RPM International Inc (RPM) 2027 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. And welcome to the RPM International fiscal 2027 first-quarter earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

早安。歡迎參加 RPM International 2027 會計年度第一季財報電話會議。（接線員指示）

Please note, this event is being recorded.

請注意，本活動將進行錄音。

I would now like to turn the call over to Matt Schlarb, Vice President of Investor Relations and Sustainability. Please go ahead.

現在我想把電話會議交給投資人關係與永續發展副總裁 Matt Schlarb。請開始。

Thank you, Gary, and welcome to RPM International's conference call for the fiscal 2027 first-quarter. Today, this call is being recorded. Joining today's call are Frank Sullivan, RPM's Chair and CEO; Rusty Gordon, Vice President, and Chief Financial Officer; Mike Laroche, Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer.

謝謝你，Gary，也歡迎各位參加 RPM International 2027 會計年度第一季電話會議。今天的電話會議將進行錄音。今天與會者包括 RPM 董事長兼執行長 Frank Sullivan；副總裁兼財務長 Rusty Gordon；以及副總裁、財務控制長兼會計長 Mike Laroche。

This call is also being webcast and can be accessed live or replayed on the RPM website at www.rpminc.com. Comments made on this call involve forward-looking statements based on current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to be materially different.

本次電話會議亦同步網路直播，可於 RPM 網站 www.rpminc.com 即時收聽或回放。電話會議中的評論包含以前瞻性陳述為主，係基於目前預期並涉及風險與不確定性，可能導致實際結果與預期有重大差異。

For more information on these risks and uncertainties, please see RPM's reports filed with the SEC. During this conference call, references may be made to non-GAAP financial measures. To assist you in understanding these non-GAAP terms, RPM has posted reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP financial measures on the RPM website. Also, please note that our comments will be on an as-adjusted basis in all comparisons to the first quarter of fiscal 2026, unless otherwise indicated. We have provided a supplemental slide presentation to support our comments on the call. It can be accessed in the Presentations and Webcasts section of the RPM website at www.rpminc.com.

關於這些風險與不確定性的更多資訊，請參閱 RPM 向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的報告。在本次電話會議中，可能會提及非 GAAP 財務衡量指標。為協助您理解這些非 GAAP 用語，RPM 已在其網站上提供與最可比 GAAP 財務衡量指標的調節表。另請注意，除非另有說明，我們在與 2026 會計年度第一季的所有比較中，評論將以調整後（as-adjusted）基礎呈現。我們已提供補充投影片簡報以支持本次電話會議的評論。可於 RPM 網站 www.rpminc.com 的「簡報與網路直播」專區取得。

Effective June 1, 2026, certain Latin American businesses in the Construction Products and Consumer groups with annual sales of $128 million and $15 million, respectively, were placed in -- were moved to the Performance Coatings Group. This change has no impact on consolidated results, and details of the changes can be found in the Form 8-K filed today. Current and prior year results reflect the updated structure.

自 2026 年 6 月 1 日起，建築產品事業群與消費者事業群中部分拉丁美洲業務（年銷售額分別為 1.28 億美元與 1,500 萬美元）已被歸入——已被移轉至高性能塗料事業群（Performance Coatings Group）。此變更不影響合併結果，變更細節可參閱今日提交的 Form 8-K。本年度與前一年度的結果均已反映更新後的組織架構。

Now I will turn the call over to Frank.

現在我把電話會議交給 Frank。

Thanks, Matt, and thanks to everybody on the call this morning. I'll begin on slide 3 with a high-level overview of our performance. Mike Laroche will review the financial results, then Matt Schlarb will cover our balance sheet cash flow and discuss some of our successes in the emerging markets. And then Rusty Gordon will finish with our outlook.

謝謝你，Matt，也謝謝今天早上參與電話會議的各位。我將從投影片 3 開始，先就我們的表現做高層次概述。接著 Mike Laroche 會回顧財務結果，然後 Matt Schlarb 會說明資產負債表與現金流，並分享我們在新興市場的一些成果。最後 Rusty Gordon 會以展望作結。

Our results show we delivered record first-quarter sales, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS despite sluggish end markets and several temporary operating headwinds. These results demonstrate the strength of our balanced business model. Broad-based growth in Performance Coatings Group and Consumer more than offset temporary softness in our Construction Products Group. Additionally, our SG&A optimization actions played a role in offsetting raw material inflation and other expenses.

我們的結果顯示，儘管終端市場疲弱且面臨數項暫時性的營運逆風，我們仍創下第一季銷售額、調整後 EBITDA 與調整後 EPS 的歷史新高。這些結果展現了我們均衡商業模式的韌性。高性能塗料事業群與消費者事業的廣泛成長，足以抵消建築產品事業群的短期疲軟。此外，我們在 SG&A（銷售、一般及行政費用）優化方面的行動，也有助於抵消原物料通膨及其他費用。

Slide 4 illustrates how our SG&A optimization actions helped offset gross margin pressure. As expected, we offset raw material inflation on a dollar basis, but gross margins declined 100 basis points as the rate of raw material inflation outpaced pricing and MAP benefits in the quarter.

投影片 4 說明我們的 SG&A 優化行動如何協助抵消毛利率壓力。如預期，我們在金額層面抵消了原物料通膨，但由於本季原物料通膨速度超過定價與 MAP 效益，毛利率下滑 100 個基點。

Even with that pressure, we compensated for this by leveraging SG&A as a percent of sales to maintain the adjusted EBITDA margin, consistent with the prior year quarter. This outcome reflects the benefits of the SG&A focused actions we have implemented across RPM. These savings helped offset the gross margin headwinds while also allowing us to continue investing in growth and serving customers.

即便面臨該等壓力，我們仍透過降低 SG&A 佔銷售額比重來維持調整後 EBITDA 利潤率，與去年同期一致。此結果反映我們在 RPM 全公司推動以 SG&A 為重點的行動所帶來的效益。這些節省不僅有助於抵消毛利率逆風，也讓我們能持續投資成長並服務客戶。

We are pleased with the organization's cost discipline and the ability to grow in an uncertain economic environment, and we continue to expect additional pricing and operational improvements to support margins as we face continued inflationary pressures during the balance of our 2027 fiscal year.

我們對組織的成本紀律，以及在不確定的經濟環境中仍能成長的能力感到滿意；同時，面對 2027 會計年度剩餘期間持續的通膨壓力，我們仍預期會有更多定價與營運改善來支撐利潤率。

Slide 5 highlights emerging markets generating more than 20% revenue growth, fueled by demand for engineered solutions for high-performance buildings and infrastructure. North America delivered solid growth, led by strong performance in our Performance Coatings Group and our Consumer businesses. European growth was primarily driven by acquisitions. Our emerging market success was driven by our Platform Group structure, which oversees operations across RPM businesses in these regions. The Platform Group reports as part of our Performance Coatings Group segment but sells products for businesses across all RPM segments.

投影片 5 強調新興市場營收成長超過 20%，主要受高性能建築與基礎建設之工程化解決方案需求帶動。北美呈現穩健成長，主要由高性能塗料事業群與消費者事業的強勁表現帶動。歐洲的成長主要來自併購。我們在新興市場的成功，來自於 Platform Group 的組織架構；該團隊負責監督 RPM 在這些地區各項業務的營運。Platform Group 以高性能塗料事業群分部的一部分進行報導，但其銷售產品涵蓋 RPM 所有分部的業務。

Historically, our decentralized structure limited our ability to fully capitalize on emerging market opportunities. Several years ago, we created the Platform Group to have a more cohesive strategy and operations in Africa, Middle East, and the Asia Pacific regions. Following several years of successful growth, at the beginning of this fiscal year, we added South American businesses to the Platform Group as well.

過去，我們分散式的組織架構限制了我們充分掌握新興市場機會的能力。數年前，我們成立 Platform Group，以在非洲、中東與亞太地區建立更一致的策略與營運。在連續數年的成功成長之後，我們也在本會計年度開始時，將南美洲業務納入 Platform Group。

The structure has been successful for multiple reasons. First and foremost, because an excellent management team has leveraged assets where it makes sense, such as shared manufacturing and distribution facilities while still providing autonomy to local sales teams who understand the markets best. Additionally, businesses across RPM have increased cooperation to provide support to our Platform Group in areas including brand management and product development.

此架構之所以成功有多項原因。最重要的是，一支優秀的管理團隊在適當之處整合資產，例如共享製造與配送設施，同時仍賦予最了解市場的在地銷售團隊自主權。此外，RPM 各事業也加強協作，在品牌管理與產品開發等領域為 Platform Group 提供支援。

The Platform Group is an excellent example of the Power of RPM in action - leveraging our leading products and services alongside the scale of our businesses to drive growth and profitability. The addition of our South American businesses further enhances our ability to capitalize on that scale and accelerate growth in this important region.

Platform Group 是「RPM 的力量（Power of RPM）」落實的絕佳例證——結合我們領先的產品與服務，以及業務規模優勢，以推動成長與獲利。將南美洲業務納入後，進一步提升我們運用規模優勢的能力，並加速在此重要地區的成長。

So to summarize the quarter, we made tangible progress on SG&A expense reduction which, along with other MAP initiatives and our strategic balance, helped us offset higher inflation and temporary market slowdowns in our Construction Products Group. We'll provide more details on these operational improvements and other aspects of our MAP 2030 at a previously announced Investor Day on November 9 at our Stonhard facilities in Maple Shade, New Jersey.

總結本季，我們在 SG&A 費用降低方面取得具體進展；這些成果連同其他 MAP 計畫與我們的策略性平衡配置，協助我們抵消較高的通膨以及建築產品事業群的短期市場放緩。我們將在先前已公告、於 11 月 9 日在新澤西州 Maple Shade 的 Stonhard 廠區舉行的投資人日，提供更多關於這些營運改善及 MAP 2030 其他面向的細節。

Scheduled speakers at our Investor Day in November 9 include myself; Dave Dennsteadt, our newly appointed President and Chief Operating Officer; Rusty Gordon, RPM's Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and our Performance Coatings Group President, Greg Michael. If you would like to attend in person, please contact Matt Schlarb as there is some limited availability. We will also be webcasting the event, which will start around noon Eastern Time.

