Energizer Holdings Inc (ENR) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Julie, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Energizer's first fiscal year 2026 conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to John Poldan, Vice President, Treasurer, and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

早安.我叫朱莉，今天我將擔任你們的會議接線生。此時此刻，我謹代表勁量公司歡迎各位參加2026財年首次電話會議。（操作員說明）提醒您，本次通話正在錄音。現在我將把會議交給副總裁、財務主管兼投資者關係負責人約翰·波爾丹先生。請繼續。

Good morning. and welcome to Energizer's first quarter fiscal 2026 conference call. Joining me today are Mark LaVigne, President and Chief Executive Officer; and John Drabik, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. In just a moment, Mark will share a few opening comments, and then we'll take your questions. A replay of this call will be available on the Investor Relations section of our website, energizerholdings.com.

早安，歡迎參加勁量公司2026財年第一季電話會議。今天與我一同出席的有總裁兼執行長馬克·拉維涅，以及執行副總裁兼財務長約翰·德拉比克。稍後，馬克將作幾句開場白，之後我們將回答大家的問題。本次電話會議的錄音重播可在我們網站energizerholdings.com的投資者關係版塊收聽。

In addition, please note that our earnings release, prepared remarks, and the slide deck are also posted on our website. During the call, we will make forward-looking statements about the company's future business and financial performance, among other matters. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. We do not undertake to update these forward-looking statements.

此外，請注意，我們的獲利報告、準備好的演講稿和投影片也已發佈在我們的網站上。在本次電話會議中，我們將就公司未來的業務和財務表現等事項發表前瞻性聲明。這些聲明是基於管理層目前的預期，但存在風險和不確定性，實際結果可能與這些聲明有重大差異。我們不承諾更新這些前瞻性陳述。

Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements are included in reports we file with the SEC. We also refer to a presentation to non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to comparable GAAP measures is shown in our press release issued earlier today, which is available on our website.

可能導致實際結果與這些聲明有重大差異的其他因素已包含在我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的報告中。我們也會介紹非GAAP財務指標。我們今天稍早發布的新聞稿中列出了非GAAP財務指標與可比較GAAP指標的調節表，該新聞稿可在我們的網站上查閱。

Information concerning our categories and estimated market share discussed on this call relates to the categories where we compete and is based on Energizer's internal data, data from industry analysis, and estimates we believe to be reasonable. The battery category information includes both brick-and-mortar and e-commerce retail sales. And as always noted, all comments regarding the quarter and year pertain to Energizer's fiscal year, and all comparisons to prior year related to the same period in fiscal 2025.

本次電話會議中討論的有關我們產品類別和預計市場份額的信息，均與我們參與競爭的類別相關，並基於勁量內部數據、行業分析數據以及我們認為合理的估計。電池類別資訊包括實體零售和電子商務零售銷售。如同以往所指出的，所有關於季度和年度的評論均指勁量公司的財政年度，所有與上一年同期進行的比較均指 2025 財年同期。

With that, I would like to turn the call over to Mark.

接下來，我想把電話交給馬克。

Good morning, and thanks for joining us today. As we've done in prior quarters, we posted prepared remarks on our website, which provides a comprehensive overview of our achievements this quarter and our forward outlook. But I first wanted to open the call with just a few comments before we head into Q&A. As we closed our first quarter of 2026, our agenda is unchanged and firmly aligned with long-term value creation for store growth, rebuild margins that were pressured by tariffs, and return the business to our historical cash flow profile.

早安，感謝您今天收看我們的節目。和以往幾季一樣，我們在網站上發布了準備好的演講稿，全面概述了我們本季的成就和未來的展望。但我想先簡單說幾句，然後再進入問答環節。2026 年第一季結束之際，我們的議程沒有改變，仍然堅定地致力於為門市成長創造長期價值，重建受關稅影響的利潤率，並使業務恢復到我們歷史上的現金流狀況。

In the first quarter, we made meaningful progress on all fronts. Our performance exceeded expectations, and we've established a clear foundation for sequential gross margin expansion and a return to meaningful earnings growth in the back half of the year. The quarter demonstrated that our strategy is working. We secured final customer decisions on the APS to Energizer brand transition, which is expected to contribute over $30 million of organic growth in the year, most of it landing in the third and fourth quarters.

第一季度，我們在各方面都取得了實質進展。我們的業績超出預期，為下半年毛利率的持續成長和獲利的顯著成長奠定了堅實的基礎。本季業績顯示我們的策略是有效的。我們已就 APS 品牌向 Energizer 品牌過渡達成最終客戶決定，預計這將在當年帶來超過 3000 萬美元的有機增長，其中大部分將在第三季度和第四季度實現。

We strengthened distribution across our value and premium brands with key US retailers, advanced innovation across both Batteries and Lights and Auto Care, and substantially completed the supply chain realignment that is central to restoring margin. These actions position us to deliver over 300 basis points of gross margin expansion from Q1 to Q2, with another 300 to 400 basis points anticipated by year end.

