Stepan Co (SCL) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and welcome to the Stepan Company Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this call is being recorded on Monday, February 23, 2026.

早安，歡迎參加 Stepan 公司 2025 年第四季及全年財報電話會議。（操作員指示）提醒您，本次通話將於 2026 年 2 月 23 日星期一進行錄音。

It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Mr. Ruben Velasquez, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Stepan Company. Mr. Velasquez, please go ahead.

現在我很高興將電話轉交給史蒂潘公司副總裁兼財務長魯本·貝拉斯克斯先生。維拉斯奎茲先生，請繼續。

Thanks, Deedee. Good morning, and thank you for joining Stepan Company's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Review.

謝謝你，迪迪。早安，感謝您參加 Stepan 公司 2025 年第四季及全年財務回顧。

Before we begin, please note that information in this conference call contains forward-looking statements, which are not historical facts. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to, prospects of our foreign operations, global and regional economic conditions and factors detailed in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

在會議開始之前，請注意，本次電話會議中的資訊包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述並非歷史事實。這些聲明涉及風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果與預期結果有重大差異，包括但不限於我們海外業務的前景、全球和區域經濟狀況以及我們在提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中詳細列出的因素。

In addition, this conference call will include discussions of adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow, which are non-GAAP measures. We provide reconciliations to the comparable GAAP measures in the earnings presentation and press release, which we have made available at www.stepan.com under the Investors section of our website.

此外，本次電話會議還將討論調整後的淨收入、調整後的 EBITDA 和自由現金流，這些都是非 GAAP 指標。我們在獲利報告和新聞稿中提供了與可比較 GAAP 指標的調節表，這些報告和新聞稿已發佈在 www.stepan.com 網站的「投資者」部分。

Whether you are joining us online or over the phone, we encourage you to review the investor slide presentation. We make these slides available at approximately the same time as when the earnings release is issued, and we hope that you find the information and perspectives helpful.

無論您是透過網路還是電話參與，我們都鼓勵您查看投資者幻燈片簡報。我們會在發布獲利報告的同時提供這些投影片，希望您覺得這些資訊和觀點對您有幫助。

With that, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Luis Rojo, our President and Chief Executive Officer.

接下來，我將把電話交給我們的總裁兼執行長路易斯·羅霍先生。

Thank you, Ruben. Good morning, and thank you all for joining us today to discuss our fourth quarter and full year 2025 results. I plan to share highlights of the performance and will also share updates on our key strategic priorities, while Ruben will provide additional details on our financial results.

謝謝你，魯本。早安，感謝各位今天蒞臨現場，與我們共同探討我們2025年第四季及全年業績。我計劃分享業績亮點，並分享我們關鍵策略重點的最新進展，而魯本將提供有關我們財務業績的更多細節。

2025 was a transformational year for Stepan. We divested two manufacturing plants, made significant progress on the foundational work required to further optimize our global footprint and position the company to execute against a more disciplined and resilient operating model in 2026 and beyond.

2025年是斯捷潘的轉折之年。我們剝離了兩家製造工廠，在進一步優化全球佈局和使公司能夠在 2026 年及以後執行更加嚴謹和有韌性的營運模式所需的基礎工作方面取得了重大進展。

I also want to highlight that we delivered the best year on safety results in our history. Congrats to the whole Stepan team on these excellent safety results. Despite a challenging macro environment, the continued pressure across the chemical sector, unprecedented raw material inflation and tariff impacts, we delivered full year adjusted EBITDA growth of 6%. We delivered adjusted EBITDA of $199 million reflecting, discipline in pricing and cost management, favorable mix and solid growth across all our strategic businesses.

我還想強調，我們取得了公司史上最好的安全成績。恭喜Stepan團隊取得如此優異的安全成績。儘管宏觀環境充滿挑戰，化學工業持續面臨壓力，原物料價格空前上漲，以及關稅的影響，我們仍實現了全年調整後 EBITDA 成長 6%。我們實現了 1.99 億美元的調整後 EBITDA，這反映了我們在定價和成本管理方面的嚴謹態度、有利的產品組合以及所有策略業務的穩健成長。

Organic volume increased 2% year-over-year driven by a strong growth in crop productivity, oilfield, Tier 2, Tier 3 customers, global polymers and specialty products. This was partially offset by softer demand in global consumer commodity surfactants.

受作物生產力、油田、二級、三級客戶、全球聚合物和特殊產品強勁成長的推動，有機產量較去年同期成長 2%。全球消費品表面活性劑需求疲軟，部分抵消了上述影響。

Throughout the year, we maintained a disciplined approach to capital allocation. We generated positive free cash flow in 2025 and strengthening our balance sheet and reduced net debt. Our leverage ratio improved from 2.8 to 2.5 times at the end of the year. We did all of this while continuing to invest in the business. Consistent with our long-standing commitment to shareholder returns, we increased our dividend for the 58th consecutive year, underscoring our confidence in Stepan cash flow strength and long-term outlook.

全年，我們始終堅持嚴謹的資本配置方法。我們預計在 2025 年實現正自由現金流，並加強資產負債表，降低淨債務。在年底時，我們的槓桿率從 2.8 倍降至 2.5 倍。我們在持續投資業務的同時完成了所有這些工作。秉承我們對股東回報的長期承諾，我們連續第 58 年提高了股息，這凸顯了我們對 Stepan 現金流實力和長期前景的信心。

During the fourth quarter of 2025, the company paid $8.9 million in dividends to shareholders. Our Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on a Stepan common stock of $0.395 per share payable on March 13, 2026. This represents a 2.6% increase in our dividend versus the prior year.

2025 年第四季度，該公司向股東支付了 890 萬美元的股息。我們的董事會宣布，Stepan 普通股每股派發現金股利 0.395 美元，將於 2026 年 3 月 13 日支付。這相當於我們的股息比前一年增長了2.6%。

Importantly, in 2025, we demonstrated our ability to deliver earnings resilience, advance strategic priorities and take decisive actions in a difficult operating environment. We successfully commissioned our Pasadena alkoxylation facility, optimized our asset footprint through targeted divestitures and established the foundation to implement project catalyst, which we will discuss later today.

重要的是，在 2025 年，我們證明了我們有能力在艱難的經營環境下實現盈利韌性、推進戰略重點並採取果斷行動。我們已成功投產帕薩迪納烷氧基化裝置，透過有針對性的資產剝離優化了資產佈局，並為實施專案催化劑奠定了基礎，我們將在今天晚些時候對此進行討論。

With that, I will turn the call back to Ruben to walk you through the financial details for the quarter and the year.

