Pactiv Evergreen Inc (PTVE) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Pactiv Evergreen Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this is event is being recorded.

您好，歡迎關注 Pactiv Evergreen 2024 年第三季財務業績。（操作員指示）請注意，該事件正在被記錄。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Curt Worthington, Vice President Strategy, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議交給投資人關係策略副總裁 Curt Worthington。請繼續。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to our Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. With me on the call today, we have Michael King, President and CEO; and John Baksht, CFO. Please visit the Events section of our Investor Relations website at www.pactivevergreen.com and access our supplemental earnings presentation. Management's remarks today should be heard in tandem with reviewing this presentation.

謝謝接線員，大家早安。歡迎參加我們的 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。今天與我一起參加電話會議的還有總裁兼執行長 Michael King；以及財務長 John Baksht。請造訪我們投資人關係網站 www.pactivevergreen.com 的活動部分並查看我們的補充收益報告。審查此簡報時應同時聽取管理層今天的評論。

Before we begin our formal remarks, I want to remind everyone that our discussions today will include forward-looking statements, including those regarding our guidance for 2024. 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 annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31 and June 30 and September 30, 2024, for a more detailed discussion of those risks. The forward-looking statements that 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，包括有關我們對 2024 年的指導的陳述。這些前瞻性陳述並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預期的結果有重大差異。因此，您不應過度依賴這些陳述。這些聲明也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有重大差異。我們請大家參閱我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件，包括截至 2023 年 12 月 31 日的年度報告 10-K 表，以及截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日、6 月 30 日和 9 月 30 日的季度報告 10-Q 表，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是基於截至今天我們掌握的信息，我們不承擔更新任何前瞻性陳述的義務，除非法律要求。

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 results prepared in accordance with GAAP, and reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are 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 continuing operations only. Lastly, throughout the remainder of our remarks, we will refer to Pine Bluff, Waynesville and the associated operations we divested on October 1 collectively as Pine Bluff for ease of reference.

在今天的電話會議中，我們將討論某些 GAAP 和非 GAAP 財務指標，我們認為這些指標對於評估我們的業績有用。我們的非公認會計準則指標不應單獨考慮，也不應將其作為按照公認會計準則編制的結果的替代，並且與最直接可比較的公認會計準則指標的對賬可在我們的收益報告和今天演示文稿的附錄中找到。除非另有說明，今天電話會議中討論的所有數據僅適用於持續經營。最後，在我們剩餘的評論中，為了方便參考，我們將把 Pine Bluff、Waynesville 以及我們於 10 月 1 日剝離的相關業務統稱為 Pine Bluff。

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

說完這些，請允許我將電話轉給 Pactiv Evergreen 總裁兼執行長 Michael King。麥克風？

Thanks, Curt. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our call this morning. I'll start today off with an overview of the key themes for the third quarter and provide an update on the market. I'll also discuss the progress we've made against our strategy, including how we're positioning ourselves for growth in 2025 and beyond. Then I'll turn the call over to John to provide an update on our key financial metrics and discuss our outlook for the rest of the year. At the end of the call, we'll open the line for Q&A.

謝謝，Curt。大家早安，感謝大家參加我們今天早上的電話會議。今天我將首先概述第三季的關鍵主題並提供市場最新情況。我還將討論我們在策略方面所取得的進展，包括我們如何為 2025 年及以後的成長做好準備。然後，我會將電話轉給約翰，讓他更新我們的主要財務指標，並討論我們對今年剩餘時間的展望。通話結束後，我們將開通問答熱線。

Turning to slide 5. In the third quarter, revenues were $1.3 billion, and adjusted EBITDA was $214 million, a solid 16% margin. We delivered adjusted earnings per share of $0.36 and free cash flow of $190 million.

翻到幻燈片 5。第三季度，營收為 13 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 2.14 億美元，利潤率高達 16%。我們實現的調整後每股收益為 0.36 美元，自由現金流為 1.9 億美元。

Our team maintained a high level of execution in our core operations during the quarter and navigated a dynamic consumer demand backdrop. We also overcame operational challenges at Pine Bluff during our final quarter of owning the mill.

我們的團隊在本季的核心業務中保持了高水準的執行力，並駕馭了動態的消費者需求背景。在我們擁有工廠的最後季度，我們也克服了 Pine Bluff 的營運挑戰。

As previously announced, on October 1, we completed the sale of our remaining mill operations. The closing of the transaction marks an important milestone as we focus on our core North American converting operations and progress on our transition to a more capital-light business model that we expect will reduce our CapEx requirements and provide more flexibility to invest for growth.

正如之前宣布的那樣，10 月 1 日，我們完成了剩餘工廠業務的出售。此交易的完成標誌著一個重要的里程碑，因為我們將重點關注我們的核心北美轉換業務，並推進向更輕資本的業務模式的轉型，我們預計這將減少我們的資本支出要求，並為投資成長提供更大的靈活性。

Now that we have executed on our strategy to exit paper mill operations, we expect to improve our future profitability while also reducing the volatility in our earnings. We are now positioned to advance to the next phase of our transformational journey, which envisions us aligning with core customers through the cycle, repositioning our product portfolio to increase our presence in select customer channels, investing in growth initiatives, focusing on innovation, sustainability, and new product development and improving operational efficiency and lowering our cost to serve.

現在我們已經實施了退出造紙廠營運的策略，我們期望提高未來的獲利能力，同時降低獲利的波動性。我們現在已準備好進入轉型之旅的下一個階段，這一階段將在整個週期中與核心客戶保持一致，重新定位我們的產品組合以增加我們在特定客戶管道中的存在，投資於成長計劃，專注於創新、永續性和新產品開發，提高營運效率並降低服務成本。

We'll continue to leverage our distinct capabilities to serve our core customers, most of whom are large-scale nationally recognized brands and industry leaders that are well positioned in their markets. It's because of our long-standing relationships that we have been able to navigate external challenges and outpace our end markets.

我們將繼續利用我們獨特的能力來服務我們的核心客戶，其中大多數是大型全國知名品牌和在其市場中佔據有利地位的行業領導者。正是由於我們長期的合作關係，我們才能夠應對外部挑戰並超越我們的終端市場。

Building on that strategy, we continue to focus on innovation and developing new sustainable products. We've also identified new opportunities with attractive growth prospects, which we believe will generate momentum into 2025 and 2026. From a continuous improvement standpoint, we continue to take actions to flex our cost structure with industry demand. Our footprint optimization as well as the cost actions we outlined in our last earnings call continue to build momentum. We remain on track to generate $15 million of cost savings in discretionary spend and SG&A by the end of this year.

基於該策略，我們繼續專注於創新和開發新的永續產品。我們也發現了具有誘人成長前景的新機遇，我們相信這些機會將在 2025 年和 2026 年產生發展動力。從持續改進的角度來看，我們將繼續採取行動，根據產業需求調整我們的成本結構。我們的足跡優化以及我們在上次收益電話會議上概述的成本行動繼續增強勢頭。我們仍有望在今年年底前節省 1500 萬美元的可自由支配支出和銷售、一般及行政費用。

In September and October, our communities faced the challenges brought by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. We're grateful our employees are safe, and we're impressed by how quickly our dedicated teams restored operations in just a matter of days. The determination and resilience shown during this time has been inspiring, and it highlights the strength and spirit of our organization. We are fortunate to also share our business was largely unaffected by the storms. Jon will touch on this later.

九月和十月，我們的社區面臨颶風海倫和米爾頓帶來的挑戰。我們很感激我們的員工是安全的，我們的敬業團隊在短短幾天內就恢復了運營，這令我們印象深刻。這段時間所展現的決心和韌性令人鼓舞，彰顯了我們組織的力量和精神。我們非常幸運，我們的業務基本上沒有受到風暴的影響。喬恩稍後會談到這一點。

From an industry perspective, foot traffic at restaurants and volumes at grocery stores have continued to show the effects of lingering high prices as consumers continue to reduce their spending to fit within their budgets. Food at home price inflation has moderated more than food away from home prices over the last few years, and consumers have responded by shifting their spend from restaurants to the grocery store, especially in recent quarters.

從行業角度來看，由於消費者不斷減少支出以適應預算，餐廳的客流量和雜貨店的銷售量繼續顯示出高價持續的影響。過去幾年，家庭食品價格漲幅比家庭外食品價格漲幅更大，消費者的反應是將支出從餐廳轉移到雜貨店，尤其是最近幾季。

Within foodservice, industry volumes in the third quarter were lower than the second quarter. Foot traffic was down over 3% in our end markets. Within the grocery store, consumers continue to prioritize staples like protein and produce. We've continued to execute our value-over-volume framework and embrace a data-centric approach to focus on customers, products and channels aligned with our long-term strategy.

在餐飲服務領域，第三季的產業銷售量低於第二季。我們終端市場的客流量下降了3%以上。在雜貨店內，消費者仍優先考慮蛋白質和農產品等主食。我們繼續執行「價值重於數量」的框架，並採用以數據為中心的方法，專注於符合我們長期策略的客戶、產品和通路。

On the foodservice side of the business, this approach has helped us outpace the market over the last several quarters. This is also a testament to our customer mix, which is weighted towards blue chip companies that have the ability to grow share through the cycle.

在餐飲業務方面，這種方法幫助我們在過去幾個季度中超越了市場。這也證明了我們的客戶結構以那些有能力在整個週期中增加份額的藍籌公司為主。

On the food and beverage merchandising side of the business, we're in the middle innings of our value-over-volume playbook. And in recent quarters, we've begun repositioning our portfolio and our go-to-market strategy. Our objective is to concentrate on areas where we're currently underrepresented but are well positioned to succeed and grow share. We expect these actions to translate into volume improvement through 2025 and into 2026 as the composition of the portfolio shifts to attractive new channels and end markets.

