Packaging Corp of America (PKG) 2025 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining Packaging Corporation of America's first-quarter 2025 earnings results conference call. Your host for today will be Mark Kowlzan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PCA. Upon conclusion of his narrative, there will be a question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the call over to Mr. Kowlzan. Please proceed when you are ready.

大家早安。感謝您參加美國包裝公司 2025 年第一季財報電話會議。今天的主持人是 PCA 董事長兼首席執行官 Mark Kowlzan。他的敘述結束後，將有一個問答環節。我想把電話轉給 Kowlzan 先生。準備好後請繼續。

Thank you, Jamie. Good morning, everyone, and thank you all for participating in Packaging Corporation of America's first-quarter 2025 earnings results conference call. Again, I'm Mark Kowlzan, Chairman and CEO of PCA. And with me on the call today is Tom Hassfurther, President of PCA; and Bob Mundy, our Chief Financial Officer. I'll begin the call as usual with an overview of the first quarter results, and then I'm going to turn the call over to Tom and Bob, who'll provide further details. After that, I'll wrap things up, and then we'll be glad to take questions.

謝謝你，傑米。大家早安，感謝大家參加美國包裝公司 2025 年第一季收益業績電話會議。再次聲明，我是 PCA 董事長兼執行長 Mark Kowlzan。今天與我一起參加電話會議的還有 PCA 總裁 Tom Hassfurther；以及我們的財務長鮑勃·芒迪 (Bob Mundy)。我將像往常一樣首先概述第一季的業績，然後將電話轉給湯姆和鮑勃，他們將提供更多詳細資訊。之後，我將結束本次會議，然後我們很樂意回答您的問題。

Yesterday, we reported first-quarter net income of $204 million or $2.26 per share. Excluding special items, first-quarter 2025 net income was $208 million or $2.31 per share compared to the first quarter of 2024 net income of $155 million or $1.72 per share. First quarter net sales were $2.1 billion in 2025 and $2 billion in 2024.

昨天，我們報告第一季淨收入為 2.04 億美元，即每股 2.26 美元。不包括特殊項目，2025 年第一季淨收入為 2.08 億美元，即每股 2.31 美元，而 2024 年第一季淨收入為 1.55 億美元，即每股 1.72 美元。2025 年第一季淨銷售額為 21 億美元，2024 年第一季淨銷售額為 20 億美元。

Total company EBITDA for the first quarter, excluding special items, was $421 million in 2025 and $333 million in 2024. First quarter net income included special items expenses of $0.05 per share, primarily for the closure costs related to corrugated products facilities. Details of special items for both the first quarter of 2025 and 2024 were included in the schedules that accompanied the earnings press release.

不包括特殊項目，公司第一季的總 EBITDA 在 2025 年為 4.21 億美元，在 2024 年為 3.33 億美元。第一季淨收入包括每股 0.05 美元的特殊項目費用，主要用於與瓦楞產品廠相關的關閉成本。2025 年第一季和 2024 年第一季特殊項目的詳細資訊均包含在收益新聞稿附帶的時間表中。

Excluding special items, the $0.59 per share increase in first-quarter 2025 earnings compared to the first quarter of 2024 was driven primarily by higher prices and mix of $0.78 per share and volume $0.27 per share in the Packaging segment; higher prices and mix in the Paper segment, $0.01; lower freight and logistics expenses, $0.01; and lower scheduled outage costs, $0.01. Partially offsetting these improvements, operating costs came in about where we expected at $0.37 above last year's level.

不包括特殊項目，2025 年第一季收益與 2024 年第一季相比每股增加 0.59 美元，主要原因是包裝部門的價格上漲以及每股 0.78 美元和每股 0.27 美元的銷量組合；紙張部分的價格和組合上漲 0.01 美元；降低運費和物流費用，0.01 美元；並降低計劃停機成本。部分抵消了這些改進，營運成本達到了我們預期的水平，比去年高出 0.37 美元。

Although we did see lower fiber prices during the quarter, we continue to experience inflation across most of our cost structure. Our focus on operational efficiency, cost reduction initiatives, capital project execution have helped minimize the negative impact of the persistent inflation.

儘管本季我們確實看到光纖價格下降，但我們的大部分成本結構仍在經歷通貨膨脹。我們專注於營運效率、成本削減措施和資本項目執行，這有助於最大限度地減少持續通貨膨脹的負面影響。

In addition, Paper segment volume was lower by $0.02 depreciation and other expenses were higher by $0.03 per share, our tax rate was higher by $0.04 per share, and we had higher interest expense of $0.03 per share. The results were $0.10 above the first quarter guidance of $2.21 per share, primarily due to higher prices and mix in the Packaging segment.

此外，造紙部門的銷售因折舊而下降了 0.02 美元，其他費用每股增加了 0.03 美元，我們的稅率每股增加了 0.04 美元，我們的利息費用每股增加了 0.03 美元。業績比第一季每股 2.21 美元的預期高出 0.10 美元，主要原因是包裝部門的價格上漲和產品組合增加。

Looking at the packaging business, EBITDA excluding special items in the first quarter of 2025 of $409 million with sales of $2 billion resulted in a margin of 21% versus last year's EBITDA of $326 million and sales of $1.8 billion, or an 18% margin.

縱觀包裝業務，2025 年第一季不包括特殊項目的 EBITDA 為 4.09 億美元，銷售額為 20 億美元，利潤率為 21%，而去年的 EBITDA 為 3.26 億美元，銷售額為 18 億美元，利潤率為 18%。

Excellent margin improvement for the quarter was driven by sound execution in our price increase implementation, solid box shipment volume, record containerboard production, and outstanding operational performance at our mills and box plants. We were also able to end the quarter at targeted inventory levels which puts us in great position compared to last year's historically low inventories.

本季利潤率的優異提升得益於我們提價措施的良好執行、穩定的紙箱出貨量、創紀錄的箱板紙產量以及我們工廠和紙箱廠出色的營運表現。我們還能夠在本季結束時達到目標庫存水平，與去年歷史最低庫存相比，這使我們處於有利地位。

Our employees continued to deliver on numerous cost reduction initiatives, efficiency improvements, integration and optimization enhancements, and capital project benefits to not only minimize the negative impact from the persistent inflation we currently see across most of our cost structure but also to capitalize on our longer-term strategic goals. I'll now turn it over to Tom, who's going to provide further details on containerboard sales and the corrugated business.

我們的員工繼續實施多項成本削減計劃、效率改進、整合和優化增強以及資本項目效益，不僅最大限度地減少了目前在我們大部分成本結構中看到的持續通貨膨脹帶來的負面影響，而且還利用了我們的長期戰略目標。現在我將把時間交給湯姆，他將提供有關箱板紙銷售和瓦楞紙業務的更多詳細資訊。

Thanks, Mark. The disciplined implementation of the price increases for liner, medium, and boxes, according to our announcements, was a significant contributor to this year's first-quarter results. Domestic containerboard and corrugated products prices and mix were $0.72 per share above the first quarter of 2024 and up $0.41 per share compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.

謝謝，馬克。根據我們的公告，嚴格執行內襯、介質和盒子的價格上漲，對今年第一季的業績做出了重大貢獻。國內箱板紙和瓦楞紙產品價格及組合比 2024 年第一季高出每股 0.72 美元，比 2024 年第四季高出每股 0.41 美元。

Export containerboard prices were up $0.06 per share versus last year's first quarter and down $0.01 per share compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. Although we began to see some pullback in the middle of the quarter related to the uncertainty created by trade tensions around the world, box demand was solid and exceeded a very strong comparative period in last year's first quarter.

出口箱板紙價格與去年第一季相比上漲了 0.06 美元/股，與 2024 年第四季相比下降了 0.01 美元/股。儘管我們在本季中期開始看到與全球貿易緊張局勢造成的不確定性相關的一些回調，但紙箱需求依然強勁，並且超過了去年第一季非常強勁的同期水平。

Total volume and shipments per day in our corrugated products plants were up 2.5% versus last year's first quarter when per day shipments were up 11% over the previous year. Also, in addition to supplying record containerboard production volume to meet the integrated needs of our box plants, outside sales volume of containerboard was 30,000 tons above the first quarter of 2024 and 6,000 tons above the fourth quarter of 2024.

我們的瓦楞紙製品工廠的日總產量和日出貨量與去年第一季相比增長了 2.5%，而去年日出貨量則比上年增長了 11%。此外，除了提供創紀錄的箱板紙產量以滿足我們紙箱廠的綜合需求外，箱板紙的外部銷售量還比 2024 年第一季高出 30,000 噸，比 2024 年第四季高出 6,000 噸。

As we look ahead to the second quarter, we expect the economic uncertainty to continue weighing on demand. However, we still believe the box shipments will be higher than the first quarter and above last year's tough comp which was up 9.2% over the previous year.

