Kaiser Aluminum Corp (KALU) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Kaiser Aluminum Corporation's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

您好，歡迎參加凱撒鋁業公司 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Kim Orlando, with ADDO Investor Relation. Please go ahead.

現在我很高興向大家介紹 ADDO 投資者關係部門的主持人 Kim Orlando。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Kaiser Aluminum's Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. If you have not seen a copy of our earnings release, please visit the Investor Relations page on our website at kaiseraluminum.com. We have also posted a PDF version of the slide presentation for this call. Joining me on the call today are President and Chief Executive Officer, Keith Harvey; and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Neal West.

謝謝。大家早安，歡迎參加凱撒鋁業 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。如果您還沒有看到我們的收益發布副本，請訪問我們網站 kaiseraluminum.com 上的投資者關係頁面。我們也發布了本次電話會議投影片簡報的 PDF 版本。今天和我一起參加電話會議的是總裁兼執行長 Keith Harvey；執行副總裁兼財務長尼爾·韋斯特。

Before we begin, I'd like to refer you to the first 4 slides of our presentation, and remind you that the statements made by management and the information contained in this presentation that constitute forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. For a summary of specific risk factors that could cause results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements, please refer to the company's earnings release and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission including the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the full year ended December 31, 2022.

在開始之前，我想向您推薦我們簡報的前 4 張投影片，並提醒您，管理層所做的聲明以及本簡報中構成前瞻性聲明的資訊均基於管理層當前的預期。有關可能導致結果與前瞻性陳述有重大差異的特定風險因素的摘要，請參閱公司的收益發布和向美國證券交易委員會提交的報告，包括公司 10-K 表格的年度報告，以獲取完整的資訊。截至2022 年12 月31 日的年度。

The company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the company's expectations. In addition, we have included non-GAAP financial information in our discussion. Reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the earnings release and in the appendix of the presentation. Reconciliations of certain forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to comparable GAAP financial measures are not provided because certain items required for such reconciliations are outside of our control, and/or cannot be reasonably predicted or provided without unreasonable efforts.

本公司不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述以使該陳述符合實際結果或公司預期變化的責任。此外，我們還在討論中納入了非公認會計準則財務資訊。與最具可比性的公認會計準則財務指標的調節包含在收益發布和簡報的附錄中。未提供某些前瞻性非GAAP 財務指標與可比較GAAP 財務指標的調節表，因為此類調節所需的某些項目超出了我們的控制範圍，和/或如果不採取不合理的努力就無法合理預測或提供。

Any reference to EBITDA in our discussion today means adjusted EBITDA, which excludes nonrun rate items for which we have provided reconciliations in the appendix. Further, Slide 5 is a new slide, which contains definitions of terms and measures that will be commonly used throughout today's presentation. At the conclusion of the company's presentation, we will open the call for questions.

我們今天討論中提及的 EBITDA 均指調整後的 EBITDA，其中不包括我們在附錄中提供調節的非運行率項目。此外，投影片 5 是一張新投影片，其中包含今天簡報中常用的術語和度量的定義。在公司介紹結束後，我們將開始提問。

I would now like to turn the call over to Keith Harvey. Keith?

我現在想把電話轉給基斯·哈維。基思？

Thanks, Kim, and thank you all for joining us for a review of our third quarter 2023 results. Before we discuss our results, I'd like to remind everyone that we recently released our 2022 Sustainability Report, which reflects the alignment of our strong corporate governance practices with new and continuing investments to support our key sustainability initiatives that we believe will serve as the foundation of our long-term success. Importantly, aluminum is infinitely recyclable and our aluminum semi-fabricated products uniquely position Kaiser to contribute to efforts to mitigate climate change. We are proud of our employees and the work they have done to advance our sustainability programs and drive our long-term growth. We look forward to sustainability continuing to play a pivotal role in our business strategy and making a positive impact on the environment and the communities where we live and work.

謝謝 Kim，也謝謝大家與我們一起回顧 2023 年第三季的業績。在討論我們的結果之前，我想提醒大家，我們最近發布了2022 年可持續發展報告，該報告反映了我們強大的公司治理實踐與新的持續投資的結合，以支持我們的關鍵可持續發展舉措，我們相信這些舉措將成為我們長期成功的基礎。重要的是，鋁是無限可回收的，我們的鋁半成品使 Kaiser 能夠為緩解氣候變遷做出貢獻。我們為我們的員工以及他們為推進我們的永續發展計劃和推動我們的長期成長所做的工作感到自豪。我們期待永續發展繼續在我們的業務策略中發揮關鍵作用，並對我們生活和工作的環境和社區產生積極影響。

Now turning to Slide 7. Operationally, we have continued to make tremendous strides on our strategic plan to reinvigorate longer-term sustainable and profitable growth. While short-term factors such as destocking and persistent inflation have impacted our performance, we were pleased to report third quarter results largely within our expectations. Our third quarter adjusted EBITDA decreased approximately 25% over the second quarter of 2023 to approximately $48 million, slightly above our outlook to be similar to our first quarter 2023 results. The decline was primarily due to continued destocking and inflationary costs, which offset the benefits of our efforts to lower cost across the platform and rising in aerospace demand. As a result, our EBITDA margin declined by approximately 350 basis points sequentially over the second quarter of 2023 to 13.3%.

現在轉向幻燈片 7。在營運方面，我們繼續在策略計劃上取得巨大進展，以重振長期可持續和獲利成長。儘管去庫存和持續通膨等短期因素影響了我們的業績，但我們很高興報告第三季業績基本上符合我們的預期。我們第三季調整後的 EBITDA 比 2023 年第二季下降約 25%，至約 4,800 萬美元，略高於我們與 2023 年第一季業績類似的預期。下降的主要原因是持續的去庫存和通貨膨脹成本，這抵消了我們努力降低整個平台成本和航空航天需求成長所帶來的好處。因此，我們的 EBITDA 利潤率比 2023 年第二季連續下降約 350 個基點，至 13.3%。

Turning to Slide 8. The demand environment for the third quarter remained mixed. Aerospace demand was once again very strong and has been steadily recovering towards the peak levels we experienced prior to the pandemic. We delivered third quarter conversion revenue in line with our outlook as we continue to benefit from flexing our available capacity in our Trentwood facility to capitalize on strengthening aerospace demand as general engineering demand remains soft. This unique ability to flex our capacity, coupled with our strong customer relationships, high-quality product offering and multiyear pricing agreements positions us well to service the aerospace market for years to come.

