Hexcel Corp (HXL) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Krista, and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Hexcel's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝你的支持。我叫克里斯塔，今天我將擔任你們的會議接線生。此時此刻，我歡迎大家參加赫氏2024年第一季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）

I would now like to turn the conference over to Patrick Winterlich, Chief Financial Officer. Patrick, you may begin your conference.

我現在想將會議交給財務長派崔克‧溫特利希 (Patrick Winterlich)。派崔克，你可以開始你的會議了。

Thank you, Krista. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Hexcel Corporation's First Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. Before beginning, let me cover the formalities. I want to remind everyone about the safe harbor provisions related to any forward-looking statements we make during the course of this call. Certain statements contained in this call may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. They involve estimates, assumptions, judgments and uncertainties caused by a variety of factors that could cause future actual results or outcomes to differ materially from our forward-looking statements today. Such factors are detailed in the company's SEC filings and last night's news release.

謝謝你，克里斯塔。大家，早安。歡迎參加赫氏公司 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。在開始之前，讓我先介紹一下手續。我想提醒大家注意與我們在本次電話會議期間所做的任何前瞻性陳述相關的安全港條款。本次電話會議中包含的某些陳述可能構成1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。實際結果或結果有所不同實質上來自我們今天的前瞻性陳述。這些因素在該公司提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件和昨晚的新聞稿中都有詳細說明。

A replay of this call will be available on the Investor Relations page of our website. Lastly, this call is being recorded by Hexcel Corporation and is copyrighted material. It cannot be recorded or rebroadcast without our express permission. Your participation on this call constitutes your consent to that request.

本次電話會議的重播將在我們網站的投資者關係頁面上提供。最後，本次通話由赫氏公司錄製，是受版權保護的資料。未經我們明確許可，不得對其進行錄製或轉播。您參與本次通話即表示您同意該要求。

With me today are Nick Stanage, our Chairman, CEO and President; and Kurt Goddard, our Vice President of Investor Relations. The purpose of the call is to review our first quarter 2024 results detailed in our news release issued yesterday.

今天與我在一起的有我們的董事長、執行長兼總裁尼克·斯坦尼奇 (Nick Stanage)；以及我們的投資者關係副總裁 Kurt Goddard。這次電話會議的目的是回顧我們昨天發布的新聞稿中詳細介紹的 2024 年第一季業績。

Now let me turn the call over to Nick.

現在讓我把電話轉給尼克。

Thanks, Patrick. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today as we share our 2024 first quarter results. Hexcel's upward trajectory continued as we began the year with solid performance that includes year-over-year sales growth in both Commercial Aerospace and Space & Defense as demand continues to increase. Additionally, we were pleased to read reports that in February, the airline industry achieved full recovery in overall global passenger traffic and both domestic and international air travel has now surpassed 2019 levels. This is terrific news and demonstrates the resiliency of the industry and the strong desire for air travel.

謝謝，派崔克。大家早安，感謝您今天加入我們，分享 2024 年第一季的業績。新年伊始，赫氏持續保持上升勢頭，業績穩健，其中包括隨著需求的持續增長，商業航空航太和航太與國防領域的銷售額同比增長。此外，我們很高興看到，2月航空業全球客運量全面復甦，國內和國際航空旅行都已超過2019年水準。這是一個了不起的消息，體現了該行業的彈性和對航空旅行的強烈渴望。

While Commercial Aerospace sales grew year-over-year, posting the highest level of sales since Q1 2020, I would like to begin by referencing our Commercial Aerospace sequential improvement from the fourth quarter of 2023. With international air traffic now above 2019 levels, widebody production continues to ramp, and we benefited from sequential growth in all of our widebody programs. This is an encouraging data point, illustrating how the widebody supply chain has been ramping relatively steadily and smoothly.

雖然商用航空航太銷售額逐年成長，創下2020 年第一季以來的最高銷售額，但我想先參考我們的商用航空航太自2023 年第四季以來的連續改善情況。於2019 年的水平，寬體客機產量持續增加，我們受益於所有寬體機專案的連續成長。這是一個令人鼓舞的數據點，說明寬體機供應鏈是如何相對穩定且穩定發展的。

Further, our total narrowbody sales in the first quarter of 2024 also increased sequentially. As you will recall, our narrowbody sales softened in the second half of 2023. There are certainly challenges remaining within the overall narrowbody supply chain and we expect continued choppiness in the first half of 2024. However, the sequential improvement is encouraging.

此外，2024 年第一季我們的窄體機總銷量也較上季成長。您可能還記得，我們​​的窄體機銷售在 2023 年下半年出現疲軟。

Let me highlight some of the results, and Patrick will then provide more details. First quarter sales of more than $472 million were 3% higher than Q1 2023. Adjusted diluted EPS in the first quarter was $0.44, down year-over-year, yet up sequentially. A number of specific items in the first quarter of 2023 drove the particularly strong results last year. Our gross margin and adjusted operating income have been trending upwards since the middle of last year, and we are very encouraged by this robust performance as our volume leverage continues as expected.

讓我重點介紹一些結果，然後帕特里克將提供更多詳細資訊。第一季銷售額超過 4.72 億美元，比 2023 年第一季高出 3%。 2023 年第一季的一些具體項目推動了去年特別強勁的業績。自去年年中以來，我們的毛利率和調整後營業收入一直呈上升趨勢，我們對這種強勁的業績感到非常鼓舞，因為我們的銷售槓桿率繼續按預期增長。

Turning to our 3 markets. In Commercial Aerospace, first quarter sales of almost $300 million represented an increase of 5% in constant currency on increasing widebody sales with significant growth in the Boeing 787 platform. We were especially pleased to see Korean Air and Japan Airlines placing orders for 75 new aircraft, including 64 composite-rich widebodies where Hexcel has significant content. Other Commercial Aerospace sales decreased 6% for the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of '23 on softer overall business jet sales. Although it should be noted sales to our largest business jet customer, Gulfstream, did increase year-over-year. Based on the secular growth with composite adoption for large cabin business jets, we expect overall 2024 business jet sales to exceed 2023.

轉向我們的 3 個市場。在商業航空航太領域，第一季銷售額近 3 億美元，以固定匯率計算成長了 5%，因為寬體機銷售額不斷增加，波音 787 平台也出現了顯著成長。我們特別高興看到大韓航空和日本航空訂購了 75 架新飛機，其中包括 64 架富含複合材料的寬體飛機，赫氏在這方面擁有豐富的經驗。由於整體公務機銷售疲軟，2024 年第一季其他商用航空航太銷售額與 2023 年第一季相比下降了 6%。但值得注意的是，我們最大的公務機客戶灣流的銷售額確實較去年同期成長。基於大客艙公務機複合材料採用的長期成長，我們預計 2024 年公務機整體銷售量將超過 2023 年。

We also would like to highlight and congratulate Gulfstream on the recent FAA certification of the G700. It is a high-performing next-generation large cabin business jet and we are proud that Hexcel composites are utilized.

我們也想強調並祝賀灣流 G700 最近獲得美國聯邦航空局 (FAA) 認證。它是一款高性能的下一代大客艙公務機，我們為採用赫氏複合材料而感到自豪。

Now for a few additional aerospace highlights. We had another successful JEC World Composites show in Paris where we met with dozens of customers and launched a significant new innovation. HexTow IM9 24K carbon fiber is our newest intermediate modulus fiber and it provides significant improvements in tensile strength over our baseline IM7 fiber, which already is a major component in commercial aircraft engine fan blades and other aerospace applications. IM9 24K offers our customers a high-performance carbon fiber solution for high-rate manufacturing and it is particularly suited for primary and secondary aerospace structures. The combination of the fiber's high-performance and composite tensile strength as well as the increased fiber production throughput and productivity provided by a 24K tow size provides a strong value proposition when compared to other commercially available IM fibers.

現在介紹一些其他航空航天亮點。我們在巴黎舉辦了另一場成功的 JEC 世界複合材料展，我們會見了數十位客戶並推出了一項重大的新創新。 HexTow IM9 24K 碳纖維是我們最新的中間模量纖維，與我們的基準 IM7 纖維相比，它的拉伸強度顯著提高，而 IM7 纖維已經成為商用飛機發動機風扇葉片和其他航空航天應用的主要組件。 IM9 24K 為我們的客戶提供了用於高速製造的高性能碳纖維解決方案，特別適合主要和次要航空航天結構。與其他市售 IM 纖維相比，該纖維的高性能和複合拉伸強度以及 24K 絲束尺寸提供的更高的纖維產量和生產率相結合，提供了強大的價值主張。

And I especially want to congratulate our team on being recognized last month by Northrop Grumman during their Supplier Excellence Awards event. Only about 1/2 of 1% of suppliers receive this recognition each year. So it was quite an honor for us to be among this prestigious group. Northrop Grumman's recognition validates our relentless focus on execution and delivering quality products on time.

