributions from the business to revenue operating earnings and adjusted EBITDA this period of $10.4 million, $3.2 million and $4.6 million, respectively. Our initial contract with the U.S. Forest Service was largely structured as take-or-pay and covered the calendar year ending in December '23. We expect it to recognize the vast majority of the value of the contract during our fiscal year ended in September based on historic patterns of wildfire activity. However, wildfire activity in the final quarter of our fiscal year, which included heavy rain in the Western U.S. from tropical storm Hilary was unusually mild. Specifically, calendar year-to-date through September, acres burned from wildfires in the U.S. were approximately 36% of the 10-year average according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

現在我想對 Fortress 今年的業績提供一些說明。 Fortress 於 2023 年首次銷售。因此，我們認識到該業務對營收、營運利潤和調整後 EBITDA 的貢獻不大，這段期間分別為 1,040 萬美元、320 萬美元和 460 萬美元。我們與美國林業局的最初合約主要是照付不議的形式，涵蓋截至 2023 年 12 月的日曆年度。我們預計，根據野火活動的歷史模式，它將在 9 月結束的財政年度內確認合約的絕大多數價值。然而，本財年最後一季的野火活動（包括熱帶風暴希拉蕊在美國西部帶來的大雨）卻異常溫和。具體而言，根據國家跨機構消防中心的數據，今年至今截至 9 月份，美國因野火而燒毀的面積約為 10 年平均面積的 36%。

As a result, while the ultimate value of the initial calendar '23 contract is unchanged, the bulk of the revenue recognition related to the take-or-pay portion of the contract will occur in the current quarter. Three months later than our original expectation. Accordingly, approximately $12 million in adjusted EBITDA that we had expected to impact the fourth quarter of '23 will slide into the current quarter. Overall, we were encouraged by the operating performance we saw at Fortress in its initial year of commercial operations.

因此，雖然最初的 23 年日曆合約的最終價值保持不變，但與合約的照付不議部分相關的大部分收入確認將在本季度發生。比我們原來的預期晚了三個月。因此，我們預計影響 23 年第四季的約 1,200 萬美元調整後 EBITDA 將滑入本季度。整體而言，我們對 Fortress 在商業營運第一年的營運表現感到鼓舞。

Turning to our balance sheet. At quarter end, we had liquidity of $317 million. comprised of roughly $39 million of cash and revolver capacity of around $278 million. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA stood at 3.7x at the end of the quarter.

轉向我們的資產負債表。截至季末，我們的流動資金為 3.17 億美元。其中包括約 3,900 萬美元的現金和約 2.78 億美元的左輪手槍容量。截至本季末，淨負債與調整後 EBITDA 的比率為 3.7 倍。

Moving on to our outlook for fiscal '24. The latest North America highway deicing bidding season has concluded, and we expect the average contract price for the upcoming North America winter season to be up by roughly 3% versus the prior year's bid season results and total committed bid volumes to decline by approximately 5% year-over-year. Despite the 5% decrease in commitments, we are expecting an increase in sales volumes year-over-year based on historical sales to commitment ratios and assuming we experience average winter weather activity.

接下來是我們對 24 財年的展望。最新的北美公路除冰招標季已經結束，我們預計即將到來的北美冬季的平均合約價格將比去年招標季的結果上漲約 3%，總承諾投標量將下降約 5%一年又一年。儘管承諾數量減少了 5%，但根據歷史銷售額與承諾比率並假設我們經歷平均冬季天氣活動，我們預計銷量將同比增長。

Snow days during last year's winter within our North America served markets were only approximately 80% of the long-run average. As a result, simply having an average winter should drive more than enough volume year-over-year to offset lower commitment levels.

去年冬季，我們所服務的北美市場的下雪天數僅為長期平均的 80% 左右。因此，僅僅經歷一個平均的冬季就應該會與去年同期相比帶來足夠的銷量，以抵消較低的承諾水平。

For Salt, we expect adjusted EBITDA in the range of $230 million to $270 million. This is, again, based on the assumption that we have in average winter. During our first quarter earnings call in February of 2024, we expect to update investors on where the Salt segment is tracking against the range of outcomes shown on Slide 14 of our earnings presentation. Then, during our second quarter earnings call in May, we will revisit our Salt guidance following the completion of the winter season.

對於 Salt，我們預計調整後 EBITDA 在 2.3 億至 2.7 億美元之間。這又是基於我們在平均冬季的假設。在 2024 年 2 月的第一季財報電話會議上，我們預計將根據財報投影片 14 中顯示的結果範圍向投資者通報鹽部門的最新進展。然後，在五月的第二季財報電話會議上，我們將在冬季結束後重新審視我們的鹽指導。

The outlook for Plant Nutrition EBITDA is in the range of $20 million to $40 million, despite meaningfully higher sales volumes. This level of performance, margin-wise, is well below our targeted potential for this business at this stage in the industry pricing cycle. And I'll now take a moment to discuss why that's the case.

儘管銷量顯著增加，但植物營養 EBITDA 的前景在 2,000 萬至 4,000 萬美元之間。從利潤率來看，這種業績水準遠低於我們在產業定價週期現階段對該業務的目標潛力。現在我將花點時間討論為什麼會出現這種情況。

From a top line perspective, sales are projected to be higher year-over-year at roughly 300,000 tons, primarily driven by a restoration of more normal West Coast demand conditions assuming the extraordinary weather conditions that occurred last year don't repeat themselves and higher production out of Ogden.

從收入角度來看，銷量預計將同比增長約 30 萬噸，這主要是由於西海岸需求狀況恢復正常，假設去年發生的異常天氣條件不會重演，並且銷量會更高。奧格登生產。

Two factors, the continuation of elevated cash costs and lower pricing year-over-year are offsetting the sharp sales increase. From a pricing perspective, we are assuming an average SOP price next year of around $660 per ton, which is roughly 4% or around $30 below levels we experienced in the fourth quarter of '23.

現金成本持續上升和定價年減這兩個因素抵消了銷售額的大幅成長。從定價角度來看，我們假設明年 SOP 平均價格約為每噸 660 美元，比 2023 年第四季的水平低約 4% 或約 30 美元。

From a cost perspective, although cash unit costs are projected to decline year-over-year, they are still roughly $100 per ton higher than our targeted performance levels. The reason for this is that while we have a production strategy supportive of restoring sales volumes back toward historical levels, and you see that in our sales guidance. The naturally occurring pond tons, which have the lowest unit costs remain below historical levels.

