Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP) 2023 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Icahn Enterprises L.P. fourth-quarter 2023 earnings conference call with Jesse Lynn, General Counsel; Andrew Teno, President and Chief Executive Officer; Ted Papapostolou, Chief Financial Officer; and Robert Flint, Chief Accounting Officer.

早安，歡迎參加 Icahn Enterprises L.P. 總法律顧問 Jesse Lynn 主持的 2023 年第四季財報電話會議；安德魯·特諾，總裁兼執行長；帕帕斯托盧 (Ted Papapostolou)，財務長；和首席會計官羅伯特·弗林特。

I would now like to hand the conference over to Jesse Lynn, who will read the opening statement.

我現在想把會議交給傑西·林恩，他將宣讀開幕詞。

Thank you, operator.

謝謝你，接線生。

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a Safe Harbor for forward-looking statements we make in this presentation, including statements regarding our future performance and plans for our businesses and potential acquisitions. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates, will, or words of similar meaning and include, but are not limited to, statements about the expected future business and financial performance of Icahn Enterprises L.P. and its subsidiaries.

1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》為我們在本簡報中所做的前瞻性陳述提供了安全港，包括有關我們未來業績以及我們的業務和潛在收購計劃的陳述。前瞻性陳述可以透過預期、預期、打算、計劃、相信、尋求、估計、意願或類似含義的詞語來識別，包括但不限於有關預期未來業務和財務業績的陳述Icahn Enterprises L.P. 及其子公司。

Actual events, results, and outcomes may differ materially from our expectations due to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that are discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including economic, competitive, legal, and other factors. Accordingly, there is no assurance that our expectations will be realized. We assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by law.

由於各種已知和未知的風險、不確定性以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中討論的其他因素，包括經濟、競爭、法律和其他因素，實際事件、結果和結果可能與我們的預期存在重大差異。因素。因此，無法保證我們的期望會實現。如果情況發生變化，我們不承擔更新或修改任何前瞻性陳述的義務，除非法律另有要求。

This presentation also includes certain non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA. A reconciliation of such non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in the back of this presentation. We also present indicative net asset value. Indicative net asset value includes, among other things, changes in the fair value of certain subsidiaries, which are not included in our GAAP earnings. All net income and EBITDA amounts we will discuss are attributable to Icahn Enterprises unless otherwise specified.

本簡報也包括某些非公認會計準則財務指標，包括調整後的 EBITDA。此類非 GAAP 財務指標與最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標的調整表可在本簡報的後面找到。我們也提供了指示性淨值。指示性淨資產值包括某些子公司公允價值的變動等，這些變動不包括在我們公認的會計原則收益中。除非另有說明，我們將討論的所有淨利潤和 EBITDA 金額均歸屬於伊坎企業。

I'll now turn it over to Andrew Teno, our Chief Executive Officer.

現在我將把它交給我們的執行長安德魯·特諾 (Andrew Teno)。

Thank you, Jesse. Let me first say, I am honored to take on my new role as CEO. Carl, IEP, and our activism strategy have established an important place in corporate America, and I'm excited to get to work. So today, I'll provide a brief overview of Q4 results, and then we will be available for questions.

謝謝你，傑西。首先我要說的是，我很榮幸擔任執行長這項新職位。Carl、IEP 和我們的行動主義策略在美國企業界確立了重要地位，我很高興能夠開始工作。所以今天，我將簡要概述第四季度的結果，然後我們將回答問題。

The fourth quarter net loss was $139 million, an improvement of $116 million over Q4 '22. Fourth-quarter Adjusted EBITDA was $9 million, an increase of $84 million compared to Q4 '22. Our controlled operating companies have performed well. CVI has benefited from strong crack spreads, good operating utilization, reduced RIN costs and has authorized a $0.50 dividend per share.

第四季淨虧損為 1.39 億美元，較 22 年第四季減少 1.16 億美元。第四季調整後 EBITDA 為 900 萬美元，比 22 年第四季增加了 8,400 萬美元。我們控股的營運公司表現良好。CVI 受益於強勁的裂解價差、良好的營運利用率、降低的 RIN 成本，並授權每股 0.50 美元的股息。

Our Automotive segment has posted strong year-over-year performance. David Willetts is now leading the day-to-day operations at Pep Boys, and we see the potential for significant long-term value creation, both through margin improvement and reinvigorating the top line.

