Packaging Corp of America (PKG) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day, everyone. Thank you for joining Packaging Corporation of America's first quarter 2026 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 Q&A session. Please also note today's event is being recorded.

各位好。感謝各位參加美國包裝公司（Packaging Corporation of America，PCA）2026 年第一季財報結果電話會議。今天的主持人是 PCA 董事長兼執行長 Mark Kowlzan。在他完成開場說明後，將進行問答環節。也請注意，今天的活動將會錄音。

I would now like to turn the floor over to Mr. Kowlzan. Please proceed when you're ready.

現在我想把會議交給 Kowlzan 先生。請您準備好後開始。

Thanks, Jamie, and good morning, everyone. Thank you all for participating in Packaging Corporation of America's first quarter 2026 earnings release conference call. Again, I'm Mark Kowlzan, Chairman and CEO of PCA. With me on the call today is Tom Hassfurther, President; and Kent Pflederer, our Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，Jamie，各位早安。感謝各位參與美國包裝公司 2026 年第一季財報發布電話會議。再次自我介紹，我是 PCA 董事長兼執行長 Mark Kowlzan。今天與我一同出席電話會議的還有總裁 Tom Hassfurther，以及財務長 Kent Pflederer。

As usual, I'll begin the call with an overview of the first quarter results, and then I'll be turning the call over to Tom and Kent, who will provide further details. And then I'll be wrapping things up, and then we'll be glad to take questions after.

照例，我會先概述第一季的業績，接著把電話會議交給 Tom 和 Kent，提供更多細節。之後我會做總結，並很樂意在最後回答各位的問題。

Yesterday, we reported first quarter net income of $171 million or $1.91 per share. Excluding special items, first quarter 2026 net income was $215 million or $2.40 per share compared to the first quarter 2025 net income of $208 million or $2.31 per share.

昨天，我們公布第一季淨利為 1.71 億美元，或每股 1.91 美元。排除特殊項目後，2026 年第一季淨利為 2.15 億美元，或每股 2.40 美元；相較之下，2025 年第一季淨利為 2.08 億美元，或每股 2.31 美元。

First quarter net sales were $2.4 billion in 2026 and $2.1 billion in 2025. Total company EBITDA for the first quarter, excluding special items, was $486 million in 2026 and $421 million in 2025. First quarter net income included special items expense of $0.49 per share primarily for the Wallula Mill restructuring charges as well as for costs relating to the acquisition and integration of the Greif containerboard business and also costs related to the closure of corrugated products facilities.

2026 年第一季淨銷售額為 24 億美元，2025 年為 21 億美元。第一季全公司 EBITDA（息稅折舊攤銷前利潤）排除特殊項目後，2026 年為 4.86 億美元，2025 年為 4.21 億美元。第一季淨利包含每股 0.49 美元的特殊項目費用，主要為 Wallula 紙廠重整費用，以及與收購並整合 Greif 箱板紙業務相關的成本，另包括關閉瓦楞產品設施的相關成本。

Details of the special items for the first quarter of 2026 and 2025 were included in the schedules that accompanied the earnings press release. Excluding the special items, our earnings increased by $0.09 per share compared to the first quarter of 2025. This increase was driven primarily by higher prices and mix in the legacy packaging segment, $0.17; lower fiber costs in the legacy packaging business, $0.11; lower maintenance outage expenses of $0.09; lower labor and operating costs in the legacy packaging business, $0.08; higher prices and mix in the Paper segment, $0.02; favorable volume in the paper segment, $0.01; lower tax rate, $0.01; and lower share count, $0.01.

2026 年與 2025 年第一季的特殊項目明細，已列於隨同財報新聞稿發布的附表中。排除特殊項目後，我們的每股盈餘較 2025 年第一季增加 0.09 美元。此增幅主要來自：既有包裝事業部價格與產品組合提升，0.17 美元；既有包裝業務纖維成本下降，0.11 美元；歲修停機費用下降，0.09 美元；既有包裝業務人力與營運成本下降，0.08 美元；紙品事業部價格與產品組合提升，0.02 美元；紙品事業部銷量有利，0.01 美元；稅率下降，0.01 美元；以及流通股數減少，0.01 美元。

These items were partially offset by higher freight costs of $0.13; lower production and sales volume in the legacy packaging business, $0.11; higher depreciation expense in the legacy packaging business, $0.05; higher labor and operating costs in the Paper segment for $0.03; higher corporate and other expenses, $0.03.

上述因素部分被以下項目抵銷：運輸費用增加 0.13 美元；既有包裝業務產量與銷售量下降 0.11 美元；既有包裝業務折舊費用增加 0.05 美元；紙品事業部人力與營運成本增加 0.03 美元；公司層級及其他費用增加 0.03 美元。

Also, the acquired Greif operations, including interest on acquisition indebtedness, generated a loss of $0.06 during the first quarter but primarily as a result of lower volume and higher costs due to the January storm that affected the Riverville Mill and the corrugated operations as well as higher than forecast freight and recycled fiber costs and unfavorable mix.

此外，收購的 Greif 營運（含收購負債利息）在第一季造成每股 0.06 美元的虧損，主要原因是 1 月風暴影響 Riverville 紙廠與瓦楞營運，導致銷量下降與成本上升；同時運費與回收纖維成本高於預期，且產品組合不利。

We exceeded our guidance of $2.20 on the strength of our operational and commercial performance during the quarter. including favorable volume and mix in the legacy packaging business and better than expected operating cost performance and lower labor and benefits costs. These were partially offset by higher freight costs and lower than expected earnings from the Greif business.

憑藉本季營運與商務表現的強勁動能，我們的每股盈餘超越了 2.20 美元的指引，其中包括既有包裝業務有利的銷量與產品組合，以及優於預期的營運成本表現與較低的人力與福利成本。上述成果部分被較高的運費，以及 Greif 業務獲利低於預期所抵銷。

Looking at the Packaging business. EBITDA, excluding special items in the first quarter of 2026 of $482 million with sales of $2.2 billion resulted in a margin of 22% versus last year's EBITDA of $409 million and sales of $2 billion or a 20.8% margin.

就包裝業務而言。2026 年第一季 EBITDA（排除特殊項目）為 4.82 億美元，銷售額為 22 億美元，EBITDA 利潤率為 22%；相較去年 EBITDA 為 4.09 億美元、銷售額為 20 億美元，利潤率為 20.8%。

We ran at full capacity during the quarter and completed the outage on the Counce number one machine during the quarter and completed the outages on the Counce number two machine and at the Jackson mill earlier in April. The Wallula mill reconfiguration was successfully completed, which immediately helped us reduce our cost of fiber, power, and labor.

本季我們以滿載產能運轉，並在本季完成 Counce 一號機的停機歲修，且於 4 月初完成 Counce 二號機與 Jackson 紙廠的停機歲修。Wallula 紙廠的重新配置已成功完成，並立即協助我們降低纖維、電力與人力成本。

For the quarter, we produced 1,398,000 tons of containerboard during the quarter. The legacy mills produced 1,210,000 tons of containerboard which was 25,000 tons less than the fourth quarter of 2025 and 40,000 tons less than the first quarter of 2025. System-wide, our inventories were down 39,000 tons from the end of the fourth quarter, and we meaningfully reduced the inventories carried by the acquired Greif plants.

本季我們生產了 1,398,000 噸箱板紙。既有紙廠生產 1,210,000 噸箱板紙，較 2025 年第四季少 25,000 噸，較 2025 年第一季少 40,000 噸。在全系統層面，我們的庫存較第四季末減少 39,000 噸，並大幅降低了收購之 Greif 工廠所持有的庫存。

Operational performance during the quarter was exceptional. With improvement in corrugated demand heading into a very busy outage schedule in the second quarter and an increasingly tight linerboard situation, we needed to run well and our mills delivered. Jackson set new production and speed records. We safely completed the Counce outages over the last month, and were able to bring both machines up earlier than scheduled and make up for some of the weather issues earlier in the quarter while helping us keep up with corrugated demand.