從成本角度來看，儘管現金單位成本預計將同比下降，但仍比我們的目標績效水準高出每噸約 100 美元。原因是，雖然我們有支持將銷售恢復到歷史水平的生產策略，但您可以在我們的銷售指導中看到這一點。單位成本最低的天然池塘噸數仍低於歷史水準。

Therefore, just as we did in 2023, this year we intend to continue supplementing our production process with potassium chloride, a higher cost input to close the gap in cheaper pond tons available. We expect this to enable us to achieve the yields and volumes required to deliver higher sales tons, but at a higher unit cost than the historical average.

因此，正如我們在 2023 年所做的那樣，今年我們打算繼續用氯化鉀補充我們的生產過程，這是一種更高的成本投入，以縮小可用的更便宜池塘噸數的差距。我們預計這將使我們能夠實現更高銷售量所需的產量和銷量，但單位成本高於歷史平均水平。

Over time, assuming current demand levels persist, using potassium chloride is expected to allow us to maximize evaporation seasons and enable the replenishment of our stockpile, resulting in lower cost pond-based tons rising as a percentage of our production mix over time and potassium chloride use declining over time, resulting in lower unit costs as that happens.

隨著時間的推移，假設目前的需求水準持續存在，使用氯化鉀預計將使我們能夠最大限度地延長蒸發季節並補充我們的庫存，從而隨著時間的推移，成本較低的池塘噸噸在我們的生產組合中所佔的百分比會上升，氯化鉀隨著時間的推移，使用量逐漸減少，從而導致單位成本降低。

Now that we have a production strategy that we expect to allow us to deliver sales tons in line with historical levels, a key operational initiative in 2024, will be to identify additional cost reduction strategies to lower our unit costs. Such actions are not reflected in our guidance. However, we are committed to identifying a path to restoring the unit cost of this business closer to historical levels by lowering the cost in the short run and producing more pond-based tons longer term.

現在，我們已經制定了生產策略，預計能夠使我們的銷售量達到歷史水平，2024 年的一項關鍵營運措施將是確定額外的成本削減策略，以降低我們的單位成本。此類行為並未反映在我們的指導上。然而，我們致力於找到一條途徑，透過降低短期成本和長期生產更多池塘噸數，使該業務的單位成本恢復到更接近歷史水準。

Turning to our corporate guidance. We expect this segment to come in at a range of between minus $55 million and minus $65 million. As a reminder, corporate is comprised of 3 components: Fortress, lithium and other. Other includes costs unrelated to the Salt and Plant Nutrition segments and the impact of our DeepStore document and records management business.

轉向我們的企業指導。我們預計該細分市場的營收將在負 5,500 萬美元至負 6,500 萬美元之間。提醒一下，公司由 3 個部分組成：Fortress、鋰和其他。其他包括與鹽和植物營養部門無關的成本以及我們的 DeepStore 文件和記錄管理業務的影響。

As it relates to Fortress, we are currently working closely with the U.S. Forest Service to establish a contract for calendar year 2024. However, an agreement is not expected to be finalized until late December 2023 or early January 2024. As a result, our initial guidance only includes the approximately $12 million in adjusted EBITDA related to the 2023 contract that we will recognize in the current quarter.

由於與 Fortress 相關，我們目前正在與美國林務局密切合作，制定 2024 年的合約。但是，預計協議要到 2023 年 12 月下旬或 2024 年 1 月上旬才能最終敲定。因此，我們的初步計劃指導僅包括我們將在本季度確認的與2023 年合約相關的約1200 萬美元調整後EBITDA。

However, our current expectation is that we will achieve at least a similar level of profit for our 2024 contract, but our negotiations have concluded, and we have a finalized contract, we'll update our guidance accordingly.

然而，我們目前的預期是，我們的 2024 年合約將至少實現類似的利潤水平，但我們的談判已經結束，並且我們已經簽訂了最終合同，我們將相應地更新我們的指導。

Lithium related expenses are projected to be in the range of $5 million and $10 million for fiscal '24. These costs will be heavily influenced by whether adequate regulatory clarity in Utah is achieved to resume lithium development. Total CapEx is expected to be in a range of $125 million to $140 million, and is comprised of 3 parts: sustaining CapEx related to Salt and Plant Nutrition of approximately $90 million to $100 million, CapEx of between $25 million and $30 million related to the orderly suspension of the lithium project and Fortress related growth CapEx of approximately $10 million.

24 財年，鋰相關費用預計在 500 萬美元至 1,000 萬美元之間。這些成本將在很大程度上取決於猶他州是否實現足夠的監管透明度以恢復鋰開發。總資本支出預計在1.25 億至1.4 億美元之間，由3 部分組成：與鹽和植物營養相關的維持資本支出約為9,000 萬至1 億美元，與鹽和植物營養相關的資本支出在2,500 萬至3000 萬美元之間。有序暫停鋰項目和 Fortress 相關的成長資本支出約 1000 萬美元。

In closing, our company remains well positioned financially and operationally with strong competitive positions in the production of essential minerals with few viable economic substitutes. As Kevin alluded to in his remarks, we made several positive steps across the business in fiscal '23 that set us up well for success in 2024 as we continue focusing on maximizing the performance of our high-quality Salt, Plant Nutrition and emerging Fire Retardant businesses.

最後，我們公司在財務和營運方面仍然處於有利地位，在幾乎沒有可行的經濟替代品的基本礦物生產方面具有強大的競爭地位。正如Kevin 在演講中提到的那樣，我們在23 財年在整個業務中採取了多項積極舉措，這為我們在2024 年取得成功做好了準備，因為我們將繼續專注於最大限度地提高高品質鹽、植物營養和新興阻燃劑的性能企業。

With that said, I will turn it back to the operator to open the lines for Q&A. Operator?

話雖如此，我會將其轉回給接線員以打開問答線路。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) We will take our first question from Joel Jackson with BMO Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）我們將回答 BMO 資本市場的 Joel Jackson 提出的第一個問題。

I have a few questions. I'll go one by one. On the '24 guidance and Fortress, so thank you for the color that you'd expect this year's contribution from Fortress to be at least similar to $12 million. What -- so I assume what's going to happen in '24 is it will be a bit of double counting right? The '23 earnings that comes to '24 and the '24. Just trying to think about a normalized '24 earnings would be like. It sounds like it'd be a little bit higher than $12 million contribution? And how would you expect that business to ramp into '25 -- fiscal '25 or just how the business is going to ramp?