展望第二季度，我們預期經濟不確定性將持續影響需求。不過，我們仍然相信，箱裝出貨量將高於第一季度，並高於去年同期的出貨量（年增 9.2%）。

Regarding the strategic capital plan for our converting plants, I'd like to mention that in March we had a successful startup of our new state-of-the-art high-efficiency full-line box plant in Glendale, Arizona. The 365,000 square foot plant was started up ahead of schedule, significantly below budget and all equipment was operational during the first week of production.

關於我們加工廠的戰略資本計劃，我想提一下，三月我們在亞利桑那州格倫代爾成功啟動了新的最先進的高效全線箱體工廠。這座佔地 365,000 平方英尺的工廠提前開工，大大低於預算，並且所有設備在生產的第一周就投入運作。

Previously, we were limited in our ability to serve and grow with our customers in this key marketplace due to the plant's limited capability and aging equipment that required us to pull from several different locations, some of which were quite far away geographically. Our new plant will increase box capacity by almost 2 billion square feet, significantly increased productivity on a unit labor hour basis, reduce costs, and allows us to optimize our service capabilities, not only in the Phoenix area but also in the growing markets in Las Vegas and portions of California. I'll now turn it back to Mark.

先前，由於工廠產能有限、設備老化，需要我們從多個不同地點調運產品，而其中一些地點的地理位置相當遙遠，因此我們無法在這個關鍵市場為客戶提供服務並與其共同成長。我們的新工廠將使箱體容量增加近 20 億平方英尺，顯著提高單位工時生產率，降低成本，並使我們能夠優化服務能力，不僅在菲尼克斯地區，而且在拉斯維加斯和加州部分地區不斷增長的市場。現在我將話題轉回給馬克。

Thanks, Tom. Looking at the Paper segment, EBITDA excluding special items in the first quarter was $40 million, with sales of $154 million, or a 26% margin, compared to the first quarter of 2024 EBITDA of $41 million and sales of $164 million or a 25% margin.

謝謝，湯姆。就造紙部門而言，第一季不包括特殊項目的 EBITDA 為 4,000 萬美元，銷售額為 1.54 億美元，利潤率為 26%，而 2024 年第一季的 EBITDA 為 4,100 萬美元，銷售額為 1.64 億美元，利潤率為 25%。

The employees of our paper business continued to deliver excellent customer service and remain focused on efficient and cost-effective operations in order to deliver outstanding margins for the quarter. Similar to the industry, sales volume was 7% below a particularly strong first quarter of 2024 along with current economic uncertainty. Volume was 2% above the seasonally weaker fourth quarter of 2024.

我們的造紙業務員工繼續提供優質的客戶服務，並繼續專注於高效、經濟的運營，以便為本季度帶來出色的利潤。與行業類似，由於當前經濟不確定，銷售額比 2024 年第一季的強勁表現低 7%。交易量比季節性較弱的 2024 年第四季高出 2%。

Paper prices and mix were 2% above the first quarter of 2024 and flat versus the fourth quarter of 2024. Our previously announced price increase began to be implemented during the quarter for all office printing and converting grades. Prices have begun to move up according to the terms of our customers, and we expect to begin seeing higher prices in the second-quarter results. I'll now turn it over to Bob.

紙張價格及組合比 2024 年第一季高出 2%，與 2024 年第四季持平。我們先前宣布的價格上漲將在本季開始對所有辦公室印刷和轉換等級實施。根據客戶的條款，價格已開始上漲，我們預計第二季的業績將開始看到價格上漲。現在我將把發言權交給鮑伯。

Thanks, Mark. Cash provided by operations set a first-quarter record totaling $339 million, and free cash flow was also a first quarter record at $191 million. The primary payments of cash during the quarter included capital expenditures of $148 million and dividend payments of $112 million. Our quarter-end cash balance including marketable securities was $914 million with liquidity of just over $1.2 billion.

謝謝，馬克。經營活動提供的現金創下第一季紀錄，總額達 3.39 億美元，自由現金流也創下第一季紀錄，達 1.91 億美元。本季的主要現金支付包括 1.48 億美元的資本支出和 1.12 億美元的股息支付。我們的季末現金餘額（包括有價證券）為 9.14 億美元，流動性略高於 12 億美元。

As mentioned in our earnings release last night, to help manage the current economic uncertainty and its impact on our demand, we have adjusted our planned maintenance outage schedule and pulled up into the second quarter an outage that was scheduled for later in the year. This will result in a $0.16 per share increase in planned outage expenses for the second quarter versus the first quarter.

正如我們昨晚發布的收益報告中提到的那樣，為了幫助應對當前的經濟不確定性及其對我們需求的影響，我們調整了計劃的維護停機時間表，並將原定於今年晚些時候進行的停機提前到第二季度。這將導致第二季的計劃停機費用比第一季增加每股 0.16 美元。

The revised total company estimated cost impact for the year is now $1.22 per share versus $1.18 per share previously. The actual impact in the first quarter was $0.23 per share, and the revised estimated impact by quarter for the remainder of the year is now $0.39 per share in the second quarter, $0.16 in the third, and $0.44 per share in the fourth quarter. I'll now turn it back over to Mark.

修訂後的公司全年預計總成本影響現為每股 1.22 美元，而此前為每股 1.18 美元。第一季的實際影響為每股 0.23 美元，今年剩餘時間按季度修訂後的估計影響現為第二季每股 0.39 美元，第三季每股 0.16 美元，第四季每股 0.44 美元。現在我將把話題交還給馬克。

Thank you, Bob. Looking ahead, as we move from the first and into the second quarter, as always, our attention will remain on what we can control. Our North American focus, together with our balance sheet strength, well-capitalized mills and plants, our commitment to strategic goals, and our proven ability to respond quickly and effectively to external factors will serve us well during a period of economic uncertainty.

謝謝你，鮑伯。展望未來，隨著我們從第一季進入第二季度，一如既往，我們的注意力將集中在我們能夠控制的事情上。我們對北美市場的關注、實力雄厚的資產負債表、資金雄厚的工廠和工廠、對戰略目標的承諾以及我們已證實的對外部因素做出快速有效反應的能力，將在經濟不確定時期為我們提供良好的服務。

We anticipate continued ambiguity relative to domestic and foreign tariff actions and their effect on global trade and our demand trends. Therefore, we've made certain assumptions in our guidance to recognize potential negative impacts to volume and costs from this uncertainty.

我們預期國內外關稅行動及其對全球貿易和需求趨勢的影響將持續存在不確定性。因此，我們在指導中做出了某些假設，以認識到這種不確定性對產量和成本造成的潛在負面影響。

In the Packaging segment, we expect domestic prices to improve with continued implementation of our price increases along with fairly flat export prices. Although we see box shipments improving, operating costs will be negatively impacted due to lower containerboard volume as we run our operations to match demand assumptions.

在包裝領域，我們預計，隨著我們繼續實施價格上漲，加上出口價格基本上持平，國內價格將會改善。儘管我們看到箱裝船運量有所改善，但由於我們按照需求假設開展運營，箱板紙運輸量下降，運營成本將受到負面影響。

Also, as Bob mentioned, adjustments to our planned maintenance outage schedule will result in a $0.16 per share increase in outage costs compared to the first quarter. In the Paper segment, implementation of the higher published price index prices from the first quarter will continue, although volume will be lower with the planned maintenance outage at our International Falls, Minnesota mill.

此外，正如鮑伯所提到的，我們計劃的維護停機時間表的調整將導致停機成本與第一季相比每股增加 0.16 美元。在造紙部門，將繼續執行第一季公佈的較高價格指數價格，但由於我們位於明尼蘇達州國際瀑布城的工廠計劃進行維護停工，產量將有所下降。

Rail contract rate increases at six of our mills during the first and second quarters will result in higher freight and logistics expenses, and depreciation expense is assumed to be higher as well. Considering these items, we expect the second quarter earnings of $2.41 per share.

我們六家工廠在第一和第二季度的鐵路合約費率上調將導致運費和物流費用增加，並且折舊費用預計也會增加。考慮到這些因素，我們預計第二季每股收益為 2.41 美元。

With that, we'd be happy to entertain any questions. But I must remind you that some of the statements we've made on the call constituted forward-looking statements. The statements were based on current estimates, expectations, and projections of the company and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including the direction of the economy and those identified as risk factors in our annual report on Form 10-K on file with the SEC. The actual results could differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. And with that, Jamie, I'd like to open the call to questions, please.

