ICL Group Ltd (ICL) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the ICL analyst conference call. (Operator Instructions) I must advise you that this call is being recorded today.

女士們、先生們，感謝你們的支持，歡迎參加 ICL 分析師電話會議。 （操作員指示）我必須通知您，今天這個電話正在錄音。

I would like to hand over the call to our first speaker today, Peggy Reilly Tharp, Vice President of Global Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我想將電話交給今天的第一位講者、全球投資者關係副總裁 Peggy Reilly Tharp。請繼續。

Thank you. Hello, everyone. I'm Peggy Reilly Tharp, Vice President of Global Investor Relations. I'd like to welcome you and thank you for joining us today for our quarterly earnings call. The event is being webcast live on our website at icl-group.com. Earlier today, we filed our reports with the securities authorities and the stock exchanges in the U.S. and in Israel. Those reports as well as the press release are available on our website.

謝謝。大家好。我是全球投資者關係副總裁 Peggy Reilly Tharp。我歡迎您並感謝您今天參加我們的季度收益電話會議。活動正在我們的網站 icl-group.com 上進行網路直播。今天早些時候，我們向美國和以色列的證券監管機構以及證券交易所提交了報告。這些報告以及新聞稿可在我們的網站上取得。

There will be a replay of the webcast available after the meeting, and a transcript will be available shortly thereafter. The presentation, which will be reviewed today, was also filed with the securities authorities and is available on our website. Please be sure to review the disclaimer on Slide 2.

會議結束後將重播網路廣播，隨後不久將提供文字記錄。該簡報將於今天審查，也已向證券監管機構備案，並可在我們的網站上查看。請務必查看投影片 2 上的免責聲明。

Our comments today will contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance. The company undertakes no obligation to update any financial information discussed on this call at any time.

我們今天的評論將包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述是基於管理層當前的預期，並非對未來業績的保證。該公司沒有義務隨時更新本次電話會議中討論的任何財務資訊。

We will begin with the presentation by our CEO, Mr. Raviv Zoller; followed by Mr. Aviram Lahav, our CFO. Following the presentation, we will open the line for the Q&A session. Raviv, please.

我們將首先由我們的執行長 Raviv Zoller 先生進行演講；接下來是我們的財務長 Aviram Lahav 先生。演示結束後，我們將開通問答環節。拉維夫，請。

Thanks, Peggy, and welcome, everyone. I'd like to begin by recognizing all the expressions of concern we've received since October 7. In addition to hearing from you, our investors, we've also heard from our customers, suppliers, competitors and so many others. These heartfelt messages are greatly appreciated as we navigate the current situation in Israel. While I will provide more detail later in this call, I would like to assure you that while there are some challenges, our operations in Israel continue without significant disruption.

謝謝佩吉，歡迎大家。首先，我想感謝自10 月7 日以來我們收到的所有關於切表達。除了您（我們的投資者）的來信之外，我們還收到了我們的客戶、供應商、競爭對手和許多其他人的來信。在我們應對以色列當前局勢時，我們非常感謝這些衷心的信息。雖然我稍後將在本次電話會議中提供更多詳細信息，但我想向您保證，儘管存在一些挑戰，但我們在以色列的業務仍在繼續，沒有受到重大干擾。

For the third quarter, you can see a quick overview of results on Slide 3. Sales of $1.86 billion were flat sequentially as we saw the beginning signs of stabilization in many of our end markets. Adjusted EBITDA of $346 million was down versus the prior record year, as expected.

對於第三季的業績，您可以在投影片 3 上看到結果的快速概覽。銷售額為 18.6 億美元，與上一季持平，因為我們看到許多終端市場開始出現穩定跡象。正如預期的那樣，調整後 EBITDA 為 3.46 億美元，較上年創紀錄下降。

During the quarter, we completed significant destocking efforts, which in part helped contribute to our strong cash generation. For the third quarter, we generated more than $400 million of operating cash flow and $217 million of free cash flow.

本季度，我們完成了重大的去庫存工作，這在一定程度上有助於我們產生強勁的現金。第三季度，我們產生了超過 4 億美元的營運現金流和 2.17 億美元的自由現金流。

We delivered $0.11 of earnings per share and distributed nearly $70 million in dividends to our shareholders as part of our long-standing policy to pay out 50% of adjusted net income each quarter.

作為我們每季支付調整後淨收入 50% 的長期政策的一部分，我們實現了 0.11 美元的每股收益，並向股東派發了近 7000 萬美元的股息。

While I will discuss each of our businesses in more detail, I would like to call out our strong potash deliveries in the third quarter, and we are now sold out for the year.

雖然我將更詳細地討論我們的每項業務，但我想指出我們第三季的鉀肥交付量強勁，而且我們今年的鉀肥現已銷售一空。

For our phosphate specialties, we had another solid quarter and are in the process of Board approvals for the first offtake agreement for our new battery materials facility, which is now under construction in St. Louis.

對於我們的磷酸鹽專業產品，我們又取得了穩健的季度業績，並且正在董事會批准我們新電池材料工廠的第一份承購協議，該工廠目前正在聖路易斯建設。

I would ask you to now turn to Slide 4 and a 3-year look at our key financial metrics. While sales were down year-over-year, as expected, they were up versus 2021 on both a quarter and year-to-date basis. Adjusted EBITDA was down for the quarter due to lower pricing across all of our businesses. However, we saw some increases in volumes. During the quarter, we benefited from better raw material prices and transportation rates and saving efficiencies overall. However, this was obviously not enough to offset the decline in prices from 2022.

我想請您現在轉向投影片 4，回顧我們 3 年的主要財務指標。雖然銷售額如預期同比下降，但與 2021 年相比，季度和年初至今的銷售額均有所增長。由於我們所有業務的定價較低，本季調整後的 EBITDA 有所下降。然而，我們看到數量增加。本季度，我們受益於更好的原材料價格和運輸率以及整體節約效率。但這顯然不足以抵消2022年以來價格的下降。

On Slide 5, you can see our specialties sales. While 2022 was an exceptional year, you can see that our year-to-date 2023 specialties sales remain ahead of our more normalized 2021 results. Overall, specialties sales were higher versus the first 9 months of 2021. Similarly, while down year-over-year, our adjusted EPS for the first 9 months of the year exceeded the same time frame in 2021. In the center of this slide, you can see our third quarter operating cash flow, which was up versus the second quarter of this year and our free cash flow, which was roughly flat for the same time frame. When compared to 2021, you can see we experienced significant growth in both operating and free cash flow on both the quarterly and year-to-year basis.

