藍威斯頓 (LW) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Please stand by. We're about to begin.

請稍候。我們就要開始了。

Good day, and welcome to the Lamb Weston Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Earnings Call. Today's conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Debbie Hancock, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

大家好，歡迎參加 Lamb Weston 2025 財年第四季和財報電話會議。今天的會議正在錄製中。現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係副總裁黛比漢考克 (Debbie Hancock)。請繼續。

Good morning, and thank you for joining us for Lamb Weston's Fourth Quarter and Full Year Fiscal 2025 Earnings Call. I'm Debbie Hancock, Lamb Weston's Vice President of Investor Relations.

早安，感謝您參加 Lamb Weston 2025 財年第四季和全年財報電話會議。我是 Lamb Weston 投資者關係副總裁黛比漢考克 (Debbie Hancock)。

Earlier today, we issued our press release and posted slides that we will use for our discussion today. You can find both on our website, lambweston.com.

今天早些時候，我們發布了新聞稿並張貼了今天討論將使用的幻燈片。您可以在我們的網站 lambweston.com 上找到這兩者。

Please note that during our remarks, we will be making forward-looking statements about the company's expected performance that are based on our current expectations. Actual results may differ materially due to risks and uncertainties. Please refer to the cautionary statements and risk factors contained in our SEC filings for more details on our forward-looking statements.

請注意，在我們的評論中，我們將根據我們目前的預期對公司的預期業績做出前瞻性的陳述。由於風險和不確定性，實際結果可能存在重大差異。有關我們的前瞻性聲明的更多詳細信息，請參閱我們提交給美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 的文件中所述的警示聲明和風險因素。

Some of today's remarks include non-GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered a replacement for and should be read together with our GAAP results. You can find the GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations in our earnings release and the appendix to our presentation.

今天的一些評論包括非公認會計準則財務指標。這些非 GAAP 財務指標不應被視為替代我們的 GAAP 結果，而應與我們的 GAAP 結果一起閱讀。您可以在我們的收益報告和簡報附錄中找到 GAAP 與非 GAAP 的對帳表。

Joining me today are Mike Smith, our President and CEO; and Bernadette Madarieta, our Chief Financial Officer.

今天與我一起出席的還有我們的總裁兼執行長 Mike Smith 和我們的財務長伯納黛特馬達里塔 (Bernadette Madarieta)。

Let me now turn the call over to Mike.

現在讓我把電話轉給麥克。

Thank you, Debbie. Good morning, and thank you for joining us today. I first want to thank our Lamb Weston team around the globe for their hard work and strong execution.

謝謝你，黛比。早安，感謝您今天加入我們。首先，我要感謝我們全球的 Lamb Weston 團隊的辛勤工作和強大的執行力。

Fiscal 2025 was a year of substantial change for Lamb Weston. In addition to me becoming CEO, we recently added significant new and relevant experience to the Board with six new members, including a new Chairman, Bradley Alford, as well as Laurence Cursius; Paul Mace; Timothy McLevish; Ruth Kimmelshue and Scott Osfeld. Management and the new Board have a high sense of urgency and are aligned on capitalizing on the many opportunities we collectively see to drive results in our business.

2025 財年對 Lamb Weston 來說是發生重大變化的一年。除了我擔任執行長之外，我們最近還為董事會增添了六名具有重要新經驗的新成員，包括新任董事長布拉德利·阿爾福德 (Bradley Alford)，以及勞倫斯·庫爾修斯 (Laurence Cursius)、保羅·梅斯 (Paul Mace)、蒂莫西·麥克萊維什 (Timothy McLevish)、露絲·金梅爾舒 (Ruth Kimmelshue) 和斯科特·奧斯菲爾德。管理層和新董事會具有高度的緊迫感，並一致致力於利用我們共同看到的眾多機會來推動業務成果。

Today's results evidence the momentum we continue to build with customers and the visibility we have in our business as we work to rebuild credibility with investors. We are focused on controlling what we can control and are taking advantage of opportunities to drive results and improve execution through a cost savings program we announced today, along with our customer-centric Focus to Win strategy for long-term success. Successful execution of these plans will help drive improved performance, including free cash flow and long-term returns.

今天的業績證明了我們在努力重建投資者信譽的過程中，繼續與客戶建立良好的關係，並提高我們業務的知名度。我們專注於控制我們能夠控制的事情，並透過我們今天宣布的成本節約計劃以及以客戶為中心的「專注取勝」策略來抓住機會推動成果、提高執行力，以取得長期成功。這些計劃的成功執行將有助於提高業績，包括自由現金流和長期回報。

To drive further alignment along with sales and adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow and returns on capital have been added to our compensation plans for fiscal 2026. This alignment continues at the Board level, which for 2026, the Board has unanimously elected to receive their compensation in equity in the company. We believe these cumulative actions are readying the organization to further support customers and accelerate our performance when demand returns to growth.

為了進一步與銷售額和調整後的 EBITDA 保持一致，我們已將自由現金流和資本回報率添加到 2026 財年的薪酬計劃中。這種一致性在董事會層級得以延續，2026 年，董事會一致選擇以公司股權形式取得薪酬。我們相信，這些累積的行動將使組織做好準備，在需求恢復成長時進一步支持客戶並加速我們的表現。

Turning to business results. Lamb Weston ended the year with momentum and customer wins and retention, delivering results ahead of our updated expectations for fiscal 2025. The team is executing at a high level and our long-standing commitment to quality, service and innovation is driving success with customers globally.

轉向業務成果。Lamb Weston 以強勁的發展勢頭和客戶贏得與保留結束了這一財年，其業績超出了我們對 2025 財年的最新預期。團隊的執行力非常高，我們對品質、服務和創新的長期承諾正在推動全球客戶的成功。

We had a strong fourth quarter that came in above our expectations. Volume was up with wins across channels and geographies and net sales grew. Price/mix declined reflecting our support of customers with price and trade as we manage the competitive environment and soft restaurant traffic. We're also seeing the benefits of our cost savings in our cost structure. Adjusted EBITDA increased in the quarter, and we made significant progress in improving working capital.

我們的第四季表現強勁，超出了我們的預期。隨著跨通路和跨地區的勝利，銷量上升，淨銷售額也隨之成長。價格/組合下降反映了我們在管理競爭環境和疲軟的餐廳客流量時對價格和貿易客戶的支持。我們也在成本結構中看到了成本節約帶來的好處。本季調整後的 EBITDA 增加，我們在改善營運資金方面取得了重大進展。

For the full year, our success in the second half enabled us to end the year with volume up. As discussed on earlier calls, our full year profit was impacted by actions to support customers in a competitive environment, higher costs from production curtailments and higher inventories during the year as well as inflationary pressures. We offset some of this impact by delivering slightly above our cost savings target, with $59 million of savings for the year.

就全年而言，我們下半年的成功使我們能夠以銷量上升來結束這一年。如同先前電話會議所討論的，我們的全年利潤受到競爭環境中支持客戶的行動、年內減產和庫存增加導致的成本增加以及通膨壓力的影響。我們實現了略高於成本節約目標的目標，全年節省了 5,900 萬美元，從而抵消了部分影響。

Since January, when I took on the role of CEO, I've worked closely with the Board and management team to drive change with urgency and better position our business for success. Over the past several months and with the support of outside resources, we undertook an end-to-end assessment of our operations. We developed a strategic plan to drive targeted decision-making and actions and we are now executing on a plan to unlock near and long-term value.

自從今年一月擔任執行長以來，我一直與董事會和管理團隊密切合作，緊急推動變革，使我們的業務更好地獲得成功。在過去的幾個月裡，在外部資源的支持下，我們對我們的營運進行了端到端的評估。我們制定了一項策略計劃來推動有針對性的決策和行動，現在我們正在執行一項計劃來釋放近期和長期價值。

This plan, which we call Focus to Win includes zero-based budgeting, assessing our noncore assets and augmenting our commercial go-to-market. We are already making progress. You can see in our better-than-expected results announced today, but we know that the work and the real opportunities are ahead of us. We are operating in an industry with rapidly changing dynamics in a global consumer environment that remains uncertain. It requires a new approach, a Focus to Win.

該計劃被我們稱為“聚焦取勝”，其中包括零基預算、評估我們的非核心資產以及增強我們的商業上市能力。我們已經取得了進展。您可以看到我們今天宣布的業績好於預期，但我們知道，工作和真正的機會就在我們面前。我們所處的產業瞬息萬變，全球消費環境仍充滿不確定性。它需要一種新的方法，一種「專注取勝」的方法。

Global demand for French fries remain strong, but the market dynamics are evolving in important ways; growth in food delivery, expanding QSR concepts and air fryers changing how we cook at home are creating an opportunity that demands innovation and new approaches. Geographic growth is greatest in emerging markets where margin profiles are lower but also where QSR formats are expanding.

