Pactiv Evergreen Inc (PTVE) 2022 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Pactiv Evergreen, Second Quarter 2022 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded today.

早上好，歡迎參加 Pactiv Evergreen 2022 年第二季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，今天正在記錄此事件。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Dhaval Patel. Please go ahead.

我現在想把會議交給 Dhaval Patel。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for your interest in Pactiv Evergreen and welcome to our second quarter 2022 earnings call. With me on the call today we have Michael King, Chief Executive Officer; and Jon Baksht, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝接線員，大家早上好。感謝您對 Pactiv Evergreen 的興趣，歡迎參加我們的 2022 年第二季度財報電話會議。今天與我通話的有首席執行官 Michael King；和首席財務官 Jon Baksht。

Please visit the Events section on the company's Investor Relations website at www.pactivevergreen.com and access the company's supplemental earnings presentation. Management's remarks today should be heard in tandem with reviewing this presentation.

請訪問公司投資者關係網站 www.pactivevergreen.com 上的活動部分，並訪問公司的補充收益報告。管理層今天的講話應與審查此演示文稿同時聽取。

Before we begin our formal remarks, I would like to remind everyone that our discussions today will include forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our guidance for 2022. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by our forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not put undue reliance on those statements. These statements are also subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we expect. We refer all of you to our recent SEC filings, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our upcoming quarterly report on Form 10-Q, for more detailed discussion on those risks. The forward-looking statements we make on this call are based on information available to us as of today's date, and we disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

在我們開始正式發言之前，我想提醒大家，我們今天的討論將包括前瞻性陳述，包括關於我們 2022 年指導方針的陳述。這些前瞻性陳述不能保證未來的業績，實際結果可能與我們的前瞻性陳述所設想的那些。因此，您不應過分依賴這些陳述。這些陳述還受到許多風險和不確定性的影響，可能導致實際結果與我們的預期存在重大差異。我們向你們所有人推薦我們最近提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件，包括我們最近的 10-K 表格年度報告和我們即將發布的 10-Q 表格季度報告，以更詳細地討論這些風險。我們在本次電話會議上做出的前瞻性陳述基於截至今天我們可獲得的信息，除法律要求外，我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務。

Lastly, during today's call, we will discuss certain GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating our performance. Our non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the results prepared in accordance with GAAP, and a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is available in our earnings release and in the appendix to today's presentation. Unless otherwise stated, all figures discussed during today's call are for our continuing operations only.

最後，在今天的電話會議中，我們將討論某些 GAAP 和非 GAAP 財務指標，我們認為這些指標有助於評估我們的業績。我們的非公認會計原則措施不應孤立地考慮或替代根據公認會計原則編制的結果，我們的收益發布和今天演示文稿的附錄中提供了與最直接可比的公認會計原則措施的對賬。除非另有說明，今天電話會議中討論的所有數據僅適用於我們的持續運營。

With that, let me turn the call over to Pactiv Evergreen's CEO, Michael King. Mike?

有了這個，讓我把電話轉給 Pactiv Evergreen 的首席執行官 Michael King。麥克風？

Thanks, Dhaval. Good morning, everyone, and welcome. Yesterday after the market closed, Pactiv Evergreen released its second quarter 2022 results. I'm pleased to report that we had yet another strong quarter as the team continues to focus on and deliver improving business results. Revenues continue to benefit from pricing due to lag raw material cost pass-throughs, while adjusted EBITDA benefited from the pricing net of higher costs, as well as the benefit from the Fabri-Kal acquisition.

謝謝，達瓦爾。大家早上好，歡迎光臨。昨天收市後，Pactiv Evergreen 發布了 2022 年第二季度業績。我很高興地報告，隨著團隊繼續專注於並提供不斷改進的業務成果，我們又迎來了一個強勁的季度。由於原材料成本轉嫁滯後，收入繼續受益於定價，而調整後的 EBITDA 則受益於扣除較高成本的定價以及收購 Fabri-Kal 的收益。

We continue to make steady progress across the organization over the past few quarters. While COVID is still something we track, it's not impacting our business as significantly as it has in the past. The labor gap that we had highlighted last year and previously this year has narrowed considerably, thanks to the strong efforts across the organization. Finally, our profitability is improving versus last year's depressed levels. All of this is possible because throughout the organization, we continue to drive and embrace a culture of excellence and continued improvement.

在過去的幾個季度中，我們繼續在整個組織中取得穩步進展。儘管我們仍在跟踪 COVID，但它對我們的業務的影響並不像過去那樣顯著。由於整個組織的大力努力，我們去年和今年之前強調的勞動力差距已大大縮小。最後，與去年的低迷水平相比，我們的盈利能力正在改善。所有這一切都是可能的，因為在整個組織中，我們繼續推動和擁抱卓越文化和持續改進。

We also saw better cube efficiencies, improved productivity and an increase in automation across our warehouses. In general, we are seeing more stable operations across all 3 segments. At the same time, we are seeing higher raw materials and inflation cost, and we intend to take pricing actions where needed to return profitability to normalized levels.

我們還看到了更高的立方體效率、更高的生產力和整個倉庫的自動化程度的提高。總的來說，我們看到所有三個細分市場的運營都更加穩定。與此同時，我們看到更高的原材料和通脹成本，我們打算在需要時採取定價行動，將盈利能力恢復到正常水平。

We've also delivered on our broader strategic initiatives as the integration of Fabri-Kal is proceeding ahead of plan. And earlier this week, we also announced the close of the sale of our Asia-based business. The sale of the Asian business allows us to focus on our strong North American business while also enhancing our balance sheet.

隨著 Fabri-Kal 的整合提前進行，我們還實施了更廣泛的戰略舉措。本週早些時候，我們還宣佈出售我們的亞洲業務。出售亞洲業務使我們能夠專注於強大的北美業務，同時也增強了我們的資產負債表。

Finally, I'd like to take a moment to welcome Jon Baksht, our new Chief Financial Officer, to the team. Jon, brings with him extensive financial expertise with prior experience as an investment banker as well as a CFO dealing with the public markets. We look forward to working with him and for all of you to get to know Jon.

最後，我想花一點時間歡迎我們新任首席財務官 Jon Baksht 加入團隊。 Jon 帶來了豐富的金融專業知識，之前曾擔任過投資銀行家和與公共市場打交道的首席財務官。我們期待與他合作，並期待你們所有人了解 Jon。

Let me now turn it over to Jon to walk us through a more detailed review of our financials in the second quarter. Jon?

現在讓我把它交給喬恩，讓我們對第二季度的財務狀況進行更詳細的審查。喬恩？

Thanks, Mike. Before I begin my discussion of our financial results, I'd like to take a moment and thank Mike and the broader Pactiv Evergreen team for such a warm welcome to the company. It's exciting to be a part of an organization with a strong values and purpose-driven culture. In my short time at the company, I'm impressed with the strong fundamentals of the business, while at the same time having opportunities to continue to build on the company's recent success. For those of you I haven't had the opportunity to meet yet, I'd like to give you a sense of what drew me to Pactiv Evergreen.

謝謝，邁克。在開始討論我們的財務業績之前，我想花一點時間感謝 Mike 和更廣泛的 Pactiv Evergreen 團隊對公司的熱烈歡迎。成為具有強烈價值觀和目標驅動文化的組織的一員是令人興奮的。在公司短暫的時間裡，我對公司強大的業務基礎印象深刻，同時也有機會繼續鞏固公司最近的成功。對於那些我還沒有機會見到的人，我想讓你們了解是什麼吸引我來到 Pactiv Evergreen。

As a company recently taken public, I find the investment case for Pactiv Evergreen to be compelling and potentially overlooked by the broader market. As most of you on the call today know and bears reinforcing, we are one of the largest producers of fresh food and beverage packaging in North America with scale and a nationwide footprint to provide a compelling value proposition for our customers, which includes leading market share in several product categories. While we, like everyone, have experienced inflation and supply chain-driven headwinds, the underlying business remains resilient as evidenced by our results this quarter.