我們的汽車部門較去年同期表現強勁。David Willetts 現在領導 Pep Boys 的日常運營，我們看到了透過提高利潤率和重振營收來創造重大長期價值的潛力。

In the Investment segment this quarter, the Funds had a negative return of 4.1%, primarily driven by broad market shorts. Our headline net short exposure of 36% is approximately 6% when you adjust for the energy hedges. This compares to approximately 34% as of the prior year-end, excluding the energy hedges. The indicative net asset value ended the quarter at $4.8 billion.

在本季的投資領域，基金的負報酬率為 4.1%，主要是由廣泛的市場空頭推動的。當您對能源對沖進行調整時，我們的整體淨空頭部位為 36%，約為 6%。相較之下，截至上年末，這一比例約為 34%（不包括能源對沖）。本季末指示性淨資產值為 48 億美元。

Additionally, the Board approved a $1.00 quarterly distribution per depositary unit, which is consistent with the last quarter.

此外，董事會還批准了每個存託單位 1.00 美元的季度分配，與上季一致。

With that, let me turn it over to Ted for a detailed discussion of all of our segments.

接下來，讓我將其轉交給 Ted，以詳細討論我們所有的部分。

Thank you, Andrew. I will begin by reviewing the performance of our segments and comment on the strength of our balance sheet.

謝謝你，安德魯。我將首先回顧我們各部門的業績，並對我們資產負債表的實力發表評論。

Turning to our Investment segment. The Funds had a negative return of 4.1% for the quarter. Long and other positions had a positive performance attribution of 2.4%, while short positions had a negative performance attribution of 6.5%. During the quarter, the segment made a pro rata distribution of $400 million, of which the Holding Company received its portion of $242 million. The Holding Company's interest in the Funds was approximately $3.2 billion as of quarter end.

轉向我們的投資部門。該基金本季的負回報率為 4.1%。多頭部位和其他部位的正績效歸因為 2.4%，而空頭部位的負績效歸因為 6.5%。本季度，該部門按比例分配了 4 億美元，其中控股公司收到了 2.42 億美元的份額。截至季末，控股公司在基金中的權益約為 32 億美元。

Turning to our Energy segment. In Q4 '23, Adjusted EBITDA was $120 million as compared to $168 million in Q4 '22. Q4 '23 refining margin per throughput barrel was $15.01 compared to $17.14 in the prior year quarter. This decrease was driven by weaker crack spreads and unfavorable inventory valuations that were offset in part by favorable derivative and RIN-related impacts.

轉向我們的能源部門。23 年第 4 季度，調整後 EBITDA 為 1.2 億美元，而 22 年第 4 季為 1.68 億美元。23 年第四季每桶煉油利潤為 15.01 美元，而去年同期為 17.14 美元。這一下降是由於裂解價差疲軟和不利的庫存估值造成的，但有利的衍生性商品和 RIN 相關影響在一定程度上抵消了這些影響。

Q4 '23 average realized gate prices for UAN decreased by 47% to $241 per ton and ammonia decreased by 52% to $461 per ton when compared to the prior year quarter. CVI declared a fourth quarter cash dividend of $0.50 per share.

與去年同期相比，23 年第 4 季 UAN 平均實現門站價格下降 47% 至每噸 241 美元，氨下降 52% 至每噸 461 美元。CVI 宣布第四季現金股利為每股 0.50 美元。

And now to our Automotive segment. As we previously discussed, the segment has undergone significant change due to the deconsolidation of Auto Plus in January of '23. The segment results throughout '23 are made up primarily of Automotive Service operations as compared to '22, which also included the Aftermarket Parts operations of Auto Plus.

現在我們的汽車部門。正如我們之前討論的，由於 2023 年 1 月 Auto Plus 的分拆，該細分市場發生了重大變化。與 22 年相比，23 年的部門業績主要由汽車服務業務組成，其中還包括 Auto Plus 的售後零件業務。

Q4 '23 Automotive Service revenues were down $15 million compared to Q4 '22, driven by store closures and lower car count. Adjusted EBITDA was $28 million for the quarter, a $71 million improvement as compared to Q4 '22, mainly due to the exit of the Auto Plus Aftermarket Parts business.