在食品和飲料商品銷售業務方面，我們正處於「價值重於數量」策略的中期。最近幾個季度，我們開始重新定位我們的產品組合和市場進入策略。我們的目標是集中精力於目前代表性不足但有希望取得成功和擴大份額的領域。我們預計，隨著投資組合轉向有吸引力的新通路和終端市場，這些舉措將在 2025 年和 2026 年轉化為銷售成長。

Turning to slide 6. Over the last several quarters, an area of focus has been lowering our cost to serve including managing our fixed cost and discretionary spend. Our team has done an outstanding job this year executing on several initiatives that position Pactiv Evergreen for success.

翻到幻燈片 6。在過去幾季中，我們的重點一直是降低服務成本，包括管理固定成本和可自由支配的開支。今年，我們的團隊在多項措施的執行上表現出色，為 Pactiv Evergreen 的成功奠定了基礎。

We're continuing to manage our costs to align with our longer-term strategy and also offset lingering consumer pressures in the near term. For example, last quarter, we initiated a cost reduction plan which is focused on discretionary spend and SG&A, which is expected to generate roughly $15 million of savings in this year.

我們將繼續管理成本以符合我們的長期策略，並抵消短期內揮之不去的消費者壓力。例如，上個季度，我們啟動了一項成本削減計劃，重點關注可自由支配的開支和銷售、一般及行政費用，預計今年將節省約 1500 萬美元。

Our footprint optimization program, which we announced earlier in the year is expected to reduce our overall footprint by approximately 10% over the next two years. We anticipate full run rate cost savings of approximately $35 million by 2026.

我們在今年稍早宣布的足跡優化計畫預計將在未來兩年內將我們的整體足跡減少約 10%。我們預計到 2026 年全運行成本節省約 3,500 萬美元。

And finally, operational excellence remains core to the culture we've established at Pactiv Evergreen. Our continuous improvement mindset is reflected in our Pactiv Evergreen production system, which has helped our plants identify new solutions to unlock productivity and reduce waste. For example, we continue to refine the harmonization of production plans across our network by consolidating certain SKUs at the lowest cost plants and organizing production schedules to optimize our manufacturing costs.

最後，卓越營運仍然是我們在 Pactiv Evergreen 建立的文化的核心。我們的持續改善思維體現在我們的 Pactiv Evergreen 生產系統中，它幫助我們的工廠找到了提高生產力和減少浪費的新解決方案。例如，我們透過將某些 SKU 整合到成本最低的工廠並組織生產計劃來優化我們的製造成本，從而繼續完善整個網路的生產計劃協調。

Another example is streamlining equipment changeovers on our lines to reduce downtime in between production runs. We've been steadily building momentum on these initiatives throughout the year, and we expect them to translate into efficiency gains in Q4 and into next year.

另一個例子是簡化生產線上的設備轉換，以減少生產運作之間的停機時間。我們全年都在穩步推進這些舉措，並預計它們將在第四季度和明年轉化為效率的提升。

As PEPS matures, we continue to identify new ways to improve our operations and we're confident the program will continue to yield benefits as it becomes a standard across the entire organization. We look forward to providing more detail, including the benefits in quarters to come.

隨著 PEPS 的成熟，我們繼續尋找新的方法來改善我們的運營，我們相信，隨著該計劃成為整個組織的標準，它將繼續產生效益。我們期待提供更多細節，包括未來幾季的福利。

Turning to slide 7. Innovation is at the center of everything we do, whether it's developing advanced substrates, creating new products or identifying new ways to serve our customers. Innovation is also a critical driver for long-term sustainable growth.

翻到幻燈片 7。創新是我們所做的一切的核心，無論是開發先進的基材、創造新產品或尋找新的方式來為我們的客戶服務。創新也是長期永續成長的關鍵動力。

In September, we announced a new line of reduced-density polypropylene protein trays under our Recycleware brand. Our RDPP products are the perfect solution for packer processors looking for sustainable alternatives to foam polystyrene. The new meat trays are vertically integrating, meaning they're extruded thermoformed and padded at our facilities. These products also run well on existing overwrap equipment, meaning the switching costs for our customers is minimal. Customers have already cited the product's reduced consumption of raw materials versus other sustainable offerings as a key differentiator.

9月，我們宣布推出Recycleware品牌下的新系列低密度聚丙烯蛋白質托盤。對於尋求泡沫聚苯乙烯可持續替代品的包裝加工商來說，我們的 RDPP 產品是完美的解決方案。新的肉托盤是垂直整合的，這意味著它們在我們的工廠內進行擠壓、熱成型和填充。這些產品在現有的包裝設備上運作良好，這意味著我們客戶的轉換成本很小。客戶已將該產品與其他永續產品相比減少的原材料消耗列為主要區別因素。

We're in the early days, but we're really excited about the future prospects of our meat trays, and we're pleased with the progress so far. We expect the contribution from that product to grow as we ramp up capacity.

雖然我們尚處於早期階段，但我們對肉類托盤的未來前景感到非常興奮，並且對迄今為止的進展感到滿意。我們預計，隨著產能的提升，該產品的貢獻將會成長。

In addition to our RDPP trays, we're continuing to collaborate with our customers and have some exciting value-add projects in the pipeline that we expect will generate momentum through the course of 2025. Some of our new products concentrate on areas we're currently underrepresented but well positioned to grow our presence which is part of our broader effort to reposition the food and beverage merchandising portfolio and gain more exposure to attractive new end markets. For example, we're collaborating with our CPG customers to identify opportunities to develop offerings that help them differentiate their products.

除了我們的 RDPP 托盤外，我們還在繼續與客戶合作，並正在籌備一些令人興奮的增值項目，我們預計這些項目將在 2025 年產生發展動力。我們的一些新產品集中在我們目前代表性不足但能夠擴大影響力的領域，這是我們重新定位食品和飲料商品組合併獲得更多有吸引力的新終端市場曝光率的更廣泛努力的一部分。例如，我們正在與快速消費品客戶合作，尋找機會開發可協助他們實現產品差異化的產品。

In October, we introduced SmartPour pourable containers, the patented SmartPour packaging solutions streamlines the pouring process, effectively eliminating the issue of messy bag-in-box spillage. The closure design facilitates pouring and sealing, while the barrier board incorporated into the package extends product freshness. We're enthusiastic about this line of innovative technology and believe it will expand our reach into markets such as premium cereals, baking ingredients, pet food, powdered laundry detergents, and dishwashing liquids. Branded consumer products represent an underpenetrated end market for us, and we believe we're well positioned in the market to generate momentum into 2025 and 2026 from this initiative.

在十月份，我們推出了 SmartPour 可傾倒容器，專利的 SmartPour 包裝解決方案簡化了傾倒過程，有效消除了盒中袋溢出的問題。封閉設計方便傾倒和密封，而包裝中的阻隔板則延長了產品的新鮮度。我們對這一系列創新技術充滿熱情，並相信它將擴大我們的業務範圍，進入優質穀物、烘焙原料、寵物食品、洗衣粉和洗碗精等市場。品牌消費品對我們來說是一個尚未充分滲透的終端市場，我們相信，透過這項舉措，我們在市場上佔據有利地位，能夠為 2025 年和 2026 年帶來發展動力。

Another initiative for our food and beverage merchandising segment is reducing our reliance on third-party distributors and leveraging our long-standing customer relationships to bolster our go-to-market approach. We believe our broad product portfolio, strategically located distribution network and ability to innovate on behalf of our customers puts us in a great position to succeed in these categories. We're in the early stages with these initiatives but we've already seen strong interest from our customers, and we're excited for our future.

我們食品和飲料銷售部門的另一項舉措是減少對第三方分銷商的依賴，並利用我們長期的客戶關係來支持我們的行銷方式。我們相信，我們廣泛的產品組合、位於戰略位置的分銷網絡以及代表客戶進行創新的能力使我們在這些類別中佔據有利地位並取得成功。雖然這些舉措尚處於早期階段，但我們已經看到客戶的濃厚興趣，我們對我們的未來充滿期待。

Overall, we're encouraged by the progress we've made in the third quarter. Our operational execution, commitment to driving efficiencies and commitment to innovation are building solid momentum.

總體而言，我們對第三季的進展感到鼓舞。我們的營運執行、提高效率的承諾和創新的承諾正在形成強勁勢頭。

Looking ahead, consumers are still absorbing the multiyear impact of elevated inflation and we expect that dynamic will continue in the near term. That said, over the past quarter, our customers have increased their promotional activity in an effort to deliver more value to the consumer and spur demand. Time will tell if the promotions translate into lasting volume growth, but we do believe they've been helpful in stemming the tide in the near term. For now, we're encouraged that restaurants, food companies and food retailers are taking action to provide some relief to their customers.

展望未來，消費者仍在吸收通膨高企的多年影響，我們預期這種態勢將在短期內持續下去。儘管如此，在過去的一個季度，我們的客戶增加了促銷活動，努力為消費者提供更多價值並刺激需求。時間將證明這些促銷活動是否會帶來持久的銷售成長，但我們確實相信它們在短期內有助於遏制這種趨勢。目前，我們很高興地看到，餐廳、食品公司和食品零售商正在採取行動，為顧客提供一些幫助。

Overall, we are cautiously optimistic and we'll continue to focus on the things we can control to position us to emerge stronger operationally and competitively. We remain confident in the resilience of our business model and believe the structural improvements we have made to date provide us a solid foundation to build momentum in the fourth quarter and position us for growth in 2025.

總體而言，我們持謹慎樂觀的態度，我們將繼續專注於我們能夠控制的事情，以使我們在營運和競爭力上變得更加強大。我們對我們的商業模式的彈性仍然充滿信心，並相信我們迄今為止所做的結構性改進為我們在第四季度建立發展勢頭並為 2025 年的成長奠定了堅實的基礎。

That concludes my initial remarks. I will turn the call over to Jon. Jon?

我的最初發言就到此結束。我會將電話轉給喬恩。喬恩？

Thanks, Mike. I'll start with our third quarter highlights on slide 9. As Mike outlined, our third quarter results reflect our efforts to rightsize our operations and manage resources to align with the broader demand environment. These factors, in conjunction with our focus on cost discipline, supported an improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin as compared to Q2.