我特別要祝賀我們的團隊上個月在諾斯羅普·格魯曼公司的供應商卓越獎活動中獲得認可。每年只有約 1% 的供應商中的 1/2 獲得此認可。因此，我們非常榮幸能夠成為這個享有盛譽的團體之一。諾斯羅普·格魯曼公司的認可證實了我們對執行和按時交付優質產品的不懈關注。

Now moving to Space & Defense. Sales of $139 million increased 10% in constant currency for the quarter as compared to the first quarter of 2023. The sales increase was led by fixed wing aircraft programs, including the Lockheed Martin F-35 and Airbus A400M as well as various classified programs. Hexcel has great global positions in Space & Defense, and we remain confident in our 2024 outlook.

現在轉向太空與國防。與2023 年第一季相比，本季銷售額為1.39 億美元，以固定匯率計算成長10%。各種分類項目。赫氏在太空與國防領域擁有出色的全球地位，我們對 2024 年的前景仍然充滿信心。

Industrial sales of about $34 million represented a decline of more than 28% in constant currency year-over-year. Our industrial business now represents about 7% of total sales. Sales were soft in the first quarter as global consumers pulled back on spending and a few of our customers worked through some production issues on their end. Industrial remains an attractive market where we are pursuing multiple value-adding technology opportunities and fold activity remains strong in a number of submarkets, including automotive, EVs and energy.

工業銷售額約 3,400 萬美元，以固定匯率計算年減超過 28%。我們的工業業務目前約佔總銷售額的 7%。由於全球消費者削減支出以及我們的一些客戶解決了一些生產問題，第一季的銷售疲軟。工業仍然是一個有吸引力的市場，我們正在尋求多種增值技術機會，並且在汽車、電動車和能源等許多子市場中，折疊活動仍然強勁。

Our cash performance remains strong, and we continue to return cash to our stockholders. During the first quarter, we repurchased $101 million of stock and we paid a $0.15 per share quarterly dividend. During our Investor Day, we highlighted the road map for multiyear growth. This included cyclical growth from production rate ramps by our customers that is supported by extensive aircraft backlogs and secular growth by our composite lightweight value proposition. This growing top line will drive margin expansion from higher capacity utilization supported by our continued focus on execution and enhancing productivity. This all leads to strong forecasted cash generation with more than $1.5 billion of adjusted EBITDA forecasted for the 3-year time frame 2024 to 2026.

我們的現金表現依然強勁，我們將繼續向股東返還現金。第一季度，我們回購了 1.01 億美元的股票，並支付了每股 0.15 美元的季度股息。在投資者日期間，我們強調了多年成長的路線圖。這包括我們的客戶在大量飛機積壓訂單的支持下生產率提升帶來的周期性增長以及我們的複合輕量化價值主張的長期增長。在我們持續關注執行和提高生產力的支持下，不斷增長的收入將推動產能利用率的提高，從而推動利潤率的擴張。這一切都帶來了強勁的現金產生預測，預計 2024 年至 2026 年 3 年期間調整後 EBITDA 將超過 15 億美元。

We remain committed to delivering our full year 2024 and our midterm guidance as our Hexcel team drives growth, margin expansion and cash generation. As an organization, we will continue to prioritize innovation and advancing our technologies. We will continue to focus on growth markets where there is tremendous pull for the specialized lightweight materials that only Hexcel can provide. Stronger, lighter, more durable, innovative, collaborative, customer focused, no words better describe who we are at Hexcel or who we will be going forward.

隨著我們的赫氏團隊推動成長、利潤擴張和現金生成，我們仍致力於實現 2024 年全年業績和中期指引。作為一個組織，我們將繼續優先考慮創新和推進我們的技術。我們將繼續關注成長型市場，這些市場對只有赫氏才能提供的專業輕質材料有著巨大的吸引力。更強、更輕、更耐用、創新、協作、以客戶為中心，沒有任何言語可以更好地描述我們在赫氏的身份或我們將繼續前進的方向。

Now let me turn it over to Patrick to provide more details on the numbers.

現在讓我將其轉交給帕特里克，以提供有關數字的更多詳細資訊。

Thank you, Nick. As a reminder, regarding foreign exchange exposure and as I explained in detail during our fourth quarter 2023 earnings call, Hexcel benefits from a strong dollar. We continue to hedge foreign exchange exposure over a 10-quarter time horizon. The year-over-year sales comparisons I will provide are in constant currency which thereby removes the foreign exchange impact to sales. While I'm going to provide my typical year-over-year comparison of financial results, I want to begin by highlighting the sequential improvement over the last 3 quarters in total sales and margins.

謝謝你，尼克。提醒一下，關於外匯敞口，正如我在 2023 年第四季財報電話會議上詳細解釋的那樣，赫氏受益於強勢美元。我們繼續在 10 個季度的時間範圍內對沖外匯風險。我將提供的同比銷售比較是按固定匯率計算的，從而消除了外匯對銷售的影響。雖然我將提供典型的財務業績年比比較，但我想先強調過去三個季度總銷售額和利潤率的連續改善。

Beginning with sales, both total widebody sales and total narrowbody sales increased sequentially as the overall aerospace supply chain expands output to meet the tremendous demand for new fuel-efficient commercial aircraft. And importantly, margins expanded sequentially on higher operating leverage. We continue to expect further progress as we move through 2024 as we utilize more of our existing assets, volume leverage continues to improve, and as the widebody ramp continues and the narrowbody aerospace supply chain stabilizes and strengthens.

從銷售開始，隨著整個航空航太供應鏈擴大產量以滿足對新型節能商用飛機的巨大需求，寬體機總銷量和窄體機總銷量均較上季成長。重要的是，隨著營運槓桿的提高，利潤率連續擴大。隨著我們利用更多現有資產、銷售槓桿率持續改善、寬體機產能持續成長以及窄體航空航太供應鏈穩定和加強，我們繼續預計 2024 年將取得進一步進展。

Turning to our 3 markets. Commercial Aerospace represented approximately 63% of total first quarter 2024 sales. First quarter Commercial Aerospace sales of $299.3 million increased 5.2% compared to the first quarter of 2023, led by growth in widebodies, particularly the Boeing 787 program. The other Commercial Aerospace category decreased 6.3% on lower overall business jet sales year-over-year. We continue to expect full year 2024 business jet sales to be higher than 2023.

轉向我們的 3 個市場。商業航空航太約佔 2024 年第一季總銷售額的 63%。第一季商業航空航太銷售額為 2.993 億美元，較 2023 年第一季成長 5.2%，主要得益於寬體飛機（尤其是波音 787 專案）的成長。由於整體公務機銷量年減，其他商用航空航太類別下降了 6.3%。我們繼續預期 2024 年全年公務機銷售量將高於 2023 年。

Space & Defense represented approximately 30% of first quarter sales and totaled $139.1 million increasing 10% from the same period in 2023. The Lockheed F-35, the Airbus A400M and other fixed wing platforms grew strongly, along with classified programs. Industrial comprised approximately 7% of first quarter 2024 sales and totaled $33.9 million, increasing 28.5% compared to the first quarter of 2023. Sales softened across most of our industrial submarkets.

航太與國防領域約佔第一季銷售額的 30%，總計 1.391 億美元，較 2023 年同期成長 10%。工業銷售額約佔 2024 年第一季銷售額的 7%，總計 3,390 萬美元，比 2023 年第一季成長 28.5%。

Gross margin improved again and was 25% for the first quarter of 2024. The first quarter of 2023 was exceptionally strong with gross margin of 27.9%. As I explained last year, Q1 '23 benefited from particularly favorable absorption and a favorable sales mix. Also, the cost base in the first quarter last year was lower as beginning in the second quarter of 2023, we undertook the deliver sales of overhead infrastructure, including labor hiring and training to prepare for strong customer production ramps and ensure Hexcel would always be ready to meet our customer demand.

毛利率再次改善，2024 年第一季為 25%。正如我去年所解釋的，23 年第一季受益於特別有利的吸收和有利的銷售組合。此外，從2023 年第二季開始，去年第一季的成本基礎較低，我們承擔了管理費用基礎設施的交付銷售，包括勞動力招聘和培訓，為強勁的客戶產量提升做好準備，並確保赫氏始終做好準備以滿足我們客戶的需求。

Sequentially, from the fourth quarter of 2023, gross margin improved 250 basis points on higher operating leverage. As a percentage of sales, selling, general and administrative expenses and R&D expenses were 13.6% in the first quarter compared to 14.1% in the first quarter of 2023. This year-over-year improvement in operating expenses as a percentage of sales illustrates our tight control as we target operating expenses to grow at a fraction of our sales growth.

