Core Natural Resources Inc (CNR) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Core Natural Resources Incorporation first quarter 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) This call is being recorded on Thursday, May 8, 2025.

女士們、先生們，早安，歡迎參加 Core Natural Resources Incorporation 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）本次通話於 2025 年 5 月 8 日星期四錄製。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Deck Slone. Please go ahead.

現在我想將會議交給 Deck Slone 先生。請繼續。

Good morning from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, everyone, and thanks for joining us today. Before we begin, let me remind you that certain statements made during this call, including statements relating to our expected future business and financial performance, may be considered forward-looking statements according to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.

賓州坎農斯堡的大家早安，感謝大家今天的收看。在我們開始之前，請允許我提醒您，根據《私人證券訴訟改革法案》，本次電話會議中所做的某些聲明，包括與我們預期的未來業務和財務業績有關的聲明，可能被視為前瞻性聲明。

Forward-looking statements, by their nature, address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. These uncertainties, which are described in more detail in the annual and quarterly reports that we file with the SEC, may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

前瞻性陳述就其性質而言，涉及不同程度的不確定事項。這些不確定性在我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的年度和季度報告中有更詳細的描述，可能會導致我們未來的實際結果與前瞻性陳述中表達的結果有重大差異。我們不承諾更新我們的前瞻性陳述，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件或其他原因，除非法律要求。

I'd also like to remind you that you can find a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures that we plan to discuss this morning at the end of our press release, a copy of which we have posted in the Investors section of our website at corenaturalresources.com.

我還想提醒您，您可以在新聞稿末尾找到我們計劃今天上午討論的非 GAAP 財務指標的對帳表，該對帳表的副本已發佈在我們網站 corenaturalresources.com 的「投資者」部分。

Also participating on this morning's call will be Paul Lang, our CEO; Mitesh Thakkar, our President and CFO; and Bob Braithwaite, our Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales. After some formal remarks from Paul and Mitesh, the four of us will be happy to take questions.

我們的執行長 Paul Lang 也將參加今天上午的電話會議；我們的總裁兼財務長 Mitesh Thakkar；以及我們的行銷和銷售資深副總裁 Bob Braithwaite。在保羅和米特什發表一些正式演講之後，我們四人將很樂意回答問題。

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

說完這些，我現在將電話轉給保羅。保羅？

Thanks, Deck, and good morning, everyone. We're happy you could join us on the call today. I'm pleased to report that Core is off to an exceptionally strong start and is already delivering on its tremendous potential after just four months as a combined company.

謝謝，Deck，大家早安。我們很高興您能參加我們今天的電話會議。我很高興地報告，Core 取得了非常強勁的開局，合併後僅四個月就已發揮出巨大的潛力。

During the first quarter, the team generated $123.5 million of adjusted EBITDA despite generally soft market environment, returned $106.6 million to investors through share buybacks and quarterly dividends, increased our target for merger-related synergies by 10% at the midpoint of guidance to between $125 million and $150 million, made excellent progress towards the full resumption of operations at Leer South and executed several well-timed capital market transactions that, in aggregate, have established a strong and strategic capital structure in support of our future growth prospects.

在第一季度，儘管市場環境普遍疲軟，但團隊仍創造了 1.235 億美元的調整後 EBITDA，透過股票回購和季度股息向投資者返還了 1.066 億美元，將合併相關協同效應的目標提高了 10%，達到 1.25 億美元至 1.5 億美元之間，在全面恢復 Leer South營運方面取得了出色進展，並執行了幾項適時的資本市場交易，這些交易總體上建立了強大而策略性的資本結構，以支持我們未來的成長前景。

Of equal importance, the team is executing at a strong level operationally. In particular, the high CV thermal segment continues to hit on all cylinders. This segment generated substantial free cash flow in Q1 by leveraging its strong book of contracted business, taking advantage of strengthening domestic power markets and capitalizing on solid pricing in key segments of the international marketplace where we have a strategic advantage.

同樣重要的是，該團隊的運作水準很高。尤其是高 CV 熱能部分繼續全力以赴。該部門利用其強大的合約業務、利用不斷加強的國內電力市場以及利用我們具有戰略優勢的國際市場關鍵領域的穩定定價，在第一季度產生了大量自由現金流。

While market conditions were more challenging for the Metallurgical segment, the team turned in a solid cost performance across most of the portfolio, led by record quarterly production at the Leer mine, which also served to partially mitigate the impact of the longwall outage at the Leer South operation.

儘管市場條件對於冶金部門來說更具挑戰性，但該團隊在大部分投資組合中都實現了穩健的成本績效，其中萊爾礦的季度產量創下了紀錄，這也在一定程度上緩解了萊爾南部作業區長壁停工的影響。

We're focused on maintaining this strong operational momentum as we progress through the remainder of the year. This, along with our ongoing capture of the substantial and increasing synergies as well as the projected restart of the longwall at Leer South midyear should provide further tailwinds in the months ahead.

我們致力於在今年剩餘時間內保持強勁的營運動能。這一點，加上我們持續捕捉到的實質和不斷增加的協同效應，以及預計在年中重新啟動萊爾南區的長壁開採，應該會為未來幾個月帶來進一步的順風。

As you'll note from the guidance table contained in our earnings release, we have affirmed or improved upon our guidance in all instances. In particular, we're projecting a full year of cash cost for the high CV thermal segment of $39 at the midpoint of guidance, which is more than $3 per ton lower than in Q1 when we had three longwall moves at the Pennsylvania mining complex.

正如您從我們的收益報告中包含的指導表中所注意到的，我們在所有情況下都確認或改進了我們的指導。具體來說，我們預計高 CV 熱能部分的全年現金成本為指導中點 39 美元，比第一季度我們在賓夕法尼亞採礦綜合體進行三次長壁移動時每噸低 3 美元以上。

We also reduced the projected cash cost for our Metallurgical segment to $96 per ton at the midpoint of guidance, which is $2 per ton favorable to the previous estimate. For the back half of the year, following the restart of Leer South longwall, we're still projecting a cash cost in the lower $90 per ton for the segment.

我們還將冶金部門的預計現金成本下調至指導中點的每噸 96 美元，比之前的估計高出每噸 2 美元。今年下半年，隨著 Leer South 長壁開採重新啟動，我們仍預計該部門的現金成本將在每噸 90 美元以下。

I'd now like to spend a few minutes on the capital return program. As you recall, we announced a new capital return framework in February, which was designed to reward our shareholders for their strong ongoing support and which we consider a central tenet of Core's long-term value proposition. The centerpiece of this framework is a targeted return to shareholders of around 75% of the previous quarter's free cash flow through share repurchases and a sustaining quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.

現在我想花幾分鐘時間討論一下資本回報計劃。大家還記得，我們​​在二月宣布了一項新的資本回報框架，旨在獎勵股東的持續大力支持，我們認為這是 Core 長期價值主張的核心原則。該框架的核心是透過股票回購向股東返還上一季自由現金流的約 75% 以及每股 0.10 美元的持續季度股息。

As indicated, we wasted no time in putting this capital return program into full effect. During Q1, we invested around $101 million to buy back 1.4 million shares or around 3% of our outstanding shares at the program's launch at an average price of $73.52 per share. We also returned about $5 million to stockholders through the March dividend payment. In addition, as noted in the release, we also intend to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share in June.

正如所指出的，我們立即全面實施了這項資本回報計劃。在第一季度，我們投資了約 1.01 億美元，以每股 73.52 美元的平均價格回購了 140 萬股，約佔該計畫啟動時流通股的 3%。我們也透過三月的股息支付向股東返還了約 500 萬美元。此外，如新聞稿所述，我們還計劃在 6 月支付每股 0.10 美元的季度股息。

Let me reiterate that we expect the share repurchases to be most highly value creating at current valuations. At a time when most of the global resource sector is focused on cash preservation, we're putting our excess cash to work opportunistically in today's depressed equity market environment.

讓我重申一下，我們預期股票回購將在當前估值下創造最高價值。在全球資源產業大多數專注於現金保值的時候，我們卻在當今低迷的股市環境中投機地利用多餘的現金。

As indicated, the Board has authorized a total of $1 billion in share repurchases in support of the capital return framework. And at the end of Q1, we had roughly $900 million remaining on that authorization. That authorization level further underscores the Board's confidence in our near, mid and long-term outlook as well as the company's great cash-generating capabilities.

如上所述，董事會已批准總計 10 億美元的股票回購，以支持資本回報框架。截至第一季末，我們的授權金額還剩下約 9 億美元。這項授權水準進一步強調了董事會對我們的近期、中期和長期前景以及公司強大的現金創造能力的信心。

Now let's turn to synergy capture, which also remains a sharp focus of the team and a huge lever for future value creation for us. During Q1, the team executed on strategies that put us on pace to deliver at the midpoint of the initially indicated guidance and identified another tranche of opportunities that prompted us to raise the bar still higher on this critically important front.

