Mueller Water Products Inc (MWA) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and thank you for standing by. (Operator Instructions) Today's conference is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time.

早上好，感謝您的耐心等待。（操作說明）今天的會議正在錄音。如果您有任何異議，可以立即斷開連接。

It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Whit Kincaid.

現在我很高興將電話轉交給惠特·金凱德。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for Mueller Water Products first-quarter conference call. Yesterday afternoon, we issued our press release reporting results of operations for the quarter ended December 31, 2025. A copy of the press release is available on our website, muellerwaterproducts.com. I have joined this morning by Martie Zakas, our Chief Executive Officer; Paul McAndrew, our President and Chief Operating Officer; and Melissa Rasmussen, our Chief Financial Officer.

各位早安。感謝您參加穆勒水產品公司第一季財報電話會議。昨天下午，我們發布了新聞稿，公佈了截至 2025 年 12 月 31 日的季度營運業績。新聞稿副本可在我們的網站 muellerwaterproducts.com 上查閱。今天早上與我一同出席的有我們的執行長 Martie Zakas、總裁兼營運長 Paul McAndrew 以及財務長 Melissa Rasmussen。

Following our prepared remarks, we will address questions related to the information covered on the call. As a reminder, please keep to one question and a follow-up and then return to the queue. This morning's call is being recorded and webcast live on the internet. We have also posted slides on our website to accompany today's discussion.

在宣讀完準備好的演講稿後，我們將回答與本次電話會議所涵蓋資訊相關的問題。再次提醒，請每次只提一個問題，然後提出後續問題，之後請返回佇列。今天上午的電話會議正在進行錄音，並透過網路進行直播。我們也在我們的網站上發布了與今天討論相關的幻燈片。

They also address forward-looking statements and our non-GAAP disclosure requirements. At this time, please refer to slide 2. This slide identifies non-GAAP financial measures referenced in our press release, on our slides and on this call. It discloses the reasons why we believe these measures provide useful information to investors.

它們還涉及前瞻性聲明和我們的非GAAP揭露要求。此時，請參考投影片 2。本投影片列出了我們在新聞稿、投影片和本次電話會議中提到的非GAAP財務指標。它披露了我們認為這些措施能夠為投資者提供有用資訊的原因。

Reconciliations between non-GAAP and GAAP financial measures are included in the supplemental information within our press release and on our website. Slide 3 addresses forward-looking statements made on this call. This slide includes cautionary information identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in forward-looking statements.

非GAAP財務指標與GAAP財務指標的調節表已包含在我們新聞稿和網站上的補充資訊中。第 3 張投影片闡述了本次電話會議中所作的前瞻性陳述。此投影片包含警示訊息，指出可能導致實際結果與前瞻性聲明中包含的結果有重大差異的重要因素。

Please review slides 2 and 3 in their entirety. During this call, all references to a specific year or quarter, unless specified otherwise, refer to our fiscal year, which ends the 30th of September. A replay of this morning's call will be available for 30 days at 1-800-814-6745. The archived webcast and corresponding slides will be available for at least 90-days on the Investor Relations section of our website.

請完整閱讀第2頁及第3頁投影片。在本次通話中，除非另有說明，所有提及的具體年份或季度均指我們的財政年度，該財政年度於9月30日結束。今天早上電話會議的錄音回放可在 1-800-814-6745 上收聽 30 天。網路直播錄影及相關投影片將在我們網站的投資者關係版塊保留至少 90 天。

I'll now turn the call over to Martie.

現在我將把電話轉給瑪蒂。

Thanks, Whit. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our first-quarter Earnings Call. As a reminder, this is my last week as Mueller's CEO. After my opening remarks, I will hand the call over to Paul to provide an overview of our performance followed by Melissa, who will go over our first-quarter financial results and discuss our increased guidance for 2026.

謝謝你，惠特。各位早安。感謝您參加我們第一季財報電話會議。再次提醒大家，這是我擔任穆勒公司執行長的最後一週。在我的開場白之後，我將把電話交給保羅，讓他概述我們的業績，然後由梅麗莎介紹我們第一季度的財務業績，並討論我們提高後的 2026 年業績預期。

It has been the highlight of my career to lead this talented team, an extraordinary company with its rich legacy and iconic brands. The sense of fulfillment I feel in what the entire Mueller team has accomplished together is beyond words. It's thanks to their hard work and unwavering dedication that we have become the successful company we are today.

能夠領導這支才華橫溢的團隊，領導這家擁有悠久歷史和標誌性品牌的非凡公司，是我職業生涯中的一大亮點。穆勒團隊全體成員共同達成的成就讓我感到無比欣慰，這種成就感難以言喻。正是由於他們的辛勤工作和堅定不移的奉獻精神，我們才成為今天這樣一家成功的公司。

Mueller plays a critical and essential role as a leader in water infrastructure products and solutions every day. I have great confidence that Paul, the leadership team and all our talented employees will build on our positive momentum. I believe our performance this quarter and over the last few years is just the beginning. I look forward to seeing Paul and the entire Mueller team write the next chapter in Mueller's winning legacy.

