Oil-Dri Corporation of America (ODC) 2026 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Oil-Dri Corporation of America fourth quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings discussion. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

各位好，感謝您耐心等候。歡迎參加美國 Oil-Dri Corporation 第四季暨 2026 會計年度財報討論會。此刻，所有與會者皆為僅收聽模式。敬請留意，今日的電話會議將進行錄音。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Dan Jaffee, Chairman, President, and CEO. Please go ahead.

接下來我想把會議交給今天的主講人 Dan Jaffee 先生，董事長、總裁暨執行長。請開始。

Thank you, and welcome, everybody, to the fourth quarter and fiscal year-end 2026 teleconference. Before we get started, Leslie, will you walk us through the Safe Harbor and also let everyone know who's on the call so they can ask questions?

謝謝，歡迎各位參加第四季與 2026 會計年度年終電話會議。在開始之前，Leslie，能否請你帶大家走一遍「安全港」聲明，並告知大家今天有哪些人在線上，方便大家提問？

Yes, sure. Thank you, Dan. Welcome, everyone. Today on the call, we have Susan Kreh, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer; Aaron Christiansen, our VP of Operations; Chris Lamson, Group Vice President of Business to Business and Strategic Growth Initiatives; Wade Robey, VP of Agriculture and President of Amlan International; Laura Scheland, Vice President and General Manager of Consumer Products Division; Jon Blake, VP Corporate Controller; Tony Parker, VP General Counsel and Secretary.

好的，當然可以。謝謝你，Dan。歡迎各位。今天在線上的有：Susan Kreh，財務長兼資訊長；Aaron Christiansen，我們的營運副總裁；Chris Lamson，企業對企業（B2B）與策略性成長計畫之集團副總裁；Wade Robey，農業副總裁暨 Amlan International 總裁；Laura Scheland，消費性產品事業部副總裁兼總經理；Jon Blake，企業財務控管副總裁；Tony Parker，法務總顧問副總裁兼公司秘書。

Unfortunately, not in attendance today is Bruce Patsey, Vice President of Fluids Purification, but Dan Jaffee, our CEO, will be able to answer those questions. Right now, I'll read the Safe Harbor.

很遺憾，今天未能出席的是流體淨化事業副總裁 Bruce Patsey，但我們的執行長 Dan Jaffee 將能回答相關問題。接下來我將宣讀安全港聲明。

On today's call, comments may contain forward-looking statements regarding the company's performance in future periods. Actual results in those periods may materially differ. In our press release and in our SEC filings, we highlight a number of important risk factors, trends, and uncertainties that may affect our future performance. We ask that you review and consider those factors in evaluating the company's comments and in evaluating any investment in Oil-Dri stock.

在今天的電話會議中，相關評論可能包含有關公司未來期間表現的前瞻性陳述。該等期間的實際結果可能出現重大差異。我們在新聞稿以及向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的文件中，重點說明了多項重要風險因素、趨勢與不確定性，可能影響我們未來的表現。我們請您在評估公司評論以及評估對 Oil-Dri 股票的任何投資時，審閱並考量這些因素。

Thank you again for joining us. Dan, I'll turn it back over to you.

再次感謝各位加入。Dan，我把時間交還給你。

Great. Thank you, Leslie. Before I turn it over to Susan, I'd like to make some general comments. My Grandpa Nick used to always say, don't debate, demonstrate. I was wondering, how did he get this industry started?

很好。謝謝你，Leslie。在我把時間交給 Susan 之前，我想先做一些概括性的評論。我祖父 Nick 過去總是說：不要爭辯，要用行動證明。我在想，他當初是如何把這個產業做起來的？

My sister Karen's been digging through our archives, and if you don't follow me on LinkedIn, I hope you'll go look at it, because we found some ads that he ran on the front page of newspapers that communicated the benefits of using Oil-Dri versus sawdust, which was very flammable, very strong, compelling advantage. So it was interesting that started that.

我妹妹 Karen 一直在翻查我們的檔案；如果你沒有在 LinkedIn 上追蹤我，我希望你去看看，因為我們找到一些他當年刊登在報紙頭版的廣告，內容是在傳達使用 Oil-Dri 相較於鋸屑的好處；鋸屑非常易燃，這是一個非常強而有力、令人信服的優勢。所以很有意思，原來是從那裡開始的。

And then Bud Selig, who's been on our board since 1969, his father, Ben, used to always say, nothing is good or bad except by comparison. And if you look at our year, many of the indices are extremely positive.

接著，Bud Selig 自 1969 年起就在我們董事會任職；他的父親 Ben 過去總是說：沒有什麼是好或壞，除非拿來比較。如果你回顧我們這一年的表現，許多指標都非常正面。

You could, if you wanted to, you could look at some of the comparison numbers, and say, okay, well, that was sort of flat, or, that was slightly down. But any kind of perspective of three, four, five years and you see how great this team is performing and how well we're doing.

如果你願意，你也可以看一些對比數字，然後說，好吧，那算是持平，或是略有下滑。但只要把視角拉到三年、四年、五年，你就會看到這個團隊表現得有多出色，以及我們做得有多好。

And then finally, my dad always said, earnings are an opinion, cash is a fact. Susan will highlight this, but our cash generation has been fantastic and that's really what fuels the growth and the health of the business. And so we've never been more happy or positive with how the company is doing.