現在讓我們來談談綜效的獲取，也是團隊關注的重點，也是我們未來創造價值的巨大槓桿。在第一季度，團隊執行的策略使我們能夠按最初指引的中點交付，並發現了另一批機會，促使我們在這個至關重要的方面進一步提高標準。

With this, we now expect to deliver an annual synergy value of between $125 million and $150 million, and we're not done. Remember, the full team has only been working together as an integrated unit for about four months, and the level of collaboration and creativity has been impressive. We expect those efforts to continue to develop new opportunities, particularly around the area of sharing of best practices between the mines. While Mitesh will provide additional commentary on this important topic in his prepared remarks, we still expect more uplift in the synergy arena as coal markets normalize, which should act to drive incremental value in areas such as marketing and product blending.

由此，我們現在預計每年將實現 1.25 億美元至 1.5 億美元的協同價值，但我們還沒有完成。請記住，整個團隊作為一個整體才一起工作了大約四個月，其協作和創造力水平令人印象深刻。我們期望這些努力能夠繼續創造新的機遇，特別是在礦場之間分享最佳實踐方面。雖然 Mitesh 將在其準備好的演講稿中對此重要主題提供更多評論，但我們仍然預計，隨著煤炭市場的正常化，協同效應領域將出現更多提升，這將推動行銷和產品混合等領域的增量價值。

Turning now to the status of Leer South. As you know, the mine experienced a combustion event around the time of the merger's completion. Once again, I want to commend the Leer South team as well as the federal and state regulators for their exceptional ongoing work in managing this situation in a safe and efficient manner. Since the combustion event occurred, the team has made tremendous progress in putting the mine on a path to resume longwall operations by midyear. To date, the team has safely sealed off the affected area, extinguished combustion-related activity and resumed development work with continuous mining units.

現在來談談 Leer South 的現況。如您所知，該礦在合併完成時發生了燃燒事件。我再次讚揚 Leer South 團隊以及聯邦和州監管機構為安全有效地處理這一情況所做的出色持續工作。自從發生燃燒事件以來，該團隊已取得巨大進展，使礦井預計將在年中恢復長壁作業。截至目前，該團隊已安全封鎖了受影響區域，撲滅了與燃燒有關的活動，並恢復了連續採礦設備的開發工作。

In addition, we continue to use remote cameras to monitor the longwall, which reaffirms our belief that the equipment was largely unaffected by the event. It's also worth underscoring that restart of the continuous mining units in mid-February has acted to significantly improve the development lead time for future longwall production. We expect this increased lead time to translate into higher longwall productivity once the system resumes operation.

此外，我們繼續使用遠端攝影機監控長壁，這再次證實了我們的信念，即設備基本上沒有受到該事件的影響。另外值得強調的是，2月中旬重新啟動連續採礦裝置已大大縮短了未來長壁生產的開發週期。我們預計，一旦系統恢復運行，增加的準備時間將轉化為更高的長壁生產率。

Before passing the call to Mitesh, I'd like to spend a few minutes on global market dynamics. As indicated, our two primary lines of business, Metallurgical and high CV thermal coal continue to encounter soft market conditions in the international arena due in part to trade-related uncertainties. While we hope the current tariff situation proves to be transitory, we have pivoted quickly to redirect our products away from countries that have established retaliatory tariffs, and we believe we're in generally good shape for the balance of 2025 and heading into 2026.

在將電話轉給 Mitesh 之前，我想花幾分鐘時間討論全球市場動態。如上所述，我們的兩大主要業務線－冶金煤和高CV動力煤在國際市場上持續遭遇疲軟的市場環境，部分原因是貿易相關的不確定性。雖然我們希望當前的關稅狀況​​只是暫時的，但我們已迅速調整方向，將我們的產品從已實施報復性關稅的國家轉移出去，並且我們相信，在 2025 年餘下時間以及邁向 2026 年時，我們的狀況總體良好。

In the high CV thermal segment, our substantial contracted position is also acting to counterbalance current export market softness along with continued stability in key industrial market segments and strong domestic demand. Through April, US power generation is up 3.8% after increasing around 3% in 2024. The 2025 demand increase was satisfied with a 20% increase from coal that acted to offset a small decline from natural gas.

在高CV熱電領域，我們大量的合約地位也正在抵消當前出口市場的疲軟以及主要工業市場的持續穩定和強勁的國內需求。截至 4 月份，美國發電量成長 3.8%，而 2024 年則成長了約 3%。2025 年的需求成長由煤炭 20% 的成長來滿足，這抵消了天然氣的小幅下降。

Our ability to opportunistically direct tons on a real-time basis to the strongest market segment is invaluable. Importantly, we're starting to see production curtailments in major thermal supply regions, which should lead to improved market dynamics over time.

我們能夠及時、精準地將貨物引導至最強大的細分市場，這種能力非常寶貴。重要的是，我們開始看到主要熱電供應地區的減產，這將隨著時間的推移改善市場動態。

In the Metallurgical segment, the long-term market outlook remains compelling despite weak pricing levels. New blast furnace capacity continues to come online across Southeast Asia, while Indian imports of seaborne coking coal remain on an upward trend, increasing an estimated 3% in 2024.

在冶金領域，儘管物價水平疲軟，但長期市場前景仍引人注目。東南亞各地新的高爐產能持續上線，而印度海運煉焦煤進口量則保持上升趨勢，預計到 2024 年將成長 3%。

In addition, Chinese imports of seaborne coking coal increased around 20 million tons in 2024, a trend that is acting to support broader global market dynamics and to help counterbalance higher Chinese steel exports. While we believe the current market uncertainty is changing some of the historical trade patterns, we do not think it has had an impact on the overall demand at this point.

此外，2024年中國海運煉焦煤進口量將增加約2,000萬噸，這一趨勢將支持更廣泛的全球市場動態，並有助於抵消中國鋼鐵出口的成長。雖然我們認為當前的市場不確定性正在改變一些歷史貿易模式，但我們認為目前它還沒有對整體需求產生影響。

On the supply side, globally for both the Metallurgical and High CV markets, mine output remains constrained by years of underinvestment, ongoing degradation and depletion of the global reserve base as well as continuing regulatory pressure. Moreover, current pricing levels appear to be inducing supply rationalization among high-cost producers, not only in the United States, but globally, which should act to support healthier supply-demand balance over time.

在供應方面，全球冶金市場和高CV市場，礦山產量仍受到多年投資不足、全球儲量基礎持續退化和枯竭以及持續監管壓力的限制。此外，目前的價格水準似乎正在促使高成本生產商的供應合理化，不僅在美國，而且在全球範圍內，這應該會隨著時間的推移支持更健康的供需平衡。

In closing, the Core team is off to an excellent start in integrating the combined operating, marketing and logistics portfolio into a cohesive high-performing unit and capturing the substantial and growing synergies created by our transformational merger. We believe we're building a company that is uniquely equipped to capitalize on compelling global coal market dynamics with our world-class mines, strategic logistical network, strong balance sheet, tremendous cash-generating capabilities and most importantly, an exceptional workforce. A workforce that I want to thank for their hard work and support of the merger as well as their creativity in finding synergies, while at the same time, maintaining operational excellence in the areas of safety, compliance and continuous improvement. It is an amazing group to work with.

最後，核心團隊在將合併後的營運、行銷和物流組合整合為一個有凝聚力的高績效部門以及抓住由我們的轉型合併所創造的巨大且不斷增長的協同效應方面取得了良好的開端。我們相信，我們正在建立一家擁有獨特優勢的公司，憑藉我們世界一流的礦山、戰略物流網絡、強大的資產負債表、巨大的現金創造能力以及最重要的優秀員工隊伍，我們能夠利用引人注目的全球煤炭市場動態。我要感謝全體員工的辛勤工作和對合併的支持，以及他們在尋找協同效應方面的創造力，同時在安全、合規和持續改進方面保持卓越的運作。這是一個非常棒的合作團隊。

As we look ahead, we expect to continue to generate significant amounts of free cash flow, particularly in the second half of the year and to continue to return a majority of that cash to stockholders through our capital return program.

展望未來，我們預計將繼續產生大量自由現金流，特別是在今年下半年，並將繼續透過我們的資本回報計畫將大部分現金返還給股東。

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Mitesh for some additional detail on our financial performance and outlook as well as ongoing progress in the synergy arena. Mitesh?

