Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc (CPS) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Cooper-Standard Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded, and the webcast will be available on the Cooper-Standard website for replay later today.

早安，女士們、先生們，歡迎參加庫柏標準 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）謹此提醒，本次電話會議正在錄製中，網路廣播將於今天稍晚在 Cooper-Standard 網站上重播。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Roger Hendriksen, Director of Investor Relations.

我現在想將會議交給投資者關係總監 Roger Hendriksen。

Thanks, Keith, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for spending some time with us this morning. The members of our leadership team who will be speaking with you on the call this morning are Jeff Edwards, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; and Jon Banas, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Also joining us this morning is Chris Couch, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Chris will be available to address relevant topics during the Q&A session.

謝謝基思，大家早安。感謝您今天早上花一些時間與我們在一起。今天早上將在電話會議上與您交談的領導團隊成員是董事長兼執行長 Jeff Edwards；和喬恩·巴納斯（Jon Banas），執行副總裁兼財務長。今天早上加入我們的還有資深副總裁兼技術長 Chris Couch。克里斯將在問答環節中討論相關主題。

Before we begin, I need to remind you that this presentation contains forward-looking statements. While they are made based on current factual information and certain assumptions and plans that management currently believes to be reasonable, these statements do involve risks and uncertainties. For more information on forward-looking statements, we ask that you refer to Slide 3 of this presentation and the company's statements included in periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

在開始之前，我需要提醒您，本簡報包含前瞻性陳述。雖然這些陳述是基於當前的事實資訊以及管理層目前認為合理的某些假設和計劃而做出的，但這些陳述確實涉及風險和不確定性。有關前瞻性陳述的更多信息，我們請您參閱本演示文稿的幻燈片 3 以及公司定期向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中的聲明。

This presentation also contains non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to their most closely and directly comparable GAAP measures are included in the appendix to the presentation.

本簡報也包含非公認會計準則財務指標。非公認會計原則財務指標與其最接近、最直接可比較的公認會計原則指標的調節表包含在簡報的附錄中。

With those formalities out of the way, I'll turn the call over to Jeff Edwards.

辦完這些手續後，我會將電話轉給傑夫愛德華茲。

Thanks, Roger. Good morning, everyone. We appreciate the opportunity for you to review our third quarter results and provide an update on our business and outlook going forward.

謝謝，羅傑。大家，早安。我們很高興您有機會回顧我們第三季的業績並提供有關我們業務和未來前景的最新資訊。

To begin, on Slide 5, we provide some highlights or key indicators of how our operations performed in the third quarter. We certainly have maintained our focus and dedication to delivering quality products and exceptional service to our customers and keeping our employees safe in our workplaces around the world.

首先，在投影片 5 上，我們提供了一些關於我們第三季營運情況的亮點或關鍵指標。當然，我們始終專注於為客戶提供優質的產品和卓越的服務，並確保我們的員工在世界各地工作場所的安全。

In terms of product quality, you can see that 97% of our customer scorecards were green in the quarter. We also had 97% green scorecards for new product launches. So we continue to achieve outstanding operational performance, allowing us to deliver exceptional value to our customers. In addition, safety performance of our plants continues to be excellent.

在產品品質方面，您可以看到本季我們 97% 的客戶記分卡為綠色。我們也為新產品發布製定了 97% 的綠色記分卡。因此，我們持續取得卓越的營運績效，從而為客戶提供卓越的價值。此外，我們工廠的安全性能依然出色。

During the third quarter, we had a total incident rate of just 0.27 reportable incidents per 200,000 hours worked, and that's well below the world-class benchmark of 0.57. Leading this outstanding safety performance were the 31 plants that have maintained a perfect record of zero incidents through the first 9 months of the year. I certainly want to recognize the teams at these plants for their ongoing commitment and leadership as we continue to strive for our ultimate safety goal of zero incidents for the entire company. I'm extremely proud of our global team for their continued commitment to workplace safety and certainly a big shout out to our plant managers. Thank you all very much.

第三季度，我們每 20 萬工作小時的可通報事件總數僅為 0.27 起，遠低於 0.57 的世界一流基準。領先這一出色安全表現的是 31 家工廠，今年前 9 個月一直保持著零事故的完美記錄。我當然想表彰這些工廠的團隊的持續承諾和領導力，因為我們繼續努力實現整個公司零事故的最終安全目標。我為我們的全球團隊感到非常自豪，他們對工作場所安全的持續承諾，當然也要向我們的工廠經理大聲喊叫。非常感謝大家。

As global light vehicle production volumes continued to improve in the third quarter, our sales increased by a solid 12% year-over-year, significantly outpacing the market. In addition, we continued our focus and commitment to maximize operational efficiency and become as lean as possible. During the third quarter, our manufacturing and purchasing teams delivered $14 million in savings through lean initiatives and other cost-saving programs. Finally, we're continuing to leverage our award-winning innovations to win new business, especially on new vehicle on new electric vehicle programs, hybrids, and also to upgrade our total content and margin on existing vehicle programs.