全球對炸薯條的需求仍然強勁，但市場動態正在發生重要變化；食品配送的增長、QSR 概念的擴大以及空氣炸鍋改變我們在家烹飪的方式，正在創造需要創新和新方法的機會。新興市場的地理成長最為顯著，這些市場的利潤率較低，但 QSR 模式正在不斷擴張。

And following market shortages during COVID, the long-term attractiveness of our industry has created the potential for future supply-demand imbalance, most notably outside the US. As previously discussed, while new capacity has been announced globally, we do not expect at all to be built. We have already begun to see industry consolidation and decisions to postpone or cancel capacity additions. We believe these postponements and cancellations could continue as the industry has been rational over time.

在新冠疫情期間出現市場短缺之後，我們行業的長期吸引力造成了未來供需失衡的可能性，尤其是在美國以外。正如之前所討論的，雖然全球已經宣布了新的產能，但我們並不期望真的建成。我們已經開始看到行業整合以及推遲或取消產能增加的決定。我們相信，隨著產業逐漸趨於理性，這些延遲和取消的情況可能會持續下去。

Importantly, not all new capacity is created equal, geographic exposure, capabilities, reliability of raw material sourcing and quality to determine the markets and channels impacted by new capacity. We believe that much of the new capacity in developing markets like India and the Middle East does not have the capability to produce higher-margin premium items, which is the strategic focus for Lamb Weston.

重要的是，並非所有新產能都是平等的，地理位置、能力、原料採購的可靠性和品質決定了新產能對市場和通路的影響。我們認為，印度和中東等發展中市場的大部分新產能不具備生產高利潤高端產品的能力，而這正是 Lamb Weston 的戰略重點。

We believe the work we performed on the market confirmed our right to win in our key geographies, segments and product categories. We are operating in some of the lowest cost potato-growing regions and we are investing in capabilities aligned to growth opportunities and to our customers' needs to win and grow profitably over time.

我們相信，我們在市場上所做的工作證明了我們在關鍵地區、細分市場和產品類別中獲勝的權利。我們在一些成本最低的馬鈴薯種植區開展業務，並投資於符合成長機會和客戶需求的能力，以便隨著時間的推移贏得勝利並實現盈利增長。

Let's talk about our Focus to Win strategy. To differentiate Lamb Weston in today's market, we are defining where to play through a strategic framework that focuses our resources and efforts on the most attractive growth opportunities across markets, channels and product segments. How we expect to win is targeted, strengthen our customer partnerships, execute with excellence and set the pace for innovation.

讓我們來談談我們的「專注取勝」策略。為了在當今市場中脫穎而出，Lamb Weston 正在透過策略框架來確定其競爭方向，該框架將我們的資源和精力集中在各個市場、通路和產品領域中最具吸引力的成長機會上。我們期望如何取勝是有針對性的，加強我們的客戶合作夥伴關係，卓越執行並為創新設定步伐。

We are creating a repeatable cycle with four elements that drive growth and profitability for Lamb Weston. First, we are focusing investments on priority global markets and segments. Second, we are strengthening customer partnerships. Third, we are achieving executional excellence. And finally, we are setting the pace for innovation.

我們正在創建一個由四個要素組成的可重複循環，以推動 Lamb Weston 的成長和獲利能力。首先，我們將重點放在全球重點市場和領域。第二，我們正在加強客戶合作夥伴關係。第三，我們正在實現卓越的執行。最後，我們正在引領創新步伐。

We'll talk more about these shortly. But at the core, we will do what our team does better than anyone else -- be our customer's number 1 partner, a world-class potato company and an industry-leading innovator. Our focus will be on geographies, channels and products where we can both differentiate and lead.

我們很快就會詳細討論這些內容。但從本質上講，我們將做我們團隊比任何人都更擅長的事情——成為我們客戶的頭號合作夥伴、世界一流的馬鈴薯公司和行業領先的創新者。我們的重點將放在我們能夠脫穎而出並處於領先地位的地區、通路和產品上。

We've built our business, in part by being something for everyone. But going forward, we will continue to partner with excellence in our core markets. We will invest to grow in markets, channels and product categories with more attractive profit opportunities where customers value our full product and service offerings. We will focus our resources on markets and segments where we have the greatest advantage and reevaluate noncore assets and markets. We will close the capability gaps in our organization and we will target premium market segments where innovation is a differentiator.

我們建立自己的業務，部分原因是為了滿足每個人的需求。但展望未來，我們將繼續在我們的核心市場與優秀的合作夥伴合作。我們將投資於市場、通路和產品類別，以提供更具吸引力的獲利機會，讓客戶重視我們提供的全部產品和服務。我們將把資源集中在我們最具優勢的市場和領域，並重新評估非核心資產和市場。我們將縮小組織內的能力差距，並瞄準以創新為差異化因素的高端市場。

We must transform how we operate. It is how we will win. First, strengthen customer partnerships. Lamb Weston remains a partner of choice for our customers. Our third-party research confirms that our value relationships and service are best-in-class.

我們必須改變我們的運作方式。這就是我們獲勝的方法。一是加強客戶夥伴關係。Lamb Weston 仍然是我們客戶的首選合作夥伴。我們的第三方研究證實，我們的價值關係和服務是一流的。

Our opportunity is to expand what we've done with our largest customers to our priority customer targets and geographies, enhancing our joint business planning activities and capabilities. Second, achieve executional excellence. To be a partner of choice for our customers and to successfully and profitably operate in an increasingly competitive market, everything we do, we must do with excellence across all functions of the company.

我們的機會是將我們與最大客戶的合作擴展到我們的優先客戶目標和地區，從而增強我們的聯合業務規劃活動和能力。第二，實現卓越執行。為了成為客戶的首選合作夥伴，並在競爭日益激烈的市場中成功運作並獲利，我們所做的每一件事，都必須在公司的所有職能部門中做到卓越。

For example, in supply chain, we are focused on operating an advantaged global footprint aligned to our growth plan with a streamlined distribution network and revamped continuous improvement team with a focus on plant productivity. This includes simplifying and standardizing operations across locations, driving OEE improvement via our Lamb Weston manufacturing operating culture and embedding a 0-loss mindset in raw potato and materials usage.

例如，在供應鏈方面，我們專注於營運與我們的成長計畫一致的優勢全球業務，擁有精簡的分銷網絡和改組後的持續改進團隊，並專注於工廠生產力。這包括簡化和標準化各個地點的運營，透過我們的 Lamb Weston 製造營運文化推動 OEE 改進，並在生馬鈴薯和材料使用中植入零損失思維。

Finally, to differentiate in a competitive marketplace with changing customer preferences, we must continue Lamb Weston's long track record of being an innovation leader. Our innovation efforts have delivered incremental improvements that directly enhance the customer and consumer experience.

最後，為了在客戶偏好不斷變化的競爭市場中脫穎而出，我們必須延續 Lamb Weston 作為創新領導者的悠久歷史。我們的創新努力帶來了漸進式的改進，直接提升了客戶和消費者的體驗。

Looking ahead, we're expanding our invention to include breakthrough innovations such as Lamb Weston Fast Fries that allow operators in nontraditional fried channels to provide customers with fast and crispy fry offerings. These customers unlock new sources of value in channels that don't traditionally serve fries, this next chapter broadens our innovation efforts beyond product level and into areas such as process technology.

展望未來，我們正在擴展我們的發明，包括 Lamb Weston Fast Fries 等突破性創新，使非傳統油炸管道的經營者能夠為顧客提供快速、酥脆的油炸食品。這些客戶在傳統上不提供炸薯條的管道中開闢了新的價值來源，下一章將把我們的創新努力擴展到產品層面之外，並擴展到工藝技術等領域。

Finally, we have created global innovation hubs to orchestrate disruptive innovation platforms. We believe this will create a global network of insights and innovation specialists centered on two innovation hubs, North America and International. In concert with these plans and as part of our Focus to Win strategy, today, we announced cost savings that are designed to better align our organization with the environment, improve efficiency and focus on our biggest opportunities.

最後，我們創建了全球創新中心來協調顛覆性創新平台。我們相信，這將創建一個以北美和國際兩個創新中心為中心的全球洞察和創新專家網絡。與這些計劃一致，並作為我們「聚焦取勝」策略的一部分，今天，我們宣布了旨在使我們的組織更好地與環境保持一致、提高效率並專注於我們最大的機會的成本節約措施。

We have identified at least $250 million of annualized run rate savings that we expect to achieve by the end of fiscal 2028, that Bernadette will talk about more in a moment. We believe these actions will lower our cost base and help ensure we remain competitive while reallocating resources on a more targeted basis to invest for growth. As I've discussed, customer and consumer preferences for our products remain high. Though execution in this period of macro uncertainty will be paramount to the future success of the company. We must control what we can control to continue delivering best-in-class returns on our business.

我們已確定至少 2.5 億美元的年度化運行率節省，預計到 2028 財年末將實現這一目標，Bernadette 稍後將詳細介紹。我們相信這些措施將降低我們的成本基礎，並有助於確保我們保持競爭力，同時更有針對性地重新分配資源以投資於成長。正如我所討論的，客戶和消費者對我們產品的偏好仍然很高。然而，在宏觀不確定的時期，執行力對於公司未來的成功至關重要。我們必須控制我們能夠控制的事情，以繼續為我們的業務帶來一流的回報。

This includes streamlining our organization, implementing zero-based budgeting and strategically investing to improve productivity and strengthen our manufacturing network, but we also should not lose sight of the bigger picture, which is that Lamb Weston will be poised to deliver for our customers with an improved cost structure and operations.

