James Hardie Industries PLC (JHX) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to the James Hardie Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

感謝您的耐心等待，歡迎參加 James Hardie 2026 財年第二季財報電話會議。（操作說明）

I would now like to hand the call over to Joe Ahlersmeyer, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在我將把電話交給投資者關係副總裁喬·阿勒斯邁爾。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and thank you to everyone for joining today's call. I am joined today by Aaron Erter, Chief Executive Officer of James Hardie; and Jon Skelly, President of AZEK Residential.

謝謝接線生，也謝謝各位參加今天的電話會議。今天與我一同出席的有 James Hardie 執行長 Aaron Erter 和 AZEK Residential 總裁 Jon Skelly。

Before we begin the call, please note that during prepared remarks and Q&A, we may refer to non-GAAP financial measures and make forward-looking statements. You can refer to several related cautionary and other notes on slide 2 for more information. Forward-looking statements made during today's conference call and in the earnings materials speak only as of the date of this presentation. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Also, unless otherwise indicated, our materials and comments refer to figures in US dollars and any comparisons made are to the corresponding period in the prior fiscal year.

在電話會議開始之前，請注意，在準備好的發言和問答環節中，我們可能會提及非GAAP財務指標並做出前瞻性陳述。您可以參考投影片 2 上的幾項相關注意事項和其他說明，以取得更多資訊。在今天的電話會議和盈利材料中作出的前瞻性陳述僅代表截至本次演示之日的情況。前瞻性陳述存在風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述中的結果有重大差異。因此，投資者應注意不要過度依賴前瞻性陳述。此外，除非另有說明，我們的資料和評論均以美元計價，任何比較均與上一財政年度的相應時期進行比較。

And with that, I'm pleased to hand the call over to Aaron.

接下來，我很高興把電話交給亞倫。

Good morning, and thanks for joining us today. With me on today's call are Jon Skelly, President of our AZEK business; and Joe Ahlersmeyer, our Vice President of Investor Relations. Before we get into the second quarter results, I wanted to provide an update on some important developments for the company.

早安，感謝您今天收看我們的節目。今天和我一起參加電話會議的有：AZEK 業務總裁 Jon Skelly；以及投資者關係副總裁 Joe Ahlersmeyer。在介紹第二季業績之前，我想先向大家報告公司的一些重要進展。

Today, we announced the appointment of Nigel Stein as Chair of the James Hardie Board of Directors. Nigel's extensive Board experience, understanding of James Hardie and his leadership come at a transformative time as we focus on execution and long-term value creation for our shareholders. Our Board also announced the creation of an Integration and Performance Committee to support the successful integration of AZEK and the performance of the combined businesses. The committee will be chaired by Jesse Singh and will include Board members, Howard Heckes, Persio Lisboa, and myself.

今天，我們宣布任命奈傑爾·斯坦為詹姆斯·哈迪董事會主席。奈傑爾豐富的董事會經驗、對詹姆斯哈迪公司的了解以及他的領導才能，正值我們專注於執行和為股東創造長期價值的轉型時期。我們的董事會也宣布成立整合與績效委員會，以支持 AZEK 的成功整合以及合併後業務的績效。委員會將由傑西辛格擔任主席，成員包括董事會成員霍華德赫克斯、佩爾西奧里斯本和我本人。

I look forward to working with Nigel and the entire Board to advance our strategy and continue strengthening the company for the future. As you may have seen in our press release, Rachel Wilson will be leaving James Hardie to pursue other opportunities. Rachel has been a valued partner and an important part of our team during her tenure at James Hardie. I want to thank Rachel for her many contributions over the last two years.

我期待與奈傑爾和全體董事會成員合作，推動我們的策略，並繼續加強公司的未來發展。正如您在我們的新聞稿中可能看到的，Rachel Wilson 將離開 James Hardie 去尋求其他發展機會。在瑞秋擔任 James Hardie 的合夥人期間，她一直是我們團隊的重要成員和寶貴的合作夥伴。我要感謝瑞秋在過去兩年所做的許多貢獻。

Finally, I'm very pleased to announce that Ryan Lada will join us as our new Chief Financial Officer. Ryan comes to us from Watts Water, where he recently served as CFO. Many of you know him from his prior role as CFO at AZEK. Ryan is a proven leader who brings strong operational and financial experience and a deep knowledge of the building products industry. He's the right person to partner with me in leading James Hardie in this next phase of growth.

最後，我非常高興地宣布，Ryan Lada 將加入我們，擔任新的財務長。Ryan 之前在 Watts Water 擔任財務長。你們中的許多人可能都認識他，因為他之前曾擔任 AZEK 的財務長。Ryan是一位久經考驗的領導者，擁有豐富的營運和財務經驗，以及對建築產品行業的深刻了解。他是我帶領 James Hardie 進入下一個發展階段的合適人選。

We have every confidence in a smooth CFO transition.

我們完全有信心順利完成財務長的交接。

We released our second quarter results yesterday, which were consistent with what we shared in our prerelease in early October. While we continue to navigate a dynamic market environment, we are actively focused on driving improved performance in our results. We have identified several opportunities to enhance how we operate today while positioning James Hardie to take full advantage of the favorable long-term fundamentals of the US housing market.

我們昨天公佈了第二季度業績，這與我們在 10 月初發布的預告片中分享的內容一致。儘管我們仍在應對瞬息萬變的市場環境，但我們正積極致力於提升績效表現。我們已經發現了幾個可以改善我們目前運作方式的機會，同時使 James Hardie 能夠充分利用美國住房市場有利的長期基本面。

Our strategy remains grounded in profitable growth, disciplined execution and ongoing material conversion across our businesses from wood and inferior materials to composite alternatives and fiber cement. Before getting into the details of these initiatives, I wanted to address the changes we made to our outlook since we lowered our full year guidance in August. At the time, what we were hearing from our customers and what was evident in their ordering rates was more cautious positioning and the possibility of additional inventory tightening in the channel.

我們的策略仍然以獲利成長、嚴謹的執行以及在業務中不斷進行材料轉換為基礎，從木材和劣質材料轉向複合材料替代品和纖維水泥。在詳細介紹這些舉措之前，我想先談談自 8 月我們下調全年業績預期以來，我們對前景所做的調整。當時，我們從客戶那裡聽到的以及從他們的訂購率中可以明顯看出，市場定位更加謹慎，渠道庫存可能會進一步收緊。

The magnitude of the August guidance reduction was deliberate and based on the information we had at the time. Since then, we've seen conditions stabilize with recent customer conversations and data shared by customers showing a more stable market and normalized inventory levels. And based on that, we're modestly raising our full year guidance. We still expect the broader market to be challenging in the near term, and that view is embedded in our guidance range.

8 月業績預期下調的幅度是經過深思熟慮的，並且是基於我們當時掌握的資訊。自那以後，我們看到市場狀況趨於穩定，最近的客戶溝通和客戶分享的數據顯示市場更加穩定，庫存水準也恢復正常。基於此，我們小幅上調了全年業績預期。我們仍預期短期內整體市場將面臨挑戰，這一觀點已體現在我們的業績指引範圍內。

The variability in our guidance this year has highlighted the need for greater consistency and discipline in our financial forecasting process. We know we can do better, and we've taken decisive action to strengthen execution, improve predictability and drive consistency in our results. We have been working with our customers and are now receiving more frequent granular data from them, giving us a clear view of inventory and market demand.

今年我們業績指引的波動性凸顯了我們在財務預測過程中需要更加一致和嚴謹。我們知道我們可以做得更好，並且已經採取了果斷措施來加強執行力、提高可預測性並推動結果的一致性。我們一直與客戶合作，現在從他們那裡獲得了更頻繁、更詳細的數據，這讓我們能夠清楚地了解庫存和市場需求。

These improvements, among others, will help us deliver more predictable results going forward. Our two largest segments: Siding & Trim and Deck, Rail & Accessories, position the company with 80% of our net sales from North America with a strong record of structural growth and substantial material conversion runway across both segments of the business. The balance of our net sales are generated in Australia and New Zealand, where we run a highly profitable fiber cement business and in Europe with an improving financial profile and an attractive fiber gypsum business.

這些改進措施以及其他一些改進措施，將有助於我們在未來取得更可預測的成果。我們最大的兩個業務板塊：外牆裝飾和甲板、欄桿及配件，使公司 80% 的淨銷售額來自北美，這兩個業務板塊均實現了強勁的結構性增長，並擁有充足的材料轉換空間。我們的淨銷售額其餘部分來自澳洲和紐西蘭（我們在那裡經營著利潤豐厚的纖維水泥業務）以及歐洲（財務狀況正在改善，纖維石膏業務也很有吸引力）。

In North America, our partnership with large one-step dealers and our success converting homebuilders from vinyl to fiber cement have driven new construction to approximately 40% of our North America revenue, inclusive of AZEK with repair and remodel at approximately 60% of sales. Over time, we expect repair and remodel to grow faster given favorable structural fundamentals and deliberate focus to accelerate fiber cement penetration in that end market.

在北美，我們與大型一站式經銷商的合作以及我們成功地將房屋建築商從乙烯基材料轉向纖維水泥材料，推動了新建工程占我們北美收入的約 40%，其中包括 AZEK 產品，而維修和改造業務約佔銷售額的 60%。隨著時間的推移，鑑於有利的結構基本面以及加速纖維水泥在該終端市場的滲透而採取的策略，我們預計維修和改造業務將成長得更快。

In Siding & Trim, current conditions remain mixed, reflecting the category's higher exposure to new construction in the Southern states. From a channel inventory perspective, customers are appropriately positioned for this time of year relative to forward demand expectations. And while the new home market is still uncertain, demand trends have improved relative to our expectations in August. We now expect mid-single-digit organic net sales declines for the full year.

在牆板和裝飾材料領域，目前的狀況依然喜憂參半，反映出該類別對南部各州新建建築的依賴程度較高。從通路庫存的角度來看，客戶目前的庫存配置與預期需求相符，符合一年中這個時候的需求。儘管新房市場仍不明朗，但8月的需求趨勢已超出我們的預期。我們現在預計全年有機淨銷售額將出現中等個位數的下降。

We are focused on returning our Siding & Trim segment to growth in the future. A few examples of our growth plan in the segment include on-the-wall cost reduction pilots in Detroit, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and the Ohio area are delivering early wins. In some cases, we've cut the relative cost gap versus vinyl by about 50%, thanks to improved material availability and new installation methods.

我們致力於在未來恢復外牆和裝飾條業務的成長。我們在該領域的成長計畫的一些例子包括：在底特律、匹茲堡、印第安納波利斯和俄亥俄州地區開展的牆面成本削減試點項目，這些項目已取得初步成功。在某些情況下，由於材料供應的改善和新的安裝方法，我們已將與乙烯基材料相比的相對成本差距縮小了約 50%。

Statement Essentials with Boise Cascade simplifies our ColorPlus lineup, about a 90% SKU reduction versus the full statement collection with products reliably stocked at dealers in pilot regions. This improves availability and reduces project delays, which directly helps contractors win more jobs. Intuitive Edge training and productivity programs are expanding. We're teaching contractors the Trim-Over method, which can improve productivity by about 35%. That means less time measuring, cutting and caulking.

