利安德巴塞爾 (LYB) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello and welcome to the LyondellBasell teleconference. At the request of LyondellBasell, this conference is being recorded for instant replay purposes. Following today's presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session.

您好，歡迎來到利安德巴塞爾電話會議。應利安德巴塞爾的要求，本次會議正在錄製以便即時重播。今天的演講結束後，我們將進行問答環節。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. David Kinney, Head of Investor Relations. Sir, you may begin.

現在我想將會議交給投資者關係主管 David Kinney 先生。先生，您可以開始了。

Thank you, operator, and welcome, everyone, to today's call. Before we begin discussion, I would like to point out that a slide presentation that accompanies the call and is available on our website at www.lyondellbasell.com/investor relations.

謝謝接線員，歡迎大家參加今天的電話會議。在我們開始討論之前，我想指出電話會議附帶的幻燈片演示文稿，可在我們的網站 www.lyondellbasell.com/investorrelations 上取得。

Today, we will be discussing our business results while making reference to some forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures. We believe the forward looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and the alternative measures are useful to investors.

今天，我們將討論我們的業務成果，同時參考一些前瞻性陳述和非公認會計準則財務指標。我們相信前瞻性陳述是基於合理的假設，替代措施對投資人有用。

Nonetheless, the forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. We encourage you to learn more about the factors that could lead our actual results to differ by reviewing the cautionary statements in the presentation slides and our regulatory filings, which are also available on our investor relations website.

儘管如此，前瞻性陳述仍面臨重大風險和不確定性。我們鼓勵您透過查看簡報投影片和監管文件中的警告聲明（也可以在我們的投資者關係網站上找到）來詳細了解可能導致我們的實際結果有所不同的因素。

Comments made on this call will be in regard to our underlying business results using non-GAAP financial measures such as EBITDA and earnings per share, excluding identified items. Additional documents on our Investor website provide reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures, together with other disclosures, including the earnings release and our business results discussion.

本次電話會議的評論將涉及我們使用非公認會計準則財務指標（例如 EBITDA 和每股盈餘）的基本業務成果，不包括已確定的項目。我們的投資者網站上的其他文件提供了非公認會計原則財務指標與公認會計原則財務指標的調節表，以及其他披露信息，包括收益發布和我們的業務業績討論。

Joining today's call will be Peter Benicar, LyondellBasell's Chief Executive Officer; our CFO, Michael McMurray; Kim Foley, our Executive Vice President of Global Olefins and Polyolefins and Refining; Aaron Ledet, our EVP of Intermediates and Derivatives; and Torkel Rhenman, our EVP of Advanced Polymer Solutions.

利安德巴塞爾 (LyondellBasell) 執行長彼得貝尼卡 (Peter Benicar) 將參加今天的電話會議。我們的財務長麥可‧麥克默里； Kim Foley，我們的全球烯烴和聚烯烴及煉油執行副總裁； Aaron Ledet，我們的中間體和衍生性商品執行副總裁；以及我們先進聚合物解決方案執行副總裁 Torkel Rhenman。

During today's call, we will focus on second quarter results as well as updates on our long-term strategy. We will also discuss current market dynamics and our near-term outlook.

在今天的電話會議中，我們將重點關注第二季度業績以及我們長期策略的最新情況。我們還將討論當前的市場動態和我們的近期前景。

With that being said, I would now like to turn call over to Peter.

話雖如此，我現在想把電話轉給彼得。

Thank you, Dave. And welcome to all of you. We appreciate you joining us today as we discuss our second quarter results. Yet again, our people did an excellent job navigating challenging market conditions, whilst being laser focused on the execution of our strategy.

謝謝你，戴夫。歡迎大家。我們感謝您今天加入我們討論我們的第二季業績。我們的員工再次出色地應對了充滿挑戰的市場條件，同時高度專注於我們策略的執行。

Let's begin with slide 3 and discuss our continued leadership in safety performance. LYB has a history of excellence in operational performance with safety being a core part of our success. Going back to 2010, we have consistently delivered industry-leading safety results.

讓我們從投影片 3 開始，討論我們在安全績效方面的持續領先地位。LYB 在營運績效方面有著卓越的歷史，安全是我們成功的核心部分。回顧 2010 年，我們始終如一地交付了業界領先的安全成果。

But more importantly, we have made significant improvements towards our goal to operate safely each day with zero incidents injuries or accidents. LYB's June year to date total recordable incident rate for employees and contractors 0.13 for comparison in 2010, our incident rate was 0.42, more than 3 times higher than today.

但更重要的是，我們在實現每天安全營運、零事故傷害或事故的目標方面取得了重大進展。LYB 今年 6 月至今員工和承包商的總可記錄事故率為 0.13，與 2010 年相比，我們的事故率為 0.42，比現在高出 3 倍多。

Safety is foundational to what we do. Getting it right ensures the well-being of our workforce, but also benefits our operational excellence performance and financial returns. Our team has demonstrated outstanding focus to reach this points, and we remain committed to further improvements.

安全是我們工作的基礎。正確實施可以確保我們員工的福祉，同時也有利於我們的卓越營運績效和財務回報。我們的團隊展現了出色的專注力來實現這一目標，並且我們將繼續致力於進一步改進。

Today, I'm excited to discuss our actions to deliver resilient results as well as the excellent progress on our long-term strategy for LYB. Please turn to slide 4, as we briefly review the quarter. Second quarter underlying business results improved by nearly 30% over the first quarter, driven by increased volumes from our operations.

今天，我很高興能夠討論我們為實現富有彈性的業績而採取的行動，以及我們在 LYB 長期策略方面取得的出色進展。請翻到投影片 4，我們將簡要回顧本季。在我們業務量增加的推動下，第二季的基本業務業績比第一季提高了近 30%。

North American demand for polyolefins continues to improve while feedstock and energy costs remain low. Our European olefins and polyolefins results improved due to our flexibility to increase our utilization of advantaged LPG feedstocks.

北美對聚烯烴的需求持續改善，而原料和能源成本仍較低。由於我們靈活地提高了優勢液化石油氣原料的利用率，我們的歐洲烯烴和聚烯烴表現有所改善。

Within intermediates and derivatives the benefits from LYB's expanded PO/TBA capacity are clearly seen in our record quarterly oxyfuels sales volumes. Earnings were $2.24 per share, with EBITDA of $1.4 billion. LYB generated an impressive $1.3 billion in cash from operating activities. Our strong cash generation provided support for the disciplined execution of our strategy.

在中間體和衍生性商品領域，LYB 擴大的 PO/TBA 產能帶來的好處在我們創紀錄的季度富氧燃料銷售中清晰可見。每股收益為 2.24 美元，EBITDA 為 14 億美元。利布從經營活動中產生了令人印象深刻的 13 億美元現金。我們強大的現金產生能力為我們策略的嚴格執行提供了支持。

Let's turn to slide 5 and review the three pillar strategy that is driving our focus on strategic growth and long-term value creation. As we described during fourth quarter earnings, we are making good progress on our goal to add $3 billion in incremental normalized EBITDA by 2027 with nearly one-third of that target unlocked during 2023.

讓我們轉向投影片 5，回顧一下推動我們專注於策略成長和長期價值創造的三大支柱策略。正如我們在第四季度財報中所述，我們在實現 2027 年增量標準化 EBITDA 增加 30 億美元的目標方面取得了良好進展，其中近三分之一將在 2023 年實現。

Last quarter, we took a deeper look into how we are building a profitable circular and low-carbon solutions business. Today, we will describe the work underway to grow and upgrade our core businesses. While we talk about growing and upgrading our core we are very clear about the criteria we use to define businesses that are core to our portfolio.

上個季度，我們更深入地研究如何建立可獲利的循環和低碳解決方案業務。今天，我們將介紹為發展和升級我們的核心業務而正在進行的工作。當我們談論發展和升級我們的核心業務時，我們非常清楚我們用來定義我們投資組合核心業務的標準。

Moving to slide 6, let's review these criteria. We are working hard to build up a portfolio that is focused on leading market positions and growing end markets that deliver attractive returns well above our cost of capital and leverages on access to advantaged circular and renewable feedstocks.

轉到投影片 6，讓我們回顧一下這些標準。我們正在努力建立一個專注於領先市場地位和不斷增長的終端市場的投資組合，以提供遠高於我們資本成本的有吸引力的回報，並利用獲得優勢循環和可再生原料的機會。

You will see that once we have executed this transformation, we will be a much more profitable, focused and streamlined company. Our decisions on investing in organic growth or disciplined M&A are grounded by our commitments to pursue attractive returns well above our cost of capital. We are leveraging LYB's technology and global market positions to increase our access to advantaged feedstocks typically found in North America and the Middle East.

您會發現，一旦我們執行了這項轉型，我們將成為一家獲利能力更強、更專注、更精簡的公司。我們投資有機成長或嚴格併購的決定是基於我們致力於追求遠高於資本成本的有吸引力回報的承諾。我們正在利用 LYB 的技術和全球市場地位來增加我們獲得通常在北美和中東發現的優勢原料的機會。

And finally, as we covered last quarter, we're making great progress in building a profitable circular and low-carbon solutions business. Historically, we have defined advantaged feedstocks as low cost NGLs in North America and the Middle East.

最後，正如我們上季度所報導的那樣，我們在建立盈利的循環和低碳解決方案業務方面取得了巨大進展。從歷史上看，我們將北美和中東的優勢原料定義為低成本液化天然氣。

As we grow our CLCS business, we are expanding this definition to include favorable positions for circular and renewable feedstocks. As you know, we have implemented a lot of actions to grow and upgrade our portfolio in parallel with great focus and speed.

隨著我們 CLCS 業務的發展，我們正在擴展這一定義，以包括循環和可再生原料的有利地位。如您所知，我們已經實施了許多行動，以高度集中和快速的方式同時發展和升級我們的產品組合。

May was again, a busy month for us with the completion of the sale of our EO&D business and the acquisition of our stake in the NATPET joint venture. Importantly, we also announced a strategic review of some of our European assets that will reposition our footprint for future sustainable success.