最後，我父親總是說：盈餘是一種觀點，現金才是事實。Susan 會強調這一點，但我們的現金創造能力非常出色，而這正是推動成長與企業健康的燃料。因此，我們對公司目前的表現從未如此滿意、如此正向。

And I would say the final thing is, we did give some forward guidance back in the first quarter and second quarter. We said the first part of FY26 was going to be a tough comparison, but that we fully expected to equal or more than make up the distance in the back half. And you see the really great fourth quarter we had, which allowed us to do just that, pull ahead, in many key indices, sales, net income, things like that, EBITDA, all were up for the fiscal year. So very proud of what the team has delivered, and thank you for your questions. We'll spend most of the time answering them, but before we do, I'd love to turn it over to Susan so she can walk you through the results.

我想最後一點是，我們在第一季與第二季時確實提供了一些前瞻指引。我們說過，FY26 的前半段在同比比較上會是艱難的，但我們完全預期在後半段能追上甚至超越差距。而你也看到我們非常出色的第四季表現，讓我們確實做到這一點，在多項關鍵指標上領先，包括銷售、淨利等，EBITDA 也都在本會計年度成長。因此，我為團隊交出的成果感到非常自豪，也謝謝各位的提問。我們會把大部分時間用在回答問題上，但在那之前，我很樂意把時間交給 Susan，請她帶大家回顧本次結果。

Thank you, Dan. Cash is a fact, and I will get into that in a minute. So it's a pleasure to be here with all of you this morning, especially coming off the headline we released that states, Oil-Dri delivers record annual financial results, including all-time high fourth quarter sales and historic cash generation.

謝謝你，Dan。現金是事實，我稍後會談到。今天早上能與各位在此相聚，我感到很榮幸，尤其是在我們發布那則標題新聞之後：Oil-Dri 交出創紀錄的年度財務成果，包括第四季銷售創歷史新高，以及創紀錄的現金創造。

Leslie Garber did a really nice job in the press release of highlighting the drivers of our performance. So therefore, like Dan said, I'll keep my comments brief to allow for more time for your questions in the Q&A session.

Leslie Garber 在新聞稿中非常出色地突顯了我們表現的驅動因素。因此，如同 Dan 所說，我會讓我的評論保持精簡，好讓在問答環節能留出更多時間給各位提問。

That being said, I would like to highlight that our continued strong performance has resulted in very strong financial position from which we're well positioned to grow. The key words there being strong performance and strong financial position. From a performance perspective, fiscal 2026 demonstrated the strength of Oil-Dri's diversified product portfolio and efficient operating model, and we will talk about cost reductions in a minute.

話雖如此，我仍想強調，我們持續強勁的表現帶來了非常穩健的財務狀況，使我們處於有利位置以推動成長。這裡的關鍵詞是「強勁表現」與「穩健財務狀況」。就表現而言，2026 會計年度展現了 Oil-Dri 多元化產品組合與高效率營運模式的實力；我們稍後也會談到成本降低。

As we stated at the onset of the fiscal year, and as Dan just reiterated in his opening comments, we knew the first half was going to be a challenge on a year-over-year comparative basis. We noted that although in the first half, we faced a very tough comparison, we expected to achieve meaningful growth during the second half of the year as we gained incremental business and launched new products.

正如我們在會計年度開始時所述，也如 Dan 在開場致詞中再次重申，我們知道上半年在同比比較基礎上會是一項挑戰。我們指出，雖然上半年面臨非常艱難的比較基期，但隨著我們取得新增業務並推出新產品，我們預期在下半年能實現有意義的成長。

The focus team here at Oil-Dri delivered on that forecast, achieving record full-year sales and net income, and closing the year with a record fourth quarter revenue. And that fourth quarter growth was broad-based across both product groups, with business-to-business sales rising 4% to a record $50 million, and retail and wholesale increasing 3% to $79 million.

Oil-Dri 的專注團隊兌現了該項預測，達成全年銷售與淨利的歷史新高，並以創紀錄的第四季營收為本年度畫下句點。而第四季的成長在兩大產品群皆呈現廣泛動能：企業對企業（B2B）銷售成長 4% 至創紀錄的 5,000 萬美元；零售與批發則成長 3% 至 7,900 萬美元。

Improved product mix was the primary driver of the growth in the fourth quarter revenue, supported by strong growth in animal health sales, agricultural product sales, and co-packaged cat litter sales, as we had anticipated. And while net sales grew nicely in the fourth quarter compared to the prior year, gross profit as a percent of sales or gross margin was under pressure and remained steady at 27.8%.

產品組合改善是第四季營收成長的主要驅動因素，並如我們所預期，動物健康銷售、農業產品銷售以及共同包裝（co-packaged）貓砂銷售的強勁成長提供支撐。雖然第四季淨銷售額相較去年同期有不錯的成長，但毛利占銷售比重（毛利率）承壓，仍維持在 27.8%。

During the quarter, our gross per ton domestic cost of goods sold increased 3% over the same quarter in the prior year, primarily due to higher freight and transportation expenses, which were pressured by geopolitical impacts on diesel prices, as well as reduced capacity in the trucking industry. This pressure was especially impactful in the Retail and Wholesale Products Group, which experienced significantly higher costs to transport cat litter products, contributing to a 5% decline in segment operating income despite the higher sales.

本季我們的國內每噸銷貨成本毛額較去年同期上升 3%，主要原因是運費與運輸費用增加；柴油價格受到地緣政治影響而承壓，以及卡車運輸產業運能下降。這項壓力對零售與批發產品群的影響尤其顯著，該部門在運送貓砂產品方面的成本大幅提高，導致即使銷售增加，部門營業利益仍下滑 5%。

Depreciation and amortization, a non-cash component of our expenses, was also up 6% in the quarter due to the ongoing strategic investments we are making in our business. These increases were offset by the favorable mix and targeted price increases, some of which will get implemented on a lagged basis with some of our customers.