這包括精簡我們的組織、實施零基預算和策略性投資以提高生產力和加強我們的製造網絡，但我們也不應忽視更大的前景，即 Lamb Weston 將準備透過改進的成本結構和營運為我們的客戶提供服務。

When our customers see increased demand in their business, we don't know exactly when that will be, but when it does happen, we have confidence that it will, and we will be well positioned to win when it does.

當我們的客戶發現他們的業務需求增加時，我們不知道具體什麼時候會發生，但當它真的發生時，我們有信心，而且當它真的發生時，我們將處於有利地位，贏得勝利。

I'll now turn it over to Bernadette to review the fourth quarter and fiscal year performance and walk through our outlook.

現在我將把時間交給伯納黛特來回顧第四季度和財政年度的表現並介紹我們的展望。

Thank you, Mike, and good morning, everyone. I want to start by thanking our teams for their hard work in fiscal '25 as we navigated a challenging year.

謝謝你，麥克，大家早安。首先，我要感謝我們的團隊在 25 財年所付出的辛勤工作，讓我們度過了充滿挑戰的一年。

Halfway through the year, we made important changes to adapt to the evolving environment and put our business on a path back to growth. Our fourth quarter results reflect the progress we made throughout the year to address the dynamic and changing environment. We delivered volume growth in the fourth quarter and for the full year, disciplined cost management and a focus on cash flow with significant working capital improvements and lower capital expenditures.

今年年中，我們做出了重要改變，以適應不斷變化的環境，並使我們的業務重回成長之路。我們的第四季業績反映了我們全年在應對動態變化的環境方面所取得的進展。我們在第四季度和全年實現了銷售成長，嚴格成本管理，注重現金流，顯著改善營運資本並降低資本支出。

Let's begin with our fourth quarter results on Slide 17. Net sales increased 4% compared with the prior year. Volume increased 8%, primarily driven by contract wins across each of our channels and geographic regions and lapping an approximate $22 million negative impact in the prior period from a previously announced voluntary products withdrawal.

讓我們從幻燈片 17 上的第四季業績開始。淨銷售額較上年同期成長4%。銷量增長了 8%，主要得益於我們各個渠道和地理區域贏得的合同，並彌補了上一時期因之前宣布的自願產品撤回而造成的約 2200 萬美元的負面影響。

These gains were partially offset by soft global restaurant traffic trends which were down low single digits in our largest markets of the US and UK. Despite lower traffic trends, there are some positive trends in the consumption data. In the US, French fries attachment rates continue to remain approximately 2 points higher than pre-pandemic levels. The French fry category grew 1% in the quarter and QSR fry serving sizes also increased 1%.

這些成長被全球餐廳客流量疲軟的趨勢部分抵消，在我們最大的美國和英國市場，餐廳客流量下降了個位數。儘管客流量趨勢較低，但消費數據仍呈現一些正面趨勢。在美國，炸薯條的附著率仍比疫情前的水平高出約 2 個百分點。本季炸薯條類別增加了 1%，QSR 炸薯條份量也增加了 1%。

Price/mix declined 4% in the quarter compared to the prior year reflecting efforts to support customers on price and trade in an increasingly competitive environment in both our North America and international segments.

本季價格/組合與前一年相比下降了 4%，這反映出我們在北美和國際市場日益激烈的競爭環境中努力為客戶提供價格和交易支援。

Looking at our segments. North America net sales declined 1% compared with the prior year, primarily due to lower net selling prices. Price mix in our North America segment declined 5% due to pricing actions to support our customers, which was only partially offset by favorable channel and product mix. The favorable mix was attributable to growth in higher margin regional small and retail customers.

看看我們的細分市場。北美淨銷售額與前一年相比下降了 1%，主要原因是淨銷售價格下降。由於支援客戶的定價行動，我們北美分部的價格組合下降了 5%，但有利的通路和產品組合僅部分抵消了這一影響。這種良好的組合歸因於利潤率較高的區域小型和零售客戶的成長。

Volume increased 4%, primarily related to regional small and retail customer wins. These volume gains were partially offset by soft restaurant traffic. In the US, QSR traffic improved from February's level, but compared with the prior year was down 1% in the quarter and the fiscal year.

銷售量成長了 4%，主要與區域小型和零售客戶的勝利有關。但餐廳客流量疲軟在一定程度上抵消了銷量的成長。在美國，QSR 客流量較 2 月有所改善，但與去年同期相比，本季和本財年的客流量下降了 1%。

Traffic at QSR chain specializing in hamburgers was down 2% in the quarter and 3% for the year. It's important to note that this is on top of declines in the prior year. Restaurant traffic on a two-year stack is down mid-single digits with QSR hamburger focused restaurants, down high single digits over the two-year period.

該速食連鎖店主營漢堡的客流量在本季下降了 2%，全年下降了 3%。值得注意的是，這是在前一年下降的基礎上出現的。兩年來，餐廳客流量下降了中等個位數，而以 QSR 漢堡為主的餐廳客流量在兩年內下降了高個位數。

For our International segment, sales grew 15% versus the prior year quarter with little impact from foreign exchange. Despite restaurant traffic being down 3% in the UK, our largest international market and relatively flat in key international markets. The international segment volume increased 16% driven primarily by recent customer contract wins and to a lesser extent, lapping the voluntary product withdrawal in the prior year.

對於我們的國際部門，銷售額較去年同期成長了 15%，幾乎沒有受到外匯的影響。儘管我們最大的國際市場英國的餐廳客流量下降了 3%，而其他主要國際市場的客流量則相對持平。國際業務銷售成長 16%，主要得益於近期贏得的客戶合同，其次，也彌補了上一年自願產品撤回的影響。

Price/mix declined 1%, reflecting pricing actions to support customers in key international markets in response to the continued competitive environment.

價格/組合下降了 1%，反映了為應對持續的競爭環境而採取的定價措施，以支持主要國際市場的客戶。

Moving on from sales. As expected, adjusted gross profit declined compared with the prior year quarter, due primarily to first pricing actions to support our customers -- million of higher factory burden absorption. Specifically, fixed costs assigned to our curtailed lines are being temporarily absorbed by lower production levels, which leads to increased cost per pound.

從銷售繼續。正如預期的那樣，調整後的毛利與去年同期相比有所下降，這主要是由於為支持客戶而採取的首次定價行動——工廠負擔吸收量增加數百萬美元。具體來說，分配給我們縮減生產線的固定成本暫時被較低的生產水準所吸收，導致每磅成本增加。

Third, low single-digit input cost inflation, including the benefit of lower raw potato prices. And finally, while not impacting EBITDA, higher depreciation expense from our recent capacity expansions. These actions were partially offset by increased sales volume and lapping the impact of the voluntary product withdrawal in the prior year.

第三，投入成本通膨處於低個位數水平，其中包括原料馬鈴薯價格下降帶來的好處。最後，雖然不會影響 EBITDA，但我們最近的產能擴張導致折舊費用增加。這些舉措的部分影響被銷售成長和上一年自願產品召回的影響所抵消。

Adjusted SG&A declined $16 million on lower advertising and promotional spend lapping of higher ERP transition expenses in the prior year as well as the benefit of our cost-saving initiatives. All of this led to adjusted EBITDA of $285 million which is essentially flat or up $2 million versus the prior year.

調整後的銷售、一般及行政費用下降了 1,600 萬美元，因為廣告和促銷支出減少，抵銷了去年 ERP 轉型費用的增加，以及我們成本節約措施帶來的好處。所有這些因素導致調整後的 EBITDA 達到 2.85 億美元，與前一年相比基本持平或上漲 200 萬美元。

Lower adjusted SG&A offset lower adjusted gross profit and equity method earnings after adjustments for depreciation and amortization. Turning to segment EBITDA performance on Slide 19. Adjusted EBITDA in our North America segment declined 7% or $19 million versus the prior year quarter to $258 million, primarily related to pricing actions to support our customers and $17 million of incremental fixed factory burden absorption. This was only partially offset by lapping a $19 million charge for the voluntary product withdrawal in the prior year and lower SG&A expenses.

調整後的銷售、一般及行政費用降低抵銷了調整後毛利和折舊及攤銷後權益法收益降低。轉向幻燈片 19 上的分部 EBITDA 表現。我們北美分部的調整後 EBITDA 與去年同期相比下降了 7% 或 1,900 萬美元，至 2.58 億美元，主要與支援客戶的定價行動以及 1,700 萬美元的增量固定工廠負擔吸收有關。這僅被上一年自願產品撤回費用 1,900 萬美元和較低的銷售、一般及行政費用 (SG&A) 部分抵銷。

For our International segment, adjusted EBITDA increased $22 million to $63 million. Higher net sales, lower manufacturing cost per pound, including lapping a $21 million charge related to the voluntary product withdrawal in the prior year and lower SG&A offset the impact of a 1% decrease in price mix.