五月對我們來說又是忙碌的一個月，我們完成了 EO&D 業務的出售以及對 NATPET 合資企業股權的收購。重要的是，我們也宣布對我們的一些歐洲資產進行策略性審查，這將重新定位我們的足跡，以實現未來的永續成功。

On slide 7, let me highlight our goals for reshaping LYB by simultaneously growing and upgrading our core businesses. We are adding value through growth investments in, for example, our PO/TBA capacity and over formation of the NATPET joint venture in Saudi Arabia. We are also continuously evaluating projects and expect to find more opportunities that will be accretive for LYB.

在投影片 7 中，讓我強調我們透過同時發展和升級核心業務來重塑 LYB 的目標。我們透過對 PO/TBA 產能的成長投資以及在沙烏地阿拉伯組成 NATPET 合資企業等方式來增加價值。我們也不斷評估項目，並期望找到更多能為 LYB 帶來增值的機會。

Our value enhancement program is also delivering growth through incremental production capacity and improved margins. LYB's VEP is not a one-time cost cutting initiatives. Our VEP is our new way of working focus on unlocking value and is becoming embedded in LYB's based culture. Michael will share some more details on our VEP progress in a few moments.

我們的價值提升計劃還透過增加產能和提高利潤來實現成長。LYB 的 VEP 並非一次性成本削減措施。我們的 VEP 是我們專注於釋放價值的新工作方式，並且正在融入 LYB 的文化中。Michael 稍後將分享有關我們 VEP 進展的更多細節。

Our motivation for upgrading the portfolio is illustrated on the right side of slide 7, in some cases, upgrades or accomplished by divesting or exiting noncore businesses. One example is the Houston refinery, a capital intensive assets that has historically only delivered brief periods of profitability.

我們升級投資組合的動機如幻燈片7右側所示，在某些情況下，升級或透過剝離或退出非核心業務來完成。休士頓煉油廠就是一個例子，這是一種資本密集資產，歷史上只實現了短暫的獲利。

After we shut down the refinery by no later than the end of the first quarter of 2025 LYB's average EBITDA margin will actually expand by about 4 percentage points. Our divested ethylene oxide and derivatives business did not provide LYB with a leading position and did not fit our criteria for growth.

在我們不遲於 2025 年第一季末關閉煉油廠後，LYB 的平均 EBITDA 利潤率實際上將擴大約 4 個百分點。我們剝離的環氧乙烷和衍生性商品業務並沒有為LYB提供領先地位，也不符合我們的成長標準。

Simply put, we were not the best owners. The strategic review of our European assets will position our footprint for a sustainable future. All of these moves aim toward building a stronger, more focused and more profitable business portfolio for LYB.

簡而言之，我們不是最好的所有者。對我們歐洲資產的策略審查將為我們的永續未來定位。所有這些舉措都旨在為 LYB 建立一個更強大、更專注、更有利可圖的業務組合。

Let's drill into our European strategic review on slide 8. We are undertaking this review to position LYB's regional footprint for future markets. Our goal is to reshape our European business portfolio and alignments with our long-term strategy for lasting success.

讓我們深入研究幻燈片 8 上的歐洲策略回顧。我們正在進行此次審查，以定位 LYB 未來市場的區域足跡。我們的目標是重塑我們的歐洲業務組合，並與我們的長期策略保持一致，以取得持久成功。

Europe remains a core market for LYB, our analysis determines that the six assets listed on the top left in their current configuration do not meet LYB's criteria for a core business. At this point all options are on the table, just like our ethylene oxide and derivatives business. These assets could well have a strategic fit and profitable future with another owner.

歐洲仍然是 LYB 的核心市場，我們的分析確定，目前配置中左上方列出的六項資產不符合 LYB 的核心業務標準。目前，所有選項都已擺在桌面上，就像我們的環氧乙烷和衍生品業務一樣。這些資產很可能與其他所有者俱有戰略契合度和盈利前景。

Divestiture of the assets as a group or separately is a possibility or we may determine debts like our Houston refinery rationalization is the best option for some sites. While it is too early to speculate on the outcomes. The impact on the company's global portfolio is relatively limited.

資產整體或單獨剝離是可能的，或者我們可能會確定像我們的休士頓煉油廠這樣的債務合理化是某些地點的最佳選擇。雖然現在推測結果還為時過早。對公司全球投資組合的影響相對有限。

As you can glean from the chart, the assets subject to review only represent about 13% of our global capacity for these product lines. LYB will continue to have a strong European presence. In I&D our core European assets utilize LYBs, world-leading PO/TBA technology.

從圖表中可以看出，接受審查的資產僅占我們這些產品線全球產能的約 13%。LYB 將繼續在歐洲擁有強大的影響力。在 I&D 中，我們的核心歐洲資產利用 LYB、世界領先的 PO/TBA 技術。

In Germany, we are investing near Cologne to build our first circular and renewable solutions. And our technology segment will maintain a strong presence in Italy and Germany. We will continue productive engagement with all relevant stakeholders at the impacted sites.

在德國，我們正在科隆附近投資建立我們的第一個循環和再生解決方案。我們的技術部門將在義大利和德國保持強大的影響力。我們將繼續與受影響地點的所有相關利害關係人進行富有成效的接觸。

This includes local governments, our business partners, potential buyers and most importantly, our employees who continue to demonstrate high commitments to safe, reliable and efficient operations, despite the ongoing uncertainty. Our aim is to move swiftly to maximize value for LYB and all stakeholders.

這包括地方政府、我們的業務合作夥伴、潛在買家，最重要的是，我們的員工，儘管存在持續的不確定性，但仍繼續表現出對安全、可靠和高效運作的高度承諾。我們的目標是迅速採取行動，為 LYB 和所有利害關係人實現價值最大化。

With that, let me turn the call over to Michael to discuss our financial results in more detail.

接下來，讓我將電話轉給邁克爾，更詳細地討論我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Peter, and good morning, everyone. Please turn to slide 9, and let me start by discussing our resilient cash generation. Over the past year, LyondellBasell generated $4.4 billion of cash from operating activities.

謝謝你，彼得，大家早安。請翻到投影片 9，讓我先討論我們富有彈性的現金產生能力。去年，利安德巴塞爾透過經營活動創造了 44 億美元的現金。

Our team converted EBITDA into cash at an impressive 95%. Cash conversion rate during the last 12 months. As a result, we were able to return almost $1.8 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

我們的團隊將 EBITDA 轉化為現金，比率高達 95%，令人印象深刻。過去 12 個月的現金兌換率。結果，我們透過股利和股票回購向股東返還了近 18 億美元。

This represents nearly 70% of our $2.6 billion of free cash flow in line with our long-term target. At the end of the second quarter, our cash balance was $2.9 billion. Let's continue with slide 10 and review the details of our second quarter capital allocation.

這占我們 26 億美元自由現金流的近 70%，符合我們的長期目標。第二季末，我們的現金餘額為 29 億美元。讓我們繼續看投影片 10，回顧一下我們第二季資本配置的詳細資訊。

As Peter mentioned, we generated an impressive $1.3 billion of cash from operating activities. During the quarter, we returned $513 million through dividends and share repurchases while funding $484 million of capital investment.

正如 Peter 所提到的，我們從經營活動中產生了令人印象深刻的 13 億美元現金。本季度，我們透過股息和股票回購回報了 5.13 億美元，同時為 4.84 億美元的資本投資提供了資金。

In May, we increased our quarterly dividend by 7% to $1.34 per share, continuing our track record of providing a secure, growing and competitive dividend for our shareholders. Our team is committed to balanced and disciplined capital allocation as part of our long term strategy.

5 月份，我們將季度股息提高了 7%，達到每股 1.34 美元，繼續為股東提供安全、不斷增長和有競爭力的股息。我們的團隊致力於平衡和嚴格的資本配置，作為我們長期策略的一部分。

During the quarter, we divested the ethylene oxide and derivatives business for $700 million within a few weeks we invested approximately $500 million to acquire a 35% share of NATPET integrated polypropylene joint venture in Saudi Arabia.

本季度，我們在幾週內以 7 億美元的價格剝離了環氧乙烷及其衍生品業務，並投資約 5 億美元收購了沙烏地阿拉伯 NATPET 一體化聚丙烯合資企業 35% 的股份。

We finished the second quarter with approximately $7 billion of available liquidity. In July, LYB successfully amended and extended the maturity of our revolving credit facility to 2029, while further strengthening our liquidity by increasing the size of the facility by $500 million to $3.75 billion.

第二季結束時，我們可用的流動資金約為 70 億美元。7 月，LYB 成功修改了循環信貸額度並將其期限延長至 2029 年，同時將該額度規模增加了 5 億美元，達到 37.5 億美元，進一步增強了我們的流動性。

Let's continue with a brief update on our VEP progress on slide 11. The value enhancement program is a highly successful and integral component of our long-term strategy. We are confident in our estimate that the VEP will contribute approximately $400 million to EBITDA in 2024.

讓我們繼續在幻燈片 11 上簡要更新 VEP 進度。價值提升計畫是我們長期策略的一個非常成功的組成部分。我們對估計 VEP 將於 2024 年為 EBITDA 貢獻約 4 億美元充滿信心。

Our team is rapidly delivering value less than two years after first launching this program. To provide more detail on this year's progress, we have broken out contributions by business segment and category. As you might expect, the segment with the largest contribution is also our most profitable segment, O&P Americas, generating about $265 million of incremental value.

在首次啟動該計劃後不到兩年的時間裡，我們的團隊就迅速創造了價值。為了提供有關今年進展的更多詳細信息，我們按業務部門和類別細分了貢獻。正如您所料，貢獻最大的細分市場也是我們利潤最高的細分市場 O&P Americas，創造了約 2.65 億美元的增量價值。

In 2024, we anticipate approximately $280 million of benefit across the company from improved product mix and increased variable margins. We anticipate about $95 million of benefit from higher volume, driven by improving reliability and increased rates.

