Global Ship Lease Inc (GSL) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Alex, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Global Ship Lease Q1 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the call over to Tom Lister, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead.

感謝您的支持。我叫亞歷克斯，今天我將擔任您的會議主持人。現在，我歡迎大家參加全球船舶租賃 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）現在，我想將電話轉給執行長湯姆·利斯特。請繼續。

Thank you, Alex. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Global Ship Lease first-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. You can find the slides that accompany today's call on our website at www.GlobalShipLease.com.

謝謝你，亞歷克斯。大家好，歡迎參加全球船舶租賃 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。您可以在我們的網站 www.GlobalShipLease.com 上找到今天電話會議的幻燈片。

As usual, slides 2 and 3 remind you that today's call may include forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and assumptions and are, by their nature, inherently uncertain and outside of the company's control. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to many factors, including those described in the Safe Harbor section of the slide presentation.

像往常一樣，投影片 2 和 3 提醒您，今天的電話會議可能包含基於當前預期和假設的前瞻性陳述，並且就其性質而言，本質上具有不確定性且不受公司控制。由於多種因素，包括幻燈片演示的安全港部分中所述的因素，實際結果可能與這些前瞻性聲明有重大差異。

We would also like to direct your attention to the Risk Factors section of our most recent annual report on our 2023 Form 20-F, which was filed in March of this year. You can find the form on our website or on that of the SEC.

我們也想請您注意我們今年 3 月提交的 2023 年 20-F 表最新年度報告中的風險因素部分。您可以在我們的網站或美國證券交易委員會的網站上找到該表格。

All of our statements are qualified by these and other disclosures in our reports filed with the SEC. We do not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements. And the reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to which we will refer during this call to the most directly comparable measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP usually refer to the earnings release that we issued this morning, which is also available on our website.

我們的所有聲明均符合這些內容以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的報告中的其他揭露內容。我們不承擔更新前瞻性陳述的任何義務。在本次電話會議中，我們將參考非公認會計準則財務指標的對帳表，這些對帳表是按照公認會計準則計算和呈現的最直接可比較的指標，通常參考我們今天上午發布的收益報告，該報告也可在我們的網站上查閱。

I'm joined today by our Executive Chairman, George Giouroukos; and our Chief Financial Officer, Tassos Psaropoulos. George will begin the call with a high-level commentary on GSL and on our industry, and then Tassos and I will take you through our recent activity, quarterly results and financials, and the current market environment. After that, we'll be pleased to answer your questions.

今天與我一起出席活動的還有我們的執行主席 George Giouroukos；以及我們的財務長 Tassos Psaropoulos。喬治將在電話會議開始時對 GSL 和我們的行業進行高層評論，然後塔索斯和我將向您介紹我們最近的活動、季度業績和財務狀況以及當前的市場環境。之後，我們將很樂意回答您的問題。

So turning now to slide 4, I'll pass the call over to George. George?

現在翻到投影片 4，我會把電話轉給喬治。喬治？

Thank you, Tom. Good morning, afternoon, or evening to all of you joining us today. Macro and geopolitical uncertainty have remained heightened in early 2024, but the industry has started the year with positive earnings momentum. In part, this is due to an uptick in containerized freight demand. But the pause and reversal of 2023 downward market normalization of charter rates and asset values have mainly been driven by most liner operators avoiding the Red Sea and Suez Canal, thereby tightening effective supply until the security situation has improved.

謝謝你，湯姆。今天參加我們活動的各位早安、下午好、晚上好。2024 年初宏觀和地緣政治不確定性仍然加劇，但該行業以積極的盈利勢頭開始了新的一年。部分原因是貨櫃貨運需求上升。但 2023 年租船費率和資產價值下行市場正常化的暫停和逆轉，主要是由於大多數班輪營運商避開紅海和蘇伊士運河，從而在安全局勢改善之前收緊有效供應。

Nobody knows when this will happen, of course, but we're working hard to grow our contract cover and cash flows, while market conditions are supportive. Our continuing efforts to de-lever and lower cost of debt have made our balance sheet more robust, and we have no refinancing needs before 2026. Also, our floating interest rate exposure to SOFR is capped at 0.64% through 2026.

當然，沒有人知道何時會發生，但我們正在努力擴大合約覆蓋範圍和現金流，同時市場條件有利。我們持續努力去槓桿和降低債務成本，使我們的資產負債表更加穩健，2026 年之前我們沒有再融資需求。此外，到 2026 年，我們對 SOFR 的浮動利率敞口上限為 0.64%。

Now we remain focused on our disciplined capital allocation policy that prioritizes returning capital to shareholders via our sustainable quarterly dividend and opportunistic buybacks. And our continued efforts to strengthen our financial position have boosted GSL's resilience and positioned us to move quickly on the right acquisition opportunities when they arise, whether that happens next week or next year, all towards the goal of protecting and building shareholder value through the cycle.

現在，我們仍然專注於嚴格的資本配置政策，該政策優先透過可持續的季度股利和機會性回購向股東返還資本。我們不斷努力加強我們的財務狀況，增強了 GSL 的韌性，並使我們能夠在出現正確的收購機會時迅速採取行動，無論是下週還是明年，所有這些都朝著在整個週期內保護和創造股東價值的目標邁進。

With that, I'll turn the call back to Tom.

說完這些，我就把電話轉回給湯姆。

Thanks, George. Please turn to slide 5. Here, we highlight our well-diversified charter portfolio. As of March 31, we had $1.6 billion in contracted revenues over a TEU-weighted average contract duration of 1.9 years. We signed nine new charters in the first quarter, adding $54.6 million of contract cover. Including ships with charter extension options and based on median redeliveries, we have about 20 ships coming open in a firming market by the end of 2024.

謝謝，喬治。請翻到投影片 5。在此，我們將重點放在我們多元化的包機組合。截至 3 月 31 日，我們的合約收入為 16 億美元，TEU 加權平均合約期限為 1.9 年。我們在第一季度簽署了九份新的租船合同，合約金額增加了 5,460 萬美元。包括具有租賃延期選項的船舶，並根據中位數重新交付率，到 2024 年底，我們將在堅挺的市場中投入約 20 艘船舶。

We will continue to work hard to capitalize on the current market conditions to grow contract cover on both a prompt and forward basis and very much look forward to updating you on progress next quarter. And by the way, our liner customers remain well capitalized and financially strong.