接下來，我將把電話轉回給魯本，讓他為大家詳細介紹本季和本年度的財務狀況。

Thank you, Luis. My comments will generally follow the slide presentation. Let's start with slide 5, which summarizes Q4 2025 performance. Fourth quarter 2025 adjusted net loss was $0.5 million or down $0.02 per diluted share. Reported net income was $5 million, up 49% versus prior year, primarily reflecting the gain on sale of assets and certain nonrecurring items.

謝謝你，路易斯。我的發言通常會與幻燈片演示保持一致。讓我們從第 5 張投影片開始，這張投影片總結了 2025 年第四季的業績。2025 年第四季調整後淨虧損為 50 萬美元，即每股攤薄虧損 0.02 美元。報告顯示，淨收入為 500 萬美元，比上年增長 49%，主要反映了出售資產的收益和某些非經常性項目。

The decrease in adjusted earnings was mainly driven by lower Surfactants operating income, lower capitalized interest expense and less favorable effective tax rate, partially offset by improved polymers performance and lower corporate expenses. Importantly, several of these drivers, including higher depreciation and the decline in capitalized interest associated with the Pasadena startup had no cash impact compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

調整後收益的下降主要是由於界面活性劑業務營業收入減少、資本化利息支出減少以及實際稅率不利，部分被聚合物業務業績改善和公司費用降低所抵消。值得注意的是，與去年第四季相比，包括更高的折舊和與帕薩迪納新創公司相關的資本化利息下降在內的幾個驅動因素，都沒有對現金產生影響。

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $33.8 million compared to $35 million in the prior year, a 3% decrease. The slight decline in adjusted EBITDA was primarily driven by a 3% decrease in Surfactants organic volumes due to softer demand in global commodity consumer product end markets and elevated raw materials costs. Polymers delivered year-over-year growth, driven by a strong volume performance in North America and Asia Rigid Polyols and in global commodity phthalic anhydride.

經過調整後的綜合 EBITDA 為 3,380 萬美元，而去年同期為 3,500 萬美元，下降了 3%。調整後 EBITDA 的輕微下降主要是由於全球大宗商品消費品終端市場需求疲軟和原材料成本上升，導致表面活性劑有機銷售下降 3%。聚合物業務實現了同比增長，這主要得益於北美和亞洲硬質多元醇以及全球大宗商品鄰苯二甲酸酐的強勁銷售表現。

Specialty Products results were modestly year-over-year due to primarily -- due primarily to order timing within the pharmaceutical business. Cash from operations was $60 million for the quarter, and free cash flow was positive at $25 million compared to negative $0.2 million in the prior year. The improvement was driven by reductions in working capital and disciplined capital spending. We remain focused on strengthening liquidity and maintaining disciplined capital allocation.

特種產品業績較去年同期略有下滑，主因是－主要原因是製藥業務的訂單時間安排。本季經營活動產生的現金流為 6,000 萬美元，自由現金流為正 2,500 萬美元，而去年同期為負 20 萬美元。這項改善得益於營運資金的減少和嚴格的資本支出。我們將繼續專注於增強流動性並保持嚴謹的資本配置。

Slide 6 shows the total company pretax income bridge for the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to last year's fourth quarter. Because this is a pretax view, the figures noted reflect operating performance before the impact of income taxes. Fourth quarter pretax income declined year-over-year, primarily driven by lower Surfactant operating income and lower capitalized interest expense. These headwinds were partially offset by improved performance in polymers and lower corporate expenses.

投影片 6 顯示了 2025 年第四季公司稅前總收入與去年第四季的比較。由於這是稅前數據，因此所列數字反映的是所得稅影響之前的經營績效。第四季稅前收入年減，主要原因是界面活性劑營業收入減少和資本化利息支出減少。這些不利因素部分被聚合物性能的提高和企業開支的降低所抵消。

Slide 7 shows the total company adjusted EBITDA bridge for the fourth quarter compared to last year. Adjusted EBITDA was $33.8 million, slightly down from prior year. Surfactants decreased by $2.6 million, driven by lower organic demand and elevated raw material costs. Polymers increased by $1 million, reflecting an 11% growth and improving operating leverage. Specialty Products decreased by $0.4 million and corporate expenses declined year-over-year due to continued spending discipline and the nonrecurrence of CEO transition expenses recorded in the fourth quarter of 2024.

投影片 7 顯示了公司第四季調整後 EBITDA 與去年同期相比的總額。調整後 EBITDA 為 3,380 萬美元，略低於上年同期水準。界面活性劑市場規模減少了 260 萬美元，主要原因是有機產品需求下降和原材料成本上漲。聚合物銷售額成長了 100 萬美元，增幅達 11%，經營槓桿效應得到改善。特種產品收入減少了 0.4 億美元，公司支出年減，原因是持續的支出紀律以及 2024 年第四季記錄的 CEO 過渡費用不再發生。

Slide 8 focuses on the Surfactants segment. Surfactants net sales were $402 million, up from $379 million in the prior year. Organic volume declined 3% year-over-year primarily due to weaker demand across commodity consumer and construction and industrial solutions end markets. Price and mix benefited from pass-through of higher raw material costs, improved product and customer mix and pricing actions. Foreign currency translation positively impacted net sales by 3%. Surfactants adjusted EBITDA declined slightly, reflecting lower organic volume and elevated oleochemical input costs.

第 8 張投影片重點介紹界面活性劑部分。界面活性劑淨銷售額為 4.02 億美元，高於前一年的 3.79 億美元。有機銷量較去年同期下降 3%，主要原因是商品消費品和建築及工業解決方案終端市場的需求疲軟。價格和產品組合受益於原材料成本上漲的轉嫁、產品和客戶組合的改善以及定價措施。外幣折算對淨銷售額產生了3%的正面影響。界面活性劑調整後的 EBITDA 略有下降，反映出有機產品銷售下降和油脂化學品投入成本上升。

Moving now to slide 9. Polymers net sales were $132 million versus $113 million in the same quarter of last year. Volume increased 11%, driven by North America and Asia Rigid Polyols and commodity phthalic anhydride growth. Price was negatively impacted by the pass-through of lower raw material costs and competitive pressure. Foreign currency translation positively impacted net sales by 2%.

現在來看第9張投影片。聚合物淨銷售額為 1.32 億美元，去年同期為 1.13 億美元。銷量成長 11%，主要得益於北美和亞洲硬質多元醇以及大宗鄰苯二甲酸酐的成長。原物料成本下降和競爭壓力對價格產生了負面影響。外幣折算對淨銷售額產生了2%的正面影響。

Polymers adjusted EBITDA increased 9% versus the prior year, driven primarily by strong volume growth, partially offset by lower unit margins and unfavorable product and customer mix. Specialty Product net sales and EBITDA were modestly lower year-over-year due to order timing fluctuations within the pharmaceutical business, though medium chain triglycerides continue to deliver double-digit volume growth.

