Mativ Holdings Inc (MATV) 2019 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Welcome to SWM's Fourth Quarter and Year-end 2019 Earnings Conference Call.

歡迎來到 SWM 的 2019 年第四季度和年終收益電話會議。

Hosting the call today from SWM is Dr. Jeff Kramer, Chief Executive Officer.

今天主持 SWM 電話會議的是首席執行官 Jeff Kramer 博士。

He is joined by Andrew Wamser, Chief Financial Officer; and Mark Chekanow, Director of Investor Relations.

首席財務官 Andrew Wamser 也加入了他的行列；和投資者關係總監 Mark Chekanow。

Today's call is being recorded and will be available for replay later this afternoon.

今天的通話正在錄製中，今天下午晚些時候可以重播。

(Operator Instructions) It is now my pleasure to turn the floor over to Mr. Chekanow.

（操作員說明）現在我很高興將發言權交給切卡諾先生。

Sir, you may begin.

先生，您可以開始了。

Thank you, Cindy.

謝謝你，辛迪。

Good morning.

早上好。

I'm Mark Chekanow, Director of Investor Relations at SWM.

我是 SWM 投資者關係總監 Mark Chekanow。

Thank you for joining us to discuss our fourth quarter and year-end 2019 earnings release.

感謝您加入我們討論我們 2019 年第四季度和年末的收益發布。

Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that comments included in today's conference call include forward-looking statements.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，今天電話會議中包含的評論包括前瞻性陳述。

Actual results may differ materially from the results suggested by these comments for a number of reasons, which are discussed in more detail in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our annual report on Form 10-K.

由於多種原因，實際結果可能與這些評論建議的結果存在重大差異，這些原因在我們提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中有更詳細的討論，包括我們關於 10-Q 表格的季度報告和我們關於 10-K 表格的年度報告.

Some financial measures discussed during this call are non-GAAP financial measures.

本次電話會議中討論的一些財務措施是非 GAAP 財務措施。

Reconciliations of these measures to the closest GAAP measures are included in the appendix of this presentation and the earnings release.

這些措施與最接近的 GAAP 措施的對賬包含在本演示文稿和收益發布的附錄中。

Unless stated otherwise, financial and operational metric comparisons are to the prior year period and relate to continuing operations.

除非另有說明，否則財務和運營指標比較是與上一年期間的比較，並與持續經營有關。

This presentation and the earnings release are available on the Investor Relations section of our website, www.swmintl.com.

此演示文稿和收益發布可在我們網站 www.swmintl.com 的投資者關係部分獲取。

I'll now turn the call over to Jeff.

我現在將電話轉給傑夫。

Thank you, Mark, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝馬克，大家早上好。

Yesterday, we reported fourth quarter and full year 2019 results with full year adjusted earnings per share of $3.55, in the high end of the guided range we provided last February.

昨天，我們公佈了 2019 年第四季度和全年業績，全年調整後每股收益為 3.55 美元，處於我們去年 2 月提供的指導範圍的高端。

In short, it was a positive year with adjusted EPS up 2% and up 5% if you exclude the $0.09 of negative currency impacts.

簡而言之，如果排除 0.09 美元的負面貨幣影響，這是積極的一年，調整後每股收益增長 2% 和 5%。

Free cash flow was also strong, increasing 16% to $126 million.

自由現金流也很強勁，增長 16% 至 1.26 億美元。

This is our second straight year of adjusted EPS and cash flow growth, and it was all organic, demonstrating our success to transforming SWM into a more diversified and growing enterprise.

這是我們連續第二年調整後的每股收益和現金流增長，而且都是有機增長，證明我們成功地將 SWM 轉變為一家更加多元化和不斷發展的企業。

Both segments achieved increased profitability.

這兩個部門的盈利能力均有所提高。

Combined, EP and AMS operating profits grew 8%.

EP 和 AMS 的營業利潤合計增長了 8%。

We will cover our guidance in more detail shortly, but our outlook reflects core business earnings growth of up to 6% before including any expected accretion from our recently announced acquisition.

我們將在短期內更詳細地介紹我們的指導意見，但我們的展望反映了核心業務收益增長高達 6%，之前包括我們最近宣布的收購帶來的任何預期增長。

Hopefully, you saw the announcement earlier this week of our pending purchase of 2 technical film converting businesses, Tekra and Trient.

希望您在本週早些時候看到了我們即將收購 2 家技術薄膜加工企業 Tekra 和 Trient 的公告。

We are excited to add these new converting capabilities to AMS as we will significantly expand the value-added solution set we can offer customers while bolstering our presence in several existing markets and gaining access to a host of new customers and film technologies.

我們很高興為 AMS 添加這些新的轉換功能，因為我們將顯著擴展我們可以為客戶提供的增值解決方案集，同時加強我們在幾個現有市場的影響力，並獲得接觸大量新客戶和薄膜技術的機會。

For the quarter, things were largely as expected with adjusted EPS of $0.80.

本季度，調整後的每股收益為 0.80 美元，基本符合預期。

Margins were quite healthy across the business, though we did see some disruption of AMS sales from typical year-end customer inventory rebalancing, which curbed our full year's sales growth.

整個業務的利潤率相當健康，儘管我們確實看到典型的年終客戶庫存重新平衡對 AMS 銷售造成了一些干擾，這抑制了我們全年的銷售增長。

We also were impacted by a higher quarterly tax rate, which was just a timing issue versus last year's low fourth quarter rate.

我們還受到更高季度稅率的影響，與去年第四季度的低稅率相比，這只是一個時間問題。

Overall, we delivered our targeted earnings results and look forward to another strong year ahead with continued stability in EP and growth in AMS.

總體而言，我們實現了預期的收益結果，並期待在 EP 持續穩定和 AMS 增長的情況下，又一個強勁的一年。

At this point, and before we get further into results, I'd like to briefly comment on the coronavirus developments in China.

在這一點上，在我們進一步得出結果之前，我想簡要評論一下中國冠狀病毒的發展。

We are in regular contact with our teams in the region and continue to be impressed by their resilience and dedication to operating during what are challenging times.

我們與該地區的團隊保持定期聯繫，並繼續對他們在充滿挑戰的時期開展業務的韌性和奉獻精神印象深刻。

To that end, we are pleased to report that our people and facilities have been largely unaffected to date and we have resumed operations.

為此，我們很高興地報告，迄今為止，我們的人員和設施基本上沒有受到影響，我們已經恢復運營。

We are closely monitoring the situation and remain in close contact with our people and our customers.

我們正在密切關注局勢，並與我們的員工和客戶保持密切聯繫。

Now shifting to our operating segments.

現在轉向我們的運營部門。

AMS achieved 2% organic sales growth for the year or 3% ex currency.

AMS 實現了 2% 的年度有機銷售額增長或 3%（不計匯率）。

This was on top of the 6% organic growth in 2018.

這是在 2018 年 6% 的有機增長之上的。

Beyond continued growth on our paint protection products for transportation, we also saw excellent performance from our optical films, which are used to reinforce glass in a variety of applications, from bulletproof glass for cars to high-speed rail windows to switchable privacy glass for aircraft.

除了我們用於交通工具的漆面保護產品的持續增長外，我們還看到了我們的光學薄膜的出色性能，這些薄膜用於在各種應用中增強玻璃，從汽車防彈玻璃到高鐵車窗再到飛機的可切換隱私玻璃.

Filtration sales also increased for the year with water filtration products, again, driving growth, and we expect momentum to continue into 2020.