在投影片 5 上，您可以看到我們的特色產品銷售。雖然 2022 年是不平凡的一年，但您可以看到，我們年初至今的 2023 年特色產品銷售額仍然領先於更標準化的 2021 年業績。總體而言，特色產品銷售額高於 2021 年前 9 個月。同樣，雖然同比下降，但我們今年前 9 個月的調整後每股收益超過了 2021 年同期。在這張幻燈片的中心，你可以看到我們第三季的營運現金流，與今年第二季相比有所上升，而我們的自由現金流，在同一時期內大致持平。與 2021 年相比，您可以看到我們的季度和同比營運現金流和自由現金流都出現了顯著增長。

I would now like to begin our segment review with Industrial Products on Slide 6. Third quarter sales were $267 million, while EBITDA was $42 million. As we indicated in June, the recovery in demand for flame retardants has been much slower than predicted. During the third quarter, bromine prices hit bottom, and we also completed some additional destocking efforts. Demand is now slowly picking up in the fourth quarter, and our unique cost position and focus on long-term customer partnerships is allowing us to gain market share.

我現在想開始對幻燈片 6 上的工業產品進行細分市場回顧。第三季銷售額為 2.67 億美元，而 EBITDA 為 4,200 萬美元。正如我們在 6 月指出的，阻燃劑需求的復甦比預期慢得多。第三季度，溴價格觸底，我們也完成了一些額外的去庫存工作。第四季的需求正在緩慢回升，我們獨特的成本地位和對長期客戶合作夥伴關係的關注使我們能夠獲得市場份額。

Demand for clear brine fluids has remained strong as oil drilling activity has increased. Our specialty minerals business unit, targeting food, pharma and other end markets, performed in accordance with our expectations in the third quarter. Overall, our Industrial Products division started gaining market share toward the end of the quarter. As the leading global producer of bromine, we have been able to leverage our efficient cost position and remain profitable despite unique challenges which may have significant impact on smaller manufacturers.

隨著石油鑽探活動的增加，對透明鹽水的需求仍然強勁。我們的特種礦物業務部門瞄準食品、製藥和其他終端市場，第三季的表現符合我們的預期。總體而言，我們的工業產品部門在本季末開始獲得市場份額。作為全球領先的溴生產商，儘管面臨可能對小型製造商產生重大影響的獨特挑戰，我們仍然能夠利用我們高效的成本地位並保持盈利。

As I said last quarter, our Industrial Products business remains on track for the long term, and we do not expect recent developments, which are predominantly external to have a material impact on the execution of our 5-year plan. We are beginning to see demand recovery becoming visible in some end markets and expect to gain benefits from cost savings initiatives launched in recent months.

正如我上季度所說，我們的工業產品業務長期保持正軌，我們預計近期的發展（主要是外部的）不會對我們五年計劃的執行產生重大影響。我們開始看到一些終端市場的需求復甦變得明顯，並期望從近幾個月推出的成本節約措施中獲益。

Turning to Slide 7 and our Phosphate Solutions division where we reported strong results relative to current global market conditions. Third quarter sales of $620 million were up sequentially, while EBITDA came in at $117 million and was substantially impacted by lower prices in the market, mainly on the commodity side of the business.

轉向幻燈片 7 和我們的磷酸鹽解決方案部門，我們報告了相對於當前全球市場狀況的強勁業績。第三季銷售額較上季成長 6.2 億美元，而 EBITDA 為 1.17 億美元，主要受到市場價格下跌的影響，主要是在業務的商品方面。

For the quarter, our phosphate specialties business demonstrated resilience and represented approximately 60% of Phosphate Solutions sales and nearly 50% of EBITDA. Specialties EBITDA margin of 15% is in line with the third quarter of 2021. Free cash flow was very favorable in the third quarter as we improved our working capital position for Phosphate Solutions. We also benefited from lower raw material and transportation costs during the quarter as we leverage our supply chain capabilities.

本季度，我們的磷酸鹽特種業務表現出彈性，約佔磷酸鹽解決方案銷售額的 60%，佔 EBITDA 的近 50%。特種產品 EBITDA 利潤率為 15%，與 2021 年第三季的情況一致。隨著我們改善了磷酸鹽解決方案的營運資金狀況，第三季的自由現金流非常有利。由於我們利用了我們的供應鏈能力，本季度我們也受益於較低的原材料和運輸成本。

Sales and volumes vary by end market and region and our industrial specialties showed strength in Asia Pacific due to resurging demand for battery materials. For our specialty food phosphates, we experienced strong pricing in North America, and overall, food prices continue to be elevated on a global basis.

銷售額和銷售量因終端市場和地區而異，由於電池材料需求的復甦，我們的工業專業在亞太地區表現出實力。對於我們的特殊食品磷酸鹽，我們在北美經歷了強勁的定價，總體而言，全球食品價格持續上漲。

Europe remains challenging in general as it has for the past 4 quarters with increased competitions from Chinese suppliers, and we continue to defend our market share where necessary in this region. Chinese producers are also becoming more apparent in South America as China continues to export its excess supply. In both Europe and South America, we implemented targeted efficiency efforts to optimize our logistics, raw material costs and energy costs.

歐洲總體上仍然充滿挑戰，因為過去四個季度來自中國供應商的競爭加劇，我們將繼續在該地區必要時捍衛我們的市場份額。隨著中國繼續出口過剩的供應，中國生產商在南美的地位也越來越明顯。在歐洲和南美洲，我們實施了有針對性的效率工作，以優化我們的物流、原材料成本和能源成本。

For our battery materials expansion in St. Louis, we are on track for this facility to be operational in late 2025. While there has been a lot of noise in the news about electric vehicles lately, we remain excited about the long-term potential of the overall energy storage and electric vehicle industries. We have always expected this to be a gradual ramp-up and are pleased to be the first mover for essential battery materials produced and sourced in the United States.