由於商店關閉和汽車數量減少，23 年第 4 季汽車服務收入比 22 年第 4 季減少了 1500 萬美元。該季度調整後的 EBITDA 為 2,800 萬美元，比 22 年第四季增加了 7,100 萬美元，這主要是由於汽車加售後零件業務的退出。

Now turning to our Real Estate segment. Q4 '23 net sales and other revenues increased by $8 million and Adjusted EBITDA increased by $3 million compared to the prior year quarter, primarily driven by the sale of single-family homes.

現在轉向我們的房地產部門。與去年同期相比，23 年第四季淨銷售額和其他收入增加了 800 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 增加了 300 萬美元，這主要是由單戶住宅銷售推動的。

Now on to our Other Operating segments. Food Packaging's Adjusted EBITDA was flat for Q4 '23 as compared to the prior year quarter. The quarter-over-quarter comparison was positively impacted by pricing initiatives and lower distribution costs, which was offset by lower sales volume.

現在談談我們的其他營運部門。食品包裝產業 23 年第 4 季的調整後 EBITDA 與去年同期持平。環比比較受到定價措施和分銷成本下降的正面影響，但銷售下降抵消了這一影響。

Home Fashion's Adjusted EBITDA increased by $6 million as compared to the prior year quarter, primarily due to lower raw material and freight costs.

家居時尚的調整後 EBITDA 與去年同期相比增加了 600 萬美元，主要是由於原材料和運輸成本下降。

The Pharma segment's Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 '23 improved by $3 million as compared to the prior year quarter, mainly due to increased sales volume along with margin improvement.

製藥部門 23 年第 4 季的調整後 EBITDA 比去年同期增加了 300 萬美元，主要是由於銷售增加和利潤率提高。

Now turning to our liquidity. During December, IEP issued $700 million of 9.75% senior unsecured notes due 2029. The net proceeds from this issuance together with $376 million of cash on hand, was used to satisfy the outstanding notes due 2024.

現在轉向我們的流動性。12 月，IEP 發行了 7 億美元、利率為 9.75%、2029 年到期的優先無抵押票據。此次發行的淨收益加上手頭上 3.76 億美元的現金，用於支付 2024 年到期的未償還票據。

We maintain liquidity at the Holding Company and at each of our operating subsidiaries to take advantage of attractive opportunities. As of year-end, the Holding Company had cash and investment in the Funds of $4.8 billion, and our subsidiaries had cash and revolver availability of $1.7 billion.

我們保持控股公司和每個營運子公司的流動性，以利用有吸引力的機會。截至年底，控股公司擁有現金和基金投資 48 億美元，我們的子公司擁有現金和循環資金 17 億美元。

In summary, we continue to focus on building asset value and maintaining liquidity to enable us to capitalize on opportunities within and outside our existing operating segments.

總而言之，我們繼續專注於建立資產價值和維持流動性，以使我們能夠利用現有營運部門內外的機會。

Thank you. Operator, can you please open the call up for questions?

謝謝。接線員，可以撥打電話詢問問題嗎？

Thank you. (Operator Instructions) Dan Fannon, Jefferies.

謝謝。（操作員說明）Dan Fannon，Jefferies。

Thanks. Good morning. Andrew, I was hoping to get your thoughts on the auto business. And I know that putting David there was a change. But I guess what -- as you think about 2024, what are you guys doing differently? Or what are you expecting in terms of improvement as you think about that business over the next kind of 12 months?

謝謝。早安.安德魯，我希望了解您對汽車行業的想法。我知道讓大衛去那裡會帶來改變。但我猜想，當你們想到 2024 年時，你們會採取哪些不同的做法？或者，當您考慮該業務在接下來的 12 個月內時，您對改進有何期望？

We don't really look at it on a 12-month basis. I would just say, longer term, if you look at the company, if you look at its margins, and you compare it to its peers, we think there's a lot more upside. And so Dave is the person to lead that effort. And so that's why he's there. He's excited about it, and so are we.