我們加強了與美國主要零售商的合作，拓展了旗下價值品牌和高端品牌的銷售管道；推進了電池、照明和汽車護理領域的創新；並基本完成了供應鏈重組，這對於恢復利潤率至關重要。這些舉措使我們預計在第一季到第二季實現超過 300 個基點的毛利率成長，預計到年底還將再成長 300 至 400 個基點。

We also delivered robust cash generation that allowed us to pay down over $100 million of debt, while returning nearly $28 million in capital to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, reinforcing the durability of our cash flow model.

我們也實現了強勁的現金流，償還了超過 1 億美元的債務，同時透過股利和股票回購向股東返還了近 2,800 萬美元的資本，從而增強了我們現金流模式的持久性。

And finally, I wanted to spend a brief moment on our capital allocation strategy, which remains a cornerstone of long-term value creation. We will continue to prioritize reducing debt, which directly shifts value to equity holders while strengthening our balance sheet. In addition to reducing leverage, our free cash flow supports a balanced shareholder-first capital allocation strategy.

最後，我想簡單介紹一下我們的資本配置策略，這仍然是長期價值創造的基石。我們將繼續優先降低債務，這不僅能直接為股東創造價值，也能增強我們的資產負債表。除了降低槓桿率外，我們的自由現金流也支持以股東利益為先的平衡資本配置策略。

We intend to return capital through an attractive dividend, which reflects our confidence in ongoing cash generation and through share repurchases when market conditions create attractive entry points. This disciplined deployment of cash, paying down debt, maintaining an attractive dividend and buying back shares reinforces our commitment to maximizing long-term shareholder value.

我們計劃透過派發有吸引力的股息來回報資本，這反映了我們對持續現金流的信心；此外，我們還將在市場條件創造有吸引力的買入時機時回購股票。這種有紀律地運用現金、償還債務、維持有吸引力的股利和回購股票的做法，強化了我們對實現股東長期價值最大化的承諾。

Thank you for your continued confidence in Energizer. And with that, let's open the call for questions.

感謝您一直以來對勁量電池的信任。那麼，接下來就進入提問環節。

(Operator Instructions) Lauren Lieberman, Barclays.

（操作說明）勞倫·利伯曼，巴克萊銀行。

So one quarter into the year, I wanted to just get a sense for how you're thinking about things broadly versus what you might have said three months ago. So thinking about the consumer backdrop, maybe what you're seeing in terms of category trends, any kind of uptick from private label. We know the continued pressure on the lower end consumer has been a dynamic.

今年已經過去四分之一了，我想了解你現在對事物的整體看法與三個月前相比有何不同。因此，從消費者背景來看，也許你會看到品類趨勢的變化，例如自有品牌是否有任何成長。我們知道，低端消費者持續面臨的壓力是一個動態變化的過程。

And it just feels like there's a lot of moving parts and now a very back half weighted year. So just kind of degree of confidence in hitting that ramp in the second half.

感覺事情很多，下半年的重心明顯偏後。所以，下半場能否順利完成那個坡道，還需要一些信心。

Let me start high level. So when we were building our plan for '26, we knew it was going to be a transitional start to the year. We saw softening consumer trends in October and November. We were lapping last year's hurricane-driven demand. And we had some orders which were planned for the first quarter, which benefited the fourth quarter of fiscal '25.

讓我從宏觀層面開始。所以，當我們制定 2026 年的計畫時，我們就知道這將是一個過渡性的開端。我們看到10月和11月的消費趨勢有所放緩。我們當時的需求量已經超過了去年颶風帶來的需求量。我們有一些原計劃在第一季完成的訂單，這些訂單對 2025 財年的第四季產生了積極影響。

On the cost side, we were managing through elevated tariff pressures, which were the result of tariffs, which were levied at higher than the current rates. And in light of that, we were reshaping our network, which also created some short-term operational inefficiencies, including some absorption. These affected the results at the end of last year and we expected them to continue into the first half of '26. These were understood going in were fully embedded in our plan and the quarter thus far -- the year has thus far unfolded largely as we expected.

在成本方面，我們面臨高企的關稅壓力，這是由於關稅稅率高於當前稅率造成的。有鑑於此，我們正在重塑我們的網絡，這也造成了一些短期營運效率低下，包括一些吸收。這些因素影響了去年年底的業績，我們預期這些因素將持續到 2026 年上半年。這些情況在一開始就已明確，並已完全融入我們的計劃中。到目前為止，本季的情況基本上符合我們的預期。

Looking ahead, we're encouraged by the trends we're seeing in the business. Consumer demand has stabilized. We saw a strong rebound in December volumes in the US, which remains our largest market. We also strengthened our in-store presence with broader and higher-quality distribution across major retailers, which you'll see over the back half of the year.

