Darling Ingredients Inc (DAR) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Darling Ingredients Inc. conference call to discuss the company's second quarter 2025 financial results. (Operator Instructions) Today's call is being recorded.

早安，歡迎參加 Darling Ingredients Inc. 電話會議，討論公司 2025 年第二季的財務表現。（操作員指示）今天的通話正在錄音。

I would now turn the call over to Ms. Suann Guthrie, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我將把電話轉給投資者關係高級副總裁 Suann Guthrie 女士。請繼續。

Thank you for joining the Darling Ingredients Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Call. Here with me today are Mr. Randall C. Stuewe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Bob Day, Chief Financial Officer; and Mr. Matt Jansen, Chief Operating Officer, North America. Our second quarter 2025 earnings news release and slide presentation are available on the Investor page of our corporate website and will be joined by a transcript of this call once it is available.

感謝您參加 Darling Ingredients 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。今天與我一起出席的有董事長兼執行長 Randall C. Stuewe 先生、財務長 Bob Day 先生和北美首席營運長 Matt Jansen 先生。我們的 2025 年第二季收益新聞稿和幻燈片簡報可在我們公司網站的「投資者」頁面上找到，一旦發布，我們將附上本次電話會議的記錄。

During this call, we will be making forward-looking statements, which are predictions, projections or other statements about future events. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could materially differ because of factors discussed in today's press release and the comments made during this conference call and in the Risk Factors section of our Form 10-K, 10-Q and other reported filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statement.

在本次電話會議中，我們將做出前瞻性陳述，即對未來事件的預測、預期或其他陳述。這些聲明是基於當前的預期和假設，但存在風險和不確定性。由於今天的新聞稿中討論的因素、本次電話會議期間發表的評論以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K、10-Q 表格和其他報告文件中的風險因素部分所作的評論，實際結果可能會有重大差異。我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性聲明的義務。

Now I will hand the call off to Randy.

現在我將把電話轉給蘭迪。

Good morning. Thanks, Suann, and thanks, everybody, for joining us for our second quarter 2025 earnings call. This quarter, we saw early signs of momentum building across our businesses even as we continued to navigate a complex renewable fuel environment. We delivered positive earnings, maintained strict capital discipline and enhanced our financial flexibility through a successful refinancing. We locked in our borrowing costs for the next 5-plus years, and we've positioned ourselves to invest confidently in long-term growth.

早安.謝謝 Suann，也謝謝大家參加我們的 2025 年第二季財報電話會議。本季度，儘管我們繼續在複雜的可再生燃料環境中前行，但我們仍看到各項業務呈現成長動能的早期跡象。我們實現了正收益，保持了嚴格的資本紀律，並透過成功的再融資增強了財務靈活性。我們鎖定了未來五年以上的借貸成本，並已做好準備，滿懷信心地投資於長期成長。

We also advanced our strategic agenda with the announcement of our intention to form Nextida, our new joint venture focused in the health and wellness space. This move aligns with our strategy to diversify and grow in high-margin, high-growth like health and wellness.

我們也推進了我們的策略議程，宣布有意成立專注於健康和保健領域的新合資企業 Nextida。此舉符合我們的多元化策略，並在高利潤、高成長（如健康和保健）領域實現成長。

Combined adjusted EBITDA for the quarter came in at $249.5 million. While the regulatory environment has been a headwind in recent quarters, we are now seeing signs of clarity and constructive market changes, particularly in our Feed segment, setting us up for a stronger performance in the second half of 2025 and into 2026.

本季綜合調整後 EBITDA 為 2.495 億美元。儘管最近幾季監管環境一直不利，但我們現在看到了清晰的跡象和積極的市場變化，特別是在我們的飼料領域，這為我們在 2025 年下半年和 2026 年取得更強勁的業績奠定了基礎。

DGD continues to face near-term pressure, but we remain confident in its long-term value as policy support begins to take hold. Across the board, we're focused on execution and believe the fundamentals are now moving in the right direction.

DGD 繼續面臨短期壓力，但隨著政策支持開始發揮作用，我們對其長期價值仍然充滿信心。總體而言，我們專注於執行，並相信基本面正在朝著正確的方向發展。

Now turning to the Feed Ingredients segment. Global rendering volumes are steady and in line with our expectations. We saw margin expansion both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, reflecting focused execution, operational efficiency and improved premium ingredient pricing. Rising fat prices supported by recent public policy that favors domestic sources, are creating a favorable pricing environment which we expect to continue and expand.

現在轉向飼料成分部分。全球渲染量穩定，符合我們的預期。我們的利潤率環比和同比均有所擴大，這反映了專注的執行、營運效率和優質原料定價的提高。在近期有利於國內來源的公共政策的支持下，脂肪價格上漲正在創造有利的定價環境，我們預計這種環境將持續並擴大。

As a result, a larger portion of our domestic fat portfolio is now headed to DGD. Tariff volatility and increased domestic oilseed crush has put pressure on protein prices, especially on our sales into Asia. However, fat prices are outweighing higher protein supply and softer prices.

因此，我們國內脂肪組合的很大一部分現在都流向了 DGD。關稅波動和國內油籽壓榨量的增加給蛋白質價格帶來了壓力，尤其是對我們在亞洲的銷售。然而，脂肪價格的上漲抵消了蛋白質供應增加和價格下跌的影響。

Now turning to our Food segment. As I mentioned, we signed a nonbinding term sheet with Tessenderlo to form Nextida. We are concluding due diligence and expect to sign a definitive agreement in this quarter. We believe this platform already as a meaningful contributor to earnings has the potential to grow at an accelerated rate as we increase our presence in the health and wellness and nutrition market.

現在轉向我們的食物部分。正如我所提到的，我們與 Tessenderlo 簽署了一份不具約束力的條款清單，以成立 Nextida。我們正在完成盡職調查，預計將在本季簽署最終協議。我們相信，隨著我們在健康、保健和營養市場的影響力不斷擴大，這個平台作為收益的重要貢獻者，有潛力以更快的速度成長。

Global demand for collagen and gelatin continues to strengthen, driven by health, wellness and functional nutritional needs. We are advancing scientific validation for Nextida GC, our glucose control product. These studies are near complete, and early results are showing strong potential, and we are beginning to see repeat orders for this product as well.

受健康、保健和功能性營養需求的推動，全球對膠原蛋白和明膠的需求持續增強。我們正在推進血糖控制產品 Nextida GC 的科學驗證。這些研究已接近完成，早期結果顯示出強大的潛力，我們也開始看到該產品的重複訂單。

In our Fuel segment, the renewables environment remains difficult. The overhang on small refinery exemptions and delayed 2024 RIN compliance enforcement is preventing mandates from reflecting real demand and continuing to put pressure on renewable fuel margins. However, DGD remains a leader, consistently delivering best-in-class performance. SAF volumes continue to demonstrate flexibility and resilience and are helping us to balance the difficult market dynamics. We are seeing the feedstock supply chain rebalance itself due to tariffs and regulatory and tax changes, all benefiting Darling's core business. In addition, changes implemented by CARB to increase mandated greenhouse gas reductions in California as of July 1, and we expect LCFS premiums will strengthen and support margin recovery over time.

在我們的燃料領域，再生能源環境仍然困難。小型煉油廠豁免的懸而未決以及 2024 年 RIN 合規執行的延遲，導致法規無法反映實際需求，並繼續對再生燃料利潤率造成壓力。然而，DGD 仍然保持領先地位，始終如一地提供一流的性能。SAF 產量持續表現出靈活性和彈性，並幫助我們平衡困難的市場動態。我們看到原料供應鏈因關稅、監管和稅收變化而重新平衡，這一切都有利於達林的核心業務。此外，自 7 月 1 日起，加州空氣資源委員會 (CARB) 實施了增加加州溫室氣體減排要求的改革，我們預計低碳食品標準 (LCFS) 保費將會加強，並支持利潤率的逐步恢復。

Meanwhile, the proposed RVO framework represents a major tailwind for the renewables market and RINs as long as mandated volumes net of SREs are anywhere close to what has been proposed, it will reinforce long-term demand and support a healthy margin environment. DGD1, however, will remain off-line until margins show some meaningful improvement. Meanwhile, DGD3 is scheduled for a turnaround starting here in third quarter. The timing aligns well with our outlook position us for full utilization as policy rules are clarified later in 2025 and enabling DGD to run full in 2026, when we anticipate a significantly stronger margin environment.

同時，擬議的 RVO 框架對再生能源市場和 RIN 來說是一個重大的推動力，只要扣除 SRE 後的強制數量接近所提議的數量，它就會增強長期需求並支持健康的利潤環境。然而，DGD1 將保持離線狀態，直到利潤率出現一些有意義的改善。同時，DGD3 計劃於第三季開始轉機。這個時機與我們的展望相吻合，隨著 2025 年下半年政策規則的明確，我們將能夠充分利用這一優勢，並使 DGD 能夠在 2026 年全面運行，屆時我們預計利潤環境將顯著增強。

We believe the groundwork we're laying now through operational discipline and strategic timing positions us well when the margin environment improves. Now with that, I'd like to hand the call over to Bob to take us through the financials, and I'll come back and give you my thoughts on the balance of 2025. Bob?

我們相信，我們現在透過營運紀律和策略時機奠定的基礎將使我們在利潤環境改善時處於有利地位。現在，我想把電話交給鮑勃，讓他向我們介紹一下財務狀況，然後我會回來告訴你們我對 2025 年平衡的看法。鮑伯？

Thank you, Randy. Good morning, everyone. For second quarter of 2025, Darling's combined adjusted EBITDA was $249.5 million versus $273.6 million in the second quarter of 2024. And adjusting for DGD, second quarter 2025 EBITDA was approximately $207 million versus approximately $197 million in the second quarter of 2024. Year-to-date combined adjusted EBITDA totaled $445.3 million as compared to $553.7 million for the same period of 2024.

謝謝你，蘭迪。大家早安。2025 年第二季度，Darling 的綜合調整後 EBITDA 為 2.495 億美元，而 2024 年第二季為 2.736 億美元。經 DGD 調整後，2025 年第二季的 EBITDA 約為 2.07 億美元，而 2024 年第二季約為 1.97 億美元。年初至今的合併調整後 EBITDA 總計 4.453 億美元，而 2024 年同期為 5.537 億美元。

Total net sales in the second quarter of 2025 were $1.48 billion versus $1.46 billion in the second quarter of 2024, while raw material volume was almost the same at 3.74 million metric tons and 3.76 million metric tons. Year-to-date volumes for 2025 were 7.53 million metric tons compared to 7.56 million metric tons for the same period for 2024. Gross margins improved to 23.3% for the second quarter of 2025 compared to 22.5% in the second quarter of 2024. We also saw a nice gross margin improvement year-to-date at 23.0% for the first 6 months of '25 compared to 21.9% for the first half of 2024.