聚合物業務調整後 EBITDA 較上年增長 9%，主要得益於銷量強勁增長，但部分被較低的單位利潤率以及不利的產品和客戶組合所抵消。由於製藥業務訂單時間波動，特藥產品淨銷售額和 EBITDA 年比略有下降，但中鏈三酸甘油酯持續維持兩位數的銷售成長。

Let's move now to slide 12 to review balance sheet and cash flow. Free cash flow generation remains a key focus. Cash from operations was $60 million in the fourth quarter and free cash flow totaled $25.4 million, driven by working capital reductions. We ended the fourth quarter with net debt of $494 million, a $32 million reduction versus the prior year and a net leverage ratio of approximately 2.5 times trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA. This improvement reflects our continued focus on cash generation, debt reduction and maintaining financial flexibility.

現在我們來看第 12 張投影片，回顧一下資產負債表和現金流量表。自由現金流的產生仍然是重點領域。第四季經營活動產生的現金流為 6,000 萬美元，自由現金流總計 2,540 萬美元，主要得益於營運資本的減少。在第四季末，我們的淨債務為 4.94 億美元，比前一年減少了 3,200 萬美元，淨槓桿比率約為過去 12 個月調整後 EBITDA 的 2.5 倍。這項改善反映了我們持續關注現金流創造、債務削減和維持財務靈活性。

Turning to full year results. Reported net income was $46.9 million, down 7% year-over-year, while adjusted net income was $41.7 million. The decrease in 2025 adjusted net income was primarily driven by lower Surfactants operating income, lower capitalized interest expense and a higher effective tax rate. Global organic sales volume increased 2% for the full year, driven by strong growth in crop productivity, oilfield, Tier 2 and Tier 3 customers, global polymer and specialty products. This was partially offset by softer demand in global commodity consumer end markets.

接下來是全年業績報告。報告淨收入為 4,690 萬美元，年減 7%；調整後淨收入為 4,170 萬美元。2025 年調整後淨收入下降的主要原因是表面活性劑業務營業收入減少、資本化利息支出減少、實際稅率上升。受作物生產力、油田、二級和三級客戶、全球聚合物和特殊產品強勁成長的推動，全球有機產品全年銷售成長 2%。全球大宗商品消費終端市場需求疲軟，部分抵銷了上述影響。

Full year EBITDA increased 11% to $208 million and adjusted EBITDA increased 6% to $199 million. Cash from operations in 2025 was $148 million and free cash flow was $25.4 million. Disciplined working capital management and capital spending allowed us to generate positive free cash flow while funding strategic investments in 2025.

全年 EBITDA 成長 11% 至 2.08 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 成長 6% 至 1.99 億美元。2025 年經營活動產生的現金為 1.48 億美元，自由現金流為 2,540 萬美元。嚴格的營運資金管理和資本支出使我們能夠在2025年進行策略性投資的同時，產生正的自由現金流。

With that, I will turn the call back to Luis to discuss our strategic outlook and project catalysts.

接下來，我將把電話轉回給路易斯，讓他討論我們的策略展望和專案催化劑。

Thanks, Ruben. I will begin with a brief update on our strategic priorities before turning to Project Catalyst, which represent a significant step forward in strengthening the Stepan foundation for long-term superior value creation.

謝謝你，魯本。我將首先簡要介紹我們的戰略重點，然後再介紹“催化劑項目”，該項目標誌著在加強 Stepan 基礎、實現長期卓越價值創造方面邁出了重要一步。

Our strategy remains centered on four key pillars. First, our continued focus on customer-centric innovation to create new applications and better solutions for our customer products and strengthening our strategic technical partnerships. Second, our diversification strategy is to deliver growth in higher value end markets and expand our reach in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 customer segments. Third, Operational excellence in our supply chain remains a key priority for the future, improving the reliability and resiliency of our manufacturing network and operating metric results at our Millsdale site. And fourth, we continue improving our financial position by a relentless focus on improving free cash flow generation, deleveraging the balance sheet and a disciplined and efficient capital allocation.

我們的策略仍然以四大支柱為中心。首先，我們將繼續專注於以客戶為中心的創新，為我們的客戶產品創造新的應用和更好的解決方案，並加強我們的策略技術合作夥伴關係。其次，我們的多元化策略是實現高價值終端市場的成長，並擴大我們在二線和三線客戶群中的覆蓋範圍。第三，供應鏈的卓越營運仍然是我們未來的關鍵優先事項，旨在提高我們製造網路的可靠性和韌性，並提升我們在米爾斯代爾工廠的營運指標。第四，我們將繼續透過不懈地專注於提高自由現金流的產生、降低資產負債表的槓桿率以及進行有紀律、高效的資本配置來改善我們的財務狀況。

Throughout 2025, we saw significant growth in crop productivity, oilfield and specialty products, while polymers also delivered a strong volume growth across North America and Asia. We also grew mid-single digits in our Tier 2, Tier 3 business. We also made meaningful progress improving our reliability in Millsdale and we fully commissioned our Pasadena facility with production ramping up. This effort resulted in EBITDA growth, positive free cash flow generation and a reduction of our leverage ratio during 2025.

2025 年全年，我們看到作物產量、油田和特殊產品均實現了顯著增長，同時聚合物在北美和亞洲的銷售也實現了強勁增長。我們的二線、三線業務也實現了中等個位數的成長。我們在提高米爾斯代爾工廠的可靠性方面也取得了實質進展，隨著生產逐步增加，我們已全面投產帕薩迪納工廠。這項努力在 2025 年實現了 EBITDA 成長、正自由現金流產生和槓桿率下降。

Let's move now to slide 14. Today, we announced Project Catalyst, which is a comprehensive plan designed to further optimize our asset base and create a more productive, agile and accountable organization to enable growth. Project Catalyst is expected to deliver around $100 million in pretax savings over the next two years, with approximately 60% of the savings expected in 2026.

現在我們來看第14張投影片。今天，我們宣布啟動“催化劑計畫”，這是一項旨在進一步優化我們的資產基礎並創建一個更有效率、更靈活、更負責任的組織以實現成長的綜合計劃。「催化劑計畫」預計將在未來兩年內節省約 1 億美元的稅前資金，其中約 60% 的節省預計將在 2026 年實現。

Project Catalyst is not a short-term cost reduction program alone. It is a strategic transformation designed to enhance the competitiveness of our cost base while preserving customer service and growth flexibility.

「催化劑計畫」並非僅僅是短期成本削減計畫。這是一項策略轉型，旨在提高我們成本基礎的競爭力，同時保持客戶服務和成長靈活性。

Project Catalyst is built around three core value levers. First, footprint optimization by consolidating volume and improving utilization rates in our more modern and cost competitive sites. Another component of this effort is the ramp-up of our Pasadena facility, which we expect to reach around 70% to 80% utilization in 2026 and full utilization in 2027.