隨著第三季全球輕型汽車產量持續改善，我們的銷售量較去年穩定成長12%，大幅領先市場。此外，我們持續專注並致力於最大限度地提高營運效率並盡可能精簡。第三季度，我們的製造和採購團隊透過精實計畫和其他成本節約計畫節省了 1,400 萬美元。最後，我們將繼續利用我們屢獲殊榮的創新來贏得新業務，特別是在新電動車專案、混合動力汽車方面，並升級我們現有汽車專案的整體內容和利潤。

During the third quarter, we were awarded contracts for $91 million in annualized future sales on programs that include our most recent technology innovations. This includes both new programs as well as upgrades on existing programs. Importantly, we continue to partner with our customers to design and develop new technologies for their most important electric vehicle platforms. New business awards for EV platforms were $34 million in the quarter, bringing the year-to-date total to $89 million. We are pleased to see our hard work over the past couple of years, begin to drive meaningful improvement in our financial results. The combination of leaner cost structure and our enhanced commercial agreements leveraged across increasing production volumes is certainly powerful.

第三季度，我們獲得了年化未來銷售額 9,100 萬美元的合同，這些項目包括我們最新的技術創新。這包括新程序以及現有程序的升級。重要的是，我們繼續與客戶合作，為其最重要的電動車平台設計和開發新技術。本季電動車平台的新業務獎勵為 3,400 萬美元，使年初至今的總額達到 8,900 萬美元。我們很高興看到過去幾年的辛勤工作開始推動我們的財務表現有意義的改善。更精簡的成本結構和我們在不斷增加的產量中所利用的強化商業協議的結合無疑是強大的。

Turning to Slide 6. Our company culture is based on providing value, frankly, to all of our shareholders, all of our stakeholders and being good stewards of the environment and the communities in which we work and live. Within this culture, a focus on sustainability is kind of a natural extension. So it comes as no surprise that our performance in the areas of sustainability continues to garner recognition from within the industry as well as from sustainability experts. We recently learned that we have again achieved silver metal rating with EcoVadis, which places us in the 87th percentile of responding companies in our segment. Based on this rating, Nissan also recently recognized Cooper-Standard for outstanding achievement and sustainability. We continue to work on aligning our priorities with the values of our customers, and we believe this ultimately will provide opportunities for sustained growth and long-term value creation. And certainly not to fail to mention the type of company that the world's best and brightest want to be a part of.

轉向幻燈片 6。坦白說，我們的公司文化是基於為所有股東、所有利害關係人提供價值，並成為我們工作和生活的環境和社區的良好管理者。在這種文化中，對永續性的關注是一種自然的延伸。因此，我們在永續發展領域的表現繼續獲得行業內以及永續發展專家的認可也就不足為奇了。我們最近獲悉，我們再次獲得了 EcoVadis 的銀金屬評級，這使我們在該領域的響應公司中排名第 87%。基於此評級，日產最近也表彰庫柏標準的傑出成就和永續性。我們繼續努力使我們的優先事項與客戶的價值觀保持一致，我們相信這最終將為持續成長和長期價值創造提供機會。當然也不能忘記世界上最優秀、最聰明的人都想加入的公司類型。

I'll now turn the call over to Jon to give you the financial details for the quarter.

我現在將電話轉給喬恩，向您提供本季度的財務詳細資訊。

Thanks, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. In the next few slides, I'll provide some details on our financial results for the quarter and discuss our cash flows, liquidity and aspects of our balance sheet.

謝謝傑夫，大家早安。在接下來的幾張幻燈片中，我將提供有關本季度財務業績的一些詳細信息，並討論我們的現金流、流動性和資產負債表的各個方面。

We are pleased that once again, all four of our operating regions delivered positive adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter. And importantly, total company performance was positive at the U.S. GAAP net income level.

我們很高興我們的所有四個營運區域在第三季再次實現了正的調整後 EBITDA。重要的是，按照美國公認會計準則淨利潤水平，公司整體業績表現良好。

On Slide 8, we show a summary of our results for the third quarter of 2023 with comparisons to the same period last year. Third quarter sales were $736 million an increase of 12% compared to the third quarter of 2022. The increase was driven by favorable volume and mix, primarily in North America and Europe, and our enhanced commercial agreements globally. We also saw a small benefit from favorable foreign exchange. Gross profit for the third quarter was $106.5 million, or 14.5% of sales. This compares to a gross profit of $38.6 million or just 5.9% of sales in the third quarter of 2022. Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was $79.1 million compared to $20.5 million in the third quarter of last year. The year-over-year improvement was driven primarily by favorable volume and mix, enhanced commercial agreements and lean savings achieved in net manufacturing and supply chain. All partially offset by ongoing inflation headwinds in areas such as energy and the labor costs as well as the impact of unfavorable foreign exchange.