水過濾產品的過濾銷售額在今年也有所增長，再次推動增長，我們預計這一勢頭將持續到 2020 年。

The specialty applications in transportation and filtration that our products support continued to demonstrate solid fundamental demands, and we have made additional investments in 2019 to expand global capacity to keep up with projected growth.

我們的產品支持的運輸和過濾領域的專業應用繼續表現出堅實的基本需求，我們在 2019 年進行了額外投資以擴大全球產能以跟上預期的增長。

Lastly, we highlight that medical was another good performer in 2019 driven by the finger bandage category.

最後，我們強調，在手指繃帶類別的推動下，醫療是 2019 年另一個表現出色的行業。

In addition to capitalizing on solid overall fundamentals, we successfully introduced a new innovative waterproof packing tape that is both breathable and comfortable on the skin.

除了利用紮實的整體基礎知識，我們還成功推出了一種新型創新防水包裝膠帶，它既透氣又親膚。

During the fourth quarter, as mentioned, we did see some customer adjust year-end inventories in our transportation and filtration businesses, resulting in a fourth quarter sales decrease of 4%.

如前所述，在第四季度，我們確實看到一些客戶調整了我們運輸和過濾業務的年終庫存，導致第四季度銷售額下降 4%。

However, recall that in last year's fourth quarter, AMS sales were up 9%, which set up a challenging fundamental comparison.

然而，回想一下去年第四季度，AMS 的銷售額增長了 9%，這構成了一個具有挑戰性的基本面比較。

On a positive note, AMS segment adjusted operating margin saw a significant improvement, and segment operating profits were up 20% in 2019.

積極的一面是，AMS 部門調整後的營業利潤率有了顯著改善，2019 年部門營業利潤增長了 20%。

In addition to the higher sales, we saw the benefits of efficiency projects as well as lower resin cost following a challenging 2018.

除了更高的銷售額，我們還看到了效率項目的好處以及在充滿挑戰的 2018 年之後樹脂成本的降低。

Of note, fourth quarter margins and profits were still up year-on-year despite the sales softness.

值得注意的是，儘管銷售疲軟，第四季度的利潤率和利潤仍同比增長。

In addition to strong financial results, we continued to progress our key strategic priorities.

除了強勁的財務業績外，我們還繼續推進我們的關鍵戰略重點。

We have increased our global capacity in transportation film with several new international production lines and are now serving this fast-growing market from multiple sites, offering our customers unmatched global service capabilities.

我們通過幾條新的國際生產線提高了我們在運輸薄膜方面的全球產能，現在正從多個地點服務於這個快速增長的市場，為我們的客戶提供無與倫比的全球服務能力。

We also continued to expand our water filtration capacity and capabilities.

我們還繼續擴大我們的水過濾能力和能力。

In 2019, we began ramping up sales of a water filtration paper product to our existing customers in this industry and expect acceleration of these sales into 2020.

2019 年，我們開始增加向該行業現有客戶銷售濾水紙產品，並預計這些銷售將加速到 2020 年。

Lastly, as always, we are executing ways to improve our cost structure without disrupting our growth or customer service.

最後，一如既往，我們正在採取各種方法來改善我們的成本結構，而不會影響我們的增長或客戶服務。

Those efforts were quite evident in the margin expansion in 2019, and we continue to look at improvement projects across the business.

這些努力在 2019 年的利潤率增長中非常明顯，我們將繼續關注整個業務的改進項目。

Moving to Engineered Papers.

轉向工程論文。

Full sales decreased 5% but were down only 2% ex currency.

全部銷售額下降了 5%，但按匯率計算僅下降了 2%。

Our trend all year has been strong price/mix nearly offsetting lower volumes.

我們全年的趨勢是強勁的價格/組合幾乎抵消了較低的銷量。

While price benefits were a component of some contracts reset early in the year, recouping higher pulp costs from 2018, our mix benefit was the more significant contributor.

雖然價格收益是今年年初重置的一些合同的組成部分，從 2018 年收回更高的紙漿成本，但我們的混合收益是更重要的貢獻者。

Strong focus on our highest-value products remains a priority and an effective component of our multi-pronged strategy to offset industry attrition.

高度關注我們最高價值的產品仍然是我們抵消行業流失的多管齊下戰略的優先事項和有效組成部分。

As a percentage of our total volume, LIP and other cigarette papers as well as wrapper and binder products increased versus last year, while nontobacco papers contracted as planned.

與去年相比，LIP 和其他捲菸紙以及包裝紙和粘合劑產品占我們總量的百分比有所增加，而非煙草紙則按計劃收縮。

Industry attrition in the U.S. was elevated versus long-term historical trends due mostly to increased prevalence of vaping products, but that impact seems to be moderating.

與長期歷史趨勢相比，美國的行業流失率有所上升，這主要是由於電子煙產品的普及率增加，但這種影響似乎正在緩和。

While difficult to predict, we generally believe attrition peaked in mid-2019 and could moderate in 2020.

雖然難以預測，但我們普遍認為人員流失在 2019 年中期達到頂峰，並可能在 2020 年放緩。

From an OP perspective, the key takeaway is that we delivered stable profits for the third consecutive year.

從 OP 的角度來看，關鍵的收穫是我們連續第三年實現了穩定的利潤。

Despite lower sales, operating profits were up slightly as we continued to take steps to reduce costs and improve efficiencies, the second component of our strategy to offset industry headwinds.

儘管銷售額下降，但營業利潤略有上升，因為我們繼續採取措施降低成本和提高效率，這是我們抵消行業逆風戰略的第二個組成部分。

From a margin standpoint, we did see expansion as price/mix and lower costs both benefited us after a challenging year for pulp in 2018.

從利潤率的角度來看，在 2018 年紙漿充滿挑戰的一年之後，我們確實看到了擴張，因為價格/組合和較低的成本都使我們受益。

We note that while pulp did trend lower throughout the year, we did not begin seeing P&L benefits until the second half.

我們注意到，雖然紙漿全年呈下降趨勢，但我們直到下半年才開始看到損益收益。

Specifically on the fourth quarter, trends largely mirrored the full year.

特別是在第四季度，趨勢在很大程度上反映了全年。

Like AMS, there were some isolated cases of some inventory drawdowns as certain customers plan changes in their supply chains.

與 AMS 一樣，由於某些客戶計劃改變其供應鏈，因此存在一些庫存減少的孤立案例。

We had previously commented earlier this year that some of the relative strength of LIP sales in the U.S. were likely due to some inventory builds, and these were unwound in the third and fourth quarters.

今年早些時候，我們曾評論說，美國 LIP 銷售的一些相對強勁可能是由於一些庫存增加，這些庫存在第三和第四季度解除。

Regarding our 2019 strategic priorities, we believe we continued to gain incremental share in key products, and we continued to work with our wrapper and binder customers to keep that category momentum going.

關於我們 2019 年的戰略重點，我們相信我們將繼續在關鍵產品中獲得更多份額，並且我們將繼續與包裝紙和裝訂紙客戶合作，以保持該類別的發展勢頭。

Our heat-not-burn sales picked up in the fourth quarter, and we look forward to higher volumes from customers rolling out new products in 2020.

我們的加熱不燃燒銷售額在第四季度有所回升，我們期待客戶在 2020 年推出新產品帶來更高的銷量。

Lastly, we have begun developing and tested marketing some other unique products.

最後，我們已經開始開發和測試營銷其他一些獨特的產品。

Working with several independent players, we have prototype proprietary hemp and cocoa-based materials.

我們與幾個獨立的參與者合作，開發了專有大麻和可可基材料的原型。

These products, which we have presented at trade shows and are with several customers for testing, range from filler products to wrappers and binders for small cigars.