轉向幻燈片 8。第三季的需求環境仍然好壞參半。航空航天需求再次非常強勁，並且一直在穩步恢復到大流行之前的峰值水平。我們第三季的轉換收入符合我們的預期，因為我們繼續受益於調整特倫特伍德工廠的可用產能，以利用航空航天需求的增強，因為一般工程需求仍然疲軟。這種靈活產能的獨特能力，加上我們強大的客戶關係、高品質的產品供應和多年定價協議，使我們能夠在未來幾年為航空航太市場提供服務。

In packaging, destocking with our beverage customers persisted but appeared to be slowing. While signs emerged late in the quarter that destocking in our beverage offerings appear to be stabilizing, we saw coated food products, which make up a considerable amount of our shipments and had remained stable through the first half of 2023, enter into a destocking phase. As a result, both our shipments and conversion revenue underperformed versus our expectations in the quarter.

在包裝方面，我們的飲料客戶的去庫存仍在繼續，但似乎正在放緩。雖然本季末出現的跡象表明我們的飲料產品的去庫存似乎正在穩定，但我們看到塗層食品（占我們出貨量的很大一部分，並在2023 年上半年保持穩定）進入了去庫存階段。因此，本季我們的出貨量和轉換收入均低於我們的預期。

Turning to Slide 9. In general engineering, reduced demand for plate along with increased availability from imports continued into the third quarter. While our KaiserSelect products command a premium and are preferred by many OEMs in our markets, we expect pricing for these products will be under pressure until semiconductor demand returns.

轉向投影片 9。在一般工程領域，板材需求減少以及進口供應量增加的情況持續到第三季。雖然我們的 KaiserSelect 產品價格昂貴，並且受到市場上許多 OEM 廠商的青睞，但我們預計，在半導體需求恢復之前，這些產品的定價將面臨壓力。

Destocking for general engineering long products appears to be ending as distributor inventories have begun to normalize and align with current demand. The resultant sequential declines in both shipments and conversion revenue came in slightly better than our expectations. And finally, automotive demand continued to be mixed as supply chain issues and now uncertainty due to the UAW strike continued to offset fairly good demand. Both shipments and conversion revenue were down slightly more than anticipated versus the prior quarter.

隨著經銷商庫存開始正常化並與當前需求保持一致，通用工程長材產品的去庫存似乎即將結束。由此導致的出貨量和轉換收入的連續下降略好於我們的預期。最後，由於供應鏈問題以及全美汽車工人聯合會罷工帶來的不確定性，汽車需求繼續喜憂參半，繼續抵消了相當不錯的需求。與上一季相比，出貨量和轉換收入均略高於預期。

Turning to Slide 10. I'd now like to turn to an update on our packaging business at the Warrick facility and our strategic plan to improve our performance as we continue to recover from the various challenges we faced. We have previously shared this slide in the fourth quarter of 2022 and wanted to provide an update with where we were currently on our priorities for Warrick. While we've been successful in our efforts contractually with customers, positioning us for higher margin potential, rising inflationary costs and challenging short-term demand issues continue to impact our ability to improve efficiencies in our operations in a meaningful way. We continue to work with our customers, suppliers and team members at Warrick to normalize our operations and drive consistent longer-term profitable growth.

轉到投影片 10。我現在想介紹一下沃里克工廠包裝業務的最新情況，以及隨著我們繼續從所面臨的各種挑戰中恢復過來而提高績效的戰略計劃。我們之前曾在 2022 年第四季分享過這張投影片，並希望提供有關 Warrick 目前優先事項的最新資訊。雖然我們在與客戶簽訂合約方面取得了成功，但使我們具有更高的利潤潛力，但通膨成本上升和具有挑戰性的短期需求問題繼續影響我們以有意義的方式提高營運效率的能力。我們繼續與沃里克的客戶、供應商和團隊成員合作，使我們的營運正常化並推動持續的長期獲利成長。

As part of our strategic plan, we remain committed to completing our roll coat capacity expansion project, which is expected to convert roughly 25% of our current output to higher-margin coated products. As we've stated previously, coated products drive roughly 3x the margin benefit versus traditional body stock products. This investment remains on track to be operational and qualified by the end of 2024 with substantial new customer commitments already in place. When we initially announced our acquisition of Warrick, the capital investment for our fourth roll coat line called for an approximately $150 million of investment. However, as we have previously alluded, impacts from increased inflationary pressures on labor, material and other costs have led to higher spending required to complete the investment.

作為我們策略計畫的一部分，我們仍然致力於完成我們的輥塗產能擴張項目，預計該項目將把我們當前產量的約 25% 轉化為利潤率更高的塗層產品。正如我們之前所說，塗層產品的利潤率是傳統車身庫存產品的約 3 倍。這項投資仍有望在 2024 年底前投入營運並獲得資格，並已獲得大量新客戶承諾。當我們最初宣布收購 Warrick 時，我們第四條輥塗生產線的資本投資約為 1.5 億美元。然而，正如我們之前提到的，通膨壓力加大對勞動力、材料和其他成本的影響導致完成投資所需的支出增加。

As a result, we now expect additional $100 million of incremental cost will be required for the completion of this project for a total expected outlay of approximately $250 million. To date, we have invested approximately $140 million, with the remaining expected to complete the project to be spent over the next 9 months. While this exceeds our initial expectation from 2 years ago, the returns on the total investment are still expected to exceed our cost of capital. This project remains an important component of our focused higher-margin packaging strategy.

因此，我們現在預計完成該項目還需要 1 億美元的增量成本，預計總支出約為 2.5 億美元。迄今為止，我們已投資約 1.4 億美元，剩餘資金預計將在未來 9 個月內完成該專案。雖然這超出了我們兩年前的初步預期，但總投資回報預計仍將超過我們的資本成本。該項目仍然是我們重點關注的高利潤包裝策略的重要組成部分。

In addition, we are continuing to make progress with the physical separation of our Warrick facility from the adjacent Alcoa smelter and power plant, which we anticipate finalizing sometime in early 2024. This long planned separation provides us the opportunity to significantly improve the sustainability of our products at Warrick by increasing our use of recycled materials as a percentage of raw materials. Although destocking has created short-term headwinds, as we seek to stabilize and grow our packaging operations, we maintain a very positive longer-term view on the business. Our already strong position in the higher-margin coated products for food and beverage markets will only improve once the additional coated capacity comes online. The secular shift to aluminum as a substrate of choice in the North American beverage and food industry continues to flourish. And as market forces shift, Kaiser remains very well positioned to be a significant beneficiary.