到 2024 年，我們預計整個公司將因產品組合的改善和可變利潤的增加而獲得約 2.8 億美元的收益。在可靠性提高和費率提高的推動下，我們預計銷售增加將帶來約 9,500 萬美元的收益。

While the value enhancement program is primarily focused on increased value generation, the program has also identified opportunities to improve our leading fixed cost position. Overall, we estimate that lower fixed costs across our manufacturing and corporate functions will benefit our results by approximately $25 million this year.

雖然價值提升計劃主要側重於增加價值創造，但該計劃也發現了改善我們領先的固定成本地位的機會。總體而言，我們估計製造和企業職能部門固定成本的降低將使我們今年的業績受益約 2500 萬美元。

As Peter mentioned, LYB's VEP program is a new way of working and unlocking value that is becoming embedded as an evergreen process in our culture. Let's turn to slide 12, and I will provide a brief overview of the results of each of our segments.

正如 Peter 所提到的，LYB 的 VEP 計劃是一種新的工作方式和釋放價值的方式，它正在成為我們文化中的常青過程。讓我們轉向投影片 12，我將簡要概述每個部分的結果。

LYB's business portfolio delivered $1.4 billion of EBITDA during the second quarter, almost 30% higher than the prior quarter. Seasonal summer demand, coupled with higher production from our asset base led to increased volumes.

LYB 的業務組合在第二季度實現了 14 億美元的 EBITDA，比上一季高出近 30%。季節性夏季需求，加上我們資產基礎產量的增加，導致產量增加。

Margins modestly improved across most of our businesses. In early July, Hurricane Beryl impacted our operations across the US Gulf Coast. LYB proactively shut down some of our assets ahead of the storm. Our prudent approach reduces the potential for damage to our assets and the risk surrounding community during adverse conditions.

我們大多數業務的利潤率略有改善。7 月初，颶風貝裡爾影響了我們在美國墨西哥灣沿岸的營運。LYB 在風暴來臨前主動關閉了我們的部分資產。我們採取審慎的做法，減少在不利條件下資產受損的可能性以及社區周圍的風險。

As a result, we did not experience any workplace injuries and property damage was not material. Nonetheless, we estimate that storm-related downtime will impact third quarter EBITDA by approximately $65 million with approximately 75% in our O&P Americas segment. We have relatively modest levels of maintenance activity planned for the remainder of the year.

因此，我們沒有遇到任何工作場所傷害，財產損失也不嚴重。儘管如此，我們估計與風暴相關的停機將影響第三季 EBITDA 約 6,500 萬美元，其中約 75% 影響我們的 O&P 美洲業務部門。我們計劃在今年剩餘時間內進行相對適度的維護活動。

In the appendix to the slide deck, we provide updated 2024 modeling guidance for planned maintenance impacts and other financial metrics. With a sharp focus on working capital, we continue to align our operating rates to meet market demand.

在投影片的附錄中，我們為計畫維護影響和其他財務指標提供了更新的 2024 年建模指南。我們高度重視營運資本，持續調整營運率以滿足市場需求。

During the third quarter, we expect operating rates of 85% for our North American olefins and polyolefins assets, 80% for our European olefins and polyolefins assets, and 75% for intermediates and derivative assets.

第三季度，我們預期北美烯烴和聚烯烴資產的開工率為85%，歐洲烯烴和聚烯烴資產的開工率為80%，中間體和衍生性資產的開工率為75%。

With that, I will turn the call over to Kim. Kim?

這樣，我會將電話轉給 Kim。金？

Thank you, Michael. Let's begin the segment discussions on slide 13 with the performance of the olefins and polyolefins Americas segment. During the second quarter, O&P Americas EBITDA was $670 million. Increased LYB production led to higher volumes and margins.

謝謝你，麥可。讓我們從投影片 13 中烯烴和聚烯烴美洲部分的表現開始進行部分討論。第二季度，O&P Americas EBITDA 為 6.7 億美元。LYB 產量的增加帶來了產量和利潤的增加。

We were pleased to see that integrated polyethylene margins were supported by modestly higher ethylene and polyethylene prices, while ethane and natural gas costs remain low. Demand for North American polyolefins is strengthening in 2024.

我們很高興地看到，乙烯和聚乙烯價格小幅上漲支撐了綜合聚乙烯利潤，而乙烷和天然氣成本仍然較低。2024 年北美聚烯烴需求將增強。

With June year to date, industry polyethylene sales up by nearly 11% over the first half of '23. Strong demand pull from both domestic and export markets is absorbing recent capacity expansions in the region. LYB is well positioned as the third largest polyethylene producer in North America with strong customer relationships built over decades.

截至今年 6 月份，工業聚乙烯銷量比 2023 年上半年成長了近 11%。國內和出口市場的強勁需求正在吸收該地區近期的產能擴張。LYB 是北美第三大聚乙烯生產商，擁有數十年建立的強大客戶關係。

In the third quarter, we anticipate continued seasonal demand strength. Low feedstock and energy costs are expected to persist, benefiting North American integrated polyolefin margins. Amid a backdrop of relatively high oil prices, the favorable oil to gas ratio provides an advantage to North American producers relative to oil-based production in other parts of the world.

在第三季度，我們預計季節性需求將持續強勁。預計原料和能源成本將持續較低，這將有利於北美綜合聚烯烴利潤率。在油價相對較高的背景下，相對於世界其他地區的石油生產，有利的油氣比為北美生產商提供了優勢。

Despite disruptions from Hurricane Beryl in early July, the US olefins and polyolefins markets remain well supplied. Nonetheless, the US Gulf Coast hurricane season is still young with potential for additional disruptions over the coming months.

儘管 7 月初颶風 Beryl 造成中斷，美國烯烴和聚烯烴市場仍供應充足。儘管如此，美國墨西哥灣沿岸的颶風季節仍處於初期，未來幾個月可能會造成更多幹擾。

During the third quarter, we will remain focused on aligning our operating rates to serve domestic and export market demand targeting 85% utilization. After a decade of unprecedented growth, North American polyolefins capacity additions have slowed down.

第三季度，我們將繼續專注於調整開工率，以滿足國內和出口市場需求，目標利用率為 85%。經過十年前所未有的成長後，北美聚烯烴產能新增速度已放緩。

Please turn to slide 14 as we review the changing outlook for our new supply. In the early 2010, the advent of shale based oil and gas production triggered a wave of olefins and polyolefins capacity additions to take advantage of the abundant and low-cost NGL feedstocks.

請參閱投影片 14，我們將回顧新供應前景的變化。2010年初，頁岩油氣生產的出現引發了烯烴和聚烯烴產能增加的浪潮，以利用豐富且低成本的液化天然氣原料。

With one or sometimes two world-scale plants coming online nearly every year for over the past decade, North American domestic and export markets for polyethylene and polypropylene became well supplied, leading to reduced operating rates and lower margins.

在過去十年中，幾乎每年都有一個或有時兩個世界級工廠投產，北美聚乙烯和聚丙烯的國內和出口市場供應充足，導致開工率下降和利潤率下降。

Over the next few years very little new capacity will come online in North America. After two years of tepid growth polyethylene sales volumes are growing at double digit rates during the first half of this year. Demand growth in Latin America is increasingly served by North American supply.

未來幾年，北美將很少有新產能上線。經過兩年的溫和成長後，今年上半年聚乙烯銷量以兩位數的速度成長。拉丁美洲的需求成長越來越多地受到北美供應的滿足。

Polypropylene volumes are also improving but remain constrained as we await the inevitable rebound in demand for durable goods. With North American demand growth returning to long-term trends and no meaningful local supply on the horizon tightening supply and demand balances and higher utilization rates bode well for aligned ourselves core polyolefins business.

聚丙烯產量也在增加，但仍受到限制，因為我們等待耐久財需求不可避免的反彈。隨著北美需求成長恢復到長期趨勢，並且即將出現有意義的本地供應，供需平衡趨緊以及利用率提高對於調整我們的核心聚烯烴業務來說是個好兆頭。

Please turn to slide 15 as I review the results of our olefins and polyolefins Europe, Asia and international segments. In the second quarter LYBs integrated polyethylene margins expanded with the increased utilization of cost advantaged feedstocks such as LPGs, resulting in EBITDA of $70 million, approximately 40% of LYB's European ethylene production came from advantaged feedstocks.

請參閱投影片 15，我將回顧我們的烯烴和聚烯烴歐洲、亞洲和國際部門的結果。第二季度，隨著液化石油氣等成本優勢原料利用率的增加，LYB 的綜合聚乙烯利潤率擴大，EBITDA 達到 7,000 萬美元，LYB 歐洲乙烯產量的約 40% 來自優勢原料。

Additionally, higher prices for olefins and co-products supported European cracker margins amidst modest seasonal demand improvement for polymers. Red Sea logistic challenges have largely subsided during the quarter, but significant higher shipping costs, constrained European imports, benefiting local producers.

此外，在聚合物季節性需求溫和改善的情況下，烯烴和副產品價格上漲支撐了歐洲裂解裝置利潤。紅海物流挑戰在本季已基本緩解，但運輸成本大幅上升，限制了歐洲進口，使當地生產商受益。

Looking ahead, we anticipate steady olefins and polyolefins demand through the summer in Europe. In September, we will begin planned maintenance at one of our German crackers that will continue into the fourth quarter.

展望未來，我們預期整個夏季歐洲的烯烴和聚烯烴需求將保持穩定。九月，我們將開始對我們的一家德國裂解裝置進行計劃維護，該維護將持續到第四季度。

As a result, we are targeting approximately 80% operating rates for the third quarter. As part of our strategy to grow and upgrade our core businesses we completed the acquisition of a 35% share of the Saudi Arabian NATPET joint venture at the end of May.

因此，我們的目標是第三季的開工率約為 80%。作為我們發展和升級核心業務策略的一部分，我們於 5 月底完成了對沙烏地阿拉伯 NATPET 合資企業 35% 股份的收購。

The joint venture currently operates 400,000 tons of integrated polypropylene capacity using local cost-advantaged, propane, raw materials and LYB's ferrous polypropylene technology. Together with our partner, Alujain, we are evaluating opportunities to significantly grow the joint venture by leveraging new feedstock concessions and Saudi Arabia.