作為一家最近上市的公司，我發現 Pactiv Evergreen 的投資案例具有吸引力，並且可能被更廣泛的市場所忽視。正如今天電話會議中的大多數人都知道並需要強調的那樣，我們是北美最大的新鮮食品和飲料包裝生產商之一，其規模和足跡遍布全國，可為我們的客戶提供令人信服的價值主張，其中包括領先的市場份額在幾個產品類別中。雖然我們和每個人一樣，都經歷了通貨膨脹和供應鏈驅動的逆風，但我們本季度的業績證明了基礎業務仍然具有彈性。

Our extensive manufacturing, warehousing and distribution footprint positions us for further growth. We are committed to a more sustainable future with 64% of our revenues in 2021 coming from products made with recycled, recyclable or renewable materials. Financially, we remain committed to our dividend policy, which currently provides a yield around 4%. I'm sure my enthusiasm is evident and I look forward to our continuing dialogue. I'll now move into our financial results.

我們廣泛的製造、倉儲和分銷足跡使我們能夠進一步發展。我們致力於打造更可持續的未來，到 2021 年，我們 64% 的收入來自使用可回收、可回收或可再生材料製成的產品。在財務方面，我們仍然致力於我們的股息政策，目前該政策的收益率約為 4%。我確信我的熱情是顯而易見的，我期待著我們繼續對話。我現在將討論我們的財務結果。

Moving to Slide 6 and touching on our Q2 2022 highlights. As Mike stated, we continue to make steady progress and delivered another strong quarter. Net revenue was $1.64 billion, up 21% versus prior year. Net income was $74 million with diluted EPS of $0.40. Adjusted EBITDA was $249 million, up 92% versus the prior year quarter, and our free cash flow for the quarter was negative $18 million.

轉到幻燈片 6 並談到我們 2022 年第二季度的亮點。正如邁克所說，我們繼續取得穩步進展，並交付了另一個強勁的季度。淨收入為 16.4 億美元，同比增長 21%。淨收入為 7400 萬美元，攤薄後每股收益為 0.40 美元。調整後的 EBITDA 為 2.49 億美元，比去年同期增長 92%，我們本季度的自由現金流為負 1800 萬美元。

Moving to Slide 7. Looking at our year-to-date 2022 financial performance. Net revenue was $3.135 billion versus $2.516 billion in the same period last year, an increase of 25%. The increase was primarily due to pricing pass-throughs and the Fabri-Kal acquisition, which offset volumes down 8%, primarily due to strong sales in the prior period as businesses and restaurants reopened post COVID-19 lockdowns, labor shortages and the exit of coated groundwood.

轉到幻燈片 7。查看我們 2022 年迄今為止的財務業績。淨收入為 31.35 億美元，比去年同期的 25.16 億美元增長 25%。這一增長主要是由於定價傳遞和 Fabri-Kal 收購抵消了銷量下降 8%，這主要是由於上一時期的強勁銷售，因為企業和餐館在 COVID-19 封鎖後重新開業、勞動力短缺和退出塗層磨木。

Adjusted EBITDA was $431 million versus $207 million in the same period last year. The improvement in EBITDA was driven by favorable pricing, net of material cost pass-through, improved and more stable operations that Mike referenced earlier as well as the acquisition of Fabri-Kal. The increase in adjusted EBITDA also includes the benefit related to prior year period costs of $50 million from Winter Storm Uri. Free cash flow was $52 million.

調整後的 EBITDA 為 4.31 億美元，而去年同期為 2.07 億美元。 EBITDA 的改善是由有利的定價（扣除材料成本轉嫁）、邁克早些時候提到的改進和更穩定的運營以及收購 Fabri-Kal 推動的。調整後 EBITDA 的增加還包括與冬季風暴 Uri 的 5000 萬美元上一年期間成本相關的收益。自由現金流為 5200 萬美元。

Moving to Slide 9 and a deeper discussion of our Q2 2022 performance. Net revenue was $1.64 billion versus $1.352 billion in the same period last year, an increase of 21%. The increase primarily related to higher price mix due to material cost pass-through to customers and pricing actions plus the acquisition of Fabri-Kal. Volume was down 10%, primarily due to tough comps versus strong sales volume last year, labor challenges and our exit of the coated groundwood paper business.

轉到幻燈片 9，深入討論我們 2022 年第二季度的表現。淨收入為 16.4 億美元，比去年同期的 13.52 億美元增長 21%。這一增長主要與更高的價格組合有關，原因是材料成本轉嫁給客戶和定價行動以及收購 Fabri-Kal。銷量下降了 10%，主要是由於艱難的競爭與去年強勁的銷量、勞動力挑戰以及我們退出塗佈磨木紙業務。

Adjusted EBITDA was $249 million versus $130 million in the same period last year, an increase of 92%. The increase is primarily due to favorable pricing, net of material cost pass-through and the impact of the Fabri-Kal acquisition, partially offset by higher manufacturing costs, lower sales volume and higher employee-related and logistics costs.

調整後的 EBITDA 為 2.49 億美元，而去年同期為 1.3 億美元，增長了 92%。這一增長主要是由於有利的定價（扣除材料成本轉嫁和收購 Fabri-Kal 的影響），部分被較高的製造成本、較低的銷量以及較高的員工相關和物流成本所抵消。

I'd also note that net income benefited from a onetime positive litigation settlement of approximately $15 million in the quarter. This amount is reported in our other income line, but is not included in the calculation of adjusted EBITDA.

我還注意到，淨收入受益於本季度約 1500 萬美元的一次性積極訴訟和解。該金額在我們的其他收入項目中報告，但不包括在調整後 EBITDA 的計算中。

Free cash flow, defined as net cash flow provided by operating activities less CapEx, was negative $18 million versus $42 million in the same period last year. The negative cash outflow was largely due to a planned build in inventory of $154 million as a needed replenishment following shortages we experienced last year.

自由現金流（定義為經營活動提供的淨現金流減去資本支出）為負 1800 萬美元，而去年同期為 4200 萬美元。負現金流出主要是由於我們計劃在去年經歷短缺後需要補充 1.54 億美元的庫存。

Our inventories are now at more normalized levels, which allows us to provide improved customer service levels. We do not expect significant inventory builds on a volume basis for the remainder of the year.

我們的庫存現在處於更加正常化的水平，這使我們能夠提供更高的客戶服務水平。我們預計今年剩餘時間不會有大量庫存增加。

Moving to Slide 10. This slide helps to bridge Q2 year-on-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA. Looking at revenue when compared to Q2 last year, the key drivers of our revenue growth were price/mix of $309 million and $121 million from the acquisition of Fabri-Kal, offset by lower volume and FX. For adjusted EBITDA, price/mix favorability and a $34 million benefit from the Fabri-Kal acquisition more than offset higher costs and some volume deterioration.

轉到幻燈片 10。這張幻燈片有助於彌合第二季度的同比收入和調整後的 EBITDA。從與去年第二季度相比的收入來看，我們收入增長的主要驅動因素是收購 Fabri-Kal 帶來的 3.09 億美元和 1.21 億美元的價格/組合，但被較低的銷量和外匯所抵消。對於調整後的 EBITDA，價格/組合有利和從 Fabri-Kal 收購中獲得的 3400 萬美元收益足以抵消更高的成本和一些銷量下降。

Moving to Slide 11 and our results by segment for Q2. Our Foodservice segment saw net revenues up 39%, driven by higher pricing to recover COGS increases as well as the impact from the acquisition of Fabri-Kal, which offset volumes down 9% versus strong prior-year sales volume. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was up $103 million versus the same period last year, primarily due to favorable pricing, net of material cost pass-through and the impact from the acquisition of Fabri-Kal, partially offset by higher manufacturing costs, lower sales volume and higher employee-related costs.