11 月 9 日投資人日的預定講者包括我本人；新近任命的總裁兼營運長 Dave Dennsteadt；RPM 副總裁兼財務長 Rusty Gordon；以及高性能塗料事業群總裁 Greg Michael。若您希望親自出席，請聯絡 Matt Schlarb，因名額有限。我們也將對活動進行網路直播，預計於美東時間中午左右開始。

Details on how to join the event are available on our website.

如何加入活動的詳細資訊可於我們網站取得。

I'd now like to turn the call over to Mike Laroche to provide more details of our quarter.

現在我想把電話會議交給 Mike Laroche，請他提供本季更多細節。

Thank you, Frank. Turning to slide 6. First-quarter sales increased to a record, led by our Performance Coatings Group and Consumer segments, which both had solid organic growth. Adjusted EBITDA increased to a record. Higher sales and MAP benefits, including SG&A optimization actions, more than offset raw material inflation, warranty expenses, and bad debt expense.

謝謝你，Frank。請看投影片 6。第一季銷售額增至歷史新高，主要由高性能塗料事業群與消費者分部帶動，兩者皆有穩健的有機成長。調整後 EBITDA 亦創下新高。較高的銷售額與 MAP 效益（包括 SG&A 優化行動）足以抵消原物料通膨、保固費用與壞帳費用。

In non-operating expenses, health care expenses declined, driven by our team's effort to reduce prescription drug costs. Adjusted diluted EPS increased 5.3% to a first-quarter record $1.98.

在非營運費用方面，醫療保健費用下降，主要受惠於我們團隊致力於降低處方藥成本。調整後稀釋每股盈餘（EPS）成長5.3%，達到第一季創紀錄的1.98美元。

Moving to the segment details on slide 7. CPG sales increased, driven by the Kalzip acquisition. Organically, sales declined, reflecting a slowdown in education and health care markets, which together comprise over 1/4 of CPG's end market exposure. We also experienced finished product shortages caused by the supplier raw material constraints in polyurethanes we called out last quarter.

接著看第7頁投影片的事業部門細節。CPG銷售成長，主要由Kalzip收購案帶動。以有機基礎來看，銷售下滑，反映教育與醫療保健市場放緩；這兩個市場合計占CPG終端市場曝險超過四分之一。我們也遭遇供應商在聚氨酯原料方面受限所導致的成品短缺，這點我們在上一季已提及。

Adjusted EBITDA declined as lower volumes reduced fixed cost absorption, while inflation, bad debt and warranty expenses were additional headwinds. SG&A optimization partially offset these items. While the quarter was below our expectations, several of the profitability headwinds were temporary in nature.

調整後EBITDA下滑，因較低的銷量降低固定成本吸收率，同時通膨、壞帳與保固費用亦帶來額外逆風。SG&A優化部分抵銷了上述影響。雖然本季低於我們的預期，但多項獲利逆風屬於暫時性因素。

Turning to slide 8, the Performance Coatings Group delivered record results with broad-based growth led by engineered solutions for high-performance buildings, energy, and infrastructure projects, particularly in emerging markets. Food coatings and ingredients also contributed to the strong growth. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin increased to a record as improved fixed cost utilization and SG&A optimization actions more than offset inflation.

轉到第8頁投影片，Performance Coatings Group繳出創紀錄的成果，在高性能建築、能源與基礎建設專案的工程解決方案帶動下，呈現廣泛成長，尤其是在新興市場。食品塗層與配料也對強勁成長有所貢獻。調整後EBITDA與調整後EBITDA利潤率提升至創新高，固定成本利用率改善與SG&A優化措施的效益，足以抵銷通膨影響。

On slide 9, Consumer sales increased to a record, including 5.2% organic growth. Shelf space wins, new products, and pricing supported this growth. Both adjusted EBITDA and margin increased during the quarter. Higher volumes improved fixed cost utilization, while MAP and SG&A optimization also contributed to increased profitability.

在第9頁投影片，Consumer銷售增至創新高，其中包含5.2%的有機成長。貨架空間擴增、新產品與定價支撐了這項成長。本季調整後EBITDA與利潤率皆上升。較高的銷量提升固定成本利用率，而MAP與SG&A優化也共同推升獲利能力。

Now I'll turn the call over to Matt to discuss the balance sheet and cash flow.

接下來我把電話交給Matt，請他說明資產負債表與現金流。

Thank you, Mike. Moving to slide 10. We generated another quarter of strong cash flow driven by improved profitability and working capital efficiency. Working capital improved 150 basis points compared to the prior year despite the volatile raw material situation. As a result of the strong cash flow generation, we returned $90.5 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, an increase of 10.2% year-over-year.

謝謝你，Mike。轉到第10頁投影片。在獲利能力改善與營運資金效率提升的帶動下，我們本季再次創造強勁的現金流。儘管原物料情勢波動，營運資金相較去年仍改善150個基點。受惠於強勁的現金流創造，我們透過庫藏股回購與股利向股東返還9,050萬美元，年增10.2%。

Total debt declined $263 million as we used some of this cash flow to repay debt. Looking at our leverage, as you will see in our 10-Q filing later today, it has returned to a similar level to where it was prior to The Pink Stuff acquisition in late fiscal 2025, which is the largest acquisition in RPM's history. Subsequently, we have also completed several other acquisitions, including Ready Seal, Kalzip and PAVA resin.

由於我們運用部分現金流償還債務，總負債減少2.63億美元。就槓桿水準而言，如同你們稍晚在我們今日提交的10-Q文件中將看到的，槓桿已回到與2025會計年度末期、在完成The Pink Stuff收購案之前相近的水準；該案為RPM史上最大收購。其後，我們也完成了數項其他收購，包括Ready Seal、Kalzip與PAVA樹脂。

Most recently, we acquired Volteco at the beginning of October. Volteco is an Italy-based leading supplier of below-grade waterproofing solutions used globally in demanding applications.

最近一次是在10月初收購Volteco。Volteco是一家以義大利為基地的領先地下防水解決方案供應商，其產品在全球各地的高要求應用中使用。

The company generated calendar year 2025 sales of EUR28 million. Volteco has joined the Construction Products Group and provides complementary technology to their leading waterproofing solutions.

該公司在2025曆年創造2,800萬歐元的銷售額。Volteco已加入Construction Products Group，並為其領先的防水解決方案提供互補技術。

Turning to slide 11, as Frank mentioned, we have taken a more collaborative approach to operating in emerging markets with our platform structure. The investments we have made in the region and in our associates there have contributed to double-digit growth in the region for multiple quarters. Similar to other geographies, our solutions are resonating with owners and builders of high-performance buildings in these markets. As a reminder, high-performance buildings have demanding specifications where the cost of building failure is elevated.

轉到第11頁投影片，如Frank所提到的，我們透過平台式架構，在新興市場採取更具協作性的營運方式。我們在該地區以及對當地同仁所做的投資，已連續多個季度帶動該地區達到雙位數成長。與其他地區類似，我們的解決方案在這些市場的高性能建築業主與建造商之間引起共鳴。提醒一下，高性能建築的規格要求嚴格，建築失敗的成本更高。

With our people, service, engineered solutions and the trust we have built in the marketplace, we have been winning more of these jobs and are optimistic that emerging markets will be a key growth driver for us in the future.

憑藉我們的人才、服務、工程解決方案，以及我們在市場上建立的信任，我們贏得了更多此類專案，並對新興市場未來將成為我們的關鍵成長動能抱持樂觀。

Now I'll turn the call over to Rusty to cover the outlook.

接下來我把電話交給Rusty，請他說明展望。

Thank you, Matt. Turning to slide 12, I'll provide an update on raw materials before we get to the outlook. Inflation expectations have increased since we held our last earnings call on July 22. As we mentioned in July, there were shortages in polyurethane feedstocks during the first-quarter, and those became more pronounced than we had expected and negatively impacted sales.

謝謝你，Matt。轉到第12頁投影片，在談展望之前，我先更新原物料狀況。自我們7月22日上次法說會以來，通膨預期已上升。如同我們在7月提到的，第一季聚氨酯上游原料供應短缺，而短缺情況比我們預期更為嚴重，並對銷售造成負面影響。

Our procurement team quickly secured additional supply to mitigate the impact, but at a higher cost that, because of FIFO accounting, will impact our P&L. Additionally, the sustained rise in oil and other commodity prices over the past couple of months has caused our inflation expectations to increase in other raw material categories. As a result, we now expect second-quarter inflation will be in the 9% to 11% range, up from our previous estimate of 6% to 8%.

我們的採購團隊迅速確保額外供應以降低影響，但成本較高；由於先進先出（FIFO）會計處理，這將影響我們的損益表。此外，過去幾個月油價及其他大宗商品價格持續上升，也使我們對其他原物料類別的通膨預期提高。因此，我們目前預期第二季通膨將落在9%至11%區間，高於先前預估的6%至8%。

For the third-quarter, we anticipate inflation will be 7% to 9% as inflation remains widespread, but we start to annualize prior year inflation in some raw material categories. We have implemented additional pricing increases across all our segments, which will help offset this inflation, but it will lead to gross margin pressure for the year.

至於第三季，我們預期通膨將為7%至9%；雖然通膨仍普遍存在，但在部分原物料類別中，我們將開始進入去年通膨的年化比較。我們已在所有事業部門實施額外的漲價措施，有助於抵銷通膨，但將使全年毛利率承受壓力。

Now moving to the outlook. Our second-quarter outlook is on slide 13. We expect consolidated sales to increase in the low to mid-single-digit range. By segment, we expect CPG sales to increase in the low single-digit range; PCG in the mid to high single-digit range; and Consumer in the low to mid-single-digit range. We expect consolidated EBITDA to also increase in the low to mid-single-digit range. SG&A optimization actions, pricing increases and MAP benefits are expected to offset sluggish end markets, inflation, and start-up costs at new shared facilities.