折舊與攤銷作為費用中的非現金項目，本季也因我們持續對業務進行策略性投資而增加 6%。上述增加則由有利的產品組合與針對性的提價所抵銷，其中部分提價將在與部分客戶的合作中以遞延方式逐步實施。

In addition, cost reduction and expense management initiatives were a key to holding the margin steady at 27.8%. And while gross margins did remain steady, fourth quarter operating income increased by 17% over the same quarter in the prior year, demonstrating the resilience of the portfolio and our ability to manage through a challenging cost environment.

此外，降低成本與費用管理措施是將毛利率穩定維持在 27.8% 的關鍵。雖然毛利率確實維持穩定，但第四季營業利益較去年同期增加 17%，展現了產品組合的韌性，以及我們在具挑戰性的成本環境中進行管理的能力。

Now, switching gears from strong performance to strong financial position, let us discuss cash and financial flexibility. The substantial cash generated as a result of the strong performance we just discussed enables us to continue to invest in the business and return capital to our shareholders.

現在，從強勁的營運表現轉到強健的財務狀況，讓我們來談談現金與財務彈性。我們剛才所討論的強勁表現所帶來的大量現金，使我們得以持續投資於業務，並向股東回饋資本。

Cash and cash equivalents reached an historic high of $74 million a year-end, up from $51 million a year ago, marking a significant 45% increase. We generated operating cash flow of $80 million in EBITDA or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $93 million, underscoring the growth and the cash-generating power of our portfolio. And back to Dan's opening comments, cash is a fact.

截至年末，現金及約當現金達到歷史新高 7,400 萬美元，高於一年前的 5,100 萬美元，顯著增加 45%。我們創造了 8,000 萬美元的營運現金流，EBITDA（息稅折舊攤銷前盈餘）為 9,300 萬美元，凸顯我們產品組合的成長與現金創造能力。回到 Dan 開場的評論，現金是事實。

EBITDA is a notable metric for us as we have made the strategic decision to reinvest significantly in our business, particularly in funding infrastructure and growth opportunities in our manufacturing facilities, as well as funding the building of enterprise-wide capabilities such as data analytics and business intelligence. While those investments are funded in cash, as they are put into service, the non-cash depreciation expense that they generate puts pressure on our gross margins and will continue to do so as we have been investing steadily at this rate for about four years now.

EBITDA 對我們而言是一項重要指標，因為我們已做出策略性決策，將大量資金再投資於業務，特別是投入製造設施的基礎建設與成長機會，同時也投入建立全企業層級的能力，例如資料分析與商業智慧。雖然這些投資以現金支付，但當資產投入使用後，其所產生的非現金折舊費用會對毛利率造成壓力；而由於我們以此速度穩定投資已約四年，這種壓力也將持續存在。

As a result of that impact on our margins, we do monitor EBITDA very closely to track the underlying performance of the business. Our cash position, together with our ability to access debt, provides strong liquidity and gives us flexibility to fund strategic priorities, manage through volatility, and pursue attractive growth opportunities while maintaining a very disciplined balance sheet.

因此，鑑於其對毛利率的影響，我們會非常密切地監控 EBITDA，以追蹤業務的基本面表現。我們的現金部位，加上取得債務資金的能力，提供了強勁的流動性，並賦予我們彈性以資助策略優先事項、因應波動，以及在維持高度紀律的資產負債表之下追求具吸引力的成長機會。

Speaking of our ability to access debt capital markets, I'd like to highlight some very recent enhancements to our financial flexibility. We have worked with two of our key financial partners to add more dry powder to our financing arsenal. We have extended our variable rate revolving credit facility and increased our borrowing capacity by 33%, up to $100 million.

談到我們進入債務資本市場的能力，我想強調我們近期在財務彈性方面的一些提升。我們與兩家主要金融合作夥伴合作，為我們的融資工具箱增添更多「乾火藥」（可動用資金）。我們已延長浮動利率循環信用額度的期限，並將借款額度提高 33%，至 1 億美元。

In addition, that facility contains an accordion feature, which we have increased by 150%, up to $125 million. At the same time, we extended our fixed rate shelf facility and increased our borrowing capacity by 100%, up to $150 million.

此外，該額度包含「手風琴條款」（accordion feature），我們已將其提高 150%，至 1.25 億美元。同時，我們也延長固定利率的 shelf facility，並將借款額度提高 100%，至 1.5 億美元。

So in total, we have increased our ability to borrow under these two facilities from $200 million to $375 million, which is reflective of the continued strengthening of our financial position. Both of these were executed with favorable terms compared to our existing facilities, and both of these financing partners have been supporting Oil-Dri literally for decades. Those relationships are another key aspect of supporting our financial flexibility and our ability to fund growth.

因此，合計而言，我們在這兩項融資工具下的可借款能力已由 2 億美元提高至 3.75 億美元，反映我們財務狀況持續強化。這兩項安排的條件均較我們既有融資更為有利，而這兩家融資夥伴也已支持 Oil-Dri 長達數十年。這些關係是支撐我們財務彈性與資助成長能力的另一個關鍵面向。

And as our financial position continues to strengthen, our capital priorities remain unchanged from what we have told you previously. First, we will continue to invest in our business, including the manufacturing and capabilities investments mentioned above, as well as investments in people and research and development to support our future growth. During fiscal 2026, we invested $34 million in capital expenditures to support infrastructure, capabilities, and long-term growth.