該合資公司目前營運40萬噸聚丙烯綜合產能，採用當地成本優勢的丙烷、原料和LYB的黑色聚丙烯技術。我們正在與我們的合作夥伴 Alujain 一起評估透過利用新的原料特許權和沙烏地阿拉伯來顯著發展合資企業的機會。

And as Peter discussed in May, we also announced the strategic review of some of our European olefins and polyolefins assets. Our team is working diligently to evaluate our options in order position and LYB for future success in the region.

正如彼得在五月所討論的那樣，我們也宣布對我們的一些歐洲烯烴和聚烯烴資產進行策略性審查。我們的團隊正在努力評估我們在訂單位置和 LYB 方面的選擇，以確保未來在該地區取得成功。

Now let's turn to slide 16 and review the results of the refining segment. Second quarter EBITDA was $15 million. Higher production following the first quarter down and was more than offset by lower mine frac spreads.

現在讓我們轉到投影片 16 並回顧一下精煉部分的結果。第二季 EBITDA 為 1500 萬美元。第一季產量下降後產量增加，但被礦場壓裂價差下降所抵銷。

Margins decreased, driven by lower distillate cracks, partially offset by slight improvements in gasoline cracks with modest second quarter demand indicating a slow start to the driving season. Our hedging program benefited second quarter results.

由於餾分油裂解量減少，利潤率下降，部分被汽油裂解液略有改善所抵消，第二季需求溫和，顯示駕駛季節開始緩慢。我們的對沖計劃有利於第二季的業績。

Industry operating rates remains relatively high, leading to ample market supply. In the near term, we expect summer demand to support stable gasoline crack spreads and continued high operating rates for refiners, we intend to operate at approximately 90% of capacity in the third quarter.

產業開工率依然較高，市場供應充足。短期內，我們預計夏季需求將支持穩定的汽油裂解價差和煉油廠持續的高開工率，我們計劃在第三季以約 90% 的產能運作。

Looking ahead, we remain committed to the safe and reliable operation of these assets until we shut down no later than the end of the first quarter of 2025. Additional details regarding our ramp down will be provided during our third quarter update. Our team is making good progress and evaluating projects to transform the site in support of our circular and low-carbon solution growth strategy.

展望未來，我們仍然致力於這些資產的安全可靠運營，直到我們不遲於 2025 年第一季末關閉。有關我們的縮減的更多詳細資訊將在第三季更新期間提供。我們的團隊正在取得良好進展，並正在評估改造場地的項目，以支援我們的循環和低碳解決方案成長策略。

With that, I will turn the call over to Aaron.

這樣，我就把電話轉給亞倫。

Thank you, Kim. Please turn to slide 17 as we look at the intermediates & derivatives segment. In the second quarter, segment EBITDA was $501 million, driven by increased production and seasonal demand for oxyfuels.

謝謝你，金。請參閱投影片 17，我們將了解中間體和衍生物細分市場。第二季度，由於富氧燃料產量增加和季節性需求的推動，該部門 EBITDA 為 5.01 億美元。

We delivered record quarterly oxyfuels volumes by increasing production from our newest PO/TBA asset, which operated at close to benchmark rates during the quarter. Oxyfuels margins remain robust as the summer driving season is underway, with strong octane demand keeping margins well above historical levels.

透過增加我們最新的 PO/TBA 資產的產量，我們交付了創紀錄的季度富氧燃料產量，該資產在本季度的營運速度接近基準利率。隨著夏季駕駛季節的到來，富氧燃料的利潤率仍然強勁，強勁的辛烷需求使利潤率遠高於歷史水準。

Intermediate chemicals improved due to higher margins and volumes for asset sales driven by industry outages and improved production from LYB's assets. Propylene oxide and derivatives margins were steady as demand for durable goods remained modest against a backdrop of high interest rates in the impacts of inflation.

由於行業停產和 LYB 資產產量提高推動資產銷售利潤率和銷售增加，中間化學品有所改善。環氧丙烷和衍生性商品利潤率保持穩定，因為在通膨影響下的高利率背景下，耐用品需求仍然溫和。

As we move through the third quarter, we expect seasonal demand will continue to benefit oxyfuels margins through the remainder of the driving season. Low cost for butane raw materials and steady premiums for octane should provide continued support for oxyfuels profitability.

隨著第三季的到來，我們預計季節性需求將在駕駛季節的剩餘時間內繼續有利於富氧燃料的利潤率。丁烷原料的低成本和辛烷的穩定溢價將為富氧燃料的獲利能力提供持續的支援。

In line with our guidance, planned maintenance at one of our Bayport PO/TBA assets will begin later in the third quarter and continue into the fourth quarter. We will continue to match our production with market demand and expect to operate our I&D assets at rates of approximately 75% during the quarter.

根據我們的指導，我們的 Bayport PO/TBA 資產之一的計劃維護將於第三季晚些時候開始，並持續到第四季度。我們將繼續使我們的生產與市場需求相匹配，並預計本季我們的 I&D 資產營運率約為 75%。

As Michael mentioned earlier, we completed the sale of our ethylene oxide and derivatives businesses to INEOS for $700 million. During the second quarter we recorded a book gain on the sale of $293 million, which is reflected as an identified item in our second quarter results.

正如邁克爾之前提到的，我們以 7 億美元的價格完成了將環氧乙烷和衍生性商品業務出售給 INEOS。第二季度，我們的銷售帳面收益為 2.93 億美元，這反映在我們第二季業績中的一個確定項目中。

Our work to grow and upgrade our I&D segment continues as we evaluate our Maasvlakte POSM joint venture in the Netherlands as part of the ongoing European strategic review. We are working closely with our partner in the JV, Covestro, local stakeholders in our workforce.

作為正在進行的歐洲策略審查的一部分，我們正在繼續評估我們在荷蘭的 Maasvlakte POSM 合資企業，以發展和升級我們的 I&D 部門。我們正在與合資企業的合作夥伴科思創以及員工隊伍中的當地利害關係人密切合作。

With that, I will turn the call over to Torkel.

這樣，我會將電話轉給托克爾。

Thank you. Please turn to slide 18 as we review the second quarter results for the advanced polymer Solutions segment. Second quarter EBITDA was $40 million. Margins increased across most APS businesses as our transformation work and seasonal improvements led to modestly higher pricing. Lower automotive production in Europe led to a slight decrease in volumes.

謝謝。請參閱投影片 18，我們將回顧先進聚合物解決方案部門的第二季業績。第二季 EBITDA 為 4000 萬美元。由於我們的轉型工作和季節性改進導致定價小幅上漲，大多數 APS 業務的利潤率均有所增加。歐洲汽車產量下降導致銷售量略有下降。

Looking ahead, we expect modest improvement in volumes through the remainder of the year, driven by our strategic initiatives and focus on restoring our growth pipeline. We anticipate headwinds from typical seasonal downtime at automotive OEMs in the third quarter, but our master batch business has shorter qualification cycles and offer more opportunities for near-term improvement.

展望未來，在我們的策略舉措和專注於恢復成長管道的推動下，我們預計今年剩餘時間銷售將略有改善。我們預計第三季汽車原始設備製造商的典型季節性停機會帶來不利影響，但我們的母料業務的資格週期較短，並提供更多的近期改進機會。

Our team is focused on continuously expanding our growth funnel and increasing the win rate with our customers. We're investing in our core team with a growth and value mindset to deliver on our long-term goals for the APS business.

我們的團隊致力於不斷擴大我們的成長管道並提高客戶的獲勝率。我們正在投資於具有成長和價值思維的核心團隊，以實現我們 APS 業務的長期目標。

With that, I will return the call back to Peter.

這樣，我會將電話回給彼得。

Thank you, Torkel. Please turn to slide 19, and I will discuss the results for the technology segment on behalf of Jim Seward. Second quarter EBITDA of $84 million reflected moderating licensing and catalyst revenue normalizing after strong first quarter results.

謝謝你，托克爾。請參閱投影片 19，我將代表 Jim Seward 討論技術部分的結果。第二季 EBITDA 為 8,400 萬美元，反映出第一季業績強勁後授權和催化劑收入趨於正常化。

In the third quarter, we expect that revenue associated with licensing milestones will increase coupled with high catalyst volumes. As a result, we estimate that third quarter technology segment results will be similar to first quarter results.

在第三季度，我們預計與授權里程碑相關的收入將隨著催化劑產量的增加而增加。因此，我們估計第三季技術部門的業績將與第一季的業績相似。

Now let me summarize the second quarter, our outlook and our long-term strategy with slide 20. LYB's second quarter results reflect higher production volumes and modest seasonal improvements in market conditions.

現在讓我用投影片 20 總結第二季、我們的前景和長期策略。LYB 第二季業績反映了產量的增加和市場狀況的季節性改善。

Looking towards the second half of the year, we continue to expect a slight improvement over our first half results with a slow recovery in global markets. LYB's assets in the US and Middle East are well positioned operating in regions where low costs for energy and feedstocks provide a durable competitive advantage relative to oil based production.

展望下半年，隨著全球市場的緩慢復甦，我們繼續預期上半年業績將略有改善。LYB 在美國和中東的資產處於有利位置，這些地區的能源和原料成本相對於石油生產而言具有持久的競爭優勢。

Our team remains disciplined in our capital allocation strategy and delivering high returns to our shareholders. Our balance sheet is in great shape, and we are well equipped to succeed as market conditions modestly improve.

我們的團隊在資本配置策略上保持紀律，並為股東帶來高回報。我們的資產負債表狀況良好，隨著市場狀況的適度改善，我們已經做好了充分的準備。

Our value enhancement program is on track to contribute approximately $400 million to EBITDA in 2024. We are thrilled with the enthusiasm and results from our progress so far and look forward to providing a more substantive update on our VEP next quarter as we dive deeper on how we are stepping up our performance and culture at LYB.

