Powell Industries Inc (POWL) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Powell Industries' Fiscal First Quarter 2024 Results Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded.

早安，歡迎參加鮑威爾工業公司 2024 年第一季財報電話會議。所有參與者將處於僅聽模式。（操作員說明）請注意，正在記錄此事件。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Ryan Coleman, Alpha IR, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想將會議交給 Alpha IR 投資者關係部的 Ryan Coleman。請繼續。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for Powell Industries conference call today to review fiscal year 2024 first quarter results. With me on the call are Brett Cope, Powell's Chairman and CEO; and Mike Metcalf, Powell's CFO.

謝謝大家，大家早安。感謝您今天參加 Powell Industries 的電話會議，回顧 2024 財年第一季業績。與我一起參加電話會議的是鮑威爾董事長兼執行長布雷特·科普 (Brett Cope)；和鮑威爾首席財務官邁克·梅特卡夫。

There will be a replay of today's call, and it will be made available via webcast by going to the company's website, powellind.com, or a telephonic replay will be available until February 8. The information on how to access the replay was provided in yesterday's earnings release.

今天的電話會議將進行重播，您可以透過造訪公司網站 powellind.com 透過網路廣播進行重播，或在 2 月 8 日之前進行電話重播。昨天的財報中提供了有關如何存取重播的資訊。

Please note that information reported on this call speaks only as of today, January 31, 2024, and therefore, you are advised that any time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate at the time of replay listening or transcript reading. This conference call includes certain statements, including statements related to the company's expectations of its future operating results that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

請注意，本次電話會議報告的資訊僅截至今天（2024 年 1 月 31 日），因此，請注意，任何時間敏感的資訊在重播或閱讀文字記錄時可能不再準確。本次電話會議包括某些聲明，包括與公司對其未來經營業績的預期相關的聲明，這些聲明可能被視為 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》含義內的前瞻性聲明。

Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and that actual future results may differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, competition and competitive pressures, sensitivity to general economic and industry conditions, international, political and economic risks, availability and price of raw materials, and execution of business strategies. For more information, please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

請投資人注意，此類前瞻性陳述涉及風險和不確定性，未來實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述中的預測有重大差異。這些風險和不確定性包括但不限於競爭和競爭壓力、對總體經濟和產業狀況的敏感度、國際、政治和經濟風險、原材料的可用性和價格以及業務策略的執行。欲了解更多信息，請參閱該公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件。

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Brett.

這樣，我現在將把電話轉給布雷特。

Thanks, Ryan, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to review Powell's F2024 first quarter results. I will make a few comments and then turn the call over to Mike for more financial commentary before we take your questions.

謝謝瑞安，大家早安。感謝您今天加入我們回顧鮑威爾的 F2024 第一季業績。在我們回答您的問題之前，我將發表一些評論，然後將電話轉給麥克以獲取更多財務評論。

Powell delivered a strong start to our fiscal year as our first quarter was very much a continuation of the trends and strong results we saw in the prior quarter. Despite what is typically a seasonally slow period, we recorded $198 million of new orders, which was sequentially higher by 15%, and in line with our expectations for a more normalized but still strong cadence of project bookings. We also delivered revenue growth of 53% compared to the prior year as we saw broad strength across our petrochemical, oil and gas, utility and commercial and other industrial sectors. Mike will provide additional detail on our revenue growth by market sector in a moment.

鮑威爾為我們的財政年度帶來了良好的開端，因為我們的第一季在很大程度上是我們上一季看到的趨勢和強勁業績的延續。儘管通常是季節性淡季，但我們仍錄得 1.98 億美元的新訂單，環比增長 15%，符合我們對項目預訂更加正常化但仍然強勁節奏的預期。與前一年相比，我們的收入成長了 53%，因為我們看到石化、石油和天然氣、公用事業、商業和其他工業領域的廣泛實力。麥克稍後將提供有關我們按市場部門劃分的收入增長的更多詳細資訊。

Our strong revenue growth, coupled with maintaining our focus on both project execution and operational efficiency are all working together to help deliver significantly improved profitability. Our gross margin in the quarter was 24.8%, an improvement of 950 basis points compared to last year and the best first quarter gross margin performance since F2010. It also puts us comfortably on track to deliver on our previously communicated guidance of gross margin in the low-20s in F2024.