謝謝，麥克。我將從第 9 張投影片開始介紹我們的第三季亮點。正如麥克所概述的，我們的第三季業績反映了我們努力調整營運規模和管理資源以適應更廣泛的需求環境。這些因素加上我們對成本控制的關注，推動了調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率與第二季相比有所改善。

We recorded net revenues of $1.3 billion for the quarter, a decrease of about 3% compared to last year. This change was primarily driven by lower sales volume, but was partially offset by favorable pricing due to higher material costs. The volume trend was mostly a combination of the broader demand environment and our own portfolio actions, particularly in food and beverage merchandising.

本季我們的淨收入為 13 億美元，較去年同期下降約 3%。這項變化主要由於銷售量下降，但材料成本上漲帶來的優惠定價部分抵消了這項變化。銷售趨勢主要是更廣泛的需求環境和我們自己的投資組合行動的結合，特別是在食品和飲料商品銷售領域。

However, in foodservice, we continue to outperform our industry by aligning with our long-standing blue chip customers that are well positioned to outpace their end markets over the cycle. Overall volumes were down 5% in the quarter. Foodservice volumes were down 2%. However, we outpaced broader industry foot traffic trends, which were down over 3%.

然而，在餐飲服務領域，我們透過與長期藍籌客戶合作，繼續超越我們的行業，這些客戶在整個週期內有能力超越他們的終端市場。本季總銷量下降了 5%。餐飲服務量下降了2%。然而，我們的客流量成長速度超過了整個產業的趨勢，後者下降了 3% 以上。

Food and beverage merchandising volumes decreased 8% during the quarter. This reflects consumer spending patterns as well as the year-over-year impact of our value over volume strategy and portfolio repositioning, which includes the initiatives Mike mentioned earlier.

本季食品和飲料商品銷售量下降了 8%。這反映了消費者的支出模式以及我們的價值重於數量策略和投資組合重新定位（包括麥克之前提到的舉措）的同比影響。

As we execute our plan, we anticipate some near-term impacts to volumes, but we expect that to translate to future growth as well as a more attractive business mix. Price/mix was up 2% during the quarter, reflecting favorable pricing in the foodservice segment, largely due to the pass-through of higher material costs and favorable product mix in the food and beverage merchandising segment.

在執行計劃時，我們預計短期內銷量會受到一些影響，但我們預計這將轉化為未來的成長以及更具吸引力的業務組合。本季價格/組合上漲了 2%，反映了餐飲服務領域的優惠定價，這主要是由於材料成本上漲和食品和飲料商品銷售領域有利的產品組合所致。

Adjusted EBITDA was $214 million, representing a 6% decrease compared to the prior year. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA is attributable to higher manufacturing costs and lower sales volume. This is partially offset by lower incentive-based compensation costs, favorable product mix in the food and beverage merchandising segment and favorable pricing net of material cost pass-through in the foodservice segment. Higher manufacturing costs primarily reflect the challenges at Pine Bluff during our final quarter owning the mill.

調整後 EBITDA 為 2.14 億美元，較前一年下降 6%。調整後 EBITDA 的下降歸因於製造成本上升和銷售量下降。這被較低的激勵性薪酬成本、食品和飲料商品銷售部門的有利產品組合以及餐飲服務部門扣除材料成本後的有利定價部分抵消。製造成本上升主要反映了我們擁有工廠的最後一個季度在 Pine Bluff 面臨的挑戰。

Our adjusted EBITDA margin was 16%, flat compared to last year, but 240 basis points higher than Q2. We remain confident in the actions we're taking to adjust our cost structure to position us for long-term growth and enhanced profitability. From a quarter-over-quarter perspective, revenues were effectively flat with lower sales volume, largely offset by favorable pricing in the food and beverage merchandising segment and favorable mix in the foodservice segment. Adjusted EBITDA increased 17% primarily due to lower manufacturing costs as a result of a planned mill outage during the second quarter, favorable pricing, net material cost pass-through and favorable product mix, partially offset by lower sales volume.

我們的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 16%，與去年持平，但比第二季高出 240 個基點。我們對於所採取的成本結構調整措施充滿信心，這將有助於我們實現長期成長並提高獲利能力。從季度環比來看，收入實際上持平，銷售量下降，這在很大程度上被食品和飲料商品銷售部門的優惠定價以及餐飲服務部門的有利組合所抵消。調整後 EBITDA 成長 17%，主要原因是第二季工廠計畫停工導致製造成本降低、定價優惠、淨材料成本轉嫁和產品組合有利，但銷售量下降部分抵銷了這一影響。

We generated free cash flow of $190 million, which was a significant increase compared to the second quarter. Free cash flow benefited from the timing of cash outflows and higher adjusted EBITDA.

我們產生了1.9億美元的自由現金流，與第二季相比大幅成長。自由現金流受益於現金流出的時機和更高的調整後 EBITDA。

Continuing to slide 10. A look at results by segment, beginning with foodservice. Segment net revenues decreased just under 1% to $670 million, primarily due to lower sales volume. This was partially offset by favorable pricing resulting from the pass-through of increased material costs. From a volume perspective, the food away from home space is still experiencing declining industry foot traffic as consumers adjust to higher prices.

繼續滑到第 10 頁。從餐飲服務開始，按細分查看結果。分部淨收入下降近 1% 至 6.7 億美元，主要原因是銷售量下降。但這項變更被材料成本增加轉嫁所導致的優惠定價部分抵銷。從數量來看，隨著消費者適應更高的價格，外食領域的客流量仍在下降。

Overall, industry foot traffic was down over 3% during Q3, which was slightly below the roughly 2.5% decline in Q2. However, we're encouraged by three main factors. First, because our business mix is heavily weighted with long-standing blue chip customer relationships, our volumes continue to outpace the industry. Second, food away from home inflation while elevated, continues to decline falling below 4% on an annual basis in September for the first time since April 2021. And third, our customers are leaning in on promotional activity in an effort to deliver more value to consumers and drive volumes.

整體而言，第三季產業客流量下降超過 3%，略低於第二季約 2.5% 的降幅。然而，有三個主要因素令我們感到鼓舞。首先，由於我們的業務結構很大程度上依賴長期的藍籌客戶關係，因此我們的業務量繼續領先於該行業。其次，外食食品通膨率雖然上升，但仍持續下降，9 月年漲幅自 2021 年 4 月以來首次跌至 4% 以下。第三，我們的客戶正傾向於促銷活動，以便為消費者提供更多價值並提高銷售量。

Importantly, several leading QSR customers have communicated their intent to extend promotional campaigns into the fourth quarter. Thus far, the increased promotions haven't resulted in year-over-year volume growth although they have helped to offset some of the near-term affordability issues for consumers.

重要的是，幾家領先的 QSR 客戶已表達了將促銷活動延長至第四季度的意圖。到目前為止，雖然促銷活動的增加有助於抵消消費者近期的部分購買力問題，但並未帶來銷售量年增。

Adjusted EBITDA increased 3% compared to last year to $120 million and adjusted EBITDA margins improved by a little over 50 basis points. The increase primarily reflects favorable pricing, net of material cost pass-through and lower incentive-based compensation costs, partially offset by higher manufacturing costs.

調整後的 EBITDA 與去年相比成長 3% 至 1.2 億美元，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率提高了 50 個基點多一點。這一增長主要反映了優惠的定價、扣除材料成本轉嫁和較低的激勵性薪酬成本，但被較高的製造成本部分抵消。

Net revenues were flat quarter-over-quarter, primarily due to favorable product mix, largely offset by lower sales volume. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 10% and adjusted EBITDA margins increased by 160 basis points, driven by favorable product mix, favorable pricing net of material cost pass-through and lower incentive-based costs, partially offset by higher manufacturing costs.

淨收入與上一季持平，主要原因是產品組合良好，但銷量下降在很大程度上抵消了這一影響。調整後的 EBITDA 成長了 10%，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率成長了 160 個基點，這得益於有利的產品組合、扣除材料成本轉嫁後的有利定價以及較低的激勵成本，但部分被較高的製造成本所抵消。

Turning to slide 11. In food and beverage merchandising results reflect the continuation of trends we observed in the second quarter. Industry volumes are closer to breakeven as consumers continue to shift from eating out to eating at home in order to save money.

翻到第 11 張投影片。食品和飲料商品銷售業績反映了我們在第二季度觀察到的趨勢的延續。由於消費者為了節省開支不斷從外食轉向在家用餐，業界銷售更接近損益平衡。

Consistent with previous quarters, consumers are prioritizing staples like protein and produce, both of which performed well for us during the quarter. Discretionary items, such as bakery, continue to be impacted by the same dynamic. Egg carton volumes were impacted by the bird flu that reduced overall egg production during the quarter, although conditions have mostly normalized through early November. Outside of broader industry demand, the other main volume driver during the quarter was the impact of the year-over-year effects of our value over volume strategy.

與前幾季一致，消費者優先考慮蛋白質和農產品等主食，這兩者在本季度都表現良好。烘焙食品等非必需品持續受到同樣動態的影響。禽流感影響了雞蛋紙箱的銷量，導致本季雞蛋總產量下降，儘管到 11 月初情況已基本恢復正常。除了更廣泛的行業需求之外，本季的另一個主要銷售驅動因素是我們「價值重於銷售」策略的同比效應所產生的影響。

As Mike mentioned, we have several exciting initiatives underway that target innovation and expanding our presence in the new and promising markets. We recognize there may be some short-term impacts on our volumes. However, we view these adjustments as important steps that will ultimately lay the foundation for future growth and a more favorable business mix. We are optimistic about the positive effects on the horizon.

正如麥克所提到的，我們正在進行幾項令人興奮的計劃，旨在創新並擴大我們在新興和有前景的市場中的影響力。我們認識到這可能會對我們的銷售產生一些短期影響。然而，我們認為這些調整是重要的步驟，最終將為未來的成長和更有利的業務組合奠定基礎。我們對即將出現的正面影響感到樂觀。

Taking all this into account, segment net revenues declined 6% year-over-year. Lower sales volume was driven by our focus on value over volume and the broader demand environment, partially offset by favorable product mix.