本季營運表現非常出色。在第二季將進入非常繁忙的停機歲修排程之前，瓦楞需求有所改善，加上牛皮面紙（linerboard）供需日益吃緊，我們需要維持良好運轉，而我們的紙廠也做到了。Jackson 創下新的產量與車速紀錄。過去一個月我們安全完成 Counce 的停機歲修，並能讓兩台機器比原定時程更早復機，彌補本季稍早的天候影響，同時協助我們跟上瓦楞需求。

In February, we saw Riverville produce at approximately 10% higher rate than what it was capable of doing when we completed the acquisition. Our Board of Directors approved the gas turbine projects for the Jackson, Alabama mill and Riverville, Virginia mills that we talked about on the last call and we're scoping a third project for the DeRidder, Louisiana mill, which we will [submit for approval in May at the Annual Board meeting with similar cost and return profiles.](corrected by company after the call)

2 月份，我們看到 Riverville 的產出率較完成收購時的可達水準高出約 10%。董事會已核准我們在上次電話會議中提到的阿拉巴馬州 Jackson 紙廠與維吉尼亞州 Riverville 紙廠燃氣渦輪機專案；同時我們也正在規劃路易斯安那州 DeRidder 紙廠的第三個專案，我們將會[在 5 月年度董事會會議上提交核准，成本與報酬概況相近。](公司於會後更正)

I'll now turn it over to Tom, who will provide further details on the containerboard sales and our containerboard business in general.

接下來我把時間交給 Tom，他將就箱板紙銷售以及我們的箱板紙業務整體情況提供更多細節。

Thank you, Mark. Our corrugated operations turned in a very strong quarter in all areas. Domestic containerboard and corrugated products prices and mix were $0.17 per share above the first quarter of 2025 and up $0.06 per share compared to the fourth quarter of 2025 and up approximately $0.12 excluding the Greif operations. This is mix-related as mix improves in the legacy PCA business 4Q to 1Q, but declines in the Greif business during the first quarter.

謝謝你，Mark。我們的瓦楞營運在各方面都交出非常強勁的一季表現。國內箱板紙與瓦楞產品的價格與產品組合，較 2025 年第一季每股高出 0.17 美元；較 2025 年第四季每股增加 0.06 美元；若排除 Greif 營運，則約增加 0.12 美元。這主要與產品組合有關：既有 PCA 業務的產品組合從第四季到第一季改善，但 Greif 業務在第一季的產品組合則下滑。

Export containerboard prices were flat with last year's first quarter and down $0.01 per share from the fourth quarter of 2025. Export sales volume of containerboard was up 6,500 tons from the fourth quarter of 2025 and down 13,000 tons from the first quarter of 2025. In the legacy business, corrugated shipments per day were up 2.8% versus last year's first quarter, a new record on a per day basis. With one fewer workday, total shipments were up 1.2%.

出口箱板紙價格與去年第一季持平，較 2025 年第四季每股下降 0.01 美元。箱板紙出口銷售量較 2025 年第四季增加 6,500 噸，但較 2025 年第一季減少 13,000 噸。在既有業務方面，每日瓦楞出貨量較去年第一季增加 2.8%，創下每日基準的新紀錄。由於少了一個工作日，總出貨量增加 1.2%。

We saw good growth across our entire book of business with legacy shipments running consistently 2% to 3% ahead of last year from the middle of January through the rest of the quarter and very strong so far in April.

我們看到整體業務組合全面呈現良好成長，自1月中旬至本季其餘期間，既有出貨量持續較去年同期高出2%至3%，且4月至今表現非常強勁。

Even with the situation playing out in the Middle East and higher fuel prices here in the states, we're seeing a resilient economy and continued strength in our customer ordering patterns across the board. We expect the second quarter to shape up similarly to the first in terms of demand and year-over-year growth.

即使中東局勢持續發展、以及美國國內燃料價格上升，我們仍看到具韌性的經濟環境，且客戶整體下單模式持續強勁。就需求與年增率而言，我們預期第二季的走勢將與第一季相近。

As Mark alluded to earlier, we are tight on containerboard, and we will need continued exceptional performance that we have come to expect from our mill operations to support our customers. Including the acquisition, shipments were up 22% per day and 20% in total compared to last year's first quarter.

如同Mark先前提到的，我們的箱板紙供應偏緊，因此我們需要紙廠營運持續維持我們一貫所期待的卓越表現，以支援客戶需求。包含併購在內，出貨量按日計較去年第一季增加22%，總量增加20%。

We began to see the seasonal pickup in the volume and improvement in mix from the acquired operations as the quarter progressed. We're off to a great start in April. We expect to see good sequential improvement in both volume and mix during Q2. We intend to complete systems integration by the end of the third quarter with all operations running on PCA's decentralized systems.

隨著季度推進，我們開始看到併購業務的出貨量出現季節性回升，產品組合也有所改善。我們在4月有個很好的開局。我們預期第二季在出貨量與產品組合兩方面都將出現良好的連續性改善。我們計畫在第三季末前完成系統整合，使所有營運都運行於PCA的分散式系統上。

As we progressed on our integration efforts, we focused on inventory reduction at the Greif plants and made great progress reducing carried inventories by around 10,000 tons during the quarter. We have room for further improvement and we'll continue these efforts in the second and third quarters.

在推進整合工作的同時，我們聚焦於Greif工廠的庫存降低，並在本季將在途/結轉庫存減少約10,000噸，取得很大進展。我們仍有進一步改善空間，並將在第二季與第三季持續推動這些工作。

We will be working to implement our price increases during the second quarter. Reported containerboard prices are up net $50 per ton from the beginning of the year. Due to the timing of how things played out, we did not get a meaningful benefit during the first quarter. We have had a lot of individual negotiations with our customers on how to implement this increase, and we are not going into any detail on that.

我們將在第二季推動落實漲價。自年初以來，報告的箱板紙價格淨上漲每噸50美元。由於時點因素，第一季我們並未獲得實質性的效益。我們已就如何落實此項漲價與客戶進行了大量個別協商，對此不會提供任何細節。

What I can say is that, in general, we expect to start to see the benefit during May with the normal implementation period beginning in June. So we expect some benefit during Q2 with the majority coming during Q3.

我能說的是，整體而言，我們預期將在5月開始看到效益，並於6月進入正常的落實期。因此，我們預期第二季會有部分效益，而主要效益將在第三季顯現。

I'll now turn it back to Mark.

接下來我把時間交回給Mark。

Thanks, Tom. Looking at the Paper segment, EBITDA, excluding special items, in the first quarter was $38 million, with sales of $160 million, or a 23.6% margin, compared to the first quarter 2025 EBITDA of $40 million and sales of $154 million or a 26.1% margin. Sales volume was approximately 3% above the first quarter of 2025 and approximately 4% above the fourth quarter 2025. Prices and mix were up 1% from the first quarter of 2025 and flat with the fourth quarter 2025.

謝謝，Tom。就紙品事業部而言，第一季EBITDA（不含特殊項目）為3,800萬美元，銷售額為1.60億美元，或23.6%的利潤率；相較之下，2025年第一季EBITDA為4,000萬美元、銷售額為1.54億美元，或26.1%的利潤率。銷售量約較2025年第一季高出3%，亦較2025年第四季高出約4%。價格與產品組合較2025年第一季上升1%，與2025年第四季持平。

We remain very pleased with the performance of the Paper business, which continues to generate high margins, driven by strong commercial and operational performance. We are working to implement the previously announced price increases and expect to benefit in Q2.

我們對紙品業務的表現仍非常滿意；在強勁的商業與營運表現帶動下，該業務持續創造高利潤率。我們正推動先前已公告的漲價落實，並預期在第二季受益。

I'll now turn it over to Kent.

接下來我把時間交給Kent。

Thanks, Mark. Cash provided by operations was $329 million and after $165 million of CapEx, free cash flow was $164 million. In addition to CapEx, the primary payments of cash during the quarter included dividend payments of $112 million, share repurchases of $59 million, cash tax payments of $18 million, and net interest payments of $11 million. We expect higher cash payments for taxes and interest in the second quarter.

謝謝，Mark。營運活動提供的現金為3.29億美元，扣除1.65億美元的資本支出（CapEx）後，自由現金流為1.64億美元。除CapEx外，本季主要現金支出包括：股利支付1.12億美元、庫藏股回購5,900萬美元、現金稅款支付1,800萬美元，以及淨利息支付1,100萬美元。我們預期第二季稅款與利息的現金支付將更高。

We repurchased 266,000 shares during the first quarter at an average price of $220.78. We have approximately $224 million of remaining repurchase authority.