在投影片 8 上，我們展示了 2023 年第三季的業績摘要，並與去年同期進行了比較。第三季銷售額為 7.36 億美元，比 2022 年第三季成長 12%。這一成長是由有利的銷量和組合（主要在北美和歐洲）以及我們在全球範圍內加強的商業協議推動的。我們也看到了有利的外匯帶來的小好處。第三季毛利為 1.065 億美元，佔銷售額的 14.5%。相較之下，2022 年第三季的毛利為 3,860 萬美元，僅佔銷售額的 5.9%。本季調整後 EBITDA 為 7,910 萬美元，而去年第三季為 2,050 萬美元。年比改善主要得益於有利的銷售和產品組合、增強的商業協議以及淨製造和供應鏈中實現的精益節約。所有這些都被能源和勞動力成本等領域持續的通膨逆風以及不利的外匯影響所部分抵消。

On a U.S. GAAP basis, net income for the quarter was $11.4 million compared to a net loss of $32.7 million in the third quarter of 2022. The current quarter included $2 million in net restructuring costs. Excluding special items and the related tax impact from both periods, adjusted net income for the third quarter of 2023 was $15 million or $0.85 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net loss of $29.5 million or $1.71 per share in the third quarter of 2022. The year-over-year improvement resulted primarily from higher sales and improved gross profit, partially offset by higher interest expense.

根據美國公認會計原則，本季淨利為 1,140 萬美元，而 2022 年第三季淨虧損為 3,270 萬美元。本季包括 200 萬美元的淨重組成本。不包括兩個時期的特殊項目和相關稅務影響，2023 年第三季調整後淨利為1,500 萬美元，或稀釋後每股0.85 美元，而2022 年第三季調整後淨虧損為2,950 萬美元，或每股1.71 美元。年比改善主要歸因於銷售額的增加和毛利的提高，但部分被利息支出的增加所抵消。

Our capital expenditures in the third quarter totaled $16.4 million or 2.2% of sales, compared to $14.2 million in the third quarter of last year. We continue to have discipline around capital investments, which remain primarily focused on customer launch rapidiness. For the first 9 months of 2023, sales totaled $2.1 billion, an increase of $266.2 million or 14.2% and versus the first 9 months of 2022. Adjusted EBITDA was $139.5 million in the first 3 quarters compared to $10.3 million in the same period of 2022, a year-over-year increase of $129.2 million. Adjusted net loss in the first 9 months of the year was $51.2 million or $2.95 per diluted share compared to an adjusted net loss of $139.3 million or $8.11 per share in the first 9 months of 2022. CapEx in the first 9 months of 2023 was $63.2 million or 3% of sales, in line with our full year target.

我們第三季的資本支出總計 1,640 萬美元，佔銷售額的 2.2%，而去年第三季為 1,420 萬美元。我們持續遵守資本投資紀律，主要關注客戶推出速度。 2023 年前9 個月的銷售額總計21 億美元，與2022 年前9 個月相比增加了2.662 億美元，即14.2%。前3 季調整後EBITDA 為1.395 億美元，而2022 年同期為1,030萬美元，年增1.292億美元。今年前9 個月的調整後淨虧損為5,120 萬美元，即稀釋後每股2.95 美元，而2022 年前9 個月的調整後淨虧損為1.393 億美元，即每股8.11 美元。2023 年前9個月的資本支出為63.2 美元百萬或銷售額的 3%，符合我們的全年目標。

Moving to Slide 9. The charts on Slide 9 provide additional insights into some of the key factors impacting our results for the third quarter. For revenue, favorable volume and mix including net customer price adjustments, increased sales by $82 million versus the third quarter of 2022. This increase includes a portion of price negotiation settlements that were retroactive to the start of the year and a smaller amount pulled forward into Q3 that we had originally anticipated settling and recording in Q4. Combined, these represented approximately $25 million to $30 million in sales above the normalized Q3 run rate.

轉到投影片 9。投影片 9 上的圖表提供了對影響我們第三季業績的一些關鍵因素的更多見解。就收入而言，有利的銷售和組合（包括淨客戶價格調整）使銷售額與2022 年第三季相比增加了8,200 萬美元。這一增長包括追溯至年初的部分價格談判和解金額以及提前至2022 年第三季的較小金額。我們原本預計在第四季解決並記錄第三季。總而言之，這些銷售額比第三季正常運作率高出約 2,500 萬至 3,000 萬美元。

Foreign exchange, mainly related to positive euro movements, partially offset by negative Chinese RMB fluctuations, increased sales by a net $6 million versus the same period last year. These positive factors were partially offset by $9 million in reduced sales related to the divestiture of our technical rubber business in Europe during the quarter. For adjusted EBITDA, volume, mix and net price adjustments, including the retroactive portion of the price negotiation settlements mentioned earlier, drove a combined $68 million of improvement for the quarter. Lean initiatives in purchasing and manufacturing efficiencies contributed $14 million year-over-year and material cost improvements were a benefit of $14 million in the quarter. These positive contributors were partially offset by the non-recurrence of a favorable compensation-related adjustment last year and certain ongoing headwinds this year. General inflation, including energy, salaries, wages and transportation and other costs reduced adjusted EBITDA by $16 million in the quarter. The impact of foreign exchange was negative $9 million, primarily related to the strengthening of the Mexican peso.