對於我們的國際部門，調整後的 EBITDA 增加了 2,200 萬美元，達到 6,300 萬美元。淨銷售額增加、每磅製造成本降低（包括扣除與上一年自願產品召回相關的 2,100 萬美元費用）以及銷售、一般及行政費用降低抵銷了價格組合下降 1% 的影響。

Moving to our liquidity position and cash flows on Slide 20. We ended the year with approximately $1.24 billion of liquidity, comprised of approximately $1.17 billion available under our revolving credit facility and $71 million of cash and cash equivalents. Our net debt was $4.1 billion, and our adjusted EBITDA to net debt leverage ratio was 3.3 times on a trailing 12-month basis.

前往投影片 20 上的流動性狀況和現金流。截至年底，我們的流動資金約為 12.4 億美元，其中包括循環信貸額度下的約 11.7 億美元以及 7,100 萬美元的現金和現金等價物。我們的淨債務為 41 億美元，過去 12 個月調整後的 EBITDA 與淨債務槓桿率為 3.3 倍。

In fiscal '25, we generated $86 million of cash from operations. This is up $70 million versus the prior year due primarily to $349 million of favorable changes in working capital, which was primarily attributable to lower inventories, which reduced 8 days and a favorable change in accrued liabilities.

在 2025 財年，我們從營運中產生了 8,600 萬美元的現金。與前一年相比，這一數字增加了 7,000 萬美元，主要原因是營運資本發生了 3.49 億美元的有利變化，這主要歸因於庫存減少（減少了 8 天）以及應計負債發生了有利變化。

We expect to continue to drive inventory improvements as part of our Focus to Win plan. This plan includes approximately $60 million of cash flow from inventory improvement in fiscal '26 and '27 or $120 million in total by the end of fiscal '27.

作為「聚焦取勝」計畫的一部分，我們預計將繼續推動庫存改善。該計劃包括 26 財年和 27 財年庫存改善產生的約 6,000 萬美元現金流，或到 27 財年末總計 1.2 億美元。

Turning to Slide 21. Capital expenditures for fiscal 2025, net of proceeds from blue chip swap transactions in Argentina were $651 million, down $323 million with our expansion projects nearing completion. We ended the year below our initial $750 million target due to continued capital discipline, cost savings initiatives and the timing of projects and cash outlays.

翻到第 21 張投影片。2025 財年的資本支出（扣除阿根廷藍籌股掉期交易所得）為 6.51 億美元，由於我們的擴建項目即將完工，因此減少了 3.23 億美元。由於持續的資本紀律、成本節約措施以及專案和現金支出的時間安排，我們今年的營收低於最初的 7.5 億美元目標。

For fiscal '26, our capital spending is expected to be approximately $500 million with approximately $400 million in maintenance and modernization and $100 million for environmental projects, which are mostly for wastewater treatment.

26 財年，我們的資本支出預計約為 5 億美元，其中約 4 億美元用於維護和現代化建設，1 億美元用於環境項目，主要用於廢水處理。

On Slide 22, you can see that we remain committed to returning cash to shareholders. For the year, we returned $489 million. In the fourth quarter, we repurchased $100 million of shares and $282 million in the year, leaving us with $358 million available under the plan. We also returned $207 million in cash dividends during the year. We plan to continue to follow a disciplined capital allocation approach anchored around investment in the business, its capabilities and areas we are working to competitively differentiate Lamb Weston to execute our business strategy while maintaining a strong balance sheet and opportunistically returning capital to shareholders.

在第 22 張投影片上，您可以看到我們仍然致力於向股東返還現金。今年，我們返還了 4.89 億美元。第四季度，我們回購了價值 1 億美元的股票，全年回購價值 2.82 億美元的股票，根據該計劃，我們還有 3.58 億美元可用。我們今年也返還了 2.07 億美元的現金股利。我們計劃繼續遵循嚴格的資本配置方法，以對業務、業務能力和我們正在努力的領域的投資為基礎，使 Lamb Weston 在競爭中脫穎而出，執行我們的業務戰略，同時保持強勁的資產負債表並適時向股東返還資本。

Let's turn to our outlook. Starting with the potato crop on Slide 23. We started harvesting and processing the early potato varieties in North America, and initial indications are that this portion of the new crop is slightly above historical averages. At this time, the potato crops in the Columbia Basin, Idaho, Alberta and the Midwest, that will be harvested in the fall appear to be largely within historical ranges as growing conditions in these regions have been favorable.

讓我們轉向我們的展望。從幻燈片 23 上的馬鈴薯作物開始。我們開始在北美收穫和加工早期馬鈴薯品種，初步跡象表明，這部分新作物的產量略高於歷史平均值。目前，哥倫比亞盆地、愛達荷州、阿爾伯塔省和中西部地區秋季即將收穫的馬鈴薯作物產量似乎基本上處於歷史範圍內，因為這些地區的生長條件良好。

As a reminder, in North America, we've agreed to a mid-single-digit decrease in the aggregate and contract prices for the 2025 potato crop. Because we ended the year with lower inventories, we expect that we will begin realizing the benefits of lower-cost potatoes harvested out of field in the second quarter of fiscal '26. This is earlier than last year and in line with historical seasonal timing.

提醒一下，在北美，我們已同意將 2025 年馬鈴薯作物的總價格和合約價格降低中位數個位數。由於我們今年的庫存較低，我們預計在 26 財年第二季我們將開始實現田間收穫的低成本馬鈴薯帶來的好處。這比去年要早，符合歷史季節時間。

In Europe, favorable dry and warm growing conditions in the industry's main growing regions of the Netherlands, Belgium, Northern France and Germany are expected to result in an average crop. We currently expect our potato costs in Europe to be flat to slightly lower than the previous year's fixed price contracts. We will provide more details on the crops in both North America and Europe when we report our second quarter results.

在歐洲，荷蘭、比利時、法國北部和德國等主要種植區氣候乾燥溫暖，預計產量將達到平均值。我們目前預計歐洲的馬鈴薯成本將與去年的固定價格合約持平或略低。當我們報告第二季度業績時，我們將提供有關北美和歐洲農作物的更多詳細資訊。

Turning to Slide 24 and our fiscal 2026 outlook. The outlook includes the contribution of a 53rd week with the additional week falling in the fourth quarter. In fiscal '26, we expect our category to continue to be in high demand with customers and consumers prioritizing French fries as a menu and an at-home item. However, our guidance assumes continued pressure on consumers from macroeconomic and geopolitical factors. Our outlook assumes no improvement in global restaurant traffic from fiscal '25 levels, but it does plan for customer momentum that began in the second half of fiscal '25 to continue.

轉到投影片 24 和我們的 2026 財年展望。該展望包括第 53 週的貢獻，另外一周位於第四季度。在 26 財年，我們預計我們的產品類別將繼續受到熱捧，因為顧客和消費者會優先將炸薯條作為菜單和居家食品。然而，我們的指導假設宏觀經濟和地緣政治因素將繼續給消費者帶來壓力。我們的展望假設全球餐廳客流量與 25 財年的水準相比不會有所改善，但預計 25 財年下半年開始的顧客成長動能將持續下去。

It also does not include additional impacts of evolving trade policy, including changes in tariffs and retaliatory countermeasures. With this as a backdrop, we expect revenue for fiscal '26 in the range of $6.35 billion to $6.55 billion, which is a 2% decline to 2% growth on a constant currency basis. The carryover pricing actions we made in fiscal '25 to support our customers will have a negative impact on net sales in the first half of the year.

它還沒有包括貿易政策演變的額外影響，包括關稅變化和報復性對策。在此背景下，我們預計 26 財年的營收將在 63.5 億美元至 65.5 億美元之間，以固定匯率計算，下降 2% 至成長 2%。我們在 25 財年為支持客戶所採取的結轉定價措施將對上半年的淨銷售產生負面影響。

Based on the timing of contract renewals, most of the fiscal '26 pricing actions will impact the second half of the year, and they are expected to have a lesser impact than those made in fiscal '25. In total, we expect sales to be stronger in the second half of the fiscal year, which will benefit from the additional week.

根據合約續約的時間，26財年的大部分定價行動將對下半年產生影響，預計其影響將小於25財年的影響。總體而言，我們預計本財年下半年的銷售額將會更加強勁，這將受益於額外一週的銷售。

Turning to our adjusted EBITDA outlook on Slide 25. Beginning in fiscal '26, we are implementing changes in our reporting of adjusted SG&A and adjusted EBITDA to fully exclude noncash share-based compensation expense. In fiscal '25, stock-based compensation expense was $40 million. After this call, we will publish a schedule recasting prior periods to reflect this new methodology on our investor website. With this change, we expect adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2026 of $1 billion to $1.2 billion.