Mueller 每天都在水基礎設施產品和解決方案領域中發揮至關重要的領導作用。我非常有信心，保羅、領導團隊和我們所有才華橫溢的員工將繼續保持我們目前的良好勢頭。我相信我們本季以及過去幾年的業績只是個開始。我期待看到保羅和整個穆勒團隊譜寫穆勒輝煌戰績的下一個篇章。

I'll now turn it over to Paul.

現在我把麥克風交給保羅。

Thanks, Martie. Good morning, everyone. Before reviewing our performance, I want to start by recognizing Martie and thank her for her incredible leadership. With nearly 2 decades of dedicated service, she has shaped Mueller into the company we are today. I am grateful that she will continue to guide us as a senior adviser through the end of the year.

謝謝你，瑪蒂。各位早安。在回顧我們的表現之前，我想先表揚瑪蒂，感謝她出色的領導能力。近二十年來，她兢兢業業，將穆勒公司打造成了今天的模樣。我很感激她將在今年年底前繼續擔任我們的高級顧問，指導我們開展工作。

Since joining Mueller more than three-years ago, I have witnessed firsthand the passion, expertise and commitment of our team members. I believe we are in the early stages of our transformation. We have improved operational execution, strengthened relationships with our stakeholders and delivered outstanding results, all while navigating a challenging external environment.

自從三年多前加入 Mueller 以來，我親眼見證了我們團隊成員的熱情、專業知識和奉獻精神。我認為我們正處於轉型初期。我們提高了營運執行力，加強了與利害關係人的關係，並取得了卓越的成果，同時克服了充滿挑戰的外部環境。

I am pleased with the great start to our fiscal year. We delivered net sales growth of 4.6% in the quarter, supported by resilient end markets and our focus on delivering outstanding customer service. Our operations and supply chain teams executed well as manufacturing efficiencies more than offset the impact from higher tariffs and inflationary pressures, driving year-over-year gross margin expansion.

我對我們本財年的良好開局感到滿意。本季淨銷售額成長 4.6%，這得益於終端市場的韌性和我們對提供卓越客戶服務的專注。我們的營運和供應鏈團隊表現出色，生產效率的提高足以抵消關稅上漲和通膨壓力的影響，從而推動了毛利率的年增長。

This includes the expected benefits from efficiencies associated with the transition to our new brass foundry. These improvements led to first-quarter records for net sales, gross margin, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin. During the quarter, we generated $44 million of free cash flow and continued our balanced approach to cash allocation.

這包括過渡到我們新的黃銅鑄造廠所帶來的效率提升所帶來的預期效益。這些改進使得第一季淨銷售額、毛利率、調整後 EBITDA 和調整後 EBITDA 利潤率均創歷史新高。本季度，我們產生了 4,400 萬美元的自由現金流，並繼續採取平衡的現金分配方式。

We invested approximately $17 million in capital expenditures and returned approximately $16 million to shareholders through our quarterly dividend payment and share repurchases. We are raising our fiscal 2026 guidance, reflecting our strong first-quarter results and current views for the rest of the year. Our end market expectations are consistent with our prior guidance.

我們在資本支出方面投入了約 1700 萬美元，並透過季度股息支付和股票回購向股東返還了約 1600 萬美元。我們上調了 2026 財年業績預期，這反映了我們強勁的第一季業績以及對今年剩餘時間的當前看法。我們對終端市場的預期與我們先前的預期一致。

We anticipate that healthy municipal repair and replacement activity and strong growth in project-related work using specialty valves will more than offset slower new residential construction activity. Our operations and supply chain teams continue to work with suppliers to manage the ongoing tariffs and inflationary pressures, mainly related to brass.

我們預計，健康的市政維修和更換活動以及使用特殊閥門的專案相關工作的強勁增長，將足以抵消新建住宅建設活動的放緩。我們的營運和供應鏈團隊繼續與供應商合作，應對持續的關稅和通膨壓力，這些壓力主要與黃銅有關。

With this in mind, we recently announced price actions across most product lines. We are on track to deliver another year of gross and adjusted EBITDA margin expansion, supported by our operational and commercial initiatives. Overall, I am excited about our team's strong performance this quarter. We expect that our ongoing investments in our commercial and operational capabilities.