因此，我們很樂意解答您的任何問題。但我必須提醒您，我們在電話會議上所做的一些陳述構成了前瞻性陳述。這些聲明是基於公司目前的估計、預期和預測，涉及固有風險和不確定性，包括經濟走向以及我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 表年度報告中確定的風險因素。實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中所表達的結果有重大差異。傑米，現在我開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) George Staphos, Bank of America Securities.

（操作員指示）喬治·斯塔福斯 (George Staphos)，美國銀行證券。

Thank you. Hi everyone, good morning. Thanks for the details. Bob, Tom, good morning. You mentioned ambiguity, obviously, the macro environment and you mentioned that you had made some change in how you're looking at your guidance and forecast. You laid out a couple of things. Were there some other points that you wanted to delve into in terms of how you're adjusting, how you're looking at forecast and guiding for the year? And relatedly, what are the early bookings and billings for 2Q?

謝謝。大家好，早安。謝謝你的詳細資料。鮑伯、湯姆，早安。您提到了宏觀環境的模糊性，並且您提到您對指導和預測的看法做出了一些改變。您列出了幾件事。關於您如何調整、如何看待今年的預測和指導，您是否還有其他想要深入探討的觀點？與此相關的是，第二季的早期預訂量和帳單量是多少？

Yeah. Everything we just talked about and the way we're looking at the quarter is based on, I’ll use the term caution, that's being exercised by our customer base. A lot of our customers are looking at their business, and everybody is being very prudent.

是的。我們剛才談論的一切以及我們對本季度的看法都是基於——我將使用謹慎這個詞——我們的客戶群所採取的謹慎態度。我們的許多客戶都在關注他們的業務，每個人都非常謹慎。

And so therefore, on the -- how the ordering is flowing through, everybody is just, again, being very cautious about how they present their business to the marketplace. So again, across the board, our business is still robust. But it's just -- again, I'm just going to use the word cautious. Tom, do you want to talk about cutup for the --

因此，關於訂單如何流通，每個人都非常謹慎地向市場展示他們的業務。所以，整體而言，我們的業務依然強勁。但這只是——我再說一遍，我只是想用「謹慎」這個詞。湯姆，你想談談--

Yeah, George. Our bookings and billings are up 4.1% starting out the quarter. So we're starting out well at about what we expected. I think the caution relates to a number of different things. You've got, obviously, the tariffs and these sorts of things. And you could listen to all the experts and talk about it, but there is no real expert in this arena right now because there's attempting to do things that haven't been done for a long, long time.

是的，喬治。從本季開始，我們的預訂量和帳單量增加了 4.1%。因此，我們的開局很好，基本上符合我們的預期。我認為謹慎與許多不同的事情有關。顯然，你已經考慮了關稅和諸如此類的事情。你可以聽取所有專家的意見並討論這個問題，但目前這個領域沒有真正的專家，因為他們正在嘗試做一些很久很久沒有做過的事情。

So I think there is some caution related around that. And also, this is happening at the same time where we're fully implementing a price increase. And in addition, the mix is changing somewhat in corrugated in total because e-com continues to be a growth engine for corrugated. And that's really related to the second half of the year, more so than the first half. So a lot of moving parts, and that's what we're reflecting. Bob, do you want to --

所以我認為這方面需要謹慎。而且，這與我們全面實施價格上漲是同時發生的。此外，由於電子商務持續成為瓦楞紙板的成長引擎，因此瓦楞紙板的整體結構正在發生一定變化。這確實與下半年有關，而不是上半年。所以有很多活動部件，這就是我們所反映的。鮑勃，你想--

Yeah, George. I'll just add one other thing, George. You have to also consider that, and we mentioned last night that we exceeded our guidance because of better price realization in our packaging segment. So that number -- the amount we exceeded that our internal guidance by was more than the $0.10 beat we had in the first quarter.

是的，喬治。我只想補充一點，喬治。您還必須考慮到這一點，我們昨晚提到，由於我們的包裝部門實現了更好的價格，我們超出了我們的預期。因此，這個數字——我們超出內部指導的金額比第一季超出的 0.10 美元還要多。

So said another way, that was something we thought we would get more likely in the second quarter. So that -- you have to consider that as well when you look at our second and first quarter together.

換句話說，我們認為這種情況在第二季更有可能發生。所以——當你把我們的第二季和第一季放在一起看時，你也必須考慮到這一點。

I see. I appreciate that and that adds some good color. Relatedly, so you said that inventories are where you'd like them to be. You're seeing an increase in box volumes. Yet we're seeing containerboard production, I think, you're implying coming lower 2Q versus 2Q.

我懂了。我很感激這一點，這也增添了一些美好的色彩。相關地，您說庫存處於您想要的位置。您會看到箱子數量增加。然而，我們看到箱板紙產量，我認為，你暗示第二季的產量將比第二季下降。

Help me understand if there are any missing parts in what I've just relayed. And if not, why you're reducing production if your inventory is in good shape as your box volumes are going up? And I recognize things are pretty cautious out there overall, which you mentioned.

請幫助我理解我剛剛傳達的內容中是否有任何缺失的部分。如果不是，那麼既然您的庫存狀況良好且箱量不斷增加，為什麼還要減少產量呢？我認識到總體情況相當謹慎，正如您所提到的。

And then lastly, you mentioned in fourth-quarter reporting that you were anticipating a richer mix for 1Q. From our numbers, profit per ton produced was up a couple of bucks, which is fine from 4Q. Is that where you expected it? Was it up or down versus expectations? Thank you guys and good luck in the quarter.

最後，您在第四季報告中提到，您預期第一季的產品組合會更加豐富。根據我們的數據，每噸產品的利潤增加了幾美元，與第四季度相比還不錯。那是您所期望的嗎？與預期相比是上升了還是下降了？謝謝你們，祝本季好運。

Let me talk to the first part there. As far as, again, based on what we're seeing in the marketplace, as we've always done, we're running to our expected demand across the board, what we see with our customer throughout North America. There, because of some of the trade tariff debate going on, we have pulled back from a very small amount of export going specifically to China. And it was just -- and again, it's a very, very small amount.

讓我先談談第一部分。就我們一直以來所做的那樣，根據我們在市場上看到的情況，我們正在全面滿足預期的需求，這也是我們在北美各地客戶所看到的情況。由於正在進行的一些貿易關稅爭論，我們已經減少了對中國的少量出口。而且這只是──再說一次，這是一個非常非常小的數字。

But again, just as we've always done, we're running to our customer demand. That being said, we anticipate the month of May, we'll probably have two of our smaller machines down for the month unless something changes dramatically. And so that's how we're going to manage our inventory. That has something to do with some of what we talked about with the cost impact on these outages.

但正如我們一直以來所做的那樣，我們正在滿足客戶的需求。話雖如此，我們預計，除非發生重大變化，否則五月我們的兩台小型機器可能會停機。這就是我們管理庫存的方式。這與我們討論的這些停電對成本的影響有關。

We're taking the mills down for their annual outage. We're pulling up the outage we referred to that we're pulling up from the latter part of the year is at Filer City, Michigan. That was planned for the fall, and we're pulling that up to the month of May. But that will probably keep one of the small machines down for the extra number of weeks as we see the inventories and demand move around.

我們將關閉工廠，因為它們每年都會停產。我們正在解決我們提到的從今年下半年開始發生的密西根州菲勒城停電問題。該計劃原定於秋季實施，現在我們將其提前至五月。但隨著庫存和需求的變化，這可能會導致其中一台小型機器停產數週。

And so we're just -- we're being cautious in our own right on how we look at the world. But that's -- again, we have that ability to move very quickly if we need to. There was another part of the question that you had there. Refresh me on -- what was that second part? Mix?

因此，我們只是——我們在看待世界的方式上保持謹慎。但那是——再說一次，如果需要的話，我們有能力迅速採取行動。您提到的問題還有另一部分。請告訴我──第二部分是什麼？混合？

I don't remember really talking about richer mix in the first quarter because the first quarter is just a pretty stable mix. And of course, you're not going to have a tremendous amount of graphics or anything like that in the first quarter. So the one -- couple of things that did impact us though in the first quarter that we haven't really even talked about. And that is we did have we did more weather-related closures than we would typically have in any winter. So that was impactful.