轉到幻燈片 11 和我們第二季度的分部結果。我們的餐飲服務部門的淨收入增長了 39%，這得益於更高的定價以恢復 COGS 的增長以及收購 Fabri-Kal 的影響，這抵消了與去年強勁的銷量相比下降 9% 的影響。與去年同期相比，該部門的調整後 EBITDA 增加了 1.03 億美元，主要是由於有利的定價，扣除材料成本轉嫁和收購 Fabri-Kal 的影響，部分被較高的製造成本、較低的銷量所抵消和更高的員工相關成本。

Our Food Merchandising segment saw net revenues up 14%, driven by favorable pricing, primarily due to higher material cost pass-through to customers and pricing actions, partially offset by lower sales volume, primarily due to labor shortages. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was up 32% versus the same period last year due primarily to favorable pricing, net of material cost pass-through, partially offset by higher manufacturing costs and lower sales volume.

我們的食品銷售部門的淨收入增長了 14%，這主要是由於較高的材料成本轉嫁給客戶和定價行動，但部分被銷量下降所抵消，這主要是由於勞動力短缺。與去年同期相比，該部門的調整後 EBITDA 增長了 32%，這主要是由於有利的定價（扣除材料成本轉嫁），部分被較高的製造成本和較低的銷量所抵消。

Our Beverage Merchandising segment saw net revenues up 9%, driven by favorable pricing primarily due to pricing actions, higher material cost pass-through to customers and favorable product mix, partially offset by lower sales volume primarily due to our exit from our coated groundwood business. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment was $29 million versus $15 million in 2021. The key drivers were higher pricing partially offset by higher material, manufacturing, employee and logistic costs as well as an $11 million cost due to scheduled annual pulp mill outage.

我們的飲料銷售部門的淨收入增長了 9%，這主要是由於定價行動、更高的材料成本轉嫁給客戶和有利的產品組合，這部分被主要由於我們退出塗層磨木業務導致的銷量下降所抵消.該部門的調整後 EBITDA 為 2900 萬美元，而 2021 年為 1500 萬美元。主要驅動因素是較高的定價，部分被較高的材料、製造、員工和物流成本以及由於計劃的年度紙漿廠停工造成的 1100 萬美元成本所抵消。

Moving to Slide 12. We ended Q2 with $246 million in cash and $4.2 billion in total outstanding debt. As indicated in our press release earlier in the week, we have closed the sale of the Beverage Merchandising agent business, which will further strengthen our balance sheet. We expect proceeds of approximately $300 million, net of estimated working capital adjustments and estimated taxes.

轉到幻燈片 12。我們在第二季度結束時擁有 2.46 億美元的現金和 42 億美元的未償債務總額。正如我們在本週早些時候的新聞稿中所指出的，我們已經完成了飲料銷售代理業務的出售，這將進一步加強我們的資產負債表。我們預計收益約為 3 億美元，扣除估計的營運資金調整和估計的稅款。

Our net debt at the end of Q2 was around $4 billion and around $3.7 billion pro forma for the Asia business sale proceeds. We ended Q2 with a net debt to LTM adjusted EBITDA ratio of 5.3, well below the 7.6 at the end of 2021. We expect our net leverage to be below 5 when we report our third quarter and fourth quarter results. Additionally, we are evaluating other alternatives to further deleverage the balance sheet.

我們在第二季度末的淨債務約為 40 億美元，亞洲業務出售收益的預估淨債務約為 37 億美元。我們在第二季度末的淨債務與 LTM 調整後的 EBITDA 比率為 5.3，遠低於 2021 年底的 7.6。我們預計，當我們報告第三季度和第四季度的業績時，我們的淨槓桿率將低於 5。此外，我們正在評估其他替代方案以進一步去槓桿化資產負債表。

I'll now pass it back to Mike for further comments.

我現在將它傳回給 Mike 以徵求進一步的意見。

Thanks, Jon. If I can turn your attention to Slide 14. I'll provide a brief update on our ESG progress before my closing remarks. This year, we've put a lot of effort and resource on tracking and improving our performance in the E, S and G fields. We've implemented a new operational sustainability data management system. This allows us to analyze, report on and audit our energy, our emissions, our water and our waste data across the entire enterprise.

謝謝，喬恩。如果我可以將您的注意力轉移到幻燈片 14。我將在結束髮言之前簡要介紹我們的 ESG 進展情況。今年，我們投入了大量精力和資源來跟踪和改進我們在 E、S 和 G 領域的表現。我們實施了一個新的運營可持續性數據管理系統。這使我們能夠分析、報告和審計整個企業的能源、排放、水和廢物數據。

As we finalize our environmental disclosures for 2021, we are proud to report an 18% Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions reduction between 2015 and 2021. At Pactiv Evergreen, we promote responsible forestry, and we are committed to increasing the use of certified wood and promoting forest certifications. We recently published an updated sustainable forestry policy as well as new goals related to sustainable forestry.

在我們完成 2021 年的環境披露時，我們很自豪地報告說，在 2015 年至 2021 年期間，範圍 1 和範圍 2 的溫室氣體排放量減少了 18%。在 Pactiv Evergreen，我們提倡負責任的林業，我們致力於增加使用經過認證的木材和促進森林認證。我們最近發布了更新的可持續林業政策以及與可持續林業相關的新目標。

As much as we value a sustainable supply chain, we're also committed to support our customers' efforts on their path to a sustainable future. In June, we published our Zero Waste Implementation Guide to provide Foodservice operators like recreational venues, stadiums or colleges a resource to begin their journey to zero waste. By closing the loop, operators can cut greenhouse gases, manage risk, litter and pollution, reinvest in resources, all while creating value for their operation.

儘管我們重視可持續供應鏈，但我們也致力於支持客戶在通往可持續未來的道路上所做的努力。 6 月，我們發布了零浪費實施指南，為娛樂場所、體育場館或大學等餐飲服務運營商提供資源，幫助他們開始零浪費之旅。通過閉環，運營商可以減少溫室氣體排放、管理風險、垃圾和污染、對資源進行再投資，同時為其運營創造價值。

Under our people pillar, we are spending a significant amount of time strengthening our support for our team members' career development, introducing a new tuition assistance program and updated performance management system, both of these programs are bringing our Celebrate People core value to life in ways that are relevant and meaningful for our people.

在我們的人員支柱下，我們花費大量時間加強對團隊成員職業發展的支持，引入新的學費資助計劃和更新的績效管理系統，這兩個計劃都將我們的 Celebrate People 核心價值帶入生活對我們的員工相關且有意義的方式。

Finally, I couldn't be prouder to celebrate Pactiv Evergreen's first female Board chair, Leanne Baker. Lean has been a director since our IPO and we're looking forward to benefiting from her leadership and experience in helping to build more gender equality in boardrooms. To learn more, we invite shareholders to view our latest disclosures and other reports found at investors.pactivevergreen.com in the ESG section.

最後，我為慶祝 Pactiv Evergreen 的第一位女性董事會主席 Leanne Baker 而感到無比自豪。自我們首次公開募股以來，Lean 一直擔任董事，我們期待從她的領導能力和經驗中受益，幫助在董事會中建立更多的性別平等。要了解更多信息，我們邀請股東查看我們在 Investors.pactivevergreen.com 的 ESG 部分中找到的最新披露和其他報告。

Now if I could turn your attention to Slide 15. As our results indicate, we are making steady progress on returning our profitability to more normalized levels. As a result of the strong start to the year, we are now expecting our 2022 adjusted EBITDA to be in the $750 million to $770 million range. Additionally, we expect to be free cash flow positive for the remainder of the year following the inventory build in the first half of the year.

現在，如果我可以將您的注意力轉向幻燈片 15。正如我們的結果所表明的那樣，我們正在將我們的盈利能力恢復到更正常的水平方面取得穩步進展。由於今年開局強勁，我們現在預計 2022 年調整後的 EBITDA 將在 7.5 億美元至 7.7 億美元之間。此外，在上半年庫存增加後，我們預計今年剩餘時間的自由現金流將是正數。

We continue to see improvements in the labor markets. We are now focused on employee training and retention while still finishing filling the opening -- the open positions we have. As my opening comments stated, we continue to see improvement across all operations. We are, however, still dealing with broader inflationary pressures as well as volatility linked to the raw material markets.