展望未來，我們對目前產業的發展趨勢感到鼓舞。消費者需求已趨於穩定。12 月份，美國市場銷售強勁反彈，美國仍是我們最大的市場。我們也加強了店內銷售，透過與主要零售商進行更廣泛、更高品質的分銷，您將在今年下半年看到這些變化。

At the same time, we've done additional work to reposition our cost structure, and that's starting to take hold. We are starting to cycle through inventory, which were impacted by those higher rates and our mitigation efforts are starting to come to fruition. That includes relocating production capacity in the US, diversifying sourcing, and investing in efficiencies to make the network more efficient.

同時，我們也做了額外的工作來調整成本結構，而這種調整已經開始奏效。我們正在開始消化受高利率影響的庫存，我們的緩解措施也開始取得成效。這包括將生產能力轉移到美國，實現採購多元化，並投資提高效率，使網路更有效率。

We've taken targeted steps to increase production, to increase the tax credits which we expect to earn this year, which should drive a benefit of roughly 50% above last year. These dynamics are all come together and setting us up for a strong acceleration of net sales and earnings in the back half. So while the first half reflects the short-term factors, the underlying trajectory is improving.

我們採取了有針對性的措施來提高產量，增加我們預計今年將獲得的稅收抵免，這將使收益比去年增長約 50%。這些因素共同作用，將使我們在下半年實現淨銷售額和利潤的強勁成長。因此，雖然上半年反映的是短期因素，但整體趨勢正在改善。

This year is really about restoring growth, restoring margins, and restoring free cash flow. And thus far, we're off to a great start.

今年真正的重點是恢復成長、恢復利潤率和恢復自由現金流。到目前為止，我們開局非常順利。

Specific, Lauren, to your question on battery consumption trends, we saw meaningful improvement in the quarter, as I just mentioned. December inflected the volume growth. You see in the standard trends, the 13-week volume was slightly negative. But then when you see the December data in the four weeks, that was where volume inflected the positive.

勞倫，具體來說，關於你提出的電池消耗趨勢問題，正如我剛才提到的，我們在本季度看到了顯著的改善。12月份銷售成長出現轉折。從標準趨勢可以看出，13 週成交量略呈負值。但當你看到 12 月的四周數據時，你會發現成交量正是從那時開始出現積極變化的。

Obviously, January is going to have a very positive volume growth with winter storms in the US. For the balance of the year, we expect the category to be stable, and the trajectory of the category is essentially what we assume going into the year. Anything I missed?

顯然，由於美國冬季風暴的影響，1月的銷售量將出現非常正面的成長。今年剩餘時間裡，我們預計該類別將保持穩定，該類別的發展軌跡基本上與我們年初的預期一致。還有什麼我遺漏的嗎？

No, I think that was perfect. Thank you.

不，我覺得那樣就完美了。謝謝。

Peter Grom, UBS.

Peter Grom，瑞銀集團。

I guess I wanted to follow up on that last point, right, just on the January trends and kind of the impact of weathers. And so I ask this in the context of -- you mentioned in the release that your outlook does not contemplate any impact from the recent winter storm activity. So just whether it's based on what you've seen thus far, maybe what you've seen over time, can you maybe just help us understand what this could do to your guidance as it relates to either the second quarter or for the full-year outlook?

我想就最後一點再補充一點，對吧，就是關於一月份的趨勢以及天氣的影響。所以我提出這個問題，是因為您在新聞稿中提到，您的展望並未考慮近期冬季風暴活動的任何影響。所以，無論是根據您目前所看到的，還是根據您一段時間以來所看到的，您能否幫助我們了解這可能會對您第二季或全年的業績展望產生什麼影響？

Sure. Peter, why don't I start with the storm impact and then maybe John can bridge a little bit of kind of the front half, back half dynamic that we're seeing. I mean the storm volume in the US, clearly, there's a benefit to POS. I mean, the one-week numbers were significant category value north of 50%. It's really too early to quantify the impact that this that this will have on our business as we'll need to work through replenishment orders.

當然。彼得，不如我先說風暴的影響，然後約翰可以稍微銜接一下我們看到的風暴前半段和後半段的動態變化。我的意思是，就美國的風暴量而言，很明顯，POS 是有好處的。我的意思是，一周的數據顯著高於 50%。現在量化此事對我們業務的影響還為時過早，因為我們需要處理補貨訂單。

We need to manage through any shipments, which may have been disruptive because of the weather as well as work through resulting inventory levels at retailer inventory levels. It will certainly be a benefit for our business, but it's just too early to tell how much. I would say there's just more to come on that in connection with the Q2 earnings call. John, do you want to walk through kind of the bridge as we think through the balance of the year.