我們的價值提升計畫預計在 2024 年為 EBITDA 貢獻約 4 億美元。我們對迄今為止所取得的進展感到興奮，並期待在下個季度提供有關 VEP 的更實質性的更新，因為我們將更深入地探討如何提高 LYB 的績效和文化。

At our Capital Markets Day last year, we outlined our long-term strategy. Through leading technologies and market positions we are executing on this strategy to grow our global footprints and upgrade our core businesses.

在去年的資本市場日上，我們概述了我們的長期策略。透過領先的技術和市場地位，我們正在執行這項策略，以擴大我們的全球足跡並升級我們的核心業務。

Our strategy will not only grow LYB, but will also reshape our business portfolio to improve profitability and create sustainable competitive advantages. As Kim highlighted earlier, we see North American polyolefin demand improving in 2024, returning towards long-term historical growth rates.

我們的策略不僅將發展LYB，還將重塑我們的業務組合，以提高獲利能力並創造可持續的競爭優勢。正如 Kim 早些時候強調的那樣，我們預計北美聚烯烴需求將在 2024 年有所改善，恢復長期歷史成長率。

As we look ahead, limited capacity additions in North America bodes well for continued improvements in operating rates and associated margins over the coming years. I am proud to lead our high-performing team as we take decisive actions to unlock value, reshape, LYB and positioned our company for sustainable future success.

展望未來，北美有限的產能增加預示著未來幾年營運率和相關利潤率的持續改善。我很自豪能夠領導我們的高績效團隊，我們採取果斷行動來釋放價值、重塑 LYB 並讓我們的公司在未來取得可持續的成功。

With that, we're now pleased to take your questions.

現在，我們很高興回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Steve Byrne, Bank of America.

史蒂夫伯恩，美國銀行。

Yes, thank you. You're planning to shutter the refinery at the end of the first quarter. And I know that you have considered some other options for the facilities such as becoming a plastic recycling center. I think you all also offered it as a hydrogen hub.

是的，謝謝。您計劃在第一季末關閉煉油廠。我知道你們已經考慮過其他一些設施選擇，例如成為塑膠回收中心。我想你們也把它當作氫中心。

My question for you is, are any of those plans contingent on funding from the DOE, which could potentially get scuttled if there was an administration change? And can you provide a little bit of, I guess transparency on that the [2 million ton, $1 billion] EBITDA target you have by the end of the decade,? What type of circular products do you expect to be generating that?

我想問你的問題是，這些計畫是否取決於能源部的資助，如果政府發生變化，這些計畫可能會被破壞？我想您能否提供一點透明度，說明您在本世紀末實現的 [200 萬噸，10 億美元] EBITDA 目標？您預計會產生什麼類型的循環產品？

Hi, Steve, thank you very much for your question and warm welcome from my side. On the refinery, we have announced that multiple times and it's again in our prepared remarks that we plan at the latest to run down the refinery at the latest at the end of Q1 2025.

你好，史蒂夫，非常感謝你的提問以及我這邊的熱情歡迎。關於煉油廠，我們已經多次宣布這一點，並且在我們準備好的發言中再次表示，我們計劃最遲在 2025 年第一季末關閉煉油廠。

In the meantime, our teams are making very good progress with regards I mean to a couple of projects that we have alluded to before. One of them is our second investment in MoReTec. The first one, remember is in the Cologne hub next to our steam crackers in Wesseling.

同時，我們的團隊在我們之前提到的幾個專案方面取得了非常好的進展。其中之一是我們對 MoReTec 的第二筆投資。請記住，第一個是在科隆中心，靠近我們位於韋瑟靈的蒸汽裂解裝置。

The second one, we plan to bring to the Houston refinery leverage upon the hydrotreaters we have modify those hydrotreaters. So we can upgrade the plastic oil that is being produced in MoReTec number two. And that plastic oil would then be supplied to our steam crackers through pipelines in, for example, Channelview.

第二個，我們計劃為休士頓煉油廠利用我們改造的加氫處理裝置。因此，我們可以升級 MoReTec 二號工廠生產的塑膠油。然後，這些塑膠油將透過 Channelview 等地的管道供應到我們的蒸汽裂解裝置。

So that's one project that is proceeding well, I hope that we will take a first decision a first milestone decision on that still this year. The second project is around the renewable hydrocarbons. So these are not plastic waste type hydrocarbons, but hydrocarbons eventually produced out of used cooking oil or other waste.

所以這是一個進展順利的項目，我希望我們今年能夠就此做出第一個決定，第一個里程碑式的決定。第二個項目是圍繞著可再生碳氫化合物。因此，這些不是塑膠廢物類型的碳氫化合物，而是最終由用過的食用油或其他廢物產生的碳氫化合物。

We see also opportunities to leverage upon the equipment we have at the refinery to produce those renewable hydrocarbons as a feedstock in our refinery in Houston. And again, the same principle does hydrocarbons would then go through our pipelines to Channelview to the steam crackers and then based upon that, we would crack them and we would polymerize them.

我們也看到了利用煉油廠設備生產這些再生碳氫化合物作為休士頓煉油廠原料的機會。同樣，碳氫化合物也會通過我們的管道到達 Channelview 的蒸汽裂解裝置，然後基於此，我們將裂解它們並聚合它們。

So we have said two elements of our Circulen family. One, the advanced recycling part based upon the MoReTec investment and the other one, the renew part, which is based upon renewable hydrocarbons. So all that is proceeding well, as we had alluded to in the past.

我們已經說了 Circulen 系列的兩個元素。一是基於 MoReTec 投資的先進回收部分，二是基於可再生碳氫化合物的更新部分。正如我們過去提到的，一切進展順利。

And Steve, it's Michael. I would say that a lot of the hydrogen projects are probably challenged without subsidies. And then before we move onto the next question, I wanted to clarify something. We received a lot of questions around our operating rates this morning from the materials that we had posted online.

史蒂夫，是麥可。我想說，許多氫能計畫可能會在沒有補貼的情況下面臨挑戰。在我們進入下一個問題之前，我想澄清一些事情。今天早上，我們從網路上發布的資料中收到了很多有關我們的開工率的問題。

So let me see if I can clarify a few points for you all. In April, we guided to second quarter operating rates for the segment as 85% for both O&P Americas and O&P EAI, and 80% for intermediates and derivatives. Our rates for the second quarter were largely in line with that guidance.

那麼讓我看看是否可以為大家澄清幾點。4 月份，我們預計 O&P Americas 和 O&P EAI 第二季度該部門的開工率為 85%，中間體和衍生品為 80%。我們第二季的費率基本上符合該指引。

In the business results discussion posted on our website. We disclosed second quarter cracker operating rates were 95% for O&P Americas and 90% for O&P EAI. We operated our crackers in both regions at higher rates during the second quarter to capture favorable economics for olefins.

在我們網站上發布的業務結果討論中。我們揭露，第二季 O&P Americas 裂解裝置開工率為 95%，O&P EAI 為 90%。第二季度，我們在這兩個地區以更高的速度運行裂解裝置，以獲得有利的烯烴經濟效益。

Our polymer plants operated at lower rates to match second quarter market demand for polymers. As Kim and Aaron mentioned during the third quarter, we will operate the O&P Americas segment at 85% O&P EAI at 80% and I&D at 75%.

我們的聚合物工廠開工率較低，以滿足第二季聚合物市場需求。正如 Kim 和 Aaron 在第三季度提到的那樣，我們將以 85% 的比例運營 O&P Americas 部門，O&P EAI 為 80%，I&D 為 75%。

In O&P Americas, we proactively took some downtime during Hurricane Beryl that will reduce rates by about 5 percentage points for the third quarter. In EAI, we are starting a turnaround on our larger cracker and Wesseling during the third quarter.

在 O&P 美洲，我們在颶風 Beryl 期間主動採取了一些停機措施，這將使第三季的費率降低約 5 個百分點。在 EAI 中，我們將在第三季開始對大型裂解裝置和 Wesseling 進行週轉。

We expect our crackers in both regions will operate at higher rates than the segment to continue to capture attractive margins for ethylene, propylene and other co-products. In I&D, we are performing a turnaround on one of our older PO/TBA plants in Bayport, Texas during the third quarter.

我們預計我們在這兩個地區的裂解裝置將以高於該細分市場的速度運行，以繼續為乙烯、丙烯和其他副產品獲取有吸引力的利潤。在 I&D 方面，我們將在第三季對位於德克薩斯州貝波特的舊 PO/TBA 工廠進行改造。

In addition, we are taking some downtime at our POSM joint venture in the Netherlands to balance the low market demand for propylene oxide and styrene in the region. If you have any further questions on rates, please feel free to reach out to our IR team for further clarification. Next question.

此外，我們正在荷蘭 POSM 合資企業進行一些停工，以平衡該地區環氧丙烷和苯乙烯的低市場需求。如果您對費率有任何其他疑問，請隨時聯絡我們的 IR 團隊以取得進一步說明。下一個問題。

Matthew Blair, TPH.

馬修·布萊爾，TPH。

Thank you and good morning. I had some questions on the PO side. So you mentioned the benefits of the new PO/TBA plant in Channelview. Could you give us the approximate EBITDA contribution in the quarter for at least some guidance on how the run rate stacks up here, mid-cycle target of $400 million to $500 million on an annual basis?

謝謝你，早安。我對 PO 方面有一些疑問。您提到了位於 Channelview 的新 PO/TBA 工廠的優勢。您能否為我們提供本季 EBITDA 的大概貢獻，至少為我們的運行率提供一些指導，即每年 4 億至 5 億美元的中期目標？

The release also mentioned some volume improvements in PO. Can you talk about which end markets are picking up? And then finally, can you talk about the supply demand outlook here. I think there's a fair amount of new China appeal capacity on deck for the back half of this year. Thank you.