第一季我們以平均每股220.78美元回購266,000股。我們尚有約2.24億美元的回購授權額度。

Excluding special items, our effective tax rate during the first quarter was just under 23%. This is lower than our forecasted 2026 full yearbook effective rate of 25% due to favorability from the vesting of employee equity awards during the first quarter. We expect our second quarter to be approximately 26%.

不含特殊項目，第一季有效稅率略低於23%。由於第一季員工股權獎酬歸屬（vesting）帶來的有利影響，該稅率低於我們預估的2026全年帳面有效稅率25%。我們預期第二季約為26%。

We continue to forecast $840 million to $870 million of CapEx and $700 million of DD&A for the year.

我們仍預估全年資本支出為8.40億至8.70億美元，折舊、攤銷與耗竭（DD&A）為7.00億美元。

I'd now like to give you an update on the annual outage schedule and the earnings impact for the year. Our outage expense was $0.14 during the first quarter. We now expect $0.36 in the second quarter, $0.31 in the third quarter, and $0.64 in the fourth quarter, totaling $1.44 for the year.

接下來我想更新年度停機檢修（outage）時程與其對全年獲利的影響。第一季停機檢修費用為每股0.14美元。我們目前預期第二季為每股0.36美元、第三季為每股0.31美元、第四季為每股0.64美元，全年合計每股1.44美元。

In the Packaging segment, the Counce and Jackson outages were completed earlier this month, and outages are scheduled at Tomahawk, Filer City, and Wallula later in the second quarter. In the Paper segment, the International Falls mill outage is scheduled for the third quarter.

在包裝事業部方面，Counce與Jackson廠的停機檢修已於本月稍早完成；第二季稍晚將在Tomahawk、Filer City與Wallula安排停機檢修。在紙品事業部方面，International Falls紙廠的停機檢修排定於第三季。

Finally, before Mark provides commentary on our second quarter forecast, I want to give you a little bit of detail on some of the sequential differences in costs from 1Q to 2Q. I just mentioned that we will incur approximately $0.22 of additional outage costs in Q2 with maintenance outages at five of the packaging mills. We are also expecting less sequential benefit from 1Q to 2Q and the reversal of cost increase for labor and benefits than we would normally expect.

最後，在Mark針對第二季展望提供評論之前，我想補充一些從第一季到第二季成本連續變動的細節。我剛提到，第二季因五座包裝紙廠的維修停機檢修，我們將額外發生約每股0.22美元的停機成本。此外，我們預期從第一季到第二季的連續性效益將低於一般情況，且勞工與福利成本上升的回轉效益也將不如通常預期。

Our employee stock compensation expense will be approximately $17 million higher for 2026 then for 2025 due to a change in timing of the recognition of expenses beginning with the awards we made earlier in the year. This will be evenly split between the second, third, and fourth quarters, and this higher expense will time out over the next two to three years as old awards vest.

由於今年稍早授予獎酬後，費用認列時點改變，2026年的員工股票酬勞費用將較2025年高出約1,700萬美元。這將平均分攤於第二、第三與第四季，且隨著舊獎酬歸屬，這項較高費用將在未來兩到三年逐步消退。

In addition, we were favorable in the first quarter on benefits costs, which we believe was timing related, and do not expect to repeat in the second quarter.

另外，我們第一季在福利成本方面表現有利，我們認為這與時點有關，預期第二季不會重現。

As for operating costs, we normally benefit from lower fuel costs and better fiber and chemical yields as we move out of winter. This year, fiber and chemical usage benefits will be more than offset by higher input prices across the board on chemicals as well as recycled fiber and to a lesser degree, wood fiber. Our overall cost in these areas will be higher in the second quarter than in the first quarter.

就營運成本而言，通常隨著冬季結束，我們會受益於較低的燃料成本，以及纖維與化學品更佳的得率。但今年，纖維與化學品用量帶來的效益，將被化學品、回收纖維以及較小程度的木纖維等各項投入價格全面上漲所抵銷。因此，這些領域的整體成本在第二季將高於第一季。

Natural gas prices have remained fairly stable, and we expect to see normal seasonal energy cost improvement on fuel costs with slightly higher purchased electricity costs. And obviously, we will have higher freight costs with higher diesel fuel prices expected to continue into the second quarter.

天然氣價格維持相對穩定，我們預期燃料成本將出現正常的季節性能源成本改善，但外購電力成本將略為上升。而且很明顯地，隨著柴油價格上升預期延續至第二季，我們的運輸成本也將更高。

And with that, I'll turn it back over to Mark.

以上，我把時間交回給Mark。

Thank you, Kent. As we move from the first quarter into the second quarter, we expect demand in the Packaging segment to remain strong and corrugated volume to increase with one more shipping day and some seasonal improvement, particularly in the acquired Greif operations.

謝謝你，Kent。從第一季進入第二季，我們預期包裝事業部需求將維持強勁，瓦楞紙箱出貨量將因多一個出貨日與部分季節性改善而增加，尤其是在併購的Greif營運據點。

Prices for containerboard and corrugated products will move higher later in the quarter with the implementation of our previously announced price increases and improved corrugated mix. Packaging mill production will be slightly higher with one more operating day and improvements at some of the mills more than offsetting the production impact of maintenance outages across the system.

隨著我們先前已宣布的漲價措施落實，以及瓦楞產品組合改善，本季稍晚時點箱板紙與瓦楞產品價格將走高。包裝紙廠產量將小幅增加，因多一個運轉日，且部分紙廠的改善將足以抵銷系統內維修停機對產量的影響。

Mill maintenance outage expense will be higher. We expect flat volume and higher prices in the paper segment as we continue to operate at full capacity and implement our previously announced paper price increases. Cost for freight, fiber and chemicals will be up due to higher prices and energy costs are expected to be seasonally lower.

紙廠維修停機費用將增加。我們預期紙品事業部的銷量持平、價格走高，因我們持續滿載運轉並落實先前已宣布的紙品漲價。由於價格上漲，運輸、纖維與化學品成本將上升；能源成本則預期因季節性因素而下降。

The sequential improvement in expenses for wages and benefits that we normally experience from the first quarter to the second quarter will be less than in the past years due to the higher stock compensation expenses and benefits costs in the second quarter that Kent called out earlier.

我們通常在第一季到第二季之間會看到薪資與福利費用的連續改善，但由於 Kent 先前提到第二季較高的股票酬勞費用與福利成本，今年的改善幅度將小於過往年度。

Finally, our tax rate will be higher due to the tax-related benefit of share-based compensation awards that vested in the first quarter. Considering all of these items, we expect second quarter earnings of $2.33 per share, excluding special items.

最後，由於第一季歸屬的以股份為基礎之酬勞獎勵帶來稅務相關利益，我們的有效稅率將提高。綜合以上各項因素，我們預期第二季每股盈餘為 2.33 美元（不含特殊項目）。

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 constitute forward-looking statements. The statements were based on current estimates, expectations, and projections of the company and do involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including the direction of the economy and those identified as risk factors in the annual report on Form 10-K on file with the SEC. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.

接下來我們很樂意回答各位的問題，但我必須提醒各位，我們在本次電話會議中所做的部分陳述屬於前瞻性陳述。這些陳述係基於公司目前的估計、預期與推測，並涉及固有風險與不確定性，包括經濟走向，以及向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交之 Form 10-K 年報中所列的風險因素。實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述所表達者有重大差異。

And with that, Jamie, I'd like to open up the call for questions, please.

那麼，Jamie，請開放電話會議進入提問環節。

(Operator Instructions) George Staphos, Bank of America.

(接線員指示) 美國銀行（Bank of America）的 George Staphos。

I appreciate the details. I guess the first question maybe to start, as always, can you talk a bit about bookings and billings into April? Any granularity that you're seeing that you can relay in terms of growth or declines in the quarter so far? And any sense of pre-buy that you're seeing, Mark, just because the price increases have been discussed since January?

感謝提供這些細節。我想第一個問題先從一如往常的開始：能否談談 4 月的接單與出貨/開立帳單（billings）情況？就目前本季迄今的成長或下滑，你們觀察到哪些更細的趨勢可以分享？另外，Mark，鑑於自 1 月以來就一直在討論漲價，你們是否看到任何提前拉貨（pre-buy）的跡象？

George, this is Tom. Now I'm going to -- I'll give you the legacy bookings numbers are up at 4.5%, bookings and billings are up 4.5%. Now that I want you to keep in mind that with the Greif assets, we are moving some business back around -- within the system and primarily more from the legacy to the Greif assets as opposed to the other way around.