Project Catalyst 是圍繞著三個核心價值槓桿建構的。首先，透過整合業務量和提高我們更現代化、更具成本競爭力的場所的利用率來優化佔地面積。這項工作的另一個組成部分是提高我們帕薩迪納工廠的產能，我們預計該工廠在 2026 年的利用率將達到 70% 至 80%，並在 2027 年達到滿載運轉。

Second, operational efficiency and cost optimization. This includes procurement savings, productivity improvement across our manufacturing and logistic network and the deployment of an enterprise-wide management operating system that drives disciplined data-driven execution and continuous improvement.

其次，提高營運效率和優化成本。這包括採購節省、提高整個製造和物流網路的生產力，以及部署企業級管理作業系統，從而推動嚴謹的數據驅動執行和持續改進。

Third, organizational effectiveness. We're clarifying accountabilities, streamlining decision-making and aligning resources more tightly to our growth priorities to accelerate the value capture across the organization and improve productivity. Importantly, Project Catalyst is designed to partially offset inflationary pressures and other headwinds while creating the capacity to reinvest in growth initiatives in innovation and supply chain resiliency.

第三，組織效能。我們正在明確責任劃分，簡化決策流程，並將資源更緊密地與我們的成長重點結合，以加速整個組織的價值獲取並提高生產力。重要的是，催化劑計畫旨在部分抵消通膨壓力和其他不利因素，同時創造能力，將資金再投資於創新和供應鏈韌性方面的成長計畫。

Today, we announced the closure of our Fieldsboro, New Jersey site. This is in response to continued lower demand in commodity surfactants used in the production of laundry detergents. In addition, we are decommissioning select assets at our Millsdale and Stalybridge sites. We're planning to execute these actions in the next few months.

今天，我們宣布關閉位於新澤西州菲爾茲伯勒的工廠。這是由於用於生產洗衣粉的商品界面活性劑的需求持續下降所致。此外，我們正在對位於米爾斯代爾和斯泰利布里奇的工廠的部分資產進行退役。我們計劃在未來幾個月內執行這些行動。

I want to acknowledge that the decisions we're making are difficult, especially as they impact people and communities that have been part of a Stepan story for many years. We deeply appreciate the dedication and hard work of our teams at these locations. We will continue to evaluate additional opportunities to further optimize our footprint and strengthen our competitive position while unlocking the potential of our existing sites. This is a dynamic environment, and we will adjust and make changes if necessary.

我想承認，我們正在做出的決定很艱難，尤其是這些決定會影響到多年來一直是 Stepan 故事一部分的人們和社區。我們衷心感謝這些地區團隊的奉獻和辛勤工作。我們將繼續評估其他機會，以進一步優化我們的佈局並加強我們的競爭地位，同時釋放我們現有站點的潛力。這是一個動態變化的環境，我們會根據需求進行調整和改變。

As we look forward to 2026, we remain focused on delivering superior shareholder returns with a balanced approach between top line growth and productivity cost-out efforts. We believe we are well positioned to deliver adjusted EBITDA growth and positive cash -- free cash flow in 2026 despite the ongoing market challenges.

展望 2026 年，我們將繼續專注於透過平衡營收成長和提高生產力降低成本的努力，為股東帶來卓越的回報。我們相信，儘管市場持續面臨挑戰，我們仍有能力在 2026 年實現調整後 EBITDA 成長和正現金流（自由現金流）。

This concludes our prepared remarks. At this time, we would like to turn the call over for questions. Deedee, please review the instructions for the questions portion of today's call.

我們的發言稿到此結束。現在，我們想把通話交給各位提問。迪迪，請查閱今天電話會議問答環節的說明。

(Operator Instructions) Mike Harrison, Seaport Research Partners.

（操作說明）Mike Harrison，Seaport Research Partners。

Wanted to start out with a couple of questions on Project Catalyst. I understand a lot of this consolidation has been a long time coming. But can you give us a sense of what capacity utilization looks like within the Surfactants business today? And following the optimization actions that you've enumerated here in Fieldsboro and the other two facilities, where -- what would that do for capacity utilization going forward in Surfactants?

我想先問幾個關於Project Catalyst的問題。我知道這種整合醞釀已久。能否介紹一下目前界面活性劑業務的產能利用率？在您列舉的菲爾茲伯勒和其他兩個工廠的優化措施之後，這些措施將對錶面活性劑未來的產能利用率產生什麼影響？

And I guess I was looking to understand, are the facilities that you're closing or the assets that you're closing, are they losing money on an operating income or EBITDA basis in 2025? Or were they still providing some kind of a positive earnings contribution?

我想了解的是，你們關閉的設施或資產在 2025 年的營業收入或 EBITDA 方面是否會虧損？或者說，它們是否仍然對公司獲利做出了某種貢獻？

Great questions, Mike. Look, of course, Surfactants have different platforms and different chemistries. What I will say is with the consolidation that we're doing, we're trying to optimize our cost structure. We're moving volume to less cost-effective sites to more modern and cost-efficient sites. And we still have certain capacity for growth.

問得好，麥克。當然，界面活性劑有不同的作用平台和不同的化學性質。我想說的是，透過我們正在進行的整合，我們正在努力優化成本結構。我們將業務量從成本效益較低的網站轉移到更現代化、成本效益更高的網站。我們仍然有一定的成長潛力。

And of course, if you think about alkoxylation, we are still capacity for growth. AOS and even in ether sulfate and low 1,4-dioxane, we have capacity to grow in the future, but we know where the market is going, and that's why we took the decisions that we're making. It's not like we are losing money in those sites. The point is that we're moving the volume to other sites to improve the utilization rate in those sites and continue serving our customers at a more efficient cost structure.

當然，如果你考慮烷氧基化反應，我們仍然有成長空間。AOS，甚至在醚硫酸鹽和低 1,4-二噁烷方面，我們未來還有成長空間，但我們知道市場的發展方向，這就是我們做出這些決定的原因。我們不是在那些網站上賠錢。關鍵在於，我們將業務量轉移到其他站點，以提高這些站點的使用率，並以更有效率的成本結構繼續為客戶提供服務。

All right. And then in terms of the $100 million worth of savings and just the timing. You mentioned $60 million is expected in 2026. But I wanted to understand also that you've noted that these savings are intended to help cover inflation that you might be seeing. And I was just hoping you could help us understand how we might think about the net savings that $60 million minus whatever inflation you're anticipating during this year.