Statement Essentials 與 Boise Cascade 合作，簡化了我們的 ColorPlus 產品線，與完整的 Statement 系列相比，SKU 減少了約 90%，試點地區的經銷商可確保產品庫存充足。這提高了可用性，減少了專案延誤，從而直接幫助承包商贏得更多專案。Intuitive Edge 的培訓和生產力提升計畫正在不斷擴展。我們正在向承包商傳授修剪法，該方法可以提高生產率約 35%。這意味著可以減少測量、切割和填縫的時間。

These steps make it simpler and more affordable for contractors to install our products and help attract new users to fiber cement. We plan to scale these efforts across major Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic markets in early calendar year 2026 and close partnership with Boise Cascade. Based on the early results, we see meaningful expansion potential in those regions. Beyond installation, we believe ColorPlus is a differentiated product with large opportunities in repair and remodel, especially in the Northeast and Midwest, where aging housing stock supports conversion from vinyl.

這些措施使承包商安裝我們的產品更加簡單、更經濟實惠，並有助於吸引新用戶使用纖維水泥。我們計劃在 2026 年初將這些努力擴展到中西部、東北部和大西洋中部的主要市場，並與 Boise Cascade 建立緊密的合作關係。根據初步結果，我們看到這些地區具有巨大的擴張潛力。除了安裝之外，我們相信 ColorPlus 是一款差異化產品，在維修和改造方面具有巨大的機會，尤其是在東北部和中西部地區，那裡老化的房屋存量有利於從乙烯基材料進行改造。

We continue to invest in contractor conversion, and we're seeing strong performance in ColorPlus versus prime products with growing momentum among our sales team and dealer partners. Organic net sales in the legacy James Hardie North America fiber cement business declined 3% in the second quarter, driven mainly by lower volumes, partly offset by higher average sales price. Single-family exteriors volumes were down mid-single digits with interiors down low double digits and multifamily up mid-single digits.

我們持續投資於承包商轉型，我們看到 ColorPlus 相對於主要產品表現出強勁的業績，這在我們的銷售團隊和經銷商合作夥伴中越來越受歡迎。受銷量下降的影響，James Hardie北美傳統纖維水泥業務第二季度有機淨銷售額下降了3%，但平均售價上漲部分抵消了銷量下降的影響。單戶住宅外牆裝潢量下降了個位數中段，室內裝潢量下降了兩位數低段，而多戶住宅裝潢量則上升了個位數中段。

On a pro forma organic basis, AZEK Exteriors grew revenue, up 5% in the quarter and up 7% in the first half. In Siding & Trim, which reflects both our core James Hardie fiber cement business and AZEK Exteriors, adjusted EBITDA was $224 million in the second quarter, with adjusted EBITDA margin of 29.2%, down year-over-year, primarily due to approximately 400 basis points of margin decline in our North American fiber cement business, largely reflecting underutilization in our plants.

以備考自然成長計算，AZEK Exteriors 的營收在本季成長了 5%，上半年成長了 7%。在外牆和裝飾業務中（包括我們的核心 James Hardie 纖維水泥業務和 AZEK Exteriors），第二季度調整後 EBITDA 為 2.24 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 29.2%，同比下降，主要原因是北美纖維水泥業務的利潤率下降了約 400 個基點產能利用率不足。

We're not satisfied with our performance in the quarter, and we are taking action to improve future performance, including accelerating identified cost synergies from the AZEK combination, reducing variable costs in our plants and optimizing our manufacturing network to improve utilization. These steps are already underway and will drive meaningful margin improvement. Going forward, we expect utilization to improve and margin expansion as we move into fiscal 2027.

我們對本季的業績並不滿意，我們正在採取措施改善未來的業績，包括加快實現 AZEK 合併帶來的成本協同效應，降低工廠的可變成本，並優化我們的製造網絡以提高利用率。這些措施已經在實施中，並將帶來顯著的利潤率提升。展望未來，我們預計隨著進入 2027 財年，利用率將有所提高，利潤率將有所擴大。

For the full year, we now expect total raw material inflation in the organic business to run mid-single digits, better than the high single digits we expected earlier. Pricing is expected to offset cost inflation, while HOS or the Hardie Operating System will help dampen the impacts of underutilization.

我們現在預計，全年有機業務原物料總通膨率將達到個位數中段，優於我們先前預期的個位數高段。定價有望抵消成本上漲，而 HOS 或 Hardie 作業系統將有助於緩解利用率不足的影響。

Now let's turn to Deck, Rail & Accessories. In Deck, Rail & Accessories, performance remains strong with mid-single-digit sell-through growth in a market that is down in the low single digits. TimberTech continues to outperform through our proven playbook focused on wood conversion, new product development, channel expansion and strong downstream execution. This business continues to demonstrate that we can deliver above-market growth and profitability through customer-focused execution.

現在我們來看看甲板、欄桿和配件。在甲板、欄桿及配件領域，儘管市場整體下滑幅度在個位數以下，但該領域的銷售業績依然強勁，實現了個位數中段的成長。TimberTech憑藉其成熟的策略，專注於木材加工、新產品開發、渠道拓展和強大的下游執行，持續取得優異成績。這項業務不斷證明，我們可以透過以客戶為中心的執行方式，實現高於市場平均的成長和獲利能力。

Demand in this segment remains solid, supported by a higher mix of repair and remodel work and a large presence in the North and Midwest regions. We delivered mid-single-digit sell-through growth in the quarter, again, outperforming the broader market by several hundred basis points. TimberTech continues to drive conversion by doing what it's always done well, consistent downstream execution, focusing on material conversion, deeper engagement with TimberTech Pros, expanding our channel presence with dealers and distributors and new product development.

該領域的需求依然強勁，這得益於維修和改造工程比例的提高以及在北部和中西部地區的廣泛佈局。本季我們實現了中等個位數的銷售成長，再次比大盤高出幾百個基點。TimberTech 繼續透過其一貫擅長的方式推動轉化，包括持續的下游執行、專注於材料轉化、與 TimberTech 專業人士的深入互動、擴大與經銷商和分銷商的通路覆蓋範圍以及新產品開發。

Over the last 12 months, TimberTech's brand awareness has increased by 7 points to its highest level since we began tracking this measure five years ago. New products are also adding momentum. The recently announced TimberTech Advantage Rail is a great example of how we continue to innovate and strengthen our position in outdoor living by launching products that provide the highest levels of quality, style and design while improving contractor productivity.

在過去的 12 個月裡，TimberTech 的品牌知名度提高了 7 個百分點，達到了自五年前我們開始追蹤這項指標以來的最高水準。新產品也為市場注入了新的活力。最近發布的 TimberTech Advantage Rail 就是一個很好的例子，它體現了我們如何不斷創新，並透過推出兼具最高品質、風格和設計，同時提高承包商生產力的產品，來鞏固我們在戶外生活領域的地位。

Our quarterly survey of TimberTech Pros shows a stable market. Our contractors continue to report approximately seven weeks of project backlog, consistent with both prior quarters and the same period last year. They also expect future market conditions to remain relatively stable, in line with recent quarters and the prior year's outlook. Based on this and other data points, we expect both sell-through and net sales to grow low to mid-single digits on a full year basis in FY26 for the post-close period, July 1 through March 31 compared to the same pre-acquisition period.

我們對TimberTech專業人士的季度調查顯示，市場穩定。我們的承包商繼續報告說，專案積壓情況大約持續七週，與前兩個季度和去年同期的情況一致。他們也預計未來市場狀況將保持相對穩定，與最近幾季和去年的展望一致。根據這些數據點和其他數據點，我們預計在 2026 財年，從 7 月 1 日到 3 月 31 日的收購完成後的銷售量和淨銷售額將比收購前的同期實現低至中等個位數的增長。

We expect sequential growth from the December to March quarter, boosted by new product launches and expanded distribution ahead of the spring season. And we are anticipating our partners to carry a seasonally normal level of inventory through the balance of our fiscal year. The integration with AZEK remains on track. We've already aligned key functions like marketing and operations under single leadership. Most recently, we appointed Sam Toole as Chief Marketing Officer of James Hardie.

我們預計從 12 月到 3 月這一季度將實現環比增長，這得益於新產品的推出和春季到來之前分銷渠道的擴大。我們預計我們的合作夥伴在本財年剩餘時間內將維持季節性正常庫存水準。與AZEK的整合工作仍在按計劃進行。我們已經將行銷和營運等關鍵職能部門整合到同一領導層下。最近，我們任命 Sam Toole 為 James Hardie 的首席行銷長。

Sam has done an outstanding job leading AZEK's marketing organization for the past four years. Under her leadership, we'll strengthen our marketing capabilities, deepen customer engagement and expand our reach across North America. On cost synergies, we've moved quickly on G&A opportunities while being deliberate in how we integrate manufacturing and commercial operations. With six months left in FY26, we've already surpassed our first-year cost synergy goal, and we're pushing hard toward our $125 million total cost synergy target. Dealer feedback has been very positive.

在過去的四年裡，Sam 在領導 AZEK 的行銷部門方面做得非常出色。在她的領導下，我們將加強行銷能力，深化客戶互動，並擴大我們在北美的業務範圍。在成本綜效方面，我們迅速抓住了管理費用的機會，同時在整合製造和商業營運方面也採取了審慎的態度。2026 財年還剩 6 個月，我們已經超額完成了第一年的成本綜效目標，並且正在努力實現 1.25 億美元的總成本協同效應目標。經銷商的回饋非常正面。

Several key partners have already chosen to make AZEK their exclusive PVC trim brand, drawn by the combination with James Hardie and the strong loyalty contractors have to our combined portfolio. Our sales teams are leaning in, turning these opportunities into revenue and setting us up for faster growth ahead. Distributor feedback has also been positive. Last month, we announced a multiyear expansion with Boise Cascade in select markets.

一些重要的合作夥伴已經選擇將 AZEK 作為其獨家 PVC 裝飾品牌，這得益於 AZEK 與 James Hardie 的合併以及承包商對我們合併後產品組合的強大忠誠度。我們的銷售團隊正在積極掌握這些機會，將其轉化為收入，為我們未來的更快成長奠定基礎。經銷商的回饋也很正面。上個月，我們宣布與 Boise Cascade 在特定市場進行多年合作拓展計畫。

This agreement expands our strategic statement essentials offering and adds the TimberTech and AZEK exterior brands into our long-standing relationship with Boise. The strong feedback we are hearing across every level of the channel reinforces our confidence in delivering over $500 million of revenue synergies over the next five years from the AZEK combination. And it's important to note that this isn't coming from one group or one region. It's broad-based across our dealer network and the contractors and builders who use our leading brands every day.