此外，我們正在繼續推進我們的沃里克工廠與鄰近的美鋁冶煉廠和發電廠的物理分離，我們預計將於2024 年初的某個時候完成。這一長期計劃的分離為我們提供了顯著提高我們的永續性的機會。在 Warrick 的產品中，我們增加了再生材料在原料中的使用比例。儘管去庫存造成了短期阻力，但隨著我們尋求穩定和發展我們的包裝業務，我們對業務保持非常積極的長期看法。只有當額外的塗層產能上線後，我們在食品和飲料市場的高利潤塗層產品中已經佔據的強勢地位才會得到改善。北美飲料和食品行業對鋁作為基材選擇的長期轉變繼續蓬勃發展。隨著市場力量的變化，凱撒仍然處於成為重要受益者的有利位置。

In summary, I'd like to thank our strong team at Kaiser for their commitment to serving our customers and for their execution of our strategic plan as we continue to navigate a challenging market. Despite current headwinds, we remain optimistic our long-standing reputation, strong customer relationships and competitive position in the markets we serve will provide strong near- and long-term tailwinds. In particular, we are uniquely positioned to service the growing aero and high strength market with the recovery significantly surpassing our initial expectations. That, coupled with our ongoing cost-reduction efforts and efficiency improvements will help ensure we are well positioned for future growth.

總而言之，我要感謝 Kaiser 強大的團隊致力於為我們的客戶提供服務，並在我們繼續應對充滿挑戰的市場時執行我們的策略計劃。儘管目前面臨不利因素，但我們仍然樂觀地認為，我們在所服務的市場中的長期聲譽、強大的客戶關係和競爭地位將提供強勁的近期和長期推動力。特別是，我們處於獨特的地位，可以為不斷增長的航空和高強度市場提供服務，其復甦大大超出了我們最初的預期。再加上我們持續的成本削減和效率提高，將有助於確保我們為未來的成長做好準備。

I'd now like to turn the call over to Neal for more detailed analysis on the quarter. Neal?

我現在想將電話轉給尼爾，以獲取有關本季度更詳細的分析。尼爾？

Thank you, Keith, and good morning, everyone. I'll begin on Slide 12 with an overview of conversion revenue. Conversion revenue for the third quarter 2023 was $357 million, an increase of $35 million or 11% compared to the prior year period. Looking at each of our end markets in detail. Aero, high strength straight conversion revenue totaled $134 million in the third quarter of 2023, reflecting a 72% improvement on a 69% increase in shipments over the prior year quarter. Compared to the second quarter of 2023, we delivered a 3% improvement in conversion revenue as expected on a modest increase in shipments as demand continue to strengthen towards peak levels.

謝謝基思，大家早安。我將從幻燈片 12 開始概述轉換收入。 2023 年第三季的轉換收入為 3.57 億美元，比去年同期增加 3,500 萬美元，成長 11%。詳細研究我們的每個終端市場。 2023 年第三季度，航空、高強度直接轉換收入總計 1.34 億美元，出貨量較上年同期成長 69%，成長 72%。與 2023 年第二季相比，隨著需求繼續增強至峰值水平，出貨量小幅增長，我們的轉換收入提高了 3%，符合預期。

Packaging conversion revenue was $118 million in the third quarter, down 9% year-over-year. While shipments reflect a 5% improvement over last year's period, which, as a reminder, was impacted by our magnesium-related declaration of force majeure, ongoing destocking in the market, primarily for coated fruit products in the third quarter negatively affected our results. On a sequential basis, third quarter conversion revenue was down 12% on a 5% decline in shipments over the second quarter of 2023 as the mix was more heavily weighted towards lower body stock versus coated products.

第三季包裝轉換收入為 1.18 億美元，年減 9%。儘管出貨量比去年同期增長了5%（提醒一下，這是受到我們與鎂相關的不可抗力聲明的影響），但市場上持續的去庫存（主要是第三季度塗層水果產品）對我們的業績產生了負面影響。環比來看，第三季的轉換收入下降了 12%，而 2023 年第二季的出貨量下降了 5%，因為與塗層產品相比，下車身庫存的組合更加重要。

General engineering conversion revenue for the third quarter was $75 million, down 16% year-over-year due to a 24% reduction in shipments as destocking, primarily for plate products persisted. Sequentially, conversion revenue was down 8% on a 6% reduction in shipments compared to our second quarter results, which as noted by Keith, was slightly better than our expectations.

第三季通用工程轉換收入為 7,500 萬美元，年減 16%，原因是主要針對板材產品的去庫存持續導致出貨量減少 24%。隨後，與我們第二季度的業績相比，轉換收入下降了 8%，出貨量減少了 6%，正如 Keith 指出的那樣，第二季業績略好於我們的預期。

Automotive conversion revenue was $28 million, up 16% over the third quarter of 2022 and a 6% increase in shipments due primarily to higher pricing. Compared to the second quarter of 2023, conversion revenue and shipments both declined by 8% due to the impact of industry supply chain issues and uncertainty around the UAW strike. Additional details on conversion revenue and shipments by end market application can be found in the appendix of this presentation.

汽車改裝收入為 2,800 萬美元，比 2022 年第三季成長 16%，出貨量成長 6%，這主要是由於定價上漲。與 2023 年第二季相比，由於產業供應鏈問題以及 UAW 罷工的不確定性影響，轉換收入和出貨量均下降了 8%。有關終端市場應用的轉換收入和出貨量的更多詳細信息，請參閱本簡報的附錄。

Now moving to Slide 13. Reported operating income for the third quarter of 2023 was $19 million. After adjusting for corporate restructuring costs and other non-run rate items of approximately $1 million, adjusted operating income was $20 million, up $17 million year-over-year and down $17 million sequentially. Our effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2023 was 2% compared to 33% in the prior year period due to discrete items taken during the quarter. For the full year 2023 and over the long term, we continue to expect our effective tax rate before discrete items to be in the low to mid-20% range under current tax regulations. We anticipate that our 2023 cash taxes, for foreign and state taxes, will be in the $2 million to $3 million range with no U.S. federal cash taxes until we consume our federal NOLs, which as of year-end 2022 were $161 million.