外匯匯率主要與歐元的正面走勢有關，部分被人民幣的負面波動所抵消，與去年同期相比，銷售額淨增加了 600 萬美元。這些積極因素被本季因剝離歐洲技術橡膠業務而導致的 900 萬美元銷售額減少所部分抵消。對於調整後的 EBITDA 而言，銷售、組合和淨價調整（包括前面提到的價格談判和解協議的追溯部分）為本季帶來了總計 6,800 萬美元的改善。採購和製造效率方面的精實措施比去年同期貢獻了 1,400 萬美元，材料成本改善在本季度帶來了 1,400 萬美元的收益。這些積極貢獻被去年與薪酬相關的有利調整不再發生以及今年持續存在的某些不利因素部分抵消。包括能源、工資、工資和運輸及其他成本在內的整體通膨導致本季調整後 EBITDA 減少 1,600 萬美元。外匯影響為負 900 萬美元，主要與墨西哥比索走強有關。

Moving to Slide 10 to look at the analysis for the first 9 months of the year. For sales, favorable volume, mix and net price adjustments added $291 million versus the same period last year. Foreign exchange was an offset of $16 million and divestitures were a reduction of $9 million. For adjusted EBITDA, favorable volume mix and net price adjustments added $163 million compared to last year. Net manufacturing and purchasing efficiencies added $38 million and material economics were a favorable $19 million. These factors were partially offset by $49 million of significant general inflationary headwinds for items such as labor, utilities and transportation. Negative $23 million of foreign exchange and negative $12 million of various other impacts.

請前往投影片 10，查看今年前 9 個月的分析。就銷售額而言，有利的銷售、產品組合和淨價調整較去年同期增加了 2.91 億美元。外匯抵銷了 1,600 萬美元，資產剝離減少了 900 萬美元。對於調整後的 EBITDA 而言，有利的銷售組合和淨價格調整與去年相比增加了 1.63 億美元。淨製造和採購效率增加了 3,800 萬美元，材料經濟性增加了 1,900 萬美元。這些因素被勞動力、公用事業和交通等項目的 4,900 萬美元的重大總體通膨阻力所部分抵消。外匯損失 2,300 萬美元，其他各種影響損失 1,200 萬美元。

Moving to Slide 11. Looking at cash flows and liquidity. Our cash provided by operations was approximately $20 million in the third quarter of 2023, reflecting not only improved cash operating income partially offset by net changes in working capital associated with increased sales volumes. As mentioned earlier, CapEx was approximately $16 million in the quarter, primarily reflecting the timing of program launch activity. We were pleased to generate positive free cash flow of approximately $4 million during the quarter.

轉到投影片 11。看看現金流和流動性。 2023 年第三季度，我們的營運提供的現金約為 2,000 萬美元，這不僅反映了現金營運收入的改善，也部分被與銷售增加相關的營運資本淨變化所抵銷。如前所述，本季資本支出約為 1,600 萬美元，主要反映了計劃啟動活動的時間。我們很高興在本季產生了約 400 萬美元的正自由現金流。

We ended September with a cash balance of approximately $205 million. This included a draw on our ABL facility of $120 million, which we opted to take prior to quarter end as a precautionary measure due to the uncertainty and anticipation of potential production disruptions related to the OEM labor negotiations. Because we had this cash on hand from the ABL draw, we did not factor our receivables in Europe as we typically would, and this had the effect of reducing free cash flow in the quarter by approximately $15 million. With $55 million of remaining availability on our ABL and cash on the balance sheet, we had solid total liquidity of approximately $259 million as of September 30. With the OEMs and the UAW having recently reached tentative labor agreements, which has significantly reduced the risk of further production disruptions, we no longer felt carrying the incremental cash from the ABL borrowings was necessary, and we repaid the $120 million this morning.

9 月底，我們的現金餘額約為 2.05 億美元。其中包括從我們的 ABL 貸款中提取 1.2 億美元，由於與 OEM 勞資談判相關的潛在生產中斷的不確定性和預期，我們選擇在季度末之前採取這項預防措施。由於我們手頭上有來自 ABL 提取的現金，因此我們沒有像通常那樣考慮我們在歐洲的應收帳款，這導致本季度的自由現金流減少了約 1500 萬美元。我們的ABL 上剩餘可用資金為5,500 萬美元，資產負債表上有現金，截至9 月30 日，我們的總流動資金約為2.59 億美元。隨著OEM 廠商和UAW 最近達成了臨時勞工協議，這大大降低了風險由於進一步的生產中斷，我們不再認為有必要從 ABL 借款中攜帶增量現金，今天早上我們償還了 1.2 億美元。

Based on our current outlook and expectations for light vehicle production, improving operating efficiencies and the further benefit from enhanced commercial agreements with our customers. We believe we will be cash flow positive in the fourth quarter. We are still assessing the impact of the strike and now production ramp-up will have on our working capital and how that will affect cash flow for the full year. That being said, we believe our current cash on hand, expected future cash generation and access to flexible credit facilities will provide ample resources to support our ongoing operations.

基於我們目前對輕型汽車生產的展望和期望，提高營運效率以及與客戶加強商業協議的進一步利益。我們相信第四季現金流將為正值。我們仍在評估罷工的影響，現在產量增加將對我們的營運資金產生影響，以及這將如何影響全年的現金流。話雖如此，我們相信我們目前的手頭現金、預期的未來現金產生以及獲得靈活信貸便利的機會將為我們的持續運營提​​供充足的資源。

That concludes my prepared comments. So let me turn it back over to Jeff.