對於我們在聖路易斯的電池材料擴建項目，我們預計該工廠將於 2025 年底投入運營。雖然最近有關電動汽車的新聞沸沸揚揚，但我們仍然對電動汽車的長期潛力感到興奮整個儲能和電動汽車行業。我們一直預計這將是一個逐步的增長，並且很高興成為在美國生產和採購的基本電池材料的先驅。

As I mentioned earlier, we soon expect to announce our first long-term strategic partnership, which will help in creating the next generation of battery and energy storage solutions in North America. We are also seeing growing traction and engagement from additional potential offtake partners.

正如我之前提到的，我們很快就會宣布我們的第一個長期策略合作夥伴關係，這將有助於在北美創建下一代電池和儲能解決方案。我們也看到更多潛在承購合作夥伴的吸引力和參與度不斷增加。

On Slide 8, you will see our potash results and note our supply is sold out for the remainder of 2023. For the third quarter, sales were $526 million as quantities increased to approximately 1.28 million metric tons with higher volumes to Europe, Brazil and China. EBITDA came in at $164 million and prices began to stabilize.

在投影片8 上，您將看到我們的鉀肥業績，並注意到我們的鉀肥供應已在2023 年剩餘時間內售完。第三季度，銷售額為5.26 億美元，銷量增加至約128 萬噸，其中歐洲、巴西和中國的銷量增加。 EBITDA 達到 1.64 億美元，價格開始穩定。

Our Potash CIF price of $342 was down versus the same quarter in '22 but up slightly versus the third quarter of 2021. In Spain, our production continued to face geological constraints in the third quarter as we continue to transition away from a lower-grade mineral geography, which will carry on over the next few months. This shift is in concert with other efficiency efforts there as we strive to increase outputs and decreased costs in Spain. We also continue to pursue cost savings across our entire potash portfolio and are on track with our plans.

我們的鉀肥到岸價為342 美元，與2022 年同季相比有所下降，但與2021 年第三季相比略有上漲。在西班牙，隨著我們繼續從較低品位過渡，我們的生產在第三季度繼續面臨地質限制。礦物地理學，將在接下來的幾個月內繼續進行。這一轉變與我們在西班牙努力提高產量並降低成本的其他效率努力相一致。我們也繼續在整個鉀肥產品組合中尋求成本節約，並且正在按計劃實施。

Turning to Slide 9 and our Growing Solutions business, which delivered sequential improvement in both sales and EBITDA in the third quarter. Sales were $550 million, while EBITDA was $37 million. During the quarter, significant destocking was almost fully completed, driving higher quantities across the division and contributed in part to all-time record quarterly cash flow and some gains in market share. In total, Growing Solutions has reduced its inventory by approximately $140 million since the beginning of the year, which is in line with our plans.

轉向幻燈片 9 和我們的成長解決方案業務，該業務在第三季度實現了銷售額和 EBITDA 的連續改善。銷售額為 5.5 億美元，EBITDA 為 3,700 萬美元。本季度，大幅去庫存幾乎完全完成，推動了整個部門的數量增加，並在一定程度上促成了創紀錄的季度現金流和市場份額的增長。自年初以來，Growing Solutions 的庫存總共減少了約 1.4 億美元，這符合我們的計劃。

Savings and efficiencies efforts for 2023 also remain on track with improvement in the third quarter. Our destocking efforts also helped our Brazilian business where we saw record sales with strong volumes. We gained market share during the quarter and also broken all-time sales record in our foliar business as we remain focused on higher-profit products. For other key geographies, we see demand returning in Europe, especially for our FertilizerPlus products and the pickup in demand is also becoming visible in China as well.

2023 年的節約和效率工作也仍按計劃進行，並在第三季度有所改善。我們的去庫存努力也幫助了我們的巴西業務，我們的銷售量創歷史新高。由於我們仍然專注於更高利潤的產品，我們在本季度獲得了市場份額，並打破了葉面業務的歷史銷售記錄。對於其他主要地區，我們看到歐洲的需求回升，尤其是我們的 FertilizerPlus 產品，而中國的需求回升也變得越來越明顯。

I would now like to draw your attention to Slide 10 and a review of the key areas where we remain focused. Efficiencies have been a theme throughout 2023, and each of the divisions enhanced their efforts in the third quarter. Our Industrial Products team has leveraged its efficient cost position during a challenging industry recovery; while Phosphate Solutions is focused on optimizing its logistics and raw material efficiencies, along with its energy usage on a global basis. In potash, we have benefited from ongoing efficiency efforts at the Dead Sea and are looking for advances in Spain to materialize, while Growing Solutions' efforts to efficiently destock high-priced inventory helped drive their third quarter cash flow and also leaves the business well positioned for additional growth as demand shows signs are beginning to improve.

現在我想提請您注意幻燈片 10 以及對我們仍然關注的關鍵領域的回顧。效率一直是 2023 年的主題，各部門在第三季都加大了力度。我們的工業產品團隊在充滿挑戰的產業復甦過程中充分利用了高效的成本優勢； Phosphate Solutions 則專注於優化其物流和原材料效率以及全球能源使用。在鉀肥方面，我們受益於死海持續的效率提升工作，並希望在西班牙取得進展，而 Growing Solutions 有效去化高價庫存的​​努力有助於推動其第三季度現金流，也使業務處於有利地位隨著需求顯示出開始改善的跡象，尋求進一步的成長。

In total, all of these efforts helped drive our strong total operating cash flow of $1.18 billion year-to-date, and Aviram will discuss our efficiency efforts in more detail.

總的來說，所有這些努力幫助我們推動了今年迄今為止 11.8 億美元的強勁總營運現金流，Aviram 將更詳細地討論我們的效率工作。

Growing our specialties product portfolio remains a key long-term priority. Our investment in battery materials for energy storage and electric vehicles will help position the phosphate specialties business for the future and further diversify end market exposure. Our Industrial Products business remains the leader in the global bromine market, which will continue to see long-term growth as electronics become even more firmly embedded in our AI-driven future. For Growing Solutions, we're excited about expanding our reach in growing markets such as Brazil and India and as we continue to develop new, more sustainable products for the future of agriculture.