我們強勁的收入成長，加上我們對專案執行和營運效率的持續關注，所有這些共同努力，幫助顯著提高獲利能力。我們本季的毛利率為24.8%，比去年提高了950個基點，是2010年以來最好的第一季毛利率表現。這也使我們能夠輕鬆實現先前傳達的 2024 年毛利率在 20 左右的指導方針。

On the bottom line, we recorded net income of $24 million, or $1.98 per diluted share, which was significantly above net income of $1.2 million or $0.10 diluted share in the year ago period. Our backlog remains very strong and was roughly unchanged sequentially at $1.3 billion. We continue to feel confident that our current backlog is comprised mainly of projects that speak to Powell's core competencies.

就淨利潤而言，我們錄得淨利潤 2,400 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 1.98 美元，遠高於去年同期的淨利潤 120 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 0.10 美元。我們的積壓訂單仍然非常強勁，與上一季基本持平，為 13 億美元。我們仍然相信，我們目前的積壓工作主要由涉及鮑威爾核心能力的項目組成。

The capacity expansion of our Houston facility on the Gulf Coast is effectively completed as we noted last quarter. This investment was planned last year to give us expanded fabrication and integration support for large power control rooms, especially for projects that support delivery and transport by water access. Also, as we noted last quarter, we expect to launch a more modest expansion of our electrical products factory based in Houston. This $11 million expansion will take approximately 18 months to complete.

正如我們上季度指出的那樣，我們位於墨西哥灣沿岸的休士頓工廠的產能擴張已有效完成。這項投資計畫於去年為我們提供擴大的大型電力控制室的製造和整合支持，特別是支持透過水路輸送和運輸的項目。此外，正如我們上季度指出的那樣，我們預計將對位於休士頓的電氣產品工廠進行更適度的擴建。這項耗資 1,100 萬美元的擴建工程將需要大約 18 個月才能完成。

The investment coincides with our development plans to release new products and support of our initiatives helping facilitate future growth across the customers and markets we serve. We remain comfortable with our current staffing levels and are confident that we have the right people in place to meet the demanding project schedules of our current backlog. Our teams also continue to successfully manage price fluctuations of key materials as well as the general availability of select engineered components.

這項投資與我們的開發計劃相吻合，旨在發布新產品並支持我們的舉措，幫助促進我們所服務的客戶和市場的未來成長。我們對目前的人員配置水準感到滿意，並相信我們有合適的人員來滿足當前積壓的嚴格專案時間表。我們的團隊也繼續成功管理關鍵材料的價格波動以及精選工程組件的普遍可用性。

We continue to see encouraging levels of project activity within our oil, gas, and petrochemical markets. As we have noted for some time, we believe the fundamentals of the US natural gas market remain favorable for our core markets and support many global economic, environmental goals over the long-term horizon. Recent and oddly timed actions by the current US administration will most likely serve to slightly slow the pace of project schedules creating a bit more uncertainty around project timing over the near-term.

我們繼續看到石油、天然氣和石化市場的專案活動水準令人鼓舞。正如我們一段時間以來所指出的，我們相信美國天然氣市場的基本面仍然有利於我們的核心市場，並支持許多長期的全球經濟、環境目標。現任美國政府最近採取的時機奇怪的行動很可能會稍微放慢專案進度，從而在短期內為專案時間安排帶來更多的不確定性。

We also continue to see healthy activity across the other markets where we compete. We enjoyed solid contributions to the order book in our first quarter. In our newer sector of commercial and other industrial sectors, we experienced solid activity during the quarter from markets such as data centers, but would also note increased uncertainty in lithium-related projects in support of future electric vehicle demand and large scale battery storage.

我們也繼續看到我們競爭的其他市場的健康活動。我們在第一季對訂單簿做出了堅實的貢獻。在商業和其他工業領域的新領域，我們在本季度經歷了資料中心等市場的強勁活動，但也注意到支持未來電動車需求和大規模電池儲存的鋰相關項目的不確定性增加。

Energy transition projects that have been in process for some time, including hydrogen, biofuels, and carbon capture and sequestration continue to be active and will be larger contributors to our financial results in F2024 and 2025. Our near and medium-term priorities remain unchanged in F2024. We are focused on growing our electrical automation platform, expanding our existing services franchise, and diversifying and expanding our electrical products and solutions portfolio.