2025 年第二季的總淨銷售額為 14.8 億美元，而 2024 年第二季為 14.6 億美元，而原料數量幾乎相同，分別為 374 萬公噸和 376 萬公噸。2025 年迄今的產量為 753 萬公噸，而 2024 年同期的產量為 756 萬公噸。2025 年第二季毛利率從 2024 年第二季的 22.5% 提高至 23.3%。我們也看到，今年迄今的毛利率也有了顯著提高，2025 年前 6 個月的毛利率為 23.0%，而 2024 年上半年的毛利率為 21.9%。

Looking at the Feed segment, total net sales increased and EBITDA improved on relatively unchanged volumes. Total sales for the second quarter of 2025 were $936.5 million versus $934.1 million in the second quarter of 2024. For the 6 months of 2025, total sales were $1.83 billion compared to $1.82 billion for the same time in 2024. Feed raw material volumes were approximately 3.1 million metric tons for both quarters and materially unchanged year-over-year at roughly 6.2 million metric tons.

從飼料部門來看，總淨銷售額增加，EBITDA 在銷售量相對不變的情況下有所增加。2025 年第二季總銷售額為 9.365 億美元，而 2024 年第二季為 9.341 億美元。2025 年前 6 個月的總銷售額為 18.3 億美元，而 2024 年同期為 18.2 億美元。兩季的飼料原料產量約為 310 萬公噸，與去年同期相比基本保持不變，約 620 萬公噸。

For second quarter 2025, gross margins improved nicely to 22.9% versus 21.0% in the second quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, lower protein values created a slight headwind that will alleviate as we continue to find better markets for premium protein products. And while fat prices moved considerably higher during the second quarter, the lag between raw material procurement and finished fat sales resulted in lower margins than we expect to see as prices flatten. All things considered, we are pleased with the improvement in gross margins for the quarter. And as Randy said, the outlook is very positive.

2025 年第二季度，毛利率大幅提升至 22.9%，而 2024 年第二季為 21.0%。同時，較低的蛋白質價值造成了輕微的阻力，但隨著我們繼續為優質蛋白質產品尋找更好的市場，這種阻力將會減輕。儘管第二季脂肪價格大幅上漲，但原物料採購和成品脂肪銷售之間的滯後導致利潤率低於我們預期的價格趨於平緩的水平。綜合考慮所有因素，我們對本季毛利率的提高感到滿意。正如蘭迪所說，前景非常樂觀。

Year-to-date, gross margins were also better at 21.6% compared to 20.9% in the first 6 months of 2024. Moving to the Food segment. The margin environment continued to show healthy signs, as we were able to maintain gross margins per unit sold while increasing sales volumes. Total sales for the second quarter of 2025 were $386.1 million, higher than second quarter 2024 at $378.8 million. Second quarter 2025 gross margins for the Food segment were unchanged from quarter 2 of 2024 at 26.9%.

年初至今，毛利率也高於 2024 年前 6 個月的 20.9%，達到 21.6%。轉向食品領域。利潤環境繼續顯示出健康的跡象，因為我們能夠在增加銷售量的同時保持每單位銷售的毛利率。2025 年第二季的總銷售額為 3.861 億美元，高於 2024 年第二季的 3.788 億美元。2025 年第二季食品部門的毛利率與 2024 年第二季相比保持不變，為 26.9%。

Year-to-date gross margins for 2025 were 28.1% versus 25.3% from the same time a year ago. Raw material volumes increased to 323,900 metric tons versus 304,700 metric tons. Year-to-date, raw material volumes for the Food segment were 653,400 metric tons compared to 604,400 metric tons, reflecting an increase in global demand.

2025 年年初至今的毛利率為 28.1%，去年同期為 25.3%。原料產量從 304,700 公噸增加至 323,900 公噸。年初至今，食品部門的原料產量為 653,400 公噸，而去年同期為 604,400 公噸，反映出全球需求的成長。

EBITDA for the second quarter of 2025 was slightly down at $69.9 million versus $73.2 million in the second quarter of 2024, while year-to-date 2025 EBITDA was $140.9 million versus $134.9 million from the same period a year ago.

2025 年第二季的 EBITDA 略微下降至 6,990 萬美元，而 2024 年第二季為 7,320 萬美元，而 2025 年年初至今的 EBITDA 為 1.409 億美元，而去年同期為 1.349 億美元。

Looking at the Fuel segment. As Randy mentioned, the renewable fuel environment continued to be challenging. Darling's share of DGD EBITDA was approximately $42.6 million for the second quarter of 2025 versus approximately $76.6 million of EBITDA for the second quarter of 2024. Year-to-date 2025, Darling's share of DGD EBITDA was $48.7 million versus $191.7 million for the first 6 months of 2024.

看看燃料部分。正如蘭迪所提到的，再生燃料環境仍然充滿挑戰。2025 年第二季度，達林在 DGD EBITDA 的市佔率約為 4,260 萬美元，而 2024 年第二季的 EBITDA 約為 7,660 萬美元。截至 2025 年年初，達林在 DGD EBITDA 中的份額為 4,870 萬美元，而 2024 年前 6 個月為 1.917 億美元。

In the second quarter of 2025, the impact to Darling for LIFO was negative $31.1 million, and it included a lower of [cost or market] or LCM benefit of $55.6 million. Year-to-date, LIFO for Darling's half of DGD was negative $59.5 million, while LCM generated a positive $101.1 million.

2025年第二季度，後進先出法對達林的影響為負3,110萬美元，其中包括5,560萬美元的[成本或市價]或LCM收益。年初至今，後進先出法Darling 所持有的 DGD 一半的收益為負 5,950 萬美元，而 LCM 則產生了正 1.011 億美元。

Overall Fuel segment sales for the second quarter of 2025, which does not include DGD, were $158.8 million versus $142.3 million in the second quarter of 2024. Year-to-date sales in 2025 were $293.9 million versus $281.5 million in 2024. Raw material volumes in the second quarter of 2025 were 337,600 metric tons versus 362,000 metric tons in the second quarter of 2024. Year-to-date raw material volumes in 2025 were 711,700 metric tons versus 718,900 metric tons for the same period in 2024.

2025 年第二季燃料部門整體銷售額（不包括 DGD）為 1.588 億美元，而 2024 年第二季為 1.423 億美元。2025 年年初至今的銷售額為 2.939 億美元，而 2024 年為 2.815 億美元。2025 年第二季的原料數量為 337,600 公噸，而 2024 年第二季的原料數量為 362,000 公噸。2025 年年初至今的原料產量為 711,700 公噸，而 2024 年同期為 718,900 公噸。

Combined adjusted EBITDA for the full Fuel segment was $61.3 million in the second quarter of 2025 versus $96.8 million in the second quarter of 2024. And year-to-date 2025 Fuel segment combined adjusted EBITDA was $85.5 million compared to $229.9 million in 2024.

2025 年第二季整個燃料部門的綜合調整後 EBITDA 為 6,130 萬美元，而 2024 年第二季為 9,680 萬美元。2025 年迄今，燃料部門合併調整後 EBITDA 為 8,550 萬美元，而 2024 年為 2.299 億美元。

During the second quarter, we accomplished several important objectives related to our credit and balance sheet, providing the company with a significant amount of flexibility and stability for the next 5 to 7 years. First, we've refinanced and upsized our Eurobond from EUR 515 million to EUR 750 million for 7 years at a fixed rate of 4.5%. Second, we paid off our revolving credit facility and the 4 remaining Term Loan A facilities, replacing them with $2.9 billion in credit facilities through 2 senior secured debt agreements. First, a 5-year $2 billion revolver, and second, a six-year $900 million farm credit Term Loan A. While the Eurobond at 4.5% replaced the previous Eurobond at [3 and 5/8%], the upsizing of the bond allowed us to maintain an average cost of borrowing materially unchanged while ensuring a stable financial position for many years.

在第二季度，我們完成了與信貸和資產負債表相關的幾個重要目標，為公司未來5到7年提供了相當大的靈活性和穩定性。首先，我們對歐洲債券進行了再融資，並將規模從 5.15 億歐元增加到 7.5 億歐元，期限為 7 年，固定利率為 4.5%。其次，我們償還了循環信貸額度和剩餘的 4 筆定期貸款 A，並透過 2 份優先擔保債務協議以 29 億美元的信貸額度取代。首先是 5 年期 20 億美元的循環信貸，其次是 6 年期 9 億美元的農業信貸定期貸款 A。雖然 4.5% 的歐洲債券取代了先前 [3.5/8%] 的歐洲債券，但債券規模的增加使我們能夠保持平均借貸成本基本不變，同時確保多年的穩定財務狀況。

The company's total debt net of cash and other items as of June 28, 2025 was $3.89 billion versus $3.97 billion on December 28, 2024, helping lower the preliminary leverage ratio to 3.34x at the end of quarter 2, 2025 from 3.93x at the year-end 2024. In addition, we ended the second quarter of 2025 with approximately $1.27 billion available on our revolving credit facility.

截至 2025 年 6 月 28 日，該公司扣除現金和其他項目後的總債務為 38.9 億美元，而 2024 年 12 月 28 日為 39.7 億美元，這有助於將初步槓桿率從 2024 年底的 3.93 倍降低至 2025 年第二季末的 3.34 倍。此外，截至 2025 年第二季度，我們的循環信貸額度約為 12.7 億美元。

Capital expenditures totaled $71 million in the second quarter of 2025 and $134 million for the 6 months of 2025. The company recorded an income tax expense of $4.1 million for the 3 months ended June 28, 2025, yielding an effective tax rate of 22.2%, which is slightly higher than the federal statutory rate of 21% due primarily to certain losses that provided no tax benefit, offset by the producers tax credit. The effective tax rate, excluding the impact of the producers tax credit and discrete items, was [3.4%] for the 3 months ended June 28, 2025. The company also paid $22.8 million of income taxes in the second quarter and $32 million year-to-date. For 2025, we expect the effective tax rate to be around 15% and cash taxes of approximately $40 million for the remainder of the year for a projected total of around $72 million.

2025 年第二季資本支出總計 7,100 萬美元，2025 年上半年資本支出總計 1.34 億美元。該公司截至 2025 年 6 月 28 日的 3 個月的所得稅費用為 410 萬美元，有效稅率為 22.2%，略高於聯邦法定稅率 21%，主要原因是某些損失沒有提供稅收優惠，但被生產者稅收抵免所抵消。截至 2025 年 6 月 28 日的 3 個月，不包括生產者稅收抵免和離散項目的影響的有效稅率為 [3.4%]。該公司還在第二季繳納了 2,280 萬美元的所得稅，今年迄今已繳了 3,200 萬美元。到 2025 年，我們預計有效稅率約為 15%，今年剩餘時間的現金稅約為 4,000 萬美元，預計總額約為 7,200 萬美元。

Overall, the company's net income was $12.7 million for the second quarter of 2025 or $0.08 per diluted share compared to net income of $78.9 million or $0.49 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2024. And year-to-date 2025, Darling had a net loss of $13.5 million or negative $0.09 per diluted share.