隨後，從 2023 年第四季開始，由於營運槓桿提高，毛利率提高了 250 個基點。第一季銷售、一般和管理費用以及研發費用佔銷售額的百分比為 13.6%，而 2023 年第一季為 14.1%。營運費用的成長僅佔銷售額成長的一小部分。

Adjusted operating income in the first quarter was $54.1 million or 11.5% of sales compared to $63 million or 13.8% of sales in the comparable prior year period. The year-over-year impact of exchange rates in the first quarter to adjusted operating income was favorable by approximately 30 basis points. Sequentially, the adjusted operating income margin improved by 80 basis points on higher operating leverage, partially offset by the stock-based compensation charge taken in the first quarter as is typical each year.

第一季調整後營業收入為 5,410 萬美元，佔銷售額的 11.5%，而去年同期調整後營業收入為 6,300 萬美元，佔銷售額的 13.8%。第一季匯率對調整後營業收入的年比影響有利約 30 個基點。隨後，由於營運槓桿較高，調整後的營運利潤率提高了 80 個基點，部分被每年第一季收取的基於股票的薪酬費用所抵消。

Now turning to our 2 segments. The Composite Materials segment represented 80% of total sales and generated an operating margin of 15.8%. The operating margin in the comparable prior year period was 18.4%. The Engineered Products segment, which is comprised of our structures and engineered core businesses, represented 20% of total sales and generated a 13.9% operating margin as compared to 14.9% in the comparable prior year period. Net cash used in operating activities was $7 million in the first quarter of 2024, which compared to a net cash use of $23.4 million in the first quarter of 2023. Working capital with a cash use of $84.5 million in the first quarter of 2024. For the comparable prior year period, working capital increased to $104 million. We remain focused on tightly managing our working capital.

現在轉向我們的兩個部分。複合材料部門佔總銷售額的 80%，營業利益率為 15.8%。上年同期營業利益率為 18.4%。工程產品部門由我們的結構和工程核心業務組成，佔總銷售額的 20%，營業利潤率為 13.9%，而去年同期為 14.9%。 2024 年第一季的現金使用淨額為 2,340 萬美元。同期相比，營運資金增加至1.04 億美元。我們仍然專注於嚴格管理我們的營運資金。

Capital expenditures on an accrual basis were $18.6 million during the first quarter of 2024 compared to $16.8 million in the comparable prior year period. Free cash flow during the first quarter was negative $35.7 million, which compares to negative $41.5 million in the first quarter of 2023. It is normal for the business to use cash in the first quarter of the year. The Board of Directors declared a $0.15 quarterly dividend yesterday. The dividend is payable to stockholders of record as of May 3, with a payment date of May 10. We repurchased $100.7 million of common stock during the first quarter. The remaining authorization under the share repurchase program on March 31, 2024, with $386.4 million. The share repurchase authorization was increased by $300 million in February, recognizing the strong future cash generation profile of the company.

2024 年第一季以權責發生製計算的資本支出為 1,860 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,680 萬美元。第一季自由現金流為負 3,570 萬美元，而 2023 年第一季為負 4,150 萬美元。董事會昨天宣布發放 0.15 美元的季度股息。股利將於 5 月 3 日向登記在冊的股東支付，支付日期為 5 月 10 日。股份回購計畫下的剩餘授權截至2024年3月31日，金額為3.864億美元。 2 月份，股票回購授權增加了 3 億美元，以表彰該公司未來強勁的現金產生能力。

With that and for the final time, on behalf of myself and all my Hexcel colleagues, I want to take the opportunity to express our enormous gratitude and thanks to Nick for leading Hexcel so successfully as CEO for well over a decade. I also want to thank Nick for all his guidance and friendship and for the great honor of sharing the Hexcel earnings calls for the last 7 years, it has been a privilege.

在此，我最後一次代表我自己和我所有的赫氏同事，向尼克表達我們的巨大謝意和感謝，感謝尼克十多年來作為首席執行官如此成功地領導了赫氏。我還要感謝尼克的指導和友誼，並感謝他在過去 7 年分享赫氏財報電話會議的巨大榮幸，這是一種榮幸。

And so having just gone off script and hopefully not throwing him too much, let me turn the call back to Nick.

因此，我剛剛脫離了劇本，希望不會讓他太過分，讓我把電話轉回給尼克。

Thanks, Patrick. As I near the end of my final call as CEO and President of Hexcel and transition to Executive Chairman, I'd like to take a few minutes to reflect. My decision to retire is something I have personally been contemplating for some time. As I thought about my upcoming 65th birthday, I began more specific discussions with our Board on my potential retirement. Our Board is continually engaged in management succession preparation, and I wanted to ensure that we had a robust, comprehensive strategy and a thorough and exhaustive search process to identify the best person to lead Hexcel forward.

謝謝，派崔克。在我擔任赫氏執行長兼總裁的最後一次電話會議即將結束並過渡到執行董事長之際，我想花幾分鐘時間進行反思。我個人已經考慮了一段時間，決定退休。當我想到即將到來的 65 歲生日時，我開始與董事會就我的退休可能性進行更具體的討論。我們的董事會持續致力於管理層繼任準備工作，我希望確保我們擁有穩健、全面的策略和徹底、詳盡的搜尋流程，以確定領導赫氏前進的最佳人選。

I told the Board that I would be flexible. I would stay longer if the search dictated it or I could step aside sooner if the time was right. I tell you today without hesitation that I believe Tom Gentile is the ideal choice to be the next CEO and President of Hexcel. The more I have talked and worked with Tom, the more excited I've become by the future of Hexcel. Already, we have shared with him a mountain of data and details about our people, our products, our processes and most importantly, our One Hexcel culture. I look forward to helping Tom focus on our priorities and supporting him in every way that I can in the months ahead.

我告訴董事會我會保持彈性。如果搜索需要，我會停留更長時間，或者如果時間合適，我可以早點離開。今天我毫不猶豫地告訴大家，我相信 Tom Gentile 是擔任赫氏下一任執行長兼總裁的理想人選。我與湯姆交談和工作的次數越多，我對赫氏的未來就越興奮。我們已經與他分享了有關我們的員工、我們的產品、我們的流程以及最重要的是我們的 One Hexcel 文化的大量數據和詳細資訊。我期待著幫助湯姆專注於我們的優先事項，並在未來幾個月中盡我所能支持他。

I would also like to share some perspective from the Board on our transition. Following an extremely thorough search and recruitment process, including extensive reference checks throughout the industry, the Hexcel Board firmly believe Tom is the right choice for Hexcel for many reasons. Tom has fantastic aerospace industry knowledge and understanding with strong customer relationships.

我也想分享董事會對我們過渡期的一些看法。經過極其徹底的搜索和招聘流程，包括整個行業的廣泛背景調查，赫氏董事會堅信 Tom 是赫氏的正確選擇，原因有很多。湯姆擁有豐富的航空航太產業知識和理解以及牢固的客戶關係。

Very importantly, Tom has been one of the largest buyers of composite materials for many years. He understands how they are used, what developments are needed for the future and what is required from composites for the next generation of commercial aircraft and space and defense applications. Tom has extensive experience, a factory for transformation through implementing manufacturing execution systems and lean production processes to drive operational excellence, quality and productivity. Tom brings all this knowledge. And in addition, the most critically, the Board believe Tom is an excellent cultural fit for Hexcel.

非常重要的是，湯姆多年來一直是複合材料的最大買家之一。他了解它們的使用方式、未來需要哪些發展以及下一代商用飛機以及太空和國防應用對複合材料的需求。 Tom 擁有豐富的經驗，是一家透過實施製造執行系統和精益生產流程來實現轉型的工廠，以推動卓越營運、品質和生產力。湯姆帶來了所有這些知識。此外，最關鍵的是，董事會認為 Tom 非常適合赫氏文化。

This last point cannot be overstated. Hexcel could be described as a high-performing material science machine, driving innovation and delivering operational excellence for our customers. Our quality, on-time delivery and value proposition are our top priority. Tom is taking over a fantastic business with a fantastic team. Not disrupting this strong momentum is crucial. And Tom is bringing a unique skill set and operating philosophy that is ideally suited for executing in the near term while positioning and growing Hexcel over the longer term.

最後一點怎麼強調都不為過。 Hexcel 可以被描述為高性能材料科學機器，推動創新並為我們的客戶提供卓越的營運。我們的品質、準時交貨和價值主張是我們的首要任務。湯姆正在接管一家出色的企業，並擁有一支出色的團隊。不破壞這種強勁勢頭至關重要。湯姆帶來了一套獨特的技能和營運理念，非常適合短期執行，同時長期定位和發展赫氏。

Initially, Tom will focus on execution to deliver Hexcel's 2024 and medium-term guidance. He and the Hexcel leadership team will continue to drive flawless execution that starts with safety for our team, continuous improvement of productivity and efficiencies and maintaining our constant and laser focus on quality and on-time delivery to our customers. And Tom will continue to position Hexcel within the industry and with our customers for next-generation platforms as we pursue and benefit from strong secular growth of lightweight composites.