我們在貿易展覽會上展示並與幾個客戶進行測試的這些產品範圍從填料產品到小雪茄的包裝紙和粘合劑。

While these products are in the early stages and we want to be measured in how we talk about them, we are excited about the innovations we have achieved, and our customers' enthusiasm gives us optimism that these new fibers will meet a growing demand for niche products.

雖然這些產品處於早期階段，我們希望衡量我們如何談論它們，但我們對我們所取得的創新感到興奮，我們客戶的熱情讓我們樂觀地認為這些新纖維將滿足對利基市場日益增長的需求產品。

I will now turn the call over to Andy.

我現在將把電話轉給安迪。

Thank you, Jeff.

謝謝你，傑夫。

I'll now review our financial results.

我現在回顧一下我們的財務業績。

For the full year 2019, AMS sales increased 2%, or approximately 3% ex currency, to $477 million.

2019 年全年，AMS 銷售額增長 2%，或按匯率計算增長約 3%，達到 4.77 億美元。

Operating profits for the segment grew 20% or $14 million to nearly $86 million.

該部門的營業利潤增長了 20% 或 1,400 萬美元，達到近 8,600 萬美元。

This growth was driven by 270 basis points of margin expansion to 18%.

這一增長是由利潤率擴大 270 個基點至 18% 推動的。

Organic sales growth, particularly in some of our higher-value products, combined with cost reduction initiatives and lower resin cost, drove improved profitability.

有機銷售增長，特別是在我們的一些高價值產品中，加上成本削減計劃和較低的樹脂成本，推動了盈利能力的提高。

Polypropylene prices trended lower through most of the year, though they seem to have stabilized at current levels.

聚丙烯價格在今年大部分時間都呈走低趨勢，但似乎已穩定在當前水平。

At present, we do not expect much volatility from resin in the near term.

目前，我們預計短期內樹脂不會出現太大波動。

Resin costs have swung our results in both directions over the past 2 years.

在過去 2 年中，樹脂成本使我們的結果左右搖擺。

But for context, our 2-year operating profit CAGR is just over 6% on 4% sales growth.

但就背景而言，我們 2 年的營業利潤複合年增長率略高於 6%，銷售額增長 4%。

Those metrics both reflect organic growth.

這些指標都反映了有機增長。

For the fourth quarter, AMS sales declined 4% to $104 million versus the exceptional 9% growth during last year's fourth quarter.

第四季度，AMS 的銷售額下降了 4% 至 1.04 億美元，而去年第四季度則增長了 9%。

As Jeff mentioned, in addition to this already challenging comparison, several customers pared back year-end inventories.

正如 Jeff 所提到的，除了這個已經具有挑戰性的比較之外，一些客戶還削減了年終庫存。

However, we still increased the operating profits by nearly $0.5 million to $15.8 million, which equated to about 90 basis points of margin improvement.

然而，我們仍然將營業利潤增加了近 50 萬美元，達到 1580 萬美元，這相當於利潤率提高了約 90 個基點。

For Engineered Papers, full year 2019 sales finished down 5% to $546 million but were impacted by a weak euro.

對於工程紙，2019 年全年銷售額下降 5% 至 5.46 億美元，但受到歐元疲軟的影響。

Absent currency impacts, sales were down 2%, which reflects a 10% volume decline and includes the planned exits of lower-margin printing and packaging papers.

在沒有貨幣影響的情況下，銷售額下降了 2%，這反映了 10% 的銷量下降，其中包括計劃退出利潤率較低的印刷和包裝紙。

The volume decrease was mostly offset by 8% positive price and mix effect.

銷量下降大部分被 8% 的積極價格和混合效應所抵消。

Segment margins expanded by 130 basis points to 22.6% from the positive price/mix shifts and lower costs, which drove a slight increase in operating profit dollars.

由於積極的價格/組合轉變和較低的成本，部門利潤率擴大了 130 個基點，達到 22.6%，這推動了營業利潤美元的小幅增長。

We improved our efficiencies and cost structure, and similar to AMS, benefited from lower input costs.

我們提高了效率和成本結構，並且與 AMS 類似，受益於較低的投入成本。

While energy costs remained higher for the year, we did see the benefits of lower wood pulp costs, which flowed to our P&L during the second half of 2019.

雖然今年的能源成本仍然較高，但我們確實看到了木漿成本降低的好處，這些好處在 2019 年下半年流入了我們的損益表。

We highlight that this is the third consecutive year of operating profit stability for our EP segment as we continued to deliver annual operating profit in the low $120 million range.

我們強調，這是我們的 EP 部門連續第三年保持穩定的營業利潤，因為我們的年營業利潤繼續保持在 1.2 億美元的低位。

We also think it is worth noting that 2019 segment profits reflect a $4 million hit from currency.

我們還認為值得注意的是，2019 年的分部利潤反映了 400 萬美元的貨幣衝擊。

Otherwise, segment OP would have been up 4% for the year.

否則，部門 OP 今年將增長 4%。

For EP, fourth quarter sales declined 4% to $135 million or down 2% absent currency impacts.

對於 EP，第四季度銷售額下降 4% 至 1.35 億美元，如果不考慮貨幣影響，則下降 2%。

Price/mix provided a positive 11% benefit, which nearly offset the 12% volume decline.

價格/組合提供了 11% 的正收益，幾乎抵消了 12% 的銷量下降。

Segment profits increased 15% with over 400 basis points of margin expansion from favorable mix and lower costs.

由於有利的組合和較低的成本，部門利潤增長了 15%，利潤率增加了 400 多個基點。

Going forward, we would expect less volatility on wood pulp prices than what we've seen over the past 2 years as well as a tighter band on volume declines and price/mix offsets.

展望未來，我們預計木漿價格的波動性將低於我們在過去 2 年中看到的波動性，並且銷量下降和價格/組合抵消的幅度會更窄。

While we understand there's a natural focus on volumes, we continue to manage the business for profitability and believe the profit stability that we've demonstrated in recent years validates our strategy as a positive result in the tobacco industry.

雖然我們理解自然而然地關注數量，但我們繼續管理業務以實現盈利，並相信我們近年來展示的利潤穩定性證明我們的戰略在煙草行業取得了積極成果。

We intend to continue this strategy and we'll use a lower volume base as an opportunity to remove fixed cost and pare back capacity.

我們打算繼續這一戰略，我們將使用較低的數量基礎作為消除固定成本和削減產能的機會。

We've taken some actions this past year, and we'll continue those efforts in 2020.

我們在過去一年採取了一些行動，我們將在 2020 年繼續這些努力。

Unallocated expenses increased $13 million for the year to $49.5 million.

本年度未分配費用增加 1300 萬美元，達到 4950 萬美元。

Three components of that increase were higher deferred compensation expenses versus 2018, the planned IT investments that we signaled at the outset of the year as well as some corporate development costs related to strategic projects during the year.

增加的三個組成部分是與 2018 年相比更高的遞延薪酬費用、我們在年初表示的計劃 IT 投資以及年內與戰略項目相關的一些企業發展成本。

Regarding deferred comp, we're currently evaluating program changes that would minimize potential volatility going forward.

關於延期補償，我們目前正在評估計劃變更，以盡量減少未來的潛在波動。

For a historical perspective, our unallocated costs were in the low $40 million range for several years.

從歷史角度來看，我們的未分配成本多年來一直處於 4000 萬美元的低位。

Excluding deferred comp expenses, our 2019 unallocated costs were about $47 million.

不包括遞延補償費用，我們 2019 年的未分配成本約為 4700 萬美元。

This increase reflects typical inflation, some organizational investments to support growth and several million of IT investments we made this past year.

