Minerals Technologies Inc (MTX) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Minerals Technologies first-quarter 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded.

早安，歡迎參加 Minerals Technologies 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，此事件正在被記錄。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Lydia Kopylova, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係主管 Lydia Kopylova。請繼續。

Thank you, Gary, and good morning, everyone, and welcome to our first-quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Today's call will be led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dietrich; and Chief Financial Officer, Erik Aldag. Following Doug and Erik's prepared remarks, we'll open it up to questions.

謝謝你，加里，大家早上好，歡迎參加我們的 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。今天的電話會議將由董事長兼首席執行官 Dietrich 和首席財務官埃里克·阿爾達格 (Erik Aldag) 主持。在 Doug 和 Erik 發表完準備好的發言後，我們將開始提問。

As a reminder, some of the statements made during this call may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Please note the cautionary language about forward-looking statements contained in our earnings release and on this slide. Our SEC filings disclose certain risks and uncertainties, which may cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.

提醒一下，本次電話會議中的一些聲明可能構成聯邦證券法所定義的前瞻性聲明。請注意我們的收益報告和本投影片中有關前瞻性陳述的警告性語言。我們的美國證券交易委員會文件揭露了某些風險和不確定性，這可能會導致我們的實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述有重大差異。

Also note that some of our comments today refer to non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation to GAAP financial measures can be found in our earnings release and an appendix of this presentation which are posted on our website.

也請注意，我們今天的一些評論涉及非公認會計準則財務指標。您可以在我們網站上發布的收益報告和本簡報的附錄中找到與 GAAP 財務指標的對帳表。

Now I'll turn it over to Doug. Doug?

現在我將把話題交給 Doug。道格？

Thanks, Lydia. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining today. First, a quick overview of what we'll be discussing on today's call, and we have a lot to cover. I'll begin by reviewing our first-quarter results, give you some insight into what transpired with customers and markets throughout the quarter.

謝謝，莉迪亞。大家早安，感謝大家今天的參與。首先，讓我們來簡單概述一下我們今天電話會議要討論的內容，有很多內容需要討論。我將首先回顧我們的第一季業績，讓您了解整個季度客戶和市場發生的情況。

I then want to review items from the press release we issued last week, including the Chapter 11 case of our subsidiary BMI OldCo and the cost savings program we initiated. I'll give you an update on what we're currently seeing in each of our businesses and major markets, and I also want to share my view on how MTI is well positioned with our global footprint, portfolio of value-added products, and deep innovation pipeline to continue to generate profitable long-term growth despite the current market uncertainties. Erik will then take you through the detailed financials and provide an outlook for the second quarter. And then we'll open it for questions.

然後，我想回顧一下我們上週發布的新聞稿中的內容，包括我們的子公司 BMI OldCo 的第 11 章案例以及我們啟動的成本節約計劃。我將向您介紹我們目前在各個業務和主要市場中看到的情況，同時我也想分享我對 MTI 如何憑藉我們的全球影響力、增值產品組合和深度創新管道保持優勢的看法，以便在當前市場充滿不確定性的情況下繼續實現長期盈利增長。然後，Erik 將帶您了解詳細的財務狀況並提供第二季的展望。然後我們將開始回答問題。

Let me start with our Q1 numbers. As you can see from this slide, we had a challenging quarter, especially compared to the strong first quarter we delivered last year. As we indicated on our last earnings call, we had a very slow start in January but expected that our normal seasonal order volume would pick up as we move through the quarter. This did not happen. After the first wave of tariff uncertainty that was introduced into the markets, the lower volumes we saw in January continued into February.

讓我先從我們的第一季數據開始。從這張投影片中您可以看到，我們經歷了一個充滿挑戰的季度，尤其是與去年第一季的強勁表現相比。正如我們在上次收益電話會議上所指出的，一月份我們的開局非常緩慢，但預計隨著整個季度的推進，我們的正常季節性訂單量將會回升。但事實並非如此。在市場出現第一波關稅不確定性之後，我們在一月看到的貿易量下降趨勢一直持續到二月。

Across both of our segments, we saw customer order volume reductions, orders shift out of the first and into the second quarter. And we were also notified of extended downtime at several of our customers' facilities. We typically see our order books trend upward as we move from December and through the first quarter months due to the seasonality of some of our end markets. To give you a sense of what happened this quarter, our January run rate of sales dropped 7 % from the fourth-quarter average. And February's rate, which is typically stronger than January, also continued below the fourth quarter rate.

在我們的兩個部門中，我們都看到客戶訂單量減少，訂單從第一季轉移到第二季。我們也收到通知，我們的幾家客戶的設施的停機時間將延長。由於部分終端市場的季節性，我們通常會看到從 12 月到第一季的訂單量呈現上升趨勢。為了讓您了解本季發生的情況，我們一月份的銷售運作率比第四季的平均值下降了 7%。二月份的成長率通常高於一月份，但今年也持續低於第四季的成長率。

In conversations with our customers, it was confirmed that the volume reduction was due to three different but related items: inventory adjustments in anticipation of continued economic uncertainty, a wait-and-see approach by customers who are now subject to tariffs on their end products, and a reduction by many of our retail customers in their consumer demand outlook. At the beginning of March, our order patterns and volumes shifted, and we saw an uptick in volumes across most of the company.

在與客戶的交談中，我們確認銷售減少是由於三個不同但相關的因素造成的：為應對持續的經濟不確定性而進行的庫存調整、目前對其最終產品徵收關稅的客戶的觀望態度，以及許多零售客戶對消費需求前景的下調。三月初，我們的訂單模式和數量發生了變化，我們看到公司大部分地區的訂單數量都有所上升。

The average daily rate of sales in March was 10% higher than in January and rose to a full-quarter rate that was 5% above our initial guidance for the quarter. This rapid change in order patterns gave us the sense that we had hit the low end of many of our customers' inventory levels. Despite the improvement in volumes in March, we took steps to position ourselves for potentially more challenging times ahead. We identified $10 million in cost savings that we're currently acting upon, targeted at efficiency improvements at our facilities and general reductions in overhead and back office services.

3 月日均銷售率比 1 月高出 10%，且整個季度的銷售率比我們對該季度的初步預期高出 5%。訂單模式的快速變化讓我們感覺到我們已經觸及許多客戶的庫存水準的低端。儘管 3 月份銷售量有所改善，但我們仍採取措施為未來可能面臨的更具挑戰性的時期做好準備。我們確定了 1000 萬美元的成本節約目標，目前正在採取行動，旨在提高我們設施的效率並減少管理費用和後台服務。

We're not targeting reductions at aspects of the company that would affect our ability to achieve our growth objectives and strategy. I feel that these are prudent moves to position the company to maintain our strong financial position in uncertain times while at the same time preserving our ability to execute on our growth objectives.

我們不會削減公司可能影響我們實現成長目標和策略的某些方面的開支。我認為這些都是審慎的舉措，可以讓公司在不確定的時期保持強勁的財務狀況，同時保持我們實現成長目標的能力。

I also want to take a moment to discuss the update we provided in last week's press release on the Chapter 11 case of our subsidiary BMI OldCo. As you saw in the release, we recorded a provision to establish a reserve of $215 million for estimated costs to fund the trust to resolve all current and future talc-related claims as well as to continue to fund the Chapter 11 case and related litigation costs. Though we've not yet reached a final resolution of all matters in the case, we remain confident that BMI OldCo's path to resolving these liabilities certainly and fairly through the Chapter 11 process. Further, we believe this reserve is appropriate to cover the anticipated financial impact of talc-related claims and that it will provide added certainty to all stakeholders. I cannot give any estimates of when the case will be concluded other than to say it is a structured process and that we are looking to move forward both prudently and expeditiously.

我還想花點時間討論我們在上週的新聞稿中提供的有關我們子公司 BMI OldCo 第 11 章案件的最新消息。正如您在新聞稿中看到的，我們記錄了一項準備金，設立 2.15 億美元的儲備金，用於支付信託基金解決所有當前和未來與滑石粉相關的索賠的估計費用，以及繼續資助第 11 章案件和相關訴訟費用。雖然我們尚未就案件的所有問題達成最終解決方案，但我們仍然相信，BMI OldCo 能夠透過第 11 章程序確定並公平地解決這些債務。此外，我們認為該儲備金適合彌補滑石粉相關索賠的預期財務影響，並將為所有利害關係人提供額外的確定性。我無法估計該案件何時會結束，只能說這是一個結構化的過程，我們希望謹慎而迅速地向前推進。

So in summary, this is a busy quarter for MTI and one that I will cautiously characterize as a bit of an anomaly. Our markets changed rapidly, and we reacted quickly by making the necessary adjustments. Now let me give you some deeper insights into the market dynamics in each of our product lines and what we're currently seeing in the second quarter.

總而言之，對於 MTI 來說這是一個繁忙的季度，我會謹慎地將其描述為有點異常的季度。我們的市場變化很快，我們也迅速做出反應並做出必要的調整。現在，讓我向您更深入地介紹我們每個產品線的市場動態以及我們目前在第二季度看到的情況。

First of all, we need to acknowledge the uncertain conditions that are affecting all industries, ours included. The seasonal cycles that typically drive portions of our business at this time of year are being disrupted as customers reconsider consumer behavior, purchasing patterns, and overall business confidence as a result of changing tariff structures. Though we are seeing a stronger second quarter, it's apparent that there remains a significant amount of uncertainty in the markets and with our customers. As such, our forecast for the second quarter encompasses a range of outcomes based on how our customers continue to react to the changing economic landscape.