考慮到所有因素，分部淨收入較去年同期下降 6%。銷售下降是由於我們注重價值而非數量以及更廣泛的需求環境，但有利的產品結構部分抵消了這種影響。

Adjusted EBITDA decreased 15% compared to last year, primarily due to higher manufacturing costs, mostly in our mill operations and lower sales volume. This is partially offset by favorable product mix and lower incentive-based compensation costs. Adjusted EBITDA margins were down 160 basis points versus the prior year due to higher manufacturing costs, including operational challenges of Pine Bluff and lower sales volume.

調整後的 EBITDA 與去年相比下降了 15%，主要原因是製造成本增加（主要是工廠營運成本增加）以及銷售量下降。有利的產品組合和較低的激勵薪酬成本部分抵消了這種影響。調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率較上年下降 160 個基點，原因是製造成本上升（包括 Pine Bluff 的營運挑戰以及銷售量下降）。

On a sequential basis, net revenues were down 1% due to lower sales volume, which was attributable to seasonal trends, partially offset by favorable pricing due to pricing actions. Adjusted EBITDA increased 19%, reflecting lower manufacturing costs mainly a result of a planned mill outage during the second quarter, favorable pricing, net of material cost pass-through and lower incentive-based costs partially offset by lower sales volume.

與上一季相比，淨收入下降 1%，原因是銷售量下降，這是季節性趨勢所致，但定價行動帶來的優惠價格部分抵消了這一影響。調整後 EBITDA 成長 19%，反映出製造成本下降，這主要由於第二季工廠計畫停工、優惠的定價、扣除材料成本轉嫁和激勵成本降低，但部分被銷售量下降所抵銷。

On slide 12, we have highlighted balance sheet items and key components of our cash flow. Free cash flow during Q3 was $190 million, benefiting from the timing of corporate cash outflows such as interest and tax payments and higher adjusted EBITDA. Our ability to generate strong cash flow allowed us to reduce our net debt by $170 million during the third quarter and decreased our net leverage to 4.3 times, on track with our year-end goal of reaching approximately 4 times. The step down relative to the second quarter was consistent with our expectations. Our strong cash flow generation also provides us the opportunity to reinvest in our operations to seed future growth and drive margin expansion.

在投影片 12 上，我們重點介紹了資產負債表項目和現金流量的關鍵組成部分。第三季的自由現金流為 1.9 億美元，受益於利息和稅款支付等企業現金流出的時機以及更高的調整後 EBITDA。我們產生強勁現金流的能力使我們在第三季減少了 1.7 億美元的淨債務，並將淨槓桿率降低至 4.3 倍，預計將實現年底達到約 4 倍的目標。與第二季相比的下降符合我們的預期。我們強勁的現金流也為我們提供了重新投資於營運的機會，以播撒未來的成長種子並推動利潤率的擴大。

Over the past three years, we've embarked on several strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing productivity, increasing profitability, and achieving significant cost savings. We believe that these concerted efforts will not only improve our ability to meet the diverse needs of our customer base more effectively but also streamline our operations. Ultimately, we expect these advancements will contribute to enhanced returns for our stakeholders, reinforcing our commitment to sustainable growth and excellence.

在過去三年中，我們已經實施了多項策略性舉措，旨在提高生產力、增加獲利能力並大幅節省成本。我們相信，這些共同努力不僅將提高我們更有效地滿足客戶群多樣化需求的能力，而且還將簡化我們的營運。最終，我們期望這些進步將有助於提高利害關係人的回報，並加強我們對永續成長和卓越的承諾。

Turning to slide 13. Before I turn to our guidance for the remainder of 2024, I want to briefly touch on pro forma impacts of the divestiture of our Pine Bluff mill, which we sold on October 1. The transaction is an important milestone for multiple reasons. First, it allows us to focus on our core North American converting operations. Next, as you can see, our LTM adjusted EBITDA and margin profile improved materially on a pro forma basis. Finally, with the net cash proceeds and the removal of the negative adjusted EBITDA attributable to the divested operations, reduced our net leverage ratio from 4.3 times to 4.1 times as of September 30.

翻到第 13 張投影片。在談到我們對 2024 年剩餘時間的指導之前，我想簡要談談我們於 10 月 1 日出售的 Pine Bluff 工廠的剝離的預計影響。出於多種原因，此次交易是一個重要的里程碑。首先，它使我們能夠專注於我們的核心北美轉換業務。接下來，正如您所看到的，我們的 LTM 調整後 EBITDA 和利潤率狀況在預測基礎上有了大幅改善。最後，透過淨現金收益和取消歸因於剝離業務的負調整後 EBITDA，我們的淨槓桿率從 9 月 30 日的 4.3 倍降至 4.1 倍。

Turning to slide 14. On the next two slides, I'll cover our guidance for 2024 and also highlight the building blocks for 2025. We are updating our guidance range for full year adjusted EBITDA to be between $800 million and $810 million. This is partially due to operating challenges at Pine Bluff during our final quarter owning the mill which resulted in adjusted EBITDA that was approximately $17 million lower than our previous forecast. It also reflects a sequential uplift in Q4 as industry promotions provide some volume support along with the continued ramp-up of efficiency gains.

翻到第 14 張投影片。在接下來的兩張投影片中，我將介紹我們對 2024 年的指導，並重點介紹 2025 年的基礎。我們將全年調整後 EBITDA 的預期範圍更新為 8 億美元至 8.1 億美元之間。部分原因是我們擁有工廠的最後一個季度，Pine Bluff 面臨營運挑戰，導致調整後的 EBITDA 比我們先前的預測低約 1700 萬美元。這也反映了第四季度的連續成長，因為行業促銷提供了一些銷售支援以及效率的持續提升。

Our guidance also assumes that we realize the expected benefits from our footprint optimization and cost-saving initiatives, consistent with what we shared last quarter. The expected benefit of $15 million from cost-saving initiatives, combined with our commitment to continuous improvement positions us to effectively adjust our cost structure in response to industry demand.

我們的指引也假設我們從足跡優化和成本節約措施中實現預期收益，這與我們上個季度分享的內容一致。預計成本節約措施將帶來 1500 萬美元的收益，再加上我們致力於持續改進，這使我們能夠根據行業需求有效地調整成本結構。

We lowered our full year 2024 capital spend guidance to a range of $240 million to $250 million compared to our previous expectations of $260 million due to a shift in timing of project spend. Our free cash flow guidance of $180 million to $200 million is unchanged. Lastly, we reiterate our expectation to reduce our net leverage ratio to approximately 4 times by year-end.

由於專案支出時間的變化，我們將 2024 年全年資本支出預期從先前預期的 2.6 億美元下調至 2.4 億美元至 2.5 億美元之間。我們對 1.8 億至 2 億美元的自由現金流預期保持不變。最後，我們重申我們的預期，到年底將淨槓桿率降至約 4 倍。

Turning to slide 15. It's important to note that despite the uneven market environment, we have responded and have made significant progress against our strategic objectives while also emphasizing the significant milestone of closing the sale of our Pine Bluff mill.

翻到第 15 張投影片。值得注意的是，儘管市場環境不平衡，但我們還是做出了反應，並在實現戰略目標方面取得了重大進展，同時也強調了完成 Pine Bluff 工廠銷售的重要里程碑。

Looking back to our original 2024 adjusted EBITDA guidance range, excluding Pine Bluff, we anticipated $843 million to $863 million from our core operations. At that time, the expected contribution from Pine Bluff for full year 2024 was approximately $7 million, for a total adjusted EBITDA range of $850 million to $870 million.

回顧我們最初的 2024 年調整後 EBITDA 指引範圍（不包括 Pine Bluff），我們預計核心業務的收入為 8.43 億美元至 8.63 億美元。當時，Pine Bluff 預計 2024 年全年貢獻約 700 萬美元，調整後 EBITDA 總範圍為 8.5 億美元至 8.7 億美元。

Over the course of the year, we experienced reliability challenges at the mill, some of which were related to our planned outage in Q2. Additionally, based on the timing of the sale on October 1, we removed the expected Q4 adjusted EBITDA contribution from Pine Bluff from our full year guidance. The end result is that Pine Bluff generated negative $38 million of adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30 and which is effectively a $45 million swing, which is factored into our updated guidance range. Excluding Pine Bluff, we expect to generate $838 million to $848 million of pro forma adjusted EBITDA for 2024, which is comparable to our original guidance range.

在這一年中，我們的工廠遇到了可靠性挑戰，其中一些與我們第二季的計劃停產有關。此外，根據 10 月 1 日的出售時間，我們從全年指引中刪除了 Pine Bluff 預期的第四季度調整後 EBITDA 貢獻。最終結果是，截至 9 月 30 日的九個月內，Pine Bluff 的調整後 EBITDA 為負 3800 萬美元，這實際上是 4500 萬美元的波動，這已計入我們更新的指導範圍。除 Pine Bluff 外，我們預計 2024 年的調整後 EBITDA 將達到 8.38 億至 8.48 億美元，與我們最初的指導範圍相當。

There are puts and takes compared to our initial guidance as the broader macro environment has been challenging, However, we responded by scaling our operations and managing costs to deliver against our strategic priorities.

由於更廣泛的宏觀環境充滿挑戰，與我們最初的指引相比，存在著利弊，但我們透過擴大營運和管理成本來應對，以實現我們的策略重點。

Looking ahead to 2025, using the $838 million to $848 million range as our pro forma run rate, all else equal, we'd expect to achieve an incremental $15 million in cost savings from our footprint optimization plan. Overall, we think this provides solid earnings momentum and a tailwind heading into next year.