隨著我們的財務狀況持續強化，我們的資本配置優先順序也與先前對各位所說的一致，沒有改變。第一，我們將持續投資於業務，包括前述的製造與能力建置投資，以及在人員與研發方面的投資，以支持未來成長。在 2026 會計年度，我們投入 3,400 萬美元的資本支出，以支持基礎建設、能力建置與長期成長。

Second, we will continue to support our dividend. During fiscal 2026, we increased our dividend not once, but twice, and paid out over $10 million to our shareholders.

第二，我們將持續支持股利政策。在 2026 會計年度，我們不只一次、而是兩次調升股利，並向股東發放超過 1,000 萬美元。

Third, we will evaluate opportunities to achieve long-term profitable growth through the pursuit of strategic acquisitions. The combination of our cash position, our strong operating cash flow, and our manageable debt profile including our enhanced access to capital markets funding provide meaningful financial flexibility to evaluate and pursue acquisition opportunities. And as we evaluate acquisition opportunities, we will remain focused on our mission to create value from sorbent minerals, seeking businesses and capabilities that reinforce and extend that core purpose and offer a clear path to long-term value creation.

第三，我們將評估透過策略性併購來實現長期且具獲利性的成長機會。我們的現金部位、強勁的營運現金流，以及可控的負債結構（包含我們強化後的資本市場融資取得能力），提供了相當可觀的財務彈性，以評估並推進併購機會。在評估併購機會時，我們將持續聚焦於「從吸附性礦物創造價值」的使命，尋找能強化並延伸此核心目的、且具備清晰長期價值創造路徑的業務與能力。

And finally, we opportunistically evaluate potential value creation through share repurchases. When it makes sense and generates long-term value, we will pursue that.

最後，我們也會視情況評估透過庫藏股回購來創造價值的可能性。當其合理且能創造長期價值時，我們就會推動。

And with that, Dan, I will turn it back over to you and Leslie for the question-and-answer session. I am sure there will be a few.

以上，Dan，我把時間交回給你和 Leslie 進行問答環節。我相信會有幾個問題。

Well, thank you, Susan, and thank you for that recap. And Leslie, will you highlight which questions we are answering first?

好的，謝謝你，Susan，也謝謝你做的回顧。Leslie，你能先說明我們會先回答哪些問題嗎？

(Event Instructions) The first question we have comes from both Ethan Starr and Robert Smith. They have very similar questions.

（活動說明）我們的第一個問題來自 Ethan Starr 與 Robert Smith 兩位。他們的問題非常相似。

Was there a seasonal factor in Amlan's last quarter good numbers? What are the prospects for the run rate of $40 million being achieved in the current year? What are the prospects for maintaining or increasing Amlan's record Q4 sales going forward?

Amlan 上一季的亮眼數字是否有季節性因素？今年達成 4,000 萬美元年化 run rate 的可能性如何？未來維持或提高 Amlan 創紀錄第四季銷售額的前景如何？

Wade, can you handle that?

Wade，你可以回答這個嗎？

Yes, absolutely, Leslie, and thank you, Robert and Ethan both for those questions. We actually, as you see, had an exceptional quarter for Amlan in Q4 of this past year. It was driven by a couple of things which truly made it extraordinary.

可以，當然可以，Leslie，也謝謝 Robert 與 Ethan 兩位的提問。如各位所見，我們在上一會計年度的第四季，Amlan 的表現確實非常出色。這主要由幾個因素所驅動，確實讓這一季格外亮眼。

You may recall earlier in the year in previous webcasts, we talked about the loss of a key account in Brazil. We also spoke to the impact that the tariff situation globally was having on our business and the impact specifically in a couple of key geographies like Brazil. Those things combined early in the year to lower our sales to those regions.

各位可能還記得，今年稍早在先前的網路直播中，我們談到在巴西失去一個重要客戶。我們也提到全球關稅情勢對我們業務的影響，尤其是在巴西等幾個關鍵地區的影響。這些因素在年初疊加，導致我們對這些地區的銷售下滑。

And then we worked very hard over the course of the year to overcome that. You saw that in solid growth in Q3, and then now the exceptional growth we have seen in Q4. So obviously, logically, there was some rebound effect in the performance we saw over the course of the year.

接著我們在全年過程中非常努力地克服這些影響。你們在第三季看到了穩健成長，而現在在第四季又看到了我們所呈現的卓越成長。因此，從邏輯上來說，我們在全年所看到的表現，顯然存在一定的反彈效應。

That being said, we're very bullish on the growth going forward for a couple of reasons. One, we saw very strong growth consistently in Asia through the course of the year. In Latin America, we've seen not only recovery to a certain degree of that key account that we lost, but also additional growth in our business in Brazil to certain co-ops, gaining new customers and also new volume at existing customers.

即便如此，基於幾個原因，我們對未來成長仍非常樂觀。第一，我們在亞洲於全年期間持續看到非常強勁的成長。在拉丁美洲，我們不僅在某種程度上恢復了先前失去的那個關鍵客戶的業務，同時也在巴西透過特定合作社帶來額外成長，取得新客戶，並在既有客戶上增加新的出貨量。

In addition, the regulatory agency in Brazil, MAPA, has made a number of changes, which is improving our ability to register our products and make additional claims. They've also, as many of you may have seen, have come out with new bans on certain antibiotics that are key and instrumental in the animal industry, including antibiotics like avoparcin, certain forms of bacitracin, and virginiamycin, which are all key antibiotics used in subtherapeutic application in animal feeds. As those products are removed in Brazil, that's going to drive alternatives, and especially natural alternatives like we offer in our Amlan portfolio.