George，我是 Tom。我先提供傳統（legacy）業務的接單數字：接單與出貨/開立帳單都成長 4.5%。但請記得，隨著 Greif 資產納入，我們正在把部分業務在系統內重新調整——主要是把更多業務從傳統資產移到 Greif 資產，而不是反過來。

So we view the business environment as being very good right now.

因此，我們認為目前的經營環境非常好。

Regarding pre-buy, we see no pre-buy at all right now. In fact, this has been muddy waters, as you might say, regarding the price increases and that stuff going at the moment. So we see no pre-buy at this point in time. Our customers continue to operate with very lean inventories, and I think they'll continue to do so.

至於提前拉貨，目前我們完全沒有看到。事實上，正如你可能會說的，關於漲價以及目前正在發生的那些事情，局勢有些混沌不清。所以此時此刻我們看不到任何提前拉貨。我們的客戶仍以非常精實的庫存運作，我認為他們也會持續如此。

Next question. Can you talk a bit about why Greif was a loss of $0.06 in the quarter? I think that was down -- that was a little bit worse than the fourth quarter figure, which I think was $0.05. And how is the business performing as the company typically relays, you're doing better on production, the mills are looking better, yet we still had some losses there? What's happening there? How is performance, when does that improve? And I had one last follow-on.

下一個問題。能否談談為什麼 Greif 本季每股虧損 0.06 美元？我認為這比第四季的數字（好像是 0.05 美元）還要差一些。一般公司對外的說法是，你們在生產方面做得更好、紙廠狀況也更好，但我們仍看到一些虧損。那裡到底發生了什麼？營運表現如何、何時會改善？我還有最後一個追問。

George, as we called out on the January call, the January storm impacts were very significant. And quite frankly, the Riverville mill was the most impacted mill in the system. For the better part of the week, we didn't move any production out of there. And we called out at your meeting down in Fort Lauderdale we were probably around $0.05 of impact as a result of the storm.

George，正如我們在 1 月的電話會議中提到的，1 月風暴的影響非常顯著。坦白說，Riverville 紙廠是整個系統中受影響最嚴重的紙廠。在那一週的大部分時間裡，我們沒有從那裡運出任何產量。而且我們在你於 Fort Lauderdale 的會議上也提到，風暴造成的影響大約是 0.05 美元。

Kent, why don't you gave a little more color to that?

Kent，你要不要再補充一些細節？

Yeah, that's right, George. So we had about -- we had weather impacts that hit not just Riverville, but corrugated operations were disrupted as well, and they don't come back on the sheet feeder side, as well as able to make up in the corrugated side.

對，沒錯，George。我們受到天候影響的不只是 Riverville，瓦楞營運也受到干擾；而且在單張進紙（sheet feeder）端無法像瓦楞端那樣把產量補回來。

Greif is -- and Tom can elaborate on this a little more. Greif is a seasonal business. Mix was a little lower than we had forecast in January and February, but returned nicely in March. So all that in, that was a -- throw-in higher recycled and freight costs and we came in with the number that we reported.

Greif——Tom 也可以再多補充一些——Greif 是一個具季節性的業務。Greif 是季節性業務。1、2 月的產品組合（mix）比我們 1 月預測的略低，但 3 月已明顯回升。綜合以上，再加上回收料與運費成本較高，我們最終呈現了所報告的數字。

Now on the positive side, Greif operations in February were about as good as we've seen them. The productivity at the mills was, as Mark called out in the script, about 10% higher than we'd seen prior to acquisition. And it was so good, we actually dialed it back a little bit in March in order to bring the inventory levels in where we brought them in.

不過正面來看，Greif 在 2 月的營運表現幾乎是我們見過最好的水準。如同 Mark 在講稿中提到的，紙廠生產力比收購前我們看到的高出約 10%。而且表現好到我們在 3 月還稍微把它調降一些，以便把庫存水位拉回到我們希望的水準。

So Tom, do you have any further on that?

Tom，你還有要補充的嗎？

I'll just add that -- just to add a little color to it. we did not expect, and were not aware of the seasonality, especially related to the box business side of Greif in terms of the first quarter. So that first quarter is by far their weakest quarter in terms of volume, and then it accelerates after that all the way through the year.

我再補充一點背景。我們原本沒有預期、也沒有意識到 Greif 的季節性，特別是與其箱體（box）業務在第一季的表現相關。因此第一季就其銷量而言是他們全年最弱的一季，之後會一路加速到年底。

So that was a bit of a surprise to us. But the good news is it's returned in the second quarter quite nicely and exactly as they had forecast. So that's the good news. And then this also is allowing us some flexibility in the system to really move some business around to be more efficient in terms of our operations.

所以這對我們來說有點意外。但好消息是，第二季已如期相當不錯地回升，完全符合他們原先的預測。這就是好消息。此外，這也讓我們在系統內有一些彈性，可以把部分業務重新配置，讓營運效率更高。

And also don't forget that there was a lot of activity and a lot of work still going on in the mill system of Greif during that first quarter.

另外也別忘了，Greif 的紙廠系統在第一季仍有大量活動與許多工作在進行。

Understood. Last one, and I'll turn it over, if possible. Is there a way to provide some further quantification or at least direction on the sequential changes? So we know what the outage hit will be 2Q versus 1Q. You talked about the stock comp expense being up, I think, $17 million. But what does that mean in terms of the 1Q to 2Q variance? And is there a way to, if not precisely, maybe ballpark a bit for us, freight, energy, other costs, what that inflation looks like 1Q to 2Q? Tax, I think, is like a, call it, $0.06, $0.07, $0.08 effect 1Q to 2Q. Have a good quarter. .

了解。最後一題，我問完就交給其他人，如果可以的話。能否就連續變動（sequential changes）提供更進一步的量化，或至少方向性的說明？例如我們知道第二季相較第一季，停機的影響會是多少。你提到股票酬勞費用增加，我記得是 1,700 萬美元。但這對第一季到第二季的差異意味著什麼？另外，如果無法精確，也能否大致估算一下第一季到第二季運費、能源與其他成本的變動，通膨幅度大概如何？稅率方面，我想第一季到第二季大概是 0.06、0.07 或 0.08 美元的影響。祝你們本季表現順利。.

Okay. George, I'll tackle that one. So on the stock comp expense, we called out we'd be $17 million higher. So that means 2Q is going to look much more like first Q -- much more like 1Q than it has historically in the past where you were beneficial 1Q to 2Q. Okay? So we'll be running maybe $6 million higher in 2Q than we were in '25.

好的。George，我來回答這題。關於股票薪酬費用，我們提到會高出1,700萬美元。這表示第二季看起來會更像第一季——比起過去歷史上第一季到第二季通常會有利的情況，這次第二季會更接近第一季。好嗎？因此，第二季我們可能會比'25年高出約600萬美元。

On some of the others. So freight fiber chemicals, estimate maybe $0.15 higher 1Q to 2Q. Normally, we're flat to slightly beneficial in those areas, okay? So that's a little bit of a drag there. And George, I'm sorry, I think I'm missing one of the other sub parts of your question.

再談其他一些項目。像是運費、纖維、化學品，估計第一季到第二季可能會高出約0.15美元。通常這些領域我們是持平到略為有利的，好嗎？所以這裡會有一點拖累。另外George，抱歉，我想我漏掉了你問題中的另一個子題。

Yeah. tax, I think, is we can do our own calculation, but that's probably a nickel, dime.

對。稅的部分，我想我們可以自己算，但大概是5到10美分。

Yes.

是的。

Michael Roxland, Truist Securities.

Michael Roxland，Truist Securities。

This is Nico Piccini on for Mike. Just first off, kind of to piggyback off the cost question. What do you have at your disposal outside of price to offset those costs, recognizing that in 2Q, it seems like you might have some uncovered costs with the price impact really hitting later in the quarter?

