杜邦 (DD) 2019 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the DuPont Third Quarter 2019 Earnings Call. Today's conference is being recorded. And at this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Lori Koch. Please go ahead.

大家好，歡迎參加杜邦公司2019年第三季財報電話會議。今天的會議正在錄影。現在，我想把會議交給洛里·科赫。請繼續。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for DuPont's Third Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call. We are making this call available to investors and media via webcast. We have prepared slides to supplement our comments during this conference call. These slides are posted to the Investors section of DuPont's website and through the link to our webcast.

各位早安。感謝您參加杜邦公司2019年第三季財報電話會議。我們將透過網路直播向投資者和媒體提供本次電話會議的收聽服務。我們準備了幻燈片，以補充我們在本次電話會議中的演講。這些幻燈片已發佈在杜邦公司網站的投資者關係部分，也可透過我們網路直播的連結查看。

Joining me on the call today are Marc Doyle, Chief Executive Officer; Jean Desmond, our Chief Financial Officer; and Ed Breen, Executive Chair.

今天與我一起參加電話會議的有：執行長馬克·多伊爾；首席財務官吉恩·德斯蒙德；以及執行主席埃德·布林。

Please read the forward-looking statement disclaimer contained in the slides. During our call, we will make forward-looking statements regarding our expectations or predictions about the future. Because these statements are based on current assumptions and factors that involve risk and uncertainty, our actual performance and results may differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Our second quarter Form 10-Q, as may be modified by our subsequent periodic and current reports, includes a detailed discussion of principal risks and uncertainties which may cause such differences.

請閱讀幻燈片中包含的前瞻性聲明免責聲明。在電話會議中，我們將就我們對未來的預期或預測發表前瞻性聲明。由於這些聲明是基於目前的假設和涉及風險和不確定性的因素，我們的實際表現和結果可能與我們的前瞻性聲明有重大差異。我們第二季的 10-Q 表格（可能會根據我們後續的定期報告和當前報告進行修改）詳細討論了可能導致此類差異的主要風險和不確定性。

We will also refer to non-GAAP measures. A reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure and other associated disclosures are contained in our press release and posted on the Investors section of our website.

我們也會參考非GAAP指標。與最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標的調整表及其他相關揭露資訊已包含在我們的新聞稿中，並發佈在我們網站的投資者關係部分。

I'll now turn the call over to Marc.

現在我將把電話交給馬克。

Thanks, Lori, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝Lori，大家早安。

Starting on Slide 2. We delivered organic sales and adjusted EPS in line with our expectations by staying focused on our competitive strengths and the earnings drivers within our control. Although our operating EBITDA was slightly below our forecast, primarily due to unanticipated currency headwinds, we were able to maintain gross margins and continued to expand our EBITDA margins even as the U.S. dollar strengthened and several of our key end markets remained challenged.

從第 2 張投影片開始。我們專注於自身的競爭優勢和可控的獲利驅動因素，實現了符合預期的有機銷售額和調整後每股盈餘。儘管由於意料之外的匯率不利因素，我們的經營性 EBITDA 略低於預期，但我們仍能保持毛利率，並在美元走強和幾個主要終端市場仍然面臨挑戰的情況下，繼續擴大 EBITDA 利潤率。

We enabled this performance through continued price improvement, driving our synergy savings and advancing our restructuring program. Combined, these actions delivered an additional $145 million of savings this quarter and we are on track to deliver greater than $500 million for the full year. Our team is laser-focused on these priority initiatives as we continue to navigate the macro uncertainties.

我們透過持續的價格改善、發揮協同效應節省成本以及推進重組計劃，實現了這一業績。這些措施加起來在本季額外節省了 1.45 億美元，我們預計在全年實現超過 5 億美元的節省。在應對宏觀經濟不確定性的同時，我們的團隊正全力以赴推動這些優先措施。

Turning to Slide 3. Our volumes continued to be impacted by the slowdown in both the automotive and semiconductor end markets that is also affecting many of our peers. However, there are still many exciting areas within our portfolio, such as water and pharma, that continue to post strong results. All in, global sales of $5.4 billion were in line with expectations at down about 2% on an organic basis. Organic sales in our core segments were down about 1.5%.

請看投影片 3。由於汽車和半導體終端市場成長放緩，我們的銷售量持續受到影響，這種情況也影響了我們的許多同行。然而，我們的投資組合中仍然有許多令人興奮的領域，例如水務和製藥，這些領域持續取得強勁的業績。整體而言，全球銷售額為 54 億美元，符合預期，以有機成長計算下降約 2%。我們核心業務領域的有機銷售額下降了約 1.5%。

As noted, while we are seeing continued weakness in a few end markets, there are many bright spots in our portfolio that are performing very well. Highlights here are aerospace in T&I and S&C, pharma and plant-based foods in N&B, water in S&C and premium smartphones in E&I, which in total account for approximately 15% of our sales and were up 7% in aggregate versus the prior year.

如前所述，雖然我們看到一些終端市場持續疲軟，但我們的投資組合中有很多亮點表現非常出色。其中亮點包括：T&I 和 S&C 領域的航空航太業務、N&B 領域的醫藥和植物性食品業務、S&C 領域的水業務以及 E&I 領域的高端智慧型手機業務，這些業務合計約占我們銷售額的 15%，與前一年相比，總銷售額增長了 7%。

In smartphones, a market that continues to face challenges, our ability to deliver higher content in the newer models enabled our Interconnect Solutions business to deliver 8% higher revenue in the quarter versus prior year, a marked improvement from the first half when sales were down 10%. This outcome demonstrates the value of our innovation engine and the power of our close customer relationships. Our reputation for working closely with our customers to deliver the technology they require sets us apart and enables us to drive pricing and demand in a rapidly changing market like smartphones.

在智慧型手機市場持續面臨挑戰的情況下，我們能夠在新機型中提供更高的內容，這使得我們的互連解決方案業務在本季度實現了比上年同期增長 8% 的收入，與上半年銷售額下降 10% 的情況相比，這是一個顯著的改善。這一結果體現了我們創新引擎的價值和我們與客戶緊密關係的強大力量。我們與客戶緊密合作，提供他們所需的技術，這使我們脫穎而出，並使我們能夠在智慧型手機等快速變化的市場中引領價格和需求。

Our more sluggish markets of automotive and semiconductor are experiencing negative growth year-over-year. These areas, which account for a little more than 20% of our portfolio, were down 11% and 3%, respectively. We believe destocking in semiconductors is now behind us, and we're starting to see indications of stabilization in automotive channel inventories. I am confident our businesses will ultimately outperform, driven by their strong position and broad technology portfolios to address key trends, such as hybrid and electric vehicles and the transition to 5G and enabling the Internet of Things.

我們成長較為緩慢的汽車和半導體市場較去年同期均呈現負成長。這些領域占我們投資組合的略高於 20%，分別下跌了 11% 和 3%。我們認為半導體去庫存階段已經過去，我們開始看到汽車渠道庫存趨於穩定的跡象。我相信，憑藉我們強大的市場地位和廣泛的技術組合，我們的業務最終將取得優異的成績，以應對混合動力汽車、電動車、向 5G 過渡以及物聯網等關鍵趨勢。

Regionally, organic sales were flat in the U.S. and Canada, down 3% in EMEA, down 4% in Asia Pacific and down 4% in Latin America. Weakened automotive end markets continued to drive the declines in both Asia Pacific and EMEA. However, total sales in China, the market which turned down sharply for us last December, posted its strongest results this year and were down year-over-year in the quarter by 2% versus down 10% in Q1 and 3% in Q2, each versus the same period last year, definitely an improving trend for us.

從地區來看，美國和加拿大的有機銷售額持平，歐洲、中東和非洲地區下降了 3%，亞太地區下降了 4%，拉丁美洲下降了 4%。疲軟的汽車終端市場持續推動亞太地區和歐洲、中東及非洲地區的經濟下滑。然而，去年 12 月我們在中國市場遭遇重挫後，該市場的總銷售額今年取得了最強勁的業績，本季度同比下降 2%，而第一季和第二季度分別同比下降 10% 和 3%，這無疑是一個改善的趨勢。

Turning to Slide 4. Adjusted EPS was up 2% on a pro forma basis versus the prior year. As noted, currency was a headwind in the quarter, reducing EPS by $0.03. Our segment results, excluding the impact of currency, were a net $0.02 headwind to adjusted EPS while depreciation and amortization and a lower share count both contributed to our EPS growth.

請看第 4 張投影片。經調整後的每股盈餘以備考基準計算比上年增長 2%。如前所述，匯率是本季的不利因素，導致每股盈餘減少了 0.03 美元。在剔除匯率影響後，我們的分部績效對調整後每股盈餘造成了 0.02 美元的淨不利影響，而折舊和攤銷以及較低的流通股數量都促進了我們的每股盈餘成長。

To provide a little more color on our segment results, I'll cover some of the key operating EBITDA drivers. Operating EBITDA of $1.4 billion was down 4% versus the prior year period. We again delivered operating leverage, further demonstrating our ability to drive price and operating efficiencies amid challenging market conditions. We delivered operating EBITDA margin improvement of 20 basis points versus the prior year. Our strong price and cost discipline was partially offset by a weaker mix, with volumes in our higher-margin businesses, primarily Semiconductor Technologies, posting softer results in the quarter. We also experienced higher manufacturing costs driven by planned maintenance activity primarily in the Safety & Construction segment as well as lower production rates driven by weakened volumes in our T&I and Non-Core segments.