我不記得在第一季真正談論過更豐富的組合，因為第一季的組合相當穩定。當然，第一季你不會看到大量的圖形或類似的東西。因此，第一季確實有幾件事對我們產生了影響，但我們還沒有真正談論過。也就是說，我們因天氣因素而關閉的次數比一般冬季都要多。所以這很有影響力。

And then also in Southern Texas, the weather did impact the ag business down there to a large extent. But I think also what we're talking about -- when we talk about the mill outages and moving those up is because we do see the second half demand being significantly higher than the first half. So we see an opportunity to get that done. And so it just makes good sense so we can run full out the second half of the year.

同樣在德克薩斯州南部，天氣確實在很大程度上影響了那裡的農業。但我認為，當我們談論工廠停工並將其提前時，是因為我們確實看到下半年的需求明顯高於上半年。因此，我們看到了實現這一目標的機會。因此，這很有意義，這樣我們就可以全力以赴地完成下半年的工作。

Mike Roxland, Truist.

麥克·羅克克蘭（Mike Roxland），Truist。

Congrats on good results in a tough operating environment. In terms of just the $0.10 beat, can you just -- and you mentioned that higher prices and mix in packaging. Can you just provide a little more color with respect to your operations, something specifically the way you ran your mills? Was it something with the contracts were they were -- price was able to flow through faster? Just want to get a sense of how you're able to beat expectations by $0.10 in 1Q.

恭喜您在艱難的經營環境中取得良好業績。就 0.10 美元的差價而言，您能否——您提到價格更高並且包裝混合。您能否提供更多有關您的營運的信息，特別是您經營工廠的方式？是不是與合約有關－價格能夠流通得更快？只是想了解您如何能夠在第一季超出預期 0.10 美元。

As I called out on my portion of the script, we operated exceptionally well, but we also moved our price increase through very effectively. Tom, do you want to comment?

正如我所呼籲的劇本部分一樣，我們的運作非常出色，但我們也非常有效地提高了價格。湯姆，你想發表評論嗎？

Well, I just -- the only comment I would make is that we implemented the price increase exactly as we said we would in our announcements. And I think that's very important. So there was a larger portion, obviously, the price increase related to our outside sales of liner and medium along with the non-contract box price increase. And the rest of the contractual box price increase will continue to be rolled through in the second quarter and will be completed by July. So that will have that normal 90-day cycle that we typically see.

好吧，我只是——我唯一想說的是，我們完全按照我們在公告中所說的那樣實施了價格上漲。我認為這非常重要。因此，顯然，價格上漲的很大一部分與我們班輪和介質的外部銷售以及非合約箱價格上漲有關。而剩餘的合約箱價上調將在第二季度繼續滾動實施，並於7月完成。因此，這將是我們通常看到的正常的 90 天週期。

Got it. I appreciate the color there, Tom. And then just following up on your comments on e-commerce. You gained some share in e-commerce, I believe. Obviously, it's continuing to flow through ops. And some of it, obviously, maybe more traditional brown box type products as well.

知道了。我很欣賞那裡的色彩，湯姆。然後繼續跟進您對電子商務的評論。我相信你們在電子商務領域獲得了一些份額。顯然，它正在繼續流經操作。顯然，其中一些可能也是更傳統的棕色盒子類型的產品。

Can you just give a sense, some of those businesses where you had an e-commerce where they stand with respect to EBITDA margin and return invested capital relative to your underlying business. Is that the business that you picked up from an e-commerce vantage point or 20% type EBITDA margins, call it, mid-upper teens return on invested capital type business?

您能否簡單介紹一下，您經營的電子商務業務的 EBITDA 利潤率和投資資本回報率相對於基礎業務的狀況。這是您從電子商務的優勢角度選擇的業務，還是 20% 類型的 EBITDA 利潤率，或者稱之為中上十幾歲的投資資本回報率類型的業務？

Well, Mike, I would say we picked up -- our volume growth is primarily a result of our existing customers, number one. Number two is we did add some additional outside customers. We don't typically target any particular segment. We target customers that we know will be around for the long haul and that we've done business with for decades.

嗯，麥克，我想說我們的銷售成長主要是因為我們現有的客戶，這是第一點。第二，我們確實增加了一些外部客戶。我們通常不會針對任何特定的細分市場。我們的目標客戶是那些我們知道會長期與我們合作並且我們已經合作了幾十年的客戶。

Now that said, e-com is the number one growing segment in corrugated. And obviously, that becomes a larger segment for us as well since we do business with the e-com providers. And are the margins -- are the margins better or worse, whatever? No, the margins are what they are.

話雖如此，電子商務是瓦楞包裝領域成長最快的領域。顯然，由於我們與電子商務供應商有業務往來，這對我們來說也成為一個更大的細分市場。利潤率是變好還是變壞了？不，利潤就是利潤。

And then we make -- we don't take on business just for the sake of taking on volume. I mean I think we've said that many, many times. We have a business to run. Our customers have a business to run. We both expect to be able to make good returns in our businesses.

然後我們－我們不會僅僅為了承接數量而承接業務。我的意思是我認為我們已經說過很多次了。我們有生意要做。我們的客戶有生意要做。我們都期望能夠在自己的業務中獲得良好的回報。

So we've done a lot of things in our mills that we've talked about in terms of customizing our boards for different industries and different demands. And so I think that a lot of -- there's been discussion about let's say, as an example, well, price doesn't seem to move as much for certain industries or your mix. The mix is getting more towards brown than it is towards graphics, things like that.

因此，我們在工廠裡做了很多事情，我們討論了針對不同行業和不同需求客製化板材的問題。所以我認為，有很多——比如說，關於某些行業或組合的價格似乎沒有太大變動的討論。混合顏色越來越偏向棕色，而不是圖形等。

Well, that's really just a result of what's happening in the marketplace. If e-com is growing, that means big box is probably going the other way, which also means there's less graphics and displays and things like that and some of that other what you call richer mix. So we're just adapting to whatever the marketplace is. And that's demonstrated also in what we've talked about what we're doing in the second quarter.

嗯，這其實只是市場現狀導致的結果。如果電子商務正在成長，那就意味著大賣場可能會走向另一個方向，這也意味著圖形和顯示器等東西會減少，還有一些所謂的更豐富的組合。所以我們只是在適應市場的變化。我們也談到了第二季的行動，這也得到了證明。

Gabe Hajde, Wells Fargo Securities.

富國證券的 Gabe Hajde。

Tom, I want to challenge maybe a little bit of what you said. I mean two of the other competitors in the marketplace are talking about value over volume and trying to extract more from customers. Maybe I don't know if they're talking about retail-ready packaging or figuring out ways to upsell customers. Maybe wow them when they get that package on their ports and when the opening experience and things like that.

湯姆，我想對你所說的話提出一點質疑。我的意思是，市場上的另外兩個競爭對手正在談論價值而不是數量，並試圖從客戶那裡獲取更多。也許我不知道他們是在談論適合零售的包裝還是在想辦法向顧客追加銷售。當他們在端口上獲得該軟體包以及打開體驗等時，也許會讓他們驚嘆不已。

I'm just curious if you all are seeing that as you talk to your sales force across the different channels, those types of opportunities or if you've seen any change in behavior or if there's anything that you're seeing when you're going out for RFPs, things like that?

我只是好奇，當你們透過不同的管道與銷售人員交談時，你們是否都看到了這些類型的機會，或者你們是否看到了行為上的任何變化，或者當你們出去徵求 RFP 時是否看到了什麼，諸如此類的事情？

Well, Gabe, I think that some of that's a little bit of Gee whiz, if you ask me, but what we see -- we lead in this area, in my opinion, to offer our customers the very best value and the very best options that they may use the box for. And that's what makes the box very unique is that we can -- it can advertise. It can protect. It can do all these other sorts of things.

好吧，加布，如果你問我，我認為其中有些內容有點奇怪，但我們看到的是——我認為，我們在這個領域處於領先地位，為我們的客戶提供他們可以使用這個盒子的最佳價值和最佳選擇。這個盒子的獨特之處在於我們可以——它可以做廣告。它可以起到保護作用。它可以做所有這些其他的事情。

And it's the greatest -- probably the greatest product in the history of mankind from a sustainability and recyclability standpoint, too. So our customers are very sensitive to those sorts of things. They want us to bring the innovation and the ideas to them, which is what we do always.

從永續性和可回收性的角度來看，它也是最偉大的——也可能是人類歷史上最偉大的產品。所以我們的客戶對這些事情非常敏感。他們希望我們為他們帶來創新和創意，而這正是我們一直以來所做的。

So I'm not -- I don't want you to misinterpret what I'm saying that PCA is headed towards nothing but brown because that couldn't be further from the truth. But at the same time, we accept the realities of what's happening in the marketplace.