有了這些，我現在將電話轉給 Mitesh，以了解有關我們的財務業績和前景以及協同領域持續進展的更多細節。米特什？

Thank you, Paul, and good morning, everyone. Let me begin by providing an update on several actions we took to firm up the capital structure of Core that resulted in enhanced liquidity, extended maturities, reduced financing costs and improved financial flexibility, which has lowered our weighted average cost of capital.

謝謝你，保羅，大家早安。首先，我來介紹我們為鞏固核心資本結構而採取的幾項措施，這些措施增強了流動性，延長了期限，降低了融資成本，提高了財務靈活性，從而降低了我們的加權平均資本成本。

In conjunction with the merger closing in mid-January, we completed an upsizing of our revolving credit facility from $355 million to $600 million. We not only achieved a sizable increase in capacity, but we also reduced our credit spread by 75 basis points across the grid and improved our financial flexibility through less restrictive negative covenants. We also extended the maturity to April 30, 2029.

結合一月中旬合併的完成，我們完成了循環信貸額度的提升，從 3.55 億美元增加到 6 億美元。我們不僅實現了容量的大幅提升，還將整個電網的信用利差降低了 75 個基點，並透過減少負面契約限制提高了財務靈活性。我們也將到期日延長至 2029 年 4 月 30 日。

More recently, we successfully remarketed and refinanced our three legacy tranches of tax-exempt bonds previously issued by CONSOL or Arch at the end of the quarter. We increased the total bond amount from $276 million to $307 million, established a new 10-year term and reduced the weighted average interest rate by 92 basis points, which equates to nearly $3 million in annual interest savings despite a high interest rate environment relative to when those bonds were previously issued. Most importantly, we were successful in removing multiple restrictive covenants and eliminating first and second lien securities on our West Virginia and Pennsylvania bonds, respectively.

最近，我們在本季末成功地對 CONSOL 或 Arch 先前發行的三批免稅債券進行了再行銷和再融資。我們將債券總金額從 2.76 億美元增加到 3.07 億美元，確定了新的 10 年期限，並將加權平均利率降低了 92 個基點，儘管與先前發行這些債券時相比利率環境較高，但每年仍節省了近 300 萬美元的利息。最重要的是，我們成功取消了多項限制性契約，並分別消除了西維吉尼亞州和賓州債券的第一和第二留置權證券。

With our financial flexibility through our low debt levels, no significant near-term debt maturities and strong liquidity, we believe we have built a solid balance sheet capable of withstanding the cyclicality of the coal markets while also promoting the company's long-term growth and shareholder return goals.

憑藉我們低債務水平、無重大短期債務到期和強大流動性所帶來的財務靈活性，我們相信我們已經建立了穩健的資產負債表，能夠承受煤炭市場的周期性變化，同時促進公司的長期增長和股東回報目標。

Now let me provide a quick update on our financial results before providing an update on the outlook and synergy fronts. This morning, we reported a net loss of $69 million or $1.38 per diluted share and adjusted EBITDA of $123 million for 1Q '25. In the quarter, we spent $65 million on capital expenditures and generated $49 million in free cash flow.

現在，讓我先簡單介紹一下我們的財務業績，然後再介紹前景和綜效的最新情況。今天上午，我們報告 2025 年第一季淨虧損 6,900 萬美元，即每股攤薄虧損 1.38 美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 1.23 億美元。本季度，我們的資本支出為 6,500 萬美元，產生了 4,900 萬美元的自由現金流。

Additionally, during 1Q '25, we incurred some atypical items that dampened our earnings, such as $49 million in merger-related expenses, $12 million in debt extinguishment and refinancing costs and $36 million related to the Leer South combustion event and idling cost.

此外，在 2025 年第一季度，我們發生了一些非典型項目，這些項目抑制了我們的收益，例如 4,900 萬美元的合併相關費用、1,200 萬美元的債務清償和再融資成本以及與 Leer South 燃燒事件和空轉成本相關的 3,600 萬美元。

We successfully managed our capital expenditures to shift the spending to align with our expectation of a stronger back half of 2025 when Leer South longwall operations resume. In February, we announced our comprehensive capital return program, which envisioned returning approximately 75% of free cash flow with the optionality to deploy additional cash that was built during the period between merger announcement and completion.

我們成功管理了資本支出，使支出與我們對 2025 年下半年 Leer South 長壁作業恢復後業績更加強勁的預期保持一致。今年 2 月，我們宣布了全面的資本回報計劃，該計劃預計將返還約 75% 的自由現金流，並可選擇部署在合併公告和完成期間積累的額外現金。

Due to the current market dynamics impacting our share price, the progress being made at Leer South and our success on the financing front, we felt confident in deploying additional cash towards our shareholder return program in 1Q '25. As Paul indicated, during the quarter, we repurchased 1.4 million shares for approximately $101 million at the weighted average share price of $73.52 and paid dividends totaling approximately $5 million.

由於當前市場動態影響著我們的股價、Leer South 取得的進展以及我們在融資方面的成功，我們有信心在 2025 年第一季為我們的股東回報計劃投入更多現金。正如保羅所指出的，在本季度，我們以 73.52 美元的加權平均股價回購了 140 萬股，價值約 1.01 億美元，並支付了總額約 500 萬美元的股息。

In addition, we announced this morning that the Board of Directors has declared a $0.10 per share dividend payable on June 13, 2025, to stockholders of record on May 30, 2025. At the end of the quarter, CNR had total liquidity of $858 million.

此外，我們今天上午宣布，董事會已宣布將於 2025 年 6 月 13 日向 2025 年 5 月 30 日登記在冊的股東派發每股 0.10 美元的股息。截至本季末，CNR總流動資金為8.58億美元。

Shifting to our operating results. During 1Q '25, we sold 7.1 million tons of High CV thermal coal at a realized coal revenue per ton sold of $63.18. Due to a colder-than-normal winter, we received substantial uplift on our power price link contracts stemming from high PJM West day-ahead power prices. The high cV thermal segment had a cash cost of coal sold of $42.78 per ton, mostly driven by three scheduled longwall moves at the PAMC in the first quarter and higher power cost. The remainder of the year, we expect more ratable cadence of longwall moves.

轉向我們的經營業績。2025 年第一季度，我們銷售了 710 萬噸高 CV 動力煤，每噸煤炭營收 63.18 美元。由於冬季氣溫比正常水平低，PJM West 日前電價較高，我們的電價掛鉤合約價格大幅上漲。高 cV 熱電部門的煤炭銷售現金成本為每噸 42.78 美元，主要原因是第一季 PAMC 計劃進行三次長壁移動以及電力成本上升。在今年剩餘的時間裡，我們預期長壁作業的節奏將更加平穩。

On the Metallurgical side, during 1Q '25, we sold 2.3 million tons, including 442,000 tons of thermal byproduct. For the coking product alone, we achieved a realized coal revenue per ton sold of $113.70 and $98.26 per ton for the entirety of the Metallurgical segment. Metallurgical segment reported a cash cost of coal sold of $91 per ton, which excluded the Leer South idle and combustion-related costs.

在冶金方面，2025 年第一季度，我們銷售了 230 萬噸，其中包括 442,000 噸熱能副產品。僅就焦化產品而言，我們每噸煤炭的銷售收入就達到 113.70 美元，整個冶金部門的每噸煤炭銷售收入為 98.26 美元。冶金部門報告的煤炭銷售現金成本為每噸 91 美元，其中不包括 Leer South 的停工和燃燒相關成本。

For the PRB segment, we took advantage of strong demand during the quarter and sold 10.7 million tons at a realized coal revenue per ton sold of $14.93 and a cash cost of coal sold of $12.44 per ton.

對於 PRB 部門，我們利用本季的強勁需求，銷售了 1,070 萬噸煤炭，每噸煤炭營收為 14.93 美元，每噸煤炭現金成本為 12.44 美元。

During 1Q '25, we increased our 2025 high-CV thermal and Metallurgical segment contracted position to 26.5 million tons and 7.2 million tons, respectively. We also contracted additional volume in the PRB segment to bring the 2025 contracted position to 41.9 million tons.

2025 年第一季度，我們將 2025 年高 CV 熱軋和冶金部門的合約量分別增加至 2,650 萬噸和 720 萬噸。我們還在 PRB 領域簽訂了額外的合約量，使 2025 年的合約達到 4,190 萬噸。

Now let me provide a quick update on our outlook for 2025. As Paul mentioned, we are maintaining our guidance ranges for most categories while improving the following: on the metallurgical cash cost side, we are lowering our cash cost of coal sold guidance by $2 to a new range of $94 to $98 per ton, mainly due to some cost-saving measures and the transfer of some of the best practices as a result of the merger.