有鑑於此，我們近期宣布了針對大多數產品線的價格調整措施。在營運和商業措施的支持下，我們預計將實現連續第二年毛利率和調整後 EBITDA 利率的成長。總的來說，我對我們團隊本季的出色表現感到興奮。我們期望對商業和營運能力的持續投資能帶來回報。

Together with strategic capital expenditures will enable us to increase capacity, achieve sustained margin expansion and deliver long-term value creation. I am grateful for our dedicated employees who serve our stakeholders with relentless drive and passion.

策略性資本支出將使我們能夠提高產能，實現持續的利潤率成長，並創造長期價值。我感謝我們敬業的員工，他們以不懈的動力和熱情為我們的利害關係人服務。

With that, I'll turn it over to Melissa, who will take us through the financials.

接下來，我將把麥克風交給梅莉莎，她將為我們解釋財務狀況。

Thanks, Paul, and good morning, everyone. We are pleased to report a great start to the year with consolidated net sales increasing 4.6% to $318.2 million, surpassing last year's strong first-quarter performance. This growth was driven primarily by higher pricing across most product lines, partially offset by slightly lower volumes.

謝謝保羅，大家早安。我們很高興地宣布，今年開局良好，合併淨銷售額增長 4.6% 至 3.182 億美元，超過了去年強勁的第一季業績。這一增長主要由大多數產品線的價格上漲推動，但銷量略有下降部分抵消了這一增長。

Gross profit for the quarter increased 16.3% to $119.8 million and gross margin expanded 380 basis points to 37.6%. The improvement in gross profit was primarily driven by higher pricing and manufacturing efficiencies as well as inventory, and other asset write-downs at WFS in the prior year period that did not recur.

本季毛利成長16.3%至1.198億美元，毛利率成長380個基點至37.6%。毛利的改善主要得益於更高的定價和生產效率，以及WFS在上一年期間的庫存和其他資產減值，而這些減損並未再次發生。

Manufacturing efficiencies largely resulted from the expected benefits associated with the closure of our legacy brass foundry last year. These benefits were partially offset by higher tariffs and ongoing inflationary pressures. Total SG&A expenses for the quarter of $59.8 million increased $5.9 million compared with the prior year, reflecting higher personnel costs, inflationary pressures and unfavorable foreign currency impacts.

生產效率的提升主要得益於去年關閉我們原有的黃銅鑄造廠所帶來的預期效益。這些好處被更高的關稅和持續的通膨壓力部分抵消了。本季銷售、管理及行政費用總額為 5,980 萬美元，較上年同期增加 590 萬美元，主要原因是人員成本上升、通膨壓力增加以及不利的外匯影響。

Operating income increased 19.6% in the quarter to $56.7 million compared with the prior year. Operating income included $3.3 million of strategic reorganization and other charges, which have been excluded from adjusted results along with the inventory and other asset write-downs at WFS. Turning now to our consolidated non-GAAP results for the quarter.

本季營業收入年增 19.6%，達到 5,670 萬美元。營業收入包括 330 萬美元的策略重組和其他費用，這些費用已從調整後的績效中剔除，同時 WFS 的庫存和其他資產減損也已剔除。接下來來看我們本季的非GAAP合併業績。

Adjusted operating income increased 14.5% in the first-quarter to $60 million driven by higher pricing and continued manufacturing efficiencies, partially offset by increased tariffs, inflationary pressures and higher SG&A expenses. Adjusted operating margin expanded 170 basis points year-over-year to 18.9%. Adjusted EBITDA reached a first-quarter record of $72.1 million an increase of 13.5% compared to the prior year quarter.

受價格上漲和持續提高生產效率的推動，第一季調整後營業收入成長 14.5% 至 6,000 萬美元，但部分被關稅上漲、通膨壓力和更高的銷售、一般及行政費用所抵銷。調整後的營業利潤率年增 170 個基點至 18.9%。經調整的 EBITDA 達到第一季創紀錄的 7,210 萬美元，比去年同期成長 13.5%。

Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 180 basis points year-over-year to 22.7% marking a new first-quarter record. Over the last 12-months, adjusted EBITDA was $335 million or 23.2% of net sales, a 90-basis point improvement compared with the prior 12-month period. Net interest expense of $1 million declined $0.6 million, reflecting higher interest income.

經調整的 EBITDA 利潤率年增 180 個基點至 22.7%，創下第一季新紀錄。過去 12 個月，調整後的 EBITDA 為 3.35 億美元，佔淨銷售額的 23.2%，比前 12 個月提高了 90 個基點。淨利息支出為 100 萬美元，減少了 60 萬美元，反映出利息收入增加。

Adjusted net income per diluted share increased by 16% year-over-year to $0.29, setting another first-quarter record. Moving on to quarterly segment performance, starting with WFS. Net sales decreased 0.9% to $173 million, primarily reflecting lower volumes of service brass products, which were partially offset by higher pricing across most product lines and increased volumes of specialty valves.