轉向幻燈片 25 上的調整後 EBITDA 展望。從 26 財年開始，我們將對調整後的 SG&A 和調整後的 EBITDA 報告進行變更，以完全排除非現金股權激勵費用。25財年，股票薪酬支出為4000萬美元。本次電話會議結束後，我們將在投資者網站上發布重新制定的前期時間表，以反映此新方法。由於這項變化，我們預計 2026 財年的調整後 EBITDA 將達到 10 億美元至 12 億美元。

We expect adjusted gross profit to be down negatively impacted by the carryover pricing and further efforts to support customers with price and trade in fiscal '26.

我們預計，由於結轉定價以及 26 財年進一步努力為客戶提供價格和交易支持，調整後的毛利將下降。

Low single-digit inflation, including the benefit of lower raw potato costs, and higher fixed factory burden and start-up costs in our International segment, primarily related to our new plant in Argentina, which is expected to begin producing sellable product in August.

低個位數通膨率，包括原料馬鈴薯成本降低的好處，以及國際部門固定工廠負擔和啟動成本增加，這主要與我們在阿根廷的新工廠有關，該工廠預計將於 8 月開始生產可銷售的產品。

Before the benefits of our cost savings program, we expect adjusted SG&A will increase compared with the prior year due to an incremental $40 million headwind related to normalizing incentive compensation expenses after a couple of years of lower-than-planned incentive achievement and approximately $10 million of incremental investments, including, for example, innovation and advertising and promotion expenses to support our long-term strategic plan.

在享受成本節約計劃的效益之前，我們預計調整後的銷售、一般及行政費用將比上年增加，這是由於在連續幾年的激勵業績低於計劃之後，激勵薪酬費用正常化將帶來 4,000 萬美元的增量阻力，以及約 1,000 萬美元的增量投資，例如用於支持我們長期戰略計劃的創新、廣告和促銷費用。

Our adjusted gross margin and SG&A will benefit from the cost savings program that we announced today. We expect to deliver approximately $200 million of the full savings target by the end of fiscal '27 with about half on a run rate basis fiscal '26. In fiscal '26, we expect approximately two-third of the $100 million of savings to be realized in the second half of the year. About two-third will benefit adjusted gross profit and one-third will benefit adjusted SG&A this year.

我們調整後的毛利率和銷售、一般及行政費用將受惠於我們今天宣布的成本節約計畫。我們預計，到 2027 財年末，我們將實現全部節省目標中的約 2 億美元，其中約一半將在 2026 財年按運行率計算實現。在 26 財年，我們預計 1 億美元節省的約三分之二將在下半年實現。今年約有三分之二將受惠於調整後的毛利，三分之一將受惠於調整後的銷售、一般及行政開支。

Over the program's life, however, we anticipate approximately 75% of the benefit in gross profit and 25% in SG&A. To deliver the savings, we expect to recognize approximately $70 million to $100 million of cash pretax charges, most of which are expected to be paid in fiscal '26. Keep in mind that these savings are on top of the remaining approximately $25 million of incremental benefits that we expect to deliver under the restructuring plan we announced in fiscal '25.

然而，在該計劃的整個生命週期內，我們預計大約 75% 的收益將來自毛利，25% 將來自銷售、一般及行政費用 (SG&A)。為了實現節約，我們預計將確認約 7,000 萬至 1 億美元的現金稅前費用，其中大部分預計將在 26 財年支付。請記住，這些節省是在我們預計根據 25 財年宣布的重組計劃提供的剩餘約 2500 萬美元增量收益的基礎上的。

And finally, adjusted EBITDA will benefit from the contribution of an additional week of sales and earnings. We are targeting a full year effective tax rate of approximately 26% for fiscal '26, excluding the impact of comparability items. This tax rate is forecast to be in the high 20s in the first half of the year and low 20s in the second half of the year, reflecting the expected timing of discrete items most notably in the fourth quarter, we do not expect the recently enacted US federal tax legislation to have a material impact on our fiscal 2016 tax rate.

最後，調整後的 EBITDA 將受益於額外一週的銷售額和收益的貢獻。排除可比項目的影響，我們計劃將 26 財年的全年有效稅率定為約 26%。預計上半年稅率為20%左右，下半年稅率為20%左右，這反映了預計的單獨項目時間，尤其是在第四季度，我們預計最近頒布的美國聯邦稅法不會對我們2016財年的稅率產生重大影響。

In summary, Lamb Weston is operating from a strong financial foundation, and we believe the steps we announced today will enable us to improve our competitiveness and financial position through cost savings establishing clear strategic priorities and working capital improvements. We believe these expected savings, together with lower levels of capital expenditures and working capital improvements, will help drive improved profitability and cash flow over the long term.

總而言之，Lamb Weston 擁有強大的財務基礎，我們相信，今天宣布的措施將使我們能夠透過節省成本、制定明確的策略重點和改善營運資金來提高我們的競爭力和財務狀況。我們相信，這些預期的節省，加上較低的資本支出和營運資本改善，將有助於長期提高獲利能力和現金流。

I'll now turn the call back over to Mike.

我現在將電話轉回給麥克。

Thank you, Bernadette. I'm confident in the direction we are taking in Lamb Weston, and we are making important and significant changes to our business to compete more effectively in today's marketplace. We have organizational alignment to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities in front of us. We will drive performance by focusing on the controllables, but we do so knowing it will provide an even bigger opportunity for us and our customers when restaurant traffic returns to growth, and we will be ready.

謝謝你，伯納黛特。我對 Lamb Weston 的發展方向充滿信心，我們正在對業務進行重要且重大的變革，以便在當今市場上更有效地競爭。我們已經進行了組織協調，以利用我們面前的巨大機會。我們將透過專注於可控因素來推動業績，但我們知道，當餐廳客流量恢復成長時，這將為我們和我們的客戶提供更大的機會，我們將做好準備。

With that, we're happy to take your questions.

我們很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Peter Galbo, Bank of America.

美國銀行的彼得‧加爾博 (Peter Galbo)。

Hey, good morning, Mike and Bernadette. Thanks for the questions. I wanted to start on the EBITDA margin target for the year, I think, is around 17% at the midpoint. And that would kind of be the, I think, the lowest it's been since the company was spun public on a stand-alone basis.

嘿，早上好，麥克和伯納黛特。感謝您的提問。我想從今年的 EBITDA 利潤率目標開始，我認為中間值大約是 17%。我認為，這將是該公司獨立上市以來的最低股價。

So maybe you can just kind of help us understand if you think this is a floor in terms of a margin percentage and I know you guys probably care about dollars more than percentages, but you know what the push and pull factors might be over the next couple of years that that could push that number either higher or lower from that, new kind of [17% there].

所以也許你可以幫我們理解一下，你是否認為這是利潤率的底線，我知道你們可能更關心美元而不是百分比，但你知道未來幾年的推拉因素可能是什麼，這可能會推動這個數字從這個數字上升或下降，這是一種新的[那裡有 17%]。

Yeah, Peter, I appreciate the question. I think as I think about it, obviously, we're going to be below that normalized range here in fiscal '26. I think, despite the fact that, our key customers are experiencing headwinds, we're supporting them with price and trade and what's really a competitive environment we've talked about that in the past.

是的，彼得，我很感謝你提出這個問題。我認為，顯然，26 財年我們的收入將低於正常範圍。我認為，儘管我們的主要客戶正面臨逆風，但我們仍在透過價格和貿易為他們提供支持，而真正的競爭環境我們過去也曾討論過。

We're also investing in markets and channels that are strategic and and where we believe we have the right to win for the long term and those are going to be longer-term opportunities that we believe will deliver whole EBITDA dollars as you talked about. But I'll tell you, when I think about our category compared to some of the other categories in CPG, where the challenges might be a little bit more structural in nature, we operate in a really attractive category.

我們也在策略性市場和通路上進行投資，我們相信我們有權在這些市場和通路上取得長期勝利，而這些將是長期機會，我們相信正如您所說的那樣，這些機會將帶來完整的 EBITDA 美元。但我會告訴你，當我考慮將我們的類別與 CPG 中的其他一些類別進行比較時，這些類別面臨的挑戰可能在本質上更具結構性，而我們所處的類別確實很有吸引力。

And you've heard me talk about how -- it's one of the most ordered items across all generations of French fries. It's 1 of the most profitable items on restaurant menus and the attachment rate remains high. And so we believe we're going to continue to invest in the business for the long term, and we're also making significant changes around our cost structure.

你們也聽我說過——它是歷代炸薯條中訂購最多的食品之一。它是餐廳菜單上最賺錢的菜餚之一，而且附加率仍然很高。因此，我們相信我們將繼續對這項業務進行長期投資，並且我們也將對我們的成本結構做出重大改變。

And we've done a lot of work, as we talked about in our prepared remarks over the last several months and it's shown us where we have some opportunities. And so we're addressing those. And with the announced $250 million cost savings program over the next few years. And so I'll tell you, listen, we believe our strategy has us on a path to return to those margin levels, but we'll provide more details once we're further along with our Focus to Win strategy.