我有幾個問題。我就一一去吧。關於 '24 指南和 Fortress，非常感謝您的顏色，您預計今年 Fortress 的貢獻至少類似於 1200 萬美元。那我想 24 年會發生什麼，是不是會有點重複計算，對吧？ '23 的收益來到 '24 和 '24。只是想一下正常化的 24 年收益會是什麼樣子。聽起來比 1200 萬美元的捐款高一點？您預計該業務將如何在 25 年 - 25 財年實現成長，或該業務將如何成長？

I'll start and then ask Jamie. So we did book about $4 million or $5 million of Fortress profit in 2023 and $12 million will roll into next year. And so you add those together, you get kind of $15 million and change. And it all depends on the level of profitability that we see in this upcoming contract. Jamie, you want to elaborate?

我先開始，然後問傑米。因此，我們確實在 2023 年預訂了約 400 萬美元或 500 萬美元的 Fortress 利潤，明年將有 1200 萬美元。所以你把這些加在一起，你就得到了 1500 萬美元，還有一些改變。這一切都取決於我們在即將簽訂的合約中看到的獲利水準。傑米，你想詳細說明一下嗎？

Yes. I think -- yes. So you think about normalized '23 was about $15 million or so, $15 million, $16 million. Lorin's prepared remarks said we expect in '24 to achieve something at least at that level. So the negotiations are ongoing. We're figuring out which basis, what it looks like. It's likely that it won't be a take-or-pay scenario next year. So that's about all the incremental color we can give you right now.

是的。我想是的。所以你想想，標準化的 23 年大約是 1500 萬美元左右，1500 萬美元，1600 萬美元。洛林準備好的演講中表示，我們預計 24 年至少能達到這一水準。因此，談判正在進行中。我們正在弄清楚哪個基礎，它是什麼樣子。明年可能不會出現照付不議的情況。這就是我們現在可以為您提供的所有增量顏色。

And Joel, rather than speculate, we just felt it would be better to let the dust settle and then update you in February.

喬爾，我們並沒有猜測，只是覺得最好讓塵埃落定，然後在二月向您通報最新情況。

Right. Okay. So really, this guidance number is, it's a bare case guidance for Fortress. It's going to be better because -- from a normalized perspective, right? Okay.

正確的。好的。所以實際上，這個指導數字是 Fortress 的裸案例指導。它會更好，因為——從正常化的角度來看，對嗎？好的。

On cost -- excuse me, on the Salt business, looking at costs, I could be wrong first blush, it looks like maybe you're in your guidance, projecting maybe about a $1 per ton increase in salt cost. Is that right? If I'm not let me know and tell me what's driving salt cost this year?

關於成本——對不起，在鹽業務上，考慮到成本，乍一看我可能是錯的，看起來也許你在你的指導下，預計每噸鹽成本可能會增加約 1 美元。是對的嗎？如果我不告訴我今年鹽價上漲的原因是什麼？

Yes. From a cash cost perspective, salt costs are about flattish, around roughly sort of $40 a ton and EBITDA per ton is actually up about $1. And so I'm not sure what you're seeing, but salt is up from an EBITDA per ton perspective and roughly flat from a cash perspective year-over-year.

是的。從現金成本的角度來看，鹽成本基本上持平，約為每噸 40 美元，每噸 EBITDA 實際上上漲了約 1 美元。所以我不確定你看到了什麼，但從每噸 EBITDA 的角度來看，鹽是上升的，從現金的角度來看，鹽的同比基本上持平。

Maybe then in that flat environment before I pass the baton on, maybe talk about what on costs are up and what on costs are down to make it flat?

也許在那個平坦的環境中，在我傳遞接力棒之前，也許可以談談哪些成本上升了，哪些成本下降了，以使其平坦？

So from a fuel perspective, which is important for that business in the first half of this year is where we'll consume most of the fuel. We're assuming Brent kind of in the mid-80s. And if you look year-over-year, that's kind of roughly flattish from that point of view. And then this relates to C&I. From a natural gas perspective, we are going to benefit from we hope will be the absence of natural gas spike that we saw last year at a high level. Jamie, anything else you want to share?

因此，從燃料的角度來看，今年上半年對該業務很重要的是我們將消耗大部分燃料。我們假設布蘭特原油處於 80 年代中期。如果你逐年觀察，從這個角度來看，情況大致相當。這與 C&I 有關。從天然氣的角度來看，我們將從中受益，我們希望去年天然氣不會出現高水準的飆升。傑米，你還有什麼想分享的嗎？

I would say on the operating side and the cash cost itself, we saw some unplanned downtime in 2023. Items like that, not expected to repeat. So we've got some inflationary pressure on the input side still but that's being offset by improved production levels as we go into 2024 on Salt.

我想說的是，在營運方面和現金成本本身，我們在 2023 年看到了一些計劃外停機。類似的情況預計不會重複。因此，我們在投入方面仍然面臨一些通膨壓力，但隨著進入 2024 年，鹽產量水平的提高將抵消這種壓力。

We will take our next question from David Begleiter with Deutsche Bank.

我們將接受德意志銀行的 David Begleiter 提出的下一個問題。

Kevin, on lithium. Are you -- is there a time frame where you would say these negotiations is just taking too long, and we're going to move on and does not pursue lithium? Is there -- is it 6 months? Is it a year? Is it longer? That would be helpful.

凱文，關於鋰。您是否會在某個時間框架內說這些談判花費的時間太長，而我們將繼續前進，不再追求鋰？有嗎——是6個月嗎？是一年嗎？是不是更長了？那會有幫助的。

Yes. I mean, look, that's a good question, David. It's kind of hard to pin it down. But what I'll tell you, I mean, there's kind of 2 work streams in terms of kind of how we're thinking about this. I think as everybody knows, they released the draft rules that were promulgated as part of House Bill 513 those need to get sorted. So they're out for public comment. I think we've made our comments on those, and we'll work with the state to come up with a set of draft rules that govern how lithium could be extracted on the lake.

是的。我的意思是，聽著，這是一個很好的問題，大衛。很難確定它。但我要告訴你的是，就我們如何思考這個問題而言，有兩個工作流程。我想眾所周知，他們發布了作為眾議院第 513 號法案的一部分頒布的規則草案，需要對這些規則進行排序。所以他們出來徵求公眾意見。我認為我們已經對此發表了評論，我們將與州政府合作制定一套規則草案來管理如何在湖中提取鋰。

And we had some concerns about the way they were released, and we'll be at the table trying to pin that outcome in a way that works for us as well as folks in Utah and then secondarily, there's the legislative session coming up after the first of the year that we'll obviously be involved in.