總體而言，該公司 2025 年第二季的淨收入為 1,270 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.08 美元，而 2024 年第二季的淨收入為 7,890 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.49 美元。截至 2025 年，達林公司的淨虧損為 1,350 萬美元，即每股虧損 0.09 美元。

Now I will turn the call back over to Randy.

現在我將把電話轉回給蘭迪。

Thanks, Bob. Now as we look ahead, we remain confident in the strength of our business, particularly our core ingredients platform, which continues to benefit from a favorable public policy outlook. We expect sequential improvement across the board with rising fat prices supporting our Feed segment.

謝謝，鮑伯。展望未來，我們仍然對我們業務的實力充滿信心，特別是我們的核心成分平台，該平台將繼續受益於有利的公共政策前景。我們預計，隨著脂肪價格上漲支撐我們的飼料部門，整個產業將持續改善。

While premium proteins remain a modest headwind, we're [seeing] signs of stabilization. At DGD, although the current environment remains challenging and volumes will be lower in the third quarter due to a planned turnaround, we believe this sets us up well for full utilization in 2026. While the timing of RIN recoveries remains uncertain due to ongoing small refinery exemption issues, we anticipate a more constructive market environment ahead.

儘管優質蛋白質仍然是一個溫和的阻力，但我們看到了穩定的跡象。在 DGD，儘管當前環境依然充滿挑戰，且由於計劃中的扭虧為盈，第三季的產量將會下降，但我們相信，這為我們在 2026 年實現充分利用奠定了基礎。儘管由於持續存在的小型煉油廠豁免問題，RIN 恢復的時間仍不確定，但我們預計未來的市場環境將更加積極。

Based on what we see today, we expect full year combined adjusted EBITDA in the range of $1.05 billion to $1.1 billion. With that, now let's go ahead and open it up to questions.

根據我們今天看到的情況，我們預計全年合併調整後 EBITDA 在 10.5 億美元至 11 億美元之間。好了，現在就讓我們開始提問吧。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Manav Gupta with UBS

瑞銀的 Manav Gupta

Good morning guys. My first question is when we look at the revised RVO much higher, coupled with 50% RINs for foreign feedstock and no PTC for imported RD, this makes DAR a real winner. Can you talk about some of the policy benefits which want more domestic renewable diesel made for more domestic feedstock and how that really benefits Darling Ingredients?

大家早安。我的第一個問題是，當我們將修訂後的 RVO 提高很多時，再加上外國原料的 50% RIN 和進口 RD 沒有 PTC，這使得 DAR 成為真正的贏家。您能否談談一些政策優勢？這些政策旨在利用更多的國內原料生產更多的再生柴油，以及這對 Darling Ingredients 有何真正的好處？

Good morning. Manav, is Matt. I'll start off and then maybe ask Randy or Bob to kick in. But you're absolutely right in terms of the -- we see this going forward and it's more of an evolving into a domestic-oriented market more so than what we have seen in the past. We expect a drop in imported raw material. And as a result, we're seeing the benefit of that in our U.S. [fat] pricing. And through the quarter, fat prices were moved up significantly. And we see that continued trend and fat price is maintaining being well supported. So our focus right now in the U.S. is on reliability and making sure our processing plans that the -- on the raw material side can run as planned and as expected so we can continue to maximize the production of the U.S. fat to supply the RD market.

早安.Manav，就是馬特。我先開始，然後也許請蘭迪或鮑伯加入。但您說得完全正確——我們看到這一趨勢正在向前發展，而且與過去相比，它將更多地演變為以國內為導向的市場。我們預計進口原料數量將會下降。因此，我們在美國[脂肪]定價中看到了這種做法的好處。整個季度，脂肪價格大幅上漲。我們看到這一趨勢持續，脂肪價格也得到良好支撐。因此，我們目前在美國關注的是可靠性，並確保我們的加工計劃——原材料方面的計劃能夠按計劃和預期進行，以便我們能夠繼續最大限度地提高美國脂肪的產量，供應研發市場。

This is Bob. So I agree with Matt. It is very supportive to U.S. or North American fat values. That's great for Darling. It doesn't really hurt us so much outside of the U.S. because of the dynamics of the regional markets there. So overall, that's good for the Feed segment. It's also -- if the RVO and the stated mandate holds as a mandate, net of SREs, which we're all kind of waiting to see, but if it does hold as a mandate, then it's very positive, in our view, for renewable diesel margins just based on the supply and demand and capacity availability to produce renewable diesel and biodiesel in the United States relative to that demand number.

這是鮑伯。所以我同意馬特的觀點。它非常符合美國或北美的脂肪價值。這對 Darling 來說太棒了。由於美國以外地區市場的活躍度，這實際上並沒有給我們帶來太大的傷害。總體而言，這對 Feed 部分來說是件好事。而且，如果 RVO 和規定的強制要求能夠作為強制要求得到滿足，扣除 SRE 後，我們都在拭目以待，但如果它確實作為強制要求得到滿足，那麼我們認為，僅基於供需和產能可用性，可再生柴油的利潤率就非常積極，美國可再生柴油和生物柴油的利潤率與需求量成正比。

So we see those things as positive. The 50% RIN, an interesting policy dynamic if we see that hole, and it would support those things that would eliminate access to foreign feedstocks, which is some flexibility we like, but the other positive impacts outweigh the negative impact of that.

所以我們認為這些事情是正面的。如果我們看到這個漏洞，50% RIN 是一個有趣的政策動態，它將支持那些可以消除獲取外國原料的措施，這是我們喜歡的一些靈活性，但其他積極影響超過了它的負面影響。

Perfect. My quick follow-up here is amended LCFS has gone into effect. Carbon prices are already moving up. I think we're close to [$55]. The prices were higher before OAL stepped and kind of blocked it. So I'm just trying to understand, you guys still expect that we could get to like $70 a ton by year-end and if everything is right, then maybe even $80 in 2026. So your outlook for LCFS prices and again, how it benefits Darling Ingredients?

完美的。我在這裡的快速跟進是修訂後的 LCFS 已經生效。碳價格已開始上漲。我認為我們即將[55美元]。在 OAL 介入並阻止之前，價格較高。所以我只是想知道，你們仍然預計到今年年底油價能達到每噸 70 美元，如果一切順利的話，到 2026 年甚至可能達到每噸 80 美元。那麼，您對 LCFS 價格的展望以及它對 Darling Ingredients 有何好處？

Thank you.

謝謝。

So I think the first thing I'd say is the what we view as very positive is now that with the increased greenhouse gas obligation or elimination of greenhouse gas obligation in California, we're starting to see the bank finally coming down. And that's a very positive sign. Based on where we are today and what we see playing out, that will -- this bank will continue to decrease how that results exactly in price per ton of LCF credits. It's very hard to estimate that. That's going to depend on obligated parties in California. The sense of urgency they feel that they need as far as procuring those credits. But we agree that it's moving in a positive direction and likely they had higher.

因此，我認為首先要說的是，我們認為非常積極的一點是，隨著加州溫室氣體義務的增加或溫室氣體義務的取消，我們開始看到銀行最終倒閉。這是一個非常正面的訊號。根據我們目前的狀況和我們看到的情況，這家銀行將繼續降低每噸 LCF 信用額度的價格。這很難估計。這將取決於加州的義務方。他們覺得在獲取這些信貸時需要有緊迫感。但我們一致認為，它正在朝著正面的方向發展，而且很可能還會更高。

Heather Jones with Heather Jones Research

希瑟瓊斯與希瑟瓊斯研究公司

Good morning. Thanks for the question. My first one is on UCO. So in your slide deck, you talked about -- I think it was roughly $13 million year-on-year hit from lower UCO pricing, whereas spot pricing for the last 2 to 3 quarters would suggest it would have been higher. So just wondering if you could explain to us what happened in the quarter and maybe the year ago quarter comparison that would have caused that and when we should expect to see the current pricing we're seeing come through?

早安.謝謝你的提問。我的第一個是在 UCO 上。因此，在您的幻燈片中，您談到了——我認為由於 UCO 定價較低，同比損失約為 1300 萬美元，而過去 2 到 3 個季度的現貨定價表明損失會更高。所以我只是想知道您是否可以向我們解釋本季發生了什麼，以及與去年同期相比發生了什麼，導致了這種情況，以及我們什麼時候可以看到當前的價格？

Yes. Thanks, Heather. I'm trying to get to that slide in the deck. I think the -- let me just address the last part of your question first. The dynamics of that market are -- it's very fluid. And so as we are pricing with suppliers, the timing at which we're pricing relative to the indication we use -- or let's say, the timing of which we sell product relative to the timing at which we price for suppliers, those can be different. And in a rising market like we've had in the last quarter, that can work against us.

是的。謝謝，希瑟。我正嘗試查看幻燈片中的那張幻燈片。我認為——讓我先回答一下你問題的最後一部分。該市場的動態非常不穩定。因此，當我們與供應商定價時，我們定價的時間相對於我們使用的指示 - 或者說，我們銷售產品的時間相對於我們為供應商定價的時間，這些可能會有所不同。在上個季度這樣的上漲市場中，這可能會對我們不利。

What tends to -- what we expect is as prices flatten at a higher level where we are today, then the margin is higher because of our percentage that we keep of the total price. But I think during the quarter, what we saw was we're selling out in front, fixing prices. As the index continues to go higher when we set the price that we're paying, it's higher than what it was at the time we sold. And so that's the biggest impact that we had on that.

我們預期的是，隨著價格在目前的較高水準趨於平穩，利潤率會更高，因為我們保留了總價的百分比。但我認為在本季度，我們看到的是我們在前面銷售，固定價格。當我們設定支付價格時，指數繼續走高，其價格高於我們出售時的價格。這就是我們對此產生的最大影響。

Yes, that's well said, Bob. I mean really in what you're looking at, Heather, is in a rising raw material procurement market, which we're in with forward sales, it's always the lag effect as things go accelerate here. I think what's most important today is as we lay the outlook is Q3 fat price is really -- you got to look at yellow grease and UCO as both of those go to Diamond Green Diesel, a bigger share of our mix now in North America is going to Diamond Green Diesel and the prices are up anywhere from $0.10 to $0.14 a pound over Q2.

是的，鮑勃，說得好。希瑟，我的意思是，你真正看到的是原材料採購市場正在崛起，我們正處於遠期銷售階段，隨著事態的加速發展，它總是存在滯後效應。我認為今天最重要的是，正如我們所展望的，第三季度的脂肪價格確實是——你必須看看黃油脂和 UCO，因為它們都用於鑽石綠柴油，現在我們在北美的混合油中，更大一部分用於鑽石綠柴油，價格比第二季度上漲了 0.10 美元/磅至 0.14 美元。

In Q2, you really only saw versus Q1, about a $60 a ton or a $0.03 a pound price rise between the UCO and the yellow grease as it flowed through the P&L. And that's just the typical lag factor.