我們需要處理所有可能因天氣原因而中斷的貨物運輸，並解決零售商庫存水準由此產生的庫存問題。這肯定會對我們的業務有所幫助，但現在判斷幫助有多大還為時過早。我認為關於這一點，在第二季財報電話會議上會有更多消息公佈。約翰，當我們思考今年剩餘時間的安排時，你想不想走過這座橋？

Yeah, Mark, I can take us down maybe a level from where you were setting it up. So our view for the back half of the year or the rest of the year is really that the category is relatively flattish. And as Mark said, that's kind of what we've seen in December and into January. So we've got a good base to build on.

是的，馬克，我可以帶我們往下走一步，也許比你剛才設定的位置低一級。因此，我們對今年下半年或剩餘時間的看法是，該類別的市場相對穩定。正如馬克所說，這大致就是我們在 12 月和 1 月看到的情況。所以我們已經有了一個好的基礎。

Some of the key drivers on the top line that we're looking at, we've called out the transition of APS customers to Energizer our branded product. That's like -- we expect that to contribute $30 million or roughly 200 basis points of organic growth. One of the other things -- we have plans to really increase distribution in the back half of the year, and that's by leveraging innovation and leaning into our full portfolio. That's across both brick-and-mortar and fast-growing e-commerce.

我們正在關注的幾個關鍵驅動因素中，我們已經指出了 APS 客戶向 Energizer（我們的品牌產品）的過渡。這相當於——我們預計這將貢獻 3000 萬美元或大約 ​​200 個基點的內生成長。另外，我們計劃在今年下半年大幅增加分銷，方法是利用創新並充分發揮我們全部產品組合的優勢。實體店和快速發展的電子商務都面臨同樣的問題。

So based on current planogram changes that we've got as well as NPD sell-in and then that e-com growth, we're expecting 400 to 500 basis points of growth in the back half. And then we've got some carryover pricing as well as some targeted tactical pricing that we expect to have kind of a 50 to 100 basis point benefit as we go into the back half of the year.

因此，根據我們目前的貨架陳列圖變化、新產品銷售情況以及電子商務的成長，我們預計下半年將實現 400 至 500 個基點的成長。此外，我們還有一些延續定價以及一些有針對性的戰術定價，我們預計這些定價將在下半年帶來 50 到 100 個基點的收益。

So we're seeing good things within our plan on the top line. And then gross margin, obviously, first quarter was really impacted by a number of factors. A lot of them are not going to continue. So we kind of wanted to give some color around that. I mean, the first one is, the tariffs were almost a 300 basis point impact in the first quarter.

所以，從整體來看，我們的計畫取得了不錯的成效。很顯然，第一季的毛利率受到了多種因素的影響。其中很多都不會繼續下去。所以我們想為它增添一些色彩。我的意思是，第一點是，關稅在第一季造成了近 300 個基點的影響。

We're still flushing through some of that inventory that we bought in the spring and in the summer. So the rate was higher at that point. We expect that to improve as we go throughout the second quarter and into the rest of the year. We also -- you'll see in our report, we sold about $65 million of Panasonic branded product in Q1. That's really related to the APS transition.

我們仍在清理春季和夏季購買的部分庫存。所以當時的利率比較高。我們預計隨著第二季及今年剩餘時間的到來，這種情況將會有所改善。您也可以在我們的報告中看到，我們在第一季售出了價值約 6500 萬美元的松下品牌產品。這確實與APS轉型有關。

So we sold through -- we're losing that market at 12/31 and we've lost it already. We sold through all that inventory and worked with our customers there in Europe to try to transition, that had a pretty big impact on gross margin. So that was a 200 basis point hit. That's not going to recur as we go throughout the rest of the year.

所以我們已經售罄了——我們在 12 月 31 日失去了那個市場，而且我們已經失去了它。我們售罄了所有庫存，並與歐洲的客戶合作進行過渡，這對毛利率產生了相當大的影響。所以這次打擊造成了200個基點的損失。今年餘下的時間裡，這種情況不會再發生。

The other big one that we've been talking about for a while are the transitional product cost impacts, those were almost 100 basis points. We've done a lot of work to reset the global supply chain. We should flush through most of that as we get through Q2 and then the rest of the year, we should be in really good shape.

另一個我們討論已久的大問題是過渡產品成本的影響，這幾乎達到了 100 個基點。我們做了大量工作來重塑全球供應鏈。隨著第二季的結束，我們應該能夠清除大部分積壓問題，然後在今年剩下的時間裡，我們的狀況應該會非常好。

So as we look at Q2, we expect 300 basis points of sequential improvement and then we see continued expansion as we go through into Q3 and Q4. I think our plan is to get back into the low 40s, which is kind of where we were before the tariffs really hit. And I think we're going to get past these transitional one-time costs and leverage targeted pricing and then optimize production credits really in the back half of the year.

因此，展望第二季度，我們預計將環比成長 300 個基點，然後隨著第三季和第四季的到來，我們預計成長將持續。我認為我們的計劃是回到 40 度出頭的水平，這差不多是關稅真正生效之前我們的水平。我認為我們將克服這些過渡性的一次性成本，利用有針對性的定價，然後在下半年真正優化生產積分。

So we've got some good trends going on.