首先，我們需要承認影響所有產業（包括我們自己的產業）的不確定條件。由於關稅結構的變化，客戶重新考慮消費行為、購買模式和整體商業信心，通常推動我們部分業務的季節性週期正在受到干擾。儘管我們看到第二季表現更加強勁，但顯然市場和我們的客戶仍然存在很大的不確定性。因此，我們對第二季的預測涵蓋了一系列結果，這些結果取決於我們的客戶如何繼續應對不斷變化的經濟狀況。

So let me give you a bit more detail on changes we saw in the first quarter and provide some context on how the current environment is affecting our individual business segments. Let's start with the Consumer & Specialties business segment which comprises our Household & Personal Care and Specialty Additives product lines.

因此，讓我向您詳細介紹我們在第一季看到的變化，並提供一些當前環境如何影響我們各個業務部門的背景資訊。讓我們從消費者和特種業務部門開始，其中包括我們的家庭和個人護理產品線和特殊添加劑產品線。

As we mentioned during our Q4 earnings call, at the beginning of the year, we observed broad-based customer order pattern shifts in this segment. Automotive sealant customers that purchase our specialty PCC products paused orders as they waited for more clarity on tariffs. Others, like our fabric care customers, shifted their orders into Q2 and Q3 to reduce inventory levels. In both North America and Europe, we saw order levels drop from several of our pet litter customers, as they took a more conservative approach to their inventories. And several of our paper and packaging customers took extended outages in both North and South America.

正如我們在第四季度收益電話會議上提到的那樣，在年初，我們觀察到該領域的客戶訂單模式發生了廣泛的變化。購買我們特殊 PCC 產品的汽車密封劑客戶暫停了訂單，因為他們在等待關稅方面的進一步明確。其他客戶，例如我們的織物護理客戶，將訂單轉移到第二季和第三季以降低庫存水準。在北美和歐洲，我們發現一些寵物砂客戶的訂單量有所下降，因為他們對庫存採取了更保守的態度。我們的一些紙張和包裝客戶在北美和南美都遭遇了長時間停產。

In early March, we started to see a normalization of order patterns and a revision to higher order volumes. This trend has continued, and we're seeing more steady order patterns in cat litter and continued strong order volume in other product lines including animal health and bleaching earth for edible oils and renewable fuel purification. Our automotive sealant customers resumed orders, and we commissioned two new PCC satellites early in the year which ramped up production. Further out, we have three additional ones under construction that will come online on schedule later this year, adding to our improved outlook.

3 月初，我們開始看到訂單模式正常化和訂單量增加。這種趨勢一直持續著，我們看到貓砂的訂單模式更加穩定，其他產品線的訂單量也持續強勁，包括動物保健和食用油和可再生燃料淨化的漂白土。我們的汽車密封膠客戶恢復了訂單，並且我們在年初委託了兩顆新的 PCC 衛星，從而提高了產量。此外，我們還有另外三個正在建設中的項目，將於今年稍後按計劃投入使用，這將進一步改善我們的前景。

In our Engineered Solutions segment, we saw the same overall slowdowns we experienced in our Consumer & Specialties segment, but primarily in the High-Temperature Technologies product line. Softer steel market conditions in North America compared to last year and continued slow steel market conditions in Europe persisted throughout the quarter. The North America foundry market remained relatively stable from the fourth quarter. Our China foundry business had a strong quarter, some of which was due to higher levels of export production in advance of tariffs being implemented.

在我們的工程解決方案部門，我們看到了與消費品和特殊產品部門相同的整體放緩，但主要發生在高溫技術產品線上。與去年同期相比，北美鋼鐵市場狀況較弱，歐洲鋼鐵市場狀況在整個季度持續低迷。北美晶圓代工市場從第四季開始保持相對穩定。我們的中國代工業務本季表現強勁，部分原因是由於在關稅實施之前出口產量較高。

One bright spot this quarter is that we had a solid start to the year for our Environmental lining systems and Building Products. We are seeing a steady uptick in these projects after a prolonged downturn and have also secured some exciting wins for FLUORO-SORB in the PFAS remediation space. Looking forward, we see improved refractory order volumes primarily due to a restocking trend in the European and Middle East steel markets. We also expect to see general stability in the North America foundry market, further stabilization in environmental and building materials applications, and continued growth in our PFAS remediation solution.

本季的一個亮點是，我們的環境襯裡系統和建築產品今年取得了良好的開端。在經歷了長期低迷之後，我們看到這些項目正在穩步上升，並且 FLUORO-SORB 在 PFAS 修復領域也取得了一些令人興奮的勝利。展望未來，我們預期耐火材料訂單量將增加，這主要得益於歐洲和中東鋼鐵市場的補貨趨勢。我們也預計北美鑄造市場將整體穩定，環境和建築材料應用將進一步穩定，我們的 PFAS 修復解決方案將持續成長。

It's difficult at this point to give you a solid outlook for the remainder of the year given that a significant downturn in the US economy is possibly ahead of us. But I also see several market fundamentals and opportunities that could play out positively for us as well. Given our leading positions in multiple markets and geographies around the world, we're well positioned to capture shifting volume from one region to another as the impact of the tariff picture becomes clear.

由於美國經濟可能即將大幅下滑，目前很難對今年剩餘時間的情況做出可靠的預測。但我也看到了一些可能對我們有利的市場基本面和機會。鑑於我們在全球多個市場和地區的領先地位，隨著關稅狀況的影響變得明朗，我們完全有能力捕捉從一個地區到另一個地區的轉移量。

Overall, and despite the challenges that emerged during the quarter, we remain confident in and committed to the long-term growth targets we set for ourselves. The components of our long-term strategy, which include further penetration into our core markets, sales growth of higher margin consumer-oriented products, and driving higher levels of innovation and new product development remain intact. These strategies are targeted at secular and sustainable trends with value propositions that can become even more valuable in challenging economic times. Products like NewYield PCC, Scantrol laser systems, high-durability refractories, and engineered foundry blends are targeted at driving efficiency cost savings for our customers, no matter the economic context.

總體而言，儘管本季出現了挑戰，但我們仍然對自己設定的長期成長目標充滿信心並致力於實現。我們的長期策略的組成部分保持不變，包括進一步滲透到我們的核心市場、提高利潤率的面向消費者的產品的銷售量、推動更高水平的創新和新產品開發。這些策略針對的是長期且可持續的趨勢，其價值主張在經濟困難時期會變得更有價值。NewYield PCC、Scantrol 雷射系統、高耐久性耐火材料和工程鑄造混合物等產品旨在幫助我們的客戶提高效率並節省成本，無論經濟環境如何。

Our water filtration technologies, which solve challenging issues like PFAS remediation, and our adsorptive technologies which aid in the production of consumer food oils, renewable fuels, and animal health address challenges that provide long-term growth pathways unaffected by the current economic issues. We'll also continue to carefully consider where we should make operational and cost adjustments, and we're prepared to act fast to implement further changes if needed. And I believe we have the right team in place to do so across the organization. We have a strong operating culture based on operational excellence principles, which enables us to adapt quickly in times of change.

我們的水過濾技術解決了 PFAS 修復等難題，而我們的吸附技術有助於生產消費食品油、再生燃料和動物保健，解決了這些挑戰，提供了不受當前經濟問題影響的長期成長途徑。我們也將繼續仔細考慮應該在哪些方面進行營運和成本調整，並準備在必要時迅速採取行動實施進一步的變革。我相信我們有合適的團隊來完成整個組織的任務。我們擁有基於卓越營運原則的強大營運文化，這使我們能夠在變革時期快速適應。

In summary, I feel we're well positioned to navigate any uncertainty ahead. We have an agile team, a strong foundation, and a robust long-term strategy. The strength of our balance sheet provides us with the security to navigate any near-term challenge and the flexibility to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.

總而言之，我認為我們已經做好了應對未來任何不確定性的準備。我們擁有一支敏捷的團隊、堅實的基礎和穩健的長期策略。我們強勁的資產負債表為我們提供了應對任何短期挑戰的安全性，並使我們能夠靈活地抓住出現的機會。

Now let me let Erik take you through some more details of our financials as well as our second-quarter outlook. Erik?

現在，讓艾瑞克向您介紹我們的財務狀況以及第二季展望的更多細節。艾瑞克？

Thanks, Doug, and good morning, everyone. I'll start by providing an overview of our first-quarter results, followed by some detail on the performance of our segments. And I'll wrap up with our outlook for the second quarter. Now let's review our first-quarter results.

謝謝，道格，大家早安。我將首先概述我們的第一季業績，然後詳細介紹我們各部門的表現。最後我將總結我們對第二季的展望。現在讓我們回顧一下第一季的業績。

The first quarter started unusually slow from a customer order perspective. Doug noted the reasons in his remarks, including shifting order patterns and de-stocking by certain customers, which lasted longer than we expected. Overall, first-quarter sales were $492 million. You can see in the year-over-year sales bridge on the top left that sales were 8% lower, primarily driven by lower volumes and unfavorable mix in addition to unfavorable foreign exchange. And in the sequential quarter bridge on the top right of this slide, you can see that sales were 5% lower than the fourth quarter.

從客戶訂單角度來看，第一季開局異常緩慢。道格在演講中指出了原因，包括訂單模式的轉變和某些客戶的去庫存，持續時間比我們預期的要長。總體而言，第一季的銷售額為 4.92 億美元。您可以在左上角的同比銷售圖表中看到，銷售額下降了 8%，這主要是由於銷量下降、產品組合不佳以及外匯不利所致。在這張投影片右上角的連續季度橋中，您可以看到銷售額比第四季低了 5%。

We saw the most significant shifts in order patterns in Consumer & Specialties, which impacted sales across the segment. And in the Engineered Solutions segment, we saw a continuation of the softer demand conditions in some of our industrial end markets from the second half of last year.