該協議擴展了我們的策略聲明基本產品系列，並將 TimberTech 和 AZEK 外牆品牌納入我們與 Boise 的長期合作關係中。我們從通路各個層面都聽到了強烈的回饋，這增強了我們對未來五年透過 AZEK 合併實現超過 5 億美元收入綜效的信心。值得注意的是，這並非來自某個群體或某個地區。它涵蓋了我們廣泛的經銷商網絡，以及每天使用我們領先品牌的承包商和建築商。

Through countless meetings over the past few months, we are seeing firsthand how the combined portfolio is resonating, how our teams are executing together in the field and how we can bring to bear the relative strengths of the two companies. Those early signals give us conviction in the value creation opportunity ahead.

在過去幾個月的無數次會議中，我們親眼目睹了合併後的產品組合如何引起反響，我們的團隊如何在現場協同執行，以及我們如何發揮兩家公司的相對優勢。這些早期跡象讓我們對未來的價值創造機會充滿信心。

I will now turn it over to Joe to run through the financials. Joe?

現在我將把財務部分交給喬來梳理。喬？

Thanks, Aaron. Starting with consolidated results for the second quarter. Total net sales grew 34% to $1.3 billion, including $345 million of acquired AZEK sales. Organic sales declined 1%. Adjusted EBITDA was $330 million with a 25.5% adjusted EBITDA margin.

謝謝你，亞倫。首先來看第二季的綜合業績。總淨銷售額成長 34% 至 13 億美元，其中包括收購 AZEK 的 3.45 億美元銷售額。有機產品銷售額下降了1%。調整後 EBITDA 為 3.3 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 25.5%。

Adjusted general corporate and unallocated R&D costs totaled $39 million in the quarter, benefiting from favorable stock-based compensation expense. During the second half, we anticipate around $50 million per quarter of general corporate and unallocated R&D costs.

本季經調整的一般公司費用和未分配研發費用總計 3,900 萬美元，受益於有利的股票選擇權費用。下半年，我們預計每季一般公司開支和未分配研發費用約為 5,000 萬美元。

Corporate expense is where the majority of our $24 million P&L benefit from cost synergies resides for FY26. Adjusted effective tax rate was 16.9%, reflecting our updated expectation for FY26 of approximately 20%. Adjusted net interest was $68 million and weighted average diluted share count used for adjusted diluted EPS was 582 million. We anticipate these items will remain consistent throughout the third and fourth quarter.

2026 財年，我們從成本綜效中獲得的 2,400 萬美元損益收益主要來自公司支出。調整後的實際稅率為 16.9%，反映了我們對 2026 財年約 20% 的最新預期。調整後的淨利息為 6,800 萬美元，用於計算調整後稀釋每股盈餘的加權平均稀釋股數為 5.82 億股。我們預計這些項目在第三季和第四季將保持不變。

Adjusted net income was $154 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share was $0.26. Year-to-date free cash flow was $58 million, reflecting transaction and integration costs, partially offsetting strong cash generation and reduced capital spending.

經調整後的淨利潤為 1.54 億美元，經調整後的稀釋每股收益為 0.26 美元。年初至今的自由現金流為 5,800 萬美元，反映了交易和整合成本，部分抵消了強勁的現金流和減少的資本支出。

Turning to our Siding & Trim segment, which combines our North America Fiber Cement business with AZEK Exteriors. Net sales were up 10%, including $89 million from a full quarter of AZEK. AZEK Exteriors grew net sales 5% for the quarter and 7% for the first half on a pro forma basis. Siding & Trim organic net sales declined 3% in the quarter as lower volumes were partially offset by a 2% rise in ASP with solid single-family realization.

接下來是我們的外牆和裝飾部門，該部門將我們的北美纖維水泥業務與 AZEK Exteriors 合併在一起。淨銷售額成長 10%，其中包括 AZEK 完整季度的 8,900 萬美元。AZEK Exteriors 本季淨銷售額成長 5%，上半年淨銷售額以備考基準計算成長 7%。由於銷量下降，但平均售價上漲 2%（單戶住宅銷售穩健），部分抵消了銷量下降的影響，因此本季外牆和裝飾材料的有機淨銷售額下降了 3%。

Adjusted EBITDA was $224 million, with adjusted EBITDA margin of 29.2%, down 530 basis points year-over-year, including over 100 basis points of impact from $8 million of R&D costs previously expensed within corporate and now allocated to the segment. Excluding the impact of this allocation, adjusted EBITDA margin would have been approximately 30.2%, a decrease of around 430 basis points. The key drivers of the comparable change in margins were lower volumes, unfavorable absorption and raw material inflation.

調整後 EBITDA 為 2.24 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 29.2%，年減 530 個基點，其中包括 800 萬美元研發成本（此前已計入公司支出，現在分配到該部門）帶來的 100 多個基點的影響。剔除此項分配的影響，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率約為 30.2%，下降約 430 個基點。導致利潤率出現類似變化的關鍵因素是銷售下降、吸收率下降和原物料價格上漲。

In the quarter, we experienced a $25 million underutilization impact, partially offset by $10 million in efficiency gains from the Hardie Operating System. We're addressing the margin decline aggressively through network optimization, cost synergies and structural efficiency improvements. These actions will position the business for margin recovery and stronger performance going forward.

本季度，我們遭受了 2,500 萬美元的資源利用不足影響，但 Hardie 作業系統帶來的 1,000 萬美元效率提升部分抵消了這些影響。我們正積極透過網路優化、成本協同效應和結構效率提升來應對利潤率下降的問題。這些舉措將有助於公司實現利潤率恢復，並在未來取得更強勁的業績。

For Deck, Rail & Accessories, which includes AZEK's residential decking, railing and pergola lines led by TimberTech, net sales increased 6% on a pro forma basis and sell-through was up mid-single digits, consistent with performance in the first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $79 million, resulting in a 30.7% adjusted EBITDA margin.

甲板、欄桿及配件業務（包括 AZEK 旗下 TimberTech 主導的住宅甲板、欄桿和涼棚產品線）的淨銷售額按備考基準增長了 6%，銷售率增長了中等個位數，與第一季度的業績一致。調整後 EBITDA 為 7,900 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 30.7%。

The Deck, Rail & Accessories margin outlook remains strong with upside from recycling initiatives, improved absorption at our Boise manufacturing location and the application of the Hardie Operating System across the manufacturing base. Our fiscal third quarter has historically been the smallest seasonal period for our Deck, Rail & Accessories business, and we anticipate a sequential step down in margins consistent with these historical patterns.

由於回收計劃的推進、博伊西製造基地吸收率的提高以及哈迪運營系統在整個製造基地的應用，甲板、欄桿和配件的利潤前景仍然強勁。從歷史數據來看，我們第三財季一直是甲板、欄桿及配件業務的淡季，我們預期利潤率將按照歷史規律逐步下降。

Turning to Australia and New Zealand, formerly Asia Pacific Fiber Cement. Including the impact of winding down operations in the Philippines, net sales declined 10% or 8% in Australian dollars due to a 20% decline in volumes, partly offset by a 14% rise in ASP. Adjusted EBITDA was down 19% to $44 million, with adjusted EBITDA margin down 380 basis points to 32.7%. Excluding the impact of the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand net sales declined low single digits in Australian dollars with a low single-digit volume decline partially offset by modest ASP growth.

轉向澳洲和紐西蘭，前身為亞太纖維水泥公司。包括菲律賓業務逐步結束的影響在內，由於銷售量下降 20%，淨銷售額下降 10%（以澳元計價下降 8%），部分被平均售價上漲 14% 所抵銷。調整後 EBITDA 下降 19% 至 4,400 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率下降 380 個基點至 32.7%。剔除菲律賓、澳洲和紐西蘭的影響，以澳元計價的淨銷售額均出現個位數百分比的下降，銷量也出現個位數百分比的下降，但平均售價的溫和增長部分抵消了這一下降。

Lower margins reflect softer volumes, R&D allocations and higher SG&A expense, including lease exit costs and added growth investments. And in Europe, net sales were up 18% or 11% in euros, driven by strong fiber gypsum volume and average net sales price consistent with the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was up 80 basis points to 15.3%, helped by volume leverage, lower freight and paper costs and solid manufacturing efficiency. We're continuing to invest in sales and marketing in Europe to support higher-value product growth and drive long-term margin expansion.

利潤率下降反映出銷售疲軟、研發投入增加以及銷售、管理及行政費用上升，包括租賃退出成本和新增成長投資。在歐洲，淨銷售額成長了 18%（以歐元計價成長了 11%），這主要得益於纖維石膏銷量強勁以及平均淨銷售價格與去年持平。經調整的 EBITDA 利潤率上升 80 個基點至 15.3%，這得益於銷售成長、運費和紙張成本降低以及穩健的生產效率。我們將持續加大對歐洲銷售和行銷的投入，以支持高價值產品的成長，並推動長期利潤率的提升。

And with that, I'll turn it back to Aaron.

好了，現在我把麥克風交還給亞倫。

Thanks, Joe. Turning to our full year outlook. For Siding & Trim, we expect continued challenges in our end markets to result in mid-single-digit organic sales declines in the second half, with Q3 net sales dollars below Q4 due to normal seasonality and the timing of our annual price increase. Based on updated planning assumptions, we are raising our Siding & Trim net sales guidance to $2.925 to $2.995 billion. And today, we are issuing Siding & Trim adjusted EBITDA guidance of $920 million to $955 million.

謝謝，喬。接下來我們展望一下全年情況。對於外牆和裝飾材料，我們預計終端市場持續面臨挑戰，導致下半年有機銷售額出現中等個位數的下降，第三季度淨銷售額將低於第四季度，這是由於正常的季節性因素以及我們年度價格上漲的時間安排所致。根據更新後的規劃假設，我們將外牆裝飾材料的淨銷售額預期上調至 29.25 億美元至 29.95 億美元。今天，我們發布了外牆裝飾和飾面業務調整後 EBITDA 預期，為 9.2 億美元至 9.55 億美元。

At the midpoint, this implies a full year organic net sales decline of approximately 6% and an adjusted EBITDA margin of just over 31.5%. For Deck, Rail & Accessories, we are modestly increasing the low end of our net sales guidance to $780 million, with the high end remaining at $800 million for the post-close period of FY26. This assumes sell-through up low to mid-single digits, consistent with recent quarters and above prior expectations, reflecting outdoor living tailwinds and continued material conversion.