所以我們看到了一些不錯的趨勢。

Peter, we brought your question a little bit. We thought it was important to sort of highlight that front half, back half.

彼得，我們稍微討論了一下你的問題。我們認為有必要專注於前半部和後半部。

No, that is helpful. I mean, I guess one follow up to that. I mean, in the building blocks are really helpful, but it remains a pretty volatile uncertain environment. So how would you characterize or how do you think about layering in flexibility or cushion as you think about the guidance from here?

不，這很有幫助。我的意思是，我想應該還有後續問題。我的意思是，這些基本要素確實很有幫助，但環境仍然相當不穩定且充滿不確定性。那麼，當您考慮從這裡得到的指導時，您會如何描述或思考靈活性或緩衝性的分層？

Yeah, Peter, we always try to build in enough flexibility in the plan to be able to deal with uncertainty. I mean what you just described has been a constant over the last five or six years. So every year evolves differently than you expect going in. I think if one thing this organization has developed over that time period, it's the muscle memory to be able to read and react the situation and adjust our plans accordingly. And that's a daily occurrence around here.

是的，彼得，我們總是盡量在計畫中留出足夠的彈性，以便應對不確定性。我的意思是，你剛才描述的情況在過去五、六年一直存在。所以每年的情況都和你的預期有所不同。我認為，如果說這個組織在這段時間培養出了什麼，那就是能夠解讀形勢並做出反應，並相應地調整計畫的肌肉記憶。這種情況在這裡每天都會發生。

So I think we've got the right plans in place. We're confident in the outlook that we provided. It may not play out exactly as we as we forecast sitting here today. But ultimately, we feel like we can deliver the financials we've laid out.

所以我覺得我們已經制定了正確的計劃。我們對我們所提供的展望充滿信心。事情的發展可能不會完全像我們今天在這裡預測的那樣。但最終，我們覺得我們能夠實現我們所設定的財務目標。

Great. Thank you so much for that. And best of luck.

偉大的。非常感謝。祝你好運。

Rob Ottenstein, Evercore.

Rob Ottenstein，Evercore。

I think you may have just answered my question, but I want to make sure. So batteries much stronger than we would have expected, less increase in gross profit than we would have expected. Is that -- have you just basically totally explained what happened there in terms of Panasonic and the tariffs or are there other factors or do I just have that all wrong?

我想你可能已經回答我的問題，但我還是想確認一下了。因此，電池效能遠超預期，但毛利成長低於預期。也就是說——您剛才是否已經完全解釋了松下公司和關稅方面發生的事情，還是還有其他因素，或者我完全理解錯了？

No, that's right, Robert. It's the three items. It's the higher tariffs. APS was really -- it was a 200 basis point drag on its own in the quarter. And then it's the product cost transitional nature of some of those changes that we've got going on that should continue to improve.

沒錯，羅伯特。就是這三樣東西。是更高的關稅。APS確實－它本身就拖累了本季200個基點。此外，我們正在進行的一些變革也帶來了產品成本的過渡性變化，這些變化應該會繼續改善。

Great. And then can you talk about the strength in December. Was that the category or was it more you? And does that tell us anything about potential market share gains in '26 and maybe you could touch on what you see in calendar '26 in terms of shelf space, point of distribution, those sorts of drivers?

偉大的。那麼，您能否談談12月的強勢表現呢？那是類別劃分標準嗎？還是你個人的感受？這是否預示著 2026 年潛在的市佔率成長？您能否談談您對 2026 年貨架空間、分銷點等驅動因素的看法？

Sure, Robert. The category certainly improved in December, but we also have gained share in the latest reporting periods as well. So that's continuing to be -- so the category is improving and we're improving slightly ahead of the category. As we look ahead in calendar '26, we do expect our distribution footprint to increase both a broader distribution footprint but also higher quality distribution.

當然可以，羅伯特。該類別在 12 月確實有所改善，而且我們在最新的報告期間也獲得了市場份額。所以情況還在繼續——這個類別正在改善，而我們的改善速度略微領先於該類別。展望 2026 年，我們預期我們的分銷網絡將擴大，不僅分銷範圍會更廣，分銷品質也會更高。

We're leveraging our full portfolio to do that from value to premium to make sure that we're meeting consumers where they are. We also sold in some exciting innovation in both Batteries and Auto Care that you're going to see in Q2 and Q3. So we're excited about the plans we have with our retailers as we head into the rest of the year.

我們正在充分利用從經濟型到高端的全部產品組合，以確保我們能夠滿足消費者的需求。我們在電池和汽車護理領域也推出了一些令人興奮的創新產品，您將在第二季和第三季看到它們。因此，我們對今年餘下時間與零售商們制定的計劃感到興奮。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Andrea Teixeira, JPMorgan.