我們將繼續努力利用當前的市場條件，迅速且前瞻性地擴大合約覆蓋範圍，並非常期待在下個季度向您通報進度。順便說一句，我們的班輪客戶依然資本充足、財務實力雄厚。

Turning to slide 6, please. So slide 6 illustrates our future earnings under different rate scenarios. And it's important to note, these are not forecasts. But as you can see, implied 2024 results under all three scenarios remain in line with or even marginally improved relative to our record performance in 2023. While we still have a meaningful number of ships up for re-charter in 2024, the extent of our contracted coverage nevertheless means that the majority of our revenue for this year is already fixed.

請翻到第 6 張投影片。投影片 6 展示了不同利率情境下我們的未來收益。值得注意的是，這些並不是預測。但如您所見，在這三種情況下，2024 年的隱含結果與我們 2023 年的創紀錄表現保持一致，甚至略有改善。雖然我們在 2024 年仍有大量船舶需要重新租賃，但我們合約涵蓋的範圍意味著我們今年的大部分收入已經固定。

On to slide 7, where we recap our capital allocation strategy, which is value driven, risk adjusted, under constant review, and guides everything we do. The first thing to keep in mind is that we operate in a cyclical and volatile industry. And that cyclicality is key as it contains risks to be managed, but also very importantly, value-generating opportunities to capture.

在幻燈片 7 中，我們回顧了我們的資本配置策略，該策略以價值為導向，進行風險調整，不斷審查，並指導我們所做的一切。首先要記住的是，我們處於一個週期性和波動性的行業。週期性是關鍵，因為它包含需要管理的風險，但同樣重要的是，它包含需要抓住的創造價值的機會。

So what does this mean in capital allocation terms? Well, stating the obvious, for which, apologies, in order to allocate capital, we first need to generate capital. So running through the main points, first, ours is a leasing business and so the main driver of capital generation is our contract cover, which we're always working on building and extending.

那麼從資本配置角度來說這代表什麼呢？好吧，說句顯而易見的話，抱歉，為了分配資本，我們首先需要創造資本。所以，總結一下要點，首先，我們從事租賃業務，因此資本產生的主要驅動力是我們的合約保障，我們一直致力於建立和擴展合約保障。

Second, we free up capital to allocate by reducing costs. The biggest gains here are to be had from reducing debt service costs, not only by way of very competitively priced debt, which Tassos will talk about shortly, but also by reducing over time the debt principle that needs to be serviced. De-levering also has the significant benefits of reducing balance sheet risk and building equity value.

第二，我們透過降低成本來釋放資本以供配置。這裡最大的收益在於降低債務償還成本，不僅透過價格極具競爭力的債務（塔索斯稍後會談到這一點），而且還透過隨著時間的推移減少需要償還的債務本金。去槓桿還有降低資產負債表風險和建立權益價值的顯著好處。

Third, we need to ensure that our value-generating assets, our ships in other words, remain economically relevant. So we need to allocate capital to CapEx in order to meet evolving regulatory and commercial demands of decarbonization.

第三，我們需要確保我們的增值資產——換句話說，我們的船舶——保持經濟相關性。因此，我們需要為資本支出分配資金，以滿足不斷變化的脫碳監管和商業需求。

Fourth, taking a longer view and coming back to the cyclicality point I made at the outset, which is one of the reasons to be exposed to shipping in the first place, it means having cash liquidity both for resilience, including to support asset-based covenants in case of need, and to have the optionality to buy ships on a selective, disciplined, and value-accretive basis.

第四，從長遠來看，回到一開始提到的周期性觀點，這也是首先要涉足航運的原因之一，這意味著擁有現金流動性，既可以提高彈性，包括在需要時支持基於資產的契約，也可以選擇有選擇地、有紀律地和增值地購買船舶。

As George likes to say, if you want to keep milking the cow, you also have to feed the cow. And the right time to buy ships, to feed the cow in this analogy, is often towards the bottom of the cycle when access to capital can be challenging while sellers are often exceptionally motivated.

正如喬治喜歡說的那樣，如果你想繼續擠奶，你還必須餵牛。而購買船舶（用這個比喻來說就是餵牛）的最佳時機，往往是在周期的低谷，此時獲取資金可能很困難，而賣家往往具有極強的積極性。

And finally, it means being in a position to return capital to shareholders, which we do via our $1.50 per share annualized dividend, which is sized to be sustainable through the cycle and also via our opportunistic buyback of shares, including the $5 million worth of shares we repurchased in Q1, which means that over time, our share count is around 9% lower than it would otherwise be.

最後，這意味著我們能夠向股東返還資本，我們透過每股 1.50 美元的年度股息來實現這一目標，該股息的規模在整個週期內都是可持續的，同時我們還透過機會性股票回購來實現這一目標，包括我們在第一季回購的價值 500 萬美元的股票，這意味著隨著時間的推移，我們的股票數量比原本要低約 9%。

Slide 8 builds on this point, showing both the cycle itself and our approach to value-generative acquisitions, and our approach is a disciplined one. You'll notice that in the orange section of the chart when containership prices skyrocketed, GSL did not purchase a single vessel, opting instead to buy back shares.

投影片 8 基於這一點，展示了週期本身和我們的價值創造收購方法，我們的方法是嚴謹的。你會注意到，在圖表的橘色部分，當貨櫃船價格飆升時，GSL 並沒有買一艘船，而是選擇回購股票。

When prices were lower, we capitalized on that opportunity. So in May 2023, when prices had normalized, we purchased four 8,500-TEU ships with attractive charters. So we're happy to buy ships when the terms are right, but we have absolutely no interest in doing so unless our strict criteria are met and the acquisition genuinely adds value on a risk-adjusted basis.

當價格較低時，我們利用了這個機會。因此，在 2023 年 5 月價格恢復正常時，我們以優惠的租船價格購買了四艘 8,500 TEU 船舶。因此，當條件合適時，我們很樂意購買船舶，但除非滿足我們的嚴格標準並且收購在風險調整的基礎上真正增加價值，否則我們絕對沒有興趣這樣做。

With that, I'll pass the call to Tassos to discuss our financials. Tassos?

說完這些，我將把電話轉給塔索斯，討論我們的財務狀況。塔索斯？

Thank you, Tom. Slide 9 is an overview for first-quarter financials and highlights. While I won't go into every item, I would like to highlight a few key takeaways. Earnings and cash flow were up in first-quarter 2024, with adjusted EBITDA up to $125 million, a 20% increase year over year. We have continued to lower our gross debt and financial leverage. And we still have headroom under our 64-basis-point SOFR interest rate caps that mature in 2026, allowing us to supercharge leverage returns on any acquisitions we might make.