好的。再加上節省了 1 億美元以及時機把握得恰到好處。您提到預計到 2026 年將達到 6000 萬美元。但我還想了解，您是否提到這些儲蓄旨在幫助應對您可能遇到的通貨膨脹。我只是希望您能幫助我們理解，我們應該如何考慮 6000 萬美元的淨節省額減去您預計今年的通貨膨脹率。

Good point, Mike, because, yes, we believe we're going to deliver at least the $60 million pretax in 2026. But as you know, it's public information that we have around $750 million in fixed cost when you think about salaries and maintenance and all of that. And of course, inflation is still there, right? I mean you could argue that the inflation of 3% is still there. In some cases, the inflation is even higher when you think about health care, when you think about insurance, when you think about incentive-based compensation. So call it, you have a 3-plus inflation rate in our cost structure. And that, of course, is going to eat up some of the savings that we will deliver for sure in 2026.

麥克說得對，因為，是的，我們相信到 2026 年我們至少能達到 6,000 萬美元的稅前利潤。但如你所知，公開資訊顯示，包括工資、維護等在內，我們的固定成本約為 7.5 億美元。當然，通貨膨脹依然存在，對吧？我的意思是，你可以說3%的通貨膨脹率仍然存在。在某些情況下，如果考慮到醫療保健、保險或基於激勵的薪酬，通貨膨脹甚至會更高。所以，你可以這樣理解，我們的成本結構通貨膨脹率超過 3%。當然，這將會抵消我們在 2026 年肯定能夠實現的節省的一部分。

All right. You had talked a little bit about oleochemicals creating some raw material pressure. I was wondering, did the impact of oleochemicals get worse in Q4 than it was in Q3? And should it get better as we get into Q1, given that it looks like the market prices of some of those oleochemicals have come lower? Maybe just help us understand a little bit more what's going on with the timing of those costs and also the timing of your pricing actions or any kind of index pass-through response that might be happening?

好的。您之前稍微談到了油脂化學品造成的原料壓力。我想知道，第四季油脂化學品的影響是否比第三季更嚴重？考慮到某些油脂化學品的市場價格似乎已經下降，進入第一季後情況是否會改善？或許您可以幫我們更清楚地了解這些成本發生的時間，以及您的定價策略或任何可能發生的指數傳導反應的時間？

No. Yes. This is, of course, very relevant to our EBITDA margins in the Surfactants business. If you look at the Surfactant business, in Q1 2025, we still had a double-digit EBITDA margin, and that's when we saw the start of the escalation of oleochemicals. And there is a lag, right? I mean we typically carry a lot of inventory because it's from Asia and all that supply chain is pretty long. So you saw coconut oil prices going from the $2,000 to $3,000 per metric ton.

不。是的。這當然與我們界面活性劑業務的 EBITDA 利潤率密切相關。如果你看看界面活性劑業務，在 2025 年第一季度，我們仍然保持著兩位數的 EBITDA 利潤率，而那時我們看到了油脂化學品業務開始加速成長。而且存在延遲，對吧？我的意思是，我們通常會儲備大量庫存，因為產品來自亞洲，整個供應鏈很長。所以你看到椰子油的價格從每噸 2000 美元漲到了 3000 美元。

And really, really, I mean, you felt all that impact in the P&L in the second half of 2025. Coconut oil prices are coming down significantly now. And actually, PKO is going up, which at the end is narrowing the gap, which at the end, the important piece is the gap between CNO and PKO. And the reality is that if you look at where we are now, January, February, that spread between CNO and PKO is almost at a normal level, right, $200 difference. You have CNO at $2,200, you have PKO at $2,000. And that $200 delta is historically has been in the $130 to $150. So we are getting to a point where we feel very, very good.

真的，真的，我的意思是，你在 2025 年下半年的損益表中感受到了所有這些影響。椰子油價格目前大幅下降。實際上，PKO正在上漲，最終縮小了差距，而最終重要的是CNO和PKO之間的差距。而現實情況是，如果你看看我們現在所處的位置，1 月、2 月，CNO 和 PKO 之間的價差幾乎處於正常水平，對吧，200 美元的差價。你有 CNO，價格為 2,200 美元；你有 PKO，價格為 2,000 美元。而歷史上，這 200 美元的差額通常在 130 美元到 150 美元之間。所以我們感覺非常好。

However, again, last year, we saw the impact in the second half, the hurt of higher oleochemicals in the second half. You are going to see the help in 2026 in the second half of 2026. We carry a lot of inventory. This is a very long supply chain. And as we -- I mean, we keep increasing prices, and you have seen this in our price/mix numbers. But at the end, we will recover those margins at the end of 2026, more in the second half than in the first half. In the first half, you are going to still see the impact of lower margins in Surfactants.

然而，去年我們再次看到了下半年的影響，下半年高油脂化學物質帶來的損害。您將在 2026 年下半年看到這些幫助。我們庫存充足。這是一個非常長的供應鏈。而且，正如我們——我的意思是，我們一直在提高價格，你們已經從我們的價格/組合數據中看到了這一點。但最終，我們將在 2026 年底收回這些利潤，下半年收回的利潤將比上半年更多。上半年，表面活性劑利潤率下降的影響依然存在。

All right. And then my last question for now is just a little bit about the timing of earnings. I understand you've given a '26 outlook that calls for EBITDA growth. Would love it if you could help us understand maybe some ranges or ideas of how much growth we could anticipate. But it sounds like between the oleochemical impact and maybe the savings starting to accelerate as the year goes on, it sounds like the second half could be quite a bit better than the first half.

好的。那麼，我現在最後一個問題是關於財報發佈時間的。我了解到您給出了 2026 年的展望，其中要求 EBITDA 成長。如果您能幫助我們了解預期成長的範圍或想法，我們將不勝感激。但聽起來，考慮到油脂化學品的影響，以及隨著時間的推移，節省的成本可能會開始加速成長，下半年的情況可能會比上半年好得多。

And I know this is adding an extra question, but I also assume there's maybe some weather impact that could drag on your first quarter. So maybe just a little bit of color on how we should think about the cadence of earnings and how much growth is anticipated next year in '26?

我知道這又增加了一個問題，但我估計天氣可能會對你們第一季的業績造成一些影響。那麼，或許可以稍微闡述一下我們該如何看待獲利節奏，以及預計明年（2026 年）的成長幅度呢？

Good questions, Mike. And so let me think about this. So we are committed and we feel good, and that's why we had it in our prepared remarks that we expect EBITDA growth in 2026 versus 2025. You are 100% correct that when you think about -- so think about these four, five big factors that are helping the second half and not helping the first half. So we already talked about the oleochemical raw material situation, right? It's going to be significantly better in the second half versus the first half.

問得好，麥克。讓我考慮一下。因此我們充滿信心，感覺良好，這就是為什麼我們在準備好的演講稿中提到，我們預計 2026 年的 EBITDA 將比 2025 年有所增長。你說的完全正確，當你思考以下這四、五個重要因素時，你會發現它們對後半程有利，而對前半程不利。我們已經討論過油脂化學品原料的情況了，對吧？下半場的情況會比上半場好得多。

Catalyst savings, we are committing to the $60 million pretax. And of course, those are going to be heavily skewed to the second half. I mean, procurement savings and some of those things are throughout the year. But when you think about footprint and the other stuff, it's mostly second half. We are also expecting demand recovery in the second half versus the first half when you think about two interest rate cuts, right?