Andrea Teixeira，摩根大通。

Just want to just drill down a little bit on the top line. And -- obviously, you said that stable categories and you're also taking pricing, selective pricing. I was curious to see how the dynamics within private label in particular, obviously, the largest e-commerce partner that you have, like how are you thinking of pricing against volume within that guide? And from there, like what is your expectation in terms of shelf reset.

我只想稍微深入探討一下第一行的內容。而且——顯然，你說過穩定的類別，而且你也在採取定價策略，選擇性定價。我很好奇自有品牌內部的動態，特別是你們最大的電子商務合作夥伴，例如你們是如何根據銷售來制定定價策略的？然後，您對貨架重置有什麼期望？

You did say -- I believe you did say, as usual, like some additional shelf space. So just thinking of that instance. We haven't discussed the Autos yet, (inaudible), just a state of the union there, that would be great.

我記得你說過——就像往常一樣——想要一些額外的儲物空間。我只是想到了那件事。我們還沒討論過汽車業的事呢，（聽不清楚），就想了解一下這方面的現狀，那太好了。

Sure, Andrea, let me start with Auto. I mean, it's the smallest quarter we have in Auto in Q1. There was a slight impact from weather as well as some timing as well within the Auto business. We're heading into peak season. We're really excited about the Podium Series.

當然，安德烈，讓我先從自動模式開始。我的意思是，這是我們汽車業務第一季業績最小的一個季度。汽車產業受到天氣和時機的輕微影響。我們即將進入旺季。我們對頒獎台系列賽感到非常興奮。

We have additional innovation that we're launching across the portfolio. We always are excited about the prospects of international growth as well as growth in e-commerce. You are seeing a little bit more of a bifurcated consumer in the auto in the Auto category where higher-end parts of the category are showing growth. We're middle to the lower end of the category. You're having some consumers that are delaying purchases or opting out all together.

我們將在整個產品組合中推出更多創新產品。我們始終對國際成長前景以及電子商務的成長感到興奮。在汽車消費品類別中，消費者群體呈現出明顯的分化趨勢，其中高階車型市場正在成長。我們在這個類別中處於中下游水平。有些消費者推遲購買或完全放棄購買。

I think that makes the Podium Series launch all of the more timely for us, which we're participating now in growth at the high end. So as we head into Auto Care for the balance of the year, still expecting growth, but you are seeing a little bit more of a pronounced bifurcated consumer in that part than maybe what you're seeing in batteries.

我認為這使得 Podium 系列的推出對我們來說更加及時，因為我們現在正參與高端市場的成長。因此，展望今年剩餘時間的汽車護理市場，我們仍然預期市場會成長，但你會發現，與電池市場相比，汽車護理市場的消費者群體分化現象更為明顯。

Now if I want to switch over to batteries, I mean, let's just talk consumers generally. I mean consumers are continuing to search for value. You are seeing consumers stressed about finances. In light of those dynamics, they're comfortable switching channels, retailers, brands, pack sizes. So they're willing to rotate their purchases to meet their needs. It's critical that we meet them where they are, and this is where Energizer is uniquely positioned with our portfolio.

現在如果我想轉到電池方面，我的意思是，我們不妨泛泛地談談消費者。我的意思是，消費者仍在不斷追求性價比。你會看到消費者們因為財務問題而感到壓力。鑑於這些動態，他們很樂意更換通路、零售商、品牌和包裝規格。所以他們願意輪換購買商品以滿足自身需求。至關重要的是，我們要了解他們的需求，而這正是勁量電池憑藉其產品組合所擁有的獨特優勢。

Private label plays a role in the category. Certainly, some retailers are looking to connect with consumers in light of those trends. In the first quarter, we did see an increase in private label at certain retailers as well as some aggressive pricing. This results in volume growth for those retailers, but actually erodes category value at the same time.

自有品牌在該品類中扮演重要角色。當然，一些零售商正尋求根據這些趨勢與消費者建立聯繫。第一季度，我們確實看到某些零售商的自有品牌產品增加，同時價格也出現了一些激進的上漲趨勢。這雖然會為這些零售商帶來銷售成長，但同時也會削弱品類價值。

And -- our view is this is all about balance, and we've already seen some retailers recalibrate their approach and bring more balance to both private label value and premium equation. Even with those dynamics, we gained share over the holiday period, and we're excited about some of the plans that we're leveraging in order to be able to compete with private label, but also leverage our value brands and our premium brands to connect with consumers.

我們的觀點是，這一切都關乎平衡，我們已經看到一些零售商重新調整了他們的方法，在自有品牌價值和高端產品之間取得了更大的平衡。即使面臨這些挑戰，我們在假期期間仍然獲得了市場份額，我們對正在實施的一些計劃感到興奮，這些計劃旨在與自有品牌競爭，同時利用我們的價值品牌和高端品牌與消費者建立聯繫。

Carla Casella, JPMorgan.

