Kodiak Gas Services Inc (KGS) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Greetings, and welcome to the Kodiak Gas Services Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加科迪亞克天然氣服務公司 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）提醒一下，本次會議正在錄音。

I'd now like to turn the conference over to your host, Graham Sones, Vice President of Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

現在，我想將會議交給主持人、投資者關係副總裁 Graham Sones。謝謝。你可以開始了。

Good morning. We appreciate you joining us for the Kodiak Gas Services conference call and webcast to review third quarter 2024 results. Participating from the company today are: Mickey McKee, President and Chief Executive Officer; and John Griggs, Chief Financial Officer. Following my remarks, Mickey and John will review recent developments, discuss our third quarter financial results, our updated 2024 outlook and some initial thoughts on 2025 before opening the call for Q&A.

早安.感謝您參加 Kodiak Gas Services 電話會議和網路廣播，以回顧 2024 年第三季的業績。今天參加會議的公司人員有：總裁兼執行長 Mickey McKee；以及財務長約翰·格里格斯（John Griggs）。在我發言之後，米奇和約翰將回顧最近的發展，討論我們的第三季度財務業績、我們更新的 2024 年展望以及對 2025 年的一些初步想法，然後開始問答環節。

There will be a replay of today's call available via webcast and also by phone until November 21, 2024. Information on how to access the replay can be found on the Investors tab of our website at kodiakgas.com. Please note that information reported on this call speaks only as of today, November 7, 2024, and therefore, you're advised that such information may no longer be accurate as of the time of any replay listening or transcript reading.

今天的電話會議將透過網路直播和電話重播，直至 2024 年 11 月 21 日。有關如何存取重播的資訊可以在我們網站 kodiakgas.com 的「投資者」標籤上找到。請注意，本次通話中報告的資訊僅截至今天（2024 年 11 月 7 日）有效，因此，請注意，此類資訊在重播或閱讀記錄時可能不再準確。

The comments made by management during this call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect the current views, beliefs and assumptions of Kodiak's management based on information currently available. Although we believe the expectations referenced in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, various risks, uncertainties and contingencies could cause the company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed in the statements made by management, and management can give no assurance that such statements or expectations will prove to be correct.

管理階層在本次電話會議中發表的評論可能包含美國聯邦證券法所定義的前瞻性陳述。這些前瞻性陳述反映了 Kodiak 管理階層根據目前可用的資訊所形成的當前觀點、信念和假設。儘管我們認為這些前瞻性陳述中提及的預期是合理的，但各種風險、不確定性和意外事件可能導致公司的實際結果、業績或成就與管理層的陳述中表達的結果、業績或成就存在重大差異，管理層無法保證此類陳述或預期將被證明是正確的。

The comments today will also include certain non-GAAP financial measures. Details and reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures are included in yesterday's earnings release, which can be found on our website.

今天的評論還將包括某些非公認會計準則財務指標。昨天的收益報告包含了與最具可比性的 GAAP 指標的詳細資訊和對帳表，您可以在我們的網站上找到。

And now, I'd like to turn the call over to Kodiak's CEO, Mr. Mickey McKee. Mickey?

現在，我想將電話轉給 Kodiak 的執行長 Mickey McKee 先生。米奇？

Thanks, Graham, and thank you for joining us today. I'd like to start the call, as we do every internal meeting at Kodiak, discussing safety. As a company, we set a high bar for safety with a goal to make certain that every employee goes home safe and sound to their families every night.

謝謝，格雷厄姆，感謝您今天加入我們。我想開始電話會議，因為我們在科迪亞克的每次內部會議都會討論安全問題。作為一家公司，我們設定了高標準的安全，目標是確保每位員工每晚都能安全地回到家人身邊。

We have invested in an industry-leading training program to make certain that all of our employees have the knowledge and the training needed to do their job safely. The focus of each and every Kodiak employee on this topic truly embodies the philosophy that we've adopted at Kodiak, safety first all the time.

我們投資了業界領先的培訓計劃，以確保我們所有的員工都具備安全完成工作所需的知識和培訓。每位科迪亞克員工對這個主題的關注真正體現了我們科迪亞克所秉承的理念：始終將安全放在第一位。

Before we talk about our financial results, I'd like to briefly touch on a few noteworthy events that happened during the third quarter. We've been actively evaluating opportunities to high-grade our compression fleet. The first step in that process was the divestiture of the small horsepower GasJack business that we acquired in the CSI transaction.

在我們談論財務表現之前，我想簡單談談第三季發生的一些值得注意的事件。我們一直在積極評估提升我們壓縮設備等級的機會。這個流程的第一步是剝離我們在 CSI 交易中收購的小馬力 GasJack 業務。

The sale, which we completed in September, involved about 90,000 horsepower, less than half of which was being utilized. The transaction also allowed us to fully exit Canada and Romania, simplifying our operations while increasing the average horsepower of our fleet and reducing our exposure to dry gas basins. As you know, Kodiak's strategy is focused on large horsepower compression in liquids-rich basins, and you should expect us to continue to high-grade our fleet over time.

我們在九月完成的銷售涉及約 90,000 匹馬力，但其中利用率不到一半。這項交易也使我們完全退出加拿大和羅馬尼亞，簡化了我們的運營，同時提高了我們車隊的平均馬力並減少了我們對乾氣盆地的曝險。正如您所知，科迪亞克的戰略重點是在富含液體的盆地中進行大馬力壓縮，您應該期待我們隨著時間的推移繼續提高我們的船隊的水平。

Another notable development during the quarter was the successful completion of the first marketed follow-on offering by EQT, our largest shareholder, which allowed us to take a large step towards diversifying our shareholder base. At the start of the year, our top 5 shareholders collectively represented about 84% of our shareholder base, limiting our trading liquidity and float.

本季的另一個值得注意的進展是，我們最大的股東 EQT 成功完成了首次市場後續發行，這使我們朝著股東基礎多元化邁出了一大步。今年年初，我們的前五名股東合計佔股東總數的 84% 左右，限制了我們的交易流動性和流通股。

As of today, we have reduced that concentration by about 20% and the trading liquidity in Kodiak stock has increased by over 100%, making Kodiak a more attractive investment for large institutions. I want to thank the investors who participated in the offering, which we completed in September. We had very strong demand, and it was one of the tightest priced follow-on offerings in the energy sector in the last few years. We view the success of this transaction as a vote of confidence in our strategy and future earnings growth potential.

截至今天，我們已將這種集中度降低了約 20%，而科迪亞克股票的交易流動性增加了 100% 以上，這使得科迪亞克對大型機構來說成為更具吸引力的投資。我要感謝參與我們九月完成的此次發行的投資者。我們的需求非常強勁，這是過去幾年能源領域價格最緊張的後續產品之一。我們認為此次交易的成功顯示了我們對我們的策略和未來獲利成長潛力的信心。

We were pleased to complete our first share repurchase in connection with the offering, demonstrating our confidence in the outlook of our business and adding to our multipronged approach to delivering shareholder value. Measured growth, a strong and growing dividend and now share repurchases, all while driving leverage to 3.5 times or less by the end of next year, have proven to be the right formula and delivered total shareholder returns of approximately 110% since our IPO.

我們很高興完成與此次發行相關的首次股票回購，這表明了我們對業務前景的信心，並增強了我們為股東實現價值的多管齊下的策略。事實證明，持續的成長、強勁且不斷增長的股息以及現在的股票回購，同時到明年年底將槓桿率降至 3.5 倍或更低，是正確的做法，自首次公開募股以來，股東總回報率約為 110%。

Yesterday, we released third quarter 2024 financial results, including another record quarter with revenues of $325 million and adjusted EBITDA of $168 million. We also generated $53 million of free cash flow in the quarter. Through the combination of putting idle equipment back to work, divesting lower-margin small horsepower and adding new large horsepower units, Kodiak's fleet utilization increased sequentially to over 96%.