我是代替Mike發問的Nico Piccini。先延續一下成本的問題。在不靠價格的情況下，你們手上還有哪些手段可以抵消這些成本？考量到第二季看起來可能會有一些成本尚未被覆蓋，而價格的影響似乎要到季度後段才會更明顯？

As far as levers to deal with cost, I mean, obviously, the only thing you can do is run incredibly well, very efficiently and just execute at the top of your game, which we generally do that. But that's what we're facing with the headwinds on some of the price escalation. Tom?

就應對成本的槓桿而言，我的意思是，很明顯你能做的就是把營運做得非常好、非常有效率，並且在執行上做到最好，而我們一般確實是這麼做的。但這就是我們在某些價格上調帶來的逆風下所面臨的狀況。Tom？

I think the other thing that we're doing is we are optimizing the mill system now, now that we have Massillon and Riverville running much better and much more reliably. So we're moving that mix around to the mills that are best suited to run that mix and from a freight standpoint are better off.

我想我們正在做的另一件事是，現在我們在最佳化紙廠系統；因為Massillon和Riverville運轉得更好、也更可靠了。所以我們正在調整產品組合，把該組合移到最適合生產的紙廠，並且從運費角度來看也更有利。

Then we also were doing that in the box business as well. Within the Greif system, as I mentioned, we are moving quite a bit of business around to optimize that system and to optimize our freight opportunities. Outside of that, as Mark said, we have to operate incredibly well. And that's the gist of what we've got in our arsenal to offset some of these cost increases.

我們在紙箱業務也同樣在做這件事。在Greif系統內，如我提到的，我們正在把相當多的業務在系統內移轉，以最佳化整個系統並最佳化我們的運費機會。除此之外，如Mark所說，我們必須把營運做得非常好。這就是我們用來抵消部分成本上升的主要手段。

Got it. Understood. I appreciate that. Just quickly on Greif, having owned, I guess, the business for eight months now, maybe, putting quite a bit of work into the mills. Do you have any sense of upside to the original $60 million synergy target now that you've kind of progressed through integration and getting the mills on the system?

了解。明白。謝謝。再快速問一下Greif：你們擁有這項業務大概八個月了，也在紙廠投入了不少工作。在整合推進、並把紙廠納入系統之後，你們是否覺得原先6,000萬美元的協同效益目標有上行空間？

So without upside, but I think I should give you at least an update of what we're looking at right now. Based on what we saw and what Riverville and Massillon could do in February, we're going to be at a run rate of about $15 million to $20 million of just productivity improvements from those mills. We will then start layering in over the next few quarters, freight optimization. And actually, I mean, that's ongoing right now. That's not a future thing. That's ongoing right now.

目前不談上行，但我想至少給你一個我們現在看到的更新。根據我們在2月看到的Riverville和Massillon的表現，僅就這些紙廠的生產力改善，我們的年化運行率大約會是1,500萬到2,000萬美元。接下來在未來幾個季度，我們會開始逐步疊加運費最佳化。其實，我的意思是，這件事現在就正在進行。這不是未來才會做的事。這是現在就正在進行。

But freight optimization and then integration opportunities from additional tonnage from PCA into the Greif system as well as from Greif into the PCA system. So that work is ongoing. But at least I wanted to give you an update on where we were at from a run rate standpoint right now, we're well on target to be at that $30 million run rate by the end of the year.

此外還有運費最佳化，以及整合機會：包括PCA額外的噸數導入Greif系統，以及Greif的噸數導入PCA系統。所以這些工作都在進行中。但我至少想先更新一下，就目前的年化運行率而言，我們很有把握在年底達到3,000萬美元的年化運行率目標。

Mark and Tom, anything further to add there?

Mark和Tom，還有要補充的嗎？

No. work continues on a daily basis to take advantage of all these opportunities.

沒有。每天都持續推進，以把握所有這些機會。

Mark Adam Weintraub, Seaport Research Partners.

Mark Adam Weintraub，Seaport Research Partners。

Great. Maybe just first starting a little bit more on Greif, trying to square. So if we look at the last six months based on the EPS number, I mean, it seems to me it's probably a little less than $100 million in EBITDA from the business. And I believe kind of coming in, the base was close to 240 million and then we were going to get synergies on top.

很好。也許先從Greif再多問一點，想把一些數字對起來。如果我們看過去六個月、以EPS數字推算，我的理解是這項業務的EBITDA可能略低於1億美元。而我記得在交易一開始時，基礎EBITDA接近2.4億美元，然後我們還要在此之上再加上協同效益。

And I realize maybe synergies show up in the legacy business as well. So maybe this is kind of complicating the analysis. But I'm really sort of just trying to gauge the magnitude of upside from things like seasonality, et cetera, et cetera. How much additional firepower is there relative to what we've seen in Greif over the last 6 months when you think about the contribution the business can be providing on a kind of full year basis as the synergies, et cetera, are fully layered in and the mix and seasonality issues are come to bear more favorably?

我也理解協同效益可能也會反映在既有業務上。所以這可能讓分析更複雜。但我主要是想衡量像季節性等等因素帶來的上行幅度。當協同效益等都完全疊加、產品組合與季節性因素更有利地發揮時，相較於我們過去六個月在Greif看到的表現，這項業務在全年基礎上能提供的貢獻，還有多少額外的火力？

Okay. Mark, it's Kent. I will start and then Tom will add some color on this, okay? Going from 1Q into 2Q, we believe now we're going to get the full performance out of this business. with the mills running consistently at higher productivity rates and entering a seasonally stronger business and start to pull some more integration through.

好的。Mark，我是Kent。我先說，然後Tom再補充一些細節，好嗎？從第一季進入第二季，我們現在相信這項業務將能展現完整的表現：紙廠能以更高的生產力水準穩定運轉，並進入季節性更強的需求期，同時也會再拉進更多整合效益。

We're forecasting sequentially improvement conservatively about $0.10, 1Q to 2Q. So we expect to be accretive in the second quarter and going forward. Most of that improvement is from mix improvement and productivity improvement and then a little bit of price increase layered on top of that. We expect them to continue to improve 3Q just as the business and the seasonality even improves more. Tom?

我們保守預估第一季到第二季的序列改善約0.10美元。因此我們預期第二季以及往後都會具增益（accretive）。這些改善大多來自產品組合改善與生產力提升，另外再疊加一點點漲價效果。我們也預期第三季會持續改善，因為業務與季節性會進一步轉強。Tom？

Well, I would just remind you, Mark, that when we finalized the acquisition, and we got involved in taking a good hard look at the assets, primarily the mills, we knew there were some difficulty and some hard work to do, and it turned out that we were right, okay? And so it's -- we get off to a start that says, we're going to have to shut some time down at the mills and get some work done and make a big investment, do all those other sorts of things associated with it. And now we're coming on the other side of that, and things are significantly better, and they're performing very, very well. So this will accelerate as we go forward.

我只想提醒你，Mark，當我們完成收購並深入檢視資產、主要是紙廠時，我們就知道會有一些困難、也需要做很多硬仗，而結果證明我們的判斷是對的，好嗎？所以——我們一開始就知道必須讓紙廠停機一段時間來完成一些工作，並進行大筆投資，以及所有相關的其他事項。而現在我們正走過那段階段，情況明顯好轉，表現非常、非常好。因此，隨著我們往前推進，這會加速改善。

And as I mentioned earlier, and I think this is really vital to our system because we need some extra capacity on the box side as well. and they're providing that, and that's going to be some significant upside.

如同我先前提到的，而且我認為這對我們的系統確實至關重要，因為我們在箱板端也需要一些額外產能。而他們正在提供這些，這將帶來相當可觀的上行空間。

Okay. Great. And I'm not going to try and drag you through kind of all the delta drivers. But I guess, as I think about what seems to be embedded on the upside because you told us some of the downsides going from 1Q to 2Q. It doesn't seem like there's a huge amount of upside being given for some variables, which in particular, pricing in 2Q numbers.

好的。很好。我不打算硬拉著你把所有的差異驅動因素都走一遍。但我想，當我思考你所說從第1季到第2季的一些下行因素之後，看起來在某些變數上，市場並沒有給太多上行預期，特別是第2季數字中的定價。

Is it fair to say that you would, at this juncture, assuming things continue along the path they are that you're going to see the real big change is going to be 2Q to 3Q. That's where the earnings are going to really -- and to the extent that you're comfortable providing any color on that, that would be helpful. I realize you don't give guidance more than one quarter ahead, but it does seem in this particular instance that the good stuff is really showing up in 3Q in a big way.

