Quanex Building Products Corp (NX) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the first quarter 2025 Quanex Building Products Corporation earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

您好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加 Quanex Building Products Corporation 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）

Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Scott Zuehlke, Senior Vice President, CFO and Treasurer. Please go ahead.

請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。現在，我想將會議交給今天的第一位發言人，高級副總裁、財務長兼財務主管 Scott Zuehlke。請繼續。

Thanks for joining the call this morning. On the call with me today is George Wilson, our Chairman, President and CEO.

感謝您今天上午參加電話會議。今天與我一起通話的是我們的董事長、總裁兼執行長喬治威爾森 (George Wilson)。

This conference call will contain forward-looking statements and some discussion of non-GAAP measures. Forward-looking statements and guidance discussed on this call and in our earnings release are based on current expectations. Actual results or events may differ materially from such statements and guidance, and Quanex undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information or events.

本次電話會議將包含前瞻性陳述和一些非公認會計準則指標的討論。本次電話會議和收益報告中討論的前瞻性陳述和指導均基於當前預期。實際結果或事件可能與此類聲明和指導有重大差異，Quanex 不承擔更新或修改任何前瞻性聲明以反映新資訊或事件的義務。

For a more detailed description of our forward-looking statement disclaimer and a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, please see our earnings release issued yesterday and posted to our website. I'll now turn the call over to George for his prepared remarks.

有關我們前瞻性聲明免責聲明的更詳細說明以及非 GAAP 指標與最直接可比較的 GAAP 指標的對賬，請參閱我們昨天發布並發佈在我們網站上的收益報告。現在我將把電話轉給喬治，請他發表準備好的演講。

Thanks, Scott, and good morning to everyone joining the call.

謝謝，斯科特，各位參加電話會議的人早安。

Before I begin my commentary, I want to take a moment to acknowledge Curt Stevens for his many years of dedicated service on the Quanex Board of Directors. Curt's expertise in the building products space, combined with his financial background, added immense value to our Board. His leadership in chairing the Audit Committee for many years has been instrumental to our business. On behalf of the entire Quanex team, I want to thank Curt for his service and wish him all the best in his retirement.

在我開始評論之前，我想花點時間感謝 Curt Stevens 多年來在 Quanex 董事會的忠誠服務。Curt 在建築產品領域的專業知識，加上他的金融背景，為我們的董事會增添了巨大的價值。他多年來擔任審計委員會主席的領導對我們的業務起到了重要作用。我代表整個 Quanex 團隊感謝 Curt 的服務並祝他退休後一切順利。

Turning to the first fiscal quarter of 2025. Our results aligned with expectations despite significant macroeconomic uncertainties and the challenging winter weather environment in the US. Year-over-year improvements in both revenue and earnings were largely driven by the contributions related to the acquisition of Tyman.

展望2025財年第一季。儘管存在重大的宏觀經濟不確定性和美國冬季天氣環境嚴峻，但我們的業績仍符合預期。營收和收益的年增率主要得益於收購 Tyman 帶來的貢獻。

Since the acquisition closed last August, our focus has been on integrating the 2 companies. Our primary objectives are to achieve or exceed the expected financial synergies from the transaction and to establish an organizational structure that both supports our current business and provides a scalable platform for future growth.

自去年八月收購完成以來，我們的重點一直放在整合兩家公司。我們的主要目標是實現或超越交易預期的財務協同效應，並建立一個既支持我們當前業務又為未來成長提供可擴展平台的組織結構。

From a synergy perspective, I'm pleased with the progress our team has made and remain confident we will meet our publicly announced target of $30 million in run rate synergies by the end of year two. We are also working diligently to identify additional synergies and explore opportunities to accelerate their realization. We look forward to providing a more detailed update during our second quarter call.

從協同效應的角度來看，我對我們團隊所取得的進展感到滿意，並且仍然相信我們將在第二年年底實現我們公開宣布的 3000 萬美元運行率協同效應的目標。我們也在努力尋找更多的協同效應並探索加速實現這些協同效應的機會。我們期待在第二季電話會議上提供更詳細的更新。

Regarding organizational design and as outlined in our recent investor presentation, we will be resegmenting our business into three new units: Hardware Solutions, Extruded Solutions and Custom Solutions. Each of these segments will have a global scope and is designed to better serve our existing customers, support new product development, explore adjacent markets and drive margin improvement through operational excellence and the sharing of best practices.