在第二季度，與第一季相比，您實際上只看到在流經損益表時，UCO 和黃色油脂之間的價格上漲了約 60 美元/噸或 0.03 美元/磅。這只是典型的滯後因素。

Okay. My second question is with the exception of that change in fair value of contingent consideration that was noted in the press release in the Feed segment, just wanted to know, is there anything unusual in this quarter's results, whether it be inventory adjustment, insurance recoveries or whatever that would affect the comparability for Q3 and later quarters to this quarter. I'm just like wondering if this is like, I guess, a clean quarter for us to build on going forward?

好的。我的第二個問題是，除了飼料部門新聞稿中提到的或有對價公允價值的變化之外，我只是想知道，本季度的業績是否存在任何異常，無論是庫存調整、保險賠償還是其他會影響第三季度及以後季度與本季度可比性的因素。我只是想知道這是否是我們未來可以繼續前進的一個乾淨的季度？

Yes. Thanks, Heather. I think the flat -- the price lag in fats, it affected us across all the fats in the segment. So I would say it wasn't -- to use your term, a clean quarter from that standpoint. I think as we get into the third quarter here, we are sort of operating in a higher level environment. We're not seeing a situation so far where we're pricing our suppliers at a higher value than what we had to sell. And so this will probably be more reflective of that. But that was a pretty significant impact in the second quarter.

是的。謝謝，希瑟。我認為脂肪價格的持平滯後影響了我們該領域的所有脂肪。所以我想說，從這個角度來看，這不是一個乾淨的季度。我認為，隨著我們進入第三季度，我們將在更高層次的環境中運作。到目前為止，我們還沒有看到供應商的定價高於我們銷售價格的情況。因此這可能更能反映這一點。但這對第二季產生了相當大的影響。

Other than that, we did have some deferred profit losses that will come back in the third quarter from related party sales.

除此之外，我們確實有一些遞延利潤損失，這些損失將在第三季從關聯方銷售中彌補回來。

The contingent valuation, Heather, is related to the Brazilian acquisition that had an earnout attached to it that completed or will complete here at the end of July, and that's just an adjustment, and that's representative of that business operating now really well.

希瑟，或有估值與巴西的收購有關，該收購附帶盈利，已於或將於 7 月底完成，這只是一項調整，代表該業務目前運作良好。

Dushyant Ailani with Jefferies.

杜希安特‧艾拉尼 (Dushyant Ailani) 與傑弗里斯 (Jefferies)。

Hi Dean, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions.Maybe the first one, could you talk to the opportunities for Darling -- or for DGD, rather, outside of California? Margins in Canada, Oregon, EU also seem to be forming up some. So could you kind of share how much of RD you are exporting outside of California, shipping outside of California versus within California? And how that's going to evolve?

你好，Dean，早安。感謝您回答我的問題。第一個問題，您能否談談 Darling 或 DGD 在加州以外的機會？加拿大、俄勒岡州和歐盟的利潤率似乎也正在形成一些。那麼，您能否分享一下，你們向加州以外地區出口了多少研發成果，以及在加州以外地區和加州境內運送了多少研發成果？這將如何發展？

Hi, Dushyant. This is Matt. I would say that California is a big market in the RD space, but it's by far not the only market. And we sell a lot of our products on an ongoing basis in various other states that are here in the U.S., but we also export quite a bit and predominantly to the U.K. and Europe. And so we're -- as these tariffs and all the different moving parts, let's say, that have come about continue to play out, that mix may shift from one to the other, but we continue to be a significant exporter of RD to Europe and the U.K.

你好，杜尚特。這是馬特。我想說加州是研發領域的一個大市場，但它絕對不是唯一的市場。我們在美國其他各州持續銷售大量產品，但也出口相當一部分產品，主要出口到英國和歐洲。因此，隨著這些關稅和所有不同的活動部分繼續發揮作用，這種組合可能會從一個轉變為另一個，但我們仍然是向歐洲和英國出口研發產品的重要國家。

Yes. And I think the other thing I would add to what Matt is saying here that's spot on is, I think this morning, you saw the Neste release. And the positive takeaway for me there is there's always been some consternation that demand is diminishing out there, and it's absolutely not. It's growing for RD around the world, and it's growing for SAF and margins are improving.

是的。我想補充一點，馬特在這裡說的非常正確，那就是，我想今天早上，你看到了 Neste 的發布。對我來說，積極的一面是，人們總是擔心需求正在減少，但事實並非如此。世界各地的研發業務都在成長，SAF 的業務也在成長，利潤率也在提高。

Got it. And then just my next one, and I think you guys have also touched on it some on just the SREs. How -- what are your expectations for what the EPA could do with these SREs, I mean, just based on the conversation that you guys have been having with folks in the industry?

知道了。然後是我的下一個，我想你們也已經談了一些關於 SRE 的內容。您對 EPA 能利用這些 SRE 做什麼有什麼期望，我的意思是，僅基於您與業內人士的對話？

That's the million-dollar question. This is Matt again. That's the million-dollar question. The SREs, we expect will come sometime in the next, let's say, 60 days. Don't know exactly when that announcement will become public. But frankly, we don't have a clear view on what that number is going to be. There's lots of chatter out there. But frankly, as far as I'm concerned, no one really knows what that number is going to be. So we're anxiously awaiting that and how they -- it's not only the number, but also how they get treated, whether they are, let's say, reallocated back or not. And so that's still to come. And like I mentioned, we think that's imminent here in the next few weeks, but we're anxiously awaiting that.

這是一個價值百萬美元的問題。我又是馬特。這是一個價值百萬美元的問題。我們預計 SRE 將在未來某個時間（比如說 60 天）內到來。不知道該公告具體何時會公開。但坦白說，我們並不清楚這個數字到底是多少。外面有很多閒聊。但坦白說，就我而言，沒有人真正知道這個數字是多少。所以我們焦急地等待著這一點，以及他們——不僅是數量，還有他們如何受到對待，他們是否會被重新分配。這仍未實現。正如我所提到的，我們認為這將在未來幾週內發生，但我們正焦急地等待著。

Yes. And I would add to what Matt is saying there. I mean, at the end of the day, we've modeled the 2 or 3 different scenarios here. And really, the RVO is big enough to accept and adapt to whatever avenue they take. And so end of the day, it is a bit of a hangover out there. And I think that's why we, in a sense, just to clarify for everybody on the call why we lowered guidance. It's not because of the core ingredient business, core ingredient business is as exciting as it's ever been. It's just we don't know the timing of when the marketplace is going to react, meaning RINs and LCFS to whatever the SRE adjustment is going to be.

是的。我想補充一下馬特所說的內容。我的意思是，到最後，我們在這裡模擬了 2 或 3 種不同的場景。事實上，RVO 足夠強大，可以接受並適應他們採取的任何途徑。所以，一天結束的時候，外面還殘留一點宿醉的痕跡。我認為這就是為什麼我們在某種意義上只是為了向電話會議上的每個人澄清為什麼我們下調指導。這並不是因為核心成分業務，核心成分業務一如既往地令人興奮。只是我們不知道市場何時會做出反應，也就是 RIN 和 LCFS 對 SRE 調整的反應。

Derrick Whitfield, Texas Capital.

德瑞克·惠特菲爾德，德州首府。

Good morning, all and thanks for taking my questions. Beginning on 45Z, the policy as approved places a cap on SAF at the $1 per gallon level. As you guys think about this, how does it impact your view on margins relative to RD given the state of the voluntary markets and the likely environment where we'll see less SAF supply?

大家早安，感謝您回答我的問題。從 45Z 開始，批准的政策將 SAF 限制在每加侖 1 美元的水平。當你們思考這個問題時，考慮到自願市場的狀況以及 SAF 供應減少的可能環境，這會如何影響你對 RD 利潤率的看法？

Yes. Thanks, Derrick. This is Bob. So ultimately, when DGD is looking at selling SAF, they add all components to inputs and sales price when they negotiate the price that they're selling and ultimately, the margin that we're shooting for. Today, it's made up of many different things. The support we get from 45Z today starts at $1.75 max, it lands somewhere, $1, in that range. Just with the change, probably around $0.35, $0.40 less would come from the PTC, which then means if we're still shooting for the same margin, we're going to have to get it in the premium that SAF sells that relative to renewable diesel.

是的。謝謝，德里克。這是鮑伯。因此，最終，當 DGD 考慮銷售 SAF 時，他們會在協商銷售價格時將所有組件添加到投入和銷售價格中，並最終確定我們所追求的利潤率。如今，它由許多不同的東西組成。我們今天從 45Z 獲得的支援從最高 1.75 美元開始，最終落在該範圍內的某個位置，即 1 美元。僅根據變化，PTC 的收入可能會減少約 0.35 美元至 0.40 美元，這意味著如果我們仍要爭取相同的利潤率，我們就必須從 SAF 相對於可再生柴油的銷售溢價中獲得這筆收入。

And we'll just see how that all plays out. Ultimately, SAF really, the price of SAF and the margins for SAF should be determined based on the supply and demand for SAF. And so we're not really uncomfortable with the change so much. We just are more focused on the overall supply and demand for SAF and getting fair value for the product and the margin.

我們只需看看這一切將如何發展。最終，SAF 確實、SAF 的價格和 SAF 的利潤應該根據 SAF 的供需關係來決定。因此，我們對這種變化並不太感到不舒服。我們只是更加關注 SAF 的整體供需以及產品和利潤的公平價值。

And I would just add that one flexibility that we have -- and we're not there yet. But we do have the flexibility to choose between whether we produce RD or SAF at in our line. And so right now, we're running SAF as much as we can, and we expect that to continue. But we do have that additional flexibility.

我只想補充一點，我們擁有一種靈活性——但我們還沒有達到那種程度。但我們確實可以靈活地選擇在我們的生產線上生產 RD 還是 SAF。因此現在，我們正在盡可能地運行 SAF，並且我們希望這種情況能夠繼續下去。但我們確實擁有額外的靈活性。

Great. Then with respect to food and your plans to advance the Nextida JV this quarter, it appears your conversations are progressing better than expected. I guess, could you offer some color on the degree of synergy and growth acceleration you're seeing across the combined company?

偉大的。然後關於食品以及您本季推進 Nextida JV 的計劃，看來你們的談話進展比預期的要好。我想，您能否介紹一下合併後公司所看到的綜效和成長加速程度？

Yes, I think -- so yes, thanks. This is Bob. We're really excited about it. And we're encouraged by what we're seeing. There's really -- we're limited in what we can say today because we haven't signed definitive agreements, and the next step will be filing for antitrust. So we just want to be really cautious there.

