Innospec Inc (IOSP) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Thank you. Welcome to Innospec's third quarter earnings call. This is David Jones, and I'm Innospec's General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer.

謝謝。歡迎參加Innospec第三季財報電話會議。這位是戴維瓊斯，我是Innospec公司的總法律顧問兼首席合規官。

The earnings release for the quarter and this presentation are posted on the company's website. During this call, we will make forward-looking statements, which are predictions about future events. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the anticipated results implied by such forward-looking statements.

本季度收益報告和本次簡報已發佈在公司網站上。在本次電話會議中，我們將發表一些前瞻性聲明，即對未來事件的預測。這些聲明是基於目前的預期和假設，但存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與此類前瞻性聲明所暗示的預期結果不同。

These risks and uncertainties are detailed in Innospec's 10-K, 10-Qs and other filings with the SEC. Please see the SEC site and Innospec's site for these and related documents. In today's presentation, we have also included non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is contained in the earnings release.

這些風險和不確定性在 Innospec 向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K、10-Q 和其他文件中均有詳細說明。請造訪美國證券交易委員會網站和Innospec公司網站以查看這些及相關文件。在今天的演示中，我們也加入了非GAAP財務指標。獲利報告中包含了與最直接可比較的GAAP財務指標的調節表。

The non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for or superior to those prepared in accordance with GAAP. They are included to aid investor understanding of the company's performance in addition to the impact these items and events had on financial results. With me today from Innospec are Patrick Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Ian Cleminson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

非GAAP財務指標不應被視為替代或優於依照GAAP編製的財務指標。列入這些項目是為了幫助投資者了解公司的業績，以及這些項目和事件對財務結果的影響。今天陪同我出席的來自 Innospec 的有總裁兼執行長 Patrick Williams，以及執行副總裁兼財務長 Ian Cleminson。

And with that, I turn it over to you, Patrick.

那麼，現在輪到你了，派崔克。

Thank you, David, and welcome, everyone, to Innospec's third quarter 2025 conference call. This was a mixed quarter for Innospec with continued strong operating income growth and margin expansion in Fuel Specialties, offsetting lower results in Performance Chemicals and Oilfield Services.

謝謝David，歡迎各位參加Innospec 2025年第三季電話會議。對於 Innospec 而言，這是一個喜憂參半的季度，燃料特種產品業務繼續保持強勁的營業收入成長和利潤率擴張，抵消了高性能化學品和油田服務業務的業績下滑。

Performance Chemicals continued to deliver sales growth over the prior year, where gross margins declined as expected on higher cost, price management and weaker product mix. These combined factors drove results below our expectations, but we are executing on multiple top line cost and other margin improvement opportunities identified in the business.

高性能化學品業務的銷售量較前一年持續成長，但毛利率如預期下降，原因是成本上升、價格管理和產品組合疲軟。這些因素綜合起來導致業績低於預期，但我們正在執行業務中發現的多項降低營收、降低成本和其他利潤率的機會。

Late in the third quarter, we began to see a positive impact from our initial actions, and we are optimistic that we will deliver sequential operating income and margin improvement in the fourth quarter. Over the medium term, we have a strong pipeline of margin-accretive opportunities across all our end markets, and we are working to accelerate these actions.

第三季末，我們開始看到最初措施的正面影響，我們樂觀地認為，第四季我們將實現營業收入和利潤率的環比成長。從中長期來看，我們在所有終端市場都有大量能夠提升利潤率的機會，我們正在努力加速這些行動的實施。

Fuel Specialties had another strong quarter with double-digit operating income growth and improved margins. Margins continue to track at the upper end of our expected range, and our outlook is for steady performance in the fourth quarter. Oilfield Services operating income declined sequentially and versus the prior year on lower-than-anticipated Middle East activity due to customer timing and phasing.