昨天，我們發布了 2024 年第三季度的財務業績，其中包括另一個創紀錄的季度，營收為 3.25 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 1.68 億美元。我們還在本季創造了 5,300 萬美元的自由現金流。透過恢復閒置設備運作、剝離利潤率較低的小馬力引擎和增加新的大馬力引擎等措施，科迪亞克的車隊利用率環比上升至 96% 以上。

Our core large horsepower assets remain near full utilization in excess of 99%, reflecting the continued tightness and capital discipline of the large horsepower compression market. Demand for large horsepower compression remains as strong as ever. During the third quarter, we added roughly 50,000 horsepower of new units to our fleet. All were Permian-focused large horsepower, averaging over 2,000 horsepower per unit, and they were deployed at rates well above the fleet average.

我們的核心大馬力資產的利用率仍然接近 99% 以上，反映了大馬力壓縮市場持續的緊張和資本紀律。對於大馬力壓縮的需求依然強勁。第三季度，我們為我們的車隊增加了約 50,000 匹馬力的新機組。所有鑽井平台均為專注於二疊紀盆地的大型馬力鑽井平台，平均每台鑽井平台的馬力超過 2,000 匹馬力，而且部署頻率遠高於鑽井平台艦隊的平均水準。

Additionally, we were able to redeploy approximately 38,000 horsepower that was previously idle. Our commercial team has done a great job working with our customers and recontracting units of all sizes that were up for renewal and realizing prices closer to current market rates that are also above our current fleet average. We continue to differentiate our compression offering through our mechanical availability guarantee and the service we provide.

此外，我們還能夠重新部署之前閒置的約 38,000 馬力的動力。我們的商業團隊在與客戶合作以及重新簽訂各種規模的續約合約方面做得非常出色，並且實現了更接近當前市場價格且高於我們當前機隊平均價格的價格。我們繼續透過機械可用性保證和我們提供的服務來使我們的壓縮產品與眾不同。

After realizing cost synergies, returning idle equipment back to work and another strong quarter of recontracting, I am pleased to announce that we delivered a third quarter adjusted gross margin of 66% in our Contract Services segment. Not only does that match the high end of our annual guidance, but it also matches our historical record margin even before the CSI acquisition. This is no small accomplishment and reflects the great results our team has been able to achieve through the integration process.

在實現成本協同效應、使閒置設備恢復工作以及又一個強勁的重新簽約季度之後，我很高興地宣布，我們在合約服務部門的第三季度調整後毛利率達到 66%。這不僅符合我們年度指引的最高值，也符合我們在 CSI 收購之前的歷史最高利潤率。這是一個不小的成就，反映了我們的團隊在整合過程中所取得的巨大成果。

Switching to our Other Services segment. As a reminder, this segment primarily consists of our station construction and aftermarket services businesses, which are somewhat less predictable than contract compression, but generate significant free cash flow with very little capital investment. We realized strong revenue growth from our station construction business in the third quarter and delivered an adjusted gross margin in line with our expectations.

切換到我們的其他服務部門。提醒一下，該部門主要包括我們的站點建設和售後服務業務，這些業務比合約壓縮業務的可預測性要差一些，但卻可以用很少的資本投入產生大量的自由現金流。我們的車站建設業務在第三季實現了強勁的收入成長，調整後的毛利率符合我們的預期。

One great example of our segments working together to provide customized integrated solutions for our customers is a project that we were currently working on in Midland, Texas. A midstream customer needed to add a compressor station inside the city limits where the compression equipment must meet strict emissions and noise requirements. The location is close to reliable grid power, so we were able to authorize a customized electric motor-driven large horsepower solution.

我們各個部門齊心協力為客戶提供客製化整合解決方案的一個很好的例子是我們目前在德克薩斯州米德蘭開展的一個專案。一家中游客戶需要在城市範圍內增加一個壓縮機站，該站的壓縮設備必須滿足嚴格的排放和噪音要求。該地點靠近可靠的電網，因此我們能夠授權定制電動機驅動的大馬力解決方案。

We were hired to design and install the compression infrastructure, as well as contracted to deliver 4 large horsepower electric-driven compressors. We recently completed the engineering, the site construction expected to begin before year-end, and we are currently on schedule to set the 4 new units in the second quarter of 2025.

我們受僱設計和安裝壓縮基礎設施，並承包交付 4 台大馬力電動壓縮機。我們最近完成了工程設計，預計現場施工將於年底前開始，目前我們計劃在 2025 年第二季安裝 4 個新裝置。

As we have previously discussed, electric motor-driven large horsepower compression units are going to represent an increased portion of our capital spend as we strive to help customers lower their emissions to produce oil and natural gas. Approximately half of the new units we plan to install next year will use electric motors. However, large horsepower electric compression presents unique challenges as the motors require a significantly higher voltage than smaller motors, requiring a step-up transformer and increasing the overall power demand for the project.

正如我們之前所討論的，隨著我們努力幫助客戶降低生產石油和天然氣的排放，電動馬達驅動的大馬力壓縮機組將占我們資本支出的更大比例。我們明年計劃安裝的新裝置中，大約有一半將使用電動馬達。然而，大馬力電壓縮帶來了獨特的挑戰，因為馬達需要的電壓比小型馬達高得多，需要升壓變壓器並增加專案的總電力需求。

As many of you know, West Texas power demand has been increasing at a materially faster pace than the rest of Texas, growing by approximately 11% per year over the last decade. This demand increase has been driven by oil and natural gas production, cryptocurrency mining and data centers, and has resulted in regional power shortages.

眾所周知，西德州的電力需求成長速度遠快於德州其他地區，過去十年來每年增長率約為 11%。這種需求的成長是由石油和天然氣生產、加密貨幣挖礦和資料中心推動的，並導致了區域性電力短缺。

Thankfully, this summer, we saw several meaningful steps by the state of Texas to address the sizable demand growth, including the Public Utility Commission moving forward with more than $5 billion in loans for 17 new natural gas-fired power plants, which are expected to add approximately 10 gigawatts of electricity.

值得慶幸的是，今年夏天，我們看到德州採取了一些有意義的措施來應對巨大的需求成長，其中包括公共事業委員會推進了超過 50 億美元的貸款，用於建設 17 個新的天然氣發電廠，預計這些發電廠將增加約 10 千兆瓦的電力。

Then in September, the Permian Basin Reliability Plan was approved, calling for $13 billion to $15 billion of investments in electric transmission line upgrades in West Texas. These investments in the security of the supply of power are crucial for the oil and gas industry to continue powering our economy.

隨後在九月，二疊紀盆地可靠性計畫獲得批准，該計畫要求投資 130 億至 150 億美元用於西德州的電力輸電線路升級。這些對電力供應安全的投資對於石油和天然氣產業繼續推動我們的經濟至關重要。

In last night's earnings press release, we increased the low end of our full year revenue guidance for both segments, as well as our full year 2024 adjusted EBITDA guidance. Given the third quarter GasJack sale, plus a handful of small additional divestitures, we thought it would be helpful to provide an early outlook on our financial expectations for 2025.

在昨晚的收益新聞稿中，我們上調了兩個部門的全年收入預期下限，以及 2024 年全年調整後 EBITDA 預期。考慮到第三季 GasJack 的出售，以及少量其他小規模資產剝離，我們認為對 2025 年的財務預期提供早期展望將會有所幫助。

After factoring in these asset sales, along with our new unit expectations for the fourth quarter, we expect to exit the year with roughly $4.25 million of operating compression horsepower. With that in mind, we expect adjusted EBITDA for the full year 2025 to be in a range of $675 million to $725 million.

考慮到這些資產銷售以及我們對第四季度的新單位預期後，我們預計今年的營運壓縮馬力約為 425 萬美元。考慮到這一點，我們預計 2025 年全年調整後 EBITDA 將在 6.75 億美元至 7.25 億美元之間。

In summary, we're very pleased with our third quarter results. The realized transaction synergies, as well as strong industry fundamentals resulted in improved margins and increased cash flows. We made progress high-grading our fleet and our commercial team has been actively redeploying idle assets, improving fleet utilization. Our dividend remains well covered, and we are on track to achieve our increased guidance for the year. The ramp-up of natural gas demand remains highly visible.