已經進行了一段時間的能源轉型項目，包括氫、生物燃料以及碳捕獲和封存，將繼續活躍，並將對我們 2024 年和 2025 年的財務業績做出更大貢獻。2024 年我們的近期和中期優先事項保持不變。我們專注於發展我們的電氣自動化平台，擴大我們現有的服務特許經營權，以及多樣化和擴大我們的電氣產品和解決方案組合。

In summary, our F2024 is off to a strong start with another quarter of nearly $200 million of booked orders and significantly improved profitability compared to the prior year. Our backlog remains strong with a healthy mix of projects that we believe will sustain our profitability through F2024 and into 2025.

總而言之，我們的 F2024 有了一個良好的開端，另一個季度的預訂訂單量接近 2 億美元，與前一年相比，盈利能力顯著提高。我們的積壓訂單依然強勁，項目組合良好，我們相信這些項目將在 2024 年和 2025 年維持我們的獲利能力。

The markets we serve continue to exhibit encouraging levels of project activity and remain favorable. And we continue to monitor recent developments and select markets for their effect on the timing of future projects. We are highly confident that our financial position, commitment to execution and continued progress against our strategic initiatives will support another successful year for Powell.

我們所服務的市場持續展現出令人鼓舞的專案活動水準並保持有利的狀態。我們將繼續監控最近的發展並選擇市場，以了解它們對未來專案時間表的影響。我們非常有信心，我們的財務狀況、對執行的承諾以及策略性舉措的持續進展將支持鮑威爾又一個成功的一年。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Mike to walk us through more of our financial results in greater detail.

接下來，我會將電話轉給麥克，讓他更詳細地向我們介紹我們的財務表現。

Thank you, Brett, and good morning, everyone. In the first quarter of F2024, we reported net revenue of $194 million, compared to $127 million or 53% higher versus the same period in F2023. New orders booked in the first fiscal quarter of 2024 were $198 million, which was 7% lower than the same period one year ago as the prior period included a large LNG project booking.

謝謝你，布雷特，大家早安。在 2024 年第一季度，我們報告的淨收入為 1.94 億美元，而 2023 年同期為 1.27 億美元，增幅為 53%。2024 年第一財季新訂單量為 1.98 億美元，較上年同期下降 7%，因為上一財季包括大型液化天然氣專案訂單。

As our continued effort on end market diversification continues, new bookings in utilities as well as commercial and other industrial markets improved in the current quarter compared with the first quarter of F2023. Our book-to-bill ratio is 1.0 times in the current period, maintaining the fiscal first quarter ending backlog at $1.3 billion, $620 million higher versus one year ago and flat sequentially. Compared to the first quarter of F2023, domestic revenues improved by 60% to $160 million while international revenues were 28% higher, driven by increased project volume across our UK and Canadian facilities.

隨著我們繼續努力實現終端市場多元化，與 2023 年第一季相比，本季公用事業以及商業和其他工業市場的新訂單有所改善。本期我們的訂單出貨比為 1.0 倍，第一季期末積壓訂單維持在 13 億美元，比一年前增加 6.2 億美元，與上一季持平。與 2023 年第一季相比，國內收入增長了 60%，達到 1.6 億美元，而國際收入增長了 28%，這得益於我們英國和加拿大設施項目量的增加。

In total, international revenues were up by $7 million to $34 million in the first fiscal quarter. From a market sector perspective versus the first quarter of F2023, revenues across our industrial end markets maintained the positive momentum. Our petrochemical sector was higher by 26% while oil and gas sector nearly doubled higher by 92%. Additionally, we experienced notable increases in both the utility and the commercial and other industrial market sectors increasing by 43% and 45%, respectively, reflecting our strategic focus on continued market diversification. The traction sector was lower by 39% as this market sector remained soft.

第一財季的國際收入總計增加了 700 萬美元，達到 3,400 萬美元。從市場領域的角度來看，與 2023 年第一季相比，我們整個工業終端市場的收入保持了積極的勢頭。我們的石化產業上漲了 26%，而石油和天然氣產業則幾乎翻了一番，上漲了 92%。此外，我們在公用事業以及商業和其他工業市場領域均實現了顯著成長，分別成長了 43% 和 45%，這反映了我們對持續市場多元化的策略重點。由於牽引行業仍然疲軟，該行業下跌了 39%。

Gross profit increased by $29 million to $48 million in the first fiscal quarter versus the same period one year ago. Gross profit as a percentage of revenue increased by 950 basis points to 24.8% versus the same period a year ago and roughly flat sequentially. The margin rates exiting the backlog were driven largely by favorable volume leverage, operational enhancements across most of our manufacturing facilities as well as our strong project execution. We do anticipate based on the quality of our backlog and the trend of the margin rates over the past two to three quarters that we will sustain our margin levels in the low- to mid-20s throughout F2024.