以中間值計算，這意味著全年有機淨銷售額下降約 6%，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率略高於 31.5%。對於甲板、欄桿及配件，我們將 2026 財年結算後淨銷售額預期下限略微提高至 7.8 億美元，上限仍為 8 億美元。這假設銷售轉換率達到個位數低至中段，與最近幾季一致，高於先前的預期，反映了戶外生活方式的利好和持續的材料轉換。

Based on these demand expectations, we expect Deck, Rail & Accessories adjusted EBITDA of $215 million to $225 million. For the total company, we now expect FY26 adjusted EBITDA of $1.20 billion to $1.25. We're confident in our long-term cash generation. We expect it to accelerate as integration costs wind down and interest expense declines with debt paydown. Our capital expenditures outlook remains unchanged at approximately $400 million for FY26, including $75 million for AZEK investments.

根據這些需求預期，我們預計甲板、欄桿及配件業務的調整後 EBITDA 為 2.15 億美元至 2.25 億美元。我們現在預計公司2026財年調整後EBITDA為12億美元至12.5億美元。我們對公司的長期現金流充滿信心。我們預期隨著整合成本的降低和債務償還導致利息支出的減少，這一趨勢將會加速。我們對 2026 財年的資本支出預期保持不變，約為 4 億美元，其中包括對 AZEK 的 7,500 萬美元投資。

Over the long term, we expect CapEx across our North American businesses to run around 6% to 7% of combined North America sales. We still expect to generate at least $200 million in free cash flow for the year. Net debt ended the quarter at $4.5 billion. Pro forma for the AZEK acquisition and the midpoint of our updated guidance, FY26 net leverage stands at approximately 3.2 times. We remain committed to getting our leverage under 2 turns within two years post close as we grow EBITDA, generate cash and pay down the debt.

從長遠來看，我們預計北美業務的資本支出將佔北美總銷售額的 6% 至 7% 左右。我們仍然預計今年將產生至少 2 億美元的自由現金流。本季末淨債務為45億美元。考慮到 AZEK 收購以及我們更新後的指導意見的中點，2026 財年淨槓桿率約為 3.2 倍。我們仍致力於在交易完成後的兩年內將槓桿率降至 2 倍以下，同時提高 EBITDA，產生現金流並償還債務。

So to wrap things up, looking ahead, our priorities are clear: continue driving material conversion from wood and inferior materials to composite alternatives and fiber cement, sharpening execution across the business and delivering on synergy and deleveraging commitments. Only 4.5 months post-closing, we are more optimistic than ever on the opportunity in front of us and remain confident that our strategy, our team and our leading brands put us in a strong position to deliver consistent long-term value for our shareholders.

綜上所述，展望未來，我們的優先事項很明確：繼續推動材料從木材和劣質材料向複合材料替代品和纖維水泥的轉換，提高整個業務的執行力，並履行協同效應和去槓桿化的承諾。交易完成僅 4.5 個月後，我們對擺在我們面前的機會比以往任何時候都更加樂觀，並且仍然相信，我們的策略、團隊和領先品牌使我們處於有利地位，能夠為股東帶來持續的長期價值。

With that, operator, please open the line for questions.

接線員，請開啟提問頻道。

(Operator Instructions) Trevor Allinson, Wolfe Research.

（操作說明）特雷弗·艾利森，沃爾夫研究公司。

First question is on some of the trends you're seeing in Siding & Trim, particularly with your builder customers in the South. I think last quarter, you mentioned about 1/3 of your reduced guidance was due to slower market conditions. Now it seems like perhaps your expectation is for market conditions to not be quite as bad as you were previously anticipating despite the builders continuing to reduce starts here. So can you just talk about from an end market perspective, what's different than what you previously expected? Perhaps any differences by geography worth noting that is supporting your outlook?

第一個問題是關於您在牆板和裝飾方面觀察到的一些趨勢，特別是您在南方的建築商客戶方面。我認為上個季度您提到過，下調業績預期約有三分之一是由於市場行情放緩所致。現在看來，儘管建築商繼續減少這裡的開工量，但你似乎預期市場狀況不會像你之前預期的那麼糟糕。那麼，您能否從終端市場的角度談談，與您先前預期的情況有何不同？或許在地理上存在一些值得注意的差異，這些差異可以佐證你的觀點？

Yes. Sure, Trevor. Thanks for the question. I think very simply, just to begin, the magnitude of that deterioration has been less severe than what we embedded in our guidance. I mean, for instance, the South, single-family new construction, for instance, the declines were less severe than the 20%-plus declines that we previously embedded.

是的。當然可以，特雷弗。謝謝你的提問。我認為，首先，情況惡化的程度遠沒有我們在指導方針中規定的那麼嚴重。我的意思是，例如，在南方，以獨棟住宅新建項目為例，其下降幅度沒有我們之前提到的 20% 以上的下降幅度那麼嚴重。

But let me take this opportunity since you threw the question out there, just to give you a little bit of a lay of the landscape here as we think about new construction. Look, starts activity really remains challenging for most of the country. We've cited this before, and it continues, particularly Texas and the Southeast are really having the greatest impact, particularly given their relative size and how indexed we are to new construction in these areas. So Texas, for instance, we see builders continue to manage their inventory levels. Builder activity continues to slow with builders starting homes at a slower pace than they are selling homes.

既然你提出了這個問題，我就藉此機會，向你簡單介紹一下我們考慮新建專案時目前的情況。你看，對於全國大部分地區來說，啟動經濟活動仍然非常具有挑戰性。我們之前就提到過這一點，而且這種情況仍在持續，特別是德克薩斯州和東南部地區受到的影響最大，考慮到這些地區的相對規模以及我們與這些地區新建項目的密切關係。例如，在德克薩斯州，我們看到建築商繼續控制庫存水準。建築商的活動持續放緩，開工建造房屋的速度低於房屋銷售的速度。

In the second quarter, we again saw double-digit volume declines in this market. The second quarter declines reflect an even softer market than 1Q, even as 1Q was more impacted by the channel inventory impacts. And we've seen continued weakness and deterioration in October with even stronger double-digit volume declines. If we shift over to Florida and Georgia, which is a big market for us as well, demand similarly remains challenging with the volumes down year-over-year in 2Q.

第二季度，該市場再次出現兩位數的銷量下滑。第二季下滑反映出市場比第一季更加疲軟，儘管第一季受通路庫存影響更大。10 月我們看到疲軟態勢持續惡化，銷量甚至出現了兩位數的更大幅度下滑。如果我們把目光轉向佛羅裡達州和喬治亞州（這也是我們的一個大市場），同樣，需求依然充滿挑戰，第二季銷量較去年同期下降。

Housing inventory, we do see some mix there. Housing inventory across key markets like Orlando and Jacksonville remains elevated and builders continue to manage their inventories. And then in areas, housing inventories have begun to approach normal such as Southwest Florida, we've seen some relief. So we're continuing to see more stable activity in areas like the Carolinas, a market where we're outperforming as we convert builders from vinyl to color.

在房屋庫存方面，我們看到情況比較複雜。奧蘭多和傑克遜維爾等主要市場的房屋庫存仍然居高不下，建築商繼續管理他們的庫存。然後，在一些地區，例如佛羅裡達州西南部，住房庫存開始接近正常水平，我們看到了一些緩解。因此，我們看到像卡羅萊納州這樣的地區的市場活動持續趨於穩定，在這個市場，我們表現出色，因為我們成功地將建築商從乙烯基材料轉變為彩色材料。

In the West, we expect starts to be down high single digits to low double digits for the year as builders across the Southwest and the Mountain States also slow their starts. And then if we look at areas like the Midwest, we continue to see more resilience in activity, particularly at what we would call the barbell ends of the market. So more affordably priced homes and then top of the market.

在西部，我們預計今年的開工量將下降個位數高點至兩位數低位，因為西南部和山區各州的建築商也放緩了開工速度。然後，如果我們看看像中西部這樣的地區，我們會發現市場活動持續展現出更強的韌性，尤其是在我們所說的市場兩端。所以，有價格更實惠的房屋，也有高級房屋。

So look, just to sum it up, generally speaking, new construction has softened -- continued to soften across our key regions. But as I started out and begin with, not as significantly as we factored in our previous guidance. But look, even with that said, we continually strive to figure out ways to continually bring value to our builder customers, to our dealer partners and try to outperform the market.

綜上所述，總體而言，新建築活動已經放緩——在我們主要地區，新建築活動持續放緩。但正如我一開始所想，並沒有像我們之前所考慮的那麼重要。但是，即便如此，我們仍在不斷努力尋找方法，為我們的建築商客戶和經銷商合作夥伴持續創造價值，並力求超越市場表現。

That's super helpful. And then switching to decking and railing. A peer of yours recently talked about seeing a more competitive environment. They're talking about an expectation for SG&A spend to ramp meaningfully here versus where it's trended in recent years. Are you also seeing market conditions become more competitive? And are you expecting marketing spend or rebates to be materially higher moving forward versus what you would have expected six or eight months ago? Any color on the competitive dynamics within decking and railing would be helpful.

這太有幫助了。然後轉而安裝甲板和欄桿。你的一位同事最近談到他感受到競爭環境的加劇。他們指的是，預計今年的銷售、一般及行政費用支出將比近年來的成長趨勢顯著增加。您是否也注意到市場競爭日益激烈？您是否預期未來的行銷支出或回饋金將比六個月前或八個月前的預期大幅增加？關於露台和欄桿行業競爭格局的任何資訊都將有所幫助。

Yes, Trevor. I think to start out, when we introduced this deal, one of the things that was interesting and similar with James Hardie and AZEK is how we went to market. And we focus on the entire customer value chain. We always say homeowner-focused, customer and contractor-driven. And I think you see that with what we've been doing with AZEK and we've been doing it for years.

是的，特雷弗。我認為，在推出這項交易之初，有趣且與 James Hardie 和 AZEK 相似的地方之一就是我們進入市場的方式。我們關注的是整個客戶價值鏈。我們始終堅持以業主為中心，以客戶和承包商為導向。我認為，從我們多年來在 AZEK 所做的工作中，您就能看出這一點。

Look, our strategy with AZEK has been consistent and it's been working. And I don't see a need to change that. So as I said, we've been focused on downstream marketing. But look, I have Jon, who runs the business for us and has for years. He can give a little more color there.

你看，我們與 AZEK 的合作策略一直都很一致，而且行之有效。我認為沒有必要改變這一點。正如我所說，我們一直專注於下游行銷。但是，我有喬恩，他已經為我們經營公司已經好幾年了。他可以在那裡增添一些色彩。

Yes. So Trevor, again, I think it's just pretty consistent execution of the playbook. And we haven't seen any reason why we need to alter that, right? So we've consistently communicated externally that we believe we can beat the market by 500-plus basis points of growth. And that's been our experience, and the recent quarter is another example of that outperformance.

是的。所以特雷弗，我覺得這只是對戰術手冊相當一致的執行而已。我們還沒有發現任何需要改變這一點的理由，對吧？因此，我們一直對外傳達這樣的訊息：我們相信我們的成長速度可以比市場高出 500 多個基點。我們一直以來都秉持著這樣的理念，最近一個季度的業績再次證明了這一點。

New product development, downstream sales and marketing, execution, channel expansion and just getting really sticky with our customer base. That's proven to be a successful formula for us. So we're just going to continue to execute that playbook, continue to take care of our customers and continue to take care of our people. If we keep doing that, we'll continue to outperform.