展望 2025 年，以 8.38 億美元至 8.48 億美元的範圍作為我們的預期運行率，在其他條件相同的情況下，我們預計透過我們的足跡優化計劃將實現 1500 萬美元的增量成本節約。總體而言，我們認為這將為明年的獲利提供強勁動力和推動力。

Before I turn the call back over to Mike, I'd like to end by addressing the challenges posed by recent weather events. Specifically, Hurricane Helene, which occurred in late September, followed by Hurricane Milton in early October, which resulted in unforeseen difficulties. These challenges include significant power outages and flooding, which adversely affected our supply chains. While we encountered marginal repair and cleanup costs and some production loss, our facilities were able to operate on backup power.

在我將電話轉回給麥克之前，我想最後談談最近天氣事件帶來的挑戰。具體來說，9 月底發生的颶風海倫 (Hurricane Helene) 和 10 月初的颶風米爾頓 (Hurricane Milton) 都帶來了意想不到的困難。這些挑戰包括嚴重停電和洪水，對我們的供應鏈造成了不利影響。雖然我們遇到了一些維修和清理成本以及一些生產損失，但我們的設施能夠依靠備用電源運作。

As you might expect, there was some residual impact that the storms had on broader consumer purchasing patterns and overall restaurant foot traffic in the affected regions we operate. However, we do not expect any significant impact from these events and any financial impact has been included in our updated guidance range, again speaking to the resilience and durability of our operating model.

正如您所預料的，風暴對我們經營的受影響地區的更廣泛的消費者購買模式和整體餐廳客流量產生了一些殘餘影響。然而，我們預計這些事件不會產生任何重大影響，並且任何財務影響都已包含在我們更新的指導範圍內，這再次證明了我們營運模式的彈性和持久性。

Importantly, to echo Mike, our employee safety and well-being are our top priorities. We truly appreciate their dedication and resilience in navigating these tough times together.

重要的是，與麥克的觀點一致，員工的安全和福祉是我們的首要任務。我們真誠感謝他們共同度過艱難時期所展現的奉獻精神和堅韌精神。

With that, I'll turn the call back over to Mike.

說完這些，我將把電話轉回給麥克。

Thanks, Jon. Before we open the line to Q&A, I want to reiterate that we are confident in our robust platform and believe that we are positioned to deliver profitable growth and sustainable returns in the future. Going forward, we remain committed to leveraging the solid foundation we've established, including our diverse portfolio of sustainable products to win new business.

謝謝，喬恩。在我們開始問答環節之前，我想重申，我們對我們強大的平台充滿信心，並相信我們有能力在未來實現獲利成長和永續回報。展望未來，我們將繼續致力於利用我們已經建立的堅實基礎，包括我們多樣化的永續產品組合來贏得新業務。

We've taken decisive action to strengthen our foundation throughout 2024. We expect the actions we are taking today will drive continued improvement into 2025 as we strive to become a more efficient business partner to those who benefit from the broad range of sustainable product offerings we bring to market. We are confident that the actions we are taking today will position Pactiv Evergreen to be a fundamentally stronger and more profitable company in the future. I want to thank our employees for their unwavering support and dedication. You all are the reason this journey has been possible.

我們已採取果斷行動，在 2024 年鞏固我們的基礎。我們期望，我們今天採取的行動將推動2025年的持續改進，因為我們致力於成為那些受益於我們向市場推出的廣泛可持續產品的人們更高效的業務合作夥伴。我們堅信，我們今天採取的行動將使 Pactiv Evergreen 在未來成為一家更強大、更有利可圖的公司。我要感謝我們的員工堅定不移的支持和奉獻。正是因為你們，這趟旅程才得以實現。

That concludes our prepared remarks. With that, let us open it up to questions. Operator?

我們的準備好的演講到此結束。現在，讓我們開始提問。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Anthony Pettinari, Citi.

(操作員指示) 花旗銀行，Anthony Pettinari。

With food and beverage merchandising, I think you talked about value over volume, maybe in kind of the middle innings. And you also talked about maybe kind of earnings momentum in '25 or a good setup for earnings growth in '25. Is it possible to put any kind of finer point on when value over volume comps become much easier or maybe the program runs its course? Or do you expect to see kind of positive contribution from these growth initiatives? Just wondering if you can put any more detail on that.

對於食品和飲料商品銷售，我認為您談論的是價值而非數量，也許處於中間階段。您還談到了 25 年的獲利動能或 25 年獲利成長的良好條件。當價值超過體積的補償變得更加容易時，或者當程式運行其流程時，是否有可能提出任何更精細的要點？或者您期望看到這些成長舉措帶來正面貢獻？只是想知道您是否可以提供更多詳細資訊。

Yes. I would say at a high level, I would say it's more beverage than the food side, just being in the middle innings. And I would tell you that as we have looked at that footprint on the beverage business, and we've done things to improve it. We've also unpacked that business to know where we have room to move on price as we have customer contracts that are eclipsing and that largely happens in 2025. So we expect to see improvements largely in that business and that's why we're in the middle innings there. In terms of the food business, I think we're much more mature in that value over volume than the beverage.

是的。我想說，從高層次來看，我認為它更多的是飲料而不是食物，只是處於中間階段。我想告訴你們，我們已經看到了飲料業務所遭受的影響，並且已經採取措施加以改善。我們也對該業務進行了分析，以了解我們在價格上還有哪些調整空間，因為我們的客戶合約正在不斷增加，而這主要發生在 2025 年。因此，我們預計該業務將大幅改善，這也是我們處於中期階段的原因。就食品業務而言，我認為我們在價值重於數量的概念上比飲料業務成熟得多。

Yes. Anthony, I think the only piece I would add is just around the Pine Bluff piece with the divestiture. As we talked about, at a company level, we've got some momentum going into next year in terms of the negative EBITDA contribution, which is clearly to the food and beverage merchandising segment. So that was roughly $38 million year-to-date that going into next year, that's going to be a more favorable comp without that negative EBITDA contribution.

是的。安東尼，我認為我唯一要添加的部分是有關剝離的 Pine Bluff 部分。正如我們所討論的，在公司層面，就負 EBITDA 貢獻而言，我們在明年會有一些發展勢頭，這顯然是對食品和飲料商品銷售部門的影響。因此，今年迄今的收入約為 3800 萬美元，進入明年，如果沒有負面的 EBITDA 貢獻，這將是一個更有利的業績。

Got it. That's helpful. And then in terms of the growth investments, is there any way to quantify in terms of product vitality index or percentage of sales from new products, kind of where you are now, where you think you can get in '25 or how much growth new products could add? Just from a big picture perspective, is there a way that we can kind of track that from the outside or metrics that you use?

知道了。這很有幫助。那麼就成長投資而言，有沒有辦法透過產品活力指數或新產品的銷售百分比來量化您現在的狀況，您認為在 25 年可以達到什麼水平，或者新產品可以帶來多少成長？僅從全局角度來看，有沒有辦法我們可以從外部或您使用的指標來追蹤這一點？

Yes, we're still wrestling internally with the right KPI for that, quantifying what's new and what's not. And we look to be more open about that, but we're not in a good position to share anything today.

是的，我們內部仍在努力尋找正確的 KPI，量化哪些是新的，哪些不是。我們希望對此更加開放，但今天我們還不方便分享任何資訊。

Yes. Anthony, I think just a broader way to think about us going into the future. We tend -- and this was -- I think you should look to our general guidance around we tend to track GDP and GDP growth. And going into next year, we're looking at that type of level for our core business. So any of these growth initiatives Mike mentioned in his prepared remarks, would be incremental. We're excited about some of these new growth initiatives that we have going in. So we hope -- we would look to those to be in addition to any type of GDP growth for our base business.

是的。安東尼，我認為這只是我們思考未來的一種更廣泛的方式。我們傾向於——這是——我認為你應該看看我們關於追蹤 GDP 和 GDP 成長的一般指引。進入明年，我們的核心業務將達到這種水平。因此，麥克在其準備好的發言中提到的任何成長舉措都將是漸進的。我們對正在進行的一些新的成長舉措感到非常興奮。因此我們希望——我們希望這些能夠成為我們基礎業務的 GDP 成長的補充。

Yes. And I guess the other thing, just to point the obvious is we having paper mills, we've constrained the business in terms of our ability to invest now that we've somewhat freed ourselves up with the divestiture of the mills our geography of the spend is definitely much more geared toward growth linked to innovation and R&D work. So I expect to be in a better position in future calls to speak to that.

是的。我想另一件事，顯而易見的是，我們擁有造紙廠，我們在投資能力方面限制了業務，現在，透過剝離造紙廠，我們在一定程度上解放了自己，我們的支出地理位置肯定更傾向於與創新和研發工作相關的增長。因此我希望在未來的通話中能夠更好地談論這個問題。

George Staphos, Bank of America.

美國銀行的喬治‧斯塔福斯 (George Staphos)。

So look, I want to -- I have three questions, some piggyback on what Anthony was getting and I had a separate question. So we have a starting point ex Pine Bluff this year of between $838 million and $848 million, correct for EBITDA, and that is going to grow GDP plus, let's call it, 3%-ish there's some new products that are layering on to that. So I don't know, $860 million, $870 million, then I've got savings of whatever, $15 million, I think you said sequentially. Is my -- am I thinking about this the right way in terms of where you can go and/or what are the offsets? Certainly, you've got volumes still negative, which is a little bit remarkable, but help me think about '25 versus '24 in that bridge. That's question one.

所以看，我想——我有三個問題，一些與安東尼得到的東西有關，我還有一個單獨的問題。因此，我們今年的起點（以 Pine Bluff 為例）在 8.38 億美元至 8.48 億美元之間，這是 EBITDA 的正確數字，這將使 GDP 成長，我們稱之為 3% 左右，還有一些新產品會在此基礎上成長。所以我不知道，8.6 億美元，8.7 億美元，然後我還省了 1500 萬美元，我想你說的是連續的。我是否以正確的方式思考這個問題，就您可以去哪裡以及/或抵消額是多少而言？當然，你的交易量仍然為負，這有點令人驚訝，但請幫助我思考這座橋樑中的 25 年與 24 年。這是第一個問題。

Question two, distribution, right? I mean, this has always been what Pactiv was supposed to do very well given its hub-and-spoke capability. How much did you see your products and SKUs and customers move to third-party distribution? What will we see in terms of the swing going back? And what does it mean in terms of the outlook for '25? And then lastly, if we didn't have the -- I guess, as we look out to '25, again back to the bridge, how much was the benefit this year from lower incentive comp? And what do we have to sort of add back or take out of earnings for next year for that component? So really back to the bridge on '25?