第一財季毛利較去年同期增加了 2,900 萬美元，達到 4,800 萬美元。毛利佔營收的百分比比去年同期成長了 950 個基點，達到 24.8%，與上一季基本持平。積壓訂單的利潤率主要是由有利的銷售槓桿、我們大多數製造設施的營運增強以及我們強大的專案執行力推動的。根據我們的積壓訂單品質和過去兩到三個季度的保證金率趨勢，我們確實預計，整個 2024 年我們將把保證金水準維持在 20 左右的水準。

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $20 million in the current period, higher by $3.5 million on increased variable performance-based compensation versus the same period one year ago. SG&A as a percentage of revenue decreased by 280 basis points to 10.5% in the current fiscal quarter on the higher revenue base.

本期銷售、一般和管理費用為 2,000 萬美元，由於基於績效的可變薪酬比一年前同期增加了 350 萬美元。由於營收基礎較高，本財季的 SG&A 佔營收的百分比下降了 280 個基點至 10.5%。

In the first quarter of F2024, we reported net income of $24.1 million, generating $1.98 per diluted share compared to a net income of $1.2 million or $0.10 per diluted share in the first quarter of F2023. During the first quarter of F2024, we generated $84 million of operating cash flow as we continue to build our cash balance resulting from advanced project payments and working capital efficiencies, a portion of which will be allocated to fund the projects in the order book as we execute our backlog.

在 2024 年第一季度，我們公佈的淨利潤為 2,410 萬美元，稀釋後每股收益為 1.98 美元，而 2023 年第一季淨利潤為 120 萬美元，稀釋後每股收益為 0.10 美元。在 2024 年第一季度，我們透過提前專案付款和營運資金效率繼續建立現金餘額，產生了 8,400 萬美元的營運現金流，其中一部分將分配給訂單簿中的專案提供資金，因為我們執行我們的積壓工作。

Investments in property, plant and equipment totaled $1.2 million as we continue to target productivity enhancements across the business. On December 31, 2023, we had cash and short-term investments of $355 million compared to $279 million on September 30, 2023, and the company does not hold any debt.

我們持續致力於提高整個企業的生產力，對不動產、廠房和設備的投資總計 120 萬美元。截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日，我們的現金和短期投資為 3.55 億美元，而 2023 年 9 月 30 日為 2.79 億美元，且本公司不持有任何債務。

And finally, yesterday, we announced a 1% increase to our common stock dividend. This is the second consecutive year that the Board has taken this action. Albeit modest, this increase demonstrates our prudent approach to improve shareholder returns while also ensuring sufficient liquidity to fund our growing working capital requirements and growth aspirations.

最後，昨天，我們宣布將普通股股息增加 1%。這是董事會連續第二年採取這項行動。儘管增幅不大，但表明我們在提高股東回報的同時確保有足夠的流動性來滿足我們不斷增長的營運資本需求和增長願望的審慎態度。

Looking forward, we remain encouraged by the commercial activity across most of our end markets and are optimistic that this will continue throughout F2024. We do, however, recognize some of the recent uncertainties in the macro environment that could have a timing impact on near-term market activity. Considering these factors, and combined with both the quality and level of our backlog, we are well-positioned to sustain the solid financial results that we delivered exiting F2023 and anticipate that this momentum will continue throughout F2024.

展望未來，我們仍然對大多數終端市場的商業活動感到鼓舞，並樂觀地認為這種情況將在 2024 年持續下去。然而，我們確實認識到宏觀環境中近期的一些不確定性可能會對近期市場活動產生時間影響。考慮到這些因素，並結合我們積壓訂單的品質和水平，我們有能力維持 2023 財年實現的穩健財務業績，並預計這一勢頭將在 2024 財年持續下去。

At this point, we'll be happy to answer your questions.

此時，我們很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) John Franzreb, Sidoti & Company.

（操作員說明）John Franzreb，Sidoti & Company。

Good morning, and congratulations on another great quarter. I'd like to start with the gross margin profile in the first quarter. I'm curious, was there any unusual items in there that kept it at an elevated level in a seasonally weak period? Can you just talk about that, and that, first and foremost?