新產品開發、下游銷售和行銷、執行、通路拓展以及真正與我們的客戶群建立牢固的關係。事實證明，這對我們來說是一個成功的模式。所以我們會繼續執行這套方案，繼續照顧好我們的客戶，繼續照顧好我們的員工。如果我們繼續這樣做，我們就會繼續取得優異成績。

Keith Hughes, Truist.

Keith Hughes，Truist。

Let me go back to the question. Building on the last question, you saw a couple of points of price, I believe, in the decking business. If you could talk more about price as we end the year and potentially to next year, as you said, the previous questioner said, the largest competitor has said a dynamic like there's going to be discounting in this market. What is your expectation for price for the next year or so?

讓我回到這個問題。在上一個問題的基礎上，我相信你已經了解了露台行業的幾個價格要點。如果您能多談談今年年底以及明年可能的價格情況，正如您所說，先前的提問者也提到，最大的競爭對手錶示，這個市場將會出現折扣。您對未來一年左右的價格走勢有何預期？

Yes. Keith, are you talking specifically of DR&A or fiber cement?

是的。Keith，你具體指的是DR&A還是纖維水泥？

Specifically decking.

具體來說，就是露台。

Yes. Yes. Look, I'll take that. And Jon, chime in here if you feel the need. Look, we've taken price.

是的。是的。好的，我接受。喬恩，如果你覺得有必要，也請在這裡發表意見。你看，我們已經接受報價了。

We've seen other competitors take price as well. And we'll continually remain consistent in our actions and our approach to price. We don't see that changing at all.

我們也看到其他競爭對手採取了類似的降價策略。我們將繼續在價格策略和行動上保持一致。我們看不到這種情況有任何改變。

Yes. I mean, Keith, nothing's changed versus what we've communicated to you over the last multiple years, right? I mean we believe we can continue to take inflationary pricing in the marketplace. That hasn't changed, and we continue to execute and realize the price.

是的。我的意思是，基思，和我們過去幾年跟你溝通的內容相比，沒有任何改變，對吧？我的意思是，我們相信我們可以繼續在市場上接受通膨定價。這一點沒有改變，我們將繼續執行計劃並實現預期價格。

Okay. And let me switch to railing. What are your plans in the future for Railing? Are we seeing any new launches of different substrate materials? The question is around new introductions.

好的。讓我換成欄桿。你們對 Railing 的未來有什麼規劃？我們是否看到任何不同基材的新產品發布？問題是關於新引入的。

Jon, do you want to talk to some of our new product introductions? We've had some exciting ones that just came out.

喬恩，你想了解我們的一些新產品嗎？我們最近推出了一些非常精彩的產品。

Yes. So the most recent one we just talked about in the prepared remarks is Advantage Rail. And what that is, Keith, is consistent with our decking portfolio where we have good, better, best, premium, consider this a better/best offer in the composite category. And one of the things we've been doing over the last multiple years with rail is filling out the portfolio.

是的。所以，我們剛才在準備好的演講稿中提到的最新案例是 Advantage Rail。Keith，這與我們露台產品組合的理念一致，我們有好、更好、最好、高級，您可以把這個產品看作是綜合類別中更好/最好的產品。過去幾年，我們在鐵路領域所做的一件事就是完善我們的業務組合。

So again, as we look for those continued shelf space gain opportunities, when we can walk into one of our dealer partners with a full portfolio, historically, our portfolio was much more driven around composite and aluminum. But now we have a complete portfolio. You've got entry-level, so your good category with a differentiated vinyl product. You've got a step up into the steel category, sort of that's better.

所以，當我們繼續尋找擴大貨架空間的機會時，當我們能夠帶著完整的產品組合走進我們的經銷商合作夥伴時，從歷史上看，我們的產品組合更多地是以複合材料和鋁材為主。但現在我們擁有了完整的產品組合。你已經進入入門級市場，所以你的產品類別很好，而且你的乙烯基產品具有差異化。你已經升級到鋼鐵類別了，這算是更好一些。

And then the best of the premium is rounded out with our aluminum offer and with a few different versions of composite and then our most premium and PVC. So that really provides us with a great opportunity to help our dealer partners consolidate the number of rail types they have on offer with the full portfolio. And then they get the strength of the TimberTech brand and all the demand generation -- downstream demand generation we provide them behind that brand. So we think that's a really powerful opportunity for our customers.

然後，我們最好的高端產品系列包括鋁製產品、幾種不同版本的複合材料產品，以及我們最高端的PVC產品。因此，這確實為我們提供了一個絕佳的機會，幫助我們的經銷商合作夥伴將他們提供的鐵路類型數量整合到完整的產品組合中。然後，他們就能獲得 TimberTech 品牌的強大影響力，以及我們為他們提供的下游需求產生能力——我們透過該品牌為他們提供的所有需求產生能力。所以我們認為這對我們的客戶來說是一個非常強大的機會。

Keith, what's been interesting as we've learned -- as I've learned this business more and more and been out with our customers with Jon and the team. As Jon mentioned, it is a very fragmented category. You go into a dealer partner, you go to dealers and you see many different types of railing out there.

Keith，隨著我們對這個行業的了解越來越多，也隨著我和 Jon 以及團隊與客戶接觸的增多，我發現了一些有趣的事情。正如喬恩所提到的，這是一個非常分散的類別。你去經銷商夥伴那裡，去經銷商那裡，你會看到很多不同類型的護欄。

So to Jon's point, we're trying to be able to bring the complete offering and be able to make it simpler for our dealer partners, make it simpler for the customer as well. And look, just like we did in fiber cement, if you sell a fiber cement job, you're going to sell the trim with it. It's the same thing. We sell a TimberTech decking job, we're going to sell the rail with it as well. That's a focus of ours.

所以正如 Jon 所說，我們正在努力提供完整的產品和服務，讓經銷商合作夥伴的操作更簡便，也讓客戶的運作更簡便。你看，就像我們在纖維水泥領域所做的那樣，如果你賣出一份纖維水泥工程，你也會把裝飾條一起賣出去。是一樣的。我們銷售TimberTech品牌的露台板材，也會同時銷售配套的護欄。這是我們關注的重點之一。

Lee Power, J.P. Morgan.

李鮑爾，摩根大通。

Aaron, the organic strategy piece that you've kind of outlined again, there's obviously a few moving pieces there just around ColorPlus. Some of it goes to productivity, some of it goes to the price gap versus vinyl, some of it goes to the dealer and the contractor network. What do you think is the core reason that you have struggled probably in the Northeast with ColorPlus in the past. Is it one of those more than the others?

Aaron，你剛才概述的有機戰略部分，顯然圍繞著 ColorPlus 有一些動態因素。一部分歸功於生產力，一部分歸功於與乙烯基材料的價格差距，一部分歸功於經銷商和承包商網路。您認為過去在東北地區使用 ColorPlus 遇到困難的根本原因是什麼？它比其他幾種情況更常見嗎？

Yes, Lee, good question. Look, I think if we look at our opportunity to grow the organic fiber cement business, it's a couple of things. If we look at the Northeast and we look at the Midwest, those are the areas from a repair and remodel standpoint that have the most opportunity because you have an aging housing stock out there. The big challenge for us or I should say, opportunity is how do we decrease the price differential versus inferior substrates.

是的，李，問得好。我認為，如果我們檢視一下發展有機纖維水泥業務的機會，就會發現有兩點需要考慮。如果我們看看東北部和中西部地區，從維修和改造的角度來看，這些地區的機會最多，因為那裡的房屋存量比較老舊。我們面臨的最大挑戰，或者應該說是機遇，是如何降低與劣質基材之間的價格差距。

So vinyl, for instance. What we know is if our contractors are sitting at a kitchen table and trying to sell a James Hardie job, if we can get that price differential versus, say, vinyl, for instance, about 50% to a premium, we're going to win the majority of those jobs. So as we walk through the presentation and we talked about reducing on-the-wall cost, we firmly believe and are confident we have an answer to that.

例如，黑膠唱片。我們知道，如果我們的承包商坐在廚房的桌子旁，試圖推銷 James Hardie 的工程，如果我們能獲得比乙烯基材料高出 50% 左右的價格差，我們就能贏得大部分工程。因此，在演示過程中，我們討論瞭如何降低牆上裝飾成本，我們堅信並有信心找到解決方案。

This has been one of the biggest combined R&D efforts, supply chain efforts and also working with our customer partners to bring this all together. And over the last year, we've had this pilot out there. And what we're seeing in this area where we're having the pilot, call it, the Central Northeast is we're seeing our ColorPlus volume up 17%. So that's giving us tremendous amount of confidence to wheel this out to more locations like the Midwest, to the Carolinas, to the Mid-Atlantic.

這是規模最大的研發、供應鏈整合以及與客戶合作夥伴共同努力的成果之一。在過去一年裡，我們一直在進行這項試點計畫。我們在試點地區（我們稱之為中東北部地區）看到的是，ColorPlus 的銷量成長了 17%。因此，這給了我們極大的信心，將這項服務推廣到更多地區，例如中西部、卡羅萊納州和大西洋中部地區。

And what's been critical, you saw the announcement with Boise. A lot of that has been focused on TimberTech and AZEK in some regions. But what's critical in that announcement is Boise partnering with us to get this extended statement collection out there to more areas of the country. So that allows us to really be able to accelerate our repair and remodel conversion out there.

而最關鍵的是，你們都看到了博伊西的公告。在某些地區，許多關注點都集中在 TimberTech 和 AZEK 上。但這項公告的關鍵在於博伊西與我們合作，將這項擴展的聲明收集擴大到全國更多地區。這樣一來，我們就能真正加快那裡的維修和改造進度。

And look, we believe from a ColorPlus standpoint, the methods that we have, this Intuitive Edge program that we're going to be able to double our ColorPlus volume just with this program. So we're really excited about it. I know we've talked about it, but we're seeing it working, and we're going to have it be launched to a couple of different areas and continue to launch appropriate areas across the country as we get into the back half of our year.

而且，我們相信，從 ColorPlus 的角度來看，憑藉我們現有的方法，以及這個 Intuitive Edge 程序，我們僅憑這個程序就能使我們的 ColorPlus 銷量翻倍。所以我們對此感到非常興奮。我知道我們已經討論過這個問題，但我們看到它正在奏效，我們將在幾個不同的地區推出它，並在今年下半年繼續在全國各地合適的地區推出。

And then just a follow-up. You talked to trim attachment rates before. Can you just tell us where you are tracking now trim attachment rates in new housing and R&R and maybe how AZEK has helped that?