關於組織設計，正如我們最近的投資者演示中概述的那樣，我們將把業務重新細分為三個新部門：硬體解決方案、擠壓解決方案和客製化解決方案。每個部門都具有全球視野，旨在更好地服務現有客戶、支援新產品開發、探索鄰近市場，並透過卓越營運和最佳實踐分享來提高利潤率。

This change will involve significant work from a public reporting perspective, and our team is focused on ensuring that we can report results in these new segments as soon as practical later this year. Looking at the markets, as I mentioned earlier, our first quarter results were in line with expectations. We have returned to our typical seasonal order cadence with a relatively softer Q1 due to holidays and weather.

從公共報告的角度來看，這項變更將涉及大量工作，我們的團隊致力於確保我們能夠在今年稍後盡快報告這些新細分市場的結果。從市場來看，正如我之前提到的，我們的第一季業績符合預期。由於假期和天氣原因，我們已恢復典型的季節性訂單節奏，第一季相對較弱。

Outside of this normal seasonality, demand has been impacted by uncertainties surrounding future Fed interest rate movements and week-to-week changes regarding potential tariffs. We believe both factors have negatively affected consumer confidence.

除了正常的季節性因素外，未來聯準會利率變動的不確定性以及潛在關稅的每週變動也對需求產生了影響。我們認為這兩個因素都對消費者信心產生了負面影響。

Likewise, conversations with our customers reflect the general sentiment of caution regarding new projects. However, the benefit to Quanex is that we have proven our ability to respond quickly to changes in demand, both up and down.

同樣，與客戶的對話也反映出他們對新專案的普遍謹慎情緒。然而，對於 Quanex 來說，好處在於我們已經證明了我們有能力對需求的變化（無論是上升還是下降）做出快速反應。

As for tariffs, the situation remains fluid and unpredictable. However, we are confident that the efforts of our supply chain team over the past three years have positioned us to localize supply in most cases, which we believe will minimize the potential impact on Quanex and our customers. Where tariffs do apply, we are actively engaging with customers on pricing mechanisms and exploring continuous operational improvements to offset their impact.

至於關稅，情況仍然不穩定且難以預測。然而，我們相信，我們供應鏈團隊在過去三年的努力已經使我們在大多數情況下實現了本地化供應，我們相信這將最大限度地減少對 Quanex 和我們客戶的潛在影響。在適用關稅的地方，我們正在積極與客戶就定價機制進行溝通，並探索持續的營運改善以抵消其影響。

These efforts, combined with our synergy progress gives us confidence in reaffirming our full year earnings guidance. Operationally, I'm very pleased with our performance and the improvements we've already seen as part of the integration process.

這些努力，加上我們的協同效應，使我們有信心重申我們的全年獲利預期。從營運角度來說，我對我們的表現以及整合過程中已經看到的改進感到非常滿意。

We achieved record safety performance in the first quarter, along with improvements in service and quality metrics. These gains are the results of sharing best practices between the legacy Quanex and Tyman teams as well as the benefit of migrating to our new operating segments. Moving forward, our operational focus will remain on safety culture, employee engagement, working capital improvements, and optimizing return on net assets to maximize our cash flow generation.

我們在第一季實現了創紀錄的安全績效，同時服務和品質指標也有所改善。這些收益是 Quanex 和 Tyman 傳統團隊之間分享最佳實踐的結果，也是遷移到新營運部門的好處。展望未來，我們的營運重點仍將放在安全文化、員工敬業度、營運資本改善以及優化淨資產回報率以最大限度地提高現金流。

Regarding the use of cash flow to generate the best shareholder returns, we will focus on paying down debt and repurchasing our stock in an opportunistic manner. So in summary, while short-term market headwinds persist, the Quanex team continues to perform well and the anticipated benefits of the Tyman acquisition are coming to fruition as we expected.

關於利用現金流為股東創造最佳回報，我們將專注於償還債務並適時回購股票。總而言之，儘管短期市場逆風持續存在，但 Quanex 團隊繼續表現良好，而收購 Tyman 的預期收益正在如我們預期的那樣實現。

We look forward to continuing our integration efforts and providing updates on our progress throughout the year. I'll now turn the call over to Scott, who will discuss our financial results in more detail.

我們期待繼續我們的整合努力並在全年提供進展更新。現在我將把電話轉給史考特，他將更詳細地討論我們的財務結果。

Thanks, George. On a consolidated basis, we reported net sales of $400 million during the first quarter of 2025, which represents an increase of approximately 67% compared to $239.2 million for the same period of 2024. The increase was primarily driven by the contribution from the Tyman acquisition that closed on August 1, 2024.