為了更詳細地說明我們各業務部門的業績，我將介紹一些關鍵的營運 EBITDA 驅動因素。營業 EBITDA 為 14 億美元，比去年同期下降 4%。我們再次實現了營運槓桿效應，進一步證明了我們在充滿挑戰的市場環境下提升價格和營運效率的能力。與前一年相比，我們的營業 EBITDA 利潤率提高了 20 個基點。我們強大的價格和成本控制能力被較弱的產品組合部分抵消，其中利潤率較高的業務（主要是半導體技術）的銷售在本季度表現疲軟。我們也經歷了更高的製造成本，這主要是由於安全與建築部門的計劃維護活動，以及由於T&I和非核心部門的銷售疲軟而導致的生產力下降。

Before I turn the call over to Jean to discuss the quarter in further detail, I'll cover our full year guidance on Slide 5. For the full year, our expectation for organic sales remains unchanged at slightly down. Our forecast for total annual sales, including the impact of currency and portfolio, is about $21.5 billion. We are narrowing our adjusted EPS range of $3.75 to $3.85 per share to $3.77 to $3.82 per share, maintaining the midpoint of the prior guidance. This adjustment reflects second half currency headwinds of approximately $45 million versus our original expectations. In the appendix, we provide segment-level commentary as well as some additional modeling guidance.

在將電話轉交給Jean，讓她更詳細地討論本季情況之前，我將在第5張投影片中介紹我們的全年業績指引。全年來看，我們對有機銷售額的預期保持不變，略有下降。我們預測，包括匯率和投資組合的影響在內，年度總銷售額約為 215 億美元。我們將調整後的每股盈餘範圍從 3.75 美元至 3.85 美元縮小至 3.77 美元至 3.82 美元，維持先前預期範圍的中點。這項調整反映了下半年匯率波動帶來的不利影響，與我們最初的預期相比，約為 4,500 萬美元。在附錄中，我們提供了分段式評論以及一些額外的建模指導。

Overall, I am confident in our ability to adapt as market conditions evolve, while continuing to make smart, high-return investments to enhance our portfolio. Our relentless attention to cost and pricing discipline, coupled with the benefits of our ongoing investments in innovation, will deliver bottom line growth when market conditions improve. Our focus on driving improvements in ROIC is the right mindset for the long-term strength of the company and every part of the organization is committed. We are working all the levers in our control to deliver on our earnings commitments and drive shareholder value.

總的來說，我對我們適應市場變化的能力充滿信心，同時我們將繼續進行明智的、高回報的投資，以增強我們的投資組合。我們對成本和定價紀律的不懈關注，加上我們持續投資創新所帶來的益處，將在市場條件改善時帶來利潤成長。我們專注於提高投資報酬率，這是公司長期發展的正確思路，公司的每個部門都致力於此。我們正在運用一切可控手段，以實現我們的獲利承諾並提升股東價值。

I'll now turn the call over to Jean to discuss the segment results.

現在我將把電話交給 Jean，讓她來討論一下各部分的績效結果。

Thanks, Marc.

謝謝你，馬克。

Starting with Electronics & Imaging on Slide 6. Net sales of $934 million and operating EBITDA of $320 million were in line with our expectations and demonstrates that the second half improvement we have been forecasting got off to a solid start in the third quarter. Sales in China for this segment were up nearly 30% versus the year-ago period, reflecting a second straight quarter of sales growth. This result was partially enabled by higher content in the next-generation smartphone.

從第 6 張投影片中的電子與影像業務開始。淨銷售額為 9.34 億美元，營業 EBITDA 為 3.2 億美元，符合我們的預期，這表明我們預測的下半年改善在第三季度取得了良好的開端。該細分市場在中國的銷售額比去年同期成長了近 30%，這是連續第二季實現銷售成長。這項結果部分得益於新一代智慧型手機更高的配置。

Our Semiconductor Technology business was down low single-digits versus the year-ago period but was up mid-single-digits versus the second quarter. We believe this sequential improvement indicates that the softness we saw in Semiconductor Technologies in the second quarter due to high channel inventory is resolving. And our current expectation is that the semiconductor market recovery will continue, returning to growth during 2020.

我們的半導體技術業務與去年同期相比下降了個位數百分比，但與第二季度相比增長了個位數百分比。我們認為，這一環比改善表明，第二季度由於通路庫存高企導致半導體技術業務疲軟的局面正在解決。我們目前的預期是，半導體市場復甦將持續，並在 2020 年恢復成長。

Operating EBITDA margins for the segment were flat at 34%. Softer volumes in Semiconductor Technologies, our highest-margin business, was a headwind to segment margins. This headwind was offset by a gain associated with a planned asset sale.

該業務板塊的營業 EBITDA 利潤率持平於 34%。半導體技術業務（我們利潤率最高的業務）的銷量疲軟，對業務部門利潤率造成了不利影響。這一不利因素被計劃中的資產出售帶來的收益所抵消。

Moving to Nutrition & Biosciences on Slide 7. Momentum in our Nutrition & Biosciences segment continued with another quarter of organic sales growth. The strength of our N&B portfolio is its breadth, which enabled low single-digit organic growth amid well-documented near-term market-driven softness in biorefineries and probiotics.

幻燈片 7 進入營養與生物科學領域。我們的營養與生物科學業務板塊繼續保持成長勢頭，實現了另一個季度的有機銷售成長。我們營養與生物產品組合的優勢在於其廣泛性，這使得我們在生物煉製和益生菌市場近期受市場疲軟影響的情況下，仍能實現個位數低水準的有機成長。

Third quarter organic growth was led by Food & Beverage volume gain, which were driven by strength in specialty proteins and cellulosics from growing demand in plant-based meats. Other highlights included high single-digit organic growth in Pharma Solutions as well as strength in the food enzyme and animal nutrition business within Health & Biosciences.

第三季有機成長主要得益於食品飲料銷售的成長，而食品飲料銷售的成長又得益於植物肉需求的成長帶動了特種蛋白質和纖維素的強勁成長。其他亮點包括醫藥解決方案業務的個位數高成長，以及健康與生物科學領域食品酵素和動物營養業務的強勁表現。

We continue to be a market leader in probiotics and remain confident in the long-term growth of this business. We expect that probiotics growth will continue to be fueled from Asia Pacific, where current market penetration is low as compared to other regions, but growing steadily. September year-to-date, probiotics in Asia-Pacific has grown double digits. Operating EBITDA margins in Nutrition & Biosciences are essentially flat with the prior year.

我們繼續保持益生菌市場的領先地位，並對該業務的長期成長充滿信心。我們預計益生菌的成長將繼續受到亞太地區的推動，目前亞太地區的市場滲透率與其他地區相比較低，但正在穩步增長。今年9月至今，亞太地區益生菌銷量實現了兩位數成長。營養與生物科學領域的營業 EBITDA 利潤率與上年基本持平。

Transportation & Industrial recorded net sales of $1.2 billion, down 10% on an organic basis, with a 1% price improvement more than offset by an 11% volume decline. Our results reflect the continued demand softness and destocking in the global automotive market and weak electronic volume. While global auto build remained relatively steady with last quarter from a year-over-year perspective, inventory destocking continued to negatively impact our results.

交通運輸及工業業務淨銷售額為 12 億美元，以有機成長計算下降 10%，價格上漲 1% 被銷量下降 11% 所抵銷。我們的表現反映了全球汽車市場需求持續疲軟和去庫存化以及電子產品銷售低迷的現狀。儘管全球汽車產量與上一季相比同比保持相對穩定，但庫存去庫存繼續對我們的業績產生負面影響。

We are pleased that we maintained pricing strength in the quarter versus the prior year, but anticipate that the rebalancing of the nylon 66 supply chain will influence pricing and volume as we look to the remainder of the year. Operating EBITDA declined 20% versus the prior year-ago period with pricing gains and cost reductions more than offset by the impacts from lower volumes and currency headwinds.

我們很高興本季與去年同期相比保持了價格優勢，但預計尼龍 66 供應鏈的重新平衡將在今年剩餘時間內影響價格和銷售。營業 EBITDA 較上年同期下降 20%，價格上漲和成本降低的收益被銷售下降和匯率不利因素的影響所抵銷。

Turning to the results of Safety & Construction on Slide 9. Net sales of $1.3 billion were up 2% on an organic basis. Operating EBITDA of $352 million was up 1%. Continued pricing strength and productivity action drove operating EBITDA margins up 80 basis points versus the prior year. Year-to-date, operating EBITDA margins are up 370 basis points.

接下來來看看第 9 頁的安全與建築業務的表現。淨銷售額為 13 億美元，以有機成長計算成長了 2%。營業EBITDA為3.52億美元，成長1%。持續強勁的價格策略和生產力提升措施推動營業 EBITDA 利潤率較上年同期成長 80 個基點。今年迄今為止，營業 EBITDA 利潤率上升了 370 個基點。

Our top line results were consistent with the second quarter. We realized pricing gains across all businesses, which is now our seventh consecutive quarter of pricing gain in S&C. Likewise, strength in Water Solutions, where we continue to see strong demand in industrial and wastewater treatment markets, was offset by softness in the North American construction end market. Demand for our Safety Solutions segment remains robust, but was negatively impacted by planned maintenance activity as well as outages at some of our key raw material suppliers, causing us to have to curtail aramid production.