此外，巴西的監管機構 MAPA 已進行多項變更，提升了我們註冊產品並提出更多宣稱（claims）的能力。同時，正如許多人可能已看到的，他們也針對動物產業中一些關鍵且重要的抗生素發布新的禁令，包括 avoparcin、某些形式的 bacitracin，以及 virginiamycin；這些都是在動物飼料中以亞治療劑量（subtherapeutic）使用的關鍵抗生素。隨著這些產品在巴西被移除，將推動替代方案的需求，尤其是像我們 Amlan 產品組合所提供的天然替代方案。

Finally, in Brazil, I would note that we're expanding our sales with new distributors into the middle and northern states, including Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, up into Bahia, and then also in the southern states down in Rio Grande do Sul, and that is expanding our business and building our base.

最後，就巴西而言，我要補充的是，我們正透過新的經銷商擴大銷售版圖至中部與北部各州，包括 Mato Grosso、Mato Grosso do Sul，一路到 Bahia；同時也在南部各州、例如 Rio Grande do Sul 擴展。這些舉措正在擴大我們的業務並建立我們的基礎。

Finally, we're moving more aggressively into the ruminant market in Brazil. You may have heard me say earlier, we sell a lot of our products into the dairy industry today, which is a form of ruminant, obviously. In Brazil, the focus has been on feedlot for beef cattle. We've completed significant research there over the course of this year and are seeing an opportunity for a lot of growth there.

最後，我們正更積極地進軍巴西的反芻動物市場。你們可能聽我先前提到，我們目前將大量產品銷售至乳品產業，而乳牛顯然也屬於反芻動物。在巴西，重點一直放在肉牛的育肥場（feedlot）。我們在今年期間已完成大量研究，並看到了可觀的成長機會。

Finally, Robert and Ethan, we're also launching new products in North America over the last few months. Those are starting to be utilized by some of the largest of the top 10 poultry customers in the integrated industry in North America. We're excited about that. That's a product very similar to Varium that we sell in Latin America, where we have tremendous customer success, and it also is a very strong component product in our portfolio in addition to our base clays.

最後，Robert 和 Ethan，我們在過去幾個月也在北美推出新產品。這些產品已開始被北美一體化產業中前十大家禽客戶裡的一些最大客戶採用。我們對此感到振奮。這是一款與我們在拉丁美洲銷售的 Varium 非常相似的產品；我們在那裡取得了極大的客戶成功。此外，除我們的基礎黏土產品外，它也是我們產品組合中非常強勁的組成產品。

So for all of those reasons, we're very bullish on the growth going forward. The fourth quarter was, again, exceptional. That's a rate we probably can't maintain, but we should see very good growth year-over-year as we continue to expand our Amlan business.

因此，基於上述所有原因，我們對未來的成長非常樂觀。第四季再次表現出色。那樣的成長速度我們可能無法維持，但隨著我們持續擴展 Amlan 業務，我們應該會看到非常不錯的年對年成長。

Great. Thank you so much. We had a couple of similar questions come in regarding fluids purification, some from Robert Smith and John Bair. I am going to summarize and ask the question, and Dan Jaffee will answer this.

很好。非常感謝。我們收到幾個關於流體淨化（fluids purification）的類似問題，其中一些來自 Robert Smith 和 John Bair。我會先做個摘要並提出問題，接著由 Dan Jaffee 回答。

Fluids purification sales declined 5% for the full year, but delivered their strongest quarterly performance in the fourth quarter. What drove the improvement in Q4 compared to the rest of fiscal year 2026? Dan?

流體淨化全年銷售下滑 5%，但在第四季交出全年最強的單季表現。相較於 2026 會計年度其餘期間，第四季改善的驅動因素是什麼？Dan？

Happy to answer the question. Bruce Patsey did supply me with a lot of the details, so I am fairly confident I am on target here. It is important to note that the 5% year-over-year decline largely reflects a difficult comparison with fiscal 2025, when renewable diesel sales were increasing significantly as several new production facilities came online.

很樂意回答這個問題。Bruce Patsey 提供了我許多細節，所以我相當有信心我的說法是正確的。需要注意的是，年對年下滑 5% 主要反映了與 2025 會計年度相比的高基期；當時隨著數座新產能設施投產，再生柴油（renewable diesel）銷售大幅增加。

Throughout fiscal '26, demand from both edible oil and renewable diesel customers remained solid. Although volumes varied as changes in oil type and feedstock quality impacted customers' needs.

在 2026 會計年度期間，食用油與再生柴油客戶的需求都維持穩健。不過，由於油品種類與原料品質的變化會影響客戶需求，因此出貨量有所波動。

I think it is important to note that the decline in sales did not reflect customer losses. It was just variation in demand, which is what drove the positive fourth quarter, was a positive variation in demand. So we are very happy that we are hanging on to our customer base.

我認為重要的是，銷售下滑並不代表流失客戶。那只是需求的波動；而推動第四季轉正的，就是需求出現了正向波動。因此，我們很高興能夠維持住我們的客戶基礎。

I think anytime a market is in its earliest stages, you are going to have more volatility than when the product line gets mature. So hang in there, but we are hanging on to our customers, and we will ride the ups and have to deal with the downs as they figure out their supply and demand equation.