總而言之，我們對第三季的業績非常滿意。實現的交易協同效應以及強勁的行業基本面導致利潤率提高和現金流增加。我們在提昇機隊品質方面取得了進展，我們的商業團隊一直在積極重新部署閒置資產，提高機隊利用率。我們的股息仍然保持良好，而且我們有望實現今年的成長預期。天然氣需求的成長仍然十分明顯。

The US needs to continue to add electric generation capacity and natural gas remains the most reliable and affordable fuel of choice. And that's on top of the wage of LNG export terminals expected to enter service in the coming years. The increase in gas production required to meet this demand is going to require significant compression infrastructure development, and we continue to believe that Kodiak is well positioned to be the compression provider of choice. Our focus on customers and employees, industry-leading mechanical availability and our market position separates us from our peers.

美國需要繼續增加發電能力，天然氣仍然是最可靠和最實惠的燃料選擇。這還不包括未來幾年預計投入使用的液化天然氣出口終端的薪資。滿足這項需求所需的天然氣產量增加將需要大規模的壓縮基礎設施開發，我們仍然相信 Kodiak 有能力成為首選的壓縮供應商。我們專注於客戶和員工，行業領先的機械可用性以及我們的市場地位使我們在同行中脫穎而出。

And now, I'll pass the call to John Griggs to review third quarter financial highlights and our guidance. John?

現在，我將電話轉給約翰·格里格斯 (John Griggs)，讓他回顧第三季度的財務亮點和我們的指引。約翰？

Thanks, Mickey. We had another great quarter with revenue growth and realized cost synergies driving margins and results above expectations. The strong financial performance wouldn't have been possible without the focused efforts of our employees to successfully integrate two companies while continuing to deliver differentiated service to our customers. I couldn't be more proud of this company and all the things we have accomplished this year.

謝謝，米奇。我們又度過了一個出色的季度，收入成長，實現成本協同效應，推動利潤率和業績超出預期。如果沒有我們員工的共同努力，成功整合兩家公司並繼續向我們的客戶提供差異化的服務，我們就不可能取得如此強勁的財務表現。我為這家公司以及我們今年所取得的成就感到無比自豪。

Now, let's drill down into the numbers. Total revenues for the quarter were $325 million, a 5% sequential increase. This growth was driven by a strong quarter in the Other Services segment and steady gains in Contract Services. The bullish fundamentals of the compression market, in particular, within the large horsepower subsector remained strong, and we continue to realize nice rate increases as part of our recontracting efforts.

現在，讓我們深入研究這些數字。本季總營收為 3.25 億美元，季增 5%。這一成長主要得益於其他服務部門本季的強勁表現以及合約服務的穩定成長。壓縮市場（尤其是大馬力子產業）的看漲基本面依然強勁，作為重新簽約努力的一部分，我們繼續實現良好的價格上漲。

For the quarter, we reported a net loss of $6.2 million. Included in the loss were several noncash items totaling nearly $41 million. This sum was comprised of three main items: a $10 million loss on asset sales related mostly to the successful exit from the GasJack business, a $9.9 million asset impairment charge on some of our older units and a $20 million mark-to-market loss on interest rate hedges. As it relates to the hedges, our interest rate swaps are designed to mitigate cash flow volatility and not trying to predict rate moves.

本季度，我們報告淨虧損 620 萬美元。損失中包括幾項非現金項目，總額近 4,100 萬美元。這筆款項由三項主要內容組成：1000 萬美元的資產出售損失（主要與成功退出 GasJack 業務有關）、990 萬美元的一些舊部門的資產減值費用以及 2000 萬美元的利率對沖市價損失。就對沖而言，我們的利率互換旨在緩解現金流波動，而不是試圖預測利率變動。

As of today, we swapped floating rates were fixed on about 70% of our ABL exposure. And if you include the bonds, we're at about 80% fixed on all our debt. Our hedging strategy has served us well over the Fed's hiking cycle that began in 2022. But now that the Fed has begun to ease rates, the quarterly mark-to-market value of our swaps is declining, and we report this unrealized and noncash change on our income statement.

截至今天，我們的掉期浮動利率已固定在約 70% 的 ABL 曝險上。如果算上債券，我們所有的債務固定利率約為 80%。我們的對沖策略在 2022 年開始的聯準會升息週期中發揮了良好的作用。但現在聯準會已開始降低利率，我們的掉期季度市值正在下降，我們在損益表中報告這項未實現的非現金變化。

As the Fed raised rates, we saw noncash mark-to-market increases boost net income. But now that rates appear to be going the other way, we'll see the opposite. But importantly, the underlying cash flows will remain highly predictable, which is the priority.

隨著聯準會提高利率，我們看到非現金市價上漲推動了淨收入的增加。但現在利率似乎正在朝著另一個方向發展，我們將看到相反的情況。但重要的是，基礎現金流將保持高度可預測，這是首要任務。

Moving on. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $168 million, an increase of 9% compared to the second quarter. Not only did we realize sequential growth, but our adjusted EBITDA margin expanded as well with a third quarter margin of 52% versus 50% in the prior quarter.

繼續。本季調整後 EBITDA 為 1.68 億美元，較第二季成長 9%。我們不僅實現了連續成長，而且調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率也擴大了，第三季的利潤率為 52%，而上一季為 50%。

Looking at our segments. In Contract Services, revenues for the quarter were $284 million with an adjusted gross margin percentage of 66%, matching the high end of our annual guidance range. We were pleased with this result, and we expect to continue to deliver margins like this going forward as we set new horsepower at market rates, reprice the existing fleet, divest lower-margin smaller horsepower and maintain our relentless focus on operational efficiency.

看看我們的細分市場。在合約服務方面，本季的收入為 2.84 億美元，調整後的毛利率為 66%，與我們的年度指導範圍的高端相符。我們對此結果感到滿意，我們預計未來將繼續保持這樣的利潤率，因為我們按市場價格設定新馬力，重新定價現有車隊，剝離利潤率較低的小馬力產品，並持續關注營運效率。

In our Other Services segment, revenues were $40 million in Q3 with an adjusted gross margin of 19%. As Mickey discussed, we have been very active on the station construction side of our business. This quarter, we realized an $11 million sequential increase in station construction revenues. This is a business line in which we believe we provide a differentiated customer value proposition, and we think it's highly complementary to our contract compression activities despite its inherent lumpiness and lower margin profile.

在我們的其他服務部門，第三季的營收為 4,000 萬美元，調整後的毛利率為 19%。正如米奇所說，我們在車站建設業務方面一直非常活躍。本季度，我們的車站建設收入較上季增加 1,100 萬美元。我們相信，在這個業務線中，我們提供了差異化的客戶價值主張，並且我們認為，儘管它本身存在不穩定性且利潤率較低，但它與我們的合約壓縮活動高度互補。

In terms of CapEx for the quarter, maintenance capital expenditures came in just shy of $22 million, up from the second quarter. The third quarter spend represents what we expect to be a peak for the year due to the timing of some large engine overhauls. We expect maintenance CapEx to decline sequentially in the fourth quarter. Growth CapEx for the third quarter was approximately $65 million, and we added nearly 50,000 horsepower to the fleet. Capital expenditures related to the addition of new fleet units represented about three-fourth of our total growth CapEx for the period.

就本季的資本支出而言，維護資本支出略高於第二季的 2,200 萬美元。由於一些大型引擎大修的時間安排，我們預計第三季的支出將成為今年的高峰。我們預計第四季維護資本支出將季減。第三季的成長資本支出約為 6,500 萬美元，我們為車隊增加了近 50,000 匹馬力。與增加新機隊相關的資本支出約占我們本期間總成長資本支出的四分之三。

Moving to the balance sheet. As of September 30, we had total debt of $2.6 billion, consisting of the 2029 senior unsecured notes and borrowings under our ABL facility. Our credit agreement leverage ratio at the end of the quarter was 3.9 times. We had approximately $306 million of availability on the revolver. We remain confident that we will exit 2025 with leverage at below 3.5 times.