謝謝你，湯姆。投影片 9 是第一季財務狀況和亮點的概述。儘管我不會詳細討論每一項，但我想強調幾個關鍵要點。2024 年第一季財報和現金流量均有所上升，調整後的 EBITDA 高達 1.25 億美元，較去年同期成長 20%。我們持續降低總債務和財務槓桿。而且，我們在 2026 年到期的 64 個基點 SOFR 利率上限下仍有空間，這使我們能夠對可能進行的任何收購獲得超額的槓桿回報。

Our cash position remains strong at $317 million, even though $134 million of that being restricted. The balance covers working capital needs, CapEx investments and covenant requirements, also providing balance sheet resilience in some space to act selectively on the right purchase opportunities.

我們的現金狀況依然強勁，達到 3.17 億美元，儘管其中 1.34 億美元受到限制。此餘額涵蓋營運資本需求、資本支出投資和契約要求，同時也在一定程度上提供了資產負債表的彈性，以便有選擇地採取正確的購買機會。

As Tom and George have remarked, we have continued to return capital to shareholders through our sustainable quarterly dividend and share buybacks. We continue to de-lever and build equity value, and our corporate credit ratings of Ba3 stable, BB stable, and BB positive reflect both the success we have had in de-risking the business to date and our continued risk-averse approach going forward.

正如湯姆和喬治所說，我們透過永續的季度股利和股票回購繼續向股東返還資本。我們繼續降低槓桿率並建立股權價值，我們的企業信用評級為 Ba3 穩定、BB 穩定和 BB 正面，這反映了我們迄今為止在降低業務風險方面取得的成功以及我們在未來繼續採取的規避風險的做法。

Now turning to slide 10 illustrates our progress in de-levering our balance sheet, minimizing our cost of debt and tapping our interest rate risk. Even as interest rates in the market have risen with our interest rate caps, we have managed to reduce our cost of debt to 4.5%, and we remain on track to reduce our debt outstanding by a third from the end of 2022 to the end of 2024.

現在翻到幻燈片 10，它展示了我們在降低資產負債表槓桿率、降低債務成本和降低利率風險方面取得的進展。即使市場利率隨著我們的利率上限而上升，我們仍設法將債務成本降低至 4.5%，並且我們仍有望在 2022 年底至 2024 年底期間將未償還債務減少三分之一。

Our financial leverage has dropped significantly as well from 8.4 times at year-end 2018 to 1.1 times at the end of Q1 2024. These efforts and progress made so far have all combined to make GSL robust, resilient, and well positioned to respond quickly and effectively to opportunities or changing circumstances. Tom will now discuss our market focus and ship deployment.

我們的財務槓桿也從 2018 年底的 8.4 倍大幅下降至 2024 年第一季末的 1.1 倍。這些努力和迄今的進展共同使 GSL 變得強大、有彈性，並能夠迅速有效地應對機會或不斷變化的情況。湯姆現在將討論我們的市場重點和船舶部署。

Thanks, Tassos. Moving to slide 11, we reemphasize our focus on mid-size and smaller containerships ranging from 2,000 TEU to about 10,000 TEU. We see these assets as the backbone of global trade with their flexibility and widespread reach highlighted in the top map that shows the deployment of these ships.

謝謝，塔索斯。轉到第 11 張幻燈片，我們再次強調我們的重點是 2,000 TEU 到約 10,000 TEU 的中型和小型貨櫃船。我們將這些資產視為全球貿易的支柱，其靈活性和廣泛的影響力在顯示這些船舶部署情況的頂部地圖中突出顯示。

The lower map shows the deployment of larger ships at 10,000 TEU and higher, which require deep water port infrastructure, which can limit where they can go. Both maps incidentally show, quote unquote, normal trade patterns before Red Sea transits were disrupted.

下圖顯示了 10,000 TEU 及以上大型船舶的部署情況，這些船舶需要深水港基礎設施，這可能會限制它們的航行範圍。順便說一下，這兩張地圖都顯示了紅海運輸中斷之前的正常貿易模式。

Moving to slide 12, this slide shows idle capacity and ship recycling. Idle capacity trended down to 0.8% by the end of Q1, due primarily to disruptions in the Red Sea. This was a reversal from the normalizing trajectory that we saw in 2023 when both idle capacity and scrapping activity were edging up.

移至第 12 張投影片，該投影片展示了閒置產能和船舶回收情況。到第一季末，閒置運力下降至 0.8%，主要原因是紅海運輸中斷。這與我們 2023 年看到的正常化軌跡相反，當時閒置產能和報廢活動都在增加。

Currently, the market is in a wait-and-see mode with earnings and option value attached or hanging onto ships that might otherwise be sent to the breakers. We anticipate that when market normalization does resume, whenever that might be, there will be an uptick in scrapping and potentially a sizable uptick.

目前，市場處於觀望模式，收益和選擇價值被附加或保留在可能被送去拆船的船舶上。我們預計，當市場恢復正常時，無論何時，報廢量都會上升，而且可能出現相當大的上升。

Slide 13 shows the order book, which remains heavily skewed towards the larger containership sizes where GSL does not participate. However, for the midsized segments where GSL does compete, the order book to fleet ratio is 12%, 1-2 percent, which is smaller, but still meaningful.

幻燈片 13 顯示了訂單情況，其中仍然嚴重偏向 GSL 未參與的大型貨櫃船。然而，對於 GSL 參與競爭的中型船舶市場而言，訂單與船隊比率為 12%，即 1-2%，這個數字較小，但仍很有意義。

It is also important to highlight the older age profile of the ships in our market peer group. To illustrate, if we were to assume that all ships over 25 years old were to be scrapped and we set that number against the order book delivering for midsized and smaller containerships through 2027, our peer group fleet segments would actually shrink by over 3%.

同樣重要的是要強調我們市場同行中船舶的年齡結構較老。舉例來說，如果我們假設所有超過 25 年的船舶都將被報廢，並且我們將該數字與到 2027 年交付的中型和小型貨櫃船訂單進行比較，那麼我們同類的船隊規模實際上將縮減 3% 以上。

Moving to slide 14, this slide showcases the impact on the industry of disruptions to the Red Sea. Before these disruptions, around 20% of global containerized trade volumes, in other words, the boxes themselves, went through the Suez Canal at the northern end of the Red Sea.