我們的營收業績與第二季持平。我們所有業務都實現了價格上漲，這已經是我們銷售和服裝業務連續第七個季度實現價格上漲了。同樣，水處理解決方案業務的強勁表現（我們繼續看到工業和廢水處理市場需求強勁）被北美建築終端市場的疲軟所抵消。對我們安全解決方案部門的需求仍然強勁，但受到計劃維護活動以及一些主要原材料供應商停產的負面影響，導致我們不得不削減芳綸產量。

S&C continues to improve their cost structure and has raised their operating EBITDA margins above the company average. A commitment to value in use pricing and a relentless focus on productivity is driving EBITDA margin improvement.

S&C持續改善成本結構，並已將其營業EBITDA利潤率提高到公司平均水平以上。對使用價值定價的堅持和對生產力的不懈追求正在推動 EBITDA 利潤率的提高。

Turning to the balance sheet on Slide 10. You'll see that our net debt has remained relatively consistent at $15.5 billion, with slightly higher commercial paper balances which we expect to reduce by year-end, offset by higher cash balances as of September 30. As I've said before, our capital structure has been in place for several quarters now and we feel good about our position. It provides us with the flexibility we need while maintaining our investment-grade rating. You can also see the improvement we have driven in working capital in the quarter. Both accounts receivable and inventories are down as compared to June 30, providing a working capital benefit. This is slightly offset by lower accounts payable balances.

請看第 10 張投影片上的資產負債表。你會發現，我們的淨債務一直保持相對穩定在 155 億美元，商業票據餘額略高，我們預計到年底將減少，但截至 9 月 30 日，較高的現金餘額將抵消這一影響。正如我之前所說，我們的資本結構已經維持了好幾個季度，我們對目前的狀況感到滿意。它既能為我們提供所需的靈活性，又能維持我們的投資等級信用評級。您還可以看到我們本季在營運資金方面取得的改善。與 6 月 30 日相比，應收帳款和庫存均有所下降，從而帶來了營運資金效益。應付帳款餘額的減少略微抵消了這一影響。

Capitalizing on our working capital opportunity remains a focus area for us. Our working capital levels did rise coming out of separation, but I'm pleased with the progress we've made this quarter and expect additional improvement in this area. The gains from working capital improvement and well-controlled capital spending enabled us to exceed our free cash flow conversion target of greater than 90% for the quarter.

充分利用營運資金仍然是我們的工作重點。分拆後我們的營運資金水準確實有所上升，但我對本季的進展感到滿意，並期待這方面會有進一步的改善。營運資金改善和資本支出控制得當，使我們本季自由現金流轉換率超過了 90% 的目標。

We also made additional progress on our share buyback program. Repurchases now totaled $600 million since June 1, and you can anticipate a similar pace through the end of the year. To date, we've returned greater than $800 million to shareholders.

我們的股票回購計畫也取得了進一步進展。自 6 月 1 日以來，股票回購總額已達 6 億美元，預計到年底將維持類似的速度。迄今為止，我們已向股東返還了超過 8 億美元。

Let me close with a few comments on ROIC. We remain on track to deliver meaningful ROIC improvement as the portfolio came together. More importantly however is the mindset shift of the organization which is now returns-focused. Our major capital and R&D spending is appropriately derisked. Our teams understand the importance of ensuring these dollars strengthen the bottom line and improve ROIC.

最後，我想就投資報酬率（ROIC）談幾點看法。隨著投資組合的逐步整合，我們仍有望實現有意義的投資報酬率提升。但更重要的是，組織的思維方式發生了轉變，現在更重視回報。我們的主要資本和研發支出已適當降低了風險。我們的團隊深知確保這些資金能夠增強獲利能力並提高投資報酬率的重要性。

I'll now turn the call over to Ed.

現在我將把電話交給艾德。

Thanks, Jean.

謝謝你，珍。

I continue to be impressed by our team's ability to advance its strategic priorities in tough market conditions. They have stayed relentlessly focused on execution and it is visible in our results. At the same time, I want to emphasize that we are well aware of the value creation potential inherent in this portfolio. We are actively pursuing strategic portfolio transactions that will drive increased shareholder returns and sustainable long-term growth. We also continue to refine the portfolio even as we assess more significant portfolio reconfiguration.

我對我們團隊在嚴峻的市場環境下推進策略重點的能力印象深刻。他們始終堅持不懈地專注於執行，這一點在我們的成果中顯而易見。同時，我想強調的是，我們充分意識到該投資組合所蘊含的價值創造潛力。我們正在積極尋求策略性投資組合交易，以推動股東回報增加和可持續的長期成長。我們也不斷改進投資組合，同時也評估更重大的投資組合重組方案。

This past quarter, we completed the sale of the Sustainable Solutions business from the Non-Core segment. And in Q2, we completed the sale of the Natural Colors business from N&B. Both divestments had lower margin profiles than their segment and the total company average.

上個季度，我們完成了從非核心業務部門出售永續解決方案業務。第二季度，我們完成了從 N&B 出售 Natural Colors 業務的交易。這兩項資產剝離的利潤率均低於其所在部門和公司整體平均水準。

Additionally, we announced the planned divestment of the silk and carbide business in E&I for $450 million in cash. Once we close, we will use the net proceeds in a way which further enhances shareholder value. We continue to look for opportunities to monetize our Non-Core businesses and we plan to make significant progress over the coming quarters.

此外，我們宣布計劃以 4.5 億美元現金剝離 E&I 的絲綢和碳化物業務。交易完成後，我們將把淨收益用於進一步提升股東價值的方式。我們將繼續尋找機會將非核心業務變現，並計劃在未來幾季取得重大進展。

We are also looking for bolt-on acquisitions targets to further strengthen our high growth industry-leading businesses. Recently, we announced the intention to make 2 strategic acquisitions in our Water Solutions business, an area of significant growth opportunity. By enhancing our capabilities in ultrafiltration, we are building on an already strong position with additional capabilities and value-added solutions that will drive top line growth. Water is a vital end market driven by significant demand trends, and our portfolio is advantaged in the space as evidenced by our 6% organic growth during Q3. Overall, we are focused on both organic and inorganic growth opportunities.

我們也正在尋找合適的收購目標，以進一步加強我們高成長的產業領先業務。最近，我們宣布計劃在水處理解決方案業務領域進行兩項策略性收購，這是一個具有巨大成長機會的領域。透過增強我們在超濾方面的能力，我們鞏固了已有的強大地位，並在此基礎上增加了其他能力和增值解決方案，這將推動營收成長。水務是一個重要的終端市場，其需求趨勢顯著，而我們的產品組合在該領域具有優勢，第三季 6% 的有機成長率證明了這一點。整體而言，我們專注於有機成長和無機成長兩種成長機會。

Before we turn to Q&A, I want to address a couple of areas that I know are on your mind: The PFAS litigation and the Chemours suit. PFAS is a broad term that covers a variety of substances including PFOA and PFOS. For your information, the firefighting foam suits relate largely to PFOS, a chemical that the Chemours and we, including historical DuPont, never made. The same is true for firefighting foam.

在進入問答環節之前，我想先談談大家關心的兩個問題：PFAS 訴訟和科慕訴訟。PFAS 是一個涵蓋多種物質的廣義術語，包括 PFOA 和 PFOS。供您參考，消防泡沫防護服主要與 PFOS 有關，而科慕公司和我們（包括歷史上的杜邦公司）從未生產過這種化學物質。消防泡沫也是如此。

As to the PFAS matters themselves, we feel these liabilities are well-managed and we have every confidence in our position. As a testament to that, we have passed the second year of a 5-year sharing agreement with Chemours and we still have paid $0 to them.

至於 PFAS 相關事宜本身，我們認為這些責任得到了妥善管理，我們對自己的立場充滿信心。作為證明，我們與科慕公司簽訂的為期 5 年的共享協議已進入第二年，但我們仍然沒有向他們支付任何費用。

As to the Chemours suit, the spinoff of heritage DuPont's performance chemicals business into Chemours complied with all applicable legal requirements and followed standard practices relating to such transactions, and we are confident in our position.

至於科慕公司的訴訟，杜邦公司將其高性能化學品業務分拆成科慕公司符合所有適用的法律要求，並遵循了與此類交易相關的標準做法，我們對我們的立場充滿信心。

Earlier this month, Chemours filed a response which implied that the historical DuPont Board did not intend for Chemours indemnification liability to be uncapped. This is simply wrong. The materials reviewed with the historic DuPont Board and the June 15 meeting at which the spin was unanimously approved clearly and unequivocally state that the indemnification liabilities are uncapped. In addition to the board materials, there are numerous other documents which clearly show that the liabilities are uncapped. Furthermore, Chemours itself reaffirmed the Separation Agreement as part of the 2017 amendment which undoubtedly states the liabilities were to be uncapped.

本月初，科慕公司提交了一份回應，暗示杜邦公司董事會並不打算讓科慕公司的賠償責任沒有上限。這完全是錯誤的。與杜邦歷史董事會審查的資料以及 6 月 15 日一致批准分拆的會議都明確且毫不含糊地表明，賠償責任沒有上限。除了董事會材料外，還有許多其他文件清楚地表明，負債沒有上限。此外，科慕公司在 2017 年的修訂中重申了分離協議，其中明確規定負債將不受限制。

As you know, Corteva and DuPont jointly filed a motion to dismiss the complaints because this matter belongs in arbitration as provided in the Chemours Separation Agreement. We will file our final response in early November, after which the court will respond to our request for dismissal. If there are additional questions on this, we can discuss these further during the Q&A section of the call.