最初，Tom 將專注於執行以交付赫氏 2024 年和中期指導。他和赫氏領導團隊將繼續推動完美的執行，從我們團隊的安全開始，不斷提高生產力和效率，並保持我們對品質和按時向客戶交付的持續關注。隨著我們追求輕質複合材料的長期強勁增長並從中受益，湯姆將繼續為赫氏在行業內以及與客戶的下一代平台中定位。

Tom is completely aligned on the strategy that we outlined at our Investor Day in February. While I look forward to spending more time with my family, I cannot tell you how much I will miss my Hexcel family. I have grown to love this company and all that we have built together. Tom is inheriting an awesome team and a growing business with the brightest future ever. I am so proud to have had the honor of working with the most talented team I have ever known. I also want to sincerely thank all of you, our stockholders and the analysts that cover Hexcel, you have all been fantastic. You have challenged me over the years, and I'm grateful for that because you've made me a better leader and you've made Hexcel a better company.

湯姆完全同意我們在二月份投資者日概述的策略。雖然我期待著花更多的時間與家人在一起，但我無法告訴你我會多麼想念我的赫氏家人。我逐漸愛上了這家公司以及我們共同建立的一切。湯姆繼承了一支出色的團隊和不斷發展的業務，擁有有史以來最光明的未來。我很榮幸能夠與我所認識的最有才華的團隊一起工作。我還要真誠地感謝你們所有人、我們的股東和研究赫氏的分析師，你們都非常棒。多年來您向我提出了挑戰，我對此表示感謝，因為您讓我成為了更好的領導者，也讓赫氏成為了更好的公司。

Thank you for following Hexcel. Thank you for your questions, your coverage and your kind words. I trust you all will support Tom as you have supported me over the past 14 years as Hexcel continues to generate strong shareholder value. Krista, we're ready to take questions now. Thank you.

感謝您關注赫氏。感謝您的提問、報道和客氣話。我相信你們大家都會支持湯姆，就像你們在過去 14 年裡支持我一樣，因為赫氏將繼續創造強大的股東價值。克麗斯塔，我們現在準備好回答問題了。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from John McNulty from BMO Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 BMO 資本市場的 John McNulty。

Nick, let me start off by just thanking you for all your help over the years. It's been a pleasure to see where you've taken the company and good luck going forward. So I just wanted to dig into the commercial business a bit. So you're looking for mid-teens growth as you kind of look out through the year. You're off to an okay start, but admittedly, it looks like there's still a lot of heavy lifting ahead.

尼克，首先讓我感謝您多年來的幫助。很高興看到你帶領公司取得了進步，祝你未來好運。所以我只是想深入研究一下商業業務。因此，當你展望這一年時，你正在尋找十幾歲左右的增長。你已經有了一個好的開端，但不可否認的是，前面的任務似乎還有很多。

So I guess, can you help us to think about the biggest drivers and how you would prioritize what's going to get you to that mid-teens growth? Is it the confidence in the widebody ramps at this point? Or is it narrowbody kind of getting back on track and getting through some of the issues that's been struggling with over the last couple of quarters?

所以我想，你能幫助我們思考最大的驅動因素，以及你將如何優先考慮那些能讓你實現青少年中期成長的因素嗎？這是對寬體坡道的信心嗎？或者窄體機是否正在重回正軌並解決過去幾季一直困擾的一些問題？

Yes, John. Well, first, thanks for your kind comments. I'd say, John, it's a combination. Clearly, the supply chain and the narrowbody is continuing to be challenged in various areas. We've seen nice progressive performance and growth with Airbus. We know the challenges with Boeing. But even there, it's been steady over the last several quarters. So our confidence level that the supply chain will continue to improve and stabilize continues to be strong, recognizing that it's not going to be perfect as we go forward. I'd say widebodies, clearly, if you look at our performance on both the 87 and the A350 over the last multiple quarters, it has just progressively grown very steadily at a nice steady rate and a manageable rate.

是的，約翰。嗯，首先，感謝您的友善評論。我想說，約翰，這是一個組合。顯然，供應鏈和窄體飛機在各個領域繼續受到挑戰。我們看到空中巴士公司取得了良好的進步業績和成長。我們知道波音面臨的挑戰。但即便如此，過去幾季也保持穩定。因此，我們對供應鏈將繼續改善和穩定的信心仍然很強，因為我們認識到，隨著我們的前進，它不會是完美的。我想說的是寬體機，顯然，如果你看看過去幾季我們在 87 和 A350 上的表現，就會發現它正在以良好的穩定速度和可管理的速度非常穩定地增長。

So I'd say overall, some of the things we're seeing within our workforce with respect to the ability to hire, the ability to train, the ability to retain, I think that's indicative of what the whole industry is seeing. And that, in turn, provides stability, that provides better efficiency, and it gives us confidence that things are going in the right direction.

所以我想說，總的來說，我們在員工隊伍中看到的一些關於招募能力、培訓能力、留住能力的事情，我認為這顯示了整個產業所看到的情況。反過來，這提供了穩定性，提供了更高的效率，並讓我們相信事情正在朝著正確的方向發展。

So overall, again, we're rolling up our updated forecast. We're getting very good signals and indications on the pole, not only to support the existing demand, but strong pole on new opportunities that could provide incremental benefits over the midterm simply because of lightweighting and the importance of efficiency to drive performance and sustainability over the long haul.

總的來說，我們再次匯總了更新後的預測。我們在桿上得到了非常好的信號和指示，不僅可以支持現有需求，而且可以在中期提供增量收益的新機會，這僅僅是因為輕量化以及效率對推動性能和可持續性的重要性長遠來看。

Got it. Okay. No, that's hugely helpful. And then maybe just as the follow-up. On Space & Defense, you had a really strong start to the year. I guess, how do you see the potential for upside relative to the guide, just considering you do have the CH-53K still ramping and you do have admittedly a lot of conflict where there may be some really solid demand pull from the military side. So I guess, can you help us to think about the potential for upside relative to your outlook?

知道了。好的。不，這非常有幫助。然後也許就像後續行動一樣。在太空與國防方面，今年的開局非常強勁。我想，您如何看待相對於指南的上行潛力，考慮到您確實擁有 CH-53K 仍在不斷增加，並且確實存在很多衝突，其中可能存在來自軍事方面的一些真正可靠的需求拉動。所以我想，您能幫助我們思考相對於您的前景而言的上行潛力嗎？

Yes, John. So we're encouraged by how we started the year, for sure. And again, we're working and on such a diverse set of platforms, if you look globally with certain platforms going down or being stable and many other platforms growing. If you look at the CH-53K, the Rafale, the KC-390, our strong position in global rotorcraft, the V-280 is going to ramp up down the road, and very strong performance this quarter on the F-35, lots of momentum, lots of energy there. And we'll have to get through another quarter before we really want to talk about tweaking our guidance, but it would be a good thing if we have the opportunity to give some indication that it could be higher than we had even expected. And again, if we look around the global situation and what's going on, as sad as it is, it does tend to stimulate investment in defense systems and deterrence. So I think with that backdrop, I'm optimistic, and I think our position puts us in a great position for us to continue to perform and potentially exceed our top line estimates.

是的，約翰。因此，我們肯定對今年年初的表現感到鼓舞。再說一遍，如果你放眼全球，某些平台正在下降或保持穩定，而許多其他平台正在成長，那麼我們正在開發如此多樣化的平台。如果你看看 CH-53K、陣風、KC-390、我們在全球旋翼機中的強勢地位、V-280 將會在未來不斷發展，以及本季度 F-35 的強勁表​​現，很多那裡有動力，有很多能量。在我們真正想討論調整我們的指導之前，我們還需要再過一個季度，但如果我們有機會給出一些跡象表明它可能會高於我們的預期，那將是一件好事。再說一次，如果我們環顧全球局勢和正在發生的事情，儘管令人悲傷，但它確實往往會刺激對國防系統和威懾的投資。因此，我認為在這種背景下，我很樂觀，我認為我們的立場使我們處於有利地位，可以繼續表現並有可能超過我們的營收預期。

Your next question comes from Matt Akers from Wells Fargo.

您的下一個問題來自富國銀行的馬特·埃克斯。

Best of luck, Nick. Could you talk a little bit about the destocking. I think last quarter, you had said kind of expect a little bit of pressure from that in the first half. Are we mostly through that at this point?

祝你好運，尼克。能談談去庫存的情況嗎？我想上個季度，您曾說過預計上半場會承受一些壓力。現在我們已經基本完成了嗎？

Yes. I don't think there was destocking in the first quarter. Actually, if anything, there might have been a little bit of restocking, especially on the widebodies, because the rates have steadily grown. I think if you look at the orders, the way the backlog has built up, the way Boeing and Airbus are looking at increasing their rates to 10 in the near-term years ahead. I think that gives confidence and the supply chain probably was a little tight in certain areas. The issues were on the MAX. And again, we've seen very level and steady performance for several quarters now. So I don't expect there's a ton of destocking ahead, again, maybe a little restocking once the market and the supply chain gain confidence and the OEs can get to the rates that they intend to and need to, to support this huge backlog.