早上好，恭喜又一個偉大的季度。我想從第一季的毛利率概況開始。我很好奇，裡面是否有任何不尋常的東西使其在季節性淡季期間保持在較高水平？能先談談這個嗎？

Yes. Good morning, John. This is Michael. I'll take that one. First, no, there were no unusual non-recurring events in the quarter. We've been very pleased with the margin rates as we exited the last two to three quarters and the margin expansion that we've seen resulting from a lot of the work that the team's done over the last 18 months to 24 months. It's really being driven by the volume and the operating leverage across the business. Really every division has got very healthy backlog, and we're seeing really good project execution.

是的。早安，約翰。這是麥可.我會接受那個。首先，沒有，本季沒有發生異常的非經常性事件。我們對過去兩到三個季度的利潤率非常滿意，我們看到團隊在過去 18 個月到 24 個月所做的大量工作帶來的利潤率擴張。它實際上是由整個業務的數量和營運槓桿所驅動的。事實上，每個部門都有非常健康的積壓，我們看到非常好的專案執行。

So considering these variables, in addition to the size and quality of the backlog, we have more confidence that we'll be able to sustain these margin rates in the low- to mid-20s throughout the rest of the fiscal year.

因此，考慮到這些變量，除了積壓訂單的規模和品質之外，我們更有信心能夠在整個財年剩餘時間內將這些利潤率維持在 20 多歲左右。

It's excellent results in the gross margin profile. But why couldn't you take a step up in the gross margin profile considering I assumed you had some downtime in the first quarter? Why couldn't it improve beyond this threshold on a go-forward basis?

毛利率方面取得了優異的成績。但考慮到我假設你們在第一季有一些停機時間，為什麼你們不能提高毛利率呢？為什麼它不能在前進的基礎上改進超過這個閾值？

Yes. Right now, from a capacity standpoint, like I said, every division is quite loaded, and we're seeing very good volume leverage across most every division in the business. Given that volume leverage on our fixed base, we feel pretty comfortable that our range in the low-20s to mid-20s is probably a good range to target.

是的。現在，從產能的角度來看，就像我說的那樣，每個部門都負荷相當大，而且我們看到業務中大多數部門的產量槓桿都非常好。考慮到我們固定基礎上的交易量槓桿，我們認為 20 多歲到 20 多歲左右的範圍可能是一個很好的目標範圍。

Okay. Fair enough. And you have a lot of cash on the books. Can you talk a little bit about when you start to draw down on that cash for working capital needs? How should we think about that on a go-forward basis? How do you think about it on a go-forward basis?

好的。很公平。而且你帳上有很多現金。能談談您何時開始動用這些現金來滿足營運資金需求嗎？展望未來，我們該如何思考這個問題？您如何看待未來的發展？

Sure. As I mentioned in the last earnings call as well, we were at $279 million last quarter, and I did mention that we think it'll plateau sometime early to mid F2024. I think we're close to that level. And as we begin to execute these much larger projects in the backlog, we'll begin to draw down that cash level, probably mid-year, F2024.

當然。正如我在上次財報電話會議中提到的那樣，上個季度我們的收入為 2.79 億美元，我確實提到我們認為這一數字將在 2024 年年初至中期的某個時候趨於穩定。我認為我們已經接近這個水平了。當我們開始執行積壓中的這些更大的項目時，我們將開始提取現金水平，可能是在 2024 年年中。

Any sense of how much cash should be drawn down, Mike?

麥克，你知道應該提領多少現金嗎？

Yes. Typically, we earmark roughly 15% of the volume level, the revenue level to working capital. So, when you think about our backlog at $1.3 billion, roughly 15% of that is going to be deployed for working capital. That's roughly half of the cash. So, we would expect to see a lot of that cash drawdown considering no other new big projects coming in to fill the tilt. But a lot of that cash drawdown will occur in mid to late F2024.

是的。通常，我們將大約 15% 的銷售水準（即收入水準）指定給營運資金。因此，當你考慮到我們 13 億美元的積壓訂單時，其中大約 15% 將用於營運資金。這大約是現金的一半。因此，考慮到沒有其他新的大型項目來填補這一傾斜，我們預計會看到大量現金回撤。但大部分提領現金將發生在 2024 年中後期。

Great. That's very helpful. Maybe, Brett, you could touch in on this. Any thoughts about the administration's freeze on new LNG plants? Does that impact you? Yes or no? Can you just maybe talk about that a bit?