卡拉‧卡塞拉，摩根大通。

I'm wondering if you're -- with your guidance, do you have a leverage target where you think you would like to get to by the end of this year?

我想知道，在您的指導下，您是否有一個槓桿目標，您希望在今年年底前達到這個目標？

Yeah. I think by the end of this year, we're expecting to get [5] or a little bit below. We're going to continue to prioritize debt pay down. We feel like we can -- we paid down over $100 million in the first quarter, still targeting $150 million to $200 million. So I think that's what we'll drive the leverage level over the rest of the year.

是的。我認為到今年年底，我們預計會達到[5]或略低於這個數字。我們將繼續優先償還債務。我們感覺我們可以做到——我們在第一季償還了超過 1 億美元，目標仍然是 1.5 億至 2 億美元。所以我認為這將是我們今年剩餘時間推動槓桿水平的關鍵因素。

Okay. Great. And should we assume that M&A is back burner until you delever or are you looking at M&A opportunities?

好的。偉大的。我們是否應該認為在降低槓桿率之前，併購活動會被擱置，還是說你們正在尋找併購機會？

We will always look at M&A opportunities. I think any deals that we would look at would be leverage neutral and not impact our debt paydown trajectory that we're looking to achieve. So that would be on the smaller side.

我們會始終關注併購機會。我認為我們考慮的任何交易都將是槓桿中性的，不會影響我們正在努力實現的債務償還計劃。所以這算是比較小的。

Okay. Great. And then I know in the past, you've often talked about storms affecting, the hurricanes, winter storms. Are there distinct differences between winter storms and summer storms, do you prefer one or the other? Just curious.

好的。偉大的。而且我知道你過去常常談到風暴的影響，像是颶風、冬季風暴。冬季風暴和夏季風暴有明顯的差異嗎？你比較喜歡哪一種？只是好奇而已。

Well, I mean, hurricanes tend to be a little more isolated in terms of impact and whereas this winter storm that we saw over the last couple of weeks really covered a broad section of the country, which is a little different. So the response is going to be different and the impact on our business will be different. But I wouldn't say we prefer either, but we make sure that we can deliver products where consumers need them. And obviously, this is something that the organization excels at.

嗯，我的意思是，颶風的影響範圍往往比較分散，而過去幾週我們看到的這場冬季風暴實際上覆蓋了該國的大片地區，情況就有些不同了。因此，應對措施將會不同，對我們業務的影響也會不同。但我不會說我們更傾向於哪一種，但我們會確保能夠將產品送到消費者需要的地方。顯然，這是該組織擅長的領域。

Great. Yes, I can't figure how to word that. So I was worried, but thank you. You got my gist.

偉大的。是的，我不知道該怎麼表達。所以我很擔心，不過謝謝你。你明白我的意思了。

Don't worry. We struggle with that, too.

不用擔心。我們在這方面也面臨同樣的問題。

(Operator Instructions) William Reuter, Bank of America.

（操作員說明）威廉·羅伊特，美國銀行。

The first, you mentioned that there were impacts of products that were produced during periods when tariffs were elevated, which have since normalized to the current levels. Can you talk about what the amount of impact that we should kind of normalize this quarter's EBITDA buy based upon the elevated tariff rates?

首先，您提到在關稅較高時期生產的產品受到了影響，但關稅現已恢復到目前的水平。您能否談談，鑑於關稅稅率上漲，我們應該如何調整本季 EBITDA 的預期？

Look, I think I'd probably -- I think we're calling for something like $60 million to $70 million of tariffs or around $60 million was maybe the last where we were. I think that would be relatively fixed as you go through. We took maybe a bigger hit in the first quarter, but that should be the run rate.

你看，我覺得我可能會——我覺得我們呼籲徵收大約 6000 萬到 7000 萬美元的關稅，或者 6000 萬美元左右可能是我們上次討論的結果。我認為隨著遊戲進程的推進，這個問題會相對解決。我們第一節可能遭受了更大的打擊，但這應該是正常的失分率。

Okay. So I guess I thought you guys had highlighted that the elevated tariff rates, the [145] probably on some products impacted you. Did I misunderstand that?

好的。所以我想你們已經強調了關稅稅率的提高，[145] 可能對某些產品造成了影響。我理解錯了嗎？

It will go down a bit as you go through the year. I don't have the exact tariff hit in the first quarter. We'll come back to you on the exact number. But it does get a little bit better. Plus remember, we've got pricing and credits. And the credits, the tax credits that we've got will continue to grow as we go throughout the year.

隨著時間推移，這個數字會略有下降。我沒有第一季的確切關稅影響數據。我們會盡快回覆您確切的數字。但情況確實有所改善。另外，別忘了我們還有優惠價格和積分。而且，我們獲得的稅收抵免額度將在今年繼續成長。

So the total impact that we're calling for tariffs will improve as we go throughout.