是否可以說，在這個時間點，假設事情持續沿著目前的軌跡發展，你們將看到真正的大變化會發生在第2季到第3季。那才是獲利真正會——如果你方便提供任何相關的補充說明，會很有幫助。我知道你們不會提供超過一季的指引，但在這個特定情況下，看起來好消息會在第3季以很大的幅度顯現。

Mark, you're exactly right. We'll start seeing some benefit later in the second quarter with some price movement, but the big benefit comes into the third quarter.

Mark，你說得完全正確。我們會在第二季後段開始看到一些價格變動帶來的效益，但最大的效益會在第三季出現。

That's right. That's exactly correct.

沒錯。完全正確。

Anojja Shah, UBS.

Anojja Shah，瑞銀（UBS）。

I had a question on D&A. It was actually much higher than we expected in Q1, but you maintained $700 million guidance. So how come it's not a straight line first of all for the quarter? And second, what's embedded in 2Q in that $2.33 guide?

我有一個關於折舊與攤銷（D&A） 的問題。第1季其實比我們預期高很多，但你們仍維持7億美元的指引。所以第一，為什麼各季不是線性分布？第二，在那個2.33美元的第2季指引裡，D&A 內含了什麼？

Our depreciation reported for the first quarter includes a chunk that's attributable to basically completion of Wallula restructuring, okay? So I think that explains the large, reported number increase that you're referring to.

我們第一季所報告的折舊包含了一部分，基本上是歸因於Wallula重整完成，好的？所以我想這就解釋了你所提到的、報告數字大幅增加的原因。

So on the excluding special items basis, we're looking at about a $0.03 increase 1Q to 2Q in DD&A.

因此，在排除特殊項目的基礎上，我們預期DD&A從第1季到第2季大約增加0.03美元。

Okay. And then going back to demand in April, you talked about you're seeing very strong demand. Any particular end markets showing strength or weakness? And what I'm really trying to get to is if you're seeing any early signs yet on GLP impact? And I realize you might not see it as much as some other types of packager, but just are you hearing anything on this from your customers?

好的。再回到4月的需求，你提到你們看到非常強勁的需求。是否有特定終端市場呈現強勢或弱勢？我真正想了解的是，你們是否已經看到GLP影響的任何早期跡象？我知道你們可能不像其他類型的包裝商那麼明顯，但你們是否從客戶那邊聽到任何相關訊息？

This is Tom. That's a very good question. I'll take the second half first. Our food and beverage customers continue to perform quite well. And of course, that's the largest segment in corrugated. And so I think there's a lot of sensitivity around that, especially GLPs. But they adapt quickly.

我是Tom。這是個非常好的問題。我先回答後半段。我們的食品與飲料客戶持續表現相當不錯。當然，那也是瓦楞紙板中最大的區隔。因此我認為大家對此非常敏感，尤其是GLP。但他們適應得很快。

And we're seeing a lot of products come out with protein in them and all these other sorts of things that are that didn't have such in the past and they're performing very well. So there's a lot of things going on in that segment that I think are very positive as our customers have adjusted quickly to varying demands and it's still performing very well for us.

而且我們看到很多產品推出含蛋白質的配方，以及各種過去沒有的類型，且表現非常好。所以我認為在那個區隔有很多非常正面的發展；我們的客戶很快就因應不同的需求調整，而對我們而言仍然表現得非常好。

In addition, I think that I've called out building products probably for the last few years that has been down. but it's starting to show some resurgence as well, which is an important segment for us. Those are probably the biggest movers I can talk about.

另外，我想我在過去幾年大概都提過建材產品這一塊一直比較疲弱，但現在也開始出現一些復甦，這對我們來說是重要的區隔。這些大概是我能談到的最大變動因素。

Anthony Pettinari, Citi.

Anthony Pettinari，花旗（Citi）。

Just following up on the timing of the price hike. I guess Pulp & Paper Week had prices down in February and then up in March and up in April again. And as you implement the price hike, is this sort of a -- I don't know, like a negotiation around the net price? Or could you have some instances where prices actually go down before they go up? I know it's a strange question, but I just can't remember a time where Pulp & Paper Week had three consecutive months where it was down before it was up and then up again.

我想追問一下漲價的時點。我記得《Pulp & Paper Week》在2月報價下跌，3月上漲，4月又再上漲。當你們推動漲價時，這是否有點像——我不知道——在淨價上的協商？或者是否可能出現某些情況，價格在上漲前反而先下跌？我知道這問題有點奇怪，但我真的不記得有哪次《Pulp & Paper Week》連續三個月先跌、再漲、又再漲。

Well, it's hard for me to remember too, Anthony, and I've been in this business a long time. But all I can tell you is that we're not really going to comment much on at all about what we're doing relative to our customers and our negotiations. I'll just call it muddy. How about that? And that's about all that's about all I can tell you.

Anthony，我也很難回想起來，而我在這個產業已經很久了。但我能告訴你的是，我們不會對我們相對於客戶的作法以及談判內容做太多評論。我只能說情況有點混沌。就這樣說吧？這大概就是我能告訴你的全部。

Okay. Okay. Sounds good. And then just, Kent, on the 1Q to 2Q bridge, you outlined some, I guess, sequential headwinds that we typically don't see around the share-based comp and then the tax rate lower in 1Q. Should we think about these as sort of like onetime things just for 2026? Or if we think about seasonality going forward or seasonality next year, is that share-based comp going to have a similar kind of profile?

好的。好的。聽起來不錯。另外，Kent，關於第1季到第2季的銜接，你提到一些我們通常不太會看到的序列性逆風，像是股份基礎給付費用，以及第1季較低的稅率。我們應該把這些視為僅在2026年的一次性因素嗎？或者若我們看未來的季節性、或明年的季節性，股份基礎給付費用也會有類似的走勢？

Okay. So share-based comp is going to run at a higher level this year. It will run at a higher level next year, but step down a little bit as one tranche of the old awards vest, and then it will do similarly in '28. So you're going to be a little bit higher, but it's going to time out through '28 basically. On the other items, the costs, it's just going to kind of depend on the market basically.

好的。所以今年的股份基礎給付費用會在較高水準。明年也會維持較高水準，但會因為舊獎酬的一個批次（tranche）歸屬（vest）而略為下降，然後在2028年也會有類似情況。所以你會看到水準稍微偏高，但基本上會一路延續到2028年。至於其他項目、那些成本，基本上就要看市場狀況而定。

And we're expecting them at least to be elevated during the second quarter, and we'll continue to manage through it.

而我們預期至少在第二季它們仍會維持在較高水準，我們也會持續加以管理。

Okay. That's helpful. Maybe just one last one, if I could. Like you obviously increased your exposure to recycled board with Greif. You had a large competitor that just bought a recycled mill out West.

好的。這很有幫助。如果可以的話，最後再問一個。你們顯然透過Greif提高了對再生紙板的曝險。你們有一家大型競爭對手剛在西部買了一座再生紙廠。

I'm just wondering, if you think about PCA's past for the next three to five years, and you obviously are going to need more board, do you think the incremental opportunity is in recycled?

我想問的是，若你們思考PCA未來三到五年的發展，而你們顯然會需要更多紙板，你認為新增的機會主要會在再生紙板上嗎？

I mean, it's obviously probably lower capital costs just from like what your customers are asking of you have historically had a great virgin kraft liner offering. But is recycled kind of the direction going forward in terms of if you were to put in an incremental ton from a capacity perspective?

我的意思是，從資本支出來看，這顯然可能是較低的資本成本；也取決於客戶對你們的要求，而你們過去一直有很強的原生牛皮紙面紙（virgin kraft liner）產品。但就未來方向而言，如果你們要從產能角度新增一噸產能，再生是否會是主要方向？

You take advantage of the opportunity that comes along, whether it's a recycled opportunity or a virgin kraft opportunity. And so really the decision we made when you look at the various options you have. But we're certainly not -- we can take advantage of recycled as we've done for decades and also we know how to run integrated operations extremely well also. Tom?