Fuel Specialties 又迎來了一個強勁的季度，營業收入實現了兩位數的成長，利潤率也有所提高。利潤率繼續保持在我們預期範圍的高端，我們預計第四季度業績將保持穩定。由於客戶的時間安排和階段性因素導致中東地區的業務活動低於預期，油田服務業務的營業收入環比下降，與去年同期相比也有所下降。

We are optimistic that we will deliver sequential operating income and margin improvement in the fourth quarter as Middle East activity returns and our new DRA expansion comes online. We remain focused on margin improvement in all segments. Our outlook does not assume any resumption of Mexico sales.

我們樂觀地認為，隨著中東地區的業務活動恢復以及我們新的DRA擴建項目上線，第四季度我們將實現營業收入和利潤率的環比增長。我們將繼續專注於提升所有業務板塊的利潤率。我們的展望並未假設墨西哥的銷售額會恢復。

Now I will turn the call over to Ian Cleminson, who will review our financial results in more detail. Then I will return with some concluding comments. After that, Ian and I will take your questions. Ian?

現在我將把電話交給伊恩·克萊明森，他將更詳細地分析我們的財務表現。最後，我將作總結性評論。之後，我和伊恩將回答你們的問題。伊恩？

Thanks, Patrick. Turning to slide 7 in the presentation. The company's total revenues for the third quarter were $441.9 million, similar to the $443.4 million reported a year ago. Overall gross margin decreased by 1.6 percentage-points from last year to 26.4%. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $44.2 million compared to $50.5 million last year, and net income for the quarter was $12.9 million compared to $33.4 million a year ago.

謝謝你，派崔克。翻到簡報的第7張投影片。該公司第三季總營收為 4.419 億美元，與去年同期報告的 4.434 億美元相近。整體毛利率較上年下降1.6個百分點至26.4%。本季調整後 EBITDA 為 4,420 萬美元，而去年同期為 5,050 萬美元；本季淨利為 1,290 萬美元，而去年同期為 3,340 萬美元。

Our GAAP earnings per share were $0.52 compared to $1.33 recorded last year. Our headline results for the quarter include $24.4 million in charges, which had a negative EPS impact of $0.57. These charges are composed of $42.9 million of assets and intangible impairments and restructuring charges related to the expected lack of near-term recovery in our QGP business in Brazil, our Mexican oilfield production business and our US oilfield stimulation business. These charges were offset by an $18.5 million reduction to the fair value of contingent consideration associated with the 2023 acquisition of QGP. Excluding these and other special items in both years, our adjusted EPS for the quarter was $1.12 compared to $1.35 a year ago.

我們的GAAP每股收益為0.52美元，去年同期為1.33美元。本季主要業績包括 2,440 萬美元的費用，對每股收益造成 0.57 美元的負面影響。這些費用包括 4,290 萬美元的資產和無形資產減損以及與我們在巴西的 QGP 業務、墨西哥油田生產業務和美國油田增產業務預計短期內無法復甦相關的重組費用。這些費用被 2023 年收購 QGP 相關的或有對價公允價值減少 1,850 萬美元所抵銷。在剔除這兩年中的這些及其他特殊項目後，我們本季的調整後每股收益為 1.12 美元，而去年同期為 1.35 美元。

Turning to slide 8. Revenues in Performance Chemicals for the third quarter were $170.8 million, up 4% from last year's $163.6 million. Volumes fell by 2%, offset by a positive price/mix of 3% and favorable currency impact of 3%. Gross margin of 15.1% decreased 7 percentage-points compared to 22.1% in the same quarter in 2024 due to higher costs, price management and weaker product mix. Operating income of $9.2 million decreased 54% from $20 million last year.

翻到第8張幻燈片。第三季高性能化學品業務收入為 1.708 億美元，比去年同期的 1.636 億美元成長了 4%。銷售量下降了 2%，但價格/產品組合上漲 3%，匯率上漲 3%，抵銷了部分損失。由於成本上升、價格管理和產品組合疲軟，毛利率為 15.1%，比 2024 年同期的 22.1% 下降了 7 個百分點。營業收入為 920 萬美元，比去年的 2,000 萬美元下降了 54%。

Moving on to slide 9. Revenues in Fuel Specialties for the third quarter were $172 million, up 4% from the $165.8 million reported a year ago. Volumes were down 7% with price/mix up 7% and a positive currency impact of 4%. Fuel Specialties gross margins of 35.6% were up 2 percentage-points above the same quarter last year, benefiting from a stronger sales mix and disciplined pricing. Operating income of $35.3 million was up 14% from $30.9 million a year ago.