謝謝，喬治。依照合併口徑，我們報告 2025 年第一季的淨銷售額為 4 億美元，與 2024 年同期的 2.392 億美元相比成長約 67%。這一成長主要得益於 2024 年 8 月 1 日完成的 Tyman 收購帶來的貢獻。

Excluding the Tyman contribution, net sales would have declined by 6.2% for the first quarter of 2025, largely due to lower volume. We reported a net loss of $14.9 million or $0.32 per diluted share during the three months ended January 31, 2025, compared to net income of $6.2 million or $0.19 per diluted share during the three months ended January 31, 2024.

不計入泰曼的貢獻，2025 年第一季的淨銷售額將下降 6.2%，主要原因是銷量下降。我們報告稱，截至 2025 年 1 月 31 日的三個月內，淨虧損為 1,490 萬美元，即每股攤薄虧損 0.32 美元，而截至 2024 年 1 月 31 日的三個月內，淨收入為 620 萬美元，即每股攤薄虧損 0.19 美元。

On an adjusted basis, net income was $9 million or $0.19 per diluted share during the first quarter of 2025 compared to $8.4 million or $0.25 per diluted share during the first quarter of 2024. The adjustments being made to EPS are as follows: amortization of step-up for purchase price adjustments on inventory, transaction advisory fees and reorg costs, restructuring charges related to severance and disposal of software, amortization expense related to intangible assets and a pension settlement refund and other net adjustments related to foreign currency transaction gain loss and effective tax rates.

經調整後，2025 年第一季淨收入為 900 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.19 美元，而 2024 年第一季淨收入為 840 萬美元，即每股攤薄收益 0.25 美元。對每股收益進行的調整如下：庫存購買價格調整的逐步攤銷、交易諮詢費和重組成本、與軟體遣散費和處置相關的重組費用、與無形資產和養老金結算退款相關的攤銷費用以及與外幣交易損益和有效稅率相關的其他淨調整。

On an adjusted basis, EBITDA for the quarter essentially doubled to $38.5 million compared to $19.3 million during the same period of last year. This equates to adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of approximately 150 basis points year over year. The increase in adjusted earnings for the three months ended January 31, 2025, was mostly attributable to the contribution from the Tyman acquisition, combined with the realization of cost synergies.

經調整後，本季的 EBITDA 基本上翻了一番，達到 3,850 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,930 萬美元。這相當於調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率年擴大約 150 個基點。截至 2025 年 1 月 31 日的三個月調整後收益的成長主要歸因於 Tyman 收購的貢獻以及成本協同效應的實現。

Now for the results by operating segment. We generated net sales of $134.3 million in our North American Fenestration segment for the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 9.2% compared to $148 million in the first quarter of 2024. We estimate that volumes in this segment declined by approximately 8% year-over-year with pricing up approximately 1% versus Q1 of 2024.

現在來看看按經營部門劃分的業績。2025 年第一季度，我們北美門窗部門的淨銷售額為 1.343 億美元，與 2024 年第一季的 1.48 億美元相比下降了 9.2%。我們估計，該領域的銷量年減約 8%，價格與 2024 年第一季相比上漲約 1%。

Adjusted EBITDA was $11.6 million in this segment for the first quarter compared to $13.7 million in the first quarter of 2024. Our European Fenestration segment generated revenue of $48.5 million in the first quarter, which represents a decrease of 2% compared to $49.4 million in the first quarter of 2024.

該部門第一季調整後 EBITDA 為 1,160 萬美元，而 2024 年第一季為 1,370 萬美元。我們的歐洲門窗部門第一季的營收為 4,850 萬美元，與 2024 年第一季的 4,940 萬美元相比下降了 2%。

However, after adjusting for foreign currency, revenue was basically flat. We estimate that volumes were down approximately 1% year-over-year in this segment for the quarter with pricing up approximately 1% and a negative foreign exchange translation impact of about 2%.

然而，經過外匯調整後，收入基本上持平。我們估計本季該部門的銷量年減約 1%，價格上漲約 1%，外匯折算的負面影響約為 2%。

Adjusted EBITDA declined slightly to $9.9 million in this segment for the quarter versus $10 million during the same period of last year. This means that adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 30 basis points year-over-year in this segment. We reported net sales of $43.8 million in our North American Cabinet Components segment during the quarter, which represented growth of 1.6% compared to prior year. We estimate that volumes declined by approximately 3% and price increased by approximately 5% in this segment for the quarter. This price movement was largely related to index pricing tied to hardwood costs.

本季該部門的調整後 EBITDA 略微下降至 990 萬美元，而去年同期為 1,000 萬美元。這意味著該部門的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率比去年同期提高了 30 個基點。我們報告稱，本季北美機櫃組件部門的淨銷售額為 4,380 萬美元，比上年增長 1.6%。我們估計本季該部門的銷量下降了約 3%，價格上漲了約 5%。這一價格變動很大程度上與硬木成本掛鉤的指數定價有關。

Adjusted EBITDA was negative $873,000 in this segment for the quarter, which compared to negative $732,000 for the first quarter of 2024. Decreased operating leverage due to soft volume was the reason for the lower profitability in this segment. Tyman business reported net sales of $175.7 million for the first quarter of 2025.