我們發現消費者和專業領域的訂單模式發生了最顯著的變化，這影響了整個領域的銷售。在工程解決方案領域，我們看到部分工業終端市場自去年下半年以來持續出現需求疲軟的情況。

Moving to operating income, you can see from the year-over-year bridge on the bottom left that the volume and mix impacts translated to a $12 million reduction in operating income from prior year. Higher selling prices of $5 million helped to offset $5 million in cost increases. Our operating costs increased temporarily in the quarter, primarily in the Consumer and Specialties segment, as our operations adjusted production with the rapid shift we saw in customer order patterns. In the sequential operating income bridge on the bottom right, you can see that we mostly offset the impact of higher costs, including higher input costs such as energy with additional pricing. However, there was a portion of higher costs related to operational efficiency that we were not able to offset in the quarter.

談到營業收入，您可以從左下角的同比圖表中看到，銷售量和產品組合的影響導致營業收入較前一年減少 1,200 萬美元。500 萬美元的更高售價有助於抵消 500 萬美元的成本增加。本季我們的營運成本暫時增加，主要是在消費品和特種產品領域，因為我們的營運隨著客戶訂單模式的快速變化而調整了生產。在右下角的連續營業收入橋中，您可以看到我們主要抵消了成本增加的影響，包括能源等投入成本的增加以及額外定價。然而，與營運效率相關的部分較高成本我們在本季無法抵銷。

Altogether, operating income was $63 million. Operating margin was 12.9 % of sales and was impacted by the temporary cost impacts in Consumer & Specialties in the quarter. First-quarter earnings per share excluding special items was $1.14. We recorded several special items in the quarter, including the $215 million provision for BMI OldCo that Doug described earlier.

總計營業收入為 6,300 萬美元。營業利益率為銷售額的 12.9%，受到本季消費品和特種產品部門臨時成本的影響。第一季每股收益（不含特殊項目）為1.14美元。本季我們記錄了多項特殊項目，包括Doug先前提到的為BMI OldCo提列的2.15億美元撥備。

We also recorded a $5.5 million charge for severance-related costs associated with our new cost savings program. This program will accelerate efficiencies we've identified across the organization, and we expect it to generate $10 million of annual savings at a full run rate by early 2026.

我們也記錄了與新成本節約計畫相關的 550 萬美元遣散費。該計劃將加速我們在整個組織內確定的效率，我們預計到 2026 年初，該計劃將以滿載運行的方式每年節省 1000 萬美元。

Now let's turn to a review of our segments, beginning with Consumer and Specialties. First-quarter sales in the Consumer and Specialties segment were $268 million. Sales were adversely affected by changes in customer order patterns, as customers cautiously managed their inventories amid shifting tariff policies and mixed economic signals, including cautious views on consumer spending and sentiment. In the charts on the slide, we're providing a sequential perspective for sales and operating income, including our outlook for the second quarter to give you a better sense of the current dynamics we are seeing in our segments.

現在讓我們回顧一下我們的細分市場，首先是消費者和專業領域。消費品和特種產品部門第一季的銷售額為 2.68 億美元。由於關稅政策變化和經濟訊號混雜（包括對消費者支出和情緒的謹慎看法）導致客戶謹慎管理庫存，客戶訂單模式的變化對銷售產生了不利影響。在投影片的圖表中，我們提供了銷售額和營業收入的連續視角，包括我們對第二季度的展望，以便您更好地了解我們在各個部門看到的當前動態。

Sales were 4% lower sequentially. The shifts we saw in order patterns impacted sales of cat litter and fabric care in the Household & Personal Care product line. And in Specialty Additives, we saw order pattern changes for our specialty PCC products going into automotive sealants. We also experienced an unusually high level of customer maintenance downtime at several paper and packaging sites. Despite these impacts, we continue to see some positive trends in both product lines.

銷售額比上一季下降了 4%。我們看到訂單模式的變化影響了家庭和個人護理產品線中貓砂和織物護理產品的銷售。在特殊添加劑方面，我們發現用於汽車密封劑的特殊PCC產品的訂單模式發生了變化。我們在幾個造紙和包裝工廠也經歷了異常高水準的客戶維護停機時間。儘管有這些影響，我們仍然看到這兩條產品線的一些正面趨勢。

In Household & Personal Care, edible oil and renewable fuel purification remained on its growth track, with sales up 6% from prior year. And in Specialty Additives, we continue to see sales growth for ground calcium carbonate up 6% as demand for our products serving the residential construction market has remained resilient in the southwest and northeast regions of the US, which are the two main regions we supply. Operating income for the segment was $30 million.

在家庭和個人護理領域，食用油和再生燃料淨化持續保持成長勢頭，銷售額較上年增長 6%。在特種添加劑方面，我們繼續看到重質碳酸鈣的銷售額成長 6%，因為服務於美國西南部和東北部地區住宅建築市場對我們產品的需求保持強勁，這兩個地區是我們供應的主要地區。該部門的營業收入為 3000 萬美元。

Lower volumes were the largest contributor to the reduction in operating income, which impacted not only the top line, but also contributed to temporarily higher operating costs due to unfavorable productivity and fixed cost absorption. Overall, for the segment, we expect sales to increase approximately 3% to 6% sequentially in the second quarter. We expect improvements in both product lines driven by a return to more normalized order patterns as well as the transition into the seasonally higher period for residential construction. We expect operating income to improve to between $35 million and $38 million, driven by higher sales as well as improved mix and overall productivity.

銷售下降是營業收入下降的最大原因，這不僅影響了營業收入，而且由於生產力和固定成本吸收不佳，還導致營運成本暫時上升。總體而言，我們預計該部門第二季的銷售額將環比成長約 3% 至 6%。我們預計，隨著訂單模式恢復正常以及住宅建築進入季節性高峰期，這兩條產品線都將有所改善。我們預計，受銷售額成長、產品組合改善和整體生產力提高的推動，營業收入將增至 3,500 萬美元至 3,800 萬美元之間。

Now let's turn to a review of the Engineered Solutions segment. First-quarter sales in the Engineered Solutions segment were $224 million. Again, we're providing a sequential perspective in the charts on the slide, including our outlook for the second quarter. For High-Temperature Technologies, we've seen mostly stable market conditions for foundry and steel customers in North America, although still softer than last year due to lower demand for castings into the agricultural equipment market and the continuation of the softer steel market conditions from the fourth quarter. And demand from steel customers in the Europe region was significantly lower than last year, driven primarily by customer de-stocking activity.

現在讓我們回顧一下工程解決方案部分。工程解決方案部門第一季的銷售額為 2.24 億美元。再次，我們在投影片的圖表中提供了連續的視角，包括我們對第二季的展望。對於高溫技術，我們看到北美鑄造和鋼鐵客戶的市場狀況基本上穩定，但由於農業設備市場對鑄件的需求下降以及第四季度鋼鐵市場持續疲軟，市場狀況仍比去年疲軟。歐洲地區鋼鐵客戶的需求明顯低於去年，主要原因是客戶去庫存活動。

Meanwhile, in Asia, foundry volumes grew 9% from last year, led by increases in China and India. It's likely that some demand was pulled forward in Asia ahead of tariffs, and we've adjusted our forecast for the second quarter as a result. In Environmental & Infrastructure, we're seeing continued stability in large scale project activity for commercial construction, and our sales into that market are holding steady with last year. One highlight to note is that sales of our environmental lining applications were up 19% versus last year.

同時，在亞洲，晶圓代工產量較去年同期成長了 9%，其中以中國和印度的成長最為顯著。很可能在關稅實施之前，亞洲的一些需求就被提前了，因此我們調整了對第二季的預測。在環境和基礎設施方面，我們看到商業建築的大型專案活動持續穩定，我們在該市場的銷售與去年保持穩定。值得注意的一點是，我們的環保襯裡應用的銷售額比去年增長了 19%。

Sales of FLUORO-SORB were also up significantly, driven by a large trial project for a promising municipal drinking water application, which is both scalable and a potential recurring revenue stream. Offsetting this positivity was the timing of projects in offshore water filtration and services including some project delays which resulted in overall sales for the product line below prior year. We expect sales to rebound from these delays in the second quarter.

FLUORO-SORB 的銷售額也大幅增長，這得益於一項針對有前景的市政飲用水應用的大型試驗項目，該項目既具有可擴展性，又是一個潛在的經常性收入來源。抵消這一積極因素的是海上水過濾和服務項目的時機選擇，包括一些項目的延遲，導致該產品線的整體銷售額低於去年。我們預計第二季銷售額將擺脫這些延遲而反彈。

Operating income for the segment was $34 million, and operating margin was 15.4 % of sales. Looking ahead to the second quarter, we're expecting sales to increase by approximately 10% to 15% sequentially. In our High-Temperature Technologies product line, we see modest improvement in Europe as de-stocking activities run their course. And we expect North American volumes to remain similar to the first quarter.

該部門的營業收入為 3,400 萬美元，營業利潤率為銷售額的 15.4%。展望第二季度，我們預計銷售額將環比成長約 10% 至 15%。在我們的高溫技術產品線中，隨著去庫存活動的完成，我們看到歐洲的情況略有改善。我們預計北美的銷量將與第一季保持相似。

In Asia, we expect our growth trends to moderate temporarily with volumes similar to last year as foundry customers adjust to tariff impacts on their end markets. We estimate that only a small portion of our foundry customers' products are exported to the US. However, we are expecting some disruptions to production levels as customers adapt to the new dynamics.