我們並沒有真正以 12 個月為基礎來看待它。我只想說，從長遠來看，如果你看看這家公司，如果你看看它的利潤率，並將其與同行進行比較，我們認為還有更多的上升空間。因此戴夫是領導這項工作的人。這就是他在那裡的原因。他對此很興奮，我們也很興奮。

So I guess just in the context, I mean, is there anything different you guys are doing? You guys did a lot last year proactively to change the business. Now, is it more of continuing to let that play out in the economic backdrop improving? Or I guess what else should we think about in terms of driving that improvement, I guess, on a multiyear basis, not even just next -- this year.

所以我想在上下文中，我的意思是，你們正在做一些不同的事情嗎？去年你們為改變業務積極主動地做了很多事情。現在，是否更多的是在經濟情勢改善的情況下繼續讓這一點發揮作用？或者我想，在推動這項改進方面，我們還應該考慮什麼，我想，在多年的基礎上，甚至不僅僅是明年——今年。

So last year, you had the deconsolidation that required a lot of effort, and this year is about focusing on Pep Boys business and the years to come.

所以去年，你需要付出很大的努力來進行拆分，而今年的重點是 Pep Boys 業務和未來幾年。

Okay. That's not really giving me much there, I guess. I guess then on the fund side. The performance of the fund sounds very similar or has been very similar despite -- and positioning similar despite what was characterized as a change in strategy a few quarters ago.

好的。我想這並沒有真正給我帶來太多。我想那麼在基金方面。該基金的表現聽起來非常相似，或者儘管如此，儘管幾個季度前被描述為策略發生變化，但定位也相似。

So given your closeness to it, I was hoping maybe to get a little bit more color as you think about what really changed in terms of how you are thinking about managing the overall portfolio. And if we should think about again, prospectively how if there's anything different and, or what you are positioning and, or changing within the portfolio to obviously generate different -- more positive returns.

因此，考慮到您與它的密切關係，當您思考管理整體投資組合的方式真正發生了什麼變化時，我希望能夠獲得更多的色彩。如果我們應該再次考慮一下，如果有什麼不同，或者你正在定位什麼，或者在投資組合中進行改變，以明顯產生不同的——更積極的回報，那麼如何。

Yes. I think the first thing you said was about the overall net short exposure. So if you look at year end '22 and you looked at our exposure, I think the headline net short was 47%. And if you adjusted that for the refining hedges and energy hedges, you'd be down to minus 34%. Now if you compare that to today, our exposure, call it, is mid-single digits negative when you exclude our energy hedges. And so we think the portfolio has changed significantly.

是的。我認為你所說的第一件事是關於整體淨空頭部位。因此，如果你看看 22 年底，看看我們的敞口，我認為整體淨空頭率為 47%。如果你對煉油對沖和能源對沖進行調整，你會下降到-34%。現在，如果你將其與今天進行比較，當你排除我們的能源對沖時，我們的風險敞口為負個位數。因此，我們認為投資組合發生了重大變化。

And then in terms of what are we going to do going forward, we're going to do exactly what Carl said we would do, which is we'll stick to our netting, we'll focus on activism. And I think more recently, you've seen us announce our involvement in two names, both of which we're very excited about, and we think the portfolio is in very good shape for the future.

然後就我們未來要做什麼而言，我們將完全按照卡爾所說的去做，即我們將堅持我們的網絡，我們將專注於激進主義。我想最近，您已經看到我們宣布參與兩個名字，我們對這兩個名字都感到非常興奮，我們認為該投資組合的未來狀況非常好。

Understood. Could you give the rough comparison, you went to 2022, what was that comparison last quarter net of the energy exposures versus what you did -- the low single digits as of the end of the year?

明白了。您能否給出一個粗略的比較，您到了 2022 年，上個季度扣除能源敞口後的淨值與您所做的相比是多少——截至年底的低個位數？

Yes. So I think it's down a little bit, probably another 5% from what it was at September 30, 2023. Maybe another question you asked there, which is we continue to refine the portfolio, so we trimmed a few names. And we're focusing on the names that we like best.

是的。所以我認為它比 2023 年 9 月 30 日下降了一點，可能又下降了 5%。也許您在那裡問了另一個問題，那就是我們繼續完善投資組合，因此我們削減了一些名字。我們專注於我們最喜歡的名字。

Bruce Monrad, Northeast Investors Trust.