我們對它們的釋放方式有一些擔憂，我們將在談判桌上嘗試以一種對我們以及猶他州人民都有效的方式確定這一結果，其次，在釋放之後將舉行立法會議我們顯然會參與今年的第一件事。

So I think all that will kind of settle in maybe the April time frame, and I think that will give us the kind of clarity we need to make a decision on whether this thing still got legs or put it on the shelf for another time. So I would kind of direct you to that April-May time frame next year.

因此，我認為所有這些可能會在四月份的時間範圍內解決，我認為這將使我們清楚地決定這件事是否仍然有效或將其擱置另一次。因此，我會引導您了解明年 4 月至 5 月的時間範圍。

Very helpful. And just on Plant Nutrition, what do you think is normalized earnings in this segment? I think the last 4 years averaged maybe $55 million to $60 million of EBITDA. Is that a good number or could it even be higher in terms of normalized?

很有幫助。就植物營養而言，您認為該領域的正常收入是多少？我認為過去 4 年平均 EBITDA 可能為 5,500 萬至 6,000 萬美元。這是一個不錯的數字，還是標準化後的數字可能更高？

Yes. We're $100 below where we expect this business to be on a cash cost basis. If you look back over the past 5 years, you multiply that times -- or tons and you get $30 million. This business ought to be in that -- in the range you just referred to. And that's going to be a focus of our efforts in the coming years.

是的。以現金成本計算，該業務的成本比我們預期的低 100 美元。如果你回顧過去 5 年，你會乘以這個數倍，或是數倍，你會得到 3000 萬美元。這個業務應該在你剛才提到的範圍內。這將是我們未來幾年努力的重點。

From a long-term perspective, as we harvest less and let the ponds just deposit the concentrate, we expect that we'll get better yields over that 2- or 3-year deposition process, but we're not going to just wait for that. We're also looking at the cost base at Ogden in terms of things we can do in the near term to improve the cost base as we wait for the ponds to regenerate.

從長遠來看，隨著我們減少收穫並讓池塘僅沉積精礦，我們預計在 2 或 3 年的沉積過程中我們將獲得更好的產量，但我們不會只是等待那。我們也正在考慮奧格登的成本基礎，看看我們在等待池塘再生時可以在短期內採取哪些措施來改善成本基礎。

We will take our next question from Greg Lewis with BTIG.

我們將接受 BTIG 的 Greg Lewis 提出的下一個問題。

Yes. My first one was -- I did want to go back on costs. So as we think about [freight], it seems like that could be pulling back a little bit, -- any way to kind of gauge how much are your freight costs are -- fixed? Or is it at all -- like when we could see like those agreements, I guess, recontracted or reset?

是的。我的第一個想法是──我確實想降低成本。因此，當我們考慮[運費]時，似乎這可能會有所回落，--有什麼方法可以衡量你的運費是多少--是固定的嗎？或者是——就像我們可以看到這些協議一樣，我想，重新簽訂合約或重置？

Greg, you were garbled up there. Could you please repeat your question for us?

格雷格，你上面的內容是亂碼。您能為我們重複一下您的問題嗎？

It was around freight costs and all what I'm trying to get is if we were to see freight costs generally across North America move lower, like how should we think about the company benefiting from that impact, i.e., as you look at your freight exposure, how much of it's kind of spot contracted? Kind of that is my question, the first one.

這是關於貨運成本的，我想要得到的是，如果我們看到整個北美的貨運成本普遍下降，比如我們應該如何考慮公司從這種影響中受益，即當你查看你的貨運時曝光，有多少地方收縮了？這就是我的問題，第一個問題。

Sure, Greg, this is Jamie. So we've assumed, we talked about it in different buckets. On the vessel and barge side for 2024, we're going to see typical inflationary pressure. A lot of those are fixed. When we look at truck for 2024, we think the truck market is actually bottoming out now maybe first quarter and would be expected to rise given the -- some of the freight supply rationalization, Conway, yellow, bankruptcies.

當然，格雷格，這是傑米。所以我們假設，我們在不同的方面討論過它。 2024 年，在船舶和駁船方面，我們將看到典型的通膨壓力。其中很多都是固定的。當我們展望 2024 年的卡車時，我們認為卡車市場實際上正在觸底，也許是第一季度，考慮到一些貨運供應合理化、康威、黃色、破產等因素，預計卡車市場將會上漲。

So we think the supply picture of freight is shrinking actually. And with the post-pandemic destocking behind us, we think there's demand increase in retail over the next year.

因此我們認為貨運供應實際上正在萎縮。隨著疫情後前往庫存的結束，我們認為明年零售業的需求將會增加。

So we've baked into our plan and for 2024, increased truck rates really in the back half of the year. Now that is significant. It is a significant increase. Think of it as 15% or so. But if that does not occur and the bottom stays in longer and freight rates don't rise, we would stand to benefit from that versus our current operating plan.

因此，我們已經制定了到 2024 年的計劃，在今年下半年確實提高了卡車費率。現在這很重要。這是一個顯著的成長。認為它是 15% 左右。但如果這種情況沒有發生，並且底部停留時間更長且運費不上漲，那麼與我們目前的營運計劃相比，我們將從中受益。

Okay. Perfect. Super helpful. And then I did want to realizing that it's we need to kind of move forward in the project. But when we think about a strategic partner that you mentioned on the lithium side, I mean, really, with the project largely funded at least Phase 1.

好的。完美的。超有幫助。然後我確實想意識到我們需要在專案中取得進展。但是，當我們想到您提到的鋰方面的戰略合作夥伴時，我的意思是，實際上，該項目至少在第一階段得到了大部分資助。

Like when we think about a strategic partner, is that just really an offtake partner? Is that kind of a fair way to think about it? Or -- any kind of rough how you're thinking about like what you're looking for in terms of that partner?

就像當我們考慮策略夥伴時，這真的只是承購夥伴嗎？這是一種公平的思考方式嗎？或者 - 您正在尋找什麼樣的合作夥伴？

And really, just given what's the ongoing, I don't know, landscape in Utah, is that something where we probably won't see that partner until we kind of get more clarity and can move forward? And now, we have a better line of sight on when we could see, I guess, the lithium project move forward.

事實上，考慮到猶他州正在發生的事情，我不知道，在我們變得更加清晰並能夠繼續前進之前，我們可能不會看到那個合作夥伴嗎？現在，我們對何時可以看到鋰專案的進展有了更好的了解。

Yes. So I think in terms of conditions precedent to having a partner, it would have to be regulatory legislative clarity in Utah, where you've got a horizon that is suitable for long -- making long-term investments.