催化劑節省方面，我們承諾稅前節省 6000 萬美元。當然，這些結果很大程度上會集中在下半年。我的意思是，採購節省之類的措施貫穿全年。但當你考慮到足跡和其他因素時，這主要體現在後半部分。考慮到兩次降息，我們預計下半年需求將比上半年有所復甦，對吧？

That's very important. I mean all the banks are -- and everybody is projecting at least two interest rate cuts throughout the year, especially in the second half. So we expect demand to improve in the second half versus the first half. This is important for our construction business, both in polymers and a little bit also in Surfactants.

這非常重要。我的意思是，所有銀行都在預測——而且大家都預計今年至少會降息兩次，尤其是在下半年。因此，我們預計下半年的需求將比上半年有所改善。這對我們的建築業務很重要，無論是在聚合物領域，還是在表面活性劑領域。

So when you think about all of those effects and the fact that we started Q1 with a historic weather impact, right? Nobody was expecting this winter. I'm telling you that we are pleased, we are extremely pleased with the supply chain that we have and we did extremely well compared to many other winters, but it is true that some demand was lost. When you think about the polymers business and construction activities and reroofing, when you think about how this impacts some of our Surfactant business, there was some demand lost, and there is also absorption, right, because we didn't produce everything that we intended to produce in Q1. So there is an impact of around $6 million in Q1 2026 on an EBITDA basis due to the weather.

所以，當你考慮到所有這些影響，以及我們第一季伊始就遭遇了歷史性的天氣影響時，對吧？誰也沒料到會是這樣的冬天。我想告訴你們，我們對我們的供應鏈非常滿意，與以往許多個冬季相比，我們的表現非常出色，但確實也損失了一些需求。當你考慮到聚合物業務、建築活動和屋頂翻新，以及這對我們的一些界面活性劑業務的影響時，你會發現需求有所下降，但也存在吸收，因為我們在第一季並沒有生產我們計劃生產的所有產品。因此，由於天氣原因，2026 年第一季 EBITDA 將受到約 600 萬美元的影響。

But the good news is that we're expecting to recover at least half, hopefully more than half, but at least half of that between Q2 and Q4. When you think about the absorption piece and some of the demand loss, we expect to recover at least half of more in the following quarter. So yes, Q1 is a tough quarter to start. I think many chemical companies saw that impact, and it was a historic weather in the US. But the good news is that we did extremely well, and we are well positioned to recapture some of that EBITDA that we lost in Q1.

但好消息是，我們預計至少能恢復一半，希望超過一半，但至少能在第二季到第四季之間恢復一半。考慮到市場吸收和部分需求損失，我們預計下一季至少可以恢復一半或更多。是的，第一季開局確實很艱難。我認為許多化工企業都感受到了這種影響，而且那也是美國歷史上罕見的極端天氣。但好消息是我們做得非常好，我們完全有能力彌補第一季損失的部分 EBITDA。

Dave Storms, Stonegate.

戴夫·斯托姆斯，斯通蓋特。

I just wanted to maybe circle back -- I wanted to circle back to Project Catalyst. Just curious as to what your anticipated impacts on that project are to Tier 2 and 3 customers. Is this going to make it easier for them to engage everyone there? Or is this going to be maybe a little more challenging for them since there's going to be less areas for them to go to interact with you guys?

我只是想再談一下——我想再談一下「催化劑計畫」。我只是好奇您預計該專案會對二線和三線客戶產生哪些影響。這樣是否能讓他們更容易與那裡的每個人互動？或者，由於他們可以與你們互動的地方變少了，這對他們來說可能會更具挑戰性？

No. Look, thanks, Dave, for the question. And look, the Project Catalyst have three levers, right? The first two levers are heavily focused on supply chain and footprint. But the third lever is very, very important, which is we are working on a more agile, accountable and productive organization that is going to accelerate the growth of the company in the future, right? So we are working those details right now.

不。謝謝你的提問，戴夫。你看，Project Catalyst 有三個槓桿，對吧？前兩個槓桿主要側重於供應鏈和占地面積。但第三個槓桿非常非常重要，那就是我們正在努力打造一個更敏捷、負責和更有效率的組織，這將加速公司未來的發展，對吧？所以我們現在正在處理這些細節問題。

We are going to announce more things in the future. But what we are planning to do with the new organizational structure and with all the investments that we're doing on automation and system is to actually facilitate the growth with Tier 2, Tier 3. We are very happy with the growth that we're having in this segment. We did mid-single digits in 2025, and I'm expecting this to grow even higher in 2026 as we facilitate to them doing business with us.

未來我們將公佈更多消息。但我們計劃透過新的組織結構以及我們在自動化和系統方面的所有投資，來真正促進二級、三級企業的成長。我們對該領域取得的成長非常滿意。我們在 2025 年實現了個位數中段的成長，我預計隨著我們為他們與我們開展業務提供便利，2026 年這一數字還會增長得更高。

So there are plenty of investments that we're making on automation, systems and tools to make sure that we capture an even bigger share of the pie of the Tier 2, Tier 3 segment. So I think Project Catalyst is just great news for our Tier 2, Tier 3 customer segment.

因此，我們正在對自動化、系統和工具進行大量投資，以確保我們能夠獲得二線、三線市場更大的份額。所以我認為「催化劑計畫」對於我們的二線、三線客戶群來說絕對是個好消息。

Understood. And then if I could ask a clarification question. It sounded like the answer around demand loss in the first quarter due to the weather, it sounded like that was mostly based on polymer demand lost in the polymer segment. Are you seeing any demand loss in ag? I know Q1 tends to be a big ag quarter for you. Just curious as to what you're seeing given the weather that we've had in the US this year.

明白了。然後，我可以問一個需要澄清的問題嗎？聽起來，對於第一季因天氣原因導致的需求下降，給出的解釋主要是由於聚合物領域的需求下降。您是否觀察到農業方面的需求下降？我知道第一季通常是你們農業生產的重要季度。鑑於今年美國的天氣狀況，我很好奇你那邊的情況。

No, great point. Let me clarify. Out of the $6 million that I mentioned, the majority of that is Surfactants. That's where we saw the biggest impact and polymers, even though it's a low season, Q1 is a low season on reroofing.

沒錯，說得很有道理。讓我解釋一下。我提到的 600 萬美元中，大部分是表面活性劑。我們看到聚合物的影響最大，儘管第一季是屋頂翻新的淡季。

Still, we saw a lot of delays from our customers because of the weather. So at the end, the $6 million is more surfactants than polymers, but it's not in ag. I mean ag continues growing very nicely. We're very happy with our ag business. We're very happy with our oilfield business.