本季該部門的調整後 EBITDA 為負 873,000 美元，而 2024 年第一季為負 732,000 美元。由於銷售疲軟導致的經營槓桿下降是該部門獲利能力下降的原因。Tyman 公司報告稱，2025 年第一季的淨銷售額為 1.757 億美元。

Since we didn't own this business in the first quarter of 2024, there is no comp in the earnings release. However, revenue was down approximately 8% in this segment in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter of 2024, mostly due to soft market demand, which is consistent with what we saw in the legacy Quanex business.

由於我們在 2024 年第一季沒有擁有這項業務，因此收益報告中沒有包含可比較數據。然而，2025 年第一季該部門的營收與 2024 年第一季相比下降了約 8%，主要是由於市場需求疲軟，這與我們在傳統 Quanex 業務中看到的情況一致。

Adjusted EBITDA came in at $19 million for the quarter, which yielded margin expansion compared to Q1 of 2024, driven largely by cost synergies related to closing Tyman's legacy home office in London. Moving on to the cash flow and the balance sheet. Cash used for operating activities was $12.5 million for the first quarter of 2025, which compares to cash provided by operating activities of $3.8 million for the first quarter of 2024.

本季調整後的 EBITDA 為 1,900 萬美元，與 2024 年第一季相比利潤率有所擴大，這主要得益於關閉 Tyman 位於倫敦的原總部所產生的成本協同效應。繼續討論現金流和資產負債表。2025 年第一季經營活動所用現金為 1,250 萬美元，而 2024 年第一季經營活動提供的現金為 380 萬美元。

The first quarter was impacted by layering in the Tyman acquisition as the legacy Tyman business is very much make to stock versus legacy Quanex business is very much make to order. Free cash flow was negative for the quarter, which isn't abnormal due to the seasonality of our business, combined with one time items related to integration costs and achieving the cost synergies we've targeted.

第一季受到 Tyman 收購的影響，因為傳統的 Tyman 業務主要是按庫存生產，而傳統的 Quanex 業務主要是按訂單生產。本季自由現金流為負，這並不異常，因為我們的業務具有季節性，再加上與整合成本和實現我們所針對的成本協同效應相關的一次性項目。

As a reminder, to acquire Tyman in August 2024, we borrowed a total of $770 million through a $500 million term loan A and drawing $270 million on our revolver. Since that time, we've been able to repay $65 million in debt. As of January 31, 2025, the leverage ratio for our quarterly debt compliance was 2.2x.

提醒一下，為了在 2024 年 8 月收購 Tyman，我們透過 5 億美元的定期貸款 A 和提取 2.7 億美元的循環信貸共借入 7.7 億美元。自那時起，我們已經能夠償還 6500 萬美元的債務。截至 2025 年 1 月 31 日，我們季度債務合規的槓桿率為 2.2 倍。

The debt covenant leverage ratio is defined in amendment number one to our second amended and restated credit agreement, which was filed with the SEC on June 12, 2024. This debt covenant leverage ratio excludes real estate leases that are considered finance leases under US GAAP and is calculated on a pro forma basis to include last 12 months adjusted EBITDA from the Tyman acquisition, $30 million of EBITDA for the synergy target related to the acquisition and cash only from domestic subsidiaries.

債務契約槓桿率定義在我們第二次修訂和重述的信貸協議的第一號修正案中，該修正案於 2024 年 6 月 12 日提交給美國證券交易委員會 (SEC)。該債務契約槓桿率不包括根據美國公認會計準則被視為融資租賃的房地產租賃，並按備考基礎計算，包括泰曼收購案過去 12 個月的調整後 EBITDA、與收購相關的協同目標的 3000 萬美元 EBITDA 以及僅來自國內子公司的現金。

The debt covenant leverage ratio would be 2.1 times if calculated using the full cash and cash equivalents amount on the balance sheet as of January 31, 2025. As noted in our earnings release, based on year-to-date results, combined with our operational execution, conversations with our customers, recent demand trends, and the latest macro data, we are reaffirming net sales guidance of approximately $1.84 billion to $1.86 billion and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $270 million to $280 million for fiscal 2025.