我們繼續看到勞動力市場的改善。我們現在專注於員工培訓和保留，同時仍在填補空缺——我們擁有的空缺職位。正如我的開場評論所說，我們繼續看到所有業務的改進。然而，我們仍在應對更廣泛的通脹壓力以及與原材料市場相關的波動。

In addition, we now have the added uncertainty around volume recovery due to the fears of a recession. We believe our portfolio is fairly resilient in recessionary times, but it is prudent to remain cautious in the current environment. Given the timing lag for inflationary cost pass-through, we anticipate this quarter will represent our peak EBITDA for the year and would expect more normalized results the next 2 quarters, particularly given the lower seasonal demand we typically experience in Q4.

此外，由於對經濟衰退的擔憂，我們現在對交易量的複蘇增加了不確定性。我們相信我們的投資組合在經濟衰退時期相當有彈性，但在當前環境下保持謹慎是謹慎的做法。鑑於通脹成本轉嫁的時間滯後，我們預計本季度將代表我們今年的 EBITDA 峰值，並預計未來兩個季度會有更多正常化的結果，特別是考慮到我們通常在第四季度遇到的季節性需求較低。

At this time, I would like to thank all of the Pactiv Evergreen workforce for their continued commitment and hard work. We remain focused on continuing to improve our production capabilities and service to our customers.

在此，我要感謝所有 Pactiv Evergreen 員工的持續承諾和辛勤工作。我們仍然專注於繼續提高我們的生產能力和為客戶提供的服務。

With that, let us take your questions. Operator?

有了這個，讓我們回答你的問題。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Our first question will come from Arun Viswanathan with RBC Capital Markets.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題將來自 RBC Capital Markets 的 Arun Viswanathan。

Congratulations on the progress here and the turnaround. So I guess first question is just on the price cost situation. So as you noted, you are still experiencing some raw material inflation and some inflation across other categories. Yet you are -- kind of have implemented some pretty sizable price increases over the last couple of quarters. So as we kind of lap those, what kind of pricing should we expect going forward? And have you seen any kind of potential elasticity response from your customers, i.e., pivoting away or trading down? Or what would you kind of describe the environment as?

祝賀這裡的進展和轉變。所以我想第一個問題只是關於價格成本的情況。因此，正如您所指出的，您仍在經歷一些原材料通脹和其他類別的通脹。然而，在過去的幾個季度中，您已經實施了一些相當可觀的價格上漲。因此，當我們對這些進行比較時，我們應該期待什麼樣的定價？你有沒有看到客戶有任何潛在的彈性反應，即轉向或降低交易？或者你會怎樣描述環境？

Thanks, Arun. So our pricing has 2 key elements. It's our raw materials, as you know, and then what we're calling our cost of living or other nonmaterial-related costs. I would tell you, we've made a great deal of progress as it relates to getting customer support, both contractually as well as transactionally on our non-raw material recovery. And so you see that. I expect that that continues throughout the future of this business. Our target is 100% recovery in that regard. And as you can see, we've demonstrated for the first 2 Qs of this year that we've been able to get that kind of support. I'd expect that to continue.

謝謝，阿倫。所以我們的定價有兩個關鍵要素。如您所知，這是我們的原材料，然後是我們所說的生活成本或其他非物質相關成本。我會告訴你，我們在獲得客戶支持方面取得了很大進展，無論是在合同上還是在我們的非原材料回收方面的交易上。所以你看到了。我預計這種情況會在這項業務的未來持續下去。在這方面，我們的目標是 100% 恢復。正如你所看到的，我們已經在今年的前 2 個 Q 中證明了我們已經能夠獲得這種支持。我希望這種情況會繼續下去。

On the raw side those are more contractually an index-based recoveries. And those will also -- while we work to try to tighten loose things up, those things are going to be more what you're used to seeing. Each one of our segments has a different lag. And those lags will dictate how the material falls out. We will see the same kind of pricing strength, I think, to a lesser degree given what materials are doing -- the raw materials are doing. But on the cost of living side, I expect the strength to continue.

在原始方面，這些更像是基於指數的複蘇。這些也會——當我們努力收緊鬆散的東西時，這些東西將更像你習慣看到的那樣。我們的每個細分市場都有不同的滯後。這些滯後將決定材料如何脫落。我認為，考慮到材料正在做什麼——原材料正在做什麼，我們將在較小程度上看到同樣的定價強度。但在生活成本方面，我預計這種力量會持續下去。

And just as a follow-up then. So you noted some volume softness, but that was mainly tough comps. Is that how we should read it? And have you seen potentially any areas of softness? Or is it, again, just a comp issue? And do you expect maybe some volume acceleration next year on those easy comps? How should we think about volumes as well?

然後作為後續行動。所以你注意到一些音量柔軟，但這主要是強硬的組合。我們應該這樣讀嗎？你有沒有看到任何潛在的柔軟區域？或者這只是一個補償問題？您是否預計明年這些簡單的組合可能會出現一些銷量加速？我們也應該如何看待交易量？

Yes, good question. Yes. So we are seeing a moderation in some of our Foodservice business in terms of volumes as we kind of get into Q3 here. And we -- in late Q2, even we saw a little bit. I would tell you, in our Bev Merch business, we can sell every ton we can produce. The demand is still very strong for fiber products, both our paper and our board products are sold out. So that demand does not seem to be softening.

是的，好問題。是的。因此，隨著我們進入第三季度，我們看到我們的一些餐飲服務業務在數量方面有所放緩。我們 - 在第二季度末，甚至我們也看到了一點。我會告訴你，在我們的 Bev Merch 業務中，我們可以賣掉我們能生產的每一噸。對纖維產品的需求仍然非常強勁，我們的紙張和紙板產品都已售罄。因此，這種需求似乎並沒有減弱。

And on the Food Merch side, we've largely constrained our own demand with labor challenges. So it's difficult to say if anything is moderating there. I will tell you that our assumptions for the back half is we do see some moderation. But most of our products, if not almost all of our segments, are in nondiscretionary products. Our products are the products people need and use every day. So I don't expect a huge falloff in terms of our demand. There will be some moderation in segment shift. We see that in recessionary periods in the past as mobility shifts, but we're well positioned to handle that.

在食品商品方面，我們在很大程度上限制了我們自己的需求，面臨勞動力挑戰。所以很難說那裡是否有任何緩和。我會告訴你，我們對後半部分的假設是我們確實看到了一些緩和。但我們的大多數產品，如果不是幾乎所有的細分市場，都是非全權委託產品。我們的產品是人們每天需要和使用的產品。因此，我預計我們的需求不會大幅下降。細分市場將有所緩和。我們在過去的經濟衰退時期看到了流動性的轉變，但我們已經做好了應對的準備。

Our next question will come from Adam Samuelson of Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題將來自高盛的亞當薩繆爾森。

So I guess the first question maybe on the -- continuing on the demand side, and you alluded to some production constraints, and this goes back not just this quarter but going into the year. What would your -- what could your volumes have been in the second quarter if you didn't have those production constraints? I'm just trying to get a sense of, especially the down 9% in Foodservice, what that could have looked like if we then think about underlying demand slowing in the back half as we think about the external environment versus some of your internal constraints?

所以我想第一個問題可能是 - 繼續在需求方面，你提到了一些生產限制，這不僅可以追溯到本季度，而且可以追溯到今年。如果沒有這些生產限制，您第二季度的產量會是多少？我只是想了解一下，尤其是餐飲服務業下降 9% 的情況，如果我們考慮到外部環境與您的一些內部限制因素時，考慮到後半部分的潛在需求放緩，那會是什麼樣子?