布魯斯·蒙拉德，東北投資者信託基金。

Hi, guys. Thanks for hosting the call. A question, if I could, on Food Packaging. So volumes were down year over year, I guess. Could you add a little more color on that? And is Osceola running fine? Or are there waste issues? Is there a geographic dimension to it. And then also, is everything flat at the SG&A line? Or is it possible that SG&A went up because of accruals because you had such a good start to the year or anything going on at that line either? Two questions. Thanks.

嗨，大家好。感謝您主持此通話。如果可以的話，我想問一個關於食品包裝的問題。所以我猜銷量逐年下降。能在上面再添加一點顏色嗎？奧西奧拉還好嗎？還是存在浪費問題？它有地理維度嗎？另外，SG&A 線是否一切正常？或者，SG&A 是否有可能因為應計費用而上升，因為您今年開局良好，或者該行發生了什麼？兩個問題。謝謝。

Bruce, it's Ted. Thanks for the question. But before I answer the question, let me just give more context on the quarter, and I think it will help answer a lot of them.

布魯斯，我是特德。謝謝你的提問。但在回答這個問題之前，讓我先提供有關本季度的更多背景信息，我認為這將有助於回答其中的許多問題。

So volumes softened during the quarter. And when comparing Q4 of '23 to Q4 of '22, David actually touched on this in the last call. The new round of Russian sanctions went into effect during '23. So that affected comparability. Not all these sanctions were there in '22.

因此，本季銷量疲軟。在比較 23 年第四季和 22 年第四季時，大衛實際上在上次電話會議中談到了這一點。新一輪的俄羅斯制裁於23年生效。所以這影響了可比較性。並非所有這些制裁都在 22 年實施。

But the more significant reason was our customers have drawn down on their inventories. And this is to bring them to more historical levels. And you can attribute this to the supply chain correcting or actually improving as compared to recent years. When supply chain issues arise, you can imagine, your raw material inventory levels tend to creep up just to ensure operations.

但更重要的原因是我們的客戶已經消耗了他們的庫存。這是為了將它們帶到更歷史的水平。您可以將其歸因於供應鏈與近年來相比的修正或實際改善。當供應鏈問題出現時，您可以想像，您的原材料庫存水準往往會攀升，只是為了確保營運。

And we knew this correction was coming, but it's very hard to time. And it looks like it happened -- the majority of it happened in Q4. And although it affected demand in Q4, we don't think that's sustainable. And once the rebalance finishes, the demand will come back.

我們知道這種調整即將到來，但很難確定時機。看起來這件事發生了——大部分都發生在第四季。儘管它影響了第四季度的需求，但我們認為這種情況並不可持續。一旦重新平衡完成，需求就會恢復。

And just the other part of the equation in terms of EBITDA, it was flat as compared to prior year's quarter because of the pricing initiatives management has taken, and those have helped along with lower distribution costs.

就 EBITDA 而言，方程式的另一部分與去年同期相比持平，因為管理層採取了定價舉措，這些舉措有助於降低分銷成本。

So in a nutshell, that's what's occurring in Q4. SG&A levels, management has always continued to do a good job of maintaining that. But the story there is the volume's softening.

簡而言之，這就是第四季發生的情況。SG&A 水準上，管理階層始終繼續做好維護這項工作。但故事的內容是卷的軟化。

Okay. And will that continue for 1Q? And by the way, this is consistent with what Viscofan said in their 3Q numbers, about destocking. Has it pretty much run its course?

好的。第一季這種情況會持續嗎？順便說一句，這與維斯科凡在第三季數據中所說的去庫存是一致的。它幾乎已經走完正軌了嗎？

Yeah. We think it's going to come back, but we'll talk about Q1 in about two months when we release Q1's earnings. Yeah, we don't think the demand destruction is sustainable.

是的。我們認為它會回來，但我們將在大約兩個月後發布第一季的收益時討論第一季。是的，我們認為需求破壞是不可持續的。

Thank you. I'm currently showing no further questions at this time. I'd like to hand the conference back over to Mr. Andrew Teno for closing remarks.

謝謝。我目前沒有提出任何進一步的問題。我想將會議交回給安德魯·特諾先生致閉幕詞。

Thanks, everyone, for joining the call today, and we'll speak to you in a few months.

感謝大家今天加入電話會議，我們將在幾個月後與您聯繫。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a wonderful day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。祝大家有美好的一天。