如果使用截至 2025 年 1 月 31 日資產負債表上的全部現金和現金等價物金額計算，債務契約槓桿比率為 2.1 倍。正如我們在收益報告中所述，根據年初至今的業績，結合我們的營運執行情況、與客戶的對話、近期需求趨勢以及最新的宏觀數據，我們重申 2025 財年的淨銷售額預期約為 18.4 億美元至 18.6 億美元，調整後的 EBITDA 預期為 2.7 億美元。

From a cadence perspective, on a consolidated basis for the second quarter of this year versus the first quarter of this year, we expect revenue to be up 9% to 11%, and we expect adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 350 to 400 basis points. Operator, we are now ready to take questions.

從節奏來看，我們預計今年第二季與第一季相比，合併後的營收將成長 9% 至 11%，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率將擴大 350 至 400 個基點。接線員，我們現在可以回答問題了。

(Operator Instructions) Reuben Garner, Benchmark.

（操作員指示）Reuben Garner，基準。

I was hoping you could talk about the progression of margins you're expecting for the rest of the year. And specifically, Scott, on the gross line, the last two quarters kind of in the low to mid-20s range and the guide for the year is, I believe, closer to 29%. So a pretty big step-up coming. Is that just seasonality and timing? Can you just kind of walk us through the components to get there?

我希望您能談談您預計今年剩餘時間的利潤率變化。具體來說，斯科特，就總收入而言，過去兩個季度的成長幅度在 20% 左右，而我認為今年的指導值接近 29%。因此，一個相當大的進步即將到來。這只是季節性和時間因素嗎？能簡單介紹一下實現該目標所需的元件嗎？

Yes, that has everything to do with the PPA step-up related to the acquisition, which hit in 4Q and ran off in 1Q. So the rest of the year, gross margin should be jumping up meaningfully to hit that full year guidance, improving each quarter.

是的，這與收購相關的 PPA 升級有關，該升級在第四季度發生，並在第一季結束。因此，在今年剩餘時間內，毛利率應該會大幅上升，以達到全年預期，並且每個季度都會有所改善。

Okay. And then can you talk about the divergence you're seeing in the kind of growth rates between the cabinets business and the fenestration business in North America kind of went opposite directions in the quarter? Does that tell us that -- how big of a role weather might be playing or any other kind of factors going on?

好的。然後，您能否談談本季北美櫥櫃業務和門窗業務之間的成長率差異，即兩者呈現相反的方向？這是否告訴我們──天氣或其他因素可能發揮多大的作用？

Well, I think the weather had a big piece to play in it, especially with the window and door market. A much harsher winter in most of the country, I think, did have an impact on demand in our fiscal Q1. And that's why you saw a little better performance in terms of volumes in the cabinet side of the business.

嗯，我認為天氣起了很大的作用，尤其是對於門窗市場。我認為，全國大部分地區遭遇的嚴酷冬季確實對我們第一財季的需求產生了影響。這就是為什麼您會看到櫥櫃業務的銷售表現稍好。

I also think what we have seen is that cabinet segment had been hit harder sooner, and that's kind of been a leading indicator. And we always see the cabinets drop faster and sooner than the window and door markets, and they tend to lead on the improvements in those segments as well. So nothing that we haven't anticipated or expected.

我還認為，我們已經看到內閣部門早些時候受到的打擊更為嚴重，這是一種領先指標。我們總是看到櫥櫃比門窗市場下降得更快，而且它們往往也引領這些領域的改進。所以沒有什麼是我們未曾預料到或期待的。

Okay. I'm going to sneak one more in, kind of a big picture question about your confidence level in your outlook. And I guess just maybe the change in tone now versus a month ago? Are you feeling less confident in the market? And then just remind us how much market really needs to help to get you to this kind of full year guidance type numbers because it seems like you would need an improvement in the end market, at least to get to the top line outlook.

好的。我要再偷偷問一個問題，關於你對自己前景的信心程度的一個宏觀問題。我想也許現在的語氣與一個月前相比有所變化？您對市場是否缺乏信心？然後提醒我們，市場真正需要多少幫助才能讓您達到這種全年指導類型的數字，因為看起來您需要在終端市場有所改善，至少才能達到頂線前景。

Yes. I think it goes back to what we said in the fourth quarter. I think some people were surprised on our call or question maybe our conservative approach. But I think we've had a realistic view of this year from day 1 and nothing has changed to that. So for us, yes, the back half of the year shows some improvement, but that's really based off of what we currently see and the normal seasonality of our business.

是的。我認為這又回到了我們在第四季所說的內容。我想有些人對我們的呼籲感到驚訝，或質疑我們的保守做法。但我認為從第一天起我們就對今年有一個現實的看法，而且這一點至今仍未改變。所以對我們來說，是的，今年下半年顯示出一些改善，但這實際上是基於我們目前看到的情況和我們業務的正常季節性。

So we feel really good about where we're at in terms of our projections. In addition, I feel extremely confident about the work that we're doing with synergies. So I think we feel very comfortable with both the revenue and our earnings guidance for the full year based on those items.