我準備好的評論到此結束。所以讓我把它轉回給傑夫。

Thanks, Jon. And over the next few minutes, I'd like to provide you with a status update on our commercial negotiations and our innovation pipeline and other strategic initiatives we're executing to drive increasing value in the near term and in the years ahead. Then I'll conclude with a few comments on our outlook for the remainder of the year, including our full year guidance.

謝謝，喬恩。在接下來的幾分鐘內，我想向您提供有關我們的商業談判、我們的創新管道以及我們正在執行的其他策略舉措的最新狀態，以推動近期和未來幾年的價值成長。最後，我將對我們今年剩餘時間的前景發表一些評論，包括我們的全年指導。

So please turn to Slide 13. During the third quarter, we continue to work with all of our customers to recover incremental costs related to inflationary pressures and establish sustainable pricing that will enhance quality of earnings and value creation over the longer term. Through these negotiations, our customers continue to demonstrate support of our strategic partnerships and to recognize the value of our innovation engineering, manufacturing and quality. The majority of these customer negotiations are now complete, resulting in significantly enhanced commercial agreements that will provide for inflation recovery as well as sustainable pricing going forward. Approximately 75% of the recoveries and price adjustments achieved will carry forward into 2024 and beyond. We anticipate concluding the few remaining customer negotiations before the end of the year.

因此，請參閱投影片 13。在第三季度，我們將繼續與所有客戶合作，收回與通膨壓力相關的增量成本，並建立可持續的定價，以提高長期獲利品質和價值創造。透過這些談判，我們的客戶繼續表現出對我們策略合作夥伴關係的支持，並認識到我們創新工程、製造和品質的價值。大多數客戶談判現已完成，從而顯著增強了商業協議，這將為通膨復甦以及未來的可持續定價提供條件。大約 75% 的回收和價格調整將延續到 2024 年及以後。我們預計在年底前完成剩餘的少數客戶談判。

Turning to Slide 14. Our industry-leading innovations -- they are a key reason why our customers consider us a strategic partner. We continue to design, develop and deliver new technologies that help solve our customers' problems, reduce complexity in their systems and enhance vehicle performance and aesthetics. In addition, our innovations are helping our customers to advance their own sustainability goals and objectives by reducing carbon footprint and vehicle weight and improving overall vehicle range and efficiency. At the same time, these innovations are providing growth opportunities for Cooper-Standard through increased content per vehicle and margin enhancement. While we've already launched and sold many unique product innovations, our pipeline of new technologies soon to be in the market holds great promise. Let me remind you of just a few.

轉向幻燈片 14。我們領先業界的創新－它們是我們的客戶將我們視為策略夥伴的關鍵原因。我們不斷設計、開發和提供新技術，幫助解決客戶的問題、降低系統的複雜性並提高車輛的性能和美觀性。此外，我們的創新正在幫助我們的客戶透過減少碳足跡和車輛重量以及提高整體車輛續航里程和效率來推進自己的永續發展目標和目標。同時，這些創新透過增加每輛車的內容和提高利潤率，為庫柏標準提供了成長機會。雖然我們已經推出並銷售了許多獨特的創新產品，但我們即將推向市場的新技術系列前景廣闊。讓我提醒您一些。

Turning to Slide 15. Our new eCoFlow technology, which we developed in partnership with Solari, is revolutionary integrated fluid system that eliminates independent valves and pumps by combining functionality in a single unit. In addition to reducing components and complexity, the system will reduce system pressure drop and optimize tube and adapter routings. The new technology is expected to lower the overall cost of fluid management systems for the OEM customer, but will provide increased content and margin for Cooper-Standard. We expect this technology to be available for quoting on new programs beginning in the first quarter of 2024.

轉向幻燈片 15。我們與 Solari 合作開發的新 eCoFlow 技術是革命性的整合流體系統，透過將功能組合在一個單元中，消除了獨立的閥門和泵浦。除了減少組件和複雜性之外，該系統還將降低系統壓降並優化管道和適配器佈線。新技術預計將降低 OEM 客戶流體管理系統的整體成本，但將為 Cooper-Standard 提供更多的內容和利潤。我們預計該技術將從 2024 年第一季開始在新專案中提供報價。

Turning to Slide 16. Another exciting new product is our full thermoplastic dynamic seal, which offers enhanced sustainability features such as full recyclability, weight reduction, and lower energy consumption. A key enabler of this innovation is a proprietary new carrier that replaces the traditional steel or aluminum version while still providing the necessary mechanical integrity. This new technology also offers a wide variety of color options that can enhance overall vehicle aesthetics. We anticipated our full thermoplastic dynamic seal will be formally available for new business quotes early next year.