接下來是第9張投影片。第三季燃料特種產品收入為 1.72 億美元，比去年同期報告的 1.658 億美元成長了 4%。銷量下降 7%，價格/產品組合上漲 7%，匯率上漲 4%。燃料特種產品毛利率為 35.6%，比去年同期成長 2 個百分點，這得益於更強勁的銷售組合和嚴格的定價策略。營業收入為 3,530 萬美元，比去年同期的 3,090 萬美元成長了 14%。

Moving on to slide 10. Revenues in Oilfield Services for the quarter were $99.1 million, down 13% from $114 million in the third quarter last year. Gross margins of 30% increased 1.7 percentage-points from last year's 28.3% due to a better sales mix. Operating income of $4.8 million decreased 32% from $7.1 million a year ago.

接下來是第10張投影片。本季油田服務收入為 9,910 萬美元，比去年第三季的 1.14 億美元下降了 13%。由於銷售組合改善，毛利率從去年的 28.3% 提高到 30%，增加了 1.7 個百分點。營業收入為 480 萬美元，比去年同期的 710 萬美元下降了 32%。

Turning to slide 11. Corporate costs for the quarter were $18.2 million compared with $11.8 million a year ago, which included an $8.4 million recovery of historic pension costs. The adjusted effective tax rate for the quarter was 22.5% compared to 24.6% in the same period last year due to the geographical mix of taxable profits. We expect the full year adjusted tax rate to be around 25%.

翻到第11張幻燈片。本季公司成本為 1,820 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,180 萬美元，其中包括收回 840 萬美元的歷史退休金成本。由於應稅利潤的地理分佈不同，本季調整後的實際稅率為 22.5%，去年同期為 24.6%。我們預計全年調整後稅率約為 25%。

Moving on to slide 12. Cash flow from operating activities was $39.3 million before capital expenditures of $22.2 million. In the third quarter, we bought back almost 123,000 shares at a cost of $10.7 million. As of September 30, Innospec had $270.8 million in cash and cash equivalents and no debt.

接下來是第12張投影片。經營活動產生的現金流量為 3,930 萬美元，扣除 2,220 萬美元的資本支出之前。第三季度，我們以 1,070 萬美元的價格回購了近 123,000 股股票。截至9月30日，Innospec擁有2.708億美元的現金及現金等價物，且無債務。

And now I'll turn it back over to Patrick for some final comments.

現在我把麥克風交還給派崔克，讓他做最後的總結發言。

Thanks, Ian. We continue to prioritize gross margin and operating income actions in Performance Chemicals and Oilfield Services, and we expect to deliver sequential growth in the fourth quarter. We remain focused on a combination of sales, price cost actions, new technology, commercialization and other opportunities to drive sustainable improvement.

謝謝你，伊恩。我們將繼續優先考慮高性能化學品和油田服務業務的毛利率和營業收入，並預計第四季將實現季比成長。我們將繼續專注於透過銷售、價格成本控制、新技術、商業化和其他機會來推動永續改進。

In addition, we expect Fuel Specialties to continue to deliver strong results. Operating cash generation was again positive in the fourth quarter, and our net cash position closed at over $270 million. We have significant balance sheet flexibility for M&A, dividend growth, organic investment and buybacks. This quarter, our Board approved a further 10% increase in our semiannual dividend to $0.87 per share, and we continued our record of returning value to shareholders with $10.7 million in share repurchases.