正如我們在過去幾個月的準備好的發言中談到的那樣，我們已經做了很多工作，這也向我們展示了我們所擁有的一些機會。所以我們正在解決這些問題。並宣布未來幾年將實施 2.5 億美元的成本節約計畫。所以我會告訴你，聽著，我們相信我們的策略會讓我們回到那些利潤水平，但是一旦我們進一步推進我們的「專注取勝」策略，我們將提供更多細節。

Great. That's helpful. And maybe just as a follow-up to both of you, there was a lot of discussion around the improvement in working capital, both in the prepared remarks and in the press release this morning. I guess just, Mike, there's a lot of ways to get there in terms of the working capital improvement, and it looks to be on the inventory side. But maybe just a little bit more detail on what specifically you're planning to do around inventory levels what that might look like in the supply chain as we contemplate to go forward. Thanks very much.

偉大的。這很有幫助。也許只是作為對你們兩位的後續跟進，在準備好的發言和今天上午的新聞稿中都對營運資金的改善進行了大量討論。麥克，我想，就營運資本改善而言，有很多方法可以實現這一目標，而且看起來是在庫存方面。但也許您能更詳細地說明一下您計劃在庫存水準方面採取的具體措施，以及在我們考慮進一步推進時，供應鏈中可能採取的措施。非常感謝。

Yes. No, great question around working capital. When you think about our Focus to Win strategy, a big part of it is value creation, and that's across the entire P&L.

是的。不，關於營運資金的好問題。當您考慮我們的「專注取勝」策略時，其中很大一部分是價值創造，而且這涉及整個損益表。

When I look at the progress we made really in Q4, we improved our inventories and a lot of that had to do with the stronger volumes that we saw coming through the P&L. Keep in mind, for this coming fiscal year and the crop season, we've reduced our acres. And we have higher inventories. And so we're making sure that we work through those inventories in the right ways.

當我回顧我們在第四季度取得的進展時，我們發現庫存有所改善，這在很大程度上與我們在損益表中看到的更強勁的交易量有關。請記住，為了即將到來的財政年度和作物季節，我們已經減少了種植面積。而且我們的庫存更高。因此，我們要確保以正確的方式處理這些庫存。

I talked a little bit about improving our capabilities as an organization. And one of those capabilities that we are investing behind for the future is around planning and integrated planning from the ag side all the way through to finished goods. And so we're really confident in our ability to improve our working capital over the next couple of years.

我稍微談了一下如何提升我們作為一個組織的能力。我們為未來投資的能力之一是從農業一直到成品的規劃和綜合規劃。因此，我們對未來幾年改善營運資金的能力充滿信心。

Great, thanks very much guys.

太好了，非常感謝大家。

Thanks Peter.

謝謝彼得。

Scott Marks, Jefferies.

史考特馬克斯，傑富瑞。

Hey, good morning. Thanks so much for taking our questions. First one, I wanted to ask about international capacity. You made some comments, I believe that there has been some announced capacity internationally, but that you don't necessarily expect those to get off the ground. So just wondering if, one, if I have that correct. And then two, maybe what gives you confidence that some of those projects won't be moving forward?

嘿，早安。非常感謝您回答我們的問題。首先，我想問一下國際產能問題。您發表了一些評論，我相信國際上已經宣布了一些產能，但您並不一定期望這些產能能夠順利實現。所以我只是想知道，第一，我是否理解正確。其次，是什麼讓您確信其中一些項目不會繼續前進？

Yes, I appreciate the question, Scott. I'm not going to speculate on what the capacity will or won't happen, what will or won't be announced. But we do believe that the industry has been pretty rational in the past as it relates to capacity. And through our competitive intelligence, we believe that there's roughly GBP1 billion to GBP1.5 billion has been canceled or delayed.

是的，我很感謝你的提問，斯科特。我不會猜測產能將會發生或不會發生什麼，將宣布或不會宣布什麼。但我們確實相信，該行業過去在產能方面一直相當理性。透過我們的競爭情報，我們認為大約有 10 億至 15 億英鎊被取消或延遲。

I'll also tell you the pace of new announcements has also slowed. And so when we think about our business, we're really taking the steps to control what we can control and ensure that our production lines up with our demand. And the great thing about the position that we're in as we see restaurant traffic return and as our customers start to grow, we're well positioned with available capacity to take advantage of those improved demand signals.

我還要告訴你，新公告發布的速度也已經放慢。因此，當我們考慮我們的業務時，我們實際上正在採取措施來控制我們能夠控制的事情，並確保我們的生產符合我們的需求。我們所處位置的一大優點是，我們看到餐廳客流量回升，顧客數量開始成長，我們有能力利用這些改善的需求訊號。

Appreciate the answer. And then secondly, I just wanted to ask about kind of the CapEx guide for the year and maybe go forward, how we should be thinking about it. I think in the presentation, you mentioned that about 3% of sales should be kind of a maintenance CapEx number.

感謝您的回答。其次，我只是想問今年的資本支出指南，以及我們應該如何考慮它。我認為在演示中您提到大約 3% 的銷售額應該是維護資本支出數字。

And obviously, the guide you gave came in a little bit below what folks were looking for. So just wondering if you can kind of share some thoughts around that and kind of puts and takes and how we should think about that going forward? Thanks.

顯然，您提供的指南略低於人們所尋求的範圍。所以我只是想知道您是否可以分享一些關於此的想法以及一些利弊以及我們應該如何看待這個問題？謝謝。

You bet. So first, we are reducing the capital intensity as we shift away from our growth investments to modernization and maintenance, as you mentioned. Generally, we would expect about 3% of sales for base capital and 2% for modernization. And then as I mentioned, there's about $100 million we have now that's related to wastewater treatment.

當然。首先，正如您所說，我們正在從成長投資轉向現代化和維護，從而降低資本密集度。一般來說，我們預期銷售額的 3% 左右用於基礎資本，2% 用於現代化。正如我所提到的，我們現在有大約 1 億美元用於廢水處理。

So all in, we expect that this $500 million CapEx plan is really something that is going to support Lamb Weston continuing to maintain its assets and the capabilities that we need to drive our strategy forward.

總而言之，我們預計這項 5 億美元的資本支出計畫將真正支持 Lamb Weston 繼續維護其資產以及推動我們策略向前發展所需的能力。

Got it. That's fine. Thanks so much.

知道了。沒關係。非常感謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指示）

Alexia Howard, Bernstein.

亞歷克西亞·霍華德，伯恩斯坦。

Good morning, everyone.

大家早安。

Morning Alexia.

早安，亞歷克西亞。

Hi there. So two quick things from me. First of all, can you talk about what went better than expected this quarter and whether any of those trends could persist into fiscal '26?

你好呀。我想簡單說兩件事。首先，您能否談談本季哪些方面比預期更好，以及這些趨勢是否會持續到 26 財年？

Yes. The one that comes to mind, Alexia for Q4 is how we're engaging with our customers. You've heard me talk a lot about the importance of driving customer centricity through our organization, and that starts at the top.

是的。我想到的是，第四季的 Alexia 是我們與客戶互動的方式。你們已經聽我多次談論在整個組織中推動以客戶為中心的重要性，而這要從最高層開始。

And I've been personally out meeting with several of our top customers and talking about where we have opportunities to improve and where we can help support them in their growth into the future. And so we're continuing to do that. The other area, obviously, that we've talked about here is around our Focus to Win strategy and the cost savings program.

我親自會見了我們的幾位頂級客戶，討論了我們在哪些方面有改進的機會，以及我們可以在哪些方面幫助他們實現未來的發展。因此我們會繼續這樣做。顯然，我們在這裡討論的另一個領域是我們的「專注取勝」策略和成本節約計畫。

And obviously, we've been doing a lot of analysis over the last several months, but we've already started to focus in some of those areas to start implementing some of the opportunities that we see, specifically around better execution on the business as well as focusing on our innovation moving forward.

顯然，我們在過去幾個月裡做了大量的分析，但我們已經開始關注其中一些領域，開始實施我們看到的一些機會，特別是圍繞更好地執行業務以及關注我們未來的創新。

Yes. And Alexia, the only other thing I'd mention is just the really strong volume growth across all of our channels and all of our regions. I think as we mentioned, North America volume was up 4% and international volume up 16%. And as Mike's mentioned, that's a big reason we were able to also drive down our inventories at the end of the year.

是的。還有 Alexia，我要提到的另一件事就是我們所有通路和所有地區的銷售量都實現了非常強勁的成長。我認為正如我們所提到的，北美交易量增加了 4%，國際交易量增加了 16%。正如麥克所提到的，這也是我們能夠在年底降低庫存的一個重要原因。

Very helpful. Can I follow up with a question about the Burger channel. I think you said on a two-year stack, the traffic in there is still down, I believe, high single digits you mentioned. How much exposure do you have to that channel in North America?

非常有幫助。我可以繼續問一個關於漢堡頻道的問題嗎？我想您說過，在兩年的堆疊中，那裡的流量仍然在下降，我相信，您提到的是高個位數。該頻道在北美的曝光率有多高？

Because I'm trying to figure out if there's a risk if GLP-1 weight loss drugs really step up next year with the pill version coming out, could that have a material impact? Or are there ways that you can insulate yourself from that kind of outcome next year? Thank you, and I'll pass it on.