是的。我認為第一季並沒有去庫存。事實上，如果有什麼不同的話，那就是可能會有一些補貨，尤其是寬體飛機，因為價格一直在穩步增長。我認為，如果你看看訂單、積壓訂單的累積情況，以及波音和空中巴士考慮在未來幾年將其利率提高到 10 的方式。我認為這給人信心，供應鏈在某些領域可能有點緊張。問題出在 MAX 。再說一次，我們已經看到幾個季度的表現非常水平和穩定。因此，我預計未來不會出現大量去庫存，一旦市場和供應鏈獲得信心，並且原始設備製造商能夠達到他們打算和需要的速度，以支持這一巨大的積壓，也許會稍微補充庫存。

Great. And I guess one for Patrick. On the share repurchase, you guys stepped up quite a bit this quarter, but I guess the diluted shares for the quarter were actually up a little bit. Can you just talk about that with our additional dilution? Or is that just kind of timing of when that flowed through?

偉大的。我猜帕特里克是其中之一。在股票回購方面，你們本季加大了相當多的力度，但我猜本季稀釋後的股票實際上上漲了一點。能談談我們額外稀釋的情況嗎？還是這只是時間的流逝？

Now that's just reflecting the normal Q1 stock comp, where we get stock issues. The stock buyback, the purchase of the 100 million, that effect will really come in over time. It will start to be seen in the second quarter, but you have to average it in. So we really got very little, if you like, EPS benefit from that in the first quarter, and that will impact -- that beneficial impact will come as we move through the year. So everything in line with expected and, yes, 101 million buyback in Q1.

現在，這只是反映了正常的第一季股票比較，我們在那裡得到了股票問題。股票回購，購買1億，隨著時間的推移，這種效果才會真正顯現出來。這將在第二季度開始顯現，但你必須將其平均化。有益的影響將會到來當我們度過這一年時。所以一切都符合預期，是的，第一季回購了 1.01 億美元。

Your next question comes from Bert Subin from Stifel.

您的下一個問題來自 Stifel 的 Bert Subin。

Congratulations on your retirement, Nick.

恭喜你退休，尼克。

Thanks, Bert.

謝謝，伯特。

Maybe just a follow-up on the first question on the Commercial Aerospace side. It sounds like from your comments, Nick, you expect some choppiness. And so maybe the second quarter is potentially stronger on a year-over-year basis but probably not meaningfully. Based on maintaining the up and mid-teens guide just for the segments that would imply, I guess, 20% plus back half growth. I'm just curious what your visibility is? And if you could give any commentary on sort of what your expectation is on the A350? I know you made some comments about seeing some improvement on the 87. I'm curious if that's translating to Airbus?

也許只是商業航空航太方面第一個問題的後續行動。尼克，從你的評論看來，你預計會有一些波動。因此，也許第二季可能比去年同期更強勁，但可能意義不大。基於僅針對這些細分市場維持上十幾歲和中十幾歲的指南，我猜這意味著 20% 以上的後半段成長。我只是好奇你的可見度是多少？您能否就您對 A350 的期望發表評論？我知道您對 87 的一些改進發表了一些評論。

Yes. So again, the indications we're seeing -- and again, we've got great customer relationships. We work very closely with them. Remember, many of our materials require to go in freezers, which has limited space. So we have pretty good insight on how much inventory our customers and the supply chain are sitting on, although not perfect. We do work with them very closely. And again, I think our customers are trying to provide as much visibility and lead time to ensure that the supply chain is ready when they want to ramp up and as they want to ramp up going forward.

是的。因此，我們再次看到的跡象 - 我們擁有良好的客戶關係。我們與他們密切合作。請記住，我們的許多材料需要放入空間有限的冰箱中。因此，我們對客戶和供應鏈的庫存量有很好的了解，儘管並不完美。我們確實與他們密切合作。再說一遍，我認為我們的客戶正在努力提供盡可能多的可見性和交貨時間，以確保供應鏈在他們想要擴大規模和未來擴大規模時做好準備。

So I'd say our visibility and our communications have never been better with our customers. Now those include some tweaks based on their supply chain, but we build that in. And again, I think we've got very good visibility up to this point for 2024. I'd say on the A350, I'm very encouraged with the 1000 and the orders coming in. I'm very encouraged with the upcoming A350 freighter where we have great shipset content. And I'm very encouraged by the backlog and the orders that are coming in.

所以我想說，我們與客戶的知名度和溝通從未如此好。現在，這些包括基於他們的供應鏈的一些調整，但我們將其納入其中。非常受鼓舞1000 架和即將到來的訂單。積壓的訂單和即將到來的訂單讓我深受鼓舞。

I think from our perspective, we see with the international travel picking up and getting back to pre-pandemic days and higher, we see the pull for widebodies accelerating simply because of replacements, simply because of the number of seats required. So we believe our visibility is very good. We work very closely with Airbus. And again, I mentioned this before, but if you look at our quarterly progression and the smooth growth that we've seen, gives us confidence that it's going to continue to deliver to Airbus as 10 per month in the 2026 time frame.

我認為，從我們的角度來看，隨著國際旅行的回升並回到大流行前的水平，我們看到寬體客機的需求加速增長，這僅僅是因為更換，僅僅是因為所需的座位數量。所以我們相信我們的知名度非常好。我們與空中巴士公司密切合作。我之前再次提到這一點，但如果你看看我們的季度進度和我們所看到的平穩增長，就會讓我們有信心在2026 年的時間範圍內繼續向空中巴士交付10 架每月的飛機。

Got it. Okay. And just a follow-up for you, Patrick, on the margin side. Last quarter, you said you expected 13.5% to 14% operating margin for the year. It seems like off to a fine start in the first quarter. Curious if that is -- that range remains intact. And as we think about 14%, what would need to happen to get us there, just to be on the higher end of the revenue guide?

知道了。好的。派崔克，在邊緣方面，這只是你的後續行動。上個季度，您表示預計今年的營業利潤率為 13.5% 至 14%。第一季似乎有了一個好的開局。很好奇是否是這樣——這個範圍仍然完好無損。當我們想到 14% 時，我們需要做什麼才能達到這個目標，只是為了達到收入指南的高端？

Yes. I mean we've held our guidance. We've reaffirmed our guidance for 2024. And so my position is the same. I mean Q1 is always down a little bit because of the extra stock comp costs that we take. But when you adjust that out and the further volume leverage and growth comes as we move through the year, I'm confident in the 13.5% to 14%, we're obviously going to push that as strongly as we can. But as I said, I mean, essentially, we're holding guidance. The $2.10, $2.30 EPS. So that's our target. And yes, you back into a margin range, as you described, and we're confident in achieving that as we stand here today.

是的。我的意思是我們保持了我們的指導。我們重申了 2024 年的指導方針。我的意思是，由於我們採取了額外的庫存補償成本，第一季總是會略有下降。但是，當你對此進行調整時，隨著我們今年的發展，銷售槓桿率和增長將會進一步增加，我對 13.5% 至 14% 充滿信心，我們顯然將盡我們所能地推動這一目標。但正如我所說，我的意思是，本質上，我們正​​在堅持指導。每股收益 2.10 美元、2.30 美元。這就是我們的目標。是的，正如您所描述的，您回到了利潤範圍，而我們今天站在這裡有信心實現這一目標。

Your next question comes from the line of Louis Raffetto from Wolfe Research.

您的下一個問題來自沃爾夫研究中心的路易斯·拉菲托 (Louis Raffetto)。

I'll say congrats, Nick.

我要說恭喜你，尼克。

Thanks, Louis.

謝謝，路易斯。

Maybe just a follow-up on Matt's question there. If we back out the comp in the first quarter, margins look like they're going to be sort of flattish the rest of the year even on the higher sales that you kind of expect as the year goes on. So just to be clear, was there anything in 1Q that was mix beneficial or anything just we should be thinking about as we think about the next couple of quarters?

也許只是馬特問題的後續行動。如果我們在第一季取消比較，那麼即使銷售額隨著時間的推移而增加，今年剩餘時間的利潤率看起來也會持平。因此，需要明確的是，第一季是否有任何對混合有利的事情，或者我們在考慮接下來的幾季時應該考慮的事情？

No. I mean, other than the stock comp and backing that out, Q1 was actually a particularly clean month -- clean quarter. There was really very little oddball. It was good, steady progress; a good normal, if you like, mix of Aerospace, Space & Defense business. Industrial was a little bit weaker in the mix at 7% of total sales. But margin-wise, nothing peculiar, nothing odd really to call out. A good positive start as far as we're concerned. And as I called out sort of 3 quarters in a row now where we've got good sequential positive momentum.