現在，讓我簡單介紹一下我們對 2025 年的展望。正如保羅所提到的，我們維持大多數類別的指導範圍，同時改進以下方面：在冶金現金成本方面，我們將煤炭銷售現金成本指導降低 2 美元至每噸 94 至 98 美元的新範圍，主要由於一些節約成本的措施和合併後一些最佳實踐的轉移。

We are also improving our committed tonnage position for the high CV Thermal segment to approximately 87% of tons contracted at the midpoint of our guidance range and maintaining our projected pricing range between $61 and $63 per ton. Even though commodity prices have declined since our last earnings call, we are able to offset this impact due to higher power prices and blending synergies we expect to achieve.

我們還將高 CV 熱能部分的承諾噸位提高到指導範圍中點合約噸位的約 87%，並將預計價格區間維持在每噸 61 至 63 美元之間。儘管自上次收益電話會議以來大宗商品價格有所下降，但由於電價上漲和我們預計實現的混合協同效應，我們能夠抵消這一影響。

For our PRB segment, we are increasing our sales volume guidance by 2.5 million tons at midpoint to 39 million to 42 million tons, committed and price position by 4 million tons to 41.9 million tons at a realized coal revenue of approximately $14.70 per ton.

對於我們的 PRB 部門，我們將銷售量指導中位數提高 250 萬噸，達到 3,900 萬至 4,200 萬噸，承諾價格上調 400 萬噸，達到 4,190 萬噸，實現煤炭收入約為每噸 14.70 美元。

Let me now just provide our thoughts on the near-term market dynamics that underpins our 2025 guidance. The high CV thermal segment, tariff uncertainties and muted demand in Europe are being counterbalanced by nearly 10% year-on-year annual cement production growth in India.

現在，讓我就支撐我們 2025 年指引的近期市場動態提供一下我們的看法。印度水泥產量年增近 10%，抵消了歐洲高 CV 熱電部分、關稅不確定性和需求低迷的影響。

Furthermore, as Paul noted, strong natural gas prices led to improved coal-fired power generation, which increased the demand for our high CV and PRB thermal product in the domestic market where coal-fired generation hit the quarterly highest level since 1Q '22.

此外，正如保羅所指出的，強勁的天然氣價格導致燃煤發電量提高，從而增加了國內市場對我們高 CV 和 PRB 熱電產品的需求，國內燃煤發電量達到了 2022 年第一季以來的季度最高水平。

In comparison to the first quarter of 2024, natural gas prices increased 93%, while gas storage levels declined year-over-year by 22% and 6% below the five-year average, providing further support for incremental domestic demand. On the metallurgical side, geopolitical risk and reciprocal tariffs continue to reduce demand and result in lower PLV pricing. However, pricing has begun to increase as marginal production costs remain below pricing levels. And at the midpoint of the guidance range, we have 93% of our metallurgical coking coal production committed.

與2024年第一季相比，天然氣價格上漲了93%，而天然氣庫存水準年減了22%，比五年平均低了6%，為國內增量需求提供了進一步的支持。在冶金方面，地緣政治風險和互惠關稅繼續減少需求並導致 PLV 價格下降。然而，由於邊際生產成本仍低於定價水平，價格已開始上漲。在指導範圍的中點，我們已承諾生產 93% 的冶金焦煤。

We'll continue to optimize our portfolio to minimize any potential impact of tariffs, but realize that we operate in a very uncertain environment and our outlook may be further impacted.

我們將繼續優化我們的投資組合，以盡量減少關稅的任何潛在影響，但我們意識到我們在一個非常不確定的環境中運營，我們的前景可能會受到進一步的影響。

Let me now provide an update on the progress we have made on the synergy front. As a reminder, at the merger announcement, we guided to an average annual run rate of $110 million to $140 million of synergies within 6 to 18 months following close. The two companies combined, the key goal was to improve our value-creating process. We are pleased to report that we now expect an updated range of $125 million to $150 million of expected annual synergy within 18 months.

現在，讓我介紹一下我們在協同方面取得的進展。提醒一下，在合併公告中，我們預計在合併完成後的 6 至 18 個月內，綜效的年平均運行率為 1.1 億美元至 1.4 億美元。兩家公司合併的主要目標是改善我們的價值創造過程。我們很高興地報告，我們目前預計 18 個月內年度協同效應將達到 1.25 億美元至 1.5 億美元。

During our last call, we highlighted that we had already executed strategies expected to yield approximately $40 million in annualized synergies, and we have continued to make meaningful progress since that time. In less than four months since the close of the merger, we have now executed strategies that are expected to yield over $100 million in annual synergies.

在我們上次電話會議中，我們強調我們已經執行了預計將產生約 4000 萬美元年度協同效應的策略，並且自那時以來我們繼續取得有意義的進展。自合併結束以來不到四個月的時間裡，我們實施的策略預計每年將產生超過 1 億美元的協同效應。

Let us delve a little deeper into some of these synergy items. First, for marketing, we have already realized $6 million in actual blending synergies. Based on the success, we now forecast approximately $30 million in blending synergies during 2025. Through the strategic ownership of our Baltimore terminal and our ownership interest in the DTA terminal, coupled with our diversified and high-quality product slate, we continue to enhance the value of our products via blending and transportation synergies.

讓我們更深入地探討一下這些協同作用項目。首先，對於行銷，我們已經實現了600萬美元的實際混合協同效應。基於這個成功案例，我們預測 2025 年混合綜效將達到約 3,000 萬美元。透過對巴爾的摩碼頭的戰略所有權和對 DTA 碼頭的所有權權益，再加上我們多樣化和高品質的產品組合，我們繼續透過混合和運輸協同效應來提升我們產品的價值。

On the administrative front, we have realized $16 million in annualized synergies during 1Q '25. Additional synergies are expected to be achieved through the further elimination of overlapping corporate and support position. As a reminder, we anticipate this number will grow as we transition various systems and processes and build out our new IT infrastructure. We expect the annualized synergy run rate to reach $30 million in overall administrative costs within 12 months of the merger close.

在行政方面，我們在 25 年第一季實現了 1,600 萬美元的年度綜效。透過進一步消除重疊的公司和支援職位，預計將實現更多的協同效應。提醒一下，我們預計隨著我們轉變各種系統和流程並建立新的 IT 基礎設施，這個數字將會成長。我們預計合併結束後 12 個月內年度綜效運行率將達到 3,000 萬美元的總管理成本。

We have also realized approximately $24 million in synergies associated with sharing of best practices, which we believe will lower the cost of sales for our metallurgical coal segment. The remaining bucket of executed synergies includes items such as procurement, financing costs, legal costs and other public company costs as well as best practices. We continue to identify additional public company cost reductions, and we secured incremental financing cost reductions with the completion of the tax-exempt bond refinancing.

我們還實現了與分享最佳實踐相關的約 2,400 萬美元的協同效應，我們相信這將降低冶金煤部門的銷售成本。其餘已執行的綜效包括採購、融資成本、法律成本和其他上市公司成本以及最佳實務等項目。我們繼續尋找其他上市公司的成本削減方法，並且隨著免稅債券再融資的完成，我們確保了融資成本的增量削減。

Our operations team have worked closely to share best practices and resources across the organization. We remain focused on driving standardization through ongoing collaboration and have already seen intangible potential and quantifiable results in this regard.

我們的營運團隊密切合作，在整個組織內分享最佳實踐和資源。我們始終致力於透過持續合作來推動標準化，並且已經看到了這方面的無形潛力和可量化的成果。

Furthermore, from a procurement perspective, we continue to work closely with our suppliers to leverage our size and scale in order to secure improved pricing and payment terms. While we are still early in the process, we are moving quickly and are pleased with our synergy progress to date. We also have multiple irons in the fire from which we expect to yield additional synergies in the near term, and we are aggressively pursuing upside to the initial range in an effort to create additional value for our shareholders.

此外，從採購角度來看，我們繼續與供應商密切合作，利用我們的規模來確保改善價格和付款條件。雖然我們還處於早期階段，但我們正在快速推進，並對迄今為止的協同進展感到滿意。我們還計劃在短期內推出多項舉措，以產生額外的協同效應，我們正在積極追求初始範圍的上升，並努力為股東創造更多價值。

In closing, we are very pleased with the progress that has been made since the merger closed in mid-January. We have successfully completed multiple refinancing efforts, continue to make progress on synergies, provided investors with a strong first quarter capital return and made significant strides towards resuming longwall production at Leer South.

最後，我們對自一月中旬合併完成以來的進展感到非常滿意。我們已成功完成多項再融資工作，繼續在協同效應方面取得進展，為投資者提供了強勁的第一季資本回報，並在恢復萊爾南部長壁生產方面取得了重大進展。

As Paul noted, let me finish by thanking our employees for their efforts over these last four months. Our operations, marketing and corporate support teams continue to remain focused on getting the highest value for our products and keeping our costs low, all while working safely and compliantly. Combining the legacy companies into one seamless integrated unit has been no small feat, and the progress the team has made so far is a testament to the hard work, dedication and professionalism.