轉到資產負債表。截至 9 月 30 日，我們的總債務為 26 億美元，包括 2029 年無擔保優先票據和 ABL 貸款機制下的借款。我們本季末的信用協議槓桿率為3.9倍。我們在左輪手槍上有大約 3.06 億美元的可用資金。我們仍然有信心，到 2025 年，槓桿率將低於 3.5 倍。

Let's turn to the updated 2024 outlook, where we've adjusted a few items. Specifically, we now expect revenue to range between $1.15 billion and $1.18 billion. We also raised our adjusted EBITDA guidance by bringing up the low end of the range and think we'll land between $600 million and $610 million, with the improvement driven primarily by adjusted gross margin strength in the Contract Services segment. We've left discretionary cash flow growth and maintenance CapEx guidance unchanged.

讓我們來看看更新後的 2024 年展望，我們對其中的一些項目進行了調整。具體來說，我們現在預計營收在 11.5 億美元至 11.8 億美元之間。我們也提高了調整後的 EBITDA 指引，將範圍的低端上調至 6 億至 6.1 億美元之間，這一增長主要得益於合約服務部門調整後的毛利率強勁。我們維持可自由支配現金流成長和維護資本支出指引不變。

And as Mickey highlighted, we gave some initial guideposts for 2025. We'll deliver our traditional guidance metrics in our fourth quarter earnings release, but we thought it would be helpful to provide a preliminary adjusted EBITDA range of $675 million to $725 million. This early outlook factors in the transactions that Mickey referenced earlier, all of which are designed to high-grade our fleet, simplify our operations and further our US-focused large horsepower strategy.

正如米奇所強調的，我們為 2025 年給出了一些初步指導方針。我們將在第四季度收益報告中提供傳統的指導指標，但我們認為提供 6.75 億美元至 7.25 億美元的初步調整後 EBITDA 範圍會有所幫助。這個早期展望考慮到了米奇之前提到的交易，所有這些交易都是為了提升我們的車隊品質，簡化我們的運營，並進一步推進我們以美國為重點的大馬力戰略。

To wrap things up, our Board approved our quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, which will be paid this Friday, November 8. This equates to an annualized dividend of $1.64 per share.

最後，董事會批准派發每股 0.41 美元的季度股息，將於 11 月 8 日星期五支付。這相當於每股 1.64 美元的年股息。

That's it for my prepared comments. Thank you for your participation and support. I'll hand it back to Mickey.

這就是我準備好的評論。感謝您的參與與支持。我會把它還給米奇。

Thanks, John. To wrap up, we had a strong third quarter with revenue growth and margin expansion in both of our segments. Our revised 2024 guidance and the early outlook we've provided for 2025 indicates that we expect this strength to continue. We progressed against a number of strategic objectives and continue to deliver shareholder value. I want to thank the women and men of Kodiak for their focus on serving our customers safely, which allowed us to deliver such great results.

謝謝，約翰。總而言之，我們第三季表現強勁，兩個部門的營收都成長，利潤率亦有所提高。我們修訂的 2024 年指引和我們對 2025 年提供的早期展望表明，我們預計這種強勁勢頭將會持續下去。我們在實現一系列策略目標方面取得了進展，並繼續為股東創造價值。我要感謝科迪亞克的男男女女，他們致力於為客戶提供安全服務，這使我們能夠取得如此出色的成績。

With that, we're happy to open up the line for questions. Operator?

現在，我們很高興能夠開放熱線來回答您的提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

Doug Irwin from Citi.

花旗銀行的 Doug Irwin。

I just want to start with gross margin here. You talked about being at the high end of your range for the quarter, which is great. Just wondering if you could provide any more color around maybe what you're assuming for '25. And then just kind of where you see margins trending here over the near term as you continue to see more synergies from CSI and maybe continue to divest more lower-margin horsepower?

我只是想從毛利率開始。您剛才談到了本季度的業績範圍的高端，這很好。我只是想知道您是否可以提供更多關於您對 '25 的假設的詳細資訊。那麼，隨著您繼續看到 CSI 的更多協同效應，並且可能繼續剝離更多低利潤率的業務，您認為短期內的利潤率趨勢如何？

Yes, you bet. Doug, it's great to talk to you. This is John, and I'll turn it over to Mickey, too, if he wants to have some incremental comments. So we're not going to talk about the '25 margins on this call. We'll do that when we give formal guidance at the end of Q4. But I will say the 66% adjusted gross margin in that Contract Services segment was something that we're really proud of. If you think about kind of how we get there, we finished last quarter at 64%. But recall, we had a unique $3 million sales tax accrual that happened in that particular segment.

是的，確實如此。道格，很高興與您交談。我是約翰，如果米奇想發表一些補充評論的話，我也會把話題交給他。因此，我們不會在此電話會議上討論 25 的利潤率。我們將在第四季末提供正式指導時這樣做。但我要說的是，合約服務部門 66% 的調整後毛利率是我們真正感到自豪的。如果您想想我們是如何實現這一目標的，上個季度我們的業績達到了 64%。但回想一下，我們在那個特定領域產生了獨特的 300 萬美元的銷售稅應計額。

So if you remove that, it was roughly 65%. So that 1% increase, how did we get there? Again, it's a factor of continued repricing of the fleet, setting new horsepower-type pricing, continued realization of the transaction synergies and frankly, just good old-fashioned cost management. So we're not done at the 66%. It's our ambition to continue to increase that margin, and that will really move the needle in the business. That's kind of where we are now.

如果去掉這個數字，它大約是 65%。那麼這 1% 的成長是如何實現的呢？再次，這是一個持續重新定價車隊、設定新馬力類型定價、持續實現交易協同效應以及坦率地說只是傳統的良好成本管理的因素。因此我們還沒有完成 66% 的目標。我們的目標是繼續提高利潤率，這將真正推動業務的發展。這就是我們現在的狀況。

Great. And then my second question, just on capital allocation. Just wondering if you could talk about how you're thinking about balancing buybacks versus maybe the benefits of some increased liquidity in the shares moving forward. Just wondering if we can maybe see you be a bigger buyer in the future if we see more secondaries.

偉大的。我的第二個問題是關於資本配置。只是想知道您是否可以談談您如何考慮平衡回購與未來股票流動性增加的好處。只是想知道，如果我們看到更多的二級市場，我們是否可以看到您將來成為更大的買家。

Yes. Doug, this is Mickey. I think we're certainly open to entertaining that. We've definitely modeled some into our next year's kind of models. That will depend on when EQT comes back to market with some additional follow-ons. But keeping in mind that whatever we do is going to drive towards our goal of making sure we get to our 3.5 times leverage target by the end of next year. So I don't think that what you'll see will be drastically different than what you've seen in the past.

是的。道格，這是米奇。我想我們當然願意接受這一點。我們確實將一些內容融入了我們明年的模型中。這將取決於 EQT 何時重返市場並推出一些額外的後續產品。但請記住，無論我們做什麼，都是朝著我們的目標邁進，確保在明年年底前實現 3.5 倍的槓桿率目標。因此我認為你所看到的不會與過去有太大不同。

Our next question is from Gabe Moreen from Mizuho.

下一個問題來自瑞穗的 Gabe Moreen。

I wanted to ask about Mickey's comments on high-grading assets, just kind of where things stand in terms of the divestiture program. And also, now that you have a couple more months of Compressco under your belt, to what extent you're kind of looking at some of the regions where you might have a little bit of a smaller horsepower presence, whether you're committed to being there, those might be candidates for divestiture and high-grading the portfolio.

我想問米奇對高評級資產的評論，以及資產剝離計劃的現狀。而且，現在您已經在 Compressco 工作了幾個月，您在多大程度上正在考慮一些您可能擁有較小馬力業務的地區，無論您是否致力於在那裡開展業務，這些地區都可能是剝離和高級投資組合的候選對象。

Yes, Gabe, I appreciate it. This is Mickey. We're always looking at the fleet and evaluating it to figure out if it's a basin we want to be in and if it's units that we want to potentially divest over time. Right now, we don't have any plans to exit any basins. We're pretty -- we're a Permian-centric company because that's where the opportunity has been for the last decade or so.