接著談展望。我們的第二季展望在第13頁投影片。我們預期合併銷售將以低至中個位數百分比成長。以事業部門來看，我們預期CPG銷售為低個位數成長；PCG為中至高個位數成長；Consumer為低至中個位數成長。我們也預期合併EBITDA將以低至中個位數百分比成長。SG&A優化措施、漲價以及MAP效益，預期可抵銷終端市場疲弱、通膨，以及新共享設施的啟動成本。

Next, moving to our full year outlook on slide 14. We are narrowing our fiscal 2027 sales growth to mid-single-digit growth from our previous outlook of 3% to 7%. Adjusted EBITDA is now expected to grow mid-single digits compared to a previous outlook of up 5% to 10%. MAP benefits, including the previously announced $75 million of SG&A-focused savings and incremental pricing are expected to offset persistent inflation, which has increased from our previous outlook.

接下來看第14頁投影片的全年展望。我們將2027會計年度的銷售成長區間收斂至中個位數成長，先前的展望為3%至7%。調整後EBITDA目前預期為中個位數成長，先前展望為成長5%至10%。MAP效益（包含先前公布、以SG&A為重點的7,500萬美元節省）以及額外的漲價，預期可抵銷持續性的通膨；而通膨已較我們先前展望上升。

Additionally, we'll face start-up costs at new facilities and more challenging comparisons in the second half of the year. Towards the end of the year, we do expect our CPG segment to return to positive organic growth.

此外，我們將面臨新設施的啟動成本，以及下半年更具挑戰性的比較基期。在年底前後，我們確實預期CPG事業部門將回到有機成長轉正。

That concludes our prepared remarks. We will now be happy to take your questions.

以上為我們預先準備的發言。接下來我們很樂意回答各位的提問。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

John Roberts, Mizuho.

John Roberts，瑞穗（Mizuho）。

For the CPG segment, for the health care and education markets specifically, what's the outlook there? I think Rusty just said, we expect CPG to be positive by the May quarter. Do we expect education and health care as well or are we just going to offset continued headwinds there?

針對CPG事業部門，就醫療保健與教育市場而言，這兩個市場的展望如何？我想Rusty剛才提到，我們預期CPG在5月那一季會轉為正成長。教育與醫療保健也會如此嗎？還是我們只是透過其他項目來抵銷那裡持續的逆風？

I think we'll see a rebound in both of those areas. In the school system area, it is a slowdown in part driven by funding at local levels and state levels, and we're starting to see some of that free up. But given the nature of our Tremco Roofing business in particular where it's most acute. If we don't see it this fall, it really won't show up in terms of activity until the spring of next year.

我認為我們會看到這兩個領域都出現反彈。在學校系統方面，放緩部分是由地方與州層級的資金所驅動，而我們開始看到其中一些資金正在釋放。但就我們的 Tremco Roofing 業務而言，情況尤其明顯。如果今年秋天看不到改善，那麼在活動量方面，可能要到明年春天才會真正顯現。

And in the health care sector, we think it's a temporary slowdown. But again, in both instances, we would expect to see improved results and improved activity in the second half of the year. That's why we've addressed a reduction in our outlook for Q2.

在醫療保健領域，我們認為這是暫時性的放緩。但同樣地，在這兩種情況下，我們預期在下半年會看到更好的結果與更高的活動量。這也是我們下調第二季展望的原因。

And then customer bankruptcies have popped up a couple of times now in recent quarters. With the higher interest rates and weak end markets, are you increasing your provisions in your guidance?

另外，近幾季客戶破產的情況已經出現了好幾次。在利率較高且終端市場疲弱的情況下，你們是否在指引中提高了提列準備？

Our provisions are appropriate. A prior bankruptcy was related to a retailer that was serving our Industrial Coatings Group. And in this case, we actually took a charge for a defense project that we're on and it was a defense contractor that declared bankruptcy. We wrote off the receivables, but believe that we'll have an opportunity to recover a significant amount of that given the nature of the project.

我們的提列準備是適當的。先前的一起破產案與一家為我們工業塗料事業群服務的零售商有關。而這一次，我們其實是針對我們正在進行的一個國防專案認列了一筆費用，因為該國防承包商宣布破產。我們已將應收款項沖銷，但基於該專案的性質，我們相信將有機會收回其中相當大的一部分。

John McNulty, BMO Capital Markets.

John McNulty，BMO Capital Markets。

I guess maybe just to flesh out the CPG side a little bit more, so I guess can you help us to think about how much of the weakness was tied to the education and health care side versus the product shortages due to some of the supplier raw material challenges? And how quickly or are we through the supplier raw material challenge issues, or do they drag on for another quarter or so?

我想也許再把 CPG 這一塊說得更清楚一些；你能否協助我們理解，疲弱有多少是與教育與醫療保健端有關，多少是因供應商原物料挑戰導致的產品短缺？以及供應商原物料挑戰的問題解決得有多快，或是還會再拖延一季左右？

Sure. The polyol issue negatively impacted the Construction Products Group in both our sealants business and roofing business as it relates to urethanes and coatings. And we're one of the leaders in roof restoration coatings. So it was a drag on sales. The shortage issue is now behind us in terms of production, but we're catching up on inventory in Q2.

當然。多元醇（polyol）問題對建築產品事業群造成了負面影響，影響到我們密封膠業務與屋頂業務中與聚氨酯與塗料相關的部分。而我們是屋頂修復塗料的領導者之一。因此這對銷售造成了拖累。就生產而言，短缺問題現在已經過去了，但我們在第二季仍在補回庫存。

So we still have some work to do. And it's part of our understanding as to how things will recover. Some of this is work we have to catch up on, on a backlog of projects that we couldn't fulfil because of raw material shortages.

所以我們還有一些工作要做。這也是我們對復甦路徑理解的一部分。其中一部分是我們必須補做的工作，因為先前受原物料短缺影響，有一批積壓的專案我們無法履約。

On the weakness in education and health care markets, some of that's just a shrinking backlog, again, principally in Tremco Roofing and our WTI contracting business. And we are seeing efforts to rebuild that and they're moving in the right direction. I think sequentially you'll see an improvement in Q2 over Q1 in our Construction Products Group. But again, given the seasonal nature of our roofing business, that rebuilding backlog will impact our second half of the year and really the spring months, so the end of Q3 and into Q4.

至於教育與醫療保健市場的疲弱，其中一部分只是積壓訂單縮水，同樣主要發生在 Tremco Roofing 以及我們的 WTI 承攬業務。我們也看到重建積壓訂單的努力，且方向正確。我認為就序列而言，你會看到我們建築產品事業群第二季相較第一季有所改善。但同樣地，考量我們屋頂業務的季節性，重建積壓訂單將影響我們下半年，並且真正反映在春季月份，也就是第三季末到第四季期間。

Okay. Fair enough. And then maybe more positively on the Consumer side, saw a nice lift in terms of organic sales. I guess, can you help us to think about how much of that was volume driven? It seems like that business has been struggling for now really a number of years to drive growth.

好的。合理。然後在消費者端較正面的部分，看到有機銷售有不錯的提升。你能否協助我們理解其中有多少是由銷量帶動？看起來這個業務多年來一直難以推動成長。

And it seems like you may be turning the corner. I guess I'm trying to understand if it's any real true end market demand or if it's more about the shelf space that you're picking up and maybe some of the new business wins. Can you help us to think about that and unpack it a bit?

看起來你們可能正在轉折。我想了解的是，這是否代表終端市場需求真的回升，還是更多來自你們取得更多貨架空間，以及一些新業務得標。你能否協助我們思考並拆解一下？

Sure. I'll provide a couple of high-level comments and then turn it over to Matt Schlarb for some more detail. So at a high level, the underlying dynamics, quite candidly, are not getting better. Consumer takeaway and foot traffic in major retail customers of ours is still sluggish. The housing market and housing turnover is not getting better. And with rising interest rates, we don't expect to see that.

當然。我先提供幾點高層次的看法，然後交給 Matt Schlarb 補充更多細節。從高層次來看，坦白說，底層動態並沒有變好。我們主要零售客戶的消費者帶走量（takeaway）與來客數仍然疲弱。房市與房屋換手率也沒有改善。而在利率上升的情況下，我們也不預期會看到改善。

We had positive unit volume growth and positive organic growth in Consumer for the first time in a number of quarters. And it's really related to two areas. Market share gains and some new placements, and after a slow start, improving results in The Pink Stuff in our cleaners category. Matt, do you want to add some color to that?

我們在消費者事業部的單位銷量成長與有機成長，在多個季度以來是第一次轉正。這主要與兩個面向有關。市占率提升與一些新上架（placements），以及在清潔用品品類中 The Pink Stuff 在起步較慢後，表現改善。Matt，你要不要補充一些細節？

Yes. Like Frank said, The Pink Stuff, it's nice to see some positive momentum there. Last quarter, we talked about they had experienced slowdowns. We've also had some wins in abrasives. That's the business we acquired a few years ago. The Ready Seal, that's the exterior wood stains business, has performed really well since we acquired it.

好的。如 Frank 所說，The Pink Stuff 很高興看到那裡出現一些正向動能。上季我們提到他們曾經出現放緩。我們在研磨材（abrasives）也有一些勝利。那是我們幾年前收購的業務。Ready Seal，也就是戶外木材染色塗料業務，自我們收購以來表現一直非常好。

Another category we've had some wins is in primers where there, we've taken some shelf space and had some additional pickup at stores through that. So it's a combination of all these different wins that you add them up, and it helps to offset some of the soft economic backdrop that Frank talked about.

另一個我們有所斬獲的品類是底漆（primers），我們在那裡取得了一些貨架空間，並因此在門市端有更多鋪貨。所以這是多項不同勝利的組合，把它們加總起來，有助於抵消 Frank 所提到較疲弱的經濟背景。

So those new placements, whether it's in abrasives, we're doing really well in retail automotive, some shelf space and, quite candidly, just expansion of our Zinsser primer given some dynamic shifts in the customer base will continue in Q2. And it's nice to see our Consumer business beginning, albeit modestly, to building some positive momentum after a tough couple of years.