新聞稿還提到了 PO 的一些數量改進。您能談談哪些終端市場正在復甦嗎？最後，您能談談這裡的供需前景嗎？我認為今年下半年將有相當多的新的中國上訴能力。謝謝。

Thank you, Matthew, and welcome as well to you. On propylene oxide, if you talk about the new facility, the PO/TBA facility that we have successfully started up last year. I'm very pleased, I mean to say that we run close, I mean, to 90% during Q2 in terms of capacity utilization, I think that's based upon my 34 years in the industry, that's a huge success because that's a major investment that we have made to be able to run pretty much close to nameplate capacity of such a facility and such a relatively short period of time of ramping up.

謝謝你，馬修，也歡迎你。就環氧丙烷而言，如果您談論新設施，即我們去年成功啟動的 PO/TBA 設施。我很高興，我的意思是說，我們在第二季度的產能利用率方面接近90%，我認為這是基於我在該行業34 年的經驗，這是一個巨大的成功，因為這是一項重大投資我們已經做到了能夠以非常接近此類設施的銘牌容量運行，並且在相對較短的時間內提升。

So with that, I will also hand over to Aaron to give a little bit more background on the market supply and demand.

因此，我還將請 Aaron 提供更多有關市場供需的背景資訊。

Yeah, thank you, Peter, and thank you for the question. I would say that as we look at overall PO demand, as many of most of it goes into durable applications with roughly two-thirds going into the polyurethane chain. We have not seen any rebound from durables at least noticeable rebound from durables over the first part of this year, we don't expect it to rebound either in the second half of the year.

是的，謝謝你，彼得，也謝謝你提出這個問題。我想說的是，當我們審視 PO 的整體需求時，其中大部分都進入了耐用應用領域，其中大約三分之二進入了聚氨酯鏈。我們還沒有看到耐用品出現任何反彈，至少今年上半年耐久財有明顯的反彈，我們預計下半年也不會反彈。

We remain optimistic that the rate cuts will have an impact on us, although they won't be immediate. The other third demand for PO really comes through derivatives and glycols and BDO. And we're also while glycols might be a little bit better than what we were anticipating, BDO remains somewhat modest. So generally speaking, PO demand is relatively modest right now.

我們仍然樂觀地認為降息將對我們產生影響，儘管降息不會立即發生。PO 的另外三分之一需求實際上來自衍生物、乙二醇和 BDO。雖然乙二醇可能比我們預期的要好一點，但 BDO 仍然有些溫和。整體而言，目前 PO 需求相對溫和。

I do want to add, I mean, just on the big picture know, we've alluded to that in the past as well. One needs to look at the total different capacities to produce propylene oxide, and still in the world, I would say approximately half of the capacities are based upon chlorohydrin technology, which is a technology that is older, has higher CO2 emissions is more costly.

我確實想補充一點，我的意思是，就大局而言，我們過去也提到過這一點。人們需要看看生產環氧丙烷的不同總產能，在世界上，我想說大約一半的產能是基於氯醇技術，這是一種較舊的技術，二氧化碳排放量較高，成本也較高。

And actually, on January 8, 2024, the China National Development and Reform Commission, the so-called NDRC announced a ban on most of the chlorohydrin-based PO technology by the end of 2025. So we estimate about 25% of China propylene oxide is chlorohydrin technology.

事實上，2024年1月8日，中國國家發展與改革委員會，即所謂的國家發展委員會宣布，在2025年底禁止大部分氯醇環氧丙烷技術。所以我們估計中國環氧丙烷約有25%是氯醇技術。

So if you see that, that is going to be banned and you look at that compared to the additional investments and propylene oxide that have been taken place in China is probably going to these rationalizations excuse me -- will partially offset, if not fully offset, I mean the new capacity in China.

因此，如果你看到這一點，這將被禁止，你會看到，與中國進行的額外投資和環氧丙烷相比，可能會這些合理化，對不起，將部分抵消，如果不是完全抵消的話，我指的是中國的新增產能。

Frank Mitsch, Fermium Research.

弗蘭克米奇，費米研究中心。

Hey, good morning. I had a question on the cash flow side of things. Given the positive cash flow generation and the solid balance sheet here, you dipped your toes back into the buyback markets here in the second quarter. Curious what your outlook is for the balance of the year there and whether or not there might be other scope for M&A, et cetera? So just generally the uses of cash question. Thank you.

嗨，早安。我有一個關於現金流方面的問題。鑑於這裡的正現金流量和穩健的資產負債表，您在第二季重新涉足回購市場。想知道您今年餘下時間的展望以及是否還有其他併購空間等？所以一般來說就是現金的使用問題。謝謝。

Of course, I'm very pleased. I mean to say that the total capital return yield, that Q2 was 6%. So I think that's very attractive. Michael, you want to add something on the question of Frank?

當然，我非常高興。我的意思是說，第二季的總資本回報率為 6%。所以我認為這非常有吸引力。邁克爾，你想就弗蘭克的問題補充一下嗎？

Yeah. So thanks for the question, Frank. I mean, just like a couple of things. That we have a reputation as a company for delivering strong free cash flow and converting EBITDA into cash. In the last 12 months, we generated $4.4 billion, which is 95% conversion, which is well ahead of our 80%.

是的。謝謝你的提問，弗蘭克。我的意思是，就像幾件事一樣。我們因提供強勁的自由現金流並將 EBITDA 轉化為現金而享有盛譽。在過去 12 個月中，我們創造了 44 億美元，轉換率為 95%，遠高於我們的 80%。

And just kind of thinking about the year itself, as Peter alluded, we grew our dividend and we did some buybacks as well in the quarter. As we look to the second half, I think buybacks will continue to be in the mix, probably somewhat modestly. So we're still being a little bit cautious. But from a long-term perspective, the 70% guidance of returning free cash flow to our investors is fully in place, and we're fully committed to it.

正如彼得所提到的，想想今年本身，我們增加了股息，並且在本季度也進行了一些回購。當我們展望下半年時，我認為回購將繼續存在，而且可能會適度。所以我們還是有點謹慎。但從長遠來看，向投資者返還 70% 自由現金流的指導方針已經完全到位，我們也將全力致力於這一目標。

John Roberts, Mizuho Securities.

約翰·羅伯茨，瑞穗證券。

Thank you. I know Eastman has a very different circular plastics program than Lyondell. But would it seem that they're operational initial problems and they've got some delays and customer adoptions would that be common, I think to all circular plastics initiatives here? So is that giving you any concerns about your 2030 targets, 5.5 years from now is actually a pretty short timeframe for chemical investment.

謝謝。我知道伊士曼的圓形塑膠計劃與利安德截然不同。但我認為，對於這裡的所有循環塑膠倡議來說，它們似乎是營運初期的問題，並且有一些延遲，而客戶採用這種情況是否很常見？那麼，從現在開始的 5.5 年實際上對化學品投資來說是一個相當短的時間框架，這是否會讓您對 2030 年目標產生任何擔憂。

John, welcome as well. And thank you for your question. Of course, technologies are difficult to compare, I mean to one each other. What I can say on our MoReTec technology, we have units, which is up and running in our Ferrara plants where we also have our R&D people in Italy.

約翰，也歡迎。謝謝你的提問。當然，技術是很難比較的，我指的是彼此之間。關於我們的 MoReTec 技術，我可以說的是，我們擁有在費拉拉工廠啟動並運行的裝置，我們在義大利也有研發人員。

So that is not an industrial-scale plants, but it's not a lab scale either. It's not a small plant, I mean this is about four stores, some in high I mean the plant. So we have very good experience, I mean with that. The scope, I mean, on the MoReTec one investments has been finalized and we're starting to prepare, I mean, on the ground on the investments. So that is proceeding well in Wesseling, so for our Cologne hub.

所以這裡不是工業規模的工廠，但也不是實驗室規模的。這不是一個小工廠，我的意思是這大約有四家商店，有些在高處我的意思是工廠。所以我們有非常好的經驗，我的意思是。我的意思是，MoReTec one 的投資範圍已經最終確定，我們正在開始準備投資的實地工作。韋瑟靈的進展順利，我們的科隆中心也是如此。

Our process is, as I said, multiple times is different than practically any other process that you find out there because it is a catalytic process, leveraging upon our vast experience we have in catalysis.

正如我所說，我們的流程與您在那裡找到的幾乎任何其他流程都有很多不同，因為它是一個催化過程，利用了我們在催化方面的豐富經驗。

David Begleiter, Deutsche Bank.

大衛‧貝格萊特，德意志銀行。

Thank you, good morning. Peter, in your expectation of higher second half results versus the first half, what are you embedding for polyethylene price increases and included specifically in July as well? Thank you.

謝謝你，早安。Peter，您預計下半年業績將高於上半年，您對聚乙烯價格上漲有何預期，特別是在 7 月？謝謝。

Well, David, welcome and thank you for your question as well. I mean, if you look at the first half of this year from a group perspective, of course, then Q1 was better than Q4 last year. Now Q2 was better than Q1, quite impressively, I mean 29% better than Q1.

好吧，大衛，歡迎並感謝你提出問題。我的意思是，如果你從集團的角度來看今年上半年，當然，那麼第一季比去年第四季好。現在第二季比第一季好，令人印象深刻，我的意思是比第一季好 29%。

And the other point that I want to make is, if excludes the refinery business, which as we alluded to before in the call, is going to end its operations. It's a different environment in refining than what we have seen last year. So if you compare Q2 results without refining for this year with Q2 results without refining last year, then our results are better than last year. So the core business is improving as we are progressing.

我想指出的另一點是，如果排除煉油業務，正如我們之前在電話中提到的那樣，煉油業務將結束其營運。這是一個與我們去年看到的不同的煉油環境。因此，如果將今年未經精煉的第二季結果與去年未經精煉的第二季結果進行比較，那麼我們的結果會比去年更好。因此，隨著我們的進步，核心業務也在改善。

Now to your question on the second half of this year, if you look, I mean what we alluded to in the prepared remarks, we expect that anything will remain cheap. There are [two GBP0.05 per pounds] North American polyethylene price increases in the markets.