此外，我們預計Fuel Specialties將持續取得強勁的業績。第四季經營現金流再次為正，淨現金部位收在 2.7 億美元以上。我們在資產負債表方面擁有很大的靈活性，可用於併購、股息成長、內生性投資和股票回購。本季度，董事會批准將半年股息再增加 10%，至每股 0.87 美元，並且我們繼續保持為股東創造價值的記錄，回購了 1,070 萬美元的股票。

Now I'll turn the call over to the operator, and Ian and I will take your questions.

現在我將把電話轉給接線員，我和伊恩將回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Mike Harrison, Seaport Research Partners.

麥克·哈里森，海港研究夥伴公司。

I wanted to start with a couple of questions on the Performance Chemicals business. I was hoping to start that you could give us a little more color on what's going on with the gross margin there, a couple of hundred basis points of sequential decline there. Did the oleo chemicals raw material headwind get incrementally worse this quarter? Did mix get worse sequentially? Were there other factors? And I was hoping you could also address what you mean by price management as one of the issues impacting margin in Performance Chemicals.

我想先問幾個關於高性能化學品業務的問題。我希望您能更詳細地介紹一下毛利率的情況，目前毛利率環比下降了幾百個基點。本季油脂化學品原料供應的不利因素是否進一步惡化？混音效果是否逐漸變差？還有其他因素嗎？我希望您也能談談您所說的價格管理作為影響高性能化學品利潤率的問題之一的含義。

Yeah. Let me take that first, Mike, and Patrick will come over the top with some comments. What we saw in July and August was the continuing headwinds from the oleo chemicals. That's put pressure on our pricing and our pass-through ability. I think what's important is that as we've moved through September and into October, the actions that we talked about on the last call have started to take effect.

是的。讓我先回答這個問題，麥克，派崔克隨後會補充一些評論。我們在七、八月看到的是油脂化學品帶來的持續不利影響。這給我們的定價和轉嫁能力帶來了壓力。我認為重要的是，隨著九月進入十月，我們在上次電話會議上討論的行動已經開始生效。

We've seen the business improve from the gross margin perspective, and we're expecting the Q4 gross margin to be much closer to 18%. So that's up a full 3 percentage-points sequentially Q3 to Q4. Also, I think it's worth remembering that in Q3, we do have a slower period in July and August, particularly in Europe with the shutdowns and the holiday season. So it's always a little bit weaker.

從毛利率的角度來看，我們已經看到業務有所改善，我們預計第四季度的毛利率將更接近 18%。所以，從第三季到第四季，季增了整整 3 個百分點。另外，我認為值得注意的是，第三季7月和8月是業務淡季，尤其是在歐洲，由於疫情封鎖和假期，業務會相對放緩。所以它總是稍微弱一些。

I think the important thing is that our demand remains really strong. Volumes remain good. We've got a lot of work that we need to do internally. We've done some of that. We've got more to do. The team are on it, and we're starting to see the positive impacts of that coming through.

我認為最重要的是，我們的需求依然非常強大。銷量依然良好。我們內部有很多工作要完成。我們已經做了一些這方面的工作。我們還有更多工作要做。團隊正在努力，我們已經開始看到正面的影響顯現出來。

Yeah, Mike, we talked about it in the previous quarter, actually previous two quarter calls that we had a lot of actions that we had to take to manage margins better than we have in the past. And as Ian alluded to, all these actions have really come to forth right.

是的，麥克，我們在上個季度，實際上是前兩個季度的電話會議上都討論過這個問題，我們必須採取很多措施來更好地管理利潤率，比我們過去做得更好。正如伊恩所暗示的那樣，所有這些行動都確實取得了成效。

We've really done a good job in the last month of this quarter, and we're starting to see it even better going into Q4. So the actions the guys have put in place, whether it's pricing, manufacturing efficiencies, new product, product mix, raw materials, it's just being managed better than it has. And I think we've learned a few lessons along the way, and we should see those improving as we go forward.

我們在本季最後一個月做得非常出色，而且我們開始看到，進入第四季後情況會更好。所以，無論是在定價、生產效率、新產品、產品組合或原料方面，這些措施都比以前管理得更好了。我認為我們一路走來吸取了一些教訓，隨著我們不斷前進，這些方面應該會有所改進。

All right. And then can you specifically talk about what are some of the commercial actions you're looking at in Performance Chemicals? I think you referenced some top line opportunities maybe across multiple different end markets. Can we just get a little more detail there?