因此，我們對我們的預測結果感到非常滿意。此外，我對我們協同開展的工作非常有信心。因此，我認為，基於這些項目，我們對全年的收入和獲利預測都非常滿意。

Steven Ramsey, Thompson Research Group.

史蒂文·拉姆齊，湯普森研究小組。

I wanted to maybe ask a follow on question to the guidance outlook and kind of the second half improvement that's part of that. I guess, first, you need that second half improvement to get to that full year level. Is there certain segments maybe that are greater drivers to get there? And then maybe secondly, just high level, your full year outlook maybe seems more optimistic on an order of magnitude basis maybe than the window and cabinet producers that have shared their outlook. So maybe I'm curious on those two fronts, how you think about those things.

我想問一個關於指導前景以及下半年改善情況的後續問題。我想，首先，你需要下半年的進步才能達到全年的水準。是否有某些特定的部分可以成為實現這一目標的更大推動力？其次，從高層次來看，您的全年展望可能比那些分享展望的窗戶和櫥櫃生產商更樂觀。所以也許我對這兩個方面感到好奇，想知道您是如何看待這些事情的。

Yes. I mean, in general, what I would say is the way we forecast the business from a low watermark in 1Q to high in 3Q and 4Q is just typical seasonality. There's nothing different that we're expecting this year than any other normalized seasonal -- seasonality for this year. So that's what gives us some confidence that we will see an uptick in the second half just because of seasonality. Anything above that would be in addition to what we've already forecasted.

是的。我的意思是，總的來說，我們預測業務從第一季的低水位到第三季和第四季的高水位只是典型的季節性。我們對今年的預期與今年其他正常的季節性沒有什麼不同。因此，我們有信心，由於季節性因素的影響，下半年會出現上漲。任何高於該數字的預測都是我們已經預測的補充。

And I think to reiterate my answer to Reuben as well, I think we were more conservative when we came out with guidance in the December year-end conference call than most people were. So I think our approach in December was to be very realistic about what we thought and we anticipated, and we were probably a little more conservative than others in our view of this year. And I think that that's coming to fruition. So for us, it's nothing that we didn't anticipate. And to answer your other question, Steven, I think in terms of the segments, I think we see more seasonality in the window and doors than we do in cabinets.

我想重申我對魯本的回答，我認為我們在 12 月年終電話會議上發布指導意見時比大多數人都更加保守。因此，我認為我們 12 月的做法是對我們的想法和預期非常現實，我們對今年的看法可能比其他人更保守。我認為這正在實現。所以對我們來說，這並不是什麼未曾預料到的事情。回答你的另一個問題，史蒂文，我認為就細分而言，窗戶和門的季節性比櫥櫃的季節性更強。

So I think we will tend to see more of a pickup from the [timing] piece of our business and what we would consider our NAF segment versus the European business, which is less seasonal and our cabinet business, which has a different seasonality.

因此，我認為，與季節性較弱的歐洲業務和季節性不同的櫥櫃業務相比，我們的業務的[時機]部分以及我們認為的 NAF 部分將會出現更多的回升。

Yes. Just one more couple of data points that we went over in the Investor Day, but it's probably important to reiterate. If you look at the five-year average for free cash flow and adjusted EBITDA, we typically generate about 10% of our free cash flow in the first half with the remaining 90% in the second half and then about 40% of adjusted EBITDA in the first half with 60% in the second half, rough numbers. I mean it just shows you how seasonal our business really is.

是的。我們在投資者日上討論過的幾個數據點，但重申一下可能很重要。如果你看一下自由現金流和調整後 EBITDA 的五年平均值，我們通常會在上半年產生約 10% 的自由現金流，在下半年產生剩餘的 90%，然後在上半年產生約 40% 的調整後 EBITDA，在下半年產生 60%，這是粗略的數字。我的意思是，這顯示了我們的業務確實具有季節性。

Okay. That's great color. Maybe to continue the cash flow and cash flow usage topic, your debt paydown aggressive and working nicely. You repurchased some stock in the quarter as well. I'm curious how you think about putting capital to work on each of those paths through FY25.

好的。顏色真棒。也許繼續討論現金流和現金流使用主題，您的債務償還積極且運作良好。您在本季也回購了一些股票。我很好奇您如何考慮在 2025 財年之前將資金投入每條路徑。

I get you're opportunistic but maybe share some of your nuanced perspective on how you're choosing to deploy capital into those two areas.