第二個問題，分佈，對吧？我的意思是，鑑於 Pactiv 的樞紐輻射能力，這一直是 Pactiv 應該擅長做的事情。您看到您的產品、SKU 和客戶有多少轉向第三方分銷？我們將會看到什麼樣的回落趨勢？這對 2025 年的前景意味著什麼？最後，如果我們沒有——我想，當我們展望 25 年，再次回到橋樑時，今年從較低的激勵補償中獲得了多少好處？那麼對於該部分，我們需要從明年的收益中增加或減少多少呢？那麼真的要回到 25 號橋嗎？

Yes, I'll start, George, and just give you some bridge level information. So I think you are thinking about it generally the right way. It's -- we do have the $838 million to $848 million as a starting point, as we pointed out. The $15 million, I'll just deconstruct that a little bit.

是的，喬治，我先開始，然後給你一些橋樑等級的資訊。所以我認為你對此的想法總體上是正確的。正如我們所指出的，我們確實有 8.38 億至 8.48 億美元作為起點。對於 1500 萬美元，我只想稍微分析一下。

We talked about when we launched the footprint optimization initiative, we talked about $20 million of footprint benefit into 2025 and then $35 million into '26. And so we're still looking at that as the right ramp going into next year. It will be -- it will scale throughout the year. So it will be more back-end weighted. The $20 million is the right way to look at that. And then we subtracted $5 million off of that. So that got you to the $15 million, which was the $15 million of SG&A benefit we're expected to incur this year. $5 million of that won't be repeating into next year. So take off $5 million, so that gets you to $20 million minus the $5 million of the $15 million I mentioned in the prepared remarks.

我們談到，當我們啟動足跡優化計劃時，我們談到了到 2025 年實現 2000 萬美元的足跡效益，然後到 2026 年實現 3500 萬美元的足跡效益。因此，我們仍將其視為進入明年的正確途徑。它會——它會在全年擴大規模。因此它將更加側重後端。2000 萬美元是正確的看待這個問題的方式。然後我們從中減去了 500 萬美元。這樣就得到了 1500 萬美元，也就是我們預計今年將產生的 1500 萬美元銷售、一般和行政費用收益。其中的 500 萬美元不會延續到明年。因此減去 500 萬美元，這樣就得到了 2000 萬美元，再減去我在準備好的評論中提到的 1500 萬美元中的 500 萬美元。

So your third question was on the incentive comp piece. So the incentive comp benefit this year is $7 million. So that's apples-to-apples as you could take if we were incentive compensation at target would be in $7 million deduct to that level for next year. Now GDP is the right way to think about growth in volumes for next year. So we're still looking at that as the general guidance. Now the other thing to keep in mind is we're still in an inflationary environment. And inflationary environment, there are some headwinds from that from a cost standpoint.

所以你的第三個問題是關於激勵補償的部分。因此今年的激勵性薪資福利為 700 萬美元。因此，如果我們的激勵薪酬達到目標，那麼您就可以將明年的 700 萬美元扣除至該水平，這是相當可比的。現在，GDP是思考明年產量成長的正確方式。因此我們仍將其視為一般指導。現在要記住的另一件事是我們仍然處於通膨環境中。從成本角度來看，通膨環境存在一些阻力。

How much of that translates to EBITDA, we still have to give you some proper guidance on that, which we'll do at the next quarterly call. We do have efficiencies in operations that will offset that inflation, which we're also -- will help offset a lot of that inflation going into next year. So there are some puts and takes as we build out our detailed budgeting plan for next year and also factor in our capital plan growth initiatives to give you a proper guide but those are the right pieces to construct the '25 model.

其中有多少轉化為 EBITDA，我們仍然需要就此給您一些適當的指導，我們將在下次季度電話會議上這樣做。我們的營運效率確實可以抵消通貨膨脹，這也將有助於抵消明年的大部分通貨膨脹。因此，在製定明年的詳細預算計劃時，我們會遇到一些困難，同時也會將資本計劃增長舉措考慮在內，以便為您提供適當的指導，但這些都是構建 '25 模型的正確部分。

I mean, should we land at north of $860 for next year, given your preliminary budgeting for EBITDA? Or is that too difficult to call at this juncture?

我的意思是，根據您對 EBITDA 的初步預算，我們明年的收入是否應該達到 860 美元以上？還是說在這個節骨眼上做出這個決定太難了？

I don't think it's an unreasonable number to think about.

我不認為這是一個不合理的數字。

Okay. And on distribution?

好的。那麼分佈情況如何？

Yes. So I think your question was around the '25 outlook.

是的。所以我認為你的問題是關於 25 年的展望。

Yes. And no, really more the distribution point you were making earlier, Mike, in terms of, I think, you're moving some product back into owned in-house distribution versus third party and having covered Pactiv for a long time, the distribution of the company, the hub-and-spoke model, the regional mixing centers, this was all strength for the company. So I was just curious how much move -- if I'm correct with my premise, how much had moved sort of third party? And what are you bringing back? What's that look like? And what does it mean for earnings?

是的。不，實際上，您之前提到的分銷點更多是，Mike，就我認為而言，您將一些產品轉移回自有內部分銷，而不是第三方分銷，並且我已經長期報道過 Pactiv，公司的分銷、樞紐輻射模型、區域調配中心，這些都是公司的優勢。所以我只是好奇有多少變動——如果我的前提正確，那麼有多少變動是第三方的？你帶回來了什麼？那是什麼樣子的？這對於收益意味著什麼？

Yes. So I just want to clarify. So when we talk about redistributors, not like 3PLs or third-party distributors, we're talking about really more of our core value over volume strategy.

是的。所以我只是想澄清一下。因此，當我們談論轉銷商（不像 3PL 或第三方分銷商）時，我們談論的更多是我們的核心價值而非數量策略。

And so to say it plainly, instead of selling to businesses that would compete against us, we're going to go direct and so we've had some customers that sell more broadline products that also sell directly against our products with other vendor products. So we've elected to stop that and go direct. And so we'd expect that while there was a near-term volume dip and you've seen that we've rebound, and we've seen that come back. We forecast that in '25 and beyond. That's really what that was.

所以簡單來說，我們不會將產品賣給競爭對手，而是直接銷售，因此，我們的一些客戶銷售更多的寬線產品，他們也直接將我們的產品與其他供應商的產品進行銷售。因此我們選擇停止這種做法並直接採用。因此，我們預計，雖然短期內交易量有所下降，但您已經看到我們已經反彈，並且已經看到回升。我們預測在25年及以後將會如此。事實確實如此。

So you have it right. Our hub-and-spoke model is the strength of the business and certainly something we wish to leverage and continue to leverage with the direct sale instead of a redistributor sale.

所以你說得對。我們的中心輻射模式是我們業務的優勢，我們希望透過直接銷售（而不是分銷商銷售）來利用並繼續利用這一模式。

Josh Spector, UBS.

瑞銀的喬希·斯佩克特（Josh Spector）

I apologize if I missed this, but did you guys talk about what your volume expectations are that underpin your 4Q guidance? And I guess, relative to that, as you look at how 3Q played out on the volume front, was that in line with your expectations or meaningfully different?

如果我錯過了這一點，我很抱歉，但是你們有沒有談過你們對第四季指引的銷售預期是什麼？我想，相對於此，當您觀察第三季的銷售表現時，這是否符合您的預期或有很大不同？

Sure. Starting off with our guidance for Q4 for volume. We didn't really touch on it on the call. I would say that just to give you some broader views on volumes for the year. For the full company, we're still guiding to kind of low single digits for the whole year as you look at the full year versus last year. For Q4 specifically, we're going to be down low single digits in foodservice and up low single digits in food and beverage merchandising is our expectation.

當然。首先從我們對第四季銷售的指導開始。我們在通話中並沒有真正談及此事。我這樣說只是為了讓你對今年的交易量有更廣泛的了解。對於整個公司而言，與去年相比，我們預計全年銷售額將保持在個位數的低點。具體來說，對於第四季度，我們預計餐飲服務業務將下降個位數，而食品和飲料商品銷售業務將上升個位數。

But I would say for Q3, we were fairly in line with what we had anticipated. So it was a positive result looking at prior quarters and what the trending was.

但我想說，對於第三季來說，我們的表現基本上與我們的預期一致。因此，從前幾個季度的情況和趨勢來看，這是一個積極的結果。

Okay. Yes, that's helpful. I guess just for context, obviously, the food and merchandise volumes seem meaningfully below what consensus was expecting. So I guess we had it wrong in terms of timing there. I guess I'll maybe leave it if there's any follow-up to that.

好的。是的，這很有幫助。我想只是為了說明一下背景，顯然，食品和商品的數量似乎明顯低於普遍預期。因此我想我們的時間安排是錯的。我想，如果有任何後續情況的話，我可能會保留它。

But what I wanted to ask separately was just Pine Bluff specifically when you talked about a negative $17 million versus expectations, was that all in 3Q or is that a comment for the year? And I don't know if now since you've divested it, can you give us the contributions, the negative impacts each quarter so we can make sure we're sequencing 2025 correctly at this point?

但是我想單獨問的是，特別是當您談到比預期下降 1700 萬美元時，這都是在第三季度發生的嗎，還是針對全年的評論？我不知道既然您現在已經剝離了它，您能否告訴我們每個季度的貢獻和負面影響，以便我們確保我們現在正確地對 2025 年進行排序？

Sure. From a -- the $17 million comment was for the Q3 in terms of some of the operational inefficiencies that we had in the quarter. So that was versus our guidance from last quarter's call. $17 million also happens to be what our expected Q4 contribution would have been.