所以我不是——我不想讓你誤解我的說法，認為 PCA 只會走向棕色，因為這與事實相去甚遠。但同時，我們也接受市場上正在發生的現實。

Okay. In the press release, you mentioned some rail increases. I know those are typically timed around April 1, the day before Liberation Day. I'm just curious, it sounds like there were some increases that from a contractual standpoint, that were put through if you are willing to comment that there are more or less than what you were anticipating. And then if I could slip one other one in. I think you talked about CapEx at $148 million. The guide I want to say from memory was $840 million to $870 million, tracking a little bit below if we were to annualize it. I know things are lumpy, just curious if that $840 million to $870 million number is still what you're tracking towards.

好的。在新聞稿中，您提到了一些鐵路票價上漲。我知道這些通常發生在 4 月 1 日左右，即解放日的前一天。我只是好奇，從合約的角度來看，這聽起來像是有一些增加，如果你願意評論一下，這些增加是比你預期的多還是少。然後我是否可以再放一個進去。我認為您談到了 1.48 億美元的資本支出。我記得的指導價是 8.4 億美元到 8.7 億美元，如果以年率計算的話，會略低一些。我知道事情不太順利，只是好奇 8.4 億到 8.7 億美元這個數字是否仍是你所追蹤的目標。

Yeah. On the CapEx, we're still tracking on that $800 million level of spending. We broke ground on the new plant in Ohio back in February. So that's well underway, and we've got some other big projects going on. One big project at one of our mills and then just the numerous projects reconfiguring a couple of the other box plants on the East Coast. So there's a lot of good activity happening there on the capital side.

是的。在資本支出方面，我們仍在追蹤 8 億美元的支出水準。我們於二月在俄亥俄州破土動工建造新工廠。一切進展順利，而且我們還在進行一些其他大型專案。我們的一個工廠有一個大項目，然後還有許多項目重新配置東海岸的其他幾個箱子工廠。因此，在資本方面發生了很多良好的活動。

And on the rail increases Gabe, we had, I think, three in the first quarter. So you get a full quarter's worth of those in the second quarter. They happened about midway or couple were in March. And then we have three additional that will take place in the second quarter. So that was what drove our comment around freight.

加布 (Gabe) 在鐵軌上增加了分數，我認為我們在第一季就獲得了 3 分。因此，您可以在第二季度獲得整整一個季​​度的價值。它們發生在大約三月中旬或三月。然後我們還有三個將在第二季進行。這就是我們對貨運發表評論的原因。

Mark Weintraub, Seaport Research Partners.

馬克‧溫特勞布 (Mark Weintraub)，海港研究夥伴。

A few follow-ups. First off, on the sequential pricing, which, as you know, was very strong. Can you share kind of roughly speaking, how much of your box business is non-contract, and/or has that share increased meaningfully over time?

一些後續行動。首先，關於連續定價，如你所知，它非常強勁。您能否粗略地講一下，您的盒子業務中有多少是非合約業務，以及/或這一份額是否隨著時間的推移有顯著增加？

Our non-contract is about 30%, and 70% on contract. And that's been pretty consistent for years.

我們的非合約約佔30％，合約約佔70％。多年來，這種情況一直很一致。

Okay. And so I guess just -- can you help us a little bit more in explaining kind of how you are able to get as much as you got in the first quarter. And I think you noted it was better than you had expected to. And so I'm just sort of trying to understand what you'd be able to do. Was that because you were also recouping kind of inflation outside of just the price increases in some of your negotiations? Or any more color you could help provide.

好的。所以我想——您能否幫助我們進一步解釋一下您是如何在第一季取得如此多的成果的？我想你已經注意到了，這比你預期的要好。所以我只是想了解你能做什麼。這是因為除了在某些談判中價格上漲之外，你們還收回了通貨膨脹的影響嗎？或者您可以幫助提供任何其他顏色。

Let's just put it this way. We announced -- whether the publications picked it up or not, we made an announcement on linerboard and medium as to what we were going to do in terms of raising price, which we did. That's one.

我們就這麼說吧。我們宣布——無論出版物是否採用，我們都會在紙板和介質上宣布我們將採取的漲價措施，我們也確實這麼做了。那是一個。

Another factor is what we've done in the non-contractual area, and we got that through in a very quick fashion. So that -- from a timing standpoint, that was better. And although we've expressed some disappointment in terms of the amount of the contractual side that's tied to the publications, that's rolling through in its normal cycle over a 90-day period, like I said. So the majority of that will be recouped in the second quarter and then some into even the month of July.

另一個因素是我們在非合約領域所做的工作，我們以非常快的方式完成了這項工作。所以 — — 從時間角度來看，這是更好的。儘管我們對與出版物相關的合約金額表示有些失望，但正如我所說的那樣，這是在 90 天的正常週期內完成的。因此，大部分收入將在第二季收回，部分收入甚至將在 7 月收回。

Okay. And then second, you mentioned you expected volumes to be significantly higher in the second half than the first half. Maybe a bit more color there. Are there customer wins that are part of that equation? Or is that largely a macro view? What was sort of behind that comment?

好的。其次，您提到預計下半年的交易量將明顯高於上半年。那裡也許顏色更豐富一些。這個等式中是否有客戶獲勝的部分？或者這主要是一種宏觀觀點？這句話的背後隱藏著什麼意義？

That's more of a macro view, but furthermore, in addition, I mean, we know what's coming on. As I mentioned, we don't build these facilities like the Glendale, Arizona facility. We don't build these things and then hope the customers will come.

這更像是一種宏觀觀點，但此外，我的意思是，我們知道接下來會發生什麼。正如我所提到的，我們不會建造像亞利桑那州格倫代爾那樣的設施。我們不會建造這些東西然後希望顧客會來。

I mean we've got them lined up, and we built it because they have the demand for it. And of course, that plant will be ramping up, and will be -- it's doing incredibly well starting out. And I got to call out all of our engineering and technical staff as well as our plant staff and leadership teams. They've just done an unbelievable job.

我的意思是我們已經讓他們排好隊，我們建造它是因為他們有需求。當然，該工廠將會逐步擴大規模，而且一開始的業績就非常好。我必須召集我們所有的工程技術人員以及工廠員工和領導團隊。他們剛剛完成了一項令人難以置信的工作。

And I'm very proud of the fact that we can start up a plant literally with no hiccups and just ahead of schedule, below cost, and be fully operational like that. But we'll build into that plant as an example. And furthermore, just on a macro basis, the mix continues to be a little more second half loaded than steady year-round, which is not unusual for our mix, by the way. But just as we've gotten bigger, I mean it becomes a little more impactful.

我非常自豪，我們能夠毫無障礙地提前啟動工廠，以低於成本的成本全面投入營運。但我們將以該工廠為例。此外，僅從宏觀角度來看，下半年的組合負荷仍然比全年穩定水平略高，順便說一句，這對我們的組合來說並不罕見。但隨著我們規模越來越大，它的影響力也會越來越大。

Got you. And then just the last quarter's call, you talked about big cost increases, 1Q vs. 4Q. You'd indicated that you probably -- Bob, I think you'd indicated you'd probably get close to half of that back in the second quarter. I recognize you've layered in a whole bunch of other factors, too, but is that still conceptually true that about half of the type costs that you were seeing in 1Q vs. 4Q would be recouped into?

明白了。然後就在上個季度的電話會議上，您談到了第一季與第四季相比成本大幅增加的情況。您曾表示您可能——鮑勃，我想您曾表示您可能會在第二季度獲得接近一半的收益。我知道您也考慮了許多其他因素，但從概念上來說，您在第一季與第四季看到的成本中大約有一半可以收回嗎？

Yeah, Mark, that is correct. But as you also mentioned, the other things that we talked about relative to running our mills according to demand and pulling an outage into the second quarter and those types of things. obviously overshadowed that improvement you would have seen otherwise.

是的，馬克，沒錯。但正如您所提到的，我們討論的其他事情涉及根據需求運行工廠以及將停產推遲到第二季度等諸如此類的事情。顯然掩蓋了你原本會看到的改進。

Understood. And then lastly, just -- so you mentioned changes in the marketplace. E-commerce being a bigger part of the market. Has -- what implications does that have on your kind of views about lightweighting. And how important it is to increase that capability as that part of the market grows faster?