這一增長反映了典型的通貨膨脹、一些支持增長的組織投資以及我們去年進行的數百萬 IT 投資。

Bottom line, we expect a reduction in unallocated expenses in 2020.

總之，我們預計 2020 年未分配費用會減少。

For the quarter, unallocated costs were up largely for the reasons just discussed.

對於本季度，未分配成本主要由於剛才討論的原因而上升。

On a consolidated basis, sales were $1.02 billion, down 2% for the year or flat ex currency.

在綜合基礎上，銷售額為 10.2 億美元，同比下降 2% 或持平（不計匯率）。

Adjusted operating profits were about $160 million, up approximately 1%, but ex currency would have been up 4%.

調整後營業利潤約為 1.6 億美元，增長約 1%，但若按匯率計算則增長 4%。

Furthermore, if we also exclude the impact of the year-over-year change in noncash deferred compensation expense of $5 million, OP would have been up 7%.

此外，如果我們還排除 500 萬美元的非現金遞延補償費用同比變化的影響，OP 將增長 7%。

For the fourth quarter, consolidated sales were down 4%, or 3% ex currency, and adjusted operating profit was down 2% to $31.5 million but essentially flat ex currency.

第四季度，綜合銷售額下降 4%，不計匯率後下降 3%，調整後營業利潤下降 2% 至 3150 萬美元，但按匯率計算基本持平。

Despite this currency drag, the combined OP growth of AMS and EP was $4.6 million, representing 11% growth in the quarter.

儘管存在這種貨幣拖累，但 AMS 和 EP 的合併營業收入增長為 460 萬美元，本季度增長 11%。

Shifting to consolidated earnings.

轉向合併收益。

Full year GAAP earnings per share was $2.76 versus $3.06 in 2018.

全年 GAAP 每股收益為 2.76 美元，而 2018 年為 3.06 美元。

There were several large items between the 2 periods that skewed this comparison, which are detailed in our press release.

兩個時期之間有幾個大項目扭曲了這種比較，我們的新聞稿中對此進行了詳細說明。

For adjusted EPS, we finished 2019 at $3.55, in the high end of our guided range of $3.40 to $3.60, which we issued at the beginning of 2019.

對於調整後的每股收益，我們在 2019 年以 3.55 美元收盤，處於我們在 2019 年初發布的 3.40 美元至 3.60 美元指導範圍的高端。

We were pleased to finish in the high end of that range despite a weaker-than-expected euro and the unpredictable deferred compensation expenses.

儘管歐元弱於預期且遞延補償費用不可預測，但我們很高興在該範圍的高端完成。

Working in our favor were raw material costs that were a little better than what we had assumed.

對我們有利的是原材料成本比我們假設的要好一些。

The rest of the positive performance was related to strong operational execution and a slightly better tax rate than originally expected.

其餘的積極表現與強大的運營執行力和略高於最初預期的稅率有關。

Overall, adjusted EPS increased 2%, and excluding the currency impact on EPS of $0.09, would have increased 5%.

總體而言，調整後每股收益增長 2%，如果不計入 0.09 美元的貨幣對每股收益的影響，則增長 5%。

For the fourth quarter, adjusted EPS was $0.80, down from $0.87 last year, as EP and AMS profit growth were offset by a higher quarterly tax rate and increased unallocated expenses.

第四季度，調整後的每股收益為 0.80 美元，低於去年的 0.87 美元，因為 EP 和 AMS 的利潤增長被更高的季度稅率和增加的未分配費用所抵消。

Our adjusted EPS quarterly tax rate was 15.8%, up significantly from 4.9% in last year's fourth quarter, which was very low as we trued up to our full year rate.

我們調整後的每股收益季度稅率為 15.8%，遠高於去年第四季度的 4.9%，這一稅率非常低，因為我們已達到全年稅率。

This increase represented approximately a $0.09 hit to adjusted EPS versus the fourth quarter of 2018.

與 2018 年第四季度相比，這一增長對調整後的每股收益造成約 0.09 美元的影響。

Our full year adjusted EPS tax rate finished 2019 at 19.3%, up slightly from 18.1% in 2018, representing approximately a $0.05 impact to adjusted EPS.

我們全年調整後的每股收益稅率在 2019 年結束時為 19.3%，略高於 2018 年的 18.1%，對調整後的每股收益產生約 0.05 美元的影響。

Recall that our adjusted EPS tax rate excludes non-GAAP adjustments to pretax income and their associated tax impacts and is the normalized rate implied by our adjusted EPS.

回想一下，我們調整後的每股收益稅率不包括非公認會計原則對稅前收入的調整及其相關稅收影響，並且是我們調整後的每股收益所隱含的標準化稅率。

2019 free cash flow was very strong at $126 million, up 16%.

2019 年自由現金流非常強勁，達到 1.26 億美元，增長 16%。

CapEx was approximately $34 million for the year, up $4 million, but slightly below the $35 million to $40 million guided range.

全年資本支出約為 3400 萬美元，增加了 400 萬美元，但略低於 3500 萬至 4000 萬美元的指導範圍。

Some of this underspending will flow into our 2020 CapEx plans.

其中一些支出不足將流入我們的 2020 年資本支出計劃。

From a leverage perspective, per the terms of our credit facility, we finished 2019 at 2.1x net debt to adjusted EBITDA, down from 2.5x at year-end 2018.

從槓桿的角度來看，根據我們信貸額度的條款，我們在 2019 年結束時的淨債務與調整後 EBITDA 之比為 2.1 倍，低於 2018 年底的 2.5 倍。

We reduced net debt by nearly $90 million during the year and have our full $500 million credit revolver undrawn to fund future investments, including our pending acquisition.

我們在這一年中減少了近 9000 萬美元的淨債務，並未動用全部 5 億美元的信貸循環，以資助未來的投資，包括我們即將進行的收購。

Switching now to our 2020 guidance.

現在切換到我們的 2020 年指南。

We expect adjusted EPS to be in the range of $3.50 to $3.75, implying growth of up to 6% compared to 2019.

我們預計調整後的每股收益將在 3.50 美元至 3.75 美元之間，這意味著與 2019 年相比增長高達 6%。

This range equates to a GAAP range of $2.74 to $2.99.

該範圍相當於 2.74 美元至 2.99 美元的 GAAP 範圍。

I want to be clear that this guidance does not include expected accretion from the pending Tekra and Trient acquisition as it has not yet closed.

我想明確一點，該指南不包括尚未完成的 Tekra 和 Trient 收購的預期增長。

Thus, our guidance is only related to the base business.

因此，我們的指導僅與基礎業務有關。

Our guidance incorporates a continuation of the segment trends we saw in 2019 with stability in EP profits and growth in AMS profits.

我們的指引延續了我們在 2019 年看到的細分市場趨勢，即 EP 利潤的穩定和 AMS 利潤的增長。

On the unallocated expenses, we would expect a reduction of several million dollars to approximately $45 million.

在未分配費用方面，我們預計將減少數百萬美元至約 4500 萬美元。

Regarding CapEx, we project to be in the $40 million to $45 million range.

關於資本支出，我們預計在 4000 萬至 4500 萬美元之間。

And despite that increase, we still expect another year of free cash flow exceeding $100 million.

儘管有所增加，我們仍然預計下一年的自由現金流量將超過 1 億美元。

For modeling purposes, we expect our effective average interest rate to be approximately 5% on our total debt.