轉向投影片 16。另一個令人興奮的新產品是我們的全熱塑性動態密封件，它具有增強的可持續性功能，例如完全可回收性、減輕重量和降低能耗。這項創新的關鍵推動因素是一種專有的新型載體，它取代了傳統的鋼或鋁版本，同時仍提供必要的機械完整性。這項新技術還提供了多種顏色選擇，可以增強車輛​​的整體美感。我們預計我們的全熱塑性動態密封件將於明年初正式提供新業務報價。

Turning to Slide 17. Finally, we're continuing to make enhancements to our overall Fortrex technology portfolio by adding new formulations that meet specific customer requests and needs. Micro dense Fortrex was introduced this year to provide additional weight reduction and further benefit from its lower overall carbon footprint. ED 65 Fortrex is expected to be available in 2024 and will provide lower dirometer for an enhanced softer feel and greater design flexibility. It will also provide improved durability and even lower compression set than the original Fortrex formulations. Finally, we're advancing our development of up-cycled Fortrex which will use recycled consumer materials as feedstocks for a lower carbon footprint and overall enhanced sustainability. We expect this technology to become available to the market sometime in 2025.

轉向幻燈片 17。最後，我們將繼續透過添加滿足特定客戶要求和需求的新配方來增強我們的整體 Fortrex 技術組合。今年推出的微緻密 Fortrex 進一步減輕了重量，並進一步受益於其較低的整體碳足跡。 ED 65 Fortrex 預計將於 2024 年上市，並將提供更低的直徑，以增強更柔軟的手感和更大的設計靈活性。與原始 Fortrex 配方相比，它還具有更高的耐用性和更低的壓縮形變。最後，我們正在推動升級版 Fortrex 的開發，該產品將使用回收的消費材料作為原料，以降低碳足跡並全面增強永續性。我們預計這項技術將於 2025 年某個時候推向市場。

Also relating to our innovation developments and business diversification, we're pleased to announce a significant milestone in our efforts to commercialize Live Line technologies, our proprietary AI-based advanced process controls system. We developed Live Line as a means of improving efficiency and reducing scrap on our own extrusion lines. Over the past few years, we've developed the technology on 20 lines in four countries. The realized savings have been and continue to be significant. Based on that initial internal success with relatively low cost and efficient scalability, we believe the technology has the potential to benefit many manufacturing companies within a wide range of industries, making advanced process control systems more affordable and accessible. We've begun marketing the technology through a wholly owned AI technology start-up subsidiary, Live Line Technologies, and we have just received our first commercial order from a large fiber optic manufacturer. We're still in the early stages of marketing this technology, but we believe this first commercial contract provides important validation of the business model and the opportunity ahead.

同樣與我們的創新發展和業務多元化有關，我們很高興地宣布我們在 Live Line 技術（我們專有的基於人工智慧的先進過程控制系統）商業化方面取得了一個重要的里程碑。我們開發了 Live Line，作為提高效率和減少我們自己的擠出生產線廢品的一種手段。在過去的幾年裡，我們已經在四個國家的 20 條生產線上開發了這項技術。所實現的節省已經並將繼續是巨大的。基於最初的內部成功以及相對較低的成本和高效的可擴展性，我們相信該技術有潛力使各行各業的許多製造公司受益，使先進的過程控制系統更加經濟實惠和易於使用。我們已經開始透過全資人工智慧技術新創子公司 Live Line Technologies 行銷該技術，並且剛收到一家大型光纖製造商的第一份商業訂單。我們仍處於行銷這項技術的早期階段，但我們相信第一份商業合約為商業模式和未來的機會提供了重要的驗證。

Turning to Slide 19. Even as we continue to invest in exciting innovation, we recognize the need to reduce our overall costs. While we have made great progress, we're continuing to optimize our operating footprint and business portfolio to accelerate value creation and improve profitability. We expect to direct more of our new business to advantaged production facilities over time, reducing our exposure to high-cost labor markets. We will also consider divesting non-core businesses that don't meet our strategic minimum rates for margins, ROI or future growth, similar to what we've done before. Our commitment to either fixing or exiting underperforming businesses remains a central part of our strategy to restore our margins and returns on invested capital to double-digit levels.

轉向投影片 19。即使我們繼續投資於令人興奮的創新，我們也意識到需要降低整體成本。儘管我們取得了巨大進步，但我們仍在繼續優化我們的營運足跡和業務組合，以加速價值創造並提高獲利能力。我們預計隨著時間的推移，我們將把更多的新業務轉移到優勢的生產設施，從而減少我們在高成本勞動力市場中的風險。我們也將考慮剝離那些不符合我們的策略性最低利潤率、投資回報率或未來成長率的非核心業務，與我們之前所做的類似。我們對修復或退出表現不佳業務的承諾仍然是我們將利潤率和投資資本回報率恢復到兩位數水平的策略的核心部分。

Turning to Slide 20. Based on our strong performance in the third quarter, continuing benefits from our enhanced commercial agreements and expected higher production post the recent strikes, we have adjusted our guidance to reflect an improved outlook for the full year. We have tightened the range for sales with a bias towards the high end of our original estimate, and we raised the range for expected full year adjusted EBITDA. We have also lowered our outlook for cash restructuring and cash taxes. We're certainly proud of what our teams have accomplished so far this year, and I'm confident we'll finish the year strong. I'm also very excited to see what we can achieve next year and beyond as production volumes continue to rebound to pre-pandemic levels. And we continue to launch new innovative technology and programs that we believe will enhance content per vehicle and variable contribution margins going forward.