轉到第 14 張幻燈片，該幻燈片展示了紅海中斷對行業的影響。在這些中斷發生之前，全球約有 20% 的貨櫃貿易量（換句話說，貨櫃本身）透過紅海北端的蘇伊士運河運輸。

Furthermore, much of this trade is long-haul in nature, meaning that over a third of global containership fleet capacity, by which I mean the ships themselves, transited the Suez Canal. The majority of this traffic is now being forced to take a much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope, effectively tightening vessel supply by as much as 10%, which is in turn driving up charter rates.

此外，這類貿易大部分是長途運輸，這意味著全球超過三分之一的貨櫃船隊運力（我指的是船隻本身）都要通過蘇伊士運河。目前，大多數船舶被迫繞行好望角，選擇更長的航線，導致船舶供應緊張 10%，進而推高了租船費率。

This brings us to slide 15, where we take a closer look at the charter market itself. We saw COVID-driven cyclical highs in 2021 and much of 2022 before a sharp downward normalization through late 2023. That downward pressure has now shifted into positive momentum so far in 2024, with market rates trending up and charter durations extending as charterers work to ensure that they will have access to the tonnage that they need.

這將我們帶到第 15 張投影片，在這裡我們將仔細研究包機市場本身。我們在 2021 年和 2022 年的大部分時間裡看到了由新冠疫情推動的周期性高點，然後在 2023 年末急劇下降至正常化水平。到 2024 年為止，這種下行壓力已轉變為正向勢頭，隨著租船人努力確保能夠獲得所需的噸位，市場運價呈上升趨勢，租船期限延長。

We can't say how long these trends will last, but we are working hard to lock in charter cover and grow cash flows as much as we can while conditions remain favorable. And as I said earlier, we look forward to updating you on progress on this front on our Q2 call.

我們無法預測這些趨勢將持續多久，但我們正在努力鎖定租船保險，並在條件保持有利的情況下盡可能增加現金流。正如我之前所說，我們期待在第二季電話會議上向您通報這方面的進展。

With that, I'll turn the call back to George to conclude our prepared remarks on slides 16 and 17. George?

說完這些，我將把電話轉回給喬治，讓他結束第 16 和 17 頁幻燈片上的準備好的發言。喬治？

Thank you, Tom. On slides 16 and 17, we provide a summary of key points. We have $1.6 billion of contracted revenue over an average of 1.9 years, which fully covers our debt service and CapEx through at least 2025 without relying upon contributions from any future charter signing or extensions.

謝謝你，湯姆。在投影片 16 和 17 上，我們提供了要點的總結。我們平均 1.9 年的合約收入為 16 億美元，可以完全涵蓋我們至少到 2025 年的債務償還和資本支出，而無需依賴未來任何特許簽署或延期帶來的貢獻。

We have a robust balance sheet and strong credit ratings, including an investment-grade rating for our senior secured notes through July 2027. We have $317 million of cash on the balance sheet, though much of it is restricted, and no refinancing risk before 2026. Our financial leverage is down to 1.1 times. Our floating rate debt is fully hedged, and our all-in debt cost is 4.56%.

我們擁有穩健的資產負債表和強勁的信用評級，包括截至 2027 年 7 月的優先擔保票據的投資等級評級。我們的資產負債表上有 3.17 億美元現金，儘管其中大部分受到限制，並且在 2026 年之前沒有再融資風險。我們的財務槓桿降至1.1倍。我們的浮動利率債務已完全對沖，我們的總債務成本為 4.56%。

Now macro and geopolitical uncertainties remain with the Red Sea, playing a particularly significant role in extending voyage lengths, tightening the supply-demand balance, and pushing up market charter rates and asset values, effectively placing on hold the normalization of market conditions. However, just as quickly and unprecedentedly as such issues can flare up, they can also go into remission, expand, or change in unexpected ways as we have all seen and we have to manage our business accordingly.

目前，紅海地區的宏觀和地緣政治不確定性仍然存在，在延長航程、收緊供需平衡、推高市場租船費率和資產價值方面發揮了尤為重要的作用，有效地阻止了市場狀況的正常化。然而，正如我們都看到的那樣，這些問題可能以前所未有的速度爆發，也可能以意想不到的方式緩解、擴大或改變，我們必須相應地管理我們的業務。

Meantime, our liner company customers remain generally cautious in outlook, although the tone of the Q1 earnings calls to date is more positive than for Q4 2023, with momentum helped not only by the Red Sea situation but also by an increase in containerized demand. And the balance sheets are exceptionally strong shape after record earnings in 2021 and 2022.

同時，我們的班輪公司客戶對前景仍然普遍保持謹慎，儘管迄今為止第一季財報電話會議的基調比 2023 年第四季更為積極，這一勢頭不僅受到紅海局勢的推動，還受到貨櫃需求增加的推動。在 2021 年和 2022 年創紀錄獲利之後，資產負債表狀況異常強勁。

So to sum up, Global Ship Lease is well placed to continue generating strong earnings, returning capital to shareholders, fortifying our balance sheet, and positioning ourselves to maximize shareholder value by acting quickly when the right opportunities arise and demonstrating strategic patience until they do.

總而言之，Global Ship Lease 完全有能力繼續創造強勁的盈利，向股東返還資本，鞏固我們的資產負債表，並通過在適當的機會出現時迅速採取行動並表現出戰略耐心來實現股東價值最大化。

Now before moving to Q&A, I would like also to take a moment to welcome George Giannopoulos as our new Chief Compliance Officer. George has headed up internal audit for several years and knows our organization inside and out, and we look forward to his participation, influence, and insight as a member of the senior management team.

現在，在進入問答環節之前，我還想花點時間歡迎 George Giannopoulos 擔任我們的新任首席合規官。喬治已領導內部稽核工作多年，對我們的組織瞭如指掌，我們期待他作為高階管理團隊的一員參與其中、發揮影響力並洞察一切。

Now we're ready to take your questions.

現在我們準備好回答你們的問題了。

(Operator Instructions) Omar Nokta, Jefferies.

（操作員指示）奧馬爾·諾克塔（Omar Nokta），傑富瑞（Jefferies）。

Thank you. Hey, guys. Good afternoon,

謝謝。嘿，大家好。午安,

Hi, Omar.