現在轉到投影片 13。報告的 2023 年第三季營業收入為 1,900 萬美元。在對公司重組成本和其他約100萬美元的非運行率項目進行調整後，調整後的營業收入為2000萬美元，年增1700萬美元，環比減少1700萬美元。由於本季採取的離散項目，我們 2023 年第三季的有效稅率為 2%，而去年同期為 33%。對於 2023 年全年和長期而言，我們繼續預計，根據現行稅收法規，不計離散項目的有效稅率將處於 20% 的低至中水平範圍內。我們預計 2023 年外國和州稅的現金稅將在 200 萬至 300 萬美元的範圍內，在我們消耗聯邦 NOL（截至 2022 年底為 1.61 億美元）之前，沒有美國聯邦現金稅。

Reported net income for the third quarter of 2023 was $5 million or $0.34 per diluted share compared to a net income of approximately $3 million or $0.16 per diluted share in the prior year quarter. After adjusting for a total of $3 million of pretax nonrun rate items, adjusted net income for the third quarter of 2023 was $7 million or $0.46 per adjusted diluted share compared to an adjusted net loss of $3 million or a loss of $0.21 per adjusted diluted share in a prior year quarter. As a reminder, in the third quarter of 2022, we recorded a $13 million of pretax other income, primarily related to a sale of a nonstrategic legacy land asset.

2023 年第三季報告的淨利潤為 500 萬美元，或稀釋後每股 0.34 美元，而去年同期的淨利潤約為 300 萬美元，或稀釋後每股 0.16 美元。在總計300 萬美元的稅前不良率項目進行調整後，2023 年第三季調整後淨利潤為700 萬美元，或調整後稀釋每股虧損0.46 美元，而調整後淨虧損為300 萬美元，或調整後稀釋每股虧損0.21 美元去年同期。提醒一下，2022 年第三季度，我們錄得 1,300 萬美元的稅前其他收入，主要與出售非戰略性遺留土地資產有關。

Now turning to Slide 14. Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter 2023 was $48 million, up approximately $19 million from the prior year quarter and down $16 million sequentially, which was slightly ahead of our expectations. Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of conversion revenue was 13.3% in the third quarter of '23, an improvement of approximately 440 basis points from the third quarter of 2022. On a year-over-year basis, the improvement in adjusted EBITDA was primarily the result of stabilizing operations following the significant supply chain issues we experienced at our Warrick rolling mill last year. In addition to improved pricing to capture the higher cost of alloys and other inflationary costs with a higher mix of aerospace product shipments. On a sequential basis, as Keith discussed, adjusted EBITDA was pressured primarily by destocking and inflationary costs, minimizing our cost reduction efforts across our platform.

現在轉向投影片 14。2023 年第三季調整後 EBITDA 為 4,800 萬美元，比去年同期增加約 1,900 萬美元，比上一季減少 1,600 萬美元，略高於我們的預期。 2023 年第三季調整後 EBITDA 佔轉換收入的百分比為 13.3%，較 2022 年第三季提高約 440 個基點。與去年同期相比，調整後 EBITDA 的改善主要是這是我們去年沃里克軋機遭遇重大供應鏈問題後穩定營運的結果。除了透過提高航空航太產品出貨量組合來提高定價以應對合金成本上升和其他通貨膨脹成本。正如基思所討論的那樣，按順序計算，調整後的 EBITDA 主要受到去庫存和通膨成本的壓力，從而最大限度地減少了我們整個平台的成本削減努力。

Now turning to a discussion of our balance sheet and cash flow. As of the end of September 2023, total cash of approximately $45 million and approximately $529 million of borrowing availability in our revolving credit facility provided total liquidity of $574 million. There were no outstanding borrowings under our revolving credit facility as of September 29, and it remains undrawn. We continue to believe that our total liquidity position remains strong. As a reminder, our senior notes interest costs have fixed at $48 million annually, and we have no debt maturing until 2028.

現在轉向我們的資產負債表和現金流的討論。截至 2023 年 9 月底，我們的循環信貸安排中約 4,500 萬美元的現金總額和約 5.29 億美元的可用借款提供了 5.74 億美元的總流動性。截至 9 月 29 日，我們的循環信貸安排下沒有未償還借款，且仍未提領。我們仍然相信我們的總流動性狀況依然強勁。提醒一下，我們的優先票據利息成本固定為每年 4,800 萬美元，我們沒有在 2028 年之前到期的債務。

As of September 2023, our net debt leverage ratio improved to 5.4x from 7x at the end of 2022. We continue to target a leverage ratio of 2 to 2.5x by way of improvements to our profitability over time. Further, we are working through our previously discussed higher cost metal inventory overhang resulting from the 2022 supply chain issues at our Warrick operation. While we continue to expect our efforts serve as a positive source of cash, the destocking we have been experiencing in the packaging market throughout 2023, will prolong this endeavor until 2024. As such, we currently expect to sell the remaining balance of higher cost milling units by the end of Q1 2024.

截至 2023 年 9 月，我們的淨債務槓桿率從 2022 年底的 7 倍提高到 5.4 倍。隨著時間的推移，我們將繼續提高獲利能力，將槓桿率目標定為 2 至 2.5 倍。此外，我們正在解決先前討論的由於沃里克工廠 2022 年供應鏈問題而導致的成本較高的金屬庫存積壓問題。雖然我們仍然期望我們的努力成為積極的現金來源，但我們在 2023 年包裝市場經歷的去庫存將使這一努力延長到 2024 年。因此，我們目前預計出售成本較高的銑削加工的剩餘餘額到2024 年第一季末為止。

In regards to our capital allocation strategy, our approach is duly focused on supporting our growth while concurrently returning value to our stockholders. We now expect our full year 2023 capital expenditures to be at the lower end of the range of $170 million to $180 million. While the timing of certain capital expenditures primarily associated with our roll coat expansion project at our Warrick facility have shifted into 2024, the project remains on track for startup in the second half of 2024. Additionally, on October 12, we announced that our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.77 per common share which demonstrates our confidence our Board and management team having our long-term strategy for profitable growth and increasing stockholder value.

就我們的資本配置策略而言，我們的方法是適當地專注於支持我們的成長，同時為股東回報價值。我們現在預計 2023 年全年資本支出將在 1.7 億至 1.8 億美元之間。雖然主要與沃里克工廠的捲塗擴建項目相關的某些資本支出的時間已移至 2024 年，但該項目仍有望在 2024 年下半年啟動。此外，10 月 12 日，我們宣布董事會董事宣布派發每股普通股0.77 美元的季度股息，顯示我們對董事會和管理團隊制定獲利成長和增加股東價值的長期策略充滿信心。

And now I'll turn the call back over to Keith to discuss our outlook. Keith?