是的。因此，我認為就擁有合作夥伴的先決條件而言，猶他州必須有明確的監管立法，在那裡你有適合長期投資的視野。

So clearly, as I mentioned earlier, when David asked his question, there's work there to be done. And then secondarily, we still have -- we still want to prove out the Dustguard unit to demonstrate to the world that is a scalable technology at commercial level.

很明顯，正如我之前提到的，當大衛提出問題時，還有很多工作要做。其次，我們仍然想證明防塵裝置的有效性，向世界展示這是一項商業級的可擴展技術。

So anything that we would do with a partner would be conditioned upon those 2 criteria having been met and then in terms of the type of the partner, we'd be looking for, I mean, clearly a balance sheet to reduce our capital exposure at the project level.

因此，我們與合作夥伴一起做的任何事情都將以滿足這兩個標準為條件，然後就合作夥伴的類型而言，我的意思是，我們顯然會尋找一個資產負債表，以減少我們的資本風險項目等級。

And then ideally, it would be nice to have a partner that's got some sort of prowess in that domain space, lithium or the EV world itself. So that gives you kind of some sense of how we're thinking about it.

理想情況下，如果合作夥伴在鋰或電動車領域本身就具有某種實力，那就太好了。這樣您就可以了解我們是如何考慮這個問題的。

(Operator Instructions) We will take our next question from Vincent Anderson with Stifel.

（操作員說明）我們將接受 Stifel 的 Vincent Anderson 提出的下一個問題。

Going back to the drivers of salt margin expectations. I mean, you hit on the variable components super helpful. But I was hoping you can maybe frame the season-on-season changes in fixed cost leverage. And then any incremental netback positives or negatives based on the geographical mix of your commitments this year versus last year?

回到鹽利潤預期的驅動因素。我的意思是，你發現了可變組件非常有幫助。但我希望你能用固定成本槓桿來描述逐季變化。那麼，根據今年與去年相比，您的承諾的地理組合是否會帶來任何增量淨收益正面或負面影響？

Well, to the extent that our volumes increase as a result of a normalized winter just the shear leverage from a 3%, 4% increase in the tonnage on the same cost base will improve the tons. And that's what you're seeing.

好吧，就我們的產量因冬季正常化而增加而言，在相同成本基礎上，噸位增加 3%、4% 的剪切槓桿就會提高噸位。這就是你所看到的。

As it relates to fuel, as I said, to the extent that, that, in fact, is sort of flattish year-over-year. And we have taken some efforts that we referred to in the last call in terms of cost reductions. We refer to efforts at the sites to reduce cost following our efforts at the corporate center to reduce cost. Those are the kind of things that if we can -- if they hang in there should allow us to see $1 or $2 increase in profit per ton, and that's what's in the midpoint of our guidance.

正如我所說，由於它與燃料有關，事實上，與去年同期相比，這在某種程度上是持平的。我們在上次電話會議中提到的降低成本方面採取了一些努力。我們指的是公司中心降低成本的努力之後，在現場降低成本的努力。如果我們能夠堅持下去，這些事情應該會讓我們看到每噸利潤增加 1 或 2 美元，而這正是我們指導的中位數。

Okay. Okay. No, that's helpful. And then just turning over to Fortress, just a 2-parter here. So first, does the CapEx budget reflect any on-base investments? And then kind of related to that, you said you expect this year likely won't have take-or-pay contracts. But as I understand it, those are in place to help support initial commercialization of a new product. So should I interpret that as you expecting a high enough level of organic base wins that you'll no longer qualify for that?

好的。好的。不，這很有幫助。然後就轉向 Fortress，這裡只是一個 2 人組。首先，資本支出預算是否反映了任何基礎投資？與此相關的是，您說預計今年可能不會有照付不議的合約。但據我了解，這些措施是為了幫助支持新產品的初始商業化。那麼我是否應該將其解釋為您期望獲得足夠高水平的有機基礎勝利，而您將不再有資格獲得這一點？

Yes. It's not a matter of qualification, Vincent. This is Jamie. It's a matter of how the agreement unfolds. The take-or-pay element of last year's contract was related to gallons. There are a number of elements in a contract that give us security around daily rates, so there are a lot of moving parts, and that's why we've kind of said, hey, we're going to wait and let this kind of -- give you some transparency after we finalize the contracts. So there are quite a few things moving.

是的。這不是資格問題，文森特。這是傑米。這是協議如何展開的問題。去年合約的照付不議部分與加侖有關。合約中有很多要素可以為我們提供每日費率方面的保障，因此有很多變動的部分，這就是為什麼我們會說，嘿，我們要等待，讓這種 - - 在我們敲定合約後為您提供一些透明度。所以有很多事情正在發生。

As it relates to investment, one of the neat things about our delivery mechanisms is that they're fundamentally mobile, so even though we get a signed a base on a permanent basis, so to speak, we have mobility. So we're investing for the future. That's the $10 million in capital and we have flexibility to put that, to manufacture that, get it ready and then deploy it to the bases that were awarded.

就投資而言，我們的交付機制的優點之一是它們從根本上來說是可移動的，因此，即使我們簽署了永久基地，可以說，我們也具有移動性。所以我們正在為未來投資。這就是 1000 萬美元的資本，我們可以靈活地投入、製造、準備，然後將其部署到授予的基地。

So it's not -- it's a less capital intensive than a typical situation. We're not bearing pipes and foreign concrete and investing in infrastructure at bases, we have more of a mobile structure.

所以它不是——它的資本密集度比典型情況低。我們沒有承載管道和外國混凝土，也沒有投資基地的基礎設施，我們有更多的移動結構。

And I would just add, we do provide -- when we do provide guidance on this business, we'll approach it similar to what you see in our earnings deck today with regard to Salt. To the extent it's not take-or-pay, this will be a business that is subject to the wildfire season. And so you should expect us to come out with a range that tells you what we think a normal wildfire season would look like and the bell curve for that on both sides. And so I just want to underscore that you will have that dimension.

我想補充一點，我們確實提供了——當我們確實提供有關這項業務的指導時，我們將採用類似於您今天在我們的收益表中看到的有關 Salt 的方法。如果不是照付不議，這將是一項受野火季節影響的業務。因此，您應該期望我們能提供一個範圍，告訴您我們認為正常的野火季節會是什麼樣子，以及雙方的鐘形曲線。所以我只是想強調你將擁有這個維度。

No, that's helpful. I appreciate that. If I could sneak one more in for Kevin, actually. If I'm not mistaken, 2024, we'll put you on the back line of your Goderich overhaul. I was just hoping to get an update on priorities for this year and then maybe any larger projects planned for that March turnaround.