出於建模目的，我們預計我們的有效平均利率約為我們總債務的 5%。

Additionally, we forecast the JVs to contribute about $2 million of net income, which we again project to be back-end loaded, and an adjusted EPS tax rate 1 to 2 points higher than the 2019 rate of 19.3%.

此外，我們預測合資企業將貢獻約 200 萬美元的淨收入，我們再次預計將在後端加載，調整後的每股收益稅率比 2019 年的 19.3% 高 1 至 2 個百分點。

Regarding seasonality, while much can change throughout the year, at this point, we would expect our second and third quarters to remain our highest EPS quarters followed by the fourth quarter and then the first.

關於季節性，雖然全年可能會發生很大變化，但在這一點上，我們預計第二和第三季度仍將是每股收益最高的季度，其次是第四季度，然後是第一季度。

This is consistent with our 2019 pattern.

這與我們 2019 年的模式一致。

Now back to Jeff to review the Tekra and Trient acquisition.

現在回到 Jeff 來回顧 Tekra 和 Trient 的收購。

Thanks, Andy.

謝謝，安迪。

In addition to good performance in the base business in 2019 and a positive outlook for 2020, we were pleased to announce our next acquisition earlier this week.

除了 2019 年基礎業務的良好表現和 2020 年的積極前景外，我們很高興在本週早些時候宣布了我們的下一次收購。

Tekra and Trient are carve-outs of a private equity-owned company, and we are excited to bring their complementary set of technologies and capabilities to SWM.

Tekra 和 Trient 是一家私募股權公司的分拆，我們很高興能將他們的互補技術和能力帶到 SWM。

We expect to close the transaction toward the end of the first quarter with a purchase price of $155 million, subject to typical closing adjustments.

我們預計將在第一季度末以 1.55 億美元的收購價格完成交易，具體取決於典型的收盤調整。

Combined, these 2 businesses have approximately $100 million of annual sales and EBITDA margins of about 16%.

合併後，這 2 家企業的年銷售額約為 1 億美元，EBITDA 利潤率約為 16%。

To preface my comments and caveat the Q&A session, I would reiterate that we do not yet own these businesses and thus, may be somewhat limited with certain responses other than clarifications of what we have already disclosed.

在我的評論和問答環節之前，我要重申，我們還沒有擁有這些業務，因此，除了對我們已經披露的內容進行澄清之外，某些回應可能會受到一定程度的限制。

In short, Tekra and Trient are compelling adjacencies for AMS and a natural expansion of our capabilities.

簡而言之，Tekra 和 Trient 是 AMS 引人注目的鄰接關係，也是我們能力的自然擴展。

These companies have a broad set of technical film converting capabilities, which pair well with our extrusion technologies, as we can now offer customers a more comprehensive suite of solutions.

這些公司擁有廣泛的技術薄膜轉換能力，與我們的擠出技術相得益彰，因為我們現在可以為客戶提供更全面的解決方案。

In addition to bringing new capabilities, the acquisition will increase our presence in many of our existing end markets, give us access to new markets and customers and expand our expertise to a wider range of films and other substrates.

除了帶來新的能力外，此次收購還將增加我們在許多現有終端市場的影響力，使我們能夠進入新市場和客戶，並將我們的專業知識擴展到更廣泛的薄膜和其他基材。

Over time, we believe there are actionable sales synergies we can also deliver together.

隨著時間的推移，我們相信我們也可以共同實現可操作的銷售協同效應。

To summarize the financial impact, we will be using our credit revolver to fund the full purchase, which would bring our pro forma net leverage to about 2.7x, representing only a minor increase from where we began 2019.

總結財務影響，我們將使用我們的信貸循環為全部購買提供資金，這將使我們的備考淨槓桿率達到約 2.7 倍，僅比我們 2019 年初的水平略有增加。

After the incremental interest expense, we expect the deal to add approximately $0.10 to adjusted EPS in 2020.

在增加利息支出後，我們預計該交易將使 2020 年調整後的每股收益增加約 0.10 美元。

This assumes 3 quarters of ownership as well as roughly $2 million of transaction and integration expenses in the first year.

這假設第一年擁有 3 個季度的所有權以及大約 200 萬美元的交易和整合費用。

Normalizing for these 2 items, we believe the acquisition adds more like $0.20 of annualized EPS with potential to exceed that over time with growth in sales synergies.

將這兩項歸一化，我們認為此次收購增加了大約 0.20 美元的年化每股收益，隨著銷售協同效應的增長，隨著時間的推移有可能超過這一水平。

Per our usual practice, the transaction and integration expenses, which our cash will be included in our adjusted EPS, whereas the noncash purchase accounting expenses associated with acquisitions will be excluded.

根據我們的慣例，我們的現金交易和整合費用將包含在我們調整後的每股收益中，而與收購相關的非現金采購會計費用將被排除在外。

At this point, hopefully, you have been able to review the slides that accompanied our acquisition press release and have a clear understanding of how these 2 businesses complement AMS.

在這一點上，希望您已經能夠查看我們的收購新聞稿隨附的幻燈片，並清楚地了解這兩項業務如何補充 AMS。

Together, they bring a host of converting capabilities ranging from slitting, sheeting and laminating to die cutting and packaging.

它們共同帶來了一系列加工能力，從分切、壓片和層壓到模切和包裝。

In short, these significantly improve our ability to deliver products to our customers in various configurations and formats across multiple segments.

簡而言之，這些顯著提高了我們以各種配置和格式跨多個細分市場向客戶交付產品的能力。

Also the materials Tekra and Trient handle are a diverse set of films and other substrates, broadening our technical expertise to new materials and new customers.

此外，Tekra 和 Trient 處理的材料是各種薄膜和其他基材，將我們的技術專長擴展到新材料和新客戶。

Tekra and Trient are also diversified with respect to their end markets.

Tekra 和 Trient 的終端市場也多元化。

Their largest presence is in medical with a focus on diagnostic strip tests that, for example, are used in glucose monitoring for diabetes.

他們最大的存在是在醫療領域，重點是診斷條測試，例如，用於糖尿病的葡萄糖監測。

They also have a solid business in digital printing and graphics, an area where we currently play but have a limited product set and commercial reach.

他們在數字印刷和圖形方面也有穩固的業務，我們目前在這個領域開展業務，但產品集和商業影響力有限。

This transaction offers access to new customers and potential to cross-sell across our combined product set and customer base.

該交易提供了接觸新客戶的機會，並有可能在我們的組合產品集和客戶群中進行交叉銷售。

From a high-level strategic perspective, a core principle is that they are focused on high-value applications where they deliver critical components to their customers that support key performance features in their end products.

從高層次的戰略角度來看，核心原則是他們專注於高價值應用程序，在這些應用程序中，他們向客戶提供支持其最終產品關鍵性能特徵的關鍵組件。

This theme aligns perfectly with SWM.

這個主題與 SWM 完美契合。

Our culture and approach to delivering value to customers through highly collaborative partnerships are well aligned, and we expect our new team members will integrate smoothly into SWM.

我們通過高度協作的合作夥伴關係為客戶提供價值的文化和方法非常一致，我們希望我們的新團隊成員能夠順利融入 SWM。

We look forward to welcoming the team aboard in the coming weeks.

我們期待著在未來幾週內歡迎團隊加入。

So in closing, I just want to reiterate some key takeaways regarding our business fundamentals.

所以最後，我只想重申一些關於我們業務基礎的關鍵要點。

2019 overall results were positive as we grew EPS and our 2 operating segments delivered strong operating profit growth of 8%.

2019 年的整體業績是積極的，因為我們提高了每股收益，我們的 2 個運營部門實現了 8% 的強勁營業利潤增長。

We are building our track record of growth for AMS and stability in E&P -- in EP.