因為我想弄清楚，如果 GLP-1 減肥藥明年真的上市，藥丸版本真的會加強，這是否會產生實質影響？或者有什麼方法可以讓自己明年避免出現同樣的結果？謝謝，我會傳達的。

Yes. Good question. Alexia, when you look at QSR servings or fry servings, 85% or over 80% of fry servings come from the QSR space. Specific to GLP-1s, we don't see a material impact on our business right now. When you look at the retail frozen potato category data seems to be in a good spot.

是的。好問題。Alexia，當您查看 QSR 份量或油炸份量時，85% 或超過 80% 的油炸份量來自 QSR 空間。具體到 GLP-1，我們目前沒有看到對我們的業務產生重大影響。當您查看零售冷凍馬鈴薯類別資料時，您會發現資料似乎處於良好狀態。

Also, when I look at fry menu importance, it remains above pre-pandemic levels. So when consumers are going to restaurants, they're ordering fries at a higher level than they were prior to the pandemic.

此外，當我查看油炸菜單的重要性時，它仍然高於疫情前的水平。因此，當消費者去餐廳時，他們點薯條的量比疫情前還要高。

We continue to engage in industry studies, and we're evaluating the consumer just like all the other companies out there on what the impact of GLP-1 might have. And we have our innovation team aligned to make sure that we adjust and change with any sort of consumer preferences that may come our way.

我們將繼續進行產業研究，並像其他公司一樣評估消費者對 GLP-1 可能產生的影響。我們擁有一支協調一致的創新團隊，以確保我們能夠根據消費者的任何偏好進行調整和改變。

Great, thank you very much. I'll pass it on.

太好了，非常感謝。我會傳達的。

Steve Powers, Deutsche Bank.

德意志銀行的史蒂夫·鮑爾斯。

Great, good morning. Thanks. Mike, I think as part of your outlook, you mentioned that it assumes continued positive customer momentum that you've built in the back half of '25. I just wanted a little bit more clarity there. Is that just the carryover of recent business wins? Or are you assuming a degree of incremental wins that may not have yet been finalized. Just trying to understand exactly what that commentary means.

太好了，早安。謝謝。麥克，我認為，作為您的展望的一部分，您提到它假設您在 25 年下半年建立的持續積極的客戶勢頭。我只是想要更清楚地了解一下。這僅僅是近期商業勝利的延續嗎？或者您是否假設一定程度的增量勝利可能尚未最終確定。只是想確切地理解那條評論的意思。

Yes. It's both, Steve. I mean we've had a lot of strong volume, as Bernadette mentioned, in Q4. But the teams are also out there pounding the pavements and talking to our customers and making sure that they understand that Lamb Weston is here to support them for growth.

是的。兩者都有，史蒂夫。我的意思是，正如伯納黛特所提到的，我們在第四季的銷售非常強勁。但我們的團隊也在四處奔波，與客戶交談，確保他們明白 Lamb Weston 會支持他們的發展。

Last call, we talked about a new large QSR chain that's switching to a frozen fry and that transition continues to move forward, and we're continuing to pick up new opportunities as our teams out there engaging with customers in a more profound way.

上次，我們談到了一家新的大型 QSR 連鎖店，該連鎖店正在轉向冷凍炸薯條，並且這一轉變仍在繼續推進，隨著我們的團隊以更深刻的方式與客戶互動，我們也在繼續尋找新的機會。

Okay. Great. And then if I could, the outlook, as you mentioned a couple of times, it doesn't include the impact of any additional tariffs or retaliatory countermeasures, which I think I understand. I guess around that, is there a way maybe to offer a little bit of commentary just around how you're assessing the risks and opportunities associated with potential changes in the current status quo -- and what work you're doing just to position yourself against different scenarios that may develop as recent as quickly as the next few weeks. So just how you're thinking about that?

好的。偉大的。然後，如果可以的話，正如您幾次提到的那樣，前景並不包括任何額外關稅或報復性對策的影響，我想我理解這一點。我想，圍繞這一點，您是否可以提供一些評論，關於您如何評估與當前現狀的潛在變化相關的風險和機遇，以及您正在做哪些工作來應對可能在未來幾週內出現的不同情況。那麼您對此有何看法？

Yes. No, I appreciate the question. As you know, just from a business perspective, we're a global business, and so we're supplying most of our customers locally or regionally. As it relates to our cost structure, our biggest area where we will be impacted by tariffs is oil and some of our ingredients.

是的。不，我很感謝你提出這個問題。如您所知，從商業角度來看，我們是一家全球性企業，因此我們為大多數本地或區域客戶提供服務。就我們的成本結構而言，受關稅影響最大的領域是石油和一些原料。

We continue to look at opportunities for us to look at different blends and other things to mitigate exposure. But in total, if the August 1 tariff come to fruition. The exposure to our financial results and our outlook is about $25 million.

我們將繼續尋找機會研究不同的混合物和其他東西來減輕風險。但總的來說，如果8月1日的關稅得以實現。我們的財務表現和前景的風險敞口約為 2500 萬美元。

Okay. Very good. Perfect. Thanks for that. Appreciate it.

好的。非常好。完美的。謝謝。非常感謝。

Marc Torrente, Wells Fargo Securities.

富國證券的馬克‧托倫特 (Marc Torrente)。

Hey, good morning and thank you for the questions. First, just on your outlook for sales, expected flattish overall price/mix is expected to be down and paying volumes could be flat to up even -- how much of that is driven by the 53rd week falling in Q4? And then with your carryover customer wins and your level of visibility into the year, any more color on expected sales cadence through the year? Thanks.

嘿，早上好，謝謝你的提問。首先，僅就銷售前景而言，預計整體價格/組合將下降，而支付量可能會持平甚至上升 - 其中有多少是由第四季度第 53 週的下降所驅動的？那麼，根據您贏得的結轉客戶數量和對全年銷售情況的了解程度，您對全年的預期銷售節奏還有什麼疑問嗎？謝謝。

Yes. No, thank you for the question. As we look at the first half and the back half of the year, our sales are going to be much more pressured in the first half of the year primarily due to the carryover pricing from fiscal '25.

是的。不，謝謝你的提問。展望上半年和下半年，我們發現上半年的銷售壓力將更大，這主要是由於 25 財年的結轉定價。

From a volume perspective, we've got the carryover volume momentum that was included in there. But most of the volume impact is going to be in the 53rd week in the back half of the year that's where you're going to see some of the increase in volume. And to a lesser extent, you will see impact of pricing in the back half of the year with the fiscal '26 pricing actions that relate to the fall contract renewals.

從交易量角度來看，我們已經獲得了其中包含的結轉交易量動量。但大部分交易量影響將出現在下半年的第 53 週，屆時您將會看到交易量增加。在較小程度上，您會看到與秋季合約續約相關的 26 財年定價行動對下半年定價的影響。

Okay. I appreciate that. And then bridging out the EBITDA a little more. The decrease seems primarily due to lower gross profit pre-cost savings. Could you help with quantifying some of those larger buckets between pricing investment, inflation, fixed cost absorption?

好的。我很感激。然後再稍微補一下 EBITDA。下降似乎主要是由於成本節省前毛利較低所致。您能否幫助量化定價投資、通貨膨脹、固定成本吸收之間的一些較大因素？

Any other color on front half versus back half phasing on those costs? And when could those costs start to stabilize versus being a headwind.

前半部和後半部還有其他顏色嗎？這些成本是多少？這些成本何時才能開始穩定而不是成為阻力？

Yes. So the way to look at this year from a margin perspective is we're going to see more of a sequential increase from first quarter to second quarter and then to third quarter.

是的。因此，從利潤率的角度來看今年，我們將看到從第一季到第二季再到第三季的連續成長。

Last year, if you recall, there was a large increase in margins in the third quarter, and that was because we had a lot of raw inventories that we continue to process. This year, we will get back to the more seasonal trend where we will begin harvesting out of field, and we'll see the impact of some of the lower pricing of potatoes as well as the cost benefit of harvesting out of field beginning in the second quarter.

如果你還記得的話，去年第三季的利潤率大幅增加，那是因為我們有大量的原始庫存需要繼續處理。今年，我們將恢復更具季節性的趨勢，開始田間收穫，我們將從第二季度開始看到馬鈴薯價格下跌的影響以及田間收穫的成本效益。

So really, the lowest margin impact from an adjusted gross profit perspective will be in the first quarter and then sequentially increasing and then the typical seasonal decline that we see in the fourth quarter. Does that help explain a little bit about how we're expecting the year to play out? Anything else I can cover.

因此，從調整後的毛利角度來看，利潤率影響最低的將出現在第一季度，然後逐季增加，最後在第四季度出現典型的季節性下降。這是否有助於解釋我們對今年的預期？我還可以介紹其他內容。

No, that's helpful. Appreciate it.

不，這很有幫助。非常感謝。

Great. You bet.

偉大的。當然。

Robert Moskow, TD Cowen.

羅伯特·莫斯科（Robert Moskow），TD Cowen。

Hi, thanks. I appreciate the commentary about what's happening in terms of your -- how you interpret global capacity increases. I was wondering if you could be a little more specific about what's happening in North America. Are there projects going on by your competitors that are still ramping in North America?