在亞洲，隨著代工客戶適應關稅對其終端市場的影響，我們預期成長趨勢將暫時放緩，銷售量與去年相似。我們估計，我們的代工客戶的產品只有一小部分出口到美國。然而，隨著客戶適應新的動態，我們預期生產水準將會出現一些中斷。

And in the Environmental & Infrastructure product line, we expect higher sales as we enter the seasonal peak periods for large-scale project activities. Operating income for the segment is expected to increase to between $40 million and $42 million, driven primarily by higher sales levels. Now let me turn to a summary of our balance sheet and cash flow highlights.

在環境和基礎設施產品線方面，隨著進入大型專案活動的季節性高峰期，我們預計銷售額將會更高。該部門的營業收入預計將增至 4,000 萬美元至 4,200 萬美元之間，主要受銷售額成長的推動。現在讓我來總結一下我們的資產負債表和現金流量重點。

Let me start by reminding you that our cash flow is always lowest in the first quarter and it builds through the year. Our cash flow this first quarter was lower than usual due to an increase in working capital relative to prior periods. The slower order volume in the first quarter contributed to slower inventory turnover overall. In addition, we're adding to some strategic inventory positions for key raw materials.

首先我要提醒大家，我們的現金流在第一季總是最低的，而且會全年不斷增加。由於營運資本相對於前期增加，因此第一季我們的現金流量低於正常水準。第一季訂單量下降導致整體庫存週轉率下降。此外，我們正在增加一些關鍵原材料的策略性庫存。

Overall, inventory contributed to $27 million or 2/3 of the increase in working capital versus last year. Our working capital was also temporarily impacted by the timing of receipts, simply because our quarter ended on March 30th, and the last day of the month is typically a big day for receipts. We expect free cash flow to improve in the second quarter and through the second half of the year as these working capital impacts unwind. As usual, we expect the second half of the year to be much stronger than the first half of the year from a cash flow perspective.

總體而言，庫存貢獻了 2700 萬美元，即去年營運資本增加的 2/3。我們的營運資金也暫時受到收款時間的影響，因為我們的季度在 3 月 30 日結束，而每個月的最後一天通常是收款的重要日子。我們預計，隨著這些營運資本影響的消除，自由現金流將在第二季和下半年得到改善。與往常一樣，從現金流角度來看，我們預計下半年的表現將比上半年強勁得多。

First-quarter capital expenditures were $18 million, and we returned $15 million to shareholders in the quarter through share repurchases and dividends. Our balance sheet is very solid with nearly $700 million of liquidity and a net leverage ratio of 1.7 times EBITDA. I'll also point out that after refinancing our debt last year, we're in a very strong position from a debt maturity perspective, with no significant maturities until 2028 and 2031.

第一季的資本支出為 1,800 萬美元，本季我們透過股票回購和股利向股東返還了 1,500 萬美元。我們的資產負債表非常穩健，擁有近 7 億美元的流動資金和 EBITDA 的 1.7 倍淨槓桿率。我還要指出的是，在去年進行債務再融資後，從債務到期的角度來看，我們處於非常有利的地位，直到 2028 年和 2031 年都沒有重大到期債務。

Now I'll summarize our outlook for the second quarter. As you can imagine, it's a bit challenging to provide guidance this quarter given the significant uncertainty surrounding tariff policies and potential impacts on our customers and end markets. However, as you've heard, we saw an uptick in sales in March, and that has continued into April. Our sales guidance on this page is based on a couple of scenarios for the second quarter that could play out from here.

現在我將總結我們對第二季的展望。您可以想像，鑑於關稅政策的不確定性以及對我們的客戶和終端市場的潛在影響，本季提供指導有點困難。然而，正如您所聽到的，我們看到 3 月份的銷售額有所上升，並且這種趨勢一直持續到 4 月。本頁的銷售指引是基於第二季可能出現的幾種情況。

First, the low end of the range assumes our March sales run rate of approximately $520 million continues at the same levels throughout the second quarter. Given the seasonal uptick we expect in construction markets, this low case assumes a more challenging macro backdrop offsets favorable seasonality. The high end of our range of $535 million assumes continued normalization of order patterns in May and June in addition to the seasonal improvement. This high end does not reflect a complete return to normal.

首先，該範圍的低端假設我們 3 月份的銷售額運行率約為 5.2 億美元，並在整個第二季度保持在同一水平。考慮到我們預期建築市場將出現季節性上漲，這種低迷的情況假設更具挑戰性的宏觀背景抵消了有利的季節性因素。我們 5.35 億美元範圍的高端假設除了季節性改善之外，5 月和 6 月的訂單模式將繼續正常化。這一高端水準並不反映已完全恢復正常。

It reflects continued improvement in May and June, but it's still below what we would expect under stable market conditions. At the midpoint of our sales range, we expect operating income of around $75 million and EPS of around $1.40. Where we land in the sales range will determine the upside or downside to our income guidance.

這反映出 5 月和 6 月的持續改善，但仍低於我們在穩定市場條件下的預期。以我們銷售區間的中間值，我們預計營業利潤約為7500萬美元，每股收益約為1.40美元。銷售區間的最終值將決定我們收入預期的上行或下行。

In any case, we expect our margin to improve significantly in the second quarter driven by improved volumes and operating costs. Overall, we're expecting a much stronger second quarter, with sales 5% to 10% higher than the first quarter and operating income around 20% higher sequentially.

無論如何，我們預計，受銷售和營運成本改善的推動，我們的利潤率將在第二季大幅提高。總體而言，我們預計第二季業績將更加強勁，銷售額將比第一季高出 5% 至 10%，營業收入將比第一季高出 20% 左右。

With that, I'll turn the call over for questions.

說完這些，我會把電話轉交給大家提問。

(Operator Instructions) We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Our first question is from Daniel Moore with CJS Securities. Please go ahead.

（操作員指示）我們現在開始問答環節。我們的第一個問題來自 CJS Securities 的 Daniel Moore。請繼續。

Start with talc litigation and then get into the business and the outlook, but regarding the reserve, just talk a little bit about the recent progress you've made in arbitration to the extent that you can and what gives you confidence in putting a number out at this stage around the expected costs or liabilities.

從滑石粉訴訟開始，然後進入業務和前景，但關於儲備，請盡可能談談您在仲裁方面取得的最新進展，以及是什麼讓您有信心在現階段給出預期成本或負債的數字。

Sure, yeah. As you know, we've been in mediation for a while. A lot of progress was made in the first quarter of this year. And given with some of the progress that we've made, plus last week, and some of the hearings, we've gotten to a point where we can make a good estimate of what we think the potential funding of the trust and also the ongoing litigation costs for BMI OldCo and SMI will be. So that's what that's based on - progress this quarter - and wanted to make sure that that was out there now.

當然，是的。如你所知，我們已經調解了一段時間了。今年第一季取得了很大進展。考慮到我們取得的一些進展，加上上週的一些聽證會，我們已經可以很好地估計信託的潛在資金以及 BMI OldCo 和 SMI 的持續訴訟成本。這就是本季進展的基礎，並且希望確保現在就能取得進展。

We feel that that gives some kind of understanding and some clarity around where this process is headed. It's not done yet, Dan, as I mentioned in my remarks. We still have not concluded this, but we're confident that moving through the Chapter 11 process will get us to a final resolution.

我們認為這能讓我們更理解並明確這進程的方向。丹，正如我在演講中提到的那樣，事情還沒有完成。我們尚未得出結論，但我們相信，透過第 11 章程序將使我們得到最終的解決方案。

Really helpful. And is there any way to think about a range of sort of maybe cash impact as we think about 2025?

真的很有幫助。當我們展望 2025 年時，有什麼方法可以考慮一系列可能的現金影響嗎？

Too early to estimate that right now.

現在估計還為時過早。

Understood. And maybe just talk about, it's an incredibly dynamic environment, clearly, but your revised expectations or just thought process around organic top line growth this year. Given the slower expected start of the year and all the macro tariff impacts, is there a range we could think about or contemplate, just given the increased uncertainty? Previously, it was a mid-single-digit growth goal, but how do you kind of think about a confidence interval?

明白了。也許只是談論一下，顯然這是一個令人難以置信的動態環境，但您對今年有機營收成長的預期或思考過程進行了修改。考慮到今年年初預計成長放緩以及所有宏觀關稅的影響，考慮到不確定性的增加，我們是否可以考慮或考慮一個範圍？此前，這是一個中等個位數的成長目標，但您如何看待置信區間？

Yeah, it's really hard to give you a range of outcomes. I mean, it's almost on the lines of what Erik gave you in terms of the second-quarter guidance. There's kind of two scenarios, right?

是的，很難給出一系列結果。我的意思是，這幾乎與埃里克在第二季度給出的指導一致。有兩種情況，對嗎？

We see through the second quarter, which we see is a much more positive one than the first, things slowdown further into the third-- in the back half of the year, based on kind of macroeconomic issues -- we end up in a recession. That's one scenario that I can't predict how deep that would be or what that would look like for our sales, but I think our sales are relatively resilient through slowdowns, and you can look in the past and how that's worked out.