現在回答你關於今年下半年的問題，如果你看一下，我的意思是我們在準備好的評論中提到的內容，我們預計任何東西都會保持便宜。市場上北美聚乙烯價格上漲[每磅 2 英鎊 0.05 英鎊]。

Kim said, practically all increased capacity in North America has been absorbed through demand growth as well as record exports. We don't see any inventory buildup throughout the value chain. And we're only at the beginning of the hurricane season.

金表示，北美幾乎所有新增產能都透過需求成長和創紀錄的出口來吸收。我們沒有看到整個價值鏈出現任何庫存累積。我們正處於颶風季節的開始階段。

So if you look at all these things, then one would expect that we have a very good momentum and that should support I mean also price increases for polyethylene. We will have to see, of course, how much of the [2 times GBP0.05 per pound] price increases are out there. But at least you'll see that the momentum in the North American markets, which should support, I mean, these price increases.

因此，如果你看看所有這些事情，那麼人們會期望我們有一個非常好的勢頭，這應該支持我的意思是聚乙烯的價格上漲。當然，我們必須看看 [2 倍每磅 0.05 英鎊] 的價格上漲有多少。但至少你會看到北美市場的勢頭，我的意思是，這應該會支持這些價格上漲。

Kevin McCarthy, Vertical Research Partners.

凱文·麥卡錫，垂直研究夥伴。

Yes, thank you and good morning, Peter, I appreciate the detail on slide 8 regarding your ongoing review of the European asset footprint. Can you provide a little bit more color about how you arrived at these decisions, but perhaps more importantly, which of the three buckets that you outline in terms of upgrading profits, divesting or rationalizing might be more likely and what does the timeline look like for the evaluation moving forward?

是的，謝謝你，早上好，彼得，我很欣賞幻燈片 8 上關於你對歐洲資產足跡正在進行的審查的細節。您能否提供更多關於您如何做出這些決定的信息，但也許更重要的是，您在提升利潤、剝離或合理化方面概述的三個目標中哪一個更有可能，以及時間表是什麼樣的評估進度如何？

Thank you very much, Kevin. Good question. Of course. I mean, there's not a lot that in addition that we can disclose at this point in time because we continue to keep all the options open. But as you know, we have made the announcement in the market, so by having made the announcement in the market that allows us to also have discussions with potential other owners for those assets.

非常感謝你，凱文。好問題。當然。我的意思是，目前我們可以透露的資訊並不多，因為我們繼續保持所有選項的開放。但如您所知，我們已經在市場上發布了公告，因此透過在市場上發佈公告，我們還可以與這些資產的潛在其他所有者進行討論。

I need to differentiate a little bit like you saw on slide number 8. One part is around propylene oxide, so the POSM units that we have in the Maasvlakte, which is a 50-50 joint venture with Covestro. So that is a bit different, of course and if you compare, I mean to the cracker/PEPP sites that we have identified within the scope.

我需要像您在第 8 號幻燈片上看到的那樣進行一些區分。其中一部分是環氧丙烷，因此我們在 Maasvlakte 擁有的 POSM 裝置，這是與科思創 50-50 的合資企業。當然，這有點不同，如果你比較的話，我指的是我們在範圍內確定的破解/PEPP 網站。

So progressing well, I would say we're not excluding any opportunity that we have at this point in time. And one thing that I can say is we are very diligent, we're laser focused and we will not delay the actions that need to be taken.

進展順利，我想說我們不會排除目前擁有的任何機會。我可以說的一件事是，我們非常勤奮，我們高度專注，我們不會拖延需要採取的行動。

Josh Spector, UBS.

喬許‧斯佩克特，瑞銀集團。

Good morning, everyone. It's [Chris Perrella] on for Josh. Taking a look at the second half guidance, the maintenance, thank you for the updated maintenance schedule, the maintenance looks relatively similar half-over-half.

大家，早安。喬希由[克里斯·佩雷拉]上場。看看下半年的指導，維護，感謝更新的維護時間表，維護看起來相對相似一半以上。

I know there's the barrel impact there's currently. Could you add some more color on sort of the moving parts? Is it a seasonal decline in the earnings, or weighing on the earnings in the second half, or what's slowing the momentum that you saw in the second quarter?

我知道目前存在桶效應。你能在一些活動部件上添加更多顏色嗎？是盈利的季節性下降，還是對下半年的盈利造成壓力，或者是什麼減緩了您在第二季度看到的勢頭？

Chris, thanks. Good question. Well, we continue to see that there is momentum being built up. I talked already a bit on PE, so if you look at PE, you see that just the US domestic demand in Q2 was up by 4% versus Q1, which just to remind everybody this is the strongest quarter since two years.

克里斯，謝謝。好問題。嗯，我們繼續看到勢頭正在增強。我已經談過一些關於 PE 的問題，所以如果你看一下 PE，你會發現第二季度美國國內需求比第一季度增長了 4%，這只是提醒大家這是兩年來最強勁的季度。

Exports were up, let's say, around 8%, 9% versus May and June. So they were these exports about the second highest of all time. And I alluded to, are the price increases that we have in the marketplace. The same has also been valid, I mean, on polypropylene, so we -- I mean demand continues to improve. Of course, we're still waiting for inflation rates to go down.

比方說，與 5 月和 6 月相比，出口成長了 8%、9% 左右。因此，它們的出口量大約是有史以來第二高的。我提到的是，我們在市場上的價格上漲。我的意思是，對於聚丙烯也是如此，所以我們——我的意思是需求持續改善。當然，我們仍在等待通膨率下降。

We're still waiting as a consequence for interest rates to go down. So that consumer confidence would go up, especially for durable goods. But in polypropylene, we see that even if consumer confidence remains low, that there is a bit of improvements already in some other areas like rigid packaging seats films, our order book is also quite full on polyethylene and polypropylene. So we're happy with that as well.

我們仍在等待利率下降。這樣消費者的信心就會上升，尤其是耐用品的信心。但在聚丙烯方面，我們看到，即使消費者信心仍然較低，但在硬包裝座椅薄膜等其他領域已經有了一些改進，我們的聚乙烯和聚丙烯訂單也相當充足。所以我們對此也很滿意。

The main issue that continues to be is around China, China demand, we have seen slowly growing up, we think around 4%, 5% locally, but that is being absorbed with the additional capacity that is coming on stream.

仍然存在的主要問題是中國，中國的需求，我們看到緩慢增長，我們認為本地增長約為 4%、5%，但這正在被即將投產的額外產能所吸收。

Europe continues to be soft, but then there is some encouraging messages numbers that we see, especially on the southern parts of Europe to southern countries with a higher GDP growth, higher demand and we see that inflation rates continue to slowly go down in Europe as well.

歐洲繼續疲軟，但我們看到一些令人鼓舞的消息數字，特別是在歐洲南部地區，GDP 增長較高、需求較高的南部國家，我們看到歐洲的通貨膨脹率繼續緩慢下降，出色地。

So if you look at everything together, we see a slow increase that continued increase in terms of demands. So if we talk about capacity utilization percentages and Michael made some clarifications on that, it's not so much, I mean for the second half of the year, because we see and we are worried about demand growth.

因此，如果你綜合考慮所有因素，我們會發現需求正在緩慢增長且持續增長。因此，如果我們談論產能利用率，麥可對此做了一些澄清，我的意思是下半年，情況並沒有那麼嚴重，因為我們看到並擔心需求成長。

It's mainly because of our own actions that we have because if you have a scheduled turnarounds on our big cracker that we have in in Wesseling in Europe. Well, of course, I mean, that gives you a lesser capacity that you have available. But rest assured, I mean, we continue to see continuous slow, but good momentum, steady momentum in terms of demand creation.

這主要是因為我們自己的行動，因為如果您對我們在歐洲韋瑟靈的大型餅乾進行了預定的周轉。嗯，當然，我的意思是，這會減少您可用的容量。但請放心，我的意思是，我們繼續看到需求創造方面持續緩慢但良好的勢頭和穩定的勢頭。

So flattish to Q3, slightly up second half versus first half. And then, Chris, that seasonally the first and fourth quarters tend to be the weakest, with seasonally the second and third strongest, just as a reminder.

第三季持平，下半年比上半年略有上升。然後，克里斯，從季節性來看，第一季和第四季往往是最弱的，季節性第二和第三季最強，只是作為提醒。

Hassan Ahmed, Alembic Global.

哈桑·艾哈邁德 (Hassan Ahmed)，Alembic Global。

Morning, Peter. Joined the call late. So apologies if this question's been asked before. But a question around the I&D side of things, historically on the EBITDA in that segment used to be quite stable. And then over the last year or two, there was some volatility there as well.

早安，彼得。很晚才加入通話。如果之前有人問過這個問題，我們深感抱歉。但圍繞 I&D 方面的問題，歷史上該細分市場的 EBITDA 曾經相當穩定。然後在過去的一兩年裡，也出現了一些波動。

And obviously, you guys saw a nice bump up in EBITDA this quarter, partly obviously driven by the oxyfuels side of things. Just trying to sort of suss out what -- how you guys think about the sustainability of these profitability levels and historically -- a continuation of the historically sort of steady eddie nature of this business.

顯然，本季 EBITDA 大幅成長，部分原因顯然是由富氧燃料方面推動的。只是想弄清楚你們如何看待這些盈利水平和歷史上的可持續​​性，這是該業務歷史上穩定的渦流性質的延續。

Thank you, Hassan, thank you for your question. I made a couple of remarks. I mean, it was more around propylene oxide. But maybe I hand over since I have Aaron and also in the room here, and he's heading the I&D business, as you know, that he can make a couple of additional comments around PO, the oxyfuels business.

謝謝你，哈桑，謝謝你的問題。我發表了幾句話。我的意思是，它更多地圍繞著環氧丙烷。但也許我會放棄，因為我有亞倫，也在這兒，他負責 I&D 業務，正如你所知，他可以圍繞 PO（富氧燃料業務）發表一些額外的評論。

Yeah. Thank you, Peter. I appreciate it. And thanks for the question, Hassan. I point to a couple of different things, I agree with your comment about I&D historical earnings being very steady. We sold the EOD business in the second quarter. So you've to consider removing that from that profile. However, we've added the PO/TBA facility and we're now operating that facility better than planned rates close to benchmark.