我知道你是個機會主義者，但也許你可以分享一些關於如何選擇將資金部署到這兩個領域的細緻見解。

Yes. We obviously analyze it every day, every week as we go on. Just being very direct here that I would think where we're trading at today, we feel like directing a large portion of our cash flow to repurchasing our stock at these levels absolutely becomes a priority. So I think a lot of it depends on the market. We do not have any sort of 10b program.

是的。顯然，我們每天、每週都會進行分析。我只是在這裡非常直接地思考一下我們今天的交易情況，我們覺得將大部分現金流用於在這種水平上回購股票絕對成為當務之急。所以我認為很大程度取決於市場。我們沒有任何類型的 10b 計劃。

So we have limited time to be in the market. But at these levels, I would say that the priority will probably be share buyback versus debt repayment and depending on cash flow, we'll evaluate that each and every week.

因此我們進入市場的時間有限。但在這些水準上，我想說優先事項可能是股票回購而不是債務償還，根據現金流，我們每週都會對此進行評估。

All right. And then last quick one for me. Good to hear that the synergy target and time line is intact, and you said that you would have more details on the next call. But maybe just high level, thinking about the 3 new segments that you will have, is any one of those maybe an outsized beneficiary of the synergies you execute on? Or another way of asking, do any of the three segments -- new segments have better margin expansion potential over the next couple of years?

好的。接下來是最後一個快速步驟。很高興聽到協同目標和時間表完好無損，並且您說過下次通話時會提供更多詳細資訊。但也許只是從高層次考慮，考慮您將擁有的 3 個新細分市場，其中任何一個是否可能是您執行的協同效應的超大受益者？或者換一種問法，這三個細分市場中，是否有一個新細分市場在未來幾年內具有更好的利潤擴張潛力？

We broke down our synergies really into three buckets. You had the corporate costs, which really don't benefit any sort of segment. That will be applied equally over all the segments on an allocated basis. You had the headcounts in, that was primarily North American, the overlap between our North American businesses between Tyman and Quanex were very similar. So that will be probably a little more weighted towards hardware versus -- and some to the extruded solutions.

我們將協同效應實際上分為三類。你產生了企業成本，但這實際上對任何部門都沒有好處。這將根據分配情況平等地應用於所有部分。您統計的員工人數主要來自北美，Tyman 和 Quanex 在北美的業務重疊非常相似。因此，這可能更側重於硬件，而有些則側重於擠壓解決方案。

And then finally, sourcing, which will be equally applied. So maybe a little heavily -- heavier weighted towards hardware and then to extruded. Probably a pretty good summary would be broken down by how our revenue will be split, which was identified in that investor deck.

最後，採購也將同樣適用。所以可能有點重——更側重於硬件，然後是擠壓。可能一份相當不錯的總結會按照我們的收入如何分配來進行細分，這在投資者簡報中已經明確。

(Operator Instructions) Adam Thalhimer, Thompson, Davis.

（操作員指示）亞當·泰爾希默、湯普森、戴維斯。

If you did see an impact from tariffs, which segment would that impact mostly?

如果您確實看到關稅的影響，那麼主要影響的是哪個部分？

As we look at the commodity breakdown, what I would say in our new segments, it will probably impact the hardware business and a little more direct because of their metal buys in the aluminum. But again, we're protected with some of the index pricing mechanisms that we have here in the U.S. and surcharges. The wood, again, hardwood index. So I think it will be balanced across all 3, but maybe a little more heavily weighted to hardware.

當我們查看商品細分時，我想說，在我們的新領域中，它可能會對硬體業務產生影響，而且由於他們在鋁方面的金屬購買量，其影響會更直接一些。但同樣，我們受到美國一些指數定價機制和附加費的保障。木材，再次是硬木指數。所以我認為它將在這三者之間保持平衡，但可能更側重於硬體。

Okay. And then, George, I was hoping you could give a little more color just on the conversations with customers and kind of their macro outlook.

好的。然後，喬治，我希望您能就與客戶的對話以及他們的宏觀前景提供更多的資訊。

Yes. All the conversations tend to focus around consumer confidence. And it goes back to the macro question. There's a lot of noise in the media, the tariff and that changes on an everyday basis. And so there's unknowns on what the future cost to the end consumers are going to be in both repair and remodel and new build type of projects.