我們看到，第二季度的表現比第一季要正面得多，但到了第三季度，也就是下半年，由於宏觀經濟問題的影響，經濟將進一步放緩，最終陷入衰退。我無法預測這種情況會有多嚴重，也無法預測對我們的銷售會產生什麼影響，但我認為我們的銷售在經濟放緩時期具有相對的彈性，你可以回顧過去，看看情況如何。

The other side of it would be that, we hit the slowdown, but things become clearer. Obviously I'm reiterating all the things you probably know, but things become clearer. I do see that there's a base demand picture out there that seems relatively stable. What you saw in the first quarter was quite a bit of order pattern shifting, but as we've seen that, it picked up in March -- we think that there is that base demand out there, at least through the second where that inventory restocking happened, and that happened in multiple geographies.

另一方面，我們遇到了經濟放緩，但事情變得更加清晰。顯然，我正在重申您可能知道的所有事情，但事情變得更加清晰。我確實看到那裡的基本需求狀況看起來相對穩定。您在第一季看到的是訂單模式發生了相當大的變化，但正如我們所看到的，它在三月份有所回升 - 我們認為存在基本需求，至少在第二季度庫存補充發生時是這樣，而且這種情況發生在多個地區。

So if that continues, then I think we actually are on track for kind of maybe the low end of that range that I gave you in the first quarter; low-single-digits. That's a guess right now, Dan, but if there's a base demand and some uncertainties clear and the order patterns continue to straighten up, I think the back half of the year could be relatively solid. I mentioned in my remarks that there's some positive things that are out there, our product lines that are into water remediation,

因此，如果這種情況持續下去，那麼我認為我們實際上可能正朝著我在第一季度給出的範圍的低端發展；低個位數。丹，這只是目前的猜測，但如果有基本需求，一些不確定性消除，訂單模式繼續好轉，我認為下半年可能會相對穩健。我在演講中提到，有一些積極的方面，我們的產品線涉及水修復，

Let me go back in some of my comments. I think regardless of where base sales end up, the company is really well positioned through the products that we have in our pipeline into some of the secular trends. We're into environmental water remediation. We're into consumer products that continue to grow.

讓我回顧一下我的一些評論。我認為，無論基礎銷售額最終達到多少，公司都能夠透過我們現有的產品很好地適應一些長期趨勢。我們致力於環境水修復。我們專注於持續成長的消費產品。

I think that those continue through whatever kind of economic dip or non-dip that we're in in the back half of the year. I think those continue to play out to growth. The net net of that could be flat, could be up slightly. It's too hard to call right now, Dan, but I think the fundamentals of the company and the positions that we're in globally, the product lines that we're in and how we're moving them towards secular trends, they all hold out, and they're going to hold for the long term.

我認為，無論下半年我們處於何種經濟衰退或非衰退狀態，這些趨勢都會持續下去。我認為這些將繼續促進成長。淨值可能持平，也可能略有上升。丹，現在很難下結論，但我認為公司的基本面、我們在全球的地位、我們的產品線以及我們如何讓它們順應長期趨勢，這些都會持續下去。

So I think we're -- that's why I gave you the comments where I think we're really positive about our growth trajectory despite what's going to happen in the near term next couple of quarters.

所以我認為我們——這就是我給你發表評論的原因，我認為我們對我們的成長軌跡非常樂觀，不管未來幾季會發生什麼。

No, that's really helpful. Maybe just talk a little bit about the cadence of the cost savings you expect to achieve over the next several years as we ramp to that $10 million by early 26, and is all of that earmarked for margin improvement, or is there some that you might consider reinvesting?

不，這真的很有幫助。也許您可以稍微談談您預計在未來幾年內實現的成本節約節奏，因為我們將在 26 年初將成本節約目標提高到 1000 萬美元，所有這些成本節約是否都用於提高利潤率，或者您是否會考慮進行再投資？

Yeah, thanks, Dan. This is Erik. So that savings is going to start ramping up more meaningfully in the third quarter and continue through the first quarter of next year. I would say that that's going to be accretive to margins. I think just touching on margins for a minute, it's going to depend on how the demand picture plays out for the rest of the year. But I think -- I do want to point out that the company is still set up for that 15% kind of target margins, and I think we can get there sort of one of two ways this year.

是的，謝謝，丹。這是埃里克。因此，儲蓄將在第三季開始更顯著地增加，並持續到明年第一季。我想說，這將會增加利潤。我認為，只要談一下利潤率，這將取決於今年剩餘時間的需求。但我認為——我確實想指出，公司仍然設定了 15% 的目標利潤率，我認為我們今年可以透過兩種方式之一實現這一目標。

One is going to be obviously through volume. I think the difference between what you're seeing as guide in the second quarter -- of the midpoint of our guide representing around 14.3% margins, the difference between that and the 15% target is mostly volume, fixed cost leverage. And so we get that volume to come back, we get to the 15%. If we don't see the volume coming back, I think the cost savings program helps us get there.

顯然，一個是透過音量來實現的。我認為，您所看到的第二季度指導值與我們的指導值中點代表的利潤率約為 14.3% 之間的差異，以及 15% 的目標之間的差異主要在於數量、固定成本槓桿。這樣，我們的銷量就回升到了 15%。如果我們的銷售量沒有回升，我認為成本節約計畫可以幫助我們實現目標。

Really helpful and then last one just as it relates to the guide and you mentioned the midpoint, so just making sure I see it or understand it correctly. You've got a range, a $15 million dollar range on the top line. And then the operating income and EPS is sort of a data point. So are those -- is that kind of assume the midpoint of the top line? How do we think about potential ranges around I guess, call it, $1.40 of EPS? Is it the top end of revenue? Is that higher? Just help me out.

真的很有幫助，最後一個與指南有關，你提到了中點，所以只是確保我看到它或正確理解它。您有一個範圍，最高金額為 1500 萬美元。然後營業收入和每股盈餘就是一種數據點。那麼這些──是假設頂線的中點嗎？我們如何看待每股收益 1.40 美元左右的潛在範圍？這是收入的最高端嗎？那個更高嗎？幫幫我吧。

Yes, that's exactly right. Those point estimates on the income side are the midpoint of the sales range.

是的，完全正確。收入方面的這些點估計是銷售範圍的中點。

The next question is from Mike Harrison with Seaport Research Partners. Please go ahead.

下一個問題來自 Seaport Research Partners 的 Mike Harrison。請繼續。

Was hoping that maybe we could dig in a little bit further on operating margin. I understand that in the first quarter of this year-over-year decline about 150 basis points was related primarily to volume leverage, maybe some elevated cost, but if you could give any additional color on what you had going on with costs in the first quarter, that would be helpful.

希望我們能夠進一步提高營業利潤率。據我了解，第一季的同比下降約 150 個基點，主要與交易量槓桿有關，也可能與成本上升有關，但如果您能進一步說明第一季的成本情況，那將會很有幫助。

But then you're also guiding to about 150-basis-point year-over-year decline for Q2. And so what I really would like to get at is, for the full-year 2025 operating margin, are we on track to be down 100 to 150 basis points. Do you see things right now, or do you expect meaningful improvement in the second half to maybe get us somewhere closer to 15% for the full year?

但您也預測第二季的年減將達到約 150 個基點。所以我真正想知道的是，對於 2025 年全年營業利潤率來說，我們是否會下降 100 到 150 個基點。您現在對情況有何看法？或者您預計下半年會出現有意義的改善，可能會使我們全年的成長率接近 15%？

This is Erik. I'll try and take your questions in sequence. So for the first quarter, yeah, we did have some cost issues. I think if you look at our bridges, the sales and operating income bridges that we gave, the volume mix kind of combined impact equates to a decremental margin in the 30% range, which is what we typically expect for the company. So I'm going to attribute a lot of that reduction to volume.

這是埃里克。我會盡量按順序回答你們的問題。所以對於第一季度，是的，我們確實存在一些成本問題。我認為，如果你看一下我們的橋樑，即我們給出的銷售額和營業收入橋樑，那麼銷量組合的綜合影響相當於 30% 左右的利潤率遞減，這正是我們對公司的通常預期。因此，我認為減少的主要原因是數量。

But I will say that on the cost side, within that cost bucket, we were facing a few increases. Energy is one. Energy was in the $2 million to $3 million higher on a Q1-over-Q1 basis. That's looking a little better for the second quarter, I'd say. Still, at this point, slightly unfavorable versus last year, but the energy situation is looking a little bit better.

但我要說的是，在成本方面，在成本範圍內，我們面臨一些成本成長。能源就是其中之一。與第一季相比，能源銷售額成長了 200 萬至 300 萬美元。我想說，第二季的情況看起來會好一點。儘管如此，目前與去年相比，能源狀況略有不利，但看起來有所改善。

We're also watching transportation costs. Overall logistics costs were about $1 million unfavorable in the first quarter. We're seeing slightly higher costs for the second quarter, mainly for truck and rail.

我們也在關注運輸成本。第一季整體物流成本虧損約100萬美元。我們發現第二季的成本略有上升，主要是卡車和鐵路的成本。

The other piece, just to point out, is around tariffs. It's a much smaller impact. I think we put the picture in front of folks last quarter that we have a relatively direct cost impact from tariffs just because we're primarily sourcing and selling locally. But if I had to put a dollar number on it, the first quarter was about a $300,000 impact on tariffs, the second quarter probably about $1 million. We have ways of mitigating that, and we'll likely offset most of that, but there's some timing elements to passing that through and alternate sourcing and things like that. But that's another cost element that we're watching.