是的，我認為——所以是的，謝謝。這是鮑伯。我們對此感到非常興奮。我們所看到的景象令我們深受鼓舞。確實——我們今天能說的很有限，因為我們還沒有簽署最終協議，下一步將是申請反壟斷。所以我們只是想非常謹慎。

But I think what we see with the 2 different companies is very complementary geographic spread. So they're in some countries that we're not. That diversifies our portfolio, and that's especially helpful in, let's say, the current environment where the cost of trading between countries differs from country to country. And so that diversification is worth more than what it might otherwise have been. And then there's also just kind of a practical capacity access that comes with that transaction that we're really excited about. They bring some very important extraction capacity and some hydrolyzed collagen capacity that's important in the fast-growing hydrolyzed collagen market.

但我認為，我們看到的這兩家不同的公司在地理分佈上具有很強的互補性。所以他們在某些國家，而我們不在。這使我們的投資組合多樣化，這在當前各國之間貿易成本不同的環境中尤其有用。因此，這種多樣化的價值將超過其原本的價值。而且，這筆交易還帶來了一種實用的容量訪問，我們對此感到非常興奮。它們帶來了一些非常重要的萃取能力和一些水解膠原蛋白能力，這在快速成長的水解膠原蛋白市場中非常重要。

So when we put all those things together, there are some really exciting synergies. There's always sort of the cost side of it. That's more straightforward, but the more exciting part is sort of the increased revenue opportunity.

因此，當我們把所有這些東西放在一起時，就會產生一些非常令人興奮的協同效應。總是存在著成本方面的問題。這更直接，但更令人興奮的部分是增加收入機會。

Ryan Todd with Piper Sandler

瑞恩·托德與派珀·桑德勒

Maybe first, can you maybe walk through what's assumed in your updated EBITDA guidance for 2025? I mean, I think it implies roughly 25% improvement in quarterly EBITDA in the second half compared with what we saw in the second quarter. So what do you see as the primary drivers of improvement? Can you maybe walk through what you've seen to date that provides confidence in that number?

首先，您能否介紹一下 2025 年更新後的 EBITDA 指南中的假設是什麼？我的意思是，我認為這意味著與第二季度相比，下半年的季度 EBITDA 將提高約 25%。那麼您認為改進的主要驅動力是什麼？您能否介紹一下迄今為止所看到的情況，以證明該數字的可信度？

Yes. Ryan, this is Randy. And obviously, the number is a reflection of an improvement in the core ingredient business as related to flow through of higher fat prices in a sense, catching up and leveling off relative to raw material prices moving up, the higher pay to the slaughterhouses.

是的。瑞安，這是蘭迪。顯然，這個數字反映了核心原料業務的改善，因為從某種意義上說，這與脂肪價格上漲有關，隨著原物料價格上漲而趨於平穩，屠宰場的報酬也隨之增加。

The challenge in Q2 was while the higher fat prices, even though de minimis were flowing through, we were playing catch-up. But the higher premium proteins, as we refer to, let's call it, low ash chicken meal that goes to aquaculture, that was -- you had a tariff on 1 day, a tariff off 1 day, whether it's Vietnam or China and just trying to adjust markets and customers was really a negative in there. We see that kind of steady now. I'm not telling you a giant improvement there, but it feels like the disruption is less than it was in Q2 now.

第二季的挑戰是，儘管脂肪價格上漲，但我們正在努力追趕。但是，對於用於水產養殖的優質蛋白質（我們稱之為低灰分雞肉粉），無論是在越南還是在中國，有一天的關稅，有一天的關稅，而試圖調整市場和客戶確實會產生負面影響。我們現在看到了這種穩定。我並不是說那裡有很大的改善，但感覺現在的干擾比第二季少。

So higher flow-through of fat prices. And then as my comments were earlier, I mean, we're going to have DGD3 off-line here in August. It will be on, ready to run in September, I believe, is the timing. So we'll have all plants with new catalysts ready to rock and roll September 1, if you will. If that RIN market starts to normalize and reflect what it's going to take from a variable profitability perspective, the guidance that we threw out there could be extremely conservative. Or if it delays until January 1, the market doesn't react, and then I think we're really pretty much in the fairway here, saying that we'll have minimal but some type of contribution from DGD, especially the SAF side through the end of the year here.

因此脂肪流通價格較高。正如我之前所說，我們將於 8 月在這裡下線 DGD3。我相信，它將於 9 月啟動並準備運行，時間就這樣定了。因此，如果您願意的話，我們將讓所有配備新催化劑的工廠在 9 月 1 日準備好投入生產。如果 RIN 市場開始正常化並從可變盈利能力的角度反映出它將要採取的措施，那麼我們提出的指導意見可能會非常保守。或者如果它推遲到 1 月 1 日，市場沒有反應，那麼我認為我們實際上已經處於公平的軌道上，也就是說，到今年年底，我們將從 DGD，特別是 SAF 方面獲得微小但某種類型的貢獻。

Maybe that's a good segue to a follow-up question on SAF. I mean, you're, what, 7, 8-plus months in the operations there. Can you maybe talk about what you've learned so far, how would you characterize demand? Is there anything that's been surprising on the SAF front in terms of geographic mix of demand or pricing, et cetera? And then it's still a pretty young market. What -- as you look out, what kinks or challenges do you think still remain that may need to get ironed out over the coming months or years?

也許這可以很好地引出關於 SAF 的後續問題。我的意思是，你在那裡運作了 7、8 個多月。您能否談談您目前所學到的知識，您如何描述需求？從需求或定價的地理分佈等方面來看，SAF 方面有什麼令人驚訝的事情嗎？而且它仍然是一個相當年輕的市場。您認為未來幾個月或幾年內還存在哪些問題或挑戰需要解決？

Yes. Ryan, this is Matt. I would say from what we've learned, we started off running in last November. And operationally, we have, I would tell you, as expected, and done well. The thing that I would say is surprising, for example, for the reduction in the PTC was something that wasn't necessarily in the cards when we plan this. But we've learned logistically, we've moved the product around, again, as expected.

是的。瑞安，這是馬特。我想說，根據我們所了解的情況，我們是從去年 11 月開始運行的。從營運角度來看，我想告訴大家，我們正如預期的那樣，做得很好。例如，我想說的是令人驚訝的事情，因為當我們計劃這樣做時，PTC 的減少並不必然會出現。但我們從後勤方面了解到，我們再次按照預期轉移了產品。

I would say, over the last few months, maybe some of the conversations have gone a little bit quieter in terms of new business just because of all of the associated noise related to the things that we all know about with the RVOs and the PTCs and the tariffs and all those things have slowed things down a little bit, but we continue to see solid, let's say, demand. We're running well, making deliveries on contracts. We've got a good sales book on. So where the returns are meeting or exceeding the expectations of the project. So we're very satisfied with it.

我想說，在過去的幾個月裡，也許在新業務方面的一些對話已經變得稍微安靜了一些，只是因為我們都知道的與區域銷售許可證 (RVO)、部分關稅 (PTC) 和關稅相關的所有相關噪音，所有這些事情都使事情進展稍微放緩，但我們繼續看到穩固的需求。我們運作良好，按照合約交貨。我們有一本很好的銷售書。因此回報滿足或超越了專案的預期。所以我們對此非常滿意。

Matthew Blair, TPH.

馬修·布萊爾，TPH。

Hey, good morning and thanks for taking my question. Maybe circling back to Nextida, could you talk a little bit more about what the scientific studies are showing here? We've run some of our own tests, and it appears to be quite impactful, quite an improvement. And then also, I appreciate that you probably can't talk too much about what the EBITDA contribution is going to look like and what the potential there is. But I guess in terms of timing, do you think that Nextida would start to make a material impact in 2026? Or is this a longer-dated time frame?

嘿，早上好，感謝您回答我的問題。也許回到 Nextida，您能否再多談談這裡的科學研究結果？我們進行了一些自己的測試，結果顯示效果顯著，進步很多。而且，我很感激你可能無法過多談論 EBITDA 貢獻將會是什麼樣子以及它的潛力是什麼。但我想就時間而言，您認為 Nextida 會在 2026 年開始產生實質影響嗎？還是這是一個較長的時間範圍？

Yes. Thanks, Matthew. This is Bob. So the status of the trials are -- we're completing this summer, a second round of trials with a much larger sample size. That is what the larger CPG companies have asked for in order for them to get comfortable marketing the product and really pushing it on to market. We're seeing the same thing that you talked about.

是的。謝謝，馬修。這是鮑伯。因此，試驗的現況是──我們將在今年夏天完成第二輪試驗，樣本量將大大增加。這就是大型 CPG 公司所要求的，以便他們可以輕鬆地行銷產品並真正將其推向市場。我們看到的事情和您說的一樣。

So ultimately, what that product does is that it stimulates GLP-1 secretion into the blood. That leads to a controlling the post-meal sugar spike and the symptoms around that are curved appetite and just more stable blood sugar. Those are really positive. We're seeing the same thing with all the trials. The time line on when we could see a big impact would be as we finish these trials in the summer, we kind of go out and we present all this to the large CPG companies. And hopefully, by the end of the year, we're talking about much more significant volumes.

因此，最終，該產品的作用是刺激 GLP-1 分泌到血液中。這可以控制餐後血糖峰值，並產生食慾曲線和血糖更穩定的症狀。這些確實很正面。我們在所有試驗中都看到了相同的結果。當我們在夏天完成這些試驗時，我們就能看見巨大的影響，然後我們會把所有這些展示給大型 CPG 公司。希望到今年年底，我們的交易量能夠大幅增加。

So in 2026, it can have a much bigger impact on EBITDA. It's really just going to depend on kind of what this next round of trials shows and how compelling it is. But like you pointed out in the tests that you've done yourself, it is really powerful, and we're seeing great results.

因此，到 2026 年，它將對 EBITDA 產生更大的影響。這實際上只取決於下一輪試驗的結果及其說服力。但就像您在自己做的測試中指出的那樣，它確實非常強大，而且我們看到了很好的結果。

Bob, do you want to talk about the [brain] side real quick?

鮑勃，你想快速談談大腦方面嗎？

Yes. And I guess the interesting thing here is we -- we're rolling out a portfolio of products. Ultimately, what our team is able to do is they identify what's the molecule that would cause the body to have a natural reaction that generates a helpful targeted health benefit. And so by using a different mix of enzymes in the collagen, we can create a peptide profile that's unique and one that we can patent, and it causes that natural reaction in the human body.

是的。我想這裡有趣的事情是我們正在推出一系列產品。最終，我們的團隊能夠做到的是確定哪種分子能夠引起身體產生自然反應，從而產生有益的針對性健康益處。因此，透過在膠原蛋白中使用不同的酵素混合物，我們可以創建一種獨特的肽譜，我們可以獲得專利，它會在人體中引起自然反應。

So we've identified what that combination looks like in order to help with memory retention, gut health, women's health and all these products are in different stages of development. But it's a great process that our R&D team has been able to iron out. And so we're excited about Nextida GC, but we're really excited about what the portfolio of products can mean for the company over the next several years.