偉大的。這非常有幫助。布雷特，也許你可以談談這個。對政府凍結新液化天然氣工廠有何想法？這對你有影響嗎？是還是不是？你能談談這個嗎？

Yes, I mean look, John, per my prepared comment, I wrestle a lot with what word to put in there. It is just for me personally and as the CEO of Powell very oddly timed, and early tea leaves from our customers, kind of the same thing. Do I really think it will stop projects? I don't think so, but it clearly is going to create a little bit more near-term uncertainty on timing given what they've explained. I don't see much yet as to why they did what they did. Looking at the other folks in this marketplace along with our clients, I think everybody's kind of scratching their head, but they did it and I think we'll just work together and get our way through it as quick as we can.

是的，我的意思是，約翰，根據我準備好的評論，我為在其中放什麼詞而苦苦思索。對於我個人和作為鮑威爾執行長來說，時機非常奇怪，而我們的客戶提供的早期茶葉，也是同樣的事情。我真的認為這會停止專案嗎？我不這麼認為，但鑑於他們的解釋，這顯然會在近期時間上造成更多的不確定性。我還不太明白他們為什麼要這麼做。看看這個市場上的其他人和我們的客戶，我認為每個人都有點摸不著頭腦，但他們做到了，我認為我們將共同努力，盡快度過難關。

I tend to agree. Thanks for taking the questions. I'm going to jump back into queue.

我傾向同意。感謝您提出問題。我要跳回隊列。

Thanks, John.

謝謝，約翰。

Jon Braatz, Kansas City Capital.

喬恩‧布拉茨 (Jon Braatz)，堪薩斯市首府。

Good morning, Brett. Good morning, Mike.

早安，布雷特。早上好，麥克。

Good morning.

早安.

On the gross margin front, Mike, are you incurring, or would you expect to incur as you go forward this year, any overtime charges or expenses in terms of labor?

在毛利率方面，麥克，您今年是否會產生或預計會產生任何加班費或人工費用？

Yes. Most of the divisions, given my comments on the utilization capacity levels across the business are incurring modest levels of OT as we execute the backlog.

是的。鑑於我對整個業務的利用率水準的評論，大多數部門在執行積壓工作時都會產生適度的加班。

Okay. Well, would you anticipate growing levels of OT going forward throughout the year?

好的。那麼，您預計全年加班水準會持續成長嗎？

No. There's a point of diminishing returns and the operating teams are on that quite strongly, so no. I wouldn't anticipate that.

不。存在回報遞減點，並且營運團隊對此非常強烈，所以不會。我沒想到會這樣。

Yes. Brett, on the big picture front, in terms of what the administration has done, in terms of, obviously it's a political decision delaying these LNG expansions and new facilities. Is there any thought within the industry that maybe the administration not only will delay it, but they will nix these projects for climate change reasons and so on? Is there any consideration of that amongst the industry?

是的。布雷特，從大局來看，就政府所做的事情而言，顯然這是推遲這些液化天然氣擴建和新設施的政治決定。業內是否有任何想法認為，政府不僅會推遲項目，還會出於氣候變遷等原因取消這些項目？業界有沒有考慮到這一點？

It'd be hard to say that that that more severe outcome isn't on the thoughts and minds of certainly the owners as they're trying to work their way through their project process in interacting with the government. I wouldn't say that's the case right now. I think everybody feels, at least early on here, that this is a slight slowdown and things will get back on track. It really doesn't seem to be a lot of practical reasons and, if anything, it seems to be, again, not to be a political person here, but it certainly, from where I sit, hurts the States and a global outlook for what we're trying to do around the world.

很難說，更嚴重的結果肯定不在業主的想法和頭腦中，因為他們試圖在專案過程中與政府互動。我不會說現在的情況是這樣。我認為每個人都感覺，至少在早期，這是一個輕微的放緩，事情將會回到正軌。這似乎確實沒有很多實際原因，而且，如果有的話，似乎不是這裡的政治人物，但從我的立場來看，這肯定會損害美國和全球前景。我們正在世界各地努力做的事情。

So I got to believe that's being echoed with folks with much bigger positions in this not than myself. And the interactions we've had with our clients and our engineering partners would seem to indicate that's sort of the tenor at the moment.

所以我必須相信，在這方面擁有比我自己更重要職位的人也認同這一點。我們與客戶和工程合作夥伴的互動似乎表明這就是目前的趨勢。

Yes. Okay. All right. Okay. Thank you, Brett.

是的。好的。好的。好的。謝謝你，布雷特。

Yes.

是的。

John Deysher, Pinnacle.

約翰·戴舍爾，巔峰之作。

Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. On the LNG front, I realized that we're not going to be canceling any existing projects or expansions, but can you give us an idea of in the backlog, how much of that backlog is LNG related at this point on a percentage basis roughly?