你好，奧馬爾。

Hi, Tom. I just wanted to ask maybe just on your comments, we've clearly seen a reversal to the upside in the container market these past few months. You've been able to secure some charters and extensions, and you mentioned working very hard and diligently in securing more of your open capacity.

嗨，湯姆。我只是想問一下，也許只是根據您的評論，我們在過去幾個月中清楚地看到貨櫃市場出現了逆轉。您已經能夠獲得一些特許和延期，並且您提到要非常努力和勤奮地確保更多的開放能力。

There's clearly, I'd say, a big earnings swing in 2025 based off of where rates were, say, three months ago and where they are today for GSL. Clearly, charters are -- it sounds like they're the forward booking more than they had been and just wanted to ask if you could maybe give a bit more sense about how much capacity do you think you could put away here in the next few months, just given what's going on market.

我想說，根據三個月前的利率和 GSL 目前的利率來看，2025 年的獲利顯然會出現巨大波動。顯然，包機——聽起來他們的預訂量比以前多了，我只是想問一下，考慮到目前的市場情況，您是否可以更清楚地說明一下未來幾個月您可以在這裡投放多少運力。

Sure. Well, first of all, I agree with all of your observations. Containerized volumes have indeed, I think, surprised to the upside and have surprised the upside for everyone, including the liner operators, not only tonnage providers like us. So that's obviously a very positive sign.

當然。嗯，首先，我同意你的所有觀察。我認為，貨櫃運輸量確實出現了令人驚訝的成長，不僅對我們這樣的噸位供應商，也包括班輪營運商，都帶來了意想不到的成長。這顯然是一個非常積極的信號。

Now I mentioned in the prepared remarks that if you assume median redelivery under all of the charters that are potentially coming open within the course of 2024, that's roughly 20 ships. Between the end of Q1 and the end of Q4 of this year, it's roughly 20 ships taking the median.

我在準備好的評論中提到，如果假設 2024 年內可能開放的所有租船合約的中位數再交付量，那大約是 20 艘船。今年第一季末至第四季末，大約有 20 艘船佔據中位數。

And I would say directionally, at least, larger ships, by which I mean those above 5,500 TEU also are beginning to attract forward fixture scope, which is something that we haven't seen since, I would say, late in the second quarter of 2022. So for larger vessels, particularly interestingly specified larger vessels, it is viable to fix forward by a number of months, and we're seeing that.

我想說，至少從方向上看，大型船舶（我的意思是那些超過 5,500 TEU 的船舶）也開始吸引遠期固定裝置範圍，這是自 2022 年第二季末以來我們從未見過的。因此，對於較大的船隻，特別有趣的是指定的較大船隻，可以提前幾個月修復，我們看到了這一點。

For the smaller ships, I would say there's less appetite in the market to forward fix. But we are seeing the duration of charters even for ships, call it, in the 2,500 to 4,500 TEU range stretch up to potentially as long as a couple of years. So it's a complete change in tone.

對於較小的船舶，我想說市場對遠期修復的興趣較小。但我們發現，即使是 2,500 至 4,500 TEU 範圍的船舶，租船期限也可能延長至數年。因此，這是語氣上的徹底改變。

And I think the willingness that liner operators have to lock in tonnage for longer exhibits the confidence from their side that this strength in the market is not just a flash in the pan and they just genuinely need the capacity in order to accommodate both the Red Sea and the increase in demand, and indeed, also the inefficiencies such as port congestion that we're beginning to see in the market as well.

我認為，班輪運營商願意長期鎖定運力，這表明他們有信心，市場中的這種實力並非曇花一現，他們確實需要運力來適應紅海和需求的增長，事實上，也包括我們開始在市場上看到的港口擁堵等效率低下的問題。

And just to remind listeners from a very general perspective, if there is an inefficiency in the supply chain, counterintuitively, that tends to be good news for tonnage providers like us supplying capacity into the supply chain because inefficiencies suck up capacity.

只是從一個非常普遍的角度提醒聽眾，如果供應鏈中存在效率低下，與直覺相反，這往往對我們這樣為供應鏈提供產能的噸位供應商來說是個好消息，因為效率低下會消耗產能。

So sorry, longer answer than you were probably expecting, Omar. I hope I covered most of your points, but by all means, follow up with all the questions if I missed anything.

非常抱歉，奧馬爾，我的回答可能比你預期的還要長。我希望我已經涵蓋了您的大部分觀點，但如果我遺漏了任何內容，請務必跟進所有問題。

No, not at all, Tom. That was very helpful and quite detailed I think -- so just to make sure I understood it, the larger vessels, clearly, there's more and more forward-fixing opportunities in terms of months ahead of deployment. And then the smaller ships in that 2,500 to 4,500 you may not be seeing forward fixing, but there are potential contracts up to two years now.

不，一點也不，湯姆。我認為這非常有幫助，而且非常詳細——為了確保我理解這一點，很明顯，對於大型船隻來說，在部署前的幾個月裡有越來越多的前瞻性修復機會。那麼，對於 2,500 到 4,500 艘小型船舶，您可能看不到遠期合約，但現在有長達兩年的潛在合約。

Yes, good summary.

是的，總結的很好。

Okay, thank you. And then more kind of sticking with you perhaps, Tom, you mentioned milking the cow and feeding the cow, that analogy. And looking at slide 8, you have the current dynamic circled in which secondhand values have just started to lift off the bottom. What would you say the deal dynamic looks like now?

好的，謝謝。然後也許更能理解你的心情，湯姆，你提到了擠牛奶和餵牛，這個比喻。請看第 8 張投影片，您會看到當前的動態，其中二手價值剛開始從底部回升。您認為現在的交易動態如何？

The market has clearly gone quiet back at the end of '22 and for most of last year. What does the sale and purchase market look like now? Is anything looking compelling? And I know, GSL, you have very strict return hurdles. But just in general, are things stalling out the things that are more interesting? Is there stuff that's transacting or is it still too early?

到 22 年底以及去年大部分時間，市場明顯恢復平靜。現在的買賣市場狀況如何？有什麼看起來引人注目嗎？我知道，GSL，你們的退貨門檻非常嚴格。但總的來說，事情是否停滯不前了，而更有趣的事情呢？有什麼事情正在進行中嗎？還是現在還太早？

Omar, let me take this, and I can be quite specific. When the market is strong, we do not look at charter-free ships as we think the prices are too high and the risk is symmetrical. When the market is low, we look at charter-free ships because we buy them cheaply and then wait for the market to improve and milk them away, as we said.