Yes. That's difficult. I mean we made some conscious decisions to exit areas. I mean you look at the coated groundwood volume, we setting that aside rough numbers, was it 1% or 2% of volume that we missed as an opportunity maybe? But I think the real decision and one of the things that really constrained our demand and try to position us well for the back half and future Qs was the rebuild of our inventory. And we did that so we weren't constraining the demand.

是的。這很難。我的意思是我們做出了一些有意識的決定退出區域。我的意思是你看看塗層磨木的體積，我們把粗略的數字放在一邊，我們可能錯過了 1% 還是 2% 的體積？但我認為真正限制我們的需求並試圖為我們的後半部分和未來 Qs 定位的真正決定和因素之一是重建我們的庫存。我們這樣做是為了不限制需求。

The other thing is it's hard to also give you an answer on that without understanding all our customer inventory levels. And we know that those things remain fragile. Our customers have not fully rebuilt most of their inventories yet either. So it's hard to say. I'm sorry I don't have a real good answer for that, but I'd be guessing if I tried to say it was more than 1% or 2% maybe.

另一件事是，如果不了解我們所有的客戶庫存水平，也很難給你一個答案。我們知道這些東西仍然很脆弱。我們的客戶還沒有完全重建他們的大部分庫存。所以很難說。很抱歉，我對此沒有一個真正好的答案，但我猜如果我試圖說它可能超過 1% 或 2%。

Okay. So -- and maybe then you talked about kind of Foodservice demand slowing, I guess, through July and presumably in June and later in the second quarter, any way to dimensionalize kind of the magnitude there? And any specific color by product line or customer type of vertical, whether that's QSR, casual dining, institutional as who, do you have any visibility to that? That would be helpful.

好的。所以 - 也許然後你談到了某種食品服務需求放緩，我猜，到 7 月，大概在 6 月和第二季度晚些時候，有什麼方法可以衡量那裡的規模嗎？以及按產品線或垂直客戶類型劃分的任何特定顏色，無論是 QSR、休閒餐飲、機構等，您對此有任何了解嗎？那會很有幫助。

Yes. We're seeing some mobility shift. People are still going to the restaurant, sitting down and eating, taking food out. In fact, we're seeing that kind of trend up a tad. QSR mobility, no secret there. I don't think anybody is missing the plot there that it is slowing. Although for us, it's just been moderate. And I think that that's probably the likely slightly trend. But outside of that, there's really not been a large scale shift for us. And I think some of that's masked by the fact that we're able to now service customers at a higher level given our inventories. So anything that we were missing, we're kind of getting back through better service.

是的。我們看到了一些流動性轉變。人們仍然去餐廳，坐下來吃飯，把食物拿出來。事實上，我們看到這種趨勢略有上升。 QSR 機動性，這不是什麼秘密。我認為沒有人會錯過那裡正在放緩的情節。雖然對我們來說，它只是溫和的。我認為這可能是可能的輕微趨勢。但除此之外，對我們來說真的沒有大規模的轉變。而且我認為，鑑於我們的庫存，我們現在能夠以更高的水平為客戶提供服務這一事實掩蓋了其中的一部分。所以我們缺少的任何東西，我們都可以通過更好的服務來恢復。

Okay. And if I could just ask a quick clarifying question. So the total company EBITDA bridge for acquisitions, I presume that contribution is all Fabri-Kal. So I just want to confirm that. And in just the business did -- it would seem 28% EBITDA margins in the quarter, if that's the case. And just is that just price cost being as favorable in that business as it was in your base business, and so that would moderate because it would look like the 9 months since you've owned it, you've already well exceeded kind of the preceding LTM from when you announced the acquisition last September.

好的。如果我能問一個快速澄清的問題。因此，對於收購的總公司 EBITDA 橋樑，我認為貢獻全部是 Fabri-Kal。所以我只想確認一下。就業務而言——如果是這樣的話，本季度的 EBITDA 利潤率似乎為 28%。只是價格成本在該業務中與在您的基礎業務中一樣有利，因此這會有所緩和，因為它看起來像您擁有它後的 9 個月，您已經遠遠超過了在您去年 9 月宣布收購時的 LTM 之前。

Yes. I think if I understand your question, we are pricing across -- we have pricing responsibility and Fabri-Kal, that business is no different for us. It's representing exactly the same kind of performance that the broader impact of the business has. And then, yes, I'd say that the strength is we're well ahead of schedule in terms of the synergies we expected in that business.

是的。我想如果我理解你的問題，我們正在定價 - 我們有定價責任和 Fabri-Kal，該業務對我們來說沒有什麼不同。它代表了與業務的更廣泛影響完全相同的性能。然後，是的，我想說的是，就我們在該業務中預期的協同效應而言，我們的優勢在於我們遠遠領先於計劃。

It's largely integrated. We're already on the same ERP systems, all the footprint and asset synergies and the other tertiary things that we planned have largely been executed. And so that's flowing through and is a big piece of the strength. But I would tell you, price generally across the broader business tick and then absolutely, that acquisition has been a good thing for us.

它在很大程度上是集成的。我們已經在同一個 ERP 系統上，所有的足跡和資產協同效應以及我們計劃的其他第三級事情已經基本執行。所以這流過，是力量的很大一部分。但我會告訴你，整個業務範圍內的價格普遍存在，然後絕對是，收購對我們來說是一件好事。

Our next question will come from Kieran De Brun with Mizuho.

我們的下一個問題將來自瑞穗的 Kieran De Brun。

I was just wondering if you could touch a little bit more, and you spoke to it a bit, but on the labor availability and some of those higher manufacturing costs and what you've seen on that front. It seems like you've made a lot of progress, but there's still a little bit of an overhang. How are you thinking about that in the back half of the year potentially easing?

我只是想知道你是否可以多接觸一點，你談了一點，但關於勞動力的可用性和一些更高的製造成本以及你在這方面看到的情況。看起來你已經取得了很大的進步，但仍有一點懸而未決。您如何看待下半年可能會放鬆的情況？

Yes. Thanks. Good question. Thanks, Kieran. Yes. So we have made a lot of progress in labor. And I would tell you that largely, our focus is retention and making sure that the investments we're making in our labor force, both to train and retain folks, pays off and that that labor gap doesn't widen. So that's priority one. Hiring the right kind of folks, the folks that want a long-term path to a better future, all the things that we've done to put in place a stable work environment that people want to walk through the doors every day. We're at a point now where we're actually trying to be a bit more selective.

是的。謝謝。好問題。謝謝，基蘭。是的。所以我們在勞動方面取得了很大的進步。我會告訴你，在很大程度上，我們的重點是留住員工，並確保我們對勞動力進行的投資，無論是培訓還是留住員工，都能得到回報，並且勞動力差距不會擴大。所以這是第一要務。僱用合適的人，那些想要通往更美好未來的長期道路的人，我們所做的所有事情都是為了建立一個人們每天都想走進門的穩定工作環境。我們現在正處於一個我們實際上正試圖變得更有選擇性的地步。

And we expect that while we made big strides to close that labor gap in Q1 and Q2 largely, that we're really focused on getting the right kind of technical talent in our factories, and that won't be as fast paced as it was in Q1 and Q2. And largely, where we've constrained only one of our business units, which is our Food Merch business in terms of labor, we've really focused on fixing that from the headcount. But as far as the foot traffic, people are applying for jobs, that's not a problem. It's really for a skilled labor and making sure we do the right thing for the business.

我們預計，雖然我們在很大程度上縮小第一季度和第二季度的勞動力差距，但我們確實專注於在我們的工廠中獲得合適的技術人才，而且不會像以前那樣快節奏在第一季度和第二季度。在很大程度上，我們只限制了我們的一個業務部門，即我們在勞動力方面的食品商品業務，我們真正專注於從員工人數中解決這個問題。但就人流量而言，人們正在申請工作，這不是問題。這真的是為了一個熟練的勞動力，並確保我們為企業做正確的事情。

And then just a really quick one on a follow-up. For the sale of the carton packaging and machinery business in Asia, how should we think about, I guess, the magnitude of that impact on sales and profits in the second half or as it rolls off the business? And I think you alluded to it quickly, the $300 million from the profits of the sale, we should think about that kind of going towards debt pay down. Is that the right way to be thinking about it?