如您所知，科迪華和杜邦聯合提出動議，要求駁回這些投訴，因為根據科慕分離協議的規定，此事應提交仲裁。我們將於11月初提交最終答辯狀，之後法院將對我們的駁回請求作出回應。如果還有其他問題，我們可以在電話會議的問答環節進一步討論。

In closing, our results illustrate our commitment to our key principles: The fundamental value of deep customer relationships, ongoing investments in innovation and optimizing the efficiency of the organization. The team continues to stay laser-focused on executing against these priorities to deliver increased value to our shareholders.

最後，我們的成果顯示了我們對關鍵原則的承諾：深厚的客戶關係、持續的創新投資以及優化組織的效率，這些都是至關重要的。團隊將繼續全力以赴，優先執行這些優先事項，為股東創造更大價值。

I'll now turn it over to Lori to open up the Q&A.

現在我將把問答環節交給洛里。

Thank you, Ed. With that, let's move on to your question. First, I would like to remind you that our forward-looking statements apply to both our prepared remarks and the following Q&A. (Operator Instructions) Operator, please provide the Q&A instruction.

謝謝你，艾德。那麼，我們接下來回答你的問題。首先，我想提醒各位，我們的前瞻性聲明適用於我們準備好的發言稿和接下來的問答環節。（操作員指示）操作員，請提供問答指示。

(Operator Instructions) We will take our first question from Jeff Sprague from Vertical Research Partners.

（操作員說明）我們首先來回答來自 Vertical Research Partners 的 Jeff Sprague 提出的問題。

Thanks for the comments on the broader portfolio and the like. Also, I was just curious that, in addition to what you've identified as Non-Core, right, you've got kind a number of things that are still sitting in the segments and kind of coming out. And without identifying businesses perhaps, but can you give us a sense of how much revenue might actually be sitting in the 4 segments as kind of "ongoing business" that really hasn't met that threshold in your view?

感謝您對整體投資組合等方面的評論。另外，我只是好奇，除了您確定的非核心內容之外，還有一些東西仍然保留在這些部分中，並且正在逐步推出。或許我們不便透露具體企業名稱，但您能否大致說明一下，這四個業務板塊中究竟有多少收入可能屬於“持續經營業務”，而這些業務在您看來尚未達到那個門檻？

Jeff, it's very small. We did sell a business, you saw recently, that had not been in Non-Core. We got a nice price for it, it wasn't as strategic to us. There's a couple of more things like that. But generally speaking, Marc, Jean and the team are really focused on moving out the Non-Core. Every one of them is in motion. You've seen we've made a few announcements already, but every one of them is actively being worked at this time. So that's the heavier lift, is to get that done and get the cash in so we can redeploy it smartly for our shareholders.

傑夫，它很小。我們確實出售了一家企業，正如您最近所看到的，它並非屬於非核心業務。我們買到的價格很划算，但對我們來說，它的戰略意義並不大。還有一些類似的情況。但總的來說，Marc、Jean 和他們的團隊確實專注於將非核心業務剝離。它們都在運動。你們已經看到我們發布了一些公告，但目前每一項都在積極推進中。所以，更艱鉅的任務是完成這項工作並籌集資金，以便我們可以明智地將其重新部署，從而為我們的股東創造收益。

And then just to reiterate your opening comment there. Obviously the team is extremely busy on looking at some transformational moves. And I would just say we're in 7-day a week work mode right now, if I could say it that way. And really looking at that heavily to move a couple things.

然後，我只想重申你剛才的評論。顯然，團隊目前正忙於研究一些變革性的舉措。如果可以這麼說的話，我想說我們現在處於每週7天的工作狀態。確實在認真考慮這件事，以便推動幾項進展。

And we will take our next question from Vincent Andrews with Morgan Stanley.

接下來，我們將回答摩根士丹利的文森特安德魯斯提出的問題。

Maybe if we could just get a little more detail in the electronics piece particularly as it relates to smartphones and the good sell-in you've been seeing. How much of that is really related to just there's more content of your products in the phones versus there has to be sort of an inventory load of these phones or maybe greater production to build into the channel? So I guess what I'm asking is, how long and how sustainable is this strong sales trend? And ultimately, do you have a difficult comparison against it?

或許我們可以更詳細地了解電子產品部分，特別是與智慧型手機相關的部分，以及你們看到的良好銷售情況。其中有多少是因為手機中產品內容較多，又有多少是因為需要大量庫存手機或需要更大的產能才能進入通路？所以我想問的是，這種強勁的銷售趨勢能持續多久，又能持續多久？最後，你能否找到一個難以與之比較的對象？

Yes. Thanks, Vincent. This is Marc. I'll take that one. You're right. It's a combination of builds for the new phones and the higher content in the new phones that's driving the kind of half-over-half sales increase. Most of which hits our ICS segment, Interconnect Solutions in E&I.

是的。謝謝你，文森。這是馬克。我選那個。你說得對。正是新手機的配置和更高的內容品質共同推動了這種銷量翻倍的成長。其中大部分影響到我們的 ICS 部門，也就是 E&I 中的互連解決方案。

And we view that -- so what's really happening here is, as the phones start to become more 5G-enabled, there are more high-frequency materials inside, including antennas that pick up the signals. And we have a number of products that go into there, including some next-generation Kapton-based laminate materials. And that's expected to continue to grow through 2020, 2021 as more and more of the new phone models have these antennas and these higher-frequency capabilities.

我們認為——所以這裡真正發生的事情是，隨著手機開始更多地支援 5G，手機內部會有更多高頻材料，包括接收訊號的天線。我們有許多產品都應用其中，包括一些新一代的 Kapton 基層壓材料。預計到 2020 年、2021 年，隨著越來越多的新手機配備這些天線和更高頻率的功能，這一趨勢還將繼續增長。

And so while it's a nice growth driver in the second half of this year, we do expect it to continue for several years. And just to bring you back to the new Kapton line we announced a couple of quarters ago, that new Kapton production line, the demand there is largely driven by these trends in 5G for next-gen handsets.

因此，雖然這是今年下半年一個不錯的成長動力，但我們預計這種情況將持續數年。回到我們幾季前宣布的全新 Kapton 生產線，這條新的 Kapton 生產線的需求主要受下一代手機 5G 趨勢的驅動。

And next, we will hear from Christopher Parkinson with Crédit Suisse.

接下來，我們將聽聽瑞士信貸的克里斯多福·帕金森的發言。

On the outlook for N&B in 2021, there's just been some recent volatility in quarters due to market-based factors as well as some facility downtime in pharma. Can you just refresh our memory on your general growth expectations for the components of the N&B portfolio? Specifically probiotics, specialty proteins and Pharma Solutions, as well as any key macro variables driving each substrate. Just trying to get a sense of the normalized outlook from both a growth as well as mix margin perspective.

展望 2021 年 N&B 的發展前景，由於市場因素以及製藥業的一些設施停工，最近幾季出現了一些波動。您能否簡要回顧一下您對N&B投資組合各組成部分的整體成長預期？具體而言，包括益生菌、特殊蛋白質和醫藥解決方案，以及驅動每種底物的任何關鍵宏觀變數。我只是想從成長和利潤率兩個角度來了解正常化的前景。

Yes, yes. Chris, this is Marc. I'll take that one, too. So as you said, there are some good midterm growth drivers here in N&B, and you highlighted a few of the key ones. We continue to have a lot of confidence in the probiotics market as a long-term double-digit growth market. It's driven by new health indications, new products, as well as just the continued penetration of probiotic usage into the nutritional supplements market. Asia is a huge growth driver for probiotics consumption, growing double digits. So we like those long-term dynamics.

是的，是的。克里斯，這位是馬克。我也要那個。正如你所說，N&B 有一些良好的中期成長驅動因素，你重點介紹了其中幾個關鍵因素。我們仍然對益生菌市場充滿信心，認為它將是一個長期保持兩位數成長的市場。其驅動因素包括新的健康指標、新產品，以及益生菌在營養補充品市場的持續滲透。亞洲是益生菌消費的巨大成長動力，實現了兩位數的成長。所以我們喜歡這種長期的發展趨勢。

You also mentioned specialty proteins. The whole space around plant-based foods, which is -- or plant-based meats, which is relatively small today from a specialty food ingredient sales standpoint for us, less than $100 million, we think that, that's got a good long-term double-digit growth trajectory, too. And then you mentioned pharma excipients. And certainly the pharma space is a nice kind of mid-single-digit growth space.

您也提到了特種蛋白。整個植物性食品領域，或者說植物性肉類，從我們這裡來說，從特種食品配料的銷售角度來看，目前規模相對較小，不到 1 億美元，但我們認為，它也具有良好的長期兩位數增長軌跡。然後你提到了藥用輔料。當然，醫藥產業是一個成長速度適中、個位數成長的良好領域。

So those dynamics are still very solid. They're great long-term growth, secular growth drivers for N&B. I'd also mention these are higher-margin parts of the N&B portfolio. So as they grow, we'll continue to see an uplift on our margins.