你會把握出現的機會，不論是再生紙的機會，或是原生牛皮紙的機會。因此，當你檢視各種可選方案時，我們所做的決策其實就是如此。但我們當然不是——我們可以像過去幾十年那樣利用再生紙，同時我們也非常擅長營運一體化的整合式作業。Tom？

Yes. Anthony, I'll just add that directionally, we want to be able to optimize whatever properties fit our customers' demands. But I want to remind you that, I mean, we are still primarily virgin kraft, and we're not going to change that because one of the things that it does for us, as I've mentioned in the past, is we can optimize performance a lot better with virgin kraft than we can with recycled.

是的。Anthony，我再補充一點：從方向性來看，我們希望能夠最佳化任何符合客戶需求的產品特性。但我想提醒你的是，我們目前仍然主要是原生牛皮紙，而且我們不會改變，因為它帶給我們的一個好處——我過去也提過——是相較於再生紙，我們用原生牛皮紙能更好地最佳化性能表現。

Phil Ng, Jefferies.

Jefferies 的 Phil Ng。

A question for Kent. I appreciate the color that you gave in terms of some of the step-up in costs, whether it's freight or chemical sequentially. When we think about that for the back half, is the 2Q run rate like on a year-over-year basis, like a good way to think about the rest of the year? Or does that potentially step up just based on timing of how these contracts were potentially on freight or chemical costs and stuff of that nature?

有個問題想請教 Kent。感謝你就成本逐季上升（不論是運費或化學品）所提供的補充說明。當我們思考下半年時，第二季的運行水準（run rate）以年對年來看，是否可以作為推估今年剩餘期間的良好方式？或者，是否可能因為合約時點（例如運費或化學品成本等）而再往上跳升？

No. Phil, I think the best you can do right now is take 2Q and apply that to the rest of the year. That's the -- and we'll do the best we can to manage through freight optimization activities and running our operations as efficiently as possible. But in terms of how the market is on what we're buying, again, I would look at 2Q right now, that's the best you can do.

不會。Phil，我認為你現在能做的最好方式，就是以第二季的水準套用到今年剩餘期間。這就是——我們也會盡最大努力，透過運費最佳化活動並讓營運盡可能高效率來加以管理。但就我們採購項目的市場狀況而言，我會以第二季作為目前的參考，這是你現在能做的最好判斷。

Okay. All right. That's helpful. Just that's a good run rate. And then I guess a question for Tom.

好的。好。這很有幫助。也就是說，這是一個不錯的運行水準。接著我想問 Tom 一個問題。

I know you used the word muddy a few times in terms of implementing this box price increase. And that feels like it's just more timing if someone knows, but when we think about the net 50, you've been in this business for a long time, is your expectation the implementation of the box side all said and done, how does that feel? Does this feel more challenged just because the macro is tougher or kind of business as usual?

我知道你在談到推動這次箱板紙漲價時，多次用了「muddy（混濁、不明朗）」這個詞。這聽起來比較像是時點問題、如果有人知道的話；但當我們看 net 50（淨額 50）時，你在這個產業很久了，你對箱板端的落實情況、等一切塵埃落定後的感受是什麼？這次是否因為總體環境更艱難而更具挑戰，還是算是照常運作（business as usual）？

No, it's more business as usual. I mean there's not -- it's not -- none of these are easy, but it's -- we were obviously very disappointed with the downturn at the -- the announced downturn at the beginning. We didn't see it. But hey, it is what it is. And we're dealing with it.

不，這比較像是照常運作。我的意思是——這些都不容易，但——我們顯然對一開始宣布的下調非常失望。我們沒有預見到。但事情就是這樣。我們正在應對。

But our expectation is to implement this in the same time frame that we typically always implement, both our noncontract and our contract business.

但我們的預期是，會在我們一向通常落實的同樣時間框架內完成導入，包含非合約與合約業務。

And Phil, I'll add one thing that I think is really important is that the consumer has been very resilient in these times. And our customer base feels very good about their business going forward. And there's a big factor coming in also that we haven't even talked about, and that is the tax refunds that are coming to the consumers, and that will show up in the economy as well. So I think that's another positive for us that's going to help us in the second half.

Phil，我再補充一點我認為非常重要的：在這段期間，消費者一直非常有韌性。而我們的客戶群對未來的業務前景感覺非常良好。另外還有一個很大的因素我們甚至還沒談到，那就是即將發放給消費者的退稅，這也會在經濟中反映出來。所以我認為這也是對我們的另一個正面因素，將在下半年幫助我們。

That's great color, guys. When I bring those two pieces together, I know there's a timing dynamic in 2Q. Should we expect price cost to be neutral or positive, how do we think about it? I know there's definitely noise in 2Q, but as we look at the back half, can you help us think through that?

各位提供的資訊很有幫助。把這兩點結合起來，我知道第二季有時點上的動態。我們應該預期價格與成本是持平還是正向？該怎麼看？我知道第二季確實有雜訊，但展望下半年，你們能幫我們梳理一下該如何思考嗎？

Well, like we said, I mean the price will impact at the end of Q2, and then we'll really roll in, in Q3. That's when you'll see the big difference.

嗯，就像我們說的，價格會在第二季末開始反映，然後在第三季真正全面展開。那時你會看到最大的差異。

Okay. And just one last one for me. You guys are running hard; mills are running tight. I know you guys are bringing on capacity in time with Jackson and Counce. How is that ramping up? And then anything that we should be mindful in terms of noise to the P&L or whether to step up the start-up cost, D&A? And then Greif, you guys are working to add inventory down, which makes sense you want to be more efficient. But if you're that tight, why don't you use that inventory to kind of meet some of that demand?

好的。最後一個問題。你們目前開工率很高；工廠運轉也很吃緊。我知道你們正配合 Jackson 和 Counce 的時程導入產能。目前爬坡（ramp-up）情況如何？另外，在損益表（P&L）上是否有任何我們需要留意的雜訊，例如啟動成本、折舊與攤銷（D&A）是否會上升？再來，Greif 方面你們正在降低庫存，這很合理，因為你們想更有效率。但如果供應這麼緊，為什麼不把庫存拿來滿足部分需求？

Let me talk about your first part of your question. Again, we just executed the two big outages at Jackson and Counce and executed them very well. A lot of that work was to gear up Jackson as an example, to hit the next productivity opportunities with the speed on the machine. And so we’re where we want to be, that was done well.

我先回答你問題的第一部分。同樣地，我們剛在 Jackson 和 Counce 完成了兩次大型停機檢修（outage），而且執行得非常好。其中很多工作是為了讓 Jackson（例如）做好準備，透過提升機台速度來達成下一階段的生產力機會。因此我們已經達到我們想要的狀態，這部分做得很好。

Counce, we just executed the first phase of a rebuild our number two paper machine. That machine had been rebuilt 35 years ago. And so we executed that and finished that work four days ahead of schedule and started up running very well. So we continue to bring on this capability to deliver more quality product as we need it.

至於 Counce，我們剛完成了 2 號紙機重建的第一階段。那台機器上一次重建是在 35 年前。因此我們完成了這次工程，還比原定進度提前四天結束，並且順利開機、運轉狀況很好。所以我們持續導入這項能力，以便在需要時提供更多高品質產品。

And also just the Greif system, we fully have recognized the opportunities that we saw when we did the due diligence. We're running -- basically the last couple of months, we've been in that 97%-plus performance and as far as uptime efficiency on the machines out of the Massillon and Riverville system, and we continue to work through opportunities there. So that will continue to see benefits. So Tom?

另外就 Greif 系統而言，我們已充分確認在盡職調查時所看到的機會。基本上在過去幾個月，我們在 Massillon 與 Riverville 系統的機台稼動效率（uptime efficiency）表現維持在 97% 以上，並持續推進相關改善機會。因此這些效益會持續顯現。所以 Tom？

Yes. One of the reasons that we reduced the inventory and we're working down the inventory quickly is because we want those sheet feeders and box plants to be running the correct grades that run for the PCA system, so we can optimize the fiber in terms of performance for the customer.

是的。我們降低庫存、並快速去化庫存的原因之一，是因為我們希望那些平張供料機（sheet feeders）與紙箱廠能夠生產符合 PCA 系統的正確紙種，讓我們能在性能上為客戶最佳化纖維配置。

They're not just stuck with running whatever one of their two mills might run. So that was -- that's really important to us from a cost standpoint going forward, as I mentioned earlier, is to optimize those assets. And so therefore, that's why we're doing what we're doing. But you make a good observation. I mean it is tight and especially in linerboard. So we're cognizant of that.