經調整後的每股攤薄淨收益年增 16% 至 0.29 美元，再次創下第一季新高。接下來分析各季度業務板塊的業績，首先從WFS板塊開始。淨銷售額下降 0.9% 至 1.73 億美元，主要反映出服務用黃銅產品的銷量下降，但大部分產品線價格上漲和特種閥門銷量增加部分抵消了這一影響。

Adjusted operating income increased 28% to $49.4 million. The increase reflects benefits from manufacturing efficiencies and higher pricing, which more than offset increased tariffs, inflationary pressures, lower volumes and higher SG&A expenses. Adjusted EBITDA grew 26.4% to $56.5 million and adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 710 basis points to 32.7% compared with 25.6% in the prior year period.

經調整後的營業收入成長28%，達到4,940萬美元。這一成長反映了生產效率提高和定價上漲的好處，足以抵銷關稅上漲、通膨壓力、銷售下降和銷售、管理及行政費用上漲的影響。經調整的 EBITDA 成長 26.4% 至 5,650 萬美元，經調整的 EBITDA 利潤率從去年同期的 25.6% 成長 710 個基點至 32.7%。

WFS set a new record for quarterly adjusted EBITDA margin. I'll now move to quarterly results for WMS. Net sales increased 12% to $145.2 million, driven by higher pricing across most product lines and strong volume growth of hydrants. The benefits were partially offset by lower volumes for natural gas distribution and repair products. Adjusted operating income decreased 11.2% to $24.5 million.

WFS 創下了季度調整後 EBITDA 利潤率的新紀錄。接下來我將介紹WMS的季度業績。淨銷售額成長 12% 至 1.452 億美元，主要得益於大多數產品線價格上漲以及消防栓銷量強勁成長。天然氣分銷和維修產品銷售下降，部分抵銷了這些收益。經調整後的營業收入下降11.2%至2,450萬美元。

The decline reflects increased tariffs, manufacturing inefficiencies, higher SG&A expenses, inflationary pressures and unfavorable foreign currency. These headwinds more than offset the benefits from higher pricing and hydrant volume growth. Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter decreased 9.5% to $29.5 million and adjusted EBITDA margin contracted 480 basis points to 20.3%.

這一下滑反映了關稅增加、生產效率低下、銷售、管理及行政費用增加、通膨壓力和不利的外匯匯率。這些不利因素完全抵消了價格上漲和消防栓數量成長的好處。本季調整後 EBITDA 下降 9.5% 至 2,950 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率收縮 480 個基點至 20.3%。

Moving on to cash flow. Net cash provided by operating activities for the three-month period was $61.2 million, an increase of $7.1 million compared with the prior year. The improvement was primarily driven by higher net income and non-cash adjustments, partially offset by changes in working capital and other assets and liabilities.

接下來分析現金流。本季經營活動產生的淨現金流量為 6,120 萬美元，比上年同期增加 710 萬美元。業績改善主要得益於淨收入增加和非現金調整，但部分被營運資本及其他資產和負債的變化所抵消。

Capital expenditures through the first three-months of the year increased to $17.2 million compared with $11.9 million in the prior year, reflecting continued investments in our iron foundries. Free cash flow for the period increased $1.8 million to $44 million and was 96% of adjusted net income, in line with our expectations.

今年前三個月的資本支出增加至 1,720 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,190 萬美元，反映出我們對鑄鐵廠的持續投資。該期間自由現金流增加 180 萬美元至 4,400 萬美元，佔調整後淨收入的 96%，符合我們的預期。

We ended the quarter with $452 million of total debt and $460 million of cash and cash equivalents. Our balance sheet remains strong and flexible with no debt maturities until June 2029 and $450 million of senior notes at a 4% fixed interest rate. We had no borrowings under our ABL and ended the quarter with $623 million of total liquidity, including $164 million of availability under the ABL.

本季末，我們的總債務為 4.52 億美元，現金及現金等價物為 4.6 億美元。我們的資產負債表仍然穩健靈活，2029 年 6 月之前沒有債務到期，並且有 4.5 億美元的優先票據，固定利率為 4%。我們在 ABL 項下沒有借款，本季末總流動資金為 6.23 億美元，其中 ABL 項下可用資金為 1.64 億美元。

As a result, we continue to maintain ample liquidity, capacity and financial flexibility to support our strategic priorities, including pursuing acquisitions. I will now review our updated outlook for fiscal 2026. We are raising our full year guidance for consolidated net sales by $20 million at the midpoint of the range. Our net sales growth is now expected to be between 2.8% and 4.2% year-over-year, reflecting our strong first-quarter performance and our current expectations for end market demand orders and price realization, which includes expected benefits from our recently announced price actions across most product lines.