好的。那麼，您能否具體談談您在高性能化學品領域正在關注的一些商業舉措？我認為你提到了一些可能涉及多個不同終端市場的頂級機會。我們能再詳細了解一下嗎？

Yeah. I mean we continuously have a lot of products run through our disruptive technology group that we introduced to the market. There was a little lull over probably the last year, hence, why our product mix was off a little bit. But we are introducing new products to the market probably this quarter and throughout next year, which will help with the balance. So it's more -- and it's technology, Mike, across all the sectors, whether it's agriculture, mining, personal care, it's really all sectors that we have new product technologies coming through.

是的。我的意思是，我們不斷透過顛覆性技術團隊將大量產品推向市場。過去一年可能出現了一段短暫的低迷期，因此，我們的產品組合略有偏差。但我們可能會在本季以及明年全年向市場推出新產品，這將有助於平衡供需關係。所以，更重要的是——麥克，是科技，它滲透到各個領域，無論是農業、採礦業、個人護理業，實際上所有領域都有新的產品技術湧現。

There was a general lull in the market because instead of looking at the big trends were 1,4-Dioxine-free, sulfate-free, nitrosamine free, that market has now stabilized out and other competitors have jumped in. We're now looking at what's the new move on the horizon. And these are products that we should be introducing over the next three to six months.

市場整體陷入低迷，因為人們沒有關注不含 1,4-二噁英、不含硫酸鹽、不含亞硝胺的大趨勢，而現在該市場已經穩定下來，其他競爭對手也紛紛湧入。我們現在關注的是即將到來的新動向。這些是我們未來三到六個月內將推出的產品。

All right. Very helpful. And then in the Fuel Specialties business, seasonally, you would typically see better margin performance as you start to get some cold flow improvers and the mix just kind of shifts seasonally. It sounded to me like you're saying you expect that business to be more steady in terms of earnings from Q3 into Q4. So I was just hoping that you could address whether we should see that normal seasonal pickup or if something else is going on.

好的。很有幫助。而在燃料特種產品業務中，從季節性角度來看，隨著一些冷流改進劑的推出，利潤率通常會提高，產品組合也會隨著季節變化而發生相應的變化。聽起來你的意思是，你預計該業務從第三季到第四季的獲利情況會更加穩定。所以，我只是希望您能解釋一下，我們是否會看到正常的季節性回升，還是出現了其他情況。

Yeah, Mike, we've had a really good year in Fuel Specialties. The business has executed extremely well on pricing, on top line initiatives, and we've seen the benefit of that coming through in a very strong gross margin performance. As you remember, in Q2, the gross margins were 38%. In Q3, they're at 35%. We expect that 35% to be about the same in Q4, maybe a little bit up, maybe a little bit down, but certainly around that mark, and that's really a function of where the pricing and the timing of that pricing works.

是的，麥克，我們在燃料特種產品方面今年取得了非常好的成績。公司在定價和營收成長方面執行得非常出色，我們已經看到這些舉措帶來了非常強勁的毛利率表現。如您所知，第二季毛利率為 38%。第三季度，這一比例為 35%。我們預計第四季度這一比例將與第一季持平，可能略有上升，也可能略有下降，但肯定會在這個水平附近，而這實際上取決於定價策略和定價時機。

As you know, there's a lag up and down. We're seeing a pretty stable environment in terms of raw materials there right now, and as you're right, we'll start to see a pickup in those winter businesses, and we're going to hit around about that $35 million of operating income in Q4, and we feel pretty good about that. That will top off an extremely strong year for Fuel Specialties.