正如保羅所說，最後我要感謝我們的員工在過去四個月所做的努力。我們的營運、行銷和企業支援團隊繼續致力於為我們的產品獲取最高價值並保持低成本，同時安全合規地工作。將傳統公司合併為一個無縫整合的單位絕非易事，而團隊迄今為止的進展證明了他們的辛勤工作、奉獻精神和專業精神。

Operator, we are now ready to begin the Q&A session of our call. Could you please provide the instruction to our callers?

接線生，我們現在準備開始通話的問答環節。您能向我們的來電者提供說明嗎？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Mr. Nathan Martin, Benchmark Company.

Benchmark Company 的 Nathan Martin 先生。

A couple of questions, I guess, on the Met segment to start. First, just to clarify, it appears you did not back the cost for idle operations out of your adjusted EBITDA of $123 million, correct?

我想先問幾個關於 Met 部分的問題。首先，需要澄清的是，您似乎沒有從 1.23 億美元的調整後 EBITDA 中扣除閒置營運成本，對嗎？

So it is not in that number, if that's what you mean.

所以它不在這個數字裡，如果你指的是這個的話。

So the $123 million...

所以這 1.23 億美元...

The guidance also doesn't reflect the idle mine cost.

該指引也沒有反映閒置礦山的成本。

Right. I guess, Mitesh, my question is $123 million of adjusted EBITDA, that doesn't add back the $36 million of new South idling costs you talked about? We're thinking that, that $36 million is kind of onetime, assuming that the mine comes back midyear.

正確的。我想，Mitesh，我的問題是 1.23 億美元的調整後 EBITDA，這還沒有加上您談到的 3600 萬美元新的南方空轉成本嗎？我們認為，假設礦山在年中恢復，那麼 3600 萬美元是一次性的。

It does add back.

它確實會加回來。

Okay. So that's all included in that $123 million.

好的。這些都包含在 1.23 億美元中。

Yes.

是的。

Got it. Then strong cost performance on the met segment side, well below the low end of even your new lower guidance range. So was that mainly because of higher sales? I know you called out record production at Leer. Are there any other productivity improvements there that could possibly carry forward? Just trying to get a sense of 2Q met segment costs even before that planned restart of Leer South and then your guidance going to the low 90s as you've reiterated.

知道了。然後，在滿足細分市場方面，成本表現強勁，遠低於新的較低指導範圍的低端。那麼這主要是因為銷售額增加嗎？我知道你呼籲在 Leer 進行唱片製作。還有其他可以繼續推進的生產力改進嗎？只是想了解第二季度在 Leer South 計劃重啟之前，車輛部門的成本情況，然後正如您重申的那樣，您的指導價格將達到 90 出頭。

Nate, this is Paul. Look, Q1 was a great quarter. And I said in my comments, the costs across most portfolio were some really good numbers. But clearly, what led the pack was we had an outstanding performance at Leer. And you think about it, that was the best record production we've had in 13 years at the mine.

內特，這是保羅。看起來，第一季是一個很棒的季度。我在我的評論中說過，大多數投資組合的成本都是非常好的數字。但顯然，我們領先的原因是我們在萊爾的出色表現。想想看，這是我們礦場 13 年來產量創下的最高紀錄。

And they really did a great job. As you look at Q2, Nate, I think probably the one thing that we will see is Leer does have a longwall move coming up. So look, I think the guidance takes into account that we were off to a great start. So we lowered the curtains down, and we're looking for a little bit more favorable than what we had said at the start of the year. But Q2 will be slightly impacted by a planned longwall move at Leer.

他們確實做得很好。內特，當你看第二季時，我想我們可能會看到的一件事是，萊爾確實有一個長壁移動即將到來。所以，我認為指導意見已經考慮到我們已經有一個好的開始。因此，我們拉開了帷幕，並期待著比年初所說的更為有利的結果。但第二季將受到萊爾 (Leer) 計劃中的長壁移動的輕微影響。

Okay. Good to know. And then maybe sticking with one more on the met side of things. Average realized price per ton for coking coal, $114, a little lower than expected. If I kind of assume the average 1Q plat high-vol A price, which I think was about $180. Maybe it was quality mix or more CFR sales. But maybe can you just help us bridge kind of to that $114 realized price?

好的。很高興知道。然後也許在事情的遇見上再堅持一個。焦煤平均每噸​​實現價格為114美元，略低於預期。如果我假設 1Q 鉑族高波動 A 的平均價格，我認為約為 180 美元。也許是品質組合或更多的 CFR 銷售。但也許您能幫助我們達到 114 美元的成交價嗎？

Sure, Nate. This is Bob. During the quarter, approximately 1.8 million of our 1.9 million coking coal tons were exported in the first quarter. As Paul mentioned on the call and as we discussed in the past, the growth for this coal has really shifted to Asia, especially in the first quarter. So as a result, the mix of our, I'll say, PLV contracts had increased. In fact, about 45% of the coal under our metallurgical segment moved into the Asian market in Q1.

當然，內特。這是鮑伯。本季度，我們出口了 190 萬噸的焦煤，其中約 180 萬噸是在第一季出口。正如保羅在電話中提到的以及我們過去討論過的，這種煤炭的成長確實已經轉移到亞洲，尤其是在第一季。因此，可以說我們的 PLV 合約組合增加了。事實上，我們冶金部門約有 45% 的煤炭在第一季進入了亞洲市場。

Good news is the product has been really well received in the Asian market, and we've seen a very high customer retention rate. Looking ahead in Q2, the lake season is open, so that affords us ability to move more coal of our contracted coal, I'll say, domestically. So we could see a slight improvement there quarter-on-quarter as we have a little bit more domestic tons in our mix. But really, when you look at just the balance of the year, you're probably are going to look at that 40-so percent level into the Pacific market or the Asian market going forward.

好消息是該產品在亞洲市場很受歡迎，而且我們看到了非常高的客戶保留率。展望第二季度，湖煤季節已經開放，因此我們可以在國內運輸更多的合約煤炭。因此，我們可以看到季度環比略有改善，因為我們的產品組合中國內噸位略有增加。但實際上，當你只看今年的餘額時，你可能會看到未來 40% 左右的水平進入太平洋市場或亞洲市場。

And Bob, those tons, are those CFR tons then where you guys are responsible for the ocean freight?

鮑勃，這些噸位是 CFR 噸位嗎？你們負責海運嗎？

It's a mixture, but majority of them, yes, CFR tons.

這是一種混合物，但大多數都是 CFR 噸。

Okay. Got it. Perfect. And Bob, while I have you, could we get an updated breakdown of the 26 million tons of committed priced coal in the high CV segment?

好的。知道了。完美的。鮑勃，趁著有你相見，我們能否了解一下高 CV 部分承諾定價的 2600 萬噸煤炭的最新明細？

Yes. So in the first quarter, it was 7.1 million tons, of which 6.4 million was PAMC, 700,000 was West Elk. That leaves us with about 19.4 million left contracted for the Q2 through Q4. About 16.3 million of that is PAMC. We have about 3.1 million that's linked to API 2, all have ceilings and floors. And I'll tell you, Nate, we're hovering around the floor now, so there's not much downside to that. We have 1.8 million linked to power and about 300,000 linked to high-vol B and then the balance of that will be fixed price. And then 3.1 million is West Elk, 2.6 million is fixed price and the balance or, call it, roughly 500,000 is linked to Newcastle.

是的。因此，第一季產量為 710 萬噸，其中 PAMC 為 640 萬噸，West Elk 為 70 萬噸。這就意味著，第二季至第四季的合約還剩下約 1,940 萬份。其中約 1,630 萬為 PAMC。我們有大約 310 萬個與 API 2 相關的數據，它們都有上限和下限。我會告訴你，內特，我們現在正徘徊在地板上，所以這並沒有什麼不利之處。我們有 180 萬個與電力有關，約 30 萬個與高容量 B 有關，其餘部分將採用固定價格。然後 310 萬美元是西埃爾克 (West Elk) 的，260 萬美元是固定價格，餘額或大約 50 萬美元與紐卡斯爾有關。

Okay. All right. Bob, I appreciate that. And then maybe just one more guys, if I could, kind of higher level. Paul, maybe your thoughts on the recent executive orders aimed at bolstering the US coal industry and coal-fired generation. What are you guys hearing from your customers so far? Any additional color would be helpful. And then do you see the possibility of more capital being spent to bring online the thermal coal production or keep coal-fired plants running longer? What do you think would incentivize that or make people comfortable doing that?