需要指出的另一點是關稅問題。影響要小得多。我認為我們在上個季度向大家展示了這樣的情況：關稅對我們成本的影響相對較直接，因為我們主要在當地採購和銷售。但如果我必須給出一個數字的話，第一季對關稅的影響約為 30 萬美元，第二季的影響可能約為 100 萬美元。我們有辦法緩解這種情況，而且我們可能會抵消大部分影響，但傳遞這些影響需要一些時間因素，以及替代來源等。但這是我們正在關注的另一個成本因素。

I would point out, you mentioned the year-over-year comparison. I would point out that last year's second quarter, the 15.7% margin that we put up had several high-margin refractory equipment sales in it that we called out in the quarter. So that was a really strong result last year, what makes for a difficult comp year over year.

我想指出的是，您提到了同比比較。我想指出的是，去年第二季度，我們提出的 15.7% 的利潤率是來自於我們在該季度宣布的幾項高利潤耐火設備銷售。所以，去年的成績確實非常出色，這使得同比業績變得困難。

I think the main difference between what we're guiding to for the second quarter and where we were last year is the volume. So as far as where we can end up for the full year, I sort of alluded to this for the previous question, but assuming markets are relatively stable, we can get to the 15% margin just from the volume leverage as we move through the year.

我認為我們對第二季度的預期與去年同期的主要區別在於數量。至於我們全年的最終結果如何，我在上一個問題中已經提到過這個問題，但假設市場相對穩定，那麼隨著全年的發展，我們僅透過交易量槓桿就可以獲得 15% 的利潤率。

I would point out that we have other things helping us get the margins higher, which would be that cost savings program starting to ramp up in the third quarter. So the combination of volume plus the cost savings program could move us above the 15% margin on a run rate basis. So we're going to have to see how it plays out from a demand perspective for the rest of the year.

我想指出的是，我們還有其他因素可以幫助我們提高利潤率，那就是第三季開始實施的成本節約計畫。因此，產量加上成本節約計畫的結合可以使我們的運行率利潤率超過 15%。因此，我們必須從需求角度觀察今年剩餘時間的情況。

Yes, understood. That's a good color there. Maybe just to follow up on the tariffs' impact. I think of magnesium oxide as being a key raw material for refractories, and in the past, at least, a lot of that was coming from China. As far as I can tell, it's not on the list of excluded materials or chemicals to be excluded from the tariffs.

是的，明白了。那裡的顏色很好看。也許只是為了追蹤關稅的影響。我認為氧化鎂是耐火材料的關鍵原料，至少在過去，大部分氧化鎂都來自中國。據我所知，它不在被排除在關稅之外的材料或化學品清單上。

What are your expectations on how tariff policies could impact MgO? And is that one of the materials that you guys are kind of stocking up inventories right now in preparation for a potential impact?

您對關稅政策將如何影響MgO有何預期？這是你們目前正在儲備的、為應對潛在影響而準備的材料之一嗎？

Yeah, so magnesium oxide is something that we do buy from a number of sources. We also buy and produce it ourselves in Europe. So yes, but China is one of the locations we do buy that from, Mike. Right now, the tariff, it's not excluded, it's a 20% tariff on magnesium oxide from China, which is part of what we see as a full year kind of tariff impact.

是的，我們確實從多個來源購買氧化鎂。我們也在歐洲自行購買和生產。是的，但是中國是我們確實購買該產品的地點之一，麥克。目前，關稅並未排除，對來自中國的氧化鎂徵收 20% 的關稅，這是我們認為的全年關稅影響的一部分。

We have been buying and building it -- that is part of the piece that we've been building inventories for a number of reasons. One, ahead of some of the tariff structures, but also because at this time of year -- you saw a lot of rain in the Midwest, and there's some river closures, the Mississippi River. We move things through barge up the river, so we make sure that we are in good position for any disruption that might occur.

我們一直在購買和建造它——這是我們出於多種原因而建立庫存的一部分。一方面，這是在某些關稅結構實施之前發生的，另一方面，因為每年的這個時候，中西部地區都會出現大量降雨，而且一些河流，例如密西西比河，都會封閉。我們透過駁船將貨物運送到河的上游，以確保我們能夠應對可能發生的任何干擾。

But this year, we bought a little bit more ahead of time here in Q1. Right now, I think we have inventories that are well into the third and fourth quarter, so we're well protected from that. And we also have a diverse magnesium oxide base that we can tap into. So hopefully that answered both your questions.

但今年，我們在第一季提前購買了更多。目前，我認為我們的庫存已經進入第三季和第四季度，因此我們受到了良好的保護。我們還擁有可供利用的多樣化氧化鎂基地。希望這能回答你們兩個的問題。

No, that's helpful. And then over on the consumer side, this is kind of the fourth quarter in a row where that Household & Personal Care business is showing growth well below your expectation. If you guys hope to get the whole company up to a mid-single-digit type of growth rate, HPC is what needs to be one of the key drivers. What needs to happen in order to get this business back on track and maybe help us understand a little bit better why we're seeing so much volatility in a consumer-driven business that we would expect to be more stable?

不，這很有幫助。從消費者方面來看，這是家庭和個人護理業務連續第四個季度的成長遠低於預期。如果你們希望整個公司能達到中等個位數的成長率，那麼 HPC 就必須成為關鍵驅動力之一。為了讓這個產業重回正軌，需要做些什麼？或許可以幫助我們更理解，為什麼我們預期這個由消費者驅動的產業會更穩定，卻出現如此大的波動？

I mean, part of the reason you guys have worked to expand this business is that you expected it to provide more of a resilient or defensive type of demand pattern, and it doesn't seem like that has been the case for some reason.

我的意思是，你們努力擴大這項業務的部分原因是，你們期望它能提供更具彈性或防禦性的需求模式，但由於某種原因，情況似乎並非如此。

Yeah, and look, I share your -- the optics of it over the past few quarters, Mike, so I understand where you are. I'm not going to go as far to say that it's something that's off track. I'm not going to say that the thesis around our cat litter business and our positions and how we've built it and its potential is off track. I think I agree with you on a quarter-to-quarter basis, we've been a little bit frustrated by some of the things that have happened with the branded products and discounting that happened last year and this quarter.

是的，你看，麥克，我認同你過去幾季的看法，所以我了解你的處境。我不會說這是偏離軌道的事情。我不會說有關我們的貓砂業務、我們的定位、我們如何建立它以及它的潛力的論點是偏離軌道的。我想我同意你的看法，就季度來看，我們對去年和本季品牌產品和折扣方面發生的一些事情感到有點沮喪。

You're going to think that I'm giving you an excuse. A number of our customers' order patterns shifted around, but that's what happened. I think we saw a bit of a mix though this quarter. We saw some real strong demand from large retailers in the US, and that was offset by shifting patterns by some specialty outlets and grocers in the US. I would say the biggest piece was probably the large retailers in Europe pulled back and managed inventories in the first quarter.

你會認為我在給你找藉口。我們的許多客戶的訂單模式發生了變化，但事實就是如此。我認為本季我們看到了一些混合情況。我們看到來自美國大型零售商的真正強勁需求，但這被美國一些專賣店和雜貨店的模式轉變所抵消。我想說，最大的原因可能是歐洲大型零售商在第一季撤出並管理庫存。

But then I'm going to tell you that our current order pattern, going into the second quarter, if it continues at this pace, and there is some -- could be some volatility, is going to grow at about 8%, 9% sequentially, and that's going to put us at about 5% over last year, so right on the mid-single digits.

但接下來我要告訴你們，如果我們目前的訂單模式繼續以這樣的速度發展，進入第二季度，可能會有一些波動，但環比增長將達到約 8% 到 9%，比去年同期增長約 5%，也就是個位數的中等水平。

So there has been some volatility in the pet litter market. I will tell you that the growth rate of the category itself has been lower this past year, '24 and into '25, than it was in the previous two. I think the category is growing at about 1%, and so there has been some shifting around between brand and private label. But I think the confidence we have in private label, especially in times of kind of challenging economics, I think that's going to show through, and I think we're starting to see the order patterns this quarter into the second that give you that kind of growth rate. So we'll have to show that to you, but I don't find that there's a fundamental flaw with the category or our growth thesis around it for the long term.

因此寵物砂市場出現了一些波動。我要告訴你的是，去年（2024 年）和 2025 年，該類別本身的成長率低於前兩年。我認為該類別的成長率約為 1%，因此品牌和自有品牌之間發生了一些轉變。但我認為，我們對自有品牌的信心，特別是在經濟困難時期，我認為這將會得到體現，而且我認為我們開始看到本季至第二季的訂單模式將帶來這種成長率。所以我們必須向你展示這一點，但我不認為該類別或我們圍繞它的長期成長論點有根本缺陷。

Only one thing I'll add to that is also that we're expanding our business in Asia, and that has growth rates and is showing growth rates that are much higher than the average you're seeing in North America, which is a more mature market. And I think as that comes online, which is what we had shown in terms of our global footprint of pet care, that's also going to be accretive, and you're going to start to see that growth. So a couple of short-term things that have moved around on us, but I don't think that that changes my outlook that says this is going to be a great business and is a great business for the company.

我只想補充一點，我們正在亞洲拓展業務，而且亞洲的成長率遠高於北美的平均成長率，而北美是一個更成熟的市場。我認為，隨著這項業務上線，正如我們在寵物護理全球業務方面所展示的那樣，它也將不斷增長，您將開始看到這種增長。因此，一些短期因素對我們產生了影響，但我認為這不會改變我的觀點，我認為這將是一項偉大的業務，對公司來說是一項偉大的業務。

The next question is from David Silver with C.L. King. Please go ahead.