所以這些動態依然非常穩固。它們是N&B公司長期成長和持續成長的重要驅動力。我還要補充一點，這些都是 N&B 投資組合中利潤率較高的部分。隨著它們的成長，我們的利潤率也將繼續提高。

And next, we will hear from Scott Davis with Melius Research.

接下來，我們將聽聽來自 Melius Research 的 Scott Davis 的演講。

I'm glad to be calling in on my first call here.

很高興第一次打電話就能聯絡我。

That's right.

這是正確的。

I got several questions, I can get away with it for a while as the new guy.

我被問了好幾個問題，身為新人，我可以暫時蒙混過關。

Ed, I'm Kind of intrigued by your comments on trying to drive this Chemours thing into arbitration. But can you really -- can you talk to us about what you think the timing is? If there is 2 potential outcomes here, you're going to get an outcome that drove it into arbitration. Is that something that can happen in the next 12 months? Or does this all kind of grind to a halt just with the legal system and its delays it should inevitably have?

艾德，你關於試圖將科慕事件提交仲裁的評論讓我很感興趣。但是您真的可以——​​您能跟我們談談您認為時機如何嗎？如果這裡有兩種可能的結果，那麼最終的結果必然是導致案件進入仲裁程序的結果。這件事有可能在未來12個月內發生嗎？或者，這一切會因為法律體系及其不可避免的延誤而停滯不前？

Yes. Scott, I think having been through some of these before and certainly talking with our counsel on this, if it goes to arbitration, which is clearly what the documents say, I think it resolves itself much quicker because that process is just a faster process. So I would think during 2020, that would resolve itself.

是的。史考特，我認為，鑑於我之前經歷過類似的情況，並且也和我們的律師討論過此事，如果進入仲裁程序（文件上顯然是這樣寫的），我認為問題會更快得到解決，因為仲裁程序本身就比較快捷。所以我認為，在2020年，這個問題應該會得到解決。

The timing, by the way, as I mentioned in our prepared remarks. We're filing our final brief over the next set of days here. And there could potentially be oral arguments that would occur. So I wouldn't expect necessarily the judge to rule on this, for instance, during the month of November. It's probably out just a little ways if they happen to go through oral arguments, which is not an uncommon thing in this case. So pending that happening, it could be a little bit of time before we hear that. But again, I think an arbitration process would be a lot quicker, going through the legal system would be a little bit longer. So that's kind of how I would handicap it at this point in time.

順便提一下時間安排，正如我在事先準備好的演講稿中所提到的。接下來幾天，我們將提交最終的簡報。而且，可能會有口頭辯論。因此，我並不認為法官一定會在例如 11 月就此事作出裁決。如果他們進行口頭辯論，結果可能只會略有出入，而這種情況在本案中並不罕見。所以，如果這種情況沒有發生，我們可能還要過一段時間才能聽到消息。但我認為仲裁程序會快很多，走法律程序會稍微慢一點。所以，這就是我目前對這場比賽的預測。

But by the way, I would just reiterate, and I said this in my comments, but just to kind of put an exclamation point on this. I mentioned a few documents with the uncapped language. There's also filings by Chemours, public filings, that they signed, by their Chairman and CEO, that talked about uncapped documents. And I would not even venture to tell you how many e-mails there are in the system that talk about uncapped liabilities. So it's very cut and dry in all the documentation throughout the company.

不過，我還要重申一下，我在評論裡也說過，但還是想再強調一次。我提到了一些使用不限大小寫語言的檔案。還有科慕公司提交的公開文件，這些文件由其董事長兼首席執行官簽署，其中談到了不受限制的文件。我什至不敢告訴你係統中有多少封電子郵件在討論無上限的負債。所以，公司所有文件對此的描述都非常明確。

And next, we will hear from Steve Byrne with Bank of America.

接下來，我們將聽取美國銀行的史蒂夫·伯恩的演講。

Appreciate the disclosure on the PFAS. You make a comment in here that you've never sold PFOA. I was curious whether in the years that DuPont manufactured products that PFOA was used in the process, was it simply a surfactant used as an aid in the manufacture of a product? Or was the product derived from it and contained in the product that you sold?

感謝您揭露有關 PFAS 的資訊。你在這裡評論說你從未出售過 PFOA。我很好奇，在杜邦公司生產產品期間，PFOA 是否只是一種用於產品製造的界面活性劑？還是該產品是從該產品衍生而來，並包含在您銷售的產品中？

No. It was used in the process. And remember, look, the clarification, I think a lot of this gets blown out of proportion because of articles that are written and we seem to get our name up in a lot of them. But it was -- we used it in a manufacturing process in 4 manufacturing facilities in the U.S. That's it. We didn't have it in our end products. By the way, my -- the comment I made where more of the legal issues are and more of the locations are is firefighting foam. DuPont and Chemours never had anything at all to do with firefighting foam. So I think people blow it up a little bit more here, but it's literally 4 locations.

不。它被運用到這個過程中。記住，澄清一下，我認為很多事情都被誇大了，因為一些文章報導了這件事，而我們的名字似乎出現在許多這類文章中。但確實如此——我們在美國 4 家製造工廠的生產過程中使用了它。僅此而已。我們的最終產品中沒有這項技術。順便說一下，我之前提到的那個涉及更多法律問題和更多地點的地方是消防泡沫。杜邦和科慕公司與消防泡沫沒有任何關係。所以我覺得大家在這裡有點誇大其詞了，但實際上只有 4 個地點。

Chemours is liable for it, and we've been doing groundwater remediation in those locations for quite a few years. And by the way, it will continue for many years. And by the way, a very key point here, with all the talk around this, the last -- we're 2 years now, as of July 1, into the 5-year agreement with Chemours, where Chemours pays the first $25 million in a year and then DuPont will chip in the next $25 million. And then after that, it's a Chemours liability. In 2 years now, we have not paid a penny because Chemours has not gone over the $25 million limit.

科慕公司對此負有責任，我們已經在這些地方進行地下水修復工作好幾年了。順便說一句，這種情況還會持續很多年。順便說一句，這裡有一個非常關鍵的點，圍繞這件事的所有討論，最後一點——截至 7 月 1 日，我們與科慕公司簽訂的 5 年協議已經執行了 2 年，根據該協議，科慕公司在一年內支付第一個 2500 萬美元，然後杜邦公司將支付接下來的 2500 萬美元。之後，就成了科慕公司的責任。兩年來，我們一分錢都沒付，因為科慕公司沒有超過 2500 萬美元的限額。

I would also say that we have some things we would like to clean up. We're clearly in close communication with Chemours on this. We have about 64 personal injury claims. Remember, we settled 3,550 of them, all from one location, by the way. And we have about I think 64 more there. It would be nice for us to get those resolved. And then we'll continue the groundwater remediation at the 4 locations that I mentioned.

我還要說，我們還有一些事情要清理。我們顯然正就此事與科慕公司保持密切溝通。我們這裡有大約 64 起人身傷害索賠案件。順便提一句，我們安置了其中 3550 人，而且全部來自同一個地點。我想我們那裡還有大約 64 個。如果我們能解決這些問題就太好了。然後我們將繼續在我提到的 4 個地點進行地下水修復。

So I think we have this thing well contained, well boxed in. And over time, we'll get a couple of these other things cleaned up like the personal injury cases.

所以我覺得我們已經很好地控制住了這件事，把它妥善地隔離起來了。隨著時間的推移，我們也會處理其他一些事情，例如人身傷害案件。

And next, we will hear from Dave Begleiter with Deutsche Bank.

接下來，我們將聽聽德意志銀行的戴夫‧貝格萊特的發言。

Ed, does the Chemours lawsuit have any impact on the timing of the portfolio actions? And I know it's hard to say, but any sense of when we might see the first of these transactions from a timing perspective?

Ed，科慕公司的訴訟案是否會對投資組合調整的時間安排產生任何影響？我知道這很難說，但從時間角度來看，我們大概什麼時候能看到這些交易中的第一批呢？

Well -- well, no. The Chemours suit will have no bearing on any strategic actions we take on the portfolio. And look, I can't talk timing, but let me just go back to the comment I made a few minutes ago, where Marc, Jean, me, we're all -- we're in a 7-day a week mode right now. It feels like back when we were doing stuff of talking to Dow and getting things going. So we're busy. We know what we want to do and we're pursuing.

嗯——嗯，不是。科慕公司的訴訟不會對我們對投資組合採取的任何策略行動產生影響。聽著，我不能談論時間安排，但讓我回到我幾分鐘前說的話，馬克、讓、我，我們所有人——我們現在都處於一周七天的工作狀態。感覺就像回到了我們和陶氏化學公司洽談、推動專案進展的那段時間。我們都很忙。我們知道自己想做什麼，並且正在努力實現。

Next we will hear from Jonas Oxgaard with Bernstein.

接下來我們將聽聽喬納斯·奧克斯加德和伯恩斯坦的演講。

I was wondering which Halloween candy you're more -- most exposed to.

我想知道你最常接觸到的是哪種萬聖節糖果。

I want some of that candy, by the way.

順便說一句，我也想要一些那種糖果。

I figured it had to be. More realistically, well, coming back to the divestiture of the wafer business, can you talk a little bit more about the process leading up to this? Is that something that you shopped around? Were you approached? Was there a strategic review beforehand?