好的。好的。鮑勃，我很感激。然後，如果可以的話，也許再加一個更高等級的人。保羅，也許您對最近旨在支持美國煤炭工業和燃煤發電的行政命令有什麼看法。到目前為止，你們從客戶那裡聽到了什麼消息？任何額外的顏色都會有幫助。那麼，您是否認為有可能投入更多資金來啟動動力煤生產或延長燃煤電廠的運作時間？您認為什麼可以激勵人們這樣做或讓人們樂意這樣做？

I mean it's an interesting question, Nate. I mean I think, first and foremost, it's nice to have an administration that recognizes the industry and the importance that it has on the US economy and really what it means relative to power prices in the US. They believe coal should be in the mix and should stay in the mix.

我的意思是這是一個有趣的問題，內特。我的意思是，我認為，首先，有一個政府能夠認識到這個行業及其對美國經濟的重要性，以及它對美國電價的真正意義，這很好。他們認為煤炭應該加入能源結構中，而且應該繼續保留。

I think the executive orders reflected that general sentiment. So I think that's all positive. I think one of the concerns, if any, that the utilities have is these are all well and good, but what is going to happen four years from now? And is this the basis to make strong investments or I think they're waiting -- everybody is being a little cautious about it.

我認為行政命令反映了這種普遍情緒。所以我認為這都是正面的。我認為公用事業公司擔心的一個問題是，這些都很好，但四年後會發生什麼事？這是進行大力投資的基礎嗎？或者我認為他們在等待——每個人都對此持謹慎態度。

And look, I think it's headed in the right direction, and I think there's some actions that I think the administration would like to do legislatively that could instill some of these things a little more solid. And that's really what we'd like to see is these be a little more durable and something that people could plan after.

看起來，我認為它正朝著正確的方向前進，而且我認為政府願意透過立法採取一些行動，使其中一些事情更加穩固。我們真正希望看到的是，它們更加耐用，人們可以進行規劃。

Nate, it's Deck. Listen, I would add to that. The fact is that just since last fall, the delayed retirements have continued to build. And so we're looking now relative to last fall, an additional 4 gigawatts of operating capacity in '26, '27, '28. And hopefully, that drumbeat will continue. And look, as important as the sort of the policy stuff is, and it's really important, I think what you saw in January, February in terms of capacity factors for the fleet is equally important because last year, the fleet in its entirety operated about 43%.

內特，我是 Deck。聽著，我想補充一點。事實是，自去年秋季以來，延遲退休的現像一直在持續增加。因此，我們現在預計，相對於去年秋季，26、27、28 年的營運容量將增加 4 千兆瓦。希望這股鼓聲能夠持續下去。而且，儘管這類政策很重要，而且確實很重要，但我認為，就一月和二月的船隊運力因素而言，它們也同樣重要，因為去年，整個船隊的運作率約為 43%。

January, February, it operated at more than 60%, which tells you the art of the possible there. So as we do see growth in power demand, last year it was up 3%. So far year-to-date, it's up 3.8%. So we still -- we're seeing that power demand growth continue to manifest itself. But as we see that, we believe that the fleet that continues can operate at substantially higher capacity factors, which obviously is also quite significant. Gas prices being now, if you look at the strip, around $4 is another -- will be another dynamic that will serve to lift those capacity factors potentially. So we're enthusiastic about what we're seeing.

一月、二月，它的運作率超過了 60%，這說明了那裡存在著無限的可能性。因此，我們確實看到電力需求正在成長，去年成長了 3%。今年迄今上漲 3.8%。因此，我們仍然看到電力需求成長持續顯現。但正如我們所看到的，我們相信繼續運營的船隊可以以更高的容量係數運營，這顯然也非常重要。如果你看一下現在的汽油價格，你會發現大約為 4 美元，這將是另一個有助於提升這些容量因素的動態因素。因此，我們對所看到的一切感到非常興奮。

Chris LaFemina, Jefferies LLC.

傑富瑞有限責任公司 (Jefferies LLC) 的克里斯·拉費米納 (Chris LaFemina)。

Just on the capital return. So big buyback in the quarter, which at these prices, it seems like a pretty good use of capital. But obviously, the buyback in the first quarter was well above what your free cash flow was even if you include the proceeds from the asset sales and the cash proceeds from the merger. So you still have a strong balance sheet.

僅談資本回報。因此，本季進行大規模回購，以這樣的價格來看，這似乎是對資本的相當不錯的利用。但顯然，即使算上資產出售所得和合併所得的現金收益，第一季的回購額也遠高於自由現金流。所以你的資產負債表仍然強勁。

Guidance is for at least 75% of free cash flow to be used for buybacks or capital returns. If the share price stays kind of where it is now, should we expect buybacks to exceed the free cash flow? I mean, do you see this as a highly opportunistic level to step in and buy more? Or should we now think about balance sheet has been rebased and now it's back to 75% of free cash flow?

指導意見是至少 75% 的自由現金流用於回購或資本回報。如果股價維持在目前的水平，我們是否應該預期回購額會超過自由現金流？我的意思是，您是否認為這是一個介入併購買更多股票的絕佳機會？或者我們現在應該考慮資產負債表已經重新調整，現在又回到了 75% 的自由現金流？

Chris, this is Mitesh here. As you can imagine, we don't want to get into providing guidance on a quarterly basis. We have provided you with two signposts, if you will. One is, as you mentioned, our target to return approximately 75% of the free cash flow. And second is our preference for a net debt-neutral balance sheet. And as we demonstrated in Q1, as cash builds on our balance sheet, we will continue to deploy it opportunistically towards the best use. Right now, that is the share buyback route. And given the value proposition of our stock today, I wouldn't be surprised if we have another robust quarter of share repurchases.

克里斯，我是米特什。你可以想像，我們不想按季度提供指導。如果您願意的話，我們已經為您提供了兩個路標。一是，正如您所說，我們的目標是返還約 75% 的自由現金流。第二，我們傾向於淨債務中立的資產負債表。正如我們在第一季所展示的那樣，隨著資產負債表上現金的增加，我們將繼續適時地將其部署到最佳用途。目前，這就是股票回購途徑。考慮到我們股票目前的價值主張，如果我們又迎來一個強勁的股票回購季度，我不會感到驚訝。

Okay. And then secondly, on Leer South, can you just give us the time line and the next steps in terms of getting the longwall back online there?

好的。其次，關於萊爾南礦，您能否告訴我們恢復長壁開採的時間表和後續步驟？

Yes, Chris. So the mine has been sitting for about 90 or 100 days inert, which is kind of around the rule of thumb time frame. We currently have a plan with MSHA to reenter the mine here in the next week or two. We're going to keep watching the readings. And if we feel comfortable and the authorities feel comfortable, we'll reenter the mine relative to the -- area with the longwall. We'll breach the seals and get ventilation reestablished in that area.

是的，克里斯。因此，該礦已閒置了大約 90 或 100 天，大致上是經驗法則的時間範圍。我們目前已與 MSHA 制定了計劃，計劃在未來一兩週內重新進入該礦井。我們將繼續關注讀數。如果我們和當局都感到放心，我們就會重新進入相對於長壁開採區域的礦井。我們將打破封鎖並重新建立該地區的通風系統。

Then once we breach the seal, there's a 72-hour waiting period. And once that gets through, we'll start the usual inspection of the sealed area as well as the longwall equipment. The good news right now, and I mentioned it in my prepared remarks, is we have cameras on the longwall equipment. And by all indications, the longwall has stayed well intact, and we feel pretty good about where we're at.

一旦我們打破封印，就有 72 小時的等待期。一旦檢查通過，我們將開始對密封區域以及長壁設備進行常規檢查。現在的好消息是，我在準備好的發言中提到過，我們在長壁設備上安裝了攝影機。種種跡象表明，長壁開採工作面完好無損，我們對目前的情況感到十分滿意。

The difficulty or giving the time line is the unknowns, Chris. And while the longwall itself is in good shape, and I think establishing that small area and the ventilation is not going to be a big issue. The unknowns relatively are -- some of the electronics have been sitting in a very humid environment for three or four months. And the difficulty is, is that going to take us a week to fix or three weeks to fix, but those are all fixable things, and we won't know the exact timing until we get in there and put our hands on things.

給出時間表的困難是未知的，克里斯。雖然長壁本身狀況良好，但我認為建立那個小區域和通風不會成為大問題。相對而言未知的是——一些電子產品已經在非常潮濕的環境中放置了三、四個月。困難在於，我們需要一周時間才能修復，還是三週時間才能修復，但這些都是可以修復的問題，而且我們只有在親自動手處理問題時才會知道確切的時間。

But I just got to say, I feel really good about where we're at. We hit the schedule that we laid out in early January. And right now, things seem to be clicking along as they should. There's a critical step coming up here in the next couple of weeks, but I really feel the team is ready for it, and it should be set.