然後還有一個後續問題。你之前談過修剪附件率。您能否告訴我們您目前在新房和翻新改造中追蹤的修剪附件率情況，以及AZEK是如何幫助實現這一目標的？

Yes. Good question, Lee. Look, we continue to see progress in our trim attachment. And a lot of our agreements with our large homebuilders, which has been new over the last couple of years have included adding trim attachment as well. We see a tremendous amount of opportunity, just synergies in total, obviously, with AZEK, but areas of the country that are not utilizing fiber cement.

是的。問得好，李。你看，我們的修剪附件持續取得進展。在過去幾年裡，我們與大型住宅建築商達成的許多協議都新增了裝飾配件。我們看到了巨大的機遇，顯然與 AZEK 有巨大的協同效應，但全國許多地區尚未採用纖維水泥。

So take, for instance, the Northeast, that's where we think we have opportunity to be able to bring AZEK in and VERSATEX as well. And look, I think what's been really encouraging as well as we brought this complete proposition to some of our large one-step dealers out there, they're excited about it, and they're adopting it. So we're seeing progress.

以東北地區為例，我們認為在那裡我們有機會將 AZEK 和 VERSATEX 也引入市場。而且，我認為真正令人鼓舞的是，當我們把這個完整的方案介紹給我們的一些大型一站式經銷商時，他們對此感到興奮，並且正在採納它。所以我們看到了進展。

Ryan Merkel, William Blair.

瑞安·默克爾，威廉·布萊爾。

Nice job this quarter. My first question is on margins. It looks like guidance implies the second quarter EBITDA margins at the bottom for the year. Can you talk about what's driving the improvement in the second half and, particularly, because it looks like Siding volumes might be a little worse in the second half year-over-year?

本季表現出色。我的第一個問題是關於利潤率的。看來，業績指引暗示第二季 EBITDA 利潤率將跌至全年最低點。您能否談談是什麼因素推動了下半年業績的改善？特別是，因為看起來下半年的外牆板銷售量可能比去年同期略差一些？

Yes. Ryan, good question. Look, we're continue to -- we're going to have soft volumes, we think, in the back half. I mentioned that in the beginning when we think about fiber cement. Even still, our guidance shows more modest margin compression on a year-over-year basis.

是的。瑞恩，問得好。你看，我們認為下半年銷售會比較疲軟。我一開始在考慮纖維水泥的時候就提到這一點。即便如此，我們的預測顯示，年比利潤率的壓縮幅度將較為溫和。

I think it's important to contextualize that our second half expected margin performance would be more consistent with what you would expect with our cost structure and decremental profile. We've seen a lot of inflation headwinds continue from FY25 that we flagged and have carried over. So there were impacts related to short-term under-absorption and variable costs that really weighed on the first half.

我認為有必要說明，我們下半年的預期利潤率表現將與我們的成本結構和遞減情況相符。我們看到，從 2025 財年開始，我們曾指出並延續至今的許多通膨不利因素依然存在。因此，短期吸收不足和變動成本的影響確實對上半年造成了沉重打擊。

But as we get into the second half, we expect to see more pronounced benefits from some of our cost initiatives, healthy price/mix benefits, some incremental benefits of cost synergies and really some potentially early improvements from the actions we're taking to really optimize our manufacturing network. So as I think about margins moving forward, we're not giving guidance, but I would expect if we continue to see the same type of volumes that the second half is going to be more representative of what we would see, if not a little better.

但隨著我們進入下半年，我們預計一些成本控制措施將帶來更明顯的效益，價格/產品組合效益將得到改善，成本協同效應將帶來一些增量效益，而且我們正在採取的優化製造網路的措施也可能帶來一些早期改進。因此，在考慮未來的利潤率時，我們不提供指引，但我預計，如果我們繼續看到相同的銷量，那麼下半年的利潤率將更能代表我們預期的情況，甚至可能更好一些。

Got it. All right. That's helpful. And then just stepping back, Aaron, if I go back to the guidance cut in August, there were a lot of fears that fiber cement was losing share. It now seems like your exposure in the South and a cautious guide were really the key issues. So my question is, can you comment on how fiber cement is performing versus other materials in a market where affordability is a big issue? Are you taking share? Are you holding share?

知道了。好的。那很有幫助。然後，亞倫，退一步說，如果我回顧 8 月的業績指引下調，當時很多人擔心纖維水泥的市佔率正在下降。現在看來，你在南部地區的見識以及一位謹慎的嚮導才是真正的關鍵。所以我的問題是，在價格因素非常重要的市場環境下，您能否評估一下纖維水泥與其他材料相比表現如何？你打算分享股份嗎？你持有股票嗎？

Yes. Good question. Look, as we look at share, I mean, certainly, we are not happy or satisfied with our performance. We need to be growing. Now with that said, and not using an excuse, but we do face some challenges with our exposure to new construction and certainly areas like the South. But I talked about some opportunities that we have moving forward. Lee had just asked me the question about the improvement on the wall cost. We think that's a game changer for us, and we expect to really accelerate that.

是的。問得好。你看，就市場佔有率而言，我的意思是，當然，我們對自己的表現並不滿意。我們需要成長。話雖如此，我並不是在找藉口，但我們確實在新建築領域，尤其是在南部地區，面臨一些挑戰。但我談到了我們未來面臨的一些機會。李剛剛問了我關於牆體成本改進的問題。我們認為這對我們來說是一個顛覆性的改變，我們期待真正加速這一進程。

I think the other thing is the momentum behind resilient materials is structural. So if we think about risks such as wildfires, sustainability goals, insurance reform, fiber cement really aligns perfectly with the trend to meet evolving building codes. There's the curb appeal. And then look, lastly, I would say, builders remain focused on what helps them sell more houses quicker. And we're finding that James Hardie homes do that. So as we think about over the longer term, we think we're well positioned.

我認為另一個原因是，彈性材料的發展勢頭是結構性的。因此，如果我們考慮諸如野火、永續發展目標、保險改革等風險，纖維水泥實際上與滿足不斷變化的建築規範的趨勢完美契合。還有房屋外觀吸引力。最後，我想說，建築商仍然專注於如何幫助他們更快地賣出更多房子。我們發現 James Hardie 的房子確實能做到這一點。所以從長遠來看，我們認為我們處於有利地位。

Tim Wojs, Baird.

提姆·沃伊斯，貝爾德。

I guess first, my question just on cost synergies. You raised kind of the exit rate on the run rate for fiscal '26. If you could just speak to kind of what you were able to attack on the cost synergy front earlier than you expected. And then as you think about kind of the $125 million cost synergy target, any kind of timing change there as you kind of attack the rest of the bucket?

首先，我的問題是關於成本綜效的。你提高了 2026 財年運行率的退出率。如果您能談談您在成本協同效應方面比預期更早取得的進展，那就太好了。那麼，在考慮實現 1.25 億美元的成本綜效目標時，在著手解決剩餘成本問題時，時間安排上是否有任何變化？

Yes. Tim, good question. Look, I think the key here is, we focus on G&A right away. So really, I think 85% of the target that we had for G&A, we've achieved. So the natural question is, are you going to think -- are you going to get these done earlier? Or are you going to raise the cost synergy target?

是的。提姆，問得好。我認為關鍵在於，我們要立即專注於一般及行政費用。所以實際上，我認為我們已經實現了 G&A 目標的 85%。所以很自然的問題是，你會考慮──你會提前完成這些事情嗎？或者你們打算提高成本綜效目標？

What I'd like to do first is let's see these show up in the P&L for us and then be able to look at potentially doing that. But I'm very pleased with the focus and how the team is working on approaching these cost synergies. The other key is you don't want any disruption to your base business or disruption to your customers, and we have not seen that. So there's been a tremendous amount of focus from the team.

我首先想做的是，看看這些項目是否會在我們的損益表中體現出來，然後再考慮是否有可能實施這些項目。但我對團隊的工作重點以及他們如何努力實現這些成本綜效感到非常滿意。另一個關鍵是，你不希望對你的基本業務或客戶造成任何干擾，而我們目前還沒有看到這種情況。因此，團隊投入了大量精力。

Okay. Okay. That's helpful. And then just kind of piggybacking on Ryan's question about margins, specifically in the Siding & Trim business. Is there anything internally that you're specifically doing to kind of limit some of the decrementals on volume? Because I mean it still is kind of a high single-digit volume decline, I think, implied in the back half of the year, but you're going to see much better incrementals. So is it the timing of raws? Is it some things you're doing on variable costs and things like that kind of manage it? Just some more color there, I think, would be a lot helpful.

好的。好的。那很有幫助。然後，我順著 Ryan 關於利潤率的問題，特別是關於外牆和裝飾行業的利潤率的問題，繼續討論。你們內部是否有採取任何具體措施來減少銷售下滑？因為我的意思是，銷量仍然會出現相當高的個位數下滑，我認為這暗示著下半年銷量會繼續下滑，但你會看到銷量增長幅度會大得多。所以是生肉的播放時間問題嗎？你是否在變動成本方面做了一些事情，例如透過這種方式來管理成本？我覺得，如果能再多加一些顏色，會很有幫助。

Yes. Certainly, we've had our cost inflation. But look, we always say we focus on what we can control. So we are taking actions. If you look at some of the things that we're doing in our manufacturing plants, we're managing shifts. We're working as best as we can to manage our variable costs. Also, we're looking at our footprint as well. And what are the right type of capacity levels we need at this time, that speaks to us working through the right amount of shifts to have. So there's a whole host of things.

是的。當然，我們經歷了成本上漲。但是，我們總是說我們要專注於我們能控制的事情。所以我們正在採取行動。如果你看看我們在製造工廠裡正在做的一些事情，你會發現我們正在進行輪班管理。我們正在盡最大努力控制變動成本。此外，我們也關注我們的碳足跡。而我們目前需要的合適產能水準是什麼？這關係到我們應該安排多少班次。所以有很多事情要考慮。

I still go back to areas like the Hardie operating system. That is key for us to manage our costs, whether that be from a procurement standpoint, whether that be from a formulation standpoint. So we're looking at that from a legacy Hardie standpoint, but also implementing that in the legacy AZEK business. So those are some of the things that we're doing, and we've already taken action on some of these already that we should see the benefits as we complete our Q3.

我仍然會回到像Hardie作業系統這樣的地方。這對我們控製成本至關重要，無論是從採購角度還是從配方角度來看。所以，我們是從傳統的Hardie角度來看待這個問題的，同時也將其應用到傳統的AZEK業務中。所以，這些是我們正在做的一些事情，我們已經對其中一些事情採取了行動，我們應該會在第三季結束時看到成效。

Peter Steyn, Macquarie.

Peter Steyn，麥考瑞集團。

Just you've mentioned one step, your one-step dealer network and relationships a number of times. Could you give us a little bit more of a sense of what you're experiencing in that space? Obviously, it's easy to see the Boise's and the like, but less so in the one step context, what reception you're getting, what impact it's having on the business and how you're thinking about the strategic positioning of your channel mix across the portfolio?