奧馬爾，讓我來接手這個，我可以非常具體地講。當市場強勁時，我們不會考慮免租船舶，因為我們認為價格太高且風險是對稱的。當市場低迷時，我們會考慮免租船舶，因為我們可以低價購買它們，然後等待市場好轉並從中獲利，就像我們說的那樣。

Now during stronger times like today, like better markets, we look at deals which are charter attached, so ships that have a charter. So then we're not exposed to market risk, and it's a calculation of returns versus residual value deals and so forth. So it's -- these deals are isolated, let's say, from market risk. So we -- that's how we have been doing all along. When the market was improved, we were looking at deals that have charter attached. And when the market was low, we're looking at charter-free deals. This is more or less the mix we follow. So we are always looking at the risk very carefully.

現在，在像今天這樣的強勁時期，例如市場更好，我們會考慮附帶租船的交易，即擁有租船合約的船舶。因此我們就不會面臨市場風險，這是一個回報與剩餘價值交易等等的計算。所以可以說這些交易與市場風險是隔離的。所以我們——我們一直以來都是這樣做的。當市場好轉時，我們正在尋找附帶租約的交易。當市場低迷時，我們會考慮免包機交易。這或多或少就是我們遵循的組合。因此我們始終非常謹慎地看待風險。

Yes. And Omar, just to add to that comment, I would say that we see just as many potential deals across our desks at pretty much all times in the cycle. But as I hope we made clear in the prepared remarks, we don't move on deals unless we like the numbers, unless as George says, we like the combination of risk and economics.

是的。奧馬爾，我補充一下，在整個週期的任何時候，我們都會看到同樣多的潛在交易。但我希望我們在準備好的發言中已經明確表示，除非我們喜歡這些數字，除非如喬治所說，我們喜歡風險和經濟的結合，否則我們不會進行交易。

So just because you're not seeing us making acquisitions, it's not reflective of us not seeing deals. It's reflective of us seeing deals and either choosing not to move on them or being outbid. And in either case, we're absolutely sticking to our disciplined approach because that's how you protect value and build value over time in our business.

所以，僅僅因為您沒有看到我們進行收購，並不代表我們沒有達成交易。這反映出我們在看到交易時要麼選擇不接受，要麼被別人出價高於。無論哪種情況，我們都絕對堅持我們的嚴謹態度，因為這是在我們的業務中保護價值並隨著時間的推移創造價值的方式。

Makes plenty of sense. Thank you, Tom. Thanks, George, for that, I'll turn it over.

非常有道理。謝謝你，湯姆。謝謝您，喬治，我會把它轉交給您的。

Amit Mehrotra, Deutsche Bank.

德意志銀行的阿米特‧梅赫羅特拉 (Amit Mehrotra)。

Hi, Tom and George. This is Chris Robertson on for Amit. Thanks for taking our questions.

嗨，湯姆和喬治。這是克里斯羅伯森 (Chris Robertson)，代替阿米特 (Amit)。感謝您回答我們的問題。

Hi, Chris.

你好，克里斯。

This might be a simple question, but it kind of relates to the discussion you were just having with Omar. How do you guys think about the present value of the contracted revenues? Of the $1.6 billion, I guess, on a discounted basis, whatever rate you're using, what is the present value of that?

這可能是一個簡單的問題，但它與您剛才與奧馬爾的討論有點相關。你們如何看待合約收入的現值？我想，以折扣率計算，這 16 億美元中的現值是多少？

That's a very good question. And I think it's a very reasonable one because we look very much at -- the value of our business is continuing to generate forward visibility on cash flows. So I guess different observers will attribute a different risk and thus a different discount rate to the cash flows. I think, typically -- and although this varies obviously through the cycle, typically, roughly an 8% discount rate I think is looked at by most analysts.

這是一個非常好的問題。我認為這是非常合理的做法，因為我們非常看重——我們業務的價值正在繼續為現金流帶來前瞻性的可見性。因此我猜測不同的觀察者會將不同的風險歸因於現金流，從而得出不同的折現率。我認為，通常 — — 儘管這在整個週期中顯然會發生變化，但通常，我認為大多數分析師都會考慮大約 8% 的折扣率。

But I'd flip the question back to you, Chris. What do you consider to be an appropriate discount rate for risk-averse containership lessors like us?

但是我想把這個問題拋回給你，克里斯。對於我們這種規避風險的貨櫃船租賃商來說，您認為合適的折現率是多少？

So I probably won't be answering the questions on this particular call.

所以我可能不會在這通電話中回答這些問題。

But yes, I mean, I've given you a sort of 8%. But it's up to everyone, obviously, to decide on their own discount rate, and as a result, take that approach to applying it to our contracted cash flows. And fortunately, I think our business is comparatively easy to model. We're very transparent in terms of contracted rates. So people can model out our charter profiles and then figure out how to value those cash flows.

但是的，我的意思是我給了你 8% 左右。但顯然，每個人都應自行決定自己的折現率，然後採用這種方法將其應用於我們的合約現金流。幸運的是，我認為我們的業務相對容易建模。我們的合約費率非常透明。因此人們可以模擬我們的租船概況，然後計算出如何評估這些現金流。

Sure. Okay. Yes, it is more a question about how you might look at it internally. But let me go to the next question. This is just as it relates to the share repurchase program. I guess now that shares are trading up into the mid-20s, how are you thinking about the repurchase program? Is it still just as a compelling point that there will be maybe steady repurchases in the coming quarters? Or is the analysis a bit different now?

當然。好的。是的，這更多的是一個關於你從內部如何看待它的問題。但請讓我回答下一個問題。這正好與股票回購計畫有關。我想現在股價已經漲到 20 多美元了，您對回購計畫有什麼看法？未來幾季可能會有穩定的回購，這是否仍然是一個令人信服的觀點？還是現在的分析有點不一樣？

I think, though, the analysis changes at every point in the cycle, Chris. So wherever we are in the cycle, we look at all alternatives open to us from a capital allocation perspective and evaluate each one on its merits. Clearly, when asset values were superheated during 2021 and 2022, we didn't buy ships. And instead, we redirected our capital to buying back shares.