但我只想說，我對我們現在的狀況感到非常滿意。我們完成了 1 月初制定的計劃。目前，一切似乎都如預期進行。接下來的幾週內，這裡將邁出關鍵的一步，但我真的覺得團隊已經準備好了，應該可以開始了。

Nick Giles, B. Riley Securities.

尼克吉爾斯 (Nick Giles)，B. Riley 證券。

Is obviously, three longwall moves in 1Q that impacted costs on the high CV side, and you are maintaining your full year guide. So I was wondering how we should think about both volume and cost cadence in the quarters ahead. And if I saw correctly, there are 2 longwall moves left. So curious when we could see those?

顯然，第一季的三次長壁移動對高 CV 方面的成本產生了影響，並且您仍維持全年指南。所以我想知道我們應該如何考慮未來幾季的數量和成本節奏。如果我沒看錯的話，還剩下 2 個長壁移動。所以好奇我們什麼時候可以看到它們？

One of them is going on right now. And the other one kind of be the back half of the year. As you look at the costs, one thing that's kind of been lost here is one of the positives was the power price adjustment we had particularly at PAMC. And the offset of that was we paid a higher power cost now. We made a lot more on the revenue, but roughly about $0.50 of that increase in cost at PAMC for the quarter was a good reason because power costs in PJM were so high. So I think we feel that as we get through, we should see a drop in Q2 costs on the high CV thermal segment than kind of averaging down as we go through the year.

其中之一現在正在進行。另一次是在今年下半年。當你查看成本時，你會發現這裡忽略了一個正面因素，那就是我們對 PAMC 進行的電價調整。而與之相抵的是，我們現在支付了更高的電力成本。我們的收入增加了不少，但本季 PAMC 的成本增加了約 0.50 美元，這是有原因的，因為 PJM 的電力成本太高了。因此，我認為，隨著時間的推移，我們應該會看到高 CV 熱能部分的第二季成本下降，而不是全年平均下降。

I'll just add, Nick, as I mentioned on my prepared remarks, I think the cadence of the longwall moves is pretty ratable for the remainder of the year as well by quarter. So I think that should provide some tailwinds for the back half. So again, things could change, but the way I would think about it is second quarter, we are going to see some drop relative to the first quarter and then third and fourth quarter will be a little bit lower as well in the second quarter.

尼克，我只想補充一點，正如我在準備好的發言中提到的那樣，我認為今年剩餘時間以及按季度計算，長壁作業的節奏是相當可比的。所以我認為這應該會為後半部分帶來一些順風。所以，情況可能會發生變化，但我認為第二季相對於第一季將出現一些下降，而第三季和第四季也將略有下降。

Got it. That's very helpful. My next question was just on the high CV pricing side. And API 2 has been hanging in there somewhat, especially relative to Newcastle. So I was curious if you could touch on some of the supply-demand dynamics you're seeing out there. Are you still seeing relative strength in pet coke? And which end markets have you been targeting more recently? If you wouldn't mind touching on the domestic market as well, I'd appreciate it.

知道了。這非常有幫助。我的下一個問題是關於高 CV 定價方面的。API 2 一直處於停滯狀態，尤其是相對於紐卡斯爾而言。所以我很好奇您是否可以談談您所看到的一些供需動態。您是否仍看到石油焦的相對強勢？您最近瞄準了哪些終端市場？如果您不介意也談談國內市場的話，我將非常感激。

Yes, Nick, I mean, on the thermal side, I think we mentioned, we've seen a significant increase in demand domestically year-on-year. And I think Paul referenced some statistics in his remarks and Deck further reiterated. One thing, too, if you look at the PJM market, which is what I would call our core primary market for our PAMC coal, total generation there was actually up 5% with coal generation up over 30%. We've seen inventory levels come down significantly across our customer base. And because of that, we've actually were successful in locking in some spot deals most recently.

是的，尼克，我的意思是，在熱能方面，我想我們提到過，我們看到國內需求比去年同期大幅增長。我認為保羅在他的評論中引用了一些統計數據，而德克也進一步重申了這一點。還有一件事，如果你看看 PJM 市場（我稱之為我們的 PAMC 煤炭的核心主要市場），那裡的總發電量實際上增長了 5%，其中煤炭發電量增長了 30% 以上。我們發現整個客戶群的庫存水準大幅下降。正因為如此，我們最近實際上已經成功鎖定了一些現貨交易。

And in fact, we're seeing RFPs out earlier than what we usually would. We actually have a couple of RFPs out today. One is actually through 2030, one is through 2028. So again, I think you're starting to see the customer base there really looking at securing longer-term contracts, which is going to benefit us in the long term as well.

事實上，我們比平常更早收到了 RFP。事實上，我們今天已經發出了幾份 RFP。一個實際上是到 2030 年，一個是到 2028 年。所以，我認為你開始看到那裡的客戶群確實在尋求簽訂長期合同，從長遠來看這也將使我們受益。

Looking at the international markets, primarily India and Egypt, which is our large industrial markets that we serve. Demand is there and continues to grow. We are in a bit of a price fall. We have seen pet coke prices come off a bit, but we would expect that to pick back up in the coming months. And then the other thing we need -- we haven't really touched upon, but if we do see a trade deal between China and the US, I would suggest that China will be back buying US coal and not only coal, but pet coke, which will certainly tighten that market for India. So overall, I'll tell you, I'm very bullish thermal coal, specifically on our portfolio as of coal for the reasons I just mentioned.

放眼國際市場，主要是印度和埃及，這是我們服務的大型工業市場。需求是存在的，而且還在持續成長。我們正處於價格下跌的階段。我們已經看到石油焦價格略有下降，但我們預計未來幾個月價格將回升。然後我們需要的另一件事——我們還沒有真正談到，但如果我們確實看到中美之間達成貿易協議，我認為中國將重新購買美國煤炭，不僅是煤炭，還有石油焦，這肯定會收緊印度的市場。所以總的來說，我會告訴你，我非常看好動力煤，特別是我們的煤炭投資組合，原因我剛才提到了。

And Nick, maybe I'll jump in just on the macro perspective. Look, we are seeing those cuts, Russian exports down appreciably last year. So these prices are weighing on supply. The Colombia cuts that we've seen announced recently is certainly useful and interesting.

尼克，也許我會從宏觀角度來談談。你看，我們看到了這些削減，去年俄羅斯的出口大幅下降。因此這些價格對供應產生了壓力。我們最近看到的哥倫比亞減產聲明無疑是有用且有趣的。

Australian exports down through the first four months of the year. So look, some positive developments out there. Now exactly when those corrective measures begin to affect price is TBD, but you can see that these prices are weighing on some of these suppliers. And would just add again, as we've said before, look, one of the great advantages of Core is that we can toggle between these markets, as Bob just discussed, because we are so exceptionally high rank in our high-speed thermal segment, we are able to enter those markets that are most attractive to move into the cement markets when those are most promising.

今年前四個月澳洲出口下降。所以看看那裡的一些積極進展。現在，這些糾正措施何時開始影響價格還有待確定，但你可以看到這些價格正在給一些供應商帶來壓力。我再補充一點，正如我們之前所說，Core 的一大優勢是，我們可以在這些市場之間切換，正如鮑勃剛才討論的那樣，因為我們在高速熱能領域的排名非常高，所以我們能夠進入那些最有吸引力的市場，在水泥市場最有前景的時候進入這些市場。

And obviously, we continue to see good growth in Indian cement. So we do have that ability to move between and toggle between markets. We talked about the domestic thermal opportunity. We'll continue to capitalize on that.

顯然，我們繼續看到印度水泥的良好成長。因此我們確實有能力在各個市場之間移動和切換。我們討論了國內熱能機會。我們將繼續利用這一點。

Bob, Deck, I really appreciate all those comments. Maybe just on the synergy side, you appear to have made some strong progress thus far, and apologies if I missed any of this, but -- curious how we should think about the incremental EBITDA impact that we could see in the second half as you approach full run rates? Or said differently, is there anything that we -- that would not be fully reflected in your current guidance that we could see?