我猜肯定是這樣。更實際地說，回到晶圓業務剝離的話題，您能否再詳細談談促成這項剝離的過程？這是你貨比三家後才找到的嗎？有人找過你嗎？之前是否進行過戰略評估？

Yes. Jonas, it's Marc. I'll take that one. And yes, so like the other Non-Core divestitures, we've tried to run good, disciplined processes. So this was a case where we knew there would be some strategic buyer interest because of the growth in silicon carbide. And so we tried to move as quickly as we could to take advantage of kind of the industry dynamics in that area. And we ran a good process, multiple buyers. The final bidder that won obviously was the best offer that we got.

是的。喬納斯，我是馬克。我選那個。是的，和其他非核心資產剝離一樣，我們努力推行良好、嚴謹的流程。因此，我們知道由於碳化矽市場的成長，會有一些策略性買家對此感興趣。因此，我們試圖盡快採取行動，以利用該領域的行業動態。我們執行了一套完善的流程，有多位買家。最終得標的競標者顯然是我們收到的最佳報價。

And next, we will hear from John McNulty with BMO Capital Markets.

接下來，我們將聽取 BMO 資本市場的 John McNulty 的演講。

So on the innovation pipeline that's going to help to keep driving your business better than GDP, I guess can you give us some thoughts on how that pipeline will contribute in 2020? Or put another way, if we have a flat macro environment, how can we be thinking about the organic growth tied to some of the innovation that you're bringing out?

那麼，關於能夠幫助貴公司業務持續成長（甚至超過GDP成長）的創新管道，您能否談談該管道在2020年將如何發揮作用？換句話說，如果宏觀環境平穩，我們又該如何考慮與你們推出的一些創新相關的有機成長？

Yes, John, it's Marc. I'll take that one. I mean we're really confident in the strength of our innovation pipeline right now. And I think, honestly, it's never been stronger than it is. We've really focused around a small number of very powerful themes with our innovation spend. We're still spending about -- around about 4% of sales on R&D. Expectations from me for sure that we're going to get more out of that the investment than we maybe ever have historically.

是的，約翰，我是馬克。我選那個。我的意思是，我們目前對自身的創新能力非常有信心。老實說，我認為它從未像現在這樣強大過。我們在創新投入方面，真正集中精力於少數幾個非常有力的主題。我們仍將銷售額的 4% 左右用於研發。我當然期望我們能從這項投資中獲得比以往任何時候都多的回報。

A couple of the big themes that we're spending around, auto electrification is one. We've got multiple new product innovations in that space, enabling lightweighting, enabling heat removal from battery packs, enabling miniaturization of electric motors and inverters, a lot of high-performance materials. And that's both new launches and customer qualifications.

我們重點關注的幾個重要主題之一是汽車電氣化。我們在該領域擁有多項新產品創新，可實現輕量化、實現電池組散熱、實現馬達和逆變器小型化，以及大量高性能材料。這包括新品發布和客戶資格認證。

We're also spending very aggressively on 5G. We mentioned earlier some of the uptake in antenna materials. Those are based on new product launches that are happening this year. We have some additional new innovations coming in high-frequency that will roll out over the next couple of years out of the pipeline.

我們也在大力投資5G。我們之前提到過一些天線材料的採用情況。這些都是基於今年推出的新產品。我們還有一些高頻技術的新創新，這些創新將在未來幾年內陸續推出。

And then maybe a third area I'd just mention is microbiome. The broader space than probiotics is about not just more bacterial strains clinical indications but also how can we attach additional offerings to our probiotics business, which is currently the leading franchise in probiotics. But we're trying to double down and bring out new offerings like additional services, data, prebiotics and more advanced sort of complex formulations that can further sort of double down on the growth in that space.

然後，我可能還要提一下微生物組。比益生菌更廣泛的領域不僅在於更多的細菌菌株和臨床適應症，還在於我們如何將額外的產品附加到我們目前領先的益生菌特許經營業務中。但我們正在努力加倍投入，推出新的產品和服務，例如額外的服務、數據、益生元以及更先進的複雜配方，以進一步推動該領域的成長。

So I'm really bullish on the pipeline. I'd stay away from giving a specific revenue number for next year till we're ready to roll out our 2020 guidance. But I think the innovation pipeline's very strong.

所以我非常看好這條管道。在準備好發布 2020 年業績指引之前，我不會給出明年的具體營收數字。但我認為創新管道非常強大。

And next, we will hear from Bob Koort with Goldman Sachs.

接下來，我們將聽取高盛集團的鮑伯·庫爾特的演講。

I was wondering if I could ask about margins in your transportation and industrial business. It looked like the decremental margins there were pretty painful on the volume loss. So I guess a combination question. When would you expect, given the current environment, to see those volume comparisons get a little bit more level? And then secondly, what would you think about your incremental margin expansion as volumes come back in that business?

我想諮詢一下貴公司在運輸和工業領域的利潤率。看起來銷量下滑帶來的利潤損失相當嚴重。所以我覺得這是個綜合性問題。鑑於目前的市場環境，您預計何時才能看到銷售對比變得更加均衡？其次，隨著該業務銷量的恢復，您如何看待利潤率的逐步提高？

Yes. Bob, let me kick it off. This is Marc. And then I'll hand it off if Jean wants to add anything. I'd say -- I mean you're certainly right. Volumes have been really soft this year. In T&I business, and in particular, the nylons and plastics are relatively lower gross margin businesses, so there is a significant loss of leverage when the volumes soften. Price has been softening, too, as a result of the weak demand in the industry, and so that's also hurting the margins. We've talked about this now for a couple of quarters as being not just the weakness in the industry, but also destocking in our channels which is exacerbating. And that's why while the auto market is down mid-single digits, we're down even higher than that.

是的。鮑勃，讓我先開始吧。這是馬克。如果 Jean 還想補充什麼，我會把這個任務交給她。我的意思是──你的說法當然沒錯。今年的交易量一直很疲軟。在T&I產業，特別是尼龍和塑膠產業，毛利率相對較低，因此當銷售量疲軟時，槓桿作用會大幅下降。由於行業需求疲軟，價格也隨之走軟，因此利潤率也受到了影響。我們已經討論過這個問題好幾個季度了，這不僅是行業的弱點，而且我們渠道的去庫存也在加劇這個問題。這就是為什麼雖然汽車市場下跌了中個位數，但我們的跌幅甚至更大。

We are expecting that this will stabilize at some point. Hard to call based on the uncertainty this year. But going into the fourth quarter, we're currently seeing inventory levels relatively stable in the channel. We're not seeing a pickup in demand, but we are seeing some signs of some sequential improvement. So September, as an example, was a pretty good month versus 2019 for us. So again, hard to call.

我們預計這種情況最終會趨於穩定。今年情況不明朗，很難預測。但進入第四季度，我們目前看到渠道庫存水準相對穩定。雖然我們沒有看到需求回升，但我們看到了一些逐步改善的跡象。以 2019 年 9 月為例​​，對我們來說，這個月的業績相當不錯。所以，很難說。

In terms of the actions that we're taking, Jean, do you want to...

吉恩，就我們正在採取的行動而言，你希望…

I mean I think T&I is an example, differentially managing our businesses where, as you look across the portfolio, you'll see the lowest kind of selling, R&D expense in this business. And I give Randy and his team a lot of credit. As we've gone into this year, we saw the steep drop off in December, they very quickly -- December of last year. They very quickly took action to further rightsize the business and take cost out. So that gives me a lot of confidence that we get through destocking, we see a rebound in auto builds, that this business is going to be very well-positioned to benefit from that.

我的意思是，我認為 T&I 就是一個例子，它以差異化的方式管理我們的業務，當你縱觀整個業務組合時，你會發現該業務的銷售和研發費用是最低的。我非常讚賞蘭迪和他的團隊。今年以來，我們看到12月出現了急劇下降，比去年12月份下降得非常快。他們迅速採取行動，進一步調整業務規模並削減成本。因此，這讓我非常有信心，如果我們能夠度過去庫存期，看到汽車產量反彈，那麼這家公司將處於非常有利的位置，從中受益。

And probably, we've run historically over auto build in this business, as you know, until the destocking kicked in pretty severely in mid-December last year. So we get through destocking, at least we'll stabilize kind of around to where auto builds are, plus some increment to that with the content that we drive into the end market. So that will play out in the near future.

而且，正如你所知，我們這個行業歷史上一直過度依賴汽車生產，直到去年 12 月中旬大幅削減庫存為止。所以，如果我們能度過去庫存期，至少我們的產量會穩定在汽車製造的水平，再加上我們向終端市場輸送的內容，產量還會有所增長。所以這件事會在不久的將來得到解決。

Next, we will take a question from John Roberts with UBS.

接下來，我們將回答瑞銀集團的約翰羅伯茲提出的問題。

Did your animal nutrition business benefit at all from swine fever in China? And I was surprised that the food enzyme business was up. I thought the weakness in food ingredients was a little bit more broad-based than just probiotics.

您的動物營養業務是否從中國爆發的豬瘟中受益？令我驚訝的是，食品酵素業務竟然成長了。我認為食品成分方面的不足之處比益生菌本身要廣泛得多。

John, I'll take that. No, not a huge benefit. Animal nutrition has been a good market for us because we've had a very strong franchise around the phytase area. And so we're benefiting kind of from global growth characteristics, more meat usage.