不過，我認為，分析在周期的每個階段都會發生變化，克里斯。因此，無論我們處於週期的哪個階段，我們都會從資本配置的角度審視所有的可選方案，並根據其優點對每個方案進行評估。顯然，當 2021 年和 2022 年資產價值過熱時，我們沒有購買船舶。相反，我們將資本重新用於回購股票。

But it's -- I can't give you a neat answer to that. I would just say that we look at the way we allocate capital all the time on both a disciplined basis and a dynamic basis, and we figure out what's the best use at any given point in time. And share buybacks will certainly remain part of our toolbox going forward.

但——我無法給你一個很好的答案。我想說的是，我們始終在嚴格和動態的基礎上審視資本分配方式，並找出在任何特定時間點的最佳用途。股票回購肯定仍將是我們的未來工具的一部分。

Okay. Yes, that's fair. Last question from me, I guess. I mean, obviously, you guys have noted a couple of times now with regards to port congestion and then some increasing demand around containerized volumes. So I'm just trying to maybe dive into the specifics of that into specific regions that you're seeing a pickup in import demand, specific ports that might be having congestion issues. If you have any details around that, it would be great to hear.

好的。是的，很公平。我想這是我的最後一個問題了。我的意思是，顯然，你們已經多次注意到港口擁堵以及貨櫃運輸量需求的增加。因此，我只是想深入研究具體地區的具體情況，看看哪些地區的進口需求有所回升，哪些特定港口可能存在擁塞問題。如果您有任何詳細信息，我們將非常高興聽到。

In terms of specific ports. I think that's getting a little bit too granular for me. Apologies for that. In terms of regions that are seeing demand pickup, I would say the US consumer is proving as reliable as ever. So there's a lot of demand being driven, particularly by the US. And from what we understand, there has been an element of restocking taking place, not just in the US but primarily in the US. And it's been going on probably kicking off from the fourth quarter of last year and progressing through year to date.

就具體港口而言。我認為這對我來說有點太細緻了。我對此表示歉意。就需求回升的地區而言，我想說美國消費者仍然像以往一樣可靠。因此，有大量需求被推動，特別是來自美國的需求。據我們了解，目前已經開始了補貨行動，不僅是在美國，而且主要在美國。這種情況可能從去年第四季開始，一直持續到今年今年為止。

Let me also add to that that. Tom said that we also see now a lack of empty boxes of containers. When I say containers, you understand the boxes. Naturally, once you prolong the duration of the voyage, so you suck up a portion of the fleet of the container ships. At the same time, you're setting up a portion of the container fleet, the boxes themselves.

我還要補充一點。湯姆說，我們現在還發現缺少空箱或貨櫃的情況。當我說容器時，你理解的是盒子。自然，一旦你延長了航行時間，你就會消耗一部分貨櫃船的船隊。同時，您也正在設定一部分貨櫃船隊，也就是貨櫃本身。

So right now, we start to see the clear signs of shortages of boxes, which is in combination with the COVID situation -- in combination with port congestion, reminds us of the COVID years. So we're not there yet as when COVID was. But we start to see the first clear signs of both congestion and boxes being not enough.

因此，現在，我們開始看到箱子短缺的明顯跡象，再加上 COVID 的情況——再加上港口擁堵，讓我們想起了 COVID 時期。所以我們還沒有達到像 COVID 的程度。但我們開始看到擁堵和箱子不足的第一個明顯跡象。

Right. I guess, related to that, just my final kind of follow-up question, as voyage distances have lengthened, we've also seen an increase in voyage speeds. But is that being capped, I guess, by the environmental regulations and the carbon intensity regulations? In other words, have we seen the speeding up the fleet hit a maximum at this point in time? Or can it speed up further, do you think?

正確的。我想，與此相關的是，我的最後一個後續問題是，隨著航行距離的延長，我們也看到航行速度的增加。但我猜這是否受到環境法規和碳強度法規的限制？換句話說，我們是否已經看到艦隊的速度在此時達到了最大值？或者您認為它能進一步加速嗎？

Yes, that's a simple question but actually a very complex one to analyze. There's probably more upside in the speed potential. But at the same time, as you accelerate, particularly within the EU, you're going to be hit or at least the charters are going to be hit by incremental costs by way of the EU emissions trading scheme. So everyone, I think, is trying to balance out their network. And by this, I mean everyone, in terms of liner operators, are trying to balance their networks, stabilize their speeds, and also stabilize their port calls.

是的，這是一個簡單的問題，但實際上分析起來非常複雜。速度潛力可能還有更大的提升。但同時，隨著發展速度的加快，尤其是在歐盟內部，您將會受到打擊，或至少租船公司將透過歐盟排放交易體係受到增量成本的打擊。因此我認為每個人都在努力平衡他們的網路。我的意思是，就班輪運營商而言，每個公司都在努力平衡他們的網絡，穩定他們的速度，並穩定他們的港口停靠。

Because of you introduce higher unpredictability by changing some of the variables such as speed and you start impacting port schedules, that adds to the congestion issue. So yes, I think there is probably more scope for vessels to accelerate in case of absolute need. But I would say, economically and logistically, there are incentives for the liners to keep speeds down to the extent that they possibly can.

由於你透過改變速度等一些變數引入了更高的不可預測性，並且開始影響港口時間表，這會加劇擁堵問題。所以是的，我認為在絕對需要的情況下，船舶可能有更多的加速空間。但我想說，從經濟和後勤角度來看，班輪公司有動力盡可能降低速度。

I want to add to that. The fact that new regulations have -- we all have installed on the ships EPLs, engine power limiters, which we cannot get the ship to operate at higher than these restrictors because then, we are completely off the chart. I mean, we cannot do that. So let's say, the power that the ships used to have, they don't have anymore available because of that regulation. This is a regulation on EEXI, so the ships are capped by nature now on speeds.

我想補充一點。事實上，新的規定已經出台——我們在船上安裝了 EPL，即發動機功率限制器，我們不能讓船舶在高於這些限制器的功率下運行，因為那樣的話，我們就完全超出了規定範圍。我的意思是，我們不能這麼做。可以這麼說，由於這項規定，船舶曾經擁有的動力不再可用。這是 EEXI 的一項規定，因此船舶的速度現在受到自然限制。

And as we see ships trading, they are more or less trading very close to this limit as we speak. So I would not imagine that ships can speed up more and suck up the -- or create more capacity. So now, we have a lack of capacity, which I don't think can be corrected or eased by speeding up more. They are trading at the speed that the EEXI number is not going to be destroyed, go to E and the D. And the speed -- and the power limiters allow them to go.