因此，我們持續保持充足的流動性、產能和財務靈活性，以支持我們的策略重點，包括進行收購。接下來，我將回顧我們更新後的2026財年展望。我們將全年合併淨銷售額預期上調 2,000 萬美元，取預期範圍的中位數。目前預期淨銷售額將年增 2.8% 至 4.2%，這反映了我們強勁的第一季業績以及我們對終端市場需求訂單和價格實現的當前預期，其中包括我們最近宣布的大多數產品線價格調整措施所帶來的預期收益。

We are also increasing our annual adjusted EBITDA guidance by $10 million at the midpoint to a new range of $355 million and $360 million. At the midpoint, our updated guidance range represents an adjusted EBITDA margin of more than 24%, an improvement of more than 100 basis points year-over-year. We are maintaining our expectations for total SG&A expenses.

我們也將年度調整後 EBITDA 預期中位數上調 1,000 萬美元，新的預期範圍為 3.55 億美元至 3.6 億美元。根據我們更新後的指導範圍，中間值對應的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率超過 24%，比上年同期提高超過 100 個基點。我們維持對銷售、管理及行政費用總額的預期。

We continue to expect our second half adjusted EBITDA margin to be higher than the first half of the year largely driven by seasonality of net sales. Additionally, we expect the benefits from our recently announced price actions will start to phase in the coming months, benefiting gross margins in the second half of the year.

我們仍預期下半年調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率將高於上半年，這主要是由於淨銷售額的季節性因素所致。此外，我們預計近期宣布的價格調整措施的益處將在未來幾個月內逐步顯現，從而在今年下半年提高毛利率。

We are reaffirming our expectations for capital expenditures to be between $60 million and $65 million and continue to expect free cash flow to exceed 85% of adjusted net income for the year.

我們重申對資本支出在 6,000 萬美元至 6,500 萬美元之間的預期，並繼續預期自由現金流將超過本年度調整後淨收入的 85%。

With that, I'll turn it back to Paul for closing comments.

接下來，我將把發言權交還給保羅，讓他做總結發言。

Thanks, Melissa. I want to provide a few closing comments before opening it up for Q&A. We are excited about our start to the year as we continue to execute well despite the challenging external environment. We are pleased to be raising our annual guidance at this point in the year. We are benefiting from our strategic capital investments and improving commercial and operational execution.

謝謝你，梅麗莎。在開放問答環節之前，我想做幾點總結。儘管外部環境充滿挑戰，但我們依然保持著良好的執行力，對今年的開局感到振奮。我們很高興在年底上調年度業績預期。我們正受益於策略資本投資，並持續提高商業和營運執行力。

We are confident that we can build on our momentum to accelerate net sales growth and expand our margins further. I want to thank all our employees worldwide for the extraordinary commitment and passion and supporting our customers and communities. They are the reason for our success and why Mueller has been a trusted partner for over a century.

我們有信心能夠乘勢而上，加速淨銷售額成長，並進一步擴大利潤率。我要感謝我們全球所有員工的非凡奉獻精神和熱情，以及他們對客戶和社區的支持。他們是我們成功的原因，也是穆勒公司一個多世紀以來一直是值得信賴的合作夥伴的原因。

That concludes our comments. Operator, please open the line up for questions.

我們的發言到此結束。接線員，請開放提問頻道。

(Operator Instructions) Tyler Bisset, Goldman Sachs.

（操作說明）泰勒·比塞特，高盛。

This is Tyler Bisset on for Brian. So you guys took revenue guidance up for the year, reflecting the 1Q results and price increases so far. So can you quantify how much you guys have raised prices so far this year and how that compares to prior years? Should we think about this revised guidance is almost entirely due to the higher prices? Or are you seeing improved demand across any key areas of your business?

這裡是泰勒·比塞特，他正在為布萊恩報道。所以你們提高了全年營收預期，反映了第一季的業績和迄今為止的價格上漲。那麼，你們能否量化一下今年迄今的價格上漲幅度，以及與往年相比情況如何？我們是否應該認為，此次修訂後的指導意見幾乎完全是由於價格上漲造成的？或者，您是否看到公司某些關鍵業務領域的需求有所改善？

So as we said in our prior guidance, it didn't include our annual price increase, which we recently announced, which we will see the main benefit in Q3 -- our fiscal Q3. Prior guidance included the prior year price increase, plus the tariff price increase that we put in effect, which really took effect in Q4 of the prior fiscal year. So in your question, yes, the majority of the increased growth in our guidance is predominantly price related.

正如我們在先前的指導方針中所說，它不包括我們最近宣布的年度價格上漲，我們將在第三季（即我們的第三財季）看到主要收益。先前的指導意見包括上一年的價格上漲，以及我們實施的關稅價格上漲，該關稅價格上漲實際上是在上一財年的第四季生效的。所以，對於您的問題，是的，我們預期中成長的大部分主要與價格相關。

All right. And then I guess just like in relation to that, on Water Flow, you guys saw a nice pickup in margins, and you called out manufacturing efficiencies and favorable pricing. So can you break down the impact from those two items and how you expect margins to trend for the balance of the year?