約翰，我收下這個。不，這不算是什麼巨大的好處。動物營養一直是我們不錯的市場，因為我們在植酸酶領域擁有非常強大的品牌影響力。因此，我們某種程度上受益於全球成長的特點，即肉類消費量的增加。

And then around food enzymes, I mean we're -- as you're probably aware, we're not the largest supplier of food enzymes. We are seeing very attractive growth off a relatively small base. And so food enzymes continue to be, for us, kind of a high single-digit growth. Animal nutrition, by the way, in the quarter was about a mid-single-digit, 5% growth.

至於食品酶，我的意思是——您可能也知道——我們不是最大的食品酶供應商。我們看到，在相對較小的基數上，卻實現了非常可觀的成長。因此，對我們來說，食品酵素的成長率仍然保持在較高的個位數水準。順便一提，本季動物營養市場實現了約 5% 的中等個位數成長。

So those are bright spots in the enzymes portfolio. I would say the segment -- Health & Biosciences segment within Nutrition & Biosciences was down about 1% this quarter. And so it was a little bit soft overall. But those were some of the bright spots.

所以，這些都是酵素製劑產品組合中的亮點。我認為，營養與生物科學領域的健康與生物科學部門本季下降了約 1%。所以整體來說有點軟。但這些也算是亮點吧。

And next, we will hear from P.J. Juvekar with Citi.

接下來，我們將聽聽花旗銀行的 P.J. Juvekar 的演講。

Ed, on your potential strategic transactions, can you make some general observations about M&A multiples that you're seeing given the falling rates? And then secondly there, is PFAS liability becoming a sticking point in negotiating these deals?

Ed，關於你潛在的策略交易，鑑於利率下降，你能否就你觀察到的併購倍數發表一些總體看法？其次，PFAS責任是否正在成為這些交易談判中的癥結所在？

Yes. P.J., yes, thanks for the questions. No, the PFOA has not been an issue in things that we're looking at and working on. So I'll just -- I'll leave it at that. It doesn't concern me.

是的。P.J.，是的，謝謝你的提問。不，在我們正在研究和處理的事項中，PFOA 並不是一個問題。我就說到這兒吧。這與我無關。

And just from a multiple standpoint, it's hard to answer that, but I'll just say broadly, multiples are very good when you're looking at transactions right now. And by the way, just to give you one, I think multiples in the N&B type sector are kind of at all-time highs right now. And I think a lot of that is it's just a steady business, a steady industry, which kind of recession proof. People are going to eat. And they command multiples up around kind of 20%, the real premium companies, which I think we are the premium company in the space. So multiples are not an issue in what we're working on.

從倍數角度來看，很難回答這個問題，但我只能說，總的來說，在目前觀察交易時，倍數是非常好的。順便提一下，我認為N&B類產業的本益比目前處於歷史高點。我認為這很大程度上是因為這是一個穩定的行業，一個穩定的業務，它不受經濟衰退的影響。人們要吃飯。真正的優質公司，其估值倍數通常在 20% 左右，我認為我們就是這個領域的優質公司。所以，在我們正在進行的工作中，多對多對多對不成問題。

Next, we will hear from Arun Viswanathan with RBC Capital Markets.

接下來，我們將聽取加拿大皇家銀行資本市場的 Arun Viswanathan 的演講。

I'm just trying to understand the earnings algorithm from here. Could you kind of touch on your outlook for cost reductions and synergy capture, if there's any left, into 2020? And then similarly, assuming price is going to offset FX, what will be the main drivers that would help you get some volume growth next year?

我只是想弄清楚這裡的收益演算法。能否簡單談談您對2020年成本削減和綜效實現的展望（如果還有剩餘空間的話）？同樣地，假設價格能夠抵銷匯率波動的影響，那麼明年哪些主要因素將有助於您實現銷售成長？

Sure. Thank you. Let me first address synergies. So as we look at 2019, we had about $450 million of synergies through the DowDuPont, and we're going to wrap that up in 2020. We have about another $160 million, $165 million synergies in them when we finish that program. The good news is, and we talked about this the last quarter, that productivity is in our DNA. It's really important. I talked about the work that Randy and his team have done and other parts of our businesses as we've come into 2019 to deal with the softness in some of our end markets. And so we've taken productivity actions this year, and that's going to give us a bit of a tailwind as we go into 2020 as well. So you can think about maybe another $50 million-plus of benefits from the timing of those actions going into 2020.

當然。謝謝。首先讓我談談協同效應。回顧 2019 年，我們透過陶氏杜邦實現了約 4.5 億美元的協同效應，我們將在 2020 年完成這項工作。該專案完成後，我們還能從中獲得約 1.6 億美元到 1.65 億美元的綜效。好消息是，正如我們在上個季度討論的那樣，生產力已經融入了我們的基因。這真的很重要。我談到了蘭迪和他的團隊所做的工作，以及我們在 2019 年為應對一些終端市場疲軟而開展的其他業務。因此，我們今年採取了提高生產力的措施，這將在進入 2020 年時為我們帶來一些助力。因此，您可以考慮，從 2020 年的這些舉措的時機來看，可能會帶來超過 5000 萬美元的額外收益。

In terms of our broader 2020 guidance, we're going to talk about that more when we announce fourth quarter earnings late January, early February. But I think we're looking at similar macro dynamics from '19 into '20. We're going to be fairly cautious as we think about 2020. But there are certainly bright spots in our portfolio that we continue to be excited about, whether it's probiotics, pharmaceuticals, water, the aerospace business is doing quite well. And then we've got the continued challenging dynamics with the tariffs and trade that are impacting, of course most clearly auto, but also electronics to some extent.

至於我們更廣泛的 2020 年業績指引，我們將在 1 月下旬或 2 月初公佈第四季度收益時進行更詳細的討論。但我認為，從 2019 年到 2020 年，我們看到的宏觀動態是類似的。展望2020年，我們會相當謹慎。但我們的投資組合中確實有一些亮點讓我們感到興奮，無論是益生菌、藥品、水，還是航空航天業務，都發展得相當不錯。此外，關稅和貿易方面持續存在的挑戰性動態，當然對汽車產業的影響最為明顯，但對電子產品產業也有一定程度的影響。

Just to reiterate what Jean said. We as a management team, Marc and Jean and I, all of us, we're saying, "Let's plan for kind of the macro we have now." Clearly hopefully during the next months, some resolution on China tariffs occurs, so that would be a green shoot.

我只是想重申一下Jean所說的話。我們管理團隊，包括馬克、讓和我，都在說：「讓我們根據目前的宏觀形勢來製定計劃。」顯然，我們希望在接下來的幾個月裡，中國關稅問題能夠得到一些解決，這將是一個好兆頭。

And I think the biggest green shoot for all of us in the industrial sector is obviously everyone is easing all over the world. I think I was looking at 32 countries the other day that are all -- have easing going on. And clearly, that -- most experts tell me that kicks in 8, 9 months later with some positive momentum.

我認為對我們所有工業領域的人來說，最大的利好消息顯然是全世界都在逐步放鬆。前幾天我查看了32個國家，它們都在進行經濟放鬆政策。顯然，大多數專家告訴我，這種情況會在 8、9 個月後開始出現，並帶來一些正面的動力。

So there's some green shoots out there that obviously could be helpful to us. But it -- we're like don't count on any of that, let's just plan conservatively. And we'll tee ourselves up properly from a cost structure and all as we go into 2020.

所以，目前出現了一些正面的跡象，顯然對我們有幫助。但是──我們覺得不要指望這些，還是保守一點，照計畫行事吧。進入 2020 年，我們將從成本結構等方面做好充分準備。

Next, we will hear from Frank Mitsch with Fermium Research.

接下來，我們將聽聽來自 Fermium Research 的 Frank Mitsch 的演講。

Pretty impressive results out of China. You mentioned that it was largely premium smartphone-driven. I'm just curious, what percent roughly are you manufacturing in-country? And can you talk about the trade flow issues, and just in general, what the tariff conflict has impacted DuPont and what your outlook is there?

中國取得的成績相當令人印象深刻。你提到這主要由高階智慧型手機市場驅動。我只是好奇，你們大約有多少比例的產品是國內生產的？您能否談談貿易流動問題，以及關稅衝突對杜邦公司整體的影響，以及您對這方面的看法？

Yes. Frank, thanks. This is Marc. I'll take that one. The rough number on our China sales, we have about 15% of our sales into China. A decent portion is manufactured locally. But I'd call it maybe about half-ish of the sales. We do have some products that are manufactured in the U.S. that are sent over to China. That's a smaller portion of the total because we're also manufacturing around Asia, too, and shipping into China. As a result, the tariff impact is not real huge for us.

是的。弗蘭克，謝謝。這是馬克。我選那個。據粗略估計，我們約有 15% 的銷售額來自中國。相當一部分是本地生產的。但我估計大概是佔銷售額的一半左右。我們確實有一些在美國生產的產品銷往中國。這只佔總量的一小部分，因為我們也在亞洲各地生產，並運往中國。因此，關稅對我們的影響並不算太大。

When you look at that portion that's direct sales in terms of dollars, it comes to about $50 million on a full year basis of tariff impact. So pretty well mitigated for a company our size. I think it still going to be a positive when we see a resolution to the U.S.-China trade disputes. But the positive is not so much the direct impact of the tariffs, it's more just the stimulus to the economy, the industrial growth in China and obviously the industrial growth in Europe and the U.S. And we think that's a much bigger lever for us than the direct tariff impact.