我們正在建立我們的 AMS 增長記錄和 E&P 的穩定性——在 EP 中。

And we believe this balanced mix of growth and high cash flow create a powerful financial profile.

我們相信這種增長和高現金流的平衡組合創造了強大的財務狀況。

This strong cash generation supports a robust dividend to investors, enables internal investments and allows us to delever the balance sheet and maintain comfortable leverage ratios as we grow.

這種強勁的現金產生支持向投資者提供強勁的股息，實現內部投資，並使我們能夠在我們的增長過程中去槓桿化資產負債表並保持舒適的槓桿率。

In recent years, we have executed well on our organic growth plans, acquisition, integration and synergy delivery, met or exceeded our financial commitments to the investment community and most important, taken the steps necessary to support continued strong performance in 2020 and beyond.

近年來，我們在有機增長計劃、收購、整合和協同效應交付方面執行良好，達到或超過了我們對投資界的財務承諾，最重要的是，我們採取了必要措施來支持 2020 年及以後的持續強勁業績。

We appreciate your continued interest and support.

感謝您一直以來的關注和支持。

That concludes our remarks.

我們的發言到此結束。

And Cindy, please open the line for questions.

Cindy，請打開問題熱線。

(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Steven Chercover from Davidson.

（操作員說明）您的第一個問題來自 Davidson 的 Steven Chercover。

So the first question is on the Tekra and Trient deal, which looks sound from both a strategic and financial perspective.

所以第一個問題是關於 Tekra 和 Trient 的交易，從戰略和財務角度來看，這看起來都很合理。

So how is -- how international is the current business?

那麼，當前業務的國際化程度如何？

And how easy is it to expand it across your footprint?

在您的足跡中擴展它有多容易？

Yes.

是的。

So good question, Steven.

問得好，史蒂文。

So this is another example of something that we are particularly excited about as the business is currently focused mostly in the North American region.

因此，這是我們特別興奮的另一個例子，因為該業務目前主要集中在北美地區。

And as you know, in many of our acquisitions previously, one of the benefits we've been able to do is to leverage our global presence to be able to internationalize those businesses, and so we think there'll be opportunities to do that as well.

如您所知，在我們之前的許多收購中，我們能夠做到的好處之一就是利用我們的全球影響力使這些業務國際化，因此我們認為會有機會這樣做出色地。

That is not the core reason for us investing in the properties, but it's a nice upside for us.

這不是我們投資房地產的核心原因，但對我們來說是一個很好的好處。

Okay.

好的。

And the obligatory question on coronavirus.

以及關于冠狀病毒的必答題。

It's good to know that your facilities appear safe, but how might it impact either your end markets or your supply chain?

很高興知道您的設施看起來很安全，但它會如何影響您的終端市場或供應鏈？

Yes.

是的。

So we've been monitoring it quite closely.

所以我們一直在密切關注它。

We're really blessed to have a very strong local leadership team, and they've actually been speaking to all our customers throughout the region on a direct basis to really get a sense of what's happening on the ground.

我們真的很幸運擁有一支非常強大的本地領導團隊，他們實際上一直在直接與我們整個地區的所有客戶交談，以真正了解當地發生的事情。

Right now, our plants are up and running.

現在，我們的工廠正在運行。

We're not yet at full capacity, but we're getting there quickly.

我們還沒有滿負荷運轉，但我們很快就會達到目標。

There are some limitations on how quickly some of our employees come -- can come back from the Chinese New Year holidays, but we're meeting all our orders at this time.

我們的一些員工來的速度有一些限制——可以從農曆新年假期回來，但我們現在正在滿足所有訂單。

The filtration business, we have high confidence of where we are in the product line and our customer demand for the quarter.

在過濾業務方面，我們對我們在產品線中的位置和本季度的客戶需求充滿信心。

Surface protection is holding up, but we may see some weakness or some impact in this business if this continues.

表面保護正在堅持，但如果這種情況繼續下去，我們可能會看到該業務存在一些弱點或受到一些影響。

So it's a little bit hard to have that crystal ball.

所以擁有那個水晶球有點難。

But for the first quarter, we seem to be in a good position.

但對於第一季度，我們似乎處於有利地位。

But things change daily on the ground, and so we're monitoring it on almost daily basis.

但實際情況每天都在變化，因此我們幾乎每天都在對其進行監控。

And maybe just to add to that.

也許只是為了補充這一點。

What I would say is our expectation right now is that any sort of sales softness that we would have, a potential sales softness that we would have in the first quarter maybe on the film side could be made up through the balance of the year.

我要說的是，我們現在的預期是，我們可能會遇到的任何形式的銷售疲軟，我們在第一季度可能會在電影方面出現的潛在銷售疲軟，都可以在今年餘下時間彌補。

But it's in line with sort of our guidance that we're talking about and our 2019 pattern where our second and third quarters will be the strongest followed by fourth and then the first.

但這符合我們正在談論的某種指導以及我們 2019 年的模式，即我們的第二和第三季度將是最強勁的，其次是第四季度，然後是第一季度。

Got you.

明白了

Okay.

好的。

And then one of the other observations about coronavirus is that it's particularly lethal to old men primarily because they're smokers.

然後關于冠狀病毒的其他觀察結果之一是它對老年人特別緻命，主要是因為他們是吸煙者。

So you guys are still kind of in the business.

所以你們仍然在做生意。

Any observations or implications from that perspective?

從這個角度有什麼觀察或啟示嗎？

No, I think we all have to be very careful.

不，我認為我們都必須非常小心。

I don't think anybody knows at all what the implications are, where -- who lives and who dies in this kind of a situation.

我認為沒有人完全知道在這種情況下會產生什麼影響，在哪裡——誰生誰死。

And I've lived through this before because I was living in Asia during the SARS epidemic, so I'd be very cautious about it.

我以前經歷過這種情況，因為在 SARS 流行期間我住在亞洲，所以我對此非常謹慎。

Typically, people who are impacted by coronavirus or things like the flu, et cetera, tend to be more elderly and have other medical problems.

通常，受冠狀病毒或流感等疾病影響的人往往年齡更大，並且有其他醫療問題。

But I don't think anybody is aware of any connection at this particular point.

但我認為沒有人知道在這個特定點上有任何联系。

I think everything is speculation at this point.

我認為此時一切都是猜測。

And just to add, one of the reminders is, think about then the impact for us financially.

補充一點，其中一個提醒是，想想這對我們的經濟影響。

What I would say is our EP business, as you recall, it's very U.S. and European-centric, so the sales into China are very -- fairly limited.

我要說的是我們的 EP 業務，正如你所記得的那樣，它非常以美國和歐洲為中心，所以對中國的銷售非常 - 相當有限。

And we just have those 2 JVs, which contributed -- our guidance was about $2 million on net income in the back end of the year.

我們只有這 2 家合資企業，它們做出了貢獻——我們的指引是今年年底的淨收入約為 200 萬美元。

Got you.

明白了

Okay.

好的。

Switching gears a wee bit.

一點點換檔。

When will the purchase accounting expenses associated with the establishment of AMS diminish or go away?

與建立 AMS 相關的採購會計費用何時會減少或消失？

Or in other words, when is GAAP and operating earnings going to kind of converge?

或者換句話說，GAAP 和營業收入什麼時候會趨於一致？

Well, as we continue to make acquisitions, we're going to continue to see this.

好吧，隨著我們繼續進行收購，我們將繼續看到這一點。

As we continue to do more M&A as we expect, I think we'll always have this conversion.