擴大我們的特色產品組合仍然是關鍵的長期優先事項。我們對儲能和電動車電池材料的投資將有助於磷酸鹽特種業務的未來定位，並進一步實現終端市場多元化。我們的工業產品業務仍然是全球溴市場的領導者，隨著電子產品更加牢固地融入人工智慧驅動的未來，該業務將繼續實現長期成長。對於 Growing Solutions，我們很高興能夠擴大我們在巴西和印度等不斷增長的市場的影響力，並繼續為農業的未來開發新的、更永續的產品。

Our innovation focus on sustainability has been rewarded by a robust, high-value, new product portfolio and improved ties with third-parties as well as improved ratings, including our recent upgrade by MSCI to BBB. We expect to continue to improve our various rankings.

我們對永續發展的創新關注得到了強大、高價值的新產品組合、與第三方關係的改善以及評級的提高（包括我們最近被 MSCI 升級為 BBB）的回報。我們期望繼續提高我們的各種排名。

In terms of M&A, new opportunities have recently surfaced, and we have also recruited [Uri Perelman] to join our management team. [Uri] joins ICL as an Executive Vice President and as our Chief Business Development Officer. He will help accelerate our business development, M&A and strategic partnership efforts. Uri has an impressive track record in business development, successfully meeting growth processes in several companies, and we are very excited to have him join the team.

在併購方面，最近出現了新的機會，我們也招募了[Uri Perelman]加入我們的管理團隊。 [Uri] 加入 ICL，擔任執行副總裁兼首席業務開發長。他將幫助加速我們的業務發展、併購和策略合作夥伴關係的努力。 Uri 在業務發展方面擁有令人印象深刻的記錄，成功滿足了多家公司的成長流程，我們非常高興他加入我們的團隊。

Finally, I would like to provide an update on the situation in Israel. I'm deeply saddened to share that we lost several members of our ICL family due to the tragic events that took place on October 7 and in the aftermath. Our main focus has been on providing our employees impacted by the hostilities with their most immediate needs. At the same time, we've been working to keep our employees safe, both at work and home, and continue to adopt all the necessary measures, both at the sites and during transport, to minimize any potential risks. From a business standpoint, we have faced various operational challenges caused by the war but have succeeded in minimizing disruption and maintaining good production levels, thus meeting all of our customer commitments.

最後，我想介紹一下以色列的最新情況。我深感悲痛地告訴大家，由於 10 月 7 日及其後發生的悲劇事件，我們失去了幾位 ICL 家族成員。我們的主要重點是為受敵對行動影響的員工提供最迫切的需求。同時，我們一直努力確保員工在工作和家庭中的安全，並繼續在現場和運輸過程中採取一切必要措施，以盡量減少任何潛在風險。從業務角度來看，我們面臨著戰爭造成的各種營運挑戰，但成功地最大限度地減少了乾擾並保持了良好的生產水平，從而滿足了我們對客戶的所有承諾。

As of last week, approximately 600 of our more than 4,500 Israeli employees have been called to reserve duty, a situation that has required some adjustments, which have been working effectively. As many of you have inquired, transportation of goods has become a unique challenge, but our teams have been managing quite well. We are doing our best to get back to our normal business routine and, as you can imagine, we are monitoring the situation on a constant basis. We will continue to make all the necessary decisions and take the required actions to guarantee our business continuity while keeping our employees and communities safe.

截至上週，我們 4,500 多名以色列員工中約有 600 名已被要求保留職務，這種情況需要進行一些調整，但這些調整一直有效。正如你們許多人所詢問的那樣，貨物運輸已成為一項獨特的挑戰，但我們的團隊一直管理得很好。我們正在盡最大努力恢復正常的業務流程，正如您可以想像的那樣，我們正在持續監控情況。我們將繼續做出所有必要的決定並採取必要的行動，以確保我們的業務連續性，同時確保我們的員工和社區的安全。

ICL has been actively reaching out to the impacted communities and offering them support both material and emotional. And I cannot even put into words how proud I am of our employees who have been volunteering, night and day, to support the people and communities affected by the tragedy Israelis face. While I always thank the entire ICL family of employees all around the world for their hard work and contributions each quarter, this is an especially heartfelt sentiment today. The tenacity of the team in Israel has been inspiring, and the unwavering support of our global colleagues has been heartwarming. We are resilient, and we will prevail as before.

ICL 一直在積極接觸受影響的社區，為他們提供物質和情感上的支持。我甚至無法用言語表達我對我們的員工感到多麼自豪，他們日以繼夜地志願服務，支持受以色列所面臨的悲劇影響的人民和社區。雖然我始終感謝全世界 ICL 員工大家庭每季的辛勤工作和貢獻，但今天這是一種特別衷心的情感。以色列團隊的頑強精神令人鼓舞，全球同事堅定不移的支持也令人感動。我們有韌性，我們會像以前一樣取得勝利。

Again, we thoroughly appreciate all of your kind words and prayers and hope the situation will be improved by the time we report our fourth quarter results.

再次，我們衷心感謝您的善意話語和祈禱，並希望在我們報告第四季度業績時情況會得到改善。

And with that, I would now like to turn the call over to Aviram.

現在，我想將電話轉給阿維拉姆。

Thank you, Raviv, and to all of you for joining us today.

謝謝拉維夫和大家今天加入我們。

Let us get started on Slide 12, where you will see some very familiar external macro pressures. While many of these remain unchanged from the beginning of this year, as Raviv just discussed, the war in Israel, which began in the fourth quarter, brings additional geopolitical issues. Both inflation rates and interest rates have moderated, but remain mixed on a global basis. Overall, global growth remains subdued and the economic recovery in China has been weaker than expected. From an agriculture perspective, grain prices are leveling off and fertilizer prices have stabilized.

讓我們從幻燈片 12 開始，您將在其中看到一些非常熟悉的外部宏觀壓力。正如拉維夫剛才討論的那樣，儘管其中許多因素與今年年初相比沒有變化，但第四季開始的以色列戰爭帶來了更多的地緣政治問題。通貨膨脹率和利率均有所放緩，但在全球範圍內仍然好壞參半。整體而言，全球成長依然低迷，中國經濟復甦弱於預期。從農業來看，糧食價格趨於平穩，化肥價格穩定。

On Slide 13, you can see some of the trends I just discussed. While inflation rates are generally trending down, they remain persistently elevated on a historical basis, as do interest rates.