然後只是一個非常快速的跟進。對於亞洲紙箱包裝和機械業務的銷售，我想我們應該如何考慮下半年或業務下滑對銷售和利潤的影響程度？而且我認為您很快就提到了，從出售利潤中獲得的 3 億美元，我們應該考慮那種用於償還債務的方式。這是思考它的正確方法嗎？

Yes. I think generally, that's -- we've been pretty clear that lowering our gearing, upping our leverage is the priority certainly as some presented itself. There are other uses that make better sense that would also be deleveraging or improve our EBITDA. We look at that. But right now, our priority is balance sheet health and paying down the debt.

是的。我認為一般來說，我們已經很清楚，降低我們的負債，提高我們的槓桿率肯定是優先事項，正如一些人提出的那樣。還有其他更有意義的用途也可以去槓桿化或改善我們的 EBITDA。我們看那個。但現在，我們的首要任務是資產負債表健康和償還債務。

Our next question will come from Ghansham Panjabi with Baird.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Ghansham Panjabi 和 Baird。

Mike, just going back to your earlier comments on Foodservice and some of the variability there and there's a lot of noise from last year and so on through COVID. What are we in that segment relative to the pre-COVID baseline from a volume standpoint? And then do you think the weakness that you're seeing is just a comparability issue because last year, things opened up and there was inventory builds and so on? Or is that incremental weakness? Maybe you can just share what customers are sharing with you at this point.

邁克，回到你之前對餐飲服務的評論和那裡的一些變化，去年有很多噪音，等等通過 COVID。從數量的角度來看，相對於 COVID 之前的基線，我們在該細分市場中是什麼？然後你認為你看到的弱點只是一個可比性問題，因為去年，事情開放了，庫存增加了等等？或者這是漸進式的弱點？也許您現在可以分享客戶與您分享的內容。

Yes. It's a bit of a mixed bag and a good question, Ghansham. I don't -- comps are certainly -- we did open up strong last year and there was a -- we are feeling a bit of that. But I would tell you, the consumer shift makes it difficult to say for a pre-19. I think there's a bit of a new normal we're starting to see. And if I look at it on a like-for-like basis to kind of pre-COVID, I think we're now flat.

是的。這是一個好壞參半的問題，Ghansham。我不 - 比賽當然是 - 我們去年確實打開了強勁的勢頭，並且有 - 我們感覺到了一點。但我會告訴你，消費者的轉變讓 19 歲以前的人很難說。我認為我們開始看到一些新常態。而且，如果我以與 COVID 之前類似的方式來看待它，我認為我們現在是平的。

And as a whole, I'd say even across the broader business, we're pretty flat, not just in Foodservice, but Foodservice I'm pretty confident we're flat. There has been a mix shift segment to segment. But yes, the comps -- the comps like last year weren't representative of a new normal.

總的來說，我想說，即使在更廣泛的業務中，我們也相當平淡，不僅僅是在餐飲服務方面，但我非常有信心我們是平淡的。細分市場之間存在混合轉變。但是，是的，比賽——去年的比賽並不代表新常態。

And maybe a question for Jon on free cash flow. Jon, can you maybe just update us on some of the cash flow items CapEx, cash tax, cash interest? Just trying to get a sense as to what the cash position looks like coming out of this year.

也許還有一個關於自由現金流的問題。喬恩，您能否向我們介紹一些現金流項目資本支出、現金稅、現金利息？只是想了解今年的現金狀況如何。

Sure, happy to. So if you take our EBITDA guidance and then just walk it down. So CapEx, we're seeing in the range, probably in the $260 to $270 million area for the year. Interest, as you know, we do have a fair amount of variable rate debt. But just looking at the curve and estimate, it's probably around $200 million for the year, somewhere in that area. Taxes, you can have a bit more variability to it. But if you take the first half and just normalize it and annualize it, you're looking in the $160 million area for that.

當然，很高興。因此，如果您接受我們的 EBITDA 指導，然後就往下走。因此，我們看到的資本支出在這個範圍內，今年可能在 260 到 2.7 億美元之間。利息，如你所知，我們確實有相當數量的浮動利率債務。但只要看看曲線和估計，一年大概在 2 億美元左右，就在那個區域的某個地方。稅收，你可以有更多的可變性。但是，如果您將上半年進行標準化並進行年度化，那麼您正在尋找 1.6 億美元的區域。

So that gets you to a free cash flow for the year, somewhere in the $150 million area. And again that's not so much. And then that's not necessarily guiding to working capital in that area. But what I would say is just really focusing on the inventory. What I did say in the prepared remarks, we're not anticipating any further inventory builds. And so from that perspective, I would take it as that number reflects more of a flat working capital.

這樣一來，您就可以在 1.5 億美元的區域內獲得全年的自由現金流。再說一次，這不是那麼多。然後，這不一定會指導該領域的營運資金。但我要說的只是真正關注庫存。我在準備好的評論中確實說過，我們預計不會有任何進一步的庫存增加。因此，從這個角度來看，我認為這個數字更多地反映了固定的營運資金。

Our next question will come from Kyle White with Deutsche Bank.

我們的下一個問題將來自德意志銀行的凱爾懷特。

Welcome, Jon, and looking forward to working more closely with you. Congrats on a really strong quarter, guys. I wanted to focus in on the guidance raise. I appreciate the raise. I guess I'm trying to understand, is the outlook increase purely driven by the first half performance being better than you expected? And then you kind of kept the second half relatively unchanged from your initial expectations coming into the year? Or just how should we think about that?

歡迎，喬恩，並期待與您更緊密地合作。伙計們，祝賀一個非常強勁的季度。我想專注於指導加薪。我很欣賞加薪。我想我想了解的是，前景增長純粹是由於上半年業績好於您的預期嗎？然後你保持下半年相對於你對今年的最初預期保持不變？或者我們應該怎麼想？

That's exactly how you should think about it.

這正是你應該考慮的方式。

That's fair.

這還算公平。

I guess if I follow up on that, then why shouldn't we expect this kind of price cost that you've been realizing over the first half to continue into the second half, given that from our vantage point it seems like a lot of the input costs have been relatively stable. I mean, obviously energy markets have been a little bit volatile. I can't imagine that pricing is slowing down at all for you. So you talked about this quarter being peak EBITDA for the year. Is that just a function of normal seasonality? Or is it because of what you see on the pricing as it relates to demand or inflation on the business?

我想如果我繼續跟進，那麼我們為什麼不期望你在上半年意識到的這種價格成本會持續到下半年，因為從我們的角度來看，這似乎很多投入成本相對穩定。我的意思是，顯然能源市場有點波動。我無法想像你的定價正在放緩。所以你談到本季度是今年的 EBITDA 峰值。這只是正常季節性的函數嗎？還是因為您看到的定價與業務需求或通貨膨脹有關？

Yes. So for us, what you see in raws now largely won't impact, it will be a Q1 dynamic. So we're actually digesting what raws have done in the first half of the year. So with the lags on the material side specifically, you've got falling material costs, for instance on polypropylene. With that falling, we'd have to pass some of that raw material date back to our customers. So there's a piece of that that's not indicative of current state. The other side of that is you're right, we will continue to price through inflation and cost of living adjustments. And so that will remain like I mentioned earlier.