不，我的意思是，除了股票比較和支持這一點之外，第一季實際上是一個特別乾淨的月份——乾淨的季度。確實很少有奇怪的事情。進展順利，進展順利；如果你願意的話，這是一個很好的常態，航空航太、航太和國防業務的組合。工業品在該組合中稍弱一些，佔總銷售額的 7%。但就利潤而言，並沒有什麼特別的，也沒有什麼奇怪的地方。就我們而言，這是一個好的積極開端。正如我所說，我們已經連續三個季度取得了良好的連續積極勢頭。

Your next question comes from the line of Sheila Kahyaoglu from Jefferies.

您的下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Sheila Kahyaoglu。

Nick, congratulations on your retirement, wishing you all the best, and thank you for everything. Maybe I just wanted to start off, Patrick, for you, just given working capital. How do you think about managing your working capital, the puts and takes just as you see supply chain issues, whether on narrowbodies or widebodies, how do you kind of think about that the purchasing, whether it's inventory or delivering product to your customers?

尼克，祝賀你退休，祝你一切順利，並感謝你所做的一切。也許我只是想開始，派崔克，為了你，只是給你流動資金。您如何看待管理您的營運資金、投入和支出，就像您看到供應鏈問題一樣，無論是窄體飛機還是寬體飛機，您如何看待採購，無論是庫存還是向客戶交付產品？

Yes. Sheila, I mean, we're going to stay very focused on it. And in terms of inventory levels, talking about raw materials, finished goods, as I called out before, the key metric for me is the relative days on hand. We're trying to improve that. So we look at our level of sales and we try to improve the sort of the relative days of inventory we have to that. We're not going to build inventory, if this is your question. We're not going to sit on extra raw materials or finished goods as buffers or build up. That is not our intention. Quite the opposite. We want to be more efficient. We're going to react quickly. We have the capacity to meet the ramp.

是的。希拉，我的意思是，我們將非常關注它。就庫存水準而言，談到原料、成品，正如我之前所說，對我來說關鍵指標是現有的相對天數。我們正在努力改進這一點。因此，我們著眼於我們的銷售水平，並嘗試改善庫存的相對天數。如果這是您的問題，我們不會建立庫存。我們不會坐擁額外的原料或成品作為緩衝或累積。這不是我們的意圖。恰恰相反。我們希望變得更有效率。我們將迅速做出反應。我們有能力滿足坡道的要求。

We are not the bottleneck in the aerospace supply chain as we've called out several times. We're ready to support Airbus and Boeing with their ramp-ups, and we're going to work very, very closely as Nick outlined earlier. So in terms of inventory, we're going to manage it tightly. And if anything, try to continue to improve the days. We'll manage our receivables. Historically, we've done a great job. We're going to continue to do that. And we're going to try and extend and manage our payables as productively as we can. We do see a little bit of scope to increase our days of payables. I think historically, we've been very low. So we're focused across the board on working capital management to optimize our cash position.

正如我們多次指出的那樣，我們並不是航空航天供應鏈的瓶頸。我們已準備好支持空中巴士和波音的擴張，並且我們將像尼克之前概述的那樣非常非常密切地合作。所以在庫存方面，我們會嚴格管理。如果有的話，請嘗試繼續改善日子。我們將管理我們的應收帳款。從歷史上看，我們做得很好。我們將繼續這樣做。我們將盡可能有效率地擴展和管理我們的應付帳款。我們確實看到了增加應付帳款天數的一些空間。我認為從歷史上看，我們的水平非常低。因此，我們全面關注營運資本管理，以優化我們的現金狀況。

Your next question comes from the line of Gavin Parsons from UBS.

您的下一個問題來自瑞銀集團 (UBS) 的加文‧帕森斯 (Gavin Parsons)。

Nick, congrats on your retirement.

尼克，恭喜你退休。

Thanks, Gavin.

謝謝，加文。

The industrial revenue guide for the year implies a pretty significant sequential ramp up throughout the year. Can you talk about what gives you visibility into that risk to the guide?

今年的工業收入指南意味著全年將出現相當顯著的連續成長。您能否談談是什麼讓您能夠向指南了解該風險？

So industrial is challenged certainly in the European market, which makes up a big portion of our industrial business with some of our customers backing off, taking a little bit of pause. Automotive, some of the premium automotive suppliers, the high-end vehicles slowed down a little bit to pull for our materials in rack and sporting simply because of some of the economic pressures hit Q1, especially hard.

因此，工業在歐洲市場肯定受到挑戰，歐洲市場占我們工業業務的很大一部分，我們的一些客戶有所退縮，稍微停頓了一下。汽車產業，一些優質汽車供應商、高端汽車的需求放緩了一點，以拉動我們的貨架和運動材料，這僅僅是因為第一季受到的一些經濟壓力尤其嚴重。

Now we do expect recovery there, but there's probably pressure on our industrial to be low single digit to kind of flat. But having said that, I would tell you the order activity and the engagement with our customers and the pull for our materials, some of which are short-term pull because it's a much quicker cycle, is strong, very strong. So we're not giving up on industrial, but we certainly recognize that there's a little bit of hole after Q1 that we've got to go work.

現在我們確實預計那裡會復甦，但我們的工業可能面臨著低個位數甚至持平的壓力。但話雖如此，我想告訴你，訂單活動、與客戶的互動以及對我們材料的吸引力，其中一些是短期的吸引力，因為這是一個更快的周期，非常強大。因此，我們不會放棄工業，但我們當然認識到，第一季之後存在一些漏洞，我們必須繼續努力。

Okay. That's helpful detail. And maybe just on the margin implications of all that. I think you said industrial is margin dilutive, but I would imagine that the level of revenue decline you had in the first quarter probably has some excess capacity in there. So what are the margin implications of the big industrial step down in the quarter? Was that largely dilutive?

好的。這是有用的細節。也許只是所有這些的邊際影響。我認為您說工業會稀釋利潤，但我認為第一季的收入下降水平可能存在一些產能過剩。那麼，本季工業大幅下滑對利潤率有何影響？這很大程度稀釋了嗎？

Yes. So Gavin, I mean, the wind margin and the winds sort of decline in sales is going to be a positive over time. I mean that part of the industrial business over several years has become weaker. But that decline has now been the last 5, 6 years. And so that has helped us. I think at this point, the differentiation between industrial and aerospace is still there. Industrial is lower, but it's probably less pronounced because a lot of the industrial we're doing, sophisticated woven fabric, non-prime fabrics, utilizing carbon fibers. So -- and down 7% of sales, that mix impact is becoming less.

是的。所以加文，我的意思是，隨著時間的推移，風電利潤率和風電銷售額的下降將是積極的。我的意思是，這幾年工業業務部分已經變弱了。但這種下降已經是過去五、六年了。這對我們有幫助。我認為在這一點上，工業和航空航天之間的差異仍然存在。工業較低，但可能不太明顯，因為我們正在做的許多工業，複雜的機織織物，非底色織物，都使用碳纖維。因此，隨著銷售額下降 7%，這種混合影響正在變得越來越小。

So there's a small margin impact, beneficial dilution margin impact, but I wouldn't overplay it, Gavin. I think wind helped us and pulling out that low losing, if you like, that low-margin wind business has happened, has not been a bad thing, but the remaining industrial -- there's actually more opportunity on margin, albeit it's not a Aerospace or Space & Defense levels.

因此，對利潤率的影響很小，有益的稀釋利潤率影響，但我不會誇大它，加文。我認為風能幫助了我們，並擺脫了低虧損，如果你願意的話，低利潤的風能業務已經發生，並不是一件壞事，但剩餘的工業- 實際上有更多的利潤機會，儘管它不是航空航天或太空與防禦等級。

Understood. Okay. Final quick one. Do you have visibility to say gross margin in the first quarter is the low point for the year?

明白了。好的。最後快一點。您是否有能力說第一季的毛利率是年內的最低點？

We're not going to guide by quarters. We're just going to drive our margins as strongly as we can. Gross margin, unlike adjusted operating income is not impacted so much by the stock comp. But we will continue to drive that as strongly as we can.

我們不會按季度進行指引。我們將盡我們所能提高我們的利潤率。與調整後的營業收入不同，毛利率受股票比較的影響不大。但我們將繼續盡最大努力推動這一目標。

Your next question comes from the line of Gautam Khanna from TD Cowen.

您的下一個問題來自 TD Cowen 的 Gautam Khanna。

Congratulations, Nick.

恭喜你，尼克。

Thanks, Gautam.

謝謝，高塔姆。

I just wanted to ask your opinion on the destocking that began in Q3 on the narrowbody side, and it seems to have resolved in the first quarter. Is that pretty broad-based among your intermediary customers on the 737 MAX in particular? In other words, I imagine you shipped to a number of different subcontract manufacturers. Are you seeing most of those now in alignment with one another? Or are you still seeing some folks going down, some folks going up, and just maybe if you could just talk about what -- looking back over the last 6 months, where did you see the biggest reductions? And have those suppliers come to a bottom in terms of their buying?