在投影片 13 上，您可以看到我剛才討論的一些趨勢。雖然通貨膨脹率整體呈下降趨勢，但從歷史角度來看，通貨膨脹率仍持續較高，利率也是如此。

And on Slide 14, you can see the trends in grains and fertilizer prices.

在投影片 14 上，您可以看到穀物和化肥價格的趨勢。

On Slide 15, you can see the expected trend for electric vehicles over roughly the next decade. As Raviv mentioned, there has been a great deal of noise about EVs lately. But as you can see, the rate of growth has always been expected to be gradual. Electrical vehicles sales are on track to hit 9% of all cars sold in the U.S. by the end of this year. That's a 50% year-over-year increase. And it is the second year in a row that EV sales have surged by that amount. The LFP battery materials we will be producing at our facility in St. Louis will be used not only in electrical vehicles, but also by the energy storage industry. It is important to remember that renewable energy needs to be captured and stored for use by EVs and in other applications, and the investments we are making today will help advance such efforts.

在幻燈片 15 上，您可以看到電動車在大約未來十年的預期趨勢。正如拉維夫所提到的，最近有很多關於電動車的噪音。但正如您所看到的，人們一直預期成長率是漸進的。到今年底，電動車銷量可望達到美國汽車銷量的 9%。較去年同期成長 50%。這是電動車銷量連續第二年實現這一增幅。我們將在聖路易斯工廠生產的磷酸鐵鋰電池材料不僅將用於電動車，還將用於儲能產業。重要的是要記住，需要捕獲和儲存可再生能源以供電動車和其他應用使用，我們今天所做的投資將有助於推進這些努力。

If we now turn to Slide 16. On the left side, you can see the sales bridge from the third quarter of last year to sales of $1.86 billion this year, with each of our segments showing a year-over-year decline. Importantly, on the right side of the slide, you can see that while quantities were up, prices had an overwhelming impact as commodities were at all-time highs last year.

如果我們現在轉向幻燈片 16。在左側，您可以看到從去年第三季的銷售額到今年 18.6 億美元的銷售額，我們的每個細分市場都出現了同比下降。重要的是，在幻燈片的右側，您可以看到，雖然數量增加，但價格產生了壓倒性的影響，因為去年大宗商品處於歷史高位。

Similarly, on Slide 17, you can see the impact prices had on our third quarter adjusted EBITDA of $346 million. Once again, quantities contributed positively in the quarter, while lower prices, especially potash prices, made a significant impact. We did benefit from lower raw material and transportation costs and also from the savings and efficiency programs we've put in place in each business and on a corporate-wide basis earlier this year. We expect benefits from our cost reduction and efficiency efforts to be even greater going forward.

同樣，在幻燈片 17 上，您可以看到價格對第三季調整後 EBITDA 的影響為 3.46 億美元。本季產量再次做出正面貢獻，而較低的價格（尤其是鉀肥價格）產生了重大影響。我們確實受益於較低的原材料和運輸成本，以及我們今年稍早在每個業務和整個公司範圍內實施的節約和效率計劃。我們預計未來在降低成本和提高效率方面的努力將帶來更大的效益。

As we showed you last quarter, on Slide 18, you can see that not only is ICL a leader in terms of cost efficiency, we are also a leader in terms of pricing. While we are not as big as some of the potash producers out there, this is actually a benefit to ICL as it gives us the flexibility to quickly shift in and out of markets based on profitability.

正如我們在上個季度的幻燈片 18 中向您展示的那樣，您可以看到 ICL 不僅在成本效率方面處於領先地位，而且在定價方面也處於領先地位。雖然我們的規模不如一些鉀肥生產商，但這實際上對 ICL 來說是一個好處，因為它使我們能夠靈活地根據盈利能力快速進出市場。

I would now like to review a few highlights on Slide 19. As a result of our savings and efficiency activities, we're able to decrease SG&A by approximately 11% year-over-year in the third quarter. Each of our businesses also worked to reduce working capital and high cost inventory. And as Raviv mentioned, our aggressive destocking efforts are now centrally completed. These efforts were part of an orchestrated plan. And while we did see some margin impact, we were able to gain market share as we reduce inventory.

我現在想回顧幻燈片 19 上的一些要點。由於我們的節約和效率活動，我們能夠在第三季度將 SG&A 同比減少約 11%。我們的每家企業也致力於減少營運資金和高成本庫存。正如拉維夫所提到的，我們積極的去庫存工作現已集中完成。這些努力是精心策劃的計劃的一部分。雖然我們確實看到了一些利潤影響，但隨著我們減少庫存，我們能夠獲得市場份額。

Our destocking also helped, in part to drive our strong cash conversion. At quarter end, our available cash resources totaled $1.8 billion. For the third quarter, our net debt to adjusted EBITDA rate was a healthy 0.9. We also declared a dividend of $0.05 per share for the third quarter, resulting in a trailing 12-month yield of 5.5%. Taxes were $43 million, reflecting an effective tax rate of 23% for the third quarter of this year. This relatively low rate was mainly due to the devaluation of the shekel against the U.S. dollar and deferred taxes for carryforward losses related to the taxation of profits from natural resources.

我們的去庫存也有助於推動我們強勁的現金轉換。截至季末，我們的可用現金資源總計 18 億美元。第三季度，我們的淨負債與調整後 EBITDA 比率為 0.9，健康良好。我們也宣布第三季每股股息為 0.05 美元，導致過去 12 個月的收益率為 5.5%。稅金為 4,300 萬美元，反映今年第三季的有效稅率為 23%。這一相對較低的稅率主要是由於謝克爾兌美元貶值以及與自然資源利潤徵稅相關的結轉損失的遞延稅款。

Finally, you can see we reaffirmed our 2023 guidance calling for adjusted EBITDA of between $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion. And as we stated in today's press release, we expect to be in the middle of that range.

最後，您可以看到我們重申了 2023 年指導，要求調整後 EBITDA 在 16 億美元至 18 億美元之間。正如我們在今天的新聞稿中所說，我們預計將處於該範圍的中間。

And with that, we can begin the Q&A.