現在我將把電話轉回基思，討論我們的前景。基思？

Thanks, Neal. Now I'll turn to our outlook for the fourth quarter of 2023. Beginning with aerospace on Slide 16. The strong momentum we've been experiencing in aero and high-strength shipments is expected to continue into the fourth quarter. As a result, we believe the recovery in commercial aerospace should meet or exceed the record levels we experienced in the pre-pandemic 2019 time frame by the end of this year. It's important to note that we intend to achieve this milestone 1 year ahead of our initial expectations, which is a testament to Kaiser's long-standing strong position in the aero and high-strength markets that we've built over the last 75 years.

謝謝，尼爾。現在我將談談我們對 2023 年第四季的展望。從投影片 16 上的航空航太開始。我們在航空和高強度出貨方面經歷的強勁勢頭預計將持續到第四季度。因此，我們認為，到今年年底，商業航空航太的復甦應達到或超過 2019 年疫情爆發前的歷史記錄水準。值得注意的是，我們打算比最初的預期提前 1 年實現這一里程碑，這證明了 Kaiser 在過去 75 年裡建立的航空和高強度市場中長期的強大地位。

Our outlook remains strong and is further supported by the build rate increases we've seen this year for both single-aisle and wide-body jets, both of which are beneficial to Kaiser, along with increasing airline passenger miles and low grades. As such, we expect that our fourth quarter shipments will continue to improve by an additional 3% to 5% versus the third quarter of 2023, with conversion revenue expected to decline by approximately 1% to 2% over the same period due to an expected mix shift in products shipped during the quarter.

我們的前景依然強勁，今年單通道和寬體噴射機的建造率增加進一步支撐了我們的前景，這兩種飛機都對凱撒有利，同時航空公司客運里程和低等級飛機的增加也對我們有利。因此，我們預計第四季的出貨量將比 2023 年第三季持續成長 3% 至 5%，而由於預期，轉換收入預計同期將下降約 1% 至 2%。本季出貨的產品組合發生變化。

As we look out into next year, initial declarations by the airframers support stronger 2024 shipments than previously anticipated. In addition, we expect demand for business jet, defense and space to remain strong. As I highlighted earlier, our unique ability to flex available capacity out of our Trentwood rolling mill to accommodate increasing market demand enables us to take on additional capacity without the need for incremental investments in the near term.

當我們展望明年時，飛機製造商的初步聲明支持 2024 年的出貨量比之前的預期強勁。此外，我們預計公務機、國防和航太的需求將保持強勁。正如我之前所強調的，我們具有獨特的能力，可以靈活調整特倫特伍德軋機的可用產能，以滿足不斷增長的市場需求，使我們能夠在短期內無需增加投資即可增加產能。

Turning to packaging now on Slide 17. Looking ahead into the fourth quarter, we expect shipments to decline by approximately 5% to 6% compared to the third quarter as destocking has shifted to food products, and we faced typical fourth quarter seasonality. Our resulting conversion revenue is expected to be flat to slightly higher than the third quarter as we work with customers to meet their contractual obligations. As I've stated previously, we do not anticipate these lower levels of demand carrying into 2024, but we will continue to assess the situation. Longer term, we believe our refined strategy, coupled with our strong customer relationships and multiyear contracts and targeted growth investment in the new roll coat line will support margin improvement and future growth prospects.

現在轉向幻燈片17 上的包裝。展望第四季度，我們預計出貨量將比第三季度下降約5% 至6%，因為去庫存已轉向食品，而且我們面臨著典型的第四季度季節性因素。由於我們與客戶合作履行合約義務，因此我們最終的轉換收入預計將持平或略高於第三季。正如我之前所說，我們預計 2024 年需求水準不會持續下降，但我們將繼續評估情況。從長遠來看，我們相信，我們的精細化策略，加上我們強大的客戶關係和多年合約以及對新輥塗線的有針對性的成長投資，將支持利潤率的提高和未來的成長前景。

Now turning to general engineering on Slide 18. We expect shipments for general engineering products in the fourth quarter to decline modestly from the third quarter on relatively flat conversion revenue, given continued plate destocking activity as well as the associated seasonal decline typical of the fourth quarter. Shipments are expected to decline approximately 1% to 2% and conversion revenue is expected to decline approximately 2% to 4% versus the third quarter results as distributors continue to rightsize their inventories and import plate availability continues to increase. As I indicated, it's important to realize that the available capacity at our Trentwood operation where our general engineering plate products are manufactured, has opened up additional capacity to service the resurgence in aerospace activity.

現在轉向幻燈片18 上的通用工程。考慮到持續的板材去庫存活動以及第四季度典型的相關季節性下降，我們預計第四季度通用工程產品的出貨量將比第三季度小幅下降，因為轉換收入相對持平。 。由於經銷商持續調整庫存以及進口板材供應量持續增加，與第三季業績相比，出貨量預計將下降約 1% 至 2%，轉換收入預計將下降約 2% 至 4%。正如我所指出的，重要的是要認識到，我們生產通用工程板材產品的特倫特伍德工廠的可用產能已經開闢了額外的產能來服務航空航太活動的復甦。

Partially offsetting this pressure are sales of rod and bar products, which has started to reverse the downward trajectory we've seen for the last several quarters. with shipping rates that have begun to stabilize in the third quarter. Short-term hurdles aside, our longer-term outlook for the general engineering business remains solid given the reshoring of certain manufacturing industries back to North America. We believe we hold a key position in the market, given our long-standing customer relationships, broad product offering and highly differentiated KaiserSelect products that effectively reduced processing time and cost for our customers.

線材和棒材產品的銷售部分抵消了這種壓力，這已開始扭轉我們過去幾季看到的下降軌跡。第三季運費開始穩定。撇開短期障礙不談，鑑於某些製造業回流北美，我們對通用工程業務的長期前景仍然穩健。我們相信，鑑於我們長期的客戶關係、廣泛的產品供應和高度差異化的 KaiserSelect 產品，我們在市場上佔據關鍵地位，這些產品有效地減少了客戶的處理時間和成本。

Next, I'll turn to automotive on Slide 19. Higher build rates for trucks and light vehicles in North America have driven a steady recovery in the automotive market throughout 2023. That being said, we expect our fourth quarter shipments conversion revenue to remain relatively flat with the third quarter due to typical seasonal trends and some anticipated impacts from the ongoing UAW strike. Currently, we don't expect a more meaningful recovery in automotive until at least 2024, which is in alignment with the cautious optimism we have communicated as part of our outlook throughout the year.