正如你多次提到的，一步到位的經銷商網絡和關係。您能否更詳細地描述您在那個空間裡的體驗？顯然，很容易看到像博伊西這樣的公司，但在一步到位的背景下，就很難看出你得到的反響如何，它對業務產生了什麼影響，以及你如何考慮你的渠道組合在整個產品組合中的戰略定位？

Yes. Peter, maybe to start out, Boise, we have not listed as a synergy, meaning a commercial synergy. Synergy happens downstream. And so if we think about our distribution partners, it's really important and our strategy has always been at James Hardie, and it's been the same at AZEK is to make sure that we're teamed up with the best distribution partners that are going to service our customers. If we go to our one-step dealers, certainly, we have tremendous relationships with them.

是的。Peter，或許可以先從 Boise 開始，我們還沒有將其列為綜效，也就是商業綜效。協同效應發生在下游。因此，如果我們考慮我們的分銷合作夥伴，這非常重要，而 James Hardie 的策略一直如此，AZEK 的策略也一樣，就是確保我們與最好的分銷合作夥伴合作，為我們的客戶提供服務。如果我們去拜訪我們的一級經銷商，那當然，我們和他們建立了非常好的關係。

And call it day 2, we've talked to them and we spent a lot of time with them and bringing them what is the complete value proposition of the two companies combined. So again, I want to be able to demonstrate in the P&L and because of confidentiality reasons, we won't go into some of the early wins that we've had, but we have had early wins with some of our large one-step dealers, particularly in the areas of PVC trim. So they see the value in the complete offering. I think any time you ask, okay, why would they want to change? Why would they want to bring in a complete offering of what is the new James Hardie. It goes back to that demand creation.

第二天，我們和他們進行了交談，花了很多時間和他們在一起，向他們展示了兩家公司合併後的完整價值主張。所以，我再次希望能夠在損益表中證明這一點。由於保密原因，我們不會透露我們早期取得的一些成功，但我們與一些大型的一步式經銷商，尤其是在PVC裝飾條領域，已經取得了一些早期成功。所以他們看到了完整產品的價值。我認為任何時候你會問，好吧，他們為什麼要改變？他們為什麼要引進全套全新的 James Hardie 產品呢？這一切都源自於需求的創造。

And Jon talked a little bit about the downstream marketing, the downstream focus. That really is us focused on our contractors and our ability to drive them through our dealers' branches. And we do that because outstanding product. We do that because of outstanding service, and we do that because of outstanding brands. The TimberTech brand is the number 1 brand for the Pros and Decking. The James Hardie brand is the number 1 brand in Siding. We have the number 1 brand from a Trim standpoint. So that really is the value that we bring and why they would be interested in bringing in the complete offering.

喬恩也談到了下游行銷和下游重點。這確實體現了我們對承包商的關注，以及我們透過經銷商分公司推動他們發展的能力。我們這樣做是因為我們擁有卓越的產品。我們之所以能做到這一點，是因為我們提供卓越的服務；我們之所以能做到這一點，是因為我們擁有卓越的品牌。TimberTech品牌是專業人士和露台搭建者的首選品牌。James Hardie是外牆板產業排名第一的品牌。從裝飾件的角度來看，我們擁有排名第一的品牌。所以，這才是我們真正能帶來的價值，也是他們有興趣引進我們全套產品和服務的原因。

Yes. As a quick follow-on and a direct one at that, you mentioned continued strong performance in premium decking. How much has a varied channel mix relative to some of your peers got to do with some of the experience you're having in your business relative to peer commentaries?

是的。作為快速且直接的後續問題，您提到了高端甲板業務持續強勁的成長勢頭。與某些同業相比，你多樣化的管道組合在多大程度上影響了你在業務方面的經驗，以及這種經驗與同儕評論之間的關係？

Yes. You know what, I'll let the expert here, Jon Skelly, take that one, Jon?

是的。你知道嗎，我還是讓這裡的專家喬恩‧斯凱利來回答這個問題吧，喬恩？

Yes. So again, I think if you look back at the strategy and the execution that we talked about, continuing to deliver against shelf space gains and that channel expansion has been critical to our success. And so we're just continuing to execute against that playbook. I think historically, as we've talked about, we tend to be a more Pro leading business. And so a lot of our channel expansion and shelf gains have been coming at the Pro level.

是的。所以，我認為，回顧我們討論過的策略和執行情況，持續實現貨架空間成長和通路擴張對我們的成功至關重要。所以，我們只是繼續按照既定的計劃來執行。我認為，正如我們之前討論過的，從歷史角度來看，我們往往是一家更傾向於專業型企業的公司。因此，我們的通路擴張和貨架份額成長主要來自專業級產品。

So the independent Pro channel is critical for us. And as Aaron articulated well, the one-step channel has also been good historically for TimberTech and AZEK, but obviously, roofing and siding focused one-step dealers. James Hardie has a stronger base of relationships there. And so we're able to have really powerful joint conversations with that channel. So that's been our strategy. We've been executing it. Again, our portfolio has been in decking experienced balanced growth. Again, our mix tends to lean more premium, but we are seeing growth across the portfolio, and we are seeing continued strength in the Pro channel.

因此，獨立的專業頻道對我們至關重要。正如 Aaron 所闡述的那樣，從歷史上看，一步到位渠道對 TimberTech 和 AZEK 來說也是不錯的，但顯然，這主要是指專注於屋頂和牆板的一步到位經銷商。James Hardie 在那裡擁有更穩固的關係基礎。因此，我們能夠與該管道進行非常強大的聯合對話。這就是我們的策略。我們一直在執行這項計劃。再次強調，我們的投資組合在甲板領域實現了均衡成長。同樣，我們的產品組合傾向於高端產品，但我們看到整個產品組合都在成長，而且專業通路也持續保持強勁勢頭。

Phil Ng, Jefferies.

Phil Ng，傑富瑞集團。

Congrats on the strong quarter. I mean, pretty encouraging in terms of the quarter and the outlook. Jon, it's a treat that we have you on this call. So I guess a question for you. When we look at marrying Hardie and AZEK, these two companies and businesses, how is perhaps the go-to-market strategy similar and different from your previous life at AZEK and the opportunities that could be different? I'm curious, what are some of the new levers in your toolkit now with a much larger entity, a larger portfolio? Are there things that you can offer that wasn't as obvious before, whether it's rebates, the ease of doing business, pricing? Just kind of help us think through some of those opportunities? And any noticeable shelf space wins you want to call out for '26, whether it's retail or the two steppers?

恭喜你們本季業績出色。我的意思是，就本季業績和前景而言，這相當令人鼓舞。喬恩，我們非常榮幸能和你一起參加這通通話。所以我想問你一個問題。當我們考慮將 Hardie 和 AZEK 這兩家公司合併時，合併後的市場進入策略與您先前在 AZEK 的工作有何異同？又有哪些不同的機會？我很好奇，現在公司規模更大、投資組合更豐富，你們有哪些新的因應策略？您能否提供一些以前不太明顯的優勢，例如折扣、便捷的業務流程、價格等方面？能不能幫我們理清一下這些機會？任何能讓你眼前一亮、搶得貨架空間的商品，無論是零售還是兩步舞，你都想喊出「26」的名字嗎？

Sure. Great to talk to you again, Phil. So first and foremost, what I've been most encouraged about is the shared culture across both businesses. So when you look at whether you're a TimberTech or AZEK seller or a James Hardie seller, just the focus downstream on driving contractor conversions and pull-through of the channel, it's just been terrific. So our teams have been working incredibly well together, and they've been doing a terrific job of sharing opportunities and trying to generate some quick wins out of the gate.

當然。很高興再次和你聊天，菲爾。首先，最令我感到鼓舞的是兩家公司之間共享的企業文化。所以，無論你是 TimberTech、AZEK 還是 James Hardie 的銷售商，只要專注於下游推動承包商轉換率和通路滲透率，效果就非常棒。因此，我們的團隊合作得非常出色，他們在分享機會和努力爭取快速取得一些勝利方面做得非常棒。

So first and foremost, that's been really powerful. So on a combined basis, we believe we now have the largest sales team among any building products manufacturer, and that's critical to our growth and our synergy capture here in the future.

首先，這一點非常有效。因此，綜合來看，我們相信我們現在擁有所有建築產品製造商中規模最大的銷售團隊，這對我們未來的發展和協同效應至關重要。

If you think about what's the opportunity, the opportunity is we can completely service the entire exterior of the home now. So that is just a great strategic advantage, and we can go in and have conversations with customers about having leading brands in every exterior product category. So that's great for us and great for our team is that we are -- now have the opportunity to be more important to more customers. So whether that's the independent channel, the one-step channel or distribution partners, we have the broadest portfolio of market-leading brands, and that allows you to have really great conversations with customers about how we grow our businesses together on a combined basis.

如果你想想這其中的機會是什麼，那就是我們現在可以全面地為房屋的外部提供維護服務。所以這是一個巨大的策略優勢，我們可以與客戶洽談，在每個戶外產品類別中都擁有領先品牌。這對我們來說是件好事，對我們的團隊來說也是件好事，因為我們現在有機會對更多客戶來說更重要。因此，無論是獨立通路、一站式通路或分銷合作夥伴，我們都擁有最廣泛的市場領導品牌組合，這使您能夠與客戶進行真正良好的對話，探討我們如何共同發展業務。

Okay. Super. That's great color. And Aaron, I thought the comments around how you're looking to reduce the on-the-wall cost with some of these pilot programs and training was pretty encouraging. How should we think about that opportunity as you scale that up? Is it going to be a meaningful needle mover in fiscal '27? Or it's going to take a multiyear process? Is there any aspirational goal like in three years, we want this half of the branches that we sell to being rolled out or whatnot? Just give us some color in terms of aspirational targets in the next few years as you roll this --

好的。極好的。顏色真好看。亞倫，我認為你關於如何透過一些試點計畫和培訓來降低牆上裝飾成本的評論非常令人鼓舞。隨著你們擴大規模，我們該如何看待這個機會？它能否對 2027 財年產生重大影響？還是這需要數年時間？是否有像三年內我們希望開設一半分店之類的遠大目標？請在推動這項工作的同時，簡要介紹一下未來幾年的發展目標。--

Yes. Phil, very simply, we are going to start scaling this up in the back half, which is now. So I mentioned the partnership that we have with Boise. So we believe the Mid-Atlantic, the Northeast, the Carolinas and the Midwest are all areas that are huge opportunities for us, particularly in repair and remodel. So we're going to be working with them to start reeling this out in this back half of the year.