下一個問題來自 C.L. King 的 David Silver。請繼續。

Yeah, hi, thank you. Sorry. So I have -- fair warning, I have kind of a wordy question to start out with, but I'd like to kind of come at the tariff situation maybe from a slightly different angle. I mean, the companies I speak to, and I'm pretty sure you would agree, but the direct impacts of the tariffs, I think, from your management team and everything are very well understood. But the greatest uncertainty relates to, customer reactions, customer behavior, as you pointed out in the first part of the quarter.

是的，你好，謝謝你。對不起。所以我有——公平地警告，我首先要問一個有點冗長的問題，但我想從稍微不同的角度來談談關稅情況。我的意思是，我與這些公司交談過，而且我確信你們也會同意這一點，但我認為，從你們的管理團隊和各方面來看，關稅的直接影響都是非常清楚的。但正如您在本季第一部分指出的那樣，最大的不確定性與客戶反應、客戶行為有關。

Looking at your business and in particular maybe your R&D or your collaborative activities with key customers. I mean, would you say that, maybe since the beginning of the year or since April 2nd, I mean, has there been a shift in their attitudes towards working on kind of the next-generation, new product developments or applications. So if DJ's team is pitching for the next satellite plant in Asia, are they still taking the meetings?

審視您的業務，特別是您的研發或與主要客戶的合作活動。我的意思是，您是否會說，也許從今年年初或 4 月 2 日以來，他們對下一代新產品開發或應用的態度發生了轉變。那麼，如果 DJ 的團隊正在為亞洲的下一個衛星工廠進行宣傳，他們還會參加會議嗎？

Or if Brett's team is doing the same with the laser measurement equipment plus the refractories, those types of longer term contracts, are your development activities in those areas still moving forward at the same pace? Are customers stepping aside? Are you stretching out your timelines? Just maybe a thought on the effect of the tariffs on your longer term -- medium to longer term development activities.

或者，如果 Brett 的團隊對雷射測量設備和耐火材料也採取同樣的措施，簽訂這些類型的長期合同，那麼您在這些領域的開發活動是否仍以相同的速度向前推進？顧客們都退到一邊了嗎？您是否在延長自己的時間表？也許只是想談談關稅對你們的長期——中長期發展活動的影響。

Yeah. Hi, David. No, I don't think that that's the case at all. I think that the tariffs are not having any impact on that. I think that the one area I do see, and I mentioned in my remarks, that tariffs do have an impact is just in general demand and where that production. The uncertainty that it's created in terms of where customers are going to make things or how much demand there will be for where they're making them today.

是的。你好，大衛。不，我根本不認為是這樣。我認為關稅對此沒有任何影響。我認為我確實看到的一個領域，正如我在演講中提到的，關稅確實會產生影響，那就是整體需求和生產。它所帶來的不確定性在於，客戶將在哪裡生產產品，或他們目前生產產品的地方會有多少需求。

One thing I will tell you that I think the company in our global footprint is positioned to pick that up wherever it goes, right? We've seen that before with tariffs and steel in 2018, where increased production came to the United States, and we were right there to pick that up and be able to deliver our refractory products. As a matter of fact, a couple of new facilities were built from 2018 till now. There's another one even scheduled here in the United States. And we're confident that we're going to get that business.

我要告訴你的是，我認為我們公司在全球都有能力在任何地方實現這一目標，對嗎？我們之前就看到過這種情況，2018 年的關稅和鋼鐵產量增加到美國，當時我們就在那裡抓住了這個機會並能夠交付我們的耐火產品。事實上，從 2018 年到現在已經建造了一些新設施。美國還計劃舉行另一場活動。我們有信心贏得這項業務。

And we've also seen that in the foundry where if something is moved from China to here or here to China, we've been able to pick that up because it's our technology. Conversations with customers have not changed. You mentioned, looking at paper and packaging satellites and the newest technologies around NewYield or our packaging, are still ongoing, still interested.

我們也看到，在代工廠中，如果某件產品從中國運到這裡或從這裡運到中國，我們就能接手，因為這是我們的技術。與客戶的對話沒有改變。您提到，我們對紙張和包裝衛星以及圍繞 NewYield 或我們的包裝的最新技術仍在進行中，我們仍然感興趣。

Our Scantrol laser measurement system is still on track, still interested. And the reasons for that are because they save our customers money. They're more efficient. They’re safer ways. They’re higher tech ways to make their products through a collaboration with them.

我們的 Scantrol 雷射測量系統仍然運作正常，仍然令人感興趣。這樣做的原因是它們可以為我們的客戶節省金錢。它們效率更高。它們是更安全的方法。他們透過與他們的合作，採用更高科技的方式來生產他們的產品。

And I think, and we're seeing that that's probably going to be even more in demand now than it was before. So those -- I don't think that's going to stop anything or change anything in terms of those types of high value products that we deliver to customers, at least we haven't seen it yet and we don't expect it to.

我認為，我們看到現在對它的需求可能比以前更大。所以，我認為，就我們提供給客戶的高價值產品而言，這不會阻止或改變任何事情，至少我們還沒有看到這種情況，我們也不期望看到這種情況。

The other area would be areas of kind of longer term growth that we're targeting in environmental and water remediation and things that are tied to kind of long, steady growth pattern, steady growth trajectories like edible oil, renewable fuels, animal health. These are going to transcend kind of economic activity, economic ups and downs, because I believe that they are kind of fundamental shifts in what our customers want, and we're providing those products.

另一個領域是我們所瞄準的長期成長領域，即環境和水修復，以及與長期、穩定的成長模式、穩定的成長軌跡相關的領域，如食用油、再生燃料、動物健康。這些將超越某種經濟活動、經濟起伏，因為我相信，它們是我們客戶需求的根本轉變，而我們正在提供這些產品。

Like I said, I think with our portfolio of products currently out there targeted at these kind of secular growth trends and at cost savings and value added applications for our customers, I think they're going to continue to go as they have in the past. And we've got a pipeline of hundreds of new products behind that that are targeted at similar things. And so long term, I don't see that these short-term issues that we're looking at are going to affect the company's long term growth prospects.

就像我說的，我認為我們目前的產品組合針對的是這種長期成長趨勢，並為我們的客戶節省成本和增加應用價值，我認為它們會像過去一樣繼續發展。我們擁有數百種針對類似目標的新產品。因此，從長遠來看，我認為我們正在關注的這些短期問題不會影響公司的長期成長前景。

Question about PFAS. Okay, so I did notice in your slide deck, you did call out the new larger drinking water project, but maybe just a couple of things. But firstly, it is about -- well, we are anniversarying -- it's the anniversary, I guess, of the EPA decision to set particular limits on PFAS content in drinking water. And I know that there's a three-year or more timeline for the average customer to make a decision on -- or, yeah, to make a decision on a treatment plan.

關於 PFAS 的問題。好的，我確實注意到，在您的幻燈片中，您確實提到了新的更大的飲用水項目，但可能只是幾件事。但首先，這是——嗯，我們正在慶祝——我想，這是美國環保署決定對飲用水中的 PFAS 含量設定具體限制的周年紀念日。我知道，普通顧客需要三年或更長的時間來做出決定——或者，是的，決定治療計劃。

But it has been a while, I think, since the company updated like that figure. I think it was about 200 pilot plants or sampling or beta projects and that type of interaction. So firstly, I mean, in the year since the EPA did set the content limits. Has the number of pilot plants and beta tests and whatnot meaningfully increased?

但我認為，該公司已經有一段時間沒有更新這個數據了。我認為大約有 200 個中試工廠或採樣或測試項目以及此類互動。首先，我的意思是，自從美國環保署設定含量限制以來的一年。中試工廠、beta 測試等的數量是否有增加？

And then secondly, if you could maybe just update us on the significant contract win with the Northeast, I believe, a drinking water facility.

其次，您能否向我們介紹一下與東北地區簽訂的重要合同，我相信是一份飲用水設施合同。

Sure, David. Yes, the pipeline continues to be very strong and not only in North America but also in Europe, as we're seeing opportunities for PFAS remediation on that continent. So the pipeline continues to be strong. I believe we're running into 100 different trials. We've commercialized in five or six drinking water facilities.

當然，大衛。是的，這條管道繼續非常強勁，不僅在北美，而且在歐洲，因為我們看到了在該大陸進行 PFAS 修復的機會。因此，管道將繼續保持強勁。我相信我們正在進行 100 次不同的試驗。我們已經在五到六個飲用水設施中實現了商業化。

So the pipeline continues to be there. The demand and the interest in it. You're right, the EPA standards don't go in until 2029, and so we always knew that this would build as customers, both drinking water customers and also in remediation, they continue to trial different technologies, ours being one of them and ours being one of the most cost effective and technologically effective.

因此管道將繼續存在。對它的需求和興趣。您說得對，EPA 標準要到 2029 年才會生效，因此我們一直都知道，隨著客戶（包括飲用水客戶和修復客戶）不斷嘗試不同的技術，我們的技術就是其中之一，而且是最具成本效益和技術最有效的技術之一。

So yeah, the pipeline is strong. We're still doing a lot of trials, and let me let Brett Argirakis take you through kind of some of the current activity.

是的，管道很強大。我們仍在進行許多試驗，請讓 Brett Argirakis 向您介紹目前的一些活動。

Sure. Hi David. As Doug said, yeah, our FLUORO-SORB product really continues to generate a high level of interest both from the state, local, and federal levels. This quarter, we had about 15 new projects varying in size and scope, and as Erik mentioned in the remarks, we had that large project in the northeast. These projects really vary in size and scope, so they go from small to mid-size drinking water, wastewater in situ, remediation projects, and they've represented over a 200% increase from the last year, first quarter.