是的，加布，我很感激。這是米奇。我們始終在關注並評估船隊，以確定這是否是我們想要進入的盆地，以及這是否是我們想要隨著時間的推移而剝離的單位。目前，我們還沒有退出任何盆地的計劃。我們是一家以二疊紀為中心的公司，因為過去十年左右，這裡一直存在著機會。

But there's other basins out there that certainly meet kind of our strategic goals of being in oil-directed basins with liquids-rich type of opportunities with associated gas. So just because it's not the Permian doesn't mean we don't want to be there. So there's lots of other opportunities, lots of good people that we can find outside of the Permian as well. However, most of our growth is happening within the Permian Basin.

但是，還有其他盆地肯定符合我們的戰略目標，即位於石油導向盆地中，並且具有富含液體和伴生氣的機會。所以，即使它不是二疊紀，也不代表我們不想去那裡。所以，我們在二疊紀之外還有很多其他機會和優秀人才。然而，我們大部分的成長都發生在二疊紀盆地內。

So we've got a couple of other small divestitures planned for this year of some packages of small horsepower units as we continue to just kind of prune the fleet and get rid of some non-desirable stuff. But really and truly, it's not needle-moving horsepower or funds that are going to be moving. It's just really just prudent and shaping the fleet and making sure that we're focused with our people in the best possible place to create shareholder value.

因此，我們計劃今年再進行一些小規模的資產剝離，剝離一些小馬力機組，繼續精簡機隊，清理一些不理想的東西。但事實上，推動這一切的並不是馬力或資金。這確實是明智之舉，我們要塑造船隊，並確保我們專注於讓我們的員工在最佳位置上創造股東價值。

Mickey, and then maybe if I could follow up with the Permian-related question. It seems like things are going from bullishness to bullishness here on the Permian gas outlook. Can you just talk about directionally what that may mean for your CapEx next year? I mean, we certainly heard some midstreamers continuing to slot in additional processing and gathering system upsizing. So I'm just wondering if that's kind of going to be pulling on your CapEx maybe a little bit into '25.

米奇，也許我可以繼續問與二疊紀相關的問題。看起來二疊紀天然氣的前景正變得越來越樂觀。您能否從方向上談談這對您明年的資本支出意味著什麼？我的意思是，我們確實聽到一些中游企業繼續增加額外的處理和收集系統升級。所以我只是想知道這是否會對你的資本支出產生一定的影響，也許會持續到25年。

I don't think anything is going to change here, Gabe. We've got a capital allocation strategy that is what we believe creates the most value for our shareholders, which is to pay a nice and growing dividend to make sure that we live within our cash flows and reinvest the balance of our discretionary cash flow into growing the fleet with organic growth at very, very attractive margins.

我認為這裡不會有任何改變，加布。我們有一個資本配置策略，我們相信這個策略能為我們的股東創造最大的價值，那就是支付不斷增長的股息，以確保我們生活在現金流範圍內，並將我們可自由支配的現金流的餘額再投資於以非常非常有吸引力的利潤率實現有機增長的船隊增長。

But like I said, to end up having more cash at the end of the year than we did when we started the year. So, it's a combination of all those things, working in some share buybacks along the way and living within our means and within our cash flow.

但就像我說的，我們年底的現金會比年初多。所以，這是所有這些因素的結合，在此過程中進行一些股票回購，並量入為出，控制在我們的現金流範圍內。

So, I know people will be asking probably about any change to capital allocation priorities because of the results of the election and that kind of thing. But really, from our standpoint, it doesn't. It's just kind of -- we believe we have the best plan no matter what administration is in the White House and as far as capital allocation priority, and it's going to be the same either way. And we believe that's the best way to create shareholder value.

所以，我知道人們可能會詢問由於選舉結果之類的原因資本配置優先順序是否會改變。但事實上，從我們的角度來看，事實並非如此。只是——我們相信，無論白宮由哪個政府執政，我們都有最好的計劃，就資本配置優先順序而言，無論哪種方式，結果都是一樣的。我們相信這是創造股東價值的最佳方式。

And, Gabe, I was just going to follow up quickly. I was just going to say -- this is John, too. So we've shown in our presentations that we expect to add around 160-ish thousand horsepower to our fleet in 2024. And what we said at the time of the CSI acquisition, given the long lead times on new horsepower, for the most part, the '24 horsepower was pretty fully baked by the time we bought the company.

加布，我只是想快速跟進。我只是想說──這也是約翰。因此，我們在演示中表明，我們預計到 2024 年我們的車隊將增加約 16 萬馬力。我們在收購 CSI 時就說過，考慮到新馬力產品的前置時間較長，在大多數情況下，當我們收購該公司時，24 匹馬力產品已經相當成熟。

As you look forward to '25, we always said you should look to us to be kind of there or a shade lower since we can control the CapEx spend in 2025. So we'll put a finer pin on that as we get to 2025 guidance in our Q4 earnings release. But I would say that kind of should set some bounds as to what to expect in terms of new horsepower for next year.

當您展望2025年時，我們總是說，您應該期待我們達到相同的水平或稍微低一些，因為我們可以控制2025年的資本支出。因此，當我們在第四季財報中發布 2025 年指引時，我們會對此進行更細緻的考慮。但我想說，這應該為明年新馬力的預期設定一些界線。

John Mackay from Goldman Sachs.

高盛的約翰‧麥凱 (John Mackay)。

I just wanted to start on some of these new unit additions kind of a little bit on forward year CapEx. Are you guys still seeing higher costs for new units, higher per unit CapEx? And maybe just give us an update on how that's been flowing through into ability to push through higher prices?

我只是想開始談論一些新單位的增加，有點涉及未來一年的資本支出。你們是否仍看到新單位的成本越來越高，每單位資本支出越來越高？您能不能向我們介紹一下這些變化對推動價格上漲的能力有何影響？

Yes, I mean the cost of compression isn't going down. It is -- in fact, it goes up consistently year-over-year. We're not seeing the same level of inflation on CapEx costs that we've seen in the past, but you are going to see kind of mid-single digits inflationary costs on the cost of that equipment as it results from major component suppliers and that kind of thing.

是的，我的意思是壓縮成本並沒有下降。確實如此 — — 事實上，它逐年穩定上升。我們並沒有看到像過去那樣的資本支出成本通膨水平，但你會看到設備成本的通膨成本出現中等個位數，因為它是受主要零件供應商和諸如此類因素的影響。

So, we have been able to pass that kind of cost on to our -- in our contracts because us just targeting that same amount of return on capital with more expensive units, we need a higher return and higher rates and higher contribution margin to justify spending that capital and spending that money. So, yes, I mean, it's going up marginally, I think, for next year, and we continue to see that trend, but we've had really good luck at contracting that out and making sure that we're getting the same returns that our expectations are.

所以，我們能夠將這種成本轉嫁到我們的合約中，因為我們只是以更昂貴的單位來實現相同的資本回報率，我們需要更高的回報率、更高的利率和更高的貢獻利潤率來證明花費這些資本和資金是合理的。所以，是的，我的意思是，我認為明年它會略有上升，而且我們會繼續看到這種趨勢，但我們在承包方面非常幸運，並確保我們獲得與我們的預期相同的回報。

That's clear. Second, just on electrification. I appreciate all the comments on how long it's going to take to build the grid and the Permian, et cetera. I guess, just maybe when you're having your conversation with customers, let's say, for adds in 2026. Is it that top-down kind of grid discussion that's driving their demand for electric motor units? Or is it something else? I guess, like what's driving the pace of those deployments overall?

這很清楚。第二，僅談電氣化。我感謝大家關於建造電網和二疊紀盆地等需要多長時間的評論。我想，也許當您與客戶交談時，比如說，在 2026 年添加。是不是這種自上而下的電網討論推動了他們對電動機組的需求？還是別的什麼？我想，整體而言，是什麼推動了這些部署的速度？

Yes. I mean, it's 100% exclusively access to reliable power, whether that's through a tie-in to the grid or them building their own microgrids or them just supplying their own generating capacity. It's -- that's what is driving the adoption rate on the electric motor units access to reliable power.