我只是想問一下您對窄體機方面從第三季度開始的去庫存的看法，似乎在第一季就已經解決了。尤其是 737 MAX 的中間客戶中，這種情況是否相當廣泛？換句話說，我想您將貨物運送給許多不同的分包製造商。現在您看到其中大多數都相互一致了嗎？或者你仍然看到有些人在下降，有些人在上升，也許你能談談——回顧過去 6 個月，你在哪裡看到了最大的減少？這些供應商的採購量是否已經觸底？

Well, Gautam, clearly, we do ship to multiple providers for Boeing and the MAX as we do with Airbus for the 320 and all our programs. It's a very complex supply chain. And just based on that, it's rare, if ever, that everybody is in complete alignment at the same phase. Some parts take longer, some parts have a quicker lead time, shorter lead time. So it's never going to be completely balanced. Again, as I said before, if you look at the MAX and if you look at the rate where we've been shipping to over the last couple of quarters, it's very consistent.

嗯，高塔姆，顯然，我們確實向波音和 MAX 的多個供應商發貨，就像我們向空中巴士公司發貨 320 和我們所有的項目一樣。這是一個非常複雜的供應鏈。基於此，每個人在同一階段完全一致的情況是很少見的。有些零件需要較長的時間，有些零件的交貨時間較快，有些零件的交貨時間較短。所以它永遠不會完全平衡。再說一次，正如我之前所說，如果你看看 MAX，如果你看看我們過去幾季的出貨率，你會發現它非常一致。

So from my perspective, I don't see a lot of destocking taking place. For that matter, I don't see a lot of restocking take place, which gives us an indication that there's still choppiness. There's still some uncertainty on how and when Boeing will ramp and get up to the rates that they aspire to reach. So all in all, I think the destocking is minimal from a negative standpoint as of today for Hexcel on the narrowbodies. If anything, it might be a little tailwind on the widebody simply because they're ramping up nicely.

因此，從我的角度來看，我沒有看到大量去庫存的情況發生。就此而言，我沒有看到大量補貨，這表明市場仍然不穩定。波音公司將如何以及何時提升並達到他們渴望達到的速度仍然存在一些不確定性。總而言之，我認為從負面的角度來看，目前對赫氏窄體機來說，去庫存的幅度很小。如果有什麼不同的話，那就是寬體機可能會有點順風，因為它們的加速性能很好。

Got you. And then would you describe what happened in Q3 and Q4 as destocking? Or was -- because back then, you guys called out the lack of -- you were anticipating more growth than manifested. Was that destocking? Or was it something else? I'm just curious if you haven't really seen much of a change.

明白你了。那麼您是否將第三季和第四季發生的情況描述為去庫存？或者是——因為當時，你們指出缺乏——你們預期的成長比實際表現的還要多。這是去庫存嗎？還是別的什麼？我只是好奇你是否沒有真正看到太大的變化。

Well, I think it was a couple of things. We knew after we got through Q1 last year and into Q2 that we saw the growth rate on the narrowbodies had slowed. So certainly, there was a little adjustment in the entire supply chain to deal with that. Keep in mind there was a big ramp underway. And then all of a sudden, it looks like it couldn't materialize as planned. So there was some lower rate impact as well as a slowdown on the stocking. So whether you want to call that destocking or just a general slowdown a bit to better align with what the OEs were saying they were going to do in the second half of the year and the first part of 2024. So that's from Hexcel's view and perspective what we saw.

嗯，我認為有幾件事。我們知道，在去年第一季和第二季之後，我們看到窄體飛機的成長率已經放緩。因此，可以肯定的是，整個供應鏈都進行了一些調整來應對這個問題。請記住，有一個大坡道正在進行中。然後突然之間，它似乎無法按計劃實現。因此，利率下降帶來了一些影響，而且庫存也放緩了。因此，無論你想稱這種去庫存還是只是普遍放緩，以更好地符合運營商所說的他們將在今年下半年和2024 年上半年採取的行動。來看的我們看到了什麼。

Your next question comes from the line of Robert Spingarn from Melius Research.

您的下一個問題來自 Melius Research 的 Robert Spingarn。

Congrats, Nick.

恭喜，尼克。

Thanks, Robert.

謝謝，羅伯特。

At the risk of maybe beating a dead horse on this, I'm going to just take this from another angle. When you say the rates have been for MAX have been relatively steady. Could we quantify that? Have you been the steadier rates that you've been shipping at, are we talking about low 30s?

冒著可能在這件事上打死的風險，我將從另一個角度來看這個問題。當你說 MAX 的費率一直相對穩定。我們可以量化這一點嗎？你們的運費是否穩定，我們談論的是 30 多美元嗎？

We're talking about very low 30s, Robert.

我們談論的是非常低的 30 多歲，羅伯特。

Okay. Very low 30s. All right. That's certainly helpful. On the 87, we've heard from one airline in particular, that we really shouldn't expect above 5 per month for a while. And in the first quarter, they delivered only 13. So are you shipping a little bit below that 5 per month? Or are you -- how should we think about that?

好的。非常低的30歲。好的。這當然有幫助。在 87 號航班上，我們特別從一家航空公司那裡聽說，在一段時間內我們真的不應該期望每月超過 5 架飛機。第一季度，他們只交付了 13 個。或者你是──我們該如何思考這個問題？

So I really don't want to get too specific. I believe Boeing is reporting tomorrow, and they may they share more detail, but I can tell you we're shipping above 5.

所以我真的不想說太具體。我相信波音公司明天就會發布報告，他們可能會分享更多細節，但我可以告訴你，我們的出貨量超過 5。

Okay. And then just quickly for Patrick. Just from a productivity perspective, you ended '23 with headcount at 80% of '19 levels. I think revenues were at 75%. And then this year at the midpoint, going up to 84% of '19. Should headcount track that? Or at some point, will we see some optimization or some productivity where when you get back to 100% of 2019 sales, you're at something less on headcount?

好的。然後很快就到了帕特里克。僅從生產力角度來看，23 年末的員工人數為 19 年水準的 80%。我認為收入為 75%。然後今年在中點，上升到 19 年的 84%。員工人數應該追蹤這一點嗎？或者在某個時候，我們會看到一些優化或一些生產力，當你恢復到 2019 年銷售額的 100% 時，你的員工人數會減少嗎？

Yes. So good question. And I divided sort of headcount into your direct shop floor factory headcount. And I think we called out we got a little bit of ahead there. But essentially, over time, that's going to track the top line. It's going to go pro rata as sales grow. Now we'll be efficient and disciplined as we can. Where we have the real opportunity is on the indirect labor, where we took a lot of people out in the pandemic and the fixed cost benefit that we called out at the time. And our objective is to do exactly what they are saying, Rob, that when we get back to the $2.35 billion, $2.4 billion, we should be more efficient, more productive. And so the total headcount at that point should be less than it was which was just under 7,000 in 2019, we should have a bit less when we get to that revenue level next time around.

是的。好問題。我將某種員工人數劃分為直接車間工廠員工人數。我想我們已經表示我們已經領先了一點。但本質上，隨著時間的推移，這將追隨營收。隨著銷售額的成長，它將按比例增長。現在我們將盡可能保持高效率和紀律。 我們真正的機會在於間接勞動力，我們在疫情期間帶走了許多人，以及我們當時呼籲的固定成本效益。我們的目標是完全按照他們所說的去做，羅布，當我們回到 23.5 億美元、24 億美元時，我們應該變得更有效率、更有生產力。因此，當時的總人數應該比 2019 年略低於 7,000 人要少，當我們下次達到這個收入水準時，我們的人數應該會少一些。

Any way to quantify what that would be? I don't think we want to put a number on it, but obviously, we're going to drive that productivity efficiencies as strongly as we can.

有什麼方法可以量化那是什麼？我不認為我們想給出一個數字，但顯然，我們將盡我們所能地提高生產力效率。

Your next question comes from the line of Noah Poponak at Goldman Sachs.

你的下一個問題來自高盛的諾亞·波波納克（Noah Poponak）。

Congrats, Nick.

恭喜，尼克。

Thanks, Noah.

謝謝，諾亞。

So Boeing has declared that they're doing these quality standdowns whereby they're much less focused on the monthly delivery numbers and instead very focused on fixing the product quality. And I guess the key question or at least for now, is that a 3- to 6-month process and then they can move forward with the ramp? Or is that -- does it take multiples of 3 to 6 months? And I know that these questions can often be entered by you got as Boeing, but just as a key supplier and how much this will impact your forward, what's your sense there? Is it a half a year for them to get to where they need to be able to continue to ramp? Or do they even know? And is there a risk it can take much longer.