因此，這些新上架，不論是在研磨材、我們在零售汽車用品表現很好、一些貨架空間，以及坦白說，基於客戶結構的一些動態變化，我們的 Zinsser 底漆擴張，都將在第二季延續。很高興看到我們的消費者業務在經歷艱難的兩年後，開始（雖然幅度不大）建立一些正向動能。

David Begleiter, Deutsche Bank.

David Begleiter，德意志銀行。

Frank, on the full year guidance, I believe you lowered it by roughly $25 million at the midpoint. Can you just break that down, what the components of that reduction for the full year guide?

Frank，關於全年指引，我相信你在中位數大約下調了 2,500 萬美元。你能否拆解一下全年指引下調的構成要素？

So it's a little bit of a swag in the sense that I think we have some good visibility into Q2. But we're making some assumptions about, as Rusty highlighted, inflation beginning to trend downward, but still be at a higher level than we anticipated just a few months ago as we get into the spring. And it's really a bet on when we'll see a recovery in our Construction Products Group, and specifically Tremco Roofing. So those are the dynamics there.

這在某種程度上有點「估算」（swag），因為我認為我們對第二季有相當好的能見度。但我們也做了一些假設：如 Rusty 所強調，通膨開始走勢向下，但當我們進入春季時，通膨仍會維持在比我們幾個月前預期更高的水準。而這其實是在押注我們何時會看到建築產品事業群、特別是 Tremco Roofing 的復甦。所以這些就是相關的動態。

And given costs, given inflation and how energy costs have now melded its way into materials, also freight is up meaningfully, whether it's truck transportation, ocean going. And so we're instituting some freight surcharges across a number of our businesses, along with price increases. So it's a pretty dynamic market. I think that's the best we have for you in terms of how we developed the full year guidance.

此外，就成本而言，考量通膨以及能源成本如今已滲透到材料之中，運費也顯著上升，不論是卡車運輸或海運。因此，我們正在多個業務推行運費附加費（freight surcharges），並搭配調價。所以這是一個相當動態的市場。就我們如何制定全年指引而言，我想這就是我們目前能提供的最佳說明。

Got it. And just on Q2, the price cost differential given the increase in inflation assumptions, I presume you're expecting pricing to lag costs on a dollar basis in Q2. Is that accurate?

了解。另外就第二季的問題，在通膨假設上調的情況下，價格與成本之間的差異，我推測你們預期第二季在美元金額基礎上，定價會落後成本。這樣理解正確嗎？

So we have covered dollar-for-dollar inflation in Q1, and we'll probably do a little bit better in Q2. As Rusty mentioned, given FIFO accounting for RPM, you typically see a lag in our reported results between inventory and how it flows through our P&L.

第一季我們已經做到通膨成本逐美元對沖（dollar-for-dollar），第二季我們可能會做得更好一些。如 Rusty 提到的，RPM 採用 FIFO（先進先出）會計處理時，你通常會在我們的揭露結果中看到庫存與其流入損益表（P&L）之間存在時間落差。

I'll remind folks that when we went through the last bout of inflation, our gross margins from start to finish improved. And I would expect the same thing as we go through this bout of inflation, which to the extent that it is related to disruption in the Middle East, any stability there and return to moderate inflation will allow us to see margin improvement once again.

我提醒大家，上一波通膨期間，我們的毛利率從開始到結束是改善的。而我預期這一波通膨也是一樣。

It's interesting, we saw little or no inflation for a six-month period from the end of calendar '25 through the late spring of '26, and even some reduction in raw materials. We were not planning on price increases. And we've adjusted pretty quickly. I think we and others have learned how to adjust in this volatile market.

很有意思的是，從 2025 年曆年底到 2026 年晚春這六個月期間，我們幾乎沒有看到通膨，甚至部分原物料還下跌。我們原本沒有規劃漲價。但我們已相當快速地做出調整。我想我們以及其他公司都已學會如何在這個波動的市場中調整。

Matthew DeYoe, Bank of America.

Matthew DeYoe，美國銀行。

Hakim on for Matthew. My question is on the warranty charge. Can you provide more color on that, and if we expect to see that going forward or additional charges?

我是 Hakim，代 Matthew 提問。我的問題是關於保固費用（warranty charge）。你能否提供更多細節？以及我們是否預期未來還會看到這項費用或額外的費用？

Sure. That's related to a specific business unit of the Construction Products Group in Europe. And that is an element of a likely closure of that business unit, the details of which we'll provide at the Investor Day.

當然。這與歐洲建築產品事業群（Construction Products Group）中的某個特定事業單位有關。這是該事業單位可能關閉的一部分相關項目，細節我們會在投資人日提供。

We are looking across our portfolio and either product lines or business units that are under-performing. And from a margin goal perspective, not likely to meet our goals, taking a hard look at a number of fix or exit items, and that falls in that category. So it is unique to that business unit, and we do not anticipate further warranty issues there.

我們正在檢視整體產品組合，找出表現不佳的產品線或事業單位。從毛利率目標的角度來看，若不太可能達成我們的目標，我們會針對多個「修復或退出」（fix or exit）項目進行嚴格檢討，而這就屬於那一類。因此這是該事業單位特有的情況，我們不預期那裡會再出現進一步的保固問題。

Patrick Cunningham, Citi.

Patrick Cunningham，花旗。

This is Alex on for Patrick. In Consumer Group, maybe I was hoping you could kind of share some of the growth in Q1. What were some of the new product introductions? Were there any kind of share wins in the business? If you could kind of help us understand the Consumer segment. And I know it's a small part of your overall sales, but maybe on a high level, could you also kind of help us understand what you saw in Europe?

我是 Alex，代 Patrick 提問。在消費者事業群（Consumer Group）方面，我想請你分享一下第一季的成長來源。有哪些新產品推出？業務上是否有任何市占率提升（share wins）？如果可以，請協助我們理解消費者部門。我知道它在你們整體銷售中占比不大，但從較高層次來看，也請你談談你們在歐洲看到的情況？

Sure. European sales growth is primarily driven by acquisition activity. Economic dynamics there are not really strong. We're continuing to see profitability improvement there driven by internal actions, consolidation across distribution, different administrative areas. So that's what's happening in Europe.

好的。歐洲的銷售成長主要由併購活動所帶動。那裡的經濟動能並不強。我們持續看到獲利能力改善，主要來自內部行動，例如通路整併，以及不同的行政領域整合。這就是歐洲正在發生的事。

I'll let Matt repeat what he commented on a few minutes ago. We've had a number of shelf space gains, market share gains and new product introductions in Consumer which were commented on by an earlier question.

我讓 Matt 重述一下他幾分鐘前的評論。我們在消費者業務有多項貨架空間增加、市占率提升以及新產品推出，先前的提問也有提到。

Yes. And I'll just add on to that. In addition to some of the product wins that I mentioned, we're winning in different sales channels places like grocery stores, we've had wins. Digital -- online distribution, that's another place where we've seen good growth. So it's a combination of both new products plus these different sales channels where we're having nice growth.

是的。我再補充一下。除了我提到的一些產品勝出之外，我們也在不同的銷售通路取得進展，例如雜貨店通路，我們有拿到一些案子。數位端——線上通路，這也是我們看到良好成長的另一個地方。因此是新產品加上這些不同銷售通路的組合，帶來不錯的成長。

Ghansham Panjabi, Baird.

Ghansham Panjabi，Baird。

Frank, just kind of stepping back a little bit, since you last reported, obviously, interest rates are up quite a bit and oil has flared up again along with raw materials, as you commented on before, do you sense any sort of change as it relates to underlying demand as it relates to conversations with your customers, as it relates to the outlook, et cetera? It doesn't look like you've seen it so far, but of course, there's lagged impacts from some of these dynamics I just touched on.

Frank，稍微退一步看，自從你們上次公布以來，顯然利率上升不少，油價也再度飆升，原物料也一樣，如你先前所提到的。就你與客戶的對話、對前景的看法等，你是否感受到基本需求有任何變化？看起來你們目前還沒看到，但當然我剛提到的這些動態會有滯後影響。

Sure. Appreciate the question. Long term, not really. You see strength in our PCG business group, and we're still seeing good work in tech, good work in onshoring and manufacturing, still benefiting from data center build-out. And within our Construction Products Group, the one real bright star there is Euclid, for all the same reasons.

好的。謝謝這個問題。從長期來看，並沒有太大變化。我們的 PCG 事業群仍然強勁；在科技領域仍有不錯的工程量；回流設廠（onshoring）與製造也維持良好；我們仍受惠於資料中心建置。而在我們的建築產品事業群（Construction Products Group）中，真正的亮點是 Euclid，原因也都相同。

We believe that the slowdown in schools is temporary and really related to funding issues, again, at the local and state level, probably to be freed up once we get through this election cycle. And the hospital situation also, we believe, is temporary.

我們認為學校市場的放緩是暫時性的，主要與地方與州層級的資金問題有關；可能要等我們度過這個選舉週期後，資金才會釋放。醫院的情況我們也認為是暫時性的。

We have some work to do to rebuild the WTI backlog, which is happening. But as I commented earlier, big picture, I think the trends are good specific to RPM. We won't see a return in those businesses to the type of industry beating and peer outperformance that our CPG unit delivered for like the last eight quarters until we get in the spring.

我們需要做一些工作來重建 WTI 的在手訂單（backlog），而這正在進行中。但如我先前所說，從大方向來看，我認為對 RPM 而言這些趨勢是正面的。在進入春季之前，這些業務不會回到我們 CPG 單位在過去大約八個季度所展現的那種「跑贏產業、優於同業」的表現。

So we see a return to that. But again, part of it is where we are in the seasonal cycle and just being candid about when people can expect to see us get back to the type of top line performance the CPG group has been delivering.

所以我們確實看到那樣的回歸。但同樣地，部分原因在於我們所處的季節性循環位置；我也坦白說明，大家何時可以期待我們回到 CPG 事業群一直以來所展現的那種營收端（top line）表現。

Okay. Perfect. And then for the Consumer business, the first-quarter, call it, 5% or so sales growth. You called out shelf space wins and new product introductions, et cetera. As it relates to the growth guidance for 2Q for the segment of low to mid-single digits, is the difference between the two just the new products and the shelf space wins? Or am I reading too much into it because it is a broad range?