好的。然後，我想就像與此相關的是，在 Water Flow 方面，你們的利潤率有了不錯的提升，你們也提到了生產效率和有利的定價。那麼，您能否詳細分析這兩項因素的影響，以及您預計今年剩餘時間內利潤率的走勢？

Sure. With Water flow, I want to remind you that we had mentioned last year that we would expect to see a benefit as we close the legacy brass foundry. We saw a benefit in the second half of last year, and we expect to see a benefit from that in the first half of this year. So we benefited from the closure of the iron foundry in first-quarter. And that was the largest impact.

當然。關於水流問題，我想提醒大家，我們去年曾提到，隨著我們關閉傳統的黃銅鑄造廠，我們預計會看到一些好處。我們在去年下半年看到了成效，我們預計今年上半年也會從中受益。因此，我們受益於第一季鑄鐵廠的關閉。這是影響最大的一點。

And like I said, you'll see that again through second-quarter. With the -- we did have -- sorry, we had some impact related to tariffs and we'll continue to expect to see that as well. The tariffs will start to lap in the second half of the year as they started to really impact us as a whole in third-quarter of last year.

正如我所說，這種情況在第二季度還會再次出現。至於關稅方面——我們確實——抱歉，我們受到了一些影響，我們預計這種情況還會繼續發生。關稅的影響將在今年下半年開始減弱，因為它們從去年第三季開始對我們整體產生真正的影響。

Deane Dray, RBC Capital Markets.

迪恩德雷，加拿大皇家銀行資本市場。

Can I start with, once again, congratulating, Martie. I wish you all the best, and truly, you're leaving the company in really good hands. It isn't often that you see smooth leadership transitions. It's nice when it happens. And I just wanted to call that out and again, wish you all the best.

首先，我要再次祝賀瑪蒂。祝你一切順利，真的，你把公司交給了非常可靠的人。平穩的領導交接並不常見。這種事發生的時候感覺真好。我只是想提一下這一點，再次祝你們一切順利。

Great. Well, look, thank you, Deane. And I think just echoing what you said, I think everything was structured to ensure that it was a very smooth CEO transition, and I think things are going very, very well and look forward to Paul and the leadership team taking this company forward.

偉大的。嗯，謝謝你，迪恩。我同意你的說法，我認為一切都經過精心安排，以確保CEO的平穩過渡。我認為目前一切進展非常順利，期待Paul和他的領導團隊帶領公司繼續前進。

Terrific. And then just for Melissa, can you size for us the inflation pressures? And just to clarify, you said that the price increases should more than offset those pressures as they stand today?

了不起。梅麗莎，你能幫我們估算一下通膨壓力嗎？為了確認一下，您之前說過，就目前的情況來看，價格上漲應該足以抵銷這些壓力？

Yes. As the price increases, we do expect to be price positive -- price/cost positive for the full year. For inflation, we typically see a low single-digit range of inflation. However, since the tariffs went into effect last year, that's more than doubled. In our guidance, we have incorporated an approximately 3% impact from the tariffs as we netted out the efficiencies that we expected to gain from that. So a 3% impact is what we're seeing related to the tariffs.

是的。隨著價格上漲，我們預計全年價格將為正值——價格/成本為正。就通貨膨脹而言，我們通常看到的是較低的個位數通膨率。然而，自去年關稅生效以來，這一數字已經翻了一番還多。在我們的指導方針中，我們已將關稅帶來的約 3% 的影響納入考量，因為我們已經抵消了預期由此獲得的效率提升。因此，我們看到關稅的影響約為 3%。

Great. And then just the second question, has there been any update on your assumptions regarding residential lot development, just kind of activity there? What's the expectation?

偉大的。第二個問題，關於住宅用地開發，您有什麼最新進展嗎？或者說，這方面的活動有進展嗎？預期是什麼？

Deane, there's been no change in our assumption. We still anticipate that high single-digit range of slowdown in residential construction we track external reports. We look at the public homebuilders and they kind of all aligned in what we are guiding to there on the decline in housing starts. But I think if you think about positive though, given the low inventory on homes, the population demographics, we could see land and housing activity increase, particularly if rates lower, and we are ready to support that activity.

迪恩，我們的假設沒有改變。我們仍然預期住宅建設增速將放緩至個位數高位，我們追蹤的外部報告也證實了這一點。我們觀察公共住宅建築商，發現他們在住房開工量下降的問題上，都與我們引導的方向基本一致。但我認為，從正面的角度來看，考慮到房屋庫存低、人口結構等因素，我們可能會看到土地和房屋活動增加，尤其是在利率下降的情況下，而我們也準備好支持這種活動。

(Operator Instructions) Bryan Blair, Oppenheimer.