接下來，我將在幻燈片19 上討論汽車行業。北美卡車和輕型汽車較高的建造率推動了汽車市場在2023 年全年的穩定復甦。話雖如此，我們預計第四季度的出貨量轉換收入將保持相對穩定由於典型的季節性趨勢以及正在進行的 UAW 罷工的一些預期影響，與第三季度持平。目前，我們預計汽車產業至少要到 2024 年才會出現更有意義的復甦，這與我們在全年展望中表達的謹慎樂觀態度是一致的。

Now turning to Slide 20. In summary, we're very proud of the progress we made in the first 9 months of 2023 to position Kaiser for more sustainable long-term growth. Our strong market position as a key supplier in diverse end markets, multiyear contracts with key strategic partners, strong liquidity position, and flexible nature of our cost structure enables us to execute our strategy throughout changing operating environments. Additionally, we remain highly focused on managing elements within our control, including pursuing cost reductions, improving manufacturing efficiencies as our operations stabilize and continuing commercial actions to improve our margins.

現在轉向投影片 20。總而言之，我們對 2023 年前 9 個月在幫助 Kaiser 實現更永續的長期成長方面取得的進展感到非常自豪。我們作為不同終端市場的主要供應商的強大市場地位、與主要戰略合作夥伴的多年合約、強大的流動性狀況以及靈活的成本結構使我們能夠在不斷變化的運營環境中執行我們的戰略。此外，我們仍然高度專注於管理我們控制範圍內的要素，包括追求降低成本、隨著我們的營運穩定而提高製造效率以及繼續採取商業行動來提高我們的利潤。

That said, we anticipate higher major maintenance and other costs to continue in the fourth quarter, along with continued destocking trends in general engineering and packaging. As a result, we are anticipating further downward pressure on our adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter and expect our fourth quarter EBITDA to be in line to slightly higher as compared to the fourth quarter of last year. While market conditions continue to reset, our operations are in a much stronger position to execute at higher levels of efficiencies moving into 2024, where we project market conditions to improve, destocking and packaging and general engineering markets to end and additional cost reductions we are implementing come into effect.

也就是說，我們預計第四季度主要維護和其他成本將繼續上升，同時通用工程和包裝的庫存持續減少。因此，我們預計第四季度調整後 EBITDA 將面臨進一步下行壓力，並預計第四季度 EBITDA 將略高於去年第四季。雖然市場狀況繼續重置，但我們的營運處於更有利的地位，可以在2024 年以更高的效率執行，我們預計市場狀況將改善，去庫存和包裝以及一般工程市場將結束，並且我們正在實施額外的成本削減生效。

Now turning to Slide 22 and a summary of today's remarks. Longer term, we continue to believe that our business can achieve conversion revenue of approximately $2 billion and an EBITDA margin on conversion revenue in the mid- to high 20% range. The building blocks to get there will require focused execution against our strategic plan to drive increasingly profitable growth and maximizing key investments in capacity and capabilities in the cyclical growth markets we serve to improve our margin profile and competitive position.

現在轉向投影片 22 和今天的發言摘要。從長遠來看，我們仍然相信我們的業務可以實現約 20 億美元的轉換收入，並且轉換收入的 EBITDA 利潤率在 20% 的中高範圍內。實現這一目標的基石需要集中執行我們的策略計劃，以推動利潤率不斷增長，並最大限度地提高我們服務的周期性成長市場的產能和能力的關鍵投資，以改善我們的利潤狀況和競爭地位。

With that, I'll now open the call to any questions you may have. Operator?

現在，我將開始通話，回答您可能提出的任何問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Timna Tanners with Wolfe Research.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Timna Tanners。

Just wanted to try to understand and piece apart the guidance a little bit more. If I recall the commentary in the release was really guiding, I thought more to some of the weakness you're starting to see outside of the traditional bev can, but in food can business. And I know you've said it's material, but would love any more detail on how material? And is this the beginning of an extended destocking like we've seen in bev cans? Or is this something that could be a quick fix?

只是想嘗試更多地理解和分解指導。如果我記得新聞稿中的評論確實具有指導意義，那麼我更思考了您在傳統啤酒罐之外、但在食品罐業務中開始看到的一些弱點。我知道你說過它很重要，但你想了解更多關於如何重要的細節嗎？這是否是像我們在啤酒罐中看到的那樣，大規模去庫存的開始？或者這是可以快速解決的問題嗎？

Yes. So with regard to what we're seeing, and we started to see this in the third quarter, we did see beverage can destocking. So we delineate between the 2. At Kaiser, we have a very large mix of our total capacity that goes into the food can market. And that's animal food, that's human food and other applications. So we have seen that be fairly steady all of last year, all through the first half. And in the third quarter, we started to see some of the pull outs for the second half in that particular product mix. So as that started to change, we started to investigate a little bit with our customers. And I think if you were to see some of the customer responses that have been out on the earnings call today, they reinforce the fact that the third quarter caught them by surprise a little bit. They saw some of their customers, even though demand was fairly good, destocking continue at the OEM level.

是的。因此，就我們所看到的情況而言，我們在第三季度開始看到這一點，我們確實看到飲料罐庫存減少。因此，我們在兩者之間進行了劃分。在 Kaiser，我們的總產能中有很大一部分進入了食品罐頭市場。這就是動物性食品、人類食品和其他應用。所以我們看到去年全年、整個上半年都相當穩定。在第三季度，我們開始看到下半年該特定產品組合的一些退出。因此，隨著這種情況開始發生變化，我們開始與客戶進行一些調查。我認為，如果您看到今天財報電話會議上的一些客戶回應，它們會強化這樣一個事實：第三季度讓他們有點意外。他們看到一些客戶儘管需求相當不錯，但 OEM 層級的庫存仍在持續減少。

So we actually think that, that's going to be a shorter term than what's transpired with beverage. Some of the dialogue and color they provided says that it's more of a end-of-the-year balance sheet issue as compared to just total demand requirements. So with that, we're still assessing what that means, but we're looking at really a second half of '23 with demand propping back up in 2024. But we're going to continue to assess that and see. So as a result, we're getting a -- even with contractual obligations, we're seeing a less mix than we would have anticipated. So more bare products versus coated. And so that's an impact to the third quarter and expected for the fourth quarter for our results.