鮑伯、德克，我真的很感謝你們所有的評論。也許只是在協同效應方面，到目前為止您似乎已經取得了一些重大進展，如果我錯過了其中的任何一點，我深感抱歉，但是——我很好奇，當您接近滿載運行率時，我們應該如何看待下半年可能看到的增量 EBITDA 影響？或者換句話說，我們能看到的、在您目前的指導中沒有完全反映出來的內容是什麼？

Yes. So I'm assuming your question is on the synergy side. I think from a synergy perspective, I would say one of the components of the synergy is the blending synergies. And if you think about the guidance that we provide for the coking coal segment, there's not a guidance for the midds and midds as in the thermal byproduct. I think that's where we see a lot of the value uplift. I would think about 600,000 to 700,000 tons of midds a year for 2025 and around $30 value uplift, that's probably not reflected or captured in the guidance we provide. Does that give you some perspective?

是的。所以我假設你的問題是關於協同作用方面的。我認為從協同效應的角度來看，協同效應的組成部分之一就是混合協同效應。如果你考慮我們為焦煤領域提供的指導，你會發現我們並沒有為熱能副產品中的中煤和中煤提供指導。我認為這就是我們看到的大量價值提升的地方。我認為 2025 年每年的中品產量約為 60 萬至 70 萬噸，價值上漲約 30 美元，這可能沒有反映或體現在我們提供的指導中。這能給你一些啟發嗎？

Mitesh, that's super helpful.

Mitesh，這非常有幫助。

Mr. George Eadie, UBS.

瑞銀集團喬治·艾迪先生。

A few questions, which are mostly follow-ups on previous ones. So firstly, just on Leer South, could you maybe quantify how far ahead development is of the longwall now? And how does this compare to previous years where it's been a bit of a constraint? And just secondly, there, once it's up and running, how quick do you foresee if things are going well, you can get back to sort of usual production rates?

有幾個問題，主要是對先前問題的後續。那麼首先，僅就 Leer South 而言，您能否量化目前長壁開採技術的進展？這與前幾年受到的限制相比如何？其次，一旦它啟動並運行，如果一切進展順利，您預計多久可以恢復到正常的生產力？

So we've been tight on development really for the last 1.5 years. And we were starting to open up at the end of last year and getting back in a better spot. But right now, we are almost to the point where we're willing to slow down development because we are far enough ahead. I'd say I don't want -- development is one of those things that you want to stay ahead on, but you don't want to get too far ahead on.

所以在過去的一年半我們一直在努力開發。我們從去年年底開始恢復開放，並恢復到了更好的狀態。但目前，我們幾乎已經到了願意放慢發展速度的地步，因為我們已經領先足夠多。我想說我不想——發展是那些你想保持領先，但又不想走得太遠的事情之一。

And we're entering that sweet spot, and I'd call that 30 to 60 days. And if there's been anything positive out of this event, that's what we've been able to do. And it also means that we'll be able to pull back on some of the development going forward because we got into District 2, District 2 appears to be everything we thought it would be, and we're just moving forward with well intent about what we said.

我們正在進入這個最佳時期，我稱之為 30 到 60 天。如果這次活動有什麼正面意義的話，那就是我們所能做的。這也意味著我們將能夠在未來撤回一些開發工作，因為我們已經進入了第 2 區，第 2 區看起來就像我們想像的那樣，我們只是滿懷善意地按照我們所說的那樣向前邁進。

So I guess, in general, it got us in a good spot. And relative to the cadence once we start up, look, I think having been through these type of things, I know there's going to be some gremlins in the electronics for a while, but I expect us to hit the ground running pretty hard on a relatively quick pace.

所以我想，總的來說，它讓我們處於一個有利的位置。至於我們啟動後的節奏，看，我認為經歷過這些事情之後，我知道電子產品中暫時會出現一些小問題，但我希望我們能夠以相對較快的速度全力以赴。

Yes. Okay. No, that's clear. And then just moving to the balance sheet and financials a bit. Just on the buyback, so over $100 million this quarter. Maybe just color on how much you could actually get done per quarter on a go-forward sort of thinking about basis given blackout periods, et cetera. Can you sort of comfortably manage $100 million if free cash flow prices sort of permit it? Just how to think about that, how much you can actually do, I guess?

是的。好的。不，這很清楚。然後稍微轉到資產負債表和財務狀況。光是回購一項，本季就超過 1 億美元。也許只是根據停電期等因素，在考慮未來情況的基礎上，估算一下你每季實際上可以完成多少工作。如果自由現金流價格允許的話，您能輕鬆管理 1 億美元嗎？我想，你該如何思考這個問題呢？你實際上能做多少？

Yes, George. So certainly, we don't believe there's any sort of barrier there to that level of buyback -- we'll have plenty of open days. We won't be restricted. So again, to your point, you're a good qualifier. Free cash flow permits, absolutely, that wouldn't -- that cadence would not be problematic.

是的，喬治。因此，我們當然不認為這種程度的回購有任何障礙——我們會有足夠的開放時間。我們不會受到限制。所以，再次強調，就你的觀點而言，你是一個很好的合格者。自由現金流允許的話，絕對不會——這種節奏不會有問題。

How high? Could you guys sort of double that sort of ballpark, $200 million a quarter?

有多高？你們能否將這個數字翻一番，也就是每季 2 億美元？

Just from a technical perspective, I don't think it would be a limitation. But like I said, we have to follow the signpost that I mentioned. That's what.

僅從技術角度來看，我認為這不會是一個限制。但就像我說的，我們必須遵循我提到的路標。就是這樣。

Yes, yes. No, that's right. That's good. And then just lastly on M&A, like how are you thinking about that in context of everything you sort of flagged given potential supply rationalization as well, meaning assets could come online at reasonable prices as you flagged earlier on guys?

是的，是的。不，沒錯。那挺好的。最後，關於併購，您如何看待這個問題？您提到了潛在的供應合理化，這意味著資產可以以合理的價格上線，正如您之前提到的那樣？

Look, George, this was an easy one. At our current valuation, I think the best thing we could do is buy back our own stock. we're cheap, and that's the view from both management and the Board, and that's what we're going to pursue here for the next couple of quarters.

瞧，喬治，這很簡單。按照我們目前的估值，我認為我們能做的最好的事情就是回購我們自己的股票。我們很便宜，這是管理階層和董事會的觀點，這也是我們在接下來的幾季中要追求的目標。

Nick Giles, B. Riley Securities.

尼克吉爾斯 (Nick Giles)，B. Riley 證券。

I think Nate might have asked this earlier, but I did just want to clarify. The idling costs of $36 million, these are added back and reflected to in your $123 million of adjusted EBITDA. I'm just looking at the bridge in the Met segment and seeing a roughly negative $20 million, and I would have assumed that this didn't include the idling cost Yes.

我想 Nate 可能早些時候問過這個問題，但我只是想澄清一下。閒置成本為 3,600 萬美元，這些成本被加回並反映在您的 1.23 億美元調整後 EBITDA 中。我只是看了看大都會博物館部分的橋樑，發現大約有負 2000 萬美元，而且我以為這還不包括空轉成本。是的。

So Nick, on the idling cost, let me just clarify. So if you look at the metallurgical cash cost of $91 million, right, then it is -- the idling cost is added back to reflect it appropriately, that's the cash cost, right? But when you look at the EBITDA, we are not adding it back into the EBITDA. So hypothetically, if you were to add that back, your EBITDA would be higher than the $123 million we reported. Does that clarify it?

那麼尼克，關於空轉成本，讓我澄清一下。因此，如果您看一下 9100 萬美元的冶金現金成本，那麼 - 閒置成本被加回去以適當反映它，這就是現金成本，對嗎？但是當您查看 EBITDA 時，我們並沒有將其重新新增至 EBITDA 中。因此，假設您將其加回，您的 EBITDA 將高於我們報告的 1.23 億美元。這樣解釋清楚了嗎？

That is extremely helpful, Mitesh. I really appreciate that.

這非常有幫助，Mitesh。我真的很感激。

So there are no further questions at this time. So I will now turn the call over to Mr. Deck Slone. Please continue.

目前沒有其他問題。現在我將把電話轉給 Deck Slone 先生。請繼續。

You got Paul instead of Deck. So anyway -- look, I want to thank you again for your interest in Core and participating in the call today. Look, these are exciting times for the company. And the current market environment clearly indicates why we did this merger because at this point in the market, diversity, mass, low-cost operations and a strong balance sheet, they do matter and will matter more in this market going forward. Stay safe and healthy, everyone, and we look forward to reporting to the group in early August. Thank you.

你得到的是 Paul，而不是 Deck。無論如何——看，我想再次感謝您對 Core 的關注以及參加今天的電話會議。瞧，對公司來說，這是令人興奮的時刻。當前的市場環境清楚地表明了我們進行此次合併的原因，因為在目前的市場環境下，多元化、大規模、低成本營運和強勁的資產負債表確實很重要，而且在未來的市場中將變得更加重要。大家注意安全，健康，期待8月初向集團報到。謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. 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。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。