我認為任何市場在最早期階段，相較於產品線成熟後，都會有更高的波動性。所以請耐心一些；我們會持續留住客戶，並在他們釐清供需方程式的過程中，享受上行、同時也必須面對下行。

Thanks, Dan. The next question comes from Tyler Ventura from Diamond Hill Capital. He asks, co-package cat litter grew 47% this year and 60% in Q4, which you have identified as your single biggest growth driver in the category. Walk us through the capacity and customer concentration dynamics. Specifically, how many customers drive this 47% growth? What is the gross margin profile of co-package relative to your domestic branded business? And is the expansion of your lightweight offering with this partner a multi-year ramp-up or approaching maturity?

謝謝，Dan。下一個問題來自 Diamond Hill Capital 的 Tyler Ventura。他問到：代工包裝（co-package）貓砂今年成長 47%，第四季成長 60%，而你們也指出這是該品類中你們最大的單一成長驅動因素。請帶我們了解產能與客戶集中度的動態。具體而言，有多少客戶推動了這 47% 的成長？代工包裝的毛利率結構相較於你們國內自有品牌業務如何？以及你們與該合作夥伴擴大輕量化（lightweight）產品供應，是一個為期多年的爬坡期，還是已接近成熟？

The reason I ask is because your domestic clay litter sales are actually declining despite Cat's Pride antibacterial posting seven straight quarters of growth, which makes me wonder if co-package success is partially cannibalizing your own branded distribution or if that is a separate dynamic tied to competitive promotional intensity.

我之所以這樣問，是因為你們國內黏土貓砂銷售其實在下滑，儘管 Cat's Pride 抗菌系列已連續七個季度成長；這讓我想知道，代工包裝的成功是否在某種程度上侵蝕了你們自有品牌的通路銷售，或是這其實是另一種動態、與競爭促銷強度有關。

A lot in there. Chris Lamson, if you could address that, that would be great.

內容很多。Chris Lamson，如果你能回應一下就太好了。

Sure. Thanks, Leslie, and thanks, Tyler, for the question. Tyler, we are obligated under contracts with our co-man customers to not disclose a ton about the nature of those relationships. With that being said, what I can share, we are obviously extremely pleased with the new business within lightweight and the growth that you reflected in the question.

當然。謝謝你，Leslie，也謝謝你，Tyler，提出這個問題。Tyler，基於我們與代工客戶（co-man customers）的合約義務，我們不能披露太多關於這些合作關係的性質。不過，我可以分享的是：我們對輕量化新業務以及你在問題中提到的成長表現，顯然感到非常滿意。

We are also -- and if you go back really through investor calls like this one and our annual shareholder meeting, we have been extremely consistent, be it me or Laura, over the last seven or eight years, around how focused we are on growing the lightweight segment, and that we believe lightweight segment growth is good for Oil-Dri, period.

另外——如果你回顧像這次一樣的投資人電話會議以及我們的年度股東大會，在過去七、八年裡，不論是我或 Laura，我們在一點上都非常一致：我們高度聚焦於推動輕量化細分市場的成長，並且我們相信輕量化細分市場的成長對 Oil-Dri 整體而言是好事。

With that being said, more tactically, I would say we have some very good analytical tools that would tell us that, particularly with the folks we are supporting with co-man relationships, there is not much, if any real interaction with those businesses. But again, we like the large brands driving lightweight and having great lightweight product, and we believe that is good for the overall development of the lightweight category and for both our private label and branded business in litter.

話雖如此，更戰術性地說，我會表示我們有一些非常好的分析工具，能告訴我們：特別是就我們透過代工合作所支援的那些夥伴而言，這些業務之間幾乎沒有、即便有也很少真正的相互影響。但再說一次，我們樂見大型品牌推動輕量化、並推出優秀的輕量化產品；我們相信這有利於整體輕量化品類的發展，也有利於我們的自有品牌（private label）與品牌（branded）貓砂業務。

Regarding capacity and capital specifically, I would say it is a bit of a mixed bag. We were able to leverage existing capacity in many key areas within the supply chain, and where either the customer required specific product needs that called on additional capital investment or pockets of further capital need, maybe to address a bottleneck or two.

至於產能與資本支出，我會說情況有點混合。我們在供應鏈的許多關鍵環節能夠運用既有產能；而在某些情況下，若客戶有特定產品需求而需要額外資本投資，或是某些環節仍有進一步資本需求，例如為了解決一、兩個瓶頸。

Really the nature of our longer-term agreements in this area really help us feel very good about the capital that we did put in to support this ongoing relationship. So thank you again for the question, and we are excited to have this business and to continue to grow with our customers in lightweight.

我們在這個領域的長期協議性質，確實讓我們對為支持這段持續合作關係所投入的資本感到非常安心。再次感謝你的提問；我們很高興擁有這項業務，並期待在輕量化領域與客戶一同持續成長。

Thank you. The next question is from Ethan Starr. Could you please discuss the challenges and opportunities you see in growing your branded cat litter distribution and sales?

謝謝。下一個問題來自 Ethan Starr。請談談你們在擴大自有品牌貓砂通路覆蓋與銷售時，所看到的挑戰與機會？

Laura, will you take that?

Laura，你來回答可以嗎？

Sure. Good morning, and thanks for the question. We will take the question in two parts. First, with respect to the challenges. Some of the challenges we have seen in the past year for our branded cat litter distribution are increasing slotting costs, customer investment requirements, and other spend requirements that are rising faster than our pricing and inflation, but continue to try to stay in front of, along with retail consolidation in the brick-and-mortar channel. In addition, we continue to see some historically elevated spending from large brands and competition from a number of smaller brands and new entrants.