所以我們實際上認為，這將比飲料所發生的情況更短。他們提供的一些對話和色彩表明，與總需求需求相比，這更多是年終資產負債表問題。因此，我們仍在評估這意味著什麼，但我們實際上著眼於 23 年下半年，需求將在 2024 年回升。但我們將繼續評估並觀察。因此，我們得到的結果是——即使有合約義務，我們看到的混合情況也比我們預期的要少。因此，與塗層產品相比，裸露產品更多。因此，這對第三季以及第四季我們的業績預期產生了影響。

Got you. Okay. So we'll see because if it's as long as the bev can side, it could last for a while. That's why I was trying to get some color. On that -- it's interesting also because you guided more conversion revenue downside actually in the other segments outside of packaging. So just trying to understand, obviously, is this broader-based weakness? Or is this kind of, as you said, maybe on a correction more for seasonality?

明白你了。好的。所以我們拭目以待，因為如果它能持續很長時間，它可能會持續一段時間。這就是為什麼我試圖獲得一些顏色。在這一點上，這也很有趣，因為您實際上在包裝之外的其他細分市場中引導了更多的轉換收入下降。那麼，顯然，只是想了解這是一個更廣泛的弱點嗎？或者，正如您所說，這可能是更多針對季節性的修正？

Yes. We typically get very lumpy results, especially in the fourth quarter, Timna. A lot of our general engineering products go through service centers. So our distributors really look at getting their inventories in place generally on a calendar year basis. So the end of the year is always iffy as opposed to what they've done. Now in some areas, on rod and bar, for instance, we don't believe that there will be a lot of correction in the fourth quarter. But we'll continue to see some of that with plate. We've also built in a little bit of price erosion. We are seeing a little bit more import available out there. And so we're making sure that we're being somewhat conservative with our outlook for the fourth quarter.

是的。我們通常會得到非常不穩定的結果，特別是在第四季度，Timna。我們的許多通用工程產品都經過服務中心。因此，我們的經銷商確實會考慮以日曆年來決定庫存。因此，與他們所做的事情相比，年底總是不確定的。現在，在某些領域，例如桿和桿，我們不認為第四季會有很多調整。但我們將繼續看到其中的一些板材。我們也進行了一些價格侵蝕。我們看到有更多的進口可用。因此，我們確保對第四季度的前景持保守態度。

And the other part that also impacts us on the mix side is that we'll be getting more bare versus the higher-margin coated product from our customers as they really focus on trying to meet their minimum contractual obligations to us. So that by itself is going to be roughly, I would say, half of what we're looking at, the downside. The other part is we expect, Neal talked about those higher metal costs, which are going to continue to be extended, okay? And then -- so what we have those 2 together will be about $10 million to $12 million of that bridge to what we did in the third quarter.

在混合方面也影響我們的另一部分是，我們將從客戶那裡獲得更多的裸露產品，而不是利潤率更高的塗層產品，因為他們真正專注於努力履行對我們的最低合約義務。因此，我想說，這本身就是我們所看到的缺點的一半。另一部分是我們預期的，尼爾談到了那些更高的金屬成本，這將繼續延長，好嗎？然後，我們將這兩者加起來大約為 1000 萬至 1200 萬美元，相當於我們在第三季所做的事情。

And then finally, the higher major maintenance spending this year due to the -- just the timing of some of the spending of the year, as compared to the third quarter, we'll have about a $6 million increase in major maintenance spending in the fourth quarter. So when you bridge that all together, that's about a $16 million to $18 million difference, which really leads us to the outlook we're looking for the fourth quarter as compared to the third quarter.

最後，今年主要維護支出的增加是由於——僅是今年一些支出的時間安排，與第三季相比，我們的主要維護支出將增加約 600 萬美元第四季。因此，當你將所有因素綜合起來時，你會發現大約有 1600 萬美元到 1800 萬美元的差異，這確實讓我們得出了第四季度與第三季度相比的前景。

Okay, helpful. I'll just ask one more and hand it over. But on the $100 million increase in CapEx, obviously, pretty big amount it seemed like to us. So just -- can you clarify, I think in the past, we've kind of assumed flattish CapEx from 2024 to 2023. Should we just add like $100 million or more to that number? Or how should we think about the cadence of that spending?

好的，有幫助。我再問一問然後就遞給你了。但顯然，資本支出增加了 1 億美元，這對我們來說似乎是相當大的數字。那麼，您能否澄清一下，我認為在過去，我們假設 2024 年至 2023 年的資本支出持平。我們是否應該在這個數字上增加 1 億美元或更多？或者我們應該如何考慮這種支出的節奏？

No, no. It won't be. And we'll come out with those numbers in February. But we -- there will be additional spending that goes on in the fourth quarter, Timna. So that $100 million won't just parlay over. And we've only spent -- we spent $140 million year-to-date.

不，不。不會的。我們將在二月公佈這些數字。但我們 - 第四季將會有額外的支出，蒂姆納。這樣一來，這 1 億美元就不會只是平倉。今年迄今為止，我們只花了 1.4 億美元。

Actually over 2 years.

其實已經2年多了。

Total over 2 years, we spent over $140 million on it. So that spending will come, as Neal said, over the next 9 months. So we'll give you more outlook for that, but there will be additional spending in the fourth quarter for that line. Now let me talk a little bit about the spending on that, Timna, because I agree with you. I mean I don't like cost overruns. But I think with every major player that's making major investments, especially during these last couple of years of high inflation, it's really been a challenge to bring these projects in. If you take a look at that $100 million bucket, a significant part of it is material cost which have gone up. And then labor constitutes another percentage of that, so higher labor costs, all associated with inflation. And then finally, just getting the scope and engineering changes to match exactly what we need and our customers' need really led to that overall $100 million, but the majority of that is material and labor.

兩年多來，我們總共花了超過 1.4 億美元。因此，正如尼爾所說，這筆支出將在未來 9 個月內到位。因此，我們將為您提供更多展望，但第四季度該產品線將有額外支出。現在讓我談談這方面的支出，提姆納，因為我同意你的觀點。我的意思是我不喜歡成本超支。但我認為，對於每個進行重大投資的主要參與者來說，尤其是在過去幾年的高通膨期間，引入這些項目確實是一個挑戰。如果你看看那一億美元的項目，你會發現其中很大一部分是材料成本上漲了。然後勞動力佔其中的另一個比例，因此勞動力成本更高，所有這些都與通貨膨脹有關。最後，僅僅讓範圍和工程變更完全符合我們的需求和客戶的需求，確實就帶來了 1 億美元的總收入，但其中大部分是材料和勞動力。

Okay. So you're not prepared to give us guidance for what CapEx might be yet in 2024?