因此，波音公司宣布，他們正在進行這些品質停頓，他們不再那麼關注每月的交付數量，而是非常關注修復產品品質。我想至少現在的關鍵問題是，這是一個 3 到 6 個月的過程，然後他們可以繼續前進？或者是——需要 3 到 6 個月的倍數嗎？我知道，作為波音公司，您經常會提出這些問題，但作為關鍵供應商，這會對您的未來產生多大影響，您的感覺是什麼？他們需要半年的時間才能達到他們需要繼續提升的水平嗎？或者他們知道嗎？是否存在可能需要更長時間的風險。

Yes. So having worked with Boeing for many years at Hexcel and other companies, I have the utmost respect for the talent, their processes, their capabilities. And it's very unfortunate on what's happened and what they're going through, but it is making them stronger, much stronger from a continuous improvement on productivity, on throughput, on safety, on all the elements. So I'm a huge believer that what they're going through right now is just going to pay great dividends down the road.

是的。因此，在波音公司、赫氏公司和其他公司工作多年後，我對他們的人才、他們的流程和他們的能力懷有最大的尊重。所發生的事情和他們正在經歷的事情是非常不幸的，但它正在使他們變得更強大，透過生產力、吞吐量、安全性和所有要素的持續改進而變得更加強大。所以我堅信他們現在所經歷的一切將會在未來帶來巨大的回報。

Now are they making progress daily? I have no doubt they're making significant strides every single day, with a changing workforce and new people and training and different processes. Remember, what they do is quite different from our continuous flow 7/24 processing material lines. Regardless, I'm sure they're well on track, and I'm really not going to be the one to talk about their timing and how quickly they're going to be able to ramp up and improve their productivity and efficiency. Personally, I'm optimistic on what I see. I'm optimistic on the poll. I'm optimistic on the communication and the alignment we have with Boeing.

現在他們每天都在進步嗎？我毫不懷疑，隨著勞動力的變化、新員工、培訓和不同的流程，他們每天都在取得重大進展。請記住，他們的工作與我們的連續流 7/24 加工材料生產線有很大不同。無論如何，我確信他們已經步入正軌，而且我真的不會成為談論他們的時機以及他們能夠以多快的速度提高生產力和效率的人。就我個人而言，我對我所看到的感到樂觀。我對民調持樂觀態度。我對我們與波音的溝通和協調持樂觀態度。

Okay. Nick, that's super helpful. I appreciate that. Yes. I mean, I guess the pool alone being in the low 30s, GE just a few hours ago, had similar comments on the engines. I would guess that Boeing would not keep pulling if they thought this was a much longer process, but is there just a risk that they didn't know and they're going to learn, it's a longer process, and then that puts a divot in the middle of your year in 2024 at some point?

好的。尼克，這非常有幫助。我很感激。是的。我的意思是，我猜僅池的溫度就在 30 左右，就在幾個小時前，GE 對引擎也有類似的評論。我猜如果波音公司認為這是一個更長的過程，他們就不會繼續拉動，但是否存在他們不知道並且他們會學習的風險，這是一個更長的過程，然後這就產生了分歧2024 年年中的某個時候？

Yes. We're obviously going to be on the call tomorrow listening. We're obviously going to be very close to Boeing. They're very transparent on what they're looking at and what their plans are for the near term and the midterm. So I think we'll know as soon as they know what they're going to do. And I think your perspective on if they're pulling at 30, they must have confidence, which -- I think that's a very good assumption.

是的。顯然，我們明天將接聽電話。顯然我們將非常接近波音。他們對自己正在考慮的內容以及近期和中期的計劃非常透明。所以我想一旦他們知道該做什麼我們就會知道。我認為你認為如果他們在 30 歲時繼續前進，他們必須有信心，我認為這是一個非常好的假設。

Okay. And Patrick, just one more on the margins. I think you had last quarter talked about the back half better than the first half, and that was driven by the pace of volume and your investments and some costs. You normally have the 3Q seasonality. So that was going to look kind of different than a normal year. This first quarter looks better than -- is better than consensus, maybe a little better than you had. I guess just does the year now look a little more even quarter-to-quarter through the year, back half versus first half than you previously thought?

好的。還有派崔克，只是邊緣的另一位。我認為上個季度您對後半段的討論比上半年更好，這是由銷售的成長、您的投資和一些成本所推動的。通常有第三季的季節性。所以這看起來與平常的一年有所不同。第一季看起來比共識好，也許比你的預期好一點。我想今年的季度與季度、下半年與上半年相比，是否比您之前想像的要更加均勻？

Well, I mean, again, with the provider of the stock comp impact on Q1, yes, we're still confident we're going to see an improvement. It is slightly flatter than we said before. I don't think we're going to get into that kind of quarter-by-quarter analysis. We see steady margin progress. Volume leverage driving steady margin progress as we go through the year. We're standing by our annual guidance. You can kind of back into that, as I know you do well, Noah. And yes, we're positive, and we see a strong second half of '24 still.

嗯，我的意思是，考慮到股票比較提供者對第一季的影響，是的，我們仍然有信心看到改善。它比我們之前說的稍微平坦一些。我認為我們不會進行這種逐季度的分析。我們看到利潤率穩定成長。全年銷售槓桿推動利潤率穩定成長。我們堅持我們的年度指導。你可以回到這個話題，我知道你做得很好，諾亞。是的，我們很樂觀，我們看到 24 年下半年仍然強勁。

Our next question comes from David Strauss from Barclays.

我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的大衛‧史特勞斯。

This is Josh Korn on for David. I know the guidance this year implies like mid-20% incremental. I just wanted to ask kind of what sustainable incrementals could be -- could look like going forward in the medium term?

這是大衛的喬許·科恩。我知道今年的指導意味著 20% 左右的增量。我只是想問可持續增量可能是什麼——在中期內會是什麼樣子？

Yes. I mean, as you know, Josh, we're not going to give out an incremental target. We backed off that some time ago, depending on growth in quarter-to-quarter, it just becomes a minefield because you can't have consistent incrementals. We're always going to take any incremental sales we have, any upside and try and leverage it as strongly as we can. Our goal is clearly to drive our operating -- adjusted operating income margin to mid-teens and then beyond mid-teens, back to the 17%, 18% where we were before and ultimately look to go beyond that. But the target right now is getting back to the mid-teens and pushing as hard as we can. And within that, whenever we get the opportunity, we will drive incremental as strongly as we can.

是的。我的意思是，如你所知，喬什，我們不會給出增量目標。我們前段時間放棄了這一點，根據季度的成長情況，它只是成為一個雷區，因為你無法獲得一致的增量。我們總是會利用我們所擁有的任何增量銷售和任何優勢，並盡可能地利用它。我們的目標顯然是推動調整後的營業利潤率達到 15% 左右，然後超過 10% 左右，回到之前的 17%、18%，並最終超越這個水準。但現在的目標是回到十幾歲左右，並盡我們所能地努力。在此範圍內，只要有機會，我們就會盡最大努力推動增量。

Our last question today comes from the line of Pete Skibitski from Alembic Global.

我們今天的最後一個問題來自 Alembic Global 的 Pete Skibitski。

Best of luck, Nick. You went out on a nice quarter. That's good.

祝你好運，尼克。你度過了一個愉快的季度。那挺好的。

Thanks, Pete.

謝謝，皮特。

Only question for me just on Space & Defense after the nice quarter there following a strong 2023. Can you remind us your split in Space & Defense between the U.S. and Europe. I couldn't remember which geography was bigger for you. And are you seeing outsized growth in Europe right now just because of the threat level over there and so many of the NATO nations increasing their defense budgets. That's it for me.

在經歷了強勁的 2023 年之後，在美好的季度之後，我唯一想問的是關於太空與國防的問題。我不記得哪個地理環境比較適合你。您是否看到歐洲現在的大幅成長只是因為那裡的威脅程度以及許多北約國家增加了國防預算。對我來說就是這樣。

Yes. Pete, I mean we have seen a little bit of a realignment over the last 12, 18 months. I mean, the U.S. is by far the biggest. It's still 70%, perhaps a little bit more. But Europe has grown. It used to be sort of 20% a little bit under. It's now well over that, pushing towards more 70-30 or around that bracket. So the U.S. is definitely the biggest. It's the strongest, and I would expect that to continue. But Europe, exactly to the point you're making with the geopolitical situation, budgets have got stronger, more of the governments in Europe have put more money into the military, and we've seen that boost a bit. So 70-30 very broadly.

是的。 Pete，我的意思是，在過去 12、18 個月裡我們看到了一些調整。我的意思是，美國是迄今為止最大的。仍然是 70%，也許更多。但歐洲已經成長。以前的比例略低於 20%。現在已經遠遠超過了這個數字，並且正在朝著 70-30 左右的方向發展。所以美國絕對是最大的。這是最強的，我希望這種情況能夠持續下去。但歐洲，正如你所描述的地緣政治局勢一樣，預算變得更加強勁，更多的歐洲政府向軍事投入了更多資金，我們已經看到了這一點的增加。所以 70-30 非常廣泛。

That does conclude our question-and-answer session. And with that, that does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect.

我們的問答環節到此結束。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接。