不，這很有幫助。我很感激。事實上，如果我能為凱文再偷偷帶一粒就好了。如果我沒記錯的話，到 2024 年，我們會讓你進入戈德里奇大修的後線。我只是希望了解今年優先事項的最新情況，然後可能會計劃在三月的周轉中進行任何更大的項目。

Yes. So like the -- maybe the [11th hole] of the back line, just to be just to be specific, Vincent. But yes, fair. We continue to drive our main entry ways. George is not here, I don't have an exact percentage, but we're probably 65%, 67% of the way driven there. So as we've shared before, connecting up those new entries with the shaft bottom and the new sections in the west of the mine will then promote our ability then to kind of close the old section of the mine and stop spending money, holding roof up and (inaudible) and lighting and all that sort of thing. So that's kind of first phase.

是的。所以，具體來說，文森特，也許是後線的[第 11 洞]。但是，是的，公平。我們繼續推動我們的主要進入方式。喬治不在這裡，我沒有確切的百分比，但我們可能已經完成了 65%、67% 的行程。因此，正如我們之前分享的那樣，將這些新入口與礦井底部和礦井西部的新部分連接起來，將提高我們關閉礦井舊部分並停止花錢、保持屋頂的能力起來（聽不清）和照明以及諸如此類的事情。這就是第一階段。

And then we continue to develop the panels out in the west and some new panel infrastructure up into the kind of the north part of the mine. So you'll see the results can gradually start to filter through on the cost side over the next 2, 3 years, as we've talked about before.

然後我們繼續在西部開發面板，並在礦區北部開發一些新的面板基礎設施。因此，正如我們之前討論過的，您會發現在未來 2、3 年裡，結果會逐漸開始影響成本方面。

There's not going to be some magic moment where all of a sudden cost precipitously fall. It will be gradual, but you'll start to see that as soon as we connect those roadways up. So I think we still got probably close to a year or so before we do get those connected up, but that's when you'll start to see things begin to change at Goderich, Vincent.

不會出現成本突然急劇下降的神奇時刻。這將是漸進的，但一旦我們連接這些道路，您就會開始看到這一點。所以我認為我們可能還需要大約一年左右的時間才能將這些連接起來，但那時你會開始看到戈德里奇的情況開始發生變化，文森特。

We will take our next question from David Silver with CL King.

我們將回答 David Silver 和 CL King 提出的下一個問題。

Yes. A couple of questions. I think first, I'd like to ask about the inventory levels at September 30. I think it's one of the higher totals in recent years, and it is up pretty substantially year-over-year.

是的。有幾個問題。我想首先，我想問一下 9 月 30 日的庫存水準。我認為這是近年來較高的庫存水準之一，而且同比增長相當大。

So just wondering if you could kind of talk about maybe the cost versus volume elements in there. Is this kind of a carryover from a sub -- subpar or below average winter season last year? Just how to think about that inventory level at September 30 or maybe if you could update it for November 15 or something? I'll stop there.

所以想知道您是否可以談談其中的成本與體積元素。這是去年冬季低於標準或低於平均的結轉嗎？如何考慮 9 月 30 日的庫存水平，或者是否可以更新 11 月 15 日或其他時間的庫存水平？我就到此為止。

David, it's Lorin. And when you look at 9/30 on a year-over-year basis, you're right, it is higher and it's roughly half related to Salt and half Plant Nutrition. In terms of Plant Nutrition, Ogden performed very well production-wise throughout last year. In the face of a sales environment that was severely diminished. And so we restored our inventory levels at Plant Nutrition to levels that are frankly more normal. And if there's any silver lining, that was it.

大衛，我是洛林。當您逐年查看 9/30 時，您是對的，它更高，並且大約一半與鹽有關，一半與植物營養有關。在植物營養方面，奧格登去年全年的生產表現非常出色。面對嚴重萎縮的銷售環境。因此，我們將植物營養的庫存水平恢復到坦率地說更正常的水平。如果說還有什麼一線希望的話，那就是了。

From a Salt perspective, we ran Goderich for a normal winter and only an 80% winter actually happened. And so those are 2 reasons for the inventory to be higher. With that said, if you look back over the last 4 or 5 years from a volume -- from a units perspective, our units of inventory are only up about 5% versus that average, 5% to 10%. And it's inflation for that same unit that has risen.

從 Salt 的角度來看，我們在正常的冬季運行了 Goderich，但實際上只有 80% 的冬季發生了。這是庫存較高的兩個原因。話雖如此，如果你從數量角度回顧過去 4 或 5 年，從單位角度來看，我們的庫存單位僅比平均水平（5% 至 10%）增長了 5% 左右。同一單位的通貨膨脹率也在上升。

And one of the things that Kevin has talked about is this notion that our customers understand that the cost of holding this inventory has gotten more expensive. And I don't know, Kevin, if you want to elaborate? But we've restored the profitability of the business, EBITDA per ton, but working capital is more expensive to carry.

凱文談到的一件事是，我們的客戶明白持有庫存的成本已經變得更加昂貴。我不知道，凱文，你是否想詳細說明一下？但我們已經恢復了業務的獲利能力（每噸 EBITDA），但營運資金的持有成本更高。

Okay. I'd also just ask you for an update, I guess, on your business realignment or your cost reduction program, you had some targets in terms of lowering the fixed cost base as of the kickoff, I guess, of fiscal year '24. So if you could just update us on that, that would be great.

好的。我還想請您提供有關您的業務調整或成本削減計劃的最新信息，我想，在 24 財年開始時，您在降低固定成本基礎方面有一些目標。因此，如果您能向我們通報最新情況，那就太好了。

Yes. When we did an 8-K where we laid out about $15 million to $20 million of costs that we were going after last year. And those were split roughly 50% SG&A, 50% cost of goods sold, maybe half Salt, a quarter Plant Nutrition, et cetera. And so we've captured those costs and they are reflected in this -- the guidance that you see. Of course, there are offsets like merit that would eat into some of that along with other factors. But we feel good about what we've accomplished, and it's reflected in our guidance.

是的。當我們做 8-K 時，我們去年計劃的成本約為 1500 萬至 2000 萬美元。這些費用大約分為 50% 的 SG&A、50% 的銷售成本，也許一半是鹽，四分之一是植物營養，等等。因此，我們已經捕獲了這些成本，它們反映在您看到的指導中。當然，還有一些抵銷因素，例如功績，會與其他因素一起侵蝕其中的一些。但我們對所取得的成就感到滿意，這反映在我們的指導上。

Okay. Great. And then maybe just a last one. I would like to go back to Fortress. And I understand there's quite a few moving parts on how your first fire season went and timing issues and whatnot. But I believe you had some longer-term, I guess, market share targets for how your product might be might be positioned once it's fully accepted in the market.