當然。早安，謝謝你的提問。我們會把問題分成兩部分回答。首先，關於挑戰。過去一年我們在自有品牌貓砂通路鋪貨方面看到的一些挑戰包括：上架費（slotting costs）上升、客戶投資要求，以及其他支出要求的增速快於我們的定價與通膨；我們仍持續努力走在前面，同時也面臨實體通路（brick-and-mortar channel）的零售整併。此外，我們也持續看到大型品牌維持在歷史相對偏高的投入支出，以及來自多個小型品牌與新進者的競爭。

However, turning to opportunities all in, we remain very excited about the great opportunity for our brand. We remain the number four brand nationally in units and are dedicated to growing with innovation and the distribution and focus. During FY26, we are excited to launch a number of new items and we continue to focus to do so in the coming years.

不過，回到整體機會面，我們仍對品牌的巨大機會感到非常振奮。以銷售量（units）計算，我們仍是全國第四大品牌，並致力於透過創新、通路拓展與聚焦來推動成長。在 2026 會計年度，我們很期待推出多項新品，並且未來幾年也會持續聚焦推進。

Another area of opportunity that we remain excited about is e-commerce. In the past year, we have grown our product and offerings across different retailers and are seeing great growth and adoption from consumers.

另一個我們同樣感到振奮的機會領域是電子商務。在過去一年，我們已在不同零售商平台擴充產品與供應內容，並看到消費者端的強勁成長與採用。

And then on the promotional spending level, while FY26 was a time of heightened spend, and we continue to see promotions be elevated, we are seeing indications that spending is starting to subside instead of the historically high levels. So we remain diligent in managing our promotional spends in a strategic way to optimize our return on spend, but also our consumer value on an everyday basis to be kind of the best choice for our consumers.

接著談到促銷支出水準，雖然 FY26 是支出偏高的一段期間，而且我們仍持續看到促銷維持在較高水位，但我們也看到一些跡象顯示，支出正開始回落，而非維持在歷史高檔水準。因此，我們仍會以策略性的方式審慎管理促銷支出，以最佳化支出報酬，同時也在日常層面提供消費者價值，成為消費者的最佳選擇。

And then finally, I know the question was with respect to branded items, but a key point of differentiation for us among our branded competitors and our private label competitors is that our diversification with strong offerings in both branded and private label channels across the non-clumping, clumping, and crystal segments. With this diversification of offerings, we are able to fill trucks to customers and optimize logistics and inventory carrying costs for our customers and fill a large range of their litter needs.

最後，我知道問題是針對品牌品項，但我們相較於品牌競爭對手與自有品牌競爭對手的一個關鍵差異點，在於我們在非結團、結團與水晶等區隔中，同時在品牌與自有品牌通路都具備強勁的產品組合，實現多元化布局。透過這樣多元化的產品供給，我們能為客戶裝滿整車出貨，並為客戶最佳化物流與庫存持有成本，同時滿足其各式各樣的貓砂需求。

We will continue to focus to grow both our brand and private label distribution with our strategic customers. So all in balancing out the challenges and opportunities, we remain very excited about the future for both our branded and private label products and remain committed to growing across both e-com and brick and mortar channels.

我們將持續聚焦，與策略性客戶一同擴大我們的品牌與自有品牌鋪貨與通路覆蓋。總體而言，在平衡挑戰與機會之下，我們對品牌與自有品牌產品的未來仍感到非常振奮，並致力於在電商與實體零售通路雙軌成長。

Thanks, Laura. We have another question for Wade, this time on the ag side of the business. The question is, the ag business has delivered year-over-year sales growth in each quarter of fiscal year 2026. What is structurally driving this growth? Wade?

謝謝你，Laura。我們還有另一個問題要請教 Wade，這次是關於農業（ag）業務面向。問題是：農業業務在 2026 會計年度的每一季都實現了年對年銷售成長。是什麼結構性因素在推動這項成長？Wade？

Thank you for that question, Leslie. There are a number of things that really drive the growth in the types of businesses that we target with this division.

謝謝這個問題，Leslie。推動我們這個事業部所鎖定之業務類型成長的因素有很多。

Just to remind the audience, our two primary channels that we go to, or markets, are really one on the, what I'll call the turf and ornamental side, which is more of engineered granules to higher use applications for specialty products, and then more our standard carrier products, which are targeted for what I'll call broad acre or row crop agricultural applications. And in both cases, we've seen good growth in that business.

先提醒各位，我們主要切入的兩個通路或市場：第一個是我所稱的草坪與園藝（turf and ornamental）領域，主要是針對專用產品的高用量應用，提供工程化顆粒；第二個則是我們較標準的載體產品，鎖定我所稱的大田或列作（broad acre or row crop）的農業應用。而在這兩個領域，我們都看到不錯的成長。

We have been, I think, very fortunate and hopefully strategically smart in how we've aligned with certain leaders in those segments, working with some of the largest producers, which as they grow, has allowed our business to grow as well. Kind of some of the macro events underpinning that, we've had really large plantings.

我認為我們很幸運，也希望可以說是在策略上做得很聰明：我們與這些區隔中的某些領導者對齊合作，與一些最大的生產商合作；隨著他們成長，也帶動我們的業務成長。在其背後的一些總體事件支撐因素是，我們看到播種面積非常大。

If you look at more of the broad acre or row crop side of our business, where again, customers might blend on a herbicide or a pesticide or even a bio-ag or other bioactive product onto our clay to put on, let's say, row crops. Those plantings have been very high over the course of the last 12, 18 months.