儘管如此，由於天氣原因，我們還是收到了許多客戶延誤的訂單。所以最終，這 600 萬美元更多是用於表面活性劑而不是聚合物，但它並不用於農業。我的意思是，農業持續發展良好。我們對我們的農業業務非常滿意。我們對油田業務非常滿意。

We're very happy with our Tier 2, Tier 3 business. So we keep growing in all our strategic areas, and we will continue managing our commodity surfactants business to make sure that it's more productive and cost effective.

我們對二線、三線業務非常滿意。因此，我們在所有策略領域持續發展，並將繼續管理我們的商品界面活性劑業務，以確保其生產效率更高、成本效益更好。

Understood. That's very helpful. One more, if I could. Just around your inventories. I know you mentioned that there tends to be a little bit of a lag there. I also know in the past, as the raw materials prices tend to increase, your inventory levels have increased as well. I noticed your inventory levels were actually down quarter-over-quarter. Is this you kind of learned your lessons from past inventory runoffs? Or is this just the lag that we should expect?

明白了。那很有幫助。如果可以的話，再來一個。就在你庫存周圍。我知道你提到過那裡可能會有點延遲。我也知道，過去隨著原物料價格上漲，你們的庫存水準也會隨之增加。我注意到你們的庫存水準實際上環比下降了。這是你們從以往的庫存清倉中學到教訓了嗎？或者這只是我們應該預料到的延遲？

No. Look, I would say this is the normal lag of Q4. But the reality is that, of course, we are extremely focused on free cash flow. We will continue managing our working capital to ensure that we have what we need and no more. So free cash flow continues to be a key priority. We deleveraged the balance sheet and our leverage ratio went down to 2.5 because that's a key focus in the company. And having the right inventory levels is a priority for all of us.

不。你看，我認為這是第四季正常的滯後現象。但現實情況是，我們當然非常關注自由現金流。我們將繼續管理好營運資金，確保我們擁有所需的資金，不多也不少。因此，自由現金流仍然是重中之重。我們降低了資產負債率，槓桿率降至 2.5，因為這是公司的一個重點。保持合適的庫存水準對我們所有人來說都是頭等大事。

And again, but in some of those cases, as I mentioned, I mean, when you have a supply chain from Asia, including all the way to copper and oil, all the way to produce methyl esters, all the way to bring those to the US is a very long supply chain. And of course, those have an impact when you think about the raw material situation that we have. But at the end, we feel good with our inventory levels, and we will keep optimizing our inventory levels as we streamline our footprint asset base.

再說一遍，但在某些情況下，正如我所提到的，我的意思是，當你的供應鏈從亞洲開始，一直到銅和石油，一直到生產甲酯，一直到把這些東西運到美國，這是一個非常長的供應鏈。當然，當我們考慮現有的原料狀況時，這些因素都會產生影響。但最終，我們對目前的庫存水準感到滿意，我們將隨著資產基礎的精簡不斷優化庫存水準。

David Silver, Freedom Capital Markets.

David Silver，自由資本市場。

I just -- I have a bit of a scatter of questions, so I'm sorry to be a little disjointed. Regarding Project Catalyst, you did go to some detail as to what production would be reduced from the actions at Fieldsboro. I was wondering if you might be able to do the same for Millsdale and for your UK facility. In other words, are all of the facilities affected? Are they all in the commodity surfactant area? Or might there be some other areas affected? And should we assume that all of the activities will mainly affect Surfactants segment as opposed to polymers or specialty products?

我的問題有點零散，所以很抱歉我的表達可能有點語無倫次。關於“催化劑計畫”，您確實詳細說明了菲爾茲伯勒的行動將導致哪些產量下降。我想知道您是否也能為米爾斯代爾和您在英國的工廠做同樣的事情。換句話說，所有設施都會受到影響嗎？它們都屬於商品界面活性劑領域嗎？或是還有其他地區受到影響？我們是否應該假設所有這些活動主要影響界面活性劑領域，而不是聚合物或特殊產品領域？

Great point, David, welcome you back. And look, all is in Surfactants, we were -- you will see in the press release a little bit more details. It's about the alkoxylation assets in Millsdale and of course, we have great capacity and modern and state-of-the-art facility in Pasadena. So we want to make sure that we produce those products at the most cost-effective way, and that brings Pasadena.

說得太好了，大衛，歡迎回來。你看，所有這一切都與表面活性劑有關，我們會在新聞稿中看到更多細節。這關係到我們在米爾斯代爾的烷氧基化資產，當然，我們在帕薩迪納也擁有強大的產能和現代化的一流設施。所以我們希望確保以最具成本效益的方式生產這些產品，而帕薩迪納正是我們所需要的。

And in the case of Stalybridge, it's also surfactants, of course, it's a surfactant site, but it's more a commodity, low margin, high CapEx organics business that we're exiting. This is a business that doesn't produce the return that we deserve, and we are exiting that business. So it's all surfactants and is to make sure that we improve the profitability and the return and the ROIC of the company.

而對 Stalybridge 來說，它當然也是表面活性劑，它是一個界面活性劑生產基地，但它更像是一個大宗商品、低利潤、高資本支出的有機物業務，我們正在退出這個業務。這個產業無法為我們帶來應有的回報，所以我們決定退出這個產業。所以，這些都是界面活性劑，目的是為了確保我們提高公司的獲利能力、回報和投資報酬率。

Okay. Great. I wanted to ask a question about your CapEx guidance for 2026. So at a range of $105 million to $115 million, that is -- would be your lowest spend in several years, although if you go back a ways, it was a little bit lower. Should we think of the 2026 CapEx as your new base level for sustaining CapEx? Or might there be a certain amount of discretionary or growth-oriented CapEx? And if there is, could you just highlight the areas where you still feel discretionary CapEx is warranted in the current environment?

好的。偉大的。我想問一下關於貴公司 2026 年資本支出指導方面的問題。因此，支出範圍在 1.05 億美元到 1.15 億美元之間——這將是你們近幾年來的最低支出，儘管如果追溯到更早的時期，支出還會更低一些。我們是否應該將 2026 年的資本支出視為維持資本支出的新基準水準？或者，是否存在一定數量的可自由支配或以成長為導向的資本支出？如果有的話，您能否重點指出在當前環境下，您仍然認為哪些領域需要酌情增加資本支出？

No. Good point, David. And you saw before COVID and all of that, we were running in the, call it, $100 million range for our normal CapEx. Now of course, we have a few new sites, right? We acquired two sites with INVISTA and we have Pasadena.