因此，我們確定了這種組合對記憶力、腸道健康、女性健康的作用，所有這些產品都處於不同的開發階段。但這是我們的研發團隊能夠解決的一個偉大過程。因此，我們對 Nextida GC 感到非常興奮，但我們真正興奮的是產品組合在未來幾年對該公司的意義。

And Matt, I think you -- one of your question was contribution. Clearly, '26, we're going to get some acceleration here. We were requested this health and wellness sector in the world is a very, very large piece out there, $60 billion or $80 billion. You don't need much for it to be significant into your portfolio here. The clinicals are key on that. We're seeing reorders now of the GLP-1 or Nextida GC product now, which is really, really good news.

馬特，我認為你的一個問題是貢獻。顯然，26 年，我們將在這裡獲得一些加速。我們被問到全球健康和保健領域是一個非常非常大的領域，價值 600 億美元或 800 億美元。您不需要投入太多資金就可以將其納入您的投資組合中。臨床是關鍵。我們現在看到 GLP-1 或 Nextida GC 產品的重新訂購，這真是個好消息。

We're excited about it. If you look at the history -- and I've always said in the Suann's deck is that the history of the Food segment, which is really anchored by Rousselot/Nextida here. And that business has been built off of the hydrolyzed collagen business out there that we develop. And this is really hydrolyzed collagen 2.0 now. And if we're half as successful in volume there, we can double the earnings in that segment. Now that's probably a 3- to 5-year window to get there. '26 should accelerate, '27 should be really meaningful.

我們對此感到很興奮。如果你回顧歷史——我在 Suann 的演講中一直說，食品部門的歷史實際上是由 Rousselot/Nextida 支撐的。該業務是基於我們開發的水解膠原蛋白業務而建立的。這確實是水解膠原蛋白 2.0。如果我們在該領域的銷量能達到一半的成功，那麼我們在該領域的收益就能翻倍。現在，可能需要 3 到 5 年的時間才能實現這一目標。 26 年應該會加速，27 年應該會很有意義。

Great. Thanks for all the helpful commentary. And then I guess, turning to the Brazil rendering outlook. There's been a lot of chatter that -- but the U.S. rendering outlook is excellent after the RVO and the 45Z tax changes. But could you talk about what you're expecting for Brazil? Do you think there will be pressure from things like the RVO and tariffs? And do you expect to kind of reorient your exported rendering volumes from Brazil to other markets? And then finally, could you remind us just the overall split between U.S. rendered volumes and Brazil rendered volumes for Darling? Is it, I don't know, like roughly 80-20?

偉大的。感謝所有有益的評論。然後我想，轉向巴西的渲染前景。有很多傳言稱——但在 RVO 和 45Z 稅收變化之後，美國的渲染前景非常好。但您能談談對巴西的期望嗎？您認為 RVO 和關稅等方面會帶來壓力嗎？您是否希望將渲染出口量從巴西轉向其他市場？最後，您能否提醒我們一下 Darling 在美國和巴西的渲染量之間的總體分佈？我不知道，是不是大概是 80-20？

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yes. Good question. Number one. The Brazil for us in the rendering side has been a truly wonderful experience. The challenge here has been taking a private company and making it public and making profits versus tax avoidance a priority here, getting raw material procurement, margin management as part of the culture. I'd say we checked the box now and we're doing very, very well there on that.

是的。好問題。第一。對我們來說，巴西的渲染方面確實是一次奇妙的經驗。這裡的挑戰是將一家私人公司上市，並將利潤與避稅作為優先事項，將原料採購、利潤管理作為文化的一部分。我想說我們現在已經完成了這個任務，而且我們在這方面做得非常非常好。

Brazil is an incredible place because right now, as the U.S. cattle numbers are down, although cattle feedlot margins are way up, Brazil's numbers are moving sharply up. And so we've got a pile of raw material as we call it down there. So life is pretty good. The reality of the arbitrage of fats out of there is Brazil has really developed a very strong biofuel market. And ultimately, the percentage inclusion, I suspect, will rise again here in 2026. I mean, there's no lack of tension here right now between the U.S. and Brazil, and we acknowledge that. But there's no problem with that being a domestic-oriented business. Matt, anything you want to add there?

巴西是一個令人難以置信的地方，因為目前，美國的牛隻數量正在下降，儘管牛飼養場的利潤率大幅上升，但巴西的牛隻數量卻急劇上升。因此，我們在那裡得到了一堆我們稱之為原料的東西。所以生活還是很美好的。脂肪套利的現實情況是，巴西確實已經發展出非常強大的生物燃料市場。最終，我預計到 2026 年，納入率將再次上升。我的意思是，目前美國和巴西之間的關係並不緊張，我們承認這一點。但作為一家面向國內市場的企業，這並沒有問題。馬特，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

I would just say that the market is going to dictate where these products flow. And from a quality standpoint, the Brazilian quality for RD is actually very good and preferred. But at the same time, Brazil, they can -- as Randy mentioned, their biodiesel program inside the U.S. can change. Even with 1% change in that, which is expected, that can shift a whole lot more of the volume just to stay at home there. So that will continue to play out. And the market is going to dictate where the flow goes on what gets exported. Historically, a fair bit of that has come to the U.S., but maybe that shifts towards Europe.

我只想說，市場將決定這些產品的流向。從品質角度來看，巴西的 RD 品質實際上非常好，而且很受歡迎。但同時，正如蘭迪所提到的，巴西可以——他們在美國境內的生物柴油計畫可以改變。即使出現 1% 的變化（這是預料之中的），也足以使更多的貨物留在原地。所以這種情況將會持續下去。市場將決定出口產品的流向。從歷史上看，其中相當一部分流向了美國，但也許正在轉向歐洲。

Andrew Strelzik with BMO.

BMO 的 Andrew Strelzik。

Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking the questions.My first one, I was curious if you could comment on what you're seeing in terms of biofuels industry utilization rates and demand for feedstocks. It seems from the feedstock pricing like things are moving in the right direction, but you've talked about DGD1 still being offline. I'm sure there are others as well. So just curious, to what extent you've actually seen production utilization rates pick up across the industry? And kind of related to that, where do RINs need to get to in order to encourage production to ramp more materially?

嘿，早安。感謝您回答這些問題。第一個問題，我想知道您是否可以評論一下您所看到的生物燃料行業利用率和原料需求。從原料定價來看，事情似乎正在朝著正確的方向發展，但您談到 DGD1 仍然處於離線狀態。我確信還有其他人也是如此。所以只是好奇，您實際上看到整個行業的生產利用率在多大程度上上升？與此相關的是，為了鼓勵生產進一步實質提升，RIN 需要達到什麼程度？

Yes. Thanks, Andrew. This is Bob. I think one thing we're seeing is a lower capacity utilization rate for biodiesel across the board, about half the capacity roughly. And that hasn't changed very much throughout the year. And we're seeing renewable diesel capacity utilization moved slightly higher month-to-month through the year. I think our view on that is that's more about the market's view of where RINs are going than where they are today.

是的。謝謝，安德魯。這是鮑伯。我認為我們看到的一件事是生物柴油的產能利用率全面下降，大約只有一半。而這情況全年都沒有太大變化。我們看到，全年再生柴油產能利用率逐月略有上升。我認為我們對此的看法更多的是關於市場對 RIN 發展方向的看法，而不是 RIN 目前的情況。

And so if you think about it, if you're an obligated party and you can generate RINs and you believe that the RINs are going higher, you'll use this opportunity to make more RINs. And so while margins aren't great for renewable diesel, there's -- we've got enough information about future policy to suggest that margins and RIN value should be higher in the future. And so that is what we believe is encouraging, the production of renewable diesel today to slightly go up month-to-month. And we'll probably continue to see that at least until we get final clarification on SREs and what the actual mandate is.

所以如果你考慮一下，如果你是一個有義務的一方，你可以產生 RIN，並且你相信 RIN 會更高，你就會利用這個機會產生更多的 RIN。因此，雖然再生柴油的利潤率並不高，但我們有足夠的未來政策資訊表明，未來的利潤率和 RIN 值應該會更高。因此，我們認為令人鼓舞的是，當今再生柴油的產量較上季略有上升。我們可能會繼續看到這種情況，至少直到我們最終澄清 SRE 和實際任務是什麼。

Okay, the RBO holds.

好的，RBO 成立。

The RVO holds, we're going to see -- we're going to need the capacity to return online to meet that obligation.

RVO 成立，我們將會看到－我們將需要恢復上線的能力來履行這項義務。

Yes, Andrew, this is Randy. That was Matt. This is Randy. I think it's going to be interesting, at least from my chair, over the next 10 days to see some reporting of second quarter earnings for some of these RD plants that have been running. And that will kind of tell you, are they running for fun or not.

是的，安德魯，這是蘭迪。那是馬特。這是蘭迪。我認為，至少從我的角度來看，在接下來的 10 天內看到一些已經運作的研發工廠的第二季財報將會很有趣。這會告訴你，他們跑步是不是為了好玩。

Got it. Okay. That makes sense. And then my other question was just around your CapEx plans. You're tracking solidly below last year so far this year. It seems like from your commentary, there's greater focus on capital discipline. So how should we be thinking about CapEx for your business for the remainder of this year, maybe even into next year? Is there any reason that, that should accelerate? Or how should we be thinking about that?

知道了。好的。這很有道理。然後我的另一個問題是關於您的資本支出計劃。今年到目前為止，您的業績一直低於去年同期水準。從您的評論來看，似乎更加重視資本紀律。那麼，我們該如何考慮您企業今年剩餘時間甚至明年的資本支出呢？有什麼理由可以加速這一進程嗎？或者我們應該如何思考這個問題？

Yes. I mean, look, I think we've been really clear about this, Andrew, that we're committed to paying down debt and getting our debt coverage ratio down below 3.0 by the end of the year. What you see in the form of our CapEx year-to-date is exactly that. We will see it go higher here in the summer. Winter projects are slowed down because of weather. But we're committed to keeping our CapEx at $400 million or lower for the year, and we'll see where we are and what our markets look like when we achieve our goals as far as debt coverage ratios and decide what to do at that point. But our goal is to continue to pay down debt.

是的。我的意思是，安德魯，你看，我認為我們已經非常清楚這一點，我們致力於償還債務，並在年底前將我們的債務覆蓋率降至 3.0 以下。您從我們今年迄今為止的資本支出形式中看到的正是如此。我們將看到它在夏天變得更高。冬季項目由於天氣原因而進展緩慢。但我們致力於將今年的資本支出維持在 4 億美元或更低，當我們實現債務覆蓋率目標時，我們將看看我們的現狀和市場狀況，並決定屆時該怎麼做。但我們的目標是繼續償還債務。

Yes. And this is Randy. I mean, the reality is -- I want to be clear about a couple of things. One, we are not capital starving any of the assets out there today by any means. We have delayed some growth projects here, nothing that's material. But at the end of the day, I think we're focused on getting below 3.0. We're waiting for the sun to shine in '26 here.