好的。偉大的。然後也許只是最後一個。我想回到堡壘。據我所知，關於第一個火災季節的進展情況以及時間問題等，有很多變化的部分。但我認為，您有一些長期的市場份額目標，一旦產品被市場完全接受，您的產品可能會如何定位。

And any thoughts about where your market share shook out this first year and whether the expectation is that, that share would be maintained or increased over the next year?

您對第一年您的市場佔有率的變化有何想法，以及明年該份額是否會保持或增加？

Yes. Sure, David. This is Jamie. We were right around the 3% to 5% share as it relates to the U.S. Forest Service total contract in 2023. We expect to grow that year-on-year. We absolutely expect to increase our base count and expected volumes as we negotiate this contract here this month, hopefully, to be resolved later this month or early January. And then we'll build from there. Our expectation is to continue to reinvest in the business add basis, add share and grow over the next several years.

是的。當然，大衛。這是傑米。我們的份額約為 3% 至 5%，因為它與 2023 年美國林務局總合約有關。我們預計這一比例將逐年增長。當我們本月在這裡談判這份合約時，我們絕對希望增加我們的基數和預期數量，希望能在本月晚些時候或一月初得到解決。然後我們將從那裡開始構建。我們的期望是在未來幾年繼續對業務進行再投資，增加基礎、增加份額並實現成長。

So nothing on that front has changed. That was part of the investment thesis when we made the acquisition. And we feel good about how we're positioned and we can deliver on that plan.

所以這方面沒有任何改變。這是我們進行收購時投資論文的一部分。我們對自己的定位以及實現該計劃的能力感到滿意。

And we will take our next question from Chris Kapsch with Loop Capital Markets.

我們將回答 Loop Capital Markets 的 Chris Kapsch 提出的下一個問題。

I had one on the Salt business. And specifically around the 3% pricing outcome from the fiscal '24 contract bidding season and maybe juxtapose again back at '23.

我有一份關於鹽業的事情。特別是圍繞 24 財年合約招標季的 3% 定價結果，可能會再次並列回到 23 財年。

You specifically used the words like referring to your value over volume strategy in '23. But I don't think I have heard those words reflecting '24. So I'm curious about the outcome this year was -- is it partly a function of that strategy still?

您特別使用了諸如“23 年價值超過數量策略”之類的詞語。但我想我沒有聽過那些反映「24」的話。所以我很好奇今年的結果——這仍然是該策略​​的部分功能嗎？

Or is it more simply a function of other considerations like whether it's the inflation, for example, you flagged the interest rates and the higher bearing cost of inventories or other residual inflationary costs or some other dynamic like the (inaudible) mine strike. Just wondering if you could provide additional color on that on the value over volume strategy, if that's persisting?

或者它更簡單地是其他考慮因素的函數，例如是否是通貨膨脹，例如，您標記了利率和較高的庫存成本或其他剩餘通貨膨脹成本或其他一些動態，例如（聽不清楚）礦井罷工。只是想知道您是否可以在價值超過數量策略上提供更多信息，如果這種情況持續存在？

Let me hit that at a high level, Chris, and then Jamie probably want to add some color. But we approached the bid season again with the same mindset, which is value over volume, let's focus on areas that we're geographically advantaged from a delivery and transport cost. That last mile is tough in this business like any business. And we stayed very disciplined through the whole marketing season. Competitors do what competitors do and they're driven by different things.

克里斯，讓我高水平地表達一下，然後傑米可能想添加一些色彩。但我們再次以同樣的心態迎接投標季節，即價值高於數量，讓我們專注於我們在交付和運輸成本方面具有地理優勢的領域。與任何行業一樣，這個行業的最後一英里也很艱難。在整個行銷季節我們都保持非常自律。競爭對手做競爭對手所做的事情，他們受到不同事物的驅動。

But our goal was to promote value in the marketplace, which is what we did. And I'd like to just hand kudos to the team for delivering 3% price up in the face of -- or on the heels of an 80% winter which is kind of unprecedented when you think about it. So our team did good, I think, in terms of kind of promoting that value in the marketplace. And I would tell you that you can expect that strategy to continue going forward as we try to march above $20 a ton and continue to move that number up over time.

但我們的目標是提升市場價值，而這就是我們所做的。我想向該團隊表示敬意，他們在面對 80% 的冬季或緊隨其後提供了 3% 的價格上漲，想想看，這有點史無前例。因此，我認為，我們的團隊在提升市場價值方面做得很好。我想告訴你，隨著我們努力邁向每噸 20 美元以上，並隨著時間的推移繼續提高這一數字，你可以預期該策略將繼續向前推進。

Okay. That's helpful. And then just one quick follow-up on Fortress. And I believe there was some incentive or premium pricing that was applicable maybe even the government statute to incentivize alternative suppliers when there's like a sole-source situation. So curious if that will apply to the fiscal '24 supply agreements when they're more definitive.

好的。這很有幫助。然後是《堡壘》的快速後續行動。我相信，當存在單一來源的情況時，甚至可能政府法規也適用一些激勵或溢價來激勵替代供應商。很好奇，當 24 財年的供應協議更加明確時，這是否適用於它們。

Yes. So our -- the open solicitation currently is a sole source. So it's -- our competitor has a sole-source contract as do we for 2024. So yes, that continues into 2024. The terms could be a little bit different than they were in '23. But fundamentally, it's the same structure. And then ultimately, over time, we expect this to move away from that mechanism and move more into a competitive environment with bidding -- regional bidding occurring from year-to-year.

是的。因此，我們的公開徵集目前是唯一來源。所以，我們的競爭對手和我們一樣擁有 2024 年的獨家合約。所以是的，這種情況會持續到 2024 年。這些條款可能與 23 年的條款略有不同。但從根本上來說，它的結構是相同的。最終，隨著時間的推移，我們預計這將擺脫這種機制，並更多地進入競爭性的招標環境——每年都會發生區域招標。

Okay. And then -- sorry, could you just -- then the follow-up is just on the situation in Canada. I think they were effectively piggybacking off the U.S. approval for this product? Is there -- can you just provide any color on how that's progressing as well?