如果你看我們業務中更偏向大田或列作的部分——同樣地，客戶可能會把除草劑、殺蟲劑，甚至生物農業（bio-ag）或其他生物活性產品，混拌到我們的黏土上，然後施用在例如列作作物上。在過去 12 到 18 個月期間，這些播種面積一直維持在非常高的水準。

We saw over 95 million acres of corn planted in the U.S. this past season, about 85 million of soy. So very high in the range of what we typically plant. That then drives naturally more tonnage of those products that need our clay as a functional carrier into that solution.

我們看到美國在上一季玉米播種面積超過 9,500 萬英畝，大豆約 8,500 萬英畝。因此，這些數字落在我們通常播種範圍的高端。這也自然帶動了更多此類產品的噸數需求，而這些解決方案需要我們的黏土作為功能性載體。

So all those things have kind of come together to help us grow our business. Again, we have a strong competitive position. We're partnering with some of the leaders in those various sectors, and then we've seen just general growth in ag and in the plantings that year-over-year have helped drive the business. All those things have come together to help our business grow.

所以，這些因素可說是共同促成了我們業務的成長。再次強調，我們具備強勁的競爭地位。我們與各個領域的領導者合作，同時也看到農業整體以及播種面積的年對年成長，進一步推動了業務。以上這些因素共同促使我們的業務成長。

Thanks, Wade. The next question comes from Jan Verbrugge from Value Square Funds. He asks, with the expanded revolver and the removal of the $100 million acquisition cap, how should we think about the size and focus of acquisitions you're considering, and what leverage would you be comfortable with? Also, if the number one capital allocation will be organic investment, should we expect CapEx to increase above the ±$35 million per year of the last couple of years? Any guidance on balance sheet and the usage of a bit of financial leverage would be helpful.

謝謝你，Wade。下一個問題來自 Value Square Funds 的 Jan Verbrugge。他問：在循環信貸（revolver）額度擴大、且取消 1 億美元併購上限之後，我們應如何看待你們正在考慮的併購規模與重點方向？你們可接受的槓桿水準為何？另外，如果資本配置的第一優先是有機投資，我們是否應預期資本支出（CapEx）會高於過去幾年每年約 ±3,500 萬美元的水準？若能提供一些關於資產負債表以及適度使用財務槓桿的指引，將會很有幫助。

Chris, I'm going to have you answer that, and Susan, feel free to chime in too.

Chris，我請你來回答這題；Susan，你也可以隨時補充。

Sure. I'll really start out with the piece that is M&A oriented. And then if Susan would like to chime in on the ongoing capital spending, that's great.

好的。我先從併購（M&A）相關的部分開始談。接著如果 Susan 想就持續性的資本支出補充，也很歡迎。

And Susan alluded to this piece too, and I can tell you we're very disciplined around being mission-led around creating value with sorbent minerals. And then we've really got some key strategic filters that we then run ourselves through before we engage. And then we're incredibly disciplined around remaining value driven and where we don't believe that we can drive value and return it to folks like you, we will remove ourselves from deals.

Susan 也提到過這一點。我可以告訴你，我們在以吸附礦物（sorbent minerals）創造價值這件事上非常自律，並以使命為導向。我們也有一些關鍵的策略性篩選條件，在投入洽談之前會先用來檢視自身是否符合。此外，我們在維持價值導向方面也極其自律；若我們不認為能創造價值並把回報帶給像你這樣的投資人，我們就會退出交易。

I would say, in thinking about M&A, we are certainly grateful to Susan's team for the additional dry powder, maybe spelled d-r-i, play on words, that they've provided us, and obviously the cash that I think just came across in one of Tyler's questions that the business is generating for us. But we're going to be prudent here. I think there's 85 years of history that shows we'll be prudent relative to the leverage coming from the balance sheet.

談到併購，我想我們確實很感謝 Susan 團隊提供的額外「乾火藥」（dry powder，或許可以拼成 d-r-i 的雙關），當然也包括 Tyler 其中一個問題提到、公司正在為我們創造的現金。但我們會保持審慎。我認為公司 85 年的歷史已經證明，我們在資產負債表槓桿方面會保持謹慎。

Hi, this is Susan. I'll just add one more thing on. Yes, I think it is lower risk to reinvest in our team and in our business because we actually know how to run this company and the operating team runs it well. So I definitely am pushing Aaron and his team to look for more opportunities that create long-term value for the shareholders and have the right returns and to think bigger than they have in the past. So it is possible that you could see some bigger reinvestment in the business at levels higher than you've seen in the past.

大家好，我是 Susan。我再補充一點。是的，我認為把資金再投資到我們的團隊與業務上風險較低，因為我們確實知道如何經營這家公司，而且營運團隊也做得很好。因此，我確實在推動 Aaron 和他的團隊去尋找更多能為股東創造長期價值、且具備適當報酬的機會，也希望他們能比過去想得更大。所以，你們確實有可能看到公司在業務再投資方面的規模高於過去的水準。

Great. Well, we are at time. Dan, I don't know if you have any closing remarks.

很好。那我們時間差不多了。Dan，我不確定你是否有任何結語。

Thank you, everybody. And we will look forward to talking to you next quarter. This was a great quarter, and onward and upward from here.

謝謝大家。我們期待下個季度再與各位交流。這是一個很棒的季度，接下來我們會再接再厲、持續向上。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位參與。您現在可以掛線。