早安.感謝您提出我的問題。在液化天然氣方面，我意識到我們不會取消任何現有項目或擴建，但您能否讓我們了解一下積壓訂單中，目前積壓訂單中有多少與液化天然氣相關，大致按百分比計算？

Thinking back to, so we started at the end of 2022, sharing updates in the market. We never really quantified any one job. We really can't, John, but it is, given the size and depth and breadth of what you've experienced with Powell over the years, it's about 25%, 30%-ish, kind of in that range.

回想起來，所以我們從2022年底開始，分享市場的最新動態。我們從未真正量化過任何一項工作。約翰，我們真的不能，但考慮到這些年來你與鮑威爾經歷的規模、深度和廣度，它大約是 25%、30% 左右，在這個範圍內。

25% to 30%, okay, is LNG related, that's helpful. Okay, good. The other question is, you talked about the CapEx expansion of $11 million, I think, for one of the facilities. What is the CapEx budget for F2024 at this point?

25％到30％，好吧，與液化天然氣有關，這很有幫助。好的。另一個問題是，我認為您談到了其中一個設施的 1100 萬美元資本支出擴張。目前 2024 年的資本支出預算是多少？

Yes, John, this is Mike. Typically, our normal burn rate in CapEx is roughly $4 million to $5 million. And as Brett mentioned, we are initiating an expansion at one of our facilities here in Houston, that is roughly $10 million or $11 million.

是的，約翰，這是麥克。通常，我們的正常資本支出消耗率約為 400 萬至 500 萬美元。正如 Brett 所提到的，我們正在休士頓的一處設施進行擴建，耗資約 1,000 萬或 1,100 萬美元。

Little suspect that timing when that would actually report out, John, just because the permitting process, like always, is kind of like the other conversation we've had today. Whenever you get the government involved, you get a lot of help. So, we're working through that now. We're excited by it and get the prospect of where we're going with the things we've shared on the calls last two years about getting some new products out into the market and what the R&D team has been delivering for us.

約翰，幾乎沒有人懷疑何時會真正報告這種情況，因為許可過程與往常一樣，有點像我們今天進行的其他對話。每當政府介入時，你就會得到很多幫助。所以，我們現在正在解決這個問題。我們對此感到興奮，並透過過去兩年我們在電話中分享的有關將一些新產品推向市場以及研發團隊一直為我們提供的內容來了解我們的發展方向。

Okay. When do you expect that $11 million expansion to start? And how long would it take to complete?

好的。您預計 1100 萬美元的擴建計畫何時開始？需要多長時間才能完成？

Yes. We've started the process. We've got a prime contractor. I think in the next three to four months, we'll probably go a little slower, just as we kind of get through all the permits and we'll use that time to home in all our final construction costs. So, I think in earnest, sort of mid late summer. And once we get going, the build time isn't too long, quite frankly.

是的。我們已經開始了這個過程。我們有一個總承包商。我認為在接下來的三到四個月裡，我們可能會放慢一點，就像我們獲得所有許可一樣，我們將利用這段時間來支付所有最終的建築成本。所以，我認真地想，大概是夏末。坦白說，一旦我們開始，建置時間並不會太長。

It's a tilt wall building over there today at the factory and team came up with a really nice plan to go out the backside of the building and put in two really nice bays, adding the room we need for the future. So pretty excited to get going, but we'll just have to get through that permitting process and then sometime mid fiscal next year, we ought to be up and going.

今天工廠裡有一座傾斜牆建築，團隊想出了一個非常好的計劃，從建築物的背面出來，建造兩個非常漂亮的海灣，增加我們未來所需的房間。非常興奮能開始，但我們只需要完成許可程序，然後在明年財年中期的某個時候，我們就應該開始行動了。

Okay. So, it sounds like you won't break ground until late summer and then probably a year or so to complete it.

好的。所以，聽起來你要到夏末才會破土動工，然後可能需要一年左右的時間才能完成。

That's correct. I mean, I hope we can move the permitting process and if that's the case, we are absolutely ready to move quicker. We just have to get through the first three or four months.

這是正確的。我的意思是，我希望我們能夠推進許可程序，如果是這樣的話，我們絕對準備好採取更快的行動。我們只需要度過最初的三、四個月。

Okay, fair enough. Thanks, and good luck.

好吧，很公平。謝謝，祝你好運。

John Franzreb, Sidoti & Company.