是的。我的意思是，無論是透過接入電網，還是他們自己建造微電網，或者他們僅僅提供自己的發電能力，都可以 100% 獨家獲得可靠的電力。這就是推動電動機組獲得可靠電力的採用率的因素。

Can I ask a quick follow-up on that? Just is there an opportunity for you guys to get involved on kind of that slight extension, I guess, we could say of the value chain getting into the power side a little bit more?

我可以快速詢問一下這個問題嗎？你們是否有機會參與這種輕微的延伸，我想，我們可以說價值鏈更多地進入電力方面？

Potentially. It's something that we'll probably evaluate, but we'll look at how that would might bake into our capital allocation priorities and see if there's a spot for it there. Not sure, something that we'll have to evaluate pretty considerably more over the next coming year.

有可能。我們可能會對它進行評估，但我們會研究它如何融入我們的資本配置優先事項，看看是否有適合它的位置。不確定，我們將不得不在接下來的一年進行更多評估。

Neal Dingmann from Truist Securities.

Truist Securities 的 Neal Dingmann。

Another nice quarter. Maybe I'll just start to ask my first a little bit different on margins specifically. Could you all speak to -- you were notably able to bring your segment margins back to that 66% level after acquiring CSI. I'm just wondering what were the drivers, how you're able to do that so quickly? And then now that those assets seem to be pretty fully integrated, does that just keep going?

又一個美好的季度。也許我會開始問第一個關於利潤率的具體不同問題。你們能否談談——在收購 CSI 之後，你們能夠將分部利潤率恢復到 66% 的水平。我只是想知道是什麼原因讓你能夠如此快速地做到這一點？那麼現在這些資產似乎已經完全整合了，這種情況會持續下去嗎？

Yes, Neal, great question. It's John. Great to talk to you. I guess, what I'd point out, one of the things that really strikes us is that, before we acquired CSI, Kodiak's compression operations business operated at a 66% gross margin. Of course, we were trying to move that up. CSI was somewhere in the mid-50s. So now we put the two together, we've captured some synergies. We've raised some prices, and we're right back to kind of where we started. So we think that's really notable.

是的，尼爾，這個問題問得很好。是約翰。很高興和你談話。我想指出的是，真正令我們震驚的一件事是，在我們收購 CSI 之前，Kodiak 的壓縮營運業務的毛利率為 66%。當然，我們正在努力提高這一水平。CSI 大概處於 50 年代中期。所以現在我們將兩者結合起來，得到了一些綜效。我們提高了一些價格，現在又回到了原點。因此我們認為這確實值得注意。

To be more specific about how we get there. So, again, I said it earlier, but it's setting new units at market rates, repricing the existing fleet as it rolls over. Those are probably the biggest levers that get us there. And then the synergies, we called out probably $30 million in synergies. For the most part, the vast majority of those synergies have already been achieved by this quarter. We'll still continue to capture incremental synergies.

更具體地說明我們如何到達那裡。所以，我之前再說一遍，但它是按照市場價格設定新單位，並在現有船隊輪換時重新定價。這些可能是幫助我們實現這一目標的最大槓桿。然後是協同效應，我們預期協同效應大概為 3000 萬美元。整體而言，絕大多數綜效已於本季實現。我們仍將持續實現漸進式綜效。

Maybe those are related to when a contract had to kind of naturally roll off or maybe it's the result of the negotiation with a major vendor now that we have increased scale, but they're really not moving the needle. And the further we get from the CSI transaction, the more, I guess, I'd say the murkier it gets as to, well, heck, was that a synergy?

也許這些與合約自然履行有關，或者可能是由於我們現在擴大了規模而與主要供應商進行談判的結果，但它們實際上並沒有產生任何影響。而且我們距離 CSI 交易越遠，我想我會說它變得越模糊，好吧，那是一種協同效應嗎？

Or was that just hard work on us trying to manage our costs? So we're not really looking at those synergies as much as we are. Let's manage our costs. Let's think about automation. Let's think about rethinking the process. I think it's a combination of those two things that have really led to those margins where we are now. And as I said before, we have better ambitions. We'll give better -- or higher ambitions. We'll give guidance again in Q4, but we are not going to stop at 66%.

或者這只是我們為了控製成本而做出的艱苦努力？所以我們並沒有真正關注這些協同效應。讓我們管理我們的成本。讓我們思考一下自動化。讓我們思考一下重新思考這個過程。我認為這兩件事的結合才真正導致了我們現在的利潤。正如我之前所說，我們有更好的抱負。我們將會給出更好——或者更高的目標。我們將在第四季度再次提供指導，但我們不會止步於 66%。

Great details. And, John, maybe just a follow-up for you as well. Just on debt and shareholder return. I'm just wondering, can we assume shareholder return will sort of remain around the same sort of pace? And has that targeted leverage level changed going forward?

很棒的細節。約翰，也許這對你來說只是後續問題。僅涉及債務和股東回報。我只是想知道，我們是否可以假設股東回報將保持大致相同的速度？那麼，目標槓桿水平未來會改變嗎？

Yes, I'll repeat what Mickey said. So our capital allocation framework, it's really simple, and it remains unchanged. We seek to grow adjusted EBITDA in the upper single-digit range annually. You see that on a pro forma basis with the guidepost we've given for '25. We've been very vocal about how we want to pay out roughly, call it, 35% of our discretionary cash flow to shareholders in the form of a recurring dividend. And so, as we grow EBITDA, DCF should grow as well.

是的，我會重複米奇說的話。所以我們的資本配置架構非常簡單，而且保持不變。我們的目標是使調整後的 EBITDA 每年增長至個位數的較高水準。您可以根據我們為 25 年提供的指導方針在形式上看到這一點。我們一直明確表示，我們希望將大約 35% 的可自由支配現金流以經常性股息的形式發放給股東。因此，隨著 EBITDA 的成長，DCF 也應該成長。

So the expectation should be that the dividend should grow as that percentage holds. That's, of course, subject to the Board, but that's the model that we use and the mental math that we use. And then the most important, maybe our true north is, we want to get to that 3.5 times leverage by the end of 2025.

因此，預期股息應該隨著該百分比的維持而增長。當然，這取決於董事會，但這是我們使用的模型和心算方法。然後最重要的，也許是我們的真正目標，我們希望在 2025 年底達到 3.5 倍的槓桿率。

So those two variables plus the new variable of a share repurchase, that repurchase is important. We think that studying prior sell-downs by other private equity-backed energy businesses that have gone successfully, the ones that have gone the best tend to be done the same way we just accomplished ours. It's a formula that's worked for them, and we think it's a formula that's going to work for us with the incremental repurchases. But just know that as we do it, we're not going to take our eyes off our leverage target of 3.5x by the end of next year.

因此，這兩個變數加上股票回購這個新變量，回購就很重要了。我們認為，透過研究其他私募股權支持的能源企業先前的成功出售，我們發現那些表現最好的企業往往採用與我們剛剛完成的出售方式相同的方式。這個公式對他們很有效，我們認為，透過增量回購，這個公式對我們來說也同樣有效。但要知道，我們在這樣做的同時，不會忽視明年年底 3.5 倍的槓桿目標。

Jim Rollyson from Raymond James.

雷蒙德詹姆斯 (Raymond James) 的吉姆羅利森 (Jim Rollyson)。

Mickey, you made a couple of comments around setting new units at higher prices, obviously, around the fact that inflation is still muted from what it was but ongoing. Maybe just a level set of kind of where leading-edge pricing is today relative to your fleet average because that number, I think both have been moving higher, but just kind of curious where that spread sits today, ballpark.

米奇，你針對以更高的價格設定新單位發表了一些評論，顯然，這是因為通貨膨脹與之前的水平相比仍然較低，但仍然持續存在。也許只是一個水平集，相對於您的車隊平均價格而言，當今的前沿定價是怎樣的，因為我認為這個數字一直在走高，但我有點好奇，今天的價差大概是多少。

Yes. Jim, I think that probably -- let me just do it. I think that new unit spot prices are probably 20% higher than what the fleet average is -- looks like right now, maybe 25% higher. So like I said in the question earlier, a lot of that's driven by the higher capital cost of the equipment that is around today. So -- and what we're paying for this equipment, as well as labor costs, too.