這樣，我們就可以開始問答了。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question today comes from the line of Alexander Jones of Bank of America.

（操作員指示）我們今天的第一個問題來自美國銀行的亞歷山大瓊斯。

Two, if I may, just to follow up on a couple of comments you made, Raviv. The first one on battery materials. You talked about this first customer contract or partnership that's nearing completion. Could you give us a little bit of an idea the sort of criteria you're looking for when signing contracts with customers in terms of volume commitments or returns or margin levels or technology commitments? That would be really helpful

兩個，如果可以的話，只是為了跟進你發表的一些評論，拉維夫。第一個關於電池材料的。您談到了即將完成的第一份客戶合約或合作夥伴關係。您能否向我們介紹一下您在與客戶簽訂合約時在數量承諾、回報、利潤水平或技術承諾方面所尋求的標準？這真的很有幫助

And then the second one just on Industrial Products. You made a comment that demand is slowly picking up in Q4 so far. Could you expand a little bit on that in terms of different end markets you might be seeing that in or the magnitude of that so far?

第二個是關於工業產品的。您評論說，到目前為止，第四季需求正在緩慢回升。您能否就您可能看到的不同終端市場或迄今為止的規模進行一些擴展？

Okay, sure. Thanks, Alex. First of all, for battery materials, as you know, our plant is for 30,000 tons. And we'll be ready to start supplying towards the second half of 2025. We're looking for customers that are either automakers, battery makers or somewhere in between. And we're negotiating with quite a few potential customers. Some of the negotiations are closer than others. Some will take quite some more time until we can qualify and meet expectations.

好吧，當然。謝謝，亞歷克斯。首先，對於電池材料，大家知道，我們的工廠是3萬噸。我們將準備在 2025 年下半年開始供應。我們正在尋找汽車製造商、電池製造商或介於兩者之間的客戶。我們正在與相當多的潛在客戶進行談判。有些談判比其他談判更為密切。有些需要更多的時間才能獲得資格並達到預期。

We're talking about potential customers for a few thousand tons each. And the reason we mentioned is that because we have the first agreement come to fruition, and subject to Board approval of both sides during the coming days, we should be able to announce in a few days. So that's where we are on battery materials, again, 30,000 tons in total. We expect the facility can serve no more than 2 or 3 customers. And in the next few months, we expect to be able to discuss more than one customer. So that's on that.

我們正在談論每個數千噸的潛在客戶。我們提到的原因是，因為我們第一個協議已經實現，並且在未來幾天內需要雙方董事會的批准，所以我們應該能夠在幾天內宣布。這就是我們的電池材料總量，總共 3 萬噸。我們預計該設施只能為不超過 2 或 3 名顧客提供服務。在接下來的幾個月裡，我們預計能夠與多個客戶進行討論。就這樣吧。

On Industrial Products, we're talking about demand for electronics. Construction is still away from us. And I think the reason that we're seeing in electronics is that there is a level of demand that is slower than usual. But all the inventory in the supply chain is gone now, so we can actually feel the demand that exists. And that means that volumes are going up now, and it will continue to go up in the coming months. And as you know, we have long-term contracts. So that means that when we want to increase the volume, we can, and that's what we're doing these days.

在工業產品方面，我們談論的是電子產品的需求。建設離我們還很遠。我認為我們在電子產品中看到的原因是需求水準比平常慢。但現在供應鏈上的所有庫存都消失了，所以我們可以實際感受到存在的需求。這意味著銷售現在正在上升，並且在未來幾個月還將繼續上升。如您所知，我們有長期合約。因此，這意味著當我們想要增加銷售量時，我們可以做到，這就是我們這些天正在做的事情。

In terms of how fast the recovery will be, we think it will take quite some time because there is yet to be seen robust demand for electronics. Even electric vehicles, demand is a little slower than was expected at this point. And also artificial intelligence, which is the next wave, is not something that we can feel at this minute and I'm talking about increased demand for servers. And of course, construction-related flame retardants is much farther away. So some of the demand recovery that we're seeing is because of the supply chain that is now not full of inventory and additional demand will come from the market once interest rates start going down, hopefully. I hope that answered it.

就復甦的速度而言，我們認為這將需要相當長的時間，因為電子產品的強勁需求尚未顯現。即使是電動車，目前的需求也比預期慢一些。而且人工智慧，這是下一波浪潮，我們現在還無法感受到，我說的是對伺服器的需求增加。當然，與建築相關的阻燃劑還很遙遠。因此，我們看到的部分需求復甦是因為供應鏈目前庫存不足，一旦利率開始下降，市場將有額外的需求。我希望這能回答我的問題。

Our next question today comes from the line of Ben Theurer of Barclays.

今天我們的下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Ben Theurer。

So also just two quick follow-ups. One, to begin with, on the Growing Solutions piece, and you've talked about the destocking being significantly completed, clearly, it seems there was still an impact in the third quarter. So help us understand like how should we think about the fourth quarter and then maybe looking into the first quarter of 2024 just as it relates to the match of demand or like actual demand versus what the supply is going to be. How do you think about the cadence here? And what's like kind of a normalized level of profitability you expect in that segment, particularly given the volatility we tend to get out of Brazil? That would be my first question.

所以也只有兩個快速跟進。一，首先，關於成長解決方案部分，您談到了去庫存已顯著完成，顯然，第三季似乎仍然存在影響。因此，請幫助我們理解我們應該如何看待第四季度，然後也許可以考慮 2024 年第一季度，因為它與需求的匹配有關，或者與實際需求與供應量的匹配有關。您如何看待這裡的節奏？您期望該領域的正常化獲利水準是怎樣的，特別是考慮到我們傾向於擺脫巴西的波動性？這是我的第一個問題。

All right. Thanks, Ben. In terms of what we're seeing in Growing Solutions, the destocking is materially over. And what that means is that we're going to see a normalized margin, which is more like 2021 margin. Going into 2023, we're already growing volume. We grew volume in Q3 even versus last year. So we expect growth of volume and better margin given higher prices and no need for destocking.