是的。所有對話都集中在消費者信心上。這又回到宏觀問題上。媒體上有很多關於關稅的報道，而且關稅每天都在變化。因此，對於最終消費者未來在維修、改造和新建項目上的成本是多少，仍是未知數。

So I think our customers are apprehensive because there's not a lot of good visibility in what's going on, and there's really no good visibility on what the Fed is going to do nor is there a strong visibility on where the tariffs will shake out. So I think customers are cautious and kind of on hold mode in terms of where they're going to go. And again, as we said in our script and has been proven over the last few years. From a Quanex perspective, our model is built to ramp up or ramp down fairly quick. So we feel good about where we're at and that we'll be able to adjust well.

所以我認為我們的客戶之所以感到擔憂，是因為對於正在發生的事情沒有太多的了解，對於聯準會將採取什麼行動也沒有很好的了解，對於關稅將如何變化也沒有很強的了解。因此我認為顧客對於要去哪裡很謹慎並且處於等待狀態。正如我們在腳本中所說的那樣，並且過去幾年已經證明了這一點。從 Quanex 的角度來看，我們的模型是為了快速上升或下降而建構的。因此，我們對目前的狀況感到滿意，並且能夠很好地進行調整。

But until some of the tariff items and consumer confidence rebounds a little bit, I think, again, it's going to be a bumpy year as we originally anticipated and built into our guidance back in December. So again, we're not seeing anything that we didn't anticipate, but it's coming to fruition.

但在某些關稅項目和消費者信心略有回升之前，我認為，正如我們最初在 12 月的指導中所預期的那樣，今年仍將是艱難的一年。所以，我們再說一遍，我們沒有看到任何我們沒有預料到的事情，但它正在實現。

Got it. And then when does the buyback window open?

知道了。那麼回購窗口什麼時候會打開？

Two days after -- three days after earnings, so I think Thursday this week.

收益公佈兩天後到三天后，所以我認為是本週四。

(Operator Instructions) Justin Mechetti, Sidoti & Company.

（操作員指示）Justin Mechetti，Sidoti & Company。

This is Justin on for Julio. So in the first quarter, the Tyman adjusted EBITDA margin of 10.8% when compared to the strong European segment margin seems a bit low. Anything notable to help us understand the difference between the 2? And can you give us a refresher on Tyman's historical seasonality?

這是賈斯汀 (Justin) 為胡里奧 (Julio) 表演的。因此，在第一季度，泰曼調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 10.8%，與強勁的歐洲分部利潤率相比似乎有點低。有什麼值得注意的事情可以幫助我們理解兩者之間的差異嗎？您能否為我們重新介紹 Tyman 的歷史季節性？

Yes, very similar to our historical seasonality. You have to keep in mind that about 60% to 70% of Tyman is North American focused, which was one of the appeals of when we acquired them. So it's not a direct read-through to our European Fenestration segment.

是的，與我們的歷史季節性非常相似。你必須記住，Tyman 約 60% 到 70% 的業務集中在北美，這也是我們收購他們的吸引力之一。因此，它不是對我們歐洲門窗部分的直接解讀。

And then the Jackson, Georgia facility was highlighted during your Investor Day. Beyond increasing regional capacity, how does this facility strengthen your competitive position in the Southeast? And what unique advantages do you expect it to bring?

然後，佐治亞州傑克遜的工廠在投資者日期間被重點介紹。除了增加區域容量之外，該設施如何增強您在東南部的競爭地位？您期望它帶來什麼獨特的優勢？

So the decision to open the Jackson facility was based, one, on being able to serve our regional customers. It absolutely capitalizes and protects our customers from freight costs to be able to serve that region. Two, it gives us an opportunity to add some additional capacity for our mixing and our compounding type of business, which will allow us to continue to grow in adjacent markets such as flashing tapes and solar products. So it was a strategic decision on numerous fronts, and we look forward to being able to deliver that. It was a long-term look for that project, and we're excited about what it can potentially deliver.

因此，開設傑克遜工廠的決定首先是基於能夠為我們的地區客戶提供服務。它絕對利用並保護我們的客戶免受運費成本的影響，以便能夠為該地區提供服務。其次，它為我們提供了為混合和複合業務增加一些額外產能的機會，這將使我們能夠繼續在防水膠帶和太陽能產品等鄰近市場中成長。因此，這是一個涉及多方面的策略決策，我們期待能夠實現這一目標。我們對該專案進行了長期的關注，並且對它可能帶來的成果感到興奮。

Thank you. I'm showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to hand it back to George Wilson for closing remarks.

謝謝。我目前沒有其他問題。現在我想把演講時間交還給喬治·威爾遜，請他作最後發言。

I'd like to thank everyone for joining today, and we look forward to providing you with another update when we report our Q2 earnings in June.

我想感謝大家今天的加入，我們期待在 6 月報告第二季收益時為您提供另一個更新資訊。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.

感謝大家參加今天的會議。該計劃確實就此結束。您現在可以斷開連線。