因此，隨著時間的推移，我們所呼籲的關稅的整體影響將會得到改善。

Got it. And then on the gross margins, you were explicit that the second quarter will improve 300 basis points. And then you said an additional 300 to 400 by the end of the year. So does that mean you will see a sequential improvement from the second to the third and fourth quarters of 300 to 400 basis points in each of --

知道了。關於毛利率，您明確表示第二季將提高 300 個基點。然後你又說到年底還要再增加 300 到 400 人。那麼，這是否意味著從第二季到第三季再到第四季度，每季都會有300到400個基點的環比改善？--

Yeah. That's exactly right, Bill. It will be sequential. And we did -- I mean, our first-quarter tariff impact was about 300 basis points. That will get better on a margin rate as we go forward, for sure.

是的。沒錯，比爾。這將是按順序進行的。我們確實做到了——我的意思是，我們第一季的關稅影響約為 300 個基點。隨著時間的推移，利潤率肯定會有所改善。

And Bill, just to clarify, just to make sure you're not walking away with a different models. So it's 300 basis points from Q1 to Q2 and then 300 to 400 between Q3 and Q4, not in each of Q3 and Q4.

比爾，我再確認一下，確保你不會帶走其他型號的模型。所以，從第一季到第二季是 300 個基點，然後從第三季到第四季是 300 到 400 個基點，而不是第三季和第四季分別是。

That's right.

這是正確的。

Okay. I might send you an email just to make sure I understand that correctly. Lastly, for your input costs, certainly, there's some inflation in some of those metals. Can you talk about what you're seeing now? How much you have locked in? And then what that might mean for necessary price increases next year for products which you haven't hedged if these elevated input costs remain?

好的。我可能會給你發封郵件，以確保我理解正確。最後，關於您的投入成本，當然，其中一些金屬的價格確實存在一定的通貨膨脹。你能說說你現在看到的情況嗎？你已經鎖定了多少資金？那麼，如果高企的投入成本持續存在，明年那些你沒有進行避險的產品價格必然會上漲，這可能代表什麼？

Yeah. We did see a bit of a drag in the first quarter. It was about 80 basis points, and we had some momentum offset to that, but it was really input costs, especially freight and some of our production inefficiencies. Raw materials were -- right now, were about a bit of a push. But on spot prices we're seeing, especially zinc has gone up.

是的。第一節比賽確實有些拖沓。大約是 80 個基點，雖然我們有一些成長勢頭抵消了這部分影響，但主要是投入成本，特別是運費和我們的一些生產效率低下問題。原料－目前來說，需要一些推動力。但就現貨價格而言，我們看到鋅價尤其上漲。

We've also seen some moves, some negative moves in lithium, obviously, silver and then R-134a, which is the gas and a lot of our refrigerant products. On zinc, we're over 90% fixed for '26. We've got between contracts and inventory. We're probably in a decent position on a lot of these. I think, we'll continue to see pressure as we go more into '27.

我們也看到鋰、銀以及 R-134a（一種氣體，也是我們許多冷媒產品的主要成分）出現了一些負面波動。鋅的供應，2026 年的固定供應量已超過 90%。我們現在面臨合約和庫存之間的矛盾。我們在很多方面可能都處於相當有利的地位。我認為，隨著我們進入2027年，壓力還會繼續增加。

We've also taken some targeted pricing, especially on the Auto side for some of those cost impacts. That should come in, in the second and third quarter, and that's a little bit what we alluded to earlier. So all in, the trends are slightly negative. I don't expect it to be a huge impact to '26, but it's something that we've got to continue to manage.

我們也採取了一些有針對性的定價措施，尤其是在汽車方面，以應對一些成本影響。這應該會在第二季和第三季實現，這和我們之前提到的有點關係。總的來說，趨勢略微不利。我預計這不會對 2026 年造成巨大影響，但這是我們必須繼續應對的事情。

Got it. All right. That's all for me. Thank you.

知道了。好的。我就說這些了。謝謝。

Bill, one follow up on your question on margin. We have a slide within the earnings deck that provides a little bit more color on the margin progression over the balance of the year, which I think you may find helpful, but happy to connect after the call as well.

比爾，關於保證金的問題，我還有一個後續問題。我們在收益報告中有一張幻燈片，更詳細地介紹了今年剩餘時間的利潤率變化情況，我想您可能會覺得有用，不過通話結束後我也很樂意與您聯繫。

Great. I'll take a look at that. Thank you.

偉大的。我會看看的。謝謝。

And there are no further questions at this time. I will turn the call back over to Mark LaVigne for closing remarks.

目前沒有其他問題了。我將把電話轉回給馬克·拉維涅，請他作總結發言。

Thanks for joining us today. I hope everyone has a great rest of the day.

感謝您今天收看我們的節目。祝大家今天剩下的時間過得愉快。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. You may now disconnect. Thank you.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線了。謝謝。