好的。那麼您不準備為我們提供 2024 年資本支出的指導嗎？

No. We'll do that in February.

不，我們會在二月這樣做。

(Operator Instructions) Your next question comes from Bill Peterson with JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）您的下一個問題來自摩根大通的比爾彼得森。

I wanted to follow up on the packaging side. So I guess, can you give us a rough split or ballpark on what the exposure between bev can and coated food would be? And I guess maybe on the bev can side, I guess, how confident are you that, that portion of the business has bottomed?

我想跟進包裝方面。所以我想，您能否給我們一個粗略的劃分或大概的範圍，說明啤酒罐和塗層食品之間的暴露程度是多少？我想也許在啤酒方面，我想，您對這部分業務是否已經觸底有多大信心？

Well, we don't give out specific breaks on what we provide, but it's a fairly large percentage of what we do, Bill. So it's -- I'd say it's greater than 40% of what we do out there. And with respect to the beverage side of it, we started to see business stabilize and actually bounce back as we got in toward the end of the third quarter. And so as we talk with our customers, we look at what's happening with us, it gives us some comfort that beverage is continuing to grow. If you look at some of our end customers, the can makers that have been out already, they're talking about continued growth moving into 2024. So that gives us a good feeling that the destocking has occurred and that we'll get back to more normalized growth levels in '24.

嗯，我們沒有給出我們提供的具體內容，但這在我們所做的事情中佔了相當大的比例，比爾。所以我想說這超過了我們所做工作的 40%。就飲料而言，我們開始看到業務穩定下來，並在第三季末開始實際反彈。因此，當我們與客戶交談時，我們會關注我們正在發生的事情，這讓我們感到安慰的是飲料正在持續增長。如果你看看我們的一些最終客戶，即已經退出的罐頭製造商，他們正在談論進入 2024 年的持續增長。因此，這給我們一種良好的感覺，即去庫存已經發生，我們將回到24年增長水準更加正常化。

I also reflect on the longevity, and Timna brought this up, longevity on the coated products, especially on food. Again, the information that we have is that this will not be as prolonged as what took place with the beverage can overall. That one was more associated with demand and higher cost pass-through. This seems to be more around the end users and year-end balance sheet issues. So I have a feeling here that this will be much shorter perhaps through the end of this year. And -- but we'll give you a more update when we talk in February.

我還反思了壽命的問題，蒂姆納提出了這一點，即塗層產品的壽命，尤其是食品的壽命。同樣，我們掌握的資訊是，這種情況不會像飲料罐發生的情況那麼長。這與需求和更高的成本轉嫁關係更大。這似乎更多地圍繞著最終用戶和年終資產負債表問題。所以我有一種感覺，到今年年底，這個時間可能會短得多。而且—但我們會在二月談話時向您提供更多最新資訊。

Okay. And then on more -- I'd like to get more context on the separation from Alcoa in terms like what does that mean in terms of physically separating, I guess, should that result in more greater recycled scrap usage and less materials from Alcoa? What's the mix between the two? How is that going to evolve? And I guess most importantly, how does that impact the financials?

好的。然後，我想了解更多關於與美鋁分離的背景信息，例如物理分離意味著什麼，我想，這是否會導致更多的回收廢料使用和更少的美鋁材料？兩者之間有什麼混合？這將如何發展？我想最重要的是，這對財務有何影響？

Yes. So again, we expect that separation in the first part of next year. Part of the obligation that we had in our agreement with Alcoa was that we had a 3-year commitment to purchase a portion of our metal needs from their smelter, the primary smelter there. And that ends at the end of this year. And we -- our intent on moving toward more secondary/recycled material content, and we have that in place moving into 2024. Most definitely will improve the financial wherewithal. It will improve the sustainability of that business. And so we're very excited about moving that amount of material over to recycled content. It's also going to satisfy a lot of requirements from our customers who are looking for higher sustainable material -- input material.

是的。因此，我們再次預計在明年上半年分開。我們與美國鋁業公司簽訂的協議中的部分義務是，我們承諾在三年內從他們的冶煉廠（那裡的主要冶煉廠）購買部分金屬需求。這將在今年年底結束。我們打算轉向更多的二次/回收材料內容，並且我們已經在 2024 年實現了這一目標。毫無疑問，我們將改善財務狀況。它將提高該業務的可持續性。因此，我們非常高興能夠將大量材料轉移到回收材料中。它還將滿足正在尋找更高可持續材料（輸入材料）的客戶的許多要求。

The other parts of the separation though, and as you might imagine, Bill, this has been a distraction for our teams up there for the last couple of years. We're separating power from the coal-fired plant there. We'll be moving on to the grid. That's pretty much getting close to completion. And there are other things around steam, water and how we separate those 2 facilities. So overall, it's been a quite a distraction, quite an endeavor by that team up there. They've -- as they manage around all the other challenges we've had with supply chain issues. So in regards, it's going to be better for us from a financial perspective, better for us from a sustainable perspective and definitely less distraction so that folks can get back to focus just on managing the growth of the operation there.

不過，正如你想像的那樣，分離的其他部分，比爾，在過去的幾年裡，這一直是我們團隊的分心。我們正在將電力與那裡的燃煤電廠分開。我們將轉向網格。這已經接近完成了。還有關於蒸汽、水以及我們如何分離這兩種設施的其他問題。總的來說，這對團隊來說是一個相當分散的干擾，也是一個相當大的努力。他們解決了我們在供應鏈問題上遇到的所有其他挑戰。因此，從財務角度來看，這對我們來說更好，從可持續的角度來看，這對我們來說更好，而且肯定會減少分心，這樣人們就可以重新專注於管理那裡的業務增長。

Okay. And we'll look forward to seeing the progress in the year-end and next year.

好的。我們期待看到年底和明年的進展。

All right. Thanks, Bill.

好的。謝謝，比爾。

Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Keith Harvey for closing remarks.

謝謝。我現在想將電話轉給基思哈維 (Keith Harvey) 致閉幕詞。

Okay. Well, thanks for being with us today, and I look forward to updating you on our fourth quarter and full year '23 results in February. Have a good day.

好的。好的，感謝您今天與我們在一起，我期待在 2 月份向您介紹我們第四季度和 23 年全年的最新業績。祝你有美好的一天。

There are no further questions. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and thank you for your participation.

沒有其他問題了。此時您可以斷開線路，感謝您的參與。