是的。所以對我們來說，你現在看到的原始數據在很大程度上不會產生影響，它將是第一季度的動態。所以我們實際上正在消化今年上半年 raws 所做的事情。因此，具體而言，由於材料方面的滯後，您的材料成本會下降，例如聚丙烯。隨著這種情況的下降，我們不得不將一些原材料的日期交還給我們的客戶。所以有一部分不能代表當前狀態。另一面是你是對的，我們將繼續通過通貨膨脹和生活成本調整來定價。所以這將像我之前提到的那樣保持不變。

That also said, we do -- as I mentioned, we do have nondiscretionary products. These are products people are going to use every day. We do expect some continued moderation there. And so I think we're just bringing a balanced look at the forecast. You're right, pricing, we do expect to take the same approach. But that seasonality in the back half of this year and kind of the uncertainty around what's going on economically, we just feel like we've taken the right look at volumes, and we know we've got some pricing givebacks coming on material.

話雖如此，我們確實 - 正如我所提到的，我們確實有非自由裁量產品。這些是人們每天都會使用的產品。我們確實預計那裡會繼續保持溫和。因此，我認為我們只是對預測進行平衡觀察。你是對的，定價，我們確實希望採用相同的方法。但是今年下半年的季節性以及圍繞經濟形勢的不確定性，我們只是覺得我們已經正確地看待了數量，我們知道我們已經得到了一些關於材料的定價回饋。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question will come from Anthony Pettinari with Citi.

（操作員說明）我們的下一個問題將來自花旗的 Anthony Pettinari。

This is actually Bryan Burgmeier sitting in for Anthony. If you back out the mill outage, beverage merchandising EBITDA would have been pretty close to 2019 levels. Do you think that the segment can get back to that $45 million, $50 million EBITDA per quarter range maybe in the second half of '22 or in the front half of '23? Or is that a little bit too aggressive right now?

這實際上是 Bryan Burgmeier 替補 Anthony。如果您取消工廠停工，飲料銷售 EBITDA 將非常接近 2019 年的水平。您認為該細分市場能否在 22 年下半年或 23 年上半年恢復到每季度 4500 萬美元、5000 萬美元的 EBITDA 範圍？還是現在有點太激進了？

I think definitely for '22, that would be too aggressive. Just given what we have planned for back half and the fact that we do have an outage in the back half of the year. I would tell you that I don't think you're off base for that being a future run rate for the business. I'm reluctant to give you kind of a time line on that. But certainly, we're looking at quarters away, not a year away to get there.

我認為絕對是 22 年，那太激進了。剛剛考慮到我們為後半段製定的計劃，以及我們確實在今年後半段停電的事實。我會告訴你，我認為你不會因為這成為未來的業務運行率而偏離基礎。我不願意給你一個時間線。但可以肯定的是，我們正在尋找四分之一，而不是一年之後才能到達那裡。

Got it. Understandable. Thanks. And the…

知道了。可以理解。謝謝。而…

I would underscore -- yes, go ahead.

我要強調——是的，繼續。

No, no, no, go ahead.

不，不，不，繼續。

Yes, I just would say I'd underscore the fact that we are -- with the mill outage, I do believe that we would -- if we set the mill outage aside, which was a benefit for the mills. The mills have -- both of our mills have done very well in terms of making progress. So we are stabilized -- we stabilized there. So that's why I'm confident to tell you that those are the kind of run rates we are targeting to stabilize the business.

是的，我只想說我會強調這樣一個事實，即我們 - 隨著工廠停產，我相信我們會 - 如果我們將工廠停產放在一邊，這對工廠來說是一個好處。工廠——我們兩家工廠在取得進展方面都做得很好。所以我們穩定了——我們在那裡穩定了。所以這就是為什麼我有信心告訴你，這些是我們為穩定業務而設定的運行率。

And then last one for me. In the prepared remarks, you mentioned some possible further deleveraging portfolio moves are being considered. Can you provide any detail on maybe the size or scope of those? Or is it a little bit too early? I'm just trying to think going to be closer in size to the recent Asia Pac sale or something significantly larger or smaller than that? Or maybe it's just too early to tell?

然後給我最後一個。在準備好的評論中，您提到正在考慮一些可能的進一步去槓桿化投資組合舉措。你能提供任何關於它們的大小或範圍的細節嗎？還是有點太早了？我只是想在規模上更接近最近的亞太地區銷售，還是比這更大或更小的東西？或者說現在還為時過早？

It's just too early to tell.

現在說還為時過早。

Our next question will come from Andy Scheffer with Onex Credit Partners.

我們的下一個問題將來自 Onex Credit Partners 的 Andy Scheffer。

Can you describe for us the labor fulfillment levels in each of the 3 business segments, sort of where you've come from, where you are now and how fully staff you typically run?

您能否為我們描述一下 3 個業務部門中每個業務部門的勞動力滿意度水平，您來自哪裡，您現在在哪裡，以及您通常運行的員工人數是多少？

Yes. I mean at the height of the pandemic, which was a peak gap in our labor market was north of 20% hourly. On top of that, I would just -- trying to work backwards and give you both pro-post. I would tell you that normalized pre-pandemic levels, we would kind of range in our vacant, what we call our vacancy rate for hourly workers between 5% and 10%. And today, we sit here between 9% and 10% vacant. And I would tell you, segment-based wise, our largest exposure is our Food Merch space. And then after that, we're pretty healthy in both of the other 2 segments.

是的。我的意思是在大流行最嚴重的時候，我們勞動力市場的峰值差距是每小時 20% 以上。最重要的是，我只想 - 嘗試向後工作並給你們兩個支持。我會告訴你，正常化的大流行前水平，我們會在我們的空缺範圍內，我們稱之為小時工的空缺率在 5% 到 10% 之間。而今天，我們坐在這裡 9% 到 10% 的空置率。我會告訴你，基於細分市場，我們最大的曝光是我們的 Food Merch 空間。然後在那之後，我們在其他兩個部分都非常健康。

And then in terms of the volume, I thought what I heard you say was that your restocking of inventory aid into the volume that you could deliver. So you were purposely dialing it back, but I'm not sure how much that was. And then was there also some sort of customer optimization anywhere that you were doing in terms of deciding that business didn't make sense and we'd rather just put it into inventory or just move on with various customers. Was that any part of that volume decline?

然後就數量而言，我想我聽到你說的是你補充庫存有助於達到你可以交付的數量。所以你故意撥回它，但我不確定那是多少。然後，在確定業務沒有意義的任何地方，是否還有某種客戶優化，我們寧願將其放入庫存或繼續處理各種客戶。這是銷量下降的一部分嗎？

So for us, we constrained our own demand largely due to not having the right products. And so we did not constrain demand to the extent we wanted to rebuild inventory. We rebuilt the inventory, so we're not constraining demand. So we established a healthy inventories in the right products, is a better way to look at that. So if a customer needed product, then it was there, they got it. We did make a decision not to ship, our customers based on products that were sitting there.

所以對我們來說，我們限制了自己的需求，主要是因為沒有合適的產品。因此，我們沒有將需求限製到我們想要重建庫存的程度。我們重建了庫存，所以我們沒有限制需求。因此，我們在正確的產品中建立了健康的庫存，這是一種更好的看待方式。因此，如果客戶需要產品，那麼它就在那裡，他們就得到了。我們確實決定不發貨，我們的客戶基於坐在那裡的產品。

Secondly, I don't see inventory levels and customer rationalizations as a -- it wasn't a strategy we implemented to try to rebuild inventory levels. It was normal course decision-making for us that whether we rationalize SKUs or customers, it was all done in the normal course type decision making, not to reestablish inventories or improve certain strategic customers over others. And we've largely kept that as a strategy as we want to be there for all of our customers.

其次，我不認為庫存水平和客戶合理化是一種——這不是我們為嘗試重建庫存水平而實施的策略。對我們來說，無論是對 SKU 還是客戶進行合理化，都是正常的課程決策，這都是在正常的課程類型決策中完成的，而不是重新建立庫存或改善某些戰略客戶。我們在很大程度上將其作為一種策略，因為我們希望為所有客戶服務。

And was any of that because of lack of material inputs in terms of what products you did not have? Or was it just the world shifted as I think you were alluding to and maybe a new normal, and that's what caused the mismatch of what you had versus demand?