若以美元計算，直接銷售額佔比約為 5,000 萬美元，以全年關稅影響計算。對於我們這樣規模的公司來說，這已經算是相當不錯的緩解措施了。我認為，美中貿易爭端的解決仍然是一件好事。但積極作用並不在於關稅的直接影響，而更在於對經濟的刺激，對中國工業成長的促進，以及顯然對歐洲和美國工業成長的促進。我們認為，這比關稅的直接影響對我們來說更有影響力。

Next, we will hear from Laurence Alexander from Jefferies.

接下來，我們將聽取傑富瑞集團的勞倫斯·亞歷山大的演講。

Could you just clarify 2 things? The -- is any signs of a sequential improvement in China ex electronics? And the comments about nylon 66 rebalancing, how much of an impact that has been and what that means for 2020?

您能澄清兩件事嗎？中國（除電子業外）經濟是否有任何逐步改善的跡象？關於尼龍 66 重新平衡的評論，其影響有多大，這對 2020 年意味著什麼？

Yes. Laurence, I'll take that. And so in terms of China ex electronics, yes, we've been pretty strong in S&C, pretty strong in N&B through the year. Those have continued to hold up well in China. T&I, which has been down significantly, we're not seeing a significant rebound as yet. So that's the exception. And then electronics obviously was a big trajectory change in China. And then the second question, around nylon 66 was...

是的。勞倫斯，我接受。所以就中國市場（不包括電子產品）而言，是的，我們今年在科技、服裝和飲料領域都表現得相當強勁。這些產品在中國一直表現良好。T&I 大幅下滑，目前尚未出現明顯反彈。所以這是個例外。然後，電子產業顯然成為中國發展軌跡的重大轉變。第二個問題是關於尼龍66的…

Yes. I mean I think if you look at T&I, we did see sequentially a pricing decline from second quarter to third quarter of about 2%. And we would expect to see some continued -- the same continued dynamic as we go into fourth quarter with.

是的。我的意思是，如果你看一下運輸和保險業務，我們確實看到價格從第二季到第三季較上季下降了約 2%。我們預計這種趨勢會延續下去——進入第四季後，這種動態仍將持續。

And next, we will hear from Mark Connelly with Stephens Inc.

接下來，我們將聽取來自 Stephens Inc. 的 Mark Connelly 的演講。

If I could just ask how -- you've given us a lot of information on a lot of different businesses and the economic impact. But if we were to strip out the macro impact, how would you rate your performance relative to where you thought you would be on controllable issues? And how do you see the opportunity over the next year in controllables? Is it more on the revenue side or is it more on the volume and product side?

請問您是如何做到的？您為我們提供了許多不同企業及其經濟影響方面的資訊。但如果我們剔除宏觀因素的影響，您如何評估自己在可控因素方面的表現與您預期達到的水平相比如何？您如何看待未來一年可控因素帶來的機會？是更著重於營收方面，還是更著重於銷售和產品方面？

Pardon the interruption. Speakers, we are unable to hear you.

打擾一下，不好意思。發言者，我們聽不到你們的聲音。

(technical difficulty)

（技術難題）

And Marc, if you could repeat your question.

馬克，你能再說一次你的問題嗎？

Sure. Ed, you've talked a lot about what your strategies are in the portfolio. But what I'm trying to understand is, if we think about the economy is what it is and you look at what you've controlled and what you want to control, how much opportunity do you see ahead in controllables in this sort of flat macro environment on the cost side versus on the revenue side?

當然。艾德，你已經多次談到你的投資組合策略。但我試圖理解的是，如果我們把經濟現狀看作是現在的樣子，看看你已經控制了什麼以及你想控制什麼，在這種宏觀經濟環境趨於平穩的情況下，你認為在成本方面和收入方面，可控因素能帶來多少機會？

Yes. Mark. Sorry about the break there. This is Marc Doyle. Yes. I think we've done a reasonably good job certainly with being aggressive on cost actions. And we think that there's more room to continue to drive productivity around cost. A couple of additional degrees of freedom we have are manufacturing production costs, levels of automation. We've also got some opportunities to continue to debottleneck our manufacturing sites because we do have areas where demand is still outstripping supply. And so those I'd call more sort of self-help related cost actions. I think we've also done a nice job focusing the innovation spend and the capital spend around areas where we have continued upside even in some of the softer market conditions. And I think that those actions will continue to benefit us going forward.

是的。標記。抱歉剛才中斷了。這是馬克·多伊爾。是的。我認為我們在成本控制方面做得相當不錯，尤其是在積極採取措施方面。我們認為，在降低成本方面，還有更大的提升生產力的空間。我們還有幾個額外的自由度，例如製造生產成本和自動化等級。我們還有機會繼續疏通生產基地的瓶頸，因為在某些地區，需求仍然超過供應。因此，我稱這些為更多與自助相關的成本控制措施。我認為我們也做得很好，將創新支出和資本支出集中在即使在一些較為疲軟的市場環境下也能持續成長的領域。我認為這些舉措將繼續使我們受益。

And Marc, just to add on to that. The team is still working on, obviously, the synergies we're capturing the rest of this year, but we have $165 million more of synergies next year. And if you remember, right, I think it was last quarter, we announced a restructuring where we were taking -- where we took $30 million out in the second quarter and we were working on -- we are working on $80 million for the second half of this year in addition to the synergies, which will obviously play through 2020 also. And it would -- as a management team, we have many other items we're looking at on the cost side, that if we feel like we need to pull those levers next year, we certainly would do that. So we're kind of preplanning on all of that.

還有馬克，我再補充一點。團隊顯然仍在努力實現今年剩餘時間我們將獲得的協同效應，但明年我們還有 1.65 億美元的協同效應。如果你還記得的話，對吧，我想應該是上個季度，我們宣布了一項重組計劃，我們在第二季度削減了 3000 萬美元，並且我們正在努力——我們正在努力在今年下半年削減 8000 萬美元，此外還有協同效應，這顯然也會持續到 2020 年。而且，作為管理團隊，我們在成本方面還有很多其他事項需要關注，如果我們覺得明年需要採取這些措施，我們肯定會這樣做。所以我們正在提前做好所有這些方面的計劃。

And we will take our final question from Jim Sheehan from SunTrust.

最後，我們將回答來自 SunTrust 銀行的 Jim Sheehan 提出的問題。

Regarding PFAS again. There's a movie coming out that invokes DuPont by name and smears the company as being a bad actor. Are there any legal remedies for that, that you know of? And are you planning any kind of public response to the allegations?

再次談PFAS。有一部即將上映的電影會直接點名杜邦公司，並抹黑該公司，稱之為不良企業。您知道是否有任何法律途徑可以解決這個問題嗎？你是否計劃對這些指控做出任何公開回應？

Yes. I'll let Marc comment on some of the things we're doing. But first of all, let me just say the movie is not true facts. It's quote -- well, I think the trailer I saw was "inspired by". And I've had a pretty good debriefing on it, and it's just not true material in it. So we have -- I'll let Marc comment. We're doing obviously doing some things for employees and all that so they understand facts and all that. I'm not going to comment on the legal piece. But obviously, we have a lot of legal folks have been looking at this, and I'm just going to leave that there for now.

是的。我會請馬克對我們正在做的一些事情發表一下看法。但首先我要說明，這部電影並非真實事件改編。引用——嗯，我覺得我看到的預告片是「受…啟發」的。我已經就此事進行了相當全面的報告，裡面的內容根本不屬實。所以我們現在——我讓馬克來評論吧。我們顯然正在為員工做一些事情，讓他們了解事實等等。我不會對法律方面的內容發表評論。但很顯然，我們有很多法律界人士一直在研究這個問題，我現在就先說到這裡吧。

Yes. Let me just build on Ed's comments. I mean unfortunately, in a situation like this, it just doesn't do you much good to fight it out in the public eye. And that would just drive more and more attention to it. So we're really focused internally on our employees, our communities, our families, getting the facts out there, preparing people for the bad publicity that's likely to come.

是的。我只想補充一下 Ed 的評論。我的意思是，很遺憾，在這種情況下，在公眾面前爭吵對你並沒有什麼好處。而那樣只會讓更多人關注這件事。因此，我們內部真正關注的是我們的員工、我們的社區、我們的家庭，把事實公之於眾，讓人們做好應對可能出現的負面宣傳的準備。

As Ed said, this isn't an accurate portrayal of the facts. It's certainly not the company that any of us know. I've been with DuPont for 25 years myself. This is -- the behaviors that you might see in there are certainly not the behaviors that I witnessed at any point in my career. And so we're really focused on our people and trying to just prepare them.

正如艾德所說，這並非對事實的準確描述。這絕對不是我們任何人所熟知的那家公司。我自己在杜邦公司工作了25年。也就是說，你在那裡可能看到的行為，絕對不是我在職業生涯中任何時候所目睹的行為。因此，我們非常注重員工，並努力讓他們做好準備。

And with no further questions, I'd like to turn the call back to Lori Koch for any additional or closing remarks.

鑑於沒有其他問題，我想把電話轉回給洛里·科赫，請她補充或作總結發言。

Thank you, everyone, for joining our call. For your reference, a copy of our transcript will be posted on DuPont's website. This concludes our call.

感謝各位參加我們的電話會議。供您參考，我們的成績單副本將發佈在杜邦公司的網站上。通話到此結束。

And this concludes today's conference. Thank you for your participation and you may now disconnect.

今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接了。