當然。從…1700 萬美元的評論是針對第三季度的一些營運效率低下的問題。因此，這與我們上個季度的預測相反。 1700 萬美元也恰好是我們預期的第四季貢獻。

And so if you deconstruct that portion of it, we -- since we closed that sale before the end of the year, that was the Q4 expectation. The year-to-date is $38 million I would have to -- I don't have the quarterly breakdown here in front of me. We can follow up with you to give you the quarterly breakdown of the negative $38 million. It was distributed, it was a little bit more heavily distributed in Q2 with the cold mill outage in Q1, we have some weather events that also impacted the quarter. Q3 for the mill was for Pine Bluff was negative 3.3%. So the rest was the first two quarters of the year.

因此，如果你分析這部分內容，我們 — — 因為我們在年底之前完成了這筆銷售，所以這是第四季度的預期。今年迄今為止的收入為 3800 萬美元，我必須——我面前沒有季度明細數據。我們可以跟進您的情況，向您提供負 3800 萬美元的季度明細情況。它是分散式的，在第二季度分佈得更嚴重一些，因為第一季的冷磨機停產，我們遇到的一些天氣事件也影響了本季。派恩布拉夫 (Pine Bluff) 工廠第三季的利潤為負 3.3%。剩下的就是今年前兩個季度。

Okay. No, I appreciate that. If I could squeeze in one more. Last quarter call, you talked about some more competitive intensity, I think, within some of the grocery channels and some of the less differentiated products, has that stabilized? Anything changed there?

好的。不，我很感激。如果我能再擠進一個的話。在上個季度的電話會議上，您談到了競爭加劇的問題，我認為，在一些雜貨管道和一些差異化較小的產品中，這種競爭是否已經穩定下來？那裡有什麼改變嗎？

And I assume this is obviously directly related with some of your value over volume. So just wondering how we should think about that trend this quarter versus last quarter and what that might mean for the outlook?

我認為這顯然與你的價值超過數量直接相關。所以只是想知道我們應該如何看待本季與上季相比的趨勢，以及這對前景意味著什麼？

We missed the front end of your question. I apologize.

我們錯過了您問題的前端。我很抱歉。

Sorry, I was asking if there's been any change in the competitive comments prior on competitive intensity. So basically, some of the pricing pressure in the grocery channels for some of the non-differentiated products. If that's changed at all better or worse unchanged versus prior quarter?

抱歉，我問的是之前關於競爭強度的競爭評論是否有任何變化。因此，基本上，雜貨通路中一些非差異化產品的定價壓力是存在的。和上一季相比，是否有所變化，是好轉了還是變差了？

No, it's really unchanged for us. We're not seeing any sporadic pricing competition or anybody being irresponsible or anything like that.

不，對我們來說它確實沒有變化。我們沒有看到任何零星的價格競爭或任何人不負責任的行為或諸如此類的事情。

And Josh, I told your Pine Bluff answers by quarter. So Q1 was negative 11%. Q2 was negative 24%. And then Q3 was the negative 3%, I mentioned.

喬希，我按季度告訴你了你在 Pine Bluff 的答案。因此第一季的利潤為負 11%。第二季為負24%。然後我提到，第三季是負 3%。

Phil Ng, Jefferies.

傑富瑞 (Jefferies) 的 Phil Ng。

If I look at your implied fourth quarter EBITDA guidance, it assumes a noticeable step-up sequentially typically when it's down seasonally and then it's certainly above consensus. So Jon, I guess, kind of help us bridge the fourth quarter numbers. What are some of the puts and takes?

如果我看一下您對第四季度 EBITDA 的隱含指引，它會假設一個明顯的連續增長，通常是在季節性下降時，然後它肯定高於普遍預期。所以我想，喬恩可以幫我們彌補第四季的業績損失。有哪些利弊？

And maybe it's just Pine Bluff being really bad in 3Q and that goes away, but if I heard you correctly, Jon, I think you're pointing to perhaps volumes being up in the fourth quarter, low single digit in food. So that's a big improvement. How much of that is contract wins that you kind of have in the bag already?

也許只是因為 Pine Bluff 在第三季度表現太差，所以這種情況就消失了，但是，如果我沒有聽錯的話，Jon，我認為你指的是第四季度的銷量可能會上升，食品銷量會下降個位數。這是一個很大的進步。其中有多少是你已經贏得的合約？

Yes. No, thanks, Phil. I can walk you through that and give you a bit of a bridge. So let's just start on the sequential view because you're right. Seasonally, Q4 is a bit lower. But this year, we do have some benefits we're expecting to get in Q4 and get some good momentum going into next year.

是的。不，謝謝，菲爾。我可以指導你完成這一點並給你一點橋樑。因此我們就從順序視圖開始吧，因為你是對的。從季節性來看，第四季略低。但今年，我們確實有一些好處，預計在第四季度獲得，並在明年獲得良好的勢頭。

I would say if you look at it from a sequential basis, about a third of it is coming from volume price mix. If you look outside of Pine Bluff, we are expecting some growth in volumes in food and beverage merchandising. We do have some seasonal declines in foodservice, as you might expect, but it's partially offset by customer wins. And so it should be lower than we might have seen in the past.

我想說，如果從連續的角度來看，其中大約三分之一來自於數量價格組合。如果你把眼光放在派恩布拉夫以外的地方，我們預期食品和飲料商品的銷售量會有所成長。正如您所預料的，我們的餐飲服務確實出現了一些季節性下滑，但這被顧客的增多部分抵消了。因此它應該比我們過去看到的要低。

And we've been talking about in foodservice, some customer wins that we see ramping into the end of the year. And to note also, we're still expecting to outpace the industry as it relates to foodservice, even though there is a slight decline there for seasonal reasons.

我們一直在談論餐飲服務業，我們看到一些顧客的勝利將在年底前不斷增加。還要注意的是，儘管由於季節性原因餐飲服務業略有下滑，但我們仍有望超越整個餐飲服務業。

I think the other piece to think about in terms of the price mix standpoint outside of volumes is we are getting a benefit from raw material costs in the fourth quarter and some of our cola ramp-ups, as you think about those, they'll continue to build into the end of the year. And so we will see some favorability there. And then there is some favorable seasonal mix as it relates to some of the food and beverage piece as we get into kind of the food at home season, so that's helping those volumes.

我認為，從價格組合角度考慮，除了產量之外，另一個需要考慮的問題是，我們從第四季度的原材料成本和一些可樂產量增長中獲益，考慮到這些，這些收益將持續到年底。因此我們將看到一些有利因素。然後，隨著我們進入家庭食品季節，與一些食品和飲料相關的一些有利的季節性組合，這對銷售有幫助。

I think the other side, about two-thirds of it is manufacturing costs and SG&A gains. So we do have some efficiency gains that we're expecting to see some of our initiatives around manufacturing also ramp up into the beginning into the end of the year and some of those cost efficiency savings that we mentioned on the last call, we'll have a full quarter benefit of those in Q4. So on the cost side, about two-thirds of that uplift.

我認為另一方面，其中約三分之二是製造成本和銷售、一般及行政費用收益。因此，我們確實獲得了一些效率提升，我們預計我們在製造業方面的一些舉措也將在年初至年末得到推進，而我們在上次電話會議上提到的一些成本效率節省，將在第四季度帶來整整一個季​​度的效益。因此，就成本方面而言，漲幅約為三分之二。

Okay. And the volume uptick in food and bev, I mean, you're down 8% in 3Q. And I think if I heard you correctly earlier, Jon, you're expecting low single-digit growth. Give us a little perspective on what's driving that strength because that's a pretty sharp rebound.

好的。食品和飲料的銷量有所上升，但第三季下降了 8%。喬恩，如果我之前沒聽錯的話，你預期成長率會比較低。請給我們介紹一下推動這種強勁勢頭的因素，因為這是相當強勁的反彈。

Sure. Yes. It's -- a lot of it is around our food segment and food and beverage segment within food there was a bit of a delay to ag season this year. So some of that was pushed off into Q4. So versus our normal seasonal dynamics in Q3, we're also expecting to see a bit of strength in Mexico. And then there is -- and then the bakery season tends to be more Q4 focused. And, the bird flu impact -- sorry, the bird flu impact on the egg business in Q3 going into Q4 should be a benefit.

當然。是的。其中許多都與我們的食品部門以及食品和飲料部門有關，今年的農業季節有些延遲。因此，部分工作延後至第四季。因此，與第三季的正常季節性動態相比，我們預計墨西哥也會出現一定程度的強勁成長。然後就是——烘焙季節往往更多地集中在第四季度。而且，禽流感的影響——抱歉，禽流感對第三季到第四季的雞蛋業務的影響應該是有利的。

Okay. That's helpful. And I guess, Mike, you may have teased this earlier, but when I think about your value over volume approach in foodservice years past, we see the hit on volumes, but price and EBITDA actually surprise the upside and it tends to be a good guy. When we think about your food and beverage value over volume approach, at least early in 3Q, we saw the hit in volumes and decrementals were pretty heavy.

好的。這很有幫助。我想，麥克，你可能之前已經提到過這一點，但當我想到過去幾年你在餐飲服務中採取的價值超過數量的方法時，我們看到數量受到了打擊，但價格和 EBITDA 實際上卻出人意料地上漲，而且往往是一個好兆頭。當我們考慮食品和飲料的價值而非數量方法時，至少在第三季初，我們看到數量受到的打擊和減幅相當嚴重。

But I think you kind of teased that when you go out to '25, you have some contracts that are resetting that could be opportunity and perhaps even on the volume side with wins with the right mix. So kind of help us think through the opportunity in 2025. Should we expect a nice bump in profitability and EBITDA with perhaps some of these contracts resetting and then potentially some wins with a more favorable mix?

但我認為你有點開玩笑地說，當你進入 25 歲時，你會有一些正在重置的合同，這可能是一個機會，甚至可能在數量方面通過正確的組合獲勝。所以請幫助我們思考 2025 年的機會。我們是否應該期待盈利能力和 EBITDA 出現大幅提升，或許其中一些合約會重新設定，然後可能透過更有利的組合獲得一些勝利？

Yes. I think generally, you got it right. In terms of squaring the numbers, we're not there yet. We want to get through some of that. But you've characterized it absolutely correctly. And that -- we've had to shrink with some to grow. And we've also, in terms of just better price mix with the current customer base, we will absolutely see a better quality of earnings.