正如我們所見，當船舶在進行貿易時，它們的交易價格或多或少都非常接近這個限額。因此，我無法想像船舶能夠加速更多並吸收或創造更多的容量。所以現在，我們缺乏能力，我認為這無法透過加快速度來糾正或緩解。他們以 EEXI 號碼不會被破壞的速度進行交易，前往 E 和 D。速度－功率限制器允許他們前進。

That's really helpful, George. Thank you, guys. I'll turn it over.

這真的很有幫助，喬治。謝謝你們。我把它翻過來。

Liam Burke, B. Riley Securities.

Liam Burke，B. Riley Securities。

Thank you. Good afternoon, George, Tom, Tassos.

謝謝。下午好，喬治、湯姆、塔索斯。

Hi, Liam.

你好，利亞姆。

And I guess, well, your debt or net debt declined 16% from the end of the year. Your debt levels are steadily declining. Do you have in your mind an ideal cap rate or debt rate in relation to where you want to manage the business?

我想，你的債務或淨債務比年底下降了 16%。您的債務水準正在穩定下降。您是否已心中有一個與您想要管理的業務相關的理想的資本化率或債務率？

Hi, Liam. Again, regarding leverage, it always has to do where we are in the cycle, the age of the fleet. We are currently at a very good level of 1.1%, and we want to continue to be in a very good position regarding any situation to weather any fall down of the market, cash flow wise and value wise, and also take advantage of any leverage in order to create value for our investors.

你好，利亞姆。再一次，關於槓桿率，它總是與我們所處的周期位置、船隊的年齡有關。我們目前處於 1.1% 的非常好的水平，並且我們希望在任何情況下都保持非常好的地位，以抵禦市場、現金流和價值的下跌，並利用任何槓桿為我們的投資者創造價值。

Yes, in general, we are at a point that we're feeling comfortable both with the onboarding and the amortization that is already in place and the leverage that we put on every acquisition that we actually make. (Multiple speakers)

是的，總的來說，我們對已經到位的入職和攤銷以及我們在每項實際收購中施加的槓桿都感到滿意。（多位發言者）

If I may add to that -- yes. When we set up our financings and our refinancings that we have done recently, we have created a repayment schedule which is fixed and which is in line with the age of the fleet at any given time and are our ability to refinance whatever is needed at the end of the [transaction]. So it's more or less fixed, our repayment schedules, completely.

如果我可以補充一點的話——是的。當我們進行融資和最近的再融資時，我們制定了一個固定的還款計劃，該計劃與任何特定時間的船隊年齡相符，並且我們在船隊到期時有能力再融資所需的任何款項。[交易]。所以我們的還款計劃基本上是完全固定的。

Okay. If we can flip over to returning cash to shareholders, your stock yields are healthy. We'll call it 6%. I don't think there's a lot of benefit to raising the dividend. So how are you looking at buybacks? Are you just going to steadily just move through that process on a quarter-to-quarter basis?

好的。如果我們可以轉向向股東返還現金，那麼你的股票收益率就會很可觀。我們稱之為 6%。我認為提高股息沒有多大好處。那麼您如何看待回購？您是否會按季度穩步推進這項流程？

Hi, Liam. Again, I don't mean to be dodging the question here at all, but I will return to the answer I gave earlier, which is as far as capital allocation is concerned, we view it dynamically and we view it in context. And that context will include capital market dynamics, what's happening in the shipping market itself, forward visibility on charters, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. The list goes on.

你好，利亞姆。再說一次，我絕對沒有迴避問題的意思，但我將回到我之前給出的答案，即就資本配置而言，我們會動態地看待它，並結合背景來看待它。這些背景將包括資本市場動態、航運市場本身的動態、租船的前瞻性等等。諸如此類。

And we try to decide how to allocate capital depending upon the capital that's at our disposal, how we're getting on in terms of fixing additional contracts, et cetera. So I won't give you a neat answer as to whether we're going to buy back X number of shares or pay this dividend or that dividend. We'll keep everything under review and allocate capital as we see as building most value through the cycle and in the context of the overall market.

我們會嘗試根據我們可支配的資本、我們在簽訂額外合約方面的進展等來決定如何分配資本。因此，關於我們是否要回購X股股票或支付這筆股息或那筆股息，我無法給你一個很好的答案。我們將對所有事物進行審查，並根據我們的認識在整個週期內以及在整個市場背景下創造最大價值來分配資本。

Great. Thank you, Tom.

偉大的。謝謝你，湯姆。

If I'd just try to -- okay.

如果我嘗試一下——好的。

(Operator Instructions) Ward Blum, UBS.

(操作員指示) 沃德布魯姆 (Ward Blum)，瑞銀 (UBS)。

Thank you. You sort of teased us a little bit about expecting contract extensions as the year goes on and that prices have remained firm or even better than the first quarter. Are we to expect to assume that so far as we're halfway through the quarter that you've already completed some extensions and not just announced them yet?

謝謝。您有點開玩笑地說，隨著時間的推移，預計合約將會延長，而且價格將保持穩定，甚至比第一季更好。我們是否可以期望，在本季度過半的時候，您已經完成了一些擴展，而不僅僅是宣布它們？

We didn't mean to tease you, Ward. Thanks for the question. But I think -- let's put it this way. We look forward to providing an update on our 2Q earnings call in due course. And we wouldn't want to put the cart before the horse. So we provided, I hope, constructive guidance. But we'll come back to everyone when we've managed to, let's say, execute on the expectations that we've penciled out for you.

我們不是有意取笑你，沃德。謝謝你的提問。但我認為——我們就這麼說吧。我們期待在適當的時候提供有關第二季度收益電話會議的最新消息。我們不想本末倒置。因此我希望我們能夠提供建設性的指導。但當我們成功地實現了為大家設定的期望時，我們就會回來與大家聯繫。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

That concludes our Q&A session. I will now turn the conference back over to Tom Lister for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。現在我將會議交還給湯姆·利斯特，請他作結束語。

Okay. Well, thank you very much to everyone for joining today. And to echo what I've just said to Ward, we very much look forward to talking to you again on our next earnings call for 2Q. Many thanks.

好的。好吧，非常感謝大家今天的參加。為了回應我剛才對沃德所說的話，我們非常期待在下次第二季財報電話會議上再次與您交談。非常感謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入。您現在可以斷開連線。