（操作說明）布萊恩·布萊爾，奧本海默。

And I'll echo Deane's sentiments. Congrats, Martie, you're definitely leaving Mueller in a very solid place.

我完全同意迪恩的觀點。恭喜你，瑪蒂，你無疑把穆勒打造成了一個非常穩固的局面。

Very good. Thanks, Bryan.

非常好。謝謝你，布萊恩。

I have a couple of higher-level questions. Paul, you had mentioned that Mueller's transformation remains kind of early innings, early stages. Maybe offer a little more color on that. What are the next steps in the team's journey? And what does that mean for through-the-cycle growth prospects, margin entitlement, any of those kind of key metrics?

我還有幾個更高層次的問題。保羅，你曾提到穆勒的轉變仍處於早期階段。或許可以再詳細說。團隊的下一步發展方向是什麼？那麼，這對週期性成長前景、利潤率以及其他這類關鍵指標意味著什麼呢？

Bryan, we've really improved our commercial and operational investments over the last few years and bringing a lot more discipline to the organization, which you can kind of see how we've been achieving our results and our margin expansion. I think looking forward, the capital expenditures that we got laid out in our iron foundries for domestic capability is going to drive further capacity and further efficiencies for further margin expansion.

布萊恩，過去幾年，我們在商業和營運方面的投資確實得到了顯著改善，並且給公司帶來了更多的紀律性，從這些方面可以看出我們取得了怎樣的成績和利潤率的提升。我認為展望未來，我們為提升國內產能而投入的鑄鐵廠資本支出將進一步推動產能和效率的提升，從而進一步擴大利潤空間。

And then just continuing that strategy of how we interact with our customers, either through digitally or in terms of our training programs, our whole commercial team segued with the operational investments. And we are well positioned with our specialty valve portfolio to capture the project work that's related to that product line. So overall, continue our commercial operational initiatives and drive capacity and margin expansion with our capital investments.

然後，我們繼續沿用與客戶互動的方式，無論是透過數位化方式還是透過我們的培訓計劃，我們的整個商業團隊都進行了營運投資。憑藉我們專業的閥門產品組合，我們完全有能力拿下與該產品線相關的項目。總而言之，我們將持續推動商業營運舉措，並透過資本投資推動產能和利潤率的提升。

Okay. Understood. That all makes sense. And how about capital deployment? I think it's fair to say that your team is in a better position, has the rights to deploy capital more so than any time in Mueller's history. Balance sheet is in great shape, generating pretty solid cash flow. So it would be great to hear the funnel development, thoughts on actionability, the kinds of assets of greatest interest, if and when they're available.

好的。明白了。這一切都說得通。那麼資金部署情況如何呢？我認為可以公平地說，你們的團隊目前處境更好，比穆勒執政以來的任何時候都更有能力部署資金。資產負債表狀況良好，現金流相當穩定。所以，我們很想了解銷售漏斗的開發情況、對可操作性的想法、最受關注的資產類型（如果有的話）以及何時可用。

Yes. Great point, Bryan. We are in a much more better position now our improved momentum on execution, acquisitions are more of a priority for us. We continue to evaluate the funnel, evaluating opportunities with a strong focus on drinking water and wastewater and infrastructure exposure where we can drive synergies with our operations and our commercial teams, it is a priority of ours.

是的。布萊恩，你說得對。現在我們的處境好得多，執行力也得到了提升，收購對我們來說更加重要。我們將繼續評估管道，重點關注飲用水、廢水和基礎設施領域的機會，以便與我們的營運和商業團隊實現協同效應，這是我們的優先事項。

And Bryan, I'll add on related to the capital as far as our capital expenditures. We had expressed that we will begin spending 4% to 5% of net sales in the next couple of years. And Paul's earlier point, that is related to our iron foundries and investing in domestic capabilities and to drive efficiencies and increase capacity across the board.

布萊恩，關於我們的資本支出，我再補充一點。我們曾表示，未來幾年我們將開始把淨銷售額的 4% 到 5% 用於此用途。保羅先前提到的觀點，與我們的鑄鐵廠、投資國內產能以及提高效率和全面提升產能有關。

Understood. I was more focused on inorganic or M&A deployment with the follow-up question, but I completely understand that the higher return is on the organic side, and you have that path forward. Thanks again.

明白了。我原本更關注的是非有機成長或併購部署，但我完全理解更高的回報來自有機成長，你們也朝著這個方向努力。再次感謝。

Michael Anastasiou, TD Cowen.