好的。然後 - 對不起，你可以 - 那麼後續行動只是關於加拿大的情況。我認為他們實際上正在利用美國對該產品的批准？您能否提供有關進展情況的任何資訊？

Yes. The Canadians use the U.S. Forest Service QPL. our focus in North America for the early days of this business are the U.S. Forest Service contract, CAL FIRE and then Canada. So yes, we are able to compete up there, but our focus right now is in the U.S.

是的。加拿大人使用美國林務局 QPL。在這項業務的早期，我們在北美的重點是美國林務局合約、CAL FIRE，然後是加拿大。所以，是的，我們能夠在那裡競爭，但我們現在的重點是美國。

(Operator Instructions) And we will take our next question from Jeff Zekauskas with JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）我們將接受摩根大通的 Jeff Zekauskas 提出的下一個問題。

Can you briefly discuss how management comp changed in -- or incentive comp changed in 2023 versus 2022? -- and how it might change in 2024?

您能否簡單討論一下 2023 年與 2022 年相比，管理薪酬或激勵薪酬如何改變？ ——2024 年情況可能會發生怎樣的變化？

So there are a couple of components of incentive compensation Jeff, one is kind of the cash bonus, annual incentive plan. And I'm sitting here thinking, but I don't think that changed from 1 year to the next. It's driven off of cash flow, EBITDA, safety and some shared goals and ESG activities, that kind of thing. The long-term incentive plan, which is stock-based plan did change.

傑夫的激勵薪酬有幾個組成部分，其中之一是現金獎金、年度激勵計劃。我坐在這裡思考，但我認為這一點從一年到下一年都沒有改變。它是由現金流、EBITDA、安全性以及一些共同目標和 ESG 活動等因素所驅動的。長期激勵計劃，即股票計劃確實發生了變化。

Have we disclosed that yet? No. So you'll read about that coming up here shortly. So the short term incentive plan didn't change. The long-term incentive plan -- the stock-based plan is going to change modestly from 1 year to the next, and you'll read about that in the upcoming proxy.

我們已經透露了嗎？不。所以您很快就會在這裡看到相關內容。因此短期激勵計劃沒有變化。長期激勵計劃—基於股票的計劃將從一年到下一年略有變化，您將在即將發布的代理中看到這一點。

Okay. You talked about looking for a partner in your lithium project. So if it turned out that regulatory developments were favorable, with would you then begin spending as you did before and look for a partner? Or would you wait for a partner before you spend more?

好的。您談到在您的鋰專案中尋找合作夥伴。因此，如果事實證明監管發展是有利的，您會像以前一樣開始花錢並尋找合作夥伴嗎？或者你會等待合作夥伴再花更多錢嗎？

Or if you couldn't -- if you didn't have a partner, would you continue to spend? Can you just clarify the importance and the timing of the selection of a partner if things resume?

或者如果你不能──如果你沒有合作夥伴，你會繼續花錢嗎？如果事情恢復的話，您能否澄清一下選擇合作夥伴的重要性和時間安排？

Well, that's a lot to unpack in there, Jeff. I mean, I think the ideal outcome for us is to have a partner at the project level or it again to lay some of that capital risk. And as I mentioned earlier, to the extent that they have domain expertise, that's a nice bonus.

好吧，傑夫，裡面有很多東西要解開。我的意思是，我認為對我們來說理想的結果是在專案層面擁有一個合作夥伴，或再次承擔一些資本風險。正如我之前提到的，就他們擁有領域專業知識而言，這是一個不錯的獎勵。

(technical difficulty).

（技術難度）。

And ladies and gentlemen, we apologize for the disruption we are back live with our presenters.

女士們先生們，對於我們與主持人一起回來直播造成的干擾，我們深表歉意。

Maybe I'll try to pick up where I think I got cut off, and then we'll officially close the call down. But Jeff, I was answering your question around a partner. And I think I said where I got cut off was ideally, a partner would have some capital wherewithal balance sheet, we're all for sure, some domain expertise would certainly be a value add. But in terms of timing, as I mentioned earlier on another question, it's important that we resolve matters in Utah in a way that are favorable to our project. And that's going to be a fine balance between what the legislators are looking for and what the regulator is looking for. But what we have to have in terms of regulatory legislative clarity to make such long-term investments.

也許我會嘗試接聽我認為被切斷的地方，然後我們將正式結束通話。但是傑夫，我是在圍繞一位合夥人回答你的問題。我想我說過，我被切斷的地方是理想的，合作夥伴將擁有一些資本和資產負債表，我們都確信，一些領域的專業知識肯定會帶來增值。但就時間安排而言，正如我之前在另一個問題中提到的，重要的是我們以有利於我們專案的方式解決猶他州的問題。這將在立法者的要求和監管者的要求之間取得良好的平衡。但我們必須有明確的監管立法才能進行此類長期投資。

So that's kind of condition, number one condition. Number two, is we'd like to finish out the Dustguard unit to demonstrate to the world that, that is a commercially viable scalable technology, and we have every belief that it will be, but I think that's an important proof point. And I think doing something on a partnership level prior to those criteria having been met is going to jeopardize project valuation, obviously, because it creates uncertainty.

這就是一種條件，第一個條件。第二，我們希望完成防塵裝置，向世界證明，這是一項商業上可行的可擴展技術，我們完全相信它會如此，但我認為這是一個重要的證明點。我認為在滿足這些標準之前在合作夥伴層面上做一些事情顯然會危及專案估值，因為它會產生不確定性。

So those would be 2 valuable conditions precedent to getting anything done with -- with a partner, but you can expect us in the meantime to be continuing to collaborate more closely with the folks in Utah, but work on these other things in parallel as well. So hopefully, that's responsive to your question.

因此，這將是與合作夥伴一起完成任何事情的兩個重要先決條件，但您可以期望我們同時繼續與猶他州的人們更密切地合作，但同時也致力於其他這些事情。希望這能回答您的問題。

And there are no further questions at this time. So I will now turn the call back to Mr. Kevin Crutchfield for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題。現在，我將把電話轉回給凱文·克拉奇菲爾德 (Kevin Crutchfield) 先生，讓其致閉幕詞。

Thank you. We apologize sincerely for the call abruptly stopping and everybody having to dial back in. But we thank you for your interest in continued interest in Compass Minerals and look forward to keeping you updated as time progresses. So thank you for dialing in today.

謝謝。對於電話突然中斷以及每個人都必須重新撥入的情況，我們深表歉意。但我們感謝您對 Compass Minerals 的持續關注，並期待隨著時間的推移向您通報最新情況。感謝您今天撥通電話。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call, and we thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束，我們感謝你們的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。