好的。非常好。接著談消費者業務，第一季大約 5% 左右的銷售成長。你提到貨架空間增加、新產品推出等等。就該部門第二季「低到中個位數」的成長指引而言，兩者差異是否只是新產品與貨架空間的勝出？還是我因為區間較寬而過度解讀？

No. It's new products and shelf space wins. It's an improvement in The Pink Stuff and the cleaners category, which has been separated as its own business unit within consumer. And so that's nice to see. And it's self-help and really a lot of good work by our Consumer Group associates because the underlying dynamics in terms of consumer takeaway, foot traffic, housing prices driven by interest rates and housing turnover, we do not see any signs that that's improving.

不是。就是新產品與貨架空間的勝出。另外，「The Pink Stuff」以及清潔劑品類也有所改善；這部分已在消費者事業群內被拆分為獨立的事業單位。因此看到改善是件好事。這是自助改善（self-help），也反映我們消費者事業群同仁做了很多好工作；因為就消費者實際帶走量（takeaway）、來客數（foot traffic）、受利率影響的房價與房屋交易量（housing turnover）等基本面動態而言，我們沒有看到任何改善的跡象。

And so you can see decent results, and you'll see them again in Q2. The whole industry and our whole peer set will be a happier place when the housing turnover starts to perk up and foot traffic starts to pick up a little bit. Would remind you that housing turnover's at a 40-year low. And with rising interest rates and mortgage rates, that's not going to get better until things improve in that realm.

因此你會看到不錯的結果，而且第二季也會再看到。當房屋交易量開始回升、來客數開始略有起色時，整個產業以及我們所有同業都會更開心。提醒你，房屋交易量目前處於 40 年低點。在利率與房貸利率上升的情況下，在那個領域改善之前，這不會變得更好。

Frank Mitsch, Fermium Research.

Frank Mitsch，Fermium Research。

I wish your team good luck this Sunday, but we both know I don't mean that.

祝你們團隊這週日好運，但我們都知道我不是認真的。

You and I need a Fermium-RPM swag, but on the Jets-Browns this weekend.

你我需要一個 Fermium-RPM 的周邊，但要押這週末的噴射機對布朗。

That can be arranged. I'll have to run it by the Board of Directors, but we'll come back. Apologies if I missed it, but what was price versus volume for the company and Consumer in the first-quarter?

這可以安排。我得先提交董事會過目，但我們會再回覆。抱歉如果我漏聽了，公司整體以及 Consumer 部門在第一季的價格與銷量分別如何？

So typically, we haven't provided price on a segment basis. But you're looking at price on a consolidated basis up about 2% across RPM, and unit volume up decently, low to mid-single digits, in Consumer and PCG. And as indicated by our results and particularly specific to Tremco Roofing and WTI, for the first time in a couple of years, modestly negative in the Construction Products Group.

一般來說，我們不會按部門提供價格數據。但若看合併口徑，RPM 整體價格約上漲 2%，而 Consumer 與 PCG 的單位銷量也有不錯成長，約為低到中個位數百分比。另外，從我們的業績、尤其是 Tremco Roofing 與 WTI 的表現來看，Construction Products Group 在過去幾年來首次呈現小幅負成長。

Terrific. Very helpful. And this is the second-quarter that your buybacks exceeded $20 million per quarter. Obviously, with the shares trading where they are, how should investors think about the pace of buybacks from RPM?

太好了。非常有幫助。另外，這是你們第二季回購金額每季超過 2,000 萬美元。顯然在目前股價水準下，投資人應該如何看待 RPM 的回購節奏？

The pace of buybacks at RPM will continue. Our Board has authorized a larger share repurchase. And given where our stock price is, I certainly would expect us to see a continuation of current levels, if not higher.

RPM 的回購節奏會持續。董事會已核准更大規模的股票回購。考量目前股價位置，我確實預期我們會延續目前的回購水準，甚至可能更高。

Josh Spector, UBS.

Josh Spector，瑞銀（UBS）。

I wanted to follow up just on price and kind of think about the cadence here. I mean two things here, is one, it seemed like last quarter, you guys were talking about pricing around 2%. It doesn't sound like it accelerated much sequentially, at least on a year-over-year basis. Are you having any trouble getting pricing in CPG or any of the other segments versus what you expected? And how do you expect that to ramp over the next couple of quarters?

我想就價格再追問一下，並思考一下這裡的節奏。我指兩件事：第一，上季你們談到的定價大約是 2%。聽起來至少以年增率來看，環比並沒有明顯加速。你們在 CPG 或其他部門取得定價上，是否遇到任何相較預期的困難？以及你們預期未來幾季會如何拉升？

Sure. So I would expect price in Q2 to be somewhere in the 2.5% to 3.5% range. And the other area where we will recover margin is surcharges around freight. That's one of the larger inflationary issues that's impacting businesses today.

好的。我預期第二季的價格會落在約 2.5% 到 3.5% 的區間。另外一個我們將用來修復毛利的領域，是與運輸相關的附加費（surcharges）。這是目前影響企業的較大通膨議題之一。

We had announced price increases in Consumer that have gone into effect at the end of Q1 and in the beginning of Q2. And we are in the process of initiating new price increases across most of our Construction Products Group and Performance Coatings Group businesses here in Q2.

我們已宣布 Consumer 的漲價，並已在第一季末與第二季初生效。同時，我們也正在第二季啟動在 Construction Products Group 與 Performance Coatings Group 多數業務的新一輪漲價。

Okay. I guess what I'm struggling with a little bit is that, if CPG volumes are only down modestly, it would mean that pricing in CPG is pretty weak. I think if pricing was similar to the group, it'd be down closer to mid-single digits. So I guess specifically there, is there anything you'd comment to help clarify any of that? And just margins looking at the November quarter, would you expect them to be down much less than the 200 basis points plus you saw in first-quarter?

好的。我有點困惑的是，如果 CPG 的銷量只是小幅下滑，那就代表 CPG 的定價其實相當疲弱。我認為如果定價跟整體集團差不多，銷量應該會更接近中個位數下滑。所以就這點而言，你們是否能補充說明，幫助釐清？另外看 11 月那一季的毛利率，你們預期會比第一季看到的 200 個基點以上的下滑幅度小很多嗎？

Yes. Some of that is absorption and plants. Some of that is some continued excess costs as we do the final stage of transitioning out of what was the largest CPG facility in Toronto into mostly our Georgia plant. And so those are some of the extra headwinds.

是的。其中一部分與產能吸收（absorption）及工廠有關。另一部分是我們在完成最後階段的轉移作業時，仍有一些額外的超額成本：也就是把原本多倫多、曾是 CPG 最大的廠房，主要轉移到我們喬治亞州的工廠。因此這些都是額外的逆風。

But again, we covered dollar-for-dollar inflation. We expect to do modestly better than that, and we'll begin gaining, not just recovering inflationary cost, but regaining margin as we roll through the year.

但再說一次，我們已做到逐美元（dollar-for-dollar）覆蓋通膨。我們預期會略優於此，並且隨著年度推進，我們將開始不只是回收通膨成本，還會重新擴張毛利率。

Abigail Eberts, Wells Fargo.

Abigail Eberts，富國銀行（Wells Fargo）。

Following up on your assumptions for raw material costs, underpinning that, what are your assumptions for when the conflict in the Middle East resolves? Because it looks like you have costs decelerating through the year. I know part of that's pardon the polyol issues getting resolved and comparisons versus the prior year. But are you assuming that the conflict deescalates later on in the year?

延續你們對原物料成本的假設，支撐這些假設的前提是：你們假設中東衝突何時會解決？因為看起來你們預期成本會在今年逐步放緩。我知道其中一部分是（不好意思）polyol 的問題逐步解決，以及相較去年同期的比較基期。但你們是否假設衝突會在今年稍晚降溫？

Not at this point in time. Again, anticipating, even in the second half of the year, inflation that's in the high single digits is not something that we saw on our radar screen two or three months ago. Certainly, if there is a meaningful stability in the Middle East in the coming months or after the election, and oil prices respond accordingly, I would expect us to get back to lower inflationary periods.

目前沒有。再說一次，即使到下半年，我們預期的通膨仍在高個位數，這在兩三個月前並不在我們的雷達上。當然，如果未來幾個月或選後中東局勢出現實質穩定，且油價隨之反應，我預期我們會回到較低通膨的時期。

As I indicated earlier in the call, we saw, for a six-month period, little or no inflation in our core raw materials, some declines in certain chemical -- more commodity chemicals, stability and freight costs. We were not planning additional price increases in the spring, and that changed pretty dramatically because of geopolitical events that you're referencing.

如我先前在電話會議中提到，我們曾有長達六個月的期間，核心原物料幾乎沒有通膨，某些化學品——較偏大宗的化學品——甚至下跌，運費成本也趨於穩定。我們原本沒有規劃在春季再做額外漲價，但因你所提到的地緣政治事件，情勢出現相當劇烈的改變。

So we are not anticipating any good news there. And I think as the markets have indicated, if there's any stability and/or agreements that the markets believe will be sustained, you'll see a corresponding response in oil prices, which, first and foremost, should positively impact freight transportation costs and then get our raw material costs back down. That's not cavalier.

所以我們不預期那邊會有任何好消息。而且我認為市場也已顯示，只要出現任何市場相信能夠持續的穩定與／或協議，油價就會有相應反應；而油價首先應會正面影響貨運運輸成本，接著讓我們的原物料成本回落。我不是在輕率地說。

The two dynamics here are oil prices and energy costs and how they've translated now through supply chains. But also demand, which still isn't real robust. And so a sustained relief in energy prices and oil prices will either pick up business demand or will drive down raw material costs given the lack of demand that we saw this spring.

這裡有兩個動態：一是油價與能源成本，以及它們如今如何沿著供應鏈傳導。二是需求仍不算強勁。因此，能源與油價若能持續緩解，要嘛會帶動業務需求回升，要嘛在我們今年春季看到的需求不足情況下，會推動原物料成本下降。

Got it. And then just on Consumer, don't worry, not another question about shelf space wins. Yes. But you've mentioned the Consumer trading down in terms of product. Does that lead you to be concerned about your ability to push price increases at all?