明白了。最後，您提到了市場變化。電子商務佔據了更大的市場份額。這對您對輕量化的看法有何影響？隨著該部分市場的快速成長，增強這種能力有多重要？

Well, Mark, I think as we've -- as I've mentioned in the past, and I think it's a competitive advantage we have, and that is that the investments that we have made in the mills, the investments we made in the box plants, what we've done in the marketplace, we're literally tailoring everything to what meets the needs and the demands of our customers.

嗯，馬克，我認為正如我們——正如我過去提到的，我認為這是我們的競爭優勢，那就是我們在工廠的投資，我們在紙箱廠的投資，我們在市場上所做的一切，我們實際上都在根據客戶的需求和要求進行定制。

So the answer -- the short answer is yes. I mean a lot of lightweighting has taken place, not only with PCA, but in the entire industry. And that's why I think that, as I've said before, when you use tons now as a measuring stick and if you don't make the adjustments for lightweighting, I think you can begin to fool yourself as to what to expect because this -- you just can't lightweight for the sake of lightweighting, and you can't just continue to run heavyweight board if that's not going to fit the demands of the customer.

所以答案——簡短的回答是肯定的。我的意思是，不僅在 PCA 領域，而且在整個行業中，都已經發生了很大的輕量化。這就是為什麼我認為，正如我之前所說的，當你現在使用噸作為衡量標準時，如果你不針對輕量化做出調整，我認為你會開始欺騙自己，因為這個——你不能為了輕量化而輕量化，你不能繼續使用重量級的板子，如果這不能滿足客戶的需求。

So this is all very, very customer-driven. And we've been on the cutting edge of this for quite some time and are very, very happy with the position we're in. And we measure what we sell, which is MSF. And that's really important to really understanding what's changing in the marketplace and what your margins really look like.

所以這一切都是非常以客戶為導向的。我們在這個領域已經處於領先地位很長一段時間了，並且對我們所處的地位感到非常非常滿意。我們對所銷售的產品進行測量，即 MSF。這對於真正了解市場變化以及您的利潤率到底是多少非常重要。

One thing I was thinking about with the new Jackson No. 3 machine running, that one machine and we'll have to calculate. But probably that one machine now is making more square feet of board than if you went back 15 years ago, than Counce and Valdosta used to run combined with the machines that they had.

我在考慮一件事，當新的傑克遜 3 號機器運行時，我們必須計算那台機器。但可能現在這台機器生產的板材面積比 15 年前還要大，比 Counce 和 Valdosta 過去所有機器生產的板材面積總和還要大。

And so it's just a testament that, again, we've gone significantly into taking advantage of the marketplace. And the lightweights have been very beneficial for us. But machines also like Jackson have enabled us to do that.

所以這再次證明我們已經在充分利用市場方面取得了很大進展。輕量級對我們來說非常有利。但像傑克森這樣的機器也使我們能夠做到這一點。

Well, I think one other thing I'll add to that, Mark, is that we have to be -- we have to have performance. And that's the technology that is, I think, unique to PCA that we've been able to really lightweight and get tremendous performance out of our boards. And we spent a lot of capital to be able to do that.

好吧，馬克，我想我還要補充一點，那就是我們必須——我們必須有表現。我認為，這是 PCA 獨有的技術，它使我們的電路板真正變得輕量化，同時又能發揮卓越的性能。為了做到這一點，我們投入了大量的資金。

I appreciate all the color. And Bob, I'm not sure if you plan to be on next quarter's call. If not, thank you for all your help, if you are, chat next time around.

我欣賞所有的色彩。鮑勃，我不確定您是否計劃參加下個季度的電話會議。如果沒有，謝謝您的幫助；如果可以，下次再聊。

Anthony Pettinari, Citi.

花旗銀行的安東尼‧佩蒂納裡 (Anthony Pettinari)。

Mark, you talked about cost inflation. And I'm just wondering, is there any tariff impact on any cost categories, whether it's steel or equipment from Europe or China? And then maybe following up on Gabe's question on just these box plant projects. I guess you kind of reiterated the full-year CapEx guide. But is the sort of timeline for these projects, maybe at all impacted by some of the cost inflation that you're seeing?

馬克，你談到了成本通膨。我只是想知道，關稅是否會對任何成本類別產生影響，無論是來自歐洲還是中國的鋼鐵或設備？然後也許會跟進 Gabe 關於這些箱式植物項目的問題。我想您重申了全年資本支出指南。但是這些項目的時間表是否會受到您所看到的成本通膨的影響？

Nothing in particular right now. We've had some small items anecdotal results of steel in particular with a few of the equipment purchases that we've been involved in. And so we've got our eyes wide open. And our purchasing team is really working with the supplier base and understanding what the implications are in a real-time fashion.

目前沒有什麼特別的事情。我們在參與的一些設備採購中，特別是鋼鐵方面，獲得了一些小型專案的軼事結果。因此我們睜大了眼睛。我們的採購團隊正在與供應商合作，即時了解其影響。

And that's something that -- again, it's been all hands on deck, trying to understand if you're ordering a piece of equipment that's coming from Germany or coming from Finland or France or Japan, they're probably sourcing the steel and its various types of steel, the different alloys, where is that coming from. And so there's a lot of moving parts here on the complexity of what's been happening with the tariff discussions out of the marketplace.

這是——再次強調，我們全員參與，試圖了解如果你訂購的設備來自德國、芬蘭、法國或日本，他們可能從哪裡採購鋼材及其各種類型的鋼材和不同的合金。因此，市場外的關稅討論中存在著許多複雜的因素。

But we've been watching that. We haven't had anything substantially that we've had to change. We're just -- we're making sure that we understand what the implications are. Bob, you got anything?

但我們一直在關注這一點。我們還沒有做出任何需要實質改變的事情。我們只是——我們要確保我們了解其意義。鮑勃，你有什麼發現嗎？

That pretty much sums it up.

這差不多就是總結了。

Okay. That's very helpful. And then I'm wondering, you gave that very helpful example on Jackson and just kind of the productivity that you've been able to drive maybe at the mill level. I'm curious with Glendale, how you'd compare it versus maybe sort of average box plant in your system with whatever metric you'd think about, whether it's throughput or cost or -- just if you could help us kind of understand sort of the capabilities and how it compares versus sort of quote unquote average box plant.

好的。這非常有幫助。然後我想知道，您給出了關於傑克遜的非常有用的例子，以及您可能在工廠層面能夠推動的生產力。我對格倫代爾感到好奇，您會如何將它與您系統中的平均箱式工廠進行比較，無論您考慮什麼指標，無論是吞吐量還是成本，或者 - 如果您能幫助我們了解它的功能以及它與所謂的平均箱式工廠相比如何。

Probably the simple answer, Anthony, is that Glendale is going to give you two times the output at less labor cost. So that's than your average box plant. Now, huge investment to do so. Don't forget that. And we have to recoup that capital investment and those sorts of things. But that's -- in order to get that, you're going to have to pay for that. But that in a nutshell is probably the easy answer.

安東尼，答案可能很簡單：格倫代爾將以更少的勞動成本為你帶來兩倍的產出。這比普通的箱式植物好。現在，需要投入巨資來實現這一目標。別忘了這一點。我們必須收回資本投資和諸如此類的東西。但為了得到它，你就必須付出代價。但簡而言之，這可能是簡單的答案。

And don't forget, if you go back over the last eight years, we have significantly recapitalized the majority of our converting operations. I can throw a number out. Probably 80% of our converting operations have been modernized and recapitalized to provide the type of efficiencies that Glendale provides only in a smaller footprint.

別忘了，如果回顧過去八年，我們已經對大部分的轉換業務進行了大規模資本重組。我可以說出一個數字。我們大約 80% 的轉換業務已經實現現代化和資本重組，從而能夠以較小的佔地面積實現 Glendale 所具備的效率。

So we've taken advantage of our technical capability to put the needs of what these plants are required to service the customers. So we're in a very strong position nationwide. Even though you might look at our operations and go, well, those plants are fifty years old. If you walked in the door, you'd realize that they're 50-year-old plants, but they've been capitalized so they're modern infrastructure and they perform in that manner.

因此，我們利用我們的技術能力來滿足這些工廠為客戶提供服務的需求。因此我們在全國範圍內處於非常有利的地位。儘管你可能會看看我們的營運情況，然後說，這些工廠已經有五十年的歷史了。如果你走進門，你會發現它們是有 50 年歷史的工廠，但它們已經資本化，因此它們是現代化的基礎設施，並以這種方式運作。

Right. And we've consolidated a lot of facilities over the years, too, as a result of this so that we're not operating -- we're virtually not operating any really what I'd call inefficient -- small footprint inefficient operations that we used to have a lot of those have all been consolidated over the years.