是的。謝謝你，彼得。我很感激。謝謝你的提問，哈桑。我指出了一些不同的事情，我同意您關於 I&D 歷史收益非常穩定的評論。我們在第二季出售了EOD業務。所以你必須考慮從該設定檔中刪除它。然而，我們已經添加了 PO/TBA 設施，我們現在正在以接近基準的計劃費率更好地運營該設施。

As I look forward, given the challenges that we're currently seeing with durable demand, specifically in automotive, housing and construction, we are optimizing our PO assets according to technology. We've already talked to the benefit that we see with PO/TBA, and that's why we're running all of those assets close to benchmark with POSM assets being more like swing assets to meet supply with demand.

展望未來，考慮到我們目前在持久需求方面面臨的挑戰，特別是在汽車、住房和建築領域，我們正在根據技術優化我們的 PO 資產。我們已經討論過 PO/TBA 帶來的好處，這就是為什麼我們以接近基準的方式運行所有這些資產，而 POSM 資產更像是搖擺資產，以滿足供需關係。

When you're looking specifically at possum, we would actually prioritize our US assets just given our cost position. And that's why the comment that Michael made earlier on PO 11 being idled in August, it's reflecting current demand in the region.

當你專門關注負鼠時，考慮到我們的成本狀況，我們實際上會優先考慮我們的美國資產。這就是為什麼 Michael 早些時候對 PO 11 發表的評論在 8 月被擱置的原因，它反映了該地區當前的需求。

That being said, I still expect that I&D remain steady going forward. I mentioned earlier in my answer to the previous question that with interest rates potentially coming down, we do see some potential upside that's not currently built into our forecast, it won't be immediate, but we do see some potential upside there.

話雖這麼說，我仍然預計 I&D 未來將保持穩定。我在回答上一個問題時提到，隨著利率可能下降，我們確實看到了一些潛在的上行空間，這些上行空間目前尚未納入我們的預測，不會立即出現，但我們確實看到了一些潛在的上行空間。

Of course, we are very well positioned because we have that new PO/TBA plant that is running very well. So if durable goods demand starts moving up, but then we have the capacity available to fulfil the demand.

當然，我們處於非常有利的位置，因為我們擁有運作良好的新 PO/TBA 工廠。因此，如果耐用品需求開始上升，那麼我們就有能力滿足需求。

Chris Parkinson, Wolfe Research.

克里斯帕金森，沃爾夫研究中心。

Great. Thank you so much. I just want to dive in a little bit more into polypropylene dynamics. I mean, it seems like US sized supplies by telling you towards the end of the decade, but you have seen increases in other regions of the world.

偉大的。太感謝了。我只是想更深入地了解聚丙烯動力學。我的意思是，在本世紀末告訴您，這似乎是美國規模的供應量，但您已經看到世界其他地區的供應量增加。

So just in terms of how you're thinking about the supply demand, the demand dynamics on that front as well as your current views of feedstock costs would be particularly helpful to hear you think about the business as we go into '25. Thank you so much.

因此，就您如何看待供應需求而言，這方面的需求動態以及您目前對原料成本的看法將特別有助於聽到您在進入 25 年後對業務的看法。太感謝了。

Thank you, Chris. Before I hand over to Kim, let me elaborate also that we saw -- despite the fact I mean, that really durable goods is demand is not really yet going up substantially. But domestic demand in United States for polypropylene was up about 5% versus Q1, which means that this is the strongest quarter in polypropylene that we have seen since Q3 2021. So with that, Kim.

謝謝你，克里斯。在我把話題交給金之前，讓我詳細說明一下我們所看到的情況——儘管我的意思是，真正的耐用品的需求還沒有真正大幅上升。但美國國內對聚丙烯的需求較第一季成長約 5%，這意味著這是自 2021 年第三季以來我們所看到的聚丙烯最強勁的季度。那麼，金。

So Peter, I guess what I would add to that is when you when you ask about the overall kind of global dynamics. You've seen a lot of growth in polypropylene, specifically in China over the last couple of years. So what you're seeing play out is more of a regional market, it's much less of an export market than what you see in polypropylene.

所以彼得，我想當你詢問全球動態的整體情況時，我要補充的是。您已經看到聚丙烯的大量增長，特別是在過去幾年中在中國。因此，您看到的更多是區域市場，而不是出口市場，而不是聚丙烯市場。

Just to compare and contrast polypropylene, you may export 8% to 10% in the US versus polyethylene, where it would be more like 40% or 50%. So it's a much more regional dynamic and that dynamic is based on the feedstock to your question around feedstocks.

為了比較和對比聚丙烯，您在美國的出口量可能為 8% 到 10%，而在美國，聚乙烯的出口量可能為 40% 或 50%。因此，這是一個更具區域性的動態，並且該動態基於您關於原料問題的原料。

So what is your cost of propylene in different parts of the world, whether you're getting it from refining, whether you're getting it from on-purpose PDH units. And then the thing that's really an interesting dynamic in North America, specifically right now is the reliability of that supply of propylene.

那麼，世界不同地區的丙烯成本是多少，無論是從煉油中獲取，還是從專用 PDH 裝置中獲取。在北美，特別是現在，真正有趣的動態是丙烯供應的可靠性。

There's been a lot of PDH capacity that's been brought online as people been phasing out propylene coming out of olefins crackers as they've gone to lighter ethane feedstocks. So you see on-purpose PDH having reliability problems and you're seeing higher what we would call propylene grade, polypropylene causing the problems. So I hope that answers your question. I apologize. There were some other things going on here in the room.

隨著人們逐步淘汰來自烯烴裂解裝置的丙烯，轉而使用較輕的乙烷原料，大量 PDH 產能已上線。因此，您會看到專用 PDH 有可靠性問題，並且您會看到我們所說的丙烯級聚丙烯導致了問題。所以我希望這能回答你的問題。我道歉。房間裡還發生了一些其他事情。

All good. Very much so. Thank you so much.

都好。非常如此。太感謝了。

And Chris, we also have a spread improvement price increase. I mean that is on the table in the market for North America for July of [$0.03 per pound] on polypropylene.

克里斯，我們還提高了價差。我的意思是，北美 7 月份聚丙烯市場價格為 [每磅 0.03 美元]。

I saw. Thank you.

我看見。謝謝。

Vincent Andrews, Morgan Stanley.

文森安德魯斯，摩根士丹利。

Hi, this is [Turner Hendricks] on for Vincent. It looked like in EAI, you ran at 60% NATPET when I think you can run typically with more propane. Was that because they were attractive NATPET co-product values are something else?

大家好，我是文森的[特納·亨德里克斯]。在 EAI 中，您以 60% NATPET 運行，而我認為通常可以使用更多丙烷運行。是因為它們很有吸引力 NATPET 副產品的價值是其他東西嗎？

Yes, Your simple answer is yes. There were very good co-product values, especially in butadiene as well as we felt that, that was the best optimization of our European crackers at the time. As we've said in the past and we'll just reiterate it because I think it's very important, whether it's in Europe or in the US. We are always looking week-to-week optimize the feedstock slate of our crackers and produce the best value for LYB. It's not always ethylene. Sometimes it's the co-products.

是的，您簡單的答案是肯定的。副產品價值非常高，尤其是丁二烯，我們認為這是當時我們歐洲裂解裝置的最佳最佳化。正如我們過去所說的，我們將重申這一點，因為我認為這非常重要，無論是在歐洲還是在美國。我們始終致力於每週優化裂解裝置的原料結構，為 LYB 創造最佳價值。它並不總是乙烯。有時它是聯產品。

Thank you. We have reached the end of the question-and-answer session, and I'll turn the call back over to Mr. Vanacker for closing comments.

謝謝。問答環節已經結束，我將把電話轉回給瓦納克先生以供結束評論。

Yes, thank you very much. Excuse me. Thank you again for all of the thoughtful questions. Let me maybe still articulate a couple of key messages of this call. I believe that we are making excellent progress on our strategy to make LYB a much more focused company with a leading advantaged asset portfolio as well as product mix.

是的謝謝你。打擾一下。再次感謝您提出所有深思熟慮的問題。讓我仍然闡明這次電話會議的幾個關鍵訊息。我相信，我們的策略正在取得巨大進展，使 LYB 成為一家更專注的公司，擁有領先的優勢資產組合和產品組合。

And why am I saying that? I mean, first of all, we're making good progress on our goal to add $3 billion in incremental normalized EBITDA by 2027. Secondly, you see that we have clear actions to increase our historical average EBITDA margin from 18% to above 22%.

我為什麼這麼說？我的意思是，首先，我們在實現 2027 年增量標準化 EBITDA 增加 30 億美元的目標方面取得了良好進展。其次，您會看到我們採取了明確的行動，將我們的歷史平均 EBITDA 利潤率從 18% 提高到 22% 以上。

Third, our second quarter total capital return yield at 6% that we have due to an increased dividend and also some share buybacks, I think, quite state of the art. And fourth, our current cost advantaged operations in feedstock advantaged regions without our refining is already about 60% of LyondellBasell production volume.

第三，由於股息增加和一些股票回購，我們第二季的總資本回報率為 6%，我認為這是最先進的。第四，我們目前在原料優勢地區的成本優勢業務（無需精煉）已佔利安德巴塞爾產量的 60% 左右。

And after we have implemented our European strategic assessment, we expect that that will grow to around 70%. So let's say in a couple of years. So of course, we look forward to sharing updates over the coming months as we continue to make progress on all aspects of our long-term strategy. We hope you all have a great weekend. Stay well, stay healthy and stay safe. Thank you very much.

在我們實施歐洲戰略評估後，我們預計這一比例將增長至 70% 左右。假設幾年後。因此，當然，隨著我們繼續在長期策略的各個方面取得進展，我們期待在未來幾個月分享最新情況。我們希望大家週末愉快。保持健康、保持健康、保持安全。非常感謝。

And this concludes today's conference and you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束，此時您可以掛斷電話了。感謝您的參與。