是的。吉姆，我想可能吧——讓我來做吧。我認為新船的現貨價格可能比船隊平均價格高出 20%——目前看來，可能高出 25%。所以就像我之前在問題中所說的那樣，這在很大程度上是由於當今設備的資本成本較高所致。所以——我們要為這些設備支付費用，還有勞動成本。

Everybody knows that labor is a challenge in the Permian. And when labor prices go up, they certainly don't retreat typically, everybody -- nobody likes getting a pay reduction. So, like I said, that's some inflationary cost drivers right there, plus capital costs is driving us to kind of think about spot prices being 20% or 25% higher than what the fleet average is right now.

眾所周知，二疊紀盆地的勞動力是一個挑戰。當勞動力價格上漲時，通常肯定不會回落，沒有人喜歡減薪。所以，就像我說的，這就是一些通膨成本驅動因素，再加上資本成本，促使我們認為現貨價格將比目前的船隊平均價格高出 20% 或 25%。

That's great. Obviously, you get to keep capturing that as you reprice things. And then on the kind of the fleet composition as you've sold off the GasJack business, you mentioned a few other kind of targeted smaller divestitures. How do we think about utilization? Because prior to the CSI transaction, right, you guys were in high 90% utilization across the Kodiak fleet.

那太棒了。顯然，當您重新定價時，您可以繼續捕捉這一點。然後關於您出售 GasJack 業務後的船隊組成類型，您提到了其他幾種有針對性的較小規模的資產剝離。我們如何看待利用率？因為在 CSI 交易之前，你們科迪亞克船隊的利用率高達 90%。

And then that dipped when you kind of merged in those low utilization, low horsepower units. And as you kind of migrate away from those and maybe reposition some of the CSI units on the larger horsepower side, just this quarter, you were a little over 96%. Does that get back up to the 99-plus percent range at some point?

當你合併那些利用率低、馬力低的裝置時，這個數字就會下降。當您擺脫這些因素，並將一些 CSI 單位重新定位到更大馬力的一側時，僅本季度，您的比例就略高於 96%。這個數字在某一時刻會回到 99% 以上的範圍嗎？

We hope so, and that's what we're going to be shooting for, Jim. So that's the goal here is to make sure that we get that utilization back in hand and not just utilization for the sake of utilization, right? We want it to be the right utilization with the right customers in the right basins with the right contracts and that kind of thing. So, that's what we work on every day and make sure that we have the longevity and the stability of those cash flows and not just sacrificing some of the things that are kind of strategically important to us for the sake of utilization.

我們希望如此，這就是我們努力的方向，吉姆。所以這裡的目標是確保我們重新掌握利用率，而不僅僅是為了利用而利用，對嗎？我們希望能夠在正確的盆地中與正確的客戶達成正確的利用，簽訂正確的合約等等。所以，這就是我們每天的工作，確保我們的現金流能夠長久而穩定，而不是為了利用率而犧牲一些對我們具有戰略重要性的東西。

Jeremy Tonet from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

摩根大通公司的 Jeremy Tonet

This is Eli on for Jeremy. Maybe just back to the 2025 outlook. I know the portfolio is largely contracted and the utilization upside has kind of been touched on. But can you just reframe the dynamics that could actually drive you guys to the higher end of that range next year?

這是 Eli 代替 Jeremy 上場。也許只是回到2025年的展望。我知道投資組合已基本收縮，而且利用率的上升已經受到了影響。但你能否重新建構一下明年真正能夠推動你們達到這範圍更高水準的動態？

Yes. I think, look, I mean, it's -- we're a pretty highly contracted business, but we do have the variability in a lot of our contracts rolling off of contract and being up for renewal for the year. So about 30% of our contracts will come up for renewal over the next 12 to 15 months.

是的。我認為，看，我的意思是 - 我們是一家合約簽訂非常嚴格的企業，但我們的許多合約在到期和續約年度確實存在可變性。因此，我們大約 30% 的合約將在未來 12 到 15 個月內續約。

So, based on the success of that renewal and the kind of the increase in those rates to get them closer to market rates is probably the variability that we have in the contribution for next year. And so, as well as making sure that we continue to realize, I think, John said it earlier, we're most of the way there on the synergies, but there are some additional synergies to be had here, and it's going to depend on our ability to execute on those and make sure that we keep our eye on the ball and keep moving forward there and make sure that we execute in the way that we've been executing.

因此，基於續約的成功以及利率的提高以使其更接近市場利率，這可能是我們明年貢獻的變化。因此，除了確保我們繼續實現這一點之外，我想，約翰之前說過，我們在協同效應方面已經取得了很大進展，但這裡還有一些額外的協同效應，這將取決於我們執行這些協同效應的能力，並確保我們密切關注並繼續向前邁進，並確保我們按照我們一直以來的方式執行。

Got it. Sounds good. And then maybe just as a follow-up, I respect that the compression market continues to remain hot. And previously, there was discussion around lead times. So maybe just where you see lead times right now? And if those were to come in, how that would affect your ability to deploy compression units over the next couple of years and kind of deliver those to your customers?

知道了。聽起來不錯。然後也許只是作為後續，我尊重壓縮市場繼續保持火熱。之前，我們討論過交貨時間問題。那麼也許您現在看到的只是交貨時間？如果這些都實現的話，這將如何影響您在未來幾年部署壓縮裝置並將其交付給客戶的能力？

Yes. Lead times today to get a new package built and ordered and built from scratch, from Caterpillar and Ariel are about nine months, maybe a tick under that. So still is elongated lead times, still working with our customer base well in advance of when they need the equipment and making sure that we have that stuff contracted up before we spend any capital.

是的。如今，從卡特彼勒 (Caterpillar) 和 Ariel 那裡製造、訂購和從頭開始建造一套新套件的​​交付週期約為 9 個月，或許略短於這個數字。因此，交貨時間仍然會延長，我們仍然需要在客戶需要設備之前提前與他們進行溝通，並確保在花費任何資金之前就已經簽訂了合約。

So, as you recall, we don't spend any capital on speculation here. So like I said, almost a nine-month lead time right now, still elongated lead times. I wouldn't expect -- if those lead times did come in at all, I wouldn't expect them to come in any shorter than probably six months at the most.

所以，正如你所記得的，我們不會在這裡花任何資金進行投機。所以就像我說的，現在的交貨週期已經接近九個月，交貨週期仍然延長。我不會指望——如果這些交貨時間確實到來的話，我不會指望它們會在最多六個月內到來。

So -- and looking at the activity that we have coming up and the massive amount of compression infrastructure that has to be installed over the balance of the decade to handle increased LNG volumes to handle AI and data center gas demand -- gas-driven demand, it really is -- I don't foresee lead times coming in, in any significant manner anytime soon.

所以——看看我們即將開展的活動，以及在未來十年內必須安裝的大量壓縮基礎設施，以處理增加的液化天然氣量，以滿足人工智能和數據中心的天然氣需求——這確實是天然氣驅動的需求——我預計交貨時間不會在短期內以任何顯著的方式出現。

Sebastian Erskine from Redburn Atlantic.

來自 Redburn Atlantic 的 Sebastian Erskine。

Just to start, I mean, I guess, one of the issues that has been facing E&Ps in the Permian has been the lack of kind of sufficient pipeline infrastructure. And that's meant that they kind of held a bit back on production. And obviously, in the third quarter, we've seen that the Matterhorn pipeline has come online, and there are several more to come online in the coming years.

首先，二疊紀盆地的探勘與生產公司面臨的一個問題就是缺乏足夠的管線基礎設施。這意味著他們在生產上有所節制。顯然，在第三季度，我們看到馬特洪峰管線已經投產，未來幾年還會有更多管線投產。

So I'm just curious, in your conversations with your customers, are you expecting this new infrastructure to allow new wells to come online, production to be boosted in the Permian? And obviously, kind of the read across from that to compression demand as well would be great.