是的。這是蘭迪。我的意思是，事實是──我想清楚幾件事。首先，我們目前絕對沒有對任何資產造成資金匱乏。我們推遲了一些成長項目，但並不是什麼實質的項目。但最終，我認為我們的目標還是要把感染率降到3.0以下。我們期待2026年的陽光普照。

Benjamin Kallo with Baird

班傑明卡洛和貝爾德

Hey, good morning guys. Just following up on that last question. In the past, you guys have talked about maybe having a dividend or repurchasing shares. Just trying to think -- and then also SAF 2. Just thinking about the capital allocation as we move into '26 and you hit your debt targets? And then I have a follow-up.

嘿，大家早安。我只是想回答最後一個問題。過去，你們曾談論過可能派發股息或回購股票。只是想一想——然後還有 SAF 2。只是考慮一下當我們進入 26 年時資本配置情況，您是否達到了債務目標？然後我有一個後續問題。

Well, yes, thanks, Ben. This is Bob. I think SAF 2, we need much more clarity around the market before we move down that path. So whether we get that or not in 2026 and whether we would move towards that in 2026 is entirely dependent on clarification of policies and near-term margin environment that would be required to justify something like that. We're not there today. So as we look at 2026, it's not currently in the plans to move forward. Those things can change.

嗯，是的，謝謝，本。這是鮑伯。我認為，在 SAF 2 上，我們在沿著這條路走下去之前需要對市場有更清晰的了解。因此，我們能否在 2026 年實現這一目標以及我們是否會在 2026 年朝著這一目標邁進，完全取決於政策的明確性和近期的保證金環境，而這些都需要證明這樣的事情是合理的。我們今天不在那裡。因此，當我們展望 2026 年時，它目前還沒有被列入推進計劃。這些事情是可以改變的。

As we look at everything else, we want to -- I mean, I think that -- first of all, if I look at the Food segment, we have a great plan there with the formation of Nextida and the joint venture that will allow us to continue to move -- to grow in that industry and space. And that's a noncash transaction that provides access to that new capacity. So that's very convenient at a time like this where we can continue growing and it doesn't require capital.

當我們審視其他一切時，我們想要——我的意思是，我認為——首先，如果我看一下食品領域，我們有一個偉大的計劃，即成立 Nextida 和合資企業，這將使我們能夠繼續前進——在該行業和領域發展。這是一種非現金交易，可提供新的容量。因此，在這樣的時刻，這非常方便，我們可以繼續發展，而且不需要資本。

So that really leaves us with the Feed segment. And there are opportunities for us to continue to grow our platform globally in the Feed segment. We're focused on getting to the right leverage ratios and getting our balance sheet in the right place before we move on any of those things. But we'll get to that point and then look at those opportunities. And -- but right now, I think 2026 is likely to be maybe not as conservative as '25, but continue to be focused on paying down debt.

因此，我們實際上只剩下 Feed 部分了。我們有機會在 Feed 領域繼續在全球發展我們的平台。在採取任何行動之前，我們專注於獲得正確的槓桿率，並將我們的資產負債表置於正確的位置。但我們會達到這一點，然後尋找這些機會。而且 — — 但目前，我認為 2026 年可能不會像 25 年那樣保守，但將繼續專注於償還債務。

Okay. Great. And just going back to the Food segment. Just in the interim between -- when we get to next slide and the growth there. Last year, there was some weakness in collagen sales. It looks like it had bottomed out there. Is that the trend? Or could you just talk more about the trend in collagen sales that you're seeing and how we should look forward to the second half of the year? Thank you.

好的。偉大的。回到食品部分。就在我們進入下一張投影片和那裡的成長之間的過渡期間。去年，膠原蛋白的銷售有些疲軟。看起來它已經觸底了。這是趨勢嗎？或者您能否再多談談您所看到的膠原蛋白銷售趨勢以及我們應該如何期待下半年？謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Yes, I think so. I just kind of -- I would sort of rephrase it a little bit from last year. What we saw was a slight oversupply in the market, more so of gelatin. We did see some collagen. I think what's important to understand is, in order to make hydrolyzed collagen, you have to have, let's call it, gelatin extraction capacity that you're building it on top of.

是的，我認為是這樣。我只是有點——我會稍微重新表達去年的內容。我們看到市場略微供過於求，尤其是明膠。我們確實看到了一些膠原蛋白。我認為需要理解的重要一點是，為了製造水解膠原蛋白，你必須具備所謂的明膠提取能力，並將其作為基礎。

What we've experienced throughout this entire period is a consistent increase in demand for hydrolyzed collagen. What we saw last year was just a lot of our competitors putting capacity in the market. On a short-term basis, there was a bit more supply of hydrolyzed collagen relative to demand than there had been prior to that. But now very quickly, we're starting to reverse that trend. And what's exciting about collagen going forward is the investment required to add new hydrolyzed collagen capacity is significant because you've got to have the extraction capacity behind it. That's a very large investment to make.

我們在整個時期內經歷的是水解膠原蛋白的需求持續成長。去年我們看到很多競爭對手都向市場投入了產能。從短期來看，水解膠原蛋白的供應量相對於需求量比之前略有增加。但現在我們很快就開始扭轉這個趨勢。膠原蛋白未來令人興奮的是，增加新的水解膠原蛋白產能所需的投資是巨大的，因為你必須擁有背後的萃取能力。這是一項非常大的投資。

So overall, what we see is a tightening of the gelatin supply and demand. Gelatin is not a fast-growing category, but it sort of grows at population rates. Hydrolyzed collagen on the other hand, is continuing to grow at very strong rates. And so we're encouraged by that. And ourselves, we're well positioned with all of the hydrolyzed collagen capacity that we have to continue to grow into that market. And as we form the joint venture with PB Leiner, that's going to give us access to more capacity.

因此總體而言，我們看到明膠的供應和需求趨緊。明膠並不是一個快速成長的類別，但它的成長速度與人口成長速度差不多。另一方面，水解膠原蛋白正在繼續以非常強勁的速度成長。因此我們對此感到鼓舞。而我們自己，憑藉所有的水解膠原蛋白產能，已經做好了充分的準備，可以繼續向該市場發展。隨著我們與 PB Leiner 組建合資企業，我們將獲得更大的產能。

Pooran Sharma, Stephens.

普蘭夏爾馬，史蒂芬斯。

Thanks for the question. I just wanted to start off and hone in on guidance just a tad a bit more. I think in prior calls, you've given us a split of the core business versus DGD. Wanted to understand, second half DGD doesn't sound like there's too much benefit in there. As you mentioned, you'll be offline for 3Q. You did mention that you'll be running in September. So I just wanted to understand, is it -- are you baking in more of a margin uplift in 4Q from the current environment? Just wanted to understand guidance with a bit finer detail.

謝謝你的提問。我只是想開始並稍微深入地了解指導。我認為在先前的電話會議中，您已經向我們提供了核心業務與 DGD 的劃分。想了解一下，下半場的 DGD 聽起來好像沒有太多好處。正如您所說，您將在第三季處於離線狀態。你確實提到你將在九月參選。所以我只是想了解一下，在當前環境下，您是否會在第四季實現更多的利潤提升？只是想了解更詳細的指導。

Pooran, this is Randy. Yes, I think you framed it okay. But I think what I want to clarify for you is, clearly, the core ingredients business is accelerating all the way through the end of the year here. I mean if you look at the cash prices and you back into them, we were up about $0.03 a pound in fat in the mid-40s versus the low 40s in Q1. We're now well above $0.55 a pound on most FOB plants in North America now. That's a big number.

普蘭，這是蘭迪。是的，我認為你設計得很好。但我想向你們澄清的是，顯然，核心原料業務在今年年底前一直在加速發展。我的意思是，如果你看一下現金價格，然後回頭看看，你會發現現在脂肪價格在 40 多美元/磅左右，而第一季的脂肪價格為 40 多美元/磅。目前，北美大多數工廠的離岸價都遠高於每磅 0.55 美元。這是一個很大的數字。

Now you've got to kind of balance that with the raw material price rise that happens during that process. Proteins has stabilized. Demand for global collagen is really consistent. It feels like the destocking is done that we've talked about in prior quarters. The big unknown in the guidance here is do we get a RIN boost once that SRE announcement's out there, when does the market wake up? I think we use a lot of discussion around the table here with the team that the RIN market, the LCFS market because of the number of obligated parties does not react like a dynamic futures market that's out there that reflects daily views and guidance and delivery and et cetera, et cetera.

現在你必須平衡這因素與此過程中原物料價格的上漲。蛋白質已經穩定。全球對膠原蛋白的需求確實一致。感覺我們在前幾個季度談到的去庫存已經完成了。這裡指南中最大的未知數是，一旦 SRE 公告發布，我們是否會獲得 RIN 提升，市場何時會甦醒？我認為我們與團隊進行過多次討論，RIN 市場、LCFS 市場由於義務方數量的原因，其反應不像動態期貨市場那樣能夠反映每日的觀點、指導和交付等等。

So the reality in our guidance here as we went forward was we said we're confident in our core business and we love it. And we prefer to always talk about our core business. I think for the last 5 years, all I've done is talk of DGD. And we'll see if DGD becomes a meaningful contributor. The table is set with the RVO, there's no doubt about it. The question is timing here. The guys always look at me and they know what line I'm about to bring you here. And that is I've never made a bad trade, but I've lost a fortune in timing. And so right now, it's really a timing issue as to when this kicks in and all starts to react.

因此，我們未來指導中的現實情況是，我們對我們的核心業務充滿信心並且我們熱愛它。我們更願意談論我們的核心業務。我想在過去的 5 年裡，我所做的就是談論 DGD。我們將看看 DGD 是否會成為有意義的貢獻者。毫無疑問，RVO 已經做好了準備。問題在於時機。這些傢伙總是看著我，他們知道我要帶你來這裡做什麼。那就是我從來沒有做過糟糕的交易，但是我卻在時機上損失了一大筆錢。因此，現在真正的問題是時間問題，何時開始發揮作用並做出反應。

I mean, you're seeing the bean oil complex. You're seeing crush margins react. They're now above the 5-year average. I mean this is a pretty darn good set up now as we enter fourth quarter. Q3, you said off-line. No, we're down in August, and we're ready to run full September 1 if margins are there. We're not going to run for fun and burn up catalyst until the time is ready.

我的意思是，您看到的是豆油複合物。您會看到擠壓利潤率發生反應。目前，它們已經高於五年平均水平。我的意思是，當我們進入第四季度時，這是一個非常好的設置。Q3，您說的是離線。不，我們八月份的產量有所下降，如果有利潤的話，我們準備在 9 月 1 日全面開工。時機未到，我們不會為了好玩而奔跑並消耗催化劑。

Got it. Got it. Appreciate that color. I guess just real quickly on the follow-up wanted to understand the SAF opportunity kind of in Europe. Obviously, they have a really strong mandate. But wanted to understand it operationally. I think there's some nuances with the classifications that they allow. Could you help me understand that with a little bit finer detail? And also just wanted to understand if there's any regulations in process that would make feedstock -- U.S. product a little bit easier to get into those markets.