正確的。多年來，我們也整合了許多設施，因此，我們實際上沒有經營任何我稱之為低效的設施——我們過去擁有的許多佔地面積小、效率低下的設施，這些年來都已經整合了。

I think if you went back over the last 15 years, we've made 24 acquisitions. And we've built a number of new plants, but we probably closed, what, 20 plants or so.

我想，如果回顧過去 15 年，我們已經進行了 24 次收購。我們建造了許多新工廠，但可能關閉了大約 20 家工廠。

Little more than 20.

二十多一點。

So people tend to forget that that we've closed and shut down a number of plants and really rationalize business. So the PCA footprint today is unrecognizable to anybody that was looking at it 20 years ago.

因此人們往往會忘記我們已經關閉了一些工廠並真正實現業務合理化。因此，對於 20 年前的人來說，今天的 PCA 足跡是無法辨認的。

Phil Ng, Jefferies.

傑富瑞的 Phil Ng。

Bob, congrats, and thanks for all the help over the years. I guess first question, Tom, it sounded like you're pretty confident back half demand is going to be better than the first half with perhaps some of the wins from the investments you've made.

鮑勃，恭喜你，感謝你多年來的幫助。我想第一個問題，湯姆，聽起來你非常有信心下半年的需求會比上半年更好，這或許得益於你所做的投資。

So let's say that demand outlook does play out as you anticipate. Will you need to be drawing down production in the back half? Part of the reason the 2Q outlook is a little more muted pull forward of the maintenance? And then running containerboard production with demand. So if demand is better like you expect, will you need to kind of draw down production in the back half?

因此，假設需求前景確實如您所預期的那樣。您需要在下半年減少產量嗎？第二季前景略顯黯淡的部分原因是維修工作提早了？然後根據需求進行箱板紙生產。因此，如果需求像您預期的那樣好轉，您是否需要在下半年減少產量？

Well, I think in the back half, we're trying to match our mill production with what we expect the demand to be, and that's why we're pulling forward an outage in the second quarter that we would have had in the second half of the year.

嗯，我認為在下半年，我們正試圖使我們的工廠產量與我們預期的需求相匹配，這就是為什麼我們在第二季度提前了原本會在下半年發生的停產。

And that's -- we -- I think the thing to keep in mind is we're always going to run to demand. And we're going to do it in the most efficient manner we possibly can. And we don't -- we're not trying to manage quarterly results. We're trying to manage a business based on doing the right things for our customers and doing the most efficient thing we can for our facilities.

這就是──我們──我認為要記住的是，我們總是會滿足需求。我們將以盡可能最有效的方式來完成這項工作。我們不會—我們不會試圖管理季度業績。我們試圖以為客戶提供正確的事情和為我們的設施提供最高效的事情為基礎來管理業務。

Well, Tom, I guess asked differently, to the back half, you would expect your containerboard production to match pretty closely to box shipments, right, just because 2Q there's a mismatch on your possibilities. So the back half should lie (multiple speakers)

好吧，湯姆，我想問的是一個不同的問題，對於後半部分，你會期望你的箱板紙產量與箱裝貨量非常接近，對吧，只是因為第二季度你的可能性不匹配。所以後半部應該躺著（多位發言者）

Yeah. And if an example, export picks up in the second half, obviously, that we'll be exporting more in the second half than we will in the first half. We'll just have to see how all these things settle out. We're in a kind of a questionable mode right now, and I think that will clear up here in the next 90 days pretty significantly.

是的。舉個例子，如果下半年出口回升，顯然下半年的出口量會比上半年多。我們只需看看這一切事情如何解決。我們現在處於一種可疑的模式，我認為這種情況將在未來 90 天內明顯改善。

Okay. And then from a commentary, I mean April sounds like booking and billing is still reasonably strong. I think if I heard you correctly, up 4%. Maybe your -- the order patterns from your customers are a little more mix. Is that largely destock on their end?

好的。然後從評論來看，四月份的預訂和帳單聽起來仍然相當強勁。如果我沒聽錯的話，我想是漲了 4%。也許您的客戶的訂單模式更加複雜。這主要是因為他們去庫存了嗎？

Just so my question is really, do you have a view how much inventory is in the channel, whether it's the actual end customer or maybe customers in general, how long would it take to kind of flush out that destock and how much inventory perhaps is in the channel?

我的問題是，您是否知道渠道中有多少庫存，無論是實際的最終客戶還是一般客戶，清除庫存需要多長時間，以及渠道中可能有多少庫存？

I think our customers have been operating pretty lean with their inventories. This is what they're telling us because they're also concerned about what's happening globally and what's happening with tariffs and those sorts of things. So they're buying materials. They're doing all sorts of other things. And I think they're operating cautiously.

我認為我們的客戶在庫存管理方面一直非常精簡。他們之所以告訴我們這些，是因為他們也關心全球正在發生的事情以及關稅等議題。所以他們正在購買材料。他們還在做各種其他的事情。我認為他們正在謹慎行事。

So we have to be able to react quickly to changes in demand, which I think will occur once this thing really clears up. I expect that our customers will operate with pretty lean inventories over the next 60 or 90 days. And again, I think that will play a role in the second half of the year when they restock a lot of those inventories.

因此，我們必須能夠對需求的變化做出快速反應，我認為一旦這件事真正明朗起來，就會發生這種情況。我預計我們的客戶在未來 60 或 90 天內將以相當精簡的庫存運作。而且，我認為這將在下半年他們補充大量庫存時發揮作用。

Super. And then a question for you, Mark. You guys are -- as you kind of pointed out in your press release, well capitalized, strong balance sheet. You're going to be generating a decent amount of cash flow. Stock is down quite a bit. Is there an appetite to kind of step up your buybacks with your share price here?

極好的。然後再問你一個問題，馬克。正如你們在新聞稿中指出的那樣，你們資本充足，資產負債表強勁。您將會產生相當數量的現金流。股票下跌了不少。您是否有興趣根據目前的股價加大回購力道？

I think you just termed it well, there’s an opportunity. We'll let you know what we do.

我認為您剛才說得很好，這是一個機會。我們會讓您知道我們做了什麼。

Charlie Muir-Sands, BNP Paribas.

法國巴黎銀行的查理‧繆爾-桑茲 (Charlie Muir-Sands)。

Apologies. Acknowledging your comment about not running the business for quarterly reports. So I just wanted to understand, though, the pattern of what you're seeing, at the moment, I think you previously called out bookings are 8% in the first month of Q1. You were then up 2.5% for the quarter overall.

抱歉。我承認您關於不開展季度報告業務的評論。所以我只是想了解您所看到的模式，目前，我認為您之前所說的第一季第一個月的預訂量是 8%。本季整體上漲了 2.5%。

You're now saying that what you're seeing is up 4% in the first few weeks of Q2. I just wondered how much of that slowdown do you think that sort of implied there was temporary or were there calendar effects in that? And were there any particular customer segments that you’d call out that took more significant action.

您現在說的是，第二季前幾週的銷售額成長了 4%。我只是想知道，您認為這種放緩在多大程度上是暫時的，還是有日曆效應？您是否認為某些特定的客戶群需要採取更重要的行動？

And secondly, you've obviously said directionally that you expect volume to be up year on year and quarter on quarter in the second quarter. But just to sort of triangulate a bit, can you clarify on whether you're second-quarter guidance is predicated on the 4% growth that you're seeing in the current run rate? Or are you aiming off a little bit on that?

其次，您顯然已經明確表示，預計第二季的銷量將同比和環比增長。但是，只是為了進行一些三角測量，您能否澄清一下，您第二季度的指導是否基於當前運行率中 4% 的成長率？還是你的目標有點偏離這個方向？

All right, Charlie. Let me see if I can make a stab at a couple of these things. Yes, we did start out the first quarter with very strong bookings. It's -- first quarter is always probably the iffiest quarter there is in terms of how -- what's really going to happen in the quarter. The major impacts in our volume in that first quarter, in my opinion, were number one, weather, which we know took place in a number, as I mentioned.

好的，查理。讓我看看我是否可以嘗試其中的一些事情。是的，第一季開始時我們的預訂量確實非常強勁。就第一季的實際情況而言，第一季可能始終是最不確定的季度。我認為，第一季對我們銷售影響最大的是天氣，正如我所提到的，我們知道天氣影響很大。

But in addition, I think when these tariffs start to roll out and our customers became much more cautious about what they were going to do going forward, I think what you saw as they were drawing their inventories down. And that changed the demand curve quite a bit.