如你所知，網路傳輸會有延遲。目前我們看到原材料市場環境相當穩定，正如您所說，冬季業務將會開始回暖，我們預計第四季度營業收入將達到 3500 萬美元左右，對此我們感到非常樂觀。這將為Fuel Specialties公司業績極其強勁的一年畫下圓滿的句點。

And maybe just to ask a little bit more broadly on the outlook. It sounds like you expect sequential improvement in Performance Chemicals as well as Oilfield Services and then maybe flattish in Fuel Specialties. So is the expectation that EPS gets into the, I don't know, $1.20, $1.30 range. It doesn't seem like maybe you have enough tailwind to get up to that 140-ish level that you were at last year.

或許還可以更廣泛地詢問一下前景如何。聽起來您預計高性能化學品和油田服務業務將逐步改善，而燃料特種產品業務可能會保持穩定。因此，預計每股收益將達到，我不知道，1.20美元，1.30美元的區間。看來你可能沒有足夠的順風能達到去年140左右的水平。

No, we won't be up at $1.40, mark. Will be above $1. You said sort of that $1.20 to $1.25 range. I think as we sit here right now, we'd be disappointed not to get there. We feel comfortable about October. November is looking good. December, as you can imagine, with year-end customer actions, weather, it can be a little bit variable for us, but that's certainly the range that we're aiming for.

不，我們不會漲到 1.40 美元，馬克。價格將高於1美元。你說過大概1.20到1.25美元之間。我認為，如果我們現在坐在這裡，卻沒能到達目的地，我們會感到失望。我們對十月份的情況感到放心。十一月看起來不錯。正如你所想，12 月份，由於年底客戶活動、天氣等因素，對我們來說可能會有些不確定，但這肯定是我們努力的目標範圍。

John Tanwanteng, CJS.

John Tanwanteng，CJS。

I was wondering if you could touch more on the timing in the oilfield business as it pertains to your Middle East clients and how that runs through in Q4. Is your expectation for the second half the same as it was previously and it just catches up in Q4? Or does everything just push out to the right maybe because there's not enough time to catch up to what was happening?

我想請您詳細談談油田業務的時間安排，特別是與您的中東客戶相關的時間安排，以及第四季度的情況。您對下半年的預期是否與之前相同，並認為它會在第四季度迎頭趕上？或者，是因為沒有足夠的時間去跟上正在發生的事情，所以一切都向右偏移了？

Yeah. There's not enough time to catch up. We saw activity starting to pick back up in Q4. It's just timing. There's no loss of customers. It's just timing with customers. It's all Middle East. And --

是的。沒有足夠的時間趕上進度。我們看到第四季市場活動開始回升。只是時機問題。沒有客戶流失。這只是與客戶溝通的時機問題。都是中東地區。和--

To the right as opposed to a catch-up occurring in Q4.

與第四季出現的追趕情況相反，向右發展。

Correct. Correct.

正確的。正確的。

Okay. Understood. And then in Q3, could you just give a little bit more detail as to what drove the underperformance in Performance Chemicals? And then as you go into the Q4, we expect on the pricing to catch up, which is what I think you've been saying all along. Will it catch up to the degree you had previously expected? Or is there more of a headwind there now incrementally in Q4 compared to what you expected before?

好的。明白了。那麼，在第三季度，您能否更詳細地說明一下導致高性能化學品業務表現不佳的原因？然後到了第四季度，我們預計價格會迎頭趕上，我想這正是你一直以來所說的。它能達到你之前預期的程度嗎？或者說，與先前的預期相比，第四季是否出現了更大的阻力？

Yeah. There were a lot of issues, and we talked about the last quarter, and those issues remained. I mean it was pricing issues to the customer. It was raw material actions, spike in raw materials. It was a lag in contracts up or down. At this point, we got caught on the downside. It was flexibility of assets. It was product mix. It was the introduction of new technologies, which we'll start seeing in Q4. It was manufacturing efficiencies.