Michael Anastasiou，TD Cowen。

This is Michael on for Joe. So just wondering, can you just run through your exposures? Maybe help us get a better understanding of the repair and replace contribution in the quarter, new builds, gas and tech such as meters and leak detection, understanding that for the quarter would be helpful. And then as we look towards the remainder of the year, maybe just help us contextualize those assumptions and guidance.

這裡是麥可替喬發言。請問，您能簡單介紹一下您的拍攝情況嗎？或許可以幫助我們更了解本季維修和更換的貢獻、新建建築、燃氣和技術（如計量表和洩漏檢測）等，了解這些對本季的影響會很有幫助。展望今年剩餘的時間，或許可以幫助我們更能理解這些假設和指導方針。

Sure. The quarter, we had a strong quarter, grew by 4.6%, and that was related to higher pricing across most of our product lines and slightly lower volumes. We did see volume growth in specialty and hydrants and that more than offset -- was offset by a decrease in service brass and natural gas and repair. We continue to expect to see resilient end markets.

當然。本季業績強勁，成長了 4.6%，這與我們大多數產品線的價格上漲和銷量略有下降有關。我們看到特種產品和消防栓的銷量有所增長，但這被服務黃銅製品、天然氣和維修用品的銷量下降所抵消，而且這種增長也超過了銷量下降帶來的損失。我們仍然預期終端市場將保持韌性。

Paul had mentioned earlier that we will continue to expect to see a decrease in the residential outlook, but strong performance in the residential or the municipal market. And then how it flows to guidance we can -- as far as the overall guidance report, we expect that we'll see growth on a consolidated basis for each subsequent quarter for the year.

保羅之前提到過，我們將繼續預期住宅市場前景會下滑，但住宅或市政市場將表現強勁。至於它如何影響業績指引，我們可以說——就整體業績指引報告而言，我們預計今年接下來的每季都將合併成長。

We do expect that will be driven by slightly positive volumes at the midpoint and price realization in the low to mid-single digits. We'll see normalized seasonality and that, again, will be healthy municipal and strong growth in specialty valves, offset slightly by the residential impact.

我們預計，這將受到中點成交量略微正成長以及價格實現幅度在個位數低至中段的推動。我們將看到季節性恢復正常，市政閥門業務將保持健康成長，特種閥門業務也將強勁成長，但住宅業務的影響將略微抵消這一成長。

Great. And any way you could just drill down a little bit more deeply on like the growth rates for those particular markets assumed in the guide? I know you mentioned kind of from a high-level qualitative perspective, but just trying to help us understand how we can kind of underwrite into the end of the year.

偉大的。您能否更深入地分析一下指南中假設的那些特定市場的成長率？我知道您是從高層次的定性角度提到的，但我只是想幫助我們了解如何在年底前做好核保工作。

Yes. For the markets, we do expect to see a high single-digit decrease in the residential construction market, and that is going to be offset by the municipal repair and replacement growth that's going to be in the low to mid-single-digit range and the project-related work with our specialty valves, which we expect to see in the mid-to-high single-digit range.

是的。對於市場而言，我們預計住宅建築市場將出現高個位數的下降，但市政維修和更換市場將實現低至中等個位數的增長，而與我們特種閥門相關的項目工作也將實現中至高個位數的增長，從而抵消這一影響。

And at this time, we are showing no further questions. I will turn the call back over to you for closing comments.

目前，我們不再提出其他問題。我將把通話交還給您，請您作總結發言。

Thank you, operator. And thanks to everyone who joined us on our call today. We are very pleased with how we started this year with a record first-quarter results while facing a challenging external environment, including the expected impact from higher tariffs. Our increased annual guidance reflects the confidence we have in our commercial and operational capabilities as well as the resilience of our end markets.

謝謝接線生。感謝今天所有參加我們電話會議的朋友們。今年年初，我們取得了創紀錄的第一季業績，對此我們感到非常滿意。儘管面臨充滿挑戰的外部環境，包括預期中的關稅上漲的影響。我們提高年度業績預期，反映了我們對自身商業和營運能力以及終端市場韌性的信心。

We're excited to be in a position to expand sales, our margins for a third consecutive year, especially given the external environment. We believe we're in the early stages of our transformation. I want to once again thank our dedicated team members who have been and always will be the driving force behind our success. Thank you all, and we look forward to speaking with you again on our second-quarter results when they're announced in early May. And with that, operator, please conclude the call.

鑑於當前的外部環境，我們很高興能夠連續第三年擴大銷售額和利潤率。我們相信我們正處於轉型初期。我要再次感謝我們敬業的團隊成員，他們一直是並將永遠是我們成功的驅動力。謝謝大家，我們期待在五月初公佈第二季業績時再次與大家交流。接線員，請結束通話。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect at this time, and have a great rest of your day.

謝謝。今天的會議到此結束。您可以斷開連接，祝您今天餘下的時間愉快。