知道了。知道了。欣賞那種顏色。我想，後續我們只是想快速了解 SAF 在歐洲的機會。顯然，他們擁有非常強大的權力。但想從操作上理解它。我認為他們允許的分類有一些細微差別。您能幫我更詳細地理解一下嗎？並且只是想了解是否有任何正在進行的法規可以使原料——美國產品更容易進入這些市場。

I'll jump in quick, and Matt, add to this. I think you're highlighting something that's important here, and that's all these different destination markets, they have different requirements as far as the feedstocks you can use in order to make the fuel, the certification body that's required in order to do that. These have presented challenges since sort of the implementation of the policies that we're seeing because it takes time to get those certifications in place and also to sort of get your supply chain sorted so you've got the right feedstocks coming in the door.

我會很快加入，馬特，補充一下。我認為你強調了這裡的一個重要內容，那就是所有這些不同的目的地市場，對於製造燃料所需的原料以及製造燃料所需的認證機構都有不同的要求。自從我們看到的政策實施以來，這些就帶來了挑戰，因為需要時間來獲得這些認證，還需要整理好你的供應鏈，以便獲得正確的原料。

I think one thing I would say -- and this is a bit of an add-on to the last answer Randy gave -- is when we look at Diamond Green Diesel and turning around catalyst in Port Arthur, that really allows us to position that business well in the fourth quarter because we can use that as an opportunity to put the right feedstocks in place that allow us to maximize destination markets that we're going to earn duty drawbacks that we've got in reserve, all these kinds of things. And so as time goes on, all of that gets better and better because you've got those certifications in place, you've got the right supply chains coming in the door. And -- but all that takes time to put in place.

我想說的一件事是——這是對蘭迪上次回答的補充——當我們看看鑽石綠柴油和亞瑟港扭轉催化劑時，這確實讓我們能夠在第四季度很好地定位這項業務，因為我們可以利用這個機會，把正確的原料放到位，這使我們能夠最大限度地開拓目的地市場，我們將獲得我們保留的退稅，諸如此類的事情。隨著時間的推移，所有這些都會變得越來越好，因為你已經獲得了這些認證，並且擁有了正確的供應鏈。但這一切都需要時間來實現。

Betty Zhang with Scotiabank

豐業銀行的 Betty Zhang

Thank you. Hi, good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. My first question, you've kind of covered this, but I wanted to ask, is there a number you could -- or a range you could provide for the core business EBITDA for this year?

謝謝。嗨，早安。感謝您回答我的問題。我的第一個問題，您已經談到了這一點，但我想問一下，您能否提供一個數字 - 或者可以提供今年核心業務 EBITDA 的範圍？

Yes. I mean I think that -- thank you, Betty, for asking that because that's what everybody has been trying to ask, but you ask it straight up here. It's very funny. I'm going to give you $900 million to $1 billion. So on the billion side, that's the fat prices flowing through, and that means the RINs don't react. If the RINs react, we go way above that because the profitability of DGD will be much more than it's been today.

是的。我的意思是，我認為——謝謝你，貝蒂，問了這個問題，因為這是每個人都想問的，但你在這裡直接問了。這很有趣。我將給你 9 億到 10 億美元。因此，從十億的角度來看，這是流通的脂肪價格，這意味著 RIN 不會做出反應。如果 RIN 做出反應，我們的收益將遠高於此，因為 DGD 的獲利能力將比現在高得多。

Perfect. Very clear. And thanks for the scenarios. Actually, I will just leave it there. All my questions have been covered. Thank you very much.

完美的。非常清楚。感謝您提供的這些場景。事實上，我就把它留在那裡。我的所有問題都已得到解答。非常感謝。

Thank you for your questions. Our final question comes from the line of Jason Gabelman with TD Securities.

感謝您的提問。我們的最後一個問題來自道明證券的 Jason Gabelman。

I wanted to go back to the RVO proposal, and I understand there'll be more clarity once the small refinery exemptions get announced. But there's probably some conservatism among investors, just given they have been burned in recent past on regulation. So I imagine they'd want to see the proposal finalized. And there's a lot in that RVO proposal.

我想回到 RVO 提案，我知道一旦小型煉油廠豁免權宣布，情況就會更加明朗。但投資者可能還是有些保守，因為他們最近在監管方面遭受了損失。所以我想他們希望看到提案最終確定。RVO 提案中有很多內容。

In your views and conversations with the administration, have there been -- are there things within the proposal that you think are sacred cows, more firm versus items that you think are more trial balloons that could be -- that could not make it into the final rule?

在您看來以及與政府的對話中，提案中是否存在您認為是不可侵犯的、更為堅定的條款，而哪些內容您認為只是試探性的，無法納入最終規則？

Jason, this is Matt. I would say quickly that -- first of all, there was -- the public comment period is still ongoing, and it's going to run through the first -- the early days of August. And so that is -- there was a virtual in-person comment that went on in a few weeks ago, a lot of written comments are being submitted as we speak. So it's hard to say from that. If anything comes out, I would say at the headline level, the administration remains very supportive of the RVO and the RVO process and is looking for something that's going to support the industries and the ag community. And so that's the headline.

傑森，這是馬特。我想快速說一下——首先，公眾意見徵詢期仍在進行中，並將持續到八月初。這就是說——幾週前進行了一次虛擬的面對面評論，正如我們所說，大量的書面評論正在提交。所以從這一點來看還很難說。如果有任何事情發生，我想說，從標題來看，政府仍然非常支持 RVO 和 RVO 流程，並且正在尋找能夠支持工業和農業界的措施。這就是標題。

Now the SREs is -- I think I mentioned we're expecting that to come in the next few weeks and then the RVO to be finalized in October. So that's the time line. Are there things in play there? I'm sure. Which ones and to what extent, that remains to be open, other than the fact that our view is that the administration is very supportive of a solid RVO and on a long-term basis.

現在 SRE 是——我想我提到我們預計它將在接下來的幾週內完成，然後 RVO 將在 10 月完成。這就是時間軸。那裡有事發生嗎？我敢肯定。除了我們認為政府非常支持長期穩固的 RVO 之外，哪些以及在多大程度上支持，這仍有待確定。

Yes, Jason, this is Bob. I just -- I would -- I think when you read the tea leaves, it seems like the priority is -- and we're encouraged by this is that one is this policy needs to support U.S. farm prices. That's first and foremost. Second, it's got to minimize cost to the federal government. So those are some of the important changes. And then third is protecting U.S. industry, U.S. biofuel industry. Some of these things, the announced policies probably could change. But ultimately, we believe they're going to try to achieve those 3 goals. And whatever that outcome is, we think it's going to be positive.

是的，傑森，這是鮑伯。我只是——我會——我認為當你看茶葉時，似乎優先事項是——我們對此感到鼓舞的是，這項政策需要支持美國農產品價格。這是首要的。其次，必須盡量減少聯邦政府的成本。這些就是一些重要的改變。第三是保護美國工業，美國生質燃料工業。其中一些事情、已宣布的政策可能會改變。但最終，我們相信他們會努力實現這三個目標。無論結果如何，我們都認為它將是正面的。

Bob, we've got the 2 issues, the SRE and then the 2024. You want to comment about that?

鮑勃，我們有兩個問題，SRE 和 2024。您想對此發表評論嗎？

Yes. I guess the other is that normally, 2024 RIN compliance would be obligated as of March 31 of this year. And until they formally revised the D3 RIN numbers from 2024, that date is not fixed. Whether that's going to be October 1 or November 1, it's unclear, but that's the other piece to this is that compliance is required in order -- in our view, in order for the real RIN S&D for 2024 to kind of to show itself and then 2025 as well.

是的。我想另一個原因是，通常情況下，從今年 3 月 31 日起，必須遵守 2024 年 RIN 規定。並且，直到他們從 2024 年起正式修改 D3 RIN 編號之前，日期尚未確定。目前還不清楚這個日期是 10 月 1 日還是 11 月 1 日，但另一方面，我們必須遵守規定 - 在我們看來，這樣才能讓 2024 年真正的 RIN S&D 顯現出來，然後是 2025 年。

And our view of the RIN S&D, when you look at the D6, D4, D5 altogether is we're at a deficit for '25 and certainly will be at '26. And so as long as compliance is enforced, we believe we'll see higher RINs and that will result in a decent margin for renewable diesel.

當您綜合考慮 D6、D4、D5 時，我們對 RIN S&D 的看法是，25 年我們將面臨赤字，26 年也肯定會面臨赤字。因此，只要強制執行，我們相信我們將看到更高的 RIN，這將為再生柴油帶來可觀的利潤。

Got it. Appreciate that. And my follow-up is just on status of the monetization of 45Z. I think on the last call, you were optimistic that you would have something in place by this time. Just wondering how those conversations are going?

知道了。非常感謝。我的後續關注點只是 45Z 的貨幣化狀況。我認為在上次通話中，您樂觀地認為到那時您就會有所準備。只是想知道這些對話進展如何？

This is Randy. I'll take that. So we are very close to where we thought we would be right now. These are somewhat new and it's kind of unchartered waters out there, but I would just tell you to stay tuned. There's nothing that's changed on our side that doesn't say that won't be accomplished here very shortly. In the land of lawyers, there's too many involved.

這是蘭迪。我會接受的。因此，我們現在已經非常接近我們預期的水平。這些都有些新穎，有點像是未知領域，但我只是想告訴你，請繼續關注。我們這邊沒有發生任何改變，但這並不代表這些改變不會很快實現。在律師界，牽涉的律師太多了。

Thank you for your question, Jason. That will be all the questions in our Q&A session today. I would now like to turn the call back to Randy for final remarks.

謝謝你的提問，傑森。這就是我們今天問答環節的所有問題。現在我想把電話轉回給蘭迪，請他做最後的演講。

Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Great questions today. Leave you with a couple of thoughts. Number one, we appreciate the interest in the company. We appreciate your patience. We have a positive outlook for the balance of the year, especially in the core ingredients. Some timing unknowns in Diamond Green Diesel. But that asset, as you'll see over the next 10 days, as other people release is still what I believe to be the best-in-class out there and poised to really deliver for us in 2026.

謝謝。謝謝大家。今天的問題很棒。給你留下幾點想法。首先，我們感謝您對我們公司的關注。感謝您的耐心。我們對今年的平衡持樂觀態度，特別是在核心成分方面。Diamond Green Diesel 中的一些時間未知。但正如您將在接下來的 10 天裡看到的，隨著其他人的發布，我認為該資產仍然是同類中最好的，並將在 2026 年真正為我們帶來收益。

So be safe. We look forward to talking to you again here, I believe, in October.

所以要注意安全。我相信，我們期待著十月在這裡再次與您交談。

That concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation, and enjoy the rest of your day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，祝您今天過得愉快。