他們不必只能被迫生產他們兩座紙廠其中之一所能生產的品項。因此，從成本角度來看，這對我們未來非常重要——如我先前提到的——就是要最佳化這些資產。所以這就是我們這麼做的原因。但你的觀察很好。我的意思是，確實很緊，尤其是襯紙（linerboard）。所以我們也有注意到這點。

And that's why we -- that's as an example, also why we moved the Counce outage up into the first quarter to make sure that we're going to be in good shape going forward from a linerboard point of view.

這也是為什麼我們——這只是個例子——也說明了為什麼我們把 Counce 的停機提前到第一季，以確保從襯紙（linerboard）的角度來看，未來我們能維持在良好狀態。

Hillary Cacanando, Deutsche Bank Securities.

Hillary Cacanando，德意志銀行證券。

So you mentioned a third gas turbine project in Louisiana. Could you just provide more details on that project in terms of additional CapEx and timeline? And any update on the gas turbine projects in Jackson and Riverville facilities?

你提到路易斯安那州的第三個燃氣渦輪機專案。能否就該專案的額外資本支出（CapEx）與時程提供更多細節？另外，Jackson 與 Riverville 廠的燃氣渦輪機專案有沒有最新進度？

Yeah. We did get the Board approval on the gas turbine projects at Riverville mill and Jackson mill at the last Board meeting, and then we're planning on seeking approval for this third same -- it's a duplicate unit that will be going in those two mills for the future DeRidder project.

是的。我們在上一次董事會會議上已取得 Riverville 紙廠與 Jackson 紙廠燃氣渦輪機專案的董事會核准；接著我們計畫就第三個同款——也就是一台重複配置的機組——尋求核准，該機組未來將用於 DeRidder 專案，並會安裝在那兩座紙廠。

The capital, it's in the same ballpark. I don't want to give you numbers right now until after we've we reviewed this with the Board, but same capital allocation and the same type of return metrics that we're looking at, very, very good opportunities too, which would give us Jackson, Riverville and DeRidder would be electricity independent off the grid in the same manner that Valdosta is, So we'd have 4 of our 10 mills that are electricity independent, which would be a huge benefit to us.

資本投入大致在同一個區間。在我們與董事會審閱之前，我現在不想提供具體數字；但資本配置與我們所看的報酬衡量指標類型相同，且也是非常、非常好的機會。這將使 Jackson、Riverville 與 DeRidder 能像 Valdosta 一樣做到不依賴電網、電力自給。因此我們 10 座紙廠中會有 4 座能電力自給，這對我們將是很大的好處。

So that's really all I want to say about that.

所以關於這點，我大概就說到這裡。

Got it. Great. And then just on the high level, what needs to change to bring the cost down? I mean, do you think hypothetically, if the war is war ends tomorrow, hypothetically, like does that change anything for you in terms of cost outlook or because it takes time for supply chain to adjust like if that really wouldn't change anything?

了解。很好。那從更高層次來看，要讓成本下降需要改變什麼？我的意思是，假設如果戰爭明天就結束，假設性地說，這會不會改變你們對成本前景的看法？還是因為供應鏈需要時間調整，所以即便如此也不會改變什麼？

Well, again, I think what the conflict has done in the Middle East is raw materials such as various chemicals that depend on petroleum, we've seen chemical costs increasing. So the question is, does that ramp down over a period of time if the supply-demand balance for petroleum products comes into balance again, we'll have to wait and see. Natural gas, we've been fortunate here in the United States. We have plenty of supply. So we're not impacted by that.

嗯，再次強調，我認為中東的衝突對原物料的影響在於：一些依賴石油的各類化學品，我們看到化學品成本上升。所以問題是，如果石油產品的供需平衡再次回到均衡狀態，這是否會在一段時間內回落，我們還得觀察。至於天然氣，我們在美國這邊很幸運。供應充足。所以我們不受那方面影響。

Transportation fuels has been the big increase on diesel up over 50% in the last few months. So that definitely, for all intents and purposes, should normalize over a period of time if the conflict winds down. And so I would expect for what we would see would be the transportation cost in terms of diesel impacts.

運輸燃料方面，柴油在過去幾個月大幅上漲，漲幅超過 50%。因此，如果衝突趨緩，從各方面來看，這應該會在一段時間內回歸正常。所以我預期我們會看到的是運輸成本中柴油所帶來的影響。

Thank you. Jamie, are there any other questions? I don't see anybody else on the queue. Anybody want to follow up?

謝謝。Jamie，還有其他問題嗎？我看隊列裡沒有其他人。有人要追問嗎？

(Operator Instructions) Pallav Mittal, Barclays.

（接線員指示）Pallav Mittal，巴克萊。

Just one for me. So at start of the year, you had said you expect the total industry demand to be up in 2026. So just wanted to follow up on that. I mean, four months almost done. Anything that you can add on that or quantify in terms of industry demand for 2026?

我只有一個問題。年初時你們曾說預期 2026 年整體產業需求會上升。所以想追問一下。現在差不多四個月快過完了。你們能否補充一些內容，或就 2026 年的產業需求做些量化？

I think I understood your question regarding demand. And demand, yes, we think demand is up and I gave you the number, at least for legacy, is running at about 4.5% right now. And that's a very good number, and I think that will continue through the quarter. and we'll continue to -- and we've got some positive things going on in some of our key segments as well. So yes, we see demand improving.

我想我理解你關於需求的問題。需求方面，是的，我們認為需求在上升；我也給過你數字，至少就既有業務（legacy）而言，目前約在 4.5% 左右。這是非常好的數字，我認為本季會持續如此。我們也會繼續——而且在一些關鍵細分市場也有正面進展。所以是的，我們看到需求正在改善。

My question was more on the industry demand for the year. Any comments on that? Clearly, I think you are gaining share in terms of industry demand for 2026.

我的問題比較是針對全年整體產業需求。對此有任何評論嗎？很明顯，我認為你們在 2026 年的產業需求方面正在取得市占。

I'm not sure we understand what you're asking.

我不確定我們理解你在問什麼。

I'm just trying to ask, anything in terms of overall industry demand for 2026, up 1%, 2% for the year.

我只是想問，對於 2026 年整體產業需求，有沒有任何看法，例如全年成長 1%、2% 之類。

No, we don't get into forward discussions about demand expectations.

不，我們不會就需求預期做前瞻性的討論。

Other than our own.

除了我們自己的之外。

Other than this quarter and what we're looking at for this quarter. Jamie, I think that pretty well wraps it up. Anything else?

除了本季，以及我們對本季的觀察。Jamie，我想這差不多就結束了。還有其他事嗎？

Mark Adam Weintraub, Seaport Research Partners.

Mark Adam Weintraub，Seaport Research Partners。

All right. We've got time. Go ahead, Mark.

好的。我們還有時間。Mark，請說。

So my phone cut out. So I think you might have addressed this a little bit, but did you buy back stock? I think you were saying something again, my phone cut out. I just wanted to confirm that you did buy back some stock during the quarter. And if so, what prompted that?

我的電話斷線了。所以我想你們可能已經稍微提到，但你們有回購股票嗎？我想你剛剛又說了些什麼，但我電話斷了。我只是想確認你們本季確實回購了一些股票。如果是的話，是什麼原因促使你們這麼做？

No, Mark, we did. We bought back 266,000 shares roughly. Really, the prompt was we'd awarded earlier in the quarter and just to take out the dilution from the awards.

有的，Mark，我們有。我們大約回購了 266,000 股。主要原因是我們在本季稍早發放了獎勵（awards），回購是為了抵消這些獎勵造成的稀釋。

And in showing no additional questions. Mr. Kowlzan, would you like to make any final closing comments?

另外顯示沒有其他問題。Kowlzan 先生，您是否要做最後的結語？

Yes, I'd like to thank everybody for taking the time to be with us today and look forward to speaking with you at the end of July regarding the second quarter results. Have a good day, everybody. Thank you.

是的，我想感謝各位今天撥冗參與，也期待在七月底就第二季結果與各位再度交流。祝各位有美好的一天。謝謝。

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

那麼，我們將結束今天的電話會議與簡報。感謝各位加入。您現在可以掛斷電話。