所以我很好奇，在您與客戶的對話中，您是否預期這種新的基礎設施將允許新油井投產，從而提高二疊紀的產量？顯然，從這一點來理解壓縮需求也會很好。

Sebastian, thanks for the question. All of our customers that we're dealing with and planning out 9 months and 12 months ahead of time are all very cognizant of what the takeaway capacity is in the Permian. Most of them have firm takeaway already committed to long before they decide to commit to compression horsepower. And so, they know when the Matterhorn pipeline is coming on and when the pipelines are coming on next year. So they're basing their drilling programs around that -- them having that takeaway capacity in place.

賽巴斯蒂安，謝謝你的提問。我們與之打交道並提前 9 個月和 12 個月制定計劃的所有客戶都非常清楚二疊紀的開採能力。大多數人早在決定採用壓縮馬力之前就已經堅定地做出了承諾。因此，他們知道馬特洪峰管道何時通車以及明年管道何時通車。所以他們以此為基礎制定鑽探計畫——擁有適當的輸送能力。

So I think that some of this capacity that's coming online is just as planned, and it shouldn't affect the demand for our services at all. It's going to be kind of baked into that planning process that's 9 months or 12 months out.

因此，我認為部分上線的產能是按照計畫進行的，不會對我們服務的需求產生任何影響。它將融入 9 個月或 12 個月後的規劃流程中。

Really appreciate that. And the second one, if I may. I just noticed in the third quarter, there was quite a large sort of working capital cash outflow. I think it was about sort of $85 million. And just if you could give us some color on kind of what drove that and maybe what we can expect on working capital movements going forward, that would be really appreciated.

真的很感激。如果可以的話，我還想問第二個。我剛剛注意到第三季出現了相當大規模的營運資金現金流出。我認為大約是 8500 萬美元。如果您能告訴我們是什麼推動了這一趨勢，以及我們對未來營運資金變動的預期，我們將非常感激。

Sebastian, this is John. Yes, that's something that we've got our eye really closely on. After we brought the two businesses together, we continue to work in two systems across our inventory, which makes it difficult to -- for people that are using one aspect of the system to know what's in the other side. Pretty natural thing in acquisitions like this. So that's caused us to have an elevated level of inventory. As we migrate those two systems into one, we would expect for that to go down during 2025, and that's something that we're keenly focused on.

塞巴斯蒂安，這是約翰。是的，這是我們密切關注的事情。在我們將兩個業務合併之後，我們繼續在庫存中使用兩個系統，這使得使用系統一個方面的人很難知道系統另一方面的情況。在這樣的收購中這是很自然的事。這導致我們的庫存水準升高。當我們將這兩個系統合併為一個時，我們預計這一數字將在 2025 年下降，這是我們熱切關注的事情。

The other is accounts receivable. That's a temporal thing as well. We have migrated into one billing system. And a lot of the challenges as you do that are making sure that you can get set up with your customers so you can effectively bill them. I'd remind everybody that probably 85% to 88% of our revenues are contractually driven and our counterparties are some of the largest household names in the upstream and midstream energy industry.

另一個是應收帳款。這也是暫時的事情。我們已經遷移至一個計費系統。您在這樣做的過程中所面臨的許多挑戰都是確保您能夠與客戶建立聯繫，以便有效地向他們收費。我想提醒大家，我們的收入大概有 85% 到 88% 是由合約驅動的，我們的交易對手是上游和中游能源行業的一些最大且家喻戶曉的公司。

So we're absolutely unconcerned with the credit quality of those customers. We just need to work through the invoicing process, make sure that we're set up and get caught back up. We'd expect to get there by the end of the year and then into next year as well. A great question and something that the management team is keenly focused on.

所以我們根本不關心這些客戶的信用品質。我們只需要完成發票流程，確保一切準備就緒，然後重新開始。我們期望在今年年底和明年實現這一目標。這是一個很好的問題，也是管理團隊熱切關注的問題。

Congratulations on the quarter.

恭喜本季取得佳績。

Theresa Chen from Barclays.

巴克萊銀行的 Theresa Chen。

Just a quick one on your recontracting outlook. You've given a lot of commentary on the tightness of the supply chain and how that's translating to economic tailwinds for your assets. I'm just curious, as you think about recontracting going forward, do you consider trading some rate for term and elongating your weighted contract duration? How do you generally think about that trade-off?

我只想簡單談談你對續約的看法。您對供應鏈的緊密性以及它如何轉化為您資產的經濟順風給出了大量評論。我只是好奇，當您考慮未來重新簽約時，您是否考慮用一定利率換取期限並延長您的加權合約期限？您通常如何看待這種權衡？

Typically, we don't -- we like to have our equipment under contract for sure. But personally, I'm not willing -- I wouldn't be willing to trade contract rate for term. The way we look at it at Kodiak, Theresa, as you know, is we look at the life and the longevity of the production that's sitting underneath our compressors as kind of the contract term that we have, right? I've said before, if I put a large horsepower compressor on 20-year life production and I sign a one-year contract, I'm going to renew that contract 20 years if we're -- 20 times if we take care of our business operationally, and we're providing the best level of service operationally.

通常情況下，我們不會——我們當然希望我們的設備符合合約規定。但就我個人而言，我不願意——我不願意用合約價格來換取期限。如你所知，Theresa，我們在 Kodiak 看待這個問題的方式是，我們將壓縮機下方的產品的壽命和使用壽命視為我們所簽訂的合約期限，對嗎？我之前說過，如果我將一個大馬力壓縮機投入 20 年的生產，並簽署一份為期一年的合同，如果我們在運營上照顧好我們的業務，並且我們在運營上提供最佳水平的服務，我將把該合同續簽 20 年 - 20 次。

So, like I said, when we look at contract term, we're looking at the life of the production, which is what drives our strategy of wanting to be in liquids-rich oily basins with associated gas, right? So those basins tend to have longer life to them. The Permian is certainly is a great example of that. And we want our equipment on long-life production that we know will provide a stability of cash flows for many, many years.

所以，就像我說的，當我們考慮合約期限時，我們考慮的是生產的壽命，這正是我們希望進入富含液體的油性盆地並伴生氣體的戰略的驅動力，對嗎？所以這些盆的壽命往往更長。二疊紀無疑就是一個很好的例子。我們希望我們的設備能夠長期生產，從而在未來許多年提供穩定的現金流。

Zack Van Everen from TPH.

TPH 的 Zack Van Everen。

Just one quick one from me. With 2025 fully contracted, could you give an update on how 2026 is coming along?

我只想說一句話。2025 年的合約已經全部簽訂，您能否介紹一下 2026 年的進度？

Some quick discussions in 2026, Zack. Nothing really hard booked up for 2026. We've seen deliveries from Caterpillar come in to nine months right now. So really looking at kind of end of second quarter type of deliveries right now.

2026 年的一些快速討論，扎克。2026 年沒有什麼特別困難的事要做。我們看到卡特彼勒的交貨期目前已經達到九個月。所以現在真正關注的是第二季末的交付情況。

So our customers aren't super concerned right now about starting to work on contracts out into 2026 quite yet, having some preliminary conversations, but we don't have contracts pending out there right now. So I kind of feel like we've got about probably 4 to 6 months of runway before we really need to start looking at deliveries into 2026.

因此，我們的客戶現在並不十分擔心開始簽訂到 2026 年的合同，雖然正在進行一些初步談判，但我們目前還沒有未決的合同。因此，我覺得我們大概還有 4 到 6 個月的運行時間，然後我們才真正需要開始考慮 2026 年的交付。

This concludes today's question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back to management for any closing comments.

今天的問答環節到此結束。我想將發言權交還給管理階層，請他們發表最後評論。

Yes. Thank you, operator, and thanks to everyone participating in today's call. We look forward to speaking with you again after we report our results for the fourth quarter. Thanks.

是的。謝謝接線員，也謝謝參加今天電話會議的所有人。我們期待在報告第四季度業績後再次與您交談。謝謝。

This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you again for your participation.

今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開您的線路。再次感謝您的參與。