了解。接著就 Consumer 問一下，別擔心，不是又要問貨架空間的勝利。是。但你們提到 Consumer 在產品層面出現「降級消費」（trading down）。這會讓你們擔心漲價的推動能力嗎？

No. We've been selective in price increases where we can. And I appreciate your reference to past calls about Consumer price elasticity. I can tell you a good example would be the five-in-one, very unique patented spray nozzle that allows five different spray patterns to come out of a spray can. And what we learned is on the shelf to the general public, it was too high priced. We are picking up really nice shelf space and market share gains in automotive. And what we've discovered is the automotive touch-up spray paint user really values the different spray patterns there.

不會。我們會在可行之處選擇性地調漲價格。也謝謝你提到過去電話會議中關於 Consumer 價格彈性的討論。我可以舉個很好的例子：我們有一款五合一、非常獨特的專利噴嘴，可讓同一罐噴漆提供五種不同的噴灑模式。我們學到的是，對一般消費者而言，放在貨架上時它的定價太高。但我們在汽車領域的貨架空間與市占率都有很不錯的提升。而我們發現，汽車補漆噴漆的使用者非常重視這些不同的噴灑模式。

So we are learning across all of our businesses really from a value perspective where our premium products and our value-added products are appreciated and where they'll be purchased and where we can gain price. And across all our businesses, just like this example, we're also learning where there's price elasticity and where higher premium prices are not going to be successful. So I suspect most businesses are getting more sophisticated as we keep dealing with the volatility in these markets, and that's certainly been true of our Consumer Group.

因此，我們在所有業務中都在從價值角度學習：哪些高端產品與增值產品會被認可、會被購買，以及我們在哪些地方能夠取得價格提升。同樣地，在所有業務中，就像這個例子，我們也在學習哪些地方存在價格彈性、哪些地方較高的溢價定價不會成功。所以我猜大多數企業在持續面對市場波動時都會變得更精細、更成熟，而我們的 Consumer Group 也確實如此。

And it's part of their success now. And so you're seeing a product category that's growing very nicely at a premium price because they found the people that value it.

而這也成為他們如今成功的一部分。因此你會看到一個產品類別以溢價價格非常漂亮地成長，因為他們找到了重視它的客群。

Mike Harrison, Seaport Research Partners.

Mike Harrison，Seaport Research Partners。

I was hoping, Frank, that you could talk a little bit more about the emerging markets success that you've seen, not just in this quarter, though it was very pronounced this quarter, but it seems like there's some momentum building and maybe some sustainable improvement here.

Frank，我原本希望你能再多談一點你們在新興市場看到的成功，不只是這一季——雖然這一季非常明顯——但看起來似乎有一些動能正在累積，或許這裡有某種可持續的改善。

So maybe some color on what you're seeing there. And I'm curious, does the success that you're seeing in emerging markets mean that it might make more sense for you to look at acquisitions or other means to get bigger in those markets now that you seem to have kind of solved the equation?

所以想請你補充一些你在那裡看到的情況。另外我也好奇，你們在新興市場看到的成功，是否意味著既然你們似乎已經把方程式解開了，現在透過併購或其他方式在那些市場做大，可能更有意義？

Sure. I really appreciate the question, Mike. And so the answer is yes to your second question. I think we have a leadership team, an organizational structure approach that will give us more confidence to pursue acquisition opportunities successfully in these emerging markets.

當然。Mike，我非常感謝這個問題。所以對你第二個問題的答案是肯定的。我認為我們已經有一個領導團隊與組織架構的方法，能讓我們更有信心在這些新興市場成功推進併購機會。

I'll give you the high level here, which is, I think -- really tells you about the trajectory. As recently as five years ago, the Southern Hemisphere and developing world was slightly less than 5% of our consolidated sales. In the first-quarter, it was 8%. And you will see that continuing to grow. We have been growing for almost two years at a high double-digit rate, both in sales and earnings. So you're seeing improved cash flow, improved margin profile, and really good acceleration.

我先給你一個高層次的說法，我認為——這真的能說明我們的發展軌跡。就在五年前，南半球與開發中國家對我們合併銷售額的貢獻還略低於5%。第一季已經是8%。而你會看到這個比例持續成長。我們在銷售與獲利上，已經將近兩年以高雙位數的速度成長。因此你會看到現金流改善、毛利率結構改善，以及非常好的加速態勢。

So we've got great brands across RPM, particularly in our industrial businesses, but we just weren't organized in a manner that worked in these developing countries. Today, this RPM platform approach, basically a leadership team in the region is responsible for manufacturing, distribution, and administration across the entirety of RPM products sold in that region. And with the help from the primary brand owner businesses and that RPM entrepreneurial approach to customers in terms of independent sales and marketing, it's really paying off. And we expect that to continue for a lot of years.

所以我們在RPM旗下有很強的品牌，特別是在工業業務方面，但我們過去在這些開發中國家的組織方式並不奏效。如今這種RPM平台化的做法，基本上是由區域內的領導團隊負責該區域內所有RPM產品的製造、配銷與行政管理。再加上主要品牌事業體的支援，以及RPM以客戶為中心的創業家式做法（在獨立的銷售與行銷方面），效果正在顯現。而我們預期這種態勢會持續很多年。

And I appreciate your insight. You should expect to see, not large, but more successful additions to growth through acquisitions because we've got a lot more confidence in our ability to integrate them and make them work than we had a few years ago.

也謝謝你的洞見。你應該會看到透過併購帶來的成長增量——不會是大型的，但會更成功——因為相較幾年前，我們對於整合並讓其運作的能力更有信心。

All right. Very helpful. And then I was hoping if you could give some updated thoughts on just the operational front. It sounds like maybe we're still seeing some lingering impact from consolidation and start-up costs and maybe some temporary inefficiencies in your manufacturing costs. Any thoughts on the timing of when we see some of those inefficiency turn into benefits and start to see that flowing through the P&L?

了解。非常有幫助。另外我也希望你能更新一下營運面的看法。聽起來我們可能仍在看到整併與啟動成本的一些殘餘影響，製造成本上也許還有一些暫時性的低效率。你對於何時能看到這些低效率轉為效益、並開始反映在損益表（P&L）上，有什麼看法？

So I'll give you two quick comments there. Number one, we'll provide more detail on your question at our Investor Day on November 9, so we can do so in a way we're not prepared to now, more specificity about when you'll see the benefits of the consolidated distribution in Europe, when we'll get the transition behind us in CPG. So we'll have that detail by November 9.

我在這裡給你兩點簡短的回應。第一，我們會在11月9日的投資人日針對你的問題提供更多細節，屆時我們能以目前尚未準備好的方式更具體地說明：何時能看到歐洲整合配銷的效益、以及何時能完成CPG的轉換。所以到11月9日我們會有那些細節。

The other thing I'd point to, and Matt Schlarb highlighted this in his comments, we're continuing to improve working capital efficiency, and that is good RPM MAP-focused benefits on the factory floor, and there's more to do there. And we'll provide more details at our investor deck.

第二點我想指出的是，Matt Schlarb在他的評論中也提到，我們持續提升營運資金效率，而這是RPM以MAP為核心、在工廠現場帶來的效益，而且這方面還有更多可以做。我們會在投資人簡報中提供更多細節。

On our Investor Day, you're going to see the same type of detail that we have provided in our last MAP initiatives. You're going to see a waves plan focused on efficiency and operating improvements. You're going to see goals on growth. I would take the waves plan to the bank because we've shown two of those and we've made them happen. We need to prove to the market that we can hit our growth goals and really talk about the new initiatives that allow us to do that. So we're pretty excited about November 9.

在投資人日，你會看到與我們過去MAP計畫同等細節的內容。你會看到一個以效率與營運改善為重點的「波段式（waves）」計畫。你會看到成長目標。我會把這個waves計畫當成十拿九穩，因為我們已經展示過兩次，而且都做到了。我們需要向市場證明我們能達成成長目標，並且深入說明讓我們能做到的全新舉措。所以我們對11月9日感到相當興奮。

You'll also see our Stonhard operation in Maple Shade, New Jersey. I would bet it's one of the most productive plants in the whole industry. So we look forward to showing that off as well.

你也會參觀我們位於新澤西州Maple Shade的Stonhard營運據點。我敢說那可能是整個產業中生產力最高的工廠之一。所以我們也很期待向大家展示。

Salvator Tiano, KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Salvator Tiano，KeyBanc Capital Markets。

I was just wondering here, given the spike in interest rates, especially in the past month or so, how's your view on what leverage is appropriate for RPM or what you can do in terms of buybacks or M&A changed recently? Or for now, everything is staying the same?

我想請教，鑑於利率上升，尤其是過去一個月左右的急升，你對RPM適當槓桿水準的看法，或你們在庫藏股回購或併購（M&A）方面能做的事情，最近有改變嗎？還是目前一切都維持不變？

Sure. So we've always operated with a goal of maintaining an investment-grade rating. We're middle BBB rated today. We have about $1.2 billion in liquidity between cash and unused committed credit. I think we could use up the entirety of that $1.2 billion and then some and still maintain an investment-grade rating.

當然。我們一向以維持投資等級評等為目標來營運。我們目前的評等在BBB中段。我們在現金與未動用的承諾授信之間，約有12億美元的流動性。我認為即使把這12億美元全部用掉，甚至再多一些，我們仍能維持投資等級評等。

Our debt-to-EBITDA has, while maintaining that low investment-grade rating, been at or above three. And today, we're meaningfully below two. So we've got a lot of room in our balance sheet. We see opportunities. They tend to be small to medium-sized deals and M&A. And as I commented earlier, given weakness across a number of our industry peers and certainly in RPM and our stock price, we have ample dry powder to repurchase shares on an opportunistic basis.