不。說得對，大衛。你們也看到了，在新冠疫情爆發之前，我們的正常資本支出大約在 1 億美元左右。現在我們當然也有一些新站點了，對吧？我們收購了英威達公司旗下的兩個項目，並在帕薩迪納擁有了一處房產。

But look, the $110 million, let's take the midpoint, the $110 million reflects very -- I mean, some small but good growth capital projects and then our normal base CapEx for infrastructure, EH&S, IT, R&D and all of those buckets. So what I will say is you can call it less than $100 million for the normal base CapEx and then some growth CapEx on top. It's not significant, but it's still giving us the opportunity to move forward with the projects and the innovation plan that we have for the next few years.

但你看，1.1 億美元，我們取中間值，1.1 億美元反映了一些規模雖小但良好的成長資本項目，以及我們正常的基礎建設、環境健康與安全、IT、研發和所有這些領域的資本支出。所以我想說的是，你可以把正常的基礎資本支出算作不到 1 億美元，再加上一些成長資本支出。雖然影響不大，但這仍然給了我們機會，讓我們能夠推進未來幾年的專案和創新計劃。

Okay. Great. I had a question on the demand side, and maybe this relates more to North America and Europe, but maybe not. But amongst some other personal care ingredients producers that I track, there's been a lot of commentary about the stretched consumer middle income or thereabouts in the customer demographic.

好的。偉大的。我有一個關於需求方面的問題，這可能與北美和歐洲關係更密切，但也可能無關。但在我關注的其他一些個人護理原料生產商中，有許多評論指出，消費群體主要是中等收入或接近中等收入的消費者，他們的消費能力捉襟見肘。

And there's been a lot of talk for a while, but even recently about consumers trading down, right, in their choice of personal care, let's say, personal care products. Would you say -- would you maybe say that that's been part of your view here and now? And how are you kind of adapting to that somewhat evolving demand profile maybe to reflect a stretched kind of middle-income consumer for personal care?

一段時間以來，人們一直在談論消費者在選擇個人護理產品時降低檔次，這一點最近也得到了更多關注。您能否說—您能否說這已經成為您目前觀點的一部分？那麼，您是如何適應這種不斷變化的需求模式，以反映中等收入消費者在個人護理方面的支出緊張狀況的呢？

Yes. No, very good points, David. And I think you are asking about personal care. I mean, if you think about it, I mean, you have two things, personal care and then you have all the cleaning piece. But on the personal care, what I will say is that's why our huge focus on Tier 2, Tier 3, right, and our huge focus on sulfate free.

是的。沒錯，你說得很有道理，大衛。我想你問的是個人照護方面的問題。我的意思是，如果你仔細想想，你會發現，這裡麵包含兩件事：個人護理和清潔工作。但就個人護理而言，我想說的是，這就是為什麼我們如此重視第二層級、第三層級產品，以及我們如此重視無硫酸鹽產品的原因。

When you think about personal care, you are rightly so that those are the dynamics, right? I mean you have consumers trading down, not only on personal care, but on overall cleaning and disinfection and laundry and all of that. So our focus of Tier 2, Tier 3 on sulfate free for personal care is the right focus to continue growing where the consumer is going, right? That's where the consumer is growing, and that's where we are investing, and that's where we're putting our focus.

當你想到個人護理時，你的想法是對的，因為這就是其中的動態，對嗎？我的意思是，消費者不僅在個人護理方面，而且在整體清潔、消毒、洗衣等方面都在降低消費等級。因此，我們專注於第二、第三梯隊無硫酸鹽個人護理產品，這是繼續順應消費者需求而發展壯大的正確方向，對嗎？消費者正在那裡成長，我們也正在那裡投資，我們也正在那裡集中精力。

Okay. Great. And then maybe just the last question. And this would have to do with kind of the global evolving kind of tariff situation. And I guess it's difficult to ask the question in the current environment because there's just been another announcement over the past couple of days.

好的。偉大的。然後或許就只剩下最後一個問題了。這與全球不斷變化的關稅狀況​​有關。而且我覺得在當前環境下提出這個問題比較困難，因為過去幾天又有一項公告發布。

But I'm thinking more of your global footprint and in particular, Mexico. And I'm just wondering if the current status of how the US is deploying their tariffs. I mean, has that had a negative impact on the ability of your assets to competitive -- to compete, let's say, for business in the US? Or how would you assess Stepan's overall positioning in the current tariff environment?

但我更關注的是你們的全球影響力，尤其是你們在墨西哥的業務。我只是想知道美國目前是如何運用其關稅的。我的意思是，這是否對貴公司資產的競爭力產生了負面影響——比如說，在美國市場競爭業務的能力？或者，您如何評價 Stepan 在當前關稅環境中的整體地位？

Look, tariff will continue to change. And you know better than me that this is an evolving thing. We are focusing on what we control. We have a great supply chain with a lot of options, and we will continue optimizing those options, right? The reality is that we had a nice -- I mean, we had a big impact -- not a big compared to our overall raw material prices, but we had an impact in 2025, and that's why I put it in my remarks, right?

你看，關稅還會繼續改變。你比我更清楚，這是一個不斷發展變化的事物。我們專注於我們能夠控制的事情。我們擁有強大的供應鏈，提供多種選擇，我們將繼續優化這些選擇，對嗎？現實情況是，我們取得了不錯的成績——我的意思是，我們產生了很大的影響——雖然與我們整體的原材料價格相比影響不大，但我們在 2025 年確實產生了影響，這就是為什麼我把它寫進我的發言稿裡，對吧？

I mean, inflationary pressures in raw material and tariff, we were not expecting that when we started 2025. And the reality is that all those millions of dollars add up. And we'll see where the new policy goes. I mean we have production in the majority of the regions where we source and where we serve our customers. So that gives us an advantage that we are very close to our customers, and that's the strategy. But of course, we need to continue evaluating every supply chain based on where these dynamics goes. But again, we expect 2026 to be as volatile as 2025 in regards to tariff, and we will look for every opportunity that we have in that front, including refunds of the previous tariffs that we paid.

我的意思是，原料和關稅方面的通膨壓力，是我們2025年初時沒有預料到的。而現實是，所有這些數百萬美元加起來是一筆不小的數目。我們將拭目以待新政策的走向。我的意思是，我們在大多數採購和為客戶提供服務的地區都有生產基地。因此，這使我們擁有了與客戶非常接近的優勢，這就是我們的策略。當然，我們需要根據這些動態的發展方向，繼續評估每一個供應鏈。但我們預計 2026 年的關稅狀況​​將與 2025 年一樣動盪，我們將尋求一切機會，包括退還我們先前支付的關稅。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn it back to Luis Rojo for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我謹將發言權交還給路易斯·羅霍，請他作總結發言。

So thank you so much for joining us today. Have a nice and safe day. Thank you.

非常感謝您今天能來參加我們的節目。祝您有美好安全的一天。謝謝。

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接了。