隨著我們繼續按照預期進行更多的併購，我認為我們將永遠進行這種轉換。

So I think some people look at it on a GAAP basis, some people look at it on a non-GAAP.

所以我認為有些人在 GAAP 的基礎上看它，有些人在非 GAAP 的基礎上看它。

We're focused more on -- just on the adjusted EPS numbers, but we can follow up with a bridge for you in terms of where we are to date.

我們更專注於 - 僅關注調整後的每股收益數字，但我們可以就我們迄今為止的進展為您提供一座橋樑。

And then when we finalize the numbers for Tekra and Trient, when we close it, then we can walk everyone through it.

然後當我們最終確定 Tekra 和 Trient 的數字時，當我們關閉它時，我們可以讓每個人都通過它。

Okay.

好的。

Last question, I promise.

最後一個問題，我保證。

So to the best of my knowledge, you guys still don't have a stock repurchase authorization.

所以據我所知，你們仍然沒有股票回購授權。

And I'm not saying it should be at the top of your capital allocation hierarchy, but I think it's a good tool to have in your toolbox when you have surplus capital and you want to send a signal about your view of intrinsic value.

我並不是說它應該在你的資本配置層次結構的頂端，但我認為當你有盈餘資本並且你想發出關於你對內在價值的看法的信號時，它是一個很好的工具。

And with the stock at $33 and -- the deal looks great.

股票價格為 33 美元，這筆交易看起來很棒。

But when the stock gets dislocated like I think it was recently, and you can eliminate a dividend that -- the same yield as your debt, do you guys reconsider?

但是當股票像我最近認為的那樣錯位時，你可以取消股息 - 與你的債務相同的收益率，你們重新考慮了嗎？

Or is it something the Board is talking about?

還是董事會正在談論的事情？

Well, let me give you a couple of perspectives on this.

好吧，讓我給你幾個關於這個的觀點。

I would say that we're somewhat surprised in terms of where the share price has performed over the past.

我想說的是，我們對過去股價的表現感到有些驚訝。

Actually, not somewhat...

其實一點也不...

Yes, very surprised in terms of how the share price has performed the past couple of months on really no news.

是的，對於過去幾個月在沒有任何消息的情況下股價表現感到非常驚訝。

As Jeff has said in his closing remarks, we've consistently met or exceeded the promises we've made, whether on synergy targets or on forward guidance for the past couple of years.

正如傑夫在閉幕詞中所說，過去幾年，無論是協同目標還是前瞻性指引，我們始終如一地實現或超越了我們所做的承諾。

I think 2018, we were very focused on making sure we deliver those -- the synergies related to Conwed.

我認為 2018 年，我們非常專注於確保我們實現這些——與 Conwed 相關的協同效應。

And you saw that -- you saw some of those this year.

你看到了——你今年看到了其中的一些。

So as we -- as a management team and I think as a Board, we always have to say we have to earn the right to do the next deal.

因此，作為一個管理團隊，我認為作為一個董事會，我們總是不得不說我們必須贏得進行下一筆交易的權利。

And Tekra and Trient, what -- we thought we did earn the right.

還有 Tekra 和 Trient，我們認為我們確實贏得了權利。

We think we've found, frankly, a great deal.

坦率地說，我們認為我們已經找到了很多東西。

That being said, for 2019, we did look at a number of transactions and they kind of ranged in size.

話雖如此，對於 2019 年，我們確實研究了一些交易，它們的規模各不相同。

And this deal, I think we end the year at 2.7x on a -- or sorry, as we close this, we'll be about 2.7x on a net debt basis.

而這筆交易，我認為我們今年年底的收益率為 2.7 倍——或者抱歉，當我們完成這筆交易時，我們的淨債務約為 2.7 倍。

We think the balance sheet is in a healthy position.

我們認為資產負債表處於健康狀態。

So after this deal closes, like we always do, I think we'll take a fresh look at our capital allocation process.

因此，在這筆交易完成後，就像我們一直做的那樣，我認為我們將重新審視我們的資本配置過程。

And I think, as you pointed out, it's clear to say that M&A will still continue to be our primary focus, but share repurchase and also additional investments into the business is part of that.

我認為，正如你所指出的，很明顯併購仍將是我們的主要重點，但股票回購和對業務的額外投資是其中的一部分。

So I think it's fair to say we'll take a fresh look at everything.

所以我認為可以公平地說我們將重新審視一切。

Your next question comes from Chris McGinnis from Sidoti & Company.

您的下一個問題來自 Sidoti & Company 的 Chris McGinnis。

I just want to start just on the Q4, you talked about the inventory rebalancing.

我只想從第四季度開始，你談到了庫存再平衡。

Are you starting to -- I know Q4 last year was very strong.

你開始了嗎 - 我知道去年第四季度非常強勁。

Are you just maybe starting to see, at least in Q1, I know trends pick up in Q2, but maybe normalization in the trends for the segments that were maybe a little bit weaker in the quarter?

您是否剛剛開始看到，至少在第一季度，我知道第二季度的趨勢有所回升，但也許本季度可能有點弱的細分市場的趨勢正常化？

Yes.

是的。

Just on these inventory rebalancing questions, so I just want to emphasize, it's nothing extraordinary.

關於這些庫存再平衡問題，我只想強調，這沒什麼特別的。

So it's nothing out of the ordinary.

所以這沒什麼不尋常的。

If you think about our approach to our business with our key strategic customers, we approach it as a value-added supplier, and people think about that.

如果您考慮我們與關鍵戰略客戶開展業務的方式，我們會將其視為增值供應商，人們也會考慮這一點。

Usually, it's the types of materials, but it also involves the actions you can do around the supply chain.

通常，它是材料的類型，但它也涉及您可以圍繞供應鏈採取的行動。

And so you hear us talk about the competitive advantage our global supply chain has.

所以你聽到我們談論我們的全球供應鏈具有的競爭優勢。

So we work very closely with our customers to be able to enable us jointly to manage supply chains, et cetera.

因此，我們與客戶密切合作，使我們能夠共同管理供應鍊等。

So that is just something that, sometimes in the fourth quarter, it goes one way or it goes to the other.

所以這就是有時在第四季度，它會以一種方式或另一種方式進行。

We've just seen it in some of our markets.

我們剛剛在我們的一些市場上看到了它。

But it happens in both the EP and the AMS side, and it's just something that I think actually is a value creation and competitive advantage for us.

但它發生在 EP 和 AMS 方面，我認為這對我們來說實際上是一種價值創造和競爭優勢。

And Chris, maybe just one more thing to add on that side is, I would say, from a -- if you've kind of looked at this business on a 2-year sort of basis, the sales performance has been about 4% ex currency, and we would expect that to continue going forward.

克里斯，也許在這方面還要補充一件事，我想說的是——如果你在 2 年的基礎上看一下這項業務，銷售業績約為 4%除貨幣外，我們預計這種情況會繼續向前發展。

So we don't see any -- the health of the business is the same as it ever was.

所以我們沒有看到任何 - 企業的健康狀況與以往一樣。

Okay.

好的。

Understood.

明白了。

And just on the acquisitions this week, can you just talk -- was there any -- is there any customer overlap now?

就本週的收購而言，你能談談——有沒有——現在有客戶重疊嗎？

Or is that one of, obviously, the potential sales synergies opportunity?

或者，這顯然是潛在的銷售協同效應機會之一？

Yes.

是的。

We're really excited about this acquisition because it actually meets multiple of our investment criteria.

我們對此次收購感到非常興奮，因為它實際上符合我們的多項投資標準。

So I think as we discussed in one of the calls, there are customer overlaps and that's always something that we look for.