在維持該低投資等級評等的同時，我們的淨負債／EBITDA曾經在3倍或以上。而今天我們顯著低於2倍。因此我們的資產負債表有很大的空間。我們看到一些機會。它們通常是中小型的併購交易。另外如我先前所說，考量到我們多個同業（當然也包括RPM）普遍偏弱，以及我們的股價狀況，我們有充足的「乾火藥」可以在機會出現時進行股票回購。

Perfect. And besides, obviously, a weakness in the RPM stock price, I wonder, are you seeing perhaps some stress within smaller competitors that potentially could make other deals more attractive going forward?

很好。那除了RPM股價走弱之外，我想問，你是否也看到一些較小競爭對手出現壓力，可能讓未來其他交易變得更具吸引力？

I think the biggest thing that's making deals more attractive in this environment is a combination of slow growth and higher interest rates, and P/E that was very aggressive across industries, but in our space as well, let's say, five or seven years ago. And there are two factors there. They're sitting on a lot of properties that are underwater because of economic dynamics that I just referenced.

我認為在這種環境下讓交易更具吸引力的最大因素，是成長放緩與利率上升的組合，以及幾年前——不只整體產業，在我們這個領域也是——本益比（P/E）估值非常激進。這裡面有兩個因素。由於我剛提到的經濟動態，他們手上有不少資產處於「水下」（underwater，價值低於帳面或成本）的狀態。

But more importantly, they're not in the markets with crazy multiples. There were instances in the last five years when, let's say, four or five years ago, when there's a property there and the fourth, fifth and sixth buyers are big strategic public companies, and the first, second and third buyers are P/Es.

但更重要的是，他們不再處於那種倍數瘋狂的市場環境。在過去五年裡曾出現過一些情況，例如四、五年前，某個標的在那裡，第四、第五、第六個買家是大型策略型上市公司，而第一、第二、第三個買家則是私募股權（P/E，private equity）。

That's over. And so you're seeing multiples in the M&A environment down by two or three points, in my opinion, principally because P/E is not the competitive factor in M&A activity today than they were, let's say, five years ago.

那種情況已經結束了。因此在我看來，併購環境中的交易倍數已經下滑了兩到三個點，主要原因是私募股權（P/E）如今不再像五年前那樣，是併購活動中的競爭性因素。

Kevin McCarthy, Vertical Research.

Kevin McCarthy，Vertical Research。

Frank, was the month of September notably better or worse than you might have anticipated across any of your major business lines?

Frank，9 月份在你們任何主要業務線上的表現，是否明顯比你原先預期的更好或更差？

We will give you the month of September and/or it in conjunction with October and November when we report our second-quarter. Other than to say, from an outlook perspective, nothing's really changed. I think somebody had commented earlier that a good indicator of what our second-quarter will be is kind of what our first-quarter is.

我們會在公布第二季業績時，一併提供你 9 月份的情況，和/或與 10 月、11 月合併來看。除了要說，從展望的角度來看，基本上沒有什麼改變。我想先前有人提到，一個判斷我們第二季表現的良好指標，大概就是看我們第一季的情況。

We expect really good strength in PCG, continued stability and benefits from some market share gains and shelf space gains in Consumer, and a sequentially better but still less than what we've been delivering on in the Construction Products Group.

我們預期 PCG 會有非常強勁的動能；Consumer 方面在持續穩定之餘，也會受惠於一些市占提升與貨架空間增加；而 Construction Products Group 則會較前一季改善，但仍低於我們過去交出的水準。

Okay. Fair enough. And then if I may ask a broad question. It strikes me that your Performance Coatings results were quite strong, whereas we've spent a lot of time on the call talking about maybe some volume pressure and other issues in Construction Products. If you compare and contrast those segments, Frank, what accounts for such a large difference there?

好的。可以理解。接著如果我可以問一個比較宏觀的問題。我注意到你們 Performance Coatings 的結果相當強勁，但我們在電話會議上花了很多時間談到 Construction Products 可能面臨一些出貨量壓力與其他問題。Frank，如果把這兩個部門拿來比較，造成如此大差異的原因是什麼？

Is it the notion that the health care and education customers in CPG are not linked to industrial production, so the IP side is running stronger than maybe some more GDP-oriented businesses? Or have you seen this kind of divergence in the past? Curious to hear your thoughts along those lines.

是因為 CPG 的醫療保健與教育客戶不太受工業生產影響，所以工業生產（IP）端的表現比一些更偏 GDP 取向的業務更強嗎？還是你們過去也曾看過這種分歧？想聽聽你對這方面的看法。

Sure. I think there's two primary reasons. Good question. One, the Performance Coatings Group is more driven by industrial capital spending. So manufacturing, onshoring, the data center activity. But also importantly, the Performance Coatings Group is where our Platform approach is housed. And so that's also adding to the strength of the Performance Coatings Group numbers. And we, as I said, we expect that to continue.

當然。我認為主要有兩個原因。這是個好問題。第一，Performance Coatings Group 更受工業資本支出驅動。例如製造業、回流設廠（onshoring）、資料中心活動。但同樣重要的是，Performance Coatings Group 也是我們「平台（Platform）」策略的主要承載部門。因此這也在推升 Performance Coatings Group 的數字表現。而且如我所說，我們預期這種趨勢會持續。

The Construction Products Group, quite candidly, has had extraordinary two years of performance given the underlying dynamics of commercial construction activity. And so it's disappointing to see a quarterly slowdown. We believe it's temporary for this in the second-quarter. But the underlying dynamics there in commercial construction and broad construction activity have not been great, and that more heavily impacts our CPG versus the industrial capital spending and, more broadly, international presence of the Performance Coatings Group.

坦白說，Construction Products Group 在過去兩年，在商用建築活動的基本面動態之下，仍交出了非常出色的表現。因此看到單季放緩確實令人失望。我們認為這在第二季是暫時性的。但商用建築與更廣泛的建築活動的基本面並不理想，這對我們的 CPG 影響更大；相較之下，Performance Coatings Group 受工業資本支出驅動，且更廣泛地布局國際市場。

Arun Viswanathan, RBC Capital Markets.

Arun Viswanathan，RBC Capital Markets。

So just wanted to get your thoughts on margins. It looks like there's potentially some extra raw material pressure kind of flowing through. So how do you expect that to kind of evolve over the next few quarters? And do you expect to be successful on some pass-through price? And I guess maybe if you can just elaborate on that by segment, that would be helpful.

我想請教你對毛利率/利潤率的看法。看起來可能有一些額外的原物料壓力正在反映出來。那你預期未來幾季會如何演變？你們是否預期能成功進行部分轉嫁（調價）？如果可以按部門再多說明一些，會很有幫助。

Sure. I think that, as we commented earlier, we're successful in passing on the dollar impact of inflation, and that will continue. We'll be gaining on margin improvement as we sequentially go through the year. And then as we've done in the past, it's my expectation that we will recover 100% of any lost margin and maybe a little bit more.

當然。我想如同我們先前提到的，我們在把通膨的金額影響轉嫁出去方面是成功的，而且這會持續。隨著我們在一年中逐季推進，毛利率改善也會逐步顯現。而且如同過去的做法，我預期我們會把任何流失的毛利率 100% 收回來，甚至可能多一點。

The one area where that will not be true is in freight surcharges. So we are passing on dollar-for-dollar freight surcharges in many of our businesses to customers. And as those freight costs come down back to normal levels, then if and when we rescind those temporary surcharges, that's literally just covering your dollar expense. But we'll pick up margin there too just based on the impact of the higher sales on a lower expense base.

唯一不會如此的領域是運費附加費（freight surcharges）。因此在我們許多業務中，我們把運費附加費以一元對一元的方式轉嫁給客戶。當運費成本回落到正常水準時，如果/當我們取消這些暫時性的附加費，那基本上就只是覆蓋你的金額成本。但我們也會在那裡帶來一些毛利率提升，因為在較低的費用基礎上，較高的銷售額所帶來的槓桿效應。

Okay. And maybe as a follow-up I can just ask this a slightly different way. But I think in the past, you talked about 16% EBIT margins, which would be kind of 200 basis points or more at this point recovery, and getting to that point kind of on a structural basis maybe through some of the MAP actions. Is that still kind of in your line of sight? Maybe you can kind of think about how you're thinking about longer-term margin recovery and ultimately growth.

了解。那我再追問一下，換個方式問。我記得你們過去談過 16% 的 EBIT 利潤率，從目前水準回升大約 200 個基點或更多，並且可能透過一些 MAP 行動在結構性層面達到那個水準。這目標目前仍在你們的視野之內嗎？也許你可以談談你們對較長期的利潤率修復，以及最終成長的思考。

So two quick comments on that. Number one is we had set out a goal of 42% gross margins and a 26% SG&A on a consolidated basis. We were close to the 42% gross margins and had line of sight to achieving that. And then here we are in another round of inflationary pressures. I am highly confident as we get through this inflation cycle, we will meet or beat that 42% goal.

對此我有兩點簡短的評論。第一，我們曾設定合併口徑的目標：毛利率 42%，SG&A 佔比 26%。我們當時已接近 42% 的毛利率，並且看得到達成的路徑。但現在又遇到新一輪的通膨壓力。我非常有信心，當我們走過這一輪通膨循環後，我們將達成或超越 42% 的目標。

We struggled for both some cost reasons and lack of revenue growth, so leverage on the top line, on our SG&A goals. We took a very aggressive crack at that with a $100 million expense reduction program that was initiated in January of last year. So in the grand scheme of things, those previously announced goals were still in play.

在 SG&A 目標上，我們同時受到一些成本因素與營收成長不足的影響，因此在營收端的槓桿（top-line leverage）不夠。我們在去年 1 月啟動了一項 1 億美元的費用削減計畫，對此採取了非常積極的行動。因此從整體來看，先前公布的那些目標仍然有效。

On November 9, you will see some pretty good detail of our expectations of our margin goals, cash flow goals, profitability and what we think we can do revenue-wise out to 2030. So I would encourage you to attend our November 9 Investor Day, which is going to be in Maple Shade, New Jersey, right outside of Philadelphia. So 20 minutes from the airport or an easy ride from New York. And that will also be webcast.