好的。謝謝，本。就我們在成長解決方案中看到的情況而言，去庫存基本上已經結束。這意味著我們將看到標準化的利潤率，這更像是 2021 年的利潤率。進入 2023 年，我們的銷量已經在成長。我們第三季的銷量甚至與去年相比有所增長。因此，鑑於價格上漲且無需去庫存，我們預計銷量將會成長，利潤率也會提高。

In Q3, we came in actually a little lower on EBITDA than we expected, and I think we'll see the same in Q4. Some of that has to do with internal planning. As some of the potash that we were going to supply internally to help promote some of our blends we're going to need for external customers, which means that some of the profitability that we expected in Q3 and Q4, we're not going to lose, but we're going to see it in the potash sector. But coming first quarter of 2024, we're going to see normalized profitability as we did in 2021. Of course, 2022 doesn't measure up to anything that we know. I hope that answered it.

在第三季度，我們的 EBITDA 實際上比我們預期的要低一些，我認為我們在第四季度也會看到同樣的情況。其中一些與內部規劃有關。由於我們將在內部供應一些鉀肥，以幫助推廣我們的一些混合物，因此我們將需要外部客戶，這意味著我們在第三季度和第四季度預期的一些盈利能力，我們不會損失，但我們將在鉀肥產業看到它。但到 2024 年第一季度，我們將看到與 2021 年一樣的獲利能力正常化。當然，2022 年並不符合我們所知道的任何情況。我希望這能回答我的問題。

Ben, this is Aviram. Just one thing, take into account that this is agriculture and the seasonality part of it. So actually, as you know, Brazil will be still a very strong quarter seasonally, but less so than Q3. And the Northern Hemisphere has not yet started the season. So when you asked about Q4, take this also into account when you look at Growing Solutions, basically agriculture.

本，這是阿維拉姆。只是一件事，要考慮到這是農業及其季節性部分。因此，實際上，如您所知，巴西季度仍將是一個非常強勁的季節性季度，但不如第三季度。而北半球的季節還沒開始。因此，當您詢問第四季度時，在查看種植解決方案（主要是農業）時也要考慮到這一點。

Okay. Perfect. And then actually one follow-up for you, Aviram, just on like capital allocation. How should we think about it? You talked about the dividend and, obviously, what the CapEx is. Cash flow is actually pretty strong still at roughly $1.2 billion on a year-to-date basis. So how should we think about the priorities, M&A versus CapEx, dividends/buybacks? What's like the kind of order? And where would you like to do more?

好的。完美的。 Aviram，實際上還有一個後續行動，就像資本配置一樣。我們該如何思考呢？您談到了股息，顯然也談到了資本支出。實際上，今年迄今的現金流仍然相當強勁，約為 12 億美元。那我們該如何考慮優先事項、併購與資本支出、股利/回購？什麼樣的訂單？您還想在哪些方面做得更多？

Okay. That's a very broad question, and probably Raviv would want to chip in, especially on the M&A side, but I will say the following. We are generating very significant operating cash flow and it translates into a very healthy free cash flow as well. Part of it is destocking and part of it the working capital has gone down. And another element is that we are really, really operating the company very closely. And we've got a savings plan. And it's all coming together into, I believe, is a very healthy cash flow. You couple it with our capabilities, which we also note in the market, basically, cash is not a barrier to doing an M&A transaction.

好的。這是一個非常廣泛的問題，拉維夫可能想參與進來，特別是在併購方面，但我會說以下內容。我們正在產生非常可觀的營運現金流，它也轉化為非常健康的自由現金流。部分原因是去庫存，部分原因是營運資金下降。另一個因素是我們確實非常緊密地經營公司。我們有一個儲蓄計劃。我相信，所有這些都匯集在一起，形成了非常健康的現金流。你把它與我們的能力結合起來，我們也在市場上註意到，基本上，現金並不是進行併購交易的障礙。

So before M&A, I'll address it in a minute, we are really continuing to do everything we can internally in order to translate the performance on the P&L with the best cash flow we can get. 2023 is not an easy one. 2024, we have quite a lot of challenges as the whole industry has, but hopefully, we will be able to translate it into a healthy financial, let's say, cash flow results.

因此，在併購之前，我將立即解決這個問題，我們實際上正在繼續在內部盡一切努力，以便以我們可以獲得的最佳現金流來轉化損益表上的業績。 2023 年並不容易。到 2024 年，我們將像整個產業一樣面臨許多挑戰，但希望我們能夠將其轉化為健康的財務結果，例如現金流結果。

With regards to M&A, look, in the end, M&A, there's a capability to do it. And also we need to have relevant strategic targets that we want. And we said this oftentimes, we are not buying top line, we're not buying EBITDA. What we're buying is, if we go, we are trying to expand the horizon of the company, follow the strategy, to go specifically in the specialties side of our businesses and opportunities as they come. I think Raviv said this in his opening remarks that we are making the M&A team even more robust with a topnotch manager that heads it. And we're looking for opportunities. When it becomes relevant, we will not have financial burden to do this M&A transaction.

關於併購，你看，最終併購，有能力去做。我們還需要有我們想要的相關策略目標。我們常說過，我們不會購買營收，也不會購買 EBITDA。我們購買的是，如果我們離開，我們正在努力擴大公司的視野，遵循策略，在我們的業務和機會到來時專門進入專業領域。我認為拉維夫在他的開場白中說過，我們正在透過一位一流的經理來領導併購團隊，使其變得更加強大。我們正在尋找機會。當它變得相關時，我們將不會有財務負擔來進行這項併購交易。

Raviv, do you want to add something to that?

拉維夫，你想補充一下嗎？

Just to remind everybody that we have a dividend policy that's been working well for us, which is a distribution of 50% of our adjusted earnings every quarter, and our investors are seeing a nice dividend return. And that still gives us ample cash to go through a transaction, to any transaction more or less, that we need. We were actually close to an M&A pretty lately that didn't go through because of valuation. Once again, we showed discipline given that, at the end of the day, we want to make sure that we do the right transaction.

只是想提醒大家，我們的股利政策一直運作良好，也就是每季分配調整後收益的 50%，我們的投資人也看到了不錯的股利報酬。這仍然為我們提供了足夠的現金來完成我們需要的或多或少的任何交易。事實上，我們最近就接近進行一項併購，但由於估值問題而未能成功。我們再次表現出了紀律，因為最終我們希望確保我們進行正確的交易。

We don't think that the share buyback is the right use for cash in a company that's targeting growth. We've also seen our competitors acquire shares at very, very high valuations. So we may be closer than we were in the past, but we're not close yet to actually approving such a program, unless we see that it takes us a lot more time to go through the M&A that we've planned. M&A has first priority before other things.