是不是因為在你沒有的產品方面缺乏材料投入？還是只是世界發生了變化，正如我認為你所暗示的那樣，也許是一種新常態，這就是導致你所擁有的與需求不匹配的原因？

Yes. There's bits and bobs that continue to pop up, but they didn't constrain our ability to get product. We switch modes. We did things, all heavy lift to get our materials there. I would tell you on the aluminum side, that's one area where our aluminum products are suffering due to material availability. And that's a widely known dynamic and on a global basis, a pretty good constrained commodity.

是的。有一些零碎的東西不斷湧現，但它們並沒有限制我們獲得產品的能力。我們切換模式。我們做了很多事情，所有的重物都是為了把我們的材料送到那裡。我會在鋁方面告訴你，這是我們的鋁產品由於材料可用性而受到影響的一個領域。這是一種廣為人知的動態，在全球範圍內，是一種非常好的受限商品。

Our next question will come from George Staphos with Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題將來自美國銀行的 George Staphos。

And congratulations on the performance. Mike, I just want to make sure, just a point of clarification. I apologize, maybe I'm the only person who missed it. So in the last quarter, did you or did you not constrain your shipments to some customers as you sought to rebuild inventory? Or was your volume what your volume would have been and you were still able to rebuild your inventories? How should I read that?

並祝賀你的表現。邁克，我只是想確定一下，只是澄清一點。對不起，也許我是唯一錯過它的人。因此，在上個季度，您是否在尋求重建庫存時限制了向某些客戶發貨？或者你的數量是你的數量並且你仍然能夠重建你的庫存？我應該怎麼讀？

Yes. George, you're absolutely right. We did constrain demand to many of our customers in the first quarter and coming out of Q4, because we didn't have the right days of supply and right days of great products, frankly, on the shelf.

是的。喬治，你完全正確。我們確實在第一季度和第四季度限制了許多客戶的需求，因為坦率地說，我們沒有合適的供應天數和優質產品的正確天數。

Okay. So there was a negative effect even if you don't want to necessarily quantify there was some negative effect on your volume that you otherwise would have reported and the results you would have put up because of that strategy, would that be fair?

好的。因此，即使您不想量化對您的交易量產生了一些負面影響，您也會因此而產生負面影響，否則您會報告這些負面影響，並且您會因為該策略而提出的結果，這是否公平？

Yes.

是的。

Okay. If I could, my follow-on question on piggyback a little bit on what Kyle was getting at. So as you look back over 2Q, what was the 1 or 2 biggest factors that drove performance better than your original expectations? Because I think coming out of 1Q, the guard rails were sort of on, hey, performance, probably wasn't going to be that dissimilar from 1Q. Again, you did very well and much better than we would have modeled. What were the key factors there that were better than your expectations in 2Q?

好的。如果可以的話，我的後續問題是關於 Kyle 的意思。因此，當您回顧第 2 季度時，推動業績優於最初預期的 1 或 2 個最大因素是什麼？因為我認為從 1Q 出來，護欄有點上，嘿，性能，可能不會與 1Q 有那麼不同。再一次，你做得很好，比我們建模的要好得多。有哪些關鍵因素優於您在第二季度的預期？

And as we look out to the second half, sure, perhaps we're in a recession, sure there's inflation, but your pricing givebacks as polypropylene is now getting lower nor the resin are getting lower, usually have a lag, too. So you're going to have positive spreads for several quarters. So if you factor all of that together, all the headwinds that you're seeing, where would your run rate sort of EBITDA be? What would the range be for 3Q? Why wouldn't it be very comparable to what we saw in 2Q?

當我們展望下半年時，當然，也許我們正處於經濟衰退之中，肯定存在通貨膨脹，但是隨著聚丙烯現在越來越低，樹脂越來越低，您的定價回饋通常也有滯後。因此，您將在幾個季度內獲得正價差。因此，如果您將所有這些因素考慮在內，您所看到的所有不利因素，您的 EBITDA 運行率會在哪裡？ 3Q的範圍是多少？為什麼它不能與我們在 2Q 中看到的非常相似？

Yes. Thanks, George. So I would tell you the biggest thing is our contractual pass-throughs are working. And so our ability to get price and support from our customers on inflationary and raw, as you highlighted very correctly. It's one big area where we saw Q2 strength. The second is our labor recovery is ahead of plan. We expect it to drag well into Q3 and potentially into Q4 before we were able to reestablish inventories.

是的。謝謝，喬治。所以我要告訴你最重要的是我們的合同傳遞正在發揮作用。因此，正如您非常正確地強調的那樣，我們有能力從我們的客戶那裡獲得通貨膨脹和原材料的價格和支持。這是我們看到第二季度實力的一大領域。二是我們的勞動力復甦超前。在我們能夠重新建立庫存之前，我們預計它會拖到第三季度，並可能拖到第四季度。

So we are getting the benefits, and we started getting the benefits of some of that constrained demand being unconstrained through mid to late Q2. So we won on that front. Despite what the volume story says on a moderation segment by segment, you set coated groundwood aside, which is a large chunk of the volume. Many of our subcategories and mix are favorable for us. And so that's Q2 kind of in a nutshell as price and labor recovery, we established inventories to take care of a better mix and demand.

所以我們得到了好處，我們開始從第二季度中後期不受限制的一些受限需求中獲益。所以我們在這方面贏了。儘管體積故事逐段節制，但您將塗層磨木放在一邊，這是體積的很大一部分。我們的許多子類別和組合都對我們有利。簡而言之，這就是第二季度的價格和勞動力復甦，我們建立了庫存以應對更好的組合和需求。

On the back half, with what -- so you highlighted polypropylene, and we can use that polypropylene has been falling, and we are passing those savings back to the customers. Now polypropylene flattens out in the back half, which is the assumption, and we kind of don't see that continued strength. It starts to go the other way. And we are largely in the mode of passing back versus enjoying the lag, so to speak.

在後半部分，您強調了聚丙烯，我們可以使用一直在下降的聚丙烯，我們正在將這些節省的錢回饋給客戶。現在聚丙烯在後半部分變平，這是假設，我們看不到持續的強度。它開始走另一條路。可以說，我們在很大程度上處於回傳而不是享受滯後的模式。

Okay. So how big of a step down right now from what you can see? Do we see 3Q versus 2Q considering the volume you sell, perhaps a narrowing of spreads even though, again, I think there's a lag on when you pass-through. Is there any way to put a range on that?

好的。那麼從你所看到的情況來看，現在有多大的下降？考慮到您的銷售量，我們是否會看到 3Q 與 2Q 的對比，可能點差縮小，儘管我再次認為您傳遞時存在滯後。有什麼辦法可以設置範圍嗎？

I'll just -- this is Jon. I'll just jump in. Yes, you can put a range of -- you can take a look at our guidance and just back into what the EBITDA is for the back half of the year, if you're looking for a guidance for that. The only other thing I'd note is that we're expecting Q4 just to be seasonally weak as you look at the remainder of the year forecast for EBITDA. So Q3 should be a bit better than Q4.

我只是 - 這是喬恩。我會跳進去。是的，你可以放一系列 - 你可以看看我們的指導，然後回到今年下半年的 EBITDA 是什麼，如果你正在尋找指導那。我唯一要注意的另一件事是，當您查看對 EBITDA 的今年剩餘時間的預測時，我們預計第四季度只是季節性疲軟。所以 Q3 應該比 Q4 好一點。

There are no remaining questions in queue. And with that, we will conclude our question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the conference back over to Michael King, for any closing remarks.

隊列中沒有剩餘問題。至此，我們將結束我們的問答環節。我現在想將會議轉回給邁克爾金，以發表任何結束語。

I just want to thank everyone for joining us today. I certainly appreciate the conversation and look forward to further discussions in Q3.

我只想感謝大家今天加入我們。我當然很欣賞這次談話，並期待在第三季度進一步討論。

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

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開線路。