轉向幻燈片 20。基於我們第三季度的強勁表現、我們增強的商業協議的持續收益以及近期罷工後預期產量的增加，我們調整了我們的指導，以反映全年前景的改善。我們收緊了銷售範圍，並偏向最初估計的高端，並提高了預期全年調整後 EBITDA 的範圍。我們也下調了現金重組和現金稅的預期。我們當然為我們的團隊今年迄今為止所取得的成就感到自豪，我相信我們將在這一年中表現出色。我也很高興看到隨著產量繼續反彈至大流行前的水平，我們明年及以後能夠取得什麼成就。我們將繼續推出新的創新技術和計劃，我們相信這些技術和計劃將增強每輛車的內容和未來可變的貢獻利潤。

Finally, I want to thank our customers for their continued trust, confidence and support and we remain committed to supporting them with exciting innovations, world-class design and engineering services, Flawless program launches and quality products.

最後，我要感謝我們的客戶一直以來的信任、信心和支持，我們將繼續致力於以令人興奮的創新、世界一流的設計和工程服務、完美的專案發布和優質的產品來支持他們。

This concludes our prepared remarks. So let's open the call for Q&A.

我們準備好的演講到此結束。那麼就讓我們開始問答環節吧。

(Operator Instructions) And the first question comes from Michael Ward with Benchmark.

（操作員說明）第一個問題來自 Benchmark 的 Michael Ward。

Jon, on your Slide 9 and 10 with the bridge for adjusted EBITDA. How much of that $68 million was retroactive?

Jon，在您的幻燈片 9 和 10 上，其中帶有調整後 EBITDA 的橋樑。這 6800 萬美元中有多少是追溯性的？

Mike, I mentioned in my prepared remarks, the impact on both sales and EBITDA was about $25 million to $30 million. That was a retroactive portion. Say if you use that and you're walking across, you'll get the magnitude.

麥克，我在準備好的發言中提到，對銷售額和 EBITDA 的影響約為 2500 萬至 3000 萬美元。這是追溯的部分。假設你使用它並走過它，你就會得到它的大小。

Okay. So then if we look at the 9-month number, that's probably the better read on where it is like from a performance standpoint, is that correct?

好的。那麼，如果我們查看 9 個月的數字，從性能的角度來看，這可能是更好的解讀，對嗎？

Correct. The retroactive would have been back to January 1. And therefore, the 9 months is more representative of the run rate.

正確的。追溯至 1 月 1 日。因此，9 個月更能代表運作率。

Okay. And so then when you look at your guidance for the year, now from what I can tell with the numbers and your content on the key vehicles, the strike impact was minimal in the third quarter. But it was significant in October and then depending on the pace of ramp-up, it's somewhere in that $40 million to $50 million impact on revenue. Is that the right way to think about it?

好的。因此，當您查看今年的指導時，從我可以透過數位和關鍵車輛的內容來看，第三季的罷工影響很小。但它在 10 月意義重大，然後根據成長速度，對收入的影響約為 4,000 萬至 5,000 萬美元。這是正確的思考方式嗎？

Fortunately, it's a touch lower, Mike. But you're right on Q3. The way the strike rolled out, it impacted us but to a minor extent, less than $5 million in revenue for September. However, with the continued escalations that grew over time, obviously. So through October 31, the impact on us was closer to about $30 million in lost revenue. and therefore, $8 million to $10 million in EBITDA loss. Now we're continuing to monitor the ramp back up, how that comes back online. So that number could grow. The impact on us as we've got full labor in the plants. We're ready to deliver product to our customers as soon as they're ready to take it.

幸運的是，麥克，它有點低。但你在第三季是對的。罷工的展開方式對我們產生了影響，但影響較小，9 月的收入不到 500 萬美元。然而，顯然，隨著時間的推移，局勢不斷升級。因此，截至 10 月 31 日，我們受到的影響接近約 3,000 萬美元的收入損失。因此，EBITDA 損失為 800 萬至 1000 萬美元。現在我們正在繼續監控恢復情況，以及如何恢復正常。所以這個數字可能會成長。這對我們的影響是因為我們在工廠裡有充分的勞動力。一旦客戶準備好接受產品，我們就準備好向他們交付產品。

Okay. So the impact, depending on the pace of the ramp-up, it could be obviously above $30 million, somewhere in that $40 million to $50 million range, depending on how fast some of these a plan to ramp up? Is that -- and that's included in your guidance, which you're looking at?

好的。因此，根據增加的速度，其影響可能明顯超過 3000 萬美元，在 4000 萬至 5000 萬美元的範圍內，具體取決於其中一些計劃增加的速度？這是否包含在您正在查看的指南中？

The impact is included in our guidance. We'll have to see how the pace of the brand pop goes online.

影響已包含在我們的指導中。我們必須看看該品牌在網路上的流行速度如何。

And so then, Jeff, as you've looked historically, you've talked about getting back to double-digit type margin performance, and it looks like you're getting closer every quarter. And so if we take away some of the strike impact, you're up in that 7% type level for 2023. And then -- so what are the steps to take you as we exit '24? Maybe we're getting closer to that double-digit level. What are some of the key variables? You got at the cost in place, you've got the new pricing in place?