因此，我認為正如我們在其中一個電話中所討論的那樣，存在客戶重疊，這始終是我們尋找的東西。

But there are also a large number of new customers, and so that's kind of the optionality we bring.

但也有大量新客戶，這就是我們帶來的選擇。

It really is a great complement to many of our technologies, but it overlaps several of the end markets we always participate in like medical, like in automotive, in graphics.

它確實是對我們許多技術的一個很好的補充，但它與我們經常參與的幾個終端市場重疊，比如醫療、汽車、圖形。

So those are really key areas for us.

所以這些對我們來說真的是關鍵領域。

And it brings those complementary skills, which is something that we're always looking to add to our sandbox.

它帶來了那些互補的技能，這是我們一直希望添加到我們的沙盒中的東西。

So on a number of strategic overlaps, we're excited about the joining of these 2 companies to us.

因此，在許多戰略重疊方面，我們很高興這兩家公司加入我們。

Great.

偉大的。

And just -- I know you're -- it's not closed yet, but when would -- once it is closed, hopefully, just your appetite for more M&A.

只是 - 我知道你 - 它尚未關閉，但什麼時候 - 一旦它關閉，希望只是你對更多併購的胃口。

And where would you take the balance sheet?

你會把資產負債表放在哪裡？

You talked about how strong it is, obviously, even post -- if the deal closes.

你談到它有多強大，顯然，即使是在交易結束後。

Sure.

當然。

Yes.

是的。

No, I get your question.

不，我明白你的問題了。

So I think we've continued to emphasize, we are very disciplined in the types of acquisitions we go after.

所以我認為我們一直在強調，我們在進行的收購類型上非常有紀律。

Hopefully, the Trient and Tekra acquisition illustrates another example of how we continue to emphasize the strategic fits and optionalities it brings.

希望 Trient 和 Tekra 的收購能說明我們如何繼續強調其帶來的戰略契合性和可選性的另一個例子。

We think it's a well-valued acquisition.

我們認為這是一項物超所值的收購。

We don't believe we paid an extraordinary price for it.

我們認為我們並沒有為此付出過高的代價。

And we will continue to look at those types of acquisitions that complement our strategic intent.

我們將繼續關注那些補充我們戰略意圖的收購類型。

But again, as you've heard throughout the call, one of the things that we've been trying to emphasize to our investment community is that we are focused on organic growth.

但同樣，正如您在整個電話會議中聽到的那樣，我們一直試圖向投資界強調的一件事是，我們專注於有機增長。

And so we're only going to be looking at properties that we believe will help boost that in the long run.

因此，我們只會關注我們認為從長遠來看將有助於提升這一點的房產。

And we've been working hard to demonstrate that when we say we are going to be able to deliver the organic growth, we show it.

我們一直在努力證明，當我們說我們將能夠實現有機增長時，我們就展示了它。

And just additional context maybe.

也許只是額外的背景。

I can't help myself sometimes with getting into the leverage numbers.

有時我無法幫助自己進入槓桿數字。

Jeff smiled at me.

傑夫對我微笑。

But the pro forma for this deal, we will be at 2.7x net leverage.

但這筆交易的備考，我們的淨槓桿率為 2.7 倍。

And for the terms of our credit facility, we could theoretically go up to 4.5x.

對於我們的信貸額度條款，理論上我們可以達到 4.5 倍。

We're not saying we're going to 4.5x, but we do have that capacity.

我們並不是說我們要達到 4.5 倍，但我們確實有這個能力。

And frankly, in an acquisition holiday, we can go up to 5.

坦率地說，在收購假期中，我們最多可以增加 5 個。

That being said, this will close at 2.7.

話雖如此，這將以 2.7 收盤。

We'd expect to delever like we did this year in terms of continuing to reduce the balance sheet.

在繼續縮減資產負債表方面，我們預計會像今年那樣去槓桿化。

And so we'd expect leverage to tick down in the balance of the year.

因此，我們預計槓桿率會在今年餘下時間下降。

And I think our balance sheet hasn't -- still allows us flexibility.

而且我認為我們的資產負債表沒有 - 仍然允許我們靈活。

And then just 2 quick questions.

然後只是 2 個快速問題。

One, sounds like you still benefit on lower pulp prices in the first half in EP.

一，聽起來你仍然受益於上半年 EP 的較低紙漿價格。

Is that correct?

那是對的嗎？

Yes.

是的。

So in the second half of last year, we did benefit from some of the pulp prices.

所以在去年下半年，我們確實從一些紙漿價格中受益。

But if you recall, we do have price adjusters that go into effect for this year.

但如果您還記得的話，我們確實有今年生效的價格調整器。

So we would expect a moderate sort of tailwind.

因此，我們預計會有適度的順風。

But effective, we're still thinking that the EP business is going to be, as it's performed the last 3 years, stable.

但有效的是，我們仍然認為 EP 業務將像過去 3 年一樣穩定。

And we're looking forward to another fourth year of stability.

我們期待著又一個穩定的第四年。

Great.

偉大的。

And then just last, quickly on the unallocated.

然後就在最後，快速上未分配。

You talked about that may be coming down, obviously, in 2020.

你談到這可能會在 2020 年下降。

Is that more towards that $40 million that you referenced in the -- on that 2-year average?

這是否比您在 2 年平均值中提到的 4000 萬美元更多？

No.

不。

So what I was mentioning about, if you kind of look back historically, if you go back to 2016, '17, we were in that low $40 million, $41 million, $42 million range.

所以我提到的是，如果你回顧一下歷史，如果你回到 2016 年，'17，我們處於 4000 萬美元、4100 萬美元、4200 萬美元的低位區間。

We've gone -- we've made significant investments, particularly within IT over the past couple of years, have gone through an ERP implementation, upgrading a lot of our systems to support a lot of our growth initiatives.

我們已經走了 - 我們已經進行了大量投資，特別是在過去幾年中在 IT 方面，已經通過 ERP 實施，升級了我們的許多系統以支持我們的許多增長計劃。

So when you factor some of the IT investments and some of the other strategic projects we've worked on, the unallocated would be about $45 million is what we're -- is what I mentioned.

因此，當您將一些 IT 投資和我們從事的其他一些戰略項目考慮在內時，未分配的金額約為 4500 萬美元，這就是我們所提到的。

And that would be down several million from where we ended the year.

這將比我們年底時減少幾百萬。

There are no further questions at this time.

目前沒有其他問題。

I would now like to turn the conference back to Dr. Jeff Kramer.

我現在想把會議轉回 Jeff Kramer 博士。

Please go ahead.

請繼續。

Well, thank you, Cindy.

好吧，謝謝你，辛迪。

Yes.

是的。

Thank you, Cindy.

謝謝你，辛迪。

I appreciate that.

我很感激。

So again, I just want to close.

再說一次，我只想關閉。

I think the SWM story continues to evolve.

我認為 SWM 的故事還在繼續發展。

I continue to be comfortable in our executive team in delivering what we've said.

在我們的執行團隊中，我仍然很樂意兌現我們所說的話。

I think our performance is a positive, and I think with the acquisition of Tekra and Trient, give us additional flexibility to continue our growth journey.

我認為我們的表現是積極的，我認為通過收購 Tekra 和 Trient，我們可以更加靈活地繼續我們的增長之旅。

So I look forward to your continued support, and we'll talk again in another quarter, hopefully, with more positive results.

因此，我期待您的持續支持，我們將在下一個季度再次討論，希望能取得更積極的結果。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call.

女士們，先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。

Thank you for participating.

感謝您的參與。

You may now disconnect.

您現在可以斷開連接。