在 11 月 9 日，你會看到我們對利潤率目標、現金流目標、獲利能力，以及我們認為到 2030 年在營收方面能做到什麼的相當詳細說明。因此我鼓勵你參加我們 11 月 9 日的投資人日，地點在新澤西州 Maple Shade，就在費城外圍。離機場約 20 分鐘，或從紐約過來也很方便。同時也會提供網路直播。

Jeff Zekauskas, JPMorgan.

Jeff Zekauskas，JPMorgan。

You guys did a very nice job of growing your cash flow from operations year-over-year, as well as your EBITDA. Should you be able to do that in 2027? That is, do you think your cash flow from operations will grow versus 2026?

你們在營運現金流（cash flow from operations）以及 EBITDA 的年增方面都做得非常好。你們在 2027 年也能做到嗎？也就是說，你認為 2027 年的營運現金流會比 2026 年成長嗎？

Yes. And it will be a result of continued improvement in working capital, which we are very focused on. An expectation, albeit at a lower rate, of continued positive momentum in earnings growth as we get through the year. And it is an area, again, that we will highlight in a little bit more detail at our November 9 Investor Day.

會。這將來自於營運資金（working capital）的持續改善，我們對此非常專注。此外，隨著我們度過今年，我們也預期獲利成長的正向動能會持續，儘管成長率會較低。而這同樣是我們會在 11 月 9 日投資人日更詳細說明的重點之一。

And can you give us a little bit of quantification around your expected decreases in medical costs in that, what were they roughly last year? What could they be this year? And is it your general expectation that SG&A expense this year year-over-year should be pretty flat, last year?

那你能否就你預期醫療成本下降的幅度提供一些量化資訊：例如去年大約是多少？今年可能會是多少？以及你是否一般性預期今年的 SG&A 費用相較去年應該會相當持平？

So I think a couple of things. One, year-over-year, you'll see an improvement in corporate expense. We had huge increases last year in health care expense, which we talked about quarter-by-quarter. I don't have off the top of my head the exact number. We can get that, communicate that in follow-up calls.

我想有幾點。第一，從年對年來看，你會看到公司層級費用（corporate expense）有所改善。去年我們的醫療保健費用大幅增加，我們也在每一季都有談到。我現在一時想不起確切數字。我們可以補充取得資料，並在後續電話溝通中說明。

But we are seeing a flattening out of those health care costs versus where we were last year. And so corporate other expense will be equal to or slightly down each quarter as we get through the year. And so that's a positive element. And then the second part of your question, Jeff, was?

但我們看到醫療保健成本相較於去年同期已趨於持平。因此，隨著我們度過今年，企業其他費用每一季將持平或略有下降。所以這是一個正面因素。然後你問題的第二部分，Jeff，是什麼？

I think you captured it, with respect to medical expenses and flattening out of SG&A.

我想你已經涵蓋到了，關於醫療費用以及SG&A趨於持平的部分。

Okay. Yes, you'll see that.

好的。是的，你會看到的。

Vincent Andrews, Morgan Stanley.

Vincent Andrews，摩根士丹利。

I just had one last question on the health care and education. I just wanted to better understand, is this a few projects? Is this a lot of projects? Is it concentrated in certain states or regions? Was it in the backlog and it's just been delayed?

我在醫療保健與教育方面還有最後一個問題。我想更清楚了解，這是少數幾個專案嗎？還是很多專案？是否集中在某些州或地區？這些原本就在積壓訂單中，只是被延後了嗎？

Or was it stuff you thought you were going to win and put in the backlog that just the timing of it becomes uncertain? Just trying to get a better sense of sort of the visibility you have on it returning later in the year. And just is it waiting on municipal funding or something else that's just sort of technical? So any further color you could provide there, I'd appreciate it.

還是說這些是你們原本以為會拿下、並放進積壓訂單的案子，只是時程變得不確定？只是想更了解你們對於它在今年稍晚回流的能見度大概如何。以及它是否是在等待市政資金到位，或是其他偏技術性的因素？所以如果你能再多補充一些背景，我會很感謝。

Sure. The simple answer is yes to all of the above. And so without providing any competitive detail, there are some specific regions, and in this case, a lot of states. So for instance, there are some specific states where we have really good market share in education and there has been delayed funding. And so we are specified on projects and the funding has been delayed, and we are at the point where it didn't happen in the summer.

當然。簡單的答案是：以上皆是。在不提供任何競爭細節的前提下，確實有一些特定區域——而且這次涉及很多州。例如，有些特定州我們在教育領域市占率很高，但資金撥付被延後。因此我們已被列入專案規格中，但資金延後了，而我們已經到了暑期沒有發生的那個時間點。

And if it doesn't get initiated now, it's a spring project. Just the nature of the beast. And so in some cases, there are very specific, in this case, state-level projects, that we know we will have, but they've been delayed. In other cases, it's the lack of big projects that we had last year and into the spring that are not repeating. And so the normal cadence of our average activity is fine.

如果現在不啟動，那就會變成春季專案。這就是這個產業的特性。所以在某些情況下，有非常明確、這次是州層級的專案，我們知道一定會有，但它們被延後了。在其他情況下，則是去年以及到春季期間我們有的一些大型專案，今年沒有重複出現。因此，我們平均活動量的正常節奏其實是沒問題的。

It's the mismatch of some larger projects that, quite candidly, we need to be rebuilding in our WTI, which is our contracting arm backlog.

問題在於一些較大型專案的落差；坦白說，我們需要在WTI（我們的承包業務部門）的積壓訂單中把這些重新建立起來。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Eric Boyes, Evercore.

Eric Boyes，Evercore。

Maybe first, how repeatable is PCG's growth into fiscal 2Q in the second half? I mean relative to 1Q's double-digit growth, does mid to high single digits, is that tougher comps or project timing or seasonality or just kind of margin of safety?

首先，PCG在下半年延續到會計年度第二季的成長有多可重複？我的意思是，相較於第一季的兩位數成長，第二季的中到高個位數，是因為比較基期更難、專案時點、季節性，還是只是保守一些？

Sure. In both our PCG and CPG, every quarter's a tougher comp because we've been generating pretty solid results in each of those segments for the last couple of years. But as indicated earlier, the same dynamics that drove results in Q1 seem to be continuing in Q2. So you'll see solid results in our Performance Coatings Group both driven by the dynamics in our core North American and European markets and continued outsized growth from the Platform Southern Hemisphere business activity.

當然。在我們的PCG與CPG中，每一季的比較基期都更具挑戰，因為過去幾年我們在這兩個事業群每季都交出相當穩健的成果。但如同先前提到的，推動第一季表現的相同動能似乎也延續到第二季。因此你會看到我們Performance Coatings Group的穩健表現，主要來自北美與歐洲核心市場的動能，以及平台南半球業務活動持續的超常成長。

Okay. Great. I appreciate that. And then I just wanted to clarify, margins again, on gross margin specifically. With inflation kind of trending downward and some of your agility on pricing, could we potentially see year-over-year gross margins positive again in fiscal 3Q?

好的。很好。謝謝你的說明。接著我想再釐清一下毛利率，特別是毛利率本身。在通膨趨勢下行、加上你們在定價上的靈活性之下，我們是否可能在會計年度第三季看到毛利率年對年再度轉正？

And then I think it's a little bit a tougher comp in fiscal 4Q, but any color on kind of that gross margin cadence based on what you see today would be appreciated.

然後我想會計年度第四季的比較基期會更難一些，但若能就你們目前所見，分享一下毛利率走勢的節奏，也會很有幫助。

Certainly. I think we'll start to see some improvement in margin as we get through the year, and anticipating a decline in inflation at some point, whether it's next spring or a year from now. As we have done in the past, we will recover the lost margin and probably then some. So as I commented earlier, 42% gross margins were in our line of sight, excitedly, because we've been talking about them for a few years. And when we get through this margin cycle, we will be at or above that level.

當然。我認為隨著今年進行，我們會開始看到毛利率有所改善；並且預期通膨在某個時間點會下降，可能是明年春天，也可能是一年後。如同過去我們所做的，我們會把流失的毛利率補回來，而且很可能還會多一些。所以如我先前評論的，42%的毛利率已在我們的視線範圍內，令人振奮，因為我們談這個目標已經談了好幾年。當我們度過這一輪毛利率循環後，我們將會達到或高於那個水準。

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

問答環節到此結束。我想把電話會議交回給Frank Sullivan，請他做結語。

Thank you to everybody who participated in our investor call this morning. We're pleased with our first-quarter results and the execution of our associates in what continues to be a VUCA environment. Our focus remains on serving customers, investing in differentiated growth opportunities, and advancing our operational improvements that support stronger profitability and improved cash flow.

感謝今天早上參與我們投資人電話會議的各位。我們對第一季的成果以及同仁在持續的VUCA環境下的執行力感到滿意。我們的重點仍然是服務客戶、投資於具差異化的成長機會，並推進營運改善，以支持更強的獲利能力與改善的現金流。

We'll be excited to see many of you at our November 9 Investor Day in Maple Shade, New Jersey, outside of Philadelphia. We will also be hosting virtually the RPM Annual Meeting of Stockholders Thursday at 1:30 Eastern Time and would welcome you to participate in that as well.

我們很期待在11月9日於新澤西州Maple Shade（費城郊外）舉行的投資人日見到各位中的許多人。我們也將於週四美東時間下午1:30以線上方式主持RPM年度股東大會，也歡迎各位一同參與。

It is highly likely that at a Board meeting in front of our Annual Meeting of Stockholders, RPM will be announcing the details of our 53rd consecutive increase in cash dividends.

非常有可能在年度股東大會之前的一場董事會會議上，RPM將公布我們連續第53年提高現金股利的相關細節。

Greatly appreciate your participation in our call today and look forward to having many of you on our Thursday, 1:30 PM Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Have a great day. And go Browns.

非常感謝各位今天參與我們的電話會議，也期待在週四下午1:30的年度股東大會上見到各位中的許多人。祝各位有美好的一天。還有，Browns加油。

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

本次電話會議已結束。感謝各位參加今天的簡報。您現在可以掛線。