那麼，傑夫，正如您從歷史上看的那樣，您談到了要恢復兩位數的利潤率表現，而且看起來您每個季度都在接近這一目標。因此，如果我們消除一些罷工影響，到 2023 年，您將達到 7% 的水平。然後，當我們退出 24 世紀時，您將採取哪些步驟？也許我們正在接近兩位數的水平。有哪些關鍵變數？你已經確定了成本，你已經確定了新的定價嗎？

Yes. I think as we look at our 3-year plan like we do this time, each year, Mike, I mean it's clear that we're -- we can reach out and touch it. Let me say that. And clearly, the pricing and all of the negotiations that went into the enhanced commercial agreements this year help that our focus on the cost side helped it even more as we look at launching all the new business that we've been talking about in '24 and '25. Those products will launch at better margins than those that they will replace.

是的。我認為，當我們每年都會像這次一樣審視我們的三年計劃時，麥克，我的意思是很明顯，我們可以伸出援手並觸及它。讓我這麼說吧。顯然，今年加強商業協議中的定價和所有談判有助於我們對成本方面的關注，當我們考慮推出我們在 24 年一直在談論的所有新業務時，這更加有幫助。和'25。這些產品的推出將比它們將取代的產品獲得更高的利潤。

And then finally, volume. I think we all believe that eventually volume is going to return to pre-pandemic levels. And so it's a combination of all those things. And I also mentioned our focus on fixed cost reduction. We have some work left there that we plan on executing over the next couple of years that will really cement this double-digit EBITDA and double-digit ROIC that we're approaching upon right now, but a little bit of work left. And then the volume will certainly help us as we go forward over the next 2 or 3 years.

最後是音量。我認為我們都相信成交量最終將恢復到大流行前的水平。所以它是所有這些事情的組合。我還提到我們對降低固定成本的關注。我們還剩下一些工作，計劃在未來幾年內執行，這將真正鞏固我們目前正在接近的兩位數 EBITDA 和兩位數 ROIC，但還剩下一些工作。然後，這個數量肯定會對我們未來兩三年的發展有所幫助。

And just lastly, Chris, welcome to the party. On Slide 18, I assume that Live Line is yours. Is that part of your responsibilities?

最後，克里斯，歡迎來到派對。在投影片 18 上，我假設 Live Line 是您的。這是你職責的一部分嗎？

It's Cooper-Standard. Correct. Yes, I run it.

這是庫柏標準。正確的。是的，我運行它。

So could you tell me a little bit how evolved in -- what it came from? And on the chart, there are these numbers popping up plus 89 plus 78. What do they represent? Are they kind of the scrap reduction? Is that the efficiencies? What are -- how does it -- how does it start? What are we looking at with this process?

那麼你能告訴我一些它是如何進化的——它是從哪裡來的嗎？在圖表上，出現了這些數字加上 89 加 78。它們代表什麼？它們是減少廢品的一種方式嗎？這就是效率嗎？什麼是——它是如何——它是如何開始的？我們在這個過程中關注什麼？

We created the technology to solve a problem, which is how to use automation intelligently to improve the operating performance of our lines from a variety of metrics scrap is certainly one unplanned downtime due to line issues as another. And those are the types of numbers you saw popping up. So those are real results from different lines across our internal network. We basically completed the low-hanging fruit rollout within Cooper-Standard and now we're taking this product out to commercialize in the broader markets.

我們創造了這項技術來解決一個問題，即如何智慧地使用自動化來提高我們生產線的運行性能，從各種指標廢品當然是由於生產線問題而導致的計劃外停機。這些就是您看到的突然出現的數字類型。這些都是我們內部網路不同線路的真實結果。我們基本上完成了庫柏標準內容易實現的目標，現在我們正在將該產品推廣到更廣泛的市場進行商業化。

So that's the planned uptime, the unplanned up there, you can reduce that and the scrap rates. I got to believe for a lot of those -- the materials you're producing, the scrap rates higher than industry average. So whatever it is 5% to 7%. Are you cutting it in half? Is that what the type of thing we can expect?

這就是計劃內的正常運行時間，以及計劃外的正常運行時間，您可以減少正常運行時間和廢品率。我必須相信其中很多——你生產的材料，廢品率高於行業平均。所以無論是5%到7%。你要把它切成兩半嗎？這是我們可以期待的事嗎？

We see reductions typically in half on controllable scrap. That's correct.

我們看到可控廢品通常減少一半。這是正確的。

(Operator Instructions) It appears there are no more questions. I would like to return the floor back over to Roger Hendriksen.

（操作員說明）看來沒有更多問題了。我想把發言權交還給羅傑·亨德里克森。

Okay. Thanks, everybody. We appreciate you joining the call and your continuing interest in Cooper-Standard. If there are further questions that come up later in the day, feel free to reach out, and we'll be happy to connect. Thanks again for joining the call. You can now disconnect.

好的。謝謝大家。我們感謝您加入此電話會議以及您對庫柏標準的持續關注。如果當天晚些時候出現更多問題，請隨時與我們聯繫，我們很樂意與您聯繫。再次感謝您加入通話。您現在可以斷開連線。

Thank you.

謝謝。