約翰‧弗蘭茲雷布 (John Franzreb)，西多蒂公司 (Sidoti & Company)。

Yes. I'm just curious a little bit about the tax rate. It's a little bit lower than expected in the quarter. Anything going on there that we should be cognizant of?

是的。我只是對稅率有點好奇。該數字略低於本季的預期。那裡發生了什麼我們應該意識到的事情？

Yes. John, the lower effective tax rate relative to the US statutory rate was driven by a one-time favorable tax item relative to stock-based compensation. So just to explain that a little further, as you know, our stock values appreciated considerably throughout 2023. And as such, the vesting price is significantly higher than the original grant price.

是的。約翰表示，相對於美國法定稅率的有效稅率較低是由相對於股票薪酬的一次性優惠稅收項目推動的。進一步解釋一下，如您所知，我們的股票價值在 2023 年全年大幅升值。因此，歸屬價格明顯高於原始授予價格。

That difference when they actually vested, generated a favorable tax benefit, reducing the ETR percent. So that was kind of a one-time item that was a benefit from a tax perspective in 1Q.

當他們實際歸屬時，這種差異產生了有利的稅收優惠，降低了 ETR 百分比。因此，這是一種一次性項目，從第一季的稅收角度來看是有利的。

So how should the tax number look on a go-forward basis, Mike?

那麼，麥克，未來的稅號該如何看待？

We are still targeting 24% ETR as we navigate through the remainder of the year.

在今年剩餘時間裡，我們的目標仍然是 24% ETR。

Great. And Brett, I've asked you this, I think, two quarters ago, and I'm going to revisit the question. What innings do you put the order booking rate at? Let's revisit it now especially in light of how good the most recent quarter was at $198 million.

偉大的。布雷特，我想，兩個季度前我已經問過你這個問題了，我將重新審視這個問題。您將訂單預訂率設定為第幾局？現在讓我們重新審視一下它，特別是考慮到最近一個季度 1.98 億美元的業績有多好。

Yes. On the gas related comments, I made in the prepared remarks, John, I still feel good. I mean, clearly the uncertainty on timing has ticked up a little bit over the last few weeks. So, I anticipate it may draw out a little further. But when I look at the other things that are going on in the energy transition, there's still a lot of activity.

是的。關於天然氣相關的評論，我在準備好的演講中發表過，約翰，我仍然感覺良好。我的意思是，顯然過去幾週時間的不確定性增加。因此，我預計它可能會進一步拖延。但當我觀察能源轉型中正在發生的其他事情時，仍然有很多活動。

Are the uncertainties slowly increasing? Yes, that was the reason for the comment also on the lithium side, this commercial, the industrial has been a great new market as we kind of build new channels and build onto Powell since the post-pandemic. But what, well, just experience is how quick it could spin down as well. So, there's still a lot of activity in that segment. Feel good about it in the near-term, but maybe slightly more uncertainty as we go out mid-term.

不確定性是否正在慢慢增加？是的，這也是對鋰方面發表評論的原因，自大流行後以來，隨著我們建立新的管道並以鮑威爾為基礎，這個商業、工業一直是一個巨大的新市場。但是，好吧，唯一的經驗是它的旋轉速度也有多快。因此，該領域仍有許多活動。短期內感覺良好，但中期可能會出現更多不確定性。

Okay. Fair enough. Thank you for taking my follow-up.

好的。很公平。感謝您接受我的跟進。

All right.

好的。

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Brett Cope for any closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。我想將會議轉回布雷特·科普（Brett Cope）發表閉幕詞。

Thank you, [Gary] As you've heard from Mike and me, we are pleased with our first quarter results and the momentum it provides through the balance of F2024. And to our incredible employees, well done. I am fortunate and proud to be a part of a group of talented individuals with Powell can do on full display and demonstrating a laser focus on the success of our customers.

謝謝，[Gary] 正如您從 Mike 和我那裡聽到的，我們對第一季度的業績及其透過 2024 年的平衡所提供的動力感到滿意。對於我們出色的員工來說，幹得好。我很幸運也很自豪能夠成為 Powell 才華橫溢的團隊中的一員，能夠充分展示並展示對客戶成功的高度關注。

With that, thank you for joining us this morning. We appreciate your continued interest in Powell and look forward to updating everyone next quarter.

在此，感謝您今天早上加入我們。我們感謝您對鮑威爾的持續關注，並期待下個季度向大家通報最新情況。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。