是的。菲爾，簡單來說，我們將在下半年開始擴大規模，也就是現在。所以我提到了我們與博伊西的合作關係。因此，我們認為大西洋中部地區、東北部地區、卡羅來納州地區和中西部地區對我們來說都是巨大的機遇，尤其是在維修和改造方面。所以我們將與他們合作，在今年下半年開始逐步推出這個計畫。

And look, I think as far as longer-term KPIs on this, the opportunity is tremendous. I'll save that for when we have Investor Day. But as I mentioned before, we think our ColorPlus volume, which is roughly, call it, 25% of what our fiber cement exterior volume is now, we believe we can double that through this initiative. So we're very encouraged by this. Like I said, this has been something that has been an on-purpose plan, and we put a lot of resources behind this over the last 1.5 years. It is something that has had many different parts of the organization combine and work to for this common goal. So hats off for the team -- to the team. Now we got to go execute it and scale it up in a much bigger way.

而且，我認為就這方面的長期關鍵績效指標而言，機會是巨大的。我會把這個留到投資者日的時候再說。但正如我之前提到的，我們認為我們的 ColorPlus 產品銷量（大約占我們目前纖維水泥外牆產品銷量的 25%），我們相信透過這項計畫可以使其翻倍。我們對此感到非常鼓舞。正如我所說，這是一個有計劃的項目，在過去的1.5年裡，我們為此投入了大量資源。這是組織內許多不同部門為了實現這一共同目標而共同努力的成果。所以，向團隊致敬——向團隊致敬。現在我們必須去執行它，並將其規模擴大得多。

Keith Chau, MST Marquee.

Keith Chau，MST Marquee。

Aaron, I want to ask you a question, and I know it's been asked before, so this is a bit of a follow-up. But your quarterly assumptions for Siding & Trim from the third and the fourth quarter. So rather than looking at it versus last year, just looking at it sequentially. So I think the context you provided for the guidance is that end markets are soft, but more stable than expected. So against this backdrop, we would expect demand to improve on a seasonal basis in the fourth quarter, not only for the Hardie's legacy Siding business and AZEK Interiors -- sorry, Exteriors.

亞倫，我想問你一個問題，我知道這個問題以前有人問過，所以這算是後續問題。但您第三季和第四季的外牆和裝飾材料的季度假設。所以，與其將它與去年進行比較，不如按時間順序來看一下。所以我認為你提供的指導背景是，終端市場疲軟，但比預期更穩定。因此，在這種背景下，我們預計第四季度需求將按季節性規律改善，不僅是 Hardie's 傳統壁板業務和 AZEK 室內外裝飾業務。

And you also mentioned the January 1 price increase as well. So in combination with that and also raw materials moving favorably sequentially, I'm surprised you've guided to margins being down in the fourth quarter. I would have thought naturally that they should be higher. So is there anything going on between those two quarters that we should be aware of because it helps us inform us of the FY27 entry run rate for margins?

您也提到了1月1日的價格上漲。因此，考慮到這一點，再加上原物料價格環比走高，我對你預測第四季利潤率會下降感到驚訝。我自然而然地認為它們應該更高。那麼，這兩個季度之間是否有我們應該注意的事情，因為這有助於我們了解 2027 財年的初始利潤率？

Yes. Keith, so here's what I'd say simply. We expect high single-digit declines in volume when we think of our Siding & Trim business as we get to the back half of the year. And then we expect roughly, call it, 3% price realization, so then you get to the mid-single digits. That's very simply the outlook. Joe, anything else you'd add?

是的。基思，那我就簡單說幾句。我們預計，隨著下半年的到來，我們的外牆裝飾業務銷售將出現高個位數的下滑。然後我們預期價格實現幅度大約是 3%，這樣就能達到個位數的中段漲幅。這就是非常簡單的前景。喬，你還有什麼要補充的嗎？

Yes. And we know there's a lot of moving pieces between the acquisition and the allocation of the R&D. So just thinking about the organic NAFC business and stripping out the R&D impact, I think it's important to look at first half versus second half. The first half decrementals were over 80%. The second half decrementals in NAFC ex R&D are under 50%. So that's why when we think about the back half as a good baseline, we're really looking at the decrementals relative to the high single-digit decline in volume that Aaron mentioned.

是的。我們知道，從收購到研發資金分配之間有很多環節在運作。因此，僅考慮NAFC的有機業務，剔除研發的影響，我認為比較上半年和下半年的情況非常重要。上半年的降幅超過 80%。NAFC（不含研發）下半年的減產幅度低於 50%。所以，當我們把下半年作為良好的基準線時，我們實際上是在關注相對於 Aaron 提到的個位數高降幅的遞減情況。

And Keith, to your point about what is the right run rate going forward. So adding back in the R&D because that is now how we allocate to the segment, we're implying 32% to 33% adjusted EBITDA margins in the back half for NAFC, and that's relatively consistent with AZEK Exteriors. So that's the way you think about it.

基思，關於你提到的未來合適的運行速度是多少，我同意你的觀點。因此，由於我們現在是這樣分配研發費用的，所以我們將研發費用重新計入該業務板塊，這意味著北美食品公司 (NAFC) 下半年的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 32% 至 33%，這與 AZEK Exteriors 的情況相對一致。所以你是這麼想的。

Okay. And then a follow-up just on these trials in the pilot plants and reducing on the wall cost. I know I'm kind of mixing our work streams here. But can you help us understand, Aaron, what the current revenue generation is from those pilot programs?

好的。然後，我們將對試點工廠的這些試驗進行後續研究，以降低牆體成本。我知道我在這裡有點把我們的工作流程混在一起了。亞倫，你能幫我們了解一下這些試點計畫目前的收入狀況嗎？

Yes. So the way that we're looking at this right now is we have the Central Northeast. So we have a defined area, Keith. And we looked really over a six-month period of time, what our increase from a ColorPlus volume standpoint. And we've seen that being close to 20% increase. So what we're really doing, a couple of things. We're shrinking the differential when we think about quoting versus, call it, a vinyl job.

是的。所以，我們現在看待這個問題的方式是，我們有中東北部地區。所以我們已經劃定了區域，基斯。我們從 ColorPlus 銷售的角度，認真觀察了六個月的時間，看看我們的成長情況。我們看到這一數字接近 20%。所以我們實際上在做兩件事。當我們考慮報價和（比如說）乙烯基材料施工時，我們正在縮小兩者之間的差異。

But also because of the price that we're seeing in the on-the-wall cost reductions we're seeing is contractors are able to go after price points of homes that they usually haven't been able to do so with. So meaning our total addressable market increases quite a bit as well. So not only are we excited about the differential and being able to shrink that premium versus, call it, vinyl, but it opens up an addressable market that's much larger for us. So that's very exciting.

但同時也是因為我們看到牆面裝飾成本的降低，承包商現在能夠承接他們通常無法承接的房屋價格區間。這意味著我們的潛在市場總量也會大幅增加。因此，我們不僅為能夠縮小與乙烯基材料（例如乙烯基材料）之間的差價感到興奮，而且還為我們開闢了一個更大的潛在市場。那真是太令人興奮了。

Adam Baumgarten, Vertical Research.

Adam Baumgarten，Vertical Research。

I guess just I assume you guys are still in AZEK doing the quarterly surveys that the company has talked about in the past. I know you talked about backlogs around seven weeks, but any additional color on how your customers are thinking about calendar '26 at this point?

我猜你們仍然在AZEK進行公司過去曾提到的季度調查。我知道您曾提到積壓訂單大約需要七週時間，但您能否進一步說明一下您的客戶目前對 2026 年日曆版 (Calend '26) 的看法？

Jon, go ahead.

喬恩，你先說。

Yes. So again, what we highlighted in the prepared remarks around the surveys and what we're hearing is that it's consistent, right? So backlogs are consistent. Outlook is consistent. And then obviously, we get other data points as well. And what we've seen is, by and large, while repair and remodel is down, outdoor living is one of the more positive categories within repair and remodel.

是的。所以，正如我們在關於調查的準備好的演講稿中所強調的那樣，我們聽到的也是一致的，對吧？所以積壓的工作量是穩定的。前景始終如一。當然，我們還會獲得其他數據點。我們看到的情況是，整體而言，雖然維修和改造有所減少，但戶外生活卻是維修和改造中較為積極的類別之一。

And then Temper-Tech has been performing the best within the category. Again, it's a really attractive market. It's driven by material conversion and it's driven by the consumers' desire to spend more time outdoors, right? So you have two kind of structural tailwinds here in terms of the desire for outdoor living. And then obviously, we continue to convert wood and other inferior materials into our products. And that is what's driving that stable outlook and that stable backlog for our contractors and our dealers.

而且，Temper-Tech 在該類別中表現最佳。再次強調，這是一個非常有吸引力的市場。這是由材料轉換率的變化以及消費者希望花更多時間在戶外的需求所驅動的，對嗎？因此，就人們對戶外生活的需求而言，這裡有兩種結構性的有利因素。然後很顯然，我們繼續將木材和其他劣質材料加工成我們的產品。正是這種穩定的前景和穩定的訂單積壓，造就了我們承包商和經銷商的穩定表現。

Yes. One thing I would just add to that is we talk so much about the best of both with AZEK and James Hardie. And what we've adopted as a total company are these dealer and contractor surveys, and we have that on the fiber cement side as well. So it helps us to get closer to our customer partners and get a viewpoint of the future as well. So very helpful. Okay. I think, we're -- sorry, Adam, you have a follow-up?

是的。我還要補充一點，我們常常談論 AZEK 和 James Hardie 各自的優點。我們公司整體上都採用了經銷商和承包商調查的方式，纖維水泥方面也是如此。這樣有助於我們與客戶夥伴拉近距離，也能讓我們對未來有更清楚的認知。非常有幫助。好的。我想，我們──抱歉，亞當，你還有後續問題嗎？

Nope. All set.

沒有。一切就緒。

Okay. Very good. Hey, everyone. Thanks for the time. Look, I want to thank all the James Hardie team members for all their hard work and working to service our customers.

好的。非常好。大家好。謝謝你抽出時間。在此，我要感謝 James Hardie 團隊的所有成員，感謝他們的辛勤工作和為客戶服務的努力。

Really, what I want to leave you with is, look, we have a handle on the business. And our fiber cement business, although we're not satisfied with our growth trajectory, we think we have a good plan and our business is healthy.

其實，我最後想告訴大家的是，我們已經掌控了業務。雖然我們對纖維水泥業務的成長軌跡並不滿意，但我們認為我們制定了一個很好的計劃，而且我們的業務狀況良好。

We have a handle on the fiber cement margins. The actions are underway and coming, and you'll see that as we look at our margin profile. And our decking business has continued to remain highly attractive, and our AZEK business is performing very well.

我們已經掌握了纖維水泥邊緣的情況。相關行動正在進行中，並將陸續展開，從我們查看利潤率概況時您就會看到這一點。我們的露台板材業務一直保持著很高的吸引力，而我們的 AZEK 業務也表現得非常好。

So with that, I'll leave you all. Thank you very much for the time.

那麼，我就此告別大家了。非常感謝您抽出時間。

That does conclude our conference for today. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的會議就到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線了。