我們認為，對於一家以成長為目標的公司來說，股票回購不是現金的正確用途。我們也看到我們的競爭對手以非常非常高的估值收購股票。因此，我們可能比過去更接近，但我們還沒有接近實際批准這樣的計劃，除非我們發現我們需要更多的時間來完成我們計劃的併購。併購是第一位的。

Also, I believe that Aviram didn't mention that, in terms of CapEx, we expect CapEx to be more or less in line with 2023. There'll be somewhat of an addition because of our LFP plant, which is an important venture for the company's future, for our growth. So that's going to require another $100 million or so next year. So we expect next year's CapEx to be circa $100 million more than the CapEx this year and, again, targeting LFP.

另外，我相信Aviram 沒有提到，就資本支出而言，我們預計資本支出或多或少與2023 年保持一致。由於我們的LFP 工廠，這對我們來說是一項重要的投資，因此會有一定的增加。公司的未來，我們的成長。因此明年還需要約 1 億美元。因此，我們預計明年的資本支出將比今年的資本支出多出約 1 億美元，並且再次以 LFP 為目標。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question today comes from the line of Joel Jackson of BMO.

（操作員說明）今天我們的下一個問題來自 BMO 的 Joel Jackson。

This is Joseph on for Joel. So first of all, we just wanted to say we are shocked by all the events over the last month and hope that everyone at ICL is doing okay. So with that, for my first question, could you guys just please rank the outlook for the different major potash markets and how those views compare to your thoughts maybe 3 years ago? And also, what are your initial thoughts on global demand for 2024 relative to 2023?

這是約瑟代替喬爾。首先，我們想說，我們對過去一個月發生的所有事件感到震驚，並希望 ICL 的每個人都一切順利。那麼，對於我的第一個問題，你們能否對不同主要鉀肥市場的前景進行排名，以及這些觀點與您 3 年前的想法相比如何？另外，相對於 2023 年，您對 2024 年全球需求的初步想法是什麼？

Okay. So first of all, thanks for your kind words. We appreciate it. Your support means a lot. In terms of potash market, currently, we're expecting demand next year to be around 68 million to 69 million tons, following about 60 million to 61 million tons last year and about 64 million to 65 million tons this year. In general, inventories are low in most regions, and there's a need for replenishment of inventory. Chinese inventory is relatively I wouldn't say high but it's not low. But at the same time, there's a lot of demand coming out of China, so there's a healthy environment for next year as well.

好的。首先，感謝您的客氣話。我們很感激。您的支持意義重大。就鉀肥市場而言，目前我們預計明年的需求量約為6,800萬至6,900萬噸，去年約為6,000萬至6,100萬噸，今年約6,400萬至6,500萬噸。整體來看，大部分地區庫存處於較低水平，有補充庫存的需求。中國的庫存相對來說不能說高，但也不低。但同時，中國有大量需求，因此明年也有健康的環境。

As you know, prices have stabilized and demand is strong. We're sold out for the year, of course, like I think everybody else. And we see strong demand in Brazil, strong demand and even rising prices in the U.S. India, very low inventory. We're not currently selling to India in the past couple of months, but I'm sure demand will be there. There is some subsidy issues, I guess, both in potash and in phosphate, and we'll see how that turns out.

如您所知，價格已經穩定，需求強勁。當然，就像我認為其他人一樣，我們今年的票已經賣完了。我們看到巴西的需求強勁，美國印度的需求強勁甚至價格上漲，庫存非常低。過去幾個月我們目前沒有向印度銷售產品，但我確信需求將會存在。我猜想，鉀肥和磷酸鹽都存在一些補貼問題，我們將看看結果如何。

In terms of global supply, we still see Belarusian product being 3 million or 4 million tons lower than capacity. Given the current demand, we think it's a healthy environment for next year. Longer term, we don't see any major disruption until potentially BHP comes to the market. They say in '26, it seems a little optimistic to us. But again, we don't have detailed information to say anything intelligent about it at this point.

就全球供應而言，我們仍然認為白俄羅斯產品比產能低300萬噸或400萬噸。鑑於當前的需求，我們認為明年的環境將是健康的。從長遠來看，在必和必拓潛在進入市場之前，我們不會看到任何重大干擾。他們說26年的情況對我們來說似乎有點樂觀。但同樣，我們目前還沒有詳細的資訊來說明這一點。

So that's the demand. There's a need for replenishment. The affordability is higher than average. The overall atmosphere in most regions is positive. European potash is still selling at around $400 and even more. We expect fourth quarter average potash price to be almost at the level of third quarter. In terms of selling prices, nothing really has changed. Just at the beginning of the third quarter, we were still selling at higher prices in some regions. So that's pretty much what we're seeing at this point. In terms of our production, we will be next year expecting 4.7 million to 4.8 million tons. It's what our initial expectation is. I hope that answered it.

這就是需求。有必要補充一下。負擔能力高於平均。大多數地區的整體氣氛是正面的。歐洲鉀肥的售價仍約為 400 美元甚至更高。我們預計第四季鉀肥平均價格將接近第三季的水平。就銷售價格而言，實際上沒有任何變化。就在第三季初，我們在某些​​地區的銷售價格仍然較高。這就是我們目前所看到的情況。就產量而言，我們明年預計產量為 470 萬噸至 480 萬噸。這就是我們最初的期望。我希望這能回答我的問題。

We have no further questions. Please proceed.

我們沒有其他問題了。請繼續。

All right. So thanks very much for joining us. We appreciate it. And hope for the safety of all, and looking forward to coming back and reporting to you at the end of the next quarter, reporting for the year. And by then, we'll be able to come out with and give you our forecast for next year. Thank you very much.

好的。非常感謝您加入我們。我們很感激。希望所有人的安全，並期待在下個季度末回來向您匯報，報告今年的情況。到那時，我們將能夠向您提供明年的預測。非常感謝。

Thank you. Thank you very much.

謝謝。非常感謝。