你好，謝謝。我很欣賞您對當前情況的評論——您如何解讀全球產能成長。我想知道您是否可以更具體地介紹一下北美正在發生的事情。您的競爭對手是否還在北美推進一些專案？

And if so, I know it's too early to kind of fast forward a year from now, but I think we're all wondering, at what point does your pricing structure kind of stabilize? And I think that what's happening from competitors probably has a lot to do with it. So more specifically, when you said that GBP1 billion to GBP1.5 billion pounds of projects have been delayed, was any of that in North America as well? Thanks.

如果是這樣，我知道現在預測一年後還為時過早，但我想我們都想知道，你們的定價結構什麼時候才能穩定下來？我認為競爭對手的舉動可能與此有很大關係。更具體地說，當您說價值 10 億至 15 億英鎊的項目被推遲時，北美也存在類似的情況嗎？謝謝。

Yes. To answer the last part of your question, Rob, that GBP1 billion to GBP1.5 billion, none of that was in North America. Keep in mind, there are some projects that are still being finalized. Those were -- decisions on those projects were made a couple of years or so ago. So they're just in the final stages.

是的。羅布，回答你問題的最後一部分，那 10 億到 15 億英鎊，沒有一分是在北美。請記住，有些項目仍處於最終確定階段。這些項目的決定是在大約幾年前做出的。所以他們正處於最後階段。

But majority of the new capacity that has been announced and coming online is overseas in international markets. A large portion of that is in Europe as well as some of the other developing markets that we talked about.

但目前已宣布並投入營運的新產能大部分位於國際市場上的海外。其中很大一部分在歐洲以及我們談到的其他一些發展中市場。

I think the important thing to note is that not all capacity is created equal. And so as I talked about in the prepared remarks, it depends on the quality of raw. It depends on the capabilities in those facilities on the types of opportunities that these manufacturers can go after. And so again, like I said, the pace of new announcements has definitely slowed over the last quarter.

我認為需要注意的重要一點是，並非所有容量都是一樣的。正如我在準備好的演講中談到的，這取決於原材料的品質。這取決於這些設施的能力以及這些製造商可以追求的機會類型。所以，就像我說的，上個季度新公告發布的速度肯定已經放緩。

Yes. And the only other thing I'd add to that is that our strategy, as Mike talked about it today, really is positioning us to gain share and lean into those premium segments of the market. And to Mike's point, not all capacity is created equal. So you'll see a lot from us in that respect as it relates to carrying out our strategy as we move forward.

是的。我唯一要補充的是，正如麥克今天談到的，我們的策略實際上是為了讓我們獲得份額並進入高端市場。正如麥克所說，並非所有容量都是平等的。因此，您會看到我們在這方面做出了很多努力，因為這與我們未來策略的實施有關。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Carla Casella, JP Morgan.

卡拉‧卡塞拉，摩根大通。

Hi, thanks for taking the question. Just wanted to ask you, your leverage target, is it still about 3.5 times to 4 times range. And do you see taking leverage up to that level? Or is that more just the level in case you opportunity in terms of M&A.

你好，謝謝你回答這個問題。只是想問您，您的槓桿目標，還是在3.5倍到4倍左右的範圍內嗎。您是否認為槓桿率會上升到這個水平？或者這僅僅是您在併購方面有機會的水平。

Hi, Carla, thanks for the question. Yes, we do continue to target a ratio of about 3.5 times, and, we'll reduce debt as warranted to make sure we maintain this level.

你好，卡拉，謝謝你的提問。是的，我們確實繼續將目標鎖定在 3.5 倍左右，並且我們將根據需要減少債務，以確保維持這一水平。

(multiple speakers) -- Go ahead.

（多位發言者）－請講。

Carla, I was just going to say the other thing for us is we also are opening and we'll entertain M&A or other joint venture partnerships in the future.

卡拉，我剛才要說的是，我們也正在開業，並且將來會考慮併購或其他合資夥伴關係。

Okay. That's great. I mean just on that, I was just going to follow-up actually on that note. Are there -- what are you seeing in terms of opportunities? I know you had been looking to more international M&A and buying in some of the regions.

好的。那太棒了。我的意思是，我實際上只是想跟進這一點。您看到了哪些機會？我知道您一直在尋求在某些地區進行更多的國際併購和收購。

Is there any more opportunity for those kind of easier businesses you already know type M&A or anything more off the board you would look at?

對於您已經了解的那些較容易開展的業務，是否還有其他機會，例如併購或其他您會考慮的其他業務？

No. We're continuing to focus on the potato industry, and we'll continue to look at M&A globally as long as it's in the right markets with the right capabilities that support our Focus to Win strategy. And so we'll continue to keep our options open. And like we said in the past, we'll look at M&A. We'll look at joint venture partnerships and other ways to grow our business around the globe.

不。我們將繼續關注馬鈴薯產業，並將繼續在全球範圍內尋找併購機會，只要它是在正確的市場，並具有支持我們「專注取勝」策略的正確能力。因此，我們將繼續保留我們的選擇。正如我們過去所說的那樣，我們會關注併購。我們將尋求合資夥伴關係和其他方式來拓展我們在全球的業務。

Okay, great. Thanks for. the time.

好的，太好了。謝謝你的時間。

Max Gumport, BNP Paribas.

法國巴黎銀行的馬克斯‧甘波特。

Hey, thanks for the question. First, with regards to your strategic framework in determining the geographies that you want to focus on, could you give a bit more color on what your plan might be for geographies where you don't believe if you have a competitive advantage or you don't see strong growth potential? And specifically, how would you view Europe with regard to setting into this framework?

嘿，謝謝你的提問。首先，關於您在確定想要關注的地區的戰略框架，您能否更詳細地說明一下，對於您認為不具備競爭優勢或沒有看到強勁增長潛力的地區，您的計劃是什麼？具體來說，您如何看待歐洲納入這項框架？

Yes, I appreciate the question. I'm not going to give details around those geographies right now. Obviously, we've done a lot of work over the last several months. And for competitive reasons, I'm not going to share the details of what those might look like.

是的，我很感謝你提出這個問題。我現在不打算透露這些地理位置的詳細資訊。顯然，過去幾個月我們做了很多工作。出於競爭原因，我不會分享這些細節。

But I know that as we get into those plans a little bit further on, we'll update the investment community on those decisions as they move forward.

但我知道，隨著我們進一步推進這些計劃，我們會向投資界通報這些決定的進展。

Okay. And then the decision to remove noncash stock-based compensation as an expense with regard to your adjusted metrics, I mean it seems to me a bit like a step backwards as an accounting practice. So I was hoping to get sense for the motivation. I mean, I would view that as a real expense. It's retaining employees.

好的。然後，決定根據調整後的指標取消非現金股票薪酬作為費用，在我看來，這有點像會計實務的倒退。所以我希望能夠了解其動機。我的意思是，我認為這是一筆真正的開銷。這是為了留住員工。

And I think given you're going into a year when incentive comp is normalizing, and the Board is going to be receiving their typical cash retainer and shares of restricted stock. The timing feels a bit odd to me. So can you talk more about the justification for this decision? Thank you.

我認為，考慮到即將進入激勵薪酬正常化的一年，董事會將獲得典型的現金留任金和限制性股票。我覺得這個時間有點奇怪。那麼您能否進一步談談這項決定的理由？謝謝。

Yes, I'll speak to that. So our annual incentive plan, which is normalizing and the $40 million incremental costs that I referred to, that's a cash award that certainly will be included in our EBITDA metrics.

是的，我會談論這個。因此，我們的年度激勵計劃正在正常化，我提到的 4000 萬美元增量成本是一筆現金獎勵，肯定會包含在我們的 EBITDA 指標中。

As we take a look at EBITDA, some of the noncash items that are affected with volatility in terms of whether or not performance is achieved or not. Those are items that are driving volatility and change that really aren't something that we want to manage the business towards. And so we took this opportunity now to add that back. Very common in industry where we've seen this added back, and we took that opportunity to do it as that is an item that we as a management team as we evaluate this business do generally add back.

當我們查看 EBITDA 時，我們發現一些非現金項目會受到是否實現業績的波動影響。這些因素導致了波動和變化，而這實際上並不是我們在管理業務時想要面對的。因此我們現在藉此機會將其加回。我們在行業中看到這種加回來的情況非常普遍，我們藉此機會這樣做，因為這是我們作為管理團隊在評估這項業務時通常會加回來的一項。

Thanks very much.

非常感謝。

That will conclude our Q&A session. We will now turn the conference back to Debbie Hancock for any additional or closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。現在我們將會議交還給黛比·漢考克，請她發表任何補充或結束語。

Thank you, Jess, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today. The replay of the call will be available on our website later this afternoon. Thank you.

謝謝傑西，也謝謝大家今天的參與。通話的重播將於今天下午稍晚在我們的網站上發布。謝謝。

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude today's call. We thank you for your participation. You may disconnect at this time.

謝謝各位，女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。我們感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。