是的。有很多問題，我們討論了上個季度的情況，但這些問題依然存在。我的意思是，對顧客來說，這是價格問題。這是原物料方面的行動，原物料價格飆升。合約價格的上漲或下跌有滯後現象。這時，我們陷入了不利境地。這是資產的彈性。是產品組合的問題。這是新技術的引入，我們將在第四季度開始看到這些新技術的出現。是生產效率的問題。

There were a lot of things. We had a big spike in growth and sometimes you forget about the internal issues you have to manage. And so all the actions have been in place. And as Ian alluded to, the last month of this quarter showed a very strong quarter or a very strong month, I should say, and we should have some nice momentum going into Q4.

有很多事情。我們經歷了快速增長期，有時你會忘記需要處理的內部問題。因此，所有行動都已就緒。正如伊恩所暗示的那樣，本季最後一個月的業績表現非常強勁，或者應該說，這是一個非常強勁的季度，我們應該會帶著良好的勢頭進入第四季度。

Okay. Great. Can you speak to the momentum you expect heading into Q1 of next year in that business as you fix all these things and maybe speak a little bit to the underlying customer demand you expect?

好的。偉大的。您能否談談您預計明年第一季該業務的發展勢頭，以及在您解決所有這些問題後，您對潛在的客戶需求有何預期？

Yeah. Customer demand is strong. We've had no issue with customer demand at all. It's quite frankly, it's just all the things that we just talked about that we had to get internally fixed and obviously, the contracts had to catch up too on pricing. So you've had pricing catch up and then all of a sudden, raw materials spike again and you're now another three month delay. And so you get the benefit on the downside, but the upside it hurts you a little bit. But I think for all of us, we're seeing a lot more stability going into Q4, and it should really carry over into Q1 next year.

是的。顧客需求強勁。我們完全沒有遇到客戶需求的問題。坦白說，就是我們剛才討論的那些需要內部解決的問題，而且顯然，合約的價格也需要相應調整。所以價格終於趕上了，然後突然之間原物料價格又飆升，現在又耽誤了三個月。所以，雖然好處是有代價的，但好處也會讓你受到一些傷害。但我認為對我們所有人來說，進入第四季後市場將更加穩定，而且這種穩定局面應該會延續到明年第一季。

Understood. And then lastly, could you just speak to capital allocation? It looks like you bought back some shares. It looks like your stock price might be giving you opportunities here. I'm just wondering if you're more biased there or you're saving your firepower for M&A or other activities.

明白了。最後，能否談談資本配置方面的問題？看來你回購了一些股票。看來你的股價可能會為你帶來投資機會。我只是想知道你是否對那裡的情況更關注，還是你在為併購或其他活動保留實力。

It's still a nice balance. I think you're right at the share price, we're still buying back. You saw that we also increased our dividend. I think that we are seeing some stressed assets out there. So we want to have some dry powder. Obviously, we have to have our internal house managed appropriately as we are going into Q4. But I think for next year, we do want to have dry powder. We are going to continue to buy back at this price, and we are going to continue to increase our dividend. And we've done, I think, a very good job on all ends. But having the dry powder will be key moving into next year.

目前仍保持良好的平衡。我認為你對股價的看法是對的，我們仍在回購股票。您也看到了，我們也提高了股利。我認為我們看到市場上存在一些不良資產。所以我們需要一些乾粉。顯然，隨著我們進入第四季度，我們必須妥善管理內部事務。但我認為明年我們確實需要一些儲備金。我們將繼續以這個價格回購股票，並將繼續提高股利。我認為，我們在各方面都做得非常好。但擁有充足的資金儲備對於明年至關重要。

That concludes the Q&A session. I will now hand the call back to Patrick Williams for closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。現在我將把電話交還給派崔克威廉斯，請他作總結發言。

Thank you all for joining us today, and thanks to all our shareholders, customers and Innospec employees for your interest and support. If you have any further questions about Innospec or matters discussed today, please give us a call. We look forward to being up with you again to discuss our fourth quarter 2025 results in February. Have a great day.

感謝各位今天蒞臨現場，也感謝所有股東、客戶及Innospec員工的關注與支持。如果您對Innospec或今天討論的事項有任何其他疑問，請致電我們。我們期待在二月再次與您見面，討論我們 2025 年第四季的業績。祝你有美好的一天。