是的。我認為整體來說你的回答是對的。從數字平方來看，我們還沒有達到這個目標。我們想解決其中的一些問題。但你對它的描述是完全正確的。而且 — — 為了成長，我們必須縮減一些規模。而且，就現有客戶群的更好的價格組合而言，我們絕對會看到更好的獲利品質。

And Mike, would we see that out of the gate to start next year or kind of --

Mike，我們明年會不會開始看到這種現象呢？--

Largely back half.

大體上回到了後半部。

Arun Viswanathan, RBC Capital Markets.

加拿大皇家銀行資本市場 (RBC Capital Markets) 的阿倫·維斯瓦納坦 (Arun Viswanathan)。

I guess I just wanted to get back to a couple of comments you mentioned earlier. So as far as some of those trends that you saw with foodservice still underperforming and maybe food and some of those other exposures outperforming. Could you just provide some more detail there, where in your portfolio are you seeing strength and maybe if you could quantify that maybe is it a third of your portfolio or -- and maybe two-thirds in foodservice is seeing some weakness?

我想我只是想回應一下您之前提到的幾條評論。就您看到的一些趨勢而言，餐飲服務仍然表現不佳，而食品和一些其他風險投資可能表現優異。您能否提供一些更詳細的信息，您的投資組合中哪些部分錶現強勁，如果您可以量化的話，也許是投資組合的三分之一，或者也許餐飲服務中的三分之二部分錶現疲軟？

And last quarter, you spoke heavily about the value meal initiatives at some of your customers. Have you seen any positive impact from that? And do you expect a positive impact in the future?

上個季度，您重點談到了針對某些客戶的超值套餐計劃。您是否看到了其中的正面影響？您預計未來會產生正面的影響嗎？

Yes. So if you look at -- the way we kind of characterize it is on the foodservice side, foot traffic, it would definitely be worse had the promotional activity didn't -- if that wasn't initiated. And I think the fact that many of our customers have made announcements that they're going to continue that into Q4. We kind of view that as a positive.

是的。所以如果你看一下——我們在餐飲服務方面對客流量進行描述的方式，如果沒有發起促銷活動，情況肯定會更糟——如果沒有發起促銷活動。我認為事實上我們的許多客戶都已宣布他們將在第四季度繼續這種做法。我們認為這是一件正面的事。

In terms of how that manifests itself in volume, we're not seeing a big rebound or anything, but we do think it would be worse. So it is starting to have an impact on the consumer. I think as prices continue to come down in more time with lower prices. It's going to be a good thing for the consumer.

從成交量的表現來看，我們沒有看到大幅反彈，但我們確實認為情況會更糟。因此它開始對消費者產生影響。我認為隨著價格持續下降，價格會隨著時間的推移而下降。對消費者來說，這將是件好事。

As far as the food and beverage side of our business, this is where the consumer is spending their dollars to get their calories today largely. And we're seeing that manifest itself in all of our fresh channels. So protein, produce, those are still staples that we're seeing strength in egg, as Jon mentioned, I would say that those are very good for us right now. And we expect that to continue into Q4.

就我們業務的食品和飲料方面而言，這是消費者今天花費大量金錢來獲取卡路里的地方。我們看到這一點在我們所有新管道中都有所體現。因此，蛋白質、農產品仍然是主食，我們看到雞蛋的強勢，正如喬恩所提到的，我想說，這些現在對我們來說非常有益。我們預計這種情況將持續到第四季。

And when you talk about kind of foodservice underperforming, I just clarify some of the comments we made in our prepared remarks, right, the foot traffic is down 3%, over 3% in the quarter and for the year across our client base there. And we're actually trending better than that. And so we do feel like our -- the strength of our relationships, blue chip customers that we align with and some of our competitive strength there are helping us outperform the marketplace. It's just -- it is a challenging environment.

當您談到餐飲服務表現不佳時，我只是想澄清一下我們在準備好的評論中提到的一些評論，例如，客流量下降了 3%，本季度和全年下降幅度都超過了 3%（我們那裡的客戶群）。而且我們的趨勢實際上比這更好。因此，我們確實感覺到，我們的關係實力、我們所結盟的藍籌客戶以及我們的部分競爭優勢正在幫助我們超越市場。這只是——這是一個充滿挑戰的環境。

And as it relates to the promotional activity, there were some benefits there that we saw, but it's still a bit muted given the foot traffic dynamic. And we're hoping to see some momentum there into Q4 as some of those promotional -- those promotions have been extended. And we have seen some shift there to more food and beverage merchandising. But again, just to reiterate, we have been taking a value over volume approach and some of the repositionings Mike talked about earlier is what's driving some of those volume declines, which we feel are going to be transient in nature.

至於促銷活動，我們看到了一些好處，但考慮到客流量的動態，這種好處仍然有點微不足道。我們希望在第四季度看到一些發展勢頭，因為一些促銷活動已經延長。我們看到那裡的食品和飲料商品銷售增加。但是，再次重申，我們一直採取價值重於數量的方法，而麥克之前談到的一些重新定位是導致部分銷量下降的原因，我們認為這些下降將是暫時的。

Got it. That's helpful. And then just to put a finer point on that, so is it maybe a third of your foodservice business that's really tracking with that down 3% foot traffic? And maybe more of your foodservice business is above that? Or is it half or -- and then similarly with food bev merchandising, are you kind of in line with the market or above?

知道了。這很有幫助。然後為了更詳細地說明這一點，那麼，是不是您的餐飲服務業務的三分之一真的與客流量下降 3% 有關？也許您的餐飲業務更多的是高於這個水平？或是一半或——然後同樣對於食品飲料商品銷售，你是否與市場保持一致或高於市場？

Yes. I mean I don't know if we really think about it that way, more from a more portfolio standpoint. There's a lot of elements that are driving the overall outperformance of the industry. It's, again, aligning with some customers that are winning in the marketplace is probably the biggest factor, and we do index pretty well to those customers that are doing well in the marketplace. So I'd say there's a good portion of our portfolio, but it's not like there -- we bifurcate and there's some that's materially overperforming and some that's materially underperforming that it blends out to better than the market. I would say, generally, our customers tend to track better than the marketplace would be the way to think about it.

是的。我的意思是，我不知道我們是否真的從投資組合的角度來考慮這個問題。有許多因素推動著該產業的整體表現優異。再次強調，與一些在市場上獲勝的客戶保持一致可能是最大的因素，而且我們確實很好地瞄準了那些在市場上表現良好的客戶。所以我想說，我們的投資組合中有很大一部分是表現優異的，而有些則表現不佳，但總體而言，它們的表現優於市場。我想說，一般來說，我們的客戶追蹤能力比市場追蹤能力更強。

And then just last quarter, you mentioned maybe some customers trading down away from EarthChoice and maybe some of the higher mix-driven items. Do you still see that continuation? And then if I could just squeeze in one more. Do you feel that your leverage is tracking in line with your expectations and you still expect to be in the low 4s at the end of this year and maybe below 4 at the end of next year?

就在上個季度，您提到可能有些客戶放棄了 EarthChoice，而選擇了一些混合驅動程度較高的產品。您還看到這種延續嗎？然後如果我能再擠一點的話。您是否覺得您的槓桿率與您的預期一致，並且您仍預計今年年底槓桿率將在 4% 以下，明年年底可能會低於 4%？

Yes. On the trade down, I don't remember disclosing anything like that. But what I can tell you is I think -- and maybe what you're referencing is on the value menu trade down where instead of the customer getting a 32-ounce drink, they're going to get a 16-ounce drink. So there's certainly the value meal and burger war front, there's definitely a trade down happening. And so that's coming through in some of our mix.

是的。關於交易下跌，我不記得透露過類似的事情。但我可以告訴你的是，我認為——也許你所指的是在價值菜單上進行降價交易，顧客將獲得一杯 16 盎司的飲料，而不是 32 盎司的飲料。因此，超值套餐和漢堡之戰肯定存在，價格下降的現象肯定正在發生。這就是在我們的混合中體現出來的。

But outside of that, we don't have customers on the distribution side or any of our branded side, trading down our brands for other products. We don't see that.

但除此之外，我們在分銷方面或任何品牌方面都沒有客戶用我們的品牌來換取其他產品。我們沒有看到這一點。

And then Jon, I'll let you talk about the leverage.

然後喬恩，我讓你談談槓桿作用。

Yes. On the leverage front, I think you're thinking about it the right way. So we're on track with our expectations. We've said that we want to be around 4 by the end of the year, and we still expect to be around 4 by the end of the year. That's not the destination. By next year, we will continue to delever and anticipate being in the 3s. And so to your point on where will we be at the end of the year, we haven't put out official guidance there, but I'd expect to have a 3 in front of it.

是的。從槓桿角度來說，我認為你的想法是正確的。因此我們的預期是符合的。我們說過，我們希望在今年年底達到 4 左右，而且我們仍然預計到今年年底會達到 4 左右。那不是目的地。到明年，我們將繼續去槓桿，預計進入「3s」行列。至於你提到的我們到年底的業績將會如何，我們還沒有發布官方指引，但我預計前面會有一個 3。

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

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議交還給邁克金 (Mike King) 來做結束語。

Thank you. As we close today, I want to thank the entire Pactiv Evergreen team for their hard work during the third quarter. We are executing on our strategy and are confident we will continue to progress on our transformational journey in 2024. We look forward to updating you during the fourth quarter conference call next year. Thank you.

謝謝。在今天結束之前，我要感謝整個 Pactiv Evergreen 團隊在第三季的辛勤工作。我們正在執行我們的策略，並有信心在 2024 年的轉型之旅中繼續前進。我們期待在明年第四季電話會議期間向您通報最新情況。謝謝。

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。