當然。你好，大衛。正如 Doug 所說，是的，我們的 FLUORO-SORB 產品確實持續引起州、地方和聯邦各級的高度關注。本季度，我們有大約 15 個規模和範圍各異的新項目，正如 Erik 在評論中提到的，我們在東北部有一個大型項目。這些項目的規模和範圍各不相同，從小型到中型飲用水、廢水現場處理和修復項目，與去年第一季相比增加了 200% 以上。

So we're pretty excited about it. And as Doug just mentioned, we have six full scale drinking water systems utilizing our FLUORO-SORB. Four additional are coming on, full scale drinking water systems, by the end of the year. So the activity is really starting to move in the right direction.

所以我們對此感到非常興奮。正如 Doug 剛才提到的，我們有六個採用 FLUORO-SORB 的全尺寸飲用水系統。到今年年底，還將有另外四個全面建成的飲用水系統投入使用。因此，活動確實開始朝著正確的方向發展。

Internationally as well, our FLUORO-SORB opportunities continue to gain traction, especially in Europe in several countries. So we're focusing not only on the drinking water but focusing on the other areas: landfill leachate, wastewater treatment, soil and groundwater. So it's pretty fun time for us to grow this.

在國際上，我們的 FLUORO-SORB 機會也繼續受到關注，尤其是在歐洲的幾個國家。因此，我們不僅關注飲用水，還關注其他領域：垃圾掩埋場滲濾液、廢水處理、土壤和地下水。所以對我們來說，這是一個非常有趣的發展時刻。

Let me give you a little bit of information about the project in the northeast. The drinking water project that Erik mentioned, it's a large scale municipality that's going to be commissioned, installed and commissioned, this month. It's really unique because it's really large scale. If you can picture a large scale swimming pool, but they're reactors. It's not vessels filled with FLUORO-SORB, it's large reactors. And that project is going to remove not only PFAS but other contaminants in the drinking water.

我先向大家介紹一下東北計畫的狀況。Erik提到的飲用水項目是一個大型市政項目，將於本月投入使用、安裝和調試。它確實很獨特，因為規模真的很大。如果你能想像一個大型游泳池，但它們是反應爐。它不是裝滿 FLUORO-SORB 的容器，而是大型反應器。該項目不僅將去除飲用水中的 PFAS，還將去除其他污染物。

These reactors are also standalone systems where they're not using other systems like DAC and ion exchange within it. So we're really excited about the project and the size and scale and the scope because this represents about 1/10 of the scope of this project. So we're hoping and very confident that the success of this project is going to expand, and we'll be moving forward. And it'll help us to move our FLUORO-SORB project forward.

這些反應器也是獨立系統，其中不使用 DAC 和離子交換等其他系統。因此，我們對這個項目及其規模和範圍感到非常興奮，因為這代表了該項目範圍的約 1/10。因此，我們希望並且非常有信心，這個計畫的成功將會不斷擴大，我們將會繼續前進。它將幫助我們推進 FLUORO-SORB 計畫。

Last one for me, but maybe this is a question tilted towards DJ, but more China focused. But since early April, I am wondering if you have detected any, I don't know, loss of competitiveness or any kind of change in the competitive environment for your PCC and your foundry activities in Asia in general, but I guess in China in particular. In other words, is there a blemish or is there a preference to do business with a company that isn't in America as in US-based in the current environment?

對我來說是最後一個問題，但也許這個問題傾向於 DJ，但更側重於中國。但自 4 月初以來，我想知道您是否發現您的 PCC 和您在亞洲（尤其是中國）的代工業務的競爭力有所下降，或者競爭環境發生了任何變化。換句話說，在當前環境下，是否存在瑕疵，或者是否存在與不在美國的公司（例如總部位於美國的公司）做生意的偏好？

In other words, are they giving more business maybe to your PCC competitors or someone from another -- based in another country?

換句話說，他們是否會將更多的業務交給您的 PCC 競爭對手或來自其他國家的其他人？

No, David. We haven't seen that at all. As a matter of fact, we've also been in negotiations and have won another contract in China just recently. And we're also seeing that in the foundry market. Our customers very much value the blends and the technology that we bring them in the foundry, and we've seen some increased interest and demand to convert to a blended system because of the savings and the productivity that it brings.

不，大衛。我們根本沒有看到這一點。事實上，我們也一直在談判，並且最近在中國贏得了另一份合約。我們也在代工市場看到了這一點。我們的客戶非常重視我們為鑄造廠提供的混合物和技術，並且由於它帶來的節約和生產力，我們看到了對轉換為混合系統的興趣和需求的增加。

In terms of PCC, we are the leader in technology around the world. We have a broad-based platform to offer them over the life of our partnership. So it's not just the PCC and the crystal and how we can adapt that. It's NewYield, it's savings, it's how they make their paper, it's efficiencies, it's breakage. It's all sorts of different things that we bring them over the lifespan. It's high filler technologies.

在PCC方面，我們的技術在全球處於領先地位。在我們的合作期間，我們為他們提供廣泛的平台。因此，這不僅僅是 PCC 和水晶，以及我們如何適應它。這是 NewYield，這是節省，這是他們造紙的方式，這是效率，這是破損。我們在他們的一生中帶給他們各種不同的東西。這是高填充技術。

I think that transcends. When you're a company, China or otherwise, that transcends where it's from. They want the highest value, they want the best, the most reliable. And that's what we're seeing, and I don't expect that to change.

我認為這超越了。當你是一家公司時，無論是中國公司還是其他國家的公司，這都超越了它的來源。他們想要最高的價值，他們想要最好的、最可靠的。這就是我們所看到的，我不希望這種情況改變。

The next question comes from Pete Osterland with Truist Securities. Please go ahead.

下一個問題來自 Truist Securities 的 Pete Osterland。請繼續。

So based on the customer conversations and order patterns you've seen in March and April, have there been any signs that any of the sequential demand pickup you're expecting for the second quarter is partially related to pre-buying ahead of tariffs being implemented? And I guess, if so, could you try to size that and talk about where it's concentrated within the portfolio?

那麼，根據您在 3 月和 4 月看到的客戶對話和訂單模式，是否有跡象表明您預計第二季度的需求連續回升部分與關稅實施前的預購有關？我想，如果是這樣，您能否嘗試確定其規模並談論它在投資組合中的集中位置？

Yeah. Hi, Peter. This is Erik. So we did see some pre-buying in the first quarter in Asia in the foundry business, not a huge amount. I think probably $1 million dollars of revenue overall we thought was pulled forward into March ahead of some tariffs going in there that would have affected some customers.

是的。你好，彼得。這是埃里克。因此，我們確實看到第一季亞洲代工業務出現了一些預購，但數量並不大。我認為，我們認為可能有 100 萬美元的總收入提前到 3 月份，因為一些關稅可能會對一些客戶產生影響。

But on the other side, we had instances of customers holding off related to tariffs. We pointed to some of the customers serving the automotive end market, sort of Tier 2, Tier 3 suppliers to the automotive market being really cautious around the levels of inventories that they're holding. And so we had both sides of the equation. We had some customers pulling ahead, some customers holding off.

但另一方面，我們也遇到了一些客戶因關稅問題而推遲購買的情況。我們指出，一些服務於汽車終端市場的客戶，即汽車市場的二級、三級供應商，對其持有的庫存水準非常謹慎。這樣我們就得到了等式的兩邊。有些客戶領先，有些客戶則落後。

So we have, as I mentioned, moderated the second quarter forecast for the Asia foundry business. I think, I pointed to the fact that that business grew 9% in the first quarter. We're expecting that to be closer to flat for the second quarter year over year. But that's how I would summarize kind of the pull forward effect.

正如我所提到的，我們調整了亞洲代工業務第二季的預測。我想，我指出的事實是該業務在第一季成長了 9%。我們預計第二季的銷售額將與去年同期持平。但這就是我對前拉效應的總結。

And then, I apologize if I missed it, but last quarter you gave a range for expected free cash flow for the full year. Do you have an update you can share on your expectations there either in terms of a range or a conversion ratio?

然後，如果我錯過了，我很抱歉，但上個季度您給出了全年預期自由現金流的範圍。您能否分享一下關於範圍或轉換率方面的預期更新？

Yeah, so we're still expecting a strong year for free cash flow. It did start slow, as I mentioned, with the working capital build in the first quarter, but we still expect to generate around 7% of our sales down to free cash flow. The cash flow conversion capability of the company remains solid, no question there.

是的，所以我們仍然預計今年的自由現金流將會強勁。正如我所提到的，由於第一季營運資本的積累，起步確實緩慢，但我們仍預計自由現金流將產生約 7% 的銷售額。毫無疑問，該公司的現金流轉換能力仍然穩健。

We have a line of sight to probably around $150 million of free cash flow this year, so still feeling good about the cash flow generation of the company.

我們預計今年的自由現金流可能達到 1.5 億美元左右，因此對公司的現金流產生仍然感到樂觀。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Doug Dietrich for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議交還給 Doug Dietrich 做最後發言。

Thank you for joining today's call. We appreciate the questions. I hope we got all of them in today, and we look forward to giving you an update on our second quarter in about three months. Thank you very much.

感謝您參加今天的電話會議。我們很感謝你們的提問。我希望我們今天能夠收到所有這些信息，我們期待在大約三個月後向您提供第二季度的最新消息。非常感謝。

The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。