但此外，我認為，當這些關稅開始實施時，我們的客戶對未來的行動變得更加謹慎，我想你會看到他們正在減少庫存。這在很大程度上改變了需求曲線。

Second quarter, of course -- and again, I'm going to say keep in mind, that you're talking about a first quarter increase in volume over double digits that we had the previous quarter in 2024. And again, in the second quarter, we're going to be up. We're starting out a little ahead, maybe even to forecast.

當然是第二季度——我再次強調，請記住，您說的是第一季的銷量比 2024 年上一季增長了兩位數。再次，在第二季度，我們將會上升。我們已經開始向前邁進了一步，甚至可能進行預測。

But again, it's -- I think we were up 9.2%, I think, if I recall, second quarter of 2024. So we've got some really, really big comps that we're beating. And given the environment we're in and everything else, we feel very good about that. So I think -- and then of course, then I made comments about the second half of the year, and we'll see how those play out.

但話說回來，如果我沒記錯的話，我認為我們上漲了 9.2%，那是在 2024 年第二季。因此，我們擊敗了一些非常非常強大的競爭對手。考慮到我們所處的環境和其他一切，我們對此感覺非常好。所以我認為——當然，我對今年下半年發表了評論，我們將看看這些評論將如何發展。

Any other questions, Jamie? Anybody trying to get back into the queue?

還有其他問題嗎，傑米？有人想回到隊列嗎？

George Staphos, Bank of America Securities.

喬治‧斯塔福斯 (George Staphos)，美國銀行證券公司。

I'll keep it quick. I appreciate the follow-up. So Mark, you talked to this periodically on these calls. How do you view your paper supply situation in containerboard as you look out the next couple of quarters? Because even with the volume risk that in the market, you're doing well relative to the industry trends. And if we take your production and look at it relative to your capacity, there's not a ton of headroom. So how do you view your ability to keep up with demand? Are there any risks that you see in terms of being able to supply? (multiple speakers) about that?

我會盡快完成。我很感謝您的後續關注。馬克，你在這些電話會議中定期談到這個問題。展望未來幾季，您如何看待箱板紙的紙張供應情況？因為即使市場有數量風險，相對於產業趨勢而言，你的表現還是不錯的。如果我們將您的產量與您的產能進行比較，您會發現並沒有太多的提升空間。那麼您如何看待自己滿足需求的能力呢？您認為在供應方面是否有任何風險？（多位發言者）那是什麼？

George, if you went back over the last 15 years, we've always looked out at the future needs. And also there's a number of levers that we can move to satisfy what Tom needs in the box plant side. Don't forget, we are moving export around the world in a very small amount, but that's a portion of containerboard tons.

喬治，如果你回顧過去 15 年，你會發現我們總是著眼於未來的需求。我們還可以移動多個槓桿來滿足湯姆在箱式工廠的需求。別忘了，我們向世界各地出口的量非常小，但這只是箱板紙噸數的一部分。

If we needed to, that could be pulled back into the domestic market. But also, we've continued to improve the productivity out of the mills year after year. And we're always looking at opportunities out in the marketplace for what could we do in terms of a mill acquisition, a paper machine reconfiguration.

如果需要的話，我們可以將其拉回國內市場。而且，我們也年復一年地持續提高工廠的生產效率。我們一直在市場上尋找機會，看看我們可以在工廠收購、造紙機重新配置方面做些什麼。

So there's a number of things we're looking at. There's a number of things we're doing. And there's a number of things we always do to take care of what the box plants need.

所以我們正在關注很多事情。我們正在做很多事情。我們總是會做一些事情來滿足箱苗的需要。

Short term, over the next few years, I'm not worried. If you ask me about where are we going to be 10 years from now? Yeah, if we keep growing at the rate we're growing. We're going to -- high-class problem is we're going to need a significant amount of containerboard to satisfy the kind of growth trend if that were to continue at the pace we would expect. So those are high-class opportunities.

短期來看，在接下來的幾年裡，我並不擔心。如果你問我十年後我們會在哪裡？是的，如果我們繼續以現在的速度成長的話。我們將會——最大的問題是，如果這種成長趨勢按照我們預期的速度繼續下去，我們將需要大量的箱板紙來滿足這種成長趨勢。所以這些都是高級的機會。

No, clearly. Now if I look at -- and last one for me. If I look at basis weights, it looked like second half this past year trends were. As you pointed out, it was a lighter basis weight versus first half of '24. I didn't feel like there was that much of a change ‘24 versus '23 when I look at the data. So are there mix factors occurring such that yeah, in reality, the basis weight of your boxes is actually declining, but we're not seeing it in the aggregate data. And how would you say basis weights shifted year-on-year or sequentially in '25 so far?

不，顯然。現在，如果我看一下——對我來說這是最後一個。如果我看一下基礎重量，它看起來就像是去年下半年的趨勢。正如您所指出的，與 24 年上半年相比，它的基重較輕。當我查看數據時，我並不覺得 24 年與 23 年相比有太大的變化。那麼是否存在混合因素，是的，實際上，紙箱的基本重量確實在下降，但我們在匯總數據中看不到這一點。您認為自 25 年以來基礎權重年比或季後變動情況如何？

George, I think basis weights are continuing to come down. They'll come down again in '25 versus '24. I think it depends on the mix at any given point in time or whatever the case might be, but the general trend is down.

喬治，我認為基礎重量正在繼續下降。他們將在 25 年與 24 年之間再次相遇。我認為這取決於任何特定時間點的組合或任何情況，但總體趨勢是下降的。

And that's, again, as I mentioned, we have our proprietary boards that are tailor-made really for our customer mix, and they're predicated on making sure they perform.

正如我所提到的，我們擁有真正為我們的客戶組合量身定制的專有主機板，並以確保其性能為前提。

You can't just light weight for the sake of light weighting. I mean this is really true, true paper technology here. And so it's -- we'll continue to see that because I think there are opportunities for us going forward to continue to do that. And we plan to take advantage of that.

你不能僅僅為了減輕重量而減輕重量。我的意思是，這確實是真正的紙張技術。所以，我們會繼續看到這一點，因為我認為我們未來還有機會繼續這樣做。我們計劃利用這一點。

A good way to look at that is if you think about the last half dozen years, what we've done at the Jackson mill, when we first converted the Jackson No. 3 machine to make linerboard, we were doing it without the reconfiguration. So we were not able to make the high-performance grades.

一個很好的觀察方法是，如果你回想一下過去六年我們在傑克遜工廠所做的事情，當我們第一次將傑克遜 3 號機器改裝成生產牛卡紙時，我們是在沒有重新配置的情況下進行的。所以我們沒能取得高績效成績。

And then as we finished Phase 2 last year of the reconfiguration, that's what's really given us the big uplift. So Jackson has been a game changer in terms of the majority of the calling it the volume of square feet produced of these high-performance grades that we have the capability.

然後，當我們去年完成重組的第二階段時，這才真正為我們帶來了巨大的提升。因此，傑克遜已經改變了遊戲規則，就我們有能力生產的這些高性能等級的大部分平方英尺的數量而言。

I mean the Jackson machine, it's -- there's only one other machine in North America that can even compare to what the Jackson machine does. And so it's been a game changer for PCA. But at the same time, we've modified and brought on all our other linerboard machines to produce these high-performance grades. That's a big beast of a machine.

我的意思是傑克遜機器——北美只有另一台機器可以與傑克遜機器的功能相提並論。所以它對於 PCA 來說是一個改變遊戲規則的事件。但同時，我們對所有其他牛卡紙機進行了改造，並投入使用以生產這些高性能等級的牛卡紙。那是一台巨大的機器。

The beauty of Jackson is we're able to replicate a lot of what we're doing in Jackson in the other mills. And that's a great opportunity we have going forward. Jamie, any other questions?

傑克遜的美妙之處在於，我們能夠在傑克遜的其他工廠複製我們所做的很多事情。這是我們未來發展的一個很好的機會。傑米，還有其他問題嗎？

So at this time, I'm not showing any additional questions. Do you have any closing comments?

因此目前，我不會提出任何其他問題。您還有什麼結束語嗎？

Yes. Thank you, everybody, for joining us, and I appreciate your time today, and I look forward to talking with you in late July. Have a good day. Thank you.

是的。感謝大家加入我們，我很感謝您今天抽出時間，我期待著七月下旬與你們交談。祝你有美好的一天。謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, with that, we'll conclude today's conference call and presentation. We do thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議和演講就到此